Research finds players who perform war dances reach elevated heart rates before their rivals. Is it an unsporting advantage?Should the Haka be scrapped from rugby? Let’s ask a different, less inflammatory question. If the New Zealand Haka and equivalents like the Fijian Cibi and the Tonga Sipi Tau provides an unfair advantage to those teams that perform it before kick off, should there be a limit on when and where those teams can do so?Research conducted this year at the University of Queensland’s School of Human Movement found that players who performed these war dances reached elevated heart rate levels moments before the start of the match. Those squats and lunges are the equivalent of undergoing a warm-up while the...
Marcus Smith and George Furbank shine after captain Owen Farrell has to pull out following positive Covid testIt is not often that England have played without Owen Farrell under Eddie Jones so perhaps the greatest significance of this overwhelming victory against Tonga is that maybe they have finally proved they can cope without him. Certainly, if Farrell’s absence was the talk of Twickenham beforehand, Marcus Smith’s eye-catching cameo ensured his was the name on supporters’ lips on the journey home.Farrell was, of course, ruled out here due to his positive Covid-19 test but there have been only three occasions in Jones’s previous 66 matches in charge when England’s captain was available for selection but overlooked from the squad. Continue reading...
England, Ireland and Wales are among the throng pushing to challenge New Zealand as the World Cup enters crunch timeNormal service has been resumed. After the surreal scenes of the All Blacks not being No 1 (Wales were, then Ireland!) they enter the quarter‑finals back at the top of the rankings, rated by the bookies as twice as likely to win the tournament as the second favourites. Don’t be so sure. It goes without saying they remain the best when on form, but that cancelled game might well be more of a hindrance to them than anyone, given that their last meaningful fixture will have been four weeks before their quarter‑final against Ireland. At least Italy would have been semi-meaningful....
Eddie Jones’s team have the perfect schedule and can take the shackles off against France and Argentina in the pool stageEngland’s priorities against Tonga are simple. Four tries, maximum points, a clean bill of health and move on to Kobe. It may be the start of a World Cup campaign after three months building up to it but in reality it is an extension of their pre-season. No disrespect to Tonga but England will win the match. They are not looking to peak now and if the playbook was restricted in the warm-up matches it still will be on Sunday. Related: Ford, Farrell named as England go strong for World Cup opener Related: Rugby World Cup tactics: Nick Evans on...
Fiji, Samoa and Tonga export masses of rugby talent but need more resource sharing and better domestic managementBehind sugar, rugby players are the second biggest export from Fiji. Combined with Samoa and Tonga they provide almost 20% of the world’s professional rugby players. Fiji are Olympic champions in sevens and just won the HSBC World Sevens Series again. Pacific Island players regularly sweep up the end-of-year awards in all the top leagues for player of the season and nearly every top try-scorer in those leagues is from the Pacific. So it’s a no-brainer, right? Slap what’s left of your recently remortgaged mortgage on a Fiji v Samoa World Cup final on 2 November? Maybe don’t do that. Their actual fortunes...