Internationals
Kenya celebrate their Qualification for the Olympics in Rio in 2016
The Australian mens Sevens team as well as the Kenyan mens Sevens teams both qualified on the weekend for the Olympics Sevens event in Rio in 2016.
On the womens side, Fiji Womens Sevens also qualified for the womens event at Rio 2016.
The Springbok Sevens (Blitzbokke) were drawn with Scotland, Samoa and newly-promoted core team Russia for the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens on 4 & 5 December.
According to the draw announced by World Rugby last Friday, South Africa are the Top-seeds in Pool B for the opening Round of the bigger HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. The Blitzbokke are the defending Dubai champions.
With global excitement building ahead of Sevens’ biggest season, the world’s top players – representing 28 national teams – will compete in Dubai from 3 to 5 December. The 12-team women’s tournament will be played on 3 & 4 December and the 16-team men’s event on 4 & 5 December.
In the men’s competition, reigning series champions Fiji head Pool A and kick off proceedings against Canada with further ties against Japan and Argentina.
12-Time series champions New Zealand face matches against USA, as well as France and Portugal in Pool C, while in Pool D England will compete against Australia, Wales and Kenya.
The South Africans start their Dubai campaign against powerful Samoa. They then face Russia in the mid-afternoon, before tackling Scotland later in the evening on the opening day.
Richie McCaw
Double Rugby World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw is expected to confirm his decision to retire from rugby this week, New Zealand media reported on Sunday.
McCaw, who turns 35 on 31 December, led the All Blacks to their 3rd Rugby World Cup triumph 2 weeks ago when his side beat trans-Tasman rivals Australia 34 / 17 in the final at a packed Twickenham stadium in London.
The All Blacks were the 1st team to retain the trophy, after the openside flanker led the team to victory in 2011 while playing with a broken foot.
McCaw had done little to dampen expectations that he would retire after this year’s Rugby World Cup, though never explicitly said he would, preferring to state he would not make up his mind until the global showpiece ended.
He was not named last month in the Canterbury Super Rugby squad for 2016 though New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and the Crusaders said there was space for him if he chose to play on.
Captains with the Hong Kong Cup of Nations trophy
The Hong Kong Cup of Nations is a 15-a-side rugby tournament which features 4 national sides – Hong Kong, Portugal, Russia and Zimbabwe. There are 6 Test matches in total with fixtures on 13, 17 and 21 November 2015. The round-robin competition replaces the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union’s (HKRFU) November international Test series. All Cup of Nations matches were scheduled to be played at Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC) and admission is free.
This year’s competition has been dominated by the hosts, Hong Kong, and Russia who have both won their 1st 2 games of the tournament. Portugal look to be the 3rd best team losing by 11 points in their opening match to Russia while only losing by 7 against Hong Kong, gaining their losing bonus point which sees them in 3rd place on the table. Zimbabwe have struggled and suffered the biggest loss (by 45 points) today against Russia.
The Ireland Women are back in action for the 1st time since regaining the Six Nations title in March, as Tom Tierney’s new-look side take on England at the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday (kick-off 15:00 UK Time & GMT, 17:00 SA Time).
The Ireland Women’s team to play England in an historic 1st November international has been named. There are 6 uncapped players included in Tom Tierney’s starting line-up.
New caps Jeamie Deacon of Blackrock and Mairead Coyne from Galwegians have been named on the wings with team captain Niamh Briggs at fullback.
Cill Dara’s Aine Donnelly will win her 1st cap in the centre alongside the experienced Jackie Shiels, with Coyne’s club-mate Sene Naoupu donning the No 10 jersey for the 1st time alongside regular scrumhalf Larissa Muldoon.
World Rugby Council has approved the application by the Rwanda Rugby Federation (RRF) as a full member union, bringing the total number to 103 full members and 17 associates.
