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IS ATTACKING
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RISE AGAIN?

CHAMPIONS CUP SPECIAL

Meet the star names from
each Champions Cup pool

Wayne Barnes
EXCLUSIVE

"IN MY FAVOURITE
GAME I DIDN'T GIVE
ONE PENALTY!"

Georgia's Black
Lion join the party
Scary good –
Warrick Gelant

Biggest hitters
of all time

ISSUE JANUARY 2024

F r o n t

R o w

WH AT YOU SHOULD BE
TALK ING ABOUT THIS MONTH…
“New Premiership
Women’s Rugby points
to a bright future”
Fix up, look sharp
PWR players in civvies

PIC Tara Moore/Getty Images

THE NEW Premiership
Women’s Rugby (PWR)
competition is underway and
there’s plenty to shout about.
With a new name, logo and
teams, plus an exciting TV deal
which means you can watch
one match every weekend
live on TNT Sports, things are
looking bright for the top tier
of English women’s rugby.
Including the play-offs, a
minimum of 21 Premiership
Women’s Rugby fixtures will be
shown on TNT and Discovery +
in a ground-breaking move for
the English women’s game.
The days of bumper packs of
crisps being handed out to the
Player of the Match, owing to the Tyrrells
sponsorship, are long gone. They mean
business now. It was great to see some
funky promo photoshoots showing off
the person behind the player and
squashing stereotypes along the way.
Italy star Beatrice Rigoni is in her first
year at Sale Sharks and is just one of
the game’s pre-eminent talents regularly
gracing the PWR stage. She wanted to
play in “the best league in the world”.
Red Roses captain Marlie Packer, the
recently crowned World Rugby Women’s

15s Player of the Year, is once again
central to the Saracens juggernaut.
Elsewhere, the defending champions
Gloucester-Hartpury will not give up
their title without a fight in the newly
revamped competition. Exeter Chiefs
have lost back-to-back finals and Susie
Appleby’s side will be very focused on
ensuring they make it third time lucky.
PWR CEO Belinda Moore has pointed
to research from the Women’s Sports
Trust that says in the UK there are 1.5
million committed women’s rugby fans.

If that translates into viewing figures
and bums on seats then PWR will only
continue to snowball in popularity.
We’ve seen it in football with the
achievements of the Lionesses and the
growth of the Women’s Super League,
now it’s rugby’s turn to do similar.
With the women’s Rugby World Cup
on English shores in 2025, there is no
better time to get excited about the
game. And that’s exactly what the
advent of PWR is doing by injecting
some life into the domestic league. n

HAVE YOU R SAY

J OHN DOBS O N TH I S MON TH

“I s uspe ct Sou th Africa
are a li tt le wa y off the
de pt h of experi ence nee de d
to go de ep i n to bo th Europe
a nd the UR C. It w i ll com e” P 2 7
3

Email
rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com
Twitter
@rugbyworldmag
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Rugby World Magazine
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@Rugbyworldmag

CONTENTS
FRONT ROW
12

Nans Ducuing

16

Secret Ref

17

Ken Owens

20

Debate on the mark

22

SVNS rant

23

James Ramm

24

Danilo Fischetti

26

WRU fallout

27

John Dobson

CENTRES
30

Harry Thacker

34

Attacking rugby

38

Felix Jones

40

Tomos Williams

44

Wayne Barnes

50

Huw Jones

56

Away wins pic special

62

Rachel Malcolm

64

Jacques Nienaber

68

Warrick Gelant

72

Top 12 hitters

78

Black Lion

82

Psychology

BACK ROW
87

Crossword

88

Grass roots

92

Finn Russell analysis

94

Ball-carrying tips

96

Letters

98

Secret Player

FREE THIS MONTH

DON’T
MISS THIS
MONTH
Despite being told
he was too small,
Harry Thacker makes
a big impact on P30

COVER IMAGES Getty Images & Inpho

Subscribe to Rugby World
this month and you will get
a FREE Ram Rugby vintage
rugby wash bag – and
not only that,
you will get
the magazine
delivered to
your door!
See page 28
or call 0330
333 1113 for
more details.

Phenomenal final
There was a point between
Leinster and La Rochelle last season

E D ITO R’ S LETTE R

Bring on a blast from the past!
WE ALL remember the
classic Champions Cup
seasons with huge
fondness. There was
something about it. Even
stinkers have some sort
of sheen now – two
days before my 18th birthday, we went
to see Stade and Toulouse punt through
an eye-closer of a game… And I loved it.
Maybe we’re chasing a ghost wearing
rose-tinted Ecto Goggles. Was it actually

as good as we’ve said it was in the
retelling? Perhaps it was but either way,
this new version of the competition has
to capture our imagination. As you’ll
read in John Dobson’s column (P27), the
nearly-new South African sides are still
to figure out how to approach two major
competitions. We all are. But with the
calibre of athletes, if every team gives it
their all, it should be magnificent again.
Here’s to something special jumping
out at us through the winter months!
5

Alan Dymock, Editor
Email: alan.dymock@futurenet.com
Twitter: @AlanDymock

SCAN TO GET RUGBY
WORLD’S NEWSLETTER

Heap and
cheerful
Saracens players
celebrate Theo Dan
scoring the side’s
bonus-point try under a
pile of bodies against
Newcastle Falcons
Pic Stu Forster/Getty Images

F r o n t

R o w

YOUR RUGBY CALENDAR
A look at the oval-ball events taking place in December

PICS David R Godine & Getty Images

14th
The hardcover
version of
journalist Martin
Pengelly’s book
Brotherhood:
When West Point
Rugby Went to
War is released
this Thursday.
Pengelly tells the
gripping story of
the 2002 West
Point rugby side,
the first to finish
US military training
post 9/11, heading
for war but united
by a new sport.

The reimagined HSBC
SVNS series begins in
Dubai, the only venue
to host the men’s and
women’s tournaments
every year since its
inception in 1999. Day
tickets cost 425 dirham, roughly £94, while a
weekend package will set you back 525 AED,
around £116. See dubairugby7s.com to purchase.

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

SUN

27

28

29

30

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

29

30

31

5

8
6

9
7

28th
NEW
ISSUE
OUT

1

2

3

4

6th
Celebrate the
festive season at
the Wasps Legends
Christmas Lunch in
Marylebone this
Wednesday. Former
Wasp Steve Evans
is on entertainment,
performing his
comedy routine
while guests enjoy
a three-course meal
and wine. Tickets
are £100 per person
See eventbrite.com
for more details.

30th

After last year’s postponement due
to rail strikes, Harlequins’ Big Game
15 returns to its prime festive slot for
a double header against Gloucester
at Twickenham Stadium. Harlequins
women will take on reigning
champions Gloucester-Hartpury at
2.30pm before the men face the
Cherry & Whites at 5.30pm.

Worcester RFC will host an evening with
former Wales back-row Andy Powell this
Friday. The British & Irish Lion played
more than 200 professional games
and has plenty of cracking stories to
tell. For more information and to buy
tickets (£16.50), see eventbrite.co.uk.
9

F r o n t

R o w

THE DIRECTORY
Christmas derbies and New Year treats loom – here are the fixture and TV details you need
FRIDAY 1 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Harlequins v Sale (7.45pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Munster v Glasgow (7.35pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Bristol v Glouc-Hartpury (7.30pm)
SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Bristol v Gloucester (2pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
Bath v Exeter (3pm)
Saracens v Northampton (4.30pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Bulls v Sharks (1pm)
Cardiff v Scarlets (3pm)
TV
Both live on Viaplay
Lions v Dragons (3.05pm)
TV
Live on BBC Wales & Viaplay
Stormers v Zebre Parma (5.15pm)
Ulster v Edinburgh (5.15pm)
Connacht v Leinster (7.35pm)
TV
All live on Viaplay
Benetton v Ospreys (7.35pm)
TV
Live on S4C & Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Harlequins v Saracens
Sale Sharks v Exeter (2pm)
Leicester v Loughborough (3pm)
Top 14
Toulon v Pau (2pm)
Bayonne v Montpellier (4pm)
Castres v Lyon (4pm)
La Rochelle v Perpignan (4pm)
Oyonnax v Bordeaux-Bègles (4)
Clermont v Racing 92 (8.05pm)
SAT 2-SUN 3 DECEMBER
HSBC SVNS
Dubai, UAE

Rugby Europe Super Cup Semis
SUNDAY 3 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Leicester v Newcastle (3pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
Top 14
Stade Français v Toulouse (8.05)
FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Connacht v Bordeaux-Bègles (8)
Glasgow v Northampton (8pm)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Clermont v Edinburgh (8pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
SATURDAY 9 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Toulon v Exeter Chiefs (1pm)
Bath v Ulster (3.15pm)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
Toulouse v Cardiff (3.15pm)
TV
Live on S4C & TNT Sports
Bulls v Saracens (5.30pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
Munster v Bayonne (5.30pm)
TV
Live on RTÈ & TNT Sports
Bristol Bears v Lyon (8pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Black Lion v Gloucester (noon)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
Zebre Parma v Cheetahs (1pm)
Castres v Scarlets (3.15pm)
Sharks v Pau (3.15pm)
Ospreys v Benetton (5.30pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
Dragons v Oyonnax (8pm)
TV
Live on S4C
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Gloucester-Hartpury v Sale (2pm)
Loughborough v Bristol (3pm)
Trailfinders v Leicester (3pm)

Harlequins v Exeter Chiefs
SAT 9-SUN 10 DECEMBER
HSBC SVNS
Cape Town, South Africa
SUNDAY 10 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Sale v Stade Français (1pm)
TV
Live on ITV & TNT Sports
La Rochelle v Leinster (3.15pm)
Leicester v Stormers (3.15pm)
Racing 92 v Harlequins (5.30pm)
TV
All live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Perpignan v Lions (1pm)
Newcastle v Montpellier (3.15pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
FRIDAY 15 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Bayonne v Glasgow (8pm)
Northampton v Toulon (8pm)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Gloucester v Clermont (8pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
Scarlets v Black Lion (8pm)
TV
Live on S4C
SATURDAY 16 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Saracens v Connacht (1pm)
Stormers v La Rochelle (1pm)
Bordeaux-Bègles v Bristol (3.15)
Lyon v Bulls (5.30pm)
TV
All live on TNT Sports
Leinster v Sale Sharks (5.30pm)
TV
Live on RTÈ & TNT Sports
Cardiff v Bath (8pm)
TV
Live on S4C & TNT Sports
Ulster v Racing 92 (8pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Edinburgh v Castres (1pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports

26th

PICS AFP/Getty Images & Inpho

CRUNCH TIME
Munster and Leinster
resume rivalries in a
Boxing Day feast –
catch the action
live on
Viaplay

10

Oyonnax v Zebre Parma (1pm)
Live on Premier Sports
Benetton v Perpignan (3.15pm)
Lions v Newcastle (3.15pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
Pau v Dragons (5.30pm)
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Bristol v Trailfinders (1pm)
Sale v Loughborough (2pm)
Exeter v Gloucester-Hartpury (3)
Leicester v Saracens (3pm)
SAT 16-SUN 17 DECEMBER
Rugby Europe Super Cup
Finals weekend
SUNDAY 17 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Exeter Chiefs v Munster (1pm)
TV
Live on ITV & TNT Sports
Harlequins v Toulouse (3.15pm)
Stade Français v Leicester (5.30)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Cheetahs v Sharks (1pm)
Montpellier v Ospreys (1pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
FRIDAY 22 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Newcastle v Bristol (7.45pm)
Sale v Saracens (7.45pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Glasgow v Edinburgh (7.35pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Ulster v Connacht (7.35pm)
TV
Live on BBC NI & Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Trailfinders v Sale (7.45pm)
SATURDAY 23 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Exeter v Leicester (3pm)
Gloucester v Northampton (3pm)
Bath v Harlequins (3.05pm)
TV

TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Zebre Parma v Benetton (1pm)
Stormers v Bulls (5.15pm)
TV
Both live on Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Saracens v Bristol (2.30pm)
Loughborough v Exeter (3pm)
SAT 23-SUN 24 DECEMBER
Top 14
Bordeaux-Bègles v Lyon
Montpellier v Castres
Pau v Clermont
Perpignan v Bayonne
Racing 92 v Oyonnax
Stade Français v La Rochelle
Toulouse v Toulon
TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER
United Rugby Championship
Cardiff v Dragons (3pm)
TV
Live on BBC Wales & Viaplay
Scarlets v Ospreys (5.15pm)
TV
Live on S4C & Viaplay
Munster v Leinster (7.35pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
FRIDAY 29 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Bristol v Exeter (7.45pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
SATURDAY 30 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Saracens v Newcastle (3pm)
Northampton v Sale (3.05pm)
Harlequins v Gloucester
(5.30pm, Twickenham Stadium)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Benetton v Zebre Parma (1.30pm)
Edinburgh v Glasgow (3pm)
Stormers v Sharks (5pm)
TV
All live on Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Harlequins v Gloucester-Hartpury
(2.30pm, Twickenham Stadium)
SAT 30-SUN 31 DECEMBER
Top 14
Bayonne v Racing 92
Castres v Perpignan
Clermont v Bordeaux-Bègles
La Rochelle v Toulouse
Lyon v Montpellier
Oyonnax v Pau
Toulon v Stade Français
SUNDAY 31 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Leicester v Bath (3pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
MONDAY 1 JANUARY
United Rugby Championship
Connacht v Munster (noon)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Ospreys v Cardiff (3pm)
TV
Live on BBC Wales & Viaplay
Dragons v Scarlets (5.15pm)
TV
Live on S4C & Viaplay
Leinster v Ulster (5.15pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay

20th
LYON TAMERS
Saracens will hope to
repeat their 2022 win
over Lyon when the
teams conclude
their Champions
Cup pool
business

FRIDAY 5 JANUARY
Gallagher Premiership
Newcastle v Harlequins (7.45pm)
Sale Sharks v Bristol (7.45pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
SATURDAY 6 JANUARY
Gallagher Premiership
Exeter v Northampton (3pm)
Leicester v Saracens (3.05pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Sharks v Lions (3pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Exeter v Trailfinders
Glouc-Hartpury v Loughborough
Leicester v Harlequins
Sale v Saracens (2pm)
SAT 6-SUN 7 JANUARY
Top 14
Bordeaux-Bègles v Bayonne
Montpellier v Toulon
Pau v La Rochelle
Perpignan v Oyonnax
Racing 92 v Castres
Stade Français v Clermont
Toulouse v Lyon
SUNDAY 7 JANUARY
Gallagher Premiership
Bath v Gloucester (3pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
FRIDAY 12 JANUARY
Investec Champions Cup
Northampton v Bayonne (8pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Newcastle v Benetton (8pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
Ospreys v Perpignan (8pm)
TV
Live on S4C
SATURDAY 13 JANUARY
Investec Champions Cup

Exeter Chiefs v Glasgow (1pm)
TV
Live on ITV & TNT Sports
Lyon v Connacht (1pm)
Bristol Bears v Bulls (3.15pm)
Toulon v Munster (3.15pm)
TV
All live on TNT Sports
Leinster v Stade Français (5.30)
TV
Live on TNT Sports & RTÈ
Stormers v Sale Sharks (5.30pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
Cardiff v Harlequins (8pm)
TV
Live on S4C & TNT Sports
Ulster v Toulouse (8pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Clermont v Scarlets (1pm)
Sharks v Oyonnax (1pm)
TV
Both live Viaplay/Prem Sports
Zebre Parma v Dragons (3.15pm)
Castres v Black Lion (3.15pm)
Edinburgh v Gloucester (5.30pm)
Montpellier v Lions (8pm)
TV
Both live Viaplay/Prem Sports
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Harlequins v Loughborough
Leicester Tigers v Bristol (2pm)
Saracens v Exeter Chiefs
Trailfinders v Gloucester-Hartpury
SUNDAY 14 JANUARY
Investec Champions Cup
Bath v Racing 92 (1pm)
La Rochelle v Leicester (3.15pm)
Bordeaux v Saracens (5.30pm)
TV
All live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Cheetahs v Pau (1, Amsterdam)
FRIDAY 19 JANUARY
Investec Champions Cup
Connacht v Bristol Bears (8pm)
Glasgow v Toulon (8pm)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup

Gloucester v Castres (8pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
Scarlets v Edinburgh (8pm)
TV
Live on S4C
SATURDAY 20 JANUARY
Investec Champions Cup
Bulls v Bordeaux-Bègles (1pm)
Harlequins v Ulster (1pm)
Leicester v Leinster (3.15pm)
TV
All live on TNT Sports
Racing 92 v Cardiff (3.15pm)
TV
Live on S4C & TNT Sports
Munster v Northampton (5.30pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports & RTÈ
Stade Français v Stormers (5.30)
TV
Live on S4C & TNT Sports
Saracens v Lyon (8pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Black Lion v Clermont (noon)
Pau v Zebre Parma (1pm)
Benetton v Montpellier (3.15pm)
Oyonnax v Cheetahs (3.15pm)
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Bristol Bears v Harlequins (1pm)
Gloucester-Hartpury v Saracens
Loughborough v Trailfinders
Sale Sharks v Leicester (2pm)
SUNDAY 21 JANUARY
Investec Champions Cup
Sale v La Rochelle (8pm)
TV
Live on ITV & TNT Sports
Toulouse v Bath (3.15pm)
Bayonne v Exeter Chiefs (5.30pm)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Lions v Ospreys (1pm)
Perpignan v Newcastle (1pm)
Dragons v Sharks (5.30pm)
TV
All live Viaplay/Prem Sports
FRIDAY 26 JANUARY
Gallagher Premiership
11

Harlequins v Leicester (7.45pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
FRI 26-SUN 28 JANUARY
HSBC SVNS
Perth, Western Australia
SATURDAY 27 JANUARY
Gallagher Premiership
Northampton v Newcastle (2pm)
Bristol v Bath (3.05pm)
Saracens v Exeter (5.30pm)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Bulls v Lions (3pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
SAT 27-SUN 28 JANUARY
Top 14
Bayonne v Oyonnax
Bordeaux-Bègles v Stade Français
Castres v Clermont
Lyon v Perpignan
Montpellier v Pau
Racing 92 v Toulouse
Toulon v La Rochelle
SUNDAY 28 JANUARY
Gallagher Premiership
Gloucester v Sale (3pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
FRIDAY 2 FEBRUARY
Guinness Six Nations
France v Ireland (8pm, Marseille)
U20 Six Nations
Italy v England (7.15pm)
Wales v Scotland (7.15pm)
SATURDAY 3 FEBRUARY
Guinness Six Nations
Italy v England (2.15pm)
Wales v Scotland (4.45pm)
Rugby Europe Championship
Belgium v Portugal
Netherlands v Spain
Poland v Romania
U20 Six Nations

France v Ireland (8.10pm)
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Bristol Bears v Exeter (1pm)
Harlequins v Sale (2pm)
Leicester v Gloucester-Hartpury
Saracens v Trailfinders
SAT 3-SUN 4 FEBRUARY
Top 14
Clermont v Lyon
La Rochelle v Montpellier
Oyonnax v Stade Français
Pau v Castres
Perpignan v Racing 92
Toulon v Bordeaux-Bègles
Toulouse v Bayonne
SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY
Rugby Europe Championship
Germany v Georgia
FRIDAY 9 FEBRUARY
U20 Six Nations
England v Wales (7.15pm)
Ireland v Italy (7.15pm)
Scotland v France (8pm)
Friendly
Bristol v Crusaders (7.45pm)
SATURDAY 10 FEBRUARY
Guinness Six Nations
Scotland v France (2.15pm)
England v Wales (4.45pm)
Rugby Europe Championship
Georgia v Netherlands
Romania v Belgium
Spain v Germany
Portugal v Poland
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Exeter Chiefs v Sale (2pm)
Gloucester-Hartpury v Bristol (2)
Loughborough v Leicester
Saracens v Harlequins
O All kick-offs UK & Ireland.
Fixtures subject to change.

F r o n t

R o w

Downtime with… Nans Ducuing

“I’m 100% serious,
I’ve got about
30 wigs”
Bordeaux’s eccentric full-back talks Pyrenean singers, prank calls and punditry
Interview Paul Eddison // Pictures AFP/Getty Images

HAT’S THE funniest
thing you’ve seen on
the pitch? There was
a game four years ago
against La Rochelle.
There was a bit of a scuffle, everyone
started coming together right by the
advertising hoardings. I’m not a fighter
at all but I like to come in and pretend to
split everything up. I grabbed Romain
Sazy by the collar and said: “Those
advertising hoardings, my dad installed
them so if you break them, I’ll tell him
and you’ll have to pay for the damage.”
He looked stunned but I told him I was
deadly serious. At the end of the game,
he shook my hand and asked: “Was that
true about the advertising hoardings?”
I told him it was a complete lie and he
thought I was crazy. We laughed about
it. We didn’t know each other at the time
but we played for the French Baa-Baas

W

a couple of years later and were pissing
them out. One of the best ones we did
ourselves about that story. We’ve
was a video with Semi Radradra, Peni
become good friends since.
Ravai and Jean-Baptiste Dubié dressed
What really annoys you? Above
up with wigs as babies.
anything, mosquitoes. I don’t get
What’s the best thing you’ve ever
annoyed easily but when I’m lying in
bought? Recently I bought a Japanese
bed and hear them it drives me crazy.
toilet so when I need to do my business,
I want to squash them and never
I no longer need toilet paper because
succeed; instead, they just
instead I have a water jet
hang around by my ears!
to clean me. It’s a guilty
If your house was on fire,
pleasure but it’s very useful.
what one item would you
Who would be your three
save? Well, first of all, my
dream dinner party guests?
Age 32 (6 Nov 1991)
wife and daughter. I’d play
I’m from around the Pyrenees
Born Bazus-Aure
the hero and carry them out.
so I’ll go for a singer from
Position Full-back
Then if I had a second shot,
the region called Nadau. You
Club Bordeaux-Bègles always need someone to
I’d say my wigs. I’m 100%
Height 6ft 1in
serious, I’ve got about 30 of
provide the music and I can
Weight 14st 13lb
them. I’ve got a wardrobe
certainly relate to his music.
France caps Four
dedicated to fancy dress
Then I’ll go for two good
Instagram handle
and wigs, and whenever
friends from Bordeaux,
@nansducuing
I get the opportunity I’ll get
Maxime Lucu and Alban

FACT FILE

WHAT’S
ON YOUR
Last person
you phoned
That would
be my wife

Last person
you texted
The club doctor!

Last photo
you took
A friend playing
golf this afternoon.
I don’t play well
but I enjoy it
12

Favourite
social network
Instagram

Last app
downloaded
It’s a maps app
for electric car
charging points

Character
Jean Dujardin

Hair-raising hit
Ducuing is tackled in
the Champions Cup

“I stuc k m y bu m ou ts id e a nd le t i t
go a t 2am . T h e n I tu rn e d a n d s a w
my ne i gh bou r w as s to o d the re”
Roussel, who has gone to Lyon. Always
good value for an enjoyable night.
Your guilty pleasure? M&Ms. Every time
I travel that is what I need for the trip.
What was your first job? Before I played
professionally I worked as an osteopath.
I was 20 and worked for six months.
I won’t be going back! I enjoyed it but
I’m not passionate about it. But as a
youngster it offered some security.
Do you have any hidden talents? This
is pretty intimate... When I pee, I have

Favourite
WhatsApp group
The players’ chat
at the club. It’s all
nonsense and is
often very funny!

Last song
you played
Les Démons de
minuit by Images,
an ’80s tune I had
on for the gym

two streams! I’m quite proud of it and at
the end of the evening when we’ve had
a couple of drinks and I’m with guys I
don’t know well, it’s a funny trick. They
are certainly surprised! It does mean
I pee sitting down most of the time.
Best practical joke you’ve witnessed?
There is quite a selection. But I’ll go for
when I was at Perpignan. Our prop Rudy
Chéron went on the local radio and I
called in pretending to be a supporter.
They were all wetting themselves on
the show because I went after him as
if I was an old Catalan supporter.
Got any nicknames? On a night out,
I’m ‘Cumulus’, which is the name for
big hot water tanks in France. I came
up with it to claim I drank loads, which
isn’t true at all, but thankfully it stuck.
If you could have one superpower,
what would it be? Either teleportation
or to travel in time. It would be fun to
go back to the Seventies or Eighties.
Your most embarrassing moment? I’ll
go for one early in my relationship with
13

my wife. The first time she stayed over,
I really needed to let one rip in bed, so
I got up to drop a bomb outside. I stuck
my bum outside and let it go at 2am.
Then I turned and saw my neighbour
was stood there smoking a cigarette. It
was so embarrassing I had to wake up
my wife and tell her! I couldn’t look the
neighbour in the eye when I saw him.
Who’d you like to be stuck in a lift with?
I’d say a pretty woman but my wife might
read this, so I’ll say actor Jean Dujardin.
Most memorable headline about you?
I’ve been on the front of Midi Olympique
once in my life. And it wasn’t for rugby!
During Covid I played the fool on social
media, so they stuck me on the front.
They called me Le fou des réseaux
(The madman of social media).
What would you like to achieve outside
of rugby? I’d like to get involved in
some audio-visual work, TV, punditry,
theatre and film. Radio as well. It’s what
I really enjoy. I’ve been in a film already,
only a minor role but it was good fun! n

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3

9

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7

6

2

8

5

4

Words Alan Dymock // Pics AFP, Gallo Images, Getty Images, Inpho & Sportsfile

AROUND THE WORLD
IN TEN STORIES
Ten arresting tales from around the global game

England
Premiership Rugby
– alongside the URC
– have signed an
alignment deal with
the British & Irish Lions
ahead of the 2025 tour to Australia. As
part of the deal, all selected players will
be available for all pre-tour activities.
Premiership CEO Simon Massie-Taylor
said: “We now look forward to seeing as
many Premiership players as possible
compete for a Test jersey and hopefully
experience being on a winning tour.”

