Friday’s Rugby News sees Beale out of the Brisbane Tens, De Villiers heading to Zimbabwe, Dingo Deans having his two cents worth, and the latest Six Nations goss.
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Beale Out
On the eve of the Brisbane Tens, it’s been announced that Kurtley Beale has had to withdraw from the competition due to an elbow injury.
The loss is a big one for the Tahs, who will fall back on the experience of Damien Fitzpartick to lead them into the competition.
It’s also frustrating for the competition’s organisers. Beale was one of the major poster boys for the event. However, Beale will still make the trip up to Brisbane and will serve a promotional role for the competition.
However, Beale admitted that he was gutted not to be able to take the field when he spoke to rugby.com.au.
“I’ve been looking to this tournament from the moment I re-signed with the Waratahs,” Beale said.
“It was going to be a real highlight of the season, so I’m bitterly disappointed to miss out.”
Players from other teams such as Samu Kerevi and Pau‘s wildcard Carl Hayman sent their best wishes to Beale, admitting it was a shame that he has been sidelined due to injury.
“It’s important – people want to see stars playing and it’s a shame that he’s not going to be there,” Hayman said.
“The details around that I don’t really want to comment on but he’s a guy that has been around and played at an international level for a good amount of time.
“He brings a bit of wow factor so it’s obviously a shame that he’s not going to be there.”
“Kurtley is an exceptional player,” Kerevi added.
“Especially playing with him on the Spring Tour for the first time for myself playing alongside him – he has an exceptional brain and the way he looks at footy.”
The Brisbane Tens kicks off this afternoon in Brisbane.
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De Villiers to coach Zimbabwe
Amid all the chaos going on in South Africa, you would’ve thought they might of turned to a former coach to help them to the next World Cup. Well, it ain’t the case for Peter de Villiers, who has been announced as the new coach of the Zimbabwe team.
Zimbabwe were the first African team to play in the World Cup, with the Boks isolated from international sport because of apartheid. However, they haven’t made the World Cup since 1991, which makes de Villiers appointment such an important one for the code.
“This is the greatest day of my life for one reason only, because people believe in me,” de Villiers said in Zimbabwe.
The appointment of De Villiers is done with one simple aim: to get Zimbabwe back to the World Cup. Zimbabwe Rugby Union president Aaron Jani described the move as a ‘statement of intent.’ Zimbabwe must finish in the top two in the Africa Cup competition later this year to have a chance to qualify, so they will have an uphill battle on their hands to get there.
“No one will ever wave the magic wand for us to become a force in world rugby,” Jani said.
“It is up to us as a team and as country to start believing in ourselves.”
“I can’t promise we will win everything,” de Villiers added.
“The only promise is that we will prepare, not only prepare, but we will be ready.”
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Dingo Deans weighs in…
Former Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has been saying plenty in the media the last new days, now that the Panasonic Wild Knights have touched down in Brisbane.
Following admitting that he feels that RA have to re-engage with the grassroots and clubland if the code is to survive, he has now gone on to add that it will also come down to players putting their hands up to represent the code. In his mind, there is one player who will make the biggest impact of all: David Pocock.
“I think you’ll be very excited the way Pocock comes back,” he told the AAP.
“I think he’s going to be a key figure in Australian rugby over the next couple of years.”
While many have questioned Pocock’s decision to have a sabbatical, Deans believes that it will prove beneficial, both for Pocock and Australian rugby in the long run.
“I think you’ll see a formidable Brumbies team [this year],” he added.
“They’ve got some ingredients there that will be powerful — Christian (Lealiifano) returning, the group’s ready, they’re hungry, new coach, David’s coming back to make his sabbatical work.
“You’ll always get difference of opinion on what’s best but the bloke that knows best is the individual himself.
“He’s chosen his path and he’s not accustomed to failure. He’ll want to make it work and I have no doubt he will.”
However, Aussie Bob warned that there was a lot of work to be done, as a lot of damage has been done in terms of relations between those who run the game and the grassroots. But, he was happy to see the huge resurgence in club rugby that is going on at the moment.
“It’s really important that southern hemisphere rugby remains competitive, and don’t underestimate that,” he warned.
“A lot of people will sit there and say ‘Don’t be ridiculous, we’re always in the top three’.”
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Six Nations Preview
While the Brisbane Tens will be kicking on down here, up in the Northern Hemisphere, round two of the Six Nations is set to be a doozy.
The first match will see us head to Dublin, where Ireland will be looking to go for their ninth win in a row when they take on Italy. Ireland look set to make a few changes, including potentially handing Jordan Larmour his debut cap.
Italy’s squad is still to be confirmed. But it is looking to be an uphill battle for the visitors. The last time the Azzuri were in Dublin, they lost by 53 points, and they haven’t beaten Ireland in five years.
Secondly, we head to Twickenham for one of the most important matches of the season, when England hosts Wales. Both teams had big wins the previous week, with England easily accounting for Italy and Wales catching Scotland by surprise with a big win.
Warren Gatland has named an unchanged side to face their oldest rivals, and will be looking to snap a three game losing streak that stretches back to the World Cup. Eddie Jones meanwhile has made two changes, with Danny Care and Jonathan Joseph returning to the stating lineup. This match will see Care become England’s most capped scrumhalf with his 78th appearance.
Finally, we head north to Murrayfield to see Scotland go up against France in a match that will most likely decide their Six Nations season. Scotland have proven a tough nut to crack at home the last few years, with only New Zealand coming away with a victory there in the last 18 months.
After their loss last week, Gregor Townsend has made six changes to his side, with Greg Laidlaw being called back for his first cap in over a year.
Les Bleus are still to name their squad, coming off a tough last minute loss to Ireland last week in Paris. This weekend will be a tough test for new coach Jacques Brunel off the back of a week when the French were reported to the Six Nations disciplinary committee for their actions in the last five minutes of the Irish match.
The French also fell to their lowest world ranking in their history, 10th. This will be a match they will be desperate to win, as the team has not tasted victory since March 2017.
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