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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‘Salads don’t win scrums’: Ox Nché is icing on Springboks’ front-row cake
A World Cup winner in 2023, the loosehead is part of South Africa’s feared ‘Bomb Squad’ and a hero in his home country
Ox Nché is far from the finished article. By his own admission, the Springboks prop has just about mastered the basics. He’s not bad at the flourishing touches but there is a long way to go in his development.In short, he is a work in progress. “I’m learning, actually. I can do just one layer so far,” he admits. “And obviously the icing.”
Nché is, of course, talking about making cakes. The 17-stone loosehead is obsessed with them. His favourite is chocolate caramel, his mantra is that “salads don’t win scrums” and asked the secret to his set-piece prowess he bursts into a bout of his gentle, infectious laughter before shooting back “cake!”.
Continue reading...‘I couldn’t be bullied’: Danny Cipriani joins criticism of Eddie Jones’s style
- Cipriani feels he was dropped for standing up to coach
- Former fly-half returns for cross-code MND charity match
Danny Cipriani has become the latest former England star to weigh in with criticism of Eddie Jones, insisting he felt the Australian refused to select him at Test level because he “couldn’t be bullied” by Jones.
Cipriani will return to a rugby field this weekend when he takes part in the inaugural 745 Game, a cross-code hybrid match featuring some of rugby union’s and league’s biggest names to raise money for those living with motor neurone disease. The event, which will be held at Headingley, was devised by Rob Burrow and Ed Slater before Burrow died earlier this year.
Continue reading...England will not ‘shut up shop’ against South Africa, insists Henry Slade
- Slade says squad won’t change mindset on Saturday
- England have slipped to seventh in world rankings
England are looking to banish their autumn frustrations at South Africa’s expense this Saturday and have vowed “not to shut up shop” against the reigning world champions. Successive defeats by New Zealand and Australia have dropped Steve Borthwick’s side to seventh in the world rankings but the players insist they can confound expectations and turn their month around.
Rather than ditching the high-risk defensive system that has so far conceded eight tries in two games this month, England intend to double down and be even more aggressive with and without the ball in their first rematch against the Springboks since last year’s agonising World Cup semi-final defeat.
Continue reading...Warren Gatland ‘didn’t think there would be so much pain’ in Wales reboot
- Head coach hoping for a win after run 10 straight defeats
- ‘I have tried to not shy away from criticism’
Warren Gatland says he would probably head to the beach with a glass of wine “away from some of the pressure” if it was decided he should not continue in his role as Wales head coach.
Wales have lost their last 10 Test matches and are without a Test win since the 2023 World Cup. Defeat against in-form Autumn Nations Series opponents Australia on Sunday would inflict a record run of bad results on them, eclipsing the current sequence and that of 2002 and 2003 under Gatland’s fellow New Zealander Steve Hansen.
Continue reading...Wales announce team for Australia match
Senior men’s head coach Warren Gatland has named the Wales team to face Australia in the second match of the 2024 Autumn Nations Series at Principality Stadium on Sunday 17 November (KO 16.10h GMT, live on TNT Sports and S4C). There are four changes to the starting XV from last weekend’s match against Fiji. James […]
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Injured Dylan Pietsch returns to Australia from Wallabies’ grand slam tour
- Winger forced to leave camp after picking up calf injury
- Josh Flook called up as replacement ahead of Wales game
The Wallabies must make at least two enforced team changes after winger Dylan Pietsch was forced out of the grand slam spring tour of Europe with a calf injury.
Pietsch is on his way back home to Australia after hurting himself in the Wallabies’ 42-37 tour-opening triumph over England at Twickenham on Sunday morning.
Continue reading...‘We don’t have any contact’: England will not benefit from Jones’ Springboks links
- Former defence coach still employed remotely by RFU
- Richard Wigglesworth and players have not been in touch
England will not be benefiting from the insider knowledge of their former Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones this weekend after it emerged that neither their players nor key staff members have been in contact with the Irishman, still supposedly employed remotely by the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
England’s senior assistant coach, Richard Wigglesworth said he had not spoken to Jones and the players also say they have received no input from him before Saturday’s big game against South Africa. Jones handed in his resignation as defence coach after the summer tour to Japan and New Zealand but has not yet been formally released from his RFU contract.
Continue reading...Squad update
Cardiff Rugby outside back Mason Grady has been released from the Wales senior men’s squad. This is following an ankle injury sustained in Sunday’s match against Fiji which requires surgery.
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Rassie Erasmus calls on doctor to deliver his message: the Boks are ready
Despite having one day less than England to prepare, South Africa hope Bomb Squad can give impression of strength
When Rassie Erasmus does something out of the ordinary it is usually for a reason, so his surprising decision to put the team doctor up to face the press on Tuesday was no doubt a calculated move. The message was clear, and has been since full-time against Scotland: the Springboks are fresh. And they evidently want everyone to know it.
Equally, you suspect they are not very happy about having a six-day turnaround before facing England. New Zealand made light work of theirs last week but as the all-conquering back-to-back world champions, perhaps it is necessary to engineer perceived slights against yourselves.
Continue reading...NRL return off table as unwanted former Storm star set to trade Reds for French rugby
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.