Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2023 i Rugby World

“Lowering the tackle height will rock rugby” THE LOWERING of a few inches – it could make all the difference. That’s simultaneously the hope and fear. From 1 July, players in the amateur club, schools, college and university game in England will have to tackle from waist height down, after a ruling by the Rugby Football Union council. “Evidence from our own research and from around the world clearly shows that lowering the tackle height will reduce head impact exposure,” said RFU president Nigel Gillingham when the seismic news broke. This is about experimenting to see if there is a health benefit from forcing the height of hits down. But some worry about the increased risk of knees and hips coming at tacklers’ heads, while others question how this can…

HOW MUCH travelling do you do? We’ve got it a little bit easier than others because in the Premiership the majority is domestic stuff. I live in Exeter. So the farthest I travel would be Newcastle – other clubs are within two or three hours. But in comparison, in the United Rugby Championship, they’re flying all over Europe and to South Africa. Then we’ve got the World Rugby windows. The Six Nations is relatively okay for us, in Europe. But the Rugby Championship is obviously down South. Any travel essentials? A bottle opener, my trainers and my iPad. What’s loaded on the iPad now? On Netflix there is this Kanye West series I’m watching. Recently I was listening to his College Dropout album. I’m also thinking about starting Happy Valley.…

DECLAN KIDNEY London Irish director of rugby “I DON’T think so. Look at some of the other teams, the French teams have been picking weaker teams for years depending on their roster. They have a 26-game league themselves, and they are trying to weigh in another four to six matches in Europe with that and they see what their ambitions are depending on where they are in the league. “We talk about player welfare and do our best to live it. When selections are made, it’s very hard to come out and give reasons why they are made. You have to give a few generic ones, you can’t give personal information out, minutes players have played or they could have played the match but maybe it is right because after…

I WAS really disappointed when the initial tender process for a place in the next Premier 15s season had no northern teams in it. In a situation like that, with all the girls playing in the North now, where are they going to go? What will happen to all those girls who want to play in the league and to get better? I was pretty angry when it happened. I’d played for Darlington Mowden Park for the last 17 years, and just stopped playing before this season, and we’ve lost so many players to southern teams over that time. That’s where they were getting the most support. I don’t blame the players – that’s where they are getting best looked after and where opportunities lie. But it doesn’t make sense…

THERE’S HIGHLY valued, and then there’s the platinum level shaun Edwards occupies. Of all the operators in the Six Nations coaching sphere, few are held in as much esteem as France’s defence coach. He helped them to a first Grand Slam in 12 years, having previously assisted Wales to three Slams. You might ponder what grand schemes are at play here, to make the Englishman such a consistent thorn in the side of attacking teams. But maybe the answer lies in the minutiae. “You ask what he’s like in camp but first you need to understand that when you come to France as a foreigner, you adapt because you can’t be yourself 100%,” explains les Bleus lock Paul Willemse. “I’m experiencing the French version of Shaun, which is interesting. “He…

There have been four Six Nations Grand Slams to savour in French history, but few can be as sweet as 2004’s. They had done the deed in 2002, but then had to live through the ignominy of cross-Channel rivals England Slamming in ‘03 before going on to be the first (and still only) northern hemisphere team to win a World Cup, in Australia. Imanol Harinordoquy said that year: “As long as we beat England I would not mind if we lost every other game in the Six Nations.” In 2004 Bernard Laporte’s side was full of talent, with Fabien Pelous, Yannick Jauzion, Serge Betsen, Frédéric Michalak and Dimitri Yachvili huge. Big Imanol, joint top try-scorer that year with four, got his wish and more as a 24-21 win over England…

You can debate till the end of time the merits of Scotland’s 1984 and 1990 Grand Slam teams. Perhaps the 1984 vintage, containing the likes of John Rutherford and Iain Milne, was stronger on paper. But the 1990 side wins our vote for toppling a mighty England side. Craig Chalmers’s three penalties and Tony Stanger’s try proved decisive in a 13-7 triumph that spawned a book and documentary. The Scots had scraped past Ireland with a late Derek White try (13-10), benefited from a sending-off against France (21-0) and won a poor game in Wales (13-9). But they had planned a Murrayfield ambush. They wrecked England’s lineout, survived a scrum siege, got the bounce of the ball for a try that even coach Jim Telfer called “dubious”. And they achieved…

