Category: Rugby

Rugby News

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Warren Gatland doubles down on Wales job but public support in short supply

  • Under-fire coach eager to stay in post despite losing run
  • Defeat by South Africa would be 12th on the bounce

The last rites, if that is what they are, are going to drag on a while longer yet. On Wednesday, Warren Gatland reiterated that he would resign as head coach if it were “in the best interests of Welsh rugby”, while also making it very clear that in his opinion it is not.

Gatland says he had the ­conversations with his family and his employers after Wales lost 52-20 to Australia on Sunday, their 11th straight defeat. Whatever was said, it has left him “focused solely on preparing the team for this week”.

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Festive Welsh derby kicks-off Celtic Challenge

Gwalia Lightning will host Brython Thunder in a mouth-watering festive Welsh derby to kick-off the new expanded home and away Celtic Challenge tournament at the end of December. Lightning will play Welsh rivals Thunder in Round 1 of the tournament at Ystrad Mynach on Saturday, December 21st (KO: 2.30pm.) The Celtic Challenge has unveiled its […]

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Wainwright wants Wales ‘to make things right’

Aaron Wainwright wants his Welsh teammates to “make things right” and “give the fans something to cheer about” when they take on South Africa in their final Autumn Nations Series match at Principality Stadium on Saturday. To do that the Dragons back row star wants to try to replicate the fightback in the second quarter […]

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Lawrence ‘grateful’ for Jones’ tough love amid criticism of toxic England regime

  • Centre given international debut by Eddie Jones in 2020
  • Australian’s methods have been likened to a ‘dictatorship’

Ollie Lawrence has revealed he ­questioned why Eddie Jones was “on his case so much” when he was the England head coach but has since reached the conclusion the ­Australian’s home truths have been the making of him.

Lawrence won his first cap under Jones – who will face his former employers at Twickenham for the first time on Sunday when England host Japan – in 2020 but failed to make an impact on the international stage despite his fine form for Worcester.

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Maro Itoje says England is ‘the mecca’ amid talk of global breakaway league

  • Proposal of touring eight-team franchise competition
  • RFU would not select any breakaway players for England

Maro Itoje has insisted that playing for England is “the mecca” amid fears Steve Borthwick’s side could be hit by an exodus of stars heading for a global breakaway league.

Itoje said he was unaware of the mooted competition until news of the proposal broke last week but as one of the leading lights for England for the best part of a decade, the 30-year-old would be high on the rebels’ wishlist.

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Gatland fronting up to challenge

Warren Gatland talked about the “real hurt” his side are feeling at the post-match press conference after his side had fallen to Australia yesterday. But the Wales head coach expects a character-defining reaction against the world champion Springboks in the final Autumn Nations Series match at Principality Stadium on Saturday (Kick-off 5.40pm). “When you’re involved […]

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England are not yet in crisis but Six Nations could be decisive for Borthwick | Robert Kitson

Defeat at the hands of South Africa was to be expected, but the Six Nations looms as kill or cure for the coach’s project

A little perspective is always useful at times like this. How many people, for example, genuinely expected England to beat the world champions, South Africa, on Saturday? A good side winning an absorbing game of rugby does not necessarily mean the gallant losers are totally hopeless. England’s autumn has certainly been full of drama but is it really a full-blown crisis?

A ‘crisis’, in sporting terms, refers to the indisputable point at which a team start to perform so far below expectations that there is no discernible hope. Yes, a fifth defeat on the trot is uncomfortable for a supposed top-tier nation. Yes, they continue to tail off in the final half-hours of too many big games. A limp finish is increasingly what springs to mind when analysts lie back and think of England.

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Joe Schmidt finds beauty in the basics to turbocharge Australia’s dazzling revival | Daniel Gallan

The record-breaking wins against Wales and England have been built on a bedrock of principles that don’t make the highlights reels

It took less than two minutes for Australia to show their continued progress under Joe Schmidt. Having secured the ball they set about their work with Nic White zipping short passes to narrow runners who charged straight and hard into contact. And again. And again. And again. In no time they’d worked their way to a 13th phase before a spill of the ball handed Wales a scrum on their own 22. The move didn’t yield any points but it offered a glimpse of what is possible under this new regime.

Last week Australia snatched a remarkable victory at Twickenham with true blue Aussie gumption. Lightning hands, down the line, into the corner via tap-ons and sidesteps. It was a remarkable display of razzle-dazzle pulled off by naturally gifted ballers with licence to strut their stuff when the chance is on. But that’s always been there and, as long as 15 blokes show an interest in taking the field for some union footy, they’ll be there whether or not the code recedes from the mainstream. What this group needed was some steel and discipline, a dose of patience to go with their panache. That’s what wins Test matches.

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Borthwick claims players not fit enough for Test rugby after South Africa loss

  • England coach does not believe he will be sacked
  • Freddie Stewart says players should shoulder blame

Steve Borthwick has claimed his England players were not fit enough for Test rugby when they began their autumn internationals after Saturday’s defeat by South Africa extended their dismal losing run.

In what could be construed as a tacit admission that Aled Walters’ departure has been keenly felt, Borthwick has risked the ire of Premiership clubs by stating that his players’ “condition” was not “where it needed to be” at the start of the month.

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Obituary: Ken Rowlands

Welsh rugby has lost one of its great stalwarts following the passing of international referee Ken Rowlands.   Rowlands served refereeing in Wales for more than 50 years, after initially taking up the whistle after being told he wasn’t good enough to play for Ynysbwl. After spending two years refereeing at Youth and Welsh District […]

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