The RRF became an associate member of World Rugby in April 2004 and is a full member of Rugby Africa, the regional association. The union actively partakes in regional activities and participates in a range of Rugby Africa tournaments. It is recognised by its National Olympic Committee and fulfils World Rugby’s full membership criteria.
The RRF runs a national 15-a-side team and, in total, has 10 teams participating in a domestic 15-a-side league with more than 300 registered adult male players, 60 adult female players and nearly 7 000 youth players. The union is a structured organisation, administered by a full-time CEO and a number of volunteers.
The application was supported by the World Rugby Executive Committee, Rugby Africa and World Rugby’s Rugby Services Manager (Africa).
Twelve teams will battle it out for a place at the 2016 Olympic Games when they take part in this weekend’s Africa Regional Olympic qualifier in Johannesburg.
On 14 & 15 November, Johannesburg will host the 12 best African teams of Sevens rugby at the Barnard Stadium in Kempton Park.
Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, Morocco, Tunisia, Zambia, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Botswana, Nigeria and Mauritius will fight over 2 days of tournament to try to win the 1 and only golden ticket for Rio 2016!
The 3 other teams on the podium will have the opportunity to participate in the repechage, an international competition which will enable 1 single team to join the others.
Australia will embark on their 10th ‘Grand Slam’ tour in 2016, aiming to beat the Home Nations in 1 trip for the 1st time in 30 years.
After falling to New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup Final at Twickenham Stadium in London earlier this month, the Wallabies will return to the northern hemisphere next year for a 7-match, 5-Test tour, including France.
“The ‘Grand Slam’ is 1 of the rarest achievements in the game and has been a notoriously difficult one for the Wallabies over time, with only 1 successful attempt out of 9,” Australian Rugby Union chief Bill Pulver said.
The last time the Wallabies pulled off the feat was in 1984. In their most recent attempt, in 2013, Australia opened with a loss to England before defeating Ireland, Scotland and Wales as well as Italy.
Jake White
Jake White insists he won’t take part in another drawn out application process for the vacant England head coach role.
White, who coached South Africa’s 2007 Rugby World Cup-winning squad, is 1 of the leading candidates to replace Stuart Lancaster after he parted ways with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in the aftermath of England’s dismal Rugby World Cup campaign.
But the 52-year-old South African has twice been snubbed at the final hurdle by the RFU, when Martin Johnson took control in 2008 and when Lancaster was handed the reins in 2012.
Determined not to be messed around for a 3rd time, White has called on RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie to install him as the organisation’s Top choice before he will consider succeeding Lancaster, who was widely criticised for his lack of Top-level experience during England’s Rugby World Cup pool stage exit.
Richie McCaw
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew says Rugby World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw will make an announcement on his playing future “shortly”.
McCaw, who led New Zealand to victory at the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups, indicated he would likely retire after this year’s tournament in England but is yet to make a definitive announcement.
His comments immediately after the All Blacks’ Cup final win over Australia suggested the 148-Test veteran might be considering continuing his international career.
Steve Tew
New Zealand Rugby chief Steve Tew said it was premature to speculate about Japan joining The Rugby Championship.
The sport is currently on a high in the Asian nation after the Brave Blossoms’ exploits at the Rugby World Cup, which included a stunning 34 / 32 win over South Africa, but there are already concerns about its preparations for the expanded Super Rugby competition next year.
With Japan set to host the next edition of the Rugby World Cup in 2019, World Rugby is keen to consolidate its popularity in a large and potentially lucrative market.
The governing body’s chairman Bernard Lapasset said on a trip to Tokyo this week that Japan should join The Rugby Championship, which currently comprises New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina.
But New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said a more immediate concern for Japanese rugby was fielding a competitive side in the Super Rugby competition in 2016.
When he took to the field as Scotland cap number 1 073, Josh Strauss became the 50th player to make his debut for the national side since the last Rugby World Cup in 2011. This is by far the highest number of new players for Scotland in any Rugby World Cup cycle – more, in fact, than the previous 2 combined (48 new caps). It requires going back to the 1950s to find a greater number of 1st caps in a 4 year period.
