Rough and tumble World Cup clash suited Eben Etzebeth and company, with Scotland sucked into playing opponent’s gameIt must be something about Marseille. For the second day running the city hosted a right rough and tumble game of rugby. It looked, for long stretches, less like a match than something dark going on down a back alley after hours in the old port, the sort of thing which you might cross the street to avoid. At one point it really did break out into a fight, when Ben White bundled Damian de Allende into touch and everyone came wading in after them. The Scotland captain, Jamie Ritchie, raced across to make his point and suddenly found himself in the unfortunate...
The coach was jeered by the crowd but happy after the Wallabies beat Georgia to give Jones his first win in six startsAustralia are away. They have their first victory of the season and points on the board in this 2023 World Cup. After easily accounting for Georgia 35-15 at Stade de France, Eddie Jones will be delighted with the potential of this performance. It is early days and far greater challenges lie ahead but his young side are starting to sprout wings.With his 82% win record at World Cups and his mad genius riffs, Jones is Australia’s greatest weapon at this Cup. The coach was jeered by sections of the 75,000 crowd when he appeared on the big screen...
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...
Despite losing all five of their warm-up games, the draw has been kind for the Wallabies, but they will watch out for FijiRight now there is no rear-view mirror. There are only 20 teams, 48 matches and one World Cup trophy ahead. The form guides that got them here are different. The philosophies of the coaches are unique. The chemistry of the squads and the players are algorithms no one can predict. All we know is that they gather on the same line in France this weekend chasing the greatest prize in rugby union.The mantras from the Australian camp are to soothe critics and reassure fans. Moving in the right direction. Coming together. Starting to click. But words are not...
Steve Borthwick’s selection of scrum-half is fascinating – and a recognition that England need to move the dial on their gameAlex Mitchell’s selection at scrum-half fascinates me. Has he really improved so much in the space of a month in Steve Borthwick’s eyes that he has managed to go from outside the World Cup squad looking in to starting England’s crucial pool stage match? Or is his selection a recognition that his style of play runs in tandem with what brings out the best in this England? I believe it is the latter and Borthwick needs to be given his fair share of credit for that.There’s an opinion that Borthwick is quite set in his ways. It was very clear...