RW

C2 I ON
02 3 DIT
CO L L E C TO R’S E

WHAT
NEXT FOR
THE HOME
NATIONS?

WORLD
CHAMPIONS
Your definitive review as Springboks win again
ISSUE
DECEMBER
2023

EBEN ETZEBETH / SAM WHITELOCK / BUNDEE AKI / BEN EARL / NICOLAS MARTINS / MANUEL ARDAO
 SPIRIT
OF 2016
In the World Cup
quarter-finals, Ireland
faced the haka in a
figure of eight – as they
did in their first-ever
win over NZ – in honour
of the late Anthony Foley

Picture Charles McQuillan/

Getty Images
CONTENTS
THE FRONT ROW
12 Mark Atkinson
16 Secret Ref
17 Ken Owens
20 24-team World Cup
22 Academies
24 World Cup rant
25 Adam Radwan
26 Gavin Coombes
28 World record fans
29 Herbert Mensah

THE CENTRES
32 How RWC was won
37 Ultimate review
38 Medal finals
42 Semis and quarters
46 Pool stage
62 Team of Tournament
64 Tyson Beukeboom
66 Stephen Jones
70 World Cup heroes
74 Dan McKellar
79 Home nations
84 Sam Whitelock
86 Danny Cipriani

THE BACK ROW

90 Jac Morgan analysis
92 Kick training DON’T MISS
94 Injury recovery THIS MONTH
96 Letters An Aussie RWC disaster
and Eddie’s gone.
98 Secret Player Stephen Jones
looks ahead to
RWC 2027
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 Happy like the Wolves
E D ITO R’ S LETTE R Portugal fans celebrate

It was a tournament that we’ll never forget

AFTER TWO months of Kiwi wings. Dropping goals, mega
a men’s World Cup, it’s queues, stadiums running out of booze.
hard not to come across Zombie rocking, Aussies nixed,
all We Didn’t Start The somehow Dupont’s face is fixed. And all
Fire about what’s gone the while the Boks’ fire kept burning… Alan Dymock, Editor
on. Maybe Eddie Jones It was an incredible time and we’d like Email: alan.dymock@futurenet.com
quitting as Wallabies to thank you for coming with us. Maybe Twitter: @AlanDymock
boss just nine games into a five-year some romance was lost as a French run
contract, just a day after the World Cup to the end couldn’t happen. But we had
final, is what tipped us over the edge. a blast and the action was unreal. And
SCAN TO GET RUGBY
Just think of what we had in France. the fans: fantastic. Well done everyone.
Lobos win, Mika sings, record scores for And now… Into a new season!
WORLD’S NEWSLETTER

7
 F r o n t R o w

WH AT YOU SHOULD BE
TALK ING ABOUT THIS MONTH…
“New world league has
to live up to big promises”
YOU CAN understand some of the
frustrations from outside the world’s
established powerhouse nations.
For what has previously been called
Tier Two nations, everyone wants
promotion and relegation now. But
in the establishment of a new global
competition (that has no official name
yet), World Rugby are promising a lot.
Here’s what they say we will get in
men’s Test rugby from 2026: in every
second year, between Rugby World
Cups and Lions tours, there will be
two leagues of 12. There will be no
promotion-relegation until 2030. The
top division will be made up of the
Six Nations and Rugby Championship
sides, plus two more – believed to be
Fiji and Japan, but not nailed on yet… New challenge

PIC Getty Images

Also promised is a “50% increase”
in crossover matches between the
‘high performance’ nations (what
was known as Tier One) and the
‘performance nations’ (Tier Two)
during the summer windows.
However, World Rugby have also
admitted that nothing has been officially
signed. So we are taking everyone at
their word. If it comes off, what is being
promised could well be a step-up from
the norm: suddenly nations like the
USA, Samoa and Portugal, we are told,
Will Japan face England
in the world league?
will have fixture lists stretching into the
future of guaranteed matches that they
can market. No more blank diaries.
The knock-on effect of creating two
Test windows in a global calendar,
though, is that the Six Nations will lose a
fallow week to make room. How games
across hemispheres are scheduled will
need to be looked at. There are no
details on the teams making up the
second division and no fixtures set.
Shared gate receipts and neutral venue
selection is still to be hashed out.
Out in the world, there is distrust.
Samoa’s Lima Sopoaga says he is
“deeply frustrated”. But Samoa voted for
this. Sebastián Piñeyrúa, president of
South American Rugby, previously said:
“It will kill rugby.” Powerful unions have
to deliver what’s promised, now. n

KEN OWE NS TH IS MONT H H AV E YOUR SAY

Email
“The squa d depth in rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com
Twitter
Wa le s isn’t gr ea t. This @rugbyworldmag
year w e’ re having to throw Facebook
Rugby World Magazine
a lot of guys in an d hope Instagram
that they can a ll s wim” P1 7 @Rugbyworldmag

8
 F r o n t R o w

YOUR RUGBY CALENDAR

A look at the oval-ball events taking place in November
This Friday sees history
made in the United
Rugby Championship as
the Ospreys become the
first Welsh side to stage
a home league game in
London – they welcome
With You Every South Africa’s Sharks to
Step by English the Twickenham Stoop. Tickets cost £19 for adults
defence coach and £15 for U15s, with kick-off at 7.35pm.
Kevin Sinfield and

18th
Rob Burrow is
published this MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
Thursday. This
30 31 1 2 3 4 5
gift book brings
heartfelt words to
life with illustrations
of their friendship. Rugby legends from
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
It costs £10 and England and Wales,
Macmillan will split led by Mike Tindall,
50p from every will play in a special
copy sold between match against Irish
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Leeds Hospitals and Scottish legends
Charity and the at Rugby School to
MND Association. celebrate 200 years
of the game. The
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Cure Parkinson’s
Lunch with Rugby
Legends features
the match at noon,
27 28 29
30th 1 2 3
PICS Getty Images, Inpho & Pan Macmillan

followed by lunch.
NEW Tickets cost £230
ISSUE
OUT – to purchase, see
eventbrite.co.uk
4 5 6 7 8 9 10

24thBritish & Irish Lion Paul Wallace is the

principal speaker at Wooden Spoon
The Rugby Inheritance Podcast will Merseyside’s annual lunch, which takes
host a live show at Kingsholm where place at Liverpool Football Club this
special guest Jonny Wilkinson joins Friday from noon to 6pm. The bar opens
co-hosts Sam Roberts and Ed Slater, at midday and food will be served from
the former Gloucester lock. Tickets 1pm. The dress code is lounge suits.
are £30 or £25 for club members, with Individual tickets cost £60 with tables of
money being raised for the 4Ed fund. ten £600 – visit woodenspoon.org.uk

9

THE DIRECTORY
After France 2023, attention turns back to the clubs – here are the fixture details you need
FRIDAY 3 NOVEMBER
WXV1
Australia v Wales (6am, Auckland)
Gallagher Premiership
Sale v Gloucester (7.45pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Glasgow v Stormers (7.35pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Ospreys v Sharks
(7.35pm, Twickenham Stoop)
TV
Live on BBC Wales & Viaplay
FRI 3-SAT 4 NOVEMBER
Sevens Tournaments
Pan American Games (Santiago)
Asia Sevens Trophy (Qatar)
SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER
International
Wales v Barbarians (2.30, Cardiff)
WXV1
France v Canada (3am, Auckland)
England v New Zealand
(6am, Auckland)
Gallagher Premiership
Harlequins v Newcastle (3pm)
Northampton v Bath (3pm)
Saracens v Leicester (3.05pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Zebre Parma v Bulls (1pm)
Leinster v Edinburgh (3.05pm)
Scarlets v Cardiff (5.15pm)
TV
All live on Viaplay
Munster v Dragons (5.15pm)
TV
Live on S4C & Viaplay
Connacht v Ulster (7.35pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Top 14
Oyonnax v La Rochelle (2pm)
Bordeaux v Montpellier (4pm)
Clermont v Bayonne (4pm)
Perpignan v Toulon (4pm)
18th
DERBY DAY
Harlequins and Saracens
meet in the Gallagher
Premiership –
catch the action
live on TNT
Sports
PICS Getty Images
Stade Français v Castres (4pm)
Racing 92 v Lyon (8.05pm)
SAT 4-SUN 5 NOVEMBER
Sevens Tournament
Singapore Sevens
SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Exeter Chiefs v Bristol (3pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Benetton v Lions (1.30pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Top 14
Pau v Toulouse (8.05pm)
FRIDAY 10 NOVEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Gloucester v Bath (7.45pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Zebre Parma v Sharks (5.30pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Cardiff v Bulls (7.35pm)
TV
Live on BBC Wales & Viaplay
Ulster v Munster (7.35pm)
TV
Live on BBC NI & Viaplay
FRI 10-SUN 12 NOVEMBER
Sevens Tournament
Oceania Sevens Championship
(Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane)
SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER
La Vila International Cup
Matches in Villajoyosa, Spain
USA v Brazil (4pm)
Spain v Canada (8pm)
Gallagher Premiership
Bristol Bears v Sale (2.30pm)
Leicester v Harlequins (3.05pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Benetton v Stormers (3pm)
Ospreys v Glasgow (5.15pm)
TV
Both live on Viaplay
F r o n t R o w
Scarlets v Lions (5.15pm)
TV
Live on S4C & Viaplay
Edinburgh v Connacht (7.35pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Top 14
Toulouse v Perpignan (2pm)
Castres v Oyonnax (4pm)
Lyon v Stade Français (4pm)
Montpellier v Clermont (4pm)
Pau v Bordeaux-Bègles (4pm)
La Rochelle v Bayonne (8.05pm)
SAT 11-SUN 12 NOVEMBER
Sevens Tournament
Helios Bangkok International
Sevens (Thailand)
SUNDAY 12 NOVEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Newcastle v Saracens (3pm)
Northampton v Exeter (3pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Dragons v Leinster (1.15pm)
TV
Live on S4C & Viaplay
Top 14
Toulon v Racing 92 (8.05pm)
FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Bath v Bristol (7.45pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
Sale v Newcastle (7.45pm)
United Rugby Championship
Edinburgh v Bulls (7.35pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Ulster v Lions (7.35pm)
TV
Live on BBC NI & Viaplay
Zebre Parma v Cardiff (7.35pm)
TV
Live on BBC Wales
SATURDAY 18 NOVEMBER
La Vila International Cup
Matches in Villajoyosa, Spain
Third-place play-off (4pm)
Grand final (8pm)
10
Gallagher Premiership
Leicester v Northampton (3.05)
Harlequins v Saracens (5.30pm)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Sharks v Connacht (3pm)
Dragons v Ospreys (5.15pm)
Munster v Stormers (5.15pm)
Glasgow v Benetton (7.35pm)
TV
All live on Viaplay
Leinster v Scarlets (7.35pm)
TV
Live on S4C & Viaplay
Top 14
Stade Français v Racing 92 (2pm)
Bayonne v Pau (4pm)
Clermont v Toulon (4pm)
Oyonnax v Lyon (4pm)
Perpignan v Montpellier (4pm)
Castres v Toulouse (8.05pm)
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Bristol Bears v Sale (2pm)
Saracens v Loughborough (2.30)
Trailfinders v Harlequins (3pm)
SAT 18-SUN 19 NOVEMBER
Sevens Tournament
Asia Sevens Series
(Osaka, Japan)
SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Exeter v Gloucester (3pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Leicester Tigers v Exeter (3pm)
Top 14
La Rochelle v Bordeaux (8.05pm)
FRIDAY 24 NOVEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Northampton v Harlequins (7.45)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
Sale Sharks v Bath (7.45pm)
United Rugby Championship
Cardiff v Stormers (7.35pm)
TV
Live on BBC Wales & Viaplay
Edinburgh v Benetton (7.35pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Charity Match
My Name’5 Doddie Foundation
v LooseHeadz (Shaftesbury
Park, Bristol, 7.30pm)
SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Saracens v Bristol (3pm)
Gloucester v Leicester (3.05pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Lions v Zebre Parma (12.55pm)
Bulls v Connacht (3pm)
TV
Both live on Viaplay
Sharks v Dragons (5.05pm)
TV
Live on S4C & Viaplay
Leinster v Munster (6.30pm)
Glasgow v Ulster (7.35pm)
TV
Both live on Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Exeter Chiefs v Bristol Bears (2pm)
Trailfinders v Saracens (3pm)
Glouc-Hartpury v Leicester (6pm)
Sale Sharks v Harlequins (7pm)
Sevens Tournament
New York Sevens
SAT 25-SUN 26 NOVEMBER
Top 14
Bordeaux-Bègles v Perpignan
Lyon v Bayonne
Montpellier v Oyonnax
Pau v Stade Français
Racing 92 v La Rochelle
Toulon v Castres
Toulouse v Clermont
SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Newcastle v Exeter (3pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Ospreys v Scarlets (3pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
FRIDAY 1 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Harlequins v Sale (7.45pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Munster v Glasgow (7.35pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Bristol v Glouc-Hartpury (7.30pm)
SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Bristol v Gloucester (2pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
Bath v Exeter (3pm)
Saracens v Northampton (4.30)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Bulls v Sharks (1pm)
Cardiff v Scarlets (3pm)
TV
Both live on Viaplay
Lions v Dragons (3.05pm)
TV
Live on BBC Wales & Viaplay
Ulster v Edinburgh (5.15pm)
Stormers v Zebre Parma (5.15pm)

