08 november 2019 - rugbyrsa.co.za za vol 19, iss... · 08 november 2019 € “the best part of...
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 19 Number 4208 November 2019
ldquoThe best part of Cheslins piece of magic is that he left the unsporting and ungracious Owen Farrell clutching at straws and eating grass ndash cant think of anything more fitting to sign off a great performance by everyone in a green jerseyrdquo ndash Dan Retiefwaxing lyrical on Twitter
Register to receive your own free weekly newsletter at wwwrugbyrsacoza
The Spectacular Springboks Do it Again
If yoursquore a rugby fan of any kind you will already know that the Springboks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup as world champions for the third time last Saturday It was a fantastic game for many many reasons
And there were many ldquofirstsrdquo that came with that victory too It was the first time that a team has lost a pool game at the World Cup and gone on to win the title This was made clear in a RugbyPass articleeven before the tournament began
It was also the first time that a single team has won The Rugby Championship (or Tri-Nations) and the World Cup in the same year South Africa is also the only team that remains unbeaten in Rugby World Cup finals ndash and have yet to concede a try in a Rugby World Cup final
Another interesting statistic from the World Cup is that on the way to the final the Springboks defeated the Pacific Nations Champions (Japan) and the Six Nations Champions (Wales) In short it was a hard-fought but thoroughly deserved victory
Looking back to the game itself the whingers were always chasing it and at no point did they enjoy a lead Most commentators agree that there were three key passages of play beginning with a period when England was camped in the Springbok red zone and went through 24 phases without being able to breach the defence
The other two key moments were both in an eight minute spell starting just after the clock clicked over 65 minutes At the time the score was 18-12 and it may still have been anybodyrsquos game but after two quick tries by the two wings ndash see separate story on the tries of the final ndash the official engraver got busy with the cup
Oom Rugby has broken down ten interesting moments that he picked out of the game on SA Rugby magazine And New Zealandrsquos Ben Smith(not the rugby player) has penned a brilliant piece on RugbyPasscom analysing what the Springboks did to dismantle Englands attack
One final bit of analysis wasnrsquot finished yet when we put these pages to bed but we urge you to check out Squidge Rugby until it is published He promises that it will be the longest script hersquos ever written for a video Expect some detail
KEY TOPICS IN THIS NEWSLETTER
RWC2019 On the Wings of a DreamAll Blacks Demolish Wales for BronzeA Desire Few Others Can Comprehend
Mapimpi is Boksrsquo Big Success StoryCan the Boks Win It Again in 2023New 12-Team Championship Proposed
Page 1
Page 2
RWC2019 On the Wings of a Dream
We mentioned South Africarsquos two tries in the Rugby World Cup final on page one and here we go into a little more detail But first some background for those who may be new to the strategies at play in a game of rugby
In a rugby team every player has a job to do ndash or more accurately several jobs to do And when done right the jobs in the tight exchanges can create just a little bit of space in the wider channels where most teams have some of their fastest and most agile players
That right there is where the skill-levels of a Makazole Mapimpi and a Cheslin Kolbe come to the fore But first the Mapimpi try It began with a dominant scrum and a quick ball from the base out to Lukhanyo Am who quickly shifted it to Malcolm Marx Marx passed to Mapimpi in space who chipped it over the approaching defender Am chased caught the ball and used a no-look around-the-corner pass to Mapimpi Try time
Marx and Am were also involved in Kolbersquos try Marx executed the tackle that knocked the ball loose Am scooped it up and popped it up to Pieter-Steph du Toit who got it out to Kolbe ndash albeit far too high for comfort Kolbe then stepped four defenders to seal the victory
Dan Retief described it well on Twitter ldquoThe best part of Cheslins piece of magic is that he left the unsporting and ungracious Owen Farrell clutching at straws and eating grass ndash cant think of anything more fitting to sign off a great performance by everyone in a green jerseyrdquo
All Blacks Demolish Wales for Bronze
After the disastrous semifinal against England in which Eddie Jones cleverly outmanoeuvred Steve Hansen New Zealand and New Zealanders were hurting None more so than the idiot fan who had a tattoo done before the World Cup (see pic below)
And the fact Hansen chose to use the 3rd4th play-off match to give the likes of Sonny Bill Williams and Ben Smith a swansong led inevitably to questions about whether they should have been used more earlier in the tournament As a result an All Black rout of Wales last Friday in the bronze medal match was always likely to be on the cards
Interestingly there was much grumbling on social media in the preceding week about this match The general feeling seemed to be that itrsquos a total waste of time Initially we were tending toward that view but when the game started we very quickly changed our minds
The first half was a wonderful festival of running rugby delivering five tries (four for the All Blacks and one for Wales) for a 28-10 score at the break And the festival continued in the second half with New Zealand dotting down again within two minutes of the restart
It took Wales almost twenty minutes to reply but reply they did at the end of the third quarter ndash but it was too little too late as they still trailed by 18 points In the end the All Blacks scored again for a final score of 40-17 You can catch the highlights reel by clicking this link
Page 3
Page 4
A Desire Few Others Can Comprehend
Following last weekendrsquos fantastic Springbok victory at the World Cup there have been many tributes written celebrating that result But one of the most poignant of these appeared on The Guardianrsquos sports blog ndash and yes thatrsquos an English newspaper
The headline ldquoSpringboksrsquo victory driven by a strain of desire few others can comprehendrdquo probably sums up the mood in the Bok camp leading up to and during this campaign Wersquove extracted a few excerpts but would urge you to click-through and read the whole thing
Written by Andy Bull it begins thus ldquoLed by a kid from the townships South Africarsquos triumphant side simply had more to play for than England
ldquoListening to South Africarsquos captain Siya Kolisi and coach Rassie Erasmus talk about what this victory meant in the minutes after they had won it you began to understand exactly what England were up against and the way the Springboks were thinking about it England had lost the match before it even beganrdquo
And referring to Kyle Sinckler going off after being knocked out cold trying to tackle Makazole Mapimpi
ldquoIn the next 40 minutes the South Africa pack ate up Englandrsquos scrum as if it had been charcoal-grilled and served up in a bun with mustard and fried onions England buckled at the first scrum after the restart where they conceded the first of the six scrum penalties they gave up in the space of 40 minutes It was a judo move The Springboks had taken one of Englandrsquos biggest strengths and by attacking it so ruthlessly turned it into one of their biggest weaknessesrdquo
Mapimpi is Boksrsquo Big Success Story
