Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has confirmed Joseph Suaalii will start Australia’s Test against Wales in Cardiff on the bench despite setting the rugby world alight in his debut against England.
Freddie Steward’s selection can strengthen England in defence and in attack | Ugo Monye
Steve Borthwick’s team always kick a lot but they must use the ball well to have a chance against these brilliant South Africans
The kicking duel is going to be pivotal at Twickenham on Saturday. South Africa have said they’ve been expecting it all along and it’s what they’re going to get. Over to England – don’t disappoint. It might not be as aesthetically pleasing, maybe the impetus to win becomes greater as a result, but the thinking is obvious if you cast back to last year’s World Cup semi-final.
I understand the selection of Freddie Steward, that Steve Borthwick genuinely believes selecting someone who is 6ft 5in and whose point of difference is his aerial strength gives England the best chance of beating South Africa. I also understand that World Rugby’s clampdown on escorts is increasing the number of contestable kicks and is having an impact on these autumn Tests. I also have a feeling that England are using the latter to almost excuse the former. In the 2023 Six Nations, England averaged 40 kicks again, which was the most of all countries. Earlier this year it was 30, the same as in New Zealand over the summer, but the point here is that England kick a lot and have done for a while. A directive that encourages kicking would appear to suit them yet they seem to be outwardly disappointed about it, perhaps in the knowledge that adopting that sort of style will not be universally well received.
Continue reading...Jamie George expects ‘war’ with South Africa as England aim to end losing run
- Captain backs side to revel in ‘confrontational game’
- ‘Historic rivalry’ continues at Twickenham on Saturday
England are braced for physical warfare when they seek to end their losing streak against South Africa on Saturday, according to the captain, Jamie George.
Steve Borthwick’s side host the back-to-back world champions at Twickenham having endured a four-game losing streak and have dropped to seventh in the world rankings. The Springboks, meanwhile, have returned to the No 1 spot and are heavy favourites to compound England’s misery.
Continue reading...England warn rebels that joining rugby breakaway would end Test careers
- Plans afoot for global league with eight franchise teams
- But RFU insists anyone who signs up won’t be in Test side
Steve Borthwick’s ailing national side could be decimated by England players signing up to a breakaway global league, with the Rugby Football Union adopting a view that they would be sacrificing their Test careers if they did so.
Plans are afoot for a new league featuring eight franchise teams and about 200 players which would take matches around the world across major cities. Twenty players are said to have signed up in principle for the league, which is believed to be backed by US and Middle East money and due to begin in 2026.
Continue reading...France against New Zealand still offers all that is holy in rugby union
Teams meet in Paris on Saturday having delivered brutality and artistry in some of the sport’s greatest games
It is France-New Zealand time again. These words should conjure a frisson in any rugby connoisseur – and, by and large, they do. There are other more intense rivalries – the All Blacks against South Africa or Australia, for example, or England against, well, anyone – but for the promise of all that is holy in union, the brutality and the artistry, nothing quite stirs the imagination like Saturday night’s encounter in Paris.
All the more so given it is a quarter of a century since the greatest France-New Zealand episode of them all – some say the greatest match, full stop. On Halloween 1999, a suitably portentous date, these two met at Twickenham in the semi-final of the Rugby World Cup. What unfolded, it hardly requires a student of the game to recall, was the sort of nightmare only the French seem capable of inflicting on the All Blacks, who saw their 24-10 lead early in the second half shapeshift into a scarcely believable 43-31 defeat.
Continue reading...Suaalii dropped from Australia’s starting XV against Wales in Cardiff
- Suaalii was man of the match in win against England
- Captain Harry Wilson out due to concussion protocols
Australia’s new cross-code star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has been surprisingly dropped from the Wallabies’ starting lineup against Wales following his impressive debut against England.
The 21-year-old, who was man-of-the-match in the thrilling win over England at Twickenham last Saturday having played the entire 80 minutes, will revert to the bench in Cardiff on Sunday.
