No longer wanted by Queensland and the Wallabies, former Storm premiership winner and code-hopper Suliasi Vunivalu is expected to continue his rugby career in France.
‘Seriously impressive’: Rivals floored by Suaalii stunner as ‘freak’ makes rugby ‘look easy’
Joseph Suaalii was Monday hailed as a “freak” by his Australian midfield partner Len Ikitau after an eye-catching performance against England in his first game of professional rugby union.
Tommy Freeman vows England will take the fight to ‘human’ South Africa
- ‘We are going to go properly after them,’ insists wing
- Springboks are world champions but ‘not unbeatable’
The England wing Tommy Freeman has insisted that all-conquering South Africa are only human and vowed Steve Borthwick’s side will take the fight to the Springboks on Saturday.
After four straight defeats and six in seven against tier-one opposition, England face the daunting task of welcoming the back-to-back world champions to Twickenham. England’s last-gasp defeat by Australia saw Borthwick’s side slip to seventh in the world rankings while the Springboks returned to the summit after their 32-15 win over Scotland.
Continue reading...Anscombe confident Wales can improve ahead of Wallaby clash
Gareth Anscombe was delighted to get back into international rugby after more than a year on the sidelines and believes will be better for the game against Fiji despite the 24-19 defeat. Australia are next up in the Autumn Nations Series and they will arrive in Cardiff on a high after their last-gasp, 42-37 win […]
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Rassie Erasmus preps South Africa for challenge of ‘desperate’ England
- Springboks head coach expects ‘very, very tough game’
- England looking for first win of Autumn Nations Series
Rassie Erasmus expects England to bring a sense of frustration to their match against South Africa on Saturday and labelled them “desperate” for a win after two defeats from two in their autumn campaign.
Erasmus’s world champions returned to the world No 1 ranking with a patchy 32-15 victory over Scotland on Sunday as they kicked off their own run of Tests in the northern hemisphere. They now travel to Twickenham to take on Steve Borthwick’s side, who are reeling after suffering two late losses to New Zealand and Australia, 24-22 and 42-37, respectively, having expected to win both on home soil.
Continue reading...‘Frustrated’ Gatland wants better performance against Wallabies
A frustrated Warren Gatland admitted “some things we need to be better at” after his side slipped to a 10 successive defeat in the 24-19 loss to Fiji in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series opener. Wales led 14-3 in the first half but fell behind after conceding 12 penalties and missing 32 tackles in the […]
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Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i: from unproven prospect to living out a dream on rugby’s grandest stage | Daniel Gallan
The code-hopper is the talk of the rugby union world after making light of expectations and the occasion at Twickenham on his Wallabies debut
Picture this; you’re 21-years-old, you’ve been the most talked about player in rugby union for a month straight, you’re playing your first senior game, your first of any kind in this code since you were a teenager, and you’ve just stepped out to start for your country at Twickenham, the home of rugby. We all know that elite athletes are cut from a different cloth but it’s worth lingering on the staggering set of circumstances that preceded Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s Test debut.
Simply not stinking up the place with a string of errors would have been enough. If he’d managed to hold onto the ball and land a few tackles then Joe Schmidt and Rugby Australia could have argued that there was tangible hope in a return of their substantial investment in this unproven prospect. He looked the part, all 1.98m and 98kg of him. But could he handle the bright lights and weight of expectation? We had our answer shortly before kick-off.
Continue reading...Proof NRL will survive without Suaalii; why Rugby should be thanking league bosses: Crawls
Joseph Suaalii has put to bed any dispute about NRL players being far superior footballers to their rugby union rivals.
‘Australia, don’t waste my time’: Wallabies have last laugh as England great’s sledge backfires
Retired England great Ben Youngs’ sledge of the Wallabies in the lead-up to Australia’s drought-breaking 42-37 win against England at Twickenham backfired spectacularly.
Do England’s repeated failures mean Steve Borthwick’s system is flawed? | Robert Kitson
Head coach’s gameplan exploded in his face again against Australia. South Africa are next … do the players trust it?
One of the all-time great Wallaby Test victories has left England up a gum tree of their own making. Clearly Australia deserve huge praise for Saturday’s spectacular ram raid, topped off by a record for points scored in this fixture at Twickenham. For the home side, however, a recurring failure to close out big games is now the subject of mounting scrutiny.
Scoring five tries and 37 points, for instance, should be enough to win any Test match. But only last March England scored 31 points in Lyon and still lost to France. Yet another disturbing pattern is emerging, this time around their defensive solidity. It makes for cracking entertainment for neutrals, less so for those England fans who still have any hair left to pull out.
Continue reading...Steve Borthwick retains full support of RFU despite England’s losing streak
- England have won just four of 10 Tests in 2024
- Under-pressure coach has “100%” backing from RFU
The England head coach, Steve Borthwick, retains the unequivocal support of the Rugby Football Union despite four consecutive defeats, the Guardian understands.
England have won just four of their 10 Test matches in 2024 and have lost six of their last seven matches against tier one opposition. On Saturday they conceded a record number of points against Australia at Twickenham, again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in losing 42-37. Since Borthwick took charge in December 2022, they have a 50% winning record.
Continue reading...Today’s teams – Wales v Fiji
Live match updates will appear just prior to kick-off…… –
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Ruthless Kangaroos hold off Tonga to win men’s Pacific Championships final
- Australia claim Pacific Cup with 20-14 victory at CommBank Stadium
- Tom Trbojevic runs in two tries in front of mostly pro-Tongan crowd
Australia have shown a ruthless edge to rise above the sea of red and hold off Tonga in a 20-14 Pacific Cup final win.
In front of a 28,728-strong pro-Tongan crowd at CommBank Stadium on Sunday, the Kangaroos made amends for last year’s final where they suffered the biggest defeat in their history at the hands of New Zealand. Led by an impressive showing from five-eighth Tom Dearden and a two-try haul from Tom Trbojevic, Mal Meninga’s Kangaroos showed a calmness and maturity to capitalise off Tonga’s errors and seal victory.
Continue reading...Australia’s Jillaroos thrash New Zealand to win women’s Pacific Championship final
- Australia beat New Zealand 24-4 to clinch Pacific Cup
- Jillaroos avenge defeat to Kiwi Ferns in last year’s decider
Australia have reasserted their status as the heavyweights of international women’s rugby league, thrashing New Zealand 24-4 in the Pacific Cup final as revenge for last year’s decider.
The pressure was on the Jillaroos this Pacific Championships following that shock loss to the Kiwi Ferns in the 2023 final, and some controversial selection calls since.
Continue reading...Wallabies coach hails ‘freak’ Suaalii after epic debut as huge selection call vindicated
Australia coach Joe Schmidt hailed Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii as an “aerial freak” after the cross-code capture marked his first senior game of rugby union by starring in the Wallabies’ thrilling 42-37 win over England at Twickenham on Saturday.