Author: Brent Craig

The most-anticipated test series of recent times has ended in controversy bordering on farce at a jam-packed Eden Park. Having awarded the All Blacks a match- and series-winning penalty in the 78th minute, and repeating the call after a TMO review, referee Romain Poite bizarrely overturned his own decision, apparently after his assistant Jerome Garces intervened. Embed from Getty Images TEAM NEWS The All Blacks made three personnel and a positional change from Wellington. Ngani Laumape started in place of the suspended Sonny Bill Williams with Malakai Fekitoa recalled to the 23. There was also a recall for Julian Savea…

The Africa Group got back underway this week after starting their June break a week earlier than the Australasian. The two Conference winners and wildcard qualifier have already been found, but each of them have an opportunity to improve their standing and possibly improve their quarter final draw. LIONS 94-7 SUNWOLVES The Lions have closed to within two points of the table-topping Crusaders with this crushing, 14-try romp in Johannesburg. Wing Ruan Combrinck scored a hat trick, and flankers Kwagga Smith and Jaco Kriel both scored doubles. The Lions have a bye this week before travelling to Durban for their…

A late Owen Farrell penalty saw the Lions home 24-21 to send the series to a decider in Auckland next week. The match will doubtless also be remembered for Sonny Bill Williams becoming just the third All Black to be sent off in a Test. TEAM NEWS The All Blacks were forced to make two changes from last week due to injury. Israel Dagg moved from wing to fullback in place of Ben Smith (concussion, his third for the year), and Anton Lienert-Brown starting at centre after coming on to replace Ryan Crotty (hamstring) in Auckland. Powerful midfielder Ngani Laumape…

In a quintessential game of two halves the Lions and Hurricanes have played out a thrilling 31-all draw in Wellington. TEAM NEWS The All Blacks released four players – Jordie Barrett, Julian Savea, Ngane Laumape, and Vaea Fifita – for this once-in-most-careers match. Cory Jane bucked that trend by becoming just the fourth player in the professional era to face two seperate Lions touring teams. There were also nine players from the disappointing Maori All Blacks side no doubt eager to make a better fist of their second Lions outing. Embed from Getty Images The Lions named much the same…

The All Blacks have gone one-nil up in the three-match series with a hard-fought but ultimately comfortable 30-15 victory at Eden Park. TEAM NEWS The All Blacks were bolstered by the return of captain Kieran Read (broken thumb), centre Ryan Crotty (ribs), and 5/8 Aaron Cruden (knee) from injury. The major selection surprise was the dumping of 53-Test wing Julian Savea for Akira Ioane, the latter’s superior ability under the high ball and on defence apparently getting him the nod for his first run-on appearance after two coming off the bench. The Lions sprung a major surprise of their own…

The Lions added some finesse to their power game, wing Jack Nowell bagging a pair of tries, in putting away a weakened Chiefs outfit 34-6 in Hamilton. TEAM NEWS The Chiefs were without their six All Blacks and four of their six Maori All Blacks, only hooker Hika Elliott and No. 8 Liam Messam backing up and then from the bench. 5/8 Stephen Donald captained the side in his 100th Chiefs appearance. Embed from Getty Images Gatland named all six of the players added to the squad on Sunday in his 23, lending weight to the theory that he’d already…

British & Irish Lions 32-10 Maori All Blacks The Lions have shown that their “A” team, playing their “A” game, are well capable of testing, if not necessarily besting, the All Blacks when the much-anticipated series gets underway next week, with a convincing win over the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua. The Maori began their night with an error, fullback James Lowe kicking out on the full to allow the Lions to string together 15 phases. The defence held but conceded a penalty that fullback Leigh Halfpenny nailed for the early lead. A second penalty soon followed. Maori winger Reiko…

NEW ZEALAND 78-0 SAMOA The All Blacks have warmed up for the impending British & Irish Lions series with a towelling of Samoa that sections of the British media were quick to label as “ominous”. PRE-MATCH NEWS With the exception of injured No.8 and captain Kieran Read, hooker Dane Coles, and centre Ryan Crotty, this was as strong a 23 as the All Blacks could have selected. The Barrett brothers (reserve lock Scott, 5/8 Beauden, and reserve back Jordie) made history by being the first set of three brothers named in the same All Black team, and fullback Ben Smith…

A late charge from the Highlanders saw them overhaul the Lions 23-22 under the roof in Dunedin on Tuesday night. PRE-MATCH NEWS The Lions again fielded a completely different starting XV than played in Christchurch, with tour skipper Sam Warburton getting another chance to prove his match fitness ahead of the Tests. Given how well Sean O’Brien played in Christchurch, he more than anyone needed to put in a big performance. The Highlanders had the services of three All Blacks squad members (wing Waisake Naholo, 5/8 Lima Sopoaga, and hooker Liam Coltman) released from their training camp. Other than those…

With Australia and South Africa having started their international seasons, and the Lions tour of New Zealand underway, there was just the one Super Rugby match this week. As with last week’s lone un-Australian match, though, it was a case of quality over quantity. Chiefs 17-7 Hurricanes With neither side able to secure a home quarter final, both were looking to improve their chances of only having to travel to Canberra rather than Cape Town. That’s not so much about preferring to play the Brumbies than the Stormers, as the improbability of winning in South Africa one week and back…

