Month: November 2021

Eddie Jones insists he did not intend to criticise US Open champion Emma Raducanu in his recent comments about young sportspeople coping with “distractions”.

The England rugby union head coach referred to Raducanu on Saturday when discussing the possibility that fly-half Marcus Smith could face “a flood of distractions” after an impressive cameo in his team’s 69-3 win against Tonga.

Jones received criticism after suggesting the 18-year-old Brit had underperformed since she won her first grand slam in September, when she became the first qualifier in tennis history to win a major.

“There’s a reason why the girl who won the US Open [Raducanu] hasn’t done so well afterwards. What have you seen her on? The front page of Vogue, the front page of Harper’s Bazaar, whatever it is, wearing Christian Dior clothes,” Jones said at the weekend.

However, he has attempted to clarify his comments, claiming he was not directly criticising Raducanu.

“The whole point was how difficult it is for young players to cope with distractions,” Jones told BBC Sport.

“So, the point I made was not wrong. I can’t control if it’s taken out of context. There was no criticism of Emma.

“I have sent her a letter just to reinforce that and hopefully we’ll see her at Twickenham shortly.

“I don’t have any misgivings about what I said – I am disappointed it was taken out of context, and I would be disappointed if Emma was upset by it.

“It was deemed as being sexist and that was never the aim of the point.”

Raducanu’s season came to a frustrating end on Tuesday as she sustained a thigh injury in the process of being knocked out of the Linz Open – in which she was the top seed – by Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu 6-1 6-7 (0-7) 7-5.

However, the British number one did confirm Torben Beltz as her new coach afterwards, having parted with Andrew Richardson a couple of weeks after her historic US Open success.

Eddie Jones says England are now treating coronavirus cases to key men “as normal” after Ellis Genge was ruled out of Saturday’s Test against Australia.

Genge, who had been named in the XV against the Wallabies, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Uncapped Sale prop Bevan Rodd, previously set for a bench role, instead comes in for his full debut, while Jones has called up Trevor Davison of Newcastle Falcons to his replacements.

There is still no place for Mako Vunipola.

Genge joins Joe Marler in missing this game due to COVID, while captain Owen Farrell was absent against Tonga before his test result was revealed to be a false positive.

England confirmed Genge had immediately gone into isolation and no other players or staff had returned positive results.

“We treat it as normal now,” Jones said as England continued their preparations.

“Every day is an adventure and we’re on a bit of a rollercoaster at the moment. COVID keeps coming, we just accept it and get on with it.

“I was watching the players come through this morning. Some are disappointed for Ellis, others are angry, others just want to get on with it.”

England have won seven consecutive matches against the Wallabies, their best winning run in this fixture.

Another England victory would see them nudge ahead of Australia in all-time meetings, with the sides having won 25 apiece and drawn the other of their 51 encounters.

Makazole Mapimpi scored two tries as South Africa recovered from a half-time deficit to see off Scotland 30-15 in Saturday’s entertaining Test at Murrayfield.

Scotland beat Australia 15-13 last week and looked good value to pull off another big win after opening up a 10-8 lead at the midway point against the Springboks.

Mapimpi had raced over following some good play from Siya Kolisi for the opening try of the contest after Finn Russell and Elton Jantjies shared a penalty apiece.

But the hosts hit back strongly with a brilliantly worked try that started with Russell chipping a cross-kick left and Stuart Hogg eventually collecting a bouncing ball to run in.

Russell successfully added the extras, unlike Jantjies earlier in the game, but he was wayward with a straightforward penalty just before the interval.

That proved costly as Damian de Allende flicked a great pass to Mapimpi three minutes into the second period to double South Africa’s try count.

Jantjies this time made no mistake from the conversion and added six more points from the boot to punish ill-disciplined Scotland, who did manage to restore some hope when Hogg was fed by Duhan van der Merwe for a second try of his own – his 24th for Scotland, tying a record held by Ian Smith and Tony Stanger.

However, any hopes Scotland had of a first win over the reigning world champions since 2010 were ended when Handre Pollard (two) and Francois Steyn kicked over a trio of late penalties.

Ireland produced an outstanding performance to beat New Zealand 29-20 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Andy Farrell’s men, spurred on by a raucous home crowd in Dublin which relished an intense display from the hosts, overwhelmed the All Blacks.

New Zealand kept themselves within touching distance throughout despite being second best in most metrics but were unable to overcome a spirited Ireland side.

The visitors came within yards of the opening try on 10 minutes but Ronan Kelleher crucially intercepted, before Codie Taylor was shown a yellow card in the 13th minute for a high tackle on Johnny Sexton.

3 – This is just the third time the All Blacks and the Black Ferns have lost on the same day:

01/12/2012 (both v England)
17/11/2018 (Black Ferns v France, All Blacks v Ireland)
13/11/2021 (Black Ferns v France, All Blacks v Ireland).

