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Scotland to pay dear price for Duhan van der Merwe indiscretion
Agustin Creevy crossed for two tries as London Irish ran riot against an ill-disciplined Worcester Warriors in a 43-12 home win in the Gallagher Premiership.
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The hosts scored seven tries in total, with Lucio Cinti, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Curtis Rona, Paddy Jackson and Ben White also crossing the whitewash.
Scotland winger Duhan Van Der Merwe was sent off in the second half for elbowing Kyle Rowe in the head to compound Warriors’ misery. The hulking winger will almost certainly now miss Scotland’s upcoming Guinness Six Nations game with Italy as a result.
Duhan van der Merwe's red card against London Irish
He could miss Scotland's #GuinnessSixNations match against Italy next week.#SaffasAbroad pic.twitter.com/njQWxUjbml
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) March 5, 2022
The opening exchanges were a battle for territory with both sides trying to establish field position through a series of kicks and it was the hosts that got the first points, Creevy barrelling over from close range after a few minutes of pressure on the Warriors line.
The wind forced Jackson to drop-kick his conversion attempt and it sailed wide to set the early score at 5-0 to the hosts.
A sin-bin for Warriors prop Christian Judge gave Irish the opportunity to increase their lead, and they did just that as a creative behind-the-back pass from Nick Phipps five metres out was worked to Jackson who offloaded to Cinti to slide into the corner.
Right on the stroke of half-time, the home side were on the board again, Gonzalez taking the ball from the back of a maul and driving through the heart of the Warriors’ line to crash over, Jackson this time able to add the extras to push the lead to 17-0.
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There was just enough time for Worcester to get their first points of the day after working their way down to the Irish line. It was the job of Noah Heward to finish the job after bursting through a gap in the Irish line to touch down from close range.
The conditions improved after the restart and it allowed for more free-flowing rugby, but it was more physicality that got the first points of the half.
Creevy again finished the move off from close range to grab Irish their bonus-point try, with Jackson’s conversion making the score 24-5 after the restart.
Van Der Merwe’s red card gave Irish the chance to increase their dominance and they did just that. First a ball out wide on Van Der Merwe’s exposed wing found James Stokes, who popped the ball inside for Rona to finish the job from 22 metres out.
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Jackson then crossed the whitewash after picking up a loose ball in front of the Warriors line. Both of his conversions were good as the score was pushed to 38-5.
As the game wound down, there was still time for replacement scrum-half White to score from close range to make it 43-5 and Heward to grab a consolation in the corner for Worcester.
Comments on RugbyPass
“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to comments