England have put their World Cup travails firmly behind them, Australia have a mountain to climb and Wales coach Rob Howley faces some tough decisions It is remarkable how quickly sporting fortunes can swing. A year ago, England were failing to escape their World Cup pool on home soil while South Africa were just two semi-final points away from reaching the final. Twelve months on, the Springbok team is a very different, more vulnerable animal. The simultaneous loss of several long-time stalwarts has coincided with a continuing player exodus to Europe and Japan, while the politics of transformation further complicate Allister Coetzee’s task. The Boks should overcome Italy this weekend but, longer-term, the outlook looks highly uncertain. England, on the...
Win that ended the world champion’s run of 18 victories was a perfect tribute to the talismanic Irishman who died suddenly in OctoberIt was as if Anthony Foley was looking down on Ireland as the players formed a huddle before the start of last Saturday’s Test against New Zealand in Chicago. Ireland were hoping to prevent the All Blacks from extending their record of 18 Test match wins and shaped themselves into a figure of eight, the number worn by Foley, who died suddenly last month, for Shannon, Munster and Ireland. Related: Wounded New Zealand face race to regroup for Ireland rematch in Dublin | Brendan Fanning Continue reading...
Ireland emphatically had the measure of the All Blacks in all the key areas in Chicago and, with more preparation and fine-tuning, could make it two in a row when they meet again on 19 NovemberWhen the close-to-capacity crowd at Soldier Field were subjected to the caterwauling version of Ireland’s Call, played with a bit of blarney on a violin, the day seemed to be heading only south. Moments later it was yanked back and pointed upwards, with the Ireland players facing the haka by forming a perfect figure of eight in memory of Anthony Foley. It was one of the great rescue acts. And not the last on a remarkable day.What followed was a classic Test match, not for...
One year on from the Rugby World Cup, Robert Kitson ranks the top tier sides, with the All Blacks showing no sign of losing their dominanceEighteen wins on the spin and counting. The All Blacks will not stay unbeaten forever but sometimes it feels that way. Over the next month they will face Ireland (twice), Italy and France and, barring accidents, it should be 22 straight victories by the time they fly home. The head coach, Steve Hansen, and his lieutenants deserve credit for the impressive manner in which the team has refocused and developed since retaining the Webb Ellis Cup last year. Who said Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Ma’a Nonu et al were irreplaceable? In the shape of Aaron...
New Zealand are in imperious form but the gap between the northern and southern hemisphere teams, All Blacks excepting, may not be as great as beforeNovember is a month when the clocks have just gone back and darkness descends on the home unions in the form of the major southern hemisphere nations. This year there is some light to tickle the green shoots of hope: the All Blacks are not venturing into Britain, the Wallabies are wobbling and the Boks have lost their spring.Australia start their five-match tour in Cardiff on Saturday5 November. Given the combustibility of their head coach, Michael Cheika, in recent months – he raged in his media conference after the Auckland defeat to New Zealand last...