Craig Ray speaks about his first sighting of a young John Smit in 1996 and the remarkable achievement the Springbok captain will complete this Saturday, in The Times.

"This weekend, when he leads the team against the All Blacks on his home ground in Durban, Smit will play his 86th Test and, more significantly, captain the Springboks for a 60th time.

"Smit will surpass the world record for caps as skipper which he shares with England’s Will Carling and Australia’s George Gregan.

"It’s a monumental achievement. Longevity in an attritional game like rugby is rare, as are the vagaries of form and selection."

Inga Tuigamala believes that the altitude factor is overrated and the All Blacks will have no advantage at sea level in Durban, while he also thinks the restructure of the club game in New Zealand should reward playing performance and nothing else in The New Zealand Herald.

"The reality is that players in the modern age are so fit and professionally drilled that the decades-old belief that playing at altitude gave the Boks an advantage - and thus the visitors an edge on the return to sea level - is a myth.

"Nonetheless, the All Blacks will be delighted to put Bloemfontein behind them. Last week's result would have been a massive disappointment, especially as the team played very well for much of the game...

"So how did it come to this? How did the NZRU allow our domestic competition in our national game to become so muddled?

"You should know where you stand with rugby. You should know that if you win, you stay up; if
you lose you go down. Rugby is about what happens on the field - it's as simple as that. Instead the NZRU is allowing finances, stadium sizes and other non-rugby factors to determine who stays up and who goes down."

Writing for Rugby Heaven, Duncan Johnstone argues that it is imperative that Japan possesses a competitive national team by the time it hosts the 2019 World Cup.

"Japan has 10 years to get its act together as a rugby nation.The IRB has sensibly - some would add belatedly - awarded Japan the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

“It's a logical move given the desire to grow the sport and the potential of the Asian market.But we've heard 'potential' for many years when Japanese rugby has been discussed. They have talked a good game without ever really producing it.

“Their passion is undoubted but their performance has never matched that.”

Former England international Will Greenwood is delighted by the Rugby Football Union’s successful bid for the 2015 World Cup but admits in The Telegraph to being a little jealous of those who will get the opportunity to try to lift the Webb Ellis Cup on home soil.

"I feel relief that our bid had been accepted by the IRB Council; excitement about what a festival of rugby England will host; humility at the honour we have been given to host the third largest sporting event on the planet.

“I also have to confess to feeling a little envy. It is not an emotion I feel often. I have fulfilled many of my life's ambitions. I have won a World Cup winners' medal and have a great job and a wonderful family.

“But I do envy those England players, and in fact all of those players who will now appear on the global stage at the home of English rugby, Twickenham, and a host of other iconic and world-renowned stadiums around the country.”

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray argues that All Blacks coach Graham Henry call ill afford to rest players for what the writer feels is a must-win game with South Africa on Saturday.

"Rotation? No way Jose. Not when you have lost the last test against the Springboks and two out of five internationals already this season.

"It is time to park the theory that players struggled to put together three performances in succession. Too bad.

"This is judgement time, a crucial phase of the All Blacks' season as they seek some inroads in defence of their Tri-Nations title."

Scottish rugby's heartland is in dire need of support if the game is to survive in the Borders, writes David Ferguson in The Scotsman.

"Rugby is still the No1 sport in the Borders, and while there have been more youngsters playing league football than rugby every week for more than a decade now football clubs are struggling for youngsters and adult players too. The economic blows affecting many parts of Scotland have hit a region of just 105,000 people hard, and sport is not immune to such issues as rural depopulation.

"Sports facilities in the Borders have felt little substantive investment over the past 20 years, while the loss of a professional rugby team two years ago pulled the ladder for many young rugby players from the grassroots to the elite level.

"The SRU had few choices in the dire need to balance the books at a debt-ridden Murrayfield, but even their promise to ensure the Borders' talent continued to be identified and developed with an academy was not followed through on. Crucially, they help to fund club development officers, yet have fewer full-time employees exclusively in the Borders than ten years ago."

Rugby Heaven's Marc Hinton is of the opinion that while this year's All Blacks are far from a vintage crop, they are still a danger to those who face them as they bounce back.

"Should we be alarmed at the gormless errors, the tactical naïveté, the attacking limitations, the lineout lapses, the shortcomings in the maul and the just damn brainless rugby?

"Or should we instead applaud their competitiveness, their ability to dig themselves out of holes, their defensive solidity and their scrummaging strength and just figure, what the heck, the dice were loaded last weekend on the Highveld?

"My feeling is that right now the All Blacks have taken a step backwards. Injuries haven't helped, but the truth is they're just plain old off their game. Not a long way, mind, but far enough at this level for it to cost test matches."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Mike Greenaway says that those expecting free flowing rugby in Bloemfontein were always going to be disappointed.

"Most pundits predicted that this was going to be a fast-and-furious, try-studded extravaganza on the dry, quick fields of the Free State Highveld.

"In reality, given the will to win of the protagonists, it was destined to be a teeth-clenching, eyeball-popping, arm wrestle in the best traditions of the death-or-glory battles these countries have fought since 1921.

"In the end it was the assured Springboks who emerged clear victors to snatch the world No 1 ranking."

Writing in The Times, David Hands believes that the IRB need today's vote to go England's way for their Olympic hopes to come to fruition.

"If the decision to be made in Dublin today over the hosting of the 2015 and 2019 World Cups is of the utmost significance for England, so it is for the IRB itself.

"A smooth operation that sees its committee’s recommendations ratified by its council speaks of a governing body on top of its brief, three months before an even more critical vote that could mean rugby union is restored to the Olympic Games for the first time since 1924.

