The Springbok and Wallaby teams have been named to play the seventh Tri-Nations test of 2010. The match will take place on Saturday the 28th of August in South Africa. It will be Victor Matfield’s 100th test for the Springboks. If victorious he will be the first Springbok to win his 100th test. Percy Montgomery lost his landmark game, and John Smit played his 100th test against the All Blacks in last week and lost.
Springboks
15-Francois Steyn, 14-JP Pietersen, 13-Jaque Fourie, 12-Jean de Villiers, 11-Bryan Habana, 10-Morne Steyn, 9-Francois Hougaard, 8-Pierre Spies, 7-Juan Smith, 6-Schalk Burger, 5-Victor Matfield, 4-Flip van der Merwe, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-John Smit, 1-Gurthro Steenkamp Reserves: 16-Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17-CJ van der Linde, 18-Danie Rossouw, 19-Ryan Kankowski, 20-Enrico Januarie, 21-Butch James, 22-Juan de Jongh.
Wallabies
15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O’Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (captain), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Saia Faainga, 1 Benn Robinson. Reserves: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Ben McCalman, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Anthony Faainga.
The Wallaby and All Black teams have been named to play the fifth Tri-Nations test and second Bledisloe Cup game of 2010. The match will take place on Saturday the 7th of August at 7.35pm, local time at AMI Stadium in Christchurch
Wallabies:
15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O’Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia; 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (capt), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Benn Robinson.
Reserves: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Cameron Shepherd.
All Blacks:
15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Piri Weepu; 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Reserves: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Alby Mathewson, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Benson Stanley.
Points of Interest:
If the All Blacks win they will retain the Bledisloe Cup for 2010.
The Wallabies have lost the last 8 test matches in a row against the All Blacks.
The All Blacks defeated the Wallabies 49-28 in Melbourne last weekend.
Jimmy Cowan suffered rib cartilage damage in that match and has been replaced by Piri Weepu in the only change to the All Black starting 15. Alby Mathewson joins the reserves bench. The only other change is Benson Stanley replacing Israel Dagg on the bench.
Tony Woodcock will overtake former team mate Greg Somerville as the most capped All Black prop, with 67 caps. He has scored 6 test tries, with 5 of them being against the Wallabies.
Ma’a Nonu will play his 50th test. He first debuted for the All Blacks against England in 2003. He has started 29 of the 31 tests since the 2007 World Cup.
Kurtley Beale and the Faingaa twins have been promoted to the starting Wallaby line-up. Kurley Beale starts at fullback, with Adam Ashley-Cooper moving to centre to replace the injured Rob Horne. Hooker Stephen Moore and Second-Five Berrick Barnes drop to the bench to be replaced by Saia Faingaa and Anthony Faingaa respectively.
The Faingaa twins became the 40th set of brothers and third set of twins to play for the Wallabies. This will be their first start together.
Cameron Shepherd comes onto the bench for possibly his first cap since 2008
The Wallaby and All Black teams have been named to play the fourth Tri-Nations test of 2010. The match will take place on Saturday the 1st of August at 8pm, local time at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.
Wallabies:
15 Adam Ashley Cooper, 14 James O’Connor, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia; 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (capt), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Reserves: 16 Saia Faingaa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Anthony Faingaa, 22 Kurtley Beale.
All Blacks:
15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan; 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Reserves: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.
Points of Interest:
There are only two changes from the Australian team who beat South last week. Stephen Moore in place of Saia Faingaa and Berrick Barnes comes in at no. 12 with Matt Giteau replacing the suspended Quade Cooper at 10.
If twin brothers Saia and Anthony Faingaa come off the bench they will become the 40th set of brothers to play a test together for the Wallabies.
Nathan Sharpe will equal the record for most tests by an Australian lock. It is currently help by John Eales with 84 test caps.
Joe Rokocoko will become the most capped All Black wing, over taking All Black greats John Kirwan and Jonah Lomu.
With 66 caps, Tony Woodcock will join former team mate Greg Somerville as the most capped All Black prop.
The Wallabies have lost the last 7 test matches in a row against the All Blacks.
Matt Giteau needs one more conversion to move ahead of Springbok Percy Montgomery for most conversions scored against the All Blacks.
