Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2022 i Rugby World

YES, THE final rounds of the Six Nations are front and centre of the rugby agenda this month, but there are huge matches taking place elsewhere in Europe, too, as the race to qualify for the 2023 World Cup hots up. This year’s Rugby Europe Championship (REC) results are combined with those from last year to determine who will qualify for RWC 2023 – and we could see Spain reach the men’s global showpiece for the first time since 1999. Georgia remain the favourites to go through as Europe One and join Pool C with Wales, Australia, Fiji and the Final Qualifier Winner. The Lelos are the only unbeaten team across the two REC seasons so far, winning six of their seven matches to date and being held to a…

THURSDAY 10 MARCH U20 Six Nations Wales v France (8pm, Stadium ZipWorld) TV Live on iPlayer, BBC W & RTÉ Super Rugby Aupiki Chiefs v Matat? Hurricanes v Blues FRIDAY 11 MARCH Six Nations Wales v France (8pm, Principality Stadium) TV Live on BBC, RTÉ & S4C U20 Six Nations Italy v Scotland (7pm, Stadio Comunale di Monigo) TV Live on BBC iPlayer & Virgin United Rugby Championship Sharks v Scarlets (5.10pm) TV Live on Premier & BBC Wales Super Rugby Pacific Blues v Highlanders (6.05am) Rebels v Brumbies (8.45am) Super W Rebels v Brumbies SATURDAY 12 MARCH Six Nations Italy v Scotland (2.15pm, Stadio Olimpico) TV Live on ITV & Virgin Media England v Ireland (4.45pm, Twickenham) TV Live on ITV & RTÉ U20 Six Nations England v Ireland…

RUGBY PUNDITRY has evolved in the last few years to the stage where most matches have several former players to give their comments on the game. During this year’s Six Nations, the BBC have gone one step further by adding to their match-day commentary a referee who is there presumably to clarify the views of the match officials and the processes they go through to make decisions. But not just any referee… They’ve gone straight to the top and employed one of the best in Nigel Owens. The Welshman is one of the sport’s most experienced officials and he deserves his place in rugby refereeing lore. But what is he like as a co-commentator? Many ex-players struggle to make the change into TV and there’s no automatic right to step…

VICTORIA RUSH I CERTAINLY think the idea of having other home nations clubs in the Premier 15s is interesting. It hasn’t been done for the men but what works for them doesn’t necessarily have to work for women. It’s amazing to see the Red Roses so far out in front in Test rugby. Having a strong Premier 15s contributes to that, but they’ve no real competition among the other home nations. It would be great to see more top-tier teams supporting those around them; for instance, having a professional 15s league including Wales, Scotland or Ireland club teams. In my experience, a lot of people argue that women’s rugby isn’t interesting because there isn’t enough competition; we should use this as an opportunity to change that by investing in clubs,…

PICTURE THE scene. It’s the 16th minute of Wales’ 2019 World Cup semi-final with South Africa. Trailing 3-0, a well-worked play has allowed Josh Adams to breach the opposition 22. The winger is tackled, but a Springbok is offside and referee Jérôme Garcès’s arm shoots out to denote a penalty advantage. Wales are in the ideal spot. They have prime position to score and will retain possession if they fail. They have, to borrow from rugby’s contemporary lexicon, a ‘free play’. Yet instead of bringing calm, this insurance policy triggers panic. Dan Biggar flings the ball to Hadleigh Parkes, who hesitates before attempting an awkward chip that South Africa comfortably collect, ending the opportunity with a whimper. Garcès came back for the penalty and Biggar knocked over three points. Wales,…

DOUBLE HEADERS, men and women sharing the stage, tend to go down a storm, writes Alan Pearey. So the excitement is palpable ahead of this year’s Army-Navy day when for the first time the women’s fixture will be played at Twickenham. Saturday 30 April is the historic date, with the 103rd men’s meeting kicking off at 2pm before the women follow at 4.30pm. It will be a significant occasion. “It’s a massive deal. A monumental change,” says Army captain Jade Mullen, a Staff Sergeant in the 11th Infantry Brigade based at Aldershot. “This will be the 95th game for the men at Twickenham but only our first. So many more women play rugby now and we’re getting aligned with the men. It’s one of the world’s biggest stadiums and we’re…

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PITY THE poor All Blacks. It’s not often one experiences sympathy for New Zealand but a year and a half out from the 2023 World Cup, the almost inconceivable prospect of them failing to make the semi-finals looks a distinct possibility. Their management would have watched the recent Six Nations match between France and Ireland, groaning at their draw. A France side focused on the World Cup on home soil will be as severe a test as any side could want to kick off a World Cup. Win or lose against France (remember that South Africa lost to New Zealand on the opening weekend before winning the 2019 competition), unless Scotland find another gear between now and then, it will be a case of either South Africa or Ireland in…

