Southern hemisphere sides dominated the 2015 World Cup in England but since then three out of the four have struggledMaro Itoje was in reflective mood as he sprawled himself in a chair that struggled to contain his 6ft 6in frame at England’s Bagshot base. “I have been in camp for only two days but you get the feeling something big is about to happen,” said the Lions and Saracens second‑row before Eddie Jones’s squad flew out to South Africa.He was talking about England’s odyssey but his words apply also to international rugby’s changing landscape. The last World Cup not only saw England become the first hosts to fail to make the knockout stage but, for the first time, the semi-finalists...
Everybody has felt the pace in the autumn internationals but Australia, South Africa and Argentina look pale imitations of the sides who reached the World Cup semi-finals in England two years agoEngland and Ireland both won their three matches but their campaigns, without the lustre of facing New Zealand, were a touch underwhelming as they were rarely extended in confirming their places in the world rankings. Scotland were arguably the team of the month, pipping Samoa in an anarchic thriller to start before taking the game to New Zealand, denied by Beauden Barrett’s try-saving tackle in the final minute. They finished by achieving the double over Australia following the victory in Sydney in June. They were aided by Sekope Kepu’s...
With one international to go this autumn New Zealand and Scotland will be delighted, while Australia’s tour nosedived and South Africa are in a sorry stateThey have definitely got a rock under their towels when it comes to their holidays now. The red card against Scotland did make a difference but, as New Zealand showed against the Lions, you can make yourselves difficult to beat when that is the case. Australia’s autumn has been a mixed bag. It started off with an impressive win in Cardiff and things could have panned out a bit differently against England, but then they were thrashed in Scotland. The thing for Australia is that they need their strongest XV against the big boys or...
England coach’s pre-match charm offensive towards referee Ben O’Keeffe looks a canny move after five tight decisions against Australia favour his sideAn hour after the match, Eddie Jones snapped. Four questions into his press conference, Jones was asked how he felt about the marginal calls made by the referee, Ben O’Keeffe, and whether he felt England had been lucky to get the better of them. It was a fair question, but it set off Jones’s hair-trigger temper. “Why do we have a referee? Why do we have TMOs? I don’t understand the question,” Jones said. “How were we lucky? Ten replays of the video and they make a decision. This is the best referee in the world for today, they...
Skill at ‘seeing space and putting ball over the top’ is his finest attribute and he could make his case with Eddie Jones in Saturday’s game against SamoaDanny Care is one of the best running scrum‑halves in the world but I was really pleased with how he contributed in different ways against Australia. He is obviously a good mate of mine. I played alongside him for a long time and now coach him at Harlequins and what we saw at Twickenham were the fruits of Danny maturing as a player as he has got older.He has worked really hard on seeing the space in behind and when the opportunities are there in the big games, he really nails it. A...