Month: December 2021

England captain Owen Farrell is a major doubt for the start of the Six Nations after it was revealed he must undergo ankle surgery.

Farrell limped off during England’s 32-15 victory over Australia at Twickenham last Saturday.

Saracens on Thursday revealed the England skipper will be out for 10 to 12 weeks, with an operation required.

The versatile Farrell faces a battle to be fit for the Red Rose’s opening game of the 2022 Six Nations against Scotland at Murrayfield on February 5.

Sarries also confirmed in a fitness bulletin that their England hooker Jamie George will be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks due to the knee damage he sustained in the win over the Wallabies.

The Premiership club were able to offer positive news of Elliot Daly, who is back in full training and available to return after recovering from a leg injury.

England head coach Eddie Jones has named Courtney Lawes as captain for the clash with South Africa on Saturday in the absence of Farrell.

Manu Tuilagi moves to inside centre to fill the void left by Farrell, with Joe Marchant starting on the right wing.

Rookie duo Bevan Rodd and Jamie Blamire will start in the front row, while hooker Nic Dolly could make his debut off the bench against the world champions.

Marcus Smith nailed a last-gasp penalty as England rounded out their November internationals with a 27-26 win over South Africa in a barnstorming Twickenham Test.

Making only a third Test start, the unflappable Smith made the decisive contribution in a match that looked like getting away from the White Rose after an enterprising performance was mixed with ill-discipline.

England outscored South Africa three tries to one but a penalty count of 18 allowed the Springboks to stay in the game and the visitors were leading until the last minute.

However, the win marks a measure of revenge for Eddie Jones’ side, who were beaten in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final the last time these two sides went head-to-head.

England were dominant in the first half and Manu Tuilagi crossed after fine work from Smith opened the play for Henry Slade to make the long pass.

The nerveless Handre Pollard put South Africa on the board prior to Freddie Steward showing great power to bundle over from close range and extend England’s lead.

But England’s lack of composure at the breakdown meant the lead was only five points at the break, with Pollard nailing three more kicks to Smith’s one, and more poor discipline saw South Africa inch ahead thanks to Pollard and Elton Jantjies kicks.

A fine breakaway score from Joe Marchant was answered by an unconverted score from Makazole Mapimpi after Will Stuart was sin-binned, and Frans Steyn kicked another penalty for South Africa.

But Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi saw yellow himself, before another penalty in front of the posts in the final minute allowed Smith to have the final say.

Smith, Steward offer bright glimpse of the future

Smith may only be in the infancy of his international career but he already looks an assured presence at this level.

Full-back Steward put in a fine performance too. The pair look a very exciting prospect for an England side who played with plenty of attacking intent and backed up a fine win over Australia last time out.

Young front row survives the test but penalties a worry

Much of the narrative ahead of this one was whether the inexperienced duo of hooker Jamie Blamire and prop Bevan Rodd could cope against South Africa’s pack.

For the most part they passed the test superbly, but for all their endeavour England were guilty of giving away far too many cheap penalties. On another day, and against a player of the quality of Pollard who hurt them so badly in the World Cup final, it could have been far more costly.

A last-gasp penalty from Rhys Priestland denied 14-man Australia a memorable comeback against Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

Smarting from a 32-15 defeat to England last time out, the Wallabies were up against it when Rob Valetini’s red card and a 10-point deficit left them staring at a potentially heavy defeat.

However, Wales – who survived a scare against Fiji after despite Eroni Sau’s red card – were pegged back and it required steely nerves from Priestland beyond the 80-minute mark to secure a 29-28 win.

Australia began in brilliant fashion as Andrew Kellaway collected a grubber and touched down, although Dan Biggar quickly reduced the deficit with a penalty, but the match swung firmly Wales’ way when Valetini was shown red for a dangerous high tackle that left Adam Beard bleeding, Biggar then kicking a further three points.

