What’s better than Test Rugby being back? Cleaning up the Northern Hemisphere – that’s what. With that well covered on the other days, today’s rugby news round-up sees an Indigenous & Pacific v Lions game in 2025, the latest rebel comp nonsense, the results of a League v Union game that gave the advantage to League FFS, and some sad news for our further-east brothers & sisters.
Indigenous & Pacific team to play Lions
According to the SMH, the British and Irish Lions could face a team with indigenous and Pacific heritage during their 2025 tour, according to Phil “civil” Waugh.
The Lions were due to play against the Rebels on 22 July 2025 at Marvel Stadium, between the first and second Test matches against the Wallabies.
RA are apparently in the final stages of discussions with Lions counterparts about the fixture being a team comprised of Australian players with First Nations or Pacific Island heritage, drawn from the ranks of the Super Rugby teams.
The intention is to celebrate the diversity of cultures that make up Australian rugby, said Waugh.
“Given the popularity of rugby in the Pacific Island communities was one point, and the connection to the Victorian rugby community in Melbourne was another really important element,” Waugh said. “For some reason we still have to placate those culturally-superior, scarf-wearing, alleyway latte-sippers despite their usual low attendance at wasted tests matches that should have gone to Queensland” Waugh might have also said.
Given the game is played between the first and second Tests, and with some Lions players having to feature in the midweek game and the Tests, Waugh said the Lions were keen for the game to be against a Super Rugby-standard team, and not a “fourth Test” against an Australia A-type outfit.
But despite the fact Australian rugby is blessed with many players of Pasifika background, and there is a big Pacific Island representation in the Melbourne rugby community, the harsh reality is that Australian rugby has very small numbers of professional footballers with Indigenous heritage.
Along with Dylan Pietsch, who became the 15th Indigenous Wallaby this year, the players who identify as having Indigenous heritage in Super Rugby include Andy Muirhead, Harrison Goddard, Triston Reilly, Connor “Owen Farrell” Vest and Isaac Henry. Maurice Longbottom could be drafted in from the Australian sevens team, and he has proved a handy 15s player with Randwick.
Former Melbourne Rebel Kurtley Beale suffered an Achilles’ tendon rupture in June and it is uncertain if he’ll be offered another contract at the Western Force for 2025.
Breakaway Rugby Comp a pie-in-the-sky
Robert Kitson of the Guardian has written this column pouring the cold water of practicality on the latest rumours of World Rugby Corporation version 2 (or whatever). Trimmed extracts appear below:
As with the Kerry Packer cricket circus in the 1970s and the more recent LIV golf saga, sport’s traditional overlords can periodically be blindsided by wealthy interlopers who claim they can do better.
Theoretically the idea is to replicate the Formula One model and stage 14 weekends of top-class rugby around the world.
Eight men’s franchises, around 280 of the world’s top players involved, host venues in new markets, all dovetailing neatly with the existing international programme. Someone, somewhere has clearly done some extravagant doodling on the back of a beermat. And then paid a well-connected firm of intermediaries to fly the whole kite as high as possible, via a couple of obliging media outlets, to gauge the potential public appetite.
There is an overwhelmingly good reason why these schemes never come to fruition and it is this: the people behind them fail to grasp what rugby union is ultimately about.
In particular, they ignore the essence of the game’s appeal to fans and players. Money is nice, obviously, but rugby is also about heartfelt passion, genuine communal pride and following in a grand tradition. It is about giving everything for the team, region or country you represent and embracing a cause bigger than yourself. [or if they’re from New South Wales, it’s about getting in cheap-shots or something.]
And, if you are good enough, playing in competitions and jerseys that matter hugely to yourself and the paying public.
What it is not about is organising plastic Mickey Mouse leagues, financed by people with more money than wise judgment, aimed at fans who might be gullible enough to think they are witnessing something vaguely meaningful. The Arizona Muskrats v the Paris Musketeers, anyone? Allianz London against the Emirates Kings?
Yes, a shorter season and better player welfare might sound attractive, only to become instantly less so if it means forfeiting the right to play Test rugby or participate at World Cups.
Mungo v proper Rugby charity match
Sky Sports reports that Rugby League has won a unique (apart from the other ones) battle of the codes charity match against Rugby Union at Headingley (Leeds, UK) that was held to aid research into Motor Neurone Disease.
Former England rugby union and rugby league stars including Danny “who me?” Cipriani (pictured above), Billy “36” Twelvetrees and Danny “Eddie” McGuire were among those who played on Sunday, the match ending in a 33-21 victory for the league side.
The 13-a-side showdown included unlimited tackles in each team’s own half but six after halfway, uncontested scrums and line-outs, with five points awarded for a try and two each for a conversion and a drop goal. It was also effectively a home game for the mungos (of you missed that “Leeds” bit earlier – do try to keep up).
The cross-code fixture represented a new development in matches between the two codes, with previous meetings involving halves or whole matches played under established union and league rules respectively.
In two matches in 1996, Wigan beat Bath 82-6 under league rules, before Bath won the union rematch 44-19.
In a match between Sale and St Helens in 2003, the former built up a 41-0 half-time lead under union rules, before Saints responded with 39 unanswered points under league rules after the break.
New Zealand miss out in player of the year awards
RugbyPass reports that New Zealand have been snubbed in the World Rugby Player of the Year awards with not a single men’s or women’s player making it onto the 15s shortlist for only the second time in history. The only other time that this happened under the present format of the awards was in 2021. It’s a crying shame.