Despite having the smallest player base of any of the Six Nations, Scotland has had more debutants than any of their rivals:
- England – 41
- France – 40
- Ireland – 37
- Italy – 31
- Wales – 37
In fact only 1 side who competed at this year’s Rugby World Cup awarded more new caps in the last 4 years. By a quirk of the global calendar Argentina didn’t have access to many of their 1st (or even 2nd) choice players when the South American Championship takes place and 54 of their 67 new caps (including 24 in the space of 5 days in 2013, the last year they appeared in it!) debuted in the annual iterations of this tournament.
Jake White at Montpellier
Former Springbok coach Jake White has again signalled interest in the England head coaching position.
Stuart Lancaster on Wednesday stepped down as England coach after a torrid Rugby World Cup which saw the hosts knocked out of the tournament at the pool stages after defeats to Wales and Australia.
Bookmakers have made White favourite to replace Lancaster and when asked whether he would be interested, the South African said:
“If they genuinely think a foreign coach is the right way forward and it is genuine they think it is me, it would be naive of me to say I was not interested.”
England Rugby Football Union Chief Executive Ian Ritchie said that England were determined to appoint a coach of “proven international experience”.
The search for this new coach – to replace Stuart Lancaster – will continue, however long it takes.
England’s dismal Rugby World Cup campaign set the seal on Lancaster’s 3-and-a-half years in charge, with the RFU announcing earlier on Wednesday he had left his post by “mutual consent”.
Under Lancaster – who had little prior elite rugby experience – England became the 1st host nation to fail to get out of the group phase at the recent Rugby World Cup.
RFU Chief Executive Ritchie said the decision to replace Lancaster had been “unanimously accepted” by the governing body’s board.
England’s next match is their Six Nations opener away to Scotland on 6 February, with the squad due to be announced in January.
World Rugby has announced the match official appointments for the RBS 6 Nations 2016, which gets underway in February.
Appointments were made by the World Rugby Match Official Selection Committee at its recent meeting in London and follow a detailed review of all performances during Rugby World Cup 2015.
The championship opener between France and Italy on Saturday 6 February in Paris will be refereed by JP Doyle of England with Welshman Nigel Owens taking charge of the last match, on Saturday 19 March between France and England at the same venue.
3 Referees – Jaco Peyper of South Africa, Glen Jackson of New Zealand and France’s Romain Poite – have received 2 appointments each with a total of 12 referees involved. Australian Angus Gardner will make his championship debut when he takes charge of the Ireland vs Italy match in Dublin on 12 March. The 31-year-old from Sydney, who was an Assistant Referee at Rugby World Cup 2015, refereed his 1st full international in 2011 and already has 5 Tests under his belt.
From the Rugby World Cup panel, Gardner replaces New Zealander Chris Pollock, whose retirement from international refereeing was announced earlier this week by New Zealand Rugby. In total, Pollock took charge of 22 Tests throughout his career.
As usual, the appointments for the 15 championship fixtures feature a blend of northern and southern hemisphere Match Officials. Several of the Assistant Referees being used for this year’s Six Nations are graduates of the 2013 and 2014 Rugby World Rugby Under 20 Championship.
Strange as it may seem considering the hype beforehand over “emotional Springbok swansongs” in the bronze playoff match at Rugby World Cup 2015, only 1 member of the squad at the tournament, captain Jean de Villiers, has officially confirmed his Test retirement.
Several younger Springboks spoke beforehand of their desire to beat Argentina – a task duly achieved – as a fitting send-off for senior players bidding farewell to the green-and-gold cause.
Almost 2 weeks on from the end of the Rugby World Cup, however, it is still only the luckless Jean de Villiers, injured again in just the 2nd Rugby World Cup match against Samoa, who has definitely bowed out after 109 appearances since 2002.
