Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i Rugby World

BLACK HOLES can appear online. It’s a problem we encounter whenever we want to update results across a broad spectrum of the game – it happened putting together our champions section, and even trying to find youth cup results in winter, for example. It can feel harder to find some grass-roots results, at a time the game needs all of our support. But the effort is worth it. Because the amateur game not only deserves to be cherished, it demands it. The special days in the club game stir the soul. We can’t just sit back and chirp about how good it used to be. So our bumper section (P73) is great, but we want to hear more from you in the future – to feature deeper stories about characters,…

8th SPOTLIGHT ON PARIS France and New Zealand do battle in a cracking opening to the tenth Rugby World Cup POOL STAGE FRI 8 SEPT France v New Zealand (Pool A, 8.15pm, Paris) SAT 9 SEPT Italy v Namibia (Pool A, noon, Saint-Étienne) Ireland v Romania (Pool B, 2.30pm, Bordeaux) Australia v Georgia (Pool C, 5pm, Paris) England v Argentina (Pool D, 8pm, Marseille) SUN 10 SEPT Japan v Chile (Pool D, noon, Toulouse) South Africa v Scotland (Pool B, 4.45pm, Marseille) Wales v Fiji (Pool C, 8pm, Bordeaux) THU 14 SEPT France v Uruguay (Pool A, 8pm, Lille) FRI 15 SEPT New Zealand v Namibia (Pool A, 8pm, Toulouse) SAT 16 SEPT Samoa v Chile (Pool D, 2pm, Bordeaux) Wales v Portugal (Pool C, 4.45pm, Nice) Ireland v Tonga…

MAY SAW the World Rugby Match Officials Selection Committee announce the team of officials for the World Cup in France. Twenty-six officials have been selected and, with 453 Tests between the 12 referees, they are an experienced group – although Wayne Barnes, in his fifth World Cup, accounts for 102 of those. Each referee will now have their own goals, and neutrality will help some of them along the way, but they’ll each find their level as the tournament goes on. It’s worth noting that Georgia has their first-ever World Cup referee in Nika Amashukeli but none of Scotland, Argentina or Wales are represented. England have four of the 12 referees, so if England make the final, the options are going to be limited. Having missed out on the final…

RUGBY HAS long been grappling with the balance between the spectator experience and officiating perfection; how many exchanges between the referee and the Television Match Official take place in a match, how long those interruptions last, and whether the resulting decision is worth the harm caused to the flow of the game and the patience of the fans. The final round of the Premiership’s regular season proved that the balance has not yet been struck. Harlequins won a largely dead-rubber fixture at Leicester Tigers and, due to little riding on the outcome, the match was never going to be considered a classic. But it should, at least, have been given half a chance. Incessant interruptions by the officials diluted even the tiniest scintilla of intrigue that might have captured the…

FORMIDABLE. ICON. Trailblazing. A few words to describe Scotland’s Jade Konkel-Roberts after yet another impressive showing by the No 8 in the TikTok Six Nations. She has taken her gainline-winning carries into the Premier 15s with her club Harlequins. Fans can see how she operates during games but team-mates have experience of her in training and are thankful she is on their side. “Nobody likes tackling her,” says Scotland wing Rhona Lloyd. “Fortunately I only have to do it in training!” Konkel-Roberts has been inspirational in professionalising the squad, becoming the first woman to earn a contract with Scotland. She was awarded the deal in 2016 before the SRU handed out 28 contracts late last year. Her team-mates celebrate her as a groundbreaker. “She has always been a big influence…

FRANCE IS a very beautiful country with lots of hospitable people, and I’m sure the Rugby World Cup party will look after itself and be fantastic. It’s what happens on the pitch that I’m judged on. To actually get the World Cup first and foremost was a great feat by the FFR. Off the pitch I’m sure it will be a marvellous occasion, but I’ve got to be really single-minded. For me, it’s how fast can we chase the kick-offs? And make sure we get out of the 22 with a minimum of fuss. So that is my total, total, total concentration. We have warm-up matches against very good opposition. Scotland are a strong team now. Then we’ve got a game against Fiji and we all know how much they’ve…

AT THE START of the season, it looked as if Damian McKenzie would be the Chiefs full-back for much of Super Rugby Pacific. He’d worn 15 for the bulk of his Chiefs career and they had ample cover at first-five through Bryn Gatland, one of the form No 10s of the NPC, the mercurial Josh Ioane and the improving Rivez Reihana. Two factors changed that: the desire to get the ball in the hands of your chief playmaker more often and the career-best form of Shaun Stevenson in his best position. Forget what might happen with the All Blacks next year, McKenzie was the best fit for the Chiefs right now at No 10. Along the way, he outplayed All Blacks incumbents Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett, passed Stephen Donald…