Although James O’Connor’s penalty put the 14 men ahead, Kurtley Beale was sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on and Ryan Elias scored Wales’ first try after good work at the resulting lineout.

O’Connor and Biggar exchanged further penalties and the latter converted after Nick Tomkins intercepted a pass and scored a simple try, with a TMO check allowing it to stand.

Then came the threat of a late surprise. Nic White finished a fine move involving Beale, and although Biggar’s boot stretched Wales’ lead again, Filipo Daugunu touched down in the corner with O’Connor’s kick striking the post to spare the hosts.

Beale’s kick then put Australia ahead with two minutes to play, but after winning a penalty inside the visitors’ 22 in the 81st minute, Priestland kept his nerve to send Cardiff into raptures.

New Zealand were beaten for a second week in a row after losing 40-25 to France in an exhilarating final game of the Autumn Nations Series for both teams.

Fabien Galthie’s men matched the effort of Ireland, who beat the All Blacks last week 29-20 in Dublin, and once again the visitors did not have an answer to an intense showing against northern hemisphere opposition.

Three converted first-half tries at the Stade de France put the hosts in a commanding position at half-time, and despite a better second-half effort from New Zealand, they were unable to overcome a determined Les Bleus side.

France began with a bang by scoring their first try after just two minutes as a driving maul gave Peato Mauvaka the chance to place the ball down.

2 – New Zealand have lost twice in 2021 but haven’t suffered more defeats in a calendar year since 2009, when they lost once to France and 3 times to the Springboks; the last time they lost against 3 different nations in a year was in 2000 (Aus, SA and France). Rare.

Two penalties from Jordie Barrett brought New Zealand back to within one point before 10 minutes had even been played, but just two minutes later France had their second try.

Determined work from Romain Ntamack saw him burst through a wobbly All Blacks defence to cross the line, which Melvyn Jaminet converted with ease.

A French penalty made it 17-6 after 25 mins, before another try from Mauvaka followed. It was the 24-year-old’s fifth try in his last three games and meant that France led 24-6 at the break.

The 18-point deficit was the most New Zealand have ever trailed by in a Test, so it was no surprise to see them determined to fight back in the second half.

Barrett managed to work a try for New Zealand in the corner six minutes into the second half, though was unable to convert from out wide, but the comeback looked on four minutes later when Rieko Ioane raced down the right to score closer to the posts, which Barrett this time converted to cut the lead to six points.

Jaminet put another penalty through the posts shortly after to extend the French advantage, but a third All Blacks try from Ardie Savea, also converted by Barrett, brought the game to within two points with 20 minutes still to play.

The drama continued shortly after as Ntamack sensationally began a counter-attack after saving the ball from behind his own try line, leading to another French penalty – which Jaminet converted – and a yellow card for Savea.

France stretched the lead further with 12 minutes to go as a sloppy pass from David Havili was intercepted by Damian Penaud for a simple try under the posts, and a final Jaminet penalty with the final kick of the match to take his total to 20 points rounded off a famous win.

7 – Damian Penaud has scored seven tries for France in 2021, best tally for a player with Les Bleus in a calendar year since 2011 (Vincent Clerc, 9). Elusive.

France finally beat New Zealand on home soil

Les Bleus had lost their last 14 games against New Zealand – only against Wales had they lost more consecutive Tests (15 between 1908 and 1927), and this was their first home win against the All Blacks since November 2000.

The French were fully deserving of their win, with fewer bad passes (3-8) and handling errors (5-10).

All Blacks defence all over the place

New Zealand have now lost three games in 2021, and it is the first time they have lost to three different nations (South Africa, Ireland and France) in a calendar year since 2000 (Australia, South Africa and France).

They have conceded 69 points in their two defeats to Ireland and France, leaving their often devastating attack far too much to do at the other end.

Ireland coach Andy Farrell was delighted with his side after they hammered Argentina 53-7 to collect their third win from three games in the Autumn Nations series on Sunday.

