Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i Rugby World

“New Premiership Women’s Rugby points to a bright future” THE NEW Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) competition is underway and there’s plenty to shout about. With a new name, logo and teams, plus an exciting TV deal which means you can watch one match every weekend live on TNT Sports, things are looking bright for the top tier of English women’s rugby. Including the play-offs, a minimum of 21 Premiership Women’s Rugby fixtures will be shown on TNT and Discovery + in a ground-breaking move for the English women’s game. The days of bumper packs of crisps being handed out to the Player of the Match, owing to the Tyrrells sponsorship, are long gone. They mean business now. It was great to see some funky promo photoshoots showing off the person…

WHAT’S THE funniest thing you’ve seen on the pitch? There was a game four years ago against La Rochelle. There was a bit of a scuffle, everyone started coming together right by the advertising hoardings. I’m not a fighter at all but I like to come in and pretend to split everything up. I grabbed Romain Sazy by the collar and said: “Those advertising hoardings, my dad installed them so if you break them, I’ll tell him and you’ll have to pay for the damage.” He looked stunned but I told him I was deadly serious. At the end of the game, he shook my hand and asked: “Was that true about the advertising hoardings?” I told him it was a complete lie and he thought I was crazy. We…

“The market is flooded with players. It’s really tough” WHEN YOU’RE looking for the next contract, in the perfect world you talk to a club in October or November, looking to get a deal done before Christmas. You definitely want it all done before the Six Nations. The earliest I ever agreed a deal was in September – but even then it wasn’t signed until January. You’ll find the top clubs never let players get to the end of their contracts. Which shows loyalty to the player, faith you should get in return. And it probably saves them a bit of money because players at the end of contracts talk to other clubs. Once things get to the open market, it’s a bit of a free-for-all and costs spiral. Over…

ZEBRE PARMA could hardly believe their luck when the collapse of London Irish presented them with the chance to re-sign one of the club’s favourite sons, the Italy loosehead prop Danilo Fischetti. Agreeing a one-year deal to return to the side, the 25-year-old Roman publicly promised to bring with him everything he learnt in his stint in the Premiership. Those who work at close quarters with Fischetti believe that while the English experience was brief, it had a profound effect on his game and his confidence. “That year with Irish completed him in many ways,” says Luca Bigi, the Zebre and Italy hooker. “He’s always had so much talent, allied to a ferocious desire to work and improve, but being there allowed him to measure himself against the best every…

SIZE. DOES IT MATTER? Of course it does, despite the long-held shibboleth that rugby is for ‘all shapes and sizes’. For every Cheslin Kolbe or Faf de Klerk, there’s a shedload of smaller guys who must overcome the prejudice of a coach or selector. And Harry Thacker is one of them. According to his club’s website, the Bristol Bears hooker is 93kg and 1.72m – or 14st 9lb and a fraction under 5ft 8in depending on your preference. And back in his teenage years at Leicester Tigers, those sorts of figures didn’t cut it. “I never thought (pro) rugby would happen for me because when I was about 16, in the Tigers academy, I was told I was too small,” says Thacker, who started out with the U7s at Lutterworth…

THE INVESTEC Champions Cup is here, the latest name for one of rugby’s great competitions. But in its various guises down the years, there have been some incredible results. And nothing fires imaginations like an away win. Some monumental results have been registered over the years by the visiting side, and we celebrate some of those……

STORMERS COACH John Dobson chuckles when he’s asked to explain why Warrick Gelant – who recently returned from a one-year stint at Racing 92 – is called ‘The Boogeyman’. “He’s scary… or at least he used to be,” says Dobson. “Before he went to France, he’d sit through team meetings without saying a word. I’d be addressing the team and whenever I looked in his direction, those two fierce eyes would glare back at me.” Gelant departed Cape Town shortly after the Stormers’ United Rugby Championship title triumph in June 2022. When he returned from France ahead of the 2023-24 season, the Stormers coaches and players were struck by how much he’d changed. “He’s less emotional, and certainly more outspoken and engaging with the coaches,” Dobson points out. “He’s looking…