"If, however, the council chooses to ignore the dual proposal made this month by Rugby World Cup (RWC) — that England plays host in six years’ time and Japan in 2019 — that will not reflect well on the IRB. Since rugby went professional in 1995, the board has lobbied for the inclusion of sevens in the Olympics; four years ago, it was spurned for the London Games of 2012, but in Copenhagen in October the IOC will vote in two additional sports for the Games of 2016."

Spiro Zavos believes that the Springboks have a rare chance to claim the southern hemisphere's holy grail, on Rugby Heaven.

"The emphatic 28-19 victory by the Springboks over the All Blacks at Bloemfontein, with the visitors denying themselves a bonus point by a series of stupid plays, has opened the way for South African rugby to achieve the sport’s holy grail trifecta: a Super 14 title (won by the Bulls), a series victory over the British and Irish Lions (won 2-1) and a Tri Nations title.

"Australian rugby achieved its holy grail in 2001. New Zealand rugby did likewise in 2005. It seems the stars are aligned this year for South African rugby’s turn. The team is certainly up to the standard of the 2001 Wallabies and the 2005 All Blacks. There were 14 Springboks from the Rugby World Cup final team playing at Bloemfontein. Two years on, the team is being described (correctly I believe) by South African experts as one of their greatest ever. The team has confirmed this assessment by achieving the No.1 ranking in world rugby with Saturday’s victory, displacing the All Blacks from a position they have held for a couple of years.

"Aside from the undoubted quality of the team, there are several other factors working in favour of the Springboks to achieve their third Tri Nations title (and the third leg of the holy grail trifecta), and break the four-year run of success by the All Blacks. The schedule, for instance, gives the Springboks an easy travel itinerary.

"Their first three Tests are at home. Then they have a two-week gap before playing the Wallabies at Perth. The week before the Wallabies play the All Blacks at Sydney, so the home side will be backing up from an intense Test and then travelling to play the fresh Springboks. The Springboks play the Wallabies at Brisbane a week later and then the All Blacks at Hamilton to finish off."

Peter Bills, writing in The Independent, believes that South Africa's World Cup bid is doomed due to the IRB's desire to the Sevens at the Olympics.

"South Africa's bid for the 2015 or 2019 Rugby World Cup is likely to be sacrificed tomorrow on the altar of the game's greatest desire, entry into the Olympics.

"The full IRB Council, which is meeting in Dublin tomorrow, is set to ratify the recommendation of the World Cup committee that England should host the tournament in 2015 and Japan four years later.

"England, because of their enormous financial capacity, were always bankers for the 2015 event, especially as the 2011 event in New Zealand is struggling financially. The IRB needs a whopping financial bonanza in 2015 and England is the one nation guaranteed to provide that.

"But the reason Japan is expected to win the vote for 2019 ahead of South Africa is the issue of rugby in the Olympic Games, a dream the IRB has had for the better part of 50 years."

July 26, 2009

Not a great weekend

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/26/2009

Greg Growden, writing on Rugby Heaven, believes that the Springboks' win over New Zealand highlighted the extent of the Wallabies' problems in this Tri-Nations.

"In all, it wasn't the most satisfying weekend for Australian rugby.

"For those Wallabies who woke up in the middle of the night to watch the Springboks keep the All Blacks at bay in the Bloemfontein Tri Nations match, it just accentuated the pain of their wasting their chance of beating New Zealand in Auckland the previous weekend.

"The Springboks' haphazard performance, with which they comfortably accounted for the All Blacks, emphasised how far New Zealand are from their best and, if an opponent remains focused, they can be swept aside.

"Australia had that chance and bombed it. South Africa were in the same position on Saturday and completed the task.

"As importantly, the All Blacks' effort, where they fought back for the second week in a row to threaten momentarily late in the Springboks Test, confirmed they have something the Wallabies don't - resilience. The All Blacks know it is vital to keep the pressure on for the duration of the Test and to be close to their peak near the end of the game. They did that both in Auckland and Bloemfontein."

Sort it out on the field

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/26/2009

Richard Loe is the latest voice to criticise the criteria for inclusion in New Zealand's new domestic structure in The New Zealand Herald.

"I am one of those people who think the new provincial rugby championship structure should be sorted out on the field.

"Either take out the bottom four from this year or, as a lot of people have suggested, the bottom four from last year. That would mean Auckland would miss out and would start next year in Division One, along with North Harbour, Counties Manukau and Manawatu.

"So what if it is a big union that has to take the slide? When I first started playing for Waikato, they were a second division side. That was the time, 1986, when Warren Gatland, Graeme Purvis and I began playing together and we beat North Harbour in the crucial play-off and went up to first division.

"I think it's good that the NZRU are finally getting to grips with the need to reduce the number of teams - pretty much everyone agrees that 14 is too many. But I don't agree with the criteria they have sorted out to find the top 10 who will make up the Premier Division. Population, player development, player and referee numbers, financial performance - what the hell have they got to do with it?"

July 25, 2009

All in the balance

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/25/2009

Mike Greenaway, writing in The New Zealand Herald, believes that the balance of the Springbok pack could take them all the way in this year's Tri-Nations.

“The favourable draw - three home matches in which to build up a head of steam before hitting Perth, Brisbane and Hamilton - is one of the reasons the bookies are tipping the Boks to add to their titles of 2004 and 1998.

“There is the more tangible evidence of a match 22 boasting 14 players who did duty in the Rugby World Cup final, while the new arrivals certainly add value - players such as Beast Mtawarira, Pierre Spies, Morne Steyn, Ryan Kankowski and Heinrich Brussow.

“The latter gives the Springbok pack much better balance, even though he is replacing a player of the stature of the suspended Schalk Burger, the 2004 IRB Player of the year.

“In recent years it would have been sacrilege to suggest a Bok pack would be better off for Burger's absence, but this year it has proved to be a fact because in Brussow the Boks at last have a semblance of a Richie McCaw, George Smith or Phil Waugh.”

