Thursday’s rugby news has Giteau getting some sage advice, AAC looking to go out on top, penalties on divers and England refusing overseas players.
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Wallabies look to Wilkinson
Australia winger Drew Mitchell and utility back Matt Giteau have tapped into the experience of their former Toulon team mate Jonny Wilkinson in their bid to win the Rugby World Cup. Wilkinson kicked the drop goal that won England the 2003 final against Australia and he passed on his advice, focusing on dealing with the immense pressure of the international spectacle.
“We know Jonny reasonably well and he’s been open about it, about how it was one of the best things but also one of the most difficult things he has gone through with the fame and attention,” Giteau said. Wilkinson and Giteau formed a devastating inside-back partnership at Toulon, leading the club to two-straight Heineken Cup titles.
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AAC confirms World Cup ‘swansong’
One of five Wallabies playing in their third World Cup, Adam Ashley-Cooper expects this will be his last tournament. Ashley-Cooper, 31, has signed to play for Bordeaux in France after the World Cup and though the Wallabies vice-captain still qualifies for Test duty with 108 caps, he has said that the 2015 World Cup is likely to be his last Wallaby appearances.
“I am going on to new challenges and, at this stage of my career, I am reflecting a lot more and tying it up with the World Cup would be perfect,” he said. Ashley-Cooper also believes that this Wallabies side under Michael Cheika is better prepared than any other he has been a part of.
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RWC to crack down on divers
Players at the Rugby World Cup will be sin-binned for diving and feigning injury, and could even be banned, as part of a crackdown on the “football culture of simulation” creeping into the game. Anyone appealing to referees to award penalties also face sanctions, the chairman of the World Rugby match officials selection committee, John Jeffrey, revealed yesterday.
“We are the showcase of our rugby event and it’s very, very important that we keep our values there and referees have been asked to sanction very heavily on that,” Jeffrey said, also emphasising that referees have been encouraged to make maximum use of television match officials to ensure diving does not go unpunished.
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RFU tightening exclusion policy
England’s RFU will strengthen their exclusion policy, communicating that any English-based player considering a move overseas next season will bring a premature end to their Test career. The current rule, introduced four years ago, only permits those based outside England to be picked under ‘exceptional circumstances’.
There is some thought that the restrictions unnecessarily limit England’s talent pool. When England head coach Stuart Lancaster named his World Cup training squad, European player of the year Nick Abendanon and his predecessor Steffon Armitage were not included, with Toby Flood, James Haskell and Andy Sheridan also not considered.
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