Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2017 i Rugby World

AH 2017, pleased to meet you. As we look to the year ahead, everyone’s focus is set on self-improvement and here at RW we’re not averse to a nip and tuck, either physically or mentally. With that in mind, we kick off with our special New Year, New You section which focuses on giving our readers the fitness and nutrition advice they need to take a running, skipping leap into their best year yet. We can finally start talking about a British & Irish Lions year, and do so with some chutzpah. The sterling performances of the northern hemisphere sides in the autumn window, notably Eddie Jones’s Invincibles (P36) and Joe Schmidt’s All Black-conquering Ireland, ably propped up by Jack McGrath (P44), give the world’s most-enduring touring team belief and…

“Do not let standards slip” WITH THE New Year upon us, perhaps it’s time as a coach to reflect on how you and the team are behaving – essentially run a MOT on your culture. Here is a simple checklist of things you can look at to see if you’re being the best version of yourself and if the team reflects that… 1. Has any ‘banter’ become blurred? It’s very easy to brush off a bit of mickey-taking by saying, “It’s only banter – get over it”. Yet it’s often bullying dressed up differently and if you allow that to seep into your team and management, you will get a team that is less united. Kindness can be infectious and negative banter can infect. Don’t think as a coach you…

TOUGHEST OPPONENT I can’t get past Richie McCaw – he was just relentless. Everyone knows he wasn’t a player you would look forward to playing against. He’s one of the greats. FAVOURITE STADIUM Ravenhill (Kingspan Stadium) is very special. I have some special memories of playing there and hopefully they will welcome me with open arms when I go back there with Cardiff Blues! BEST RUGBY MOMENT When I played against my homeland, for New Zealand A against Samoa. That was in New Zealand and there were a fair few friends and family in the crowd. That was special. FUNNIEST TEAM-MATE Dan Fish. I can’t understand him! I think he speaks Welsh but I’m not sure and it’s funny to me. Everyone else laughs too and that’s my cue to…

“People were telling me I still looked fit but my body composition was changing” I WAS A player or coach in the senior game for 25 years. As a player I spent every day trying to be the best I could be – my mantra was “never fail through lack of effort”. This continued as a coach and I trained like a player for the first five years, apart from contact, until I had a quiet word with myself and modified training! However, in the last three years I’ve been adrift from the team ‘training’ environment. I’m in the financial world again and had lost my way in terms of regular exercise and nutrition. A lot of people I meet don’t eat regularly, skip meals while on the run, don’t…

“EDDIE IS PREPARED TO RUFFLE A FEW FEATHERS” SO AFTER the year you’ve had, making it 13 games unbeaten, going out to Australia and beating them up in their own backyard, Eddie Jones is still telling you that there are no world-class players in the England team?” My voice can barely hide its incredulity. “Well, that’s what he says. We’re second in the world, we’re not top and we have to improve. I’ve had my one-on-one session with him and he’s told me where I need to develop, given me stuff to work on, to get better.” Jonathan Joseph is speaking to me on a rare day off. He’s at ease, sat at home. He’s already worked his way through Sky Atlantic’s Westworld in double-quick time, wolfed down some lunch,…

“MAYBE IT’S UP TO WALES TO HALT ENGLAND’S WINNING RUN IN CARDIFF” AFTER A breakthrough season last term, Scarlets loosehead Rob Evans has recovered from a wrist injury and is ready to push his claims for the Wales No 1 jersey in the upcoming Six Nations with Gethin Jenkins now sidelined. Here he speaks to Rugby World about Eddie Jones, the All Blacks and deep-sea fishing… I injured my wrist in the final Test against New Zealand in June and was out for five months. It was frustrating. I had down days but you concentrate on little goals and I’m lucky the boys around the club have kept me chipper. We’re a tight bunch. I loved being part of last year’s Six Nations, but I’m not getting ahead of myself.…

DANNY CARE The 66-cap England scrum-half grew up in Leeds and as a teenager attended the Sheffield Wednesday Academy alongside Leicester City and England striker Jamie Vardy, before being discarded for being too small. DANNY CIPRIANI Before plumping for rugby with Wasps, Cipriani was a gifted footballer who trained with QPR’s academy and had a pre-season game at left-back for Tottenham Hotspur. The then Spurs manager Tim Sherwood said he could have made it. WESLEY FOFANA The fleet-footed Clermont and France centre-cum-wing was a talented footballer who trained at the CFF (Centre de Formation de Football) in Paris alongside France and Bordeaux star Jérémy Ménez, before choosing a career in rugby. LUKE McALISTER The 30-cap All Black spent part of his childhood in Manchester where his father, Charlie, played professional…