Perhaps influenced by the state of flux surrounding embattled coach Heyneke Meyer, the likes of Victor Matfield, Fourie du Preez, Schalk Burger and Bryan Habana intriguingly haven’t yet pulled the plug publicly on their illustrious Springbok careers.
The majority of “older” Springboks who took part in their hot-and-cold Rugby World Cup 2015 campaign are now exclusively foreign-based and there have been some pleas back home for only locally-stationed players to be chosen for South Africa henceforth – a tricky matter considering the ever-shrinking strength of the Rand against other currencies, which hardly helps keeps the best players rooted here.
Stuart Lancaster and Ian Richie
The England Rugby Football Union revealed that Stuart Lancaster has, by mutual consent, stepped down as England coach.
The decision follows England’s recent Rugby World Cup campaign, which saw the team knocked out of the tournament at the Pool stages – after defeats to Wales and Australia.
Lancaster was appointed full time in April 2012 and guided England to 2nd place in all of the past 4 Six Nations Championships, with 1 of his notable victories coming against the All Blacks in 2012, 1 of 28 wins in the 46 Test matches during which he was in charge of England.
“I am obviously extremely saddened to finish the way we did in this World Cup and to step down from the role,” Lancaster said.
“As I have always said, I ultimately accept and take responsibility for the team’s performance and we have not delivered the results we all hoped for during this tournament.
“I did, however, want to take part in the review to ensure I understood the views of others before making a decision.
Heyneke Meyer
We have received a request by a reader and newly registered blogger here on Rugby-Talk.com, Helgaard, to place an ARTICLE here on Rugby-Talk, containing an OPEN LETTER by him to SA Rugby, all supporters and interested parties as well as decision-makers in our country.
The topic of the Letter, follows the trend and main topic of discussion amongst Springbok supporters, namely whether Heyneke Meyer should stay on as coach, or whether he should go.
In his well-worded and well-reasoned letter, Helgaard supports the “Heyneke Must Fall” stance on the matter, and seeing as Rugby-Talk.com is “By the people, for the people” we gladly place relevant and requested reader content here on Rugby-Talk.com… once if conforms to the necessary literary requirements, of course. I wish more readers would act like Helgaard and send me their contributions, as it could lead to Rugby-Talk.com really becoming the official voice of the marginalized supporter out there and depicting the views of the average rugby supporter and not for supporters to be boxed in by the normal way media steers things to suit their own agendas.
Helgaard’s views are his own and does not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.
Without further a do… here is Helgaard’s Letter in it’s entirity:
WHY HEYNEKE MUST FALL…
Background to the article
As a dedicated Springbok supporter, I watched my fair share of the 48 games played at the Rugby World Cup 2015, including the 7 Tests in which the Springboks featured. I also watched all of the other 40 Tests played since Heyneke Meyer took over as the Springbok coach.
Bernard Lapasset
World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset says that Japan should be added to the Southern Hemisphere’s Rugby Championship competition alongside New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina.
Argentina joined the Tri-Nations sides in 2012 and the tournament became known as The Rugby Championship. Since then they have beaten both South Africa and Australia and lost all of their matches against New Zealand.
Rugby in Japan is enjoying a surge in popularity after their national team the Brave Blosssoms beat South Africa’s Springboks in the Rugby World Cup and this has helped build excitement for the Rugby World Cup in 2019, which will be staged in Japan.
Pundit Andy Nicol during his playing days
Former captain Andy Nicol believes it is “inevitable” that some of Scotland’s Rugby World Cup squad will join Dave Denton in moving from the country.
Denton has joined Bath from Edinburgh after the English Premiership club paid a transfer fee for the 25-year-old.
“That’s what happens at a World Cup,” said Nicol, the former scrumhalf who captained Bath. “You perform well and the big cheque books may open for you. That’s what happens to the Georgians and the Japanese.”
Nicol says Scotland’s run to the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals will have alerted clubs to Scottish players.
“You could get somebody here much cheaper than somebody who is established,” he said.
