While Joseph Suaalii enjoyed a man-of-the-match debut for the Wallabies in last week’s win over England, Australia didn’t need the 21-year-old to cruise to a 52-20 win against Wales on Monday morning.
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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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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Wallabies crush Wales in record eight-try destruction as stunning 40-year first looms
Tom Wright and Matt Faessler scored a hat-trick of tries each as Australia thrashed Wales 52-20 in Cardiff to consign Warren Gatland’s team to a national record of 11 consecutive Test losses.
Thomas Ramos’s boot helps France to thrilling win over New Zealand
- France 30-29 New Zealand
- Home side claw back half-time deficit in seesaw contest
Silky skills, crushing power and a ding-dong on the scoreboard lapped up by a sold-out Saturday-night crowd: this was a vintage instalment of a classic fixture that went right down to the wire.
The iconic scrum-half Antoine Dupont may have looked a little rusty on his second outing for France since his sevens sojourn at the Paris Olympics but Thomas Ramos, who kicked 15 points with six from six off the tee, was as dependable as ever.
Continue reading...England’s heartbreak amid fifth-straight defeat a week after last gasp Wallabies victory
Cheslin Kolbe scored two tries as world champions South Africa inflicted yet more November international misery upon England with a 29-20 win at Twickenham on Saturday.
Teams and live updates
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‘Gutted’ Wales working hard to strike back – Morgan
Jac Morgan says Wales are “working hard towards the weekend” after picking themselves up from the disappointment of just being shaded by Fiji in their opening Autumn Nations Series game at Principality Stadium. The Ospreys flanker is one of four changes to the side that started against Fiji for Sunday’s third showdown of the year […]
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Darcy Graham equals record as Scotland run in nine tries despite Portugal grit
- Autumn Nations Series: Scotland 59-21 Portgual
- Wing takes try total to 29 in 41 appearances
Wing Darcy Graham equalled the record for the most tries for Scotland as they ran in a total of nine in a dominant 59-21 victory over Portugal in their Test at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Graham scored the third of Scotland’s five first-half tries to bring his total to 29 in 41 international appearances and equal Duhan van der Merwe’s record.
Continue reading...Thomas aiming to back Gatland’s faith
Ben Thomas doesn’t like to make a fuss about anything he is doing and so when Warren Gatland declared before the Autumn Nations Series that he was “the best back in Wales” it led to a lot of ribbing from his Cardiff Rugby teammates. Gatland had every right to make his bold statement given the […]
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Wales at risk of record low with World Cup rout of Australia a fading memory
Warren Gatland’s side take on the Wallabies knowing defeat will mean they surpass their longest run of Test losses
Another match, another inquest into the state of Welsh rugby. This time, the hand-wringing is particularly fervent, for Wales stand on the brink of an unwanted threshold. Should they lose to Australia in Cardiff on Sunday they will surpass their longest run of Test defeats.
Losing to Fiji last weekend was upsetting on any number of levels, but the sharpest pain was the fact it was a 10th defeat in a row, equalling the run under Steve Hansen that stretched from 2002 to 2003, the year they last collected the wooden spoon in the Six Nations.
Continue reading...Smartball has revolutionised data in rugby and refereeing could be next | Gavin Willacy
New technology can tell how much a kick is swirling but not whether a pass is forward or a try has been scored – yet
By Gavin Willacy for No Helmets Required
While Twickenham debated why England can’t hold on to a lead at home and whether the southern hemisphere is pulling away from the north in rugby union now as well as league, those watching the Autumn Nations Series on TV saw a new toy being played with.
Viewers as well as match officials, broadcasters and coaches could now see exactly how much spin was on a pass, how high a kick went and how much it was spiralling. But however impressive the smartball technology, two of rugby’s thorniest questions – did that pass go forward? And did the player ground the ball for a try? – remain unsolved.
Continue reading...Borthwick faces up to South Africa in defining test of England’s character | Robert Kitson
A win would resurrect the autumn but a heavy defeat by the world champions could see his team equal an all-time low
Not for the first time in rugby union’s turbulent professional history there is a lot happening. A mooted breakaway global league is the latest curveball threatening to destabilise the sport with even the newly elected chair of World Cup suggesting rugby’s financial sustainability is “at crisis point”. No one, from the top down, can be entirely sure how the medium-term future will pan out.
Much the same, frankly, can be said about England as they prepare to face the double world champions South Africa. A morale-lifting win, by whatever means, would transform an uncertain current narrative and cast their recent string of near misses in a relatively more flattering light. A proper pummelling by a strong Springbok side, on the other hand, could result in them dropping to the equal lowest world ranking in red rose history.
Continue reading...Ireland 22-19 Argentina: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – as it happened
Ireland’s defence holds firm as they get back to winning ways against a spirited Argentina.
OK, I’m going to stick my neck out.
Argentina to nick it by a score!
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