Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2020 i Rugby World

“So what’s next for rugby?” UNPRECEDENTED. Uncharted waters. Unique situation. Those are words we’re used to hearing as coronavirus has a significant impact on our lives. In such times when people’s health is the priority, it seems inappropriate to mourn the loss of live rugby. But we recognise that our readers’ bond with the sport means you’re wondering about the ramifications for the game as well, just as we are. So what is next for rugby? Much is unknown but let’s take a look at the main questions. When will tournaments resume? The big imponderable – and it could be a case of if rather than when. The IRFU and RFU have already brought the Irish and English domestic seasons to a premature end. Football’s Euros have moved to 2021…

“We all just froze because her bum was out” HAVE YOU ever pretended to be your twin, Bryony? Once I didn’t clear up the cones from a PE lesson and the teacher said, “Poppy, you need to go out and get them.” I said, “I’m Bryony” and as she went out one door I went out the other. By the time she’d found Bryony, who said she was Bryony, I’d gone. I felt bad afterwards. The funniest thing you’ve seen on the pitch? Any classic when someone’s shorts are pulled down. On an U20 tour, it happened to Emily Scott. Everyone stopped playing and South Africa scored a try! We all just froze because her bum was out. Then there’s Sunter’s one (Sarah Hunter v USA at RWC 2017) –…

WHEN JOHNNY SEXTON and Conor Murray first combined as starting half-backs for Ireland, it’s fair to say that the outcome didn’t exactly blow anybody away. We’re going back to a 2011 World Cup game against the USA in New Plymouth when the pair, who would become the greatest half-back partnership in their nation’s history, took their first steps together. Sexton was asked last year if it was a shock that they’ve endured for so long. “It is if you saw us play together at the start,” he said. “I didn’t think we’d last much further after three or four caps to be honest.” He had five penalty shots at goal against the Americans and missed four as Ireland toiled badly. Murray hardly pulled up any trees himself. What happened after…

MARTYR DAY, in May 2014. Samer Al-Akhras will never forget it. “I was a newly married man, so I was out with my new wife when the opposition started shelling the city,” the proud Syrian says. “Mortars landed near the restaurant we were in and a woman and her two teenager daughters were wounded. I went outside to provide first aid – I volunteered with Red Crescent for 12 years – and after providing the first aid, an ambulance arrived to take them. “Another mortar fell and gifted me 1,200 (pieces of) shrapnel in my whole body. Five of them caused me bleeding inside the chest. Yeah, I was wounded.” The woman, her daughters and all at the restaurant survived. But Al-Akhras’s abiding memory is not of falling horror in…

PARIS, JE T’AIME “It was a special time for me because I’m from a little city (Créteil) close to Paris, I was born there. I played for the biggest club in Paris, in front of my family and also with legends like Christophe Dominici, Juan Martín Hernández and Ignacio Corleto. “When I started training at Stade I was impressed. They helped me be more confident with my rugby. Paris remains a special club for me and for French people because the spirit of the team is very different.” BIG BREAKTHROUGH “This was Toulon’s first European Cup final (in Dublin) and one of my best memories on the pitch. People thought Clermont would win – and they almost did with world-class play – but after Delon Armitage’s try we had our…

PLAYERS’ AGES may still seem relatively low when considering those name-checked here, but according to Australia men’s sevens skipper Nick Malouf, the return of experienced World Sevens Series stars has given Tim Walsh’s side a timely boost in Olympics year. After finishing fourth in LA and runners-up in Vancouver – narrowly losing out on both occasions to New Zealand – things are building at the right time. “I guess a lot of people probably think that sevens is a young man’s game, but some of the situations you find yourself in, there’s only 14 minutes and a lot can happen,” Malouf, 27, tells Rugby World. “So I think if you look across the World Series, the teams that have the most experience, the most guys with a lot of caps,…

TRY MACHINE A hat-trick of hat-tricks is a rare feat but Cantabrigians captain and No 8 Danny Richards, 24, has gone one better! He scored three tries in four consecutive matches in London Three Eastern Counties against Wisbech, Ipswich YM, Crusaders and Fakenham. Richards took up the game aged 16, played for Altrincham Kersal and later studied physiotherapy in Norwich. Before this season, he had run in only five tries for Cambridge-based Cantabs. “This is my third campaign with the club and it has been crazy,” he said. “I’ve scored 24 tries so far, including six hat-tricks. It might be a lower standard of rugby after our relegation but we’re facing different challenges every week.” 50 NOT OUT Reeds Weybridge won their first 16 games in Three South-West to secure…