RUGBY LOVES planning. Phase after phase is mapped out. Plays are worked on for months. Teams want to peak at exact moments. But how do the athletes handle things when the picture changes on the field? That was the initial idea that led us to pitching a number of scenarios at Stephen Mellalieu, a professor in sport psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University, who regularly consults in Welsh professional rugby. And this is how he framed them in a psychological sense. Check these out… Losing a star player to injury can derail even a whole country’s morale – look at when France thought they’d lost Antoine Dupont to a facial fracture. How do you combat this? “A coach may lead the discussion on this with players but I think you have…

1 England Premiership Rugby – alongside the URC – have signed an alignment deal with the British & Irish Lions ahead of the 2025 tour to Australia. As part of the deal, all selected players will be available for all pre-tour activities. Premiership CEO Simon Massie-Taylor said: “We now look forward to seeing as many Premiership players as possible compete for a Test jersey and hopefully experience being on a winning tour.” 2 South Africa SA Rugby’s offices in the Plattekloof in the Western Cape were broken into by burglars. However, the union confirmed that all trophies, including the Rugby World Cup, were safe. CCTV footage shared on social media shows two men entering a room where trophies are stored and touching one of them. But they opted to steal whisky,…

WORLD RUGBY can say all it wants about its reset of the sevens series — can claim it’s still growing the game, that they’re chasing new kinds of fans — but the fact remains this all comes down to money. How else to explain dropping your men’s series from ten tournaments to seven, while also eliminating any stand-alone women’s events? Not to mention cutting away tournaments in major rugby nations whilst retaining a sparsely-attended event in Singapore. On the other hand, the dumped events in London, France and New Zealand have all had their struggles over the years with inconsistent attendance. So the argument that the series should focus on its solid successes, like in Dubai and Hong Kong and even Vancouver, makes some sense. All three of those events…

THE WELSH Rugby Union has apologised after an independent review found and discrimination. The review was commissioned in February after a BBC investigation uncovered serious allegations of sexism and misogyny in the governing body. The panel of three was chaired by Dame Anne Rafferty with England World Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi and former Premiership Rugby chair Quentin Smith. It has made 36 recommendations which includes the creation of an oversight body, continued reform of the board and a move to “clearly and publicly” align with inclusion and diversity. Suggestions also include becoming more transparent and investing in the women’s and girls’ game. The WRU has fully accepted the report’s findings and all of the recommendations and is “already committed” to actioning them. Richard Collier-Keywood, the new WRU chair, said: “On…

WHIRLWINDS, IN refereeing terms, are something you have to prepare for. According to Wayne Barnes – who has called it a day after a dizzying 272 Premiership matches refereed, with ten finals and 111 Tests, including a Rugby World Cup final – you simply have to plan for any eventuality. Of course, you never expect all of them to happen… Asked whether he was a better referee at the end than when he started, Barnes begins telling Rugby World about the power of experience. “I think the more you see and the more you do, it helps your refereeing,” he says, “so I definitely think being a bit older and wiser helps.” But he adds: “Also, one thing. As referees when we’re uncomfortable or we get things kind of wrong,…

WE HAVE all seen the big hits that make you wince; the thundering shoulder that cuts an attacker in half and has the crowd collectively giving it an “Oooh!” All legal, all-out mayhem. And it’s part of the game we love. But who’s the all-time master? We’ve run through the names from Pieter-Steph du Toit to Chabal and Collins. Putting these monsters in any sort of order could be folly – so just enjoy the savagery of all, in any order you like! Sébastien Chabal France | Bourgoin, Sale, Racing Back in 2007, Sale Sharks coach Kingsley Jones said of the side’s hirsute French back-row, “He’ll get the ball, run through six people, then walk for two minutes. We know his weaknesses but play to his strengths. When he goes…