The Wallabies and Springbok teams have been named to play the third Tri-Nations test of 2010. The match will take place on Saturday the 24th of July at 8pm, local time at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
WALLABIES:
15 Adam Ashley Cooper, 14 James O’Connor, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia; 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (captain), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Saia Fainga, 1 Benn Robinson
Reserves: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Kurtley Beale.
Reserves: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Dewald Potgieter, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Butch James, 22 Juan de Jongh.
Points of Interest:
This test will be the Springboks’ last away test of the Tri-Nations.
The Wallabies beat the Springboks in Brisbane last year 21-6. It was South Africa’s only loss of the tournament.
This Wallabies team contains 13 of the players who played in that match.
It will be the first Tri-Nations match for Rob Horne, Quade Cooper, Salesi Ma’afu and Saia Faingaa.
On the bench Kurtley Beale, Matt Hodgson, Rob Simmons and James Slipper could also make their Tri-Nations debut.
Springbok Gio Aplon comes on to the wing for the suspended Jean de Villiers
Ryan Kankowski replaces Francois Louw in the Springbok loose forwards, BJ Botha starts ahead of CJ van der Linde, and Ruan Pienaar replaces Ricky Januarie as starting halfback.
Over the last few years it has been hard not to notice the impact KooGa Rugby has started to have on the rugby union landscape. What is really striking about the success of KooGa Rugby recently is the amount of professional sports teams they provide rugby gear and rugby clothing to. The list reads like a who’s who of rugby teams.
KooGa International Rugby Teams
Internationally they supply KooGa sportswear to the Wallabies from Australia and the Fijian Rugby team, both of whom are in the top ten IRB ranked countries, with the Wallabies traditionally sitting in the top 3 countries in the world. Earlier this year a new KooGa rugby jersey was launched for the Wallabies.
KooGa describe the new Wallabies KooGa rugby jersey as ‘bullet proof’ and ‘indestructible’. Some of its materials include carbon fibre and hydrosteel, so it definitely sounds tough. The new rugby jersey was launched on Australia Day this year and coincided with the announcement of a new deal between Australia and KooGa rugby that goes till the end of 2013. KooGa also provide rugby gear to the USA Eagles and the Samoan and Tongan national rugby teams.
The new KooGa Wallabies Jersey
Rugby Clubs who use KooGa Rugby Gear
KooGa Rugby seems to particularly dominate the professional club scene in the UK. They supply KooGa rugby gear to the likes of Llanelli RFC, the Ospreys, Scarlets, Swansea, Saracens, Harlequins and Bristol. In the Super 14 KooGa supplies both the ACT Brumbies and Queensland Reds from Australia.
KooGa Rugby Technology
Having such an impressive stable of professional rugby teams places them on a comparable level to traditional rugby apparel power houses as Nike, Adidas and Canterbury Rugby. Competing at this level allows KooGa rugby to stay at the forefront of rugby gear technology. They are part of the market leaders when it comes to professional rugby union apparel technology. An example of this is their revolutionary approach to match jerseys, such as the previously mentioned Wallabies rugby jersey. They have also developed ‘Evaporex’, which is they describe as a ‘lightweight polythermal fabric’, which basically expels perspiration so the player does not get bogged down by the weight and maintains the ideal temperature for the rugby player’s body. KooGa rugby gear, such as the just mentioned KooGa rugby jerseys, KooGa headgear and other KooGa protective gear are all IRB (the International Rugby Board) approved.
KooGa Rugby League
Although KooGa specialises in rugby gear, KooGa sportswear in general has started to gain traction in other sports for being durable and technologically advanced. In professional Rugby League, KooGa has also become quite predominant, providing a variety of teams with Rugby league shorts and jerseys as well as rugby league headgear where required. The Newcastle Knights, Indigenous All Stars and the NRL All Stars all use KooGa sportswear. New Zealand International Rugby League team, the Kiwis also use KooGa apparel. At the time of writing KooGa still sponsored the Melbourne Storm, although their association with the club was being questioned following the Storm salary cap scandal of 2010. In Rugby League in the UK, teams such as Wigan Warriors, Hull Kingston Rovers, Huddersfield Giants and the Bradford Bulls use KooGa sportswear as well. Former Kiwis Rugby League star and England Rugby player, Henry Paul is also sponsored by KooGa. Henry Paul has returned to Rugby League and now plays for the Harlequins.