QUICK-FIRE PROFILE Name Francois Ratier Age 44 (12 August 1972) Born La Rochefoucauld, Charente, France Last book read Che Guevara. It’s about the Cuban revolution by my friend Jean Cormier, who’s also a famous rugby writer Favourite film Brazil from Terry Gilliam. I am also a big fan of Monty Python To switch off I… Read, play or listen to music, and drink a few pints with my friends Other sport you’d like to coach Football. I grew up in a family of football fans and I played until I was 15 Rugby hero Serge Blanco Rugby highlight Women’s Rugby World Cup final 2014 Hopes for 2017 Women’s World Cup champions and a job in September 2017! FRANCOIS RATIER is ruing the fact that the integration of Canada’s sevens and…

COD LIVER OIL CAN HELP BUT NOT EVERYONE IS A FAN IN THESE darker winter weeks, it can often feel like we never see the sun. Whatever effect this has on your mood, your health certainly misses the benefits of sunshine. Vitamin D3 is absorbed via your skin from sunlight to help maintain strong bones and aid your immune system. Therefore, as the ground outside gets soft and we enter sniffle season, it can be a real boost to soak up more Vitamin D. But when the sun isn’t out for long and you're covered head to toe in clothing when you're outside, how do you get your hit? James Morehen, a high-performance rugby nutritionist from Liverpool John Moores University, says that though there are supplements you can take, a…

Clark Laidlaw, assistant coach at London Irish, shows two ways to score off an attacking scrum… What’s the objective? To score open or blind, depending on how the opposition defend the short side. How it works If only one man defends the blind side, 9 and 14 can create a two-on-one for 15 to score. If they put two men in the narrow channel, 9, 10 and 12 combine to put 14 through the middle. Key points 14 reads the defence and communicates with the two half-backs. 9 must engage the opposition 9 if you attack open and 12 must be alive to take 9’s pass if a gap opens up earlier in the move. WIN ! Post a video of your team completing this month Pro’s Playbook move in…

WINNER DARK BLUES’ BIG HEART Oxford University won the Women’s Varsity match 3-0 – just a year after being thrashed 52-0 by Cambridge. “The players fought for every inch and every ball,” said Oxford coach Gary Street, who had tears in his eyes. LOSER CRUCIAL FUNDING CUT GB Wheelchair Rugby’s National Lottery grant has been axed by UK Sport, a move that chief exec David Pond says “puts a question mark over the future of the GB team”. They may appeal – we are right behind you. WINNER HEARING FROM EXPERTS On a recent podcast we spoke with the highly respected Dave Alred about coaching and his book, The Pressure Principle. It was good to talk about the fundamentals of rugby. Listen to the podcast at po.st/Alred.…

“Like every schmuck we make resolutions” ALITTLE CONFESSION: for the journeyman pro, there are points in the rugby year when picking up a little niggly injury – nothing too serious, a ‘two-weeker’ perhaps – comes as a bit of a blessing. And right about now, at the very start of the new year, is one of those points. If you have slogged through the first four months of the season without a break, hitting endless rucks and making countless scrag tackles to little discernible effect, a mild ankle sprain and a week or two in the warmth of the physio room can be your own secret little holiday. Whilst taking constant care to express your frustration and determination to get back out on the pitch to anyone within earshot, of…

IF YOU CAN’T PICK OR KILL IT, IT’S PROBABLY NOT GOOD FOR YOU YOU’VE COME out of a festive period when you’ve had a high calorie intake, but you haven’t gotten much bang for your buck. Let’s not waste time looking at the scales. Instead, here are ten top rules to focus on this year… 1. Be aware of the three Ts Always consider the time you take on food, the type of macronutrients you take on, and the total amount. So if it’s 8am and you’ve a moderate training day, you know it’s breakfast and you need proteins, carbs and fats. That could mean 90g of carbs, 20-30g of protein and some fat – or two slices of toast, four scrambled eggs and half an avocado. 2. Fuel for…