On Saturday afternoon barely minutes after South Africa had won the Rugby World Cup in Japan SA Rugby magazinersquos Jon Cardinelli published a piecedescribing Makazole Mapimpi as the Springboksrsquo most-improved player over the past two years
He wrote ldquoSiya Kolisi and Rassie Erasmus often go out of their way to remind the media and public about how far Mapimpi has come
ldquoKolisi whose own rags-to-riches story is well documented understands how difficult it is to beat the system and embrace a completely different language and culture Erasmus who has over two decades of experience in the South African system as a player and coach knows how difficult it is to make the step up after the age of 25
ldquoMapimpirsquos rise has been particularly remarkable in these respects On Saturday the former Border centre became the first South African to score a try in the World Cup final That five-pointer boosted his tally for the tournament to sixrdquo [We have detailed how that try came about on page two ndash Ed]
Cardinelli continues ldquoWhat was more impressive and perhaps more significant in terms of the contest was Mapimpirsquos showing under the high ball
ldquoErasmus reiterated after the game that the wing lsquocouldnrsquot catch a ballrsquo when he first arrived at the Boks in June 2018 In the 2019 World Cup final however Mapimpirsquos anticipation and ability to pluck the pill from the sky allowed the Boks to make some important territorial gains
We urge you to click-through to read the full article
Page 5
Page 6
Can the Boks Win It Again in 2023
The idea was sparked by a tweet on Saturday when a tweep calling himself Raacutegnaacuter Vaacuten Toumlndeacutersoumln asked ldquoWho in this Bok team will retire soon and who will replace them in the squad of 33rdquo
Answering his own question he mentioned 34-year-old Tendai Mtawarira and Schalk Brits (38) who probably wouldnt be in France But there are five others who will probably not make it either Trevor Nyakane (30) Willie le Roux (30) Frans Steyn (32) Duane Vermuelen (33) and Francois Louw (34) But everyone else in the squad is under 30 and most are 28 or younger
What this means quite simply is that the core of the squad could possibly be retained for the next Rugby World Cup which is exactly how New Zealand was able to win two on the trot Sure a lot can happen between now and then ndash especially in South Africa where shit happens frequently and with great vigour but many of the building blocks already here
Lood de Jager (26)Pieter-Steph du Toit (27)Eben Etzebeth (28)Steven Kitshoff (27)Vincent Koch (29)Siya Kolisi (28)Frans Malherbe (28)Malcolm Marx (25)Bongi Mbonambi (28)Franco Mostert (28)Thomas du Toit (24)Kwagga Smith (26)RG Snyman (24)Lukhanyo Am (25)Damian de Allende (27)Damian Willemse (21)Faf de Klerk (28)Warrick Gelant (24)Elton Jantjies (29)Herschel Jantjies (23)Cheslin Kolbe (26)Jesse Kriel (25)Makazole Mapimpi (29)Sbusiso Nkosi (23)Handre Pollard (25)Cobus Reinach (29)
PRO14 Bad News Just Keeps Coming
Round five of the 20192020 PRO14 season was a complete disaster for South African rugby fans It began last Friday night when Southern Kings were utterly destroyed by a rampaging Glasgow Warriorsoutfit We didnrsquot watch the game and when we saw the final score (52-0) decided to keep it that way
For the home side the eight-try demolition of the Kings was a welcome return to form after a forgettable opening four fixtures this season which featured only one win Meanwhile the visitors dysmal season continued as they slumped to their fifth defeat on the trot (subscription required) That wooden spoon looks almost certain to remain in the empty trophy cabinet in Port Elizabeth come end of the season
Last Saturday afternoon Cheetahs managed to take the gloss off the superb Springbok win in the World Cup with a dispirited performance in Llanelli against Scarlets It has to be said that the conditions were atrocious at a rain-soaked Parc y Scarlets
But thatrsquos par for the course when playing rugby in Wales at this time of year and itrsquos not as if Cheetahs havenrsquot been there before The Free State side just failed to get into a rhythm and managed to butcher several chances that could have allowed them to take another win
The final score of 17-13 meant that Cheetahs managed to at least take a losing bonus point from the encounter but the result dropped them to third on the Conference A table trailing Leinster and Ulster The Bloemfontein side will be hoping for better conditions in Cardiff tomorrow when they run out against the Blues
New 12-Team Championship Proposed
We found this reported on Rugby365com but it was apparently first published on RugbyPasscomearlier in the week Because it is interesting (and we have the space on this page) we have chosen to run most of it here for you
ldquoThe Six Nations countries have reportedly held talks with unions in the Southern Hemisphere to create a new world championship series
ldquoWorld Rugbyrsquos proposed 12-team Nations Championship ndash a project they claimed they had pound61-billion in funding for a 12-year competition running over three World Cup cycles ndash was scrapped earlier this year due to a lack of a buy-in from the Six Nations countries who refused to accept the promotion and relegation aspects to the idea
ldquoHowever it has now emerged that the 10 leading unions met up during the recent World Cup in Japan to tease out the possibility of creating a more structured Test calendar that would culminate in a final series every two or four years
ldquoWith Japan 2019 generating record revenues and television viewing figures the UK Daily Mail have claimed union representatives held discussions in the hope of coming up with a formula that would ensure the leading teams would play each other more often
ldquoFor instance in the current cycle of fixtures England had only played New Zealand once in five years prior to last monthrsquos World Cup semifinal meeting in Yokohama
ldquoWhile World Rugbyrsquos proposal was ultimately binned with concerns of player welfare also a factor due to the number of games proposed a less demanding schedule that would not involve every country playing each other every other season could be the key to establishing a new championship series
ldquoAnother reported crucial difference from the scrapped World Rugby plan is that the new series would be ring-fenced by restricting it to only the ten Six Nations and Rugby Championship countries along with Fiji and Japanhellip
Itrsquos an interesting idea but one that could spell the end of the Six Nations and The Rugby Championship Therersquos a lot of money wrapped up in both so that is likely to be a significant hurdle to overcome
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
What fantastic close to Rugby World Cup but unfortunately it has left us with a hangover After the mostly brilliant rugby of the past several weeks the season in the southern hemisphere is largely over
Well unless yoursquore in George where the the SARU pilot project in the Western Cape the Community Cup and Shield finals will play out on Saturday at Outeniqua Park
On television and apart from the ubiquitous replays yoursquoll find matches this weekend in Guinness PRO14(fixtures alongside) and Gallagher Premiership Rugby
But if you want to see either of the French leagues (Pro D2 and Top 14) or the second tier English Championship yoursquoll probably have to find another television provider ndash and probably a streaming one
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 2
RWC2019 On the Wings of a Dream
We mentioned South Africarsquos two tries in the Rugby World Cup final on page one and here we go into a little more detail But first some background for those who may be new to the strategies at play in a game of rugby
