Roar Rookie
Joined August 2011
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The end of year review for Michael Cheika to front the Rugby Australia board is set for December 8th.
“Simplify, Simplify Yourself”. Okay, that is a real demolition of a Simple Minds iconic hit, but if there is a single message that this Wallaby coaching team needs to take on board, it is that the current game plan is way too convoluted for the players they insist on selecting.
I posted the first part of this article on the third of May this year, before a ball was kicked in Southern Hemisphere international rugby, having watched David Pocock play against the Highlanders in Dunedin and then the following week against Los Pumas.
David Pocock has roared back into Super Rugby without missing a beat – nicking the ball off any isolated runners, registering his now-to-be-expected high tackle stats, and visibly looking to add a linking-running game.
Can anyone in Dublin feel a draft? That’s because Andy Farrell’s much-vaunted rush defence system regularly appears to leave the side door wide open.
While most are rejoicing at seeing Scotland dish it out to England, it may turn out to be the catalyst the Poms need to inject some serious life into their 2019 Rugby World Cup campaign.
Aaron Mauger has quickly stamped his authority on this Highlanders side. He promised tweaks to the traditional southern gameplan as both attack and head coach, and started off by providing a structure that the Blues midfield simply could not get to grips with.
The World Rugby nominations for Player of the Year 2017 look like they have been selected by the World Rugby public relations department, not the nomination committee.
The 2017 All Blacks have been like a progressive dinner party from the 1980s – around the same time that digital watches and fondues were a good idea – you have no idea what is coming up next and any discovered delicacy is no guarantee that a continued banquet of excellence is to follow.
This year’s Rugby Championship finished largely as expected. New Zealand were comfortable winners, Argentina continue to struggle with the same squad of players being with each other ad nauseam, while South Africa and Australia battled it out for finishing order in the middle of the pack.
Have we seen the last of Jerome Kaino in a black jersey?
A rush defence will not undo the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship – and it didn’t for the Lions series.
The recent outburst by World Rugby vice chairman Agustin Pichot with regard to the Sonny Bill Williams suspension reversal seemed a little odd given that this was a World Rugby-appointed independent council enforcing World Rugby-written and owned regulations.