No Joe Schmidt or Gregor Townsend could cost the Lions. @RickyJH85 3 of them were part of the last tour (a success). So hopefully they can find that balance and experience once more. @ElliotLee2 Farrell has beaten New Zealand, Borthwick part of successful England. Howley? Who else was available or put their hand up? @gman569 Gatland’s choices suggest this must be his last tour. I just hope his playing squad doesn’t confirm it. @GregCameron6 Howley has the most to prove. Wales’ back-line is dreadful! @RossLlew10 Great balance. Three successful coaches who know how to win games of huge significance. @GarySmudge75 It will only be a problem if they lose every game, people will be sharpening their knives already. @wgriffiths69 Howley should never have been anywhere near. Farrell and Borthwick are…

“MY MISSION SINCE I CAME HERE HAS BEEN TO WIN SOMETHING WITH ULSTER” ULSTER WERE left reeling earlier in the season when the IRFU blocked their bid to extend Ruan Pienaar’s contract, citing the need to develop home-grown talent. The experienced South African scrum-half will announce his new club this month, but before he leaves Belfast he’s planning a last hurrah. Here he tells Rugby World more… I saw myself finishing my career at Ulster, playing my last game of rugby for Ulster. So I’m extremely disappointed at not being able to stay. I’ve got a few months left to enjoy my time here and every game I’m in the match-day 23 I want to do my best. I’m sure there will be plenty of tears when I leave. I…

1 Call off a game! Let’s start with an urgent appeal to all national rugby unions. Call off one game. Wipe it from your fixture list and leave yourself one fewer per year – just for a start. Every media release from World Rugby and every release from a major national union opens up by pledging undying allegiance to the principle of player welfare… prior to announcing more huge games. Call off a Test match. One each. Do it soon. Who cares about the money? Think of your conscience. How much better will it make you feel? 2 A Lions revolution This year’s tour to New Zealand is the last one to take place under the dismal agreement signed by the Lions committee years ago and which has condemned the…

Crabbie’s Team of the Month OPM ESS IS more at Devon Two club Old Plymothian and Mannamedian, where an unusual remedy has been tried to arrest a slide down the leagues. “We train once a week now instead of twice, but have a ‘train and play’ policy that has brought greater commitment,” says captain and scrum-half Henry Matthews. “Everyone is buying in and we get 30 players attending every week, even in terrible weather.” The new approach is bringing rewards, OPM storming through November – with wins v Devonport HSOB (59-7), Plympton Victoria (78-0), Old Techs (10-6) and St Columba & Torpoint (53-0) – to set up a top-of-the-table clash with Dartmouth on 7 January. Matthews, a teacher who has twice overcome ACL injuries, is one of the linchpins of…

QUICK-FIRE PROFILE Age 31 (19 Nov 1985) Born Suva Series debut Dubai, 2008 Height 5ft 9in Weight 14st 2lb Twitter handle @oseakolinisau CRABBIE’S SEVENS FACT ALL THAT GLITTERS! World Rugby have done away with each leg’s cup, plate and bowl – now offering gold, silver and bronze, plus a Challenge Cup. Ireland (right) won the women’s Challenge final in Dubai. “I’VE GOT A SCHOLARSHIP TO LOUGHBOROUGH UNI” EMBARKING ON the first Sevens World Series since claiming Olympic gold, Fiji’s men would be expected to surf on a wave of euphoria and certainty in victory. But elite rugby is nothing if not punishing and after a final loss to South Africa in Dubai, it was clear the islanders would not have everything their own way. For Osea Kolinisau, Fiji’s keenly focused…

1 OFF SET-PIECE “An extra ball-player allows you to move the ball to the outside channels quicker and more effectively, and you can better exploit dummy lines and strike runners. It doubles the width of your play, giving you a threat across the whole width of the pitch.” 2 EXTRA PAIR OF EYES “Vision is vital. The 10 controls everything inside him (ruck, short side), 12 controls everything outside him (organising wings and full-back). The 12 can communicate with his 10 better than a non ball-player, and to forwards in the wider channels.” 3 SECOND LINE OF ATTACK “The second ball-player connects your game up and gives you options at the line. You can put a playmaker behind two separate pods of forwards and have the ability to play either…

What’s needed Balls and bibs, plus cones to mark a playing area. Pick two teams of at least six-a-side (playing half a pitch) up to a maximum of 12-a-side (full pitch). How to play The difference between Pass Kick and a game of touch is that players alternate between passing and kicking. Players have to pass backwards, but attackers can run ahead to find space to catch the ball. So the ball-carrier has three options: pass, kick or run. A try is scored if a player runs over the line (untouched) with the ball or catches it behind the line. From a strategic point of view, players have to think ahead. They get to practise their kicking and catching high balls under pressure. Tactics Older players should alternate their play,…

