WRW MONDAY: A LATE GUT-PUNCH
Bath's late try hard to take but progress undeniable now
78 MINUTES TO ENJOY AND YET..
To play so well against an in-form team in Bath who will not be far away from the top four again - and yet not to receive the reward in the points column, must be so unbelievably painful for the coaches and players. It was certainly hard on those fans watching on from Leicestershire and Rutland.
The “journey” concept was trotted out again yesterday but along the way, the balance between ambition and pragmatism is going to be part of that conversation. It affects every single team.
Watson may well be going on the Lions tour and has almost as good a step as Zach Mercer, but I’d rather have Steward under the high ball - and the way Tigers are set up, that will create opportunities for tries as it did yesterday. Equally, Steward looks unlikely to have the flair of Watson, so then do Leicester kick the ball away too much?
Tight games like yesterday will always turn on moments for both sides; eg Ford’s conversion miss, Spencer’s bizarre cross-kick on the point of half-time, Wiese and Mercer’s scuffle and any number of refereeing decisions though Luke Pearce’s style unquestionably helped the game to flow.
But there is a question Leicester will have to answer on the “journey”. Will they win games like yesterday in the future by tightening up further or do they need to take more risks to challenge the likes of Bristol, Exeter, Harlequins, Sale and maybe Bath? I don’t know the answer to that..
Top 8 looks to be good enough for a Champions Cup, given the murmurings we may have a format similar to this season. But I still fancy Leicester to climb above Irish, with the Exiles still to host Exeter or visit Bristol. Bath have a decent run-in, with Sale and Northampton to visit the Rec. That top 6 is going to be difficult to break into.
One way you would point to Leicester’s development, is that Bath did exactly what they’re doing now at the truncated end of the season - by starting the sort of late run Wasps under Gatland and Shaun Edwards used to pioneer.
Last season, Bath lost just once in the nine games after Lockdown 1. This time around, they’ve now won 6 out of 8 but are having to start earlier following a woeful period either side of Christmas. It’s the sort of form Leicester are on right now in spite of yesterday’s defeat, but will they be able to maintain it?
I’m not giving up yet on a top four, though the way Sale and Quins are going, they look to be formidably placed now. One more defeat and even I’ll focus on the top 6.
But this is what it should be about…(h/t Bath Rugby Twitter account)
TIGHTENING UP IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP
The weekend’s results show there’s still no point backing romance over remorseless professionalism. Saracens’ 50-15 trouncing of Doncaster leaves them coming up hard on the rails with a game in hand.
Ealing’s 64-17 win over Jersey with a bonus point makes them odds on to finish top whatever happens in the remaining four weeks. And next Sunday, Saracens host Ealing with a win for the Trailfinders leaving Saracens struggling to qualify for the final.
PREMIER 15s
Loughborough Lightning are into the playoffs with one game remaining. A 38-29 defeat at home to Saracens Women didn’t help despite a hat-trick for Bryony Field.
But Exeter’s 17-10 defeat at Sale means they can’t catch Loughborough have punched their ticket for the semis where they will face Saracens…
NEWS FROM FOREIGN LANDS
Good to see Jordan Olowofela get his first score in Australia, for Western Force’s latest win.
PENSION OFF THE LIONS
Celebrating history is one thing but wallowing in tradition can make you resemble that Peter Sellers film from the 1950s, The Mouse that Roared.
Sellers plays umpteen parts in a plot where a tiny European backwater of a country is fed up of being ignored. So it declares war on tbe United States…and no-one notices..
The ruritanian obsession with maintaining an outdated order which is keenly portrayed in the movie, can be seen nowadays in a rugby equivalent - a diehard defender of the British and Irish Lions.
Now since I’m treading onto hallowed ground, let my steps be unusually quicksilver for those of us with Covid waistlines.
We are told the “last great adventure” is being betrayed by a lack of preparation time, preoccupations with the World Cup and perhaps in some cases, an unwillingness to accepy the nature of the pandemic haunting all our lives.
Already the usual cries are being offered up that without being able to defend themselves, the Lions are being jumped on as less the kings of the jungle, more the enfeebled runts of the litter.
But there is another story to be told. Maybe the Lions is beyond its sell-by date?
