Tahs tame Brumbies
4 Feb 2010
Keo.co.za brings you the latest news from Australia.
Tahs tame Brumbies
The Waratahs pack set the platform for a 15-7 win over the Brumbies on Thursday.
The Tahs had the best of the hosts at the lineout and scrum, with Benn Robinson showing some impressive form in the latter. This is a good sign ahead of their match against the Reds next week. The Stormers would also do well to take note, as they face the Tahs in round two.
Phil Waugh scored for the visitors after a successful driving maul from the lineout. The Brumbies hit back thanks to a smart interchange between outside backs Francis Fainifo and Adam Ashley-Cooper. Stirling Mortlock kicked the conversion to claim the lead for the hosts.
A Berrick Barnes penalty edged the Tahs ahead at half-time, and Josh Holmes scored an important try in the second period.
Notably, the Brumbies were missing Matt Giteau and Rocky Elsom in this warm-up match.
Cipriani to join Rebels?
Rod Macqueen says Danny Cipriani is strongly contemplating a deal with the Melbourne Rebels.
Cipriani, who’s contract with London Wasps ends in May, held talks with representatives from the Rebels last week. Melbourne head coach Macqueen has confirmed the England flyhalf could be one of ten foreign players to sign for the franchise.
‘Danny is obviously the type of player we would like. He is a very talented individual and one of the players who has the skill-set that would be suitable to Super 15. He seemed very interested,’ Macqueen told The Times.
It has also been reported that the Rebels are negotiating deals with Bath fullback Nick Abendanon and Leceister lock Ben Kay.
Horwill trials at loose forward
Ewen McKenzie has confirmed Wallabies lock James Horwill will play in the back row against the Force on Friday.
Horwill moves from No 4 to No 6 for this warm-up match as McKenzie looks to experiment in the final hit-out before the Waratahs fixture.
‘I’ve been really impressed with his athleticism and power, and by putting him at six gives us a chance to get him more involved,’ McKenzie said. ‘If he doesn’t have such a large workload at scrum-time it gives him more opportunity to carry the ball and do other things.’
The fact that Horwill hasn’t played flank before hasn’t discouraged McKenzie from persisting with the experiment.
‘Obviously he is not attuned to that position but that doesn’t mean he can’t learn. We’ve seen plenty of examples of players at Test level and below taking on new positions in a short space of time, so this is just an experiment.
‘It might work well, it might not. But it certainly gives us options around lineouts and gives us a few other bits and pieces which will be interesting.’
Fairbanks set on Oz return
Former Brumbies flyhalf Gene Fairbanks says he wants to return to Canberra next season.
Just after Wednesday’s announcement that Julian Huxley plans to return to the Brumbies in 2011, Fairbanks has also signalled his intent on a comeback.
Fairbanks is currently playing club rugby in Japan for Honda after signing a one-year deal last season, but said wants to return to Australian rugby after his contract expires.
”When I left last year there was always a strong desire to come back and play Super14 again,” Fairbanks told The Canberra Times. ‘I definitely intend to meet with [Brumbies chief executive] Andrew Fagan while I’m back.
‘I’d look at Melbourne [Rebels] too, definitely, if there were options there. I’d look anywhere [but] I would find it difficult to play for anyone else apart from the Brumbies.’
This thread will be updated during the course of the day…
32 Comments
4 Feb 2010, 07:40 am
WC bringing the boys home
4 Feb 2010, 09:00 am
exciting….nice to go raid the N H ,boot on the other foot now!
4 Feb 2010, 09:07 am
I hope he goes. He is a very talented player and I think a complete change of enviroments and playing style is what he needs to kick start his career again.
4 Feb 2010, 09:13 am
Got rings run around him by Pienaar the last time the Boks played England – maybe more hype than skill
4 Feb 2010, 09:19 am
Ruan Pienaar humiliated him. And what does it mean when RUAN PIENAAR humiliates you? It means you’re even worse than Ruan Pienaar.