NEVER DESPAIR, better times lie around the corner. That would be the message from St Francis, the Crawley club that has pressed the reset button with dramatic effect. Beaten in every match in the last season before Covid struck, and winless again this season until late November, they then lost just once in a nine-match spell that coincided with a rise to the top of their Sussex Three conference. “We’ve changed the coaching structure and put a real emphasis on people enjoying their rugby, rather than being result-focused,” says head coach James Buckley, back at St Francis after a stint at Hove. “There was a culture where if we could get a ringer in we’d put them in regardless, so we lost a bit of our identity. We’ve been very…

HIS IS not exactly a job where you are rooted to one spot all the time, but as the face of Georgian refereeing today, Nika Amashukeli is more than happy to pack his bags. In one concentrated period, there’s a lot of variety for him too. “Being appointed for the Six Nations is a very big thing for my country,” the official says of becoming the first Georgian to referee in the famous competition. “Plus the EPCR games, plus sevens, there’s definitely a lot of work going on at the moment!” It’s a case of have whistle, will travel for the 27-year-old ref. He’s done his time all over, from visiting stints in the All-Ireland League to being selected on the sevens referees panel as we dealt with cancellations over…

PUSHING THE BOAT OUT Will Knight, the Havant coach, thanked his club for a “great experience” after they sanctioned an overnight stay ahead of their London Premier match at North Walsham. Hav lost 21-12 but Knight said: “The club really looked after the players. It was a bit of reward for the effort they’ve put in. Every aspect of the weekend was positive apart from the result.” LUNCH DELIVERY Portsmouth paid tribute to former skipper Steve Todd on the day they beat Old Georgians 33-17. The game was preceded by a memorial lunch in honour of Todd, who captained the club during their rise to London One in the mid-1990s. Two South-West Winchester also held a lunch that raised over £1,000 for the Victim Support charity before their 18-12 win…

IT’S GREAT to see the stars of tomorrow scrapping it out in an exciting tournament, in the U20 Six Nations. But it’s also a massive recruitment platform for clubs around Europe. I think in the future we’ll see more and more French clubs trying to pilfer and recruit talented kids from it, to get them into their academies and make them JIFF-qualified – French clubs need a minimum number of players reared in academies in their elite squads. So this could really be an arms race for a small core of players who are visibly much better than their peers at that age group. For players like that, transitioning from U20 to the top-end adult game is seamless. But they are the freaks. They are the pearls. Truthfully, for most…

THE SIX NATIONS is set up for a dramatic climax over the next two weekends. France are chasing a first Grand Slam in 12 years and have delivered some phemomenal moments in the first three rounds. Will les Bleus end their long wait for a title? Or can Wales and/or England spoil the party over the last two rounds? It’s all poised for a fascinating finale. And once the men’s championship has concluded, we go straight into the women’s tournament and another five weekends of high-quality action – all available to watch on free-to-air TV. With new coaches, new professional set-ups and the World Cup in New Zealand just seven months away, the Women’s Six Nations has a plethora of intriguing subplots. And the final-round match between England and France…

WE HEAR you make a decent spag Bol… Friday night lights! I host a few of the boys every Friday if we have a Saturday game. People have asked for other things but I tell them they can bring their own food or have spag Bol from me. There’s enough room for five on the sofa but it’s a bit of a squeeze. What’s the funniest thing you’ve heard on the pitch? Have you seen Friends? At Quins we used to have a call called ‘Pivot’. James Lang was at ten, shouting “Pivot, pivot!”. Then me and Henry Cheeseman started shouting it as well but we were saying it like Ross does in that episode (with the sofa). Langy was laughing because we were shouting it with that voice. It…

“France are by far the best team in the Six Nations” I HAVE SAID all along that France would win this year’s Six Nations and I’m not changing now! They look like the best team by far and I think they will win a Grand Slam. France v Ireland was the best game of Six Nations rugby I’ve seen in quite a while. It looked like two teams on top form really going at it, a level up from anything else I’ve seen. The accuracy and intensity in that match was superb and I also found France’s performance in Scotland particularly impressive. They had a wobble in the first half but they’ve got another gear to go to, with the power they have in their game. And not only that,…

CORNERSTONE, FOUNDATION, rock. These are all words often used to describe tighthead props, given their importance in providing solidity to the scrum as well as their graft around the field. Yet those aren’t words that first come to mind when discussing Sarah Bern and Kyle Sinckler, who wear the No 3 shirt for club and country. The Bristol Bears and England pair aren’t one to shirk the basics previously mentioned, with both focused on set-piece and closequarters work, but they are arguably better known for their skills in the loose – a break through the defence here, a deft pass there, maybe even a sidestep for good measure. Both Bern and Sinckler started playing in the back-line, which is no doubt why they are so comfortable with ball in hand,…