July 24, 2009

Questions left unanswered

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/24/2009

Writing in The Independent, Peter Bills believes that the recent judicial findings against Harlequins are wholly unaccepatable.

"If the brief foray of Harlequins rugby club into rugby’s legal corridors was intended to answer questions of alleged impropriety by club or individuals, then it has plainly backfired.

"At the conclusion of the hearing, more questions remained than had been answered. Further light is unlikely to be shed on this dark affair by the news that the enquiring Tribunal will not publish their findings for a further week. Exactly why, is yet another question that remains unanswered.

"Harlequins and their wing Tom Williams were found guilty of fabricating a cut to the player's mouth, thereby enabling them to get onto the field a key player late in their Heineken Cup quarter final match against Leinster in April. The club was fined £215,000, albeit with 50 per cent of the fine suspended for two years. That means if ‘Quins do not transgress again, they will pay just £107,500.

"Williams, meanwhile, was suspended for 12 months. But why was Williams handed so draconian a sentence? Until the Tribunal's findings are released are we not left to assume that Williams refused to give evidence and that is why the Tribunal fined Harlequins and absolved every other individual in their club?"

July 23, 2009

NPC madness

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/23/2009

Wynne Gray, writing in The New Zealand Herald, believes that the changes to New Zealand's national competition are based on the wrong criteria.

"The New Zealand Rugby Union will need to add a mathematician to their staff if they go through with plans to restructure the NPC.

"Probably a QC as well for the legal challenges but certainly some boffin, skilled in numerical calculations, to unravel all the extra criteria in deciding which four teams from this season will get the chop.

"In announcing the back to the future series from next year, chief executive Steve Tew admitted it would not be a simple case of the bottom quartet getting the flick, leaving the leading 10 teams to play in the renamed Premier division. No siree.

"Other issues would come into play to sort out a 10-team top division, a six-team division one and a 10-team Heartland competition."

July 22, 2009

John O'Neill strides to revolution's beat

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/22/2009

ARU chief executive John O'Neill has a singular vision for the future of Super rugby in Australia writes Brett Harris in The Australian.

O'Neill has stated publicly that the expansion team will be operated under a new ownership model, moving away from the traditional state-run team to a privately operated franchise, ultimately controlled by the ARU.

It is part of O'Neill's vision to franchise Australia's Super rugby teams. During his first term as ARU chief executive between 1995 and 2003, O'Neill was opposed to private ownership because he did not want the game "hijacked", but he experienced a Road to Damascus conversion on the issue while setting up the A-League for Football Federation Australia.

There is little doubt O'Neill is looking to apply a similar model to Super rugby, which would let the ARU reduce its level of funding ($17.2 million a year) to the states, and the expansion team will give him the first chance to introduce the concept.

New Zealand's disdain for Graham Henry is baffling

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/22/2009

Writing in The Independent, Peter Bills says he cannot fathom why Graham Henry is so unpopular in his homeland despite his impressive win/loss ratio as All Black coach.

When his contract as All Blacks coach was extended recently up to the 2011 World Cup, Graham Henry had steered New Zealand teams to victories in 57 out of the 66 matches in which he was in charge. That is a success ratio of 86.36 per cent. Last Saturday’s 22-16 victory over Australia at Eden Park, Auckland, edged that figure up to 86.56 per cent.

I can tell you that any country in the world would risk life and death in the rush to sign up a coach with that win ratio. But in New Zealand, some continue to sneer and for the life of me, I cannot understand why.

New Zealanders are obsessed with winning the Rugby World Cup. They haven’t done so since 1987 and their nerves are already half shredded at the prospect of mucking it up again, in 2011, especially as the tournament will be held in New Zealand.

But you can’t spend your whole working life focusing on some event two, three or four years away. What are those people saying? Are they suggesting that if the All Blacks lost every game under Henry between now and 2011 but won the World Cup, that would be OK? I find that argument banal.

Errors erode Muliaina's AAA rating

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/22/2009

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray believes that mistakes have crept into Mils Muliaina's game this season, but he still thinks he's the best in the business.

Mils Muliaina and mistakes. Until this season those issues seemed mutually exclusive but the All Black fullback seems to be undermining that theory.

He was in the clutch of defenders swatted off by French five-eighths Francois Trinh-Duc as he scored from a scrum play in Dunedin, outgunned by Cedric Heymans in his classy run in Wellington and swept aside by Berrick Barnes for the Wallabies' first try at Eden Park.

His value was emphasised when he was promoted to lead the All Blacks in Richie McCaw's injury absence. He had his problems leading an under-resourced group against the French and Italians and while he remains the best fullback in the land, Muliaina's contributions were not of his usual ultra-high class.

July 21, 2009

Tom Williams the fall guy for Harlequins

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/21/2009

Writing in his Guardian Unlimited blog, Paul Rees argues that the 12 month ban for Tom Williams was disproportionate to his crime.

"Twelve months for winking, which is effectively why Williams was banned, is not just draconian but disproportionate. Stick your finger into an opponent's eye and you can enjoy a short lay-off; put two fingers up to those who run the game, which is what Williams, and his club did, and you are out of work for a year. Percy Montgomery only received six months in 2003 for shoving a touch judge to the ground after a row while playing for Newport at Swansea.

"Harlequins are waiting for the written judgment of the three-man disciplinary panel before deciding whether to appeal against Williams's ban and the £215,000 fine, half of which was suspended for two years, levied on the club. What will be of particular interest will be why Williams was singled out, as if he acted alone.

"Dean Richards, the Quins director of rugby, had a misconduct charge levelled against him thrown out, as did the club's physiotherapist and doctor. So if Williams had a fake blood capsule, which he burst in his mouth five minutes from the end of the game so that Nick Evans, the goal-kicker, could return for the final five minutes with Harlequins trailing by a point, where did he get it from and what were his instructions?"

