Good morning G&GRs, a fantastic week of rugby just gone with great wins for the Wallabies and ABs and with both the Wallaroos and Black Ferns getting to the quarter finals of RWC2025. Let’s hope the good fortune continues. Both the Argies and Boks will be hurt after those results, and will be plotting a backlash against the result so this week the games will be even harder. The Rugby Championship is certainly producing some great games and I’m personally looking forward to sharing the joy with my fellow Australians for 1 more week. After that, sorry, but I’ll then be 100% behind the ABs.
Wallabies playmaker gets concussion test green light
Reported here by Melissa Woods in rugby.com.au the Wallabies have received a big boost ahead of their Rugby Championship rematch against Argentina in Sydney with flyhalf Tom Lynagh cleared of concussion. Lynagh left the field in the second half with hamstring tightness and also underwent a head injury assessment (HIA) with coach Joe Schmidt saying post-match he had failed and would not be available for this Saturday afternoon’s second Test against Argentina.
The 22-year-old Reds #10 had already suffered three concussions this year through Test matches and Super Rugby Pacific. However, the Wallabies later issued a statement that Lynagh had passed a HIA2 test and would undergo further evaluation. This was updated on Monday morning with the 22-year-old also passing a HIA3 test with both “presenting as normal”. “At no point did he ever have concussion symptoms despite the result of the HIA1 being off his baseline – which could have been due to other factors at the time,” the Wallabies posted on social media. “Tom is therefore cleared of concussion and is continuing to be monitored for the tight hamstring that forced him from the field on Saturday.”
The Wallabies’ playmaking stocks are dwindling with Noah Lolesio (neck) a long-term absentee while Ben Donaldson has been battling an adductor injury. O’Connor will remain with the squad for Saturday’s Test at Allianz Stadium but could then be forced to depart for club duties after signing with Leicester in England.
This is great news and maybe a problem with the technology in the mouthguards being overly sensitive. I still think he needs to look at his tackling technique and perhaps be more passive in how he brings players down. He’s never going to dominate in a tackle and so needs to learn how to tackle without making a hit. He also needs better protection from his forwards, and I hope the team is looking at that. If your #10 needs to constantly tackle ball carriers your loosies are not doing their job well.
Canada crunch time as Wallaroos find first half positives in tough England loss
Reported here by Nathan W, Wallaroos, coach Jo Yapp is confident a complete performance can push Canada all the way in next week’s quarter final in Bristol on Sunday. The Australians went down 47-7 to the Red Roses overnight, but it was a strong 30 minutes that had Yapp hopeful and left the sell-out 30,443 crowd in Brighton on edge. Adiana Talakai’s opening try of the game gave them a lead they would control for the majority of the first half as their defensive pressure frustrated the English.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t sustain the intensity and England managed to score seven unanswered tries and close the game out. “The positive thing is we created opportunities, we got field position and then we couldn’t execute,” Yapp told the media post-match. The Wallaroos did enough to secure their place in the quarter finals against Canada despite the USA’s 60-0 win over Samoa, with the Australians enjoying a sizeable points difference buffer to the Americans. It sets up a contest with another Pacific Four rival in Canada, who blew the Wallaroos off the park in Brisbane 45-7.
Captain Siokapesi Palu was confident the team had made great enough strides to take the challenge to Canada after they polished off Scotland to claim top of Pool B. “We came here with a goal to reach the quarter finals,” Palu explained. “We went into the game knowing Samoa did a great job to hold out against USA. We are really happy with the performance – especially in that first half, we really gave it to them – and we’re just going to stick with those positives.” Yapp also mentioned that they played the Canadians a couple of times in Pac Four so know what to expect. “We’ll preview them this week and we’ll focus on ourselves,” Yapp added.
This is shaping up to be a good game. While the Canadians did beat them last time they played the Wallaroos have improved a lot and aren’t the same team that played that last match. Not only have the improved their skills, they have also improved their belief and while I think it will take a huge effort, if they maintain the intensity for the whole match that they demonstrated against the Black Ferns and England in the first half of those games I think they should do very well.
Rugby Championship Team of the Week: ‘rugby genius’ hailed as All Blacks, Wallabies and Los Pumas dominate selection
Selected here by Planet rugby the TotW for the Rugby Championship is:
15 Andrew Kellaway (Australia): Once again put in a fantastic shift for the Wallabies, recording the most metres run in gold with 96. Juan Cruz Mallia gave everything in defeat as he also demonstrated his skills in the interplay for Argentina‘s second try.
14 Will Jordan (New Zealand): Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile. Deadly, intelligent and superb. They swapped him to the wing when the All Blacks rejigged and played magnificently. Bautista Delguy once again impressed with his finishing under pressure for Argentina.
13 Joseph Suaalii (Australia): A double try hero – scoring them when it matters, his impact for Australia becomes more and more compelling with every game. Jesse Kriel was one of the Springboks‘ better performers, while Lucio Cinti put in another good shift for Argentina.
12 Santiago Chocobares (Argentina): Delivered the play of the weekend with his individual break and had a massive game everywhere. Fast becoming one of the best #12s in the world, despite the work of the man in direct opposition, the tireless Wallaby, Len Ikitau, who almost grabbed the shirt.
11 Mateo Carreras (Argentina): Finished brilliantly in Townsville down the flank and deserves his place, topping the Argentinian metres made in the match. A shout out to Rieko Ioane – he didn’t carry much but he saved a certain try on the line with a brilliant hold up.
10 Beauden Barrett (New Zealand): We’re still not sure if he played predominantly at #10 or #15 once Emoni Narawa went off, but wherever he plays, he’s a rugby genius. James O’Connor was outstanding off the bench for Australia, really igniting their comeback and is our runner-up.