Connacht v Leinster (7.35pm)
TV
All live on Viaplay
Benetton v Ospreys (7.35pm)
TV
Live on S4C & Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Harlequins v Saracens
Sale Sharks v Exeter (2pm)
Leicester v Loughborough (3pm)
SAT 2-SUN 3 DECEMBER
HSBC Svns
Dubai, UAE
Top 14
Bayonne v Montpellier
Castres v Lyon
Clermont v Racing 92
La Rochelle v Perpignan
Oyonnax v Bordeaux-Bègles
Stade Français v Toulouse
Toulon v Pau
SUNDAY 3 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Leicester v Newcastle (3pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Connacht v Bordeaux-Bègles (8)
Glasgow v Northampton (8pm)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Clermont v Edinburgh (8pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
SATURDAY 9 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Toulon v Exeter Chiefs (1pm)
Bath v Ulster (3.15pm)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
Toulouse v Cardiff (3.15pm)
TV
Live on S4C & TNT Sports
Bulls v Saracens (5.30pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
Munster v Bayonne (5.30pm)
TV
Live on RTÈ & TNT Sports
Bristol Bears v Lyon (8pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Black Lion v Gloucester (noon)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
Zebre Parma v Cheetahs (1pm)
Castres v Scarlets (3.15pm)
Sharks v Pau (3.15pm)
Ospreys v Benetton (5.30pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
Dragons v Oyonnax (8pm)
TV
Live on S4C
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Gloucester-Hartpury v Sale (2pm)
Loughborough v Bristol (3pm)
Trailfinders v Leicester (3pm)
Harlequins v Exeter
SAT 9-SUN 10 DECEMBER
HSBC Svns
Cape Town, South Africa
SUNDAY 10 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Sale v Stade Français (1pm)
TV
Live on ITV & TNT Sports
La Rochelle v Leinster (3.15pm)
Leicester v Stormers (3.15pm)
Racing 92 v Harlequins (5.30pm)
TV
All live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Perpignan v Lions (1pm)
Newcastle v Montpellier (3.15pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
FRIDAY 15 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Bayonne v Glasgow (8pm)
Northampton v Toulon (8pm)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Gloucester v Clermont (8pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
Scarlets v Black Lion (8pm)
TV
Live on S4C
SATURDAY 16 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Saracens v Connacht (1pm)
Stormers v La Rochelle (1pm)
Bordeaux-Bègles v Bristol (3.15)
Lyon v Bulls (5.30pm)
TV
All live on TNT Sports
Leinster v Sale Sharks (5.30pm)
TV
Live on RTÈ & TNT Sports
Cardiff v Bath (8pm)
TV
Live on S4C & TNT Sports
Ulster v Racing 92 (8pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Edinburgh v Castres (1pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
Oyonnax v Zebre Parma (1pm)
TV
Live on Premier Sports
Benetton v Perpignan (3.15pm)
Lions v Newcastle (3.15pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
Pau v Dragons (5.30pm)
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Bristol v Trailfinders (1pm)
Leicester v Saracens (3pm)
Sale v Loughborough (3pm)
Exeter v Gloucester-Hartpury
SUNDAY 17 DECEMBER
Investec Champions Cup
Exeter Chiefs v Munster (1pm)
TV
Live on ITV & TNT Sports
Harlequins v Toulouse (3.15pm)
Stade Français v Leicester (5.30)
TV
Both live on TNT Sports
European Challenge Cup
Cheetahs v Sharks (1pm)
Montpellier v Ospreys (1pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay & Prem Sports
FRIDAY 22 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Newcastle v Bristol (7.45pm)
Sale v Saracens (7.45pm)
11
10th
GRUDGE MATCH
Can Leinster avenge
last season’s defeat by
La Rochelle in the
Champions
Cup final?
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Glasgow v Edinburgh (7.35pm)
TV
Both live on Viaplay
Ulster v Connacht (7.35pm)
TV
Live on BBC NI & Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Trailfinders v Sale (7.30pm)
SATURDAY 23 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Exeter v Leicester (3pm)
Gloucester v Northampton (3pm)
Bath v Harlequins (3.05pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Zebre Parma v Benetton (1pm)
Stormers v Bulls (5.15pm)
TV
Both live on Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Saracens v Bristol (2.30pm)
Loughborough v Exeter (3pm)
SAT 23-SUN 24 DECEMBER
Top 14
Bordeaux-Bègles v Lyon
Montpellier v Castres
Pau v Clermont
Perpignan v Bayonne
Racing 92 v Oyonnax
Stade Français v La Rochelle
Toulouse v Toulon
TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER
United Rugby Championship
Cardiff v Dragons (3pm)
TV
Live on BBC Wales & Viaplay
Scarlets v Ospreys (5.15pm)
TV
Live on S4C & Viaplay
Munster v Leinster (7.35pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
FRIDAY 29 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Bristol Bears v Exeter (7.45pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
SATURDAY 30 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Saracens v Newcastle (3pm)
Northampton v Sale (3.05pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
Harlequins v Gloucester
(5.30pm, Twickenham Stadium)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
United Rugby Championship
Benetton v Zebre Parma (1.30pm)
Edinburgh v Glasgow (3pm)
Stormers v Sharks (5pm)
TV
All live on Viaplay
Allianz Women’s Premiership
Harlequins v Gloucester
(Twickenham Stadium)
SAT 30-SUN 31 DECEMBER
Top 14
Bayonne v Racing 92
Castres v Perpignan
Clermont v Bordeaux-Bègles
La Rochelle v Toulouse
Lyon v Montpellier
Oyonnax v Pau
Toulon v Stade Français
SUNDAY 31 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Leicester v Bath (3pm)
TV
Live on TNT Sports
MONDAY 1 JANUARY
United Rugby Championship
Connacht v Munster (noon)
TV
Live on Viaplay
Ospreys v Cardiff (3pm)
TV
Live on BBC Wales & Viaplay
Dragons v Scarlets (5.15pm)
TV
Live on S4C & Viaplay
Leinster v Ulster (5.15pm)
TV
Live on Viaplay
O All kick-offs UK & Ireland.
Fixtures subject to change.

DOWNTIME WITH… MARK ATKINSON
“I can’t have
four squares of
chocolate, I’m
having four bars!”
The Gloucester centre on his sweet tooth, a Savage prank and embarrassing stitches
O YOU have any phobias?
Heights. When I was at Sale
D we did rock climbing in
France and it wasn’t for me.
I don’t like claustrophobia
either. Like going in an MRI machine.
What really annoys you? Electric
charging stations. You can do everything
right and they just decide not to work.
If your house was on fire, what one
item would you save? My Yorkshire
teabags because that’s the first thing
you’d need, isn’t it? Either that or I’ve
got a pint dispenser, a keg. I’d probably
need something stronger than tea.
What would be your Mastermind
specialist subject? I’m a real rugby
geek. So either that or Jack Reacher
novels. I finished the latest one two
days ago and I feel a bit lost now.
What’s the best gift you’ve received?
As a surprise, my missus (Lydia) got a
WHAT’S
ON YOUR Last person
you phoned
The Shell recharge
man who helped
get my electric
car on charge
F r o n t R o w
Interview Alan Pearey // Pictures Getty Images
covers band to perform at our wedding. where there’s a big punishment if you
We’d seen them play in Cheltenham. lose it. I’ve lost twice in two years!
And the best thing you’ve ever bought? What’s your guilty pleasure? I’ve got
Our Cockerpoo, Maple. I’d never been
a dog person but on a hungover New
a dangerously sweet tooth. I’ve had
no sugar for six weeks as I felt I needed
Year’s Eve morning about seven years to. Then once I break it, I break it bad.
ago I finally caved in to the missus. I can’t have four squares of chocolate,
Who would be your three dream I’m having four bars! My real pleasure is
dinner party guests? I’m white chocolate chip cookies.
going for a theme based on After a shop, they’ll be gone
podcasts with footballers of by the time I get to the car.
a certain era who sound like FACT FILE What was your first job? Pot
they had the most fun ever. washing as a kitchen porter
So Harry Redknapp, Jimmy Age 33 (8 Mar 1990) in a pub. I also did a few
Bullard and David Bentley. Born Knowsley weeks at my mate’s dad’s
Bentley is like the myth, the Position Centre oil factory. I was screwing
legend amongst all of them. Club Gloucester caps onto oil bottles. It
Do you support a football Height 6ft 5in was mind-numbingly boring
team? Liverpool. Fantasy Weight 16st 11lb and I got £50 a week.
Football is a huge deal at England caps One Any superstitions? I don’t
Gloucester. We have a big Twitter handle drink water from a squeezy
league and a smaller league @markatkinson_ cap. I take the whole cap off
Last photo Last person Favourite Last app you
you took you texted social network downloaded
My little one, My father-in-law Twitter. I like the Greenfly. All the
Sydney Rose, conversation on Premiership
showing off her it rather than just content you see
new sparkly shoes having ‘likes’ comes from that
12
Sparkly shoes
Atkinson with his
daughter, Sydney Rose
“ I’ v e go t an i ncredi bl e tal e nt f or
so ng ly r ics. The y say th a t o n a
b us I c an go an d go a s a juke box ”
the bottle. When I was about 17 at Sale,
somebody told me, “That’s how winners
drink their drinks.” I’m sure it was a joke
but I’ve never stopped doing it.
Any hidden talent? I’ve got an incredible
talent for song lyrics. They say that on
a bus I can go and go as a jukebox.
Best practical joke you’ve witnessed?
When we trained at Hartpury, Billy
Twelvetrees used to hide Tom Savage’s
car around the campus. It got more and
more extreme. Everybody knew who it
Favourite Last song
WhatsApp group you played
The Fantasy Get Right by
Football group Jennifer Lopez. It’s
You Lose, You on a family one!
Buy The Booze
Fun guy
David Bentley
was except Sav. David Humphreys stood embarrassing moment? I had a terrible
up with a smirk and said it’s two weeks’ injury a couple of years ago v Wasps
wages if the culprit is found. Knowing when I ripped my c**k in half. In a tackle
full well that Bill would never get caught. I had my genitalia pulled and stretched. I
If you could be one team-mate, who’d had to go to hospital at half-time to have
you be? It’d be interesting to see what 25 stitches in it. It’s not showing off, they
Zam’s (Louis Rees-Zammit) life would be were very small stitches close together!
like for a day. Rugby is so easy for him. Best book you’ve read? I really like
And the rest of life is pretty easy for him. the Disney CEO’s book, The Ride Of A
Who’d you like to be stuck in a lift Lifetime (by Robert Iger). That or Shoe
with? I think other people would start to Dog about the creation of Nike.
annoy you. So let’s say Jacob Rowan, my It’s your testimonial year. Can you tell
old housemate. us about this challenge to find the
Because for years fastest young players? Zip, our headline
we could be in the sponsor, have come on board with this in
same room and mind. We want every club in the county
not speak. to do their own races, then send us their
Any future goals? fastest people from each age group and
To finish my career we’ll run a semi and a final at Kingsholm
Guilty with silverware. at half-time in a match. I’m hoping we’ll
pleasure app I’d like to think we get a load of people engaged with it.
Rightmove. I just can win something How’d you like to be remembered? As
love looking. And with this group a character. I like that expression “could
I like trying to find at Gloucester. dine with prince or paupers”. I’d like to
stuff for others What’s your most think I can get on with most people.
13
 F r o n t R o w

