Tag: All Blacks

Rugby Championship Approaches Climax In South Africa

The Rugby Championship has been the gift that keeps on giving. The Bledisloe Cup saw a near heroic comeback by the Wallabies which was ultimately unsuccessful but had the All Blacks scrambling and by now coach Robertson will be realising that his bench is ineffective and the crucial last 20 minutes is a real Achilles […]

Freedom Cup At Last In Springbok Hands

It was a little known statistic that the All Blacks have retained the Freedom Cup since 2009, until Saturday.

Springboks Explore The Art Of The Possible

Ireland and South Africa, the two best sides in the world, have been pre-eminent in integrating new players seamlessly into their squads. That much has been obvious in the last few weeks if not years. All nations have their eye on 2027 and it is no secret that…

England Stride Into The Land Of The Long White Cloud On A Summer Breeze

For those who don’t know, Aotearea is the Maori name for New Zealand and means Land of the Long White Cloud.

The stuff of Sporting Champions

When Ireland won at Twickenham in their first match following England’s Rugby World Cup triumph in 2003, we joked that only Ireland could peak the best side in the world after the World Cup had ended!

This post is only available to members.

All Blacks in an Irish stew as Super Saturday approaches

Whatever the unwelcome statistics for the Southern Hemisphere nations, losing all their matches in unison for the first time, their marketing departments will be secretly delighted that 4 series sit in the balance for this coming weekend. A real Super Saturday.

This post is only available to members.

European Rugby Scales The Heights

I feel compelled to reflect on last weekend’s European action simply because the quality of what was on offer reached a new record in my view and also there were some conclusions reached I feel are premature. I know I am biased but the adage of the European Cup being like International rugby played in club jerseys was never truer.

This post is only available to members.

Ambition on show as a cold wind blows from North to South

This year of all years has been incredibly tough on professional rugby. All the touring teams from the Southern Hemisphere have been in ‘ bubbles ‘ for months and must be mentally and physically exhausted.

This post is only available to members.

Eastern Promise From A Dramatic Rugby Fortnight

As if the drama of England’s near miss over the All Blacks two weekends ago wasn’t enough, the Springbok’s two tries (one disallowed) in overtime eventually killed off a valiant French challenge in Paris. But more was to come as Ireland finally lived up to a favourite’s billing by downing the men in Black last Saturday evening and installed themselves as the team to beat next year in Japan.

This post is only available to members.

Reasons To Be Cheerful As Southern Hemisphere Rugby Comes To Town

The Rugby world has been so busy this season it has been hard to keep up. Here is what has caught my eye so far

This post is only available to members.