Wednesday’s rugby news has the latest news from the Wallabies camp, the Irish coming over next year and some folks demanding people turn up to the Bledisloe test.
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Holy Foley
Keep the faith. The amount of times we’ve heard that beyond bewilders many of us. However, the term this time comes from Bernard Foley, and for the first time in a long, there actually might be some merit behind it.
Ever since they trudged off trailing 40-6 at halftime in the first match in Sydney, the Wallabies have been starting to play more consistently, with two wins against the Pumas and two draws against the Boks. Add in their performance in Dunedin that nearly made 4 million Kiwis sh*t themselves, and you’ve got some more encouraging signs.
Foley, in a chat with the Sydney Morning Herald said that a lot of the growth of the team has come from having faith in each other and banding together more as a unit.
“Just amongst the squad there is lot more belief,” Foley said.
“Belief comes through hard work and knowing each other. This Rugby Championship just gone, the team grew and we started believing a bit more.
“In saying that … we haven’t really achieved what we’ve wanted to achieve. We’ve had two good wins and two draws, so it’s not like we’re really playing the house down in terms of getting the results we want to, but there has been that development and progress amongst the squad which has been pleasing. ”
This week the Wallabies will be effectively playing for pride, as New Zealand has taken Lord Bledisloe back another year, but a Wallaby win would do much to lift the spirits of Aussie rugby fans after an absolute sh*tshow this year has been.
“This weekend that has to go up another level. They’re the No.1 side and world-class for that reason, so it’s going to be a great challenge for us.
“[Karmichael Hunt] was exceptional in his first three Test matches this year,” Foley said, when asked about his inclusion in the extended squad.
“He is a great guy to have amongst the squad and he’s got great experience, especially at the top level. I saw him in camp; he came in after the [NRC] game. It’s going to be a great week of prep.
“We saw this year how he’s an all-round footballer. He loves the contact side, he loves carrying the ball but he also ball plays and can play-make and that’s a real credit to his skills and an asset to our team.”
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When in doubt, bring Palmer out
No, not Clive.
After retiring from the game three years ago and dropping 20kgs in bulk, ACT Brumbies scrum coach Dan Palmer has been brought into the fray up on the Gold Coast. As Mario Ledesma prepares to shut up shop and head home to Buenos Aires, Palmer is widely expected to fill his shoes as a potential future forward coach of the Wallabies.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Palmer has been brought onto the Wallabies on a part-time basis in coming weeks, but will miss part of the spring tour due to university commitments. But, the work he’s done this year with the Brums set piece has made him Michael Cheika‘s number one pick to replace Ledesma, above other contenders Nick Stiles and Joe Barakat.
“Dan’s got state commitments,” Cheika said.
“I’d be naive to not look straight at our coaches at the next level … to try and work out what the best mix might be.”
This comes after apparent reports that several Wallabies cried when they found out Ledesma was leaving.
“There was a lot of talk after the game, apparently, so Cheik felt it was the right thing to do to tell the players first before it came out in the press,” Ledesma said.
“I assumed I was doing it the next day, but it came as a surprise. It was the right thing to do and I’m kind of emotional, so there was a lot of tears and crying – yeah, pretty embarrassing – but at this point, I do it so often, I’m cool with it. There was a lot of emotion and real emotion. Again, not sadness, just emotion because of all the things we shared together.”
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Ireland are coming over!
Yeah boiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
In what will be the final June Series before the introduction of a new global rugby calendar in 2020 (as there are no June series in World Cup years), we will be lucky enough to host Ireland for the three match series next year.
In the last three years, the Wallabies have hosted Fiji, Scotland and Italy this year, England last year and France in 2014.
Interestingly, the Wallabies haven’t actually beaten Ireland in over four years, as every November series since 2013, we’ve fallen at the Dublin hurtle in a bid for a Grand Slam.
According to rugby.com.au, the series will be the first time Ireland have visited since 2010, when the Wallabies defeated the men in green 22-15 in Brisbane.
The series is expected to be formally announced later today, with Ireland President Michael D. Higgins the guest of honour at a lunch at the new ARU headquarters in Sydney.
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Lutton lets loose…
Finally, on a more left-field note, SMH jurno Phil Lutton reckons it’s time for Aussie fans to pull their heads in and get vocal at matches against the All Blacks.
“At Eden Park in Auckland, where virtually the entire crowd wears the famous black jersey, it’s: “Hello darkness, my old friend.”” Lutton wrote.
“Venture over the other side of the ditch and it’s closer to “the sound of silence”. Australian rugby crowds have become tragically mute. That must change in a hurry if the Wallabies are going to beat the All Blacks in Brisbane on Saturday night.”
Not to be a downer on this point of view, but fans can only really get into it when their team isn’t being relentlessly thrashed by the opposition like the Wallabies were a few weeks back. At least Lutton admits this in his article. But I digress.
“With all the talk about Sydney stadiums and their various failings, it’s easy to forget there are plenty of good ones elsewhere.” Lutton continues.
“Suncorp fits that bill; when done right, the old Lang Park becomes a raucous, simmering, sneering jar of thunder that can give the home side an extra leg and bury the despised intruders.
“When the Maroons run out for an Origin, it quite simply erupts. When the Roar won A-League grand finals, the atmosphere and emotion spilled over from the field and translated into electricity in the stands. When Jeff Horn stunned Manny Pacquiao, the whole suburb fairly rocked.
“Alas, rugby doesn’t usually sound like any of those, even when the All Blacks arrive. It’s not even close. Don’t be a hater…. that’s the plain truth.”
Lutton basically then argues that Suncorp is basically a much better stomping ground for the Wallabies in general, even despite the fact that they have only won one out of six matches against the All Blacks at the venue.
“A semi-militant crowd couldn’t hurt but, somewhere along the way, Australian rugby fans embraced the perceived gentility of their code a little too much. Time to leave the self-consciousness at home. Suncorp Stadium has soul in spades. The fans need to bring some of their own.”
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