7
4
2
1 3 6
5
9

8
10
Words Alan Dymock // Pictures Getty Images & RvS.Media

AROUND THE WORLD

IN TEN STORIES
We collate top tales from around the rugby planet

USA Portugal

1 Major League Rugby

has signed a two-year
exclusive rights deal
for the Gallagher
3 Sébastien Bertrank, 53,
is Portugal’s new head
coach. The former
Brive and Montferrand
Premiership to be player succeeds
televised on MLR’s internet platform The Patrice Lagisquet, who finished his
Rugby Network in the USA. Viewers get tenure with Os Lobos at France 2023.
full-match coverage of all 93 games. The Portuguese union opted to remain
“Bringing Gallagher Premiership rugby with a French coach as the structural
to US fans showcases our commitment changes implemented by Lagisquet
to delivering more world-class rugby and his staff were pivotal in Portugal’s
content,” said MLR’s CEO Nic Benson. fine displays at the World Cup (below).

France
2 The draw for the next
men’s World Cup will
be made in January
2026, it was revealed during a
Paris conference. That’s 21 months
before Australia 2027 kicks off –
the latest it has ever been held.
It follows criticism that the draw
for RWC 2023, based on rankings
from Japan 2019 partly due to
Covid, was made too early –
causing a lopsided draw and an
early exit for France and Ireland.

14
 4
England
Former Premiership side
Wasps have announced
their intention to explore the
possibility of establishing a permanent
home in Kent. Wasps, who were expelled
from the Premiership last year after going
into administration, say they’re “actively
engaged” with Sevenoaks District
Council to identify a suitable location.
LAST
In the short term, Wasps plan to
begin their revival by playing and
training at Sixways, home of Worcester
STOPS
Warriors – another of the three clubs,
along with London Irish, who failed
to start the 2023-24 season.

8 Australia
Australia won the
International Wheelchair
Rugby Cup after beating
Canada 53-48 in Paris. “It’s
been a great competition to
play the best in the world
and test ourselves,” said
captain Chris Bond (above).

9 Grenada
Morocco
6 Spain The Grenada Rugby

5 The Royal Moroccan

Rugby Federation has
been reinstated as a full
member of Rugby Africa,
allowing them to return to continental
competition. They were banned in 2020
following a dubious election result and
failure to comply with an investigation.
The new La Vila International
Rugby Cup will see two days
of men’s Test-match action held at
El Pantano stadium in Villajoyosa.
Hosts Spain will face Canada while
the US Eagles face Brazil, both on 11
November. A third-place play-off and
a final will follow on 18 November.
World Sevens returns for
a second year on 1-2
December. Eighteen men’s
and women’s elite sevens
teams will compete for
victory and a total prize pool
of US $20,000 (£16,500)

7 Sweden
Sweden’s women (left) will
begin their second Rugby
Europe Championship campaign
against Netherlands in 2024. The
competition has been reformatted to
have four teams: Sweden, Portugal,
Netherlands and champions Spain.
10 New Zealand
Every game will be streamed live The start of WXV, which
on rugbyeurope.tv or with partners, began in Wellington, is the
with more details on broadcast first window for World Rugby
partners to be announced. to use smart mouthguard
However, owing to the financial tech. It informs medics if an
state of play, Rugby Europe will athlete experienced “a high
no longer be hosting a Women’s level of acceleration that
Trophy competition this season after could lead to an injury”.
Portugal women gained promotion.

15

Let’s police offside line better
Our former elite official is fed up with defences taking liberties with the laws
UGBY, AT times, is a fast,
open and dynamic game.
R With runners in open play
and the ball in hand, it can
be a spectacular sport to
watch. Not every rugby purist would
agree with this, of course, but most
prefer a 33-32 game to a 3-0.
You would think that high-scoring
games are easier to referee with their
loose, open style and players on the
front foot with quick ball. However, there
is a scourge to this type of game and
that is the defending offside line. Whilst
at times the speed of the play can make
MERCHISTON CASTLE won
their own U18 National Rugby
SCHOOLS
Festival for the first time, ROUND
beating Glasgow-Caledonia
14-5 to take the title. Club sides UP
Peebles, Boroughmuir and Ayr, plus
district sides Glasgow-Caledonia and
Edinburgh Reivers, contributed hugely
to the competition. Merchiston director
of sport Nick de Luca said: “Our boys
had to really step up in the final.”
Harrow went into half-term unbeaten
on the back of an impressive 58-19 win
F r o n t R o w
TH
E SE
C R ET R E F E R
it very difficult to retreat to an onside
position, all too often there is a set ploy
from the defending team to persistently
stray a yard or so offside in a bid to shut
down the open field in front of them.
Furthermore, many referees get lazy
and stand on the defending offside
line with the play coming towards them.
And frequently they get a yard or so
ahead of the back foot of the ruck and
allow the defending players to line up
beside them, equally offside.
The other challenge comes with the
referee facing the defenders. It’s difficult
to see all of the defenders, on the back
over Berkhamsted. While an
exciting derby at Iffley Road
saw St Edward’s Oxford beat
Magdalen College School 38-24.
At a civic reception, Lord Mayor
Margaret Tinsley congratulated
Craigavon Senior HS on taking the
U16 Ulster High Schools Trophy and
the Ulster High Schools Pollock Cup.
Kirkham Grammar School won their
first St Joseph’s Festival title as an Ollie
Davies drop-goal earned an 8-7 win in
the final against RGS High Wycombe.
16
EE
foot, across the whole width of the field.
Sure, the assistant referees can help but
referees then have to spot the moment
the ball leaves the phase, and then the
defenders cross the offside line. The
key is to make sure the guys close in
are onside and then let the assistants
judge the wider players.
Fine margins sometimes decide rugby
games and small refereeing errors here
can cost matches. Equally, the team
that trains to deliberately cut down the
space by creeping offside consistently
is doing the game no favours and this
trend must be spotted and stopped. n
Two lines
A typical defensive set
JAR G ON BU ST E R
Mitigation
Any factor that reduces the severity
of a sanction – typically after a high
tackle. Such as poor line of vision or
a late change in a carrier’s height.
PICS Getty Images & Inpho
KEN OWENS
The Wales great who has represented the Lions and Scarlets with distinction
“As a player you need to see
light at the end of the tunnel”
F
OR TEST players it’s
pretty much every
four years that
you get a proper
pre-season. You’ve finished
the season early, you get
four weeks off and then you
go into a World Cup camp
from mid-June. Whereas
normally, if a Test player
is on a summer tour, you
have a short summer break
and then you’re into it.
If you’re not an
international, you get a full
pre-season every year but
this one has been even longer because
leagues like the URC want as much
exposure as possible with star players
back in. So there was six weeks off from
the end of the season, those players
were back with clubs mid-June, while
the Test players hit camps, and then it’s
been a four-month pre-season. That’s
longer than they’ve ever had.
The tough thing for coaches is to
periodise that so players aren’t burning
out, and you’ve got to motivate them.
At Scarlets there was six weeks off,
a two-week block, a week off, a
three-week block, a week off, then
another three-week block before two
weeks off… Having those shorter blocks
is to keep guys motivated. As a player
you need to see light at the end of the
tunnel. Normally you have some standard
blocks but you know then there’s rugby
– and that’s when the fun begins.
The huge challenge for coaches and
conditioners at clubs while the World
Cup was on was to keep players fresh
and enthusiastic and not overtrain,
Connacht training
when there isn’t that light at the end
of the tunnel, in terms of playing, for a
while yet. It’s been an interesting few
months for players but now we’re into it.
There is a fine balance needed. We all
understand the need for welfare and
not overplaying. And you don’t want
contact loads going up in training. But
you cannot ignore it because with four
months between competitive games,
you risk being deconditioned to the
contact element of training. That
heightens injury risk once you get to
competition because you’re not used to
taking those collisions. And it takes time. some funny results in the first chunk,
At this early stage of the season, lads
will be fresh and fit. Before it though,
in Wales they ran a mini competition
between the regions and Scarlets
had a friendly with the Barbarians to
break things up. But these guys lost
a lot of players to the national side.
In England they had the Premiership
Cup which changed their dynamic,
and France, well, they are already well
into their domestic season!
17
In Wales there are a lot of
young squads, with all that
is going on. A number of
young guys are stepping
up to professional rugby
for the first time. And then
you have to manage
players coming back from
the World Cup. We have
two Tongans in the squad
and they had a few weeks
off, then into eight or nine
Tests over the summer and
Hard at it the World Cup – they’ve
almost had a season
already. It’s the same with
the Wales national players but then the
squad depth in Wales isn’t great as it is.
In a normal year you’d give chances to
young or semi-pro players who put their
hands up. You can give opportunities
around experienced players. But this
year we’re having to throw a lot of guys
in and hope they can all swim.
The first chunk of the URC will be
interesting because of how returning
stars are reintroduced. The South
Africans have massive depth anyway.
So how do Leinster cope after a month
of matches? I’m not sure if we’ll see
but we’ll get a chance to see where
regional rugby in Wales is. Will it be a
shock or is it not as bad as we thought?
It’s a big test to see what happens when
all the nations come together again.
I reckon the perfect pre-season has
a six-week break at the end of the last
season, a four-week block, a week off,
another four weeks and a week off, and
then prep for the pre-season games.
But who listens to me?! n
 F r o n t R o w

Interviews Josh Graham // Pictures Getty Images

HENRY
1 POLLOCK
Age 18 (14 Jan 2005) Born Banbury Position Flanker Club Northampton Saints Country England

hen did you first play And work-ons? Low body tackles,
rugby? I’ve been playing chopping men to the floor and making

W pretty much my whole

life. My parents took me
to my local club Banbury
the lineout my super-strength.
Do you qualify for other countries?
I also qualify for Scotland through my
at about five or six and then I moved to mum and dad, who were born there.
Buckingham a few years later. Biggest influence on your career so
What attracted you to the sport? The far? I’d say Will Parkin, who is with
team culture was quite a big aspect. The England U18s but was Saints’ academy
social side was good and I enjoyed the coach. Without him I wouldn’t be in this
physicality; I got stuck in at an early age. position now. He pointed me in the right
Did you play other sports? Triathlon, direction and gave me the belief that
I was quite a good runner. I can do it. He’d always do
Positions played? I used to one-on-ones and was really
play nine because I was a
bit small. I played there for RW VERDICT helpful. I think all the boys
would say the same thing.
a couple of years before the The most talked How have you found the
coach said I was too gobby about youngster to pro environment? I’ve loved
and moved me to seven. come through the it; the lads here are really
When did rep rugby start? Saints ranks in recent nice and they get around
I joined the Saints academy times. He can pick you. I used to look up to
at 13 and my first England Courtney Lawes’s Courtney Lawes as a young
U18s North/South camp lineout brain and boy coming to Saints, so it’s
was in Bristol in April 2021. Tom Pearson’s arrival cool to have him around.
I made my debut on tour in should provide the Are you studying? I’m doing
South Africa last summer. perfect role model. a Sports Management degree
How did that go? I found With game time, set at Loughborough University
out I was going to be to be a serious player. part-time alongside rugby.
captain and I was lost for
words a bit. It was special
singing the national anthem
with some family there.
Any childhood heroes? As
a young kid I looked up to
Michael Hooper and Richie
McCaw. And then recently
Conor McGregor and Tiger
Woods, the way that they
changed their sports.
Your strengths? Physicality,
and I’m quite good over the
ball. I’ve got quite a big Teen sensation
engine on me, so work-rate Diving over to score
around the park, too.

