Warren Gatland and the rest of the rugby union world will be in Kyoto on Wednesday when the groupings are determined for the 2019 tournamentEven Phileas Fogg would have struggled had he been involved in modern-day rugby union. One day Warren Gatland is in London talking up the Lions, the next he is en route to Japan for the 2019 Rugby World Cup draw. Next week he has to be back in Wales, the week after it is Ireland followed by a long wintry trek around New Zealand. If it is Wednesday, it must be Kyoto, in theory at least.There will be precious little relaxation at 39,000 feet either, if the pool draw takes on a deathly complexion once more....
England’s second title in a row said more about the weakness of the opposition in a tournament lacking the subtlety that will be needed by the LionsThe Six Nations is the envy of the southern hemisphere – for its licence to print money rather than the quality of the rugby it inspires. England retained the title but were written off in New Zealand as clunky musclemen who live in a cave, a view compromised by the praise then lavished on Ireland, whose record of two tries in their final three matches was hardly a testament to their perceived verve and guile.Bonus points were trialled this year in order to, in the words of the tournament’s chairman, Pat Whelan, “materially improve...
It was a tournament to savour, with the standard of play and level of ferocity increasing, but unfortunately the Italians are being left behindCome Monday morning the players will be back at work with their clubs, getting ready for the next round of league fixtures.Their schedules leave them precious little time to heal their wounds, even less to rest and reflect on what has gone on these past few weeks. Rugby has never been an easy living but in this Six Nations some of the Tests, especially the three between England, Ireland and Wales, were so ferocious that watching them felt a guilty pleasure. Related: New Zealand media on England loss: ‘Stuffed plastic bags in need of a trolley’ Related:...
Billy Vunipola’s return should boost England, while Ireland are likely to struggle without Conor Murray and France may be distracted by domestic mattersThe significance of Billy Vunipola’s return for England cannot be overstated. Not only does he lift those around him, he also brings formidable carrying that Eddie Jones’s side lacked in the early stages of the competition. As the Championship has worn on, however, Maro Itoje has grown into his role at blindside flanker and Courtney Lawes now finds himself in his best ever international form. Itoje and Lawes swap at scrum time and so you could argue Lawes is effectively playing at No6, regardless of the number on his back. His carrying was relentless against Scotland and while...
New Zealand’s superior statistics in their 18-game winning run do not deter England’s Eddie Jones from insisting his team aspire to end up as world No1Back in the early 1980s, there were few more futile things a man could do than try to pursue a career in competitive squash. Because to be the best, you had to beat Jahangir Khan. And between April 1981 and November 1986 Khan won so many consecutive matches that even statisticians lost track of the exact count. Most figure it was around 555, making it the longest winning streak in the history of sport. “It wasn’t my plan to create such a record,” Khan once said. “All I did was put in the effort to...