Recent Articles

The ‘8th Rugby World Cup Match’ – All Blacks vs South Africa, 25th August, Twickenham

For the most part this is an excellent RWC squad. Although there may be quibbles and complaints on some selections and non-selections (e.g., the inclusion of Clarke and Christie, the ‘6 th prop’, and the exclusion of Weber and another loose forward (e.g., Finau), this squad can win the World Cup. The selections are made, however, and there will be solid reasons for the decisions (as a selector would you really want to compromise winning the rugby world cup by playing favourites)?

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Why the All Blacks need Eddie Jones

Via https://www/nzrugbyworld.co.nz/article

At first glance that statement seems ridiculous. But I’d argue that having him coach Australia will do wonders for the All Blacks as they prepare for the RWC later this year.

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There’s a Rugby World Cup Coming … Time to Lock-in and Build Combinations

Via https://www.nzrugbyworld.co.nz/article

I’m sitting on my couch waiting for Ian Foster’s call. Much to everyone’s relief, some sense of process has been established and there will be a new All Blacks coach in 2024. So Ian has some time now to focus on the big event in France. I’m pretty sure he still needs some help, and I’m happy to dip my oar in the water. I’ll propose the four of us start with the Best-Place-to-Start question: Which players are locked into specific positions at this point in the season? …

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2023’s Biggest Knockout Rugby Weekend – The RWC 2023 Quarter-Finals

Via https://www.nzrugbyworld.co.nz/article

We all know the story about the botched early draw for the 2023 World Cup that led to the current top 4 teams in the world being in Pool A and Pool B. While there will be competitive games with other teams in the respective pools, in all likelihood, it will be NZ, France, Ireland and South Africa moving on to the quarter-final round. The weekend of October 14th/15th will determine which 2 teams from these top four countries will make it to the semi-finals …
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Dear Mr. Fozzie Claus … The Rugby Christmas Wish List

Via https://www.nzrugbyworld.co.nz/article

My My My. Well, THAT was quite the season wasn’t it.
… my goodness, it has not been an easy year, has it. It has not been a normal ‘All Black’ year, like it used to be a few years ago. Remember those? Sometimes this year I cried. Or screamed. Or threw my TV out the window (my wife is still upset). Sometimes I just curled up on the floor in the corner and rocked myself to sleep, shaking my head. I now have a nervous twitch.
So, I’m hoping you may bring me some rugby joy when Xmas day comes along, please Mr. Fozzie Claus. I have a wish list. I realise not all of these wishes can come down the chimney with you, but a signed IOU from you will be enough. In Fozzie We Trust. There are 15 wishes…
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The All Blacks Head North with the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Mind

Via https://www.nzrugbyworld.co.nz/article

The All Blacks have given us a crazy few months of test match rugby this year. Should we be expecting some more crazy for the northern tour? I sure hope not. We all hope that the team leaves Crazy behind when it sets off for the northern tour.
The All Blacks will play to sell-out crowds – perhaps even more so this year because their opponents will be thinking the New Zealanders are vulnerable. Japan, Wales, Scotland and England will have watched, in-depth, all the games the All Blacks have played this year, especially the Irish series. There is a blueprint for beating the All Blacks and they’ll already be working on ways to put the All Blacks on the back foot …
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France vs New Zealand Rugby Rivalry – Part 4 – The Rugby World Cup Crystal Ball

Via https://www.nzrugbyworld.co.nz/article

Part 4 (!) of a 3-part series on the rivalry between two of the top contenders to win the Rugby World Cup in France in 2023. The teams play the opening match of the RWC in Paris …
As of this writing, the All Blacks have just lost three of their last four matches – two of those to a very deserving Irish team – and they may have even lost three times this month to Ireland, depending on when you read this.
Of course, France was the other loss; the All Blacks being outplayed at the end of a long 2021 season 25- 40 in Paris to a quality French team that ended a 14-game losing streak to New Zealand. French coach Fabien Galthié said ‘We had this game in mind as a moment of truth. The team lived up to what we promised ourselves.’
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France vs New Zealand rugby rivalry – Part 3 – The Present Day

Via https://www.nzrugbyworld.co.nz/article

France has reached the final of the Rugby World Cup three times (1987, 1999, 2007) but have yet to hoist the trophy. On many occasions, however, it has made sure that it has influenced which team would ultimately win the trophy.
No team has suffered more from the brilliance, intensity and/or unpredictability of the French team than the All Blacks. That said, it’s not all doom and gloom for the All Blacks either, as they beat the French in the final of both the 1987 and 2011 World Cups. And in 2015, the All Blacks raked up 62 points as they defeated the French in their quarter-final match-up.
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France vs New Zealand rugby rivalry – Part 2 – The Modern Era

Via https://www.nzrugbyworld.co.nz/article

It was not until February 1954 that France won its first test against New Zealand – in Paris in front of a crowd of 25,000 – winning 3-0 in overcast and windy conditions. Although the French had to wait 48 years for their first win over the All Blacks, this was only the third time the teams had played one another (the All Blacks beat France 30-6 in Toulouse in 1925, with 30,000 spectators there watching on).
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France vs New Zealand Rugby Rivalry – Part 1 – 116 Years and Going Strong

Via https://www.nzrugbyworld.co.nz/article

On January 1 st 1906, the French rugby team played its first ever test match – against the New Zealand All Blacks – the Originals, that had just finished its epic tour of Great Britain.
“… on Monday we played a French team, who proved to be really good sportsmen. Of course we won the game, for Rugby football has hardly got going in France yet, but the Frenchmen played up well, and were plucky enough for anything. It delighted them greatly when they crossed our line.”
So wrote Dave Gallaher and Billy Stead, Captain and Vice-Captain of the 1905 All Black ‘Originals’, in their classic book ‘The Complete Rugby Footballer’ in 1906. This was the eighth official test match played by the All Blacks.
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Opening Our Eyes to the Blindside

