Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2021 i Rugby World

THE BARBARIANS are a treasured entity in rugby history – epic teams, epic tries, epic matches. The 1973 match between the invitational side and New Zealand is the epitome of this. The two line-ups were packed with stars of the game, the likes of David Duckham, Phil Bennett and Willie John McBride wearing the famous hoops and Bryan Williams, Sid Going and Ian Kirkpatrick in black. The length-of-field score finished by Gareth Edwards is widely considered the greatest try ever while the match itself is viewed as one of the best in history. Back then, the Baa-Baas were able to assemble true ‘dream teams’ – and take on the best sides in the world. These days, however, they struggle to get the same calibre of players or fixtures. Matches are…

FRIDAY 5 NOVEMBER Women’s Autumn International USA v Canada (Colorado) Gallagher Premiership Leicester v Bath (7.45pm) TV Live on BT Sport Top 14 La Rochelle v Bordeaux-Bègles (8) Men’s AIL Division 1A Clontarf v Lansdowne SATURDAY 6 NOVEMBER Men’s Autumn Internationals Ireland v Japan (1, Aviva Stadium) TV Live on Channel 4 & RTÉ Italy v NZ (1pm, Stadio Olimpico) TV Live on Amazon Prime Portugal v Canada (2pm, Lisbon) Spain v Fiji (3pm, Madrid) England v Tonga (3.15pm, Twickenham) TV Live on Amazon Prime Wales v South Africa (5.30pm, Principality Stadium) TV Live on Amazon Prime France v Argentina (8pm, Stade de France) TV Live on Amazon Prime Romania v Uruguay (Bucharest) Women’s Autumn International France v South Africa (2pm, Stade de la Rabine) Rugby Europe Championship Netherlands v Russia (2pm) Gallagher Premiership Bristol v…

8 Wales Hallam Amos (above) will retire at the end of the season to concentrate on his medical career. The 27-year-old Cardiff and Wales wing said: “It is a perfect time to transition from pitch to hospital.” 9 Australia The Wallaroos (above) will play in the World Rugby Pacific Four Series from next year with Canada, New Zealand and USA. It will act as a qualifying tournament for the new global WXV competition from 2023. 10 Fiji Gareth Baber (above), who led Fiji to gold at this year’s Olympics, has opted not to renew his sevens deal but is heading up a new-look 15s coaching team for their autumn Tests. He will then take up a role at Edinburgh.…

GROWING UP in Samoa can be a good starting point for a career in rugby, but growing up in Samoa with basketball icons Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and Derrick Rose as your heroes might see you take another route in life. So it turned out for Theo McFarland, who starred on the basketball court before he was diverted back onto the rugby path. He did not end up following in the footsteps of Wally Rank, a Samoan American who played in the NBA; instead, he is on a more traditional Samoan road after his early detour. McFarland, who signed for Saracens in the summer, is one of a rare breed who have played two sports at international level. He added rugby to his basketball honours by winning two caps for…

THE ABIDING memory of what ended up as an excellent Rugby Championship for Australia was the running lines and subtle pass of prop forward Taniela Tupou to send Marika Koroibete over for a match-sealing try against the Springboks, pictured here. The great Tim Horan, watching on the touchline, could not have done it any better. It wasn’t the only intervention on the part of the giant tighthead through the course of the game. He thundered into the South Africans, ball in hand, to create the sort of midfield mayhem that a side with Australia’s skill behind the scrum can – and did – exploit. It was the stuff of superstars. When the Wallabies play their three Tests against Scotland, England and Wales this month, he will hog more than a…

Aaron Smith “He’s got a short fuse! On the golf course I’ve been his partner a lot and it’s like a counselling session when he’s hit a bad shot!” TJ Perenara “One of the most competitive guys I’ve ever met but also incredibly smart. He loves cryptocurrency, so he’s probably gonna be a billionaire one day! And we also share a lot of the same views – particularly after he shared some of his views around the LGBTQ community.” Finlay Christie “He’s a great man to have a beer with. He loves getting naked! He can also be a bit of a pest with the boys. We were at the Chiefs together and when I heard he was leaving I was gutted.”…

WHEN Malon Al-Jiboori made the move to London, the world was a far different place. Joining Ealing Trailfinders at the end of April to take part in the truncated Championship season, the USA international would have limited contact with his new team-mates as a result of Covid-19 guidelines. He was also adapting to the 15-a-side format once again having switched back to the USA Sevens set-up following the 2019 World Cup in Japan. It was the difference of the challenge, though, that appealed. The 24-year-old is not the first American to have made Vallis Way his home, with Andrew Durutalo having represented Ealing across two spells prior to turning out for Major League Rugby side Seattle Seawolves. After a number of conversations with Durutalo, as well as previous interest from…