The visitors caught Ireland cold when Santiago Carreras danced down the right wing to open the scoring at the Aviva Stadium. However, tries from Josh van der Flier, Andrew Porter and Caelan Doris ensured the hosts led 24-7 at half-time.

Van de Flier bundled over for a second time after the break, with Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Beirne all getting in on the act after Tomas Lavanini’s dangerous tackle had seen Argentina reduced to 14 men.

Having overcome New Zealand last time out, the hosts are now unbeaten in eight games since a 15-13 loss against France last February and Farrell reflected on a great performance from his whole squad.

“We are delighted with the win,” Farrell told Channel 4 after Ireland’s 27th win in 29 games at the Aviva Stadium.

“It is a great day for us because we grow as a group, with players out some people got their chances and did pretty well, it is pretty satisfying overall.

“That’s how we train, we make sure we’re all across our work, anyone who comes into the hotel on Friday or Saturday has to be ready to play.”

Asked how his side will prepare for their next clash with Wales in their Six Nations opener in February, Farrell added: “We will meet and review and take the lessons learned.

“We will watch the lads fight against one another for their provinces over the next couple of months and hopefully they grow as players before they come back in and we hit the ground running for our first game of the Six Nations.”

International players will be permitted to change allegiances, subject to meeting certain criteria, following the approval of the World Rugby Council.

The amendment to the sport’s regulations governing national team representation will come into effect from January 1, 2022.

Following extensive discussions, the new process has been applied with the aim of benefitting players and the global competitiveness of rugby.

In order to meet the criteria, a player must either be born in the country to which they wish to transfer, or have a parent or grandparent who was born in that country.

Furthermore, a player hoping to make the switch must stand down from international rugby for a period of three years.

Players may only change union once and each case will be subject to approval by the World Rugby Regulations Committee in order to preserve integrity.

World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said: “Approval of this landmark regulatory change is the culmination of detailed and widespread modelling and consultation across the game. 

“We have listened to our membership and players and sought to update the regulation recognising the modern professional rugby environment without compromising the integrity of the international game.

“Any player who wishes to transfer will need to have a close and credible link to their new union, namely birth right or parent or grandparent birth right while meeting strong criteria, including a 36-month stand-down period. 

“We believe that this is the fairest way to implement progressive change that puts players first while also having the potential to support a growing, increasingly competitive international men’s and women’s game.”

Australia is the “preferred candidate” to host Rugby World Cup 2027 under revamped selection procedures announced Wednesday.

The World Rugby Council’s move all but guarantees Australia will host the quadrennial event, but it will not be confirmed until a final vote is held next May. 

World Rugby bestowed the same “preferred” status on England to host the 2025 women’s event and selected the United States for “exclusive targeted dialogue” for Rugby World Cup 2031. 

The new process follows the lead of the International Olympic Committee’s adoption of a “preferred bid” model that led to Brisbane being awarded the 2032 Summer Olympics earlier this year. 

World Rugby said the system should help accelerate global growth and provide a more flexible approach for future hosts. 

“We must continue to keep up with the fast pace of change in our current world and provide value for our future host nations and unions,” World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin said in a release. 

“Flexibility is a necessity to ensure good governance and to have successful sustainable men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups. We will do that while maintaining the personality of our events and our commitment to having players and fans at the heart of everything we do.”

Australia last hosted the World Cup in 2003, with the hosts falling to Jonny Wilkinson and England in the final. 

“This is a huge step forward in our ambitions to host Rugby World Cup 2027 and for rebooting the game in Australia,” Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan said in a release. 

“Throughout this process, we’ve held the genuine belief the time was right to bring the Rugby World Cup back to our shores. The team at Rugby Australia have worked hard on this for a number of years and today’s announcement is great reward for those efforts.”

The 2023 event is set to be held in France. 

Rassie Erasmus and SA Rugby have withdrawn their intention to appeal against sanctions imposed and have apologised to match officials for misconduct during the British and Irish Lions series.

