Monday’s rugby news has Jake White’s trash-talk, the Brumbies trying to attack, a disappointing end to the Hong Kong Sevens and an epic bombed try from a Japanese player.
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White goads Tahs
Sharks coach Jake White has thanked Michael Cheika for inspiring the South African team to a renewed intensity in their 32-10 win over the weekend. The Sharks dominated the physical battle throughout the match, with White saying, ‘There had been a lot of talk in the media about [going] toe to toe and intensity and aggression, so I suppose I must thank Mike [Cheika] for making my team talk easier, I just put it all on the board.’
And while NSW captain Dave Dennis focused on the team’s 19 handling errors, Cheika put the spotlight on the referees post-match. The Tahs coach was upset that the NSW scrum was consistently penalised, suggesting that the Sharks front row had fooled the referee with gamesmanship and the issue was merely one of perception. [/one_half]
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Brumbies must play natural game
Rod Kafer has urged the Brumbies stick to their natural game despite the concerning lack of bonus points accrued over the first six games. Although ACT are top of the Aussie conference and second overall, the team has only picked up one bonus point. This might suggest why captain Ben Mowen made a few uncharacteristically attacking decisions during the 32-24 loss to the Rebels, including turning down an easy 3 points early in the game.
‘They need to persist with their style of play, but when you get to that last 15 minutes of play and have to score one or two tries, that’s when you can open it up and have a crack,’ Kafer said, emphasising the potential for the back three to counter-attack more regularly rather than being content to enter into kicking duals. [/one_half]
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Aus sevens finish 4th
The Australian Sevens team has finished fourth at the Hong Kong Sevens, a dissapointing end to the tournament. The team began with three straight wins, including a 10-7 upset of series leaders South Africa, to top their pool. After edging out Canada 14-12, Australia were comprehensively outplayed by New Zealand 19-7. The Aussie side then lost to Fiji in their third-fourth playoff, leaving the team in fifth place on the series standings after seven rounds.
‘We didn’t play very smart Rugby against Fiji and made too many mistakes. Overall though, we’ve got to be pretty happy with our footy over the weekend,’ skipper Ed Jenkins said. [/one_half]
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Japanese players need swan-dive tutelage
Tom English might be feeling a bit better about his bombed try over the weekend after Japanese player Kosuke Hashino gave a masterclass in bombing tries during the Hong Kong Sevens in attempting to swan-dive over the line. The embarrassing display can be seen below.
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