Warburton can be a Martyn and Charvis all rolled into one

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/21/2009

Writing in the Western Mail, Simon Roberts says up and coming star openside Sam Warburton can fill Martyn Williams' boots and compares the 20 year old with Richie McCaw and George Smith. No pressure Sam.

"ONCE in a while a player comes along who re-defines his position and becomes the template for everybody else who plays that role.

"George Smith, the Wallaby flanker, who won his 100th cap for Australia last weekend, did that when he first announced himself on the Test stage.

"Richie McCaw, the All Black skipper, who enjoyed another rare old ding-dong with Smith in Auckland, did the same.

"Both Smith and McCaw are renowned for coming out of nowhere and transforming the role of the No 7 on the world stage.

"Now Wales could be about to unveil their own version during the autumn Test series at the Millennium Stadium.

"Sam Warburton, the former Wales Under-20 captain who made his senior debut on the summer tour to North America, has only played only a handful of regional games. But already he is being talked about as the ‘special one’ to replace Williams."

Robbbie Deans ponders Boks of weapons

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/21/2009

Writing in The Australian, Wayne Smith says Robbie Deans and the Wallabies must not rest in the three weeks before they face South Africa as they look to get their Tri-Nations campaign back on track.

"Satisfying as it always is watching New Zealanders and South Africans inflicting pain on each other on the rugby field, Robbie Deans and the Wallabies can ill-afford to idly waste this lull in the battle. A strategy must be formulated to beat the Boks in Cape Town on August 8, then a team picked to implement it.

"It may be that the All Blacks will expose some weaknesses in the South African team that the British and Irish Lions weren't able to illuminate, but it was clear by the end of the recent series that the Lions wanted to avoid kicking for touch at all costs.

"Any lineout ball won within 20m of the opposition line inevitably finds its way to the back of the Springbok rolling maul and the Green Machine begins to rumble."

July 20, 2009

Ruthlessness and composure

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/20/2009

Former Wallaby skipper Andrew Slack opens fire on the Wallabies' performance in the opening Tri-Nations game in The New Zealand Herald.

"When All Blacks are born, God clearly injects more of the genes responsible for ruthlessness and composure into them than he does into an infant Wallaby.

"For the opening quarter of Saturday night's Bledisloe Cup match, it was the All Blacks who looked like no-walk, no-talk toddlers, with the Wallabies in full charge of the creche.

"Eventually though, and by no means for the first time in an encounter between the two countries, the roles reversed. Richie McCaw's men matured and Stirling Mortlock's troop went back to kindergarten.

"The momentum, the wind and 10 points on the board should have been the springboard to push 10 up to 20."

July 19, 2009

Killer instinct

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/19/2009

Rugby Heaven's Greg Growden believes that the Wallabies have to develop a killer instinct if they are to prosper in the Tri-Nations.

"Sure, they have improved. That's obvious. Their skills and fitness levels are on the up. Their defence is as good as it was around the time of the 1999 World Cup. Teams just don't score tries against them - as shown by them leaking only three in five games so far this season. Their mode of attack is certainly more enlightening.

"But there are still three mind-numbing factors that are dragging the Wallabies down. The All Blacks, even when rusty and playing the most predictable and conservative brand of football imaginable as they did on Saturday night, have the hex on them.

"The Wallabies have not learnt the knack of seizing the big moment, those few seconds of play that win big internationals. They tune out at the most inopportune times."

Judicious subbing

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/19/2009

Richard Loe, writing in The New Zealand Herald, has praise for Graham Henry's use of replacements after the All Blacks opened their Tri-Nations account with victory over Australia.

"This was a better test match by the All Blacks than the last three put together - but it was still a bit too close for comfort.

"There was a lot to be pleased with about the All Blacks, although a few individuals will be having a good look at themselves. Still, the commitment, intensity and defence in the second half were all very good.

"I didn't think there was a man of the match - it was too close and too unclear a game for that - and the Australians rattled us for the first 20 or 30 minutes, with Matt Giteau and Berrick Barnes looking very dangerous.

"I thought Graham Henry and the All Blacks came out ahead in an area I often criticise them for - substitutions. Instead of just subbing for the sake of it, the substitutions were tactically sound last night and I think they gave the All Blacks the edge."

July 18, 2009

Can De Waal boot Province to glory?

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 07/18/2009

Western Province will go out on Saturday to do correctly what the British and Irish Lions did wrong in their recent Test match against the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld, writes Gavin Rich in the Cape Argus.

"Anyone who cares to go through a video of the first half of the recent second Test match at the venue of Saturday's big north-south domestic showdown between WP and the Blue Bulls should be quite startled by at least one aspect of those opening 40 minutes - seldom has a team dominated as comprehensively as the Lions did and yet only be eight points ahead on the scoreboard.

"...With De Waal in the side, there should never be a reason for WP to run from their own half for the simple reason that they have a kicker who can always ensure they have good positions to attack from."

Townsend named Scotland's attack coach

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 07/18/2009

Writing in The Times, Lewis Stuart reflects on the appointment of Gregor Townsend to Andy Robinson's Scotland coaching team.

"Two months after being named as Scotland head coach, Andy Robinson made his first key appointment on Friday when he installed Gregor Townsend as the national side's attack coach. It is a job that Townsend has done before on a part-time basis but now he will move on to the Scotland staff full-time, though he will maintain links with his previous employers, the Winning Scotland Foundation.

"It is a remarkably rapid rise for Townsend, 36, who retired as a player only two years ago and has done hardly any coaching. When Robinson was the coach of Edinburgh, he brought Townsend, the 82-cap fly half or centre, in one day a week to help with the backs, but his only experience of handling a team through the week building up to a big match has been two brief spells with the Scotland A team and working as assistant to Frank Hadden in the RBS Six Nations Championship earlier this year."