THEY SAY that to assess a player’s value, you must watch his team play without him. In that regard, Deon Fourie’s importance to the Stormers could not have been better emphasised than when comparing successive displays in the Champions Cup. Fourie was outstanding in the home last-16 win over Harlequins, scoring twice and securing four turnovers to take his tournament tally to 12, the most by any player at that stage of the campaign. However, the openside suffered an orbital bone fracture that kept him out of the ensuing quarter-final in Exeter and beyond. His absence at Sandy Park was telling. “There were a couple of opportunities to steal, he would have called an extra cleaner in or slowed the ball down. We did miss him a hell of a…

“RODRIGO MARTA cuts through the opposition’s defence with a ballerina sidestep and quickly launches a counter-attack! And here comes Raffaele Storti and José Madeira in support, how will this end? Oh, what an offload for Storti and it’s a try for Portugal in… this pool stage match against Tonga for the U20 World Rugby Trophy!” This intro could fit perfectly in 2023 but in reality it happened back in 2019, when Portugal almost won promotion to the U20 World Championship, losing only to Japan in a final that was decided by a last-minute try. Four years ago, Os Lobos (The Wolves) pups were already earning a reputation for being a skilful and relentless side that could throw more than a few proverbial punches, something that would be repeated for the…

ENGLAND RFU CHAMPIONSHIP JERSEY REDS Captain Lewis Wynne Coaches Harvey Biljon (DoR), Rob Webber (head-fwds), Tom Williams (asst) Jersey Reds toppled Ealing to win the Championship for the first time in the club’s history. They only lost one game all year, away to the Trailfinders on Christmas Eve, and in the return fixture all but sealed the trophy with a 19-13 victory at Stade Santander. Victory over Ampthill confirmed an historic title. It was the culmination of nine years of hard work for DoR Biljon. “When that final whistle went, there was a rush of emotion. It was just unbelievable. It has been a roller-coaster journey,” he said. Goalkicker Russell Bennett finished with 143 points while wings Will Brown (14) and Tomi Lewis (12) shared 26 tries. NATIONAL ONE CAMBRIDGE…

IF YOU speak to people that have been part of World Cup camps, they will tell you they are brutal. No coach has left anything unturned. Mental, physical and technical prep is all covered off. The three-month period that you go through will be gruelling. The physical side will be absolutely miserable. Pre-season is always miserable but you know that once the performance team gets hold of the national side for two or three months, which they never get usually, it’s a huge opportunity for them to try to advance the side physically. They will try to prep the 45 or 50 or so players as best as they possibly can for the head coach before they head off for the World Cup. So they are chomping at the bit…

WHAT’S THE funniest thing you’ve seen or heard on the pitch? It’s actually me. In my first year in France, I was kicking for the poles; I kicked and was watching the poles and not where I was running and I ran into the team doctor. He ended up having to do his own stitches as my shoulder hit his head! Do you have any phobias? Only the fear of not being able to say goodbye to people – that’s a little bit deep! If your house was on fire, what one item would you save? My photo album. I’m quite sentimental, I wouldn’t care about my passport, so I’d grab that. What’s the best thing you’ve ever bought? A cricket bat and ball from Amazon. All the foreigners here…

RHODRI JAMES Youth chair of Haywards Heath RFC “THERE IS no better view than a Sunday morning looking around the grounds and seeing hundreds of kids playing rugby. Minis-wise, we’ve got about 450 kids and some are more aspirational than others; some of the very young ones just enjoy the fresh air. The fact we don’t compete, in a classical sense, doesn’t put them off. Everyone has in their mind what the score is. “I understand the RFU’s stance in the sense there are no winners and losers and everyone gets a medal. The player who is average now might be a world beater in five years’ time and vice versa. In the very young age groups, one person can really make a difference. “Everyone scores and kids will ask…

ED JACKSON continues to amaze. The former Bath, London Welsh, Wasps and Dragons No 8 recently became part of the first all-disabled team to cross Europe’s largest ice cap, writes Alan Pearey. Jackson has paralysis and weakness down one side of his body after breaking his neck diving into a pool. He was joined on the 136km trek by two other accident victims: Darren Edwards, a former army reservist paralysed from the waist down, and Dr Niall McCann, a biologist and explorer with limited use of his legs. In crossing the Vatnajokull Glacier in Iceland on skis, they encountered storms, freezing temperatures and whiteouts so intense they couldn’t tell where the ground ended and the air above it began. “It was like being on the inside of a ping-pong ball,”…

WILL THERE be a changing of the guard? All season long, Gloucester-Hartpury and Exeter Chiefs have vied for top spot in the Allianz Premier 15s. Saracens, three-time champions, have been playing catch-up and Harlequins, the only other team to have won it, resumed business in May in danger of missing out on the play-offs. In Gloucester, there was despondency at the men’s sorry season. It made a sharp contrast to the smiles and laughter of the women’s team that has made such loping strides. Contentment and optimism sit side by side. “If we can keep our players on that pitch, I’d say we’ll be pretty confident,” says Sean Lynn, head coach of Gloucester-Hartpury, of his team’s title chances. “It depends on momentum, because momentum in sport is huge, and making…