“We have about ten areas on the pitch we kick to at Saracens. We look at opposition set-ups and how they receive kick-offs to see where weaknesses are. It also depends on the match situation: if you’re however many points up, you want to kick deep to their 22; if you’re down, you go short to get the ball back and attack.” “We probably do more lower, contestable kicks towards either touchline. When you go low and flat, the opposition often don’t have time to get their lifting pod in place and in a one-on-one contest I’d back our winger. If the opposition have a man in the middle with no one around him – maybe they’ve left the hooker there – we would look to attack that area. We’d…

“France has the best crowds by a mile. Games are like a carnival” FRENCH RUGBY culture could not be further from what we experience in the British Isles. The Six Nations undoubtedly gives us titanic rugby contests, and although they have been disappointing for the best part of a decade, France’s recent renaissance under Fabien Galthié brings back a welcome degree of excitement. French rugby, at its foundation, is structured completely differently. British and Irish clubs are helped financially by their unions, incentivised to nurture talent to help our national teams. France is the opposite. Think Premier League football… Presidents with money to burn, using clubs as their playthings and as access to fame on the back pages. Montpellier rugby boss Mohed Altrad has four Lambos in the club car…

THERE’S NOTHING like a global pandemic to put sport into perspective. Usually sport can be a welcome distraction, an escape from the more serious happenings in the world. This is not to say it allows us to ignore those situations, merely that it can provide some light relief – our Rugby in a war zone feature on P58-63 is an illustration of this. Yet watching or playing rugby is not an option right now. Events big and small have been postponed or cancelled – and rightly, for people’s health is of a far greater priority than who will lift a trophy. But don’t let the spirit of sport desert you – check in with team-mates, do what you can to help those in need, be creative in ways to keep…

1 Samoa Samoa have booked their place in the U20 World Trophy after a 36-0 win over Tonga in the Oceania qualifying event. Scrum-half Steve Onosai (below) scored two of their five tries in Apia. Captain East Timor Fa’amatuainu said: “We trained hard and deserved the win, with three to four months in preparation.” Hosts Spain as well as Hong Kong, Scotland and Uruguay are confirmed participants for the U20 Trophy, which takes place from 14-27 September. The remaining three qualifiers will come from Europe, Africa and North America. 2 Hong Kong The Asia Women’s Championship has been rescheduled due to the coronavirus. The tournament, which doubles up as a qualifier for the 2021 World Cup, was due to take place in Hong Kong in March, but the Covid-19 outbreak…

JAMES HOOK chuckles as he talks of kicking practice with his eldest son, Harrison. The ten-year-old loves his rugby, playing fly-half for Mumbles, and works on his technique with his dad, who has a fair bit of experience. Harrison likes to challenge himself from long range, as Hook senior explains. “He’s always trying to kick from halfway before he’s done it from the 22,” laughs the former Wales back. Hook is retiring at the end of the season after a decade and a half in the professional game and a career that has included spells in England and France as well as Wales. And it’s Harrison who has provided the inspiration for the 34-year-old’s latest challenge. During his time at Gloucester, he went to an after-school book fair with Harrison,…

“He’s immense every week. Defensively he has a destruction about him” EARTHINESS. IT’S a word Jono Ross uses to describe Sale Sharks and no one better encapsulates that quality than the captain himself. He’s a player without an off-button, a remorseless worker in the close-quarter warfare. He’s a leader who inspires, direct and unequivocal in his messages. He’s a man who drives the standards. Right now that means propelling Sale into Premiership title contention, a 39-0 rout of London Irish in early March putting them top of the pile before Exeter nudged back ahead. Ben Curry has the privilege of playing alongside him in the Sharks’ back row. What’s Ross’s strongest suit, we wonder? “It’s his personality, the way he leads, his persona. You want to emulate that,” replies Curry.…

NICK TOMPKINS is as much a bundle of energy off the field as he is on it. The speed with which he talks is reminiscent of the turn of pace he demonstrates when exploiting a gap in the defensive line; his enthusiasm is as evident in conversation as when celebrating a try. There’s a real exuberance to all he does. We opt for an elbow bump as a greeting in these times of coronavirus and decide to kick things off with his verdict on that try. It’s a few days after Wales’ 33-30 defeat by England at Twickenham when Tompkins launched the length-of-the-field move from the second-half kick-off that resulted in Justin Tipuric crossing the whitewash. It’s been described as one of the great Six Nations tries, but the score…

