Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2020 i Rugby World

8 Italy Italy centurion Alessandro Zanni (above) hopes to sign off as a player by taking part in the August derbies against Zebre before joining the Benetton coaching staff. Dean Budd also announced his international retirement. 9 Australia Rugby Australia has put together a seven-person board to oversee its bid to host RWC 2027. The board includes World Cup-winning Wallabies captain John Eales and former Australia prime minister John Howard. 10 Canada Canada captain Tyler Ardron (above) will join Castres from the Chiefs. He said: “The reason I’ve decided to move is purely financial. I’ve really liked my time here (NZ) but it has come time to get my retirement set up.”…

1 WILL JORDAN Age 22 (24 Feb 1998) Born Christchurch Position Full-back Franchise Crusaders Country NZ When did you first get involved in rugby? At about five or six – as soon as I could, for the High School Old Boys club in Christchurch. Growing up I was a keen cricketer – mainly a batsman – and played a bit of rep cricket for Canterbury. At school I was more of a cricketer than a rugby player. I took cricket more seriously until Year 13, when I started playing full-back and got interest from the Crusaders Academy. What positions have you played? When I first went to high school (Christchurch Boys’ High) I was quite small, so I played half-back for three or four years. Then in Year 13 I…

“I made my Test debut with my childhood hero, Michael Jones, in his last game. It was awesome. An incredible player and even more of an incredible man. That first Test (against Australia, 1998) was the realisation of a childhood dream. It was great to have my family there in Christchurch, my adopted home.” “My dad grew up loving Philippe Sella. That era was all French flair and I’d love to have experienced playing with Sella, that style…” “The 2017 Super Rugby final is my highlight as a coach. It had been nine years since the Crusaders had won it. We were extreme underdogs and beat the Lions at Ellis Park in front of 60,000 people.” “Surfing is a passion of mine. I’m definitely best around water – swimming or…

Age 41 Position Lock Teams Leeds, Wasps, Stade Français, Gloucester, Treviso, Bordeaux-Bègles & England “WHEN I joined Treviso in 2015, I became forwards coach by default because they didn’t have one. I was going to stay on in that capacity but the federation wanted Italian staff. Bordeaux wanted me as a medical joker and I ended up coaching the forwards there. “Then they brought in Jeremy Davidson, so I spent a year renovating a house I bought in Leeds. I returned to rugby as defence coach for Aurillac and I’ve just had my first season as forwards coach at Rouen Normandie. We were promoted to ProD2 the year before but it’s difficult to recruit players when it’s nearly June before you know you’re going up. We were second from bottom…

PLAYERS COACHES ADMINISTRATORS OTHER THE KEY CATEGORIES SOME NAMES you’ll know, others will be unfamiliar, but over the following pages we count down the people who are proving so influential in rugby right now. Since 2014, Rugby World has compiled this list every two years and Agustín Pichot came out on top in both 2016 and 2018 given his forthright desire to move the sport forward during his time as World Rugby vice-chairman. Now he has stepped away from the sport, there is a new face in top spot. But how do we decide who makes the list? It’s an intriguing challenge. Rulers and scales are of no use when measuring influence, which is so subjective. So we asked people involved in the game around the world who they thought…

Players Coaches Administrators Other 1 SIYA KOLISI South Africa captain ▴ Up five Siya Kolisi, of South Africa – but now one of rugby’s universal soldiers – stands at No 1 in our most influential list, with Maro Itoje close behind at No 3. Here we have two wonderful men, two men who have always transcended the sport itself, because not only are they both spectacularly good players but they know where the sport fits in the general landscape and are clever enough to be influential away from the rectangle of play. The intriguing probability now rises that they will meet as captains in the British & Irish Lions Test series next year, and what an image that will provide. Kolisi, barring injury, will surely lead the Springboks in the…

AFTER NEARLY five years with England, Steve Borthwick has begun life as head coach at underachieving Leicester. I was lucky enough to work with him at Bristol in 2015. His attention to detail is his USP. The quiet, subtle way in which he empowers his troops is something he’s taken into his coaching ethos from his playing days as an England lock. He doesn’t have a gregarious personality – his work ethic and understanding of the game are inspiration enough. Borthwick’s set-piece knowledge, and almost nerd-like interest in the lineout in particular, was always going to lend itself to a coaching career. He has a unique way of presenting information to a group of forwards that is informative, entertaining and motivational. Whilst firm on the basics, Borthwick is innovative and…