1

Portugal
Sebastien Bertrank has
resigned just a month
after becoming head
coach of Portugal. The
former France women’s
coach replaced Patrice Lagisquet after
the Rugby World Cup ended in October.
Bertrank also works with the French
Ministry of Sport, and the Portuguese
union said an increase in Test matches
and accompanying travel demands,
owing to the team’s recent success,
proved “a situation he intends to avoid”.

3

South Africa
SA Rugby’s offices
in the Plattekloof in
the Western Cape
were broken into by burglars.
However, the union confirmed
that all trophies, including the
Rugby World Cup, were safe.
CCTV footage shared on social
media shows two men entering a
room where trophies are stored
and touching one of them. But
they opted to steal whisky, five
signed Springbok jerseys and
eight union laptops, as well as
items from other offices.

2

14

LAST
STOPS

Australia
The Wallabies’ most-capped
captain, Michael Hooper,
has confirmed his switch to
sevens to pursue an Olympics spot. He
said: “It’s a new challenge. I’ve done 15s
for so long and played in the Wallaby
jersey so long, but to play in a sevens
tournament and potentially then go to
the Olympics is exciting stuff.”

4

8
Uruguay
Esteban Meneses (above)
has stepped down as head
coach of the Uruguay men’s
national team, meaning
los Teros will have a new
boss in 2024. He coached
them from 2016-23 after
replacing Pablo Lemoine.

9
Singapore
The Singapore Rugby
Union launched an
investigation after a
brawl broke out in a
match between the Oldham and Saints
clubs, with two sent off. The fight began
after a Saints player kicked an opponent
who was lying motionless on the floor.

5

6

Sri Lanka
World Rugby has approved
the conditional reinstatement
of Sri Lanka as a full member. The union
was suspended in May due to concerns
about governance and a breach of
byelaws related to political interference.
A Constitutional Review Group has been
set up, chaired by Asia rep Ada Milby.

USA
Six players from the latest
Major League Rugby season
have signed with sides for
Super Rugby Pacific. They
include Samoa hooker Sama
Malolo (above) and Richard
Judd from San Diego, and
Henry Bell from Utah.

7

Italy
After a 28-game losing streak
stretching back to April
2022, Zebre Parma finally earned a
rousing win when edging the Sharks
12-10 in a home URC match.
Although they scored no tries, the
Italian team ended their drought
thanks to penalties by Geronimo
Prisciantelli (three) and Jacopo Trulla.
The win sparked emotional scenes.
“It was wild. There were grown men
crying,” said defence coach Richard
Hodges. “The first person I saw was
George Biagi, our director of rugby
operations. He was in tears and the
girls who work in the office likewise.”

10

France
Henry Arundell (above)
marked his Top 14 debut
with a hat-trick for Racing at
Toulon. Despite his feat, the
home side triumphed 31-26.
Arundell scored a record
five tries in one England
match at the World Cup.

15

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TH

E SE

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C R ET R E F E R

EE

Rugby must clarify high boots
Our former elite ref sees confusion around catchers kicking out in the air
ORLD RUGBY continues
to strive to make things
safer. As well as contact
with the head, players in
the air receive attention.
Fielding a kick can be dangerous. An
opponent can get a 20m or more run-up
at a player waiting to take a kick and, if
they comply with law, legally hit them
the moment they get it. As long as they
have both feet on terra firma.
In an effort to avoid this likely painful
scenario, the catcher often takes to the
air to slow down the oncoming tackler
and buy themselves time. Fine. But what

W

we sometimes see now are instances
where the catcher also raises a foot
towards the oncoming tackler.
This is designed to slow down traffic
as well as make it clear the catcher will
land on one foot and is protected in
law until the second foot lands. What
happens when that raised foot then
kicks an opponent, accidentally or not?
This has happened in several games,
including Northampton v Exeter when
Niall Armstrong was shown red for a
boot to the face of Fin Smith. The Chiefs
player received a three-match ban (or
two, subject to coaching intervention)

as he was deemed to be “not clearly
off-balance and thus in control of his
jump”. Did Smith run into the boot or
was Smith kicked in the face? There
have been various refereeing outcomes
and it would be better if World Rugby
could clarify the situation here quickly.
I believe the emphasis should be on
the catcher to put both feet on the
ground immediately so that play can
continue. Will we end up with the
ridiculous scenario where the catcher
will try to remain on one leg as long
as possible to avoid being tackled
altogether. What happens then? n

Sweet chin music
Portugal’s Vincent Pinto
saw red for this at France 2023

JAR G ON BU ST E R
a difference for the next
SCHOOLS generation
of players.”
ROUND A recording of a webinar
the new tackle-height
UP lawabout
trial, aimed at Irish players,
referees and coaches at men’s
and women’s AIL teams, is now
available to all clubs and schools.
Tributes have been paid to the late Ian
Milne, the former deputy headteacher
of Newton Primary School, who gave
more than 50 years to the Swansea
Schools Rugby Union in various roles.
16

Utility player
Someone who can play in multiple
positions, such as Springbok Deon
Fourie (below), a back-row or hooker.

PICS Getty Images & Inpho

IN SCOTLAND, the boys’
U18 National Schools Cup
final will be held at Murrayfield
on Wednesday 6 December.
The Shield, Plate and Bowl finals
will take place the same day.
St Paul’s School, alongside King’s
College Wimbledon, Hampton,
Tonbridge and RGS Guildford, have
trialled a new low-contact form of rugby
– what World Rugby dub ‘T1’. Sally-Anne
Huang, High Master at St Paul’s, said:
“We all need to work together to make

KEN OWENS

The Wales great who has represented the Lions and Scarlets with distinction

“The market is flooded with
players. It’s really tough”
Moving clubs
Rob Evans is off
to Miami Sharks

W

HEN YOU’RE
looking for the
next contract,
in the perfect
world you talk to a club in
October or November,
looking to get a deal done
before Christmas. You
definitely want it all done
before the Six Nations.
The earliest I ever agreed
a deal was in September
– but even then it wasn’t
signed until January. You’ll
find the top clubs never let
players get to the end of
their contracts. Which shows loyalty to
the player, faith you should get in return.
And it probably saves them a bit of
money because players at the end
of contracts talk to other clubs. Once
things get to the open market, it’s a bit
of a free-for-all and costs spiral.
Over the years I’ve never had major
issues with contracting. I’ve generally
been given fair offers. But that’s in my
unique position – I started at one club,
they’ve seen a group of us they want to
build around. Fortunately, performances
over the years means the club wanted
to keep me and I’ve been happy to stay.
Players in different boats, the squad
players and non-internationals, deal
with a world of opinions. Those guys
have to fit into a system, a style of play.
With short-term contracts, there’s an
element of uncertainty. Clubs will get
their marquees and re-signings, then
look at the market after Christmas. I’ll
see boys signing contracts in May and
pre-season is in June-July. There’s a
stress that comes with all of that.

You need to take into account the
situation in Wales, and there’s a chasm
forming in the English Premiership,
between the senior, marquee players
and youngsters. Because of financial
constraints, they’re losing that middle
tier. With three Premiership clubs and
Jersey going under, the market is
flooded with players. It’s really tough.
Clubs can only spend what they can
spend. Players need to understand that
because if they try to play hardball there
will be nothing. Quibbling over small
details – come on boys, we’re in a mess
here. You need to have work. I’ve seen
guys go to semi-professional rugby and
get a job, earning more than they would
as a professional. It’s not a sustainable
livelihood, unless you’re on the fringes
of Test rugby or are a youngster.
Only once has interest from another
club pushed my negotiations along, as
we’d had a verbal agreement but there
were issues with wording within the
contract. The closest I ever got to
leaving Scarlets was when Worcester
17

were going through a big
rebuild in 2016-17. I was
around 29, we had just
had our youngest and we
wondered if it was time
for something different.
But I decided to stay. It
was more money and a
longer-term contract, but
it wasn’t right and I still
had things to achieve
with Scarlets and Wales.
I’ve never regretted my
decision to stay at Scarlets
for my whole career – I’m
glad I made my decisions.
The other thing about negotiating
contracts with clubs is that image rights
come into it. I’m quite a private person.
I’m not one to showcase my life on
social media. But I know that the more
you put yourself out there, the more
freebies and business deals you get. I’m
happy to step back and not do all that.
However, I first got involved with the
Welsh Rugby Players Association ten
years ago. In dealing with unions and
clubs, we’ve found they want to control
as much as they can. They want to sell
sponsorship off your backs, which I
understand. But it should be a two-way
street. What clubs and unions need to
understand is, yes, we have contractual
obligations, but you can’t take the mick.
We are paid to play – we wear the shirt
but you don’t own our social media.
It’s a constant conversation. Boys have
their own sponsorship deals, and you
get where clubs and unions are coming
from because they need to get as much
money out of sponsors as possible.
There must be a bit of give-and-take. n

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Interviews Josh Graham // Pictures Getty Images

1

JAMES
WHITCOMBE

Age 23 (20 Nov 2000) Born Keighley, West Yorks Position Prop Club Leicester Country England
hen did you first play
familiar face at England U16. It was a
rugby? My mum took me good set of lads, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
down to Skipton at five
Any childhood heroes? My dad. Then
after I asked her to. My
as I came through the Leicester system,
dad, Martin, played so
I looked up at Ellis Genge and Dan Cole.
he didn’t want to force it upon me.
How would you describe your playing
Does rugby run in the family? Well, my
style? I like to get my hands on the ball;
great grandfather played rugby league
I think I’m quite skilful. I really enjoy the
for Great Britain and Bradford, my
set-piece battle. Keep it simple.
grandad played union for Bradford and
What’s your main strength? The scrum.
my dad played for the likes of Leicester
And any work-ons? Probably defence.
and Sale. So it was kind of inevitable
Are you qualified for any other
that I ended up playing it!
countries? Yes, my mum’s
What did you enjoy at first?
mum is from Scotland.
Playing tag rugby with my
Biggest influence on your
mates on a Sunday, then
career? Steve Borthwick, who
getting a hot dog in the
gave me my debut. I looked
Strong scrummaging at him as a fatherly figure.
canteen. At that point it was
English props are in
just having fun with mates.
How have you found the pro
high demand after the environment? You overthink
Did you play other sports?
World Cup. Whitcombe it among internationals but
A bit of second-team cricket
is highly rated and
at Woodhouse Grove
they are normal blokes that
well known to Steve
School and I also did four
love their rugby. It helped
Borthwick, so don’t
years of rugby league, so
coming through with a big
be surprised to see
I could play all year round.
group of us in my year:
his name in senior
Positions played? No 8 at
Freddie Steward, Jack van
squads. But Scotland Poortvliet, George Martin,
school until I was 15, but
may get there first!
otherwise always prop.
Ollie Chessum and Dan Kelly.
When did rep rugby start?
At 12 or 13. Leicester had
Safe hands
the DPP set-up at Sheffield.
Carrying for Tigers
I travelled down from Leeds
once a week, then played
for Yorkshire U15 and
England U16. That led to
Leicester’s academy and
England U17, U18 and U20.
How was representing your
country for the first time?
I wasn’t expecting it. It was
crazy really. (Sale full-back)
Joe Carpenter is from the
same area as me and was
at my school, so he was a

W

RW VERDICT

18

Tall order
Bracing for contact

2

MORWENNA
TALLING

Age 21 (5 Aug 2002) Born Northallerton, Yorks
Position Back-row Club Sale Country England
hen did you first play
rugby? When I was 13.
My older brother played
at Malton and Norton
RUFC and they’d just
set up a girls’ and women’s section.
What did you enjoy at first? As soon as
I started I fell in love with it. At the start,
the ball skills and being able to pass
and offload – then it was the contact.
Did you play other sports? Swimming
and football, where I was a centre-back.
Positions played? I started as a fly-half
and then switched to the back five in
the pack when I was around 16 or 17.
When did rep rugby start? At 14 or 15.
I played for Yorkshire and then moved
to West Park Leeds for a couple of
seasons and then to Loughborough
College. I was with the Lightning from 17.
How was representing your country for
the first time? I played one game at U18
level for England. Then I got a senior
cap in November 2020. It was massive
to play for your country and pretty
nerve-racking and a bit overwhelming. It
felt like any other game once it started.
Any childhood heroes? My parents.
They both played rugby at university.
How would you describe your playing
style? Very physical and doing more
of the unseen stuff at rucks around the
pitch, rather than scoring worldie tries.
Your strengths? My collision dominance.
Any work-ons? Tactics and the lineout.
Biggest influence on your career so
far? Sarah Hunter (former Red Roses
captain turned assistant coach). She
was at Loughborough when I joined and
being able to work closely with her
throughout the first
three years of my
international career
has been awesome.
Why did you sign for
Talling started the last Sale? I felt I needed
two WXV games at
a new challenge and
No 6 and will look to
Sale is closer to home.
nail down that shirt
Are you studying?
under new Red Roses Yes. I’m a second-year
coach John Mitchell in Geography student at
the Six Nations. She’s Loughborough Uni.
a very shrewd signing Your hobbies? I like
for Sale Sharks in the walking. I spent my
Premiership Women’s week off after WXV1
Rugby competition.
up in the Lake District.

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ACE-OFF

Should players be
able to take a mark
in their own half?
JOSH GRAHAM BEN KAY
“IT’S NOT a bad idea to try to cut down
on the incessant box-kicks we have
seen creeping into the game, but
allowing players to mark anywhere
inside their own half is not the play.
“Good box-kicks are contestable and
thus there is no incentive to stop trying
to hoist the ball high if you can get a
good chase to put the pressure on.
“The move is unlikely to do anything
to halt the kick-tennis battles that are
a common bugbear in the game. In the
kicking exchanges we see now, many
players could call marks in their own
22 but opt not to in territorial
battles, and the same could
happen anywhere.
“Like with any law change,
we may face up to a host of
unintended consequences.
South Africa’s alpha move of
calling a scrum from a mark
at the World Cup could now
become a lethal weapon.
“At a time when scrumming
for penalties is criticised and
there is a consensus that the
game needs to be speeding
up, it will soon become a
slippery slope if we give
teams a platform to call for
even more scrums.
“Unless the law changes so that you
can kick free-kicks directly out from
beyond the 22, then the best options
will be packing down or just booting up
another up-and-under after waiting for
your team to get back onside. That
would hardly be a progressive move.
“Cracking down on the caterpillar
rucks would be a far better way to
depower the box-kick and make it
a harder skill to execute.”

“IT’S DEFINITELY worth a trial. We need
to do something and change what is
seen as the best way to win a rugby
game, which is to kick away the ball in
the middle part of the pitch. And if this is
the way of doing it, I would support it.
Rugby World World Cup winner
“I’ve got no problem with kicking in
content editor and commentator rugby, or the number of kicks, but we
want them to be part of an attacking
game rather than mindlessly kicking it
to the opposition and they kick it back.
“Something needs to be done about
the unwillingness to play any rugby in
the middle third of the pitch.
“You will never get a
group
of coaches who say,
Calling for the mark
‘I will take a risk and play
Melvyn Jaminet
a certain way.’ They all just
want to win, so unless you
change the laws you are
going to be stuck with the
same thing. I like the fact
that teams play differently
but it seems the best way
to win is kicking the ball.
“Steve Borthwick and
Eddie Jones have used
Oval Insights, who put stats
together on which teams
win the most games. And
the ones that don’t have
the ball in the middle third
tend to win, which is why England played
the way they did in the World Cup.
“There are always trends as things
are defended better, so it can evolve
naturally. But I think we need a fairly big
reset if we want to see more attacking
rugby. It might take away some of the
Send your views to
attacking kicks we see outside the 22
rugbyworldletters
and people will rightly come up with
@futurenet.com
reasons why it might not work, but until
you test something you won’t know.”

WHAT DO
YOU THINK?

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[ Goes in Rugby World ]
HE LIGHT and shade
in Jeremy Paul’s
conversation is
remarkable, write
Tom English and Pete
Burns in a new book on England’s
RWC 2003 triumph. One minute
he talks poignantly about brain
injury and mental health, the next
he’s off on a mad tangent about
a Wallabies tour to Europe in
2002 and a reception with the
Queen at Buckingham Palace…
“We were standing around,
getting all the protocols on how to
address the Queen, when you can
or can’t talk to her, how to bow and
all this sort of stuff. We’re having
afternoon tea and she comes over
to myself and the youngest player,
Drew Mitchell, and he’s carrying
Joey, the stuffed kangaroo.
She goes, ‘What’s with the
stuffed kangaroo?’ and I said, ‘Oh,
that’s Joey. The youngest player
has to carry him around on tour,
24/7, but we steal it from him and
we’ll send him photos saying Joey
is being held ransom and so on.”
She walked on and went, ‘ha-ha’.
And the media girl comes running
over, ‘What did you just say to the
Queen? We haven’t seen her
laugh like that in a decade!’
I said, ‘I gave her my room key,’
and the media girl just went silent.
Anyway, as I stood there talking
to her, I could feel this thing sliding
down inside my pants – and a
saucer fell out. Every bit of cutlery
and china had ER on it, so we
were all trying to steal s*** as a
souvenir. So this saucer fell out of
the bottom of my pants and when
I went to pick it up, a knife, fork
and spoon fell out of the pocket.
That was my life, I was always
getting myself into s***.”
Q From The Men in the Arena,
published by Polaris, RRP £20

ILLUSTRATION David Lyttleton

T

WE WON’T TE LL ,
PROMISE…
We love hearing your stories and want
to celebrate the characters of our great
game in What Goes On Tour… If you have
an amusing tale to tell, drop us a line.
Mark your email ‘Tour Tale’ and send it
to rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com

F r o n t

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RUGBY RANT
Canadian writer Patrick Johnson feels the new-look SVNS is missing the point
ORLD RUGBY can say all
it wants about its reset of
the sevens series — can
claim it’s still growing the
game, that they’re chasing
new kinds of fans — but the fact remains
this all comes down to money.
How else to explain dropping your
men’s series from ten tournaments
to seven, while also eliminating any
stand-alone women’s events? Not to
mention cutting away tournaments in
major rugby nations whilst retaining a
sparsely-attended event in Singapore.
On the other hand, the dumped events
in London, France and New Zealand
have all had their struggles over the
years with inconsistent attendance. So
the argument that the series should
focus on its solid successes, like in
Dubai and Hong
Kong and even
Vancouver, makes
some sense.
All three of those
events have found
success in their own
ways and in the spin World Rugby is
throwing at the new series you can see
where they believe their success is
rooted. World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin
said the new series, rebranded as HSBC
SVNS, is meant to appeal to “a younger,
leisure-hungry audience”, one less
focused on the on-field action and more
interested in the overall experience.
This is something sports business
people the world over are coming to
believe: that more and more fans hang
their enjoyment of an event on the
overall circus and sensations of going to
the stadium – the quality of food and

Shared stage
Men and women get
equal billing in SVNS

W

PICS AFP & Getty Images

“Let us be clear: this is a
marketing approach, not one
to put people on the field”

SHORT
PASS
BACK TO FUTURE
Rassie Erasmus has
switched from Boks’
DoR to head coach.
TIME OUT
Cardiff’s Theo Cabango
is out for a spell after
shoulder surgery.

beverages, the energy of the crowd
itself – and less on the actual sport.
A 2018 study by the professional
services giant Deloitte found that fans
in the Millennial generation, who grew
up alongside the internet, were 30%
less likely than a fan from the Boomer
generation to identify with “their team”.
The same study also found that
Millennials are slightly more likely than
Boomers to be “fanatics”, fans who want
unique experiences within the stadium,
to have experiences that match their
personal interests, that they can find live
entertainment options before, during

and after the game, and they
like to sit with other fans who
share the same interests.
World Rugby’s messaging
is very much in line with this
kind of thinking, talking about
“summertime vibes” while suggesting
tournaments will look to include local
food and culture, plus “competitive and
social sports for all… From non-contact
rugby to functional fitness”.
That’s all well and good but let us be
clear here: this is a marketing approach,
one to sell tickets. It’s not one to put
more people on rugby’s playing field
itself for the first time ever. n

HAVE YOUR SAY
What gets your goat? Let us know on
Facebook or tweet @Rugbyworldmag

Bristol women after the
collapse of Worcester.

DIFFERENT ROLE
Former Bath and
England skipper Phil
de Glanville has taken
up refereeing at 55.

BIG INCREASE
NZ Rugby’s annual
report lists a 20% rise
in women and girls
playing, at 29,448.

SOJOURN SOUTH
Leigh Halfpenny (right)
has signed a one-year
deal with Crusaders.

ADOPTED CATT
Nathan Catt has left
Bath to become the
England pathway’s
specialist scrum coach.

DOUBLE SIGNING
Lana Skeldon and Evie
Gallagher have joined
22

LEAVING FALCONS
Puma Mateo Carreras
will join Bayonne at
the end of the season.
HELPING HAND
Ampthill’s Paul Turner
has a new consultancy
role with the Dragons.
CODE HOP
Leeds Rhinos offered
a trial to ex-Quins and
Bath prop Lewis Boyce.

F r o n t

R o w

INSIDE THE MIND OF...
JAMES RAMM
Interview Alan Pearey // Picture David Rogers/Getty Images

The Northampton wing talks Croatia, unicycling and Cheslin Kolbe
“It was
amazing to see
some of the talent at the
World Cup. In terms of
back-three players, Cheslin
Kolbe is special. He can
make something out
of nothing.”

“I first played rugby in high school at St Joseph’s
College in Sydney. I was 11 or 12. I didn’t play first XV
at school and I’ve been back to Joey’s to speak to the
second and third teams about my pathway. As long as
you want it enough, you can still make it (as a pro) if
you’re not playing first XV. I’m an example of that.”

“The
high ball has
been a big focus of
mine. It’s very important
through the wet months. Last
year Saints aimed for the top
four. This year we definitely
want to make the top two
so we can secure a
home semi-final.”

“I’m
studying for a
degree in biomedical
engineering. I’m doing it
part-time and should finish by
2026. There are lots of fields
I could go into one day. Maybe
working on prosthetic limbs or
new medicines. Or it could
be sales, biomedical
instruments.”

“Playing
international
rugby is my goal (he’s
eligible for England, New
Zealand and Australia). I’ve
trained with the Wallabies and
I attended a pre-World Cup
camp with England – it was
more of an information
session.”
“All my
family live in
Sydney. My dad grew up
in Devon and played rugby
at Shebbear College. He met
my mum (from NZ) in London
when she was on a gap year.
Mum lived in Northampton for a
“My
while! My sister was born in
favourite match
Hong Kong, so I’m the only
was Saints v Quins.
Aussie-born member
I’d never played on New
of my family!”
Year’s Day, it was so
foreign to me. The crowd
was all into it and we
had a good win
(46-17).”

“I did
gymnastics as a
kid. The training is so
intense, I’ve not experienced
anything else like it. If you let
your concentration lapse as you’re
flipping through the air, you put
yourself in dangerous positions.
Transferring that into a game of
rugby has played a massive
part in being able to stay
in the moment.”

“The best
present I’ve ever
had was a unicycle. I
wanted something to
learn, so my parents got it
for me one Christmas
when I was about
16. I loved it.”

“Australia are having a tough
time. Rugby there has a lot of
competition and spectators seem
to be gravitating to other sports.
Something has to shift to get them
back. Find a way to speed the
game up. Get the crowd involved
more. Make it more entertaining.”
23

“I’ve done a lot of travelling lately.
My favourite place is Croatia,
the scenery is beautiful. My
grandparents are Croatian. Last
summer my missus (Ali) and I
went to Ibiza, Switzerland and
Lake Como in Italy. We’ve booked
Iceland for the break in February.”

F r o n t

R o w

Danilo Fischetti
After the fall of London Irish, the Italy prop is back to power in Parma
Words Mark Palmer // Pics Getty Images & Inpho

EBRE PARMA could hardly
believe their luck when the
collapse of London Irish
presented them with the
chance to re-sign one of
the club’s favourite sons, the Italy
loosehead prop Danilo Fischetti.
Agreeing a one-year deal to return to
the side, the 25-year-old Roman publicly
promised to bring with him everything
“Physically he’s not the biggest but
he learnt in his stint in the Premiership.
he’s managed to bridge the gap through
Those who work at close quarters with a combination of qualities which are
Fischetti believe that while the English
hard to find together in a single player.”
experience was brief, it had a profound
At 5ft 11in and just over 17st, Fischetti
effect on his game and his confidence.
is far from massive. The past few years
“That year with Irish completed him in
saw him make a concerted effort to bulk
many ways,” says Luca Bigi, the Zebre
up and Franco Smith, who gave him his
and Italy hooker. “He’s always had so
Italy debut and now coaches Glasgow,
much talent, allied to a ferocious desire
remembers the hours he put in.
to work and improve, but being there
“Before the 2020 Autumn Nations Cup,
allowed him to measure himself against
he spent every day for three months in
the best every week and he saw he was the gym we had built at our hotel. He’s
more than capable of doing very well.
someone who will train in the gym every
“Danilo just loves competition.
single day, including game days.
Whenever we are called to go onto the
“You can see from his demeanour
pitch and wage war, he is
that he has little-man
always the first in the queue.
syndrome. He fights way
For us it’s a huge boost to
above his weight every
have him back, as a player
week. He’s a very honest
Age 25 (26 Jan 1998)
first of all but also as a
person, someone who has
Born Rome
person in our group.
a great work ethic. He’s
Position Loosehead
“He’s very highly respected
someone who knuckles
Club Zebre Parma
and that respect has been
down and works for what
Height 5ft 11in
earned by what he has done
he wants in life. He comes
Weight 17st 5lb
for the team, what he’s done
from further south where
Italy caps 36
and is doing in his career,
rugby wasn’t the number
Instagram handle
and the incredible effort he
one sport, so he’s worked
@cubo_medusa
brings each and every day.
for everything he’s got.”

