Wallabies coach Robbie Deans is optimistic Matt Giteau will choose country over cash and not try to walk away from Australian rugby to chase riches in France.

As his jaded players go their separate ways nursing post grand slam hangovers, All Blacks coach Graham Henry happily heads home immune to one headache - adverse public reaction.

The All Blacks have scaled another mini-Everest, completing New Zealand’s third rugby grand slam by effectively negating England’s spoiling tactics at Twickenham today.

Eyeing a small slice of rugby history, Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock says defeat in Saturday’s season-ending Test against Wales doesn’t bear thinking about.

The Wallabies will be out to end their 2008 Test program in style when they take on Wales indoors at Millennium Stadium on Saturday (Sunday 1.30am AEDT).

The Australian Rugby Union have played down the likelihood of a Bledisloe Cup Test staged in the United States despite American organisers talking up the clash. The Metro Denver Sports Commission said they were close to confirming the Wallabies-All Blacks clash to be played in Colorado at the home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos late [...]

The buoyant All Blacks have arrived in London vowing the pursuit of rugby excellence will beat complacency ahead of a grand slam showdown with struggling England.

A defining moment in the birth of Australia and New Zealand as nations has been been the Anzac spirit, which has seen many Australians and New Zealanders die together on foreign battlefields in wars where we have fought for the same cause.

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) is close to finalising three extra revenue generating games for the All Blacks next year, following the successful Bledisloe Cup experiment in Hong Kong.

Missing the chance to exact revenge on England hurts Wallabies star Berrick Barnes as much as the pain of his European tour-ending knee injury.

Veteran flanker Phil Waugh says the onus will be on the Wallabies to adapt to New Zealander Bryce Lawrence’s style of refereeing in Saturday’s Test against Italy, rather than whinge and moan their way through the match.

Bolstered by victories over England and Argentina already this year, Scotland are hopeful of completing a memorable hat-trick with a historic first win over New Zealand here on Saturday.

Senior All Blacks have followed their coach’s example, fending off questions about their looming Test reunion with referee Wayne Barnes.

The British rugby establishment is awaiting the annual Southern Hemisphere rugby invasion of the Northern Hemisphere nations with a similar awe and puffed up defiance as the Romans adopted when they tried - unsuccessfully - to confront the barbarian hordes.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says he won’t be handing out Test jerseys freely for Saturday’s European tour-opening clash with Italy in Padova.

In an obvious attempt to move on from the whole debacle of former sponsor Firepower, the Western Force last week took the extraordinary step of forcing chief playmaker Matt Giteau to make a decision on where he’ll play in 2010 by close of business last Friday.

All Blacks hooker Keven Mealamu will captain New Zealand for the first time against Scotland this Saturday at Murrayfield after coach Graham Henry unveiled a team showing 12 changes.
Johnson names four debutants in England team

Haunted by the ghosts of 2006, Stirling Mortlock will be warning his new-era Wallabies of the dangers in underestimating Italy in Saturday’s return Test in Padova.

They took the scenic route and encountered a few problems along the way, but the Wallabies have finally arrived in Padova, Italy for the second leg of their spring tour.

Carrying both the physical and mental scars of battle, it’s been a tough first week for the baby of the Wallabies spring tour group.