WORTH THE WAIT Worthing celebrated their centenary in style, albeit a year late. The West Sussex club, formed in 1920, had to wait until this season for their special day. Around 1,000 spectators shared in it and saw the team beat Bury St Edmunds 29-21 in a free-flowing Two South game. Former Harlequins and England centre Jordan Turner-Hall took over as head coach during the Covid-enforced lay-off and DoR Rene Draude said: “The past 18 months have given us the chance to do a baseline reset.” SPREAD THE WORD The Rotherham Titans Community Foundation (TCF) held the first Rotherham Schools Festival, attracting more than 80 players in an ongoing drive to ensure a plan for the game in the town and for the Titans, of Two North. Despite Covid-19 restrictions,…

STILL ROARING Rugby Lions insist they have a secure future despite pulling out of One East. After dropping out of two games when unable to raise a competitive side, they withdrew from the league. Club spokesman Jeff Nowill said: “We’re not going bust and have just invested £3,000 in our gym. We want to attract young players because of our facilities and coaching.” In contrast, it’s welcome back to the leagues for Birmingham & Solihull in Five West (South) after a three-year absence. The Bees pulled out in 2019 after being relegated from National Two South and deciding they could no longer fund a semi-pro team. ELLIS REMEMBERED Oadby Wyggestonian beat Market Harborough 29-22 in the inaugural Ellis White Memorial Trophy match. A highly popular former Wyggs colt, White also had…

“I bought a wand with a light on it. I thought I could use it as a torch” WHAT ARE your best Big Game memories? I’ve actually been to every one, as a fan and then as a player. My best memory is the first one I started against Gloucester; it was a great game. We usually don’t play as well as we should in Big Games, so it becomes a bit of a free-for-all, which is really fun to play in and for the fans to watch. How much are you looking forward to December’s Big Game, with the men playing Northampton and the women facing Wasps? It’s going to be really cool – the more games the better. It’s such an awesome day and is great to watch.…

BEN COLES Rugby reporter for the Telegraph FOR THE record, I’m not colour blind – just blessed with poor vision since early childhood. Perhaps that’s why I can sympathise with how annoying a visual impairment might be, like being unable to distinguish between red and green. What I wasn’t aware of until the recent announcement by World Rugby that red-green kit clashes would be phased out by RWC 2027 was just how many people suffer from colour blindness: one in 12 men, including World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont, and one in 200 women. That’s an enormous chunk of the rugby-viewing public sitting down to watch matches between teams in predominantly red and green kits who are struggling to distinguish the sides apart, watching instead 30 players run around in a shade…

IN THE first half of the Gallagher Premiership season opener between Bristol and Saracens, there were 11 full penalties and one reset scrum. Nine offences were ‘technical’ and most were breakdown scenarios. The net result was 16 minutes during which the ball was not in open play. Three of the final four minutes were consumed by players shuffling from the site of one offence to another. To further dilute the amount of time spent running around, all present were subjected to irrational attempts to benefit from the new 50:22 rule. The big boys were stationary spectators, working little but their neck muscles. Most of these offences contravened laws designed to improve player safety. Especially the application of the new World Rugby guidance at the breakdown, aimed at mitigating the hazards…

“Players love that he puts his body on the line every time” IMAGINE UNIVERSITY dorm buddies ending up at the same professional rugby outfit all the way out east, on the other side of the planet. For hooker Willie Britz, now with Houston SaberCats, and his back-row pal Lappies Labuschagné, that is exactly how it panned out. Patching together some phone signal from his farm back in South Africa, Britz tells us about his friend Lappies. “I never played under him when he was captain, he always played under me when I was captain when we played together in university and at the Sunwolves. But he is a great guy. “He has a very big work-rate off the field – he’s had it ever since he was in high school.…

“Chile can make it to RWC 2023. We’re hungrier than anyone” CHILE ARE facing a new era as they have the clear possibility of qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2023. We need to beat USA next year or go through the Final Qualifying Tournament. Needless to say, we will prepare to qualify as soon as we can. Beating Canada was part of multi-year planning. It began in 2019 when we were told that the combined 2021 and 2022 seasons of the Americas Rugby Championship would be the road to France 2023. Players remind me these days that in 2019 when we were in Canada I told them how important playing there would be in the future. When that pathway fell through, we were already in the process of going where…

22 ​South Africa // England 27 Free State Stadium, 24 June 2000 CLIVE WOODWARD’S first away win as England coach against a southern hemisphere giant – and hailed as the point at which they realised they could win the Rugby World Cup. It came a week after a controversial defeat in Pretoria. Jonny Wilkinson had missed that one, struck down by illness. But he climbed off his sick bed to kick a record eight penalties, plus a drop-goal to boot, as England bossed their hosts in Bloemfontein more emphatically than the scoreline suggests. A contentious late try by Joost van der Westhuizen led to a moment of alarm but Austin Healey snuffed out the danger. “This win is right up there, even if it has taken a long time coming,”…

