Category: Rugby Union

Rugby Union News

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Wallabies power up for Sunday by recalling Skelton and Kerevi

Joe Schmidt has recalled two juggernauts among a package of six changes to his Australian side that beat England 42-37 at Twickenham last weekend ahead of Sunday’s Round 2 clash with Wales in the Autumn Nations Series. The giant La Rochelle lock Will Skelton returns to second row duty, while centre Sam Kerevi, one of […]

The post Wallabies power up for Sunday by recalling Skelton and Kerevi appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 […]

The post Wallabies searching for ‘repeatability’ appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

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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.

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