Z

FACT FILE

24

Andrea Moretti, the former Italy No 2,
has been a big part of Fischetti’s
journey, first with the national academy,
then U20s, Zebre and now the national
team. He calls Fischetti a “thoroughly
modern prop who is good at everything”,
those soft hands and ability to step
telling of his youthful days as a centre.
But Moretti is particularly effusive
about his approach to the set scrum.
“Loosehead prop is a very particular
role; so much of it is about angles, how
you position and work your back, and
he is so good at all of that. Despite the
fact that he’s not massive, with his
strength and technique he manages
to compete with and get the better of
much bigger props. He works so well
tactically and technically. He’s very
coachable and desperate to learn.”
All three speakers wax lyrical about
the strength Fischetti shows over the
ball and the turnovers he makes. Off the
field, we find, Fischetti revels in both
doling out and receiving banter. Bigi
says he is also “very argumentative”
but it is driven by a positive intention.
“Some people moan and pick fights
because they don’t want to put in the
hard work. With Fischio, anything he
says is backed by action and sacrifice.
He demands the very highest standards
both from himself and those around him.
“He has so much talent – great numbers
for speed, explosiveness, physicality –
but all of that has been accompanied by
a dedication that has taken him to being
one of the best props in the world.” n

“When called to
wage war, he is
always the first
in the queue”

25

F r o n t

R o w

SORRY STATE OF WRU
A damning investigation gives great cause for concern, reports Josh Graham
HE WELSH Rugby Union
has apologised after an
independent review found
a “toxic” culture of bullying
and discrimination.
The review was commissioned in
February after a BBC investigation
uncovered serious allegations of sexism
and misogyny in the governing body.
The panel of three was chaired by
Dame Anne Rafferty with England World
Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi and former
Premiership Rugby chair Quentin Smith.
It has made 36 recommendations
which includes the creation of an
oversight body,
continued reform
of the board and
a move to “clearly
and publicly” align
with inclusion
and diversity.
Suggestions also
include becoming
more transparent
and investing in
the women’s and girls’ game.
The WRU has fully accepted the
report’s findings and all of the
recommendations and is “already
committed” to actioning them.
Richard Collier-Keywood, the new
WRU chair, said: “On behalf of the whole
WRU, we are truly sorry to those who
have been impacted by the systems,
structures and conduct described in the
report which are simply not acceptable.
We have to do better and we will.”
The full published report also includes
a scathing speech and full resignation

Shaky ground
Steve Phillips (centre)
quit as CEO in January

T

Warning signs
Amanda Blanc

letter from former
board member
Amanda Blanc,
who stepped
down in 2021.
Blanc, chief executive of Aviva Group,
said she was not listened to and warned
the union it was “sitting on a ticking
time bomb”. She said she was deeply
saddened at the approach shown
towards a women’s game review before
labelling it “beyond disappointing and
verging on insulting towards women”.
She revealed that her credentials to
chair the professional board were
questioned and that the board debated
reducing sanctions on a WRU district
council member who had expressed the
alarming view that “men are the master

race”. She also slammed the lack of
an overall strategy and criticised the
appointment process that led to Steve
Phillips becoming CEO in late 2020.
He resigned in January 2023, a week
after the BBC show was broadcast.
Phillips received a £480,000 payout.
Blanc claims there were no strategic
discussions in her two years of board
meetings and that the process to
appoint Phillips “would never have been
approved in any other organisation I
have experienced around the world”.
The seven-month review interviewed
50 witnesses or groups of witnesses
ranging from professional players to
junior staff and external stakeholders.
New WRU group chief executive
Abi Tierney will start in January.

W H E RE
ARE THEY
NOW?
IAN GOUGH
Age 47 Position Lock Teams Pontypridd, Newport, Dragons, Ospreys, London Irish & Wales
and I still see a lot of old team-mates, like
Shane Williams and Ryan Jones. We try
to have one or two reunions every year.
“This year I did the Great Rugby Swim
across the Channel. We also rode to
Lyon for Wales’ World Cup game against
Australia and to Paris for France-Wales in
the Six Nations. All for Head for Change.
“I’m a member of a local clay pigeon
shooting club and fly my plane, an
Eastern European Yak-52. I was doing a
bit of aerobatics and formation flying.”
26

PICS Bloomberg & Getty Images

“NOWADAYS I live in Pembrokeshire,
about 20 minutes from Carmarthen. I’m
involved in property and since I retired
in 2015 I’ve run a school programme for
underachieving boys, aged around 11,
called the ‘Reach for the Sky’ project.
“And last year I started working for Oil
for Wales, who are the main sponsors of
the Scarlets. I started driving the tankers
to learn the ropes, but now I’m in sales.
“I like spinning a few plates. I cover
rugby for BBC Radio Wales at weekends

JOHN DOBSON
The Stormers head coach on success in the Investec Champions Cup

“Do you send the Light Brigade
through the Valley of Death?”
Looking for the exit
Manie Libbok in Exeter

S

OMEHOW US
South African
teams have
jimmied ourselves
an invitation to the top
table of club rugby. We are
thrilled to be here, even if
we may not be the best
dressed or quite know the
traditions or the etiquette.
There may be a faint whiff
of doggy-do we stepped
in on the way in, but we are
at the gala dinner. And we
are very grateful for it.
As much as I personally
supported the revenue line of the
product of the previous sponsor, the
change to a primarily South African
bank may make us feel a bit more
comfortable. It may sound trivial but a
lot of the participating players would
bank with Investec. We have seen them
sponsor rugby in New Zealand too,
without having much of a commercial
presence there, if any, but that was pure
marketing genius. So to see the zebra
and the close affiliation probably makes
us more comfortable and less worried
if we use the fish knife for the butter,
without stretching the analogy too far.
The key thing for us is how to behave
now. One of the challenges around this
tournament was when we had fixtures
where teams sent understrength sides
or, rather, ‘identified fixtures’. This is
unpalatable for the rugby purists but up
in the coaches’ box it can be tricky.
Do you send the Light Brigade
through the Valley of Death or would
you keep them alive for a battle in your
own valley? Given that the tournament

is so good, so competitive, and there is
(and this is completely trite) no easy
fixture. So we have to learn to be
strategic. The home play-off win ratio
across both competitions last year was
so overwhelming that you didn’t bet on
away wins unless it was for tax purposes.
That strategy may not be just limited
to the Champions Cup, of course. A
case in point: last year we played a URC
game in Cape Town, got on the flight via
Johannesburg and Doha to London, to
bus down to Exeter for a quarter-final
where we got a smack, climbed back
on return, the same route but this time
without Jo’burg, arriving in Cape Town
after our next URC opponents Munster
did. We lost to them in a league game
which ended a proud home record.
If we’d won in Exeter – a very big if –
we’d have gone to La Rochelle for a
semi-final, before flying that route again
to play the Bulls in a URC quarter. We’d
not have got through to the URC final.
This raises two points. The one I was
making about identifying a fixture. In a
27

land of science fiction, had
we beaten Exeter, which
game would be more
important for us after that?
I suspect that we are a way
off having any chance of
winning in La Rochelle. In
which case we may have
recognised that was our
Valley of Death and been
better off keeping some of
our best warriors back.
Is it wise to take the same
team to Exeter, then play
them against Munster, or
should I have identified
one? My gut feeling is that we got that
one right and built some valuable
experience, even though results didn’t
go our way. But had the result gone our
way in Exeter, again life on Mars, we
would have been in a difficult position.
The other point is, I suspect the South
Africans are a little way off the depth
of experience needed to go deep into
Europe and yet also keep the braais of
the URC burning. It will come. We are
too competitive and have too much
natural resource for that not to happen.
Different geographies will contribute.
The snow and rain of Clermont is very
different to a 35º, 1,400m-high Loftus. It
doesn’t make anything right or wrong.
It’s a great challenge for coaches. Even
though we are Stormers, we have a way
to go! It’s the same in the wonderful URC.
The problem with letting us into the
party is at some stage we’re comfortable,
maybe after a glass or two, and we
may start conversations and have an
opinion. That can only be good for the
world’s most prestigious competition. n

Small in size, big in stature – surf dude
Harry Thacker is still proving people
wrong as he makes waves for Bristol Bears
WORDS

S

IZE. DOES IT MATTER? Of course it does,
despite the long-held shibboleth that rugby
is for ‘all shapes and sizes’. For every
Cheslin Kolbe or Faf de Klerk, there’s
a shedload of smaller guys who must
overcome the prejudice of a coach or
selector. And Harry Thacker is one of them.
According to his club’s website, the Bristol Bears hooker
is 93kg and 1.72m – or 14st 9lb and a fraction under 5ft 8in
depending on your preference. And back in his teenage years
at Leicester Tigers, those sorts of figures didn’t cut it.
“I never thought (pro) rugby would happen for me because
when I was about 16, in the Tigers academy, I was told I was
too small,” says Thacker, who started out with the U7s at
Lutterworth RFC when he was four years old.
“We had the county competition to get into the England
age groups. I played a couple of games and did alright.

30

Champions Cup: Pool 1

Champions Cup: Pool 1
I didn’t feel out of place. I thought,
‘I’ve probably got one shot at this’.”
Thacker’s dad, Troy, was a Tigers
hooker in the amateur era and was keen
to help his son follow in his footsteps.
So that winter the two of them would
go running, go training, down the
park in Blaby, south of Leicester.
“We trained pretty hard. My old man
would stand on this old tree stump so
I could practise my throws; he isn’t the
most agile so it took him a while to get
up there, bless him. And he wasn’t the
most sturdy but he did that for me.
“One time it was pouring with snow
and he stood on this icy tree stump and
was catching these balls for me. Those
are the memories I have, doing that in
the middle of winter. I got really fit and
my lineout throwing improved a lot. And
I got selected for the England age-grade
side, U16s. It was, ‘Okay, I can do this’.”
But then came the bite. “The (Tigers)
academy came in on the back of that

Young gun
England U18 days

“It’s my sixth season here at Bristol
and I absolutely love it. Rugby is based
on confidence and feeling good. And
that’s what I got when someone
picked me for what I’m good at.
Confidence-wise, it was a huge boost.”
His story is reminiscent of another
Tiger, Neil Back, who was ignored
for years by England because of his
size but went on to became a great.
Martin Johnson says that in his era,
1990 to 2005, “nobody in English
rugby came close to Back in terms
of consistency” and yet Back almost
quit in frustration at his treatment.

“ I st r uggl ed wi th b ein g c all e d
to o sma ll . It wa sn’t li ke I wa s
get t ing ma nh a nd le d o n a pi tch”
and everyone got their letters and were
in, but I didn’t get one. I was out. Then
I got a call from the manager. He said,
‘I don’t know what to do with you, you’re
a good player but you’re too small. So
I’ll give you a couple of options: give it a
year and we’ll see how much you grow.
Or you can come in and get stuck in.’
Whilst being ‘too small’, of course.
As we know, Thacker gave it a
crack and became a coruscating
Premiership force – but the feedback
caused him a great deal of angst.
“At the time I really struggled with it. It
wasn’t like I was getting manhandled on
a rugby pitch, I was holding my own. But
it would always come down to, ‘You’re
just too small’. And I really struggled
with that. Because I thought I can train
as much as I want but I can’t grow.
“Looking back, I think it was the best
thing that ever happened to me because
if I hadn’t been told that, I wouldn’t have
worked as hard. I wouldn’t have put in
the hours I have to prove people wrong.
“And it’s just someone’s opinion, isn’t
it? It was always one person’s opinion at
Leicester (Richard Cockerill was DoR).
They played a very different game plan
and it just takes one person to believe
in you and Pat Lam believed in me. He
picked me for the things I can do.

Thacker is no Neil Back but he’s been
a shining light for years now, winning
awards for his excellence or try-scoring,
such as his solo effort against Saints
in 2016. He was the only player to score
a try in the first three rounds of this
year’s Premiership, his improvised
kick-through against Harlequins typical
of his exceptional skill-set. We shouldn’t
be surprised by such moments; in his

school days at Leicester Grammar,
Thacker was a fly-half until the age of 15.
Nor should it be forgotten that his
lineout throwing is up there with the
best. Which makes you wonder whether
England have an issue with his size just
as Leicester did back in 2010. Thacker
played in the same England U20 side as
the likes of Maro Itoje, Nick Tompkins
and Charlie Ewels but has never had
a sniff since of the Red Rose.
Ask Thacker about his non-existent
England career and, like many of his
responses, there is first a pause.
“I’ve got to an age now where I’ve
accepted it a bit more,” he says. “You’re
not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.
How I like to play the game might not be
how other people see the game. We’ve
got a load of good hookers now coming
through, which is great to see.
“I’d love to play for England, always
have, always will. Whether it happens
I just don’t know anymore. What I enjoy
is how I play at Bristol and you never
know, do you, it just takes one person
to come in that sees the game a bit
differently to others. Then it changes.”
Assuming Lam doesn’t wind up with
the England job, it’s likely that Thacker’s
ball-playing repertoire – watch how he
drifts onto a pass and uses footwork to
elude a tackler – will remain on the club
stage. The lowly finishes since Bears
topped the table in 2021 have led to a
tweak, with Bristol’s run-from-anywhere
style now laced with pragmatism.
“We’re trying to kick more on our own
terms. Use it as a bit more of a weapon
to put pressure on other teams,” says
Thacker, 29. “Ideally we don’t have to
kick because we’re running but you just
have to sometimes. There’s definitely a
mindset switch there within the team.
Prodigious scorer
A try v Northampton

32

PICS Getty Images

“Unfortunately we play a lot of games
through the middle of winter when it’s
blowing a hoolie and pouring with rain.
Often it’s easier not to have the ball. We
still want to be an open and expansive
team but we don’t want to put ourselves
under unnecessary pressure.”
Losing stars like Charles Piutau and
Semi Radradra would concern any team
but Virimi Vakatawa and Benhard Janse
van Rensburg have formed an exciting
midfield partnership, and Max Malins
has rejoined the club from Saracens.
“As a group we made huge strides in
pre-season. We’ve grown a lot tighter
and there’s a lot of boys stepping up
to the plate. Really, you should feel the
loss of someone like Charles Piutau
but Rich Lane’s come in and taken his
opportunity. It’s really pleasing to see.”
He views Bristol’s Challenge Cup win
in 2020, beating Bordeaux-Bègles and
then Toulon to win the trophy on French
soil, as one of his career highs, even if
“We did it, bud!”
With Chris Vui after Bears’
2020 Challenge Cup triumph

the team could only celebrate in a hotel
room due to Covid restrictions. It was
the club’s first major trophy for 37 years.
“After that, we wanted to get stuck into
the Champions Cup. The Champions
Cup is where this club wants to be. And
with our resources, where we should be.
“We made it this year by default
(replacing London Irish), so now we’ve
got to prove we deserve to be there.
We’re quite happy with who we’ve got
in our group and it will be a good test
for our squad. That’s the thing this year,
it’s going to be down to how good your
squad is as opposed to your starting 23.
“We go week in, week out without a
break until February. It’s a good test for
our depth and that’s a good thing, isn’t
it? Showing quality in your whole squad.”
Does he like the sound of a Club World
Cup, as mooted by EPCR boss Dominic
McKay? Again, there’s a pause. “It’d be
different, which is pretty cool. We’ve got
a game against Crusaders (9 February)

Steady Bear
Magnus Bradbury
takes on Saracens

EUROPEAN
CHAMPIONS
CUP

POOL 1
that everyone
is excited
SARACENS
about. It’s
BORDEAUX-BÈGLES
something
BULLS
that’s always
BRISTOL BEARS
CONNACHT
been talked
LYON
about, how
teams here
would go
against the southern hemisphere. It’d be
a lot of travelling though, wouldn’t it?”
Away from rugby, Thacker has got
together with Bears team-mate Jake
Woolmore to launch a business. Called
Sivo Wellness, it specialises in hot and
cold water therapy. “The health benefits
of saunas and ice baths are huge, it’s
pretty mad some of the science coming
out at the minute. We’re trying to make
it more accessible to the general public.
“Now I’m getting older, recovery is
more important. But I’ve always been
into my active recovery. I hate being
inside. I love surfing, I find that’s how
I recover best. Mentally and physically.
Trying to get away, find my blue space.”
He recalls an epic surfing experience
in the Maldives where the surf broke in
front of the beach and he had reef sharks
for company. He’ll get down to The
Wave, Bristol’s inland surfing lake, when
time allows. “It’s a godsend,” he says.
He and partner Charlotte have two
children and Harry is an ambassador for
the charity Heart Heroes. “My daughter
was born with a few things wrong with
her heart. She’s had three surgeries and
one major one. But the things they’ve
put into her heart will
have to be replaced
as she grows up.”
New challenges
Age 29 (18 Feb 1994) to confront and
Born Leicester
overcome. Thacker
Position Hooker
has found his niche.
Club Bristol Bears
The player deemed
Height 5ft 8in
too small by Tigers is
Weight 14st 9lb
jabbing a finger in the
X @harry_thacker
chest of big guys. n

FACT FILE

STEPHEN JONES
Ru gby’s most ou t s p o ke n an d inf luent ial journalist

“Some teams grasped that
there’s nothing wrong with
running the ball back”
Has the rise of the robots been halted? Stephen Jones sees reasons
to be cheerful after the Rugby World Cup – and offers a few
laws that could be changed for further improvements

NOUGH TIME has
elapsed to consider
how rugby, and the
way in which it
is played, fared
during the Rugby World Cup.
In the later rounds we may have
forgotten about the play itself
amongst the controversies, the
disgusting verbal assaults on
referees and particularly on
Wayne Barnes, the master. And
then there’s the refusal of some
South Africans to entertain even
the possibility that one of their

E

players had grossly insulted
an opponent from England.
The final was exciting because
it was close but it was nothing
like vintage – not even Barnes
and his outstanding refereeing
could make that into a classic.
However, we all know that after
several years of box-kick hoofing
and utter boredom, the sport did
break out of its own strait-jacket
on some key occasions. The
first half of the France v South
Africa quarter-final especially
demonstrated the towering
34

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heights to which the sport can
reach and it was hard to accept
such brilliance between the two
was actually happening.
And in passing, it must be said
that had France defended the
high kick just a little better, then
they would have motored into the
semi-final and almost certainly
won their own World Cup.
Other games were either
excellent or classic – the France
v New Zealand opener or the
Ireland-South Africa match, when
South Africa were there for the

Keeping it alive
Wales wing Rio Dyer
offloads against Australia

35

Stephen Jones
taking. Also England v South Africa,
Ireland v New Zealand, Fiji v Portugal.
These were all wonderful and helped
to wipe away the dismal memory of a
number of one-sided blowouts, caused
by the refusal since time immemorial
of major unions to make the game
truly global by distributing the vast
profits of the tournament.
It is a good sign, however, that when
teams were properly financed and
properly matched, they were able –
under the way that the sport is currently
played – to come up with something
vaguely attractive and easy on the eye.
It is still less than two years since Eddie
Jones, defending England’s awful style,
said the only way to play at the time was
effectively to hoof the ball back and
forth until someone made an error.
It seemed that the whole thing had
been reduced to the old playground
activity we used to call Gaining Ground,
simply kicking it back and forth. And
throughout last season, the general
hoofing from the back continued.
So it was wonderfully gratifying that
some of the teams, and included in their
ranks were Georgia, Fiji and Portugal,
decided that it was still possible to
attack with the ball in hand. Happily,
some coaches seemed to dispense with
the idea that box-kicking and kick-tennis
was inevitable, and we saw surging
movements and great tries in a
satisfying number of the games.
Now is the time in the four-year cycle
when law changes are mooted, when
the unions throw in their thoughts so
that those at World Rugby – and what
an inconsistent bunch they have always

Real impact
Ireland’s Bundee Aki
scores v England in August

inevitable law of unintended
consequences, so would simply switch
elsewhere the dismal parts of rugby.
But just say you brought back the
mark, so that you can call the mark by
catching the ball in full in any part of the
field. Suddenly, the box-kick becomes
massively less attractive and you’d
almost certainly give the ball away. Just
one thought in ending the pantomime
season, although probably too rich for
the law-making palette.

“A s an expe ri me nt i t m a y be
w or th ba nn i n g ja ckal i ng , jus t
t o see wha t m ig ht hap p e n”
been – can decide what changes to
make. They are on a hiding to nothing
sometimes because currently changes
which are meant to lead to safer rugby
take precedence over changes which
can lead to better rugby, but that is an
understandable accident of the era.
What about a few revolutionary ideas?
Why not ask the scrum-half at the
back of the mini-ruck to play the ball
immediately when he touches it, no
messing around teasing the ball around
with his foot, no holding it as if he has
suddenly become stupefied. Play it.
What about killing box-kicks entirely?
No doubt that would come under the

But to be fair, some teams came right
out of their shell. The kick-tennis, with
the ball being kicked long and the other
team replying, used to be accompanied
by chasing from each side, but we
noticed during the World Cup that the
rest of the players simply hung around
in the middle of the field waiting for
something to happen, never even
bothering to chase the ball.
Well, why would you, if you know that
the ball is going to be aerial and come
back over your head in any case?
But glory be, some teams grasped that
in that particular pantomime there was
nothing wrong with running the ball
36

back. If you had decent numbers behind
the ball, you could take on a defence
that, rather than coming up as a line,
was scattered. Players like Damian
McKenzie of New Zealand, Thomas
Ramos of France, the brilliant
Portuguese attackers when they played
Georgia and Fiji, and the Irish back
three of Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen
and James Lowe – full of invention – all
brought the counter-attack from deep
back into the sport and good on them.
Beauden Barrett, endlessly inventive
from full-back, was probably their king.
And the inside-centres appeared to
have way more to do than before. It’s
not too many years ago that what was
called the crash-ball centre would
always be chosen to wear the No 12
jersey. He would usually take a short
pass or a scissors pass and beast his
way upfield. He would make the biggest
dent he could in the opposition, be
followed in by his supporters and
suddenly his team was on the front foot.
Of course, these days nothing is so
simple but in France 2023 the likes
of Damian de Allende, Manu Tuilagi,
Bundee Aki, Jonathan Danty and others
came up so quickly and so powerfully
that they were giving attacks some
momentum early in the phases. Much
better than shuffling the ball through
about 50 mini-rucks simply to convert
dead ball into something that had some
form of life. Jordie Barrett was powerful
in this phase, too, although he also had

Stephen Jones

PICS Getty Images & Inpho

Counter-attack Marcus Smith stretches Fiji’s defence. The England star carried frequently from full-back

gave the team belief and was a credit
to their defensive measures. It seemed
that teams were content to stop the
initial drive, then, like lightning, reform
behind the ball rather than hang round
like lemons in front of it.
The number of successful jackals
the footballing ability to play in other
also seemed to be way down. Levani
roles. He is some player.
Botia, the great Fijian, is still wonderful
There were also other details worth
at it and Jac Morgan of Wales looks
noting. Teams have become far more
like a Sam Warburton in the making
effective at defending the driving maul.
– and there is no higher praise.
For too long, a try from a lineout near
But usually the jacklers were shut
the line used to be almost inevitable,
out. I even wonder if one of the new
even though referees began allowing
measures might be to eradicate them
that ludicrous measure whereby you
completely. This removes the suspicion
could come round clearly offside
that an awful number of jacklers were
provided that you were retaining your
actually lying on bodies on the instant
original bind. Absolute rubbish. If
that they seized the ball but no matter.
a forward was retaining his original
As an experiment it may be worth
bind then he would still be down in
banning jackaling, just to see what
the scrum or lifting in the lineout.
might happen. Anything that disposes
Notably, England stopped South Africa of large parts of the breakdown
from driving over from short range on
controversies is worth a shot.
four or five occasions, something which
And then finally, there were a few
signs that some
referees, God
bless them, were
allowing a proper
scrummage.
There is nothing
so offensive to
rugby’s spirit and
history and its
whole rhythm
than when you
see a team driving
purposefully
forward in the
scrum only to find
that the referee is
ordering them to
play the ball. They
Ever-present danger Levani Botia, left, lurks during the Champions Cup final
should be allowed
37

to motor on up for 90 yards to the
try-line if they are good enough, with
the ball at the feet of the No 8. I refuse
to believe that what was meant to be
a safety measure has made anything
safer, and some of us will never be
swayed from the conviction that proper
scrummaging makes space on the
field for the attack quicker and more
decisively than anything else you can
do on a rugby field. It was nice to see
some real scrum battles out there.
They could also stop the ridiculous
crocodile formations at the back of
rucks. Hurry the box-kicks, hurry the
scrum formation and refuse to allow any
discussion before the lineout – if it is
your throw-in, you should go straight to
the line and throw in, no more County
Council meetings 30 yards away.
They should also strictly impose a
ban on all people bar the medical staff
coming onto the field of play, or on
anyone bar certificated medical people
wearing microphones.
Mind you, the South African physio,
so notable on the Lions tour two years
ago, was still out there on the field of
play clearly screeching orders to her
team. That tactic is one of the many
blots on the sporting character of
Rassie Erasmus, who should have been
banned out of the World Cup years ago.
That was how it all seemed to me in
France 2023. No doubt you will have
different ideas on the laws that need
changing or reinforcing or obliterating.
Rugby did advance, and it is too early
in the new season to conclude whether
the advance is going to spread
generally throughout the world.
Sometimes we are looking for small
mercies, but at least a good few of the
games at RWC 2023 took flight. n

Words Josh Graham // Pictures Getty Images & Inpho

SPOTLIGHT ON

FELIX
JONES
The Springboks’ assistant coach will join England after two World Cup triumphs

Age 36 (5 Aug 1987)
Born Dublin
Role England
assistant coach
Playing position
Full-back
Ireland caps 13 (2011-15)
Teams played for
Leinster, Munster
and Ireland
Teams coached
Munster, South Africa
and England

38

HE ONLY Irishman
addicted to winning
World Cups is set to
bring his considerable
skill-set to Steve
Borthwick’s England side.
Felix Jones stumbled into
coaching after injury forced him
to retire aged just 28 in 2015.
The former Munster and Ireland
full-back soon became an
assistant at Thomond Park ahead
of the 2016-17 season, where he
teamed up with coaches Rassie
Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber.