PUSH ACCELERATION // 2 x 3-5 REPS The aim here is to orientate large forces going forward as you push a sled. Extend into the ground using “bum before your back”, keep stiff ankles. This functional exercise develops maximum force as well as your work capacity. PULL ACCELERATION // 2 x 3-5 REPS This is a progression from the push version but done at faster speed. The same principles apply but there is a need to increase stability at your trunk. Sync your arms and legs. This is a great exercise to simultaneously develop maximum power with efficient technique. LATERALS // 2 x 3 REPS EACH SIDE This orientates forces sideways. It encourages you to use core as a corkscrew and maximises energy transfer from upper to lower body. It’s…

Last person you called My friend Wes, just for a catch-up Most important person in phone My kids, my wife, my parents Last person you texted My son, as he is coming over to see me Last picture you took Of my wife and I – we went fishing Favourite social media Instagram. Easier for videos, pictures, to scroll through Last app downloaded Homesnap, to see houses for sale or for rent Last song you played Breakin’ my Heart, by Mint Condition Guilty pleasure app A little game called Toon Blast…

NEW ZEALAND’S success in dealing with Covid has brought the return of live action with Super Rugby Aotearoa. And the New Zealand-only focus allows them to trial interesting changes to the law and give the annual promise of “applying tackle laws more strictly than ever before…” When it comes to evaluating the law changes, I’m with Meatloaf – two out of three ain’t bad. First, the tackle. For me, anything that frees up the ball quicker can only be a good thing. Allowing a single, dynamic movement should assist with consistency and, by removing some of the more technical aspects of the law, make rugby easier to play, ref and enjoy. Insisting the tackler immediately move in the direction of the sideline is great in theory, although the ‘roll away’…

BEN ALEXANDER AS RUGBY (and all sports) battle Fortnite, YouTube and Netflix for the attention of future generations, how our game presents as a spectacle is becoming of greater importance. Not only is style of play incredibly important but so too the flow of the game and how it’s managed by the referee. Any negative play or wasted time must be stamped out immediately for the long-term good of the game. And as much as it pains me to say this as a former front-rower, the scrum battle is the biggest culprit for time-wasting! We’ve all seen it. A scrum is called and, shock horror, a front-rower goes down hurt and the game can’t continue. It’s usually a tight calf but as he or she bravely battles on, the time…

COMPARED TO football, I guess rugby is around the League Two mark on gate receipts and income streams. Rugby’s model just doesn’t work if wages keep going up and allowing marquee players has done just that. The number of players earning two or three hundred thousand went from six or seven to 90 or 100. I think only a couple of clubs have broken even over the last few years and it’s just not sustainable. The Premiership club owners are there because they love the game, so if it means losing £4m a year so be it. But it compounds itself year after year and sometimes these people have their own problems financially. We haven’t yet seen a rogue owner strip a club of its assets, but that’s not too…

Players Coaches Administrators Other 37 SEMI RADRADRA Fiji star • New entry One of the challenges in cataloguing the career of Semi Radradra is the hours spent watching his highlights reel, from the vast array of tries he scored for Parramatta Eels in rugby league in Australia, to his electrifying pace and finishing from centre or wing at Toulon and Bordeaux in France, to a coruscating display for the Barbarians against England and onwards with Fiji against the world in Japan. If you’re going to disappear down this rabbit hole, set aside many hours. You’ll begin in daylight and you’ll end at dusk. Radradra breaks defences and records, almost in equal measure. There are many moments, many tries to pick from. The commentaries are priceless. “Uh-oh, here comes Semi!” says…

1 Low maintenance Getting your players into a physical condition to get lower is crucial. They must be flexible, strong and powerful. There are various strategies to modify height before contact. Get players to touch the floor before engaging, apply a height restriction using poles or ropes, and start with support players on the floor to keep them low. Get players to pass to a team-mate who gets tackled, so they learn the different timings and entries to the tackle area. And simulate a jackler arriving early, at the same time and late to facilitate decision-making. 2 Simplify the process Players need to learn each other’s roles and communicate effectively under stress. There are benchmarks for spacings, specific roles given whether the player is next to the ruck, second man…

“In defence, communication with the front line is important. In attack, you need to know the system. Most teams will have a 15 who can pop in and out, counter-attack or change direction freely. But it’s about anticipating the picture a phase ahead – seeing a forward has momentum on a carry and thinking 15 seconds ahead and seeing the likelihood of you striking on to the ball.” “Dropping back for a kick, it’s about reading the cues of players in front of you and knowing who the kickers are. It’s analysis. It’s knowing they never kick off nine, so you have a bit of time, or nine kicks when they lose momentum. You have to work with wingers or in your system. It’s hard to get footage of the…