THE GODFATHER and Lord of the Rings are two that spring to mind. But if Exeter Chiefs are to find their feet next season, then Rob Baxter and Co will be starring in their very own successful trilogy. Ben Moon’s retirement at the end of this year means the last ‘original’ has finished playing for the club. The prop was part of the class of 2010 that took Chiefs to the promised land of the Premiership on a famous night in Bristol. If that was the first instalment of the Devon dynasty then the next generation saw the rise of the likes of Jack Nowell, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Henry Slade, Dave Ewers and Sam and Joe Simmonds. Together they went from academy pals to Premiership and European champs, many representing England and…

ACROSS 1 Strange result for team in Ireland (6)5 How the famous Argentinian club Club Atlético de San Isidro is more usually known (4)8 Ban bombing, moi? Fix for a world champion Springbok (5,8)9 Former All Blacks captain and coach who was nicknamed ‘The Needle’ (4,5)10 - - - Amosa, Samoan No 8 who scored against Russia at the 2019 World Cup (3)11 - - - TBS, banking group that was the first title sponsor of the Five (now Six) Nations (6)13 Captains sometimes deliver a motivational one before the match (6)16 Voices from the Back of the - - -, book of rugby tales published in 2009 (3)17 Keiron - - -, uncapped Cardiff prop named in Wales’ 54-man training squad for the World Cup (9)19 Go on the offensive from…

ENGLAND PREMIERSHIP RUGBY CUP (M) EXETER CHIEFS For a second year running, London Irish endured heartache in cruel fashion as they lost in extra time at Gtech Community Stadium, this time 24-20 to Exeter. Hooker Ignacio Ruiz scored a first-half brace for the Exiles, but a late try by Josh Iosefa-Scott, converted by Joe Simmonds, salvaged a 17-17 draw for Chiefs after 80 minutes. Aidon Davis’s try then proved decisive. “I’m exceptionally proud. What a win and way to do it,” said coach Ricky Pellow. ALLIANZ CUP (W) EXETER CHIEFS Chiefs made it a 2023 cup double as the women’s side beat Saracens 29-19 at Sandy Park to retain the trophy. Tries by Cliodhna Moloney (two), Linde van der Velden and Panashe Muzambe underpinned their latest success in a match…

R1 MIDLANDS DUDLEY KINGSWINFORD Captain Ben Rhodes Coaches Neil Shillingford (DoR), Tom Huggins (senior), CJ Osazuwa (forwards) This resurgent club will return to the National Leagues after nine years’ absence and become undisputed ‘Kings of the Black Country’ for the first time. They swap places with Stourbridge, for so long the region’s senior club. It took time to regroup after relegation in 2014 but a squad based around a solid core of home-grown youngsters matured together. Full-back Sam Vaughan scored 204 points and wing Tom Walker 14 tries. R2 WEST MIDLANDS OLD HALESONIANS Captain Dan Smith Coaches Richard Protherough (DoR), Tim Jarvis (backs), Richard Taylor (forwards) Halesonians will be back in the top regional league next season which means Protherough will be in opposition to elder brother Dan, who’s in…

R1 NORTH EAST BILLINGHAM Captain Elliott Husband Coaches Pete Evans (DoR-head-player), Dan Finney (asst), Dan Burns (set-piece) A mobile pack and speedy backs made Billingham a formidable attacking force – as a match average of close to 37 points testifies. Centre Luke Wilson was top try-scorer with 19 and wing Jobe Roxby accumulated 221 points as the Durham club won 19 of 22 games. Their season had two turning points: beating Alnwick, who were third at the time, and travelling to Driffield with only 16 players because of injuries and yet winning 38-19. The club’s motto is ‘Our Spirit is Our Strength’ and the season was a triumph for full-back Husband in his first season as captain. It brought their first league title in 11 years. R1 NORTH WEST LYMM…

FRIDAY 2 JUNE Super Rugby Pacific Blues v Highlanders (8.05am) Brumbies v Rebels (10.35am) TVBoth live on Sky Sports SAT 3-SUN 4 JUNE Sevens Tournament Amsterdam Sevens SATURDAY 3 JUNE Allianz Premier 15s DMP Sharks v Sale Sharks (2pm) Gloucester-Hartpury v Exeter (2) Loughborough v Saracens (2pm) Wasps v Bristol Bears (2pm) Worcester v Harlequins (2pm) Top 14 Play-off TVLive on Viaplay Super Rugby Pacific Drua v Reds (5.35am) Hurricanes v Crusaders (8.05am) Waratahs v Moana (10.35am) Force v Chiefs (1pm) TVAll live on Sky Sports Touch Sevens Tournament Red Bull Elevate (Sandy Park, 2) SUNDAY 4 JUNE Top 14 Play-off TVLive on Viaplay FRI 9-SAT 10 JUNE Sevens Tournament Macclesfield 7s FRI 9-SUN 11 JUNE Super Rugby Pacific QFs TVAll live on Sky Sports Men’s 7s Championship Series International…

