Ireland’s latest bruising win shows they are the real deal, England’s set-piece strength will be key against Australia, and New Zealand are human after allWhen Ireland beat New Zealand on 5 November, and the All Blacks returned the favour two weeks later in Dublin, there was a sense that the two best teams in the world were slugging it out. But in that second game, Ireland were not just beaten, but beaten up, left bruised and bloodied by the brutal All Blacks. They were forced into three early changes, with Johnny Sexton and Robbie Henshaw ruled out of the clash with Australia. Simon Zebo had a knock, and CJ Stander overcame a head injury. On matchday morn, Sean O’Brien joined...
Elliot Daly in the spotlight for England, Ireland face a test of their consistency from the Wallabies and can Italy capitalise on Springboks upset?On one hand, Eddie Jones’s decision to stick with Elliot Daly on the wing again makes sense – he was excellent against Fiji, singled out for praise by the head coach, has the necessary pace and is willing to go looking for the ball. On the other, Semesa Rokoduguni’s omission seems harsh: before last Saturday Daly had not started on the wing since March 2013 and you cannot help but wonder how his overlooked Wasps club-mate Christian Wade might feel. But Daly’s versatility is clearly valued by Jones and giving him more game time there feels like...
Rugby is now cleaner but no safer and as New Zealand’s brutal, bruising clash with Ireland – and the citings that followed – showed, something must changePlaying rugby is always going to hurt. That is why some people play it, just as boxers, racing drivers and mountaineers take their own calculated risks. The tricky bit comes when it is not your misjudgment that causes serious injury but someone else’s. At that point people rightly start asking hard questions and the blurred lines of contact sport have to be re‑examined.New Zealand’s massively physical game against Ireland in Dublin has generated just such a debate. It was inevitably going to be intense, given the All Blacks’ reputation was on the line. As their...
England under Eddie Jones are nothing if not purposeful, New Zealand can’t be blamed for their physicality and Scotland could profit from Argentina’s travails Related: England hint at attacking riches to rival pomp of Woodward era in defeat of Fiji Related: Ireland nurse wounds after New Zealand prevail in bruising encounter Related: Japan serve up warning to Wales in advance of South Africa challenge Related: Wallabies question scrum tactics despite bruising win over France Continue reading...
Ireland’s men in green are daring to dream that after waiting 111 years to defeat New Zealand they can make it twice in two weeks in Dublin on SaturdayNot many sequels manage to outdo a famous original. You can make a decent cinematic argument that Mad Max, The French Connection, Kill Bill and Toy Story were all superior at the second time of asking but the list is relatively short. Difficult second album syndrome is a frequent musical issue and, where New Zealand rugby is concerned, double-whammy defeats to the same opponents are on the rare side of occasional.What chance, then, of Ireland improving this weekend on their remarkable Chicago coup early this month when they defeated New Zealand for...