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International

'It's not great and all you can do is send him a message, give him a call, apologise'

(Photo by PA)

Jonathan Joseph has revealed that he reached out and sympathised with Joe Launchbury after an attempted tackle by the Wasps second row last Sunday on the Bath midfielder resulted in the devastating ACL injury that ended the Lions selection hopes of the England forward.

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Colleagues from the English set-up under Eddie Jones, the pair found themselves in a head-to-head battle during the first half of last weekend’s Gallagher Premiership match at the Ricoh Arena and a break by the ball-carrying Joseph resulted in the knee twist that completely ruptured Launchbury’s anterior cruciate ligament when he tried to make a tackle. 

Joseph was back in European Challenge Cup action this weekend when Bath hosted Montpellier on Saturday night but he has spared more than a thought for his fallen England teammate, wishing him well in his long recovery. 

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England pair Shaunagh Brown and Dan Norton guest on the latest RugbyPass Offload

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England pair Shaunagh Brown and Dan Norton guest on the latest RugbyPass Offload

“I have known Joe for such a long time, played age-group with him, 20s level, and then been in that England set-up with him,” said Joseph. “He is such a good bloke, such a nice guy. 

“You never wish an injury like that upon anyone but to have a part to play in it, it doesn’t feel great. It’s not great and all you can do is send him a message, give him a call, apologise and wish him all the best for a speedy recovery.

“He is a great player. I know he will come back and he will do everything he can to be back out there. I didn’t see him after the game but I have spoken to him since.”

The Launchbury injury was the second traumatic ACL incident of last weekend to rule out a contender for Warren Gatland’s Lions squad announcement on May 6. Ospreys’ George North had suffered a similar injury the previous day when in Rainbow Cup action for his Welsh club.

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Comments on RugbyPass

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fm 37 minutes ago
Malelili Satala: The Scottish-Fijian starlet who slept outside a train station to make it

Because he was born in Scotland, making him Scottish and he was brought up in Fiji as he has a Fijian family. Not hard to understand if you read the article

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KwAussie 1 hour ago
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BH 1 hour ago
The All Blacks need Rennie, but they also need the public

The worst NZ league fans are the ones who hate the Warriors and support another team instead. And the ones who watch State of Origin but don’t watch and support either the Warriors or the Kiwis or both.

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BH 1 hour ago
The All Blacks need Rennie, but they also need the public

Just admit you hate the Warriors and are trolling. You guys are so lame.

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B
BH 1 hour ago
The All Blacks need Rennie, but they also need the public

Hahaha you sound so sensitive. And you’re too lazy to debate any of my points with any intelligence or rationale. Stay drunk on the haterade.

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B
BH 1 hour ago
The All Blacks need Rennie, but they also need the public

You’re South African and you guys don’t play league because it’s just not a thing. So we don’t expect you to know. And your opinion doesn’t matter on this particular subject.

30 Go to comments
S
SS 1 hour ago
The All Blacks need Rennie, but they also need the public

We build huts on the rim of the volcano and hope it doesn’t blow

30 Go to comments
J
Jordon 1 hour ago
The All Blacks need Rennie, but they also need the public

As a bok fan its hard to understand. Part of the reason the ABs have been so great over time is because that is the expectation of the nz public, to be great. The NZ public has a relationship with the ABs that few if any national populations have with an elite team anywhere in the world. It is the strong link, not the weak one. And it’s why we still have a winning record over you despite SAs obvious advantages. We will always produce the players capable of being the best team in the world at any moment.

High performance starts at the top. The nz rugby public has been let down by inept leadership and decisions that resulted in us burning our best coaches and sending them overseas disgusted at how they were treated by NZR. There is good reason that for years NZR has been referred to as the politburo. Dave rennie should have got the job in 2019, JJ and TB should have got the job in 2023. Our optimism now is because the top brass looks a lot different than it has for a long time



...

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Jordon 1 hour ago
The All Blacks need Rennie, but they also need the public

I’m talking about guys I knew at school and in my 20s who had probably never even been to aus

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frandinand 1 hour ago
Barrett's Irish adventure is propelling the Hurricanes to new heights

He “ resigned” as chair of KMD after 12 years in the job which has seen the share price slump from $A 3.40 to $A 0.15. Their latest six monthly report was a disaster with losses of millions of dollars. It's reported that his resignation wasn't voluntary.

This is the man that many in NZ described as a financial genius and a major corporate figure in Australia when he was appointed Chair of NZR.



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Ben A 2 hours ago
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Nothing about this is remotely "moneyball” in any way.



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Utiku Old Boy 3 hours ago
Barrett's Irish adventure is propelling the Hurricanes to new heights

agreed.

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SB 4 hours ago
‘It's a pressurised job. International rugby has higher scrutiny but club coaching is relentless’

You can understand why he was annoyed. He didn’t need to push or use the language but I feel he was more in the right than the presenters.

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Hammer Head 4 hours ago
The All Blacks need Rennie, but they also need the public

Yes certainly I agree with you mostly. The direction the ABs headed was very un-All Black. And a return to the values and traditions of the past is definitely needed.

One of the reasons why the ABs have lost more, also, is that the quality of opposition has improved materially as the game has grown in its sophistication. Which is a very good thing.



...

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johnz 5 hours ago
The All Blacks need Rennie, but they also need the public

I wouldn’t call it tough love; it’s frustration that the game was overtaken by commercial priorities and cronyism.

Besides, what’s unrealistic anyway? Many who have dared to be better have been told they were unrealistic, only to prove otherwise. I still say it would be a sad day if we dropped our standards.



...

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Gavin 5 hours ago
Malelili Satala: The Scottish-Fijian starlet who slept outside a train station to make it

How is it possible to have a Scottish Fijian starlet. What a farce!

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Ayre123 None 7 hours ago
Glasgow sign van der Merwe as Smith lifts lid on long-term pursuit

Franco Smith, the one that got away,,,

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NB 7 hours ago
Barrett's Irish adventure is propelling the Hurricanes to new heights

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Ayre123 None 8 hours ago
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Any statistics can be “adjusted” to match certain agenda, that’s why the percents of Non whites 29.5 or the England qualified of 94% are frown upon.

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unknown 8 hours ago
The All Blacks need Rennie, but they also need the public

Part of the problem has been all the off field drama over the last number of years. Also what hasn't helped is the NZ media covering these storys which has turned into an All Blacks, Super rugby, NZR bashing machine by focusing more on negatives then positives. I like Gregor Paul but he has been one of the worst. I get that we need Truth to Power etc but it becomes counter productive for the game in the long run.

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