1 USA World-renowned former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal will be performing at the MLR Championship final in Chicago, under his stage name DJ Diesel. O’Neal and American Celtic band Dropkick Murphys will perform at SeatGeek Stadium on 8 July. The 7ft 1in star (below), best known for a stint at LA Lakers from 1996 to 2004, is the headline attraction as the American season concludes in style. 2 Nigeria Nigeria have appointed Steve Lewis as head coach of their senior national team. The Scotsman previously led the Black Stallions from 2012-13, helping them to qualify for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014. The federation’s president, Dr Ademola Are, said Lewis’s first objective is to steer Nigeria’s sevens teams through 2024 Olympic Games pre-qualifiers in June and July – Nigeria’s first…

NORTHERN SIDES know that at this time of year, ahead of a World Cup, you’re heading into a decent block of fitness. It’s going to be tough, you’re going to visit different places around the world for camps, and you will be conditioned very differently to the southern hemisphere. The big four down there will be playing the Rugby Championship, so they have a rugby focus. There’s a difference in the two hemispheres in how we prepare for World Cups. I was talking to Nigel Ashley-Jones, who was head of performance at the Scarlets and who has just joined the Wallabies. We were talking about the difference. The way I see it, northern hemisphere sides will be physically fit, ready to go, but have to build towards the tournament rugby-wise.…

ANYONE FOR a feel-good story? Amid the doom and gloom of arguably the worst English rugby season ever, with Wasps and Worcester going to the wall, there is a glimmer of hope located 85 miles south of the mainland. Jersey Reds made history at the end of April with the first Championship title in the club’s history. A 43-15 victory at home to Ampthill on the final day of the season sparked the celebrations. The hammer blow came a week earlier, though, when Jersey held off the might of reigning champions Ealing Trailfinders to win 19-13 at Stade Santander International in a decisive clash between the league’s top teams. And it’s not just the Jersey fans who can revel in the uplifting tale of the unfancied Reds, who had never…

DARE TO be different. When Stu Wells and Pete Davies had a chat about the strategy for Oxford Quins, they made a seismic decision. “At Level 6 we couldn’t pay players, in Level 5 we could. But we decided that we wouldn’t. That it was better for the men’s section and for the club that all the players would be treated as one squad,” says Wells, the club’s director of rugby. Funds that might have been channelled into paying first XV players were used for wider benefit. That started with attracting the best coaches they could get, with Jon Vermont, Lee Irvine and Joe Winpenny joining Davies in a quartet that oversees all three men’s teams. Firsts, seconds and thirds train together and use the same patterns, same strike plays,…

R1 SOUTH-WEST CAMBORNE Captain Jordan Rose Coaches Stephen Larkins (DoR), Tom Kessell, Chris Fuca (forwards-player) Wins over Okehampton and Ivybridge in the ebbing minutes were vital in Camborne’s impetus to win this title and promotion to National Two next season. Set-pieces, lineout drives and staunch defence were also major factors and Jack Heazelton, Tommy Lee-Southworth and Dec Prowse featured in all 22 matches, 18 of which were won. Hooker Ben Priddey scored 34 tries, full-back Aaron Simmonds amassed 145 points. Centres Connor Gilbert, Nico De Battista and Jordan Sidwell were prominent, along with the back three of Harry Larkins, Jack Davis and Jack Kessell. R2 SOUTH CENTRAL MARLBOROUGH Captain Ollie Spanswick Coaches Elisi Vunipola (DoR), Vili Hakalo (player) An extra special triumph for Marlborough, who were founder members of the…

R1 SOUTH CENTRAL WIMBLEDON Captain Jack Cooke Coaches Collin Osborne (DoR), George Trimmer (head-backs), Will Davis (head-forwards) After losing their opening match 25-20 at Camberley, there was no stopping the Dons, who won the remaining 21 games under the leadership of lock Cooke in his first season at the helm. They scored 959 points, conceded 363 and finished 14 points ahead of runners-up Havant. It was their first league title in nine years and a triumph for Osborne, the former Harlequins centre and skills coach. Fly-half Ed Morgan plundered 260 points and wing Ollie Kitto ran in 20 tries. Hooker Jacob Farnworth scored 11 and wing Bradley Pinkham contributed ten. A strong culture, an unswerving will to win and a focus on coaching carried them through. Their final 26-24 win…