18
 On the charge
Vintcent makes a
break against Bristol

ROSS
2 VINTCENT
Age 21 (5 Jun 2002) Born Jo’burg, SA Position
Back-row Club Exeter Chiefs Country Italy
hen did you first play
rugby? We moved to

W Dubai when I was three

for my dad’s job and he
took me to a rugby club
called Arabian Knights when I was six.
Did you play rugby at school? I went to
high school in Dubai before boarding at
Bishops Diocesan College in Cape Town
for the last three years of school.
What first attracted you to the sport?
I couldn’t sit still as a kid and I loved ball
sports. I wasn’t a massive football fan
and my dad taught me to spin pass
really early and from then I loved rugby.
Did you play any other sports? Yes,
I played cricket and squash.
Positions played? Scrum-half, fly-half,
12 and then all over the back-line. In my
final year of school, the coach tried me
at back-row and I didn’t really look back.
How did you end up playing for Italy?
My mum’s dad was born there and
through him we got Italian passports.
Then I spent 18 months in the U20
national academy after school and got
called up for the 2021 U20 Six Nations.
What was it like? I had to learn the
anthem pretty quickly! It was a proud
moment. It felt like a lot of weight on my
shoulders but I enjoyed the pressure.
Are you captured by Italy? Yes, as I
played an A-team game last season. I
was quite proud to choose Italy because
they nurtured me, it’s a beautiful country
and I have great memories there.
Any childhood heroes? I was a big
Springboks fan growing up but that’s
changed now. It was Faf de Klerk and
Francois Hougaard as I was a nine then.
Your strengths? I’d
say pace and skills.

RW VERDICT And any work-ons?

Footwork and then
A rapid rise from the first-contact carrying.
uni set-up to Chiefs’ Biggest influences?
ranks has made Omar Mouneimne,
people take note. Rob the defence coach at
Baxter said the No 8 the Chiefs. Massimo
was the fittest player Brunello, who was our
in his squad and he’s Italy head coach. And
had some standout Agustín Cavalieri, who
Premiership Rugby was forwards coach.
Cup displays. At this Studying? I’m doing
rate, a full Italy cap Business Economics
will soon be his. at Exeter University.

19
 Is it right to expand
the Rugby World
Cup to 24 teams?
TOM ENGLISH ALAN PEAREY
A 24-TEAM World Cup is a great idea
so long as you love your turkey shoots,
your humiliations of smaller nations who
are under-resourced, underplayed and
underappreciated by the global game
from one World Cup cycle to the next.
If you get a kick out of the minnows
getting annihilated 73-0, 76-0, 84-0 and
96-0 (as Uruguay, Romania and Namibia
were this time around), then let’s have
more of them. Let’s bring in Hong Kong
China and Brazil and the Netherlands
just to see how much embarrassment
the big boys can bestow upon them.
World Rugby’s decision
to expand the tournament Tier One rattled
is populist garbage – oh Portugal v Australia
wow, look at how global a
sport we are! – unless it’s
underpinned by meaningful
action to help these nations.
If throwing another four
lambs to the slaughter is
deemed as ‘growing the
game’, the game is heading
in the wrong direction.
How about bringing in
proper measures to help
developing countries? How
about Tier One big hitters
tour Fiji, Tonga, Samoa,
Romania and Namibia every
year? Yes, actually go there. Bring their
stars to generate revenue and passion
for the host nation. The All Blacks played
in Romania in 1981 and in Samoa in 2015.
South Africa have never played a Test in
the Pacific Islands, Romania or Namibia.
Most of the big guns have no interest.
There were too many mortifying
mismatches in France. World Rugby’s
grand plan is to have more of them in
Australia in 2027. Give me strength.
WE HEARD commentators refer at RWC
2023 to “so-called Tier Two” countries.
Perhaps they were unsure where the
distinction between One and Two lay.
Because if you watched Uruguay worry
France, or Samoa outplay England, or
BBC Scotland Rugby World Portugal dazzle against everyone, you
chief sportswriter writer/sub-editor saw a team lower down the ladder prove
they can compete on a global stage.
The decision to treat countries (almost)
equitably, building suitable rest periods
into the schedule, has benefited the
lower-ranked nations. And you wonder
what strides they could make if World
Rugby could go further.
Well, soon we’ll find out
because we will have 24
teams at Australia 2027
(still half of what football is
planning). And quite right.
Why would you not invite
more people to the party?
Emerging countries need
to be supported, financially
and with coaching expertise.
Of course we don’t want
100-point routs. But then it’s
16 years since the last of
those and the average
margin between One and
Two has been falling with
every tournament.
World Rugby’s work on creating new
regional competitions and pathways has
done a lot to bring that about. That’s
why Fiji, with their Super Rugby players,
now play Wales and Australia on equal
WHAT DO terms. Wouldn’t it be nice to see New
YOU THINK? Zealand play a first-ever Test in Suva? Or
Send your views to Spain play France, Ireland or England?
rugbyworldletters Tier Two coaches in France queued up
@futurenet.com to tell us they need to play the big guns
more often. Their wish must come true.
20
 F r o n t R o w

[ Goes in Rugby World ]

NGLAND WERE
playing Ireland away

E for the Grand Slam in

2001 and my job was
to arrange the travel
and other logistics for the team,
writes David ‘Elton’ Beaumont.
I owned a people carrier that I
took to Dublin and I was asked
to take the kickers to the training
pitches. Kyran Bracken, Austin
Healey, Dave Alred and Jonny
Wilkinson were in my car that day.
There was a handheld remote
for the stereo system and the lads
started mucking about with it,
wanting their choice of music and
to raise the volume. Austin decided
it’d be funny to recline my seat,
which meant I was driving with no
seat back and hanging on to the
steering wheel. Jonny was being
Jonny, sitting quietly in the front.
My concentration compromised,
my speed unwittingly increased
above the 30mph limit… just as
we passed an Irish Garda, armed
with a speed gun. He flagged me
down, much to the amusement of
my passengers. “Elton, you wally
(or words to that effect), you’re
going to get a speeding ticket.”
Just what I didn’t need. Clive
Woodward was not a fan of
upsetting the locals. So I pulled
over and rolled down the window.
The Garda leaned his head in.
“Sir,” he says, “do you know how
fast you were going?” Remember,
I’m hanging on to the steering
wheel at this stage. Then he looks
at my front-seat passenger.
“Bejesus!” he spurts, “if it isn’t
Jonny Wilkinson. So Jonny, who’s
going to win on Saturday then?”
And after a brief chat and an
autograph or two, I was let off.
These days I’m a tour guide at
Twickenham. Some of my guests
might have heard that tale… n

WE WON’T TE LL ,
PROMISE…
ILLUSTRATION David Lyttleton

We love hearing your stories and want

to celebrate the characters of our great
game in What Goes On Tour… If you have
an amusing tale to tell, drop us a line.
Mark your email ‘Tour Tale’ and send it
to rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO
JOIN A PREMIERSHIP
ACADEMY
We travel to the RPA’s Academy Induction Day to meet the stars of tomorrow
VERYONE REMEMBERS
their first day at big school.
E The nerves, the brand-new
uniform and, quite literally,
looking up to the older kids
who run the show in the playground.
And joining a Premiership side’s senior
academy is a largely similar experience
for the hundreds of young men dipping
their toes into the big time every year.
Rubbing shoulders with England
heroes they have long dreamed about
F r o n t R o w
Words Josh Graham // Images Phil Barker/Future
emulating is bound to be at least slightly
intimidating, even for the most cocksure
of talented rugby-playing teenagers. But
it’s something they have to take into
their stride at this stage of their careers.
“On the first day I was thinking, ‘oh this
is going to be quite daunting’,” explains
Sale Sharks winger Albert Bradshaw, 18.
“But as the days go on, you get close
and it’s like playing rugby with any team
like at my school (Stockport Grammar).
You build close relationships.”
22
Bradshaw was speaking at the RPA
Academy Induction day held earlier
this year at Rugby School to show new
senior academy players in 2023-24
what’s in store and how to deal with it.
Unlike their footballing peers, rugby’s
newest professionals are by no means
in for immediate riches, yet it still
requires a mindset change as an old
hobby becomes their new day job.
“I think it’s great to be in the academy,
it’s my job and I love it,” adds Bradshaw.
Social skills
Matt Himsworth speaks to
the players about social media

“It is working but I don’t
find it to be a chore. I enjoy
it and I think it’s great. You
learn from some of the best
players in the world and also
get to play alongside them.”
Learning curve
While Bradshaw has been
Reuben Logan
in the Manchester area since
he started playing as an U6
at Macclesfield rugby club, his new
colleague Tye Raymont has moved from
Yorkshire Academy to sign with Sale.
“It’s a different environment for me as
I came from somewhere which doesn’t
have a first team,” says Raymont, a prop
forward. “It was a bit daunting but I think
I’ve adapted well and all the players
have been really inclusive.
“It’s a big step up from U18s to training
with the big boys in the first team.
There’s the living away from home
aspect as well. I’m used to doing that
from college, but moving away from
Leeds and having responsibilities for
myself has also been quite challenging.
But I think I’ve dealt with it pretty well.”
Signing a professional contract is a big his dad played, Logan has already had a
deal and it’s easy to fall into the trap of
thinking you’ve made it, which is why it’s rugby but has luckily found a new home
important that young players have the
right resources and help on hand.
“It’s a dream come true and it’s
massive for me and my family, but
nothing has really changed, the hard
work is starting now,” adds Raymont.
Bradshaw agrees: “It’s not time to
relax, it’s time to kick on more, start
learning and get better.”
Part of the day’s RPA activities includes professional is just huge. The speed of
a shocking social media talk delivered
by media lawyer Matt Himsworth of B5
consultancy. A simple slideshow of
various incriminating images posted by
players in the room is enough to cause
a few laughs and some sheepish looks.
Himsworth’s anecdotes about young
footballers who have racked up
debt after falling for social media
investment scams, and athletes
who have been victims of extortion
after taking intimate photos of
themselves, certainly grabs the
attention of all those listening.
“The niche stuff shocked me,”
explains Northampton Saints
forward Reuben Logan, son of
ex-Scotland international Kenny
and Six Nations presenter Gabby.
“I t ’s real ly hel pf u l kno w in g ho w
to d eal w it h t he u ps a nd do wn s
th a t y ou ’re goi ng t o ge t on li n e”
“The social media talk revealed the
things that can get you into trouble and
you’ve got to watch out for. For instance, not so happy at taking on the financial
those forex traders. We’ve all been
approached by people like them, most
of us know they are fake but you don’t
realise the issues that can cause.”
Having come through at Wasps, where suddenly put on two kilos in two weeks.
taste of the grim realities of professional most of your life, so for me it was a
at Franklin’s Gardens and Northampton.
The 18-year-old flanker made his
debut in the Premiership Rugby Cup
victory over Cambridge in September
but admits the on-field step-up came
as an almighty shock to the system.
“Trying to adjust to pro level is the
biggest challenge,” he says. “The step
up from U18s and junior academy to
it is just nuts. I remember just how tough from a young age I’ve been told by my
I found my very first session.”
Moving out of the family home into
digs near the stadium saw Logan’s mum
Gabby take to
social media
to express her
DID YOU
KNOW?
According to the
2021-22 Premiership
Rugby salary cap
report, the average
wage for an academy
player is £19,000.
23
New Sharks
Tye Raymont (left)
and Albert Bradshaw
delight at shaving him off the weekly
food bill. However, the man himself is
burden as he gets to grips with nutrition.
“I’m not enjoying spending almost my
entire wage on food,” Logan says. “I
realised I wasn’t eating right when I
“You’ve been cooked and cleaned for
shock having to cook for myself all the
time. Not just thinking about if this is
going to taste nice but what is this going
to give me as a professional athlete?”
With parents in the limelight, Logan
has a leg up when it comes to dealing
with online criticism but he also knows
there is a positive side to the coin.
“When I played a bit of England U18s,
people commented on my mum’s post
saying ‘privilege’ and all that stuff. But
mum that it doesn’t matter and I’ve seen
it a lot with my mum and dad,” he says.
“I’ll be honest, I do like a compliment
but I’m quite good
at not dealing with
the negative
things and not
thinking about it.
“It’s really helpful
knowing how to
deal with the ups
and downs that
you’re going to
get online and
the new wave of
Making notes challenges that
Academy players at work our generation of
players are facing
that maybe the
the last generation wasn’t facing.”
And that there is the crux of the matter.
Players have always taken a step into
the unknown but there are now plenty
of obstacles that their predecessors
never had to contend with. n
 F r o n t R o w