T

39

officially tasked with overseeing.
The Springboks did things loosely
but the rumours surrounding the
future of defence coach Kevin
Sinfield may give us a clue.
Jones won 13 caps for Ireland,
featuring in the 2015 World Cup
warm-ups, so will bring a recent
player’s perspective as well as
a double World Cup-winning
mentality to his new environment.
He is nearly three months
younger than England’s tighthead
at the World Cup, Dan Cole, and
his approach benefits from not
being too far removed.
“When you’re a player, you’re
just so focused on trying to get
the team to perform and win.
“You do it in your own way.
Some guys are happy-go-lucky,
so leave them alone and let them
perform and have a joke and
a laugh. Other guys want extra
detail and want to be told. Some
guys want the carrot and some
guys want the whip. It’s just
different per person.”
Man-management doesn’t
sound like it will be an issue then.
Jones is understandably keen to
praise the Springbok players for
matching the feat achieved by
New Zealand in 2011 and 2015.
He points to the greater
meaning behind lifting the trophy
for South Africans, which he
admits it took him time to grasp.
“There’s something bigger that
they’re playing for that I can’t
articulate. It’s not just winning the
World Cup for them. I think it’s
probably a reflection of life in
South Africa, you can’t dwell on
the negatives. You have to make
a plan and find a way. It is that
simple. It has taken a long time
for me to comprehend.”
In that case, how can England
expect to get the better of the
Springboks in four years’ time?
“Every team has a soul, a DNA,
a style or a way of playing and I
think the best teams tap into that.
“Every nation and every country
has something. The goal
is finding out how to
make it just a little bit
more tangible.”
Sounds like it’s
nearly time for
him to work out
exactly what
makes this
new England
side tick. n

TOP 3

Roaring to go
Jones is starting a new chapter

Fast-forward to 2019 and the
South African duo are in charge
of the Springboks and ahead of
the World Cup in Japan, they hire
Jones as a defence consultant.
He was a key cog in South
Africa’s RWC final demolition
of Eddie Jones’s England in
Yokohama and helped the
Springboks to another title in
France in October after once
again sending England home
en route, this time in a nail-biting
semi-final that the defending
champions ought to have lost.
Now he’s swapping sides, in
search of a third victorious RWC
cycle, this time in England white.
“It’s a new challenge. I’m really
looking forward to it, there’s some
quality players,” says Jones, 36.
“I think they really had a great
World Cup and on the night could
easily have beaten us (South
Africa) in the semi-final. I’m
looking forward to the new
challenge a little bit closer to
home and I can’t wait (to start).”
After scaling rugby’s Everest
twice in a row, what motivates
Jones to have another crack with
the side that won bronze in Paris?
“When you have the bug, it just
makes you want to do it again. It’s
kind of an addiction,” he reveals.
Many might think he’ll have his
work cut out to leave Australia
with a third World Cup winners’
medal in 2027, but Jones believes
Steve Borthwick and Co have
built a brilliant base to work from.
“I think if you look at the English
side at the moment, there’s not
a single person that could fault
the effort of the players and that’s
probably the most important
thing,” Jones adds.
“You can see hard work, a
never-say-die attitude. They are
all trying as hard as they possibly
can and the coaching team is
really tight, which I think are all
really good signs and positive
indications for the future.”
Jones knows strength and
conditioning guru Aled Walters
well from their time at Munster
and South Africa, so he already
has an in when it comes to
Borthwick’s inner circle.
Having had a hand in both
attack and defence with the
Springboks over the years, it
remains to be seen what Jones
– who doesn’t start until January
ahead of the Six Nations – will be

S K IL L S C O A C H E S
SHAUN EDWARDS
The renowned
defence coach
(below) was revered
at Wales and won
the 2022 Grand
Slam with France
RICHIE GRAY
The contact and
collision coach is at
Toulon but has worked
with Montpellier, Lyon,
South Africa and Fiji
MARK SEXTON
Johnny’s younger
brother is Connacht’s
new attack coach
after helping
Ireland U20
to two Grand
Slam wins

Champions Cup: Pool 2

Champions Cup: Pool 2

The age-grade coach
In working with him for Wales U20 and
then with the full national team, Byron
Hayward has seen much of the journey
with Williams. And there’s more to him
than amazing reverse passes in attack
“I first met Tomos with the U20s back
in 2014. He was a quiet lad off the field
but very, very competitive. Really
competitive! He was also very diligent in
his preparation and that stands out for
us as coaches, when you see kids at 18,
19, 20, doing that. Those players are the
ones who usually make it and he’s gone
on to have a great career.
“We went to the U20 World Cup in
New Zealand that year and over that
period you really get to know players
because we live together. We had a
tough group but he stood out. He made
things happen. Just an unbelievable
skill-set. When you see him now that’s
obviously acceptable because he’s 28.
It can be learned over time. But when
they do it at 18, 19 years of age? It’s
exceptional. His skill level was so high.
“He’s very humble. He had a lot of
self-belief but you never would have
thought it. When you get boys who are
19, away from home for a month, at a
first World Cup, it’s live on TV, there are
all these extra pressures and some boys
crumble, and understandably so. But
with Tomos, he had this self-belief,
inwardly, that allowed him to perform
the way he did for four weeks.
“There was one game we didn’t select
him for. He wasn’t dropped but in a

World Cup with short turnarounds, you
use your squad. He looked at it as
though he’d been dropped, and we saw
it as resting him because we knew we
had bigger games down the line.
“He took it hard – to the point that
I liked that side of him, because he
wanted to play in every minute of every
game. That was the first time for him not
being selected to start and I think it was
a good test of his character.
“For me, it’s always about the person,
the character. So when I went into Wales
camp (as defence coach), I named
Tomos as one of my defence leaders
because I knew for most nines, attack is
first and foremost. So I named him and
two other players as defence leaders and
he really enjoyed that. He embraced it.
“And I think because of that his
defensive game grew. I used to go
through (footage) and you could hear
him through the referee’s mic, on

comms on the TV, being really vocal
and organising players around him.”

The sevens peer
Luke Treharne was a stalwart for Wales
Sevens and saw young Tomos running
hard on the sevens circuit in 2014
“The tournament that jumps out to me
is the Gold Coast Sevens. I remember
him scoring a try against Fiji in the cup
quarters. It was one of the first times
I’d played against Fiji and I remember
looking up from a ruck and seeing Tomos
sidestep through, then hand someone
off to score. My first reaction was, ‘how
class is that to score against Fiji?’
“His agility, pace and power always
stuck with me. Especially as he was a
younger, smaller player. There’s been
a handful of players who come through
the sevens who have made a play
that’s stuck in my mind. And then a
few years later
they have gone

FACT FILE

Listening in
A break in play during Wales’
2023 World Cup quarter-final

42

Age 28 (1 Jan 1995)
Born Treorchy
Region Cardiff
Position Scrum-half
Height 5ft 11in
Weight 13st 3lb
Wales caps 53 (13T)
Test debut v South
Africa, June 2018
X @tomosgwilliams

PICS Inpho & Sportsfile/Getty Images

Hitting the target
Against the Dragons

on to excel in 15s for Wales. Tom is a
great example of that.
“I do also remember he was very
competitive in training and had that fiery
attitude about him. I’m always a fan of
players like that. Everything was done at
100%. He’s always been very fit, so he
would pop up all over the pitch as well.”

The club colleague
Former Cardiff, Wales and Lions
back-row Josh Navidi has enjoyed
playing in tandem with the scrum-half

“I knew when I was playing with Tomos
that if he was going to have a snipe, I
could run at a hole because he’d attract
defenders. And if they didn’t come it
would leave a hole for him. It helped me
massively and hopefully it helped him!”

The taskmaster
Cardiff assistant Richie Rees knows
all about scrum-half play, and works
closely with Williams on a daily basis
“He’s one of the most naturally gifted,
skilful footballers that you would ever
come across. He’s got that competitive
edge and he’s got a good work ethic as
well. So if you’ve got two of those three
a lot of the time, you’ll kick on. He’s got
three out of three and that makes a
massive, massive difference.

“He’s probably the most skilful player
I’ve ever played with. There’s chat of
him playing ten for Wales, as Warren
Gatland has said in the press, and he’s
actually stepped up for Cardiff before
and done a couple of minutes at ten.
He’s got a crazy step –
probably one of the best
out there – and it doesn’t
matter if he’s nine or ten, he
could do a job anywhere in
the back-line, I believe.
“You can see the way
he moves on the pitch. So
a couple of times when
someone’s trying to grab
him near the ruck, he does
this back-step, and I’m not
sure if it comes from him
Sharp finish
playing basketball for all
Scoring v England
those years, but it’s that
sort of movement. I’m sure
bouncing a ball and moving
“Whether it’s touch games, passing
at the same time is harder than holding
challenges or on-field stuff, he’s a very
the ball in two hands and running
competitive bloke. And in a position
around the rugby field! You can see the
that is so combative – you stand next
way he offloads, there are not many
to your opposite man at scrums,
people that can do it like him.
hassling him, trying to get over him
“In my head, if he gets a run of games
– it suits him down to the ground.
with Wales, people will really see what
“You’re in your training groups for
he can do. It’s just having game time
your extras and he practically leads it
and getting that consistency. He’s just a
by being there because he’s such an
good bloke on and off the field as well.
influence on the other nines. It makes
“He also loves his dog, Rollo, and has
my life a lot easier to see the standard
a little tattoo (of his dog) on his arm!
he’s got and they just work from there.
“He was younger when he joined
“And it’s not wasted reps either. Every
Cardiff, but you can see he’s more a
rep is meaningful. He might get on the
leader in the last season. Watching from
field and go, ‘Right, I’m doing
the sidelines, I see he’s driving more
12 kicks today’. With some
and in speaking to the coaches at
youngsters, they’ll try to do
Cardiff as well, I hear he’s taking more
leadership on. He’s very knowledgeable 120. You have to manage your
of the game too, so he can deliver those time well. What do you want
standards and he’ll drive players as well. out of this particular session?

“H e’s ve r y co mpet iti v e. I n a
p os i ti on th a t’s so co mba tiv e , it
su it s h im d ow n to t he gro un d ”

EUROPEAN
CHAMPIONS
CUP

“He comes
from a
multi-sport
background,
he played a lot
of basketball,
POOL 2
but with his
rugby skill-set
TOULOUSE
there’s a lot of
CARDIFF
one-handed
BATH
action, high
RACING 92
hand over
HARLEQUINS
the top. What
ULSTER
allows him to
do that is his
footwork. He
has outstanding lateral footwork. He can
stand you up, put you off-balance, go
the other way, which frees his hands up.
“In the last 18 months to two years,
he’s become more of a leader in our
group and he very much leads through
his actions. He’s definitely getting better
and I know it’s a cliché but when he
does speak, people listen.
“What is interesting is his relationship
with coaches. So he very much has his
own way of doing things. He naturally
feels he’s got to where he has by doing
things he wants to do. From a coach’s
angle, it’s pointless fighting against that
with the age he is. So how do you
continue to push him to think about
things another way? He’s such a
talented guy, he’s so big around driving
us and a big influence within our playing
group. So it’s just, if we get a happy
Tomos Williams, we get a happy squad
and then life is good for the team.
“He’s very much a home bird, keeps
himself to himself. He doesn’t post a lot
on social media, which is unusual for a
lot of boys these days. And he still lives
in Treorchy, where he grew up.
“He’s got to be targeting the Lions.
He’s one of the best I’ve ever worked
with, skills-wise, and he’s got that bit of
edge in him. As a nine there are parts of
his game he’s really improved in the last
couple of years and with the leadership
stuff, he’s got to be targeting that
number one spot with the Lions.” n

Supply chain
Williams passing against
Connacht in the URC

W A Y N E
B A R N E S
Fresh from hanging up the whistle, the Rugby World Cup
final referee looks back – and to the future of the sport

Wo r d s A l a n D y m o c k
O

Main Pic Steve Bardens/Getty Images

HIRLWINDS, IN refereeing terms, are something you have
to prepare for. According to Wayne Barnes – who has called
it a day after a dizzying 272 Premiership matches refereed,
with ten finals and 111 Tests, including a Rugby World Cup
final – you simply have to plan for any eventuality.
Of course, you never expect all of them to happen...
Asked whether he was a better referee at the end than
when he started, Barnes begins telling Rugby World about
the power of experience. “I think the more you see and
the more you do, it helps your refereeing,” he says, “so
I definitely think being a bit older and wiser helps.”
But he adds: “Also, one thing. As referees when we’re
uncomfortable or we get things kind of wrong, it’s
when we haven’t seen things before. Like in any job,
when something new comes on your desk and
you’re like, ‘Oh geez, what do I do with it?’, it’s
more likely that you could drop a ball. If you
haven’t seen anything before, you’re kind of
making things up on the hoof; at least you
are doing the best that you can.
“Now when you’ve done 200-odd
Premiership games and 100-odd

44

The Big Interview
afterwards. It’s that immediacy of ‘that player’s just done
this, and that’s why I’m sending him off’.
“So you plan for all of those things you can imagine. What
would you do if you get a streaker on the pitch? What if you
get allegations of racial or verbal abuse? Because if you
thought about that, you can just be that step ahead of it. And
that’s a bit of the lawyer in me. As a lawyer, you want to be
ahead of every potential question that you might be asked.
And you want to make sure you scenario plan on how cases
progress in the courtroom. You don’t want to be caught cold.”
Barnes bows out at the very top of his game, something he
is incredibly proud of. To reach the heights he has is perhaps
one scenario you cannot be certain of, but it’s the barrister’s
meticulous approach that has seen him become a mainstay.
Fellow Premiership referee Christophe Ridley posted after
the news of Barnes’s retirement that “Wayne Barnes is a
legend and the person who has inspired me most”, after
already saying, “His records will rightly never be broken.”
But let’s go back. Before five World
Cups and a heap of Champions Cup
games, it all had to start somewhere.
“I started refereeing because I got
injured and a friend of my dad’s was
a ref,” Barnes explains. “He said,
‘Why don’t you come and give it a

Internationals, you have seen most things. But you’ll
still prepare for that ridiculous one-off, you know. You
scenario plan, just like you would in the real world.”
So in that mad, 100-minute game that Barnes refereed
between France and Wales in 2017, had he planned for that?
“Everything happened in there. So the biting allegation?
Yeah. The doctor saying this player needs a head injury
assessment? Yeah. Now you don’t expect it all to happen
at once! You’d expect maybe one a season, and there’s
about three or four things that happened in that one all
game. You are under pressure just because of the amount
that you’re trying to get through and process.
“But take the Dylan Hartley incident (when Barnes sent
the Northampton captain off in the Premiership final for a
foul-mouthed outburst). I’d prepared for what I would do
if a player really went at me. And if
you go back and look at it, the first
thing I do is, I send off Dylan and then
I go and find Tom Wood and I repeat
exactly what Dylan said to me.
“Because then the world knows. It’s
not something that I have to (explain)

“I’d change the game from
a philosophy point of view –
let’s really encourage attack”

Next generation
With Karl Dickson (left)
and Christophe Ridley

46

Hugging it out Barnes gets a cuddle from
retiring Saracens hooker Schalk Brits in 2018

Training tussle
go?’ And I went to my first game
Georgia v England
and I got a couple of quid travelling
expenses and I got a tankard with
‘referee’ written on it. You get a couple
of free pints. And this 15-year-old lad
thinks ‘brilliant. This is what I want to do’.
“Then at university I was injury-free and so I’d play on a
Wednesday and referee on a Saturday. It helped pay my way
through university a little bit, what with travelling expenses.
You don’t get paid as a ref (in amateur rugby) but you’d get
your 30p a mile to go down to London. And you jump on a
train and get your Young Person’s Rail Card, things like that.
“It was pretty clear early on which I was better at. I played
for my university first team, at that well-known rugby-playing
University of Norwich! But I started getting involved in the
national leagues. You enjoy it and you’re off to Penzance
one weekend, Wharfedale the next, you’re seeing different
parts of the country. And then you get on the sevens circuit
and you get to go to Dubai and Hong Kong.
“The first time I ever flew was to South Africa. I’d never
flown with my family before. So I flew to South Africa on a

referee exchange. You start to see different parts of the
world – I’ve probably been to 50-odd countries in my life, all
around rugby, which I never would have done as a normal
Forest of Dean boy. That’s one of the reasons why you do it.
“You meet some amazing people. And it’s a challenge, you
know. It’s a challenge trying to orchestrate and conduct a
game. Getting people to buy in and getting players not to
take you on. All those things are a mental challenge.”
Looking back is possibly easy for Barnes to do at the
moment having recently completed a memoir, Throwing The
Book. But he also has opinions on a wide range of topics in
the here and now. Ask him about football’s VAR (the video
assistant referee) and he’ll bring you back to the outrage
around a disallowed Luis DÍaz goal when Liverpool played
Spurs. The body who look after match officials shared the
audio of the reffing group as they went through the checklist
that day. On this, Barnes says: “When you listen to it,
you definitely can tell that it’s an evolving process.
And they will learn from all of those. But it all sounded
a little bit chaotic. And it wasn’t that clear.
“If you go back to the World Cup final with me and
Tom (Foley, TMO), first of all Tom and I have been
working together for the last four years. So you have
that understanding of how each other works. There’s
a clear (process) of who speaks first, what the different
responses can be, how you then bring in your other
members of the team to make sure
you’ve got the checks and balances,
and then how you broadcast it.
“That doesn’t just happen, you get
that over time. But I think it’s that
evolving process and that’s where
Barnes first refereed a
football is on that journey at the
Premiership fixture in
moment. You then go back to when
2003, when Bath beat
people were clamouring for
Rotherham 47-3. He
technology, when an offside was
sin-binned Titans No 9
missed by half a metre, which is
Charlie Harrison for
almost impossible to get with the
sparking a punch-up.
naked eye. Or you remember the

PICS AFP, Getty Images & SNS Group

DID YOU
KNOW?

Standing no nonsense
Sending off Dylan Hartley,
right, in the 2013 Prem final

The Big Interview

Caught in the middle
Playing peacemaker for
Australia v France, 2014

Frank Lampard goal against Germany in 2010, which
was a metre beyond the line but wasn’t given. And people
will clamour, ‘It’s outrageous’. But then people want to get
rid of technology because it doesn’t do the job that we want
it to do. Just be clear on what you want it to do.
“You’ve got to be careful what you ask for at the start, but
to rip it up and start again, to me I don’t think it should
happen. What you’re asking for then is to go back to just
letting the referee decide everything but we’re already
seeing referees getting abused. Can you imagine the abuse
when you have to go back and do it all on your own?
“Because rugby at the moment, you can’t referee a game
on your own. It’s hard enough when you go down to do
a second- or third-team game, but there were 41 cameras
at the World Cup and you can’t do it on your own. It’s a
team of four who are making those decisions. So whether
it’s a far-side scrum decision, whether it’s a player in front
of the ball from the kick or whether it’s missing a high
tackle where the video ref comes in, it’s all of those
things. It’s very much a team effort now.”
Looking at life after rugby, Barnes heads into working
full-time as a partner with law firm Squire Patton Boggs.
But he is keen to explore ways he can advise, be it with
the RFU, Premiership clubs or even in other sports. And
high on his agenda is working with the recently formed
union for Test rugby officials and tackling abuse.
In recent weeks you will have heard Barnes recount some
of the vile garbage hurled at his family in the wake of the
World Cup final, in which the officiating team red-carded

All Blacks captain Sam Cane – South Africa triumphed in the
final, 12-11. Barnes has since visited the House of Lords to
discuss what legislators can do to tackle online abuse of
people in sport, from athletes to coaches and match officials.
As he surmises, “If you say you want to chop my head off
or you want to do something to my wife or my children, then
okay, go and explain that in a court of law.” He explains that
there’s been a police investigation in Australia around a
similar scenario for another official, and Barnes has met with

Career pinnacle
With Ardie Savea
in the RWC final

Eye contact
Barnes refs the
Baa-Baas in 2006

Regal manner
Talking with Prince
Harry at Twickenham

quarter-finals had a similar feel to it. A great example.
But Barnes knows all too well that while stakeholders
hold those up as ideal games, there are national head
coaches from both sides filing clips of incidents they feel
should have been penalties. If everyone got their way,
Barnes says, we’d see 45 penalties in a Six Nations bout.
As he sums up: “What the game needs to do at the
moment is decide what it wants to be. Does it want to be
perfect and get every single decision right? That means
a more stop-start game with less flow and less fatigue. Or
do you want a game which is imperfect? Well, if so then
don’t come out and criticise match officials who leave
decisions on the pitch.”
In that same vein then, we ask
Barnes what his message would be
to the public. “I definitely think refs
are misunderstood. Some people
think we just turn out to ruin their
afternoon. Don’t forget that people
get involved in refereeing because
they love the game. They either
played it or coached it and are giving
something back to the game or
making sure they can stay in and elongate their career.
“If people realised we’re not just fun haters – the Fun
Police – then that would be great! And also, you know,
we want the game to flow. We like watching entertaining,
non-stop rugby. But we’re asked to police the laws and
when someone knocks on the ball or goes offside, or
someone’s on the wrong side, we have to do our role. We
aren’t giving away any penalties, we don’t knock on the
ball that often – our role is to police those laws.
“But my favourite game of all time was London French
versus Kilburn Cosmos and I didn’t give one penalty! There
was lots of chat, and I got Man of the Match, so…”
We have already seen Barnes on our television screens
chipping in with punditry and it would be no surprise to
see him become a fixture on the after-dinner circuit, such
is the confidence with which he delivers his message. It’s
a strength he’s already turned on a few veteran players, to
try to woo them over to the whistling side. He hopes that
through the levels the benefits of life as a ref are well sold.
Will it be the garden centre at weekends now on? Somehow
we feel that elite sport will still play a part for Barnes.

“My favourite game of all
time was London French
versus Kilburn Cosmos and
I didn’t give one penalty!”

World Rugby to discuss this issue.
He would like governing bodies in
sport to do more to go after those
issuing threats and vitriol online.
Which brings us to other elements
of the future: the unknown. Or to be
clear, the unknown in rugby. Because
as Barnes makes clear, he and his
refereeing cohorts are fans of the sport first and foremost.
On what he wants to see going forwards, Barnes says:
“Let’s look at ways of keeping the game going. Let’s only get
the really big stuff (pulled up by officials). Let’s make sure
defences are only rewarded when they’re squeaky clean.
Let’s not give ‘holding on’ penalties when a player brushes
their hand across the ball – let’s only give one when he or
she is really tugging at the ball. Let’s make sure that we only
penalise attackers going off feet if it’s so blatant.
“And do all this so players and coaches will have the trust to
play rather than boot the ball. So it wouldn’t be ‘What would
I change from a law point of view?’ It would be change from
a philosophy point of view. Let’s really encourage attack.”
Barnes shares an anecdote from an encounter at World
Rugby last year, when a lot of major movers and shakers
were there. The buzz was about making the game smoother;
less stop-start. And he couldn’t agree more. But then he
recalls the perfect example of this, when Ireland and France
met in the Six Nations. There were 47 minutes of ball in play,
he says. There were only 15 penalties and a lovely flow to
the game. Ireland playing New Zealand in the World Cup

Life in Pictures

Life in Pictures

M Y LIFE IN
PICTURES…
HUW JONES
Interview Josh Graham // Pictures Getty Images & Inpho

Fresh from his first World Cup, the Glasgow and Scotland
centre talks us through some standout memories
20
17

20
21

C OVI D GAIN S

“This Six Nations was
one of my favourite periods of
my career. Covid was awful and
a real bad time for a lot of people.
We were stuck in a hotel but
privileged to keep doing what
we do. We weren’t allowed to
go home or to see anyone but
it made us closer as a group.
“We ended up loving it. We were
so lucky to hang out together and
we got some big wins. This was
after the first win at Twickenham
for 38 years, which was amazing.
“I came off the bench to see out
the game and it was an incredible
feeling. Then we had another big
win in France at the end as well.”

T RY T I M E
“This was my first Glasgow try and it
was in the 1872 Cup, the big derby game
against Edinburgh at Murrayfield with quite
a big crowd. I scored early on in the second
minute after a Tommy Seymour break.
51

“It was a great start and they actually got
a red card but we took our foot off the gas,
which was a real shame. They came back
into it and ended up winning by one point.
“You can go from a real high to a real low
in 80 minutes, but it was cool to score.”

