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...
No one would describe it as a perfect competition logistically but the URC may be better placed than other leagues to cash inHere’s a quiz question as an eventful domestic rugby season enters its closing days: which of the two leagues staging grand finals in Twickenham and Cape Town respectively this weekend has had the better campaign? As the Premiership braces itself for the financial demise of a third club inside nine months, a clear winner is increasingly emerging.No one would describe the United Rugby Championship as a perfect competition from a logistical perspective, other than for long-haul travel experts specialising in flights to and from southern Africa. But credit where it is due. While tickets for Saturday’s final between...
The defending champions’ giant yellow sledgehammer decided a thrilling contest and hinted at unstoppable French strengthPlenty of weighty questions will continue to hang in the Dublin air in the months ahead after the stunning Champions Cup final between La Rochelle and Leinster on Saturday. An official investigation has already been opened into a reported altercation in the tunnel at half-time but the implications of what unfolded on the field could prove even more significant in the medium term.Not only was this one of the most compelling modern rugby spectacles imaginable – up there with the thunderous second Test between the Springboks and the British & Irish Lions in Pretoria in 2009 – but it also detonated a heap of received...
In Ronan O’Gara’s French side the Irish juggernauts face old foes uniquely positioned to exploit any psychological weaknessTo be a Leinster player or supporter this weekend is to be standing at an era-defining junction. One way lies the sweetest of dreams: a record-equalling fifth gold star on the blue jersey and Champions Cup immortality. The other leads straight to their worst nightmare: another painful knockout defeat at the hands of their all-too-familiar bogeyman.Up until last week’s shock home loss to Munster in the semi-final of the United Rugby Championship, the former felt slightly more likely. Suddenly, though, they have played straight into the hands of their old friend Ronan O’Gara, the head coach of La Rochelle. If ever “Rog” needed...
The flavour of the competition will never be the same and it remains to be seen if Australia and New Zealand teams can fill the gapFor 26 years club rugby in the southern hemisphere had a distinctive flavour profile. There have been some interesting garnishes, with produce from Japan, Argentina and, more recently, the Pacific Islands enriching the plate. But from the dawn of the professional age in 1996 until the Covid-enforced hiatus in 2020, the three main ingredients have come from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.But now Super Rugby has “lost a bit of spice”, at least according to John Plumtree, the now Durban-based Sharks coach and former All Blacks assistant. Continue reading...