Continue reading...Wallabies searching for ‘repeatability’
The Australians are taking nothing for granted as they prepare to meet Wales at Principality Stadium despite their amazing fightback triumph over England at Twickenham a week ago. That 42-37 victory had the whole rugby world talking about it being a turning point for the Wallabies as they build towards next year’s clash with the […]
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Hardy called up for Wales
Ospreys scrum half Kieran Hardy has been called up to the Wales senior men’s squad. He replaces Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby) who has been released due to a shoulder injury sustained during the match against Fiji last weekend.
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Rugby’s ‘escort’ crackdown prompts disgruntled Borthwick to change tack | Robert Kitson
Shape of the game has tilted significantly since the latest law tweak that risks tactical monotony and a lack of charm
Steve Borthwick does not normally vent in public so when he does it means he is properly hacked off. “I don’t think any of us want rugby union to turn into Aussie rules,” muttered England’s head coach, not even bothering to downplay his distaste for the new refereeing crackdown on kick chase “escort” defenders that he fears will drag the sport down a path it regrets. “I am not sure everyone wants to watch more kicking and more scrums.”
Slightly ironic, perhaps, coming from a coach whose side barely played any expansive rugby for much of his first year in charge. On this occasion, though, Borthwick is absolutely within his rights. Inside the last fortnight the shape of the game has tilted significantly, with the odds now in favour of athletic kick chasers who have greater freedom than ever to make life a misery for full-backs underneath high balls.
Continue reading...Wallabies coach set to make surprise Suaalii call despite ‘sensational’ debut
Joseph Suaalii was Monday hailed as a “freak” by his Australian midfield partner Len Ikitau while head coach Joe Schmidt said the former NRL star’s debut was “confidence-boosting”.
A former Wallaby just became the most powerful man in world rugby. One person wasn’t happy
Australia’s Brett Robinson said it was a “proud moment” for him after he became the first chairman of World Rugby from the southern hemisphere on Thursday and vowed to unify all the different factions.
Rassie Erasmus expects aerial attack from Borthwick’s struggling England
- South Africa coach predicts hosts’ Steward selection
- Boks make 12 changes from team that defeated Scotland
Whatever else South Africa are expecting from England, it’s not a surprise. The Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus says they picked the team three weeks ago, during a training camp in Jersey. Nothing he’s seen in the way England played against New Zealand and Australia seems to have changed his mind. If anything, the two defeats only confirmed what he already suspected.
“You know, when you lose two games, even if it’s by a point or last-minute try, the pressure does start to build,” Erasmus said, “I’ve been there. I certainly know how quickly it can get to you. And when that happens you normally fall back on to what works for you.”
Continue reading...Gatland looking to ‘get across the line’ against Wallabies
Warren Gatland is not shying away from rugby being results-focused and is hoping this weekend’s Autumn Nations Series game against Australia can provide the opportunity to secure a victory. Wales and Australia will meet at Principality Stadium on Sunday 17 November, KO 4.10pm with Wales looking to reverse the two narrow defeats suffered against Joe […]
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Borthwick insists he can handle pressure after Erasmus raises the heat
- Boks coach suggests Borthwick is under the pump
- Steward returns as England make four changes
Steve Borthwick has insisted he is well equipped to block out the pressure of England’s current plight after Rassie Erasmus suggested he is under the pump and may feel like he “has a gun against his head”.
A number of ex-England stalwarts, including Clive Woodward and Will Carling, have taken aim at Borthwick after Saturday’s last-gasp defeat by Australia extended his side’s losing run to four. He retains the Rugby Football Union’s “100% support” but England could slip to eighth in the world rankings should they fail to arrest their losing streak against Erasmus’s Springboks on Saturday in the first meeting between the sides since last year’s ill-tempered World Cup semi-final.
Continue reading...Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning coaches named for Celtic Challenge
Former Wales internationals Catrina Nicholas-Mclaughlin and Ashley Beck have been confirmed as the head coaches for Gwalia Lightning and Brython Thunder for the new expanded Celtic Challenge tournament. Nicholas-McLaughlin, who was capped 60-times for Wales, will continue as Gwalia Lightning head coach, while Beck, who won seven Wales caps, is head coach of Brython Thunder. […]
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