RUGBY BOOTS A. Asics Gel Lethal Tigreor IX IT Built for those with explosive acceleration. £120, asics.com B. Mizuno Waitangi PS Primeskin upper with improved durability and a tailored fit. £89.99, rugbystore.co.uk C. Puma evoPOWER 4.2 H8 SG Perfect for adding extra power to your game. £50, lovell-rugby.co.uk D. New Balance 2.0 Pro AG Inspired by sprinters, this boot is all about speed. £140, lovell-rugby.co.uk 1. Cuddly lion Perfect for the younger British & Irish Lions fan, this toy is £19.99 from rugbystore.co.uk 2. The North Face Salty Dog beanie This beanie – £27.99 at ellis-brigham.co.uk – will keep ears warm on those cold nights. 3. Archon Move Activity Tracker Tracks your steps, heart rate and calories, syncs with your calendar and gives you social media alerts. It’s £49.99 from…

A HEAVY FINE WAS SURE TO BE INCURRED WITH A FEW unsuccessful rugby tours in recent years, retired lock Jon Axon took on the responsibility of getting things back on track for Withycombe RFC at the end of the 2015-16 season, writes RW reader Joe Parkin. A trip over to Belgium for the Flanders Open Tens tournament was arranged and we set off from the club by coach at 6am with the usual tour rules in place. Drinks were consumed at a vast rate of knots and by the time we were aboard the ferry to France, one player was stumbling around with his backpack open. One of his team-mates decided to inform him of this – but not before taking his passport. The passport was subsequently handed over to…

Football is to blame I couldn’t agree more with Tom Price (Letters), who comments on the high price of rugby tickets. I feel cheated and angry towards football followers (just a tiny minority) who have deprived us of terracing and the ability to squeeze more genuine fans into top rugby games. You can fit about four people standing into a space for one seat. I used to go to two Five Nations games a year at Twickenham and spent many an hour standing on the South Terrace reading the programme. Now I can just about afford one of the cheaper tickets for England v Fiji. Andy Cox Hinckley, Leicestershire Muddled thinking I read with great interest Stephen Jones’s article on grass-roots rugby. The RFU should help clubs to find…

0.02 secs England Sevens’ Dan Norton is 0.02s faster than Usain Bolt over 40m 6 The number of tins of coconut oil that the All Blacks get through in a typical week -160°C Temperature that cryotherapy chambers – a favourite of the Wales squad – can go down to 75 Weight in kilograms of the dumb-bells custom-made for Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth 10.24 Time in seconds that Carlin Isles has clocked for 100m – making him the world’s fastest rugby player 300 Weight in kilos that prop Cian Healy can squat 6,000 Daily calories consumed by Tom Wood to maintain his playing weight 5 Pro players consume five times more protein than the average adult male, says Ricoh’s Rugby Change study…

DIARY DATES Ireland will play two Tests in Japan on 17 and 24 June, while England’s autumn fixtures are Argentina (11 Nov), Australia (18 Nov) and Samoa (25 Nov). LIONS DINNERS The Lions will stage four charity dinners in each of the home nations before the New Zealand tour. First up is one in aid of Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff on 10 Feb. See lionsrugby.com/ leading-the-lions for details. GLEE TIMES THREE England Sevens (below) had a triple celebration in Cape Town. They won the tournament, James Rodwell became their most-capped player, beating Ben Gollings’s mark of 70 tournaments, and Dan Norton overhauled Gollings’s try record of 220. TIETJENS’S NEW START Sir Gordon Tietjens takes charge of Samoa Sevens this month. The NZRU stopped their former coach starting earlier because…

IT’S IMPORTANT to understand the gear changes that happen when you are not in physical condition. The biggest thing players can learn – and I’ve done this with some guys that are quite big – is that the first five paces of everything you do need to have a tempo about them that’s faster than you run. So let’s say you’re in the defensive line, as the ‘B’ defender, and you’re really struggling. The ball comes and you’re looking at the opposition ten or 12, who’s 15 yards back. The first five steps must be quick – one, two, three, four, five! And then play. What you’ll find is from that play, after that cadence, you’re slowing down. But you’ve gathered momentum very quickly. It sort of shakes you up…