Life in Pictures

F R O ST Y WE LCOME

20

23

“Playing for Scotland and
the Stormers, the seasons didn’t
really match up, so they were
pretty keen to get me across. At
the time pretty much the whole
Scotland back-line was Glasgow
players, so I was pretty keen to
get across to Glasgow Warriors.
“I joined after the autumn Tests
in 2017. My debut was a European
game against Montpellier in
December. The first thing that
sticks out is just how cold it was.
“It was the first time I’d played
on an artificial pitch as well. We
lost 29-22 but it was an honour to
make my debut and I was really
happy with the move. I’ve done
some cool things with Glasgow.”

FU LL C I R CL E

20
23

S H OW M AN

“I cringe when I see
this celebration. For some reason
it has become a bit of a trademark
celebration for me. I never do it
deliberately but when I score,
for some reason I just chuck my
arms out. Sometimes it looks like
a football celebration or like I’m
just questioning something.

“It was a really enjoyable Six
Nations; I scored a few tries and
we had some good wins. We lost
this game which was a shame
because it’s another one that got
away that we could have won.
“I wasn’t getting regular games
until I came back to Glasgow, so
in 2023 it has been amazing to
have a resurgence with Scotland.”
52

17

also close with Siya Kolisi, and
Duane Vermeulen was captain
and the big man at the Stormers. I
had a nice chat with him after this
game. Vincent Koch and Steven
Kitshoff, too. It’s always nice to
play against your mates.
“It was a shame we lost to them
and Ireland but the performance
was better against Ireland, I think.”

20

“Here I’m taking a picture
with some fans after the South
Africa World Cup game. I started
my career alongside a lot of the
players in that South Africa squad,
when we were at the Stormers.
“Damian de Allende is the one
I’m probably closest with and
that’s his shirt I’m wearing. I’m

Life in Pictures

STA RTIN G ST R ON G

20
16

C OM EB ACK KI N G
“I was gutted to miss out on
the 2019 World Cup. I felt pretty
hard done by at the time because
I’d been a part of a lot of good
things in the previous years.
“The next chance I got was the
Six Nations. I’d had a good start
to the season with

“Scotland knew about me
because the Glasgow analyst
Gavin Vaughan had watched
the Varsity Cup games in South
Africa and saw a saltire next to
my name as I was born there.
“This was my first start against
Australia in the autumn Tests. I
was so unknown at the time that I
remember it was a bit of a talking
point before the game: ‘Who is
this guy?’ Within the first ten
minutes, I scored my first try at
Murrayfield in just my second cap;
it was a really special moment.
“It lifts you for the whole game.
I got Man of the Match for scoring
two tries but we ended up losing
the game by one point right at the
end and I was completely gutted.”

Glasgow and I got back in and
started this game. We lost (19-12)
but played alright on the whole
and had chances. We potentially
could have won but you have to
be very clinical against Ireland.
“It was a relief to know that my
Scotland career wasn’t over yet
and I could still fight for a spot.”

20
20
20
23
HU WIPULOTU

DID YOU
KNOW?
Jones was born in
Edinbrugh but his
family moved from
Musselburgh to Kent
when he was two.
He wasn’t signed by
any academies and
after leaving Millfield
School, he played for
club side False Bay in
SA before University
of Cape Town (UCT).

“I met Sione (Tuipulotu) for
the first time just before I left
Glasgow. He came to our
end-of-season party as he was
joining and we had quite a few
drinks together and got to know
each other, but then we didn’t
get to see each other for ages.
“I saw how well he was doing
when I was at Quins and was
pretty excited to play with him
when I got back to Glasgow.
“We hit it off and get on well on
and off the field and have had
some good games together. This
was pre-France in the Six Nations.
“We combine well which is great
for us and great for the team.”

Life in Pictures

A DR EA M F UL FILLE D

20
23

“Getting to my first World Cup
was great on a personal level and
although we didn’t get out of the
group, which was disappointing
but always going to be tough, it
was great to be in the squad.
“It was a relief as I was worried I
wouldn’t ever go to a World Cup
and it would be something I’d

really regret and feel like I missed
out on. I feel so much pride and
privilege every time I get to play
for Scotland, but the World Cup is
the pinnacle for your country.
“We had loads of fun. We get on
really well and you can see the
smile on my face. It was enjoyable
and to finally have the World Cup
experience was great.”

20
18

AT LO NG L AST
“I remember the week
leading up to this game. Even
though the year before we got
absolutely pumped, for some
reason we believed we were
going to win (the Calcutta Cup).
“We were full of confidence and
the coaches billed it as a chance
to win the first one in ten years.
“It’s all about how you start big
games and we started really well.
I think that just gave us the lift we

needed and a bit of belief. I got
an early try which was a bit of a
goalmouth scramble after Finn
(Russell) kicked one through.
“Then this (right) was when I
scored the second try from long
range. It seemed to open up in
front of me and I sprinted for the
line and just about got there.
“It was an amazing day which
was massive for Scottish rugby at
the time. And with another two
tries, a really great day for me.”

F U N AT QUIN S

20

“At the end of 2021, I
was ready to try something new.
I was meant to go to Bayonne but
they got relegated on the last day
of the season and I felt if I went to
a lower division I might miss out
on playing regularly for Scotland.
“Luckily, Quins picked me up. It
was probably the most enjoyable
year of my professional career. I
love the way they do things and
the way everyone is and acts.
“It’s just so much fun and the
style of rugby is so exciting. We
had some big results – this was
against Castres when No 8 Alex
Dombrandt sealed a late win.”

22

54

EUROPEAN
CHAMPIONS
CUP

FI NA L H URD LE
“Last season with Glasgow
was my favourite at the club. It
was the one I’ve been involved
in the most. To get to the (EPCR)
Challenge Cup final against
Toulon was a great achievement
but I was gutted, as you can see,
that we lost (43-19) in Dublin.
“It was a frustrating one as we
didn’t really turn up that day. We
went a few tries down early on
and it was difficult to come back
from that. We lost a quarter-final
at home in the league too, so it
was not a great end to what had
been a really good season.”

POOL 3
MUNSTER
BAYONNE
GLASGOW WARRIORS
EXETER CHIEFS
TOULON
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS

20
23
20
15

GAP YE AR
“I went to South Africa in
2012 after finishing school and
within three years I was playing
Super Rugby for the Stormers.
“It was pretty crazy and I never
expected that to happen. Jean de
Villiers had been captain but was

injured, so the starting centres
were Damian de Allende and
Juan de Jongh in his prime.
“So I got a few games off the
bench mostly but this was my first
start against the Sharks. It was an
incredible first year of pro rugby. I
learnt so much and took it all in.”

20
15

HOT STU F F
“The Currie Cup comes after
the Super Rugby season and is
a good chance for fringe players
to get more opportunities as the
Springbok players are away.
“I played a few more games and
this was my first Currie Cup try
for Western Province against the
Bulls, who are massive rivals.
“My good mate Dillyn Leyds (La
Rochelle) is just out of shot. We
lived together and were just young,
living it up and having fun.” n

Listen up!
Denis Hickie’s try for
Leinster in 2002 pips
Montferrand 23-20

Mayol mayhem
2016 and Saracens are
the first to win at Toulon
in the Euro Cup, 31-23

Saints alive
Driven Northampton
whack Leinster 18-9
back in 2013

Word

home in
m
o
r
f
y
a
w
a
ic wins down the years
p
e
e
m
o
s
t
We look a ean Champions Cup
the Europ

AN
s AL
DYM
OCK
//
Pics
A F P,
GETT
AG
Y IM
NPH
ES, I
SPOR
O &
TSFI
LE

HE INVESTEC Champions
Cup is here, the latest name
for one of rugby’s great
competitions. But in its
various guises down the
years, there have been some incredible
results. And nothing fires imaginations
like an away win. Some monumental
results have been registered over the
years by the visiting side, and we
celebrate some of those…

T

Emotional day
Munster defeat
Toulouse 31-25 in
Bordeaux in 2000

57

Purple haze
Sam Simmonds scores
as Exeter win 31-12 at
La Rochelle in 2019

Yellow bellow
Leinster make the
final in 2012 after
felling Clermont 19-15

Tige rs
ar e fir
at Tho st side t o wi
mo nd,
n
2007
58

Away Days

Northern grit
In a 2012 quarter at
Thomond, Ulster pull
out the stops, 22-16

Rousing upset
Connacht best
mighty Toulouse
16-14 in 2013

Maiden champs
Toulouse bag the
1996 title, 21-18 v
Cardiff at Arms Park

Running riot
North London sees
Clermont pulverise
Sarries 46-14 in 2017

Away Days
Silenced!
A message from Tom
Court after Ulster’s
2012 win in Limerick

Biar ritz
t
a
e
b
e
s
u
o
l
u
To
ain, 2011
p
S
in
n
ig
e
r
to

Worth repeating
Another shot from
Clermont-Leinster 2012
sees Leo Cullen rising

Rearguard heroes
Bath ended with 13
men when beating
Tigers 15-12 in 2006

Kicking yourself
Jordan Crane wins
Leicester a 2009 shootout
– and breaks Cardiff hearts

Saints scoosh
Northampton edge
Biarritz by a point in
San Sebastián, 2007

in 1996
it
s
in
w
d
u
a
l
De y
61

Words Alan Dymock // Pictures Getty Images & Inpho

SPOTLIGHT ON

R ACHE L
MALCOLM
The Scotland skipper talks WXV success and Premiership Women’s Rugby

Age 32 (23 May 1991)
Born Glasgow
Position Flanker
Club Loughborough
Height 5ft 7in
Weight 13st 1lb
Scotland caps 42 (2T)
Instagram @rachm2391

62

R

Step this way
Using her footwork
against Ireland

for an international rugby player,”
Malcolm begins telling us. “As
soon as I could walk, I had a
hockey stick in my hand and
played hockey all through my
youth. I absolutely loved it and
had aspirations. All I can ever
remember is wanting to play for
my country. It was all that really
mattered at school and it had
a big impact on the decisions
I made regarding where I went
to university and stuff like that.
“I played at U17, 18, 21s for
Scotland, but just didn’t quite
make the step up to seniors. I was
down in Loughborough. And it
just didn’t quite work out the way
I would have liked it to do.”
Life is funny, though. Having
tried a bit of touch to stay fit in
the off-season, her S&C coach
at the time was keen to get
Malcolm along to her rugby club,
Lichfield. What Malcolm didn’t
realise when she rocked up was
that this was one of the premier
clubs in the country, with
internationals all around her.
What struck her, though, was
a feeling of belonging there, a
family vibe. Here were world-class
players helping her figure out
rucks and running lines, just
mucking in. It’s what helped drive
Malcolm to somehow balance
playing hockey and rugby every
week – although that caught her
up eventually, she tells us.
Her efforts got some attention
and when then-Scotland women’s
coach Shade Munro was asking
around about qualified talent,
Malcolm’s name was passed on,
alongside Sarah Bonar’s. Things
had fast-forwarded for her.
“I can vividly remember my first
cap,” Malcolm tells us, before
laughing that off the bench she
ran out of puff. “I hit every single
ruck for five minutes, I tried to
make every tackle possible and
to carry the ball like 20 times!”
There’s a positive side to this.
Malcolm fondly remembers work
with decorated Scotland and GB
hockey star Rhona Simpson, who
coached her through her youth.
As Malcolm explains: “She’d
always say to me, ‘It’s horses
for courses’. Because I used to
compare myself to everyone
else and how different I was –
I couldn’t do what X, Y and Z
could do. She told me that in
sport it’s about being the best at
63

what you can do, not worrying so
much about other people.”
On what Malcolm can do, she
tells us – perhaps overly modestly
– that her game (in hockey or
rugby) has never been about the
flashy touches but outworking
others at the gritty bits. And at the
top end, you just have to learn
how to hone that, not waste effort.
As skipper of Scotland there
have been times the group has
had to dig deep. “I’ve had my fair
share of challenges along the
way and that is not something
that I’ve shied away from,” says
the Loughborough Lightning star.
Yet in the recent WXV2 series,
in which Scotland triumphed, the
challenge of leadership changed.
“We may not necessarily have
been favourites in other people’s
eyes, but we were definitely
favourites in our own eyes.
Which is very different to maybe
how we’ve gone into the Six
Nations. So the challenge was:
how do we capture that belief?
“So (in WXV2) we very much
focused on a ‘one game at a time’
mentality – which is so cliché! –
but we also had a different theme
for each of the weeks as we went
through, so we had that refocus.”
For their third week of the
tournament in Cape Town for
example, the theme was ‘Scotland
the Brave’. At the start, it was just
about hitting performance levels.
They were facing South Africa in
South Africa. Executing was a
must. And they did. Against Japan
at the end, they had to roar
through a second-half comeback
after their opponents cut loose
with a wind at their backs. They
did, overwhelming Japan.
Now the run shoulder-first into
Premiership Women’s Rugby starts,
with Lightning. There’s a buzz.
“Our last couple of seasons
have been a wee bit frustrating.
But in terms of domestic rugby
as a whole, how much it’s grown
is incredible. The standard in
England is without a doubt the
best league in the world.
“We’ve got a really different
style to the way we train and
how we want to play this
season. Last year was
the most competitive
ever (for the league)
and I think it will go
up again. And that’s
really cool.” n

M Y TOP 3

UGBY WASN’T the
dream at first. Think
rollicking hockey
sticks, as Rachel
Malcolm blazed
through the Scotland age-grade
system in that sport. All she ever
wanted, she tells Rugby World,
was to represent her country.
But after topping out in hockey,
a chance conversation with her
S&C coach in Loughborough
changed the now-flanker’s path.
“I started rugby at 25 which is
obviously not a traditional route in

SPORTING HEROES
SARAH HUNTER
“She has been a
mentor to me. What
she’s achieved in the
game is something
that I aspire to”
RHONA SIMPSON
“She is probably the
craziest person I’ve
been coached by!”
SAM WARBURTON
“More so than
anything, his
philosophy on
leadership is
really special”

Champions Cup: Pool 4

Words Tom English // Main Picture Andrew Fosker/Inpho

Fresh from winning a second World Cup with South
Africa – this one as head coach – JACQUES NIENABER
lands at Leinster. But what to expect from him?

OR A Leinster team that has made
something of an art form out of losing
tight games, the arrival of Jacques
Nienaber as senior coach must feel like
the signing of the century. Nienaber, not
that anybody will forget, was Rassie
Erasmus’s right-hand man with South
Africa at the World Cup, winning the
quarter, semi and the final by a single
point. Together, they went back-to-back
on the sport’s biggest stage.

65

Champions Cup: Pool 4

PICS Gallo Images, Getty Images & Sportsfile

And as good as they have been,
Leinster have become the anti-Boks.
A one-point loss in the 2023 Champions
Cup final against La Rochelle, a
one-point loss in the 2023 United
Rugby Championship semi-final against
Munster, a three-point loss in the 2022
Champions Cup final against La Rochelle
and a one-point loss in the URC semi
against the Bulls in the same season.
Given Nienaber’s famed work-rate, it’s
easy to picture him slipping away from
the World Cup party, still in his tracksuit
with gold medal dangling from his neck,
to begin the research on his mission to
drag Leinster back into the winners’
circle where they resided for so long.
Talking to people who have played
under him, there is something that
unites them all – every last one of them
believes that Nienaber and Leinster is
a marriage made in rugby heaven. They
will tell you that Leinster will win the big
prizes again now that the South African
is in their midst as the replacement for
the excellent Stuart Lancaster.
“I’m actually jealous of the Leinster
squad getting Jacques,” says CJ Stander,
the former Munster and Ireland No 8. “I
was coached by him at Munster and just
loved him as a coach. The thing about
him is that he is unbelievable technically
and defensive-wise. He is the best.”
Nienaber’s journey is something of a
fairytale. A graduate of the famous Grey
College in Bloemfontein, he was an
athlete in his early days, an 800m and
1,500m runner deemed good enough
to compete for his country. He played
rugby for the firsts but was never
marked out as anything special. He
studied physiotherapy at the University
of the Free State and in the early 1990s
did his compulsory military service in the
company of a certain Rassie, a rugby
player with a burgeoning reputation.
In the beginning
they worked
together at the
Cats as coach and
physio. During
long conversations
in the treatment
room, they found
a shared vision
of the game. As
Erasmus became
coach of the Free
State Cheetahs,
he hired Nienaber
as his conditioning
coach. Those
Cheetahs won the
Currie Cup for just
the second time
in their history.

A word in your ear
Nienaber with CJ Stander
“I spent a lot of time talking to Jacques
while I was on the physio bed,” said
Erasmus. “I became a coach as soon as
I stopped playing. I brought Jacques in
as a conditioning coach right away.”
“I’d have been a physio in Bloemfontein
if Rassie hadn’t backed me,” Nienaber
has added. “You need people to back
and believe in you. I would love to have
been a fly on the wall when Rassie said,
‘Listen guys, I believe this physio is
good enough to be a head coach, even
though he hasn’t been one before.”
Schalk Brits, the great Saracen and
2019 World Cup-winning Springbok,
goes way back with Nienaber. “We go
back to 2004 when he was just a physio
at the Cats, which was Rassie’s first
coaching job. It was Chester Williams
as head coach, Rassie as forwards
coach and Jacques as physio.
“He was extremely passionate about
the game and always had the human
element. Rassie said, ‘Stop wasting your
time getting players fit, I can teach you
about the game, I can tell you everything
I know’. From there, Jacques became
defence coach and the rest is history.
“He understands players, he has
that compassion and that love for his
Dream team
A hug from
Siya Kolisi

players. That’s the beauty of him. He
knew my kids and my wife. He cared.
Technically, yes, he’s superb because
he puts in the work and he understands
the game, but his X-factor is knowing his
own players, understanding when they
are having good times and bad times.
“Rugby is a small part of his success.
His real success is that he cares for
each and every one of his group. I don’t
know one player who has ever spoken
badly about him. He’s all about people.
That’s the secret sauce. You can get
short-term success by pushing players
but unless they’re rooting for you
eventually they will turn against you
when things go wrong.”
From the Cats to the Cheetahs to
the Stormers, the Erasmus-Nienaber
coaching revolution rolled onwards and
upwards. “It was 2008 and Rassie had
signed as head coach of the Stormers
and brought along his man, Jacques,”
says Francois Louw, the 76-cap Bok
and another 2019 World Cup champion.
“Jacques was our head of strength
and conditioning and then quickly
evolved into head of our kicking game,
then 18 months later he was the defence
coach. In those days – and we are
talking 2010 and 2011 now – we were
defensively the best team in Super
Rugby. We didn’t have a crown to round
it all off but we made the final in 2010
and lost to the Blue Bulls.
“He kinda made that role his own,
Jacques. He redefined the way things
can be approached defensively, very
analytical, very
statistics-based. He
pushed boundaries.
Super-rush defence,
Age 51 (16 Oct 1972)
double tackles and as
Born Kimberley, SA
the laws evolved so
Position Leinster’s
did his strategy. He
senior coach
didn’t set up to be a
Teams coached
coach but he became
Western Province,
one and he became
Stormers, Munster,
coach of the best
South Africa
team in the world.”

FACT FILE

Louw tells a story of the first coming of
Nienaber at the Stormers. The operation
was basic back then but Nienaber was
all over the technology of the time and
how it could be used to move forward.
“He and Rassie approached a
computer hardware business and
ordered 22 laptops. Each day the analyst
would load training and games onto the
laptops and everyone would take one
home and you would watch the clips.
“That was brand-new for us. He was
at the forefront of tech, analysis,
understanding your role, other players’
strengths and weaknesses, assessing
trends in the game and how we could
adapt. He was focused on the individual
and he played a massive part in my
career, from a motivation and technical
perspective, how I could understand
referees better, how referees perceive
the game and where we can push the
boundaries and where we can’t.
“There’s a lot of advice out there,
some rubbish, some extremely
important. It’s the way somebody
delivers it that matters. Jacques gave
me the knowledge and confidence to
grow. I went from, ‘I’m not on the same
level as some of these other guys’ to
‘I actually think I am on the same level’
to ‘I know I’m better than they are’.”

That spell with Munster didn’t
produce silverware and it ended
abruptly when Nienaber and Erasmus
exited to assume control of the
Springboks. They left a mark, though.
Jerry Flannery, the former Munster and
Ireland hooker, was on that coaching
ticket. He calls Nienaber a “scientist”
when it comes to organising a defence.
Jean Kleyn, the Munster and Bok lock,
is another who has journeyed with him.
“I had him at Stormers, at Munster when
Rassie brought him over and now here,”
he said at the World Cup. “I’m privileged
enough to have him for a third time.
“Jacques is immense, I don’t think
there’s a coach in the world who gives
more detail. He’s so devoted and he’s
the hardest worker I’ve ever met.”
Felix Jones would agree. The Irish
coach, who was with Nienaber for the
last two World Cups, said he never saw
anyone put in the hours Nienaber does.
“He deserves as much credit as anyone
because no one sees the game like him.
No one gets the players behind a plan
like he can. No one can simplify a plan
like he can, so a player can latch onto it
and go, ‘If I do this, I can be in the mix…’
He seems to have a sense for things.”
The greatest plaudit came from Siya
Kolisi after South Africa’s triumph in

“ His r eal succ ess i s t ha t he
c a res . He’s a ll a bou t p e o pl e .
T h at’s t he se cret sa uc e”
Louw was in his early 20s when he
first started working with Nienaber and
then worked with him again at the other
end of his career, when the dream team
returned home from a stint at Munster to
take charge of the bid to win the World
Cup in 2019. Which, of course, they did.
“My last game was the World Cup final
against England. I was 35. I can say
without hesitation that from the first
time he coached me to the last time
he coached me, Jacques remained the
same quiet and humble guy. He gets
a kick out of creating exceptional
athletes and getting them to pull
together on a world stage. For him,
it’s not about standing in front of the
media and getting the accolades.
“He laid the foundations of my career
and did the same for many other South
Africans. He knew the young lads
coming through and was instrumental in
their development. All that knowledge is
now at Leinster. It’s got to be extremely
exciting for every one of them there.”

