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'Chaos': Lawes sheds light on the social that ended 2 England careers
England’s 2019 World Cup training camp in Italy had a lasting impact on the squad, but not necessarily one that then-head coach Eddie Jones desired just weeks before the tournament.
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Jones’ gruelling camp in northern Italy involved an infamous bust-up between Mike Brown and Ben Te’o that resulted in neither being selected in an England squad again, let alone donning the white jersey.
Both Brown and Te’o have given their version of events in the subsequent years, but there has not been much context around that fateful night that ended both of their England careers.
The two players who organised that social, Courtney Lawes and Ben Youngs, recently described how the evening unfolded and how the “horrific” training camp led to the players going “f*****g ballistic” at the social.
Now no longer involved with England having both retired from international rugby after the World Cup last year, Lawes and Youngs explained how their good idea for a team social descended into pandemonium.
“I won’t talk about the fight, but I planned that social,” Lawes said as a guest on Youngs’ and Dan Cole’s podcast For the Love of Rugby.
“I just remember Treviso was horrific. It was like 35 degrees, 80 or 90 per cent humidity and we were getting hosed by the coaches.
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“So we were having sessions, then we were doing this horrific fitness before the sessions, and then we’d have to do the session. Nobody could move.
“So we had this mad, long, awful week and me and Lenny [Ben Youngs] were part of the leadership team and we were like ‘why don’t we have a social? Why don’t we ask Eddie?’
“So we went to Eddie, ‘Eddie, I think we should have a social,’ and he was like ‘good mate, fantastic.’
“So we organised this social and we thought it would be a great time. And we get there and everyone goes f*****g ballistic. Everyone. I was like ‘What is happening?’ I was like ‘I’m on the chopping block here lads, please.’
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“It was absolute chaos.
“It all kicked off, things happened and then next day on the bus, Eddie got up and peppered us, absolutely peppered us from the front of the bus.
England went on to reach the World Cup final a few weeks later, putting in arguably the greatest performance in their history against the All Blacks in the semi-final.
Though Brown and Te’o may disagree, the Leicester Tigers scrum-half said how this social had a positive effect on the team.
“In a weird way, that totally galvanised the team,” he said. “And it’s absolutely bonkers. It was a big blowout by the group, we all needed it and some things happened, we won’t talk about it, but it actually brought the group together in the most bizarre way.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I reckon it may be Jordan at 10 and Nohamba at 9, both players have played together alot and both have been on the Radar for a long time. After Pollard got injured in 2022 with Elton sidelined on a path of self destruction Erasmus and Nienaber indicated that the other options in the country at the time were thin but that Jordan and Manie were the 2 they were looking at. In the end Frans steyn played flyhalf, Willemse slotted in there on the end of year with Libbok as back up. Jordan was right there in the thinking back then so expect him to take the Jersey either as the starter.
1 Go to commentsHaha did he always say it in a sarcastic teacher sort of manor or was it the petulant English snob sort of wail?
42 Go to commentsWell said Mils. It is a big boost at last having Fergus Burke back at 10 for the Crusaders. Had a great season last year as the article says. Mils is also right about captain Codie Taylor’s performance in his return to the Crusaders last week. He was all class.
4 Go to commentsLet’s make them both Capt. I think we'd get the best of both of them and it would help alleviate some of the pressures of the role. They'd have to confer over on field decisions which should lead to “ learnings “ for both. They are our two best consistent performers.
16 Go to commentsOur best player by far..but not a good Captain..poor tactician cost the AB'S and Canes games by not taking the easy points and going for tries when the lineouts were a shambles..can he read a game? And his throat slitting gesture should disqualify him from the AB Captaincy..it is not the appropriate behaviour of an AB Captain.
16 Go to commentsForget what was said or how many players said it. TONY BROWN IS THE NEW ATTACK COACH. That’s the only story worth freaking out over. The springboks are going to grow their game an awful lot over the next cycle and it’s not just the 19 disgustingly arrogant Irish players who refused to shake Ebens hand and said “see you in the final if you can cheat your way past France” who will find that out first hand.
123 Go to commentsOn one hand I think it's a bit ridiculous that this gar into the season and with only 2 wins the Crusaders may make the finals. On the other hand if it was only top 4 or 5, then that last several weeks may be mainly dead rubbers. Nope, 8th place after round robin shouldn't be able to lift the trophy.
4 Go to commentsI do think the media in NZ treated him badly. Sam is a legend. He is humble, a great rugby mind and leader. What happened in the final could happen to anyone. The margins is so fine these days. I lay blame at the feet of the coaching staff and NZ rugby. The stats tell’s all. The AB’s was the worst disciplined side in the WC with more red and yellow cards than anyone else. Problem is NZ rugby is not training their players to play safer. And thats the danger a fast game brings. More yellow and red cards. But Sam Cane in my eye was and still is a great ambassador for the game, that just had a stroke of bad luck.
6 Go to commentsI hope Jim and co. Add this to their list of icebreaker questions they can ask all their guests going forward. So we can eventually hear what everyone thinks about this subject. “What do you think Ireland meant…”
123 Go to commentsHe’s a dominant personality. That might be both a good and bad thing in team dynamics. Certainly it ruined Smith’s first crack at 10 with Owen at 12. BTW, Bristol flatter to deceive. When things really matter, they tend to deliver less rather than more. Farrell would have been good for them
42 Go to commentsGot a lot of over the top abuse from Crusader fans, in particular, who thought every 7 they had was miles better. Now we will see if anyone is better? Laid his body on the line every game so finishing early makes sense. A lot of life left after rugby.
6 Go to commentsA poor decision to appoint Carley as not only is Pearce a better referee but also importantly speaks French.
2 Go to commentsHe is 100 % on the mark. Malicious arrogance with a lack of respect for the other teams mostly the south. they must learn from True rugby nations like the Boks and Kiwis
123 Go to commentsThis Outiniqua boy has played sublime rugby and deserves a spot in BI LIONS team. Well played son
4 Go to commentsI don’t like to see players miss big matches but this ban looks to be tailored to allow him to compete in the final. In principle a suspension for a very dangerous tackle in a semi should warrant missing the relevant final. Done now. One the flip side having both teams with very strong squads/teams available for the final will add to the occassion hopefully.
1 Go to commentsTalent to burn and a huge engine..hope he gets a shot at higher honours
2 Go to commentsIf anything like his dad he has a bright future, Soane was the best ball carrying props ive ever seen using a combination of pace power and footwork.
1 Go to commentsThose who saw Sharks vs Clermont and Ox N'Che vs Rabah Slimani should have a good idea of the best scrumagers… May be not the best props…
2 Go to commentsIt's been an unusual era of unpopular, highly competitive, domineering, fairly big fly halves in the home nations with Farrell, Sexton and Biggar. Russell is different in personality and player I think. I'd rank Sexton first of the three because he is just as good a game controller but also has a great passing game. And his competitiveness never seems to cause problems with refs.
42 Go to commentsThank goodness he wasn't born in Scotland, he'd have been a great candidate for the Scottish Barbarians. I wouldn't put it past them to push for a “where the player was conceived” rule 😂
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