Friday’s Rugby New sees a new Wallaby squad, the latest on the home front, Ireland being upset and the Kangaroos playing the All Blacks (Yep, that’s actually not a joke).
[one_half last=”no”]
Hodging your bets…
As the Wales match approaches, the Wallabies will be looking to build on the progress set during the Rugby Championship and the test in Japan. One part of that test, having Reece Hodge at flyhalf, could play dividends as Michael Cheika looks to increase the depth in the flyhalf position.
Hodge will be starting on the wing for the match against the Scarlets, but Mick Byrne admitted to rugby.com.au that no one is getting ahead of themselves, despite Hodge showing his talent as he steered the Wallaby attack to put sixty points past the Brave Blossoms.
“He’s played fullback, in the centres, on the wing, 10, he does them all really well,” he said.
“He’s a good young player I’d hate to put his best position on his head now.”
Byrne also had plenty of praise for Samu Kerevi, who played his best game in years in Yokohama.
“There have been a lot of those guys that have gone through schoolboy or junior rugby with one strength that has got them through,” he said.
“The guys that go on and make it are the ones that have worked at extra parts of their game. I know Samu has done that extremely well.
“From day one he has taken to working on all aspects of his game and the extra work he’s doing is credit to that it is all coming together for him.
“I think it’s exciting to see a player that can go to the line hard and pass or go to the line hard and kick or go to the line hard and run.
“Suddenly they are a triple threat and it can add to the running game or improve it more.”
It is already shaping up to be a more spiteful encounter compared to previous years, especially as it was revealed that England and Wales have been training together ahead of the tour matches.
“Their forwards had a decent session against England I hear,” Byrne said.
“They’ve had a hit out and coming off a Lions series.
“It’s competitive, physical rugby up here and they’ll be well and truly ready to play.”
Heres the Wallaby squad for the match against Wales:
1. Scott Sio
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau
3. Sekope Kepu
4. Rob Simmons
5. Adam Coleman
6. Ned Hanigan
7. Michael Hooper (c)
8. Sean McMahon
9. Will Genia (vc)
10. Bernard Foley (vc)
11. Reece Hodge
12. Samu Kerevi
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Marika Koroibete
15. Kurtley Beale
Reserves
16. Stephen Moore
17. Tom Robertson
18. Allan Alaalatoa
19. Matt Philip
20. Ben McCalman
21. Nick Phipps
22. Karmichael Hunt
23. Henry Speight
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]
On the home front…
It was a busy rugby news day back here in Australia.
Starting in Canberra, the Vikings are determined as all hell to make the NRC grand final on Saturday the best one so far in the competitions history. They have announced that entry to the game will be free, and the Vikings will also be sporting their Kookaburras heritage jersey.
The Vikings started their season with two home wins against Queensland Country and Perth Spirit, and it seems ironic that they finish in the same fashion. With the second Perth victory under their belt, the hosts will have a tough task ahead of them, taking on a dangerous Country side.
“I thought we showed a lot of composure against quality opposition in Queensland Country and Perth, to come from behind to win those [early] games,” coach Tim Sampson said to rugby.com.au.
“I know the players were really pleased with those two games, it’s always a good feeling when you come from behind to win.”
Coming into the match against Perth, Sampson knew that (at the time) no one had defeated the Spirit in an NRC semi-final.
“We discussed through the week that Perth is a team that goes 80-85 minutes, and you have to go deep into the second half to beat them.
“It turned out to be everything we expected, the physicality and the tight contest, and it was great that we held on like we did.
“We call our defence zone our ‘blood zone’, where we give everything for each other to prevent the opposition from getting over the try line, and thankfully the strength of ours all tournament was evident there again late in that second half.”
As the Country final approaches, Sampson admitted that while the club was lucky to have had many players from the Brumbies system, he was most impressed with the club players from the John I Dent Cup.
“When we select the squad, these guys are there for a reason and we knew that they could adapt and transition into the NRC, and they have done exactly that,” Sampson said.
“Blokes like Ryan Lonergan, Darcy Swain, Len Ikitau, and Rob Valetini, who all played Brumbies Under-20s this year, it bodes well for the future of Brumbies Rugby. That’s what this tournament is what it is all about.
“Then there are club players like Harry Lloyd from Wests, and Ben Johnston and Pedro Rolando (both from ACT premiers, Royals) who were rewarded for outstanding club seasons.
“It is important to get that mix right in your squad, and we saw an opportunity to reward club players for a very good season, and to get these younger players into the squad to test themselves at NRC level.
