Indholdsfortegnelse for June - July 2018 i NZ Rugby World

THERE WAS SOMETHING QUITE TROUBLING that flashed up in early May. A problem that rugby will have to look at and try to fix. That problem occurred when the Crusaders played the Brumbies in Canberra. Early in the game, Israel Dagg, who was making his second appearance of the season after major surgery last year, was taken hard across the chin by Brumbies opposite Chance Peni. It was an ugly challenge that was more reckless than deliberate and it left Dagg not only concussed, but with more damage to his knee. Such was the impact that he buckled under himself and his knee gave way. It was a cruel blow to the veteran outside back having worked so hard to get back to full fitness. But the worrying bit was…

▪ England having lost their last three tests finally enjoyed a victory. ▪ It wasn’t in a test or anything important like that. Nope, it was in the administrative world. ▪ They won their battle to select Hurricanes captain Brad Shields for their three-match series in South Africa. ▪ It became a battle because New Zealand Rugby said that Shields had signed a contract that meant he couldn’t play test rugby for anyone other than New Zealand. ▪ England laughed and laughed at that and said there was no way that could be enforceable because World Rugby have a clear rule that says all players have to be released to play in the designated international windows. ▪ But, countered New Zealand, look at sub clause blah, blah and that says…

ENGLAND HAVE HINTED that they have both Joe Schmidt and Warren Gatland on their shortlist to take over from incumbent coach Eddie Jones. The RFU announced late last year that they were extending Jones’s contract through to 2021 but were simultaneously beginning the search for his successor. They want a controlled hand over if possible, but have also said that if England fail to meet their goals at the World Cup, Jones won’t be retained after the tournament. RFU chief executive Steve Brown told the Daily Telegraph that the key attributes they are looking for are coaches with international experience and proven ability to win tests. When he was asked if there was a gentlemen’s agreement in place to not go after rival home union coaches, Brown said: “No, that…

LEGENDARY SPRINGBOKS WING has announced his retirement from all forms of rugby. The 34-year-old veteran revealed in late April that he wouldn’t be playing again after major knee surgery last year and then a few days later suggested it wasn’t his decision to call it quits. He said that his retirement was more the choice of Toulon coach Fabien Galthie, who disagreed with medical advice that Habana could return. “I returned to training five months ago,” Habana told AFP. “The medical teams told me I was fit. Not to play is not my choice. “I repeat, I have worked really hard for nine months to come back and I have not had the opportunity to play again. “Jonny Wilkinson retired after a double [European Cup] and Richie McCaw quit after…

ONE HAS DEFINITELY been through the worst of times. The other might not be going through the best of times, but it does have something the other must regard with great envy. Before my misappropriation of Shakespeare gets me into trouble, I’ll get to the point. Dunedin has an awesome stadium. It has a brilliantly designed roof, and a fantastic surface that is far harder to create under cover than you might think. It has also hosted many other events including rock concerts of the magnitude I could only dream of when I lived in Dunners in the early 80s. Since Forsyth Barr went up they’ve had Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Ed Sheeran and Robbie Williams. It’s a complete reverse of what used to happen. Back then people would pour…

FIVE BIG QUESTIONS FOR THE ALL BLACKS 1 Is Ofa a two-headed monster..? The picture is becoming a little clearer about the group of props the All Blacks are thinking they will take to next year’s World Cup. In 2015 they took five – two specialist tightheads, two specialist looseheads and one, Ben Franks, who could cover both. If they replicate that formula in 2019, then Owen Franks and Nepo Laulala are the probable tightheads and Joe Moody and Kane Hames – as long as he recovers from concussion – are the two looseheads. Ofa Tu’ungafasi is probably the dual purpose man and this series will go a long way towards answering whether he is. The All Blacks are coming into the series short on options and experience at No…

1 Waisake Naholo It’s not as if he has done anything wrong, played poorly or has anything to prove as such. But there is just this sense with Naholo that he has never quite consistently delivered all he could and the early promise he showed in 2015 has never been fulfilled. Injury has disrupted his ability to play regularly and consecutively so his goal in this series must be to win a starting spot and play with such freedom and accuracy that he never has to give it up. The outside backs have ridiculous competition for places and Naholo will need to put down a few reasons as to why he deserves to be picked. 2 Vaea Fifita He’s a bit like Naholo in that he hasn’t done anything wrong,…

GLEN OSBORNE After he debuted in 1995, Glen Osborne featured at fullback for the World Cup but spent most of the rest of his career until 1999 on the wing. He played 19 tests and ran in 11 test tries. He played for the Chiefs and Hurricanes in Super Rugby and represented Wanganui and North Harbour. He also featured in the New Zealand Sevens team and played a season and a half in France with Biarritz club and four seasons in Japan with Ricoh. After leaving the All Blacks I played in France, for North Harbour then four years in Japan, which was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done. It was beautiful. The people are kind and respectful, they have the most beautiful wairua and are such…

