Thursday’s rugby news has a Baa Baas booze ban, Super sevens issues, Fagan staying & O’Connor not having much of a choice
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Baa Baas off the booze
Barbarians players were clearly rather ashamed of their tepid performance against England on the weekend, so have enacted a booze ban in the hope of doing better against the Lions. Baa Baas manager Derek Quinnell revealed that the loss against England had been a “kick up the backside” for the invitational side. However, Quinnell was quick to point out that the ban applied to players only, so he and the rest of the management team will no doubt be having a merry old time in Hong Kong.
In on-field news for the game, the Barbarians have named a stronger side for the match with Italy captain Sergio Parisse to lead the way, joined by iconic former All Black Joe Rokocoko whilst familiar faces Mike Tindall and Dean Mumm will start from the bench. Things are a little less rosy for the Lions, with captain Sam Warburton now in doubt for the clash after missing training with a knee injury.
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Sevens Becoming a Super Issue
With Rugby Sevens set to debut at the Olympics in Rio three years from now, instances of conflict between Super Rugby franchises and the sevens program are likely to become more commonplace. After losing Bernard Foley for the looming match against the Lions, Tahs coach Michael Cheika has called for a greater focus on the success or otherwise of the sevens team. Clearly a little frustrated by losing Foley, Chieka has stated “all this cherry picking will be accountable for the end result as well. Make the three weeks of training worth it.”
With around 10 players already out of the Tahs side to face the Lions due to Wallabies commitments, the loss of Foley will make it even more difficult for the Waratahs to field a competitive side to face the Lions on 15 June.
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Fagan Set to Stay
The Canterbury Bulldogs yesterday announced NZ Netball leader Raelene Castle as their new CEO. Generally, this would not be of too much interest to Rugby fans, but it is a pretty big announcement for Brumbies fans. After being courted by the Bulldogs, Brumbies CEO Andrew Fagan is now set to continue heading up the ACT franchise.
Fagan has been in the role since 2005 and negotiations will now begin in earnest to extend his contract for another two years as his current deal expires at the end of this year. According to Brumbies Chairman Sean Hammond, Fagan is doing a “great job”, which explains why the board is so keen to keep him in Canberra.
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No Love for O’Connor
Yesterday, Michael Cheika made it clear that he was not interested in recruiting James O’Connor. Well at least not yet. The Tahs coach is waiting to see the outcome of negotiations with both Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau before making any final decision on chasing O’Connor. At this stage, it looks like O’Connor’s bargaining power for next year is rather low. The Brumbies, Force and Reds all indicated when contacted yesterday that they would not be chasing O’Connor’s signature for next season.
So at this stage it appears that O’Connor will be a Rebel for next season and he may struggle to get the kind of money he would like, without another franchise or two driving up his price.
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