Aiming higher
Leinster’s Hugo
Keenan in action

EUROPEAN
CHAMPIONS
CUP

POOL 4
Paris. “I have
worked with
LA ROCHELLE
Jacques since
STADE FRANÇAIS
I was 17. We
LEICESTER TIGERS
grew up
STORMERS
LEINSTER
around him
SALE SHARKS
– me and Frans
(Malherbe),
Steven Kitshoff
and Pieter-Steph (du Toit). We all played
under him. He cared about us as
people. He took us further. He asks me,
‘Are you going to let your daughter
down, your son down?’ It became far
deeper than just a rugby game.”
Then, Kolisi cuts to the heart of the
Nienaber Effect. “Jacques, honestly,
it’s been a huge honour for me, a huge
privilege. We love you as a team, not
as a coach, but as a person.”
That person, laden with World Cup
gold, is now in Dublin. The next great
adventure is about to begin. n

Always learning
With Rassie Erasmus

67

After the shortest of stints playing in Paris with Racing 92,
Warrick Gelant is back to cause havoc with the Stormers

TORMERS COACH John Dobson
chuckles when he’s asked to explain
why Warrick Gelant – who recently
returned from a one-year stint at
Racing 92 – is called ‘The Boogeyman’.
“He’s scary… or at least he used to be,” says Dobson.
“Before he went to France, he’d sit through team
meetings without saying a word. I’d be addressing
the team and whenever I looked in his direction,
those two fierce eyes would glare back at me.”
Gelant departed Cape Town shortly after the
Stormers’ United Rugby Championship title
triumph in June 2022. When he returned
from France ahead of the 2023-24 season,
the Stormers coaches and players were
struck by how much he’d changed.
“He’s less emotional, and certainly more
outspoken and engaging with the coaches,”
Dobson points out. “He’s looking to mentor
the younger players and pass on what he’s
learned. That’s a major development for us as
a team, because not many players see and
understand the game like Warrick Gelant.”
Two years ago, the Stormers franchise was in
freefall. Stars such as Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du
Toit and Bongi Mbonambi had left the team. Shortly

68

Wo rd s J O N C A R D I N E L L I // M a i n P i c t u re A S H L E Y V LOT M A N / G A L LO / G E T TY I M A G E S

Scary
Good

South Africa

South Africa
after they began a historic URC
campaign, the franchise was sent into
administration by SA Rugby.
The coaches and players fought back
to win the URC title, but that victory did
nothing to improve the franchise’s
financial situation – at least not in the
short term. As a result, Dobson’s plans
to recruit ahead of the 2022-23 season
were shelved, and a key player in Gelant
pursued a lucrative deal in France.
The situation improved in early 2023
as the Stormers moved towards a

Racing last season. It’s at the Stormers,
though, where he has been encouraged
to express himself and his unique talents.
“In some ways it feels like I’ve come
full circle, but in many ways it’s an
opportunity to restart,” Gelant says. “I
remember the dark days of Covid, and
how it felt to get back into rugby, and
then the early days of the URC. That said,
I couldn’t have scripted a better finish in
2022, with us winning the whole thing.
“The decision to go to France… it was
more about me writing my own story. As

“ Wa r ri ck ha s g ot a cra zy s k i ll- s et .
A n d w ha t he’s al wa ys h a d is th e
b e st r ug by bra in in th e t ea m”
private equity deal with Red Disa
Investment. By June, they were in a
position to make their first high-profile
signing, and confirmed that Gelant was
on the way back to Cape Town.
When the equity deal was officially
closed in September, Dobson spoke
about building a squad that could excel
across the URC and Champions Cup in
the years to come. Several months on,
he tells Rugby World why Gelant is such
an important piece in a long-term puzzle.
“Once I knew that we would have the
means, I didn’t hesitate to push for
Warrick’s return,” Dobson says. “There
were a lot of names on my list but
Warrick’s was first, second and third. It’s
that important. He offers a potential
game-changer for the team as a whole.”
Scotland fly-half Finn Russell is widely
acknowledged as one of the finest
attacking players in the word, yet rarely
receives credit for his excellent kicking
game. In South Africa, there’s a
perception Gelant and team-mate Manie
Libbok are attacking specialists, and
less is said about their intelligent tactical
approach or how they manipulate space.
“Sometimes what you see on the field
is not the complete picture of a player,”
says Dobson. “Warrick has got a crazy
skill-set and you can see what happens
when he really tries to push it, as was
the case when the Stormers played
against Scarlets in Stellenbosch earlier
this season. He’s a player who takes
risks and they don’t always come off.
“What he’s always had is the best
rugby brain in the team. This image of
him being a freestyler who doesn’t give
his individual actions much thought is at
odds with the player we know him to be.”
Gelant spent his formative rugby years
at the Bulls, and had that brief stint with

fate would have it, I’ve got the chance
to come back to South Africa to write
another chapter. The experience abroad
was amazing but when the opportunity
to return to the Stormers came along,
I grabbed it with both hands.
“I was realistic about coming back,
though. I knew something had to change.
I had to ask myself new questions like
‘What can I contribute?’ and ‘How far
can we go with this new system?’.
“After a great experience in France,
it’s about transferring what I learnt to
a Stormers environment. At the same
time, I have got to adapt my game to
what the Stormers need.
“I had some injury issues when I was
here last, so that’s one of my goals this
season: to stay fit and available to do
the work for this team. I don’t think it’s
unrealistic to say that we want to make
In service of others
Playing for Racing in last
year’s Champions Cup

the URC final – that’s just the standard
Libbok, Willemse (at No 12)
the team has set over the past two
and Gelant. Libbok and
seasons. To win that final would be
Willemse, who both won the
another goal, and then there is the
World Cup with the Boks in
matter of the Champions Cup.”
France, recently returned to
The Stormers aren’t short on quality in
the Stormers set-up after a
their back division. As witnessed in their
well-deserved break. If all
inaugural URC campaign, the presence
goes to plan, the Stormers
of Gelant at No 15 tends to amplify the
will field the trio in the
talents of Libbok, Damian Willemse and
Champions Cup games
others. There’s reason to expect similar
coming this December.
Boks scorer
fireworks over the next few months.
“We’re in a strong position
A try v Wales in 2017
“It’s important that I have a good
if we can have options like
understanding of where this team
Manie, Warrick and Damian
comes from,” Gelant says of his role.
across the field,” says Dobson. “Warrick
changed over the past 18 months, in
“The vibe, the way we play, it’s like a
can be devastating in that first-receiver
terms of the way the Boks have played
‘serving system’. How can we serve and
position. In our system the full-back is
and the players they have selected.
support one another? And in turn, how
one of our primary game-strikers.”
Manie made an impact for the Boks in
can we serve our people in terms of the
Could the same trio of players feature
2022 and 2023, and if Manie is in the
way we play? It’s easy to stay humble
for the Boks across the next four-year
Bok back-line, then there is potential
when you remember where this team
cycle? Gelant was a regular member of
for Warrick to make an impact, as they
was a few years ago, and also when you the squad in 2018 and 2019, but didn’t
tend to feed off each other.
remember who you are playing for.
feature beyond a brief recall in 2022.
“You never know. If Warrick puts
“The Stormers have qualified for
Since the Boks have struck out in a bold together a body of work that’s too
back-to-back URC finals, and the danger new attacking direction, and backed
impressive to ignore, maybe he will find
is to look at those outcomes and say
players like Libbok, could it be time to
himself back in the Bok mix in 2024.”
what we are doing is working and
reconsider Gelant as a full-back option?
The Stormers have a particularly tough
there’s no reason to change. You’ve got
“When Warrick returned, he made it
Champions Cup draw, with matches
to keep adapting and working, and what clear that the Stormers would be his
coming against Leicester and two-time
helps is new guys coming in from
focus,” says Dobson.
champions La Rochelle in December
different systems and giving their
“He felt that the
followed by fixtures against Sale Sharks
input based on what they’ve seen
opportunity to play for
and Stade Français in January.
on different sides of the world.
the Boks had passed
The return of the Boks will boost their
“We’re on a good wicket, in the
him by, or at least
cause but, as Dobson suggests, player
sense that we know what’s needed
under this particular
management will be key across all of
Gelant attended
to perform in this competition, but
set of Bok coaches.
the respective competitions.
Outeniqua High
we strive towards a higher standard.
The current Bok game
“We’ve learned that we have to
School in George
“So I guess our system is one of
model is not very
manage our squad carefully after what
and was part of an
flow. It adapts under pressure but
Warrick-friendly. He
happened last year,” he says. “That’s
outstanding 2013 side struggled when he
also takes into account how much
been a challenge, given the limitations
that also featured
the game changes from week to
played against
we’ve had regarding recruitment in
Duhan van der Merwe Wales in 2022.
week and month to month.”
recent years, but it will improve in the
and current sevens
Coach Dobson is excited by the
“But having said
next year or so. We’re not there yet
star Dewald Human.
prospect of reuniting the old firm of
that, so much has
but we will start to rotate a lot more,
whether we are competing in the
URC or in the Champions Cup.
“Winning away in the Champions Cup
is so difficult and with that in mind
winning at home is non-negotiable.
That has to be the focus if you want
to progress in this tournament.”
Gelant is relishing the opportunity to
compete on club rugby’s biggest stage
again, but in a different club uniform.
“I played in that tournament for the
first time last year (with Racing), and I’m
looking forward to experiencing that
challenge in a Stormers jersey.
“To play in those big competitions and
measure yourself against the best is a
privilege, but so is the opportunity to
play alongside people you care for and
in a team you love. That’s what I’ve been
Rock solid
looking forward to more than anything
Putting boot to
this season, the chance to play with my
ball against Scarlets
friends and to enjoy the journey.” n

PICS Getty Images, Steve Haag Sports & Inpho

DID YOU
KNOW?

71

Words ALAN DYMOCK // Pics GETTY IMAGES & INPHO

E HAVE all seen the
big hits that make you
wince; the thundering
shoulder that cuts an
attacker in half and has
the crowd collectively giving it an
“Oooh!” All legal, all-out mayhem.
And it’s part of the game we love. But
who’s the all-time master? We’ve run
through the names from Pieter-Steph
du Toit to Chabal and Collins.
Putting these monsters in any sort of
order could be folly – so just enjoy the
savagery of all, in any order you like!

W

Who is the most ferocious defender our game
has seen? These are the howitzers who have
decimated ball-carriers in years gone by

Sébastien Chabal

A hairy moment
Defending for France

France | Bourgoin, Sale, Racing
Back in 2007, Sale Sharks coach
Kingsley Jones said of the side’s hirsute
French back-row, “He’ll get the ball, run
through six people, then walk for two
minutes. We know his weaknesses but
play to his strengths. When he goes
forward or makes a big tackle, he
inspires the whole team.”
That was Chabal. Capable of carnage,
a big fan of it in fact. Rough around the
edges sure, but something about that
resonated – he was a marketer’s dream
for a while. Reflecting in 2023, the
one-time Premiership winner told the
Mail: “My game was direct because I
didn’t start playing until I was 16. So
maybe I didn’t have all the basics, like
the pass. My strength was to take the
ball and go forward and smash people.
That’s why teams wanted me.” Fans too.
72

Biggest Hitters

Manu Tuilagi
England | Leicester, Sale Sharks
We talk so much about what the England centre can do and
has done with ball in hand. He is a devastating carrier in top
form. But the defensive side of his game is just as brutal.
Last year former England defence coach Anthony Seibold
called him a “weapon”. Sale handed their ‘hit of the season’
to Tuilagi for an early-term hammering that sent Bath flanker
Wesley White flying. This in a season when the beaten
Premiership finalists told us Manu was playing his best rugby.
George North, CJ Stander, Geoff Parling, David Wallace
– they’ve all felt the wrath of Tuilagi. Has it always been
legal? No. But when he gets it right, it’s a scary sight.

Vice-like grip
Tuilagi nails Lee Byrne
of Clermont back in 2011
73

Biggest Hitters

Trevor Leota
Samoa | Wasps, Cheetahs

Blue wall
Halting Wales

Lurking danger
Burger closes down
Dan Carter of NZ

Schalk Burger
South Africa | Stormers,
Suntory, Saracens
The great Dan Carter has said in the
past that Schalk Burger was the
toughest opponent he ever faced.
Fellow All Black Liam Messam said,
“No one could hit you harder than
Schalk Burger.” The man himself has
even described a now-legendary hit
on mate Fourie du Preez as “perfect
technique”. The guy loved confrontation.
No stranger to injury, his comeback
from a spinal cyst and bacterial
meningitis in mid-career tells of his
drive. Belting hits also speak volumes.
74

Our colleague Campbell Burnes,
from Rugby News in New Zealand,
played for Samoa alongside Leota.
And along with memories of an “Exocet
missile”, he says the hooker “tackled
like thunder, making him a feared
opponent the world over”.
Those explosive tackles made Leota
not just a hero to Wasps fans but a cult
figure amongst rugby fans across the
globe. It’s why, back in 2003, after
Leota returned back to the club late for
pre-season – something of a trademark
– boss Warren Gatland explained why
there was leeway: “The guys know he’s
a bit of a special case. If he was anyone
else, he might not still be here but the
players know that he’s the one guy you
wouldn’t want to be playing against.”
It was once reported that S&C coach
Paul ‘Bobby’ Stridgeon was sent to live
in Leota’s house in the build-up to a
2004 European final, to monitor his
lifestyle choices. But it was in contact
that the Samoan cap feasted. Shaun
Edwards even said he’d pay to watch
Leota go toe-to-toe with the most
physical players in league at the time.

Biggest Hitters

Brian Lima

Snapshots of doom
The hit on Hougaard

Samoa | Blues, Highlanders,
Stade Français, Swansea
He was the first man to play in five
World Cups but let’s be honest, you
know him by the nickname. Dubbed
‘The Chiropractor’ for the way he, er,
rearranged the bodies of opposition
players, his masterpiece was the shot
on Derick Hougaard (left) in 2003.
The attribution of this nickname falls
to former Highlanders boss Gordon
Hunter, who reportedly explained the
reason for it was because “there was
always a clicking noise as a disc slipped
out of place after Brian tackled”.
Former England full-back Mat Tait
recently shared his experience of being
“splattered” by Lima. The man himself
said in Hard Men of Rugby of a big hit:
“The adrenalin is something else.”

Jason White
Scotland | Glasgow, Sale,
Clermont Auvergne
“Some players win games by kicking
goals, some by scoring tries, some by
strategy and organisation. Jason wins
them because he is a big presence.
When he hits you... Boom!”
That was Philippe Saint-André, back
when he was boss of Sale. White,
captain of Scotland at the time, had built
up a reputation for bone-crunching hits,
earning himself the moniker of ‘Hitman’
in some quarters. But not flashy about
it all, he recently told Rugby World: “I
sometimes look back on those and
think, ‘God, did I actually do that?’”

Jerry Collins
Maurie Fa’asavalu

New Zealand | Hurricanes,
Toulon, Ospreys, Narbonne

Samoa | Harlequins,
St Helens, Oyonnax

The New Zealand Herald once wrote
of Collins that “pound for pound, he hit
harder than anyone”. Ex-Wales captain
Colin Charvis, who was on the receiving
end of one thunderous hit from Collins,
said he was “a warrior on the pitch”.
But everyone has said of the late
star that as bruising as he was on
the pitch, he was full of life and care
off it. He once said of himself: “I
appealed more to the working-class
man, the people who worked in the
meat works and the factories.”
Perhaps it was the disregard for his own
body as he threw it at the cause of his
team triumphing. A legendary figure.

Not as renowned as others on this list,
Fa’asavalu is a real ‘the streets know’
type of player. Another player who
spent time in both codes, the Samoan
international was a player fans of his
club would whisper excitedly about.
Others tried to tell us. In 2012, ahead
of a Test match, Scotland boss Andy
Robinson said: “Those people who have
not seen Maurie Fa’asavalu play for
Harlequins are in for a treat. He is a big
hitter and a strong runner.” Opposite
men might not agree. As former Bristol
centre Ben Mosses told The Rugby
Paper, he was “horrible to play against”.
75

Biggest Hitters

Marcos Kremer
Argentina | Jaguares, Stade Français, Clermont
In the wake of Argentina’s first-ever defeat of New Zealand,
former Kiwi hooker James Parsons tried valiantly to sum up
the performance of Kremer that day. The stats had him
making an incredible 28 tackles, with 14 of them dominant.
“Defensively, he was just into everything,” he said.
And it was no one-off. At the recent World Cup, Kremer
bested the highest-ever total for tackles at the event, topping
the charts at 92. The previous best tally was 83 by Taulupe
Faletau in 2011. Kremer’s appetite for work, wow.

Feeling the force
Kremer made 18 tackles in
the bronze final against England
76

Biggest Hitters

Courtney Lawes
England | Northampton

Last-ditch brilliance
A try-saver on Telusa Veainu

Jacques Burger
Namibia | Bulls, Saracens

Once described in commentary as
“the nemesis of every fly-half”, Lawes
surprised Rugby World in 2021 by
telling us in an exclusive interview that
by that point he’d only ever been
pinged once for a high tackle – when
he was 18. “I’ve always been a good
tackler technique-wise,” he told us.
And then some. As his career has
aged, by his own admission he has
stopped producing “highlight-reel hits”
with the same regularity, but don’t run
into his zone, guys. At the peak of his
powers he was mowing down key
players, with the monstrous tackle on
French fly-half Jules Plisson in the 2015
Six Nations his pièce de résistance.

Going down together
Burger against Exeter

Want an understatement? The Saracens
and Namibia stalwart once said,
“Everyone has something they’re really
good at and I’m fortunate that I’m good
at the physical part of the game.” This
was said in the wake of a league match
in which he made a shoulder-melting 37
tackles, against Exeter Chiefs.
Reflecting on his career, the flanker
recently told the Daily Mail while on his
farm in the Kalahari Desert, “When you
make a big tackle, the energy of the
team changes straightaway. I played
through pain to do that.” It’s safe to say
he changed a lot of energy in his time.

Game for the ages
In the World Cup final

Pieter-Steph du Toit
South Africa | Sharks,
Stormers, Toyota Verblitz
It really was a defensive display for
the ages. After winning this year’s
World Cup final, South Africa head
coach Jacques Nienaber was asked
about du Toit’s 28 tackles in a Player
of the Match performance.
“I always joke that if there’s a white
plastic bag that blows onto the field,
he would probably chase that down
as well. ‘The Malmesbury Missile’, he
was like a machine.”
The men’s World Player of the Year in
2019, du Toit almost lost his leg to a rare
condition in 2020 and has seen some
stuff. But when it comes to powdering
attackers, he is elite. Rassie Erasmus
wrote of appreciating how du Toit “put
the opposition on their backsides”. Fans
around the rugby world agree, mate.

Challenge Cup

Words Francisco Isaac

//

Main Image Rugby Europe

After banging at the door, the Georgian side BLACK LION come
into the Challenge Cup. But can they make an impact?

79

Giving it a Lash
Wing Otar Lashkhi
scores for Black Lion
HE GEORGIAN franchise has dominated
the Rugby Europe Super Cup for the
two seasons it’s been in existence and
now has a chance to shine in the EPCR
Challenge Cup. But can fans expect
something special from Black Lion? And,
more importantly, what is Black Lion?
In 2021, Rugby Europe, with the help
of seven unions, created a continental
competition to help them develop a
higher standard of international player,
enhancing their skills within a more
competitive environment. That
competition was named the Rugby
Europe Super Cup and the Georgian
union, with their franchise Black Lion,
was one of the founding members.

Lasha Khurtsidze, vice-president of
the Georgian union, said at the time that
the Super Cup “will be a cornerstone
of future development of Georgian
rugby… To get involved with the Super
Cup was a good opportunity for us and
we did not hesitate. We do believe this
competition will grow stronger from year
to year and will contribute to growing
the game in Tier Two countries”.
After one-and-a-half years of Covid,
which strained finances in the game,
the Georgian union was able to build
a franchise from scratch, creating an
identity recognised by its ferocity, power
and dominance in the cup. Dressed in
full black or white, they only lost two of

PICS Getty Images & Rugby Europe

Deft offload
Shalva Mamukashvili
v Tel Aviv Heat

80

16 games, topping their Eastern
Conference and successfully besting
any challenger in the knockouts.
But let us backtrack and explain why
Georgia’s effort to maintain the Black
Lion franchise over the past couple of
years has worked wonders. As stated,
the Super Cup serves as a platform
between the local clubs and Test status,
working as a link between worlds. The
purpose was for new players to get a
much-needed push to become more
Test-ready, or for already experienced
units to have more competitive game
time, becoming a canister for greatness.
With that in mind, the union signed
the best players in Georgia – or those
earmarked to make an impact on an
international stage – and developed
a power-packed team. From the likes
of well-known players like Merab
Sharikadze, Shalva Mamukashvili, Lasha
Jaiani, Mikheil Gachechiladze and
Nodar Tcheishvili to new upcoming
talents such as Akaki Tabutsadze,
Luka Matkava, Luka Ivanishvili, Mirian
Modebadze and Demur Tapladze.
If you have been following Georgia for
the past couple of seasons, you might
notice that every single one of these
names has been deeply involved with
the Lelos national side and helped to
deliver some of the most inspiring
moments in the nation’s recent history.
For second-row Lasha Jaiani, the
exposure from Black Lion helped attract
international attention and he signed
a contract with an established ProD2
club, USO Nevers – an example of how
the Georgian franchise was making
waves elsewhere around Europe.

Jaiani says: “It was really important
because it was a new thing at the time
and that is good when something is
fresh, as it is more interesting. It was
a great experience that helped me as
I was able to represent my country.”
Matkava and Ivanishvili, two of the
most promising Georgian players –
spoken in the same breath as Lyon
speedster Davit Niniashvili – were
shaped as senior and Test players more
quickly. The Black Lion laid out and built
the foundations to enable Georgian
rugby to grow without solely depending
on whether player A or B succeeded in
the top club competitions in Europe.
Black Lion started the 2021 season
by defeating Russian behemoths
Enisei-STM and an ambitious Tel Aviv
Heat – with Gabriel Ibitoye and Renaldo
Bothma playing for the Israeli side at
the time. They would move on to the
semi-finals and finals, surpassing every
obstacle to raise the 2021-22 Super Cup
in Lisbon, where they defeated the
Lusitanos in a tight clash, 17-14.
Mamukashvili, one of the living
legends of Georgian rugby who played
in that final, picks Black Lion as one of
his favourite memories. “Probably my

from the franchise were called up for
those international windows.
What was originally conceived as a
push for the Lelos became a symbol
of accomplishment and success in
the country, as the young Georgian
franchise was now a catalyst for how
well the national side could do,
making it possible for newcomers to
earn a professional contract and
work better together as a unit.
This year’s Rugby World Cup might
have ended in disappointment for
Georgia, who finished winless, but
18 Black Lion players made it into the
squad – a telling sign of the role that
the franchise has been playing for
the nation’s development.
So after two dominant seasons in
the Rugby Europe Super Cup, and
successful tours to South Africa and
South America (they played and won
against all Super Rugby Americas
sides), the EPCR Challenge Cup is the
next mountain for the franchise to climb.
Can the fans of Clermont Auvergne,
Scarlets, Gloucester and Castres expect
competitive and entertaining fixtures?
Whatever they predict, they should be
wary as the Black Lion are undoubtedly

“ It makes a h ug e im pac t f or t he
nat io na l t ea m a s 50 % o f th e
t eam al w ays pl a ys tog e th er ”
best memory from the Super Cup was
our first game against the Heat in Tbilisi
in the opening season. We were a new
team in a new competition and we got a
fantastic win in front of our supporters.”
The Lelos centurion also explains the
role of the franchise: “The Black Lion
is also a chance for young lads to get
some precious experience. It makes a
huge impact for the national team as
50% of the team always plays together.”
For those less aware of the Black
Lion’s heroics, the Georgian franchise
not only made the Super Cup their
dominion but also played overseas,
travelling to South Africa to join the
2022 Currie Cup First Division.
In their first and only run, the
Georgians almost made it all the way,
earning a total of six wins and only
falling in the semi-finals when they went
down to the Griffons in extra-time.
Between the 2021-22 Super Cup and
Currie Cup run, Black Lion played 17
official games and that would prove vital
for historical Test victories over Wales
and Italy because at least 18 players

Veteran power
Merab Sharikadze

aiming to register a couple of wins and
make a shock entry in the European
competition. It’s a proud debut for them.
Levan Maisashvili, who remains at
the franchise and will still be Georgia’s
head coach until a new boss is
appointed, will have his full set-up
wound up to make noise in Europe.
A well-balanced team focused on
delivering pitch-perfect set-pieces, the
Black Lion are always on the lookout
to move the ball between the backs,
81

CHALLENGE CUP POOLS
POOL 1

POOL 2

POOL 3

CHEETAHS
DRAGONS
OYONNAX
PAU
SHARKS
ZEBRE PARMA

BENETTON
LIONS
MONTPELLIER
NEWCASTLE
OSPREYS
PERPIGNAN

BLACK LION
CASTRES
CLERMONT
EDINBURGH
GLOUCESTER
SCARLETS

sharpening their blade until winger
Tabutsadze finds his way to the try-line.
Sharikadze and Mamukashvili’s
leadership is also a vital component,
and knowing those veterans helps to
understand how they operate as a team.
Fans shouldn’t see them as a ‘B’ or
‘Prospect’ side for Georgia – they are a
fully-fledged Lelos side playing as a club.
Their pride as a Georgian team is
sacred and at every tackle, breakdown,
lineout, scrum or try, they talk of feeling
the same energy and emotion as a
Test match. They are known for never
backing down, marching powerfully on,
and have set the standard for the future.
“Black Lion has a huge effect on
national team success,” Sharikadze
says. “Not only with the wins but the
quality of rugby of the national team is
very much related to the Black Lion.”
Since the development of the only
Georgian professional franchise in
2021 – at least for now – Georgia have
secured 15 wins, losing only six and
drawing twice (both times against
Portugal). Even if the recent World Cup
crumbled when all they had worked for
was the most successful campaign ever,
the fact remains that Black Lion has
become a trusted pathway to create a
more ambitious Georgian player pool,
and one that if handled well can secure
their future for the next decade.
When 9 December arrives, bringing
with it Black Lion’s opening match at
home to Gloucester, the Challenge Cup
will have to be ready to welcome their
new challengers. They are hoping to
drench European rugby in black dye.
Unfancied perhaps, but the whole group
wants you to hear their roar when the
competition gets underway. n

Words Alan DYmock // Main Pic Julian Finney/World Rugby

With the help of sports psychologist
Stephen Mellalieu, we look at how best to
handle different challenges in the elite game

UGBY LOVES planning. Phase after
phase is mapped out. Plays are worked
on for months. Teams want to peak at
exact moments. But how do the
athletes handle things when the picture changes on the field?
That was the initial idea that led us to pitching a number
of scenarios at Stephen Mellalieu, a professor in sport
psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University, who regularly
consults in Welsh professional rugby. And this is how he
framed them in a psychological sense. Check these out...
82

Psychology

83

Psychology
Losing a star player to injury can derail
even a whole country’s morale – look
at when France thought they’d lost
Antoine Dupont to a facial fracture.
How do you combat this?
“A coach may lead the discussion on
this with players but I think you have to
rationalise it. We talk about acceptance,
which is a big thing in psychological
terms – to come to terms with adversity,
challenges and upsets and grief are all
part of our process to move through.
“You have to discuss what you’ve
lost, what they bring to the team –
and Dupont is the world’s best player
– but you have to accept he’s not
available. Other players who will step
in will bring other strengths to the team.
It is time for other players to step up
and it’s about the collective angle.
“Whoever is stepping in, it’s best to
not try to be just like the other player.
They’ve got to be themselves. Yes,
play the game plan but be the best
they can be within that.”

PICS Getty Images

There are teams who like to name their
side well in advance of the deadline.
Does that actually have any effect?
“We’re in a world where the analysis of
the opposition is so detailed, it’s done
so far in advance, that irrespective of
what the opposition brings, you’re
prepared and have a style of play that
you’ve decided upon to face them.
Ultimately it’s all about how you
impose your game on them.
“A common pitfall is to get obsessed
with stopping the opposition. Teams can
become so over-analytical about where
we need to stop them that it negates
their game. Rugby is a strength game
and it’s about bringing your best. It
should be, ‘We’re aware of what you

An aching nation
Antoine Dupont goes off
do, but we won’t let it consume our
preparation.’ The danger is taking your
eye off the ball, getting too distracted.”
Say your opponent celebrates wildly,
even for knock-ons or scrum penalties.
Are there techniques to combat that?
“It’s probably a collective discussion. You
know the team you are playing and they
may have certain players who are liable
to distract, whether that’s on-the-ball
stuff or celebrating wildly. Okay, it
happens. It should be, ‘Let’s move
forward to what’s within our control.’
“You’ve overthrown the lineout? Let’s
focus on setting up the scrum properly.
How do we reset and get the ball back?
So it comes back to what’s in our control.