In a rugby team every player has a job to do ndash or more accurately several jobs to do And when done right the jobs in the tight exchanges can create just a little bit of space in the wider channels where most teams have some of their fastest and most agile players
That right there is where the skill-levels of a Makazole Mapimpi and a Cheslin Kolbe come to the fore But first the Mapimpi try It began with a dominant scrum and a quick ball from the base out to Lukhanyo Am who quickly shifted it to Malcolm Marx Marx passed to Mapimpi in space who chipped it over the approaching defender Am chased caught the ball and used a no-look around-the-corner pass to Mapimpi Try time
Marx and Am were also involved in Kolbersquos try Marx executed the tackle that knocked the ball loose Am scooped it up and popped it up to Pieter-Steph du Toit who got it out to Kolbe ndash albeit far too high for comfort Kolbe then stepped four defenders to seal the victory
Dan Retief described it well on Twitter ldquoThe best part of Cheslins piece of magic is that he left the unsporting and ungracious Owen Farrell clutching at straws and eating grass ndash cant think of anything more fitting to sign off a great performance by everyone in a green jerseyrdquo
All Blacks Demolish Wales for Bronze
After the disastrous semifinal against England in which Eddie Jones cleverly outmanoeuvred Steve Hansen New Zealand and New Zealanders were hurting None more so than the idiot fan who had a tattoo done before the World Cup (see pic below)
And the fact Hansen chose to use the 3rd4th play-off match to give the likes of Sonny Bill Williams and Ben Smith a swansong led inevitably to questions about whether they should have been used more earlier in the tournament As a result an All Black rout of Wales last Friday in the bronze medal match was always likely to be on the cards
Interestingly there was much grumbling on social media in the preceding week about this match The general feeling seemed to be that itrsquos a total waste of time Initially we were tending toward that view but when the game started we very quickly changed our minds
The first half was a wonderful festival of running rugby delivering five tries (four for the All Blacks and one for Wales) for a 28-10 score at the break And the festival continued in the second half with New Zealand dotting down again within two minutes of the restart
It took Wales almost twenty minutes to reply but reply they did at the end of the third quarter ndash but it was too little too late as they still trailed by 18 points In the end the All Blacks scored again for a final score of 40-17 You can catch the highlights reel by clicking this link
Page 3
Page 4
A Desire Few Others Can Comprehend
Following last weekendrsquos fantastic Springbok victory at the World Cup there have been many tributes written celebrating that result But one of the most poignant of these appeared on The Guardianrsquos sports blog ndash and yes thatrsquos an English newspaper
The headline ldquoSpringboksrsquo victory driven by a strain of desire few others can comprehendrdquo probably sums up the mood in the Bok camp leading up to and during this campaign Wersquove extracted a few excerpts but would urge you to click-through and read the whole thing
Written by Andy Bull it begins thus ldquoLed by a kid from the townships South Africarsquos triumphant side simply had more to play for than England
ldquoListening to South Africarsquos captain Siya Kolisi and coach Rassie Erasmus talk about what this victory meant in the minutes after they had won it you began to understand exactly what England were up against and the way the Springboks were thinking about it England had lost the match before it even beganrdquo
And referring to Kyle Sinckler going off after being knocked out cold trying to tackle Makazole Mapimpi
ldquoIn the next 40 minutes the South Africa pack ate up Englandrsquos scrum as if it had been charcoal-grilled and served up in a bun with mustard and fried onions England buckled at the first scrum after the restart where they conceded the first of the six scrum penalties they gave up in the space of 40 minutes It was a judo move The Springboks had taken one of Englandrsquos biggest strengths and by attacking it so ruthlessly turned it into one of their biggest weaknessesrdquo
Mapimpi is Boksrsquo Big Success Story
On Saturday afternoon barely minutes after South Africa had won the Rugby World Cup in Japan SA Rugby magazinersquos Jon Cardinelli published a piecedescribing Makazole Mapimpi as the Springboksrsquo most-improved player over the past two years
He wrote ldquoSiya Kolisi and Rassie Erasmus often go out of their way to remind the media and public about how far Mapimpi has come
ldquoKolisi whose own rags-to-riches story is well documented understands how difficult it is to beat the system and embrace a completely different language and culture Erasmus who has over two decades of experience in the South African system as a player and coach knows how difficult it is to make the step up after the age of 25
ldquoMapimpirsquos rise has been particularly remarkable in these respects On Saturday the former Border centre became the first South African to score a try in the World Cup final That five-pointer boosted his tally for the tournament to sixrdquo [We have detailed how that try came about on page two ndash Ed]
Cardinelli continues ldquoWhat was more impressive and perhaps more significant in terms of the contest was Mapimpirsquos showing under the high ball
ldquoErasmus reiterated after the game that the wing lsquocouldnrsquot catch a ballrsquo when he first arrived at the Boks in June 2018 In the 2019 World Cup final however Mapimpirsquos anticipation and ability to pluck the pill from the sky allowed the Boks to make some important territorial gains
We urge you to click-through to read the full article
Page 5
Page 6
Can the Boks Win It Again in 2023
The idea was sparked by a tweet on Saturday when a tweep calling himself Raacutegnaacuter Vaacuten Toumlndeacutersoumln asked ldquoWho in this Bok team will retire soon and who will replace them in the squad of 33rdquo
Answering his own question he mentioned 34-year-old Tendai Mtawarira and Schalk Brits (38) who probably wouldnt be in France But there are five others who will probably not make it either Trevor Nyakane (30) Willie le Roux (30) Frans Steyn (32) Duane Vermuelen (33) and Francois Louw (34) But everyone else in the squad is under 30 and most are 28 or younger
What this means quite simply is that the core of the squad could possibly be retained for the next Rugby World Cup which is exactly how New Zealand was able to win two on the trot Sure a lot can happen between now and then ndash especially in South Africa where shit happens frequently and with great vigour but many of the building blocks already here
Lood de Jager (26)Pieter-Steph du Toit (27)Eben Etzebeth (28)Steven Kitshoff (27)Vincent Koch (29)Siya Kolisi (28)Frans Malherbe (28)Malcolm Marx (25)Bongi Mbonambi (28)Franco Mostert (28)Thomas du Toit (24)Kwagga Smith (26)RG Snyman (24)Lukhanyo Am (25)Damian de Allende (27)Damian Willemse (21)Faf de Klerk (28)Warrick Gelant (24)Elton Jantjies (29)Herschel Jantjies (23)Cheslin Kolbe (26)Jesse Kriel (25)Makazole Mapimpi (29)Sbusiso Nkosi (23)Handre Pollard (25)Cobus Reinach (29)
PRO14 Bad News Just Keeps Coming
Round five of the 20192020 PRO14 season was a complete disaster for South African rugby fans It began last Friday night when Southern Kings were utterly destroyed by a rampaging Glasgow Warriorsoutfit We didnrsquot watch the game and when we saw the final score (52-0) decided to keep it that way
