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England scupper hopes for an unofficial fourth Lions test

By Chris Jones

The prospect of an unofficial “ fourth” Lions test against the All Blacks appears to have been scuppered by England’s decision not to release  players for the Barbarians’ fixture against New Zealand on November 4.

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The Barbarians had hoped that the match at Twickenham could be elevated to the status of an unofficial fourth Test to Lions tour, which concluded on Saturday with the series against the All Blacks drawn 1-1. Barbarians insiders were convinced that England head coach Eddie Jones was ready to support the match by releasing key Lions players but an edict has been issued by the Rugby Football Union making it clear they are going to be party poopers.”England players will be focusing on preparing for our matches ahead of the Old Mutual Wealth Series and will not be released for the Barbarians fixture,” a Rugby Football Union spokesman said.

The Barbarians revealed they would be looking to open discussions with the home unions in the hope of securing release for their Lions. “We are going to assemble an extremely strong team for this historic game at Twickenham,” a Barbarians spokesman said. “We hope it will include players involved in the exceptional Lions series with the All Blacks. The players will get the chance to face New Zealand for a fourth time this year. We have reached an agreement with Premiership Rugby, who have been very supportive about player release. We will talk with the home unions about access to players.”

As England stars will already have reported for international duty that weekend under the terms of the agreement between clubs and country, Premiership Rugby’s consent was not needed for their involvement in the match.

England had wanted to stage their own fixture at Twickenham against the All Blacks on November 4, only for negotiations to break down. They are due to meet for the first time in four years in November 2018.

As the debate over the feasibility of  the Barbarians game becoming a fourth test continues, Saracens owner Nigel Wray has asked the question: “Why don’t the All Blacks play the Lions in a series in the UK?” He is being serious and believes the financial windfall for all concerned would make it an idea hard to turn down.

Wray said: “The question I ask is why don’t the All Blacks play the Lions over here in major stadia like Wembley, Twickenham, Cardiff, Dublin and Murrayfield? You could have warm up games with the top teams from each of the Home Unions; Munster, Saracens, Ospreys and Glasgow. Let’s not pussy foot around, we are talking about two big commercial organisations. When people say it is not about the money they actually mean it is about the money.

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“ Saracens provided seven players and we cannot be accused not supporting the Lions. However, we can’t go on as we are at the moment and we need to sit down and organise a new deal and in any other industry if you are using someone else’s players they you do a deal because it is a fantastic brand. It needs to be well run and probably isn’t at the moment We probably get £60,000 for each player who went with the Lions but now, the agents for those guys, will be coming to me and pointing out their market value has gone up and will want better deals.”

 

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Trevor 57 minutes ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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