July 17, 2009

Moffat targets a trophy

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 07/17/2009

Rob Moffat has targeted a Celtic League title for Edinburgh as the 52-year-old former assistant set out his stall as the club's new head coach. Bill Lothian writes in The Scotsman.

"Savouring a move that gives Moffat the chance to draw on experiences of briefly holding the reins when he opened the professional era in charge of now defunct Borders 13 years ago, he said the time was right for both himself and Edinburgh to strike.

"The way I look at it, we have to move on and the natural direction after finishing second last year is to win the league," he said while quickly qualifying those remarks."

July 16, 2009

English clubs target Wales’ young stars

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/16/2009

Welsh youngsters are increasingly catching the eye of English Premiership clubs and Andy Howell in The Western Mail believes the WRU will struggle to hold on to their up and coming talent.

In a potential move which has echoes of when rugby league plundered Wales’ best amateur talent, England’s big guns have switched their attention to our top youngsters and are ready to entice them to the Premiership with lucrative offers.

Leicester, Wasps, Sale and Worcester are understood to be among those ready to mount audacious cross-border raids for Warren Gatland’s next batch of stars.

New Wales cap Sam Warburton, who is seen as Martyn Williams’ eventual successor, and Scarlets back-row forward Josh Turnbull, who was also on the recent trip to Canada and the United States, are being eyed by the English giants.

Sick fans urged to avoid Eden Park

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/16/2009

Health officials in New Zealand are asking fans to take some strange precautions to avoid swine flu during Saturday's clash with Australia according Eloise Gibson in the New Zealand Herald.

Deputy Director of Public Health Fran McGrath says people should be considerate and watch the game on television if they think they might be sick, no matter how much they want to be at the park.

Healthy fans should not share beer and should use a hand sanitiser before tucking into a hot dog.

And while she acknowledged it might be difficult, Dr McGrath said people should stay a metre away from anyone who looked like they might be ill.

"If you have symptoms, don't go - you might feel well enough, but be considerate to everyone else.

"Try to stay one metre distant from anyone who's unwell, although it's a bit hard to tell."

She admitted the advice might sound "pious" for a rugby game, but it was important to use an alcohol-based hand gel because the flu virus could stay alive on surfaces such as hand rails.

O'Sullivan adjusts to new reality

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/16/2009

Speaking to Johnny Waterson in the Irish Times, USA coach Eddie O'Sullivan admitted he has experienced something of a culture shock since his days with Ireland.

There was moment in Eddie O’Sullivan’s rugby life during the USA rugby team’s camp in Colorado this summer when the realisation that he was now in a very different place was hammered home.

In the build-up to the USA’s match against Georgia in June, Alec Parker, the Eagles lock, informed his head coach, O’Sullivan, that on their day off on the Wednesday in the week of the match, he had to travel back to Aspen to save the hay.

Not only was Parker making the trip to his farm but he was taking three members of the US squad with him.

“Yeah, one of our locks is a farmer in Aspen. He’d no hay cut,” says O’Sullivan stoically.

“We were in camp so on the down day we sent three players with him to knock his hay. We’ve a lot of amateurs and even the professional players in the squad are division one in England or Italy.”

July 15, 2009

Wallabies march to own drum

Posted by Mark Doyle on 07/15/2009

	Wallabies coach Robbie Deans finds reason to smile during training this week © Getty Images

Writing for The Australian, Bret Harris salutes the impact that Robbie Deans has had on the Wallabies since his appointment as head coach last year.

"It was appropriate that Robbie Deans announced his Wallabies team to play the All Blacks on Bastille Day because the motto of the French revolution - liberty, equality, fraternity - could be the catch-cry for the new culture in Australian rugby.

"For many years Australia's play has been dominated by a controlled, patterned approach. Deans has given the Wallabies a new sense of freedom.

"On his very first day in charge of the Wallabies in June last year, Deans told the players to play what was in front of them. It has become a mantra that has pervaded every aspect of Australia's game."

Wilkinson eager to justify England call-up

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 07/15/2009

Jonny Wilkinson is desperate to prove his worth to the England cause after former captain and team mate Martin Johnson selected him in the England elite squad despite the fly-half's lack of regular rugby. Nick Pearce writes in the Daily Telegraph.

"Wilkinson played in the same England team as Johnson for over five years and the pair developed a close relationship - Johnson the senior player and captain guiding Wilkinson the tyro - in the the side that went on to win the 2003 World Cup. But Wilkinson insists there is no sentiment involved in their relationship and he is eager to make a success of their new player-coach understanding.

"Johnno holds all the cards. When he was a player, he was a mentor and guiding hand for me. Now there is a new respect for him as a manager, which allows a healthy distance."

SRU forced to cancel strip launch

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 07/15/2009

The Scottish Rugby Union has suffered a major financial blow with Canterbury Europe entering administration. Gareth Black pick through the pieces in The Scotsman.

"The demise of Canterbury Europe is a major blow for the SRU, and comes just a week after the national football team's kit sponsor, Diadora, appointed a receiver with 12 months outstanding on a sponsorship deal with the Scottish Football Association.

"...With the rest of the Canterbury Group – including the global Canterbury brand founded in New Zealand – not affected by the administration and continuing to trade as usual, the SRU hopes that the sponsorship deal – described by the union last year as "the largest commercial deal (the SRU] has secured" – can be salvaged. However, a statement from administrator KPMG painted a bleak outlook."

Johnson begins job of nurturing Henson talent

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 07/15/2009

Writing in the Western Mail, Andy Howell looks at the task facing Ospreys coach Scott Johnson.

"Henson, who is believed to be on around £170,000 a year at the Ospreys, has missed a staggering 100 out of a possible 164 appearances for club and country in official tournaments since the Lions tour of New Zealand in 2005. He has taken part in just 12 out of 45 Tests for Wales and in 52 of the Ospreys’ 119 matches during that period, missing out on selection for the 2009 Lions.

