If you thought the Wallabies had it hard try being a Newcastle Falcons supporter or player.
Newcastle Falcons consultant director of rugby Steve Diamond believes their win over Scott Sio’s Exeter Chiefs was the first step towards regaining respect in the Premiership. The 24-18 success at Kingston Park last Friday was a first for 581 days in the league and came after 25 successive losses. Some observers had questioned the Falcons’ worth in the league after such a terrible run, so Diamond knows the timing of the result was crucial.
“That was the first fix,” he said. “For the product that we are trying to show, it’s no good if there is a rubbing rag in there. There were no real celebrations as such, but players could look at their mates and think ‘we’re not as useless as we appeared to be’.”
Word is he told the players the night out was on him so the party would have been epic.
Reds Name Squad for Japan Tour
From both Pravda and the Reds version of it.
In total, Kiss’ squad boasts more than 350 Queensland caps to go with a quintet of local club talents – Shaun Anderson (GPS), Seb Hanna (Brothers), Kohan Herbert (Souths), Hamish Muller (Brothers) and Matt Brice (UQ/Noosa Dolphins).
Herbert’s journey to the Reds squad is particularly fascinating. After graduating from Downlands College in 2017, the Australian Schools representative plied his trade across the ditch and earned Junior All Black selection alongside a stint with NPC club Bay of Plenty. Herbert returned to Australia in 2023 and has been a standout performer for Souths Magpies in the Hospital Cup.
“This is a good, solid squad with a real focus which the players have shown with their hard work over the past month,” Kiss said in a statement. “We have been watching the club competition and Academy group closely to know these players have qualities,” Kiss said. “Kohan is a genuine No.7 and leader for Souths, Hamish is a good option covering the backrow and lock, Shaun is a physical and fast outside back, Bas has picked things up really quickly at training and Matt made a clear case with his impressive training.”
The Reds are yet to taste defeat against Robbie Deans’ side in the Saitama-Queensland Shield and will call on the services of capped Wallabies Josh Canham, Tom Lynagh, Matt Gibbon, Josh Nasser and Alex Hodgman to defend their record.
QUEENSLAND REDS TOUR SQUAD
Fairies
Louis Werchon
Kalani Thomas
Will Cartwright
Harry McLaughlin-Phillips
Tom Lynagh
Heremaia Murray
Matt Brice
Dre Pakeho
Frankie Goldsbrough
Floyd Aubrey
Shaun Anderson
Sebastian Hanna
Mason Gordon
True Athletes
Alex Hodgman
Sef Fa’agase
Matt Gibbon
Josh Nasser
Richie Asiata
George Blake
Massimo De Lutiis
Jeffery Toomaga-Allen
Ryan Smith
Connor Vest
Josh Canham
Taine Roiri
Kohan Herbert
Max Craig
Joe Brial
Hamish Muller
Being a Queenslander there are a couple of picks I love, and some that mystify me.
The Cheika Effect
Love him or hate him he does get early results. I will say this: if he wins the title he’ll have a URC equivalent, Super Rugby and English titles on his resume as well as an RWC final and semi-final. Which puts him on the top shelf of coaches all time.
From the BBC
Leicester head coach Michael Cheika says he was only on the gentlest of settings when he delivered the half-time verbal blast that inspired Tigers to Sunday’s comeback win against Gloucester. The Tigers overturned an 11-point deficit at the break to prevail 29-26 and move up to third in the Premiership table.
Leicester full-back Freddie Steward said Cheika gave his side the “hairdryer” treatment at the interval, but the Australian laughed off the suggestion when asked about it by BBC Radio Leicester. “It’s an exaggeration,” he said. “If it was a hairdryer then it was on the very lowest setting, because there are a couple more settings in me.”
What Cheika says he delivered at the interval was a honest assessment of the subdued showing his side had produced in the opening 40 minutes. “I think you have to tell the truth to the boys at half-time about where we were mentally in that game. There was some tactical issues that we needed to address, but that was secondary to the idea that maybe we thought we were going to be handed victory. That doesn’t happen ever in this game.”
Second-half tries from Josh Bassett, Dan Kelly and Handre Pollard – who also added three conversions and a penalty – proved enough to edge the hosts to a dramatic victory. “I think they showed good character in the end, because those situations are difficult to get out of.” Cheika said. “We didn’t go quiet in that adversity, we stood up.”
Rugby referees to clamp down on ‘escorts’ – and that means more box-kicking
From Stuff
I must have a very juvenile mind as I didn’t expect to see this headline in a rugby column.
World Rugby wants to clamp down on players shielding team-mates catching high balls after issuing a series of desired objectives to referees and coaches ahead of the November Tests. A presentation produced by the governing body’s head of match officials and director of rugby, Joël Jutge and Phil Davies, and seen by Telegraph Sport, reveals a focus on “speed”, “safety” and “space” as well as clarifying the introduction of 20-minute red cards.
The defending of box kicks and retreating defenders, known as “escort” runners, will also be addressed this autumn as players blocking and obstructing those chasing a high kick could be refereed more strictly. Previously, as long as a retreating defender did not change their line to deliberately obstruct an attacking chaser, then they were deemed legal.
To be clear I don’t have an issue with the way this is refereed at the moment. Many teams box kick to a spot on the field and if the defending teams know this, they run escort runners to give the catcher the best chance of catching the ball uncontested. If you kick to a different spot the escort runners have to change the retreating line and will therefore get penalised.
I also note that the northerners are generally against the 20-minute red card. My view is this a red card used to be for the most violent foul play. It was considered a stain on your career to get one. Now they are a cost of doing business as the adjudication of the head contact area much more stringent and rightly so. Also as the Frank Lomani incident proved against the Rebels (RIP) you can still be sent off without replacement.