For the home side the eight-try demolition of the Kings was a welcome return to form after a forgettable opening four fixtures this season which featured only one win Meanwhile the visitors dysmal season continued as they slumped to their fifth defeat on the trot (subscription required) That wooden spoon looks almost certain to remain in the empty trophy cabinet in Port Elizabeth come end of the season
Last Saturday afternoon Cheetahs managed to take the gloss off the superb Springbok win in the World Cup with a dispirited performance in Llanelli against Scarlets It has to be said that the conditions were atrocious at a rain-soaked Parc y Scarlets
But thatrsquos par for the course when playing rugby in Wales at this time of year and itrsquos not as if Cheetahs havenrsquot been there before The Free State side just failed to get into a rhythm and managed to butcher several chances that could have allowed them to take another win
The final score of 17-13 meant that Cheetahs managed to at least take a losing bonus point from the encounter but the result dropped them to third on the Conference A table trailing Leinster and Ulster The Bloemfontein side will be hoping for better conditions in Cardiff tomorrow when they run out against the Blues
New 12-Team Championship Proposed
We found this reported on Rugby365com but it was apparently first published on RugbyPasscomearlier in the week Because it is interesting (and we have the space on this page) we have chosen to run most of it here for you
ldquoThe Six Nations countries have reportedly held talks with unions in the Southern Hemisphere to create a new world championship series
ldquoWorld Rugbyrsquos proposed 12-team Nations Championship ndash a project they claimed they had pound61-billion in funding for a 12-year competition running over three World Cup cycles ndash was scrapped earlier this year due to a lack of a buy-in from the Six Nations countries who refused to accept the promotion and relegation aspects to the idea
ldquoHowever it has now emerged that the 10 leading unions met up during the recent World Cup in Japan to tease out the possibility of creating a more structured Test calendar that would culminate in a final series every two or four years
ldquoWith Japan 2019 generating record revenues and television viewing figures the UK Daily Mail have claimed union representatives held discussions in the hope of coming up with a formula that would ensure the leading teams would play each other more often
ldquoFor instance in the current cycle of fixtures England had only played New Zealand once in five years prior to last monthrsquos World Cup semifinal meeting in Yokohama
ldquoWhile World Rugbyrsquos proposal was ultimately binned with concerns of player welfare also a factor due to the number of games proposed a less demanding schedule that would not involve every country playing each other every other season could be the key to establishing a new championship series
ldquoAnother reported crucial difference from the scrapped World Rugby plan is that the new series would be ring-fenced by restricting it to only the ten Six Nations and Rugby Championship countries along with Fiji and Japanhellip
Itrsquos an interesting idea but one that could spell the end of the Six Nations and The Rugby Championship Therersquos a lot of money wrapped up in both so that is likely to be a significant hurdle to overcome
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
What fantastic close to Rugby World Cup but unfortunately it has left us with a hangover After the mostly brilliant rugby of the past several weeks the season in the southern hemisphere is largely over
Well unless yoursquore in George where the the SARU pilot project in the Western Cape the Community Cup and Shield finals will play out on Saturday at Outeniqua Park
On television and apart from the ubiquitous replays yoursquoll find matches this weekend in Guinness PRO14(fixtures alongside) and Gallagher Premiership Rugby
But if you want to see either of the French leagues (Pro D2 and Top 14) or the second tier English Championship yoursquoll probably have to find another television provider ndash and probably a streaming one
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 3
Page 4
A Desire Few Others Can Comprehend
Following last weekendrsquos fantastic Springbok victory at the World Cup there have been many tributes written celebrating that result But one of the most poignant of these appeared on The Guardianrsquos sports blog ndash and yes thatrsquos an English newspaper
The headline ldquoSpringboksrsquo victory driven by a strain of desire few others can comprehendrdquo probably sums up the mood in the Bok camp leading up to and during this campaign Wersquove extracted a few excerpts but would urge you to click-through and read the whole thing
Written by Andy Bull it begins thus ldquoLed by a kid from the townships South Africarsquos triumphant side simply had more to play for than England
ldquoListening to South Africarsquos captain Siya Kolisi and coach Rassie Erasmus talk about what this victory meant in the minutes after they had won it you began to understand exactly what England were up against and the way the Springboks were thinking about it England had lost the match before it even beganrdquo
And referring to Kyle Sinckler going off after being knocked out cold trying to tackle Makazole Mapimpi
ldquoIn the next 40 minutes the South Africa pack ate up Englandrsquos scrum as if it had been charcoal-grilled and served up in a bun with mustard and fried onions England buckled at the first scrum after the restart where they conceded the first of the six scrum penalties they gave up in the space of 40 minutes It was a judo move The Springboks had taken one of Englandrsquos biggest strengths and by attacking it so ruthlessly turned it into one of their biggest weaknessesrdquo
Mapimpi is Boksrsquo Big Success Story
On Saturday afternoon barely minutes after South Africa had won the Rugby World Cup in Japan SA Rugby magazinersquos Jon Cardinelli published a piecedescribing Makazole Mapimpi as the Springboksrsquo most-improved player over the past two years
He wrote ldquoSiya Kolisi and Rassie Erasmus often go out of their way to remind the media and public about how far Mapimpi has come
ldquoKolisi whose own rags-to-riches story is well documented understands how difficult it is to beat the system and embrace a completely different language and culture Erasmus who has over two decades of experience in the South African system as a player and coach knows how difficult it is to make the step up after the age of 25
ldquoMapimpirsquos rise has been particularly remarkable in these respects On Saturday the former Border centre became the first South African to score a try in the World Cup final That five-pointer boosted his tally for the tournament to sixrdquo [We have detailed how that try came about on page two ndash Ed]
Cardinelli continues ldquoWhat was more impressive and perhaps more significant in terms of the contest was Mapimpirsquos showing under the high ball
ldquoErasmus reiterated after the game that the wing lsquocouldnrsquot catch a ballrsquo when he first arrived at the Boks in June 2018 In the 2019 World Cup final however Mapimpirsquos anticipation and ability to pluck the pill from the sky allowed the Boks to make some important territorial gains
We urge you to click-through to read the full article
Page 5
Page 6
Can the Boks Win It Again in 2023
The idea was sparked by a tweet on Saturday when a tweep calling himself Raacutegnaacuter Vaacuten Toumlndeacutersoumln asked ldquoWho in this Bok team will retire soon and who will replace them in the squad of 33rdquo