South Africa director of rugby Erasmus was last week banned from all rugby activities for two months and suspended from matchday activities until September 30 next year.

Erasmus was in hot water after he 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.

The World Cup-winning coach also made the claims in a 62-minute video 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”.

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

The 49-year-old was also warned about his future conduct and told to issue an apology to the relevant match officials, while a fine of £20,000 was issued to SA Rugby along with a warning over the governing body’s conduct going forward.

Both Erasmus and SA Rugby stated they would exercise their rights to appeal the verdicts, but both parties have now decided against challenging the sanctions.

A statement released by SA Rugby on Thursday said: “SA Rugby and Rassie Erasmus wish to apologise to the match officials appointed to the first Test of the Springboks’ Series against the British and Irish Lions.

“We also confirm that SA Rugby and Erasmus have advised World Rugby that they withdraw their Notice of Appeal and will not lodge an appeal against the sanctions imposed by the Judicial Committee.

“This has been a highly stressful and charged environment with unusual pressures placed on all concerned and we have no wish to prolong that experience for anyone.

“We have drawn a line under the incident and only wish to look forward. We will respect the outcomes of the hearing, allowing our national teams and rugby operations to plan with clarity for the coming months.”

A World Rugby statement said: “World Rugby welcomes the public apology from SA Rugby and Rassie Erasmus to the match officials involved in the first test between South Africa and the British and Irish Lions this year and the matter is closed.”

France scrum-half Antoine Dupont has been named World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year, becoming the first Frenchman to win the prestigious award since Thierry Dusautoir in 2011.

Dupont has starred for Les Bleus in an impressive 2021, culminating in a famous 40-25 victory against New Zealand in Paris last month in the final test of the Autumn Nations Series, their first win against the All Blacks since 2009.

The 25-year-old also impressed in the Six Nations, making five try assists – two more than anyone else in the competition – while adding three tries of his own and making the third most passes (261).

Dupont, who also helped Toulouse to a Heineken Champions Cup and French Top 14 double, was presented the award by France team-mate and long-term friend Anthony Jelonch.

On receiving the award, Dupont said: “It’s hard to believe. Of course I have a lot of joy and pride. A lot of feelings and emotions that blend together.

“To be named alongside two French players, [former winners] Fabien Galthie and Thierry Dusautoir, you have players like [Richie] McCaw and [Dan] Carter, who have won three each I believe, they are legends of our sport so it’s weird to see myself named in this list.

“You almost have the feeling of not deserving it. You have to do everything to be able to repeat it, and always keep performing, keep going and give more.

“I am very happy and proud to have been named 2021 Player of the Year. I can’t wait to tell my loved ones and share it with them too.”

England’s  Zoe Aldcroft was named the World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year on Friday, meanwhile, having started all eight of her nation’s matches in 2021 as they extended their unbeaten run to 18 tests.

Former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has agreed to replace Grant Fox as an independent New Zealand selector.

Fox will step down from the role after the Steinlager Series next year, having been a selector for a decade.

Schmidt will take up his position with the All Blacks and assist in selecting the squad for the Rugby Championship after finishing his part-time duties working with the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific competition.

New Zealand head coach Ian Foster said Schmidt is a shrewd appointment.

Foster said: “Joe will bring a wealth of New Zealand and international experience into the role, so we are delighted to have him join us.

“He will work closely with me and ‘Plums’ [ fellow selector John Plumtree] on selections but his insights will be valuable in other areas as well, so we look forward to having him join us.”

The experienced Schmidt said: “It’s humbling to be involved and I’m looking forward to learning more about the players and the All Blacks environment and helping out as best I can.”

Welcome to the family, Joe Schmidt 

Schmidt won three Six Nations titles during his Ireland reign and a Grand Slam in 2018, when he was also named World Rugby Coach of the Year.

The 56-year-old ended his Ireland tenure after the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, where the All Blacks hammered his side at the quarter-final stage.