Repeat.

Ireland took full advantage as James Lowe scored the first try of the game in the corner just over a minute later.

Despite being largely on top, Ireland went in 10-5 behind at the break after a Jordie Barrett penalty and a converted try from the returning Taylor.

Ireland started the second half brightly with Kelleher forcing the ball over for their second try, though Sexton missed his conversion for a second time.

The home crowd did not have to wait long to see their team ahead though as Caelan Doris raced away to score Ireland’s third try, and it was third time lucky for Sexton with the extra two points, before adding another penalty before the hour mark to stretch the lead to 10 after a 15-point swing.

A rare lapse in concentration allowed the All Blacks to add another converted try through Will Jordan’s 15th score of 2021 – no other player from a Tier 1 nation has reached double figures – but Joey Carbery added an Irish penalty straight after replacing Sexton, who came off with a head injury.

A disallowed New Zealand try was followed by a penalty that briefly reduced the gap to three, but a Carbery kick from the halfway line soon restored the six-point advantage, and another three from the same man just before the end saw Ireland home for a famous win.

Ireland close to perfect in Dublin

This was as good a performance as Farrell could have hoped for, and it is testament to his team that they probably should have won by more.

Ireland had 66 per cent of possession, 72 per cent of territory, almost three times as many carries (68-23) and more than three times as many passes (175-57).

All Blacks a shadow of usual selves

Ian Foster will have been less pleased with what he saw from the world’s number one team, though will surely concede that the quality of his opponents on the day was a bigger factor than his own team’s performance.

This was just New Zealand’s third defeat from 41 Tests in Europe (W38), with those other losses coming at the hands of Ireland (16-9 in November 2018) and England (38-21 in December 2012).

Freddie Steward and Jamie Blamire touched down as England secured a 32-15 victory over Australia in the Autumn Nations Series at Twickenham on Saturday.  

Leicester Tigers full-back Steward crossed for his first Test try in the opening stages, but poor discipline from both teams meant the match was largely a kicking contest.  

The returning Owen Farrell had 17 points to James O’Connor’s 15 with the boot as Australia failed to bounce back from their 15-13 loss to Scotland last weekend.  

After Farrell and Michael Hooper hobbled off with injuries in the second half, Blamire raced away with the clock in the red to add a touch of gloss to the scoreline. 

Steward stepped around Kurtley Beale for the opening try in the eighth minute, but England were unable to take full advantage of Australia being reduced to 14 men after Tom Wright was sent to the bin for catching Jamie George in the head with his shoulder.  

Only a sublime last-ditch tackle from Nic White stopped George touching in the corner in the 35th minute and O’Connor’s fourth successful penalty before Wright returned meant there were just four points in it at the break.  

O’Connor closed the gap further after the restart, but Angus Bell was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle on Courtney Lawes and Farrell slotted through the resulting penalty, though he missed another effort from the tee before Bell returned.  

An ankle injury forced Hooper off before the hour mark and Farrell put a converted try between the teams with a successful penalty after Bell’s scrum infringement. 

The game was already put to bed before Noah Lolesio gave the ball away to Sam Simmonds, who teed up Blamire for a try that Marcus Smith converted to make the result look more comfortable.

Eight straight for England  

Since Eddie Jones took over, England have been victorious in all of their eight meetings with their coach’s home nation. They have never enjoyed a better winning run against the Wallabies, who last got the better of England at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.  

Australia still struggle in Europe  

Having succumbed to back-to-back defeats against Scotland and England, Australia have now won just two of their past 10 away Tests versus European teams. They will hope to end the skid against Wales at the Principality Stadium next weekend. 

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was delighted with his team’s 29-20 victory against New Zealand and now wants “consistency” ahead of the match with Argentina next week.

Tries from James Lowe, Ronan Kelleher and Caelan Doris along with a penalty from Johnny Sexton and three from Joey Carbery saw the home side put away the All Blacks in a spirited performance from both the players and crowd in Dublin.

Ireland were on top for much of the match despite somehow going in 10-5 behind at the break after conceding a penalty and a sloppy try, but were able to come back in the second half to win.

“It was a fantastic day for Irish rugby and I’m so proud of the lads,” Farrell said to RTE Sport after the victory. 

“I wanted us to make sure we stayed disciplined. I thought just before half-time we lost a little bit of that. We were going off our feet a little bit and [conceded] a few penalties because of it, but we refocused at half-time.

“We asked the boys to bring enough moments to the crowd to get them on song, and that was right throughout the game and it certainly helped us in the last 10 minutes.

“We wanted to back ourselves and see where we are at. It’s a nice performance and we get the victory to go with it. We stayed nice and calm and the plan was executed nicely. We were brave to back it up as well.

