Here’s our daily round-up of the hot Oz and International rugby news.
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Deans eyeing his future?
It’s not the first time we’ve heard it, but a report in the Irish Independent online says Robbie Deans could well be looking at the writing on the wall for his role with the Wallabies. Apparently Irish mega-club Leinster has been considering him as a replacement for Joe Schmidt who appears a shoo-in for the top job in Ireland.
“Even ahead of the Lions tour in June, Deans is under serious pressure in Australia, not least from current Reds coach Ewen McKenzie, and it’s understood his name has been floating around the European market for the last month,” the paper reported.
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Digby’s leaving the Reds
One way or another Digby Ioane is leaving the Reds at the end of the year, having served his notice. The Australian tells us that “Along with several players, including captain James Horwill, Ioane has been in dispute with the Reds over a third-party payment.”
G&GR understands that these issues have been ongoing for a while, but that the winger has some commitments he needs to honour with the Reds before leaving Queensland. Japan is the hot-tipped destination for the winger who has a penchant for being topless.
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Savea charged with common assault
All Black Julian Savea has been charged with common assault. The talented All Black wouldn’t give details but said “I will say my partner and I had an argument, I did some things that are wrong, that I shouldn’t have done, and I apologise for that.”
The incident is even more acutely unfortunate as Savea was the poster boy for an anti-domestic violence campaign run just last year.
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Kiwi humility – surely a trap?
You know you’re doing things right when former All Blacks line up to confess that Australian teams now have figured their Kiwi counterparts out. Taine Randall wrote on the weekend “Australia’s Super Rugby dominance of New Zealand teams should serve as a warning: Kiwi sides preoccupied with a running game have become too predictable and vulnerable.”
Seven from nine boys, seven from nine.
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