Answering his own question he mentioned 34-year-old Tendai Mtawarira and Schalk Brits (38) who probably wouldnt be in France But there are five others who will probably not make it either Trevor Nyakane (30) Willie le Roux (30) Frans Steyn (32) Duane Vermuelen (33) and Francois Louw (34) But everyone else in the squad is under 30 and most are 28 or younger
What this means quite simply is that the core of the squad could possibly be retained for the next Rugby World Cup which is exactly how New Zealand was able to win two on the trot Sure a lot can happen between now and then ndash especially in South Africa where shit happens frequently and with great vigour but many of the building blocks already here
Lood de Jager (26)Pieter-Steph du Toit (27)Eben Etzebeth (28)Steven Kitshoff (27)Vincent Koch (29)Siya Kolisi (28)Frans Malherbe (28)Malcolm Marx (25)Bongi Mbonambi (28)Franco Mostert (28)Thomas du Toit (24)Kwagga Smith (26)RG Snyman (24)Lukhanyo Am (25)Damian de Allende (27)Damian Willemse (21)Faf de Klerk (28)Warrick Gelant (24)Elton Jantjies (29)Herschel Jantjies (23)Cheslin Kolbe (26)Jesse Kriel (25)Makazole Mapimpi (29)Sbusiso Nkosi (23)Handre Pollard (25)Cobus Reinach (29)
PRO14 Bad News Just Keeps Coming
Round five of the 20192020 PRO14 season was a complete disaster for South African rugby fans It began last Friday night when Southern Kings were utterly destroyed by a rampaging Glasgow Warriorsoutfit We didnrsquot watch the game and when we saw the final score (52-0) decided to keep it that way
For the home side the eight-try demolition of the Kings was a welcome return to form after a forgettable opening four fixtures this season which featured only one win Meanwhile the visitors dysmal season continued as they slumped to their fifth defeat on the trot (subscription required) That wooden spoon looks almost certain to remain in the empty trophy cabinet in Port Elizabeth come end of the season
Last Saturday afternoon Cheetahs managed to take the gloss off the superb Springbok win in the World Cup with a dispirited performance in Llanelli against Scarlets It has to be said that the conditions were atrocious at a rain-soaked Parc y Scarlets
But thatrsquos par for the course when playing rugby in Wales at this time of year and itrsquos not as if Cheetahs havenrsquot been there before The Free State side just failed to get into a rhythm and managed to butcher several chances that could have allowed them to take another win
The final score of 17-13 meant that Cheetahs managed to at least take a losing bonus point from the encounter but the result dropped them to third on the Conference A table trailing Leinster and Ulster The Bloemfontein side will be hoping for better conditions in Cardiff tomorrow when they run out against the Blues
New 12-Team Championship Proposed
We found this reported on Rugby365com but it was apparently first published on RugbyPasscomearlier in the week Because it is interesting (and we have the space on this page) we have chosen to run most of it here for you
ldquoThe Six Nations countries have reportedly held talks with unions in the Southern Hemisphere to create a new world championship series
ldquoWorld Rugbyrsquos proposed 12-team Nations Championship ndash a project they claimed they had pound61-billion in funding for a 12-year competition running over three World Cup cycles ndash was scrapped earlier this year due to a lack of a buy-in from the Six Nations countries who refused to accept the promotion and relegation aspects to the idea
ldquoHowever it has now emerged that the 10 leading unions met up during the recent World Cup in Japan to tease out the possibility of creating a more structured Test calendar that would culminate in a final series every two or four years
ldquoWith Japan 2019 generating record revenues and television viewing figures the UK Daily Mail have claimed union representatives held discussions in the hope of coming up with a formula that would ensure the leading teams would play each other more often
ldquoFor instance in the current cycle of fixtures England had only played New Zealand once in five years prior to last monthrsquos World Cup semifinal meeting in Yokohama
ldquoWhile World Rugbyrsquos proposal was ultimately binned with concerns of player welfare also a factor due to the number of games proposed a less demanding schedule that would not involve every country playing each other every other season could be the key to establishing a new championship series
ldquoAnother reported crucial difference from the scrapped World Rugby plan is that the new series would be ring-fenced by restricting it to only the ten Six Nations and Rugby Championship countries along with Fiji and Japanhellip
Itrsquos an interesting idea but one that could spell the end of the Six Nations and The Rugby Championship Therersquos a lot of money wrapped up in both so that is likely to be a significant hurdle to overcome
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
What fantastic close to Rugby World Cup but unfortunately it has left us with a hangover After the mostly brilliant rugby of the past several weeks the season in the southern hemisphere is largely over
Well unless yoursquore in George where the the SARU pilot project in the Western Cape the Community Cup and Shield finals will play out on Saturday at Outeniqua Park
On television and apart from the ubiquitous replays yoursquoll find matches this weekend in Guinness PRO14(fixtures alongside) and Gallagher Premiership Rugby
But if you want to see either of the French leagues (Pro D2 and Top 14) or the second tier English Championship yoursquoll probably have to find another television provider ndash and probably a streaming one
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 4
A Desire Few Others Can Comprehend
Following last weekendrsquos fantastic Springbok victory at the World Cup there have been many tributes written celebrating that result But one of the most poignant of these appeared on The Guardianrsquos sports blog ndash and yes thatrsquos an English newspaper
The headline ldquoSpringboksrsquo victory driven by a strain of desire few others can comprehendrdquo probably sums up the mood in the Bok camp leading up to and during this campaign Wersquove extracted a few excerpts but would urge you to click-through and read the whole thing
Written by Andy Bull it begins thus ldquoLed by a kid from the townships South Africarsquos triumphant side simply had more to play for than England
ldquoListening to South Africarsquos captain Siya Kolisi and coach Rassie Erasmus talk about what this victory meant in the minutes after they had won it you began to understand exactly what England were up against and the way the Springboks were thinking about it England had lost the match before it even beganrdquo
And referring to Kyle Sinckler going off after being knocked out cold trying to tackle Makazole Mapimpi
ldquoIn the next 40 minutes the South Africa pack ate up Englandrsquos scrum as if it had been charcoal-grilled and served up in a bun with mustard and fried onions England buckled at the first scrum after the restart where they conceded the first of the six scrum penalties they gave up in the space of 40 minutes It was a judo move The Springboks had taken one of Englandrsquos biggest strengths and by attacking it so ruthlessly turned it into one of their biggest weaknessesrdquo
Mapimpi is Boksrsquo Big Success Story
On Saturday afternoon barely minutes after South Africa had won the Rugby World Cup in Japan SA Rugby magazinersquos Jon Cardinelli published a piecedescribing Makazole Mapimpi as the Springboksrsquo most-improved player over the past two years
