Friday’s Rugby News sees D-Day for Cheika, NRC Corner, TMO laws being changed and a whole lotta rugby pathway events.
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D-Day
The buck stops here. This weekend is the final round of Rugby Championship festivities for the year, and the Wallabies are desperate for a W.
They run the risk of earning their first wooden spoon in the revised championship’s history, should they lose to the Pumas.
Whether he wants to admit it or not, this match is effectively D-Day for Michael Cheika and his merry men. Another loss, and we could be witnessing the departure of another coach.
As of late on Thursday night, the Wallabies are still to name their squad that will take on the Puma threat early Sunday morning Australian time, but according to Adam Coleman, the criticism should be directed at the players, not the coaches.
Speaking to rugby.com.au, Coleman heaped praise on the new forwards coach Simon Raiwalui, but also admitted a lot of work is needed to restore the faith.
“Simon’s done a tremendous job here with our forwards. Very similar coaching style (to Mario [Ledesma]), great attitude,” he said.
“The coaches have really given the players the ability to choose or have input with some detail.
“It’s just making sure as players we look at ourselves and our own performances before we look somewhere else.
“You have to hold yourself accountable to what you’re doing and making sure you’re putting your best foot forward and making sure you’re completing your role for the team.
“Not only do we owe it to the coaches but we owe it to ourselves – the boys have done a lot of hard work over the last couple of months – but also to the Australians back home.
“We let them down on home soil so it will be a great opportunity to play Argentina again here and I know the boys are really looking forward to getting on the field this weekend and putting on a good performance.“
Coleman however added that the loss to the Pumas on the Gold Coast has harnessed as desire to improve within the squad.
“When we lost at home that hurt a lot but just using that and turning that into motivation instead of letting that hurt hold you down, making sure it builds you up to perform the next time you get that opportunity,” he said.
“The boys are really looking forward to this weekend and really looking to enjoy it too.”
Honestly, I do the news week in, week out, and I’ve got to the point where I believe it when I see it. They can talk all they want, it’s the actions on the field that really matter.
Currently, neither the Wallabies or the Pumas have named their squads, but once they do I’ll put it in the comments.
I think the Pumas will honestly be favourites here. They haven’t been hampered too much by injuries this season, which has really maintained their solid performances up until now. I hope the Wallabies prove me wrong, but I’m going Pumas by 4.
The other match sees a potential game for the ages, as the All Blacks will do battle against a resurgent Springboks outfit at Loftus Versfield.
The Boks have made three changes to their side, but that’s nothing compared to the ring of changes made by their opponents. Judging by their selections the All Blacks appear to be taking the Saffa challenge very seriously, naming (probably) the strongest side they have:
Springboks Squad: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Aphiwe Dyantyi, Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk, Francois Louw, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (c), Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff. Reserves: Bongi Mbonambi, Tendai Mtawarira, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Embrose Papier, Elton Jantjies, Damian Willemse
All Blacks Squad: Ben Smith, Waisake Naholo, Jack Goodhue, Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko Ioane, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith, Kieran Read (capt), Sam Cane, Shannon Frizell, Scott Barrett, Sam Whitelock, Owen Franks, Codie Taylor, Karl Tu’inukuafe. Reserves: Nathan Harris, Tim Perry, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Richie Mo’unga, Ryan Crotty.
Sweet baby Jesus. Games like these are why rugby is the best game on earth. If the Boks turn up like they’ve done the past two matches, this could go either way. Pulling it out of a hat. NZ by 1.
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NRC Corner
It’s the penultimate round of the regular season of NRC, and the four games played this weekend will either make or break several of the teams.
With the Sydney teams out of contention and Melbourne realistically a longshot, a five way horse race has begun, and looks set to culminate in some big games this weekend.
Starting off this weekend will be a match of the round event when the Fijian Drua host the Canberra Vikings in Lautoka.
The Flying Fijians have been simply unstoppable at home, scoring over forty points a game when they play in front of their fans. A win here would effectively seal a top two finish, and more critically, a vital home semi final. History has shown the Drua don’t travel well, so losing their place here could prove to be their downfall in their race for the Toast Rack.
The men from Canberra, by comparison, have a tough run home, travelling to Brizzy to face an on-fire Brisbane City after this match. They have the cattle and the talent to pull this win off, having not lost a single game since their match against QLD Country. A win here would not only hand them top spot, but also do much for a home semi-final placing.
It’s a classic on hand here this weekend, and from seeing the Drua fans online, they certainly don’t look to be taking the Viking threat lightly. I reckon the homeside will prevail, but it’ll be a close one. Drua by 7.
Next up, we head over to Bond University on the Gold Coast, where last year’s champions QLD Country host the cellar dwellers, the Sydney Rays.
Country have been in a bit of a form slump the last fortnight, starting off with three impressive wins (including two wins against the Vikings and Drua), however they lost at home in round four to a fast-finishing Western Force side, before losing the Andy Purcell Cup to Brisbane City last weekend. With that in mind, a big win here in necessary, not only to stop the decline, but also to consolidate their top four placing and fight off the fifth-placed City.
The Rays are, well, crap. Their defence has been more leaky than the White House, letting in 245 points in just five games. They have shown a glimpse of their potential when they nearly beat the Drua at home, but coming up against one of the strongest attacking sides in the competition, it’s not going to be pretty.
Open and shut result here. QLD Country by 40 or more.
On Sunday, the derbies between NSW and QLD continue, with the NSW Country Eagles hosting Brisbane City in Camden.
The Eagles have been the better of the two NSW sides, and have shown a lot more potential than their harbour city counterparts. But then again, that isn’t saying much. With finals all but out of the equation, the Eagles are now purely out to restore some pride, and they do have what it tackles to topple this City outfit, especially in the forwards.