Henson has two years remaining on his contract with the Ospreys but admitted, after injuring is right ankle during the humiliating EDF Energy Cup semi-final defeat to Gloucester last April that he was finding it more difficult to summon up the willpower to overcome his frequent set-backs."

July 14, 2009

Two of a kind

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/14/2009

Writing in The Independent, Peter Bills salutes the unique talents of the late Bleddyn Williams and Ireland skipper Brian O'Driscoll.

"At a time when Bleddyn Williams, the so-called "Prince of Centres" from Wales, sadly passed away last week at the age of 86, it is appropriate to mark the achievements, especially this year, of the current "King of Centres", Brian O’Driscoll of Ireland.

"These two special players lit up their respective eras. No greater praise can be bestowed than that single, unarguable fact.

"Williams was the elegant, thrusting midfield player who won fame with the 1950 Lions and went on to lead Wales to victory over the 1953 All Blacks in Cardiff, their last triumph over New Zealand. A product of Rydal School in North Wales which had also produced another huge talent for Welsh rugby in Wilf Wooller, Williams won 22 caps between 1947 and 1955 including five as captain. He strode the stage in the years after the war, in which he had been a glider pilot often behind enemy lines.

"The tall, smartly dressed, friendly Welshman dismissed it all as "a bit of fun". That was his way of remaining low key. He preferred to ignore his own brilliance and put the spotlight on others."

July 13, 2009

Crunch time

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/13/2009

It's time to see what Robbie Deans' resurgent Wallabies are really made of, writes Greg Growden on Rugby Heaven.

"At the weekend came even more confusion over whether, as the RUPA has attempted to claim, the Wallabies actually did feel fearful and intimidated by the ARU.

"The impending Supreme Court action involving Tuqiri and the ARU and NSWRU has caused rumours to continue to fester.

"It's hardly the ideal environment for a Wallabies team to stay attentive heading into a Bledisloe Cup match and it will fully test Deans's coaching capabilities to keep his squad completely attuned to the high demands of an Auckland Test.

"In Deans's favour is that he appears to be developing a squad that can take advantage of an opposition's frailties. While the All Blacks have appreciable weaknesses, in particular struggling to properly overcome the loss of their dynamic five-eighth Daniel Carter, the Wallabies do have self-belief."

July 12, 2009

The player drain

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/12/2009

Sean Fitzpatrick, writing for The New Zealand Herald, believes that the answer to New Zealand's player drain lies in private investment in their regions.

"One of the key issues for New Zealand rugby that worries me and a lot of people, is the player drain.

"There have been articles, debates and conversations wrestling with the difficulties presented by players wanting to leave domestic rugby to try their luck in Europe.

"The general perception - which I share - is that this is leading to a long-term negative impact on the depth and talent levels of players coming through to international level.

"There seem to be two views. The first is that we embrace market-force reality. The thinking is that players will go anyway, so it is better to legislate for the fact by allowing international selection for overseas players, and by recognising the value of their journey."

July 11, 2009

A gambling man

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/11/2009

Wynne Gray, writing for The New Zealand Herald, believes that the All Blacks should look to under-20 star Aaron Cruden to fill their vacant fly-half berth.

"The dearth of All Black first five-eighths is not surprising given the lack of quality playmakers in the Super 14.

"With Stephen Donald recovering from injury and reluctant practitioner Luke McAlister crocked, the national selectors whistled up Stephen Brett to join their squad this week as cover for the start of the Bledisloe Cup series.

"Good on Brett but he wasn't any raging success in the Super 14 and was not even an original choice this season for the Junior All Blacks. Using both he and Piri Weepu appears real band-aid material in the national squad.

"It might have been time for the All Black selectors to have taken a reasonable gamble and promoted Aaron Cruden, who was the captain and star of the under-20 junior world championships. With McAlister almost certain to recover before the test, it would have been a two-way street for the selectors and Cruden if he had been whistled into the national camp in Wellington."

July 9, 2009

Alexander to get his teeth into the All Blacks

Posted by Tom Marshall on 07/09/2009

Australia prop Ben Alexander could make his Tri-Nations debut next weekend against the All Blacks and he is hungry for success, Greg Growden writes on Rugby Heaven.

“During the Test prop's teenage years, his parents put a lock on the pantry door, so he didn't eat them out of house and home. One day, his mother would go shopping. The next, virtually everything was gone, and by 19 he tipped the scales at 129 kilograms.

“And his teammates love explaining why he is known as "Colonel Kluck". It stems from one night in 2004 when in Bathurst he was egged on by mates to eat a gigantic chicken burger known as the "Motherclucker". According to Alexander, the "Motherclucker" included an enormous stack of chicken breasts, and if you finished it within 10 minutes, your photograph would appear on the restaurant's wall of fame. Alexander smashed the record, devouring it in eight minutes and 20 seconds.

“University days in Canberra weren't exactly a weightwatcher's paradise either, as in college he lived opposite five fast-food outlets and a hotel. 'That wasn't really conducive to me staying lean,' Alexander said yesterday. 'But nowadays I'm eating smarter.'"

July 8, 2009

Henry bites back

Posted by Jean Smyth on 07/08/2009

Despite the All Blacks struggling against France and Italy, the coach Graham Henry thinks that the media need to pay his side just a little bit more respect. Marc Hinton, writing on Rugby Heaven, says that Henry remains defiant as ever.

"It was classic Graham Henry, and as a gauge on the pressure the All Blacks coach is feeling ahead of the looming, and possibly treacherous, Tri Nations competition it said it all.

Henry had been doing his best to lay the charm on for the media as he went through a long chat with a group of us after naming his Tri Nations squad in Auckland. And, to be fair, he was succeeding as he patiently covered off our various queries in an extensive, and largely relaxed, chat.

