Eddie Jones and Ben Ryan both enjoyed a year to remember in 2016 with England and Fiji and we have entered an era where the coaches seem to have become an increasingly valuable commodity in the gameHere is a 2017 question to ponder: who is the most influential person in top-level rugby? In days of yore it was always the players and, for better or worse, the referee. More recently it could be argued it is the TMO or even the TV director who selects the key replays. Increasingly, though, we are entering a third age, with players, match officials and entire swaths of the media in complete thrall to one particular individual. Welcome to the era of the rugby...
World Rugby’s decision to clamp down on high hits from Tuesday will free up the game for creative ball-carriers and try-scoring rates look set to soar even higherIn theory it is just another winter Tuesday. No big games are happening on 3 January 2017, no one will instantly sense the change. Could it be, nevertheless, that the date will one day be ranked among the most significant in modern rugby union history? Might it also be the moment the cork is removed from the old-school bottle and, in a spray of sparkling foam, it starts raining tries?World Rugby’s decision to tighten the tackle law with immediate effect and clamp down on high, dangerous “hits” is meant to be all about...
The trip to New Zealand, despite the schedule, can restore faith and the Six Nations is shaping up nicely but with the professional era now more than 20 years old, the sport’s administrators must show conviction in the next 12 monthsThe most pertinent rugby quote of 2016, inevitably, came from Eddie Jones. “There’s only pressure when you don’t know what you’re doing,” murmured England’s head coach shortly before guiding his adopted country to their 13th Test victory of a perfect calendar year. As a short, sharp Twitter-friendly summation of how and why the Australian guru has turned English fortunes around, it was inch-perfect.What would England’s national cricket and football teams do for a milligram of Jones’s self-assurance right now? Maybe...
As England seek to match their record of 14 straight victories, the industry and attitude of Eddie Jones’s side are increasingly resembling Sir Clive Woodward’s team of 2003It does not feel like 13 years ago that Dorian West was sitting in Aix-en-Provence discussing his surprise at being named captain of England for the first – and, as it turned out, only – time. Clive Woodward’s side had not lost in 18 months and, even with a few reserves playing, there was no expectation of his squad’s 14-game unbeaten run approaching its end.If England could have their time again, would they have taken that distant 2003 game in Marseille more seriously? In many ways France’s 17-16 win did not matter hugely,...
‘If he wants to play it that way that’s totally fine with me,’ says Cheika after coaches swap taunts over scrummaging styles before Saturday’s TestPerhaps it was the embarrassment of being the first Australian coach to lose a home series to England that did it, or possibly it was being mocked up as a clown last month. Or maybe just a bad night’s sleep, but after turning the other cheek to Eddie Jones time and again during the summer Michael Cheika has now shown a willingness to engage with his compatriot. And then some. Related: Michael Cheika: Eddie Jones’s ‘vitriolic’ Australia comments tarnish his legacy Related: Michael Cheika retaliates by accusing Dan Cole of illegal scrummaging Continue reading...