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Just two weekend URC games survive the Covid chaos

By RugbyPass
PA

The latest variant of Covid-19 has continued to wreak havoc with the Vodacom United Rugby Championship schedule, with just two of the games set for the New Year weekend due to take place.

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Scarlets will host Ospreys in Llanelli and Munster travel to Galway to play Connacht, with both games set to be played at the same time on Saturday night. The four matches that have been postponed are the appetising top of the table clash between Ulster and Leinster in Belfast, the Scottish derby between Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors, the Dragons Welsh derby clash with Cardiff in Newport and what would have been the return clash between the two Italian teams, Benetton and Zebre Parma.

The first-round clash between Benetton and Zebre in Parma was the only game to take place last week, with Benetton winning comfortably.

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The fact that Leinster, Edinburgh and Ulster will not be in action means that this weekend’s games will have little impact on the standings at the top of the table, but their game in Galway is an important one for Munster and their South African coach Johan van Graan as they look to climb back up the table after a period of inactivity.

Munster last played under two weeks ago when they beat French club Castres 19-13 in the European Champions Cup, but it has been a while since they saw action in the URC and it explains why they are listing at a lowly seventh position on the overall log. They do have two games in hand on leaders Leinster, however, with the PRO14 champions having played seven games and their arch-rivals just five.
The gap between the two teams is 10 points, meaning two bonus point wins, so the Munster position is not as parlous as it might appear, but they can’t afford to drop points as they go to what is always considered a difficult away venue for the Irish teams.

The Ospreys will travel to Llanelli with the carrot of breaking into the top three if they beat Scarlets. They’ve won five of their seven games and are enjoying a comparatively good season, while Scarlets are struggling, as reflected by them having just two wins to their credit after five starts. Again, the log positions of the two teams have a lopsided look because of the difference in the number of games they have played.

The latest round of postponements has introduced some concern among coaches who were hoping to see the entire overseas derby phase of the URC season played at full strength. Edinburgh coach Mike Blair has voiced his concern over the impact that a possible switch of dates into the Six Nations window could have on the eagerly awaited 1872 Cup derby fixtures.

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Both Scottish clubs have been badly hit by international call-ups in previous seasons but the calendars were aligned this term to ensure games did not clash with the Six Nations. However, the postponements throughout the league may prompt a rethink by URC officials.

The Scottish derbies have never gone head-to-head with internationals and Blair hopes to keep it that way.

“I imagine it would be difficult to do during the Six Nations because ourselves and Glasgow are going to have between 15 and 20 players involved in that,” said Blair.

“You don’t know if Scotland are going to call up an extra tighthead at the last minute to make the game unavailable. It’s very difficult to schedule into the calendar. But there are cleverer people than me out there and I am sure they will find ways of hopefully getting the game going because the crowd love these games, we love these games, the players love it.”

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The South African teams are scheduled to return to URC action on 22 January, with the Emirates Lions hosting the Cell C Sharks and the DHL Stormers traveling to Pretoria to play the Vodacom Bulls. All four franchises restarted training in the past week after a short Christmas break, with the Lions announcing that they have secured the services of four Pumas players – captain Pieter Jansen van Vuren (lock), prop Morgan Naude, centre Matt More and scrumhalf Ginter Smuts – for the next two years.

The quartet were initially on loan to the Lions for their 2021 Championship campaign, but this new deal makes their stay at the Lions more permanent.

– URC

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j
john 22 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 2 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

13 Go to comments
T
Trevor 5 hours 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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B
Bull Shark 9 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.

29 Go to comments
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