Friday’s Rugby News see’s Izzy taking the John Eales medal, squad announcements for the weekend, and Gunn looking up to George Smith.
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Izzy wins John Eales medal
It was Australian rugby’s night of nights, and with many players putting their hand up this year it was always going to be a tough choice to pick the John Eales medalist. In the end, it went to our leading try scorer: Israel Folau, for a record third time.
Izzy had to face off some stiff competition, including from Kurtley Beale, Bernard Foley and Michael Hooper, but it was clear that Izzy has done so much to earn it this year.
Hooper ended up taking home the fan’s choice Wallaby of the Year, Ned Hanigan was crowned the Rookie of the Year, and Amanaki Mafi was named as the Super Rugby Player of the Year.
For full details on the event and for other awards that our rugby guys and girls have picked up, check out the results here.
Izzy’s win coincided with a very touching letter written by Sekope Kepu for the RUPA website, who praised the fullback for his inspiration role as a professional player and friend.
“He’ll definitely go down in the history books as one of our greatest ever Wallabies. To transition to Rugby like he did, break all the records he has, and then win a third John Eales Medal shows just what type of athlete and person he is. He is so resilient and so driven. He is a special athlete and we are very blessed to have him,” Kepu wrote.
“Israel’s really relaxed outside of footy and he laughs a lot. He is definitely a really confident guy, but he can also be really shy at the same time. The Israel I know is always cracking jokes and doing silly handshakes, but he is also somebody who always has time for anyone and is always willing to say hi and have a chat, regardless of who you are. He has a way of making everybody feel comfortable, when a lot of the time people are initially shy and are overwhelmed to be near him.
“Speaking to kids after games, always pulling that big smile for photos, and chatting to people young and old regardless of the time and the situation; that’s Izzy. He always has time to sign a few autographs and to give back to all the fans. He is a really, really humble guy and all in all he is a guy who loves a good time and enjoys being himself around the boys.
“Now that we’re all getting a bit older it’s the circle of life, and Izzy and I are helping with some of the young Islander guys who are coming through. We had (Brumbies hooker) Folau Fainga’a come in to the Wallabies squad last week for the first time, and I look at him and see myself in 2008 on my first tour. That’s what team sports are all about, and I think you can see from some of our recent Wallaby performances that the bond and chemistry we have is rubbing off on the field as well.
“These friendships have definitely gone a long way in helping to keep Israel playing Rugby, and playing in Australia, although I’ve never been that worried about him returning to Rugby League. We have had a few discussions about it, and every time I see something pop up in the newspapers I have a chat with him and ask what’s going on, and how he’s feeling. I believe that he is really enjoying Rugby and the blessings that the game has given to him on and off the field, such as the travel and the relationships.
“He works so hard behind the scenes, and he is so diligent with his recovery. He has a massive sweet tooth, and the two of us love a red velvet cupcake together with our coffee, but he knows what he has to do afterwards to work it off. He does his work off the field and come game time you know he is switched on, every single time.
“I haven’t ever had to play against him, and I’m glad because I would hate to be caught out defending him in the corner if he was running at me. He is strong, fast and elusive, and he reads the game exceptionally well. He is also really encouraging and always tells me to back my instincts, and that’s pretty special, so I really enjoy his support.
“The rare game when he doesn’t score a try or make a few breaks, he gets so dirty on himself and he sets very high standards for himself. He is somebody who always rises to the occasion and the way he handles pressure, and the quiet confidence that he has, is unbelievable.”
For the full letter that Kepu wrote, have a nosey over to the RUPA website. It was a really wonderful tribute to all that Izzy has done for the game in this country, and I highly recommend you have a read of it.
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Squads out
It’s a fascinating Barbarians squad that will line up to play against the Wallabies this weekend, with several notable last minute call ups to the starting side.
The Brumbies‘ most -capped Super Rugby player Ben Alexander is a late call up, after Mike Alaalatoa was forced to drop out after not being cleared by the Crusaders. Canberra Vikings player Tom Banks will be a surprise inclusion at outside centre, while Quade Cooper will captain the side, with Matt Hodgson vice-captain.
Alan Jones has admitted that while the preparation wasn’t ideal following their match against the Classic Wallabies, he is still expecting the Baabaas to turn up and give one hundred percent. Much of the focus for Jones has been on mental preparation this week as much as anything.
“My focus was up here, I just sat them down and told them… they’re all highly intelligent people because they’ve got skill,” he said.
“So to talk to them as to how I expect them to play and how that will translate to the various units of the game.
“The scrum, the lineout and the counterattack and continuity
“Once they understand that it’s not all that difficult – we could have done with more time and there’s no way I could run the legs off them because we would have had nothing left on Saturday
“You adjust, that’s what a coach does and there are no excuses.”
Check out the Barbarians squad here, courtesy of Rugby.com.au.
Meanwhile, the Wallabies have rested a lot of players, but will still be expecting many of the younger players to put their hand up for this weekend’s clash.
The Wallabies have retained several stars though, but have shifted many players around in the squad, with Karmichael Hunt moving to fullback, and Izzy Folau moving to the wing for the first time in four years.
Nick Phipps will take the skipper role, Allan Alaalatoa taking on the vice captain role.