“It’s inevitable that we lose a few players and Dave Denton is the first.”
Georgian Hooker Shalva Mamukashvili joins Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors have signed Georgian international Shalva Mamukashvili on a deal until the end of the season.
The 25-year-old has 35 caps for his country and featured in all 4 of Georgia’s Rugby World Cup pool games in England.
He played 11 matches for Sale Sharks last season, including 3 European Rugby Champions Cup games.
The experienced hooker goes straight into the Warriors 41-man European squad, replacing Kevin Bryce. Glasgow visit Racing 92 on Saturday and then host Northampton Saints the following weekend, in front of a capacity crowd at Scotstoun.
Mamukashvili joins as cover at hooker, with both Kevin Bryce and Fergus Scott set for lengthy spells on the sidelines, while Fraser Brown is currently recovering from foot surgery.
Bryce and Scott have both undergone shoulder operations, following scans at BMI Ross Hall Hospital, and are expected to remain on the sidelines for several months.
David Denton
Bath have signed Scotland loose forward David Denton from Edinburgh.
The arrival of Denton helps the Premiership club cover the departure of Sam Burgess, who left to return to rugby league last week.
Denton, 25, has 32 Scotland caps and appeared in 4 Rugby World Cup games earlier this year.
“We’ve been looking to bolster our back row for some time now so we’re very excited that David is joining us,” said Bath head coach Mike Ford.
Born in Zimbabwe, Denton played for Eastern Province in South Africa before moving to Scotland.
“He had an excellent World Cup, especially in the quarterfinal when he managed to outshine one of the best Australian back rows I’ve seen for a long time,” added Ford. “He’s going to fit in very well with the team and the way we play here.”
Denton made 78 appearances for Edinburgh following his arrival in 2010, and can switch between blindside flanker and No 8.
Mike Tolkin
USA Rugby is seeking applicants for the position of head coach for their national team after Mike Tolkin’s contract came to an end.
Following the expiration Tolkin’s contract, a comprehensive review of the USA Eagles program and 2015 Rugby World Cup performance has led to the national governing body of Rugby in the United States opening the application process on a global level.
Henry Speight
Ed Jenkins will lead an experienced Australian Sevens team in the Oceania regional Olympic qualifying tournament in Auckland this coming weekend – 14 and 15 November.
Interim coach Tim Walsh named an extended 15-man squad that includes veterans Jesse Parahi and Con Foley.
Pama Fou, Greg Jeloudev and Henry Hutchinson offer pace out wide.
Wallaby Henry Speight, recently returned from 2015 Rugby World Cup duty, will also travel with the squad for the trip to New Zealand.
Tom Cusack has been rewarded for a series of powerful performances during the recent Central Coast Sevens with a spot in the squad and star centre Cameron Clark returns after a minor hamstring problem.
The Japanese Sevens team celebrate as they qualify for the Olympics in Rio
Japan’s men have qualified for the Rugby Sevens event in Rio 2016 after coming from behind to beat hosts Hong Kong 24 / 10 in the final of the Asian qualifier.
Hong Kong stunned their rivals by scoring 2 1st half tries to take a deserved 10 / 0 lead into halftime. But Japan responded in style to book their ticket for Rio and ensure the rugby fever sweeping Japan since the Brave Blossoms’ good showing at Rugby World Cup 2015 continued.
Japan swept through the pool stages at the Hong Kong Stadium winning all 4 of their games without conceding a single point (38 / 0 vs Chinese Taipei, 66 / 0 vs Singapore, 47 / 0 vs Korea and China 34 / 0). And Sri Lanka proved no match for them either in the semifinal, succumbing to a 43 / 0 defeat.
However, in a final more evenly contested than many people anticipated, Hong Kong gave Japan a real scare when Alex McQueen scored in the left hand corner to hand his side a 5 / 0 lead. Captain Max Woodward then doubled the advantage when he touched down on the opposite flank a minute before the break.