9 Finlay Christie (New Zealand): We could have selected any of four or five outstanding #9s, but given the pressure Christie was under, his performance was a key part of the All Black win. Australia got a huge shift from their pairing, Nic White and Tate McDermott, while here at PR Towers we’re still wondering why Los Pumas yanked Gonzalo Garcia off with 30 to go.
8 Harry Wilson (Australia): The heartbeat of the Wallabies, and a man that led brilliantly – keeping cool to go for the try and win in the dying moments. It took a big performance to keep the brilliant Wallace Sititi out, but Wilson was outstanding.
7 Ardie Savea (New Zealand): A day to remember: 100 Tests, an incredible personal performance and a win. He’s our player of the round, with a nod to Fraser McReight, who delivered another corker of a jackaling and carrying shift.
6 Marcos Kremer (Argentina): Los Pumas play their flanks left and right, not open and blind, and we couldn’t ignore the performance of one of the biggest humans in the sport. Massive in every aspect and takes the selection over another behemoth flank, Pieter-Steph du Toit, one of the better Boks.
5 Tupou Vaa’i (New Zealand): He feasted on the wayward throwing of South Africa and demonstrated that he’s a much better lock than he is a flanker. Our runner-up is the fast improving Pedro Rubiolo of Argentina, a man really starting to impact Test rugby.
4 Nick Frost (Australia): Arguably the best poacher in the world right now and a brilliant defender of rolling mauls. It takes some performance to keep out the great Eben Etzebeth, but Frost is a worthy selection.
3 Wilco Louw (South Africa): A lonesome Springbok but he had a massive impact and almost catalysed an unlikely comeback. Argentina’s Joel Scalvi carries like a tank but might just be short of the very best scrummagers from his nation.
2 Julian Montoya (Argentina): Probably the best hooker in the world at the time of writing and once again, he was deadly accurate in his set-piece and a menace around the park. Samisoni Taukei’aho once again added huge impact off the bench for the All Blacks, as did Jan-Hendrik Wessels for the Springboks.
1 Angus Bell (Australia): A hotly debated selection at PR, given Ox Nche also put in a great day at the office; but Bell’s carrying was a key part of the Wallaby comeback – and we can’t quite work out why he’s not started every week.
I love these posts because no matter who’s picked in whatever position there’s always debate about whether or not the author is correct. We all have our biases and at times we can’t see past this to agree with what has been picked. I’m a bit like this but to be fair, most of them have as much going for them as who I think and it is after all only opinion.
‘Massive loss’: Wallabies hope to twist ex-detective’s arm
Written here by Sam Worthington, RA are desperate to keep Mike Cron on with the Wallabies. “It’s probably why I’m still married,” Mike Cron quipped when it was pointed out that 250 Tests equalled 250 weeks away from home. The Kiwi detective turned scrum guru will reach that astonishing milestone on Saturday when he pulls on the Australia tracksuit against Argentina in Sydney. He said that number was 250 tier one men’s internationals and didn’t include his work for New Zealand’s women’s team.
Like his current boss, Joe Schmidt, he just can’t quit his rugby addiction. “If you see me hanging around after that (2019 Rugby World Cup), put a pillow over my head and get rid of me,” Cron said while with the All Blacks in 2017. Whether or not Cron sticks around under coach-in-waiting Les Kiss next year, or through to the 2027 World Cup in Australia, remains to be seen. But for now, the big boppers in the Wallabies pack are intent on soaking up every last drop of wisdom while they can. Australia’s scrum has improved sharply under his keen watch. “The experience he brings, the players he’s coached, most have been world class, so he’s exceptional,” Angus Bell, who scored Australia’s match-winning try in Townsville, told reporters on Monday. “And it’s been really good for me, and a lot of the younger boys. You see Billy Pollard now, really nailing down his set-piece, he’s been awesome for us over the past two months. Cronno will be a massive loss if he pulls stumps.”
Cron is old school in his personality and work ethic but has left no stone unturned over the years in a bid to stay relevant and fresh. He has travelled to Japan to study sumo wrestling and swapped notes in the United States with New York’s Yankees (baseball), Knicks (basketball) and Giants (NFL) – as well as ice hockey’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Cron has studied the lifting techniques of The Royal New Zealand Ballet and the dark arts of cage fighters on the Gold Coast. “Every year you have to be better than last year otherwise you shouldn’t be here,” he said in 2022. “I see my role as having two main functions. There’s hands on coaching, reviewing games, analysing coaching style and providing feedback in those areas. Then there’s the mentoring side, where I look to help grow and develop these guys. I really enjoy using different sporting examples as another way of getting a message across.” Carrying on he offered other words of wisdom. “Naturally when you combine rugby with ballet or cage fighting it grabs people’s attention and keeps them engaged.” further saying “I always look at training a rugby player like training a race horse, you can’t flatten them, you give them one short sharp gallop during the week and then put them out on Saturday, keep them fresh in the mind.”
Bell was one of many devastated Wallabies who have scar tissue from the 2023 World Cup wreckage. He says this is the best Wallabies environment he has been part of. The players have clarity and confidence under Schmidt and Cron. “Joe’s very black and white, that’s the best thing about it,” Bell said. “He tells you when you need to get better at a certain aspect of the game, and then he’ll give you a pat on the back when he thinks you’re going well, which is awesome and it’s great for our young group.” adding “Cronno’s very charismatic, but also he does call a spade a spade too”.
There’s a lot to like about the way this coaching group have moved the Wallabies forward and while I also think Dave Rennie was on the right path until he got shafted by RA, I think maybe Joe and his team have just got a better process. It’ll be very interesting to see what happens when they’re gone.
