Friday’s Rugby News sees trial results, a signing for the Force, Jarryd Hayne chasing dreams, and the upcoming rugby this weekend.
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Trials and Error
There were a couple of trials that went down last night, and it’s fair to say a few of our teams came out looking a little worse for wear.
Starting in Sydney, the Waratahs and the Rebels came together at Brookvale Oval, and the Tahs put their Victorian rivals to the sword, winning 47-5. The Sydney Morning Herald headlined the event by saying the Tahs showed they were the ‘real deal’ to go all the way with this performance. Ergh.
But I digress. The Tahs should be happy with this trial. The team looks to have some continuity and there were a lot of encouraging performances from Michael Hooper, Curtis Rona, Lalakai Foketi and Mack Mason. Daryl Gibson was particularly happy with their defence, which looked a lot more solid compared to the leaky vessel it was last year.
“I was thrilled,” said Gibson to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I’m really proud off that effort because that’s something we’ve been talking about all year. Defensively we were tough to break down.
“I thought the first half we were really rusty. We looked like we had opportunities there that we didn’t really take through poor execution of our skill. At times the ball looked like it was a cake of soap.
“The game broke up in the second half and we got some better ruck speed and some go-forward, so the game turned our way.”
Despite two pretty disappointing trials, Dave Wessels didn’t seem phased about the result.
“The result doesn’t really bother me at all,” Wessels said.
“Two or three years we beat the Hurricanes and were over the moon. By the end of the season they won the comp and our coach got fired. You’re inexperienced if you come here thinking this is the real show. We’ve still got a few big guys (Will Genia, Marika Koroibete, Billy Meakes and Geoff Parling) to come back.
“Our set-piece I thought we really dominated them and we did really well at lineout time.”
Both Damien Fitzpatrick and and Adam Coleman left the field early with what appeared to be minor injuries, but more will be confirmed in the coming days.
The Tahs will open their campaign against the Stormers at home next week, while the Rebels will host the Reds down at the Stockade.
Speaking of the Reds, they were left red-faced after their trial last night, which saw them only just manage to scrape a 17-15 win over a second string Fiji Warriors side.
There were plenty of positives though, with Jono Lance showing moments of brilliance in attack, and solid defence. Hamish Stewart also showed plenty of guts to see the team home, slotting a conversion in the 75th minute to steal the lead back.
After going to the sheds 10-10 at halftime, the Warriors came close to stealing the game when Ratunaisa Navuma crossed in the 59th minute. However, Izaia Perese saved the game for the home side when he dived over in the 74th minute to the collective relief of the Ballymore faithful.
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Longbottom comes home
There’s even more exciting news over in the West, with the Force grabbing a third major signing for their NRC and IPRC side.
Kieran Longbottom was an early graduate of the Force WA Academy system. After playing for WA representative sides, the Force academy, Perth Gold and the Perth Spirit during the ARC in 2007, he entered into WA rugby folklore by becoming the first WA based player to pull on the Force jersey.
After 57 appearances in Super Rugby, he has spent the last four years playing at English premier clubs Saracens and Sale.
A well regarded member of the Force, his return to the club is a big victory for the WA Rugby Community and for Twiggy, as the IPRC and the Force’s squad continues to take shape.
“I’m incredibly excited to be coming home to Western Australia to play in front of the Sea of Blue again,” Longbottom said to the West Australian.
“Perth and the Western Force is my home, and everyone in the Sea of Blue is my extended family.
“I can’t wait to pull the Force jersey back on and be part of this great club again.”
Longbottom joins former Springbok Peter Grant and US international Marcel Brache as players who have committed to the newlook WA outfit.
More announcements are scheduled to be made in the next few days. It looks like things are well and truly on the move in the west.
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Hayne has a dream… again…
This one may be a bit of Fox Sports hearsay. Or not. Either way, it’s pretty interesting.
There is plenty of buzz in the Fiji Rugby camp that apparently Jarryd Hayne might be preparing to launch a bid to play for Fiji at the Rugby World Cup next year.
Hayne is currently on a one year contract with the Parramatta Eels for the 2018 NRL season, but Nemani Nadolo told Fox Sports that there is plenty of excitement around him potentially returning to the island nation.
“There’s obviously been talk around the camp that Jarryd’s potentially coming to play for Fiji,” said Nemani.
“Just the excitement of hearing that Jarryd Hayne might be coming across again is pretty exciting.
“He’s the sort of guy who’d be on a million bucks a year.
“I think it would be an easier transition for him than sevens because 15s is kind of similar to the 13-man game. He’s a superstar. In both codes he’s well known.
“Let’s be honest, we’ve got a lot of good outside backs as well in Fiji and we’re not short of wingers, but what he’d bring to the team and what he’d bring for the game and the country would be awesome.
“I think we probably need someone like him.”
This comes despite Hayne not commenting, and his manager Wayne Beavis telling Fox that he hasn’t “spoken to anyone in rugby [since 2015].”
Yeah, sounding a bit more like Fox Sports hearsay. But, then Fiji rugby coach John McKee got in on the gossip, saying that the door is open anytime for Hayne if he wants it.
“I’d certainly look at Jarryd’s form if he came back to rugby,” McKee said.
“Realistically it’d be a hard job now with rugby league going through to September; it doesn’t leave much of a window for him.
“He’s got a lot of good players he’s up against, so if he’s good enough he’ll get in but he’d have to be outplaying some outstanding players.”
You know Jarryd. Give him a whiff and he’ll chase any dream.
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On the International Front…
Finally, we look at the matches that will be going on this weekend in the world of rugby.
The Six Nations is having their early season week off, so they’ll be no international action in the Northern Hemisphere.
Currently, Ireland leads the table purely on points differential, with England close behind. Wales and Scotland look to again be in a dash for third and fourth and, like in previous years, Italy and France are fighting it out to see who’ll get the wooden spoon. Round 3 will be kick off next week on February 23.
However, while Australia won’t get to see any Super Rugby action this weekend, the Saffas will be getting started early, with two matches to be played over in the Republic. (How many of you thought that Super Rugby started next weekend?)
Starting off down in Cape Town, the Stormers will kick off the season when they host the Jaguares.
The Stormers will be looking to chase their maiden Super Rugby title and aim to get into the playoffs for the third season in a row, while the Jaguares will be looking to improve from last year (where they just missed out on the finals), by getting a maiden finals berth.
Following this match, all eyes will be on Johannesburg when the Lions host the Sharks.
The Lions have finished runners up to a Kiwi side for two years running, so expectations are high that the team will finally be able to win their maiden Super Rugby title. The last time the team won any title was back in the inaugural season of Super Rugby’s predecessor tournament in 1993, when their name was Transvaal. Since then, they are one of only three teams from the original Super 12 to not have a title under their belt (the other two teams being the Sharks and Stormers).
The Sharks meanwhile will look to improve on their performance last season, aiming to go a few rounds further than the quarter finals. The Lions were responsible for knocking them out last year, so a win here would be a sweet revenge and a perfect opportunity to get their season off to the best start.
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