Fridays Rugby News sees Wallabies selling Oz short, Brumbies declining, Crusaders name change, and changes to the Waratahs.
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Are Wallabies Selling Australia Short
Christy Doran Has a question for everyone over at Foxsports. How much is the Wallaby jersey worth?
Wallabies Rory Arnold, Sefa Naivalu and Nick Phipps have already confirmed their departure with Adam Coleman and Marika Koroibete also rumoured to be off. Add Pocock and Foley to the mix and things start to look grim for next year.
But the guy Christy (and me) wants to keep in Australia is Samu Kerevi. It’s hard to see where he’s wrong though. Samu is the linchpin that holds the Reds together, but he’s not a lock in starter for the Wallabies… Yet. So for me I’m more concerned with the Reds than the Wallabies.
Doran says,
‘Questions must be asked.
How is one of the most destructive ball carriers in world rugby leaving just as he enters his prime?
Kerevi is only 25 and has the potential to be a Ma’a Nonu-type player.
So what does it say about the attitude of Kerevi and others, not yet halfway through their careers, yet passing on the Wallabies jersey?’
Christy goes on to mention Aaron Smith’s new deal in New Zealand as an example of people staying put but earlier he mentioned that the nearest thing we have to Smith, Will Genia, was having trouble talking RA into a three year deal of his own. He’s only a year older! Maybe It’s only Waratahs players that get long deals from RA?
If Kerevi does head to Suntory it’s hard to imagine he’ll come back a better player in a few years.
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Brumbies Halftime Decline
Self-confessed pie lover Blocka Dutton delves into the one stat the Brumbies are winning this year. They lead Super Rugby in points scored against in the first 20 minutes of the second half. I don’t know what they’re putting in the oranges over at Brumby land but something has to change.
The coaches have figured out somethings wrong and are looking at the routine they go through for the 12 minutes the team is in the changeroom.
“We want to make some adjustments there to make sure we get a better performance in that period. It’s your individual efforts, some guys sit down at half-time and get a bit leg heavy because it is a 12-minute break.
“Individually you’ve got to make sure you’re all ready to go at the start of the second half. There’s no magic wand, it’s about your own process and making sure you’re ready to go from the 40th minute.
“…It’s pretty crystal clear to this group that effort is an expectation. I think we’ll get a reaction.”
“It’s an important game [this week] off the back of a bye week and a performance we weren’t all that pleased with. This week is an opportunity to bounce back,” McKellar said.
“We reviewed [the game against the Reds] hard, open and honestly. But the last couple of training days have been a couple of our best, so there are good signs there.
“The big thing we lacked against the Reds was just effort and intensity around the collision area. We were out-enthused. They ran harder and tackled harder than us and we got what we deserved. We’re looking to turn that around.”
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Crusaders move towards a name change.
The Crusaders continue to show a huge amount of leadership and maturity in the aftermath of an idiot killing 50 people while they prayed in Christchurch a few weeks ago. They’ve ditched the knights on horseback for the rest of the season at least and admitted that their name and imagery is probably untenable.
And they’ve engaged a company called Research First to carry out research for the rest of the season.
Research First will deliver feedback and recommendations about the club’s name and branding with a view to change for the 2020 season.
The team’s current badge features a sword-wielding knight with a cross on his chest in the style of a medieval Crusader.
“This is an event that rocked our community and brought some important issues to the fore,” said the Crusaders’ CEO, Colin Mansbridge . “One of the contentious issues that has been brought up in the aftermath of the Christchurch attacks is the name of our rugby team – the Crusaders.
“Because of our desire to be the best we can be and to support our community, we are treating the question around the appropriateness of our brand extremely seriously. We are committed to undertaking a thorough process, taking into account all relevant opinions and, most importantly, we are committed to doing the right thing.”
The research will provide recommendations on two possible options: retaining the Crusaders name but changing the branding and associated imagery; or undertaking a complete rebranding, including the name and all imagery.
Steve Tew, chief executive of the sport’s governing body in the country, New Zealand Rugby, said: “Maintaining the status quo in terms of the Crusaders name, along with the current imagery of knights on horseback is, in our view, no longer tenable because of the association with the religious Crusades that has now been drawn. That is therefore not one of the options that we will be considering.”
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Hooper Rested, Beale To The Bench
The Tahs have shaken things up after their loss to the Sunwolves last week. While many punters were shocked by the result I believe the Waratahs won’t be the last big name to get knocked over by the Japanese Super Rugby side.
The Waratahs haven’t won against the Blues at Eden Park in ten years and without Hooper that task won’t get easier.
The highs of beating the Crusaders meant next to nothing when full-time came on Friday night in Newcastle.
While skill execution was poor, intensity – perhaps more alarming – was deemed to be an issue.
“Within seven days we had polarised performances and a lot of that was our attitude into the game around our intent,” Gibson said. “It’s been very easy around making sure we get back to the levels we know we can.
“There’s a shift in intensity. We were very bitterly disappointed with what we showed. Everyone on the team’s had a good, hard look at themselves and gone, ‘that’s not us’. For us it’s been an easy week. As a coach you’re on edge looking for those complacency signs.”
Will Miller has recovered from an ankle injury and will line up at No.7 in his first starting opportunity since last year’s semi-final in Johannesburg against the Lions.
But the big news of the day was Beale being dropped to the bench – something that has not happened since he returned to the Waratahs in 2014 from a stint at the Melbourne Rebels.
Gibson insists Beale has not been dropped and it will be interesting to see if he returns against the Rebels in round 10.
Although Beale was not thrilled about having to sit on the bench, Gibson won’t mind, for there is unprecedented depth in the Waratahs’ midfield since he took over as coach.
Waratahs team
(1-15): Harry Johnson-Holmes, Damien Fitzpatrick, Sekope Kepu, Ned Hanigan, Rob Simmons, Jack Dempsey, Will Miller, Michael Wells, Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, Alex Newsome, Karmichael Hunt, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Cam Clark, Israel Folau.
Bench: Andrew Tuala, Rory O’Connor, Chris Talakai, Tom Staniforth, Lachlan Swinton, Jake Gordon, Kurtley Beale, Lalakai Foketi.
Blues team
(1-15): Alex Hodgman, James Parsons, Sione Mafileo, Patrick Tuipulotu, Josh Goodhue, Tom Robinson, Blake Gibson, Akira Ioane, Jonathan Ruru, Otere Black, Rieko Ioane, Ma’a Nonu, TJ Faiane, Caleb Clarke, Melani Nanai.
Bench: Matt Moulds, Marcel Renata, Ofa Tuungafasi, Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, Dalton Papalii, Sam Nock, Harry Plummer, Michael Collins.
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