ALI PRICE is not one of life’s thrill-seekers. He’s never gone bungee-jumping or sky-diving, he’s never been tempted to give a parachute jump a lash or try a spot of ice-climbing. As far as we know, he’s yet to run with the bulls in Pamplona or go cage-diving with sharks in South Africa. He’s not one for roller coasters either. There are people who like to bag big dippers in the way others like to bag the Munros of Scotland. There was somebody on television not long ago who is obsessive about travelling the world and riding hulking monsters like the Tower of Terror in Australia and the Yukon Striker in Canada and the Intimidator in the USA. As well-versed as that guy was on the ups and downs of…

2.78 Ireland’s average ruck speed in seconds in their Six Nations match against Wales – the best of any nation 72 Percentage of Irish rucks in that opening championship game that lasted less than three seconds 15.3 Average red-zone entries Ireland made during the November Tests, resulting in 6.3 tries 260 Carries made by Ireland in the first two rounds of the Six Nations – the most of any team. In contrast, they kicked the least (1,267m)…

DAMIEN HOYLAND will talk forever about the joys of a good cup of coffee, particularly the joys of a good cup of coffee produced by his own hand from his own fledgling company, Damo’s. Beans locally roasted, proper flavour, quality stuff. He stops short of saying ‘…unlike the muck you get served up by some big chains’, but you know where he is coming from. Coffee isn’t just his hobby – he has a converted horsebox and a spot at Edinburgh and Scotland games. It’s also been part of his salvation these past months. When he damaged his knee in the autumn against the Dragons and then damaged it some more the next week against Benetton, he knew that something bad had happened. “Look, we sign up for it, don’t…

BURCHAM’S BACK Blackheath have welcomed the return of centre and former captain Markus Burcham. He previously played in 208 games, led the side in almost 150 of them and set a club record of 158 consecutive league appearances before the onset of Covid. He said: “I moved to the South Coast and started a new life but still had a loose end to tie up by going back to ‘Heath.” Burcham trained at Bournemouth and played in five games before resuming his connection with the National One club. OPEN BOOK Lynn Evans, the former head coach at National One club Chinnor, has written a book about his career, entitled From Valley Boy to Table Mountain: a Life in Rugby. Its publication coincided with Chinnor’s recent friendly match against Oxford University,…

GROVE PARK Claverdon’s promotion ambitions have been boosted by the inclusion of former Scotland centre Alex Grove, 34, in their Four West (South) team. Grove retired from pro rugby four years ago after a career that included three caps in the 2009 autumn Tests. Three years ago Grove played a few matches for Claverdon, the club that his father captained. He returned this season and excelled in wins over promotion rivals Old Wheatleyans (25-19) and Bedworth (50-14) that enabled the club to open a lead at the top of the table. DOUBLE JOY Grantham-based Kesteven were thrilled that former junior players Ollie Chessum and Geordie Irvine earned England recognition. Leicester forward Chessum, 21, who was born in Boston, Lincs, made his Test debut in Rome and Irvine, a Northampton flanker,…

ACROSS 1 Dublin-born Ireland full-back (6) 4 And 18 Down. England fly-half who scored tries in Edinburgh and Rome early in this year’s Six Nations (6,5) 9 Bath and Scotland centre who spent 304 days injured in 2021 (7) 10 Rosslyn Park were left in - - - by lockdown and fixture cancellations, wrote the SW Londoner in 2020 (5) 11 - - - Manu, Tongan No 8 who played at the 2019 World Cup after treatment for testicular cancer (4) 12 Old - - - Park, London Welsh’s home (4) 13 One - - - runner – an attacker who carries into contact having received a pass close to a ruck (3) 15 - - - de Kock, ex-Sarries No 9 working at Stellenbosch Academy of Sport (4) 16…

1 USA A Women’s USA Falcons XV will play an exhibition match against Wales at Parc y Scarlets on 12 March. The US squad will feature players from the Allianz Premier 15s. There are 23 members of the Eagles player pool in the English top flight, including captain Kate Zackary (below, in action for Exeter), lock Alycia Washington (Worcester) and centre Alev Kelter (Saracens). USA coach Rob Cain said: “Wales have made significant strides, as shown in their autumn Test series. This will present a great challenge for us.” 2 Japan John Mitchell will join Japan as defence coach in May. He will combine the role with that of Wasps attack coach as the Brave Blossoms build towards the World Cup. At that tournament in France, Japan will face England, who Mitchell…