RUGBY RANT
Fans at the World Cup in Nice were left frightened, says John Moore from Newport
Y WIFE is Japanese and
I’m a Wales fan. So what Before the storm

M better than to watch our

countries play in the
World Cup on the same
Fans at Stade de Nice
ahead of England v Japan

weekend in Nice? Or so we thought…

The Wales-Portugal game felt
reasonably well managed, although the
security checks were slow. We had
printed tickets but there were a lot of
technical issues for those using apps.
And the design of the stadium doesn’t
help because the ticket barriers are
right on top of the stadium bowl – there
isn’t a big concourse, so people were
bottlenecking. We thought we might
miss kick-off because it took us half an

PICS Getty Images

hour to get in. Afterwards we left the
game a couple of minutes early and
caught the third tram back into town.
Fast-forward to
the England-Japan
game the next day,
“It was a free-for-all, with There were other issues
in France. An inconsistent
an evening kick-off. everyone rushing dangerously approach to water bottles.
My wife was getting Massive queues to buy beer
a bit anxious so we towards the tram stop” or water, or to go to the toilet.
decided to leave six I met a grandmother of one
or seven minutes before the end of free-for-all, with everyone rushing of the Wales players and she said there
the game, knowing there would be dangerously towards the tram stop. wasn’t enough space on the coach that
congestion for the transport. To an extent, people self-manage and took the players’ families to the match.
We got to the tram stop and already rugby fans are pretty good like that. But You expect to queue, you expect high
there were loads of people. But there if you were disabled, if you were on prices, you expect various bits and
were no lanes or zigzag barriers, like crutches, if you were elderly, you stood pieces. But to be subjected to what was
you see at, say, passport control. There no chance. If someone had fallen I don’t basically a scrum when trying to get
was no organisation at all. So you had know what would have happened. I’m home was frightening for a lot of people.
thousands of people who weren’t being genuinely surprised that no one got hurt. It soured our trip and my wife never
filtered or split. It was literally a scrum. After ten minutes, my wife said, “I can’t wants to visit Nice again. n
People were being crushed. When I say do this.” She was extremely distressed.
‘crushed’, a couple of people mentioned So, like many others, we decided to walk
Hillsborough. It wasn’t like that but it back to Nice. It would have taken us an
HAVE YOUR SAY
was probably 20 people wide and hour and a half but luckily we managed What gets your goat? Let us know on
already hundreds deep. It was a to catch a tram further down the line. Facebook or tweet @Rugbyworldmag

SHORT
PASS game of the 2024 U20
Six Nations. They face
won an IOC climate
action award.
played in Pamplona,
Spain, in 2025.
Wales on Friday 9 Feb.
JUDGE TRIBUTE KIT PROJECT
COACHING GIG The life of Paul Rendall Withycombe RFC are
MELROSE BOOST Quins’ Alex Dombrandt will be honoured at donating old rugby kit
Scottish broadband (right) has become the Legends of Rugby to children in Ghana.
provider GoFibre has forwards coach at dinner in London on 31
renewed sponsorship Sutton & Epsom RFC. Jan. See vultd.co.uk. CYCLING FEAT
of the Melrose Sevens. Ex-Wales back-row Alix
PLASTIC FANTASTIC IMART HOSTS Popham completed a
BATH TIME A SA Rugby project The next International London to Lyon ride
The Rec will host that converted plastic Mixed Ability Rugby to raise awareness for
England’s first home into house bricks has Tournament will be head trauma in sport.

24
 F r o n t R o w

INSIDE THE MIND OF...

ADAM RADWAN Interview Josh Graham // Picture Dave Rogers/Getty Images

The Falcons wing on maul tries, Mauritius and making England

“I didn’t expect to score from a maul for the
“My
Baa-Baas and I think (Nic) Dolly was pretty fuming!
biggest
The plan was for me to break out with it but I ended
influence was my
up dotting it down. I texted (hooker) Jamie Blamire, “The
college coach Chris
saying, ‘This is a joke. This is how you score all of Barbarians was
Hyndman, who used to
your tries, it’s so easy’, obviously winding him up.” really good. Alun Wyn
play for Northampton.
Jones has 160 caps and is
I still keep in touch
an unbelievable player. Quade
with him.”
Cooper, Samu Kerevi – so many
personalities, I didn’t know where
to go! I roomed with Aaron
“(New head Wainwright and he was good
coach) Alex Codling craic. Everyone got on
has been brilliant at well and we beat a
Newcastle. He’s got a vision World XV.”
for the club and he’s got
everyone on board. Staff and
players are all working
together to push the “I want to get
club forward.” back in the
England squad, that’s a
“At definite goal. I’ve had a bit
Newcastle, we of contact with the England
went to Mauritius for coaches but I know what I
the World Club 10s in need to do. The best way to
2018-19. It was class. They get myself in there is to
put us up in an unbelievable play well for
hotel. We got to stay out for Newcastle.”
another week after playing
for two days, drinking, “Our new
fishing and doing signings have
watersports.” settled in well and are
good additions on and off
the field. Murray McCallum
likes a bit of craic and Josh
Bainbridge is a good
“Alex Tait is Yorkshire lad from
one of my most my way.”
entertaining team-mates,
he’s recently retired. Joel
Matavesi, too, who is now at
Northampton. Those two “It’s
are right up there for tough in a “It’s about playing to our “Doing a bronco is always pretty
most entertaining.” ten-team league. strengths, so what do we see hanging. Everyone hates them.
Last year the Premiership those as? The long pre-season Beach sessions on Saturday
was so competitive and it’s gave us time to cover things mornings are pretty tough. That’s
only going to get more in a lot more detail, in both probably the worst part of
competitive as time goes attack and defence. We’re pre-season, the sand makes
on. It will be tight but playing a more expansive everything so much harder. You
we’re excited.” game, which is exciting.” get it in your eyes and mouth.”

25
 F r o n t R o w

Gavin Coombes
Quiet off the park, demonstrative on it. This is Munster’s latest monster
Words Alan Dymock // Pics Inpho & Sportsfile/Getty Images

EED HIM ball close to the (missing out on selection for France).
opposition line and it feels He needs to consistently improve his

F like Gavin Coombes racks

up more scores than Hans
Zimmer. He had ten tries
on-field stuff. And understand how to
engage with the international coaches
and improve that as he moves forward.
in the league last season and led the “And this is hopefully the point now
Big talent
United Rugby Championship for overall where he jumps on the next cycle. As
In Irish green
carries last term, with 126 to his name. they go into the next four years and
In Munster’s frankly ridiculous run to towards the next World Cup.”
a URC title last season – a run that saw While the coach says there are “other Coombes is good friends with
them play their last five matches on the players who just want to kind of get in scrum-half Craig Casey, we are told.
road, including the final in Cape Town front of you all the time”, to show you Which makes sense. Around Rugby
– Coombes didn’t just stand up and what they are working on, or perhaps World Cup camp time, Casey revealed
fight, he battled on the hoof. even to have validation, Coombes is that the bustling forward briefly
And yet for all the action the dynamic different. Sometimes you’ll have to considered lording the league success
back-five forward brings, there’s a seek him out. He’s very knowledgeable over a few provincial rivals in Ireland,
stilled, contemplative nature to him. and engaging on the game. But he’s explaining with a laugh, “Coombes
“Gav’s quite a quiet, reserved not jumping about saying ‘look at me’. wanted to bring the URC champions
character around the building,” says He’s cracking on with his work. hats in but we went against that!”
forwards coach Andi Kyriacou. “He is Pre-breakfast, Coombes will be at the On grass, it is all about improvement.
very good on the field in terms of the training ground, working on his combat Kyriacou tells Rugby World that “we
contact or the collision. His carrying is or collision skills on a low level, to hone can’t stand still with it either. He’s got to
phenomenal. But what’s grown through his technique. He’ll do that twice a be better than last year – we all do. Us
last year as well is that he knows when week. Then there’s his analysis. as coaches, the players. We’re doing
to speak. He says the right things at “The next challenge,” Kyriacou says, that. We’re driving this thing on. And
the right time as well. “is to bring that into that international Gav’s certainly a major focus point for
“He is developing those set-up. And we’re doing us. How can we get him in a green
leadership skills and he’s got everything we can to shirt and how can we get him playing
those characteristics about
him. He very much likes his
FACT FILE encourage him to do that.”
The Munster coach says
consistently well for Munster?”
Coombes’s tackle execution really
rugby to do the talking, but Age 25 (11 Dec 1997) that everyone understood stepped up at the end of last season,
on what was a six-week tour Born Skibbereen what Andy Farrell and the while at the breakdown he “targeted
almost, you need those Height 6ft 4in Irish group were doing bodies” better than a year previous.
good characters and he’s Weight 18st 4lb with their tried-and-tested But carries really count and Kyriacou
definitely one of them.” Position Back-five combinations that had says it’s “something that gives us real
According to Kyriacou, Ireland caps Two (1T) worked so well for them. go-forward and targets to play around”.
there is an interesting aspect Instagram handle He adds: “It might not Add in the unsung effort at the lineout
to Coombes here, though. @gavler_coombes have been Gav’s time and it’s clear Coombes is climbing. n

26
 “His carrying gives us
real go-forward and
targets to play around”