4 Feb 2010, 09:21 am
@stew: The worry is that MacQueen tends to get the best out of his players. Larkham being a case in point.
There is no doubt that Cipriani is talented. Imagine what a good coach and fast fields might do for him?
It will be interesting to see how the English respond to their players playing in the Southern Hemisphere. If he starts performing again, will his contract allow him to play Six Nations rugby? He should be fine for the Autumn tests and June/July internationals.
4 Feb 2010, 09:25 am
@Kobus Kitty: He seems to be out of favour with the current England setup
Rugby is now becoming a world sport , isnt about time that overseas players have escape clauses to play international tests or is this just a pipe dream ?
4 Feb 2010, 09:26 am
They should offer Ruan a contract and put him out of his misery in SA.
4 Feb 2010, 09:27 am
@WOLFMAN21: I always thought Eddie Jones was larkham s maker but i bow to your knowledge on the subject.
I am sure more England players will follow if Cipriani joins the Rebels , the chance to play on fast hard grounds must be inticing
4 Feb 2010, 09:28 am
@PissAnt: Agreed , the boy needs a fresh start
4 Feb 2010, 09:41 am
@stew: MacQueen was his first coach at the Brumbies, and from what I understand, the guy who sugegsted he should play 10. Also his national coach. If I am wrong, I am open to being corrected!
4 Feb 2010, 09:48 am
@PissAnt:
Great Idea, the Aussies will turn him into a world class flyhalf.
4 Feb 2010, 09:55 am
Oh yeah, and apparently Jonah Lomu is about to sign for the Rebels too.
Who is next…….Meads….Frik…….Paperemborde ?
Headlines like this are all about publicity.
4 Feb 2010, 10:51 am
@Black Panther: for once I have to agree, this is Cipriani’s agent at work, it’s contract negotiation time at Wasps. He won’t be going anywhere while he still has a sniff of the World Cup.
4 Feb 2010, 11:07 am
He’s not going.
4 Feb 2010, 11:16 am
@Big Hit: Are you up to date with Carlos Spencer’s form?
As far as I have it he wasn’t great while playing at Gloucester. Is this the case?
4 Feb 2010, 11:17 am
@WOLFMAN21: Yes.
4 Feb 2010, 11:20 am
He cant even make the England squad. cant see him impress down under. McQueen was a truly great coach though so he could be the making of him tho I doubt it.
S14 would find him out.
4 Feb 2010, 11:22 am
@Dantalian: Its a worry that the Lions are basing their whole campaign on an aged 10, who was often eratic and hasn’t been firing for a couple of seasons in a league which is of a lower quality than the Super 14!
4 Feb 2010, 11:28 am
@WOLFMAN21: Even when Gloucester took him on there were some raised eyebrows.
But you never know, might be life in the old man still.
4 Feb 2010, 11:34 am
Rod should talk to Willie Mason.
Now there is a headline Down Under.
Nobody else wants him (in the NRL that is). Lock or #8?
4 Feb 2010, 11:37 am
@cane: That would ruin rugby as we know it!
I don’t think he is clever enough to play lock (what is this lineout thing, and I actually have to push in the scrum?) and I also don’t think he has the technical skills nor physical skills to be competitve in union.
Plus he is scum. The only thing he is likely to bring to Union is bad publicity!
4 Feb 2010, 12:09 pm
@WOLFMAN21:
Exactly Wolfie,
But I wouldn’t mind seeing the scum have a go. If you know what I mean.
8)
4 Feb 2010, 12:24 pm
I the Rebels is a perfect team for Cipriani to grow up in. Come the RWC next year England will a player like Cipriani to be seasoned!!
4 Feb 2010, 12:43 pm
@Big Hit:
‘for once’ ?
cmon, Lord Barry, you agree more often than you care to admit. Its OK to hate Kiwis AND agree with them now’n'then you know. Look at me at Stephen Jones, we’ve come such a long way in a relatively short amount of time…..
Now and then you’ll even find me agreeing with Aussies.
