Aussie love affair with coach Kiwi Robbie Deans dying...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Aussie love affair with coach Kiwi Robbie  Deans  dying...




The pressure is on Australian coach Robbie Deans after Sunday's Tri-Nations loss to South Africa.Mark it down as the time in history when Australian rugby's love affair with Robbie Deans finally died.



The fall-out from the latest defeat of Deans' Wallabies in this season's Tri-Nations, began to get serious yesterday. Media men dipped pens into their pots of acid and began furiously to scrawl their invective.



But none matched the words of former Australian coach Bob Dwyer, who condemned Deans as "pig-headed, blinkered and bloody minded". All of which represented a decent serve, in anyone's language ...



Dwyer, writing on his website www.bobdwyerrugby.com, savaged the New Zealander who is now under fierce pressure as Wallaby coach. He wrote "Selection plays a vital role in the fortunes of a team. The Springboks have belatedly begun to understand that simple fact but not so the Wallabies.



"Can someone please tell me, in what part of the game is [hooker] Saia Faainga considered superior to Stephen Moore? Moore is a much better scrummager and line-out thrower, surely the two fundamental roles of the hooker.


Then Moore is an excellent ball carrier, compared to Faainga's modest talent in this facet of play.



"Moore is vastly more experienced than his younger teammate and surely this is a vital commodity in such a crunch match."



Dwyer went on to spotlight Faainga's performance in Pretoria. He concluded "In the first half, he managed to give away three penalties and had two poor throws. In the second half, his performance deteriorated still further with even his tackling less sure.



"My total was four penalties (conceded), three poor throws, one missed tackle and two turnovers. When you add his inability at the scrum, this was a terrible performance. Yet Moore remained on the bench.



"This is nothing short of bloody-mindedness on the part of Robbie Deans."



Dwyer said that full-back Kurtley Beale was "outstanding" and went on "Even our blinkered selection panel seems finally to understand this - although he was only given his chance because of injuries."

But Deans' poor use of his substitutes on Saturday further angered Dwyer. "Deans frequently leaves us puzzled with his handling of the bench but Saturday's effort reached new heights.



"His pig-headedness and/or lack of selection ability made a significant contribution to this Wallaby loss. This was a game the Wallabies could have won. Yet despite the fact that they did not score a point in the last 30 minutes and were clearly tiring, Deans left four players unused on the bench.



"The Wallabies were dusted at the scrum, dusted at the line-out and ran out of puff. We had at hand the answer to most, if not all, of these problems and we stubbornly refused to use it. How much longer are we Wallabies' supporters going to be forced to tolerate this treatment?



"Even the Jaapies are less pig-headed than us."



And from a technical point of view, Dwyer was equally scathing of Deans' team. "Every single pass - yes EVERY - from the Wallabies is a 'reload and sling', making it absolutely impossible for any player to change or adjust his line onto the pass. This is not good enough."


Footnote:


Lets face it - Faainga wouldn't make a Kiwi Super 14 team. How can Robbie make silk purses out of this Aussie pig's ear of a team? A few brilliant players and a bunch of useless tyros! Australia does not have a team capable of putting up a creditable performance at next year's Rugby World Cup. Sure they can attack at times, but their defence is full of gigantic holes! Oh for a champion Crusaders team, eh Robbie?


Acknowledgements: Peter Bills

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Late try give All Blacks a dramatic win over Springboks...

 


Late tries give All Blacks dramatic Test win over Springboks...



All Blacks captain Richie McCaw sparked a stunning revival which saw his side claim a victory over South Africa in the last minute of play with two tries in the last three minutes for a 29-22 win at the National Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday (NZT).







Down 17-22 with three minutes left, McCaw was on the right flank on his own when receiving the ball with three defenders coming across. He was confident he had grounded the ball but television evidence was needed to see if his foot had been in touch. The evidence was inconclusive and the try was awarded.



First five-eighths Dan Carter was unable to add the conversion but from the re-start the Springboks looked to get into position to attempt a dropped goal, but the ball was turned over and when second five-eighths Ma'a Nonu executed a superb midfield break he set up the chance for a win.



