Damn, he’s back!
No it isn’t if you’re a true blue Soap Dodging Taswegian. However, setting that aside for a moment, in the true spirit of Christmas mine’s a Hellyers Road single malt whisky aged in French Oak red wine barrels (in case you’re buying it’s $640 a bottle, thank you very much). What better way to finish off the year than to have a look at how the main protagonists performed in the November series. The matches have been covered in great detail so I don’t propose adding anything further other than my random thoughts for what they’re worth and name checking a few players that deserve a mention. So in no particular order of merit off we go.
WALES P3 L3
With a close loss to Fiji and big losses to Australia and South Africa, this is probably a series and a year that Warren Gatland will want to draw a line under. That being said he does have a squad of very young and inexperienced players to work with. There are the makings of a decent pack of forwards with a good front row and the likes of Wainwright, Reffell and Morgan in the back row giving something to build on. Losing Rees-Zammit to the NFL hasn’t helped one bit but there are some good young backs coming through. Finding a classy 10 may be an issue, Sam Costelow blows hot and cold and to think that this was once a position where Wales held all the aces. They may well struggle to win a match in the up and coming 6Ns. Playing England at home will be a bonus but Italy away will be a difficult one.
IRELAND P4 W3 L1
Results look good on paper, but in his last game in charge before taking up his Lions duties I don’t think Andy Farrell will be too happy. Overpowered by the ABs and pushed to the limits by Argentina and Australia they seemed to get the rub of the green in a few of these games. The may’ve missed Furlong anchoring the pack at tighthead, but they still have some very good and aggressive forwards that know how to play the referee and create chaos at the breakdown that is mysteriously overlooked. Also, they can’t be in a bad spot when they can bring on serial pest Peter O’Mahoney as a replacement. Their backs, however, only seemed to get their act together in patches. Plenty of intricate plays and off the ball movement that didn’t seem to go anywhere and Bundee Aki, their gain line breaker, was well shackled by the opposition’s defences. Farrell made a big call in selecting Prendergast for his run on debut against the G&G, on the back of a few games for Leinster. He looks to be in the same mould as Sexton, not a 10 that really attacks the gain line but offers options inside and outside with a pretty good kicking and passing game. Simon Easterby takes over for the 6Ns and will need to give the squad a good kick up the arse. They’ll provide the backbone of the Lions squad, that’s for sure.
SCOTLAND P4 W3 L1
Of all the home nations, I think that Townsend can come away with a job well done👍. He had the luxury of two easy games against Fiji and Portugal to blood some new players and even though they lost to the DDFs the scoreline didn’t do them justice as they pushed them right to the finish. With Russell pulling the strings they overpowered the G&G with a great all round performance from the forwards and backs. They have a well balanced and aggressive pack and backs that can play both the kicking and running game very effectively. Russell may sometimes go MIA but he was on song in this series delivering a masterclass against the G&G. He’s the top 10 playing in world rugby at the moment in my opinion. On this showing Farrell could not go far wrong in selecting him, Tuipolotu and Jones as the Lions midfield. The Jocks might also be a good bet in the 6Ns but France will be a tough nut to crack in Paris.
ENGLAND P4 W1 L3
That record speaks for itself. The three losses were all relatively close and given a fair wind the SDs may have snuck by in two of them but that would have been a bit of an injustice. In all three they start out positively, attacking with ball in hand with great passing between forwards and backs that led to them scoring excellent team tries. However, as soon as any pressure was applied they went back into their shell and resorted to a kick chase game that the opposition soon sussed out. The game against the G&G just highlighted for me how poor they were. The G&G played a fast game with go forward and excellent backline play which, apart from the first 20 mins, the SDs couldn’t match. The G&G were the better team and earned the win. Borthwick’s method of coaching has been called into question many times. His reliance on kick metres as the main attack plan is evident, so too his reliance on data instead of what’s in front of him. His choice of replacements, and their timing, has been questionable as has his selection of players in key positions who have had next to no game time. The defence that seemed to go so well in NZ under Felix Jones has pretty much fallen apart under the new coach who was plucked from the bottom half of the French pro Div 2 (who just happens to be a good mate of Borthwick’s). Nepotism seems to be the rule as far as the SD coaching team is concerned. Even Japan made a mockery of the defence running in easy tries. The RFU, still, have to explain why Jones left and why we’re waiting for the appointment of a head of S&C to replace Aled Walters (who’s been picked up by Ireland). What else could possibly go wrong, apart from the clusterf#@k that is RFU headquarters? About the only light that I can see is we’re clearing out some of the deadwood and bringing in some younger players who’ve done so well in the U20s. There needs to be some further pruning before the 6Ns. Unfortunately, we’ll be fighting it out with Wales and Italy for the wooden spoon. Still not sure whether Marcus Smith is the right choice at 10.