“We’ll soak this up tonight and enjoy it, but the main thing is to be consistent again next week. Argentina are a good side, nice and strong and physical and we’ll get back to work next week.”

One of Ireland’s star performers on the day was appropriately New Zealand-born Lowe, who scored the opening try of the game before putting in a vital tackle to stop an All Blacks counter-attack with the score at 23-20 late on.

Speaking to Channel 4, Lowe said: “It’s amazing. Never in a million years did I think this day would come. Since [I was] a kid I dreamed of being an All Black.

“I gave up that dream, I wasn’t quite good enough, but to put up a performance against the best team in the world. To stand in front of the haka, it’s a childhood dream.”

Ireland captain Johnny Sexton has been ruled out for up to six weeks after suffering a twisted ankle and knee in the famous 29-20 victory over New Zealand on Saturday.

The Leinster fly-half will miss the final match of the Autumn Nations Series campaign against Argentina on Sunday and faces at least four weeks on the sidelines.

Joey Carbery came on to replace Sexton with 15 minutes to go at the Aviva Stadium and sent three penalties sailing through the posts to consign the All Blacks to defeat.

Sexton will remain with squad, while Connacht number 10 Jack Carty has been called up in the absence of the skipper.

Andy Farrell will also be able to call upon Munster back rower Gavin Coombes against the Pumas after he recovered from illness.

Ireland beat Argentina 28-17 when the two nations last met in Dublin three years ago.

Australia captain Michael Hooper will be absent for the Wallabies’ final Autumn Nations Series game against Wales on Saturday. 

Hooper was forced off injured during the second half of Australia’s 32-15 loss to England at Twickenham last weekend, which followed a 15-13 defeat to Scotland. 

The Wallabies confirmed on Twitter that scans carried out on the flanker revealed he had suffered a midfoot sprain and would be unavailable to take on Wales at the Principality Stadium. 

The news came after Hooper was revealed to be one of four players in contention for the World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year award. He is up against Antoine Dupont, Maro Itoje and Samu Kerevi in the fan vote. 

Australia have only won two of their past 10 away Tests against European teams, losing eight. However, one of those victories came against Wales in Cardiff in 2017. 

England captain Owen Farrell and hooker Jamie George have been ruled out Saturday’s Test against South Africa at Twickenham.

Farrell sustained an ankle injury during the 32-15 victory over Australia last Saturday after his Saracens team-mate George was force off with a knee problem.

Eddie Jones has brought Harry Elrington and Jack Singleton into his squad to face the world champions.

Prop Joe Marler will return for international duty on Friday after completing a 10-day isolation following his positive coronavirus test.

Farrell had missed the thrashing of Tonga after the skipper returned a positive COVID-19 test, but started at inside centre in the defeat of the Wallabies.

Jamie Blamire scored his sixth try in only four Tests after coming on to replace George and is poised to start when England do battle with the Springboks.

South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has been banned from all rugby activities for two months for his conduct towards match officials during a series win over the British and Irish Lions.

Erasmus, head coach of the Springboks for their 2019 World Cup triumph, has also been suspended from all matchday activities with immediate effect until September 30 next year.

World Rugby on Wednesday revealed that an independent misconduct committee found the 49-year-old was guilty of all six charges that were brought against him.

Erasmus accused the Lions of “reckless and dangerous” play in their 22-17 win in the first Test in July and hit out at the standard of refereeing from Nic Berry.

He also made the claims in a 62-minute clip posted on social media as he highlighted what he felt were a number of calls that went against the world champions.

Erasmus also retweeted clips from an anonymous Twitter user, alleged to be one of his own accounts, highlighting “questionable calls”.

In summary, World Rugby revealed he had been guilty of threatening a match official that unless a requested meeting took place, he would publish footage containing clips criticising the match official’s performance and then making good on that threat; published or permitted to be published the video containing numerous comments that were either abusive, insulting and/or offensive to match officials.

He was also found to have attacked, disparaged and/or denigrated the game and the match officials; did not accept or observe the authority and decisions of match officials; published or caused to be published criticism of the manner in which a match official handled a match.

The committee also deemed Erasmus to have engaged in conduct or activity that may impair public confidence in the integrity and good character of match official(s); and brought the game into disrepute when he published or caused to be published the ‘Erasmus Video’.

Erasmus was warned about his future conduct and told to issue an apology to the relevant match officials.

SA Rugby were also charged with not ensuring Erasmus complied with the World Rugby Code of Conduct and/or permitted him to commit acts of misconduct; and/or did not publicly correct any comments or publications by or on behalf of the director of rugby that amounted to misconduct.

A fine of £20,000 was issued to SA Rugby along with a warning as to future conduct. The organisation was told there must be an apology to the relevant match officials.

SA Rugby issued a joint statement along with Erasmus confirming both parties will exercise their rights to appeal the verdicts.