He was patently honest - sometimes brutally so in the case of Liam Messam - and refreshingly forthright. His All Blacks had not travelled well through the June internationals and now there was a lot of hope being pinned on a handful of returning linchpins. Henry was not hiding from any of the realities he faces. Rightly so."

July 7, 2009

Hung, drawn and quartered

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/07/2009

Owen Slot ponders the reaction to Ronan O'Gara's costly mistakes for the Lions in the second Test against the Springboks in The Times.

"Ronan O’Gara versus Phil Neville. Who would you rather be? Or rather, how do like to have your sporting villains hung, drawn and quartered? Do you want their entrails splattered across the backpages? Because when you are an international athlete and skill and judgement desert you, at the very time when you need them most, you are of course letting down a “nation”. And it’s one thing to let down a nation, but O’Gara let down four (and we could easily make that five, but let’s not go there).

"You know where we are. O’Gara: the Saturday before last, making the error(s) that run-of-play suggests cost the Lions a Test match. Or at least a Test draw. And Phil Neville: 20th June 2000, misjudging a tackle on Viorel Moldovan and conceding the penalty that effectively knocked England out of the European Championships.

"The accepted way is that the media assassination of football’s villains is infinitely more withering than those in rugby. Or indeed in any other sport. And it is indeed the case that while anyone who watched the second Lions Test in Loftus Versfeld appreciates the heavy cost of O’Gara’s error of judgement, he has escaped from the print media largely unscathed. There is barely a headline that bears his name. No hysteria. No crucifixion. No one called for him to return his tour fee. And no sign of a vegetable onto which his face has been photo-shopped. Nothing."

July 6, 2009

Cause for concern

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/06/2009

Peter Bills, writing in The Independent, believes that the close nature of the Lions series is a cause for concern for South Africa.

"No doubt partly due to South Africa's poor, dreadfully uneven performances during the Test series, the Lions escaped the 3-0 whitewash which an efficient, properly structured Springbok side would inevitably have inflicted. In the end, the Lions left bemoaning the fact that, but for a mere handful of points, a 2-1 series defeat could easily have been a draw or even a win.

"No greater indictment of these misfiring Springboks exists than that fact. South African rugby has declined since the peak of the 2007 World Cup triumph.

"Yet perhaps even more importantly, in the course of just six weeks, Lions coach Ian McGeechan and his colleagues repaired a great deal of the damage done to the Lions ethos by Clive Woodward's mad japes in 2005 in New Zealand. Now there's a thought, incidentally – imagine a Lions side coached by Woodward against a Springbok side coached by Peter de Villiers. Endless material for the men in white coats...

"But significant factors still imperil the Lions. As Jeremy Guscott so rightly said last week "If the countries hosting the Lions do not give them proper respect by fielding as full strength sides as possible against them in the midweek games, then they place in peril the whole Lions idea."

July 5, 2009

Rage against the dying of the light

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/05/2009

Peter Bills, writing in The Independent on Sunday, believes that Peter de Villiers' recent media troubles are having a direct affect on the Springboks.

"The fact was, the Springboks were desperately poor, a weak shadow of the side they ought to be. But can we be surprised, given that they played for only the first 50 minutes in Durban and the last 20 in Pretoria ? Here, they faced a Lions side without probably its five top players yet they looked second best throughout.

"The ludicrous build-up to this Test, with the Springbok coach again the focus of attention, was a clear distraction. Peter de Villiers' lunatic antics and crazy statements are starting to have a direct effect on the performances of his team on the field.

"The world champions were all over the place, just as they had been for an hour in Pretoria. Sure, they were without eight of their best players but the talent coming through is such that they ought to have been able to beat a similarly depleted Lions side.

"The fact that the Springboks were so outplayed was a dire indictment of what is going on within their camp. Mistakes can always be made by individuals – that is inevitable and excusable. What is not acceptable is a complete lack of structure within a team that calls itself the world champions. Certain players looked only moderately interested – others quickly realised that, given the general mess and mediocrity, they had little chance of turning the tide. A couple of the youngsters brought back into the fray in the second half – Ruan Pienaar (as a scrum-half, after playing at fly-half in the first two Tests) and Frans Steyn (replacing a centre after playing full-back), raged against the dying of the light and the mess around them. But too few others managed much."

It's not over yet

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/05/2009

Brian O'Driscoll is already eyeing the next Lions tour in his blog for The Guardian.

"The series might have been lost, but everyone involved in the Lions tour can take pride in their contributions. Yesterday's superb, emphatic victory showed what could have been, and to those who have given the Lions a mauling as a concept after last week's defeat in Pretoria, I can say only one thing. Playing for the Lions is like a drug: you cannot get enough and as I watched the game, I thought about the tour to Australia in 2013. I will be 34 that year, but I am already dreaming about being part of the squad.

"Who knows what state I will be in by then, but it is something to aim for. I have played in six Tests for the Lions and been on the winning side only once, not a record I want to hang up with my boots.

"Being involved with the Lions means a huge amount to players, which is why I would like to think I have one more tour left in me. Of the three I have been on, this was the most rewarding and most enjoyable by a country mile.

"It was the best bunch of guys I have been involved with, and as I start a month's holiday, a persistent source of regret will be that we did not win the series, because we were good enough, and well prepared enough, to do so."

Springboks finish cause for concern

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/05/2009

Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett believes that South Africa's defeat in the third Test against the Lions shows some worrying deficiencies, in The Sunday Telegraph.

"To win in Johannesburg is a memorable achievement and deserves to be celebrated. The lesson is quite simple for Peter de Villiers and his coaching team: you cannot make 10 changes from the previous match and expect success.

"Some of the players who were given a big opportunity were disappointing. It was a further reminder that South Africa can get ahead of themselves. Jake White, the World Cup-winning coach, almost made the same mistake at France 2007 when he fielded a mixed-up team for the pool game against Tonga and at half-time had to rescue the situation by bringing on his No 1 players.