“We can actively talk about strategies
we use to switch ourselves back on,
it’s also an individual thing. And very
generically we talk about ‘grounding’
or ‘diving back into the present’.
“Coaches will also say ‘next job’. If an
individual has made a mistake, you may
encourage them to vent, to physically
do or say or think something, to get the
mistake out their system and then that
grounds them before the next play.”
We’ve seen teams do the collective
breathing thing in a huddle, such as
after a score. How does that help?
“It’s a centering exercise. So it’s a way
of bringing you back to the present. It’s
rooted in eastern philosophy and is a

“Im po se yo u r g am e. A c o m m o n
pit fal l is to g et o bs e s s ed w ith
sto pp ing t he op p os iti o n”

Bringing their best
The Wallaroos in WXV

84

mindfulness-based technique. And
very simply, because of everything that
goes on in the game, it’s easy to get
distracted away from the present.
“When we’re playing our best, we’re
focused on the next play. We’re thinking
about our job and we’re analysing the
environment and making decisions.
When we get distracted for whatever
reason, we come away from the present
and we start to worry about the future.
“An easy place to do it collectively
is after a score, to come together and
have the act of doing something
together. It’s physically a centering or
grounding exercise. You see a lot of
players naturally do it. Before a hooker
gets to the lineout, they may take a
deep breath ahead of the throw, just
to centre themselves. Kickers too. But
now you’ll see teams do it.”

Psychology
What about facing the haka? And what
about the toll of doing the haka?
“On a cultural level first, with the haka
and performances by the other Pasifika
nations, it’s a challenge. Do you accept
the challenge? So I think there’s the
respect element to that. One approach
is to completely disengage with it.
However on a cultural level that can
be seen as disrespectful.
“And then there’s the psychological
level with that. Talking to guys from the
southern hemisphere, it’s a big cultural
and heritage thing. So it’s important
not just for getting psyched up but to
honour that. And as well as helping
individuals to focus and to ‘activate’, it
also helps the sense of the collective.
“People can spend too much time
trying to counteract that. Individually, it
would be helpful to use this in a positive
way. So I’m watching this. How can I use
that to engage more fully? Ironically
everyone wears tracksuits facing it and
they may be cooling down. But hey,
pick an opposite man, eyeball them,
think about how you are going to play
and use it in a positive way.”
Does a team’s style of play – and
criticism of that – have an effect on a
player’s outlook? Is winning enough?
“If you think about the nature of
successful people, the common trait is
perfectionism. Will players and athletes
ever be happy with their performance

until they’ve achieved their goal? Until
you get to lift the trophy, nothing’s ever
going to be 100% perfect and good
because that’s what drives you to work
harder; it’s fuel for the tank.
“‘Well, we got the win. We got four
points. We got the bonus point as well.’
That’s part of the coping strategy. It’s
acceptance, to allow you to move on.
“What you’ll hear in post-match press
conferences or hot mic situations is
what we call the ‘attribution effect’. So
they attribute what’s happened, the
success or the failure, to certain
reasons. If you haven’t played very
well but you’ve still got the result, the
attribution tends to be on something
positive. So let’s reinforce things.
“Behind closed doors you’ll still talk
about how things weren’t good enough
and there are things to work on, but
outwardly you are going to portray to
the world – and hopefully the team –
that you are glad you got the win.
“That attribution is to maintain the
positive rhetoric, if you like. If a coach
came out and said, ‘We only beat that
team by X points, we’re gutted, we
played badly’, that sets a tone for the
players. The team will know they played
badly but why is the coach telling the
whole world? You are not going to go
out and roast your players in public,
you’re protecting those players.
“From a psychological perspective, the
main thing is the end goal. So if it’s to
win the Rugby World Cup, in the games
Histrionics?
Ben Earl celebrates a penalty

on the way you want to get the win but
ultimately it’s knockout rugby you are
playing. We want to keep going. So we’ll
look at what the positives are on the way.
“Often when teams don’t win matches,
the rhetoric (in press conferences at
least) is all about the performance, what
the team did well, and also what they
need to work on. If a team wins but
doesn’t play very well, then the focus
goes on the outcome.”
Some coaches we know like to say
over and over again that any loss the
team experience is actually their fault,
and not that of the players...
“There’s this concept of ‘psychological
safety’. So how as a coach do you
create an environment where people
feel comfortable to take risks without
fear of retribution, and to challenge
each other in a constructive way
and to be challenged?
“Part of that, as a leader, is that you
have to demonstrate or show genuine
vulnerability yourself, consistently. So
that players realise it’s okay to be
vulnerable. However, sometimes
with displays of vulnerability the
authenticity can be questioned.” n

Taking blame
Former Wallabies
coach Eddie Jones

CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Toulouse centre who scored for Tonga
v Romania at the World Cup (4,4)
4 - - - Etzebeth, the only Bok in World
Rugby’s Dream Team of the Year (4)
8 Swing - - - , sweet chariot (3)
9 Joël - - - , World Rugby’s
Head of Match Officials (5)
10 Coniferous tree completes
- - - Street, where you’ll find
Salford club Broughton (3)
11 Dragons lock Matthew
emits piercing cry (7)
12 Small-sided training game that
promotes many touches of the ball (5)
13 Insect found at Preston club –
Steve Borthwick was one (11)
17 Rory Best paid undisclosed damages
to a team of defence lawyers after
they sued him for - - - (5)
18 Andy - - - , Coach of the Year (7)
20 Japan international Yuki
initially in the office (3)
21 Aston - - - , Premier League club that
last year trained with the Wallabies (5)
22 West London sevens tournament
provided light (1,1,1)
23 Grass-roots club that won the
Bath Combination Vase on four

occasions between 2007 and 2012 (4)
24 Shepherd’s Bush-born Lawrence
Dallaglio is one, for example (8)

DOWN
1 Ollie Hassell-Collins wears nail - - - ,
replicating team colours (6)
2 The Blackpool - - - , Wade Dooley’s
nickname in his playing days (5)
3 - - - Christie, South Africa’s first
World Cup-winning coach (5)
5 French outfit that will visit Munster
for their Champions Cup debut (7)
6 - - - Abbot, South Devon club whose
first XV are known as the All Whites (6)
7 This Italian franchise hosts opponents
at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi (5,5)
9 Jails clove oil for Argentina
World Cup try-scorer… (4,6)
14 …while fellow Puma Pedro, a
Premiership lock, lances our boil (7)
15 Fiji full-back - - - Droasese collided
with a ball girl at France 2023 (6)
16 They beat 7 Down 40-36 in their
2023-24 URC opening match (6)
18 One of Will Greenwood’s
favourite golfers, he won the
British Open three times (5)
19 Aberdeenshire club founded in 1977 (5)

THE WINNER OF THE NOVEMBER CROSSWORD IS
MIKE GIBBS FROM KINGSWOOD, BRISTOL
ACROSS 1. Jordan 4. Jarrow 9. Ngauamo 10. Petti 11. Theo 12. Kilt 13. Isa 15. Shed
16. Stud 19. Dan 21. Latu 22. Ogre 24. Noddy 25. Outcome 26. Yields 27. Bhatti.
DOWN 1. Jonathan Danty 2. Readers 3. Adam 5. Appetite 6. Ratti 7. Waisale Serevi
8. Doris 14. Replayed 17. De Groot 18. Stoop 20. Nudge 23. Utah.

The crossword winner will receive £20. Closing date for entries is
Friday 29 December and the result will appear in our March 2024 issue.
Send your entry, name & address and an email address to: Alan Pearey,
China Cottage, Kenwood Mews, Outwood Lane, Horsforth, Leeds, West
Yorkshire, LS18 4HR. Alternatively, email your name & address plus
a photo of the completed crossword to alan.pearey@futurenet.com.
The competition is open to all ages. Compiled by Alan Pearey.

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Grass Roots

88

MAIN IMAGE MARTIN GRAY/GUERNSEY SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY
//

W

I trained fully to prepare the team for
the weekend and today my whole
professional career has basically ended.
“Your whole life builds up to it. The
thing with Championship players is a lot
have been let go by Premiership clubs
and left in the dirt. Some have built their
way up from the grass roots. A whole
life where people have tried to make it
came crashing down in one meeting.”
To say Barnes and the players were
blindsided would be an understatement.
He talks of one seemingly minor, at the
time, administrative problem that saw
them receive their previous month’s pay
slightly late but still on the same day.
There were no other signs and they
were repeatedly assured by the club
that Jersey Reds were in rude financial
health before that hammer blow.

WORDS JOSH GRAHAM

HEN DAN Barnes woke
up on Thursday 28
September, he was
a professional rugby
player and newly
crowned Championship winner with
Jersey, looking forward to a day off.
A little over 24 hours later, he was
unemployed and facing homelessness
after the Reds – who paid the rent on
the house he shared with two rugby
team-mates – ceased trading.
That is the grim reality of English
professional rugby clubs going to the
wall. Worcester Warriors, Wasps and
London Irish were then followed by
Jersey Reds. All in the space of a year.
“I’m quite a reactive person, so I was
very angry,” reflects Barnes, a centre.
“It was the thought of ‘wow, yesterday

When Jersey Reds stopped trading in September, centre
DAN BARNES lost his job. But Channel Island
rivals Guernsey Raiders have given him a rugby lifeline

Grass Roots

All smiles
With Jersey Reds

“It was probably the worst hour
I’ve ever been involved in, to be
honest,” explains Barnes. “I’ve been in
quite a few bad situations but in terms
of putting your body on the line and
chucking everything at rugby and at
Jersey Reds to win the Championship
– and that’s how you get repaid. That
was shocking and embarrassing.”
There’s no good way to break such
bad news, but for Barnes the way it
was put across during an early-morning
emergency meeting didn’t help things.
He says a lawyer reiterating the point
that he didn’t have to be there as he
wasn’t getting paid fell on deaf ears.
“You’re telling people that haven’t
been paid for the last four weeks and
have just lost their jobs. Why did you
even say that? That was one of the
lowest moments. Walk out the door and
that’s it, but it affects lots of people. Not
just players and staff but families, kids
and wives. Some people send money
home. It was like, that’s it now.”
Barnes lived with his girlfriend Tina,
No 8 Alun Lawrence and his partner,
prop Monty Weatherby and back-rower
Hallam Chapman, now at Exeter.
On the night of the Jersey news,
Weatherby rushed back to England,
where he had just taken out a mortgage.
The next morning the landlord came
knocking for the rent, which came
directly from the players’ salaries.
“I’d never met him before and I’d been
there more than a year,”
recalls Barnes. “He said, ‘If
you can’t pay, then you are

going to have to vacate the property’.
We were all like, ‘what?!’ And he told me
to smile. I just had to close the door.”
Barnes’s post on Twitter, now called X,
outlined the brutality of that 24-hour
period and gained traction online.
The island rallied together as different
professionals offered free advice and
soon a property lawyer got involved.
Thankfully, Hawk Group, sponsor of
the Jersey women’s team, stepped in
to pay everyone’s entire September
salaries. Yet the Jersey government’s
refusal to provide the Reds with further
funding sounded the club’s death knell.
So what next for Barnes? Given the
2023-24 season was already underway,
it was far from an ideal time to find a
new club. Some players got picked up
as injury cover at professional clubs,
others went abroad or dropped down
the leagues to get some game time.
This was meant to be Barnes’s fourth
season with Jersey Reds. It was his
second professional club after joining

from London Scottish before they
reverted to part-time status amid the
devastating impact of the pandemic.
He admits he initially turned down
the approach from the Reds’ director
of rugby Harvey Biljon – now a
consultant at Rotherham – due to the
uncertainty caused by Covid and the
big nature of the switch to island life.
But after potential moves to the
US and other opportunities abroad
fell through, Barnes had to go back
to Biljon, cap in hand, to see if the
opportunity was still on the cards.
Luckily for him and the Reds, it was
and Barnes made a pretty daunting
move across to the Channel Island.
“I had to convince him (Biljon) that
I did want to come because he doesn’t
just go off the ability of players, he
goes for people that will fit in the
team,” says Barnes. “If I was like ‘this is
the only offer I’ve got’ then it wouldn’t
have gone down well. But I did make it
clear that pro rugby was what I wanted
to do and I’d buy into the island.
“When I was driving over, it sort of all
hit me that I was going to move to a little
island. But I moved into a club house
with two lads, Brendan Owen and Ziana
Alexis, and that definitely helped me.”
Barnes soon took to life on the island,
and has lived there since August 2020.
He adds: “In the summer it is like a
constant holiday! The sun, the beaches
– they are some of the best I’ve been to
even abroad and they are
right on your doorstep. The
towns are very small but

“The Je rsey v Gue r ns e y
ri va l ry i s un m atc h e d . I t’s
like Mil lw all v Wes t Ham !”

Siam scrum
Jersey and Guernsey lock horns

90

Grass Roots

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF DAN BARNES
MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Work at Common
Ground Coffee
Shop and rest

Gym and coach
Jersey women

Work at
Common Ground
Coffee Shop
and solo run

Gym and
Guernsey
training

Travel back
to Jersey
and light
gym session

Game day
for Guernsey
Raiders

Rest day

I’ve been here so long it is literally like
home to me. It is absolutely stunning.”
Taking that into account, plus the fact
Barnes’s partner Tina is a Jersey native,
then it’s easy to see why he didn’t want
to up sticks and leave without a tangible
offer to continue a professional career.
That’s when an unlikely source of help
appeared in part-time Guernsey Raiders.
Jersey and Guernsey have contested
the Siam Cup every year since 1920.
It’s the second oldest cup in the sport
behind the Calcutta Cup for the winners
of England v Scotland. So it’s fair to say
there’s a pretty historic rivalry at play.
“The rivalry is nuts,” explains Barnes.
“Jersey’s biggest attendance last year
was 3,500 and that’s nothing for the
Siam. At Guernsey you can get over
5,000. The rivalry is unmatched, it’s
intense. It’s like Millwall v West Ham!”
But very few Reds players turn out
for Jersey. In 2020, after their rise up
the rugby pyramid, there was a loose
agreement that Jersey would only pick
players after three years of residency.
In summer 2022, the RFU approved
the separation of Jersey Reds, the pro
side, from Jersey RFC to safeguard the
future of amateur rugby on the island. A
particularly wise move with hindsight.
Despite not taking the field, Barnes
does have a vested interest in the rivalry
having coached Jersey women, for
whom girlfriend Tina is a player. So how
did he end up pulling on a green shirt?
“A lot of clubs got in contact and
offered a space, said they could
help me out and get me a job,

Bums on seats
Guernsey fans at Footes Lane

accommodation and pay match fees –
loads of clubs came together.
“But Jordan Reynolds (director of
rugby) at Guernsey got in touch saying,
‘We’ve got an injury crisis if you want to
keep playing.’ The first thing I said was,
‘I don’t want to rush and live away from
my girlfriend and dog for months’.”
Together they came up with a system
where Barnes travels to Guernsey –
just over an hour on the fast ferry – for
Thursday night training, sleeps at a new
team-mate’s family house and goes
back home to Jersey on Friday. He
then either returns to Guernsey or
travels for away matches in National
Two East on a Saturday. He is able to
get by and make ends meet by working
two days a week at
Common Ground
Coffee Shop to top up
his rugby match fee.
Age 28 (14 April 1995)
Barnes explains:
Born Reading
“For me, it’s perfect.
Position Centre
I played in National
Height 6ft
Two for years before I
Weight 15st 6lb
played professionally.
Club Guernsey Raiders
“I could breathe
Clubs played for
a little bit and think
Chinnor, Henley,
about what I do next.”
Rams, Rosslyn Park,
There is no shortage
London Scottish,
of familiar faces at
Jersey Reds
Footes Lane, with
Instagram handle
six of Barnes’s old
danbarnes0123
St Mary’s University

PICS Sue Armes & Martin Gray

FACT FILE

New colours Barnes on the ball in Nat 2 East

91

team-mates on board. And with a
saturated recruitment market, he’s just
happy to be lacing his boots up again.
“I’m so thankful to them (Guernsey)
for giving me that chance to play as I’m
someone who doesn’t like not playing.
I always have to play. It has made me
comfortable to play again rather than
just sitting on my arse for weeks.”
Barnes insists his new colleagues have
been very welcoming but admits there
have been a few snide comments after
he crossed the Channel Island divide.
“I do get a few jokes when I go over,”
he says. “The only training gear I have is
Jersey Reds, so that’s what I wear! But
the Guernsey boys are all supportive
and Jordan (Reynolds) said that before
Jersey and Guernsey (are rivals), we are
still a rugby club, so that’s helped a lot.”
Barnes has been upfront about his
desire to return to full-time rugby as
soon as possible. And if an opportunity
crops up, he will be allowed to move on
from this marriage of convenience.
Ideally, a gig in France or further afield
would be his preference. You can
understand his scepticism about the
financial state of play in the Premiership.
It’s been some journey since Barnes’s
teacher forced him to switch from
football to rugby at 14. But wherever he
ends up next, he won’t forget the olive
branch extended by Guernsey. After all,
everybody needs good neighbours. n

T H E

A N A LYS T

HOW FINN RUSSELL’S
BAG OF TRICKS IS
HOTTING UP BATH
The Scotland No 10 is bringing thrills and spills to the Rec, says Sean Holley

A FEW eyebrows were raised when
Bath signed outside-half Finn Russell.
The mercurial playmaker wouldn’t be
considered a typical Johann van Graan
type player, but the signing has whet
the appetite of the Rec faithful.
Russell is a free spirit. He has an
insatiable attacking mindset, not afraid
to try things and often conjuring up
openings and tries for team-mates that
an average fly-half would only dream of.
For some, he’s too high risk. If you can
put up with the odd charge-down and
interception, you’ll enjoy his play. But on
closer scrutiny some of his long passes
make it easier for the defence to push
off and control the attack. Some of his
kicks are speculative, hard for teammates to read and can lead to trouble.
That said, he’s a fine tackler and brave
with it. He has the ability to drop a goal

and his restarts are excellent, putting his
side on the front foot. The evidence of
those who’ve played with and against
him suggests he’s more hero than villain.
Bath are embracing what he brings to
the stage. The win at Saracens featured
a typical Russell collection: he was

charged down to gift Saracens an early
try but produced the sublime moment
of the game for a Tom de Glanville try. A
trademark kick-pass against Leicester
set up another beautiful Bath moment.
These are instances I’m examining this
month, along with his top goal-kicking…

When Russell spots the chance to break between defending forwards,
he accelerates into a half-gap as quickly as anyone. His identification
of this is ruthless and it normally comes off quick ball in phase play.
Russell runs on a slight angle away from the inside defender,
pumping the ball as if to pass to an attacker on his outside shoulder. That in turn
holds off the outside defender who is expecting the pass and creates enough
separation between the two defenders for him to run through (part A).
If he gets caught, as he did v Saracens when Mako Vunipola ankle-taps him, he
can offload with one hand. His single-hand skills are superb and in this instance
even when he’s falling (part B). The purchase and propulsion he gets on the ball
is so strong that his try-scoring offload to Tom de Glanville travels like a rocket.

THE BREAK AND
OFFLOAD

WHO IS
SEAN HOLLEY?
A former Ospreys and
Bristol coach who has also
worked with Wales and
is now a TV analyst
92

Russell manipulates the ball in his hands so that defenders look at
the ball, not the man. He can put the ball on either foot quickly and
without breaking stride, denying defences time to react. His kicking
repertoire is full to the brim, his kick-passing up there with the best.
Against Leicester, he made a try brilliantly for wing Will Muir on the left touchline.
Russell nails the distance, pace, accuracy and trajectory of the kick-pass whilst in
motion (below). He performs it with his right foot which, due to his angle of run, is
now his inside leg. He has to adjust his body to a 45-degree angle to the try-line.
The execution is perfect and makes it easy for Muir to catch in full stride pattern.

THE
INSIDE
LINE
Add a sprinkle of Russell
stardust, says Sean Holley

1

Hand control
Familiarity with the ball in
two hands and one hand
can be used in warm-ups. Get
players to catch one-handed,
popping or passing one-handed
back and forth. For his offload
to de Glanville, Russell traps
the ball between his hand and
forearm to prevent defenders
getting to it and allowing him
to extend his arm. So arm
strength can become a factor.
Add a fun element by asking
one player to try to knock the
ball out of another’s hand, so
promoting the one-handed grip.

THE
KICK-PASS

2
Russell doesn’t get the plaudits he deserves for his goal-kicking.
He’s a very good clutch kicker and at the recent World Cup he
recorded an 80% success rate off the tee. The Scotsman has
sound technique, a decent range and the strength of character
to handle the most pressurised situations. He’s a tough competitor and mentally
has the capability to be even better in this facet of the game – something he
might need to be if he is to be the Test starter on the 2025 Lions tour.
In the Premiership match against Leicester Tigers (below), Russell’s six successes
from seven attempts in very challenging conditions was highly impressive.

GOAL-KICKING
QUALITY

Standing start
The intricacies of the kick
require good ball shift
from hand to foot. Get players
to do this from a standing start,
kicking to a target or player.
Leave the plant leg on the floor
to get the feel of the ball on the
kicking foot and the drop onto
the point of the ball which
gives it accuracy. Leaning more
forward lowers the trajectory.
Extend to a one-step kick,
building up to a few steps and
jogging. Increase the target area
but add a moving player, and a
coincidence target area for the
kick to meet a chasing catcher.

3

93

ILLUSTRATION Artlife

Hone your routine
I was a goal-kicker myself
and had the fortune to
coach kickers like Dan Biggar,
Gavin Henson and James
Hook. Practice and routine are
paramount. Put a lot of focus
on the run-up and the plant/
non-kicking foot, as well as head
position and follow-through.
Feedback is instant for kickers
due to the posts giving a target
but narrowing the target offers
more feedback. Get players to
practise from the corner so they
only view one post. And keep
a record of your success rate.

P R O

I N S I G H T

HOW TO CARRY
INTO A SET
DEFENCE
Tips from Bristol forward Joe Batley on barrelling into organised defenders

WORDS Sam Larner. PICS Getty Images & Sportsfile

“In some
games it can be
difficult to make your
presence felt in carries. If I’m
getting hit by two players, it
means I’m too flat to the line, so
I get hit when I receive the ball. If
I get into my carrying position
quicker, I can dominate the
situation and pick weak
shoulders or run at just
one defender.”

“You want to
have the arrogance
that you will smash through
contact. Even just one metre
through contact makes a big
difference. Before I get the ball I look
to get myself a one-on-one. If there are
lots of defenders in front of me, I’ll hold
my feet and look to tip the ball on to
get a team-mate one-on-one. Or I’ll
use my feet to manoeuvre, so I’m
in front of a single defender
when I receive the ball.”

“If you can land on
top of the ball after being
tackled, you’re in control of your
hip and can have a second
movement to get the ball as far away
from the ruck as possible. Try to land on
top of the ball to then drive it towards
your scrum-half. If the ruck is slow it will
allow the defence to get set and come
off the line. If you don’t dominate the
collision, you can still work on
getting the ball back for your
scrum-half as quickly as
possible.”

“Late footwork is
great. You want to move so
the defender only has an
opportunity to lunge. They might
then only get a glancing blow. You
want to be driving forward. If your
foot is up, a lot of your power will
be lost. You want it down and
pushing forward towards
the opposition line.”
94

Email your letters to rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com
or write to our editorial address

Our entente cordiale
Frampton Cotterell RFC has a unique relationship with the
French club Parisis going back to 1977, when Fram juniors
first made the trip across the channel. It started due to the
link between the French and English when building Airbus.
The juniors continue with the relationship every May and
recently 30 vets visited Paris for a weekend of rugby, beer,
cheese and friendship. There is probably no other UK club
where this experience occurs across juniors and seniors.
We travelled on Eurostar to Parisis, where we met our
hosts and went off to the homes to settle in. A meal at a
restaurant followed before Saturday brought Le Crunch
– Parisis Vieux Loups (Old Wolves) ran out 60-25 winners
v Fram TOADs (Too old and decrepit). The night saw a gala
dinner with gifts and awards exchanged. Roll on next year!
Mike Weaver, Frampton Cotterell RFC
RW says: Sounds like a great trip, Mike. Have other clubs
out there struck up a similar cross-border relationship?

Equal rights please!
Often a tackled player lies on the floor,
arm stretched out behind him with hand
on ball. The opposition ruck over the
top of him and he continues to keep his
hand on the ball. Neither continuing to
lie there, nor keeping one’s hand on the
ball, are in keeping with the laws.
Referees’ focus has disproportionately
moved onto the tackler and they ignore
breaches by the ball-carrier. Police the
tackle area correctly and there will be

Friends reunited
The evening dinner in Paris

fewer rucks and fewer penalties. I also
suggest the incidence of a jackler being
in danger of horrendous ‘clear-outs’ will
diminish, if not evaporate.
Adam Chippindall, St Mawgan, Cornwall

Increase the flow
Rugby’s laws and referees are ruining
the game. At the World Cup, play rarely
lasted more than a minute or two without
a penalty. This
is incredibly

THE RW POLL

PICS Getty Images, Sportsfile & Mike Weaver

Do you want to see
a Club World Cup?
Here’s how you voted
on social media…
No
59%

Advantage ball-carrier? Leinster and Sharks compete in the tackle area

Yes
41%

frustrating for viewers. When my friends
watch a game with me they always say:
why are there so many stoppages?
The laws must be relaxed, especially
regarding rucking and scrums. A scrum,
not a penalty, should be awarded for
minor infractions such as offsides, not
releasing the ball in a ruck and most
scrum offences. And refs should stop
lecturing all the time and be mandated
to make decisions quickly to allow flow
in the game rather than stifling it.
Nick Beveridge, Burlington, ON, Canada
RW says: Awarding more scrums won’t
help achieve the continuity you’re after.