ROWAN JENKINS will never forget the day he went toe to toe with Toulouse in a Champions Cup tie, earning a standing ovation as he left the field last December. As a semi-pro prop with Aberavon, he had been called upon in an emergency as Cardiff, deprived of 42 players mainly through quarantine issues, assembled a team to face the European champions. Jenkins’s other role, however, is even more important because as a club groundsman for Aberavon he is part of a profession that is struggling to match modern demands. UK research from the Grounds Management Association (GMA) shows that, if current trends persist, over the next decade a fifth of those who play rugby (or football) will be unable to do so every week. Women’s and girls’ teams are…

SOME PLAYERS take to Test rugby like ducks to a simile. And if you look at Mack Hansen’s first two outings in the Six Nations through the prism of numbers, it’s plenty exciting. By then, only England’s Freddie Steward had made more ground with ball in hand, with the Connacht flyer totting up 239m. He had the joint-most line breaks with three, and averaged the most metres per carry for anyone who had made more than five carries. But if you want to narrow in on one special moment, other numbers pop too. Hansen’s try in France was the perfect counter-punch. With Ireland ten points down, off a fine Joey Carbery kick-off he raced onto the ball and snatched it out of the sky. Thanks to analyst Brett Igoe, we…

“Now we’ve qualified, we want to be a presence at the World Cup” EXHAUSTED! That’s how I felt after we qualified for the World Cup. Obviously on the pitch we celebrated (after beating Colombia 59-3) because we’d actually done it but it took a while to sink in. I felt nauseous all week before the game! But we went out there and played our game. We wanted to do that for 80 minutes and we did that really well. We got up on the scoreboard quite quickly, but we knew we had to go for 80 minutes and not let it slip to get to the World Cup. I think that’s the first performance where we’ve not had a huge drop and that’s definitely a massive improvement for us. It…

E’S ONE tough hombre.” It is hard to imagine a bigger compliment from Shaun Edwards. The now France defence coach was describing winger Gabin Villière, a player who has had perhaps the most unlikely path to the top in a team that is full of them. At 26, Villière is now one of the first names on Fabien Galthié’s team sheet and yet this time three years ago the highest level he had played in 15s was the French third flight. It took a whistlestop spell in sevens, an unlikely move to Toulon and a global pandemic for Villière to get his shot at Test level. But now the opportunity has presented itself, he has seized it with the oversized hands that have earned him the nickname ‘Frodo’ from his…

STANDING AT the cordon ringing the pitch of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Joshua Addams catches his breath as if it were a deep ball into the end zone. It’s been a long day, with every little twitch measured, monitored and recorded on film. Welcome to the International Player Combine. Here, athletes from across the planet hope to show enough athletic ability and potential aptitude for field craft to earn one of the limited spots in a finishing school for American Football hopefuls. Get on the International Player Pathway and they might just make it to an NFL match-day roster one day Addams is a rugby player. In fact, as he explains to us at the touchline, he once featured in Rugby World. But having played for London Irish Wild Geese…

CYRIELLE BANET is a chip off the old block. Her dad and grandfather lived and breathed rugby as young men and now she is following in the family tradition, albeit with a little more aplomb. The 27-year wing is one of the world’s deadliest finishers, with a strike rate of 18 tries in 20 Tests. Two of that tally came in last November’s 38-13 thrashing of New Zealand in Pau, the second of which was a work of art. After a powerful drive up the left-hand touchline, France moved the ball down the back-line until centre Gabrielle Vernier spotted Banet in space on the right. Her cross-field kick was perfect, straight into the arms of Banet, who didn’t even have to check her stride. “We do work on those kicks…

AT LIBERTY Chris Liberty received recognition for 60 years of service at Bath-based Oldfield Old Boys when becoming a member of the Somerset Premier club’s board of directors. He is the current disciplinary secretary, having been treasurer, fixture secretary, a committee member and even the senior side’s first aider. In 2004, he was honoured with life membership. FLOOD LIGHT Alexia Flood, the team manager of Royal Wootton Bassett Ravens, is going above and beyond too. She launched the girls’ section in 2019 and hopes to lead various fundraising challenges this year, starting with a sponsored cycle event. It involves pedalling the equivalent of the 1,084 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Yatton, a North Somerset club, assembled an all-girl U9 squad, the Raiders, for an inaugural game against a…

SUPPLY LINE Yorkshire Three club Wibsey have taken on a new lease of life after conceding four walkovers earlier this season that prompted a deduction of 20 league points. Three of the losses were through a lack of players but the Bradford-based club, founded in 1937, are addressing the problem. “Long-term we’re planning to produce our own players,” said DoR Robert Greenwood. “We do have a partnering rugby league club in Wibsey Warriors, who field a side in every age group, and we need to tap into that. They have been extremely supportive so far.” SIX PISTOL It’s not known whether Keighley wing Kristian Bealey-Kay, 18, likes cheese but he’s certainly fond of Wensleydale. In two Yorkshire One meetings of the clubs, he ran in six tries: two in the…