But Japan never looked back once they drew 1st blood in the 2nd half thanks to some wonderful footwork from Teruya Goto.
After Lemeki Lomano put Japan in front for the 1st time, Kazuhiro Goya and Katsuyki Sahai capitalised on Hong Kong mistakes to score twice in the final 90 seconds.
Durban, and not Johannesburg, will host back-to-back Rugby World Cup winners, the New Zealand All Blacks next year.
The South African Rugby Union revealed that the 3-times Rugby World Cup champion All Blacks will play the Springboks in Durban on 8 October in The Rugby Championship encounter between the 2 sides on SA soil.
The Springboks and All Blacks have played each other in Johannesburg 5 times in the last 6 years – with 2011 the exception, when they met in Port Elizabeth.
Durban last hosted a Springboks versus All Blacks Test in 2009, with Newlands completely off the map (for the biggest face-off in the game) since 2008.
The exceptionally large All Black following in Cape Town, which have become increasingly vengeful towards the Springboks (even spitting at players), is the main reason why Newlands will not host the All Blacks in the near future.
Bloemfontein (2009) and Pretoria (2006) have also not seen an All Black Test in years.
Daniel Hourcade
Daniel Hourcade has named a group of 25 players to prepare for their match against the Barbarians at Twickenham on 21 November. Only 4 players come from outside of the squad that took park in the Rugby World Cup – Tomás Lezana, Felipe Ezcurra, Emiliano Boffelli, and Ramiro Moyano.
Of note is that all but 3 of the group is contracted to the UAR for the 2015 Super Rugby season, giving Southern Hemisphere fans an early glimpse at what the Jaguars side might look like. Exceptions include scrumhalf Ezcurra, loose forwards Leonardo Senatore, and tighthead prop Juan Pablo Orlandi. The latter was called into the Rugby World Cup group in place of Matías Diaz, ruled out with heart problems. Should Diaz by unable to take part in Super Rugby, Orlandi looks the most likely replacement.
Notable absentees are giant lock Tomás Lavanini, currently suspended, and scrumhalf Tomás Cubelli, whose squad place has been taken by Ezcurra. Cubelli’s absence could well be linked to his reported signing with the Brumbies for the Super Rugby season, with the Australian-based franchise said to have inked a 2-year deal with the Pumas star as a replacement for departed playmaker Nic White.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has delayed its General Council meeting by a week.
The meeting was originally due to take place on 4 December and is understood to have a major influence on whether or not Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s contract is extended following the Springboks semifinal exit at this year’s Rugby World Cup.
The meeting will now take place on 11 December and will follow a meeting of the Executive Council on 9 December.
Warren Gatland
Wales coach Warren Gatland will quit his post after the 2019 Rugby World Cup and return to New Zealand, media reports in his homeland said on Friday.
Gatland, already Wales’ longest-serving coach after taking up the position in 2007, said he wanted to head home and possibly take a break before resuming his career in New Zealand.
“I’m here (Wales) until 2019 and the plan for me then is definitely to come home for a period,” he reportedly told commercial radio.
India and South Africa battled each other in the 1st 5-Day Test at Mohali, India, and it was supposed to run from 5 to 9 November 2015.
India won the toss and elected to bat 1st.
South Africa made some early inroads and after 35 Overs India was on 97 / 3. Dean Elgar hit again twice in quick succession, with India reeling at 102 / 5.
At Drinks on Day 1 India were on 116 / 5 and 41 Overs had been bowled in the day. At Tea on Day 1 India was on 168 / 7 after 55 Overs. India were ALL OUT for 201, off 68 Overs on Day 1, with 20 or so Overs left in the Day.
South Africa lost their 1st and 2nd wickets with only 9 runs on the board. At Stumps on Day 1, SA was at 28 / 2.
South Africa was bowled out after 68 Overs, for 184, still 17 runs short of India’s 1st Innings.