ALYCIA WASHINGTON describes herself as “a sarcastic optimist”, the first part sure to endear her to those in the UK. “I’m always glass half-full – I’m blessed to lead the life I lead – but I also like a little sarcasm,” says Worcester Warriors’ USA lock. For all the talk of being blessed, though, there is also plenty of sacrifice. Moving to Worcester was not as simple as signing a contract; a lot of planning was involved. She cleared her student debt – she has a degree in psychology and Masters in sport management – by working several jobs. She had a strict budget to save so she could “come over and make it a year of saying ‘yes’ to everything, not come over and struggle”. She parted from her…

GROUND ZERO Hosts Sidmouth and Lydney were involved in a bizarre match when sharing a scoreless draw in One West. Even the league administrator asked: “Did the game not take place or was it abandoned?” Sidmouth, for whom former Exeter Chief Phil Dollman made his league debut, hadn’t been part of a ‘pointless’ match since their records began 54 years ago. It was the first time in several hundred RFU league games this season that the scoreboard remained at 0-0. THINKING BIG Ambitious plans are afoot for the redevelopment of South-West Premier club Weston-super-Mare. It will provide state-of-the art facilities with a mix of residential and commercial space. The scheme incorporates a new clubhouse, a café opening on to the Recreation Ground, a 260-seater stand and a new changing-room block.…

SHOWING YOU CARE Scarborough, of One East, are partnering the Rainbow Centre in the borough to help the homeless and vulnerable and bring some Christmas joy. They are halfway through a 12-week programme covering items varying initially from teabags to mince pies and have set up a donation table in Hartley’s café-bar at the club. Yorkshire Two club Baildon held a fundraising day with proceeds going to five leading cancer charities. President Mark Purvis, who is also the club’s doctor, said: “Several members or their relatives are undergoing such treatments and we want to show support for them.” STAND BY ME York, new to North Premier, have applied for planning permission to build a stand for 150 spectators at a cost of £140,000. It will replace the current one that’s…

“Too much like rugby league? No, new laws remove the mundane” AS A sport, are we holding onto spectators and competitors well enough? World Rugby has a massive role to play in increasing participation. Alongside fear of head injuries and other misadventures, amateurs now have much more going on in their lives. More family commitments, less time available, working harder than ever. So it’s tougher to give up time to rugby, to train twice a week and be away all day Saturday. There’s that or playing nine to 18 holes of golf, or even just watching the football in the pub with your mates. If participation numbers are sliding you have to wonder how secure current viewing figures are too – beyond the free-to-air Six Nations, of course, which they’d…

1 Spain For the first time, Spain will host two legs of the World Sevens Series. Spain’s men (below) and women are both core teams on the circuit and the combined events will be held in Malaga (21-23 Jan) and Seville (28-30 Jan). Toulouse is another new addition to the sevens calendar with a combined event on 20-22 May. Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Langford and London will also host legs. 2 USA Perry Baker led the Experts (above) to glory in the inaugural Premier Rugby Sevens men’s event in Memphis, beating Loggerheads after extra-time in their final. Meanwhile, the Loonies, captained by another USA star in Alev Kelter, saw off Headliners 28-14 to lift the women’s trophy. PR7s is a new pro sevens league which features six…

TAKE CARE Tom Youngs has taken indefinite leave from Leicester to care for his ill wife, Tiffany. NEW TEAM Ioan Cunningham will lead the Wales Women coaching team until the end of next year’s World Cup. Geraint Lewis, Richard Whiffin and Sophie Spence are his assistants. STAMP DUTY Royal Mail has released a set of eight stamps (right) featuring action imagery from men’s and women’s matches involving the home nations. The set costs £12.40 (RRP) from royal mail.com/rugbyunion WALLABY RECRUIT Moana Pasifika, one of the new Super Rugby Pacific franchises, have signed former Australia prop Sekope Kepu. JOSH SIDELINED Wales back-row Josh Navidi is set to miss the Six Nations following shoulder surgery. EXILES SIGNING London Irish have signed a third Puma in back-row Juan Martin González Samso, 20. BULLS…

URUGUAY BECAME the 14th country to book their place at the 2023 World Cup by beating the USA last month, but there are still lots of teams involved in qualifying. Any nation that finished in the top three of their RWC 2019 pool qualified automatically for 2023, while Samoa and Uruguay won their regional qualifiers to go through as Oceania One and Americas One respectively. Los Teros are the most recent addition to the tournament in France having beaten the USA 50-34 on aggregate over two legs last month, but what of the other six places up for grabs? Sticking with the Americas, the USA and Chile will meet in a home-and-away play-off next summer, with the winner completing Pool D as Americas Two and the loser heading to the…