Via https://www.nzrugbyworld.co.nz/article

What do the All Blacks do best? Well, several things – but they include playing the unstructured game, running with the ball, making plays out of nothing, playing with their innate rugby mind and so on – create immediate uncertainty for opposing players, because with that comes opportunity. The All Blacks need to slow the opposition’s line speed down and create uncertainty so that the rush isn’t as rushed as it could be – keep the opposition guessing. There are vulnerabilities with using a rush defence and if a team has a range of attacking plays to counter its use, the rush will lose its effect and slow down, or be disorganised, and in some cases, will not be used as much.
Playing the blindside more, and with variations, is a way to maximise the All Blacks skills, and put uncertainty (and, done well, confusion) in the heads of the opposition.
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All Blacks Need to Show Up with the Right Attitude

Via https://www.theroar.com.au

After the Namibia match coach New Zealand Steve Hansen commented that “you have to be mentally right to perform at the level you want to perform.” Will this be a problem in the remaining Rugby World Cup matches for the All Blacks?
On the one hand, the final result was as most people anticipated – the All Blacks winning 71-9. So, yes, granted, it could be expected that some complacency would creep in.
… The All Blacks are a team of hardened, seasoned, experienced professionals who have collectively played thousands of matches at the highest levels. Should ‘attitude’ still be a problem?
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The All Blacks’ Quarter-final Line-up will Balance Stability and Flair

Via https://www.theroar.com.au

There has been a vociferous Irish presence in the stadiums so far. The singing and cheers in fact suggest that twice as many Irish supporters are present. Although they are likely to be outnumbered by All Blacks supporters, including thousands of Japanese spectators, I suspect their singing will make it feel like a home match for the Ireland team.
So, how will it go? We can anticipate the All Blacks playing the game at pace, testing the Irish pack’s ability to move around the field continuously, non-stop for 80 minutes … But if Ireland put pressure on the All Blacks early on, and put some quick points on the board, it will be a different game.
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All Blacks vs England Will be One of the Greatest Rugby Matches Ever

Via https://www.theroar.com.au

So, New Zealand versus England and South Africa versus Wales. If we all put our objective hats on, these semi-final match-ups are no surprise. Many are already labelling the New Zealand versus England match as the ‘real final’, as they are the in-form teams of the tournament.
The All Blacks have perhaps surprised with just how well they have performed.
If New Zealand don’t start strong … they could easily see themselves behind by 12 points within the first 20 minutes. They know that, of course. The first 20 minutes will see some of the most absorbing rugby in history. The second half could be even better. Imagine, for example, England ahead by 15 points at the start of the second half. Those next 40 minutes will be incredible.
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All Blacks’ World Cup Start Will Make the Rugby World Take Notice

Via https://www.theroar.com.au

It was an electric, captivating and entertaining Test match.
For the first eighteen minutes of the Rugby World Cup match between South Africa and New Zealand, the Springboks looked on top of things. They played hard and physical with much of the possession while the All Blacks looked out of sync and at times flustered, nerves perhaps playing a role as well. A few more points to the Springboks in the first twenty minutes might have changed the course of the game.
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Relentless Forward Movement: The All Blacks are on Course for the Three-peat

Via https://www.theroar.com.au

World Cup rugby has taken over Japan, not just in Tokyo, and not just in other venues where games are being played.
But in smaller centres where fields are being taken over, fan zones are being set up and the public can watch live rugby as a collective. I was in an English pub in downtown Tokyo when Japan played Russia in the opening game and it was standing room only, with 80 to 90 per cent of the patrons Japanese and the remainder – Aussies, Brits, South Africans, French, Argentinians and Kiwis – all cheering the local team on. Awesome night. At Yokohama Stadium the next day, the spectators were predominantly supporting New Zealand. The All Blacks have superstar status here. Travelling to Yokohama with thousands of fans I could have easily thought I was in New Zealand heading off to a home game.
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The Origins of Rugby

Via https://rugbyreader.com

In a few weeks time the captain of the winning World Cup team will hold aloft the William Webb Ellis Cup. It was named as such in 1986 by John Kendall-Carpenter, the Chairman of the World Cup organizing committee for the first ever Rugby World Cup finals held in 1987.
The simple origins of rugby story is that in 1823 William Webb Ellis picked up a ball at Rugby School and instead of kicking it, ran with it – and the game of rugby was born. A good story for sure. But the more complex, ‘real’ story is way more interesting.
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Canada’s Road to Japan

Via https://rugby365.com

Canada’s 31-man squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan has just been announced.
There is a mix of youth and experience in the squad, which includes 17 forwards and 14 backs. Seven members of the squad play professionally for the Toronto Arrows, Canada’s only professional team, that recently completed its first season in the North American MLR competition.
A number of the squad play professionally overseas or play professionally for American MLR teams, including four who play for the current MLR champions, the Seattle Seawolves.
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How Arrows Could Impact Canada’s World Cup Campaign

Via https://rugby365.com

It was the 77th minute of the last regular game of the season. The Toronto Arrows were trailing Rugby United New York 19-20 when Arrows flyhalf Sam Malcolm received a pass inside the New York twenty- two metre line from scrumhalf Andrew Ferguson. Sam coolly slotted a drop-goal through the posts.
The pressure-laden kick gave the Arrows a 22-20 win, their seventh in a row, and a place in the play-offs of the North American professional rugby league – the Major League Rugby.
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