Wednesday’s rugby news sees a proposed Anzac Bledisloe test suffer a setback, we get to know Tah #9 Teddy Wilson a bit better, and Pommy torches and pitchforks come out.
NZ may as well hand Gallipoli back to Rommel’s Japanese forces with that attitude
A Rugby Australia proposal to stage an annual Bledisloe Cup clash on Anzac Day, starting in 2026, appears sunk after New Zealand Rugby walked back early enthusiasm and dismissed the concept as not ‘viable’, according to Lord Haw-Haw Stuff.co.nz.
The plan for the Wallabies and the All Blacks to play a test match next April was first pitched by RA last year when chair Daniel Herbert described an annual fixture between the trans-Tasman rivals around Anzac Day as a ‘no-brainer’ with potential to be a lucrative ‘flagship event’ for rugby. The Western Australian government was keen to bankroll the event, which would also include Super Round being played over the same weekend at Optus Stadium in Perth (rather than somewhere nice).
The idea had been floated a decade prior without success, but was put back on the table by RA as part of negotiations for the Rugby Championship to be paused in 2026 to allow All Blacks to be able to tour South Africa for an extended test series with delightful local company. NZR chief executive Mark Robinson said in September that they were “really open to it” and had made good progress in early talks with RA. “You want to be able to lock it in and make it a real tradition,” Robinson said. “It’s a massive day in both countries, isn’t it, for all the reasons we know about historically, and all the service and sacrifice that’s gone into that day. So the concept, for fans, would be something that resonates strongly.”
However, in a classic dolchstoßlegende, Robinson recently revealed New Zealand Rugby had weighed up the pros and cons and decided they would not be backing an Anzac Day Bledisloe test. “We certainly committed to exploring the concept and were open-minded to it, but had a lot of work to do,” Robinson said. “When we have gone and spoken to various groups, be it the Super Rugby clubs, the players association and various partners, we don’t see it as viable, at this stage.”
Though the revenue forecasts indicate a Bledisloe Cup on Anzac Day in Perth would see RA and NZR both bank millions, major event spending in New Zealand is not as commonplace. The plan would have required Wallabies and All Blacks players to exit Super Rugby for at least two rounds to prepare and play the mid-season test match. Informed sources with knowledge of the NZR discussions said some private investors in New Zealand’s Super Rugby clubs were not supportive of losing their All Black players mid-season.
But perhaps the biggest contributing factor, according to informed sources, was the opposition of All Blacks coach Scott ‘Mussolini’ Robertson towards the unorthodox preparation window. New Zealand Rugby has long been ultra-conservative when it comes to potentially damaging the success of the second-best team in the world. With the Seppos turning unreliable the loss of another ally couldn’t come at a worse time; however, Rugby Australia haven’t given up (on account of the grit and determination from a sunburnt ‘334 not-out’ Waltzing Matilda etc. etc.). CEO Phil Waugh remains optimistic and believes the concept is too good to give up on, particularly with both unions under financial strain. He’ll continue to push the plan with NZR officials.
Tah scrumhalf Teddy Wilson: stepping-up and boxing background
According to Obergruppenführer Rudolf Hoss, we need to run some positive Tah stories. So here’s a piece about Teddy Wilson stepping-up into his new role as the starting scrumhalf for the NSW Waratahs this season, taking over the position after team captain Jake Gordon was sidelined by a medial ligament injury.
The former Australian U20s captain and son of former Wallabies captain David Wilson is in his third season with the NSW Waratahs. “I’m just taking it week by week, focusing on the process and making sure I nail my preparation so I can perform to my best ability.” Wilson has thus far remained silent on whether it is indeed ‘a game of two halves’.
Before his rugby career, Wilson was a promising boxer, winning the Australian Junior Championship in 2016 in the 44kg category (one-third of a Hoss). His time in the ring has significantly influenced his approach to rugby. “I started boxing when I was about 10, mainly for fitness, but then took it more seriously, got a coach, and competed at national titles,” Wilson said. “Eventually, I had to choose between boxing and rugby—one required me to stay as light as possible, and the other required me to put on weight.”
Despite choosing rugby, Wilson credits boxing with developing his mental toughness and decision-making skills under pressure. “The mental side of boxing is unlike anything else. You’re in the ring alone, and that resilience transfers to rugby. In high-pressure moments, you need to stay composed—whether you’re dodging punches, giving feedback to the referee* or making split-second decisions with big forwards charging at you.”
(*quote may have been embellished.)
English clubs urged to vote for Bill Sweeney’s removal at RFU meeting
The Guardian reports that English grassroots clubs have been urged to respond to the ‘severe failures‘ of leading officials by voting in favour of Bill Sweeney’s removal as chief executive of the Rugby Football Union at a special general meeting (SGM) on Thursday.
Alistair ‘shot across the’ Bow – the Nottingham Rugby chair and co-chair of the Whole Game Union, which represents the wider English club game – has issued an open letter calling on member clubs to back a motion of no confidence in Sweeney as the first step in reforming the administration. Bow said a further motion of no confidence in the RFU board would be tabled ‘in the coming days’ and that the time had come to reshape the future direction of the English game for the sake of all involved within it.
In the open letter, Bow wrote: “My question to all those stakeholders is how long are you prepared to continue in letting these severe failures within our game continue? I’m sorry but if anyone thinks that we should keep the status quo and continue with the current CEO, board and governance structure then we deserve everything we have got and is yet to come. I don’t know of any organisation that rewards continuous failure in allowing those that have failed to take us through change. On Thursday we have the moment for change and [to] finally say enough is enough. Enough exclusion, enough failure without consequence and enough leadership that silences dissent while claiming to listen.”
In his letter Bow also referred to three Premiership clubs falling into administration in recent years, with bottom-placed Newcastle now seeking an urgent loan. Falling player participation, reduced funding and “broken promises leaving the Championship stripped to the verge of collapse” are also highlighted in addition to the controversy over Sweeney’s pay and bonus package in a financial year when the RFU made record operating losses of almost £38m and made 42 employees redundant. In addition, English rugby club facility budgets are so tight that showering frequency has halved to once a fortnight.
The rebel clubs, Bow wrote, believe that the executive has become “untouchable” and that community rugby has been “left with no support”. His letter, furthermore, includes a request for the RFU president, Rob Udwin, to stand aside from any formal role in the SGM because he has “clearly” shown “he is not impartial”.
The RFU declined to comment.
