Hosts ride a wave of patriotic fervour inside the Stade de France to recover from dismal start and stun New ZealandFrom the top deck of the Stade de France came a tricolor, a shimmering butterfly of red, white and blue, floating through the sultry Paris night, catching the disco lights as it fell to earth. Then another. And another. Then – a little less poetically – a can of Coke Zero, spraying little droplets of brown liquid across a dozen rows. The air was thick with joy and sweetness. Nobody was leaving. In an unfathomable September heatwave, France was having a scorching summer party, and even though the game was over, all eyes were on the dancefloor.Damian Penaud, the man...
Serious strength and physicality will be fundamental for success but rolling mauls will not win over neutralsTwo hundred years ago no one thought Charles Darwin would amount to much. “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat-catching and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family,” his father told his 16-year-old son, who went on to achieve global fame for his contribution to evolutionary biology. Which just goes to show how wrong even the most up-close predictions can be.Maybe we should remember that as we assess the next stage in the evolution of rugby union. Because the temptation over the weekend was to gaze down from the press box at Twickenham and conclude that rugby is...
Young Springbok has not played on the outside in midfield since school but looked a devastating natural in his new roleCanan Moodie had never played at outside-centre in a professional game. At least, not until this super-charged Twickenham evening, as fierce a Rugby World Cup warm-up as you will see despite the one-sided scoreboard.In a match where the devastating power of the Springbok pack was again to the fore – when Jacques Nienaber selected a seven-one split in favour of forwards on the replacements’ bench – it may seem odd to focus on a back. But intelligently applied South African power is a given these days, and the 20-year-old Moodie clearly has something special. Continue reading...
With a new captain at the helm for Saturday’s second Bledisloe Cup clash Australia’s coach says his team have an opportunity to continue their growth Rugby old-timers call it the hospital pass – “a pass made under pressure without considering the situation of the receiver, who is stationary and an easy target”. In the opening minutes of Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup opener, with New Zealand perched on Australia’s line, Tate McDermott was thrown a dangerously floating ball from the lineout that necessitated he raise his arms, expose his ribs, and catch the ball eye-high before readjusting to swivel it off his hips and get it to someone with half a hope of not being obliterated.One measly extra second was required but...
Three England tries in seven late minutes salvaged a 25-25 draw with New Zealand in a match that had appeared lostIt seemed to start raining in the final minutes at Twickenham, a shower of fat drops of beer from the clear night sky. They fell as the fans up in the gods leapt to their feet and threw their pints above them. Given what they charge for the stuff around these parts, it is probably not something you would do unless you had lost the run of yourself. But then it has been a long time since Twickenham has seen anything like those crazily helter-skelter final minutes, when England peeled off one, two, three tries in the space of seven...