Wallabies ground out comeback win over Wales in a context-free match neither team needed but neither could afford to loseFive weeks ago, when Blair Kinghorn hoofed a ball high into the frosty Edinburgh air, five consecutive Tests in five different countries for Dave Rennie’s Wallabies seemed like a good idea. His team had blown hot and cold during the Rugby Championship and had shown glimpses of their potential in a 2-1 series loss to England. This end of year tour would complete the Six Nations set to go along with their regular bouts with the southern hemisphere giants. Less than a year out from the World Cup, all stones would be turned.Now, the best thing we can say about this...
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...
The No 15s for England and New Zealand offer contrasting but important skills and can make the difference at TwickenhamThere are mouthwatering matchups all over the pitch at Twickenham on Saturday but the contest that most catches my eye is between the two full-backs. Freddie Steward, England’s Mr Reliable, against one of the All Blacks’ most lethal weapons in Beauden Barrett. Two completely different players but both are integral to their teams this on Saturday.Steward has looked comfortable at full-back for England since his very first cap. He has 15 now and I can honestly say he has not had a bad performance for the national side. The baseline requirements for a full-back are positional sense, providing security at the...
Paul Pook, one of the 225 former players involved in the legal case against the game’s authorities, on the diagnosis that has changed his life“We hear the term ‘functioning alcoholic’,” Paul Pook says, “well, sometimes I think of myself as a functioning suicidalist.” He apologises for the comparison, says he isn’t sure whether it’s inappropriate, only he can’t think of a better way of explaining it. Pook has spent the past 20 years working as a high‑performance coach, for the Irish rugby union team, the Russian Olympic Committee and the Australian Institute of Sport. He has helped athletes to win grand slams and gold medals. And all the time, he had these thoughts. The doctors call it “suicidal ideation”.Pook describes...
Even in the crushing disappointment of defeat, there is much for the Red Roses to be proud ofIt was not the rose-tinted outcome that England wanted, but Saturday’s World Cup final was still, in many ways, a significant triumph. As the beaten Red Roses captain, Sarah Hunter, emphasised following her side’s agonising 34-31 loss: “People have finally woken up to what women’s rugby is all about.” This was the weekend that changed not just how female rugby players are perceived, but could also yet have a transformative effect on the men’s game.Everyone who attended the final left Eden Park saying the same things: the atmosphere was more family-friendly than the men’s equivalent, the players’ visible enjoyment and sense of adventure...