Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2018 i Rugby World

1 Australia Brad Thorn was quick to put his stamp on things as Queensland Reds coach. The former All Black cut half-backs Quade Cooper (below) and Nick Frisby from his Super Rugby squad despite them having a year to run on their deals. Cooper has played more games for the Reds than any other back but Thorn is thought to want a more defensively solid figure at No 10, saying: “I take defence personally. It’s a reflection of character.” 2 Scotland Three teenagers – hooker Angus Fraser (Dundee HSFP), prop Guy Kelly (Biggar) and centre Andrew Jardine (Melrose) – will spend five months at the high-performance training facility at Stellenbosch University after being awarded the John Macphail Scholarship. The programme’s decision to switch to South Africa from New Zealand, where…

The Dragon School U13A team celebrated their unbeaten season of 11 games by meeting members of the Dragon’s 1952 side, who also went undefeated. “It was great to see rugby span the ages,” says coach Hugo McNeile. The current side, from Oxford, conceded only two tries and every player scored. Full-back Basil Tuma bagged 38 tries – “an immense achievement, especially as he only began playing rugby in Year 7”. The U13B team also won all 11 of their matches. DULWICH COLLEGE are the first side to win both the Schools Cup and the Champions Trophy after beating Blundell’s 34-29 in the Trophy final at Allianz Park. Although the London side led for most of an enthralling match, Blundell’s had some moments to savour. Centre Barry Karea put in a…

“Very few players are that gifted – as he doesn’t mind telling you!” WEST IS BEST. An emotive slogan first uttered by the late, great Ray Gravell, one of the revered icons of Stradey Park. Down the years the Scarlets have had a few larger-than-life personalities – Delme Thomas, Rupert Moon, Scott Quinnell… Now the baton has been passed to a flanker fast being viewed through the same affectionate prism by the region’s die-hard fans. James ‘Cubby Boi’ Davies has cult status at Parc y Scarlets, loved for playing with his heart on his sleeve and a cheeky grin. Having just signed a new long-term deal, he is set to spend his best years with his hometown region and coach Wayne Pivac is thrilled. “He’s become a respected member…

54 DAMIAN McKENZIE Age 22 (20 April 1995) Position Full-back/fly-half EXCELLENCE DOESN’T just apply to performance, it also concerns state of mind. This issue of Rugby World is awash with skilful, attacking players but not one of them matches Damian McKenzie for the sheer instinct to go on the offensive. He makes rugby a joy to watch. In the Scotland-New Zealand game last autumn, Finn Russell tried a drop-goal with the clock in the red at the end of the first half. It fell wide and faces turned towards the tunnel. But McKenzie saw possibility. From his goal-line, he passed to Beauden Barrett and suddenly the All Blacks were away, threatening the Scots from 100m. Defences have no systems for dealing with non-standard attacks, as Clive Woodward liked to tell…

THE SEVENS roadshow will arrive in Singapore in April for another weekend of breathless action at the 55,000-capacity National Stadium, with 45 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series matches played over two days. Yet Singapore’s affiliation with the sport goes back more than 100 years – we take a look at key moments in the history of rugby in Singapore… LATE 1800s The British introduced rugby to Singapore. For several decades Singapore played as a ‘state’ side against other Malayan states and touring teams. 1900s The Singapore team became known as the ‘All Blues’. Civilian expats could represent the side but those in the armed forces could not. 1921 The Malaya Cup competition was formed, with two trophies donated by British warship HMS Malaya and teams competing in association football and…

1 Footwork and running lines Footwork drills are relevant only if you carry the ball in two hands and practise transferring the ball from one hand to another. Coaches should incorporate obstacles and defenders, and try to provide realistic scenarios. Practise beating more than one defender or getting half-caught to promote offloads. This can then be used to coach support lines to run off your key sidesteppers. When running support lines, players off the ten run in straight lines. You must create deception and Folau does this using his step and speed. He makes a run and changes direction on the timing of a pass, so he takes the ball going in a different direction to what the defender expected a split-second before. Depth and speed of run is important…

SO, HERE we are, 2018. For rugby’s good folk the new year is a chance to take stock, survey the landscape with fresh eyes and contemplate new beginnings. As you’ll see from our magnificent #RW100 list, the game has never had more rip-roaring talent. Many of them will be blazing a trail in the Six Nations, which, as ever, is ready to guide us reassuringly through the chills of winter towards the first buds of spring. The 2019 World Cup is looming large too. On a personal note, it is time to seek new opportunities, as this will be my 72nd and final issue. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to witness first-hand a transformative period in the game, and I can assure you that Rugby World is in…

