Brad Shields knows the messages will start arriving soon. Having left New Zealand provincial rugby last summer to chase his dream of playing for England, the 27-year-old knows the All Blacks rather better than he does his new teammates and facing the haka at Twickenham will be almost like gazing into a mirror. If anything,…
Author: THEJOHNANTONIOBLOG
Tactics not theatrics spur Wallabies’ Salta second act reversal
It may have been long overdue, but the Wallabies finally figured out how to adapt to one of the key law changes in the game when they produced their remarkable comeback win against Argentina in Salta on Sunday. The new tackle law introduced this year favours the attacking team by making it more difficult for…
Maro Itoje aims to curb ill-discipline but not his aggression against All Blacks
Click:工作間出租 The last time Maro Itoje beat the All Blacks thousands of people stood chanting his name at the final whistle. The eventful second Test in Wellington was the standout occasion of the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour but, in Eddie Jones’s opinion, Itoje’s best days are still to come. Target the lineout and…
Statues, All Blacks and 6am training: lifting the lid on rugby in Japan
When Eddie Jones was the coach of Japan he once cancelled a training session and gave everyone the day off. In response, he had never seen his players so upset. Japan plot fast route to ‘emotionally smash’ Eddie Jones’s England Jones had felt his players were trudging towards training as if “off to prison”, compelled…
Six Nations could be tougher to win this year than the Rugby World Cup
Click:porcelain insulator Even a few years ago the notion that the Six Nations might be harder to win than a World Cup would have been ridiculous. Suddenly that is how it feels: whoever lifts the Webb Ellis Cup in Japan in November will not have met more highly-ranked opponents in more hostile surroundings than they…
Liam Williams leads Wales to South Africa win and first clean sweep
We have another contender on these isles. Ireland may be blazing the trail at the moment and England recovering from their wobbles of last season but Wales are as dangerous as any. Warren Gatland thinks his team are still under the radar. If people are missing them, they are not paying attention. This is their…
Wales’s stunning comeback is one of Warren Gatland’s finest hours
Warren Gatland’s final Six Nations joust with England was always going to be memorable. Two unbeaten sides, a perfect sunny day and the kind of stage even a leading West End impresario would covet. Gatland relishes a big occasion – the bigger the better – and there is no better location on earth to watch…
Wales coach Warren Gatland hits out at Samu Kerevi’s ‘reckless’ chargedown
Warren Gatland has branded Samu Kerevi’s attempted chargedown of Leigh Halfpenny’s clearance kick reckless, worthy of at least a penalty, but he rose above the noise calling loudly for consistency from officials. Wales 9-6 Australia: rugby union international – as it happened “I thought it was reckless,” he said. “It was potentially a penalty or…
Saracens into Champions Cup last eight as top seeds after beating Glasgow
On the day Saracens announced the latest blow for England with the loss of Owen Farrell, they duly gave English rugby the sort of fillip only they are qualified to administer. A bonus-point win at home to Glasgow means Saracens qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup as unbeaten top seeds. And the form…
Eddie Jones five minutes short against All Blacks but time is on his side
The rain came 30 minutes before kick‑off but the storm broke only when the match started, the first collision the opening crack of thunder. It blew for two hours until, in the very end, England lost a brilliantly entertaining, brutally competitive game, 16-15. They had pushed the best team in the world right to the…