ACROSS 1 Toulouse centre who scored for Tonga v Romania at the World Cup (4,4) 4 - - - Etzebeth, the only Bok in World Rugby’s Dream Team of the Year (4) 8 Swing - - -, sweet chariot (3) 9 Joël - - -, World Rugby’s Head of Match Officials (5) 10 Coniferous tree completes - - - Street, where you’ll find Salford club Broughton (3) 11 Dragons lock Matthew emits piercing cry (7) 12 Small-sided training game that promotes many touches of the ball (5) 13 Insect found at Preston club – Steve Borthwick was one (11) 17 Rory Best paid undisclosed damages to a team of defence lawyers after they sued him for - - - (5) 18 Andy - - -, Coach of the Year (7) 20 Japan international Yuki…

“Do you send the Light Brigade through the Valley of Death?” SOMEHOW US South African teams have jimmied ourselves an invitation to the top table of club rugby. We are thrilled to be here, even if we may not be the best dressed or quite know the traditions or the etiquette. There may be a faint whiff of doggy-do we stepped in on the way in, but we are at the gala dinner. And we are very grateful for it. As much as I personally supported the revenue line of the product of the previous sponsor, the change to a primarily South African bank may make us feel a bit more comfortable. It may sound trivial but a lot of the participating players would bank with Investec. We have seen…

FOR A Leinster team that has made something of an art form out of losing tight games, the arrival of Jacques Nienaber as senior coach must feel like the signing of the century. Nienaber, not that anybody will forget, was Rassie Erasmus’s right-hand man with South Africa at the World Cup, winning the quarter, semi and the final by a single point. Together, they went back-to-back on the sport’s biggest stage. And as good as they have been, Leinster have become the anti-Boks. A one-point loss in the 2023 Champions Cup final against La Rochelle, a one-point loss in the 2023 United Rugby Championship semi-final against Munster, a three-point loss in the 2022 Champions Cup final against La Rochelle and a one-point loss in the URC semi against the Bulls…

THE GEORGIAN franchise has dominated the Rugby Europe Super Cup for the two seasons it’s been in existence and now has a chance to shine in the EPCR Challenge Cup. But can fans expect something special from Black Lion? And, more importantly, what is Black Lion? In 2021, Rugby Europe, with the help of seven unions, created a continental competition to help them develop a higher standard of international player, enhancing their skills within a more competitive environment. That competition was named the Rugby Europe Super Cup and the Georgian union, with their franchise Black Lion, was one of the founding members. Lasha Khurtsidze, vice-president of the Georgian union, said at the time that the Super Cup “will be a cornerstone of future development of Georgian rugby… To get involved…

“A TMO once got me a red and I totally deserved it” IF YOU asked any player what the legacy of the recent Rugby World Cup will be, you’ll hear how French fans got behind it at first and at that point it was an excellent event. Good fun. But all the talk about referees and TMOs became way too much of a thing. Cards and TMO involvements – or more pointedly, the lack thereof – soon became the narrative of games. A lot of grumble and grouse came because the French public was absolutely certain they’d been shafted. In our naivety in professional rugby, we thought the arrival of the TMO could only be positive. Playing away from home, every elite outfit expects to come off second in certain…

January February March April May June July August September October November December 2024 “The Rec… Bath Rugby’s idyllic home nestled next to the Avon in a perfectly preserved Georgian city” January Call 0330 333 1113 or visit rugbyworld.com to subscribe to Rugby World magazine “Yellow fever strikes as 35,000 La Rochelle fans celebrate the club’s first Champions Cup win” February www.rugbyworld.com @Rugbyworldmag @rugbyworldmag facebook.com/rugbyworldmagazine “Bula! Fiji, the spiritual home of liberated rugby and where happiness will find you” March Call 0330 333 1113 or visit rugbyworld.com to subscribe to Rugby World magazine “Wales is a really special fixture and rivalry”FORMER ENGLAND BOSS EDDIE JONES April www.rugbyworld.com @Rugbyworldmag @rugbyworldmag facebook.com/rugbyworldmagazine “Hong Kong is the jewel in the crown of world sevens” May Call 0330 333 1113 or visit rugbyworld.com to subscribe…