It was far from pretty but the Lions have ground out a 12-3 win over the Crusaders in Christchurch and will likely feel their tour is back on track, after threatening to derail with the midweek loss to The Blues and unconvincing win over the Provincial Barbarians. THE BUILDUP Lions coach Warren Gatland named his most experienced team yet, with nine of the starting XV having toured Australia in 2013. Welsh lock Alun Wyn-Jones became the third captain in as many matches and, true to Gatland’s word, all 41 Lions have now had at least one start. His Crusaders counterpart…

The Lions have gone down to the Blues 16-22 in an entertaining game that underlined just how tough this tour is going to be for them. THE PRE-MATCH After an underwhelming tour opener against the NZ Provincial Barbarians, the Lions arrived at Eden Park knowing they’d need to put up a considerably better performance to silence their many (& mostly British) critics. Lions coach Gatland changed his entire starting XV from Whangarei but had already said he’d give all 41 players a start in the first three games so speculation of early panic were a little wide of the mark.…

Only the one un-Australian Super Rugby match this week, but that means there’s time to look at where the Conferences are at going into the June break (albeit with one crucial kiwi derby to come next week). And with the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand underway, a brief look at their tour opener in Whangarei. Crusaders 25-22 Highlanders The Crusaders have assured themselves a top-two finish, clinching this Saturday afternoon thriller with an 82nd minute drop goal. They were into their work early, halfback Mitchell Drummond sniping from a ruck five metres out to score in just…

The British & Irish Lions have arrived in New Zealand intent on avenging a 3-0 drubbing on their last visit in 2005. Ireland’s historic victory in Chicago last year and England’s back-to-back Six Nations titles auger well, but how will they actually fare? A BRIEF HISTORY New Zealand is the Lions’ least-successful hunting ground. Ten previous tours (excluding the 1908 Anglo-Welsh) have resulted in just one Series win back in 1971. Overall they’ve won five and drawn three of the 35 matches played and gone win-less in four series. Lions fans will rightly be buoyed by Ireland, who famously beat…

After beating the Bulls in Johannesburg last week, the Hurricanes’ whistle-stop tour of the Southern Hemisphere takes them to Perth this week to face a Force outfit coming off an away win of their own against the Reds. The Big Picture The Force currently have 17 table points, 11 adrift of the Conference-topping Brumbies but only two off the second-placed Waratahs. It’s extremely unlikely they can win the Conference, but finishing second would be an admirable achievement considering the off-field dramas they’ve had to contend with these past two months or so. Similarly the Hurricanes on 45 probably cannot win…

The British & Irish Lions have arrived in New Zealand intent on avenging a 3-0 drubbing on their last visit in 2005. Who’s likely to be lining up in Black against them, and how will they fare in the tour matches? THE ALL BLACKS While Steve Hansen has yet to name his squad, incumbency and Super Rugby form suggest that, subject to fitness issues (see below), it could well look like this: Forwards: Dane Coles (Hurricanes), Codie Taylor (Crusaders), Nathan Harris (Chiefs); Owen Franks (Crusaders), Charlie Faumuina (Blues), Joe Moody (Crusaders), Wyatt Crockett (Crusaders), Ofa Tu’ungafasi (Blues); Brodie Retallick (Chiefs),…

The British & Irish Lions have arrived in New Zealand intent on avenging a 3-0 drubbing on their last visit in 2005. History and a tough itinerary suggest they’ve got their work cut out for them. A BRIEF HISTORY New Zealand hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Lions. Ten* previous visits since 1904 have yielded just five Test wins, two of them in 1971 which remains their only series victory (2-1 with the fourth Test drawn). By contrast the All Blacks have recorded three clean sweeps (4-0 in 1966 and 1983, and 3-0 in 2005), also winning the…

Plenty of un-Australian activity in the last full Round before the June International window plays havoc with the schedule. BLUES 16-16 CHIEFS A crucial match for both sides – the Blues desperate to keep their faint playoff hopes alive, the Chiefs seeking to improve their chances of avoiding a playoff in South Africa – ended in disappointment for both at Eden Park. The game kicked off in cool but clear conditions and initially there was plenty of ball-in-hand attacking intent shown, but then the rain came and as conditions deteriorated so too did the handling, and both teams adopted a…

Spectacular solo tries and a comeback of Lazarus proportion were just two of the highlights in Round 11. Here’s how it went down. Hurricanes 41-22 Stormers The Hurricanes needed a three-try blitz in the final 15 minutes to put away a Stormers side much improved on their last two efforts. Once again it was Beauden Barrett pulling the strings with four of the hosts seven tries coming from pinpoint-accurate kick-passes. The first found right wing Cory Jane running a sweet line against the grain, the second Julian Savea on the left flank who scored after some nice interplay with Jordie…

The Blues, buoyed by a rare away win last week, travel to Allianz Stadium on Saturday night (despite Football Federation Australia’s bizarre request that the match be transferred) to take on a Waratahs’ side that has yet to get out of second gear this season. The big picture It is almost certain that only the winner of the Australian Conference will qualify for the playoffs. The Waratahs have the same three-win/ six-loss record as current leaders the Brumbies, but trail 13-18 on the ladder. Since the Brumbies have the bye this week, now would be a good time to claw…