Ten Things We Learned From The Rugby Championship
Rugby coaches love to talk about ‘key learnings’ and here are ten we can take away from the 2016 Rugby Championship.
1. The All Blacks are… very good
Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu – all gone after the World Cup final. This was supposed to a rebuilding year, instead it’s simply unleashed a younger, hungrier beast to devour what’s left of the rugby world.
2. Argentina are still no good in Australasia
Although they showed signs of life a few years ago on the Gold Coast, Los Pumas still clearly have a real mental hurdle coming to Australia and New Zealand. They were blown away in Hamilton and Perth, despite a great start against the All Blacks and facing an out of form Wallabies.
3. The Boks need a new coach, and fast
Allister Coetzee isn’t the first guy to coach the Boks and fail miserably. It’s not like he that much of a hard act to follow either – Heyneke Meyer managed to lose to Japan – but at least Meyer can still claim a victory over the All Blacks in his tenure. Good news for the Boks and bad news for anyone who likes exciting rugby: Jake White might be looking for a job.
4. Israel Folau is flat
The guy who, on his day, is the brightest star in the game, has dimmed significantly in 2016. He hasn’t been helped by being in a poor Wallabies team, but his kick returns and entries into the line haven’t been anywhere near as dynamic as they have in the past.
5. The All Black midfield is far from an area of weakness
No Conrad, no Ma’a, no SBW, no worries. At the start of the year it was thought that George Moala would fill the void at 13, but after his untimely injury it was left to rookie Anton Lienert-Brown to step up. He made it look like he’d been there for years, helped by some career-best form from Ryan Crotty inside him.
6. Refereeing can ruin a game
The most frustrating 40 minutes of the season so far was definitely the second half in Buenos Aires between Los Pumas and the All Blacks. Reset scrums, needless yellow cards and needless interference from the linesman all contributed to the game turning from a beautiful spectacle on one side of halftime to a migraine-inducing borefest in the second.
7. What works against the Wallabies won’t work against the All Blacks
Bring in Morne Steyn and his prolific boot, tackle hard on your line for many phases and you’ll grind out a tough win in Pretoria. Bring in Morne Steyn and his prolific boot, tackle hard on your line for many phases and you’ll get thrashed in Durban.
8. Playing with your socks down makes you a better player
Three of the All Blacks’ standout performers of The Rugby Championship – TJ Perenara, Dane Coles and Anton Lienert-Brown – are all strong proponents of keeping their calves unhindered and free. The effect it’s had on their form and contribution to the All Blacks success is basically irrefutable.
9. Jersey swaps are cool and should be brought back
Quade Cooper is a good man for paying tribute to the days of nabbing a souvenir from the other team, even though on his salary he could easily just order a Bok or Pumas jersey online. Interesting that he didn’t want to swap for an All Black jersey, though.
10. The selectors will call back, eventually
Leroy Houston had the distinction of waiting a mere 11 seasons between Wallaby appearances, with the Reds loose forward finally getting a test cap against Los Pumas. He had originally played way back in 2005 in a tour match against the French Barbarians, when tours were still a thing not just the British & Irish Lions did.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments