The Goode, the Bad & the Ugly of 2018 - Andy Goode
The coming year is going to be a huge one for rugby with the World Cup taking place in Japan and there is a lot for rugby fans to look forward to.
But, New Year is a time to look back and assess the 12 months just gone, as well as to look ahead, so here’s my take on what’s been Goode, what’s been Bad and what’s been Ugly in 2018.
The Goode
There has been no shortage of highlights over the course of the past year with New Zealand winning the Rugby Championship again, South Africa’s resurgence, the Crusaders winning a second straight Super Rugby title, Exeter dominating in the Premiership for the most part during the regular season and Saracens showing their might when it came to the play-offs.
However, the Goode is a foregone conclusion. It has been the ultimate annus mirabilis for Irish rugby and that has stood out above everything else this year.
Leinster swept all before them in European rugby, becoming the first team ever to win the PRO14 and European Cup double. Johnny Sexton was rightly named World Player of the Year and Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster have worked wonders with a very talented squad but one that hadn’t won anything since 2014.
The conveyor belt of young talent that we’ve seen come through and make enormous strides over the past 12 months is remarkable and, whilst they’ll face a tough test from the likes of Saracens and Racing in the latter stages of the Champions Cup this season, they’ve firmly established themselves as the best club side in Europe.
And, while Leinster have been dominating domestically and continentally, most of those players have also been contributing to Ireland’s greatest ever year on the international stage.
Ireland had won just one Six Nations title in 28 years when Joe Schmidt took over as head coach back in 2013 but they’ve now won two in a row and the Grand Slam in 2018 was just the third in their history.
A series victory in Australia and a win at home over the All Blacks for the first time ever were perhaps even greater achievements and 11 wins from 12 Tests in 2018 sets them apart as the dominant force in World Rugby going into a World Cup year…no pressure!
The Bad
There have been plenty of teams who will be looking back on 2018 and viewing it as a year to forget. The Dragons have ended the year on a high but it has been a real struggle for them and the Southern Kings in the PRO14. London Irish were a major disappointment on their return to the Premiership in 2017/18 and England suffered a disastrous Six Nations campaign before bouncing back in the autumn.
But, it is the fallen giants who get the Bad for 2018. Toulon have finished the year in 10th place in the Top 14 and look a shadow of the team that won three European Cups in a row between 2013 and 2015.
And, it has been a real year to forget for one of my old clubs Leicester as well. They failed to make the play-offs in the Premiership for the first time since 2004 back in May and are now languishing in ninth place in the table.
They’ll be looking forward and hoping that 2019 will bring a change in fortunes now that Geordan Murphy has finally been confirmed as their permanent boss after months spent in limbo but it has been a year that they won’t look back on with a great deal of fondness.
The Ugly
It’s been a good year for rugby and it’s never nice to dwell on the negatives but the disciplinary process has been the one major blight on sport this year in my opinion.
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of joined-up thinking going on and World Rugby really need to take a long, hard look at their role in it all and see if they can bring some consistency to the decisions being made.
Certain countries need to be brought into line with others in terms of the way they operate and the severity of punishments being handed out and I think we also need to question what should merit a two-game ban and what should warrant a two-month suspension. It should be a transparent conversation as well.
Toulon captain and France international Mathieu Bastareaud was given a five-week ban for striking an opponent against Castres in the Top 14 in September but that description doesn’t do the act justice at all.
It was a full-on attack with his forearm to the head of Christophe Samson, who was lying defenceless on the floor. His offence was labelled ‘mid-range’ in nature by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby and he also had two weeks shaved off the ban because of his guilty plea and conduct before and during the hearing. He was back in time for the autumn internationals.
Meanwhile, Chris Ashton missed a huge chunk of action at the start of this season after receiving a seven-week ban for a tip tackle on Castres scrum half Rory Kockott. His poor disciplinary record cost him an extra week but we have to question both the process and the lengths of some of these bans.
Dave Ward has reportedly escaped a citing for his actions against Wasps at the weekend, despite video clips appearing to show him both treading on Thomas Young’s ankle and then spitting on him, all that after a neck roll as well.
Harlequins moved quickly in an attempt to quell the situation by handing him a one-game ban themselves but decided he has “no case to answer” with regard to spitting. There’s no place for spitting in sport and people can make their own minds up but if an internal one-game ban is the only punishment he receives, then the disciplinary process will face even more questions.
There are always going to be negatives over the course of a 12-month period but it was great to see one of the sport’s true greats Doddie Weir getting an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List (along with Bill Beaumont being knighted and Willie John McBride being awarded a CBE).
All in all it’s been a great year for rugby, with an even greater one on the horizon, but when we look back on 2018 in the years and decades to come there will just one thing that stands out…2018 has belonged to Irish rugby.
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf 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 commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments