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'We lost the Grand Slam because of the delay' - Former Ireland captain on Six Nations disruption

By Online Editors
Former Ireland hooker Keith Wood.

England enter coronavirus-enforced limbo in a strong position to lift the Six Nations title, but history shows that peril awaits when the Championship is subject to a lengthy interruption.

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Keith Wood was Ireland captain in 2001 when his team’s final three games had to be postponed due to the outbreak of foot and mouth, a livestock disease.

In echoes of that year, the current Six Nations has been temporarily abandoned due to the spread of Covid-19 with rescheduled fixtures likely to be played in late October.

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England will eventually travel to Italy determined to avoid the fate of their predecessors from 19 years ago who arrived in Dublin on the brink of a Grand Slam only to be ambushed 20-14.

On that day they were caught cold by an Ireland team battle hardened by games against Scotland and Wales and armed with a point to prove.

“I’d heard some of the English guys say they’d definitely would have beaten us in the spring, but we were in great form then as well and I actually believe that we lost the Grand Slam because of the delay,” Wood told the PA news agency.

“We felt we had a good team and felt that if we’d played them in the spring, we’d have won then too.

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“Our first game back in September was against Scotland and we were totally undercooked. It was awful for us. Our gameplan was wrong and they absolutely beat the s**t out of us.

“But against England we played bloody well. It had been seven years since we’d beaten England and I was sat on the bench on that day in 1994, so it was a big day.”

Wood rampaged over the whitewash from an immaculate line-out drill to score Ireland’s only try and – earlier in the game – there had been another breakthrough at the set-piece.

“After 20 minutes Malcolm O’Kelly came up to me and goes ‘Woody, I’ve worked out their line-out calls’,” said Wood, who picks Peter Stringer’s try-saving tackle on Dan Luger as the game’s pivotal moment.

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“I knew the calls were familiar and Malcolm said they were the same calls we used on the Lions! So we mopped up a lot of their line-out ball.”

While Wood would prefer to see this year’s postponed games replayed at some point, the Lions great cautions administrators against cramming them into an already-packed schedule if there is no obvious weekend.

“My issue with rugby is the constant number of games. The game is hard enough and there is too much on a small group of players,” he said.

“There are too many matches and out of this we will find out there may only be two or three weekends in a season when matches can be played, showing how taut the whole schedule is.

“The guys have to look at this period of huge disruption and take a week off, relax a little, eat some rubbish food, drink some beers.

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“Chill out and take it as bit of a break because there are no breaks in the game any more.”

Wood, who won 58 caps for Ireland and five for the Lions, believes the Covid-19 pandemic has shone a light on the value of games such as rugby.

“I’ve often said that the great thing about sport is that it doesn’t mean anything, but never have I been more wrong because there is a big absence in people’s lives at the moment,” Wood said.

“Sport’s always been a great way for people to relax and that is more important now because there’s a crisis going on.

“People are going sick and it’s terrible – and there’s nothing to take you mind away from it. And that’s what sport does, so maybe sport is important.”

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Jon 2 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 5 hours 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 6 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

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 9 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.

21 Go to comments
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