SOME HAVE questioned if TikTok’s naming deal with the competition is a token add-on to the sponsorship of the men’s event and a few worry what the expectations are of athletes. So we asked Harley O’Dell, sports marketing lead for TikTok EU, about ambitions in the women’s game. What constitutes long-term success? “For us, building on the massive interest in rugby content on the platform, helping fans discover and engage with players and teams they love, while giving the sport a platform to reach new audiences and grow their fan base. Our aim is to make TikTok the leading destination for rugby fandom in Europe and beyond.” What have been the hallmarks of your women’s Six Nations partnership? “Being the first-ever title sponsor of the Women’s Six Nations is really special…

OU HAVE to hand it to Crusaders fans. They’re a cocky bunch but in fairness they’ve got every right to be. Two Christchurch natives who fall into that category despite covering rugby for New Zealand’s two major TV news shows, Ollie Ritchie of Newshub and Guy Heveldt of TVNZ, certainly aren’t letting the fact that it’s very much beach weather in this part of the world stop them from talking up the prospects of another successful Crusaders season. “They want to keep winning, to keep finding ways to win,” says Ritchie. “Razor’s last year probably. They’ll be sending him out on a high,” adds Heveldt on the team’s coach Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson, before the conversation takes turn into who the Crusaders might meet in the final. It sums up the…

THE SCENES of jubilation after their stunning 52-51 aggregate win against USA are etched in our minds. Now Chile can dare to drink in the reality – a maiden appearance at this year’s Rugby World Cup, the 26th nation to join the sport’s global jamboree. The South Americans will travel to France 2023 with a tidal wave of goodwill to sustain them. Matches with Japan, Samoa, England and Argentina will surely bring grief on the scoreboard but what a stage for Chile, what a chance to put themselves on the map like never before. It’s something their captain, Martín Sigren, is well aware of. “In terms of results it’s difficult to picture something. It’s a really tough group,” begins the 26-year-old openside. “And us being first time in a World…

▸ Swedish swap Former England captain Tamara Taylor has replaced Claire Cruikshank as head coach of Sweden. They open their Rugby Europe Championship campaign on 11 February against Netherlands. ▸ Saying adieu Annick Hayraud (below) has stepped down as France’s manager after five years. Under Hayraud, Les Bleues won a Grand Slam and twice finished third at the women’s World Cup. ▸ ‘Rain’ aims to shine Giovanni Raineri has been appointed as Italy’s head coach after Andrea Di Giandomenico’s decision to step down after 13 years in the job. Raineri was previously Italy’s U18 coach as well as a youth coach. ▸ Lou role Lou Meadows is the new head coach of England women’s U20s. The ex-Wasps and Saracens player rejoins England from Ealing, where she was the Performance Manager of Women’s…

1 Belgium Belgium (below) have announced the arrival of former England assistant and ex-Bath boss Mike Ford as their head coach, following the resignation of Chris Cracknell for family reasons. Ex-England lock Mouritz Botha also joins as forwards and lineout coach. 2 Scotland Scottish Rugby has launched a new programme designed to better prepare and develop individuals for life in the front-row positions, across all levels of the domestic game. Dubbed as ‘Scrum School’, the hope is to increase the number of players capable of playing there – and maybe pave the way for more reaching the elite game. 3 Argentina As part of the new Super Rugby Americas – rebranded from Superliga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) – there will now be two Argentinian franchises. Pampas replace Jaguares and will…

THE MAIN problems I suffered through were because I found it so hard to talk to people. But I found the best thing to do was just get it out there, rather than bottling it up. And not talking is something you see on the male side of things – just look at the suicide statistics for males. Some think it’s weak to tell people how they are feeling, but in the end people will always want to help. You don’t realise how many people are there for you, to listen to your problems, even just to see how you’re doing. And I think guys have got a lot better at talking about their mental health in recent years. With campaigns like Tackle Your Feelings, more and more people are…

AND SO it’s confirmed. The documentary cameras are coming in behind the curtain to take a peek at what all the Six Nations sides are up to. Throughout this year’s competitions, the Netflix crews will be on the ground gathering footage for a docuseries to be aired in 2024. An official comment from the platform said: “The series will take us inside the exhilarating world of the oldest and greatest annual international rugby tournament, giving fans an insight into pulsating behind-the-scenes moments, as the best teams in Europe battle it out in some of the biggest matches in the rugby calendar to take home the prestigious trophy. As the pressure and intensity builds, who will claim one of the sport’s biggest prizes?” Of course, the big question now is how…

England have only had two Grand Slam-winning teams since the Five Nations became Six. Sir Clive Woodward’s all-conquering 2003 bunch take some beating but Eddie Jones’s 2016 clan were mightily impressive in the way they bounced back from the disastrous home World Cup the year before. However, the 2003 squad get the nod from us here. An all-time back-row unit of Richard Hill, Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio brought a sublime balance to the pack. Jonny Wilkinson was, well, his metronomic self. The strength in depth was truly phenomenal and it’s no surprise they went on to lift the World Cup Down Under that year. It is some statement to win a genuine Grand Slam decider 42-6 away in Ireland. Awesome and peerless, no one could match them.…

The 2007 tournament started with a 39-3 drubbing against France in Rome, and slid into a 20-7 loss to England. The 2007 Six Nations had stinker written all over it for Italy. Then, in the third round, it happened: a first-ever away win. The first six minutes of that game was a disasterclass by Scotland as Italy blasted ahead via three tries and saw it out beautifully (37-17). They had emphatically turned a corner, with Mauro Bergamasco, Andrea Scanavacca and wily nine Alessandro Troncon to the fore. Then they backed it up against Wales (23-20). They had two tournament wins for the first time. Coach Pierre Berbizier cited a French expression, ‘There’s not two without three’, but Italy lost to Ireland at the last to finish in fourth spot. Nevertheless,…

4 London Irish’s Tom Pearson made four dominant tackles on his own line – three more than any other Premiership player 3 La Rochelle led the Top 14 at the time for jackal penalties won near their try-line, with three 111 Newcastle have defended the most goal-line carries in the Premiership, with 111. In the URC and Top 14, Munster (105) and Perpignan (64) lead the way 12 Munster’s Jack O’Donoghue (below) made 12 tackles from the guard position near his line – the most in the URC 1 Only Perpignan’s Jake McIntyre has successfully made an interception on his 5m line in the Top 14 25 Northampton Saints have forced the most lost balls in the Gallagher Premiership, with 25…

ACROSS 7 Wales scrum-half who made his senior debut for Cardiff ten years ago (5,8) 8 A wizard of an outside back at Leicester Tigers? (5,6) 12 Scotland great John Beattie likens rugby to a mathematical - - - (6) 14 Sam Warburton questioned the - - -of Wales players after their shock Six Nations defeat by Italy last year (6) 16 Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan said his side had the two best - - - in last year’s Super Rugby Pacific (6) 18 - - - Noughts and Crosses, kicking game from Rugby Coach Weekly (6) 19 Leinster back who made his Ireland debut v South Africa in November (5,6) 23 This new England coach was the first RL player to be shortlisted for BBC Sports Personality of the Year (5,8) DOWN…

▸ Packed grounds Round 11 of the URC saw an aggregate attendance of 123,307 – a record for the competition. It included crowds of over 25,000 at Edinburgh v Glasgow and Sharks v Bulls. ▸ Capital move Munster’s Ben Healy, 23, will join Edinburgh on a two-year deal from next season. The fly-half (below) qualifies for Scotland through his grandparents and is in their Six Nations squad. ▸ Dramatic climax Following a minute’s silence for the late David Duckham, Coventry played out a thriller against Jersey Reds in the Championship. Last-gasp scores, via a Tim Grey try and a penalty try, earned the Reds a 19-19 draw in the top-of-the-table clash. ▸ New team Bolton RUFC are planning to launch a mixed ability team and will stage a President’s XV…

AT THE Commonwealth Games, the world got a full blast of Ugandan excellence in an array of unexpected ways. The Cranes men’s team were on fine form, from Desire Ayera heading straight into the stand in Coventry for an impromptu DJ set, to the 12-12 draw with the Aussie men. They were in their element. At the heart of it was Philip Wokorach. “The game against Australia was one of our – and my – best games for the sevens team,” Wokorach tells Rugby World. “We were able to be competitive against a top side and also measure how far in the development programme we are, just before the Challenger Series. “It was mind-blowing and I enjoyed every bit of it. Also the fans at the (Coventry) stadium really gave…

Storming to the Western Counties West title last spring with 26 straight wins augured well this season for the Camels, whose name derives from the river flowing adjacent to their ground at Molesworth Field. Secretary and backs coach Matt Bailey said: “We were confident our brand of rugby would be successful at Level Six in R2 South-West and, led by flanker Adam Blackmore, we were placed fourth going into the new year. We’re also seeing huge benefits from our second team joining the RFU league structure. We take pride in our entire senior section.” Brothers Mike and Tom Rawlings share the duties of forwards’ mentors for the first team at a club that had humble beginnings 68 years ago. Ex-players include England’s Olly Barkley and Jason Hobson, plus those in…