India started their 2nd Innings in Session 2 of Day 2, and lost their 1st wicket with their score on 9.
At Tea on Day 2 India was on 13 / 2, 7 Overs into their 2nd innings. Quite some time after play resuming a very sharp catch saw the 2nd Indian wicket fall on 95 / 2. India were on 125 / 2 at Stumps on Day 2, having withstood 40 Overs of bowling.
India were eventually all out for 200 runs on Day 3, after 75.3 Overs, setting South Africa a target of 218 for a win.
On Day 3 South Africa never came near the total and fell 108 runs short, all out for a measly 109 runs.
India:
- 1st Innings: 201 All Out (68 Overs)
- 2nd Innings: 200 All Out (75.3 Overs)
South Africa:
- 1st Innings: 184 All Out (68 Overs)
- 2nd Innings: 109 All Out (39.5 Overs)
Sam Burgess
Former England coach Sir Clive Woodward says English rugby union is a “laughing stock” after Sam Burgess returned to Rugby League.
Burgess was part of the England squad which went out of their home Rugby World Cup in the group stages.
He will now leave Bath and rejoin South Sydney Rabbitohs in Australia.
Woodward, who led England to 2003 Rugby World Cup success, said he did not blame Burgess “for this mess” but the English game was at one of its “all-time lows”.
Burgess, from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, played 21 games for Bath after joining them just over a year ago, scoring 4 tries.
Having made his England debut in August, he was selected for the Rugby World Cup ahead of Northampton centre Luther Burrell, who had looked to have established himself in the team after playing in all 5 of their Six Nations matches earlier in the year.
Burgess, who had been playing at blindside flanker for his club, was picked at centre for the hosts against Wales in the Rugby World Cup and his selection sparked much debate.
Sam Burgess
England Rugby Union international Sam Burgess has left Premiership club Bath with immediate effect in order to return to Rugby League side South Sydney Rabbitohs, the BBC reported Thursday.
The 26-year-old Burgess had 2 years left on a 3-year deal with west country side Bath.
Burgess was a member of the England squad that recently became the 1st Rugby World Cup host nation to exit the tournament in the group stages, with coach Stuart Lancaster criticised for what many saw as the overly rapid promotion of the Bath man into the Test side.
It was only last year, after helping South Sydney win the Australian National Rugby League Grand Final, that Burgess changed codes with the express ambition of playing for England at the Rugby World Cup.
The end of his brief spell in union is likely to prove embarrassing for both Bath and Lancaster, whose position as England coach is currently being scrutinised as part of a Rugby Football Union review into England’s woeful Rugby World Cup campaign.
The British & Irish Lions have announced that Canterbury will be their Official Apparel Partner for the 2017 tour of New Zealand.
The new deal sees Canterbury hold exclusive rights to manufacturing both the match and training kit alongside a new lifestyle range for the Lions.
John Feehan, British & Irish Lions CEO, said, ”We are delighted to be working with Canterbury as our new Apparel Partner.”
Fikile Mbalula
Sports minister Fikile Mbabula is expected to brief the media on Thursday on the Springboks’ performance in the Rugby World Cup, as well as on transformation in the national team.
South Africa lost to New Zealand in the one semifinal of the tournament, following blistering wins against Samoa, Scotland and the USA. Those victories came after the Springboks lost in their opening game against Japan.
There has been debate about the racial make-up of the team, especially from the side of the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) – who has taken a strong line against coach Heyneke Meyer.
Cosatu Western Cape secretary Tony Ehrenreich said on Tuesday that Meyer “must rest assured that he is not welcome in rugby by the majority of SA supporters and he should go”.
Kane Douglas down injured in the Final against the All Blacks
Wallabies lock Kane Douglas faces surgery on his injured left knee this week after MRI scans confirmed he sustained a ruptured ACL during Australia’s World Cup Final against New Zealand.
The 26-year-old injured his knee when he fell awkwardly just 15 minutes into the decider and took no further part in the match.