Can Wales beat All Blacks for the first time since 1953, will Eddie Jones continue to work his magic at Twickenham and how heavy will injury toll be for the competing nations?The last time it happened was in 1953, so don’t hold your breath. But Warren Gatland’s Lions have given everyone hope by losing only one of their three summer Tests and Wales, at the very least, should be fresh and competitive. Do not underestimate Shaun Edwards’s motivational influence when he has a point to prove. Related: Ellis Genge at home with England as face-off with Wales declared ‘a draw’ Keep an eye on Scotland v Australia. Scotland beat the Wallabies in Sydney in June and will be up for...
George Bridge missed a holiday with friends to play for the Barbarians against New Zealand at Twickenham. For players, the BaaBaas represent rugby union as a game, not a jobGeorge Bridge, full-back for Canterbury, the Crusaders, and now the Barbarians was listed as being 22 years old in the match programme. But in the evening after Saturday’s match he seemed much younger than that. He was wearing conspicuously new clothes, slacks, jacket and a flat cap that he had bought earlier in the week, and they seemed to fit him too well, as if he had just been dressed by his mum for his school photograph. After the match he waited patiently off to one side while the press interviewed...
With 10 New Zealanders in the Barbarians XV, the All Blacks coach watched the opposition carefully but the Bristol man is out of reach for the World CupMost players tend to have three good reasons to turn out for the Barbarians: the honour, the fun and the money. But a lot of this latest Baa-Baas side had a fourth too. They wanted to prove a point to Steve Hansen and the All Blacks management. Related: All Blacks come from behind to see off exuberant Barbarians Related: The Barbarians prepare to face the All Blacks Continue reading...
The end-of-year internationals were once viewed in isolation but these days every match is a station on a train trip that ends at the 2019 World CupPossession is once again nine 10ths of the score. A decade that started with teams scared of being caught in possession has relented: the ball is spending more time in hands than in the air and fireworks this November should explode beyond the fifth of the month.Rugby moves in cycles with fashions not so much changing as re-emerging after a vacation. When Eddie Jones was in charge of Australia in the 2000s, they were the masters of taking play through any number of phases, 30 or 40 at a time, waiting for the opposition...
The All Blacks’ tour, starting against the Barbarians, is a cue to put aside the Lions’ off-field treatment and revive rugby’s concept of mutual respectRight on cue at Halloween season a bunch of big men dressed all in black have materialised in London. Trick or treat? When New Zealand rugby players tour Europe it is usually both, with the opposition cast as the pumpkins. Starting with Saturday’s first game against the Barbarians at Twickenham, a glint of silver fern inevitably generates a frisson.The difference this time is that, for once, everyone knows the latest touring squad are human rather than invincible supermen. The British and Irish Lions proved as much in June and July, piercing the black aura in a...