SUN 1 JANUARY Aviva Premiership Sale v Bristol (2.30pm) Gloucester v N’ampton (3) Leicester v Saracens (3) TV Live on BT Sport Worcester v Harlequins (3) Guinness Pro12 Scarlets v Cardiff Blues (3) TV Live on Sky Sports/S4C Dragons v Ospreys (5.05) TV Live on BBC Wales Top 14 La Rochelle v Grenoble Toulon v Racing 92 GK IPA Championship Jersey Reds v Ealing Lon Scottish v Rotherham Yorkshire Carn v Lon Welsh MON 2 JANUARY Principality Premiership Newport v RGC 1404 FRI 6 JANUARY Aviva Premiership Newcastle v Bath (7.45) TV Live on BT Sport Guinness Pro12 Dragons v Treviso (7.15pm) Leinster v Zebre (7.35) Scarlets v Ulster (7.35) TV Live on BBC Wales Top 14 Montpellier v Bordeaux-Bègles SAT 7 JANUARY Champions Cup P1 Racing v Munster (3.45)…

“WHEN I GO BACK TO ITALY THE RESPECT IS THERE. I HAVE IMPROVED SO MUCH AS A PLAYER” THERE ARE varying degrees of risk you can take in order to make the most of your love of rugby. You can try out some new boots. You can attempt a new technique in a big game, to see if you can become a hero. You can upload a fuzzy highlights reel of your best on-field moments onto YouTube, replete with an eye-wateringly cringeworthy soundtrack. Or, like Simone Favaro, you can move. Last season the Italian back-rower left Treviso to try something different. He pitched up at Glasgow. It was a leap off the ledge, making for the other side with no safety net – he is a single man, so there…

14 Starting centre pairings picked by Vern Cotter in his 31 Tests since taking over in June 2014. 6 The most starts any partnership has had – a tally shared by Alex Dunbar and Mark Bennett, and Matt Scott and Bennett. The only other pairing used more than twice is Peter Horne and Bennett (three times). 9 Number of different centres Cotter has started – Mark Bennett, Nick De Luca, Alex Dunbar, Peter Horne, Huw Jones, Sean Lamont, Matt Scott, Duncan Taylor and Richie Vernon. 17 Number of starts for Mark Bennett under Cotter – more than any other centre. The others to have reached double figures are Alex Dunbar (11) and Matt Scott (ten).…

QUICK-FIRE PROFILE Full name William Thomas Morgan Harries Age 29 (30 March 1987) Twitter @Will_Harries Personality Laid-back – sometimes too laid-back! TV show I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! Last book read The Afghan, by Frederick Forsyth. It’s about an undercover agent Dish you most like to cook Turkey Bolognese Holiday Vegas with mates, or Ibiza for a chilled holiday Childhood hero Shane Williams. Not many players make it being small Other sport you’d like to do professionally F1 driver Toughest opponent Lote Tuqiri was a handful Person you’d like to meet A night out with Leonardo DiCaprio would be fun SURPRISING FACT I have a powerboat licence, for boats up to 40ft long. I got it when I was 15. When I go to places like Ibiza…

• To drill two lines of attack: get forwards running off 10 in hard lines, and a second ball-player out the back running off him. Whatever you practise will turn up on Saturday, so keep repping. • To upskill your passing, play a touch game where you must move the ball three passes away from contact. • Don’t worry about shirt numbers – get your best players in the key roles. For example, you might use 15 as a second ball-player, as Sarries do with Alex Goode. • Play a game (touch or full contact) where only the 12 can talk. It helps him get used to organising players. • Play a touch game where the defence is only allowed one player in the backfield (rest in the line). The…

NECK BRIDGE ON SWISS BALL – SUPINE 3 x 3 SETS OF 10SEC HOLDS Lay your back on a Swiss ball, with legs bent. Slowly roll across the ball until your weight is supported by the neck and head. Hold. Roll back into set-up between reps. MED BALL TO WALL THROW 3 x 8 REPS Using a moderate weight medicine ball (6-10kg), perform hard and powerful overhead throws into either a solid or padded wall. CHIN-UP MID-POSITION HOLD 3 x 3 SETS OF 5-10SEC HOLDS Hang passively from a chin-up bar. Pull up quickly into 50% of your range and hold for 5-10 seconds. Lower back down and repeat.…