8 Georgia Hooker Jaba Bregvadze will become the first Georgian to play Super Rugby having signed for Japanese side Sunwolves. The 30-year-old has 49 Georgia caps and has played in two World Cups. 9 France Béziers, Perpignan and Narbonne will be the match venues for the U20 World Cup, which kicks off on 30 May and concludes with a 17 June final. New Zealand are defending champions. 10 Uruguay Rodrigo Capó Ortega, 37, is set to play his first Tests for Uruguay in three-and-a-half years when they take on Canada in a two-legged World Cup qualifier in a few weeks. He said: “I’d like one final go in Los Teros.”…

WE WERE up in Edinburgh for Josh Faletau’s stag do and everyone was lining up drinks for him, writes Billy Vunipola. Being his best man, I decided I had to help him out. Josh, who had never seen me drink before, was amazed. The wedding itself was back in Wales but was still a classically Tongan affair, with Josh excelling in his skills of disorganisation. We turned up at Toby’s house to pick up our wedding suits. I’m not sure if Wales was ready for the suit and flip-flops look yet, but we rocked it all the same. The only slight problem was that Josh’s trousers didn’t fit, as he must have put on a few pounds since the fitting. So Toby went to pick him up a new pair,…

OPENING OFFICIALS Pascal Gaüzère will referee the first game of the Six Nations, Wales v Scotland on Sat 3 February, with Nigel Owens taking charge of France v Ireland later that day. Mathieu Raynal has the whistle for Italy v England on Sun 4 Feb. QUEEN CASTLE Raelene Castle (right) is Rugby Australia’s new CEO – the first female chief executive across rugby’s major unions. Also, Australia is bidding to host the 2021 Women’s World Cup and RWC 2027. NEW RECORD Scott Riddell became Scotland Sevens’ most-capped player when competing in his 59th tournament in Cape Town, overtaking Colin Gregor. KIWI GONGS The Black Ferns were named Team of the Year at the NZ Rugby Awards for the first time ever, with Glenn Moore Coach of the Year after guiding…

100 ASAFO AUMUA Age 20 (5.5.97) Position Hooker He scored a hat-trick in the Junior World Cup final against England, including one stutter-stepping rampage, then showed his promise for Wellington Lions in the Mitre 10 Cup. Now, after an All Blacks apprentice role in November, there’s a buzz about what he can do in his first Super Rugby season with Hurricanes. 99 KWAGGA SMITH Age 24 (11.6.93) Position Back-row Sevens fans know what this rubber ball of a forward can do. He was one of Super Rugby’s stars last year with his form for the Lions, but it took one special showing for the Barbarians against NZ to get the rest of the world swooning. A multi-code talent. 98 CHRIS ROBSHAW Age 31 (4.6.86) Position Back-row “He does the little…

20 EMILY SCARRATT Age 27 (8 February 1990) Position Centre THE THING with baking,” says Emily Scarratt with a wry smile, “is you have to eat whatever you’ve baked.” Therein lies the problem: all the sugar and butter involved in making sweet treats doesn’t exactly fit with the lifestyle of a professional athlete. Still, a little of what you fancy… Today, for the visit of Rugby World, Scarratt is making bite-sized shortbread biscuits – quick and simple. There’s a practised ease to her movements as she gets to work in the kitchen, measuring ingredients and combining them together before piping the mixture onto a baking tray and putting them in the oven. Once they’ve emerged, cooled and been dusted with icing sugar, we get to try them – and they…

SEVENS FACT THE FAST SHOW Luke Morgan (right) was clocked hitting 21mph as he scored for Wales against Australia at the Dubai Sevens, while in the women’s series Fijian Tima Ravisa’s top speed against Ireland was 18mph.…

“The best way to learn when to work off your wing is to play matches. The more you play and experience different things, the more you’ll see when to come in and when to stay out.” “If the ball is being spread along the line in the 22, you should be on the wing to get on the end of that movement. You don’t want any front-rows or second-rows there – you want wingers on the wing to finish off the try. It’s the same in defence, when you should be on the wing – you don’t want to leave any forwards there by themselves.” “When looking to go and hunt for the ball, it’s about working out a couple of phases ahead. That comes from understanding your phase play…

1 MOVE FORGET THE shoulder pads, you may want thermals and a cup of cocoa. Preparing for competition can be just as hard as playing at this time of year, so how can you prepare for rugby in winter? Our mates at Performance Pro gym make no bones about it: you need to focus on functional exercises in training that will enable you to deliver the basics on the field. To the right they offer three exercises to use in your workout that will help drag you and your team-mates through the mud. For our nutritionist James Morehen, though, immune function and health becomes so much more important during the miserable winter months. He says you can stay fit and healthy by consuming a lot of fruit and vegetables –…

