Mondays Rugby News sees Kafer’s view on Folau, Wild Brumbies, Rebels looking for the edge and, Blitzbok blitz Fiji.
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Kafer Savages Folau!
Rod Kafer has gone hard at Folau over on Foxsport. Christy Doran’s article headlined
Wallabies stronger on the field without Israel Folau on field says Rod Kafer
Tells it how it is.
While praising the dual international’s athletic brilliance and unique skill set, Kafer said that at international rugby Folau had been found wanting at times and that the Wallabies’ balance had been compromised by playing him at fullback.
“If we just take the Wallabies view, we’ve struggled to find actually Israel’s best position for the Wallabies,” Kafer told Fox Sports.
“He is a player that brings some real unique characteristics.
“But … in international rugby I don’t think he’s been an outstanding player and I think we compensate around him, we have to pick different players in different positions.
“I think the game has in some ways moved on.”
Kafer also questioned Folau’s work ethic and alluded to him being a selfish player.
“This is a guy that has got unbelievable skills, but I don’t necessarily see him as a great team player,” Kafer said.
“His work ethic’s not great, he doesn’t work that hard off the ball (and) defensively there are issues.
“I’m not a massive fan.”
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Wild Brumbies
In the absence of a Waratahs game, the SMH’s Eamonn Tiernan has gone all gooey for the Brumbies win against the Lions. And didn’t they need a win! The Brumbies have been teetering on the edge of a big cull but this will keep things chugging along for a few weeks at least.
A few quotes from the article:
The Lions featured in the past three Super Rugby deciders, but it was the Brumbies who looked like title contenders after taking their chances in the eight-try contest.
The Brumbies’ third win from eight games keeps them within touching distance in the Australian conference, but still seven points behind the leading Melbourne Rebels.
Wallabies star David Pocock was a late scratching, but the ACT men muscled up without him against a physical Lions forward pack in front of 7541 fans.
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Rebels soft?
The Rebels got dusted by the Stormers Friday night but, Billy Meakes thinks they dropped the ball physically and have to find their edge before this weekends game against those dastardly Waratahs.
“It was a little bit embarrassing to be honest,” Meakes said.
“We pride ourselves on our physicality and that was the biggest area we fell short.
Meakes said his side didn’t meet their own standards for physicality and responding to the relentless aggression from the Stormers.
“It’s more of a lesson for us,” Meakes said.
“You can’t expect to rock up to any game in Super Rugby and get a win. It’s an extremely hard competition and we just didn’t prepare as well as we did in the past, and on the back of that we got touched up.
The Waratahs are expected to be without fullback Israel Folau but does that make them stronger or weaker?
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BlitzBoks Produce Stunning Comeback
The BlitzBoks produced a stunning second-half comeback to beat Fiji 20-19 in the Cup Final of the Singapore Sevens on Sunday.
The BlitzBoks, who have only won two of their 30 World Rugby Sevens Series Cup titles in Asia, scored 20 unanswered points in the second half after being 0-19 down at half-time.
The Cup final, from the start to the finish, was an exceptional contest and one of the most gripping this world series. Fiji flew in the opening seven minutes, looking unstoppable, as Aminiasi Tuimaba, Napolioni Bolaca and Vilimoni Botitu made their intensity count on the scoreboard.
With a 19-0 cushion, it looked as if they would retain the title that they won 12 months ago, something no side has ever been able to do, but South Africa had other ideas.
Youngster Kurt-Lee Arendse commenced their fightback, the Player of the Final Angelo Davids followed alongside Ryan Oosthuizen one minute later. In the final seconds, South Africa remained two points down before Selvyn Davids connected with a late penalty and they held Fiji out to complete the job.
The result means that South Africa remain in fourth place in the world series standings with 121 points but open up a 14-point cushion over fifth-placed England (107 points). Fiji, now on 142 points, cut the USA’s lead at the top of the standings to just three points with New Zealand sitting in third (130 points).
With the complexion of the world series standings going into the tournament, the USA, Fiji and New Zealand all had the potential to secure qualification for Tokyo 2020. However with the twists and turns of the two days, none were able to achieve the world series points required to do so and the race for early Olympic Games qualification continues.
The next stop on the World Rugby Sevens Series will be London on 25-26 May before the series reaches its conclusion in Paris, the weekend after.
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