21st Rugby World has launched a new podcast entitled One Game at a Time. In each episode, Sam Roberts talks to a player about a memorable match in their career. Interviews with the likes of Tom Curry (below) and Gareth Edwards are already live on iTunes and acast, and look out for new episodes on Tuesdays. 31st Want to improve your skills while you await the return of matches? See rugbyworld.com/in-the-mag/pro-insight for advice from pros on different facets of the game – like Conor Murray on box kicks (right). 12th Super Rugby Aotearoa in New Zealand reaches the midway point this weekend. Watch the latest matches, Crusaders v Blues (8.05am, Saturday) and Hurricanes v Highlanders (4.35am, Sunday), on Sky Sports or catch the highlights on Welsh language channel S4C’s Clwb…

TWO YEARS to the day after England’s World Cup victory, writes Sir Clive Woodward, I was in a freezing KC Stadium seeing Harry Redknapp’s Southampton earn a dull 1-1 draw at Hull City on a Tuesday night. After the game, the first-team bus pulled up 20 yards from the door of the away changing room and I walked out last with Harry. He was getting all sorts of abuse; vitriolic, personalised nastiness I was not used to hearing. These fans had paid a fortune to travel from Southampton to Hull for a midweek Championship fixture, and yet they were staying behind to speak to their manager like that! I was rattled by the swathes of people hurling abuse at the man beside me, but Harry seemed unfazed. Due to his…

A HUGE LOSS Orrell legend Des Seabrook, coach of the North team that beat the 1979 All Blacks, has died aged 79. AMERICAN DREAM Chris Robshaw will play for MLR’s San Diego Legion after Harlequins’ season finishes. Jerry Flannery (right) has joined Quins as lineout coach. OUT OF AFRIKA Blitzboks’ Cecil Afrika has stepped down from international sevens after a 12-year career that yielded 1,462 series points. HEALING TOUCH Two pals have formed a touch rugby club in Ystradgynlais. Called Yogits RFC, it aims to help middle-aged players with their mental health. LONG BAN Haywards Heath RFC’s Max Drage has been banned until Jan 2024. He was found to have taken a cocktail of prohibited substances. WELCOME BACK Six months after suffering serious spinal injuries, lock Michael Fatialofa is easing…

THERE’S A little over a year until the best women’s teams converge on New Zealand for the 2021 World Cup. Nine of the 12 countries taking part are already known, but the qualification process to decide the final three places has been thrown up in the air by the pandemic. All qualifying matches were due to take place before the end of 2020, but that is looking extremely doubtful due to the postponement of competitions. And the window in which to fit qualifiers is getting ever smaller, particularly when you consider some 15s players will also be involved in sevens campaigns ahead of the Olympics. Hong Kong, Colombia, Kazakhstan and Samoa, for example, are involved in both the RWC 2021 qualifiers and the repêchage for the Tokyo Games (see more…

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Players Coaches Administrators Other 14 DAVE RENNIE Australia coach • New entry “There are a lot of factions, a lot of talk about past players and captains, the media are often reporting on stories that are negative about our sport. We’ve got our part to play to give them something positive to talk about, but what would be great is to have everyone in Australia pulling in the same direction to improve the quality and image of our sport.” Dave Rennie is acutely aware of the challenges that lie ahead in his new role as Wallabies head coach. Since being named as Michael Cheika’s successor last November, following the country’s disappointing World Cup campaign in Japan, there has been a stream of damaging stories around Australian rugby. The controversial settlement…

1 MOVE WITH RUGBY’S return to training, there is excitement in the air, writes speed coach Jonas Dodoo. There is also, however, apprehension due to an increased risk of injury after time off. This has been illustrated in the return of pro football in Germany. Elite players will need to rebuild the tolerance required to compete for 80 minutes at Premiership level. The priority will be making sure that muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments and the nervous system can tolerate and thrive at an intensity above what they need. This is called ‘speed reserve’. If you have a tolerance to running fast and decelerating quickly in all three planes of movement, then you are less likely to incur microtrauma from intense bouts of work in training. “Training for speed is an…

The Star Letter winner will receive £20 – let us know your views on the game to be in the running STAR LETTER Bring back the good ol’ days I first picked up a rugby ball in 1954 when I was 15 and have never let go of it since. The players of today will never come up to the standard of yesteryear. Let us not forget the style of Duckham and Spencer and Barry John. What about Mike Gibson with his sidestep, Hamish Kemp dominating lineouts, and the grace and pace of Arthur Smith? All these great players made the game worth watching whereas today we have a game dominated by scrums taking ages to form. The scrum was designed to restart the game after a minor mistake, giving…