Tuesday’s Rugby News has some great Super Rugby news, some weird Israel Folau gossip, the thoughts of the landing Wallabies scrum coach and Genia back sooner than first thought.
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Wow What A Lovely Day
Mm mm isn’t it a lovely day today. The sun is shinin’, the birds are chirpin’, the worms are digestin’, the childrens run off to the bus ready for a day of learnin’, and a million million more adults beam as they begin another day of wage slavin’.
It couldn’t be any better today could it, and it gets better and better as news comes out that the South Africans might be leaving Super Rugby.
“Three more South African sides set to join the Pro14 in 2018-19” sings Wales Online in that Welsh valley way.
“Natal Sharks are understood to be the first team likely to commit to joining the Cheetahs and Kings in taking on sides from Wales, Ireland and Scotland on a regular basis in domestic competition,” the report tra-la-las.
“The Lions and Stormers are the most likely to follow suit, though which of those two would join first is unclear.”
Sanzaar of course has rubbished these reports, with the SMH saying they said these reports were “unsubstantiated speculation” and “completely wrong”.
Pro14 was expanded from the Pro12 this season, as the Cheetahs and the Kings did one from Super to the Northern Hemisphere comp this year. The Cheetahs were momentarily in the quarter-finals, but got beaten 43-8 by Welsh team Scarlets.
Here’s GeeRob with the detail:
“The Pro14 recently announced a beefed-up new broadcast deal, which has delighted the member unions,” she wrote. “It has already green-lighted the inclusion of two more South African teams, the Kimberley-based Griquas and Nelspruit-based Pumas, possibly as soon as next season.
“At the very least SA Rugby, with 14 provincial unions to cater to, believes a foot in both hemispheres is crucial. Europe is seen as doubly attractive given it is in the same time zone as South Africa.
“The first formal talks with broadcasters about Super Rugby and the Rugby Championship post-2021 will begin next April. While the four member unions have publicly committed to a future with SANZAAR, the disastrous 18-team experiment means each will be doing more due diligence this time around. Australia, for example, have hired a consultant of their own to chart a preferred course for Rugby Australia.
“This is also the time to stoke the fires of insecurity. SA Rugby could leverage the growing monetary clout of the Pro14 to push an agenda at the SANZAAR table.”
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Folau Going Red
It may be one shade away from Pink, but Israel Folau may be going to Queensland, reports the Daily Telegraph.
In what is probably just more crap to get him a better contract at the Tahs, Folau is apparently talking to Brad Thorn about returning to the place where he sort of grew up.
The Daily Tele is of course binding this legitimate and purely intended discussion between Folau and the Reds with Mrs. Folau’s tweet about Izzy playing on the wing.
OMG @NSWWaratahs why do you keep playing @IzzyFolau on the wing???? ♀️♀️♀️♀️
— Maria Folau (@MariaFolau) May 5, 2018
Just so you know, if this move was to happen, the Reds would have to shift Quade Cooper, Nick Frisby and Karmichael Hunt, who are all on big bucks and aren’t being played by Thorn. Thorn’s crossing his fingers that all 3 will go to Europe,b but Quade has rejected offers from the Brumbies and the Rebels to move.
The DT says that :Folau has strong relationships at NSW and has consistently said he is happy to play wherever it suits the Tahs. But his wife’s comments suggest he may have been unhappy being shifted to the end of the backline.” Which is interesting because they also quote Folau as saying:
“I enjoy playing in both roles, just because I’ve got the No.15 jersey, I can still mix and match with using that skill in some parts of the game.”
“It’s just a matter of talking to the wingers and communicating that.
“That’s an option that’s not entirely gone away, we can still use that whenever that suits in a game.”
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Raiwalui Starts
Simon Raiwalui, the Wallabies’ new scrum coach, has finally landed in Australia and is ready to get going reports rugby.com.au.
He’s just come back from France, and will have no time for a holiday as the Wallabies will play Ireland first up on 9 June.
“It’s going to be a long process for me in the next month getting to know those guys so I will be really looking at this weekend as the first reference point,” Raiwalui said.
“I’ve watched a lot of video and I’ve seen some good things and some other things to work on but I’ll be able to look at things in much more detail now that I’m here.”
A big concern for the scrum coach is the empty hole at hooker. Tatafu Polota-Nau, in Europe with Leicester, is likely to be rested; his backup Jordan Uelese is currently injured, coming back from nerve damage to his guns (aka his bicep). He’s expected to return for the Rebels just two weeks before the first Ireland game.
“There’s some big gaps to fill but of the videos I’ve watched there’s some good young hookers through, including Jordan,” he said.
“There’s some good talent so it’s a matter of them putting their hands up and keeping that consistency.”
Behind Uelese is Reds’ young’un Brendan Paenga-Amosa, with Damien Fitzpatrick apparently the next in line.
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Genia Good
Will Genia shapes to pass.
It was thought that when Will Genia hobbled off the field on Friday night, that would be him for 8 weeks. No Wallabies included.
But now it is felt that Genia might be ok, with scans yesterday proving that all maybe isn’t lost.
“Will Genia is expected to miss the club’s next three Super Rugby matches after scans this afternoon revealed a low-grade strain to his medial collateral ligament in his knee,” the Rebels said in a statement (via Fox Sports).
“The injury will sideline Genia for upcoming Rebels matches against the ACT Brumbies, the Blues and the Sunwolves.”
Nick Phipps can put the voodoo doll away for now.
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