Other players, like Duncan Paia’aua and Billy Meakes, will also be lining up in the gold jersey. For Michael Cheika, this is Hunt’s time to really shine.
“This is a chance for him and he knows the sort of role he needs to play there” he said.
“It will be a little bit different to Israel’s role and there will be some different things he will do but all in all I think from June he merits the opportunity to have a first crack at it, even though it may not be in the position that he played in June.
“Billy [Meakes] has really been training hard and working hard in that spot and I think it is going to be good, an exciting back three and they’ve been enjoying themselves this week, working together for the first time in that capacity.
Check out the Wallabies squad here, and be sure to check out the match on Saturday arvo.
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Give us some lip!
Alan Jones took some time out during his Baabaas prep to talk about the state of Australian rugby, and he believes that there is something that Australian rugby can do: do an Alan Jones and talk themselves up.
Chatting to the Sydney Morning Herald, Jones admitted that he believes the Wallabies can win the World Cup, but is running the risk of losing players if it doesn’t improve it’s profile here in Australia.
“This is a very good Wallabies side at the moment and the success (against New Zealand) last week didn’t surprise me,” Jones said.
“But the thing that I’ve seen is there is very significant depth.”
“The playing strength of Australian rugby is in good shape.
“We want Australian rugby to be the strongest setup in the world and it can be.
“These kids are coming through, if we don’t talk the game up, they’ll go somewhere else and we want them here.
“We’ve just got to stop this leaking of talent.”
It was this talent that Jones has highlighted in his Baabaas squad, with a large amount of Aussie players lining up in the Black and White jersey.
“A lot of them are young, a lot of them are rejects. Not necessarily Michael’s rejects, they are just blokes that have had a go and have been passed aside,” Jones said.
“They’ve trained well and they’ve played well in the limited time we’ve had.
“We’ll be showcasing a lot of people here on Saturday that are perhaps second tier, but wanting to be first tier.”
Oh, and by the way, there is one other competition showing off the talent of Australian rugby…
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‘Gun’ing for Smith
Speaking of young guns full of potential, the final round of the NRC is on this weekend, and as mentioned yesterday, there are six teams that can still play in the finals.
It is interesting that the Barbarians test has seen many NRC stars be pulled away from their teams, which will may see a few upsets on the cards.
But while the competition is really heating up, the potential players being exposed has really been something that has been of constant praise in the NRC.
Michael Gunn is one such player who has had a good year in the competition, but a lot of that has come down to getting the chance to learn from one of the best forwards in the game, a certain George Smith.
“He does these little ‘masterclass’ sessions with us, where he shows us drills that he’s picked up over the years, just for five or ten minutes at the end of a session,” the Reds/Brisbane City flanker said of Smith to Rugby.com.au.
“And he’s just genuinely a good bloke, like you can talk to him about anything with him.
“I’ll talk about footy with him all the time, but then he also lives where I grew up in Brisbane, so we’ll talk about that. He’s just a really good bloke.
“He’s such a good resource for us at the Reds, but at the same time he welcomes our questions, he’s also really forward about it all and it shows in those masterclass sessions.
“There’s certain things that he’ll say around technique that just make a lot of sense, but it’s comforting when you sort of half know what you’ve done wrong and you ask him, and he confirms that, or reinforces what you were thinking.
“There’s been times around pilfering technique, where you know you could do better, and talking it all through with him just reinforces what you already know.”
Gunn has had an impressive season for City so far, having been able to get plenty of games under his belt in multiple levels of rugby.
“In the last half of last season, I sort of wasn’t able to string too many games together, having one foot in the Reds camp, and then I played seven games off the bench in the NRC, but I just hadn’t played enough footy to make an impact,” Gunn said of his 2016 season.
“This year I played 13 out of 16 games for Easts here in Brisbane, and I’ve played all but two half games in the NRC.
“I feel like I’m playing well. I’ve had a few discussions around that, but I think it’s a result of having played so much footy.
“At club level, I’ve just had that many minutes that it’s just coming naturally.”
City will be playing in a do-or-die match against NSW Country Eagles in Orange, with the prize effectively being fourth place in the competition.
“There’s no point over-complicating it in any competition – you just need to win,” Gunn said.
“The Eagles obviously play a lot of running footy, and they have done for a few years.
“But, honestly, we’re going to have to look at ourselves after the weekend, and the focus will have to be on how we play.
“There will be ways we can exploit them, but the focus will be on how we play, and I just reckon that’s a better mentality to have going into the weekend.”
After the Eagles-City match on Saturday, that will be closely following by the Fijian Drua playing the Rays in Suva, which will also be a do-or-die match for the Fijian side. They have also been severely weakened by many players going on international duties, so the Rays may pounce here.
The Greater Sydney Rams will play the last official rugby match of the calendar year in Sydney on Sunday when they take on the Canberra Vikings (who will be playing for first place), before the competition finishes off with a thriller in Ipswich, when Queensland Country play for the minor premiership and the Horan-Little Shield against the Perth Spirit.
I’ll be at the Rams-Vikings game at TG Milner on Sunday. I hope to meet plenty of GAGRs for a great day of rugby. It’s been a good year for this little comp, and I reckon this round will serve as an exciting finish to the regular season. Click here for more information.
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