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 heel for his side. It does not seem obvious how they fix that and their Northern Hemisphere opponents will be watching with more than passing interest. Australian improvements are patchy but evident and need to continue, driven by the energy of some of their athletic forwards and they sure have those. When the Lions come padding into town, they will be full of leadership and experience perhaps with even Owen Farrell, who is finding out first hand that there are no easy rides in the Top 14. Personally I think there are 4 flyhalves ahead of him but let us wait and see.
Meantime, in Santiago there was yet another classic to savour. With their multi-dimensional squad, the Springboks ripped into Argentina in irresistible fashion, it really was that good. However, the Pumas’ response was breathtaking and you can see that their previous wins against The All Blacks were no fluke. In some ways this was the best match of all given the quality. The intensity and pace of their forward play allied to their great running lines in the backs make them a genuine threat to the world’s Top Five and it is a real tribute to Contepomi’s coaching and rugby brain. For the Springboks, having won so many big games recently by one or two points it was about time they were on the wrong side of the scoreboard. It will sharpen their focus for the return match to decide the Championship.
Closer to home, Bath have made a real statement of intent against an admittedly slightly underpowered Saints team, who have lost some of their core and I personally think could struggle a little this season. Early days, but Bath has an unfulfilled ambition and this will drive them more than any other side in the Premiership.
It was intriguing to hear from John Jeffrey and his feeling of let down from his own Unions lack of support for the position of Chairman of World Rugby. I maintain that the major problem is that the selection is coming from the wrong group of candidates, confined to the Unions and ignoring great options from within the club game. Changing this is a matter of significant governance restructure so I do not imagine this is a short-term fix, but it would help if World Rugby actually recognise this is a problem. Unlikely that they do. Abedlatif Benazzi (France) and Andrea Rinaldo (Italy) both have experience on both sides of the coin and the former is an especially interesting and relevant candidate given the global position held by France and in rugby, both financially and in terms of player participation. Contract this with the struggles ongoing in Australia, from which country Brett Robinson is standing and this is an important consideration at such a juncture in our game.