A NEW broom can work wonders and that’s been the case at Dorchester. Relegated from Southern Counties last season, the Dorset club appointed Martin Oxland for a second spell as head coach and the former Royal Navy and Devon playmaker has restored the winning vibe at Surcouf Park. Dorchester led Dorset & Wilts One South with a perfect 17 out of 17 wins before the pandemic threw a spanner in the works. Key to their revival has been the familiarity borne from fielding near-identical XVs on a weekly basis. “That’s something I targeted, trying to get the players to buy into continuity in selection and availability,” says Oxland. “We’ve probably used 35 players this year and 25 of those have played over 80% of the games. It’s helped the side,…

CIARA GRIFFIN was only three years old when Chumbawamba released their hit Tubthumping, but the opening lines could easily be the Ireland captain’s mantra. I get knocked down but I get up again; You are never gonna keep me down. That’s the crux of Griffin’s career. The back-row is the epitome of perseverance. Take her start in rugby. Her earliest memories of the sport are playing in the back garden with her sister, but it wasn’t until she was 16 that her local club, Castleisland, launched a girls’ team – after a decade of “pestering” by Griffin. Then there’s her drive to play at Test level. Rejected at her first two Ireland trials, she asked for feedback and set to work to make improvements ahead of her next opportunity. “Looking…

BIG LEAGUE Tommy Lee, 32, a former Hull KR hooker, is giving Two North club Hull the benefit of his experience as a high-level league player. He said: “The squad are a great bunch and the coaching staff, too. They are all helping me. I found the transition to union okay. I know where I want to be physically and my game awareness needs to improve but, with hard work, I’ll get there.” Wing Lee Birch marked his 100th appearance for Hull with a try in the 33-20 win over Loughborough Students, while centre Dean Squire completed a century of games at the age of only 24 for Plymouth Albion in the 26-14 away win over Birmingham Moseley. POLE’S PART Chinnor prop Tom Fidler won his fourth cap in Poland’s…

HIT HOME Weston-super-Mare narrowly missed the opportunity to celebrate one the biggest anniversaries in the club’s history when losing 22-17 to South-West Premier leaders Barnstaple. It was 40 years since Weston hosted London Welsh in the John Player Cup and held their star visitors to a 13-3 win. Five players who lined up for Weston that day watched the Barnstaple game, which brought the side’s first home defeat in 14 matches. FALCONS GROUNDED A player shortage has forced Lanner to withdraw from Devon-Cornwall. The club made the decision after conceding a third walkover this season. A series of injuries had left them with just seven players. Chairman Dave Tresidder said: “We are unable to field a side and are all very upset about it.” Ironically, fixture secretary Daniel Job said…

THE SUSPENSION of the Guinness Pro14 due to the pandemic was especially hard on Edinburgh, as they lead their conference and are on track for a first-ever appearance in the final. The Scottish side have a sound set-piece, formidable fringe defence and fearless rucking from the likes of props Pierre Schoeman and WP Nel. And it’s backed up by a fast, rapier attack that is making the usual suspects sit up and take note. Their attacking stats are impressive – top three for metres gained, clean breaks and defenders beaten – and they have some serious weapons. Back-three players Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn are highly threatening, and in free-scoring wing Duhan van der Merwe they have unearthed a real gem. In Matt Scott and Mark Bennett, Edinburgh have Test-quality…

THIS ISSUE always raises eyebrows but in law it is straightforward. We can only judge on outcome. After all, the only person who knows if a spill was deliberate is the player. There are things players can do to help the referee, though. For example, if you go to intercept the ball with only one arm raised you’re asking for trouble. If your palm is facing down, you don’t have a leg to stand on! Also, where are you? If closer to the goal-line, the greater risk of a yellow and penalty try. A good example was in January’s Exeter-La Rochelle game when Stuart Hogg was deemed to have deliberately knocked on. Although he was on his own 22m line, he was the last line of defence and in stopping…

THE TRICKLE of young players from South Africa to Europe is beginning to look suspiciously like a wave following the announcement of the departure, scheduled for the end of their school year, of another young talent. Jordan Venter will arrive at his new club, Edinburgh, in the hope that he can follow in the footsteps of fellow South African WP Nel and play for Scotland. Another Edinburgh South African, Duhan van der Merwe, qualifies for Scotland in a few months’ time and he should be on the summer tour. Pierre Schoeman will become ‘Scottish’ in 2021 and almost certainly become a Tartan Bok. Venter is only 17 years old. He’s still a schoolboy at the celebrated rugby nursery Paul Roos Gymnasium School in Stellenbosch, one of many institutions that are…