FOR REASONS THAT AREN’T IMPORTANT, I have cause to speak to Sir Ian McGeechan about rugby on a regular basis. As you’d expect from a man who has such a storied career as a player and coach, and who has long been viewed as an innovator able to stand alongside men like Carwyn James, Izak van Heerden and Vic Cavanagh, he occasionally expresses some profound thoughts about the game of rugby. We recently spent the thick end of two hours chatting about Leinster. They are, reckons Geech, comfortably the most innovative side in world rugby at the moment, and possibly in the professional era. It’s worth mentioning that they have always been fairly successful, having won the Pro14 four times and the European Champions Cup a record-equalling four times. But…

10 CAPTAIN CAVEMAN BREAKS ALI WILLIAMS The French brought a second rate squad to New Zealand in June 2007. They had no appetite for a two-test series, two months before they hosted the World Cup so coach Bernard Laporte brought 30-odd players he didn’t imagine he would be using at the World Cup and told them to prove him wrong. Only one man took up that challenge and it was Sebastien Chabal. The man, nicknamed Seabass, was unmissable and not just because of the notorious caveman look with the long, black straggly hair and the unkempt beard. He was unmissable because he played superbly. He brought physical intensity and desire with him and he pulled off two of the biggest hits seen in recent years. The first was on All…

Initially when Rassie Erasmus took over as Springboks coach in early 2018 he was told he would only be able to pick overseas players with 30 test caps or more. If he wanted someone with less, he’d have to present a special case that would be reviewed. That plan has been scrapped, though, and now he will have access to any player even if they have never played test rugby. “Rassie has got a year to prepare the team, and in this, the last year [before the World Cup] he’s allowed to pick players locally and abroad,” SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said. “He’s been speaking to some players [overseas] and we’ve given him leeway to do that. “He only has 18 tests between now and the World Cup and…

The Australian Rugby Union have reportedly made Wallabies captain Michael Hooper a record five-year offer to commit through to the 2023 World Cup. Several media outlets have suggested that Hooper will be paid around $1million a year if he signs. Hooper is off contract at the end of this year and will inevitably have offers from European clubs to consider. But the Australian Rugby Union are determined to make a competitive offer and use the retention of their captain as a tool to persuade others to stay. Asked if a long-term contract in Australia was appealing, Hooper told The Daily Telegraph: “I love playing rugby in Australia. It is such a great place to play rugby. “There is a great talent pool and we have a lot of players coming…

THE FALLOUT FROM THE WORLD CUP qualifying match between Spain and Belgium continues, with World Rugby having handed out a number of lengthy suspensions. Five Spanish players have received bans ranging between 14 and 43 weeks for abusing the referee during their controversial 18-10 loss to Belgium in March. The Spanish players were outraged at the final whistle, believing they had been harshly and unfairly treated by Romanian referee Vlad Lordachescu, who had penalised them 18 times during the encounter. That in itself wasn’t the problem – it was the knowledge that because Spain lost the game, it meant Romania qualified for the 2019 World Cup instead. Spain had come into the game with Belgium knowing victory would have secured them a spot in Japan next year. The Spanish Rugby…

IT USED TO BE a measure of his extraordinary gifts that when the All Blacks found themselves in a jam they’d give the ball to Jonah Lomu and ask him to find a remedy. Sometimes it worked while at other times there wasn’t a great deal of profit but there was always a promise Lomu would do some damage and that was a remarkable asset for the All Blacks. There was another guarantee too. Putting Lomu’s name on the team sheet meant extra concern for the All Blacks next opponent as they upped their defensive attention on the dangerous wing. It brought more danger if they concentrated too much on stopping the big wing because gaps opened up in other parts of the field. Even when he was cornered Lomu…

1 Antoine Dupont Dupont was only 20 when he made his debut against the All Blacks last year in Paris and he was quite superb. There were fears in France that he was too inexperienced to cope with the occasion, but he was one of their best players and troubled the All Blacks with his pace, vision and decision-making. The French typically see their No 9 as their play-making general and Dupont, with a few more tests under his belt now, could well be the man France ask to lead them tactically in June. 2 Teddy Thomas The slender but dynamic wing showed up well in Paris last year when he was able to score a first half try and then become a greater threat in the second half. Thomas…

Gregor Paul reports. It took a while for the whole Joe Moody business to make sense. He sneaked into the All Blacks in 2014 and he was one of those selections that the coaches had to sell. They had been watching him closely for a few years, seeing things in his game that they liked. But no one else had noticed him. That’s sometimes the way with props: they aren’t always easy to assess. Half the time, more probably, who really knows what the big men are doing out there? They spend so long with their heads buried in scrums or at the bottom of rucks that it’s easy to forget they are playing. And if they are noticeable, regularly on the ball or hanging around waiting for it, that’s…

AFTER SEEING A NUMBER OF WANTED, regular All Blacks decided to sign with offshore clubs earlier in the year, New Zealand Rugby has announced that a raft of players have extended their contracts. Ryan Crotty, Scott Barrett and Ofa Tu’ungafasi have all re-committed to New Zealand. Crotty has signed until 2019, Barrett until 2020 and Tu’ungafasi until 2021. While NZR is celebrating the decision by all three to stay, it is the signature of Crotty that was the hardest to get and the most significant. The 29-year-old midfielder has become an integral part of the All Blacks and is in demand around the world. He had offers to leave and with the likes of Nagni Laumape, Anton Lienert-Brown and Jack Goodhue all pushing hard to break into the All Blacks’ midfield,…