27

RECORD-BUSTING CONEHEADS!
Two English fans set an attendance world record at France 2023. Alan Pearey reports
O THERE was an English
triumph on World Cup
S final day. And if you were
eagle-eyed, you may even
have spotted it. English
fans Gary Spinks and Keith Hibbert
sported traffic cones for headwear as
they watched the climax at Stade de
France and entered the record books.
For the duo, both members of Milton
Keynes RUFC, were attending their 29th
match at the tournament – one more
than Welshman Justin Davies achieved
at England 2015 and which earned him
a place in the Guinness World Records
for most RWC
matches attended Highlight
by an individual. Portugal’s win
The record will
need to be ratified
but Hibbert and
Spinks have a pile
of photographic
and Google tracker
evidence, so it’s as
good as in the bag.
“We met a lot of very interesting
people,” Spinks tells RW. “From a sports
perspective, the England performances
were mixed but there were also a lot of
games where you’re neutral and could
just enjoy the ambience. The highlight
was watching Portugal beat Fiji, an
amazing and emotional game of rugby.”
The two men relied on a network of
friends to acquire all the tickets, each
spending a fair few grand. They drove
10,000 miles in Gary’s car – “I put a new
set of shoes on it” – and used downtime
between games to visit neighbouring
W HE R E
ARE THEY
NOW?
PICS Getty Images & Gary Spinks
F r o n t R o w
countries. When
we first rang, they
were driving to
a wine hotspot
in Germany.
Spain, Italy, Belgium and Andorra were
also on their whirlwind schedule.
“For the Lille games we diverted to
Ypres and did the Menin Gate ceremony.
One of the youngest British soldiers
killed in the First World War was from
Wolverton, our village, and he’s buried at
its twin town of Ploegsteert. About four
graves along is Ronnie Poulton-Palmer.”
Logistically, there were very few hairy
moments. The biggest challenge was
getting from Nantes (Japan v Argentina)
to Toulouse (Fiji v Portugal). “Mr Google
tells you it’s a 5hr 12min drive and we
DAN WARD-SMITH
Age 45 Position Back-row Teams Plymouth Albion, Bristol, Wasps & England Saxons
“I LIVE near Brisbane and work in
medical sales for Johnson & Johnson, in
their surgical support department, which
means dealing with doctors. It’s a buzz
and you use skills you used in rugby,
like communication and teamwork. A
few former players have gone into it.
“I retired because of a back problem
in 2011 and went back to New Zealand.
For years I worked at a rugby academy
in Mount Maunganui, in their S&C
programme, and helped to place players
28
French adventure
Spinks (right) and Hibbert
with a wacky new friend
did it in under four-and-a-half hours.
We got into the stadium at 8.28pm.”
There was a 5.30am start from
Marseille to make the 1pm kick-off for
Chile v Japan in Toulouse and another
hasty drive to make that evening’s
Wales v Fiji match in Bordeaux.
But mostly the trip was stress-free and
glorious, with the pair handing out rugby
balls in the spirit of friendship. And there
was a charitable element to it all too,
with funds being raised for former Milton
Keynes junior Ed Slater and a hospice.
They were joined most of the way by
their friend Derek Nye, whose bid to join
their record attempt was thwarted by
unexpected news – his son decided to
get married in Las Vegas. Nye flew to
Vegas and still fitted in 22 matches! n
at clubs. I wanted my weekends back
though, to see my wife and daughter,
and after we went on holiday to
Australia’s Sunshine Coast we wanted
to stay. That’s when I got a job in the
medical field. I still helped out at my
wife’s gym, which we sold after Covid.
“I got up at 1am and 5am to watch the
World Cup. The fitness of the players
was unbelievable. Occasionally I dream
that I didn’t have to retire but am
struggling to get a contract in my 40s!”
HERBERT MENSAH
The president of Rugby Africa believes the region deserves more support
“For Africa to reach its potential,
we must take concrete actions”
D
URING THE
World Cup in
France, the
global spotlight
naturally gravitated
towards Tier One nations.
Yet the future of rugby
isn’t confined to these
nations. World Rugby
recently highlighted that
emerging nations are
the key drivers of growth,
identifying Ghana,
African clash
Nigeria and Zambia as
Algeria v Kenya
three of six emerging
nations experiencing
strong growth in 2023.
As the newly elected president of
Rugby Africa, I believe Africa holds the
immense potential to shape the future
of the sport. Africa’s rapidly growing
population and untapped talent
presents a promising future for the
sport, offering substantial business
opportunities in an emerging market
and empowering communities across
the region. To fully unlock this potential,
we must establish dedicated pathways
to promote greater equity in the sport.
According to the UN, the African
youth will account for a remarkable
42% of the world’s population in 2030.
Often overlooked in the global rugby
conversation, Africa can shape the
future. If rugby continues to be made
accessible to youth, passion for the
sport can be nurtured. Through
harnessing the youth’s passion for
rugby, there is boundless promise.
To invest in Africa’s passion for rugby
is to invest in an emerging market of
1.3 billion individuals. The United
Nations expects the African population
to double by 2050. This demographic
represents far more than a business
opportunity, it’s a compelling invitation
to engage with an emerging market of
unprecedented size and potential. As
Africa’s population continues to expand
each year, investing today marks the
beginning of a transformative journey
that will resonate across generations.
Beyond economic gain, rugby can
speak to the future of Africa as a whole.
It serves as a call to harness the
potential of our youth toward positive
endeavours. Rugby can empower
communities, foster unity among
individuals and reshape lives.
The core values of solidarity, respect,
discipline, passion and integrity
transcend the boundaries of the playing
field. These fundamental values shape
the characters of our youth, instilling
essential qualities crucial for personal
growth and empowerment.
Along with the empowerment of
rugby, the sport is a catalyst for
29
inclusion, relentlessly
dismantling barriers and
promoting gender equality
within the ranks. The
positive impact of rugby
extends beyond the
playing field, making it a
potent force capable of
lifting entire communities.
However, there are
structural disadvantages
that hinder Africa’s
progress in the global
rugby arena. There is
persistent disparity in
resources, funding and
access to international competitions.
And so as we witness the dedication
and talent of African rugby players, we
must then ask ourselves: how is Africa
expected to compete on an equal
footing when it is unable to access
similar support and opportunities as
their counterparts in the sport?
For Africa to eventually reach its
boundless potential, we must take
concrete actions to ensure increased
equity and representation within the
global rugby community. It is a collective
responsibility to re-evaluate competition
structures and funding.
Investing in rugby across Africa is
an investment in our collective futures,
a pathway to economic prosperity, a
commitment to our youth and a belief in
a continent that can redefine the sport.
Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia represent
only the initial chapters of rugby’s
growth within Africa, a journey promised
to enrich the sport and lives of billions.
With a population of 1.3 billion, Africa’s
significance should not be forgotten. n
World Cup Analysis

Staying in Africa
Cheslin Kolbe with
the Webb Ellis Cup

32
 HOW THE
RUGBY WORLD
CUP WAS WON
Words ALAN DYMOCK // Main Picture DAVID RAMOS/GETTY IMAGES

The bloody-minded Springboks pulled off three

one-point wins in a row to retain the Webb Ellis Cup.
RW assesses a feat that bordered on the miraculous

OME MARGINS are so thin, you can

barely fit a slip of rice paper between
them. Well, on the way to their fourth
World Cup victory and a second in a
row, the Springboks won all three of
their knockout games by a single point.
It was that sort of campaign for them.
Beaten by Ireland in their third match
and scraping past France in a quarter,
and England in the semi, this campaign
was a slugger’s wonder for South Africa.
There’s a saying, ‘There’s no pictures in
the autobiography’ – you can colour
anything in, in the retelling. Well, South
Africa winning ugly was there in glorious
technicolour. And it was compelling.

33
 World Cup Analysis

Asked about what this campaign

felt like compared to four years ago,
captain Siya Kolisi said: “Coach Rassie
(Erasmus) said, ‘Great things are never
achieved in ideal conditions’ and this
wasn’t ideal conditions for us as a
group. Playing the home team in their
home country was one of the hardest
things to do and obviously when we
played the last game against England,
which was tight, we had to fight and
today as well, no different.
“The motivation was everything from
home and our families. The coaches
created an environment for us where
we can be with our families no matter
Semi-final impact
where we are, it feels like we are home.
RG Snyman scores v England
There are 15 to 20 kids running round
the hotel. It’s one of the greatest things
they could have done for us. People loss to the boys in green last November, through the latter half of the
also from South Africa, friends, used and how the Irish were irresistible. competition. They pipped Ireland and
their savings to come and watch us. Some perhaps already had Zombie, the then in the semi blasted Argentina.
“For me not to give 100% on the Cranberries song that But if some stories are written in the
field would be cheating all those was a soundtrack to stars, this one feels like it was scribbled
people and that’s what the coaches
remind us of. The motivations for DID YOU this tournament,
ringing in their ears
in South African blood and sweat.
So many of this group will move on
us, we don’t have to look far.”
The fates are cruel. New Zealand
KNOW? before a hit was
made, such was the
from the Springboks. Paris becomes
home for Kolisi; the inspiring captain
would have been deserving victors It’s scant consolation fervour whenever and usually a calming influence will play
had they pulled it off. A red card for but New Zealand Ireland won and the for Racing 92, and at 32 deserves his
Sam Cane was a body blow in the scored the most stadium DJ got to step away from the national pressures.
final. But their campaign began tries (49) and most drop the needle. Then there’s Duane Vermeulen, the
with a slap against hosts France, points (336) at the Yet the tales of the veteran No 8 who gets to limp off into
only to rebound and accelerate World Cup. Their 88 ABs’ demise had been the sunset after a truly bruising career.
through the pools. By the time they clean breaks was 33 greatly exaggerated. Willie le Roux and Trevor Nyakane are
ran into Ireland, so much of the higher than next-best Like in so many 34. Cobus Reinach, Vincent Koch and
narrative was about their series team France. games, they sped Makazole Mapimpi are 33. Franco

All over the park

Pieter-Steph du Toit
defends the wing
PICS Getty Images & Inpho

Mostert, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans
Malherbe and Kolisi are all 32. And then
there are the coaches who led this all.
Head coach Jacques Nienaber is off to
Leinster to serve as an assistant. Felix
Jones joins England’s staff under Steve
Borthwick. And what about the director
of rugby – hell, the force behind the
Boks – Rassie Erasmus. What does the
future hold for the man who moulded
rugby in green and gold since 2018?
This World Cup had quintessentially
South African moments, for sure. And
Rassie was the focal point for many.
We had the coach using traffic lights
in the box to signal to players what was
wanted. We had Vermeulen miked up
Inspiration
Eben Etzebeth
and beside his boss for the punishing
pool match against Ireland. And during
the one-point victory against England in
the semi-final, when things were going
exactly as the English wanted, the boss
pulled his staff around him, rapt.
And we had the use of the 7-1 bench
split. With eight spots among the
reserves, teams have several options in
front of them. Normally sides will pick
between five forwards and three backs,
to keep their back-line options open, or
six forwards and two backs. The most
South African of innovations saw an
injury to le Roux in the warm-up for the
pre-World Cup match against New
Zealand at Twickenham give the Boks
the option to try a 7-1 split. They
Body on the line
Faf de Klerk hits Aaron
Smith in the final
“The World Cup final was more like
an ‘empty the drawers and see
what comes out’ kind of match”
smashed the Kiwis that night and from
then on, at the World Cup, Erasmus and
his coaching team teased us with ‘Will
they, won’t they?’ chat about it.
In the World Cup final they did just
that. But it wasn’t a game that went
exactly to plan. It was more like an
‘empty the drawers and see what
comes out’ kind of match. And we got
all sorts. A first-ever red
card in a men’s final;
hooker Mbonambi off after
just a few minutes with
Shannon Frizell rolling
him and then landing on
his lower leg – getting
a yellow in the process.
Then Beauden Barrett
Moment of joy Referee Wayne Barnes signals the end of the final – and yet another South Africa triumph
35
World Cup Analysis
scoring the first-ever try against the
Springboks in a final.
After all that – after a World Cup that
lasted a seventh of a year – we batter
through and South Africa lift the trophy.
But what will we say of France 2023?
The highs soared above so many
expectations. From the opening game
between France and New Zealand, we
were in for some special moments.
Yes, the cracks in the schedule were
clear – the gaps between the top
games were so long in the middle of
the tournament and it lost momentum
when the high-performance nations met
their lesser brethren. But then there
were the sensational shocks. Portugal
beating Fiji will live long in the memory,
as will the latter’s victory over Australia.
Uruguay were superb in fits. And the
quarter-finals… Wow. We were spoilt,
particularly those lucky enough to be in
Paris as we got Ireland-New Zealand
and then France-South Africa.
The last match bears remembering.
Ian Foster, bowing out as a losing
finalist, summed up the Boks like this:
“They just know their game. They’re
strong, experienced and clearly they’ve
learned how to fight in dark places.”
Sure, dark. But thrilling as well. n
 HO
NP
&I
GES
IMA
TY
GET
es
tur
Pic
//
EY
EAR
NP
ALA
rds
Wo