The good and the bad
I attended 19 games at France 2023.
Among many high points was seeing
the Springboks join the Tongans in their
post-match prayer, showing respect for
the opposition and the spirit of rugby.
The low point? The organisation
everywhere except Lyon was atrocious.
The French attitude inside the stadiums,
particularly in Paris, was appalling, with
booing of officials and teams. I hope
they prove better hosts at the Olympics.
Keith Ginnaw, Chelmsford, Essex

CALLING
RUGBY
FANS!
Got an interesting pic?

Women’s window
The Red Roses savour
winning WXV1

Email rugbyworldletters
@futurenet.com and you
could see it here!

Rugby World, Future Publishing Ltd, Unit 415, Winnersh
Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TU
Rugby World® is a registered Future Publishing Limited trademark.
© Future Publishing Limited.
Published monthly by Future Publishing Limited.
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EDITORIAL
Editor Alan Dymock
Content Editor Josh Graham
Writer/Sub-editor Alan Pearey (0330 390 6260)
Clubs Michael Austin (01400 282189)
Nutrition James Morehen
Head of Art (Sports) Kevin Eason
Group Art Editor Jamie Latchford
Deputy Art Editor Michael Rawley
Group Picture Editor Richard Tole
Photography Getty Images, unless otherwise credited
Special thanks to Ben Fox at Rugby Europe, Michael and Alice
at SRU, Amanda Heathcote, Harvey Biljon, Zoe Collins at Guernsey
Raiders, Lewis Hancock at RFU, Rian Murphy at Leicester, Craig
White at Glasgow, Will Carpenter at Bristol, winning bets.
No thanks to Toddler tantrums, voodoo wings, surprise loans.

Don’t demean our game
I was horrified by the letter suggesting
there should be substitute referees
ready to replace a referee guilty of
‘unconscious bias’ (Dec 2023). Does the
writer really think a ref makes decisions
like this? And does he believe someone
in the TMO office can decide what the
ref was thinking before the decision?
There should be no place for such
thoughts. Rugby is credited for decency
and respect, please don’t demean it.
Tony Borthwick, Woodford Halse, Northants

I took my daughter to a women’s Six
Nations match. She really enjoyed it but
maintaining any interest will depend
on what she finds online. What will she
find other than Squidge Rugby? Emily
Scarratt’s show is great but coverage
of men’s and women’s rugby together,
as Squidge Rugby does, is priceless.
World Rugby is pedantically using
copyright to deprive young people of
content they want. They should treat
Squidge as a high-quality influencer.
Iain Hardie, Duns, Berwickshire

Why punish the fans?

Boks not so great

Millions of euros invested in setting up
the tournament, hundreds of thousands
spent by spectators, years of effort put
in by the players and for what? A World
Cup final engaged for the most part
between 15 men against 14. It was not
a fair fight and became a grinding game
of self-preservation and a hollow victory.
Players must be replaced when
red-carded. The punishment is on them,
not their team-mates missing out on
glory – or paying customers who expect
to watch a match, not a punishment.
Chris Rhodes, via email

Matt Dawson called South Africa the
“greatest” team in RWC history. Really?
They lost to Ireland and beat France,
England and New Zealand by a point.
And these games featured ugly rugby,
characterised by massive collisions
between heavy players, kick-aheads
and endless injury stoppages. Fewer
and fewer youngsters are carrying on
in adult rugby, as it has moved from a
non-contact to a constant-contact game.
Terry Breverton, Penarth

Short-sighted move
World Rugby’s treatment of YouTuber
Squidge Rugby is petty and self-defeating
(removing analysis of the RWC final). He
is providing content and entertainment
that cannot be found elsewhere.

MORE WAYS
TO CONNECT WITH
RUGBY WORLD

Eddie exit premature
Being knocked out in the pool stage was
no thrill, but the Australian union should
have given Eddie Jones time to go back
to the drawing board for the new World
Cup cycle before making a decision.
Martin Waugh, via Facebook
RW says: A minority view, we suspect.

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THE
SECRET
PLAYER

Our former pro provides a unique insight into the game

“A TMO once got me a red
and I totally deserved it”
IF YOU asked any player what the
they have a job to do, just like us, as
legacy of the recent Rugby World Cup
best they can. They are not machines.
will be, you’ll hear how French fans
There’s also not a player I know who
got behind it at first and at that point it
doesn’t get the need to eradicate head
was an excellent event. Good fun. But
contacts. But what irks us the most is
all the talk about referees and TMOs
the use of slow motion – any hit looks
became way too much of a thing.
100 times worse slowed down. So Sam
Cards and TMO involvements – or
Cane’s hit to the head of Jesse Kriel was
more pointedly, the lack thereof – soon
at less velocity than Siya Kolisi’s hit on
became the narrative of games. A lot
Ardie Savea, and really there’s not that
of grumble and grouse came because
much difference between them… But
the French public was absolutely
certain they’d been shafted.
In our naivety in professional
rugby, we thought the arrival of
the TMO could only be positive.
Playing away from home, every
elite outfit expects to come off
second in certain scenarios. The
officials would err on the side
of the home team, we’d expect.
But a TMO... Well, surely someone
in a box could look at a game
objectively and even things up.
Awaiting the TMO
Now I’m not saying that the
Wayne Barnes in the RWC final
referees aren’t fair, for the most
part they are, but we’d hoped it
would remove a little bit of unconscious
one was a red and the other wasn’t.
bias and ensure things that an on-field
One player missed most of the World
officiating team might miss got caught.
Cup final and will have to live with that.
What we are all certain of now is that
The fact we’re even reduced to
every single official is human. All of
analysing and comparing each incident
them still miss loads of things. It’s really
like this is mad. And we are straining
hard to find a balance because you want to look at these, while in the same game
a game that flows and you don’t want to
a forward pass in the build-up to a Kiwi
have the ludicrous number of referees
try, and Kwagga Smith clearly having
they have on the field in the NFL.
hands on the ground for a crucial
But you also want the big things or
turnover, were not even looked at.
obvious things to be caught. What a
Instead, we arbitrarily pick a few
pickle the game is in now. It plain sucks
incidents and we’re all looking up at the
the level of abuse that match officials
big screen. In the southern hemisphere
get now, too, and us players understand
they tried a captain’s challenge – I know
98

a few players who’d like that in the Test
game now. But you can’t, you have to
hope they select the right incident.
I don’t want this to come across as me
bagging officials. For example, I once
got caught out by the TMO with a shot
to the head, a red card straightaway,
and I totally deserved it. Bang to rights.
But we all want a game that flows, one
where we barely hear from the officials.
You want to see multi-phase. You want
to see stress on players, you
want to see drama and
challenge. And if the players
are pinged off the field with
penalties every two minutes,
it becomes insufferable.
You want the key decisions
– the flashpoint decisions –
picked up. But you don’t want
the TMO chirping in every five
phases and breaking the game
up. Rule on the big moments
and then with the marginal stuff
hand control back to those with
the whistle. I bet more people
will want to watch it.
And I don’t want a public trial of
referees, post match. It’s done, move on.
There will be reviews to select the best
candidates for the next round of games.
World Rugby told us that Ben O’Keeffe
made five errors in the France v South
Africa quarter-final. Then, while being
savaged by the French press, he was
sent out to the wolves in the semis. I
don’t want to see that again.
As a player once used
to being publicly marked
out of ten, I don’t wish that
on referees. They have
enough on their plate. n

diehards must experience

venues and spectacles that

Rugby’s bucket list! The

CALENDAR

February

June

October

January

May

September

November

July

March

December

August

April

M
26
2
9
16
23
30

T
30
7
14
21
28

M
29
6
13
20
27

W
1
8
15
22
29

W
3
10
17
24
31

T
2
9
16
23
30

MAY

T
4
11
18
25
1

F
3
10
17
24
31

F
5
12
19
26
2

S
4
11
18
25
1

S
6
13
20
27
3

T
27
3
10
17
24
1

W
28
4
11
18
25
2

T
29
5
12
19
26
3

F
30
6
13
20
27
4

S
31
7
14
21
28
5

SEPTEMBER

T
2
9
16
23
30

M
1
8
15
22
29

JANUARY

M
30
7
14
21
28

M
27
3
10
17
24

M
29
5
12
19
26

T
1
8
15
22
29

T
28
4
11
18
25

T
30
6
13
20
27

T
30
6
13
20
27

F
31
7
14
21
28

F
2
9
16
23
1

JUNE

T
1
8
15
22
29

W
2
9
16
23
30

T
3
10
17
24
31

F
4
11
18
25
1

OCTOBER

W
29
5
12
19
26

W
31
7
14
21
28

S
5
12
19
26
2

S
1
8
15
22
29

S
3
10
17
24
2

S
6
13
20
27
3

S
2
9
16
23
30

S
4
11
18
25
3

M
28
4
11
18
25

M
1
8
15
22
29

M
26
4
11
18
25

W
3
10
17
24
31

W
28
6
13
20
27

T
4
11
18
25
1

J U LY

T
29
7
14
21
28

F
5
12
19
26
2

F
1
8
15
22
29

S
6
13
20
27
3

S
2
9
16
23
30

T
29
5
12
19
26

W
30
6
13
20
27

T
31
7
14
21
28

F
1
8
15
22
29

S
2
9
16
23
30

NOVEMBER

T
2
9
16
23
30

T
27
5
12
19
26

MARCH

S
3
10
17
24
1

S
7
14
21
28
4

S
3
10
17
24
31

M
25
2
9
16
23
30

M
29
5
12
19
26

M
1
8
15
22
29

Published by Rugby World, Future Publishing Ltd, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TU. Copyright Future Publishing Limited 2023
Editorial team Alan Dymock, Alan Pearey, Josh Graham, Kevin Eason, Jamie Latchford, Michael Rawley & Richard Tole Photos AFP, Getty Images & Rob Gray Photographer
Printed by Precision Colour Printing. Kick-offs are UK & Ireland times. Fixtures correct at time of going to press. Please check before travelling.

S
1
8
15
22
29
6

S
5
12
19
26
2

S
7
14
21
28
4

FEBRUARY

2024

T
26
3
10
17
24
31

T
30
6
13
20
27

T
2
9
16
23
30

T
4
11
18
25
2

F
5
12
19
26
3

T
1
8
15
22
29

F
2
9
16
23
30

W
27
4
11
18
25
1

T
28
5
12
19
26
2

F
29
6
13
20
27
3

DECEMBER

W
31
7
14
21
28

AUGUST

W
3
10
17
24
1

APRIL

S
30
7
14
21
28
4

S
3
10
17
24
31

S
6
13
20
27
4

S
1
8
15
22
29
5

S
4
11
18
25
1

S
7
14
21
28
5

perfectly preserved Georgian city”

home nestled next to the Avon in a

“The Rec… Bath Rugby’s idyllic

T
28
5
12
19
26

T
30
7
14
21
28

S
3
10
17
24
31

16

23

30

15

22

29

Call 0330 333 1113 or visit rugbyworld.com to subscribe to Rugby World magazine

BANK HOLIDAY (Scotland)

9

TUESDAY

S
2
9
16
23
30

8

F
1
8
15
22
29

NEW YEAR’S DAY
BANK HOLIDAY (UK & Ireland)

2

W
29
6
13
20
27

DECEMBER

1

MONDAY

M
27
4
11
18
25

31

24

17

10

3

WEDNESDAY

1

25

18

11

4

THURSDAY

2

26

19

12

5

FRIDAY

January

3

27

20

13

6

T
30
6
13
20
27

SATURDAY

M
29
5
12
19
26

W
31
7
14
21
28

F
2
9
16
23
1

4

28

21

14

7

T
1
8
15
22
29

FEBRUARY
S
3
10
17
24
2

SUNDAY

S
4
11
18
25
3

club’s first Champions Cup win”

La Rochelle fans celebrate the

“ Ye l l o w f e v e r s t r i k e s a s 3 5 , 0 0 0

T
2
9
16
23
30

S
7
14
21
28
4

www.rugbyworld.com

@Rugbyworldmag

@rugbyworldmag

27

facebook.com/rugbyworldmagazine

28

29

22

1

23

3

MEN’S SIX NATIONS
France v Italy (3pm)

MEN’S SIX NATIONS
Ireland v Wales (2.15pm)
Scotland v England (4.45pm)
2

25

24

18

26

21

VALENTINE’S DAY

16

20

15

19

14

17

SUNDAY

S
3
10
17
24
31

13

S
2
9
16
23
30

12

4

F
1
8
15
22
29

MEN’S SIX NATIONS
Ireland v Italy (3pm)

MEN’S SIX NATIONS
Italy v England (2.15pm)
Wales v Scotland (4.45pm)

MEN’S SIX NATIONS
France v Ireland (8pm)
9

3

SATURDAY

2

FRIDAY

T
29
7
14
21
28

MARCH
W
28
6
13
20
27

MEN’S SIX NATIONS
Scotland v France (2.15pm)
England v Wales (4.45pm)

8

1

THURSDAY

T
27
5
12
19
26

ST BRIGID’S DAY
BANK HOLIDAY (Ireland)

7

31

WEDNESDAY

February

M
26
4
11
18
25

11

TUESDAY

S
6
13
20
27
3

10

6

F
5
12
19
26
2

5

T
4
11
18
25
1

30

W
3
10
17
24
31

JANUARY

29

MONDAY

M
1
8
15
22
29

happiness will find you”

of liberated rugby and where

“Bula! Fiji, the spiritual home

T
30
6
13
20
27

ST PATRICK’S DAY

MEN’S SIX NATIONS
Wales v Italy (2.15pm)
Ireland v Scotland (4.45pm)
France v England (8pm)

Call 0330 333 1113 or visit rugbyworld.com to subscribe to Rugby World magazine

26

27

28

GOOD FRIDAY
BANK HOLIDAY (UK)

29

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS
Scotland v France (2.15pm)
England v Wales (4.45pm)

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS
Ireland v Italy (3pm)
EASTER SUNDAY
BRITISH SUMMER TIME STARTS

31

30

17

16

MEN’S SIX NATIONS
Wales v France (3pm)

MEN’S SIX NATIONS
Italy v Scotland (2.15pm)
England v Ireland (4.45pm)

SUNDAY

S
7
14
21
28
5

10

3

S
6
13
20
27
4

9

2

SATURDAY

F
5
12
19
26
3

25

22

15

8

ST DAVID’S DAY

1

FRIDAY

T
4
11
18
25
2

APRIL
W
3
10
17
24
1

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS
Italy v England (3pm)

21

14

7

29

THURSDAY

T
2
9
16
23
30

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS
France v Ireland (2.15pm)
Wales v Scotland (4.45pm)

20

13

6

28

WEDNESDAY

March

M
1
8
15
22
29

BANK HOLIDAY
(Ireland & Northern Ireland)

19

18

S
4
11
18
25
3

TUESDAY

S
3
10
17
24
2

24

12

11

F
2
9
16
23
1

23

5

4

T
1
8
15
22
29

27

W
31
7
14
21
28

FEBRUARY

26

MONDAY

M
29
5
12
19
26

FORMER ENGLAND BOSS EDDIE JONES

fixture and rivalry”

“Wales is a really special

www.rugbyworld.com

@Rugbyworldmag

F
1
8
15
22
29

S
3
10
17
24
31

@rugbyworldmag

30

1

24

17

10

3

WEDNESDAY

facebook.com/rugbyworldmagazine

TUESDAY

S
2
9
16
23
30

ST GEORGE’S DAY

23

22

29

16

15

2

9

T
29
7
14
21
28

MARCH

W
28
6
13
20
27

8

EASTER MONDAY
BANK HOLIDAY
(England, Wales, N Ireland & Ireland)

1

T
27
5
12
19
26

MONDAY

M
26
4
11
18
25

2

25

18

11

4

THURSDAY

3

26

19

12

5

April
FRIDAY

S
4
11
18
25
1

SUNDAY

S
5
12
19
26
2

4

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS
Wales v Italy (12.15pm)
Ireland v Scotland (2.30pm)
France v England (4.45pm)
5

28

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS
Wales v France (3.15pm)

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS
England v Ireland (2.15pm)
Italy v Scotland (4.45pm)
27

21

20

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS
France v Italy (12.30pm)

F
3
10
17
24
31

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS
Scotland v England (2.15pm)
Ireland v Wales (4.45pm)

7

T
2
9
16
23
30

MAY

14

W
1
8
15
22
29

13

6

T
30
7
14
21
28

SATURDAY

M
29
6
13
20
27

the crown of world sevens”

“Hong Kong is the jewel in

T
2
9
16
23
30

21

28

20

27

S
7
14
21
28
5

TUESDAY

S
6
13
20
27
4

Call 0330 333 1113 or visit rugbyworld.com to subscribe to Rugby World magazine

BANK HOLIDAY (UK)

14

13

BANK HOLIDAY (UK & Ireland)

7

6

F
5
12
19
26
3

30

T
4
11
18
25
2

APRIL

W
3
10
17
24
1

29

MONDAY

M
1
8
15
22
29

29

22

15

8

1

WEDNESDAY

30

23

16

9

2

THURSDAY

May

1

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP
Final (London)

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE CUP
Final (London)
31

25

18

11

4

T
28
4
11
18
25

SATURDAY

24

17

10

3

FRIDAY

M
27
3
10
17
24

F
31
7
14
21
28

2

26

19

12

5

T
30
6
13
20
27

JUNE
W
29
5
12
19
26

S
1
8
15
22
29

SUNDAY

S
2
9
16
23
30

raw passion, intensity and energy”

“A r g e n t i n e r u g b y i s b r i m m i n g w i t h

T
30
7
14
21
28

S
5
12
19
26
2

www.rugbyworld.com

@Rugbyworldmag

@rugbyworldmag

facebook.com/rugbyworldmagazine

26

27

28

21

29

UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
Final
ALLIANZ WOMEN’S PREMIERSHIP
Final

22

25

20

14

24

19

13

18

12

17

8

1

T
2
9
16
23
30

SATURDAY

15

7

31

FRIDAY

11

6

30

THURSDAY

10

5

29

WEDNESDAY

June

M
1
8
15
22
29

GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP
Final (Twickenham)

TUESDAY

S
4
11
18
25
1

BANK HOLIDAY (Ireland)

4

F
3
10
17
24
31

3

T
2
9
16
23
30

MAY

28

W
1
8
15
22
29

27

MONDAY

M
29
6
13
20
27

W
3
10
17
24
31

F
5
12
19
26
2

S
6
13
20
27
3

30

23

S
7
14
21
28
4

SUNDAY

FATHER’S DAY

16

9

2

T
4
11
18
25
1

J U LY

2 0 0 7 WO R L D C U P W I N N E R B O B BY S K I N STA D

are inextricably linked”

“South Africans and rugby

T
28
4
11
18
25

16

23

30

15

22

29

S
2
9
16
23
30

TUESDAY

S
1
8
15
22
29

Call 0330 333 1113 or visit rugbyworld.com to subscribe to Rugby World magazine

OLYMPICS SEVENS ENDS
(Paris)

9

F
31
7
14
21
28

8

T
30
6
13
20
27

JUNE

2

W
29
5
12
19
26

1

MONDAY

M
27
3
10
17
24

31

OLYMPICS SEVENS STARTS
(Paris)

24

17

10

3

WEDNESDAY

1

25

18

11

4

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

2

26

19

BANK HOLIDAY (Northern Ireland)

12

5

July

3

27

20

13

6

T
30
6
13
20
27

SATURDAY

M
29
5
12
19
26

W
31
7
14
21
28

F
2
9
16
23
30

4

28

21

14

7

T
1
8
15
22
29

AUGUST
S
3
10
17
24
31

SUNDAY

S
4
11
18
25
1

coming together as one”

nations, usually fierce rivals,

“The magic of the Lions… four

T
2
9
16
23
30
6

27

26

www.rugbyworld.com

@Rugbyworldmag

S
7
14
21
28
4
11

28

21

14

7

31

29

22

15

8

1

THURSDAY

30

23

16

9

2

FRIDAY

August
WEDNESDAY

facebook.com/rugbyworldmagazine

TUESDAY

S
6
13
20
27
3
10

@rugbyworldmag

20

19

BANK HOLIDAY
(England, Wales & Northern Ireland)

13

12

BANK HOLIDAY (Scotland & Ireland)

6

F
5
12
19
26
2
9

5

T
4
11
18
25
1
8

J U LY

30

W
3
10
17
24
31
7

29

MONDAY

M
1
8
15
22
29
5

31

24

17

10

3

W
28
4
11
18
25
2

F
30
6
13
20
27
4

1

25

18

11

4

T
29
5
12
19
26
3

S
31
7
14
21
28
5

SEPTEMBER
T
27
3
10
17
24
1

SATURDAY

M
26
2
9
16
23
30
SUNDAY

S
1
8
15
22
29
6

all over that”

ELLIS GENGE

fans, their passion, I am

“What a stadium. Clermont’s

T
30
6
13
20
27

S
4
11
18
25
1

2

24

1

23

30

Call 0330 333 1113 or visit rugbyworld.com to subscribe to Rugby World magazine

25

17

16

18

11

4

10

28

WEDNESDAY

3

26

19

12

5

29

THURSDAY

4

27

20

13

6

30

FRIDAY

September

9

TUESDAY

S
3
10
17
24
31

3

F
2
9
16
23
30

2

T
1
8
15
22
29

27

W
31
7
14
21
28

AUGUST

26

MONDAY

M
29
5
12
19
26

5

28

21

14

7

31

T
1
8
15
22
29

SATURDAY

M
30
7
14
21
28

W
2
9
16
23
30

F
4
11
18
25
1

6

29

22

15

8

1

T
3
10
17
24
31

OCTOBER
S
5
12
19
26
2

SUNDAY

S
6
13
20
27
3

is New Zealand’s haka”

the ancestral war cry that

“ P r i d e , s t r e n g t h a n d u n i t y…

22

29

21

28

www.rugbyworld.com

@Rugbyworldmag

S
1
8
15
22
29
6

30

23

16

9

2

WEDNESDAY

HALLOWEEN

31

24

17

10

3

THURSDAY

1

25

18

11

4

FRIDAY

October

facebook.com/rugbyworldmagazine

TUESDAY

S
31
7
14
21
28
5

@rugbyworldmag

15

14

BANK HOLIDAY (Ireland)

8

7

F
30
6
13
20
27
4

1

T
29
5
12
19
26
3

30

W
28
4
11
18
25
2

SEPTEMBER

T
27
3
10
17
24
1

MONDAY

M
26
2
9
16
23
30

2

26

19

12

5

W
30
6
13
20
27

F
1
8
15
22
29

S
2
9
16
23
30

SUNDAY

S
3
10
17
24
1

3

BRITISH SUMMER TIME ENDS

27

20

13

6

T
31
7
14
21
28

NOVEMBER
T
29
5
12
19
26

SATURDAY

M
28
4
11
18
25

earns the right to walk a little taller”

Thomond Park fortress with a win

“A n y t e a m r e t u r n i n g f r o m M u n s t e r ’ s

T
1
8
15
22
29

19

26

18

25

Call 0330 333 1113 or visit rugbyworld.com to subscribe to Rugby World magazine

12

11

S
6
13
20
27
3

TUESDAY

S
5
12
19
26
2

BONFIRE NIGHT

5

F
4
11
18
25
1

4

T
3
10
17
24
31

29

W
2
9
16
23
30

OCTOBER

28

MONDAY

M
30
7
14
21
28

27

20

13

6

30

WEDNESDAY

28

21

14

7

31

THURSDAY

29

22

15

8

1

FRIDAY

November

ST ANDREW’S DAY
BANK HOLIDAY (Scotland)

30

23

16

9

AUTUMN INTERNATIONAL
England v New Zealand

2

T
26
3
10
17
24
31

SATURDAY

M
25
2
9
16
23
30

W
27
4
11
18
25
1

F
29
6
13
20
27
3

S
30
7
14
21
28
4
SUNDAY

S
1
8
15
22
29
5

1

24

17

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

10

3

T
28
5
12
19
26
2

DECEMBER

can hold a candle to Melrose”

and tradition, no other tournament

“The home of sevens. With its legend

T
29
5
12
19
26

BOXING DAY
2

CHRISTMAS DAY

1

www.rugbyworld.com

@rugbyworldmag

NEW YEAR’S EVE

31

CHRISTMAS EVE

30

25

24

23

facebook.com/rugbyworldmagazine

18

26

19

12

5

17

11

4

16

28

THURSDAY

10

27

WEDNESDAY

3

27

20

13

6

29

FRIDAY

December

9

@Rugbyworldmag

S
3
10
17
24
1

TUESDAY

S
2
9
16
23
30

3

F
1
8
15
22
29

2

T
31
7
14
21
28

26

W
30
6
13
20
27

NOVEMBER

25

MONDAY

M
28
4
11
18
25

4

28

21

14

7

30

T
31
7
14
21
28

SATURDAY

M
30
6
13
20
27

W
1
8
15
22
29

F
3
10
17
24
31

5

29

22

15

8

1

T
2
9
16
23
30

JANUARY
S
4
11
18
25
1

SUNDAY

S
5
12
19
26
2

9000

9001