He wrote ldquoSiya Kolisi and Rassie Erasmus often go out of their way to remind the media and public about how far Mapimpi has come
ldquoKolisi whose own rags-to-riches story is well documented understands how difficult it is to beat the system and embrace a completely different language and culture Erasmus who has over two decades of experience in the South African system as a player and coach knows how difficult it is to make the step up after the age of 25
ldquoMapimpirsquos rise has been particularly remarkable in these respects On Saturday the former Border centre became the first South African to score a try in the World Cup final That five-pointer boosted his tally for the tournament to sixrdquo [We have detailed how that try came about on page two ndash Ed]
Cardinelli continues ldquoWhat was more impressive and perhaps more significant in terms of the contest was Mapimpirsquos showing under the high ball
ldquoErasmus reiterated after the game that the wing lsquocouldnrsquot catch a ballrsquo when he first arrived at the Boks in June 2018 In the 2019 World Cup final however Mapimpirsquos anticipation and ability to pluck the pill from the sky allowed the Boks to make some important territorial gains
We urge you to click-through to read the full article
Page 5
Page 6
Can the Boks Win It Again in 2023
The idea was sparked by a tweet on Saturday when a tweep calling himself Raacutegnaacuter Vaacuten Toumlndeacutersoumln asked ldquoWho in this Bok team will retire soon and who will replace them in the squad of 33rdquo
Answering his own question he mentioned 34-year-old Tendai Mtawarira and Schalk Brits (38) who probably wouldnt be in France But there are five others who will probably not make it either Trevor Nyakane (30) Willie le Roux (30) Frans Steyn (32) Duane Vermuelen (33) and Francois Louw (34) But everyone else in the squad is under 30 and most are 28 or younger
What this means quite simply is that the core of the squad could possibly be retained for the next Rugby World Cup which is exactly how New Zealand was able to win two on the trot Sure a lot can happen between now and then ndash especially in South Africa where shit happens frequently and with great vigour but many of the building blocks already here
Lood de Jager (26)Pieter-Steph du Toit (27)Eben Etzebeth (28)Steven Kitshoff (27)Vincent Koch (29)Siya Kolisi (28)Frans Malherbe (28)Malcolm Marx (25)Bongi Mbonambi (28)Franco Mostert (28)Thomas du Toit (24)Kwagga Smith (26)RG Snyman (24)Lukhanyo Am (25)Damian de Allende (27)Damian Willemse (21)Faf de Klerk (28)Warrick Gelant (24)Elton Jantjies (29)Herschel Jantjies (23)Cheslin Kolbe (26)Jesse Kriel (25)Makazole Mapimpi (29)Sbusiso Nkosi (23)Handre Pollard (25)Cobus Reinach (29)
PRO14 Bad News Just Keeps Coming
Round five of the 20192020 PRO14 season was a complete disaster for South African rugby fans It began last Friday night when Southern Kings were utterly destroyed by a rampaging Glasgow Warriorsoutfit We didnrsquot watch the game and when we saw the final score (52-0) decided to keep it that way
For the home side the eight-try demolition of the Kings was a welcome return to form after a forgettable opening four fixtures this season which featured only one win Meanwhile the visitors dysmal season continued as they slumped to their fifth defeat on the trot (subscription required) That wooden spoon looks almost certain to remain in the empty trophy cabinet in Port Elizabeth come end of the season
Last Saturday afternoon Cheetahs managed to take the gloss off the superb Springbok win in the World Cup with a dispirited performance in Llanelli against Scarlets It has to be said that the conditions were atrocious at a rain-soaked Parc y Scarlets
But thatrsquos par for the course when playing rugby in Wales at this time of year and itrsquos not as if Cheetahs havenrsquot been there before The Free State side just failed to get into a rhythm and managed to butcher several chances that could have allowed them to take another win
The final score of 17-13 meant that Cheetahs managed to at least take a losing bonus point from the encounter but the result dropped them to third on the Conference A table trailing Leinster and Ulster The Bloemfontein side will be hoping for better conditions in Cardiff tomorrow when they run out against the Blues
New 12-Team Championship Proposed
We found this reported on Rugby365com but it was apparently first published on RugbyPasscomearlier in the week Because it is interesting (and we have the space on this page) we have chosen to run most of it here for you
ldquoThe Six Nations countries have reportedly held talks with unions in the Southern Hemisphere to create a new world championship series
ldquoWorld Rugbyrsquos proposed 12-team Nations Championship ndash a project they claimed they had pound61-billion in funding for a 12-year competition running over three World Cup cycles ndash was scrapped earlier this year due to a lack of a buy-in from the Six Nations countries who refused to accept the promotion and relegation aspects to the idea
ldquoHowever it has now emerged that the 10 leading unions met up during the recent World Cup in Japan to tease out the possibility of creating a more structured Test calendar that would culminate in a final series every two or four years
ldquoWith Japan 2019 generating record revenues and television viewing figures the UK Daily Mail have claimed union representatives held discussions in the hope of coming up with a formula that would ensure the leading teams would play each other more often
ldquoFor instance in the current cycle of fixtures England had only played New Zealand once in five years prior to last monthrsquos World Cup semifinal meeting in Yokohama
ldquoWhile World Rugbyrsquos proposal was ultimately binned with concerns of player welfare also a factor due to the number of games proposed a less demanding schedule that would not involve every country playing each other every other season could be the key to establishing a new championship series
ldquoAnother reported crucial difference from the scrapped World Rugby plan is that the new series would be ring-fenced by restricting it to only the ten Six Nations and Rugby Championship countries along with Fiji and Japanhellip
Itrsquos an interesting idea but one that could spell the end of the Six Nations and The Rugby Championship Therersquos a lot of money wrapped up in both so that is likely to be a significant hurdle to overcome
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
What fantastic close to Rugby World Cup but unfortunately it has left us with a hangover After the mostly brilliant rugby of the past several weeks the season in the southern hemisphere is largely over
Well unless yoursquore in George where the the SARU pilot project in the Western Cape the Community Cup and Shield finals will play out on Saturday at Outeniqua Park
On television and apart from the ubiquitous replays yoursquoll find matches this weekend in Guinness PRO14(fixtures alongside) and Gallagher Premiership Rugby
But if you want to see either of the French leagues (Pro D2 and Top 14) or the second tier English Championship yoursquoll probably have to find another television provider ndash and probably a streaming one
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 5
Page 6
Can the Boks Win It Again in 2023
The idea was sparked by a tweet on Saturday when a tweep calling himself Raacutegnaacuter Vaacuten Toumlndeacutersoumln asked ldquoWho in this Bok team will retire soon and who will replace them in the squad of 33rdquo