OVING HOUSE is rarely, if ever, without stress. Even for top rugby stars. For Scotland’s Rory Sutherland and Duhan van der Merwe, their relocation from Edinburgh to Worcester had the added complication of them being away for two months over the summer with the British & Irish Lions. “I had a bit of trouble getting a house in the first instance,” recalls Sutherland, who played in the first two Lions Tests against South Africa. “In England you have to view the property to buy it or rent it, so I was trying to explain the situation that I was in South Africa and my family were in Scotland, and I wouldn’t be back for two months.” The prop ended up staying with Warriors head of strength and conditioning David Drake for…

CIAN HEALY turned 34 last month. Had he celebrated his birthday by treating himself to an extra hour in the gym, our guess is that nobody at Leinster would have been a bit surprised. Frankly, if his employers didn’t mark the occasion by wheeling out a giant cake in the shape of a life-size scrummaging machine they’ll have missed a trick. Scan Irish rugby history and if you can find a tougher player than Healy then good luck. If you can find somebody who has pushed himself through physical torture as often as Healy has, while delivering emphatic performances at the very top end of the game at the same time, then you’ll be doing well. An Ireland player for a dozen years, he won his 109th cap in March.…

DURING A week off in Queensland before heading out to tour the United States and Europe, several All Blacks played what they would describe as a Ryder Cup-style golf tournament over a few days. The teams were selected much as any playground football match would be, with Jordie and Beauden Barrett as the two captains taking turns to choose. No one wanted to be picked last. In possession of one of the better handicaps in the group, Brad Weber could relax knowing he was safe from ignominy. In fact, he watched on with glee as Luke Jacobson was one of the last men chosen. And as he considers himself “unflappable” on the course, Weber was prepared for the endless chirps, the ultra-competitiveness from lightning rods like TJ Perenara and the…

THE WEALTH of grass-roots clubs in Northampton is a double-edged sword because the player base is thinly spread. Northampton Old Scouts, Casuals, Men’s Own, BBOB and Old Northamptonians lie within a two-mile radius and forming age-group teams can be a challenge too far. Old Scouts U13 coach Chris Hillery has found a solution, however: to deter youngsters from leaving the game, he’s invited those at a loose end to train and play with his own team – until a player’s host club is able to field a side itself. “I’m not trying to steal players, I’m trying to prevent people losing their passion for rugby,” says Hillery. “I’ve got support from coaches from other clubs, not all of them. If it means one or two players can keep their boots…

I TOOK THE job at 35 – I’m now 38 and this is the first Emirates Dubai Sevens I’ve put on,” laughs managing director Tom Burwell, when asked what it’s been like looking after one of sevens’ flagship events. We have lived, you could say, in interesting times under the shadow of Covid-19. And yet, on the dart towards 2022, we have reasons to smile. The Dubai Sevens will return to the desert on 2-4 December. Before that, the venue has something else to put on. “With the challenges in South Africa, the decision was taken for Dubai to host two World Rugby Sevens Series events in 2021. We’re hosting the first on 26-27 November behind closed doors for World Rugby to broadcast. “Our mantra has always been to be…

RHAP ARTISTS Rhapsody RFC, thought to be the UK’s first female-only rugby club, are recruiting new and experienced players over the age of seven. Founders Alex Wilson and Tye Matthews are seasoned head coaches dedicated to growing the women’s and girls’ game in Sussex. The club is based at Southgate Park, Crawley, where they are ground-sharing with St Francis RFC. MARK TWO Mark Pollard had ample time to plan this season’s strategy for Gosport & Fareham in Hampshire Premier after becoming head coach in June 2020. Pollard, 41, has been at Gos for 17 years, mainly as a player, and said: “I love this club. We’ve had the highs of winning the Hampshire Cup and London One, but also the lows of relegation in the past few seasons.” HARD WORK…

ACROSS 1 “Fly me too!” screams Gallagher Premiership referee (3,5) 4 - - - Walker, GB league international who had a spell at Bath in 2006-07 (4) 8 Americas Rugby Championship (acronym), an annual tournament (1,1,1) 9 Danny - - -, Bedford centre who broke his neck tackling All Black Ian McRae in 1967 (5) 10 Richard - - -, New Zealand prop who played in the first three World Cups (3) 11 English defence coach in France (7) 12 Fun wing hides Jimmy, England international of the 1930s (5) 13 South African No 9 at Castres (4,7) 17 Denis - - -, former Munster and Ireland No 8 coaching Leinster (5) 18 Saints flyer Tommy isn’t confined! (7) 20 Dan - - -, ex-Samoa forward and CEO of Pacific Rugby Players Welfare (3)…