“As soon as that [round nine] result came through while we were on the bus coming back from Sydney, I think the blokes just sat back and realised that ‘gee whiz, we could potentially play a NRC grand final in Canberra’ and that would be great for ACT rugby and the clubs down here to have such an event on our doorstep.
“It’s just reward for a lot of hard work from a lot of people.”
The other big news on the home front has come out of RugbyWA. With the IPRC apparently slated to begin in 2019, RugbyWA has set their sights on having the club in good shape come 2021, should a chance to enter Super Rugby again eventuate. A letter from the West Australian governing body detailed many of their plans ahead for the next few years, and didn’t pull any punches:
“The overarching plan of RugbyWA is a simple one and we hope that it’s a plan that you will all get behind,” the letter reads.
“Put the fight with Rugby Australia behind us either way.
“Shore up the business model to ensure – we retain our High-Performance Facility for Pathway and Professional development, we maintain and develop the Future Force Academy, we retain the support of the Government through what will be rocky financial times, we continue to strengthen the bonds we forged through the recent turmoil between Community, Club, Schools and the Professional elements, we increase community engagement in developing the future of our Game in WA and we build a sustainable financial model.”
“Discussions on the “NEXT” Super Rugby tournament will commence in less than 18 months,” the letter later added.
“Competition of some form will commence in 2021 and there is broad speculation as to what form it will take.
“For now, we need to right the ship and then build our financial strength so that when opportunity knocks to re-enter the “NEXT” phase we are first in line with a healthy balance sheet, a sustainable financial model and a robust pathway program.”
The letter also detailed ways fans can get involved with future programs, and also highlighted that details for the IPRC are set to be finalised within the next fortnight. However, it also warned that the process “may not end positively for either party and may require us to take certain further steps to protect our position.”
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”no”]
Green with fury
Hell hath no fury like a pissed off Irish board complaining about the fact that their bid was brushed off by World Rugby.
Following the news last week that the Rugby World Cup Board recommended that the World Rugby Council award the tournament to South Africa, Ireland complained of an unfair selection process in a letter to the global governing body.
In the process, Ireland was given a 72.25, the lowest of the three bids, with France picking up a 75.88 and South Africa picking up a 78.97. I have no idea what those numbers mean, but you get the idea.
Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) chief executive Philip Browne decided to write to World Rugby a list of lengthy complaints about the process, particularly in regards to why South Africa was deemed more appropriate compared to Ireland.
“There are very clear examples in recent times of starkly empty stadia in South Africa for significant fixtures,” Browne said in his letter, as seen on Fox Sports.
“The evaluation report does not appear to address this in any meaningful way.
“Was an independently recognised, world-class security organisation used to review the underlying security situation within each bidding country … if not, why not?
“In our opinion, Ireland’s scoring has suffered unreasonably, relative to the scoring for other bidders.”
World Rugby however defended their brand-spanking new selection process, and promised to respond to Ireland directly.
“We stand by the report, which is objective, robust and independently audited,” a WR spokesperson said.
“Each of the unions, including the candidate unions, were across the process from the very start and agreed to every aspect of it.”
The final decision regarding the World Cup will be made on November 15 in London.
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]
Ewww…. rugby league
But in all seriousness, there’s a weird plan afoot to create some sort of hybrid rugby, like a clash between league and union. And if you think that sounds batshit crazy, it could lead to the Kangaroos playing the All Blacks. How much could they earn from it? I dunno. $50 million? Yep, apparently.
Plans are underway for such a game to occur. In Tokyo. In 2019, just after the completion of the Rugby World Cup.
According to Fox Sports, Hybrid Rugby is the group pushing for the rugby supergame and chairman Phil Franks has already contacted New Zealand Rugby Union and the Australian Rugby League to propose his idea.
Surprisingly, the All Blacks were first to respond, and seemed keen on the idea.
“I had a formal discussion with the New Zealand Rugby Union and they were really interested,” Franks said.
“They stipulated they wanted to see an elite-class game.
“We are absolutely confident we can put it together. This game will be worth $50m. It will be just as big as the final of the World Cup.
“My view is that the teams will share the revenue. They will be getting the lion’s share of the money.”
Conversations have also been held with ARL boss Todd Greenberg, though exactly what occurred in those conversations is still unknown.
I’m curious to hear what all you GAGRs think about this one. To me, it’s a weird concept. Add onto that, if I was Rugby Australia and I found out my biggest rival code was having a match against your most intense rugby rival, I might be a little pissed about this whole arrangement.
[/one_half]
