The news is back, ladies and gents! Hope that all you GAGRs had a wonderful Christmas and new year, and have put the woes of 2017 behind you. I’m back from break and keen to get back into all things rugby. So, without further ado, lets begin…
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Sevens Heaven
God, it’s been a good couple of weeks for our Sevens teams! Following the Mens and Womens clean sweep of the Sevens in Sydney last week, the boys have picked up a very respectable third place in Hamilton, defeating the hosts New Zealand by one point in the bronze play-off. Who would’ve thought? We’re three-nil against the Kiwis in 2018.
Meanwhile, Fiji got back to their winning ways by knocking over current table leaders South Africa in the Grand Final, 24-17. It is their first win in New Zealand since 2010, and it saw them leap over Australia in overall table results into fourth place.
Currently, this is the top five on the Sevens leader board:
1. South Africa – 77
2. New Zealand – 69
3. Fiji – 62
4. Australia – 60
5. Argentina – 48
See that? Not one Northern hemisphere team? Eddie can crow all he wants, but at least in the Sevens side of the game, the balance looks to have been been restored to what it should be.
The Poms do have the chance to jump back into the top five if they turn up and put in a good performance at the next leg of the Mens Sevens in Las Vegas, which will take place March 2-4.
The girls won’t get to do battle again until April this year in Japan , but in the meantime the Super 7s kicked on in Brisbane, with the girls playing against teams from Fiji, Wales and England. The event was held at Wests, and is set to serve as a handy development opportunity ahead of the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
“It’s never really been done before and just to have a few of those other countries play – countries like Wales, we get to see how they play,” Charlotte Caslick said to rugby.com.au.
“It’s amazing just to be able to play at home, for a lot of the girls.”
“Then, to have an all-female tournament, that’s pretty exciting as well.”
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Brumbies trample early Rebellion
It’s not like Super Rugby pre-season trials prove to be much of a gauge for anything to expect when the season rolls around. But anyway, here we are.
The Brumbies put the boot into the Rebels with a trial match in Queanbeyan yesterday, winning 50-19. The most noteworthy performances were Joe Powell and Wharenui Hawera, who paired together well for the home side and really got everything ticking along well. Isi Naisarani was also on particularly good form, who looks to be settled very well into his new club.
For the Rebels, Jordan Uelese, Matt Philip and Jack Debreczeni were the pick of the bunch in a well beaten side.
It’s not like trials really matter for much. Like for example, watching the Tahs play the Highlanders last year at Brookvale Oval, and assuming they would be competitive against Kiwi sides.
They went down to the Highlanders in their first trial as well over the weekend in New Zealand, going down 55-29. Meanwhile, the Reds had an internal trial where one side of the squad played another side of the squad, and it ended in a 14-14 draw.
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Force Fallout
It’s been a interesting couple of weeks for all those in the West. From the returning of the Force property to Rugby WA (to potentially be used in the NRC), to the ASIC investigation in the cutting of the club from Super Rugby last week, it looks like plenty of questions are still to be answered from decision to remove the WA franchise.
However, new Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle threw open the possibility that the Force could potentially return to the fray in 2021. Castle arrived in Perth last Thursday, (marking the first time in the history of RA that a CEO actually decided to go further west than Melbourne) for talks with both the Force and with Twiggy.
The current Super Rugby broadcast deal is scheduled to end in 2020, and with many rumblings going on in South Africa for their teams to go to Europe, it’s looking like the SANZAAR joint partnership might have an uncertain future beyond then. But Castle made it clear that there is room for opportunity.
“We all have to remain open minded. Because who knows what the new version might look like come 2021,” Castle told SBS news.
Talks with Twiggy were apparently a lot more constructive, with Castle admitting that the biggest stumbling block for the competition was issues around eligibility of players for Wallaby selection.
“We had some early, very short discussions about that today (Saturday).”
“And it’s always about compromise, about how that can work. He (Forrest) is realistic. He knows these things aren’t always perfect and don’t happen easily.
“I think of course he’s a bit frustrated. But he also understands the reality.”
Castle admitted that she felt it was important to hear first-hand the level of anger held by WA’s rugby community.
“There’s trust to be rebuilt, and the start of that has happened by coming here and having those conversations,” she said.
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On the International Front…
Well, its fair to say the shit has well and truly hit the fan in the republic. Allister Coetzee has parted ways with the Springboks, finishing with the teams worst record of the professional era (47%). However, Coetzee refused to go quietly.
I may get some tomatoes thrown at me for this, but judging by his time at the Stormers (a 66% winning record), I don’t think that Coetzee is a bad coach. It was a pity that many of his game plans didn’t translate into the Boks set up. Last week, relations between him and SA Rugby hit their lowest point, with the former coach writing a scathing letter accusing SA Rugby of setting him up for failure.
Coetzee accused SA Rugby of an alleged lack of support, and also took swipes at director of rugby Rassie Erasmus for his influence on the team, describing him as ‘a stumbling block to transformation.’
Coetzee also had to contend with a massive player exodus, and a tough case of being left with a team that was high on youth and low on experience.
SA rugby released a statement in regards to the whole situation: “The rugby department of SA Rugby will manage the responsibilities of the Springbok coach until the national team’s coaching and management group for 2018 is confirmed later this month.”
Erasmus is predicted to be the front runner for the job. As of Monday, no replacement has been named.
And finally, the Six Nations kicked off over the weekend, and there was one notable surprise.
Wales ran absolutely wild over Scotland, who were set to be big contenders this time round after a solid 2017. The Scarlets had other ideas however, winning 34-7 at Millennium Stadium, and got their campaign off to a flyer.
Ireland also overcame a tough French outfit, winning 13-15 in an exciting match in Paris. And finally, as to be expected, England easily got the job done against the Azzuri in Rome, running out 15-46 winners. Pretty much a standard edition of the latest fixtures between these two sides.
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