Players Sponsored by KooGa Rugby
As well as accumulating an impressive stable of International and Club rugby teams, KooGa seem to have an impressive array of individual rugby players representing them, particularly in the Europe club scene. Saracens lock and England Captain Steve Bothwick and Wales captain Ryan Jones are both sponsored by KooGa, as is England and Bath veteran Danny Grewcock. Argentina and Leicester Tigers prop Marcos Ayerza and fellow Argentine Juan Leguizamon, who plays flanker for Stade Francais, both endorse KooGa sportswear. Italian Veteran Marco Bortolami who plays for Gloucester is also sponsored by KooGa.
Former All Blacks Bruce Reihana and Carlos Spencer are also sponsored by KooGa. Reihana and Spencer were both Northampton Saints until Carlos Spencer returned to the Super 14 to play for the Lions. I noticed recently that All Black legend Christian Cullen is employed as KooGa Rugby’s Wellington representative in New Zealand.
If it looks like there is a distinctive Northern Hemisphere flavour to the teams KooGa sponsors, it’s because KooGa is based in the United Kingdom rugby apparel company. Its head office is in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. It is clearly dominating the scene there but has started to filter south, as can be seen with supplying of KooGa rugby gear to Australian rugby union and league teams and the New Zealand rugby league team, the Kiwis. Not bad for a company that was only established in 1997.
Check out this video of the KooGa Rugby jersey in action. It features both club and international games of rugby.
The English Rugby Union, the RFU, have agreed to a date change, enabling New Zealand another attempt at a prestigious Grand Slam Tour. The All Blacks and England will now contest the Hillary Shield on December the 4th before playing Scotland on the November the 13th, Ireland on November the 20th and Wales on November the 27th.
This is an important concession for the NZRU as it means they get the All Black players back a week earlier than expected in order to recuperate before the big 2011 season ahead. The ‘knock-out’ tour element of a Grand Slam is in itself important 2011 World Cup preparation. The timing change also allows the NZRU a revenue-generating opportunity to arrange an Asian Bledisloe Cup test against Australia on the 30th of October.
The Grand Slam tour, where a team plays each of the home unions, England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, on a single tour, is considered one of the hardest tours in rugby to complete. The All Blacks themselves have attempted it ten times and achieved it three times. Historically they have also been rare to even attempt due to the scheduling difficulties. The All Blacks did not even attempt a Grand Slam between their first successful attempt in 1978 and their second successful attempt in 2004. However, due to the increase of tests being played in a year and the temptation of additional tests being revenue sharing for the touring team, they have become much more common. New Zealand won another a few years later in 2008, while the Australia had a failed attempt in 2009.
The South African Springboks have the most successful Grand Slam tours of the Southern Hemisphere teams with four, and also have a Grand Slam tour scheduled in 2010. There last Grand Slam tours were failed attempts in 1998 and 2004. Their last successful tour was in 1969, so they will be especially keen for a successful tour in 2010.
Stirling Mortlock has signed for new Super rugby team, the Melbourne Rebels. The news is surprising because Morlock was expected to head to Japan after this year. Having lost the Wallabies and Brumbies captaincy, and his body struggling to hold up to the Super 14 pace, an end to his illustrious ruby career in Australia seemed imminent. The lower impact and lighter playing schedule and the chance to set himself up financially before retiring from playing made Japan seem like a logical choice.
It will be the third time Morlock has linked up with Melbourne Rebels coach Rob Macqueen. Macqueen selected him for his debut for the Brumbies and the Wallabies, so it seems fitting that he would also select him for his rugby curtain call.
Despite the clear risks of signing such an injury prone player at the end of his career, it seems like a good move for the new Super team. He is a marquis signing as far as leadership goes, whether that be on or off the field. Macqueen has said that he can switch to a backroom role at any point during his new three year contract. He becomes the tenth player to sign for the new franchise, and clearly legitimises them in the bid to attract high profile players. Other signings include former England no. 10 Danny Cipriani and rising Reds prop Laurie Weeks.
Mortlock has indicated that a motivator to stay in Australia was the chance to extend his 80 Wallabies test caps and fight for a place in the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The big centre is currently the only player to score over a thousand super points, although Dan Carter is hot on his tail.
