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‘It’s not fair to be putting so many people through so much s***’
Nick Phipps was just finished on the World XV training ground in London when he shot the summer-time breeze with Rugby Pass, bridging a 20-month gap back to the last time he eloquently chewed the fat on this site.
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Back then, the English capital was home to the chirpy Australian. London Irish were looking for upward mobility in the Gallagher Premiership and the former Wallabies scrum-half was a rich part of the fabric in nurturing that growth.
These days the 34-year-old earns his crust in the revamped Japan League One. It hasn’t been the kindest of maiden seasons there, his NEC Green Rockets getting relegated when their campaign ground to a halt earlier this month. But at least there is great comfort in knowing what they are about won’t be affected by their change in status for the 2024 renewal.
That’s quite the contrast to the stress and strain his old London Irish buddies are enduring. On the field, 2022/23 was a soaraway success, the club finishing in fifth, their highest in more than a decade. Off the field, though, the future is shrouded in uncertainty.
Heading into the UK bank holiday weekend, the reports were unsettling – that while the mooted takeover was said to be still happening, it won’t go through before the May 30 deadline set by the RFU for the Irish to keep their place in the 2023/24 top-flight. For Phipps, it has been the one black mark on his week-long return to England.
London Irish could be the 3rd club to face suspension from the Premiership in the space of 8 months. Players have been informed to seek employment elsewhere as the suspension seems imminent. #rugby #premrugby pic.twitter.com/RWEVD2mDDp
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 27, 2023
“Absolutely,” he said. “I know they are very nervous. It would honestly be a travesty if they let that club roll over, so hopefully it gets sorted out. The players have been told great things so hopefully that is true. It’s not fair at the moment to be putting so many people through so much s***, so hopefully it is sorted out.”
The half-back has revelled in the club’s on-field renaissance. When he exited 11 months ago, he predicted bigger and brighter things would happen given the foundation in place and he was thrilled to be proven right, Declan Kidney’s squad finishing just one place shy of the Premiership play-offs.
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“I was watching all the time, all the time, I was their biggest fan,” he said about how he kept abreast of the London Irish progress despite being multiple time zones away in Japan. “I watched a lot of their games, I have still got a lot of mates back there and I was watching them with a lot of pride seeing how they have gone this year.
“That is what you want to do, you want to leave a club in a better place than you found it and to be a part of that was awesome and you can only see improvements in them. The playing squad and the coaching staff only got bigger and better.”
Japan was a brand new adventure for Phipps and his young family of three. “We have loved it,” he enthused. “We are in a quieter part of Tokyo, it’s perfect for me and my family. It’s a very relaxed way to live. We are really enjoying it. It’s so different. It’s enjoyable how different it is.
“We have adapted pretty quickly but still every day something funny is happening around the place. We are so far out of Tokyo (in the Tennoudai area), there are no foreigners there. It’s very Japanese. We have made a lot of friends because people see us as the only foreigners there.
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“We have done a fair bit of exploring in Tokyo, Harajuku and stuff. But definitely, the neighbours are inviting us around for meals, very traditional Japanese meals which have been really nice. We have definitely tried things we have never seen before but everyone has been really friendly so it has been great.
“The kids have loved it. They all still definitely miss England, we had a lot of fun over there but we settled in well. They have enjoyed the food and the people, and the language thing hasn’t bothered them too much. They are just bopping around, my wife is picking up that language quickly and they are really enjoying themselves. The quality of life there is very fun at the moment.”
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What about the rugby, though? As much as the star-studded foreign legion generate headlines around the rugby world when they are signed by Japanese clubs, the week-to-week ebb and flow of the season is much less publicised.
Give us your take, Nick, on the dynamic that exists at NEC. “We struggled for form a little bit. It just wasn’t really out year, but I’m really enjoying the rugby,” he began. “It’s so different, I just can’t begin to express how different it is.
“The level of quality across the field: you have got your foreigners and your professional Japanese players and then you have got your company Japanese players. There is a bit of adjusting and managing them through the week and trying to do your best to coach, improve and bring everyone up to a professional level.
“It’s really fun, something I never really imagined myself doing before. We didn’t have the best season results-wise but seeing the growth in the players, I’m pretty confident that next year we will be alright and hopefully bounce back up from the first division.
“The footy has been a little bit hard this year but we have all grown and enjoyed it together. Off-field has been unbelievable and we are looking forward as a club to bouncing back. There is an unbelievable set-up at the Green Rockets. We are very lucky to have their help and support and they just want to see us do well so the sky is the limit.”