He weighted a perfect, long pass across to replacement wing Israel Dagg and he raced away to score the match, and championship, winner.



New Zealand was able to claim its 10th Investec Tri Nations title and extend its run of winning Tests to 14.



It was a case of All Blacks stamina carrying the day after a final quarter of attack after attack. It was a nervous time and both first five-eighths, Dan Carter for New Zealand and Morne Steyn for South Africa, were guilty of making uncharacteristic mistakes, Carter dropping a catch and Steyn kicking too long.



But, ultimately, it was the All Blacks' desire to keep moving the ball that wore the outstanding South African defence down. They made several key breaks that went close to producing tries before finally getting the formula right.



After Steyn and Carter exchanged two penalty goals each, it was a 24th minute penalty that was tapped by Steyn, in a position where he would normally have kicked for goal, which set up the first genuine try-scoring chance. It was flanker Schalk Burger who drove at the line, was grounded, and then driven over by following lock Flip van der Merwe.



Moments later, Carter landed a penalty goal from 50m to reduce the margin to four points. But when Joe Rokocoko was penalised for blocking halfback Francois Hougaard's kick ahead, Steyn landed his third penalty goal.



Three minutes from halftime the All Blacks gained the ball in midfield from a Springbok knock-on and lock Brad Thorn charged through a gap to set up a chance, the ball was cleared efficiently and after Carter found half a gap it was moved to Nonu, who then found the unlikely pair of lock Tom Donnelly and prop Tony Woodcock on his flank.



The tight forwards handled the situation with aplomb and Woodcock was able to cross the goal-line wide out unopposed to score the try.



Referee Nigel Owen got himself in strife when caught among players and went to ground and play was stopped to allow him to recover.



New Zealand made a messy start to the second half, Donnelly dropped the re-start, and then when Nonu stole ball as the South Africans charged the line, it was Carter who had his kick partially charged and a try-scoring chance was only denied the home team by some clever work at the breakdown by McCaw.



New Zealand conceded a penalty at a resulting scrum and Steyn extended the lead to 19-14.



South Africa's defence proved much more solid as the All Blacks probed for openings throughout the third quarter, the only chance coming when Carter unleashed a stunning blindside break which was only stopped just short of the line. Steyn punished the All Blacks when No.8 Kieran Read joined a maul from the side with a fifth penalty goal.



But after wing Cory Jane also got very close to scoring in a run down the right flank, the Springboks were penalised and Carter pulled New Zealand back within five points.



The Springboks were better served by Juan Smith in the loose, the first time he has played for them this year. He made the breakdown more competitive and that allowed No.8 Pierre Spies more influence than in the two earlier Tests while Schalk Burger was more prominent in the loose as well. Fullback Gio Aplon was a constant menace while new halfback Hougaard was an efficient servant who kept the pressure on.



Scorers:



South Africa 22 (Schalk Burger try; Morne Steyn con, 5 pen) New Zealand 29 (Tony Woodcock, Richie McCaw, Israel Dagg tries; Dan Carter con, 4 pen). HT: 16-14.

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Australia win the IRB London Sevens tournament...

Australia win famous IRB London Sevens tournament..


Australia have won a first IRB Sevens World Series Cup title for the first since Brisbane 2002

Australia beat South Africa 19-14 in a thrilling final at Twickenham to win the Emirates Airline London Sevens and claim a first Cup title on the IRB Sevens World Series since Brisbane in 2002.



With their victory the Australians climb to joint-third in the World Series standings with one tournament to play, the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens at Murrayfield next weekend.



In beating closest rivals New Zealand to reach the Cup semi finals Samoa took a giant stride towards a first ever IRB Sevens World Series title and take a seven-point lead from the second-placed kiwis to Murrayfield for the season climax next weekend.



In the other competitions Canada beat Portugal at the death in a fine Bowl final and Kenya also needed all 14 minutes to beat France and claim the Shield.



England's home title defence came to an end at the Cup quarter final stages when they were beaten by South Africa.

