Smashed in the Rugby Championship opener, the Wallabies have hit early trouble in their 2023 World Cup quest. Yet their coach says it won’t take much to get his side ‘back in the money’Eddie Jones said he wanted a “robust performance” from his new-look Wallabies. He got an insipid debacle. He told media he had coached his men to play like “mongrel dogs”. He delivered a mob of mewling pussycats. He promised fans this week was the first step toward a “smash and grab” on rugby’s greatest prize. Instead, 62-days out from the World Cup, a season that promised so much has kicked off with disaster.After all the hoopla about Jones returning as the saviour of Australian rugby, his Wallabies...
Mixed messages from officials and disciplinary panels suggests a breakdown in communication as the sport tries to evolveThere is a plaque on the wall at Rugby School, commemorating the exploits of William Webb Ellis, who “with a fine disregard for the rules of football first took the ball in his arms and ran with it”. There are reasons to be suspicious about this origin myth. Like the idea, wildly implausible to anyone even vaguely acquainted with the species, that any self-respecting English PE teacher would have praised Webb Ellis’s wit and ingenuity rather than cursed him for his pig-ignorance and set him to doing press-ups in punishment. Still, that’s the story and, two centuries later, it’s Webb Ellis’s name on...
Whatever the outcome of the Folau hearing, Michael Cheika is leaving Australia in six months, and the Tigers are in need of revitalisationIsrael Folau’s future in rugby union will be determined by a tribunal sitting in Sydney this weekend. The three-strong panel, which is made up of two experienced lawyers and a senior sports administrator, will decide whether a social media post by the Waratahs and Wallabies full-back contravened the code of conduct that forms part of his contract with Rugby Australia.Folau’s employer – who had previously warned the devout Christian about posts that, in demonstrating his faith, called on “sinners”, including homosexuals, to repent or face the consequences – served notice on him last month with three years remaining...
Bad luck and glimmers of brilliance could not disguise another abject performance at the end of a grim year for the WallabiesThese are grim times for Australia. Outfought and outthought at the fag-end of a trying season, their annus horribilis ended in dismal fashion. The numbers tell the story – six straight defeats by England, nine losses in 2018 and their worst calendar year for more than half a century. Michael Cheika had called for some Aussie swagger but the daggers will be out again after this. Related: Australia’s Michael Cheika fury over ‘ridiculous’ Owen Farrell tackle Related: England 37-18 Australia: how the players rated at Twickenham Continue reading...
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...