Following on from their historic pay deal, the Black Ferns will also play a two-test series against Australia The Ferns will play in Sydney ahead of the first Bledisloe Cup clash in August and then play their second test ahead of the second Bledisloe in Auckland the following week. “Having our two top sides take on the Aussies in the same night is something special,” New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said. The first group of contracted professional players is expected to be announced shortly as well. ‘HAVING OUR TWO TOP SIDES TAKE ON THE AUSSIES IN THE SAME NIGHT IS SOMETHING SPECIAL’Steve Tew…

FORMER ALL BLACKS AND BLUES LEGEND CARLOS SPENCER WILL BE JOINING THE HURRICANES NEXT SEASON AS AN ASSISTANT COACH. Spencer, who played 100 games for the Blues and is arguably the greatest player in their history, said that he had always assumed his first Super Rugby coaching role in New Zealand would be with his former club. But having worked with Hurricanes in-coming head coach John Plumtree in South Africa, it is the Wellington club that have snared Spencer. “I’ve worked with Carlos in South Africa when I was at the Sharks and I was impressed with him from what I saw then,” Plumtree said. “He has carried on that good work, not only in South Africa but in Japan, and I really look forward to working with him again.…

FORMER USA CAPTAIN TODD CLEVER IS CONSIDERING MAKING THE SWITCH TO THE HIGH PROFILE WORLD OF WRESTLING. The most capped player in USA Eagles history could try his hand at professional wrestling, having retired from rugby in 2017. Clever, 35, confirmed that he has spent time with the WWE training at their high-performance facility in Florida-and according to several reports he is close to signing a contract with the popular entertainment company. CNN reported Clever was approached by the company in 2016, while he was still playing rugby, to see if he would be interested in trying out. But he declined at the time, trying to eke out one more year in top flight rugby. But this year, having retired from the sport, the professional wrestling outfit again approached the…

Gregor Paul explains why. It was mid-way through 2010 when Richie McCaw was asked about who he felt might be the right man to replace him as All Blacks captain when the time finally came. He didn’t need to think too hard for an answer. He was pretty sure that Kieran Read had everything he needed to become a good All Blacks captain and in time reckoned the great man, Sam Whitelock had all the qualities, too. Clearly, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen agreed because in 2012 the process of grooming Read as McCaw’s successor began and in 2016 a reasonably smooth transfer was made. McCaw retired after the World Cup and there was no drama or doubt about what would happen. In early February 2016 Hansen announced that Read…

1 Discipline The All Blacks, quite frankly, were shocking last year when it came to discipline. They gave away a ridiculous number of penalties, were slow to adapt to referees and finished the season with the equal highest number of cards of any Tier One nation. They can’t afford to be so loose or to play so much rugby with 14 men on the field this year. At some stage it is going to cost them. 2 Playing for 80 How many times last year did the All Blacks play well for the full 80 minutes? Well, if we were any good at this, we would check. But let’s just say not often, or in fact, just once against the Boks in Albany. That night they nailed it and look…

1 New Zealand 62 France 31 OCTOBER 17, 2015 The talk all week had been about whether the All Blacks could deal with the ghosts of their past. They were playing a World Cup quarterfinal in Cardiff against France eight years after they had lost a World Cup quarterfinal in Cardiff against France. It turned out there were no ghosts on the night and the All Blacks destroyed the French with a nine-try blitz that saw them play the most stunning rugby and announce their readiness and eagerness to retain their title. 2 France 43 New Zealand 31 OCTOBER 31, 1999 One minute this World Cup semifinal was in the bag for the All Blacks…nek minute they were dumped out the World Cup. The All Blacks were 24-10 up at…

The trophy awarded to the Springboks for beating the British & Irish Lions in 2009 sits in a cabinet at SA Rugby headquarters. It is surrounded by a host of sevens titles that are held by the Blitzboks. “Take those out and there won’t be much left,” someone chirps when they see me studying the glass shelves. There’s no Webb Ellis Cup or Rugby Championship trophy in this cabinet. There’s no sign that the Boks have won anything of significance since that series against the Lions nine years ago. New director of rugby and Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus hopes to change that. After his official appointment in early-March, he vowed to turn things around in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup. “It’s one hell of a job,” Erasmus admits…

FIRST SOME GOOD NEWS – Eddie Jones heeded the advice in my last column and finally picked Danny Cipriani, the only imaginative English 10 currently in the big leagues – although Marcus Smith has potential – to tour South Africa. I hope he starts [and finishes] every test. This will be good for rugby, good for the World Cup and great for England. And fun for rugby lovers everywhere. Thank you Eddie. Now for some more good stuff. Just as the All Blacks are every non-Kiwi’s favourite international team, so Harlequins are every Brit’s second favourite club side. Their famous quartered jersey is the most popular club shirt in the world – magenta, light blue, chocolate and grey – who would have thought! It is the third most recognisable jersey…