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Richie McCaw'd reaction time tested ahead of Crusaders semi-final against the Bulls

Crusaders rugby captain Richie McCaw's reaction time was tested well before Friday's Super 14 defeat of the Brumbies...


To his horror, McCaw found his passport in a dishevelled state after going through the washing machine, but realising a trip to South Africa for the semifinals was a strong possibility, he lodged an emergency passport application on Wednesday.



A replacement arrived in time and the team left for Sydney today.



They won't leave there until tomorrow, as the third-qualifying Waratahs had first rights to business class seats for today's flight to South Africa.



The seven-time champions face the defending champion Bulls in a stellar semifinal at Soweto on Sunday morning (3am NZT), the top-qualifying South Africans sure to start favourites as they seek a third title in four years.



Acknowledgements:- NZPA

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NZRU has apologised to former NZ Maori representative players...

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NZ Rugby Union has apologised to former NZ Maori representative players...



Maori players received apologies from NZRU and SARU for being excluded from tours to South Africa during the apartheid era



The New Zealand Rugby Union has issued an apology to Maori players who were excluded from South African tours during the apartheid era. This includes legendary All Blacks such as the late great George Nepia.



It follows a similar one from SARU president Regin Hoskins, who has said sorry to the men excluded from selection and for the offence it may have caused to the Maori community.



Hoskins says the acknowledgment of the mistakes of the rugby union's predecessors and the apology for the sport's culpability is another step in attempting to lift the shadow of apartheid. It is better late than never!

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Former Maori rugby players deserve an explanation and an apology...

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Do former Maori players deserve an apology for exclusion from All Black in years gone by...




All Black great George Nepia was among those excluded from touring South Africa.

All Black great george Nepia was among those excluded from touring South Africa.The New Zealand Rugby Union has been criticised for refusing to apologise for not selecting Maori players in All Blacks squads that toured South Africa between 1928 and 1960.



Earlier this year Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples suggested the gesture from the NZRU would be an appropriate way to mark the 100th anniversary of Maori rugby.



The issue was again raised by NZ Herald columnist Chris Rattue today, who said it was high time Maori received an apology for racist selection policies between 1928 and 1960.



The Maori rugby team first played the Springboks in Napier in 1921, after which a South African correspondent wired to Cape Town that the Springboks were "frankly disgusted", particularly at seeing white New Zealanders cheering on a "coloured" team.



The NZRU subsequently excluded Maori from All Blacks' tours to South Africa in 1928, 1949 and 1960.

Of course former Maori players deserve an explanation and an apology, but politicians like Peter Sharples should keep their own counsel.

Acknowledgements: NZ Herald

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A less powerful Super 14 Rugby crusade moves to South Africa...

This Crusaders side does not have the firepower of those predecessors - men like Daniel Carter, Aaron Mauger, Greg Somerville, Reuben Thorne, Mose Tuiali'i - but it carries the same conviction and drive which have marked almost every crusade.

They have also reclaimed lock Brad Thorn after his recent hamstring troubles to combat abrasive Bulls forwards like Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Pierre Spies and Deon Stegmann.

That combat will be brutal though Botha and combative centre JP Nel have to survive disciplinary hearings to be involved after they were cited for foul play in their final round victory against the Sharks. Botha has already been suspended for three weeks this season while midfielder Wynand Olivier is an unlikely starter because of a hip injury.

The sides met in pool play this year in Christchurch where the Crusaders, without the injured McCaw, beat the visitors 16-13 to maintain their push to defend their crown.

"The Crusaders are one of the toughest teams to play in a semifinal," said Matfield.

"They know how to win semifinals and finals. They have won the Super rugby title seven times and they have enough talent and experience to do it again. Obviously we are happy to be playing at Loftus but Loftus won't win the game for us. We have to go back to zero and work hard," he said.

The Bulls are the only side outside New Zealand in the playoffs but they were the top qualifiers and if they win this weekend will host either the Chiefs or Hurricanes in the Pretoria final the following weekend.

The Crusaders though will be looking to repeat their 1999 effort when they were the fourth qualifier but won the title against the Highlanders in Dunedin. That is the only time the last qualifier has claimed the honours.