A digest of news from Australia, France, Aotearoa and your local bookshop
Turmoil in Australia
On 20 August the Wallaroos issued a combined statement condemning RA for its unbalanced treatment of them viz å viz the Wallabies. They claim that promises of a full-time professional coach and pro-contracts have not be fulfilled. Major players are signing on for NRLW (Rugby League) clubs, who welcome them with open arms.
The position is critical not only for Australians themselves but for World Rugby as a whole; the 2029 RWC due to take place there.
France
The French are continuing with their policy of ‘In it Together’. The 15s and 7s squads have combined with the Under 18 squad, now called ‘Académie Olympique’, to meet their coaches and work together to reach their goals.
The coaches: Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz (15s), and David Courteix (7s) are of one mind. The interchange of ideas and practices helps both them and the players. Unlike many of their counterparts, they believe there is much to gain from co-operation.
In this way they can plan out training sessions to satisfy all parties. For the present they have assembled through August at Marcoussis. Sessions have started at 06.00! ‘We want to get them out of their comfort zone’, Ortiz explains.
Most interestingly, they still hope to allow the same players to compete in the three big targets, the Olympic Sevens, WXV1 and the Six Nations, switching across with the minimum inconvenience. They encourage this flexibility while being the one nation alongside England to possess a playing strength that others can only envy.
WXV
The shiny new tournament creeps ever closer.
‘England will be gunning for World Cup “redemption”’ is Marc Hilton’s headlining of WXV1 in his piece in stuff.co.nz. But the administrators, NZR and World Rugby, must be looking much further than a final curtain clash between the No 1 and No 2-ranked teams in the world.
It’s vital for them to ensure that crowds turn up in large numbers to all the matches, not just those involving the Black Ferns. You can see a parallel with the RFU’s announcement of venues for the 2025 RWC: at one extreme Twickenham Stadium, which they are determined to fill to its 82,000 capacity. At the other, the modest York Community Stadium, capacity 8,500. The aim is to ensure full houses at every location.
New Zealand’s nearest equivalent (not very near) is the Forsyth Barr Stadium Dunedin in the deep south. It has a much larger capacity of 30,748, and like York, is a multi-sport facility. But three big games, Canada v England, New Zealand v Wales and Australia v France, all within 24 hours, will challenge the local authorities to the utmost.
A new Rugby Book
This is a book with a difference. It’s the story of Maggie Alphonsi’s rise from a difficult childhood in North London to become one of the most admired figures in women’s rugby. She details the struggles she had to survive as a child, through her school days to her first steps in the world of rugby. By a glorious chance her early mentor was one Liza Burgess, who spotted her potential and encouraged her to take up the game.
The title: ‘Winning the Fight’