Answering his own question he mentioned 34-year-old Tendai Mtawarira and Schalk Brits (38) who probably wouldnt be in France But there are five others who will probably not make it either Trevor Nyakane (30) Willie le Roux (30) Frans Steyn (32) Duane Vermuelen (33) and Francois Louw (34) But everyone else in the squad is under 30 and most are 28 or younger
What this means quite simply is that the core of the squad could possibly be retained for the next Rugby World Cup which is exactly how New Zealand was able to win two on the trot Sure a lot can happen between now and then ndash especially in South Africa where shit happens frequently and with great vigour but many of the building blocks already here
Lood de Jager (26)Pieter-Steph du Toit (27)Eben Etzebeth (28)Steven Kitshoff (27)Vincent Koch (29)Siya Kolisi (28)Frans Malherbe (28)Malcolm Marx (25)Bongi Mbonambi (28)Franco Mostert (28)Thomas du Toit (24)Kwagga Smith (26)RG Snyman (24)Lukhanyo Am (25)Damian de Allende (27)Damian Willemse (21)Faf de Klerk (28)Warrick Gelant (24)Elton Jantjies (29)Herschel Jantjies (23)Cheslin Kolbe (26)Jesse Kriel (25)Makazole Mapimpi (29)Sbusiso Nkosi (23)Handre Pollard (25)Cobus Reinach (29)
PRO14 Bad News Just Keeps Coming
Round five of the 20192020 PRO14 season was a complete disaster for South African rugby fans It began last Friday night when Southern Kings were utterly destroyed by a rampaging Glasgow Warriorsoutfit We didnrsquot watch the game and when we saw the final score (52-0) decided to keep it that way
For the home side the eight-try demolition of the Kings was a welcome return to form after a forgettable opening four fixtures this season which featured only one win Meanwhile the visitors dysmal season continued as they slumped to their fifth defeat on the trot (subscription required) That wooden spoon looks almost certain to remain in the empty trophy cabinet in Port Elizabeth come end of the season
Last Saturday afternoon Cheetahs managed to take the gloss off the superb Springbok win in the World Cup with a dispirited performance in Llanelli against Scarlets It has to be said that the conditions were atrocious at a rain-soaked Parc y Scarlets
But thatrsquos par for the course when playing rugby in Wales at this time of year and itrsquos not as if Cheetahs havenrsquot been there before The Free State side just failed to get into a rhythm and managed to butcher several chances that could have allowed them to take another win
The final score of 17-13 meant that Cheetahs managed to at least take a losing bonus point from the encounter but the result dropped them to third on the Conference A table trailing Leinster and Ulster The Bloemfontein side will be hoping for better conditions in Cardiff tomorrow when they run out against the Blues
New 12-Team Championship Proposed
We found this reported on Rugby365com but it was apparently first published on RugbyPasscomearlier in the week Because it is interesting (and we have the space on this page) we have chosen to run most of it here for you
ldquoThe Six Nations countries have reportedly held talks with unions in the Southern Hemisphere to create a new world championship series
ldquoWorld Rugbyrsquos proposed 12-team Nations Championship ndash a project they claimed they had pound61-billion in funding for a 12-year competition running over three World Cup cycles ndash was scrapped earlier this year due to a lack of a buy-in from the Six Nations countries who refused to accept the promotion and relegation aspects to the idea
ldquoHowever it has now emerged that the 10 leading unions met up during the recent World Cup in Japan to tease out the possibility of creating a more structured Test calendar that would culminate in a final series every two or four years
ldquoWith Japan 2019 generating record revenues and television viewing figures the UK Daily Mail have claimed union representatives held discussions in the hope of coming up with a formula that would ensure the leading teams would play each other more often
ldquoFor instance in the current cycle of fixtures England had only played New Zealand once in five years prior to last monthrsquos World Cup semifinal meeting in Yokohama
ldquoWhile World Rugbyrsquos proposal was ultimately binned with concerns of player welfare also a factor due to the number of games proposed a less demanding schedule that would not involve every country playing each other every other season could be the key to establishing a new championship series
ldquoAnother reported crucial difference from the scrapped World Rugby plan is that the new series would be ring-fenced by restricting it to only the ten Six Nations and Rugby Championship countries along with Fiji and Japanhellip
Itrsquos an interesting idea but one that could spell the end of the Six Nations and The Rugby Championship Therersquos a lot of money wrapped up in both so that is likely to be a significant hurdle to overcome
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
What fantastic close to Rugby World Cup but unfortunately it has left us with a hangover After the mostly brilliant rugby of the past several weeks the season in the southern hemisphere is largely over
Well unless yoursquore in George where the the SARU pilot project in the Western Cape the Community Cup and Shield finals will play out on Saturday at Outeniqua Park
On television and apart from the ubiquitous replays yoursquoll find matches this weekend in Guinness PRO14(fixtures alongside) and Gallagher Premiership Rugby
But if you want to see either of the French leagues (Pro D2 and Top 14) or the second tier English Championship yoursquoll probably have to find another television provider ndash and probably a streaming one
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 6
Can the Boks Win It Again in 2023
The idea was sparked by a tweet on Saturday when a tweep calling himself Raacutegnaacuter Vaacuten Toumlndeacutersoumln asked ldquoWho in this Bok team will retire soon and who will replace them in the squad of 33rdquo
Answering his own question he mentioned 34-year-old Tendai Mtawarira and Schalk Brits (38) who probably wouldnt be in France But there are five others who will probably not make it either Trevor Nyakane (30) Willie le Roux (30) Frans Steyn (32) Duane Vermuelen (33) and Francois Louw (34) But everyone else in the squad is under 30 and most are 28 or younger
What this means quite simply is that the core of the squad could possibly be retained for the next Rugby World Cup which is exactly how New Zealand was able to win two on the trot Sure a lot can happen between now and then ndash especially in South Africa where shit happens frequently and with great vigour but many of the building blocks already here
Lood de Jager (26)Pieter-Steph du Toit (27)Eben Etzebeth (28)Steven Kitshoff (27)Vincent Koch (29)Siya Kolisi (28)Frans Malherbe (28)Malcolm Marx (25)Bongi Mbonambi (28)Franco Mostert (28)Thomas du Toit (24)Kwagga Smith (26)RG Snyman (24)Lukhanyo Am (25)Damian de Allende (27)Damian Willemse (21)Faf de Klerk (28)Warrick Gelant (24)Elton Jantjies (29)Herschel Jantjies (23)Cheslin Kolbe (26)Jesse Kriel (25)Makazole Mapimpi (29)Sbusiso Nkosi (23)Handre Pollard (25)Cobus Reinach (29)
PRO14 Bad News Just Keeps Coming
Round five of the 20192020 PRO14 season was a complete disaster for South African rugby fans It began last Friday night when Southern Kings were utterly destroyed by a rampaging Glasgow Warriorsoutfit We didnrsquot watch the game and when we saw the final score (52-0) decided to keep it that way
For the home side the eight-try demolition of the Kings was a welcome return to form after a forgettable opening four fixtures this season which featured only one win Meanwhile the visitors dysmal season continued as they slumped to their fifth defeat on the trot (subscription required) That wooden spoon looks almost certain to remain in the empty trophy cabinet in Port Elizabeth come end of the season
