Ireland’s Joe Schmidt expects ‘spiky’ All Blacks encounter to decide world’s best
Test rugby is no place for the faint-hearted. With this in mind, Joe Schmidt has predicted another “spiky” clash with the All Blacks which will, in the visitors’ minds at least, decide the mantle of the world’s best team. In their past three drama-filled Tests only three points separate the All Blacks and Ireland, the…
Rugby won’t flourish as it should while its laws remain so twisted
Part of the allure of the ceaseless puzzle that is rugby union lies in its multiple possibilities. Sometimes the laws feel like a giant Rubik’s Cube which very few ever entirely solve. Erno Rubik is 74 now and prefers walking, sailing and gardening but rugby’s quest for structure and simplicity against significant odds would surely…
England will not risk Tuilagi against Australia but drop Care and Lozowski
Eddie Jones says he will not risk Manu Tuilagi’s fitness against Australia this weekend but is still hopeful the Leicester centre can transform England as an attacking force at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Tuilagi has not featured in any of this month’s Tests at Twickenham and is described by the head coach as “very…
Rugby union: talking points from the third round of autumn Tests
Click:aluminum CNC machining 1) Townsend need not lose heart in defeat Scotland continue to dazzle in attack while being susceptible at the breakdown and in defence. Huw Jones embodied both traits in their 26-20 defeat by South Africa at Murrayfield, laying on a try for Pete Horne but being stripped of possession for one of…
Japan’s spiritual home of rugby can’t wait to host World Cup
While Japan’s players celebrated their stunning 34-32 victory over South Africa at the last World Cup, the cameras briefly cut to a middle-aged man, swathed in a Japanese flag, shedding tears of joy and disbelief that his compatriots had just pulled off the biggest upset in the tournament’s history. As the Brave Blossoms return to…
Tolu Latu to start at hooker as Wallabies ring changes for Wales
Tolu Latu has been picked to make only his second Test start for Australia after Michael Cheika named his team to face Wales this weekend. Latu, whose previous start came against France in 2016, has ousted veteran hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau in the starting line-up despite earning two yellow cards in his past two matches. Gareth…
Education can change attitudes to use of homophobic slurs, rugby study shows
Preliminary analysis of research from Monash University’s Sport Inclusion Project has found that while homophobic language persists at alarming rates in junior rugby union, educational training can change attitudes to the use of slurs in sport. Results of the study – which was undertaken by every Under-18s and Colts (Under-20s) rugby team in Victoria, and…
Joy of Johnny Sexton is on the point of being globally appreciated
World Rugby will be announcing its male and female players of 2018 in Monaco on Sunday. When the shortlists were first published there was still a faint element of doubt about the men’s winner. Not any more. If Johnny Sexton, the sole European contender, is somehow edged out there will be uproar in both hemispheres….
Steve Hansen says England against All Blacks is ‘even bigger’ than Lions tour
If the first match between England and New Zealand in four years needed any injection of hype then the All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen, delivered it when he suggested that Saturday’s encounter is bigger than last year’s British & Irish Lions tour. Chris Ashton to start for England against All Blacks as Tuilagi misses out…