As I said in a previous article, the hardest obstacle that professional players need to overcome when converting from rugby league to rugby union seems to be cultural. While this is of course all anecdotal, the fact that 100% of the big signings of 2002 have now returned to league and most of them under fairly dubious circumstances is relevant. However, the fact that they were all able to rise to the top of both sports should not imply there is not a technical divide too; it’s just that these players were exceptional enough to overcome those.
Last week marked the return to rugby league by Lote Tuqiri. Now a dual international, he scored 31 tries on his way to 67 tests for the Wallabies. He’s clearly an adaptable athlete, although it has to be said he never was fully able to master the game of rugby union by converting to centre like he seemed to have planned. As a winger he was still able to make what is likely the harder transition, going from rugby union to rugby league. The reason for this is of course the ruck. Whereas in league you simply need to retain your grip on the ball and be able to stand and roll the ball under you with your foot to retain possession, in rugby there is a whole other element of the game you have to master. This element involves the retention of the ball, your body position when hitting the ground, releasing the ball at the correct time, releasing the attacking player if you are the tackler and rolling away, and of course the blowing over the ruck by each team. These factors are difficult to master even for life-long players.
There are not many successful converts to rugby union forwards because of the extra workload required to hit rucks, and the additional elements of contestable scrums and lineouts. Body shape comes into it as well, because the height required for an international lock, and the bulk required for an international front rower wouldn’t be viable in league. One of the few successful transitions to being an international tight forward in the professional era is All Black Brad Thorn. However, it must be said he is short by international lock standards, and is not a renowned lineout jumper. He does overcome these things through his presence at the ruck, and it would be fair to say he has become the steel of the All Black pack in recent times. His lineout play is also continuing to improve.
Switching codes the other way is arguably the easier challenge. However, even as a former international and State of Origin league star, Lote Tuqiri will still have his share of obstacles to overcome. We saw a glimpse of this in his first game for the West Tigers last week where Tuqiri instinctively chipped down the sideline on the third tackle. Now this may be acceptable in union because unfortunately chipping and ‘up and unders’ have become as beneficial to attacking as retaining possession, and also because if the ball went out it would be followed by a contestable lineout. However, coaches’ boxes explode if such a player does that in league. Firstly, the touchline is your enemy in league, because it creates an automatic, uncontested turnover. Secondly, possession isn’t contested either, so unless you are attacking the goal line and especially if you are a winger, you don’t kick on the third tackle.
So, there are a few habits that Tuqiri will need to break on attack in rugby league. Generally he should be ok, and if in doubt he can always just spend the game running off Benji Marshall’s shoulder. As a winger it is in defence he will have to adjust the most. At the end of many sets he and the other winger and the full back will be peppered with kicks right at the goal line. He’s going to be pressured in the air and with less time and space to react than he would have had to deal with since leaving league.
He’s started the switch back to league with a try and win for the West Tigers. Looks like Lote Tuqiri is off to a good start.
Lote Tuqiri’s conversion back to Rugby League marks the last of the ‘big three’ signings of 2002 to return to the 13-man game. Mat Rogers, Wendell Sailor, and now Tuqiri have now all returned to the game in which they first made their name, rugby league. Whether or not this means their conversions were disasters can be debated. However, Mat Rogers went on to play 45 times for the Australian National side, the Wallabies, 45 times in a variety of backline positions and holds the record for most points for the Wallabies in a test match, 42 points; Sailor, the biggest of the signings at the time went onto play for the Wallabies 47 times. Tuqiri has arguably been the most successful signing, played 67 tests and scored 31 tries.
It seems all of these athletes were successfully able to covert and play rugby union at the highest level. Cultural issues seemed to be at the heart of all of their respective departures from rugby union. Rogers seemed to battle depression and personal issues, and requested a release to go back to league. Both Tuqiri and Sailor had their respective contracts torn up by the Australian Rugby Union; Sailor for cocaine use and Tuqiri for unspecified disciplinary breaches.
The right athlete seems to be able to convert both physically and technically to their new sport, but it seems culturally the conversion is harder. Out of the 3 big signings of 2002, the 100% return rate to rugby league, with two being for disciplinary reasons seems to prove this. What causes this divide is debatable. Perhaps it is the old public school versus private school theory, the differing level of public attention, earning power, or even geography. Whatever the reason is, it seems that cultural rather than technical issues are the hardest to overcome when converting to rugby from rugby league.