Last Saturday afternoon Cheetahs managed to take the gloss off the superb Springbok win in the World Cup with a dispirited performance in Llanelli against Scarlets It has to be said that the conditions were atrocious at a rain-soaked Parc y Scarlets
But thatrsquos par for the course when playing rugby in Wales at this time of year and itrsquos not as if Cheetahs havenrsquot been there before The Free State side just failed to get into a rhythm and managed to butcher several chances that could have allowed them to take another win
The final score of 17-13 meant that Cheetahs managed to at least take a losing bonus point from the encounter but the result dropped them to third on the Conference A table trailing Leinster and Ulster The Bloemfontein side will be hoping for better conditions in Cardiff tomorrow when they run out against the Blues
New 12-Team Championship Proposed
We found this reported on Rugby365com but it was apparently first published on RugbyPasscomearlier in the week Because it is interesting (and we have the space on this page) we have chosen to run most of it here for you
ldquoThe Six Nations countries have reportedly held talks with unions in the Southern Hemisphere to create a new world championship series
ldquoWorld Rugbyrsquos proposed 12-team Nations Championship ndash a project they claimed they had pound61-billion in funding for a 12-year competition running over three World Cup cycles ndash was scrapped earlier this year due to a lack of a buy-in from the Six Nations countries who refused to accept the promotion and relegation aspects to the idea
ldquoHowever it has now emerged that the 10 leading unions met up during the recent World Cup in Japan to tease out the possibility of creating a more structured Test calendar that would culminate in a final series every two or four years
ldquoWith Japan 2019 generating record revenues and television viewing figures the UK Daily Mail have claimed union representatives held discussions in the hope of coming up with a formula that would ensure the leading teams would play each other more often
ldquoFor instance in the current cycle of fixtures England had only played New Zealand once in five years prior to last monthrsquos World Cup semifinal meeting in Yokohama
ldquoWhile World Rugbyrsquos proposal was ultimately binned with concerns of player welfare also a factor due to the number of games proposed a less demanding schedule that would not involve every country playing each other every other season could be the key to establishing a new championship series
ldquoAnother reported crucial difference from the scrapped World Rugby plan is that the new series would be ring-fenced by restricting it to only the ten Six Nations and Rugby Championship countries along with Fiji and Japanhellip
Itrsquos an interesting idea but one that could spell the end of the Six Nations and The Rugby Championship Therersquos a lot of money wrapped up in both so that is likely to be a significant hurdle to overcome
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
What fantastic close to Rugby World Cup but unfortunately it has left us with a hangover After the mostly brilliant rugby of the past several weeks the season in the southern hemisphere is largely over
Well unless yoursquore in George where the the SARU pilot project in the Western Cape the Community Cup and Shield finals will play out on Saturday at Outeniqua Park
On television and apart from the ubiquitous replays yoursquoll find matches this weekend in Guinness PRO14(fixtures alongside) and Gallagher Premiership Rugby
But if you want to see either of the French leagues (Pro D2 and Top 14) or the second tier English Championship yoursquoll probably have to find another television provider ndash and probably a streaming one
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
New 12-Team Championship Proposed
We found this reported on Rugby365com but it was apparently first published on RugbyPasscomearlier in the week Because it is interesting (and we have the space on this page) we have chosen to run most of it here for you
ldquoThe Six Nations countries have reportedly held talks with unions in the Southern Hemisphere to create a new world championship series
ldquoWorld Rugbyrsquos proposed 12-team Nations Championship ndash a project they claimed they had pound61-billion in funding for a 12-year competition running over three World Cup cycles ndash was scrapped earlier this year due to a lack of a buy-in from the Six Nations countries who refused to accept the promotion and relegation aspects to the idea
ldquoHowever it has now emerged that the 10 leading unions met up during the recent World Cup in Japan to tease out the possibility of creating a more structured Test calendar that would culminate in a final series every two or four years
ldquoWith Japan 2019 generating record revenues and television viewing figures the UK Daily Mail have claimed union representatives held discussions in the hope of coming up with a formula that would ensure the leading teams would play each other more often
ldquoFor instance in the current cycle of fixtures England had only played New Zealand once in five years prior to last monthrsquos World Cup semifinal meeting in Yokohama
ldquoWhile World Rugbyrsquos proposal was ultimately binned with concerns of player welfare also a factor due to the number of games proposed a less demanding schedule that would not involve every country playing each other every other season could be the key to establishing a new championship series
ldquoAnother reported crucial difference from the scrapped World Rugby plan is that the new series would be ring-fenced by restricting it to only the ten Six Nations and Rugby Championship countries along with Fiji and Japanhellip
Itrsquos an interesting idea but one that could spell the end of the Six Nations and The Rugby Championship Therersquos a lot of money wrapped up in both so that is likely to be a significant hurdle to overcome
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
What fantastic close to Rugby World Cup but unfortunately it has left us with a hangover After the mostly brilliant rugby of the past several weeks the season in the southern hemisphere is largely over
Well unless yoursquore in George where the the SARU pilot project in the Western Cape the Community Cup and Shield finals will play out on Saturday at Outeniqua Park
On television and apart from the ubiquitous replays yoursquoll find matches this weekend in Guinness PRO14(fixtures alongside) and Gallagher Premiership Rugby
But if you want to see either of the French leagues (Pro D2 and Top 14) or the second tier English Championship yoursquoll probably have to find another television provider ndash and probably a streaming one
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
What fantastic close to Rugby World Cup but unfortunately it has left us with a hangover After the mostly brilliant rugby of the past several weeks the season in the southern hemisphere is largely over
Well unless yoursquore in George where the the SARU pilot project in the Western Cape the Community Cup and Shield finals will play out on Saturday at Outeniqua Park
On television and apart from the ubiquitous replays yoursquoll find matches this weekend in Guinness PRO14(fixtures alongside) and Gallagher Premiership Rugby
But if you want to see either of the French leagues (Pro D2 and Top 14) or the second tier English Championship yoursquoll probably have to find another television provider ndash and probably a streaming one
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8