Exodus would not spell end of Irish rugby
This week it was reported that Ireland winger Keith Earls was the subject or a large bid from English powerhouse Saracens and many fans took to social media to lament the end of Irish rugby as surely a mass exodus of the country’s best talent would leave.
As it happened Earls decided to stay in the Emerald Isle to much accord, but would his transfer have been such a bad thing for Ireland? The IRFU do not impose a hard and fast rule like England where foreign-based players cannot represent their country, and that surely means Ireland’s talent pool would increase.
The IRFU have announced that Keith Earls has signed a new 3 year contract to stay with Munster until after #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/5oRp3PKCKh
— EatSleepRugby (@eatsleeprugby) January 27, 2016
When one man moves abroad, another gets his chance to stake a claim as a starter in one of the four Irish provincial teams and this exposure fast tracks their development into becoming a player of international standard.
It is also worth mentioning that players who move abroad and expose themselves to a different culture, often come back better players. Look at Jonny Wilkinson.
While Jonny Sexton’s experiment was not such a success, Ian Madigan looks to have flourished at Bordeaux and with other players rumoured to be assessing their options, Ireland need not fret.
Sonny Bill delivers in Wellington
Were we ever so silly as to doubt whether code-hopping rugby star Sonny Bill Williams would be a success in the All Blacks sevens team?
Having scored with his first touch in the sport, the mere presence of the Rio 2016 hopeful seemed enough to inspire his team to their best performance of the season yet and victory on home turf.
It was not a completely error-free display from the part-time heavyweight boxer though with a couple of handling errors undoing some of his better plays. Williams’ magical one-arm offload in particular seemed to delight fans and bewilder opposition in equal measure.
Still learning but great 2 finally play some 7s with the lads @ardiesavea @GilliesKaka @JosephWebber27 @rieko_ioane pic.twitter.com/MabugBeb05
— Sonny Bill Williams (@SonnyBWilliams) January 31, 2016
He has got the nod for Sydney to get some more sevens miles under his belt after veteran coach Gordon Tietjens backed him to make the adjustments to his game.
“He’s a perfectionist and he’ll get it right,” Tietjens said.
Jones on the right path to rediscovering England’s identity
Eddie Jones has been hard at work in the press this week and has already begun the verbal warfare that seems a prerequisite for professional coaches of any sport in this day and age.
However when Jones mentioned that England need their arrogance back, he was spot on. After four-and-a-half years of Stuart Lancaster instilling his highly-principled, chorister-esque values upon the dressing room and shying away from confrontation in the press room, the time has come for England to regain their snarl and their swagger.
Eddie Jones is happy for @EnglandRugby to be called arrogant ahead of the @rbs_6_nations pic.twitter.com/13RLOay2ug
— PA Sport (@pasport) February 1, 2016
The no-nonsense Australian was also quick to point out that he sees it as his duty to instill winning mentality in his team and that starts with the team’s image.
“We just try to win games and everything is about winning. Everything we say is about winning. Every time we talk to the media, we are trying to find a way to win. I don’t see that as mind games, it’s part of the process.”
England will employ several different game plans during the Six Nations depending on the opposition, but when Scotland host England in the Calcutta Cup on Saturday, fans can expect the visitors to play a direct game plan built upon power and accuracy. The way England do it best.
Dragons rout highlights West Asia Championship ambitions
It may not have been their best start to a season ever but Jebel Ali Dragons will feel they can throw their hat in the ring for West Asian honours after they put Muscat to the sword with an 18-try blitz.
Following two weeks of relative stability for the men from Oman, Dragons torched them with a 110- 10 win at Dubai Sports City, which gives them two wins from three and puts them firmly in the title picture.
“We moved the ball nicely at times so although the game got ragged we worked our set piece well and some of our phase play looked slick,” said UAE international Niall Statham, who scored a try. “To their credit they are a really committed team and scored two nice tries.”
The table has been blown wide open and if Dragons can continue their new brand of running rugby, they may just fancy upsetting capital powerhouse side Abu Dhabi Harlequins next Friday.
Abu Dhabi French have makings of UAE rugby force
When you think of rugby in Abu Dhabi, Harlequins and Saracens immediately spring to mind. Not too many people will have heard of a club called Abu Dhabi French.
Ecole Francaise de Rugby Abu Dhabi as it is known in French though was formed more than a decade ago – actually making the club older than Saracens, which was only established in 2011.
Today the club has a thriving membership of over 200 players in age groups all the way from infants to Under-19s, and despite its relatively low-key stature, has grand plans to grow much bigger.
The club’s triumph in the Bowl competition of the U-16 B section at the HSBC Rugby Festival Dubai last month was yet another small step for the development of the club.
The club’s best players have recently been poached by the more prestigious Abu Dhabi Harlequins but with ambitions of pushing the club’s membership up towards the 400 mark, chairman Fabien Roveda is optimistic for the future.
“It’s been a problem in the past but we hope that will change and I will do my best to arrange that,” he said. “We are trying to modify our rules and modify the club to put it in the best condition possible. Allez Les Bleus. We are alive and we will do our best to remain so.”
Extra time
One reason many sevens players choose to specialize in the shorter form of the game is because they are more suited to running than contact. However with ever-increasing amounts of players becoming a hybrid machine of power and pace, fans can now be treated to feats of power on the sevens circuit. Ben Lam of the All Blacks, take it away…