The

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2023

Ultimate
Review
Every point, card and player
Facts, stats and analysis
Team of the Tournament

GRAND FINAL 38

BRONZE FINAL 41

SEMI-FINALS 42

QUARTER-FINALS 44

POOL A 46

POOL B 50

POOL C 54

POOL D 58

37
 STAGE
Grand Final
NEW ZEALAND 11 12 SOUTH AFRICA
Saturday 28 October
Stade de France, Paris. Attendance: 80,067

In this match A day painted green and

gold as South Africa became the first
men’s team to win the RWC four times,
maintaining their record of never having
lost a final. Astonishingly, they won by
a one-point margin for the third match
running – after the 29-28 and 16-15
defeats of France and England – and
failed to score after the fourth of Handré
Pollard’s penalties in the 34th minute.
There had been only one yellow card
Line breached
in a final – for Ben Smith in 2015 – but
Beauden Barrett scores
here there were four. Shannon Frizell,
Siya Kolisi and Cheslin Kolbe all spent
time in the bin but it was the card issued throughout, ITV commentator Ben Kay first player to score two World Cup final
to Sam Cane, for a high tackle on Jesse saying: “I don’t even support one of tries, having also dotted down in 2015.
Kriel, that proved critical. It was upgraded these teams and my nerves are shot.” Richie Mo’unga’s wide conversion
to red as the All Blacks skipper made Bossing the second half, the All Blacks missed the target, so too Jordie
history in the worst possible way. had an Aaron Smith try disallowed for Barrett’s late long-range effort, and
That left New Zealand a man light an earlier knock-on by Ardie Savea at South Africa had their nail-biting victory.
for more than 50 minutes and their the lineout, then scored the first try Victory was built on outstanding
response, from 9-3 down at that point, conceded by the Boks in a final through defence. Pieter-Steph du Toit made a
was heroic. The tension was palpable Beauden Barrett. Barrett became the remarkable 28 tackles and Deon Fourie

Feeling the force

Pieter-Steph du Toit
tackles Jordie Barrett

VITAL STAT

209
Tackles made by
PICS Getty Images & Inpho

South Africa in the

final – 50 more
than their next
highest figure in
the tournament

38

made 21. Part-time hooker Fourie was
on as a fourth-minute replacement after
Bongi Mbonambi was hurt by Frizell
dropping onto his leg at a ruck.
New Zealand had 60% possession,
stole four Boks lineout throws and made
twice as many line breaks. They hung
on when under the pump at the start of
the second half and then took control.
But the Boks, with their 7-1 split on the
bench, had enough freshness up front
to hold out and Siya Kolisi was able to
emulate Richie McCaw by lifting the
Webb Ellis Cup for the second time.
Strain every sinew Brodie Retallick stands tall in a driving maul
“T his is for o ur f ans . We f e lt e v ery
b it o f en er g y t he y g a ve us. I n the
l ast th r ee g a m e s t hat d r ov e us”
Magic moment The Boks took a huge
gamble in picking only one scrum-half,
Faf de Klerk, in their 23 – but then de
Klerk is no ordinary player. His energy
across the 80 minutes was incredible
and his tap-tackle on the flying Dalton
Papali’i in the closing minutes may have
won South Africa the cup.
The former Sale man had
made a similar intervention
in the quarter-final against
France. Jordie Barrett also
merits mention for holding
Damian de Allende up over
the line when the Boks
were threatening to go two
scores clear after half-time.
Winners’ podium Coach
Jacques Nienaber: “This is
for our fans and for South
Africa. I wish I could show
you the amount of messages
39
RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review
Theatre of dreams
The two teams scrum
down at Stade de France
we’ve received. We have 62 million
people united, opening up communities
to allow people to watch, an entrance
fee of whatever they wanted to donate.
People have bought green T-shirts for
everyone. We felt every bit of energy
they gave us and in the last three games,
all one-point victories, that drove us.
“Pieter-Steph was phenomenal.
Defence is my department and he was
exceptional. I joke that if there’s a white
plastic bag that blows over the field, he
would chase that down as well. ‘The
Malmesbury Missile’, he was a machine.”
Centre Jesse Kriel: “Tonight was so
intense. The guys dug in again. As a
South African, as a Springbok, you
always believe you’re going to win.
Winning is a mindset, something we train
for and that belief came through again.
“Roger (Federer, a spectator at the
final) is a good friend of Siya’s. He had
his South African shirt on and a lot of
Haunted expression
Sam Cane created
unwanted history
us during the game saw it on the
big screen and it gave us a lot of
motivation. It’s special to have that
calibre of people in our dressing room
wearing South African shirts.”
And the losers… Captain Sam Cane:
“It caught me off guard that he stepped
back (the red card incident). But we’ve
been here two months now and anything
around the head has ramifications.
Unfortunately it is something I’m going
to have to live with forever.
Golden generation Springboks captain Siya Kolisi emulates Richie McCaw by lifting the cup for a second time
“I’m feeling so much hurt but I’m so
proud of the group the way they fought
back and gave ourselves a shot of
winning that game. There is a lot of
heartbreak in the sheds right now.”
Coach Ian Foster: “There was an
attempt to wrap (by Cane). There didn’t
seem to be a lot of force in the contact.
The hit on Ardie had a lot of force going
into that contact and a direct contact on
the head, so the game has got a few
issues to sort out. That’s not sour
grapes. There were two different
40
VITAL STAT
18
Turnovers conceded
by the Kiwis – their
highest at France
situations with 2023. And they had
different variables a low of 68% for
and one was a red positive outcomes
card, one was a
yellow (for Kolisi).”
Scrum-half Aaron Smith: “I’m just
immensely proud of the guys. We
didn’t die wondering. I think we threw
everything we had and South Africa
held strong in those key moments,
got turnovers, they nailed those little
moments. That’s Test-match rugby and
it’s brutal. It was an amazing game to
be a part of and this World Cup
has really been amazing, France
has really put it on. It’s been an
absolutely amazing eight weeks.”
NEW ZEALAND B Barrett; W Jordan (A
Lienert-Brown 71), R Ioane, J Barrett, M Telea;
R Mo’unga (D McKenzie 75), A Smith (F Christie
66); E de Groot (T Williams 66), C Taylor
(S Taukei’aho 66), T Lomax (N Laulala 66),
B Retallick (D Papali’i 71), S Barrett, S Frizell
(S Whitelock 55), S Cane (capt), A Savea.
Q Shannon Frizell 3 Q Sam Cane 27
Try Barrett 58 Pens Mo’unga 2
SOUTH AFRICA D Willemse (W le Roux 66);
K Arendse; J Kriel, D de Allende, C Kolbe;
H Pollard, F de Klerk; S Kitshoff (O Nche 52),
B Mbonambi (D Fourie 4), F Malherbe (T Nyakane
66), E Etzebeth (J Kleyn 58), F Mostert (RG
Snyman 52), S Kolisi (capt, J Wiese 73), P du Toit,
D Vermeulen (K Smith 58).
Q Siya Kolisi 45, Cheslin Kolbe 72
Pens Pollard 4
Referee Wayne Barnes (England)
Star Man Pieter-Steph du Toit

Bronze Final
ENGLAND 26 23 ARGENTINA
Friday 27 October
Stade de France, Paris. Attendance: 77,674
In this match The only repeat game
of the tournament saw England claim
bronze for the first time. Owen Farrell,
on his 100th Test start, became top
scorer at France 2023 with his final
penalty. Sam Underhill was Man of the
Match in his first RWC appearance since
the 2019 final, Tom Curry won his 50th
cap, and centurions Courtney Lawes and
Ben Youngs bid farewell to Test rugby.
A strange decision to ignore Lucio
Cinti’s forward pass in the build-up to
Tomás Cubelli’s try helped the Pumas,
who would have taken the match to
extra-time had Nicolás Sanchez slotted
a late penalty. It was his first miss in 13
kicks. Agustín Creevy notched up his
22nd RWC match, drawing level with
Jason Leonard and Richie McCaw.
Magic moment Theo Dan’s bounce
back. The England hooker’s missed
tackle on Santiago Carreras allowed the
PICS Getty Images & MB Media
STAGE
RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review
Try-scorer
Santiago Carreras
Pumas to edge in front after half-time,
but from the restart Dan charged down
Carreras’s attempted clearance and
scored by the posts. Instant retribution!
Winners’ podium Hooker Theo Dan:
“I felt such a rush scoring because my
missed tackle could have cost the team.
Looking back at our warm-ups, we were
disjointed as a team. So we’re delighted
to get bronze, it means a lot to us. But
ultimately it isn’t the medal we wanted.”
And the losers… Coach Michael
Cheika: “Three or four scrums we were
dominating and we got nothing. I can’t
believe it. It’s hard to accept losing but
we’ll be back stronger. Sometimes I love
rugby, sometimes I hate it. The game is
stopped far too much, it needs to flow Tries Earl 8, Dan 44 Cons Farrell 2 Pens Farrell 4
more. Teams like Portugal, Chile, Fiji and ARGENTINA J Cruz Mallía; E Boffelli, L Cinti (M Moroni 47),
Uruguay have played great footy; there J de la Fuente, M Carreras; S Carreras (N Sanchez 56),
has been so much good from the teams T Cubelli (L Bazan Velez 51); T Gallo (J Sclavi 66),
coming up. I hope that keeps happening.” J Montoya (capt, A Creevy 56), F Gomez Kodela (E Bello
ENGLAND M Smith; F Steward, J Marchant, M Tuilagi 61), G Petti, P Rubiolo (M Alemanno 66), Juan Martin
(G Ford 56), H Arundell (O Lawrence 66); O Farrell (capt), Gonzalez, M Kremer, F Isa (R Bruni 47).
B Youngs (D Care 51); E Genge (B Rodd 50), T Dan Tries Cubelli 36, S Carreras 42
(J George 54), W Stuart (D Cole 50), M Itoje, O Chessum Cons Boffelli 2 Pens Boffelli 3
(D Ribbans 70), T Curry (L Ludlam 50), S Underhill, B Earl. Ref Nic Berry (Australia). Star Man Sam Underhill
Pleased as punch
Manu Tuilagi with his medal
VITAL STAT
531
Minutes played
by Argentina
back-row Marcos
Kremer – the most
by any player at
this World Cup
41