AS THE sun beat down on Rome, the Scotland fans beat their path towards the old Stadio Flaminio. Tales of that first-ever Six Nations weekend are plentiful, with folk who were there that day laughing about the pubs running out of beer and riot police awaiting a stramash that never arrived. The next time they all went back, there was none of that. The beautiful thing about the Six Nations is that it has this communal feel, whilst still celebrating intense rivalries. It’s the reason why people tune in from Auckland to Auchterhouse, Singapore to Swansea. There is so much going on in rugby – and a journey through this mag gives you all the character, disaster, detail and distraction you could want – but no matter the crises, you…

8 UAE As part of Asia Rugby Division Three West, a one-off match between Iran and Qatar will be played in the UAE (above) on 10 February. The winner will be promoted to the Division Three Play-offs. 9 Singapore Asia Rugby Grand League, a franchise-led competition, will begin in 2024, with eight Asian federations identified as having potential. It will be discussed in depth at a meeting being held in early February in Singapore. 10 Fiji John O’Connor (above) has resigned as Fiji chief executive after six years in the role. Tevita Tuiloa is now interim chief. Fiji chairman Commodore Humphrey Tawake says it will not affect plans going forward.…

BUILDING A professional rugby club without solid foundations isn’t normally a rush job. It’s a Grand Designs-type project that takes years, if not decades – and even then it might all come tumbling down after you max out all your credit cards. Yet Sam Harris has had to don a hard hat and do just that in a matter of weeks with Major League Rugby’s newest franchise, the Chicago Hounds. It was formally announced back in November that the Hounds would become the 12th MLR team in a league temporarily reduced to 11 following the withdrawal of the LA Giltinis and Austin Gilgronis. But prior to that, with no tools or materials readily available – say, no players, no staff, no training facilities and no stadium – head coach Harris,…

I FALL players could flit as easily between Jay-Z and Just Stop Oil in conversation as Ellis Genge then the sport’s marketing would take care of itself. The England star has always been somewhat of an enigma within the game, having grown from a trouble-making teenager on a Knowle West council estate in Bristol to become the world’s best loosehead prop and one of its most entertaining characters in little more than a decade. It is no ordinary rugby journey but Genge is no ordinary rugby player. The Baby Rhino and ‘rugby’s bad boy’ are both monikers you may have seen attributed to him. Now try 2022 Premiership champion, 2022 World Rugby Dream Team member and senior, 43-cap England vice-captain for size. Last year, Genge joined the Roc Nation roster…

Which was the stronger of the two Irish Grand Slam teams this century, 2009 or 2018? When one website did a head-to-head, they had seven players from each plus Rob Kearney, who straddled both. We favour the 2009 Slammers, led by Brian O’Driscoll at his height. The Jamie Heaslip try v France (30-21) at Croke Park was one for the ages. O’Driscoll’s try and drop-goal edged out England 14-13 and the Slam was clinched in dramatic fashion, Ronan O’Gara dropping a 77th-minute goal in Cardiff (17-15). Wales’ Stephen Jones missed a last-gasp kick and the Irish ghosts of 1948 were laid to rest.…

The title triumph of 2013 is remembered most fondly by all the Welsh fans who witnessed it, arguably even more so than any of their four Grand Slams. In the final round, Stuart Lancaster’s England arrived in Cardiff as title favourites, chasing a clean sweep of their own but knowing as long as they avoided a defeat by seven points or more, the title would be theirs. Instead, Wales produced an incredible performance to thump England 30-3 and finish the campaign top. Alex Cuthbert scored two second-half tries while the boots of Leigh Halfpenny (12 points) and Dan Biggar (eight) delivered a record win for Wales over their biggest rivals. Halfpenny won Player of the Championship and was then the Lions’ star man Down Under.…

”STEVE WAS able to stand up against the very best, but it wasn’t always easy for him,” says Andy Robinson. The former Bath and England head coach is among the best-qualified people to give insight on Eddie Jones’s successor in the Twickenham hotseat. Before the cameras, Steve Borthwick cuts a calm, focused and almost unflappable figure. Qualities he will need in abundance to turn around the flailing fortunes of a rugby nation picking up the pieces of a disastrous 2022 that saw his predecessor sacked nine months out from a Rugby World Cup. Robinson, the man who brought the towering Cumbrian south from Preston Grasshoppers as a teenager to join Bath in 1998, saw Borthwick’s abilities at club level and then on the international stage up close, first under Clive…