But City have more to play for. They’ve got themselves into finals contention by playing out of their skins the last fortnight, and they’ve shown they’ve got what it takes to make it. It’s hard to see them losing their focus now, especially as we near the business end of the season.
Reckon this will be a cracker of a game, but I think City will take this one. Brisbane by 10.
And lastly, the round finishes off down in Geelong, where the Melbourne Rising host the Western Force. This match will have a bit more bite to it, as the Force have put the Horan-Little Shield up for a challenge.
The Rising have, apart from round one, been a really competitive side this year, showing the most amount of growth compared to their wooden spoon season last year. They should prove a challenge for the men from the west, though a tough schedule is probably starting to hurt the lads now, considering they’re not playing a single game in Melbourne.
The Force should be favourites for this one. Only just on the tails of the Drua, the lads will want to grab a win here to all but sure up a top two finish. Should the Vikings knock over the Drua, the Force will have a good chance to take the minor premiership. Will the cavalry at their disposal, I don’t see them faltering here.
This should be a great match for the rugby faithful of Geelong. I reckon though, the men from the west will head back across the Nullarbor with the chocolates this time. Force by 7.
Enjoy your NRC action this weekend. There’s a lot of footy going on, so make sure you have several screens running concurrently to catch everything.
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A fair go for the ref
It seems that World Rugby has finally listened to the many grumpy fans worldwide, and have announced plans to rein in the power of television match officials.
The decision will be trialled during the November Internationals this year, and will see more control bestowed to the on-field referees.
The move comes after fans, former players, coaches and anyone with a pulse has been critical of the increased role the TMO has had in officiating the game, disrupting the flow of matches.
In addition, many TMOs have been at the centre of controversial cards being given to players during many international and Super Rugby games, with Reds coach Brad Thorn and Sunwolves coach Tony Brown having questioned cards given to their players in Super Rugby fixtures after the TMO convinced on field referees to change their initial assessment.
Former Scotland international and World Rugby council member John Jeffrey confirmed that the move is to put a focus back on the on-field referee and reduce disruptions.
Among the changes, TMOs will not be able to have conversations with referees ‘on the run’, instead only be restricted to checking tries and foul play.
“While we hope that the revised protocol will have a positive impact in terms of time impact on the game and accuracy, as with any trial, we will undertake a full review after the November window before determining whether to proceed,” Jeffrey said in a statement to Fox Sports.
The new rules will be trialled during the November Internationals.
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So… Much… Footy
There is a ridiculous amount of rugby on this weekend, so I shall endeavour to do my best to cover it in one news piece.
Firstly, the Australian Schoolboys team will be playing at Ballymore on Saturday in their Tri-Nations competition against the New Zealand Schoolboys.
Both sides enjoyed big wins last weekend, with the Kiwis knocking off the Australian Barbarians and the Aussies accounting for Tonga Schoolboys.
With the Aussie Baabaas and the Tonga boys facing off this weekend, Aussie Schoolboys coach Andrew Moloney believes a lot will ride on this game, and has named an unchanged starting side to the one that beat Tonga last week.
“This team has come together exceptionally well both on and off the park and really worked hard for each other during the camp,” Moloney said.
“We know New Zealand will come at us hard, but we are really looking forward to the challenge.
“I know the Queensland rugby community will get behind us this weekend and the lads are looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd.”
Down in Canberra, the final match of the inaugural Under 19 Rugby Championship will see the two Queensland sides do battle, being Brisbane City and Queensland Country.
Eight teams will be playing a final game to decide the final placings, with Western Australia U/19s and the Sydney Rays U/19s teeing off to avoid the Wooden Spoon, NSW Country U/19s teeing off against the Melbourne Rebels U/19s for 5th place, and the Brumbies U/19s and the Barbarians U/19s teeing off for the bronze medal before the grand final between the two Queensland teams.
Both sides have enjoyed undefeated campaigns down at Viking Park, and City Coach Damon Virtue and Country Coach Grant Anderson believe the match will be a fiery one, given the players on both sides have been playing with each other all year.
“We know them pretty well, obviously the boys have played against each other all season and it’s great having an all Queensland grand final,” said Virtue.
“Being in camp has really helped the boys come together, we did a lot of really good work pre-camp in our training phase, but I’ve really been happy with how they’ve come together,” Anderson added.
The Finals will be played today, with the wooden spoon match kicking off at 9:30am. For those folks in Tuggeranong looking to knock off work early, the final will kick off at 2pm at Viking Park. Failing that, you can also watch it on on rugby.com.au.
And finally, the penultimate round of the AON Uni Sevens sees the teams square off at Bond University over the weekend. Fans of footy on the Gold Coast will want to get along to this: this day will also partner with the NRC clash between QLD Country and the Sydney Rays.
In addition, it will also include the Queensland Rugby Union Junior Girls 7s State Championships.
The Macquarie Uni Rays outfit will be particularly keen to perform well this weekend, as they currently share the top of the ladder with Griffith Uni and University of Queensland (all 54 pts). Rays coach Nathan McMahon was disappointed with the teams third place finish at Uni of QLD last round, and will be looking for a better result this weekend.
“We’ve had to pick ourselves back up after round three but that’s the beauty of this competition, you’ve got five rounds to make it right and we’ve gone back to the drawing board, so we’ll see how we go,” he said to rugby.com.au.
“It will come down to how sore your bodies are on that day and how well you manage your players through the first three rounds.
“Body management wise you’ve got to be really smart with your players in rotation.”
Check out the AON Uni squads here, and the table here.
So yes, there’s a ludicrous amount of rugby this weekend, so be there or be square. Enjoy your weekend folks.
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