What is its point and what would replace it, if it disappeared?
Surely, in a professional sport, everything needs to be reassessed for its purpose and value. In a global world where modern communications links are as good as they are, the only remaining “proper” tour - whether it lasts two months or three - is a great excuse to get away from the family, but it’s not a modern symbol of the sport.
I also shudder when I recall how desperate some were to see the Lions tour South Africa in the darkest years of apartheid. And we are not helping South African rugby by touring with no crowds this summer. That lumps all the costs on an already financially beleagured SARU and leaves the Home Nations off scot-free.
But, just as the attempts to keep relevant the Barbarians game at Welford Road in a professional age ultimately failed, so will the Lions. Rather than it dying a noble death, it is fighting an outdated existence long beyond its sell-by date.
The modern age of rugby should be about encouraging more nations to compete in the latter stages of World Cups. As John Inverdale said the other day in the Sunday Times, it’s scandalous that the last eight in the World Cup has barely changed since the first tournament over 30 years ago.
But when one bilateral series dominates everything else for one summer, where’s the space to develop new formats and new thinking? There’s no room when a bilateral series dominates all around it.
After all, what would sustain the interest of a rugby playing teenager in Bucharest, Tbilisi, or Nanjing or Seattle?? The Lions winning in Invercargill? Or their own national teams given a chance to compete on equal terms with the favoured few?
In a world where even New Zealand can set up two Super Rugby franchises for Fijian and Samoan players, who in the Home Unions are going to say “what about the wider game” and not be laughed out of the committee room?
QUICK HITS
If you don’t think South Africa is being hurt by the remorseless pillaging of its players by the European leagues and now, increasingly Japan, take a look at this:
JP not off to the best of starts in the US.
RUNNING FROM DEEP
By their own exceptionally high standards and following their usual fast start, Scott Robertson’s Crusaders are having a bit of a wobble in Super Rugby Aeoteareo over the last few weeks.
What’s changed? Complacency wasn’t the case, Robertson assured Crusaders fans post-match at FMG Stadium Waikato. But mark down March 31 as a key date – two days before that loss to the Highlanders.
Coincidence or not, that was when ‘Razor’ publicly spoke about being linked to the England job, as a potential replacement for the under-fire Eddie Jones, and looking for fresh opportunities in his coaching career.
Rather than bat the England talk away, the former All Blacks loose forward labelled it “pretty flattering” and said “to be held in that regard is pretty special”.
Nothing like stirring the pot.
But where Robertson coaches in 2021/22 will be fascinating to watch for.
Apologies for the paywall, but Peter O’Reilly had a clear time plan for South Africa’s integration into the Northern Hemisphere in the Sunday Times, thanks to CVc’s involvement: (£)
But whether or not the South Africans get here in May, the general migration north will happen from next season, and its effects will be game-changing. Having been cut adrift from Super Rugby by the New Zealanders and Australians, the four franchises — the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers — are locked in for a reshaped Guinness Pro16 next season, their potential qualification route into the Heineken Champions Cup for season 2022/23.
The next step requires a leap of the imagination: the Springboks taking part in the Six Nations from 2024, either as a replacement for Italy, or as part of an Eight Nations with Georgia also joining. Unthinkable? Witness the recent activity of CVC Capital Partners and it begins to make sense.
The private equity firm have already bought a 14.3 per cent stake of the Six Nations and owns a share of the Gallagher Premiership and the Pro14. It is understood they are at a very advanced stage of negotiations with SA Rugby, who are expected to sell between 15 and 20 per cent of their business.
CVC will then have a stake in seven of the Tier One unions, including the current world champions. In order to ensure a healthy return on their investment, they will apply pressure on those unions to “broaden the footprint” of their competitions, and also to align the club and international game. For rugby purposes, South Africa becomes a northern hemisphere country. Its time zone makes it perfectly workable.
AND FINALLY…
So for the football fans among us looking at diaries for May 15th…
Back on Wednesday…see you then.
Chris
Another good read Chris. Wiese was my MOTM yesterday, and that brain fart didn't change that opinion. He, and a couple of others do need to think before acting and hopefully they'll learn the lessons. If you'd offered me a LBP before the game I'd have bitten your hand off, yet it feels empty now. Hey ho, we move on ............