4 Feb 2010, 12:51 pm
Truth be told, Cipriani is a talented player but just not as ‘great’ as the initial fanfare made him out to be. That bl**dy eejit, Stephen Jones, even said he would “change the face of rugby” when he was only 19/20, FFS.
The irony of this headline is – its clearly a publicity display from Melbourne, and a ruse by Cips agent in the middle of contract negotiations – that Cip’s style is far more suited to SH/Super rugby than NH/GuinPrem rugby. He likes having a go and has fairly quick feet and soft hands and would relish the harder grounds and longer days found Down Under. He’s got a good work-ethic too, despite what the tabloids would have you believe. The no-BS policy of fellow Aussies would soon round off a few of those spoilt English pretensions of his too, the characteristics that dont earn him a Engl recall from old-school Johnno.
He wont go tho. He’s a real Mummys Boy, loves the spotlight of the Westend and would earn bigger coin in the NH.
end of
4 Feb 2010, 12:58 pm
@Black Panther:
It’s NOT okay to hate BP.
But it is okay to debate.
Biggles needs professional help. His Celtic/Antipodean phobia is eating the man from within.
4 Feb 2010, 13:05 pm
@cane:
Cmon, we both know its a character flaw driven out of envy but lets allow him the relative sanity of saying the odd insane remark too.
4 Feb 2010, 13:11 pm
@Black Panther:
You play Good Cop.
But he is unsalvageable as a reasonable human being.
8)
4 Feb 2010, 13:25 pm
@cane:
Lets not forget that he is English.
5 Feb 2010, 00:09 am
Result was really nothing to go by.
Brumbies tore the Waratahs to shreds through the backs only for the final pass to go astray, at least 3 times the final pass 5 metres out went back to a Tahs player.
Brumbies were going for set play tries, Waratahs were going for the win at all costs. Who the hell kicks penalty goals in a trial match?
5 Feb 2010, 04:14 am
George Smith retires from international rugby.
Sourced from Rugbyheaven. com. au
George Smith, the most capped Wallaby forward in history, has announced his retirement from international rugby.
Smith will pursue a career overseas, possibly in Japan, having been granted a release from his contracts with the Australian Rugby Union and the Brumbies.
Smith, 29, will play out the forthcoming Super 14 season before “exploring other options”.
His tally of 110 Tests is the second highest among international forwards and second only to the tally of George Gregan (139) among Australian players.
Smith’s physicality at the breakdown earned him a fearsome reputation on both the international and provincial stages. He captained the Wallabies on seven occasions, most recently in last year’s Tri Nations series.
Smith, who has three children under the age of five with wife Louise, said he had no concrete plans in place.
“The decision to retire is a very difficult one for me,” Smith said.
“I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching for the past few months and I do feel I can still play top level rugby for years to come.
“But this decision is largely based about the most important people in my life – my family.
“They’ve made a lot of sacrifices during my career and now is the time to give back to my family, spend more quality time with them and have the chance to experience a different culture and experience it together as a family.”
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans paid Smith the ultimate compliment, saying he was the greatest No.7 in Australia’s rugby history.
“He’s right up there,” Deans said when asked how Smith compared to the other flankers he’d coached.
“He’s the best to have ever pulled a Wallabies jersey on, simply by the weight of numbers.
“You look at the number of games he’s played in a tough position. No one has gone as long and as consistently.”
Smith, who twice won the John Eales Medal and collected the Brumbies Players’ Player award on eight occasions, says he’s keen to end his time in Australia with a Super 14 crown.
“I’ll be making sure all the players at the Brumbies are keen to win the title,” he said.
“It’s my last year and it would be a great way to go out.”
Smith has been under increasing pressure to hold onto a starting spot in the Wallabies line-up following the emergence of young gun David Pocock.
The Western Force backrower was preferred to Smith for the bigger matches during last year’s spring tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Smith, who played in the 2003 and 2007 World Cups for Australia, made his international debut in 2000.
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