Not just at the Rockets. Having sojourned at Rugby World Cup in 2011 and 2015 and seen at close quarters the emergence of Japan, Phipps has made a sit-up-and-take notice prediction about the latest finals, the France 2023 tournament where the Blossoms are pitted against England, Argentina, Samoa and Chile in their pool.
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“It’s only going to get bigger and bigger and bigger, and the quality of players across the board is just getting bigger and better as well,” he reckoned about the scene on the ground in Japan. “It’s funny, the international players sort of nullify themselves out across the competition because there is just three from each team, but the quality of the Japanese players is frightening.
“The first time I played them, it was the Sunwolves (in Super Rugby) and the quality of their players compared to now, there are better coaches, better systems, better structures, they are all improving so I would definitely not be surprised to see Japan doing really well in the World Cup this year.
“They are a little bit like England, they have got something like 18 professional teams there so every week there are 18 nines playing, 18 tighthead props so they get a lot of players and see a lot of players and they are all improving across the board so that will be very good.”
Japan’s potential isn’t the only thing exiting Phipps ahead of the World Cup. Having been part of the Wallabies set-up under Michael Cheika until 2019, he is enthused that Eddie Jones, this Sunday’s Barbarians coach, is now at the helm after the baton was unceremoniously taken from Dave Rennie at the start of the year.
“I was pumped, to be honest,” he said, recalling how he reacted in January when the news broke that Jones was the new Wallabies boss. “He is exactly what Australia need. He is going to bring that hard edge. He is going to demand the best from people and he is going to have high expectations of people and that is exactly what Australia needs.
“I like the way that he carries himself, I like the way that he challenges players. He demands the best out of players and at the end of the day, it is up to the players to come up to his level or not get picked.
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“That is what the team needs, you want to see competition for spots, you want to see people performing their best and the way he talks about playing for the Wallabies and Australia and the gold jersey, it’s something that is very admirable. He talks about the Aussie spirit all the time and I love that and if I’m a fan, that is exactly what I want to see.”
The calibre of this Sunday’s two invitational sides at Twickenham is exceptional, with stardust glittering everywhere. Phipps can’t wait to play his part under Steve Hansen who is looking to get one over on Baa-Baas boss Jones, an adversary from his All Blacks days.
“I’m very excited to be playing against him [Jones]. Hopefully, we can do a good job as the World XV and give him a few grey hairs. Two fantastic coaches going head-to-head, it is going to be really exciting.
“It [the fixture] is awesome. I got told a couple of months ago and I have been really excited. From our first meeting this week with Steve, we saw he is just so into it. There is no surprise he has won every tournament there is…
“He is a fantastic guy, a great speaker and he spoke really importantly about the responsibility we have to put on a good performance on the weekend and entertain the crowd and bring the buzz back and get people really excited about a big year of rugby for the world.
“When I met Semi, I called him Mr Radradra. Him and Charles Piutau are going to be exciting but we have got a forward pack of really hard workers, smart and hard spoilers who will be dangerous all around the field and then our backline is obviously very special. I’m excited to be coached by Steve for the week and I’m also looking forward to building those combinations with the boys.
“It’s so important the Baa-Baas concept and even the World XV concept. It’s been disappointing how in the past different competitions haven’t really supported the Baa-Baas and what they are trying to achieve. Honestly, it’s the purest form of the game. I’m playing with blokes I have played against for years and it’s so exciting to be playing with them – that is essentially what is so great about rugby.
“Hopefully, in the future, more competitions can get behind it and you won’t be hearing organisations saying, ‘No, we are not releasing our players’. For a player, it is such an important step in their career, an important milestone that they would love to be a part of. We should be trying to do everything we can to keep something like that going.”
It isn’t until September when Phipps is due to report back at the Rockets for the second season of his two-year deal, a lengthy break that affords him plenty of time at home in Oz. It won’t go to waste. “It is a long break but there is also a lot of emphasis on the player to make sure he is right when he gets back.
“We’re required back on September 4 so I’ll go back to Australia with my family and see friends and family for a while, pop away and try and do a few little trips, but I will be making sure back in Australia that I’m ready to go for another big season for the mighty Rockets.”
When the time eventually comes to relocate to Australia for good, Phipps has his post-playing career all planned. “I want to be a builder when I finish up, back in Sydney. I want to manage sites around residential stuff. That is what I studying at the moment,” he explained.
“I have just got to get my on-site experience. Hopefully, I won’t be doing that for a few more years, but in world rugby at the moment there is so much uncertainty. Even in Prem rugby, there are 120 players without a job this year. It’s important that people plan and are ready to go just in case the worst happens.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
81 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to comments