Semi-Finals
ARGENTINA 6 44 NEW ZEALAND
Friday 20 October
Stade de France, Paris. Attendance: 77,653
In this match New Zealand became the
first side to reach five RWC finals and the
first since 2007 to tally over 30 points in
a semi. This seven-try rout was just shy
of the record 49-6 semi-final win of 1987
(NZ v Wales) and featured only the third
semi-final hat-trick, Will Jordan emulating
Jonah Lomu and Adam Ashley-Cooper.
Jordan’s treble took him to eight tries
in France – a joint tournament record –
and it would have been nine had Richie
Mo’unga not butchered a late chance.
Sam Whitelock became the first man to
play in four RWC semis and NZ chose to
finish with 14 men, Scott Barrett staying
off after his yellow card had expired.
Magic moment Jordan made his third
score look ridiculously easy. From a NZ
lineout in their 22, Ardie Savea passed
inside to the winger who motored past
Nicolás Sanchez, chipped over Emiliano
Boffelli and outpaced Juan Cruz Mallía.
STAGE
Winners’ podium Back-row Dalton
Papali’i: “We came into this World Cup
under the radar and have adopted that
mindset. There are some really good
teams like France, South Africa, Ireland
but we had to prove something to
ourselves. For a lot of our leaders it is
their last rodeo. We are standing on the
Punchy Puma Marcos Kremer carries into contact
42
Shannon ball
Shannon Frizell scores
NZ’s fifth try in Paris
back of their history and we want to
send them off on a high note.”
And the losers… Coach Michael Cheika:
“We didn’t do what we needed to do in
the rucks and scrums and I’m not sure
why. Against New Zealand the slightest
mistake is fatal. I wasn’t happy with the
refereeing in the first half, especially in
the rucks. Every time we were in their
22 we encountered the same problem.”
ARGENTINA J Cruz Mallía; E Boffelli, L Cinti, S Chocobares
(M Moroni 64), M Carreras; S Carreras (N Sanchez 66),
G Bertranou (L Bazan Velez 51); T Gallo (J Sclavi 67), J
Montoya (capt, A Creevy 64), F Gomez Kodela (E Bello 51),
G Petti, T Lavanini (M Alemanno ht), J Martin Gonzalez,
M Kremer, F Isa (R Bruni 19-31, 64).
Pens Boffelli 2
NEW ZEALAND B Barrett (D McKenzie 56); W Jordan,
PICS Corbis, Getty Images & Quality Sport Images
R Ioane (A Lienert-Brown 61), J Barrett, M Telea;
R Mo’unga, A Smith (F Christie 56); E de Groot (T Williams
56), C Taylor (S Taukei’aho 51), T Lomax (F Newell 56),
S Whitelock (B Retallick 61), S Barrett, S Frizell, S Cane
(capt, D Papali’i 65), A Savea.
QS Barrett 65
Tries Jordan 11, 62, 73, J Barrett 16, Frizell 40, 49,
Smith 42 Cons Mo’unga 3 Pen Mo’unga
Ref Angus Gardner (Australia). Star Man Jordie Barrett

ENGLAND 15 16 SOUTH AFRICA
Saturday 21 October
Stade de France, Paris. Attendance: 78,098
In this match Shades of 2019 as scrum
problems returned to haunt England. Up
15-6, they began to leak penalties. One
of these provided the field position for
RG Snyman’s try, another was kicked
by Handré Pollard to win a scrappy,
wet-weather match with two minutes
remaining. England had the slowest
ruck speed of the tournament (6.73sec)
and kicked 93% of their possession, but
so rattled the defending champions that
the Springboks took Manie Libbok off
after 31 minutes. For the first time at this
RWC, there wasn’t a single line break.
Magic moment Owen Farrell’s majestic
52nd-minute drop-goal, from 48 metres,
had England fans believing. “One of
the most casual, brilliant drop-goals
I’ve ever seen,” said Danny Care and
it gave England a two-score buffer.
Winners’ podium Coach Jacques
Nienaber: “England were outstanding.
Rising clamp
Elliot Daly wins the ball
They had a good tactical plan and put
us under a lot of pressure. We struggled
to get a foothold in the game. Like the
2019 quarter-final and semi-final, you
need something special to break the
game open and the touch kick that set
us up for the try was it. In this weather,
to score a try against England that has
an unbelievable defence was special.”
43
RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review
And the losers… Scrum-half Danny
Care: “It was a hell of a kick to put a
team into a final. Ultimately, they are in
the big dance and we are not. Sport can
be cruel. That’s why you love it so much,
it’s on a knife edge so often. It’s tough
to take but I’m incredibly proud to be
part of this team. A lot of stuff was said
about the team but hopefully we’ve
changed some perceptions and maybe
got people believing in us again.”
ENGLAND F Steward; J May (G Ford 78), J Marchant,
M Tuilagi (O Lawrence 74), E Daly; O Farrell (capt),
A Mitchell (D Care 51); J Marler (E Genge 51), J George,
D Cole (K Sinckler 56), M Itoje, G Martin (O Chessum 51),
C Lawes, T Curry (B Vunipola 32-37), B Earl.
Pens Farrell 4 Drop-goal Farrell
SOUTH AFRICA D Willemse (W le Roux 42); K Arendse,
J Kriel, D de Allende, C Kolbe; M Libbok (H Pollard 31),
C Reinach (F de Klerk 42); S Kitshoff (O Nche 48),
M Mbonambi, F Malherbe (V Koch 55), E Etzebeth
(RG Snyman 45), F Mostert, S Kolisi (capt, K Smith 50),
P du Toit, D Vermeulen (D Fourie 50).
Try RG Snyman 68 Con Pollard Pens Libbok, Pollard 2
Ref Ben O’Keeffe (N Zealand). Star Man Handré Pollard
Another one-pointer
Pieter-Steph du Toit and
the Boks celebrate
VITAL STAT
1
Tries by England in
six RWC matches v
South Africa – only
Will Greenwood
(2003) has crossed
the Springboks line

Clinching try
Quarter-Finals
Nicolás Sanchez
breaks Welsh hearts
WALES 17 29 ARGENTINA
Saturday 14 October
Stade de Marseille. Attendance: 62,576
In this match Karl Dickson took the
whistle after an early calf injury to Jaco
Peyper. Wales saw a 10-0 lead evaporate
and Nicolás Sanchez’s late interception
try booked their third RWC semi-final.
Lock Guido Petti escaped a card after a
shoulder to the head of Nick Tompkins.
Magic moment With Wales trailing
19-17 on 74 minutes, Louis Rees-Zammit
lunged for the corner after Rio Dyer’s
break – and replacement Matias Moroni
made a brilliant try-saving tackle.
Winners’ podium Full-back Juan
Cruz Mallía: “This team showed once
again that it is more united than ever
and that it trusts what we do.”
And the losers… Wing Josh Adams:
“We’re devastated. We believed in the
group but we just weren’t at the races in
some crucial areas. Dan Biggar played
his last game for Wales tonight and he’s
probably the GOAT (Greatest of all Time)
– he’s been sensational for Wales.”
WALES L Williams (R Dyer 60); L Rees-Zammit, G North,
N Tompkins (S Costelow 65), J Adams; D Biggar (Tompkins
75), G Davies (T Williams 50); G Thomas (C Domachowski
57), R Elias (D Lake ht), T Francis (D Lewis 66), W
Rowlands, A Beard (D Jenkins 66), J Morgan (capt),
STAGE
T Reffell (C Tshiunza 57), A Wainwright.
Tries Biggar 14, T Williams 57
Cons Biggar 2 Pen Biggar
ARGENTINA J Cruz Mallía; E Boffelli, L Cinti, S Chocobares
(M Moroni 27), M Carreras; S Carreras (N Sanchez 69),
T Cubelli (L Bazan Velez 55); T Gallo (J Sclavi 67), J
Montoya (capt, A Creevy 67), F Gomez Kodela (E Bello 55),
G Petti, T Lavanini (M Alemanno 55), J Martin Gonzalez,
M Kremer, F Isa (R Bruni 55).
Tries Sclavi 68, Sanchez 77
Cons Boffelli 2 Pens Boffelli 4, Sanchez
Ref Jaco Peyper (South Africa), replaced by Karl Dickson
(England) after 15 minutes. Star Man Emiliano Boffelli
44
IRELAND 24
Saturday 14 October
28 NEW ZEALAND
Stade de France, Paris. Attendance: 78,845
In this match Ireland lost their eighth
quarter-final and saw their 17-Test
winning run terminated in a worldie of a
game. In a late siege, Jordie Barrett held
Rónan Kelleher up over the line and a
final attack spanning 5min 19sec ended
with Sam Whitelock winning a penalty.
Ireland didn’t have one scrum put-in.
Magic moment Will Jordan’s 28th try
in 29 Tests was classic All Blacks. From
off-the-top lineout ball, Richie Mo’unga
exploited a dog-leg and Jordan took the
scoring pass to fly in from 26 metres.
Winners’ podium Captain Sam Cane:
“It was a crazy match, an absolute arm
wrestle for 83 or 84 minutes, both teams
going at it. What an atmosphere, what a
game, what a tournament to be part of.”
And the losers… No 8 Jack Conan:
“We’re gutted we couldn’t do it for the
fans, gutted we couldn’t do it for Johnny
(Sexton). To not give him the send-off
he deserves is the hardest thing to take.
He’s the greatest Irish player of all time.”
IRELAND H Keenan; M Hansen (J O’Brien 56), G Ringrose,
B Aki, J Lowe; J Sexton (capt), J Gibson-Park (C Murray
61); A Porter (D Kilcoyne 76), D Sheehan (R Kelleher 64), T
Furlong (F Bealham 53), T Beirne, I Henderson (J McCarthy
59), P O’Mahony, J van der Flier (J Conan 59), C Doris.
Tries Aki 27, Gibson-Park 39, Penalty try 64
Cons Sexton 2 Pen Sexton
NEW ZEALAND B Barrett; W Jordan, R Ioane, J Barrett,
L Fainga’anuku (A Lienert-Brown 64); R Mo’unga, A Smith;
E de Groot (T Williams 64), C Taylor (D Coles 75), T Lomax
(F Newell 64), B Retallick (Coles 65-75), S Barrett, S Frizell
(S Whitelock 59), S Cane (capt, D Papali’i 75), A Savea.
QSmith 36, Taylor 63
Tries Fainga’anuku 19, Savea 33, Jordan 53
Cons Mo’unga, J Barrett Pens Mo’unga, J Barrett 2
Ref Wayne Barnes (England). Star Man Ardie Savea
Eight wonder
James Lowe can’t prevent
Ardie Savea from scoring
VITAL STAT
37
Phases in Ireland’s
final attack – a RWC
record. A ball-in-play
time of 41:54 was a
RWC 2023 high until
the first semi-final
 RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review

Mutual respect
Ollie Lawrence and
Waisea Nayacalevu

ENGLAND 30 24
Sunday 15 October
Stade de Marseille. Attendance: 61,863
In this match Owen Farrell kicked 20
points to see England home after Fiji
had levelled at 24-24 with two late tries.
Mathieu Raynal, who sent Tom Curry off
on opening weekend, showed leniency
after the flanker’s no-arms tackle on
Josua Tuisova. All five of Fiji’s games at
RWC 2023 were decided by one score.
Magic moment We loved Bill Mata’s
extravagant offload but pride of place
must go to the Vilimoni Botitu try that
levelled the match courtesy of Semi
FIJI Radradra’s offload and Isoa Nasilasila’s
charging run – it set the stadium alight.
Winners’ podium Coach Steve
Borthwick: “What a fantastic team Fiji
are. Full of pace and the way they
scored those back-to-back tries, not
many teams could do that. Many people
wrote we wouldn’t get out of the group.
I think the team is continuing to grow.”
And the losers… Back-row Ratu Meli
Derenalagi: “We’ve come a long way.
We reached the quarter-final in 2007
and after 16 years we reached it again,
and we will make sure at the next
World Cup we climb higher again.”
ENGLAND M Smith (O Lawrence 23-36); J May (Lawrence
65), J Marchant, M Tuilagi, E Daly; O Farrell (capt),
A Mitchell (D Care 60); E Genge (J