Tuesday’s Rugby news has The Brumbies in Argentina, an indigenous jersey for the Wallaroos, the return of a prodigal son and some Paul Cully filler.
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Los Ponitos
Richie Arnold’s brother, Rory, reckons the Brumbies can bolt all the way to top.
The Brumbies are probably still over the Pacific on their way to Buenos Aires, a strangle land where the national dish is a bit of pastry with meat in it, and people obsess over a long ago a loss in war. Totally unlike Australia.
The Jaguares will next be in the way of the Brumbies winning streak, which is currently at 7.
‘‘[Si claro] they’re a world-class team, full of international players, they’ve got a good record and been playing some really good footy, so it’s going to be a hard task with the travel, but we’ve won there before,’’ R. Arnold said to SMH.
‘‘[Pero] we’ve got some quality players in our pack with big Al [Allan Alaalatoa] and Sammy [Carter]. From one to eight we’ve got good players then some more on the bench. [Si claro] I’m quite confident our pack will match theirs. We’ve had some pretty good sides in the past but I think as a squad we’re jelling really well and that’s showing on the field at the moment. I back our squad and ability to go over there and get the job done.’’
If los Brumbies are able to overcome the jaguars, los ponis will have to be at their best.
‘‘We need to tidy a few things up but we’ve got a strong set piece and some classy backs there. It all starts up front for us, but I think we can go all the way,’’ he said.
‘‘The pinnacle of Super Rugby is winning it and we’re two games away. We’re all competitors and we don’t play footy to come second, we play to win and if we did that it would be pretty special because I’ve never won a grand final at any level.
‘‘It would be unreal to host the final, when they were farewelling us [on Saturday night] I was like ‘you never know, we might be back here in a couple of weeks’. That would be unreal but we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves, we’ve got a big game this week and we need to get the result.’’
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Indigy Jersey
The Wallaroos are seeking artists to create an indigenous jersey that they can take to the 2021 World Cup.
Spurred on by the successful and very sexy Wallabies jersey, RA wants to give the Wallaroos a jersey for the New Zealand event.
“I think it’s a really visible way for our players to connect with the traditions of the country and what it means to be Australian, above and beyond wearing the green and gold,” Head of Women’s Rugby Jilly Collins said (via the SMH).
“With players like [Wallaroo and Aussie Sevens player] Mahalia Murphy, bringing to life her family background makes it a real and tangible things that the players are interested in and want to show their support for.
“We really want there to be a connection through the jersey to our female ancestry and, through the design, to celebrate the strength and value of women and women’s history in Australia. We want it to be really special and unique to our women’s XVs team.”
The plan so far is to fly the winner to the Wallaroos/Wallabies double header in Perth on 10 August, present the finalised design and also pay them $5,000. It won’t be until 2021 for the shirt to be available to everyone.
“It potentially could be our home strip, that’s all to be decided,” Collins said. “Being the team’s World Cup year we’d love it to be showcased and get great visibility because we want it to be well-received and well-supported.”
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JOC back?
The Australian is dropping bombshells everywhere by reporting that James O’Connor may be back for the World Cup.
Apparently, RA are considering bringing him back. The man himself, who still has 18 months to go on his Sale contract is currently in Queensland.
“It is understood that while Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has not spoken to O’Connor since they had a casual chat on the spring tour two years ago, Rugby Australia’s director of rugby Scott Johnson has been in contact with him and is impressed that he now appears to have his footballing career and personal life back on track,” The Australian’s chief rugby correspondent Wayne Smith writes (via Fox Sports).
If he was to sign a deal with one of Australia’s four Super Rugby franchises for the latter portion of the 2020 season, JOC would be eligible for the World Cup (in a similar way to Matt Toomua and Nic White). It is believed his favoured destination is the QLD Reds, but Brad Thorn might get in the way of that.
And if I – your humble fill-in news writer – can editorialise for a bit, for all the hate JOC (perhaps rightly) gets, he has contributed to the funniest and one of the most impressive moments – his 100m, cross field covering tackle – of rugby history.
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Here’s Filler
There’s not much news going on that isn’t behind the Daily/Courier Paywall, but there is Paul Cully’s article so let’s riff off that.
Cully reckons that the Brumbies can beat the Jags in BA.
“There must be a sneaking suspicion that the Jaguares’ deserved 21-16 win against the Chiefs in their Super Rugby quarter-final came at a hidden cost,” Cully writes.
“As could be seen by their celebrations at the end, the Argentine side used up a lot of emotional energy to get the job done. They will be expected to ride that wave of passion in the semifinal against the Brumbies but it doesn’t always work that way.
“And they’ll have to reach those heights again because the Brumbies look in good shape, with their own progress to the top four serene by comparison. Two early tries had the Brumbies in control of the game against the Sharks, while Tom Banks’ ability to hang onto the ball while running an inside line to set up Henry Speight’s try was sensational.
“The Brumbies have now scored at least 35 points in each of their past four games. They can win that semi-final.”
He also reckons Rory Arnold is “developing into a world-class talent in the second row”, but if the Brumbies/RA can’t somehow get him out of his Toulon contract, the Brumbies will be ok. “There are some really good big men in the Australian system – young Reds giant Angus Blyth has a nice bit of edge”, Cully says.
I could paste more but then I’d pretty much be stealing his work. Read more of his weekly column here.
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