On reading Stephen Jones’s Christmas wish list (January), I was attracted to his idea to replace the 12-team English Premiership with an expanded 16-team system of two conferences. I’m not sure about the idea of including rugby league teams, though. Why not two from the Championship and two from abroad, say Georgia or Italy? Each team would play the others in their conference home and away, making 14 league games instead of 22 and culminating in play-offs involving the top two in each conference. The resulting eight free weekends would coincide with Internationals, thus solving the problem of top clubs being denied their best players for a large part of the league season. This is a regular gripe of mine as a Sarries fan! Those free weekends could be used…

6th The Kearneys, Stockdale, Larmour, Piutau, Lowe, Gilroy, Byrne, Trimble… just some of the back-three options available for Leinster and Ulster. So it should be a pretty tasty battle at the RDS Arena this Saturday evening (kick-off 5.35pm) – watch it live on Sky Sports or BBC NI. 8th  The Rugby Union Writers’ Club hold their annual dinner in central London and will present the Pat Marshall Memorial Award to their ‘personality of the year’. The last four winners have been Eddie Jones, Dan Carter, Emily Scarratt and Leigh Halfpenny, so who will pick up the trophy for their 2017 achievements? 30th Gear up for the Six Nations with Rugby World’s March issue, which is on sale ahead of the championship. Plus, it comes with TWO free gifts – a…

Most important person on your phone My wife, Gillian. We talk three or four times a day Last person you phoned The wife. Is that bad? Last person you texted The best man from my wedding, Euan Music app Spotify. I like a bit of everything. I like to experiment Favourite social app Instagram. I just like looking at pictures News app BBC sport. Oh yeah, to read John Barclay’s column… Favourite WhatsApp group ‘Wild are we’. It’s all the boys from home. It’s good to keep in touch Last app downloaded The Countdown app. I love it. I find myself playing it while watching it…

1 CONNOR EASTGATE Age 20 (7 Oct 1997) Born Ramstein, Germany Club Wasps Country Scotland Position Fly-half You were born in Germany… Yes, my dad is in the military and was based there. I was only there for a year and a bit, then we came back to the UK. When did you begin playing rugby? I started playing tag at Aylesbury when I was eight and moved up with them until I was 14, then I joined the academy programme at Wasps. I played in their age-group sides and signed two years ago. What positions have you played? When I was younger I played a lot at 12. It was only when I was 17 or 18 that the academy coach thought I’d fit at fly-half and I’ve played…

“I was based on a farm in the Zimbabwean lowveld for most of my sabbatical. I also travelled to a few conservation projects and did a couple of courses. Being in southern Africa gave me time to catch up with family who I rarely have the chance to visit.” “I think the new breakdown laws have been good so far – they seem to reward dominant tackling more.” “The best advice I received re injury was rather than ask ‘Why me?’ ask ‘What can I make of it?’ That’s the key – to see it as an opportunity to work on things, to become a better player and person.” “If I could introduce one global policy, I would legislate that every river has to be swimmable. It would have huge…

1 OWEN FARRELL Age 26 (24 Sept 1991) Position Fly-half/centre AND SO we arrive at the pinnacle. At No 1 in our countdown of the 100 best players in rugby at present is a steely Saracen, an England driving force, a Lions Test player, a winner and – apart from the M1 Southbound – arguably the best thing to come out of rugby league. Perhaps Owen Farrell is not an outrageously talented player, not showy or a dazzler, not a devastating individual runner. But he is a powerhouse, a heartland player and, in my opinion, of such significance to the sport in England and beyond – at present and well into the future – that comparisons melt away. Here is another comparison: Farrell and Hercules. It might seem very strange…

THERE ARE so many shapes, sizes and abilities in the sphere of the full-back. You can have the speed of Stuart Hogg, the guile of Ben Smith or the ruggedness of Mike Brown. One man with all the facets of a world-class 15 is Israel Folau. He’s embraced the skills required from three codes – league, union and Aussie Rules – and wrapped them into a consummate package. So important is he to Australia that Michael Cheika excused him the European tour to rest him for bigger battles ahead. Folau’s skill-set allows him to play at full-back, wing and even outside-centre. His physical attributes are there to be seen, but the skills he possesses and his reading of the game make him even more dangerous than what meets the eye.…

Drinks leave bitter taste After Wales v New Zealand, I’ve decided never to watch international rugby in Cardiff again. Fans’ behaviour is now so poor that anybody who wants to watch the game has a dreadful experience. The WRU’s greed means ‘fans’ can drink themselves into a stupor before and during the game. Individuals can buy four pints at a time. So there is a constant stream of people going for another drink or to relieve themselves. And let’s stop perpetuating the myth that rugby fans are somehow better behaved than football fans. They’re not, chiefly because in football stadiums you can’t drink. Time perhaps for family stands or closing bars during the game? John Lovell, Embsay, North Yorkshire The WRU says: The WRU takes the safety and enjoyment of…