MANY A worthy person has run a marathon for charity, but how about six on the bounce? That’s what former England centre Tom May did in early March when he took on the London Loop, a 150-mile orbital path around the capital. He became aware of the path when spotting a sign with a kestrel on it during his walk to the gym. A quick Google search later and the idea took shape. “The pathway runs quite near to my house in Teddington and effectively goes just inside the M25 all the way,” says May, who retired from rugby in 2015. “Two years ago I sat on a Wattbike for 24 hours and I thought I should probably do something else now. “With what’s been going on with Doddie (Weir),…

WITH NO apparent heir to England’s nine jersey, young scrum-halves will ache to impress. Recent England apprentice Alex Mitchell says in the future the best nines will be Swiss Army knives – versatile and sharp. So during a pandemic-enforced break, the Northampton Saint explains a few varied aspects of his life so far… I’m not too bad with free time. Me and my housemate Dave (Ribbans) entertain ourselves. We will play backyard cricket quite a lot. One-hand, one-bounce as we’ve got a little track there. We always do random stuff, so we’ll get board games in and we’re both into PS4. We’re both doing university, too, so at the moment we’re not too bored. We’re getting some gym stuff from Saints. We’ll try to make a home-made gym in the…

FOR A guy who only made his international debut off the bench last August, on the night of a hideous defeat to France in Nice, Scott Cummings has cemented his place in the Scotland team in the blink of an eye. At the age of 23, he has become a Test regular. It’s quite a rise for a player who says it doesn’t seem all that long ago since he was wondering how much game time he was going to get with Glasgow, what with Jonny Gray, Tim Swinson, Rob Harley and Kiran McDonald all options for Dave Rennie in the row. “I mean, I made my debut in 2015 and signed a pro contract in 2016 but around Christmas 2018 I was still really fighting for games. “Getting into…

IF YOU want to know how good you are at running, compared to a professional, run a mile and see if you’re quicker than the world record three minutes 43.13 seconds, set by Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj. The same applies for cycling. You can use an app like Strava to compare your own speed on a stretch of road used in a professional bike race and see how much slower you are than a cyclist who was paid to ride it. It is not possible to do this so simply with rugby. All of the statistics we usually have access to – tries, carries or tackles – are dependent on the opposition. Scoring a try in the back garden is not equal to scoring a World Cup match-winner, for example.…

RATU TAGIVE enjoys getting behind the camera, trying his hand at creating videos and taking photos. It’s one of his hobbies, alongside playing in the Glasgow Warriors band with the likes of Ryan Wilson, Lee Jones and Callum Gibbins. Yet it’s footage of Tagive in front of camera that has proved so decisive in his career. It’s probably best to press rewind before we get to that. Tagive grew up playing league in Australia, he and older brother Peni progressing to pro careers in their teens. But after struggling for a season at Wests Tigers and moving to the Bulldogs, he walked out on the club when off-field matters got too much. “There was a lot of stuff going on at home at the time and I didn’t know how…

OPEN AT SHUTTS There’s an exciting new chapter in the history of Three East (North) club Bakewell Mannerians. After 90 years, they have a base of their own at Shutts Lane in the Derbyshire Dales – all at a cost of £250,000. They have acquired 6.5 acres of land, which will accommodate two full-sized pitches, a training area and a welfare centre, with a 25-year lease on a reasonable rate from Lord Edward Manners. The first XV have already used one pitch while work on the second playing area is under way. Chairman Tim Sargent said: “We played at Bakewell Showground for years and more recently at Lady Manners School. But to have a proper home is a massive achievement and gives us a focus we’ve never previously had.” FUNCTION…

YOUTH MOVEMENT Warrington, of One West, are building for the future. Their U18 and U17 colts have won their respective leagues, Benny Hartill, Josh Maskery, Harry Smithers and Stephen Antrobus are in the Cheshire U15 squad, and Roma Zheng was chosen for the England Counties U18 party that had been due to play against Ireland Clubs & Schools at Bedford on 14 and 18 April. Warrington are also coaching a skill-set transferable across rugby union and league with the help of former Warrington Wolves player Darren Abram. FISH TALE There was a happier twist to the extensive flooding that devastated clubs as far afield as Cumbria and Cornwall. Old Rishworthians’ ground at Copley, Halifax, was flooded for the second time in five years but there was a surprise for club…