"De Villiers did not rush to make wholesale changes until midway through the second half. He had also lost another of his main men, Fourie du Preez, to injury at half-time.

"The Springboks have finished the series in a worrying state. They played their best rugby in the first half of the opening Test in Durban and since then have been anything but consistent. They did play well to win the second Test, by putting together a great finish, yet have combined to give de Villiers and his team of coaches all kinds of headaches. They have regressed and it is worrying."

Lies, damned lies and statistics

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/05/2009

Writing in The Times, Stuart Barnes looks past the statistics and is reminded of one important fact from the Lions tour - they lost.

"Statistics lie, damn them; based purely on statistics, the 2009 Lions should have been the winners. South Africa scored 63 points to the Lions’ 74, the Springboks were outscored by seven tries to five, but the only statistic that history will remember is South Africa 2, the British & Irish Lions 1.

"Contrast with the winning series of 1997. That vintage is not recalled with the same awe as the mighty 1974 side, but the myth of Martin Johnson’s imposing pack and their looming power lives on.

"Yet consider the statistics of that series. In that three-match battle, the Springboks scored 66 points and the Lions a measly 55. The losing Springboks ran in nine tries to the Lions’ three. But winning is the only statistic that matters, and the Lions won where it mattered by two games to one.

"In Lions history, the past presses upon the present, mythology and fact combine in shades of grey as the men of today are judged by yesterday’s standard bearers. By such a judgment, the 2009 side should be adjudged a better team than their winning predecessors."

July 4, 2009

All downhill from here

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/04/2009

Eddie Jones believes that the Springboks could be heading back down the hill in The Independent.

"It may seem a strange thing to say about a South African side celebrating a first series victory over the Lions in almost 30 years, but to my way of thinking the Springboks look as though they are running on empty.

"Last week in Pretoria they were really quite poor in a surprising number of areas: the late try from Jaque Fourie and Morne Steyn's magnificent long-range kicking got them out of jail. I don't believe those escape routes will open up for them indefinitely. In fact, I can see things starting to come apart.

"Whether that will be of much help to the Lions today, it's difficult to say. I think Ian McGeechan's team will play in an uninhibited way, they are certainly due some luck and no matter how hard the South Africans fight their own complacency, they have already won the war and know it. Unless the opposition is being completely outclassed – hardly the case with the Lions – it is never easy to go from 2-0 to 3-0. There again, Ellis Park is one of the more difficult places for a foreign side to win. I don't discount the Lions' chances by any means, but if the Boks get away from them early, they could pile on some points."

July 3, 2009

Worth the admission money

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/03/2009

In his latest Rolling Maul blog for The Times, Stephen Jones looks forward to the rematch between Phil Vickery and Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira.

"Now we know the teams for the final Test on Saturday, there may be one or two people who feel let down. Altogether, there are 18 changes from the sides that started last week in Pretoria, and in a sense, we have a slightly devalued encounter between a Lions team now operating 14 short of their original selection against a South African team who have rested several of their first-choice players.

"So, why is it that I am looking forward to this Test almost as much as I was looking forward to the first two? There is the compelling notion that with some of the pressure removed, we may get a sweeping and thoroughly entertaining match but one with the true bite of a Test occasion.

"Just to see Phil Vickery, in his last Lions game and possibly his last international, coming up against Tendai Mtawarira, his nemesis in Durban, will be worth the admission money alone especially when you consider that the Beast was as anonymous in Pretoria as he had been outstanding in the first Test. I fancy that Vickery will draw on his experience and find some answers that, for an hour at least, will restore his wonderful reputation."

July 2, 2009

Credit where credit's due

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/02/2009

Stephen Jones, writing in The Times, commends the efforts of the Springboks in defeating the Lions

"The latest topic of conversation in and around the South African camp and in the rugby parts of the nation at large is that the South African team have not been given proper credit for their victory in the Test series and that we have all been far too busy mulling over matters such as injury, bad luck, refereeing, television replays and other allied matters.

"This morning, none other than Gary Gold, one of the assistant South African coaches, was claiming that South Africa's victory has been almost forgotten amongst a barrage of publicity surrounding other matters. In passing, and whatever the merits of South Africa, it must be said that Gold and Dick Muir must deserve credit. From what we have heard from Peter de Villiers of late, it must be a nightmare to deal with him every day and, while I may be wrong, I strongly suspect that Mr Gold and Mr Muir will be treated by the medical staff at the end of every day for severely bitten lips.

"But are we wrong to have discussed the Lions' ill-luck rather than the South African potential brilliance? The concept of ill-fortune on a rugby field is extremely complicated. For example, a touch judge could fail to spot in the first minute that a player has placed his foot three millimetres into touch, and the whole match then suffers a kind of chain reaction so that nothing subsequently is what it would have been without those three millimetres. You can soon disappear up blind alleys if you take into consideration every single bad thing which befell you."

July 1, 2009

The Corinthian ethos

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/01/2009

Keith Wood looks past his love of the Lions concept to criticise the current format of their tour in The Daily Telegraph.

"Last Saturday was as good a game as I have seen in a long time. It had courage, passion and some unbelievable skill. It also had violence, unacceptable and stupid, and had pressure, tension and the symptoms thereof.

"Mind you, irrespective of what transpired, I am left with a certain unease in relation to the Lions tour. And not just this tour, although it is most relevant here, but the tours in general.

"Prior to 1997 there had been talk of how anachronistic a Lions tour was in the new, bold commercial and professional age.

"The Corinthian ethos was out of step with the new reality. Anybody who had worn the shirt, or indeed who had supported it, dismissed such scaremongering as pure piffle. Even now I find it difficult to put into words the pride, the honour I felt at representing this team. It was my dream and my pinnacle. It is unique."