AUSTRALIA P4 W2 L2
I reckon that St Joe can be reasonably happy with that set of results. I might say that G&G could’ve been 3-1 to the good as they didn’t get the rub of the green against the Paddies. They played good rugby against the SDs and deserved the win and overwhelmed the Welsh. The performance against the Scots, particularly among the backs, was disappointing but they turned it around against the Irish with a great defensive effort. The pack are starting to look the part. The front five are holding their own and we have a balanced back row with Bobby V and McReight being my Aussie players of the series. Given the type of game Joe wants to play, fast and aggressive, I honestly don’t see where Big W fits in; Frost, Williams and LSL are the way forward. It’s a pity we didn’t see more of Uru but he’ll get his chance to shine for the Reds and press for a place. Still a bit of a toss up to see who gets the 9 jersey but ATM it looks like Gordon’s in the driving seat. After an indifferent game against the Scots, Noah got his act together and leads the contenders for the 10 slot. Icky had a very good series and has the 12 jersey pretty much nailed down. However, this particular jurist is still out on Suaalii. Not bad on debut but still has a hell of a lot to learn. Even his effectiveness in retrieving the high ball from kicks offs was negated, particularly against Ireland. His defence looks suspect to met, going in high with very little attempt wrap; that’s a card waiting to happen. At times he looked a little lost in attacking situations, which was highlighted at the 77 min of the Ireland game when he threw a no look pass to no one. This shows a lack of awareness of what’s going on around him. Perhaps a season of Super Rugby will help, but will that be enough to secure a place against the Lions? For some it might, but not for me. The G&G jersey has to be earned, not given. Apart from the hiccup in the Scots game, I’m happy with how the back three have gone. All in all the G&G get a 👍from me for the tour and St Joe and his team get a big👏.
SOUTH AFRICA P3 W3
Not a lot you can say against a team that’s moved back to No 1 in the world rankings. Love him or hate him Rassie is assembling a squad with depth across the park and is already lining up young players to take over from those who are coming to the end of their careers in time for RWC 2027. They cruised to a win against the SDs and although a little rusty in places didn’t really get out of third gear. They were given a good workout by the Scots but came through relatively unscathed before walloping the Welsh. Kolisi leads by example and Etzebeth is one of the top locks playing at the moment. The Bomb Squad is still in good stead and they can mix it up with an all courts game in the backs. Williams the 9 is like greased lightening and in Pollard and Libbok they have two 10s that gives Rassie options depending on the opposition. Kriel and de Allende are solid as a rock in midfield and in Kolbe, Fassi and Arendse they have a back three with potency. The back ups are no slouches either.
NEW ZEALAND P4 W3 L1
Like Ireland, the results look good on paper, but there’ve been rumblings both in NZ press and on these very pages through our resident referee and general all round good bloke KARL aka Splinters. They had a comfortable warm up win against Japan before the first game against England. A two point win could have easily been a loss had not Borthwick made a right Horlicks of his choice and use of replacements. Next came the Irish which was altogether better, gaining some revenge for previous defeats. They lost to the French by one point in what was, I thought, the best game of the series and then closed out with an unconvincing win over Italy. On the back of these games it must be pretty clear to Razor that being coach to a national team isn’t the same as the armchair ride he had with the Saders for many years, and he’s getting a bit of well aimed stick as a result. Following the retirement of a number of players and movements north he wasn’t tempted to make wholesale changes to his squad so maybe he’s looking to build slowly towards RWC 2027. That has, however, not stopped criticism of his conservative approach. I don’t think much is going wrong with the forward selection. The ABs are starting to develop strength in depth in the front five and in Sititi they have a real star in the making. Losing Roigard to a bad injury last season didn’t help the cause but Cortez Ratima did OK, and TJ did enough before finally calling it a day. The debate over BB and DMac goes on, and the continuing selection of Ioane at 13 raises eyebrows. I would’ve liked to’ve seen more of the ALB/Proctor partnership at centre but Jordie and Reiko currently hold sway. It remains to be seen when the likes of Ruben Love will make an appearance in the AB jersey. In the meantime Robertson’s call to the NZRU to overturn its policy regarding overseas players seems to be getting a👎👎from the media .
Over to you guys to have your two cents’ worth.
One final note before closing down and embarking on a few weeks of overeating, drinking and mild debauchery. It looks like G&G rugby has turned a corner and is heading on an upward trajectory. This is only the start and Rugby Australia has a number of issues to address. Establishing development pathways for the next generation of players and coaches, creating a larger player base through a meaningful and fully funded third tier competition and addressing the needs of grassroots rugby that is the bedrock of our game would all be on my New Year’s wish list. In the words of my old mate Jean Luc Picard, Rugby Australia “ Make It So”.
Last but by no means least, to all my fellow G&GRians, a very safe and enjoyable Christmas and New Year to you and yours until we meet again in February when SR rivalries will be resumed. The Rebs may have gone but their spirit remains mostly in RANSW.