AUCKLAND DELIVERED. It was the final the tournament needed, in front of a world-record crowd for a women’s game, beamed back to Blighty on free-to-air TV. After a year’s hiatus, the Women’s World Cup showed exactly what many insisted was coming. And while that was going on, England were already selling tickets for the TikTok Six Nations. As Alex Teasdale, the RFU’s head of the women’s game, explains to us: “This was always going to be an important window for us. “We’d been really fortunate to have tickets for the Six Nations on sale since just before the World Cup. We’ve had to work really closely with World Rugby, Six Nations, all of the stakeholders that are involved, to really push. Because in 2019, we were on sale probably six…

IT TAKES something special for an Italy back-three player to steal the limelight from Ange Capuozzo, but that is precisely what Pierre Bruno produced just after the Autumn Nations Series loss to South Africa in November. Long before the 26-year-old Zebre winger beckoned his partner Jessica down from the stands and onto the playing surface on the pretext of sharing a post-match photograph, the day was already destined to be lodged front and centre in his memory bank. The game was played in Bruno’s home city, Genoa, in front of a crowd featuring dozens of his friends and family. The stadium itself, the rickety yet wonderfully atmospheric Stadio Luigi Ferraris, had been the scene of plenty of childhood trips with his grandfather, cousins and pals to watch Sampdoria in Serie…

Coach Leon MacDonald Squad news There hasn’t been a huge amount of turnover from last year’s run to a Grand Final loss. Josh Goodhue and Karl Tu’inukuafe are gone. But the return to the fold of respected second-row Patrick Tuipulotu, after time with Toyota, is a real boon for the Blues. Key player Beauden Barrett is one of rugby’s premier runners and a vital mind. Prediction Runners-up Coach Stephen Larkham Squad news They are well-drilled up front but will feel the loss of Scott Sio, while Tom Banks leaving their back three for Japan burns. Corey Toole comes in after thrilling on the Sevens World Series for Australia. Key player Noah Lolesio needs to live up to his potential in attack and show Eddie Jones he can master a game.…

FOURTH SPOT was the best that Stirling County had managed in the Women’s Tennent’s Premiership prior to this season. But when the regular fixtures drew to a halt in January, they sat top of the pile, 11 wins out of 12 taking them to the uncharted territory of the play-offs. It’s a tremendous fillip for a club that in 2021 was devastated by the tragic loss of Siobhan Cattigan and has seen other Scotland internationals head south to play in the Allianz Premier 15s. “With new blood coming in, there’s been a change in mindset,” says team manager and loosehead Gillian Duncan. “We have a real mix of experienced girls and others who’ve just moved up from the U18s. The younger girls are giving us new energy and five of…

BRISTOL BEARS scrum-half Lucy Burgess strolled around Ashton Gate stadium after her side’s 62-0 Premier 15s win over Wasps in November. What she didn’t know was that one of the best moments of her life was about to take place. The number nine was clapping fans before she met young supporter Ellie, who turned around to reveal Bristol’s latest innovation which brought Burgess to tears. Ahead of the 2022-23 league season, Bristol became the first club in the league to put players’ names on the back of shirts. That November night was the first time Burgess had seen her name on a young supporter’s shirt. “I’ll be honest, I was really shocked,” the 22-year-old says. “I didn’t really know how to react and I am quite an emotional person anyway,…

SEVENS FACT The Sevens Challenger Series will have three-day combined men’s and women’s events taking place at Markotter Stadium in Stellenbosch, South Africa on 20-22 and 28-30 April. Can Uganda (right) triumph?…

After 14 consecutive seasons in Yorkshire One, back-to-back promotions lifted this Halifax-based club to their highest league level in R1 North-East last September. DoR David ‘Harry’ Harrison, a devout pragmatist, said: “We were stepping into the unknown but have a big side, a strong set-piece and a restructured attacking style that took us to third place in January.” Forward play is Harrison’s specialist subject, as befits a former Heath hooker and captain for ten of his 18 seasons as a player. He added: “The culture we’ve created has made recruitment easier year on year. Fly-half Chris Johnson, our new player-coach who signed from Sale FC, is making a huge impact. His game management and attention to analytical detail are strong factors in our success.” Prop forward Chris Moore has led…

“In the physio room you can spill your guts on a range of subjects” A SAFE space in which to converse and joke around has always been, and always will be, the physio room. A big reason is that you initially go in there for care and that seems warm and open and accommodating. It’s a non-threatening place to have a conversation with staff you know are there to help you. They want to look after you and repair you. There’s a massive trust element that goes on in physio rooms in rugby. It’s also unwritten but assumed that physios aren’t performance staff, they’re medical. So they have a coach’s ear but it’s very unlikely they’ll feed back to them anything you say in there. They might be able to…