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Nick Phipps on 'fairy tale back home in Australia' that isn't true
Nick Phipps has called on the authorities in Australia to keep allowing Dave Rennie to select the overseas-based players the Wallabies really need, claiming the loosening of the Giteau Law won’t result in a rush of home-based players trying their luck abroad in the belief they can now keep getting picked for Test rugby. The depth of the Wallabies squad had suffered in recent years with Michael Cheika and current boss Rennie unable to select players based at clubs outside Australia unless they had played 60 Tests and had seven years of Australian-based Super Rugby.
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Reform of that eligibility rule, though, in recent months enabled Rennie to include Samu Kerevi, Sean McMahon and Duncan Paia’aua in the squad. Their inclusion assisted the coach in guiding Australia to four straight Rugby Championship wins for the first time.
Now amid plans to potentially include the likes of the European-based Will Skelton, Rory Arnold and Tolu Latu for the November matches versus Scotland, England and Wales, ex-Test scrum-half Phipps believes it is the right way to proceed if the Wallabies are to genuinely enjoy a great World Cup when the tournament is held in France in September 2023.
The 32-year-old Phipps earned the last of his 72 Test caps in September 2019 before joining London Irish in the Premiership and he has enjoyed watching from afar the progress the Wallabies have made in recent months under Rennie in the coach’s second season in charge since succeeding Cheika following the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
“They are right at the minute to have the ability to pick and choose who they want,” said Phipps to RugbyPass when asked about the recent tweaking of the prohibitive Giteau Law to help the Wallabies get better. “I don’t think they would want to just have a blanket picking players out of everywhere. Ideally, you want to try and pick a home-playing talent at the moment and then pick and choose who you need from around.
After almost two months of action and drama, we have reached the end of the 2021 Rugby Championship. So, who makes our Team of the Tournament? #AllBlacks #Wallabies #Springboks #LosPumas #RugbyChampionship #TRC2021
?? @alexmcleod891 https://t.co/QtSYRcSXAs
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 5, 2021
“You saw Quade (Cooper) come in, Samu Kerevi come in, Sean McMahon is an absolutely huge addition to them – those sorts of players as opposed to trying to grab players on a trial sort of basis. They will expand that more the more success they get out of it. I don’t think it will affect the home competition, to be honest. There is this sort of fairy tale back home in Australia that there are abundant contracts and playing opportunities overseas, especially in the northern hemisphere. There isn’t really and the more competitions tighten up their eligibility rules and salary caps and stuff like that, the fewer opportunities there are.
“I still feel the domestic competition back home is going to be awesome, especially with a lot of the young players coming through, so they shouldn’t have to worry too much about that, but they are striking the right balance at the moment being able to pick the (overseas) ones they desperately want.
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“It will be interesting to see who they pick from over here for the spring tour. It would be nice to see big Willie Skelton or Rory Arnold, or even big Robbie Simmons from our club [London Irish], get a look in. It would be nice for Rennie to include those blokes and make some decisions on that. It will be interesting to see what the squad is.”
Even though it is now two years since Phipps was omitted by Cheika for the World Cup in Japan, he is still in regular contact with the squad and avidly follows how they are doing under Rennie. “I have still got some great mates in the team so we talk a fair bit. Me and Hoops [skipper Michael Hooper] talk a fair bit and it is good to see them doing well.
“They have gone through a pretty tough period in the last few years and it’s just unlucky they play New Zealand three times at the beginning of every season. It’s hard to win over the fans when you are playing the world’s best team three times straight up but you can see the growth and they are doing well. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they go at the end of the year on the spring tour. They have got three games lined up and we will see how the young, maturing squad goes.”
Where does Phipps feel this growth has occurred under Rennie? “Certainly the connection, the continuity in their play. I like the style they are playing. They don’t really hold too much on the short side, they love constructing and getting around the corner and attacking to their full ability. With the physicality of the forwards, it is great how interchangeable that tight five is and the back row as well.
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“They have finally got some world-class depth to their squad where they can actually make a lot of selection decisions around that. You can see that Rennie has certainly brought the boys a lot closer together with a splattering of some old boys coming back in as well and their ability to pick players from overseas.
“Hopefully the confidence has grown back home for a great World Cup but to be honest coming over here on a spring tour is one of the toughest tasks for a southern hemisphere team and hopefully they will have the experience of the boys who have played over here in that squad and they come over ready to play.”
"He is a funny little man…"
– London Irish were recently criticised for having Paddy Jackson in a leadership role, but Nick Phipps explains the No10's genuine value to the club as a leader#LondonIrish #PremRugby #LIRvLEIhttps://t.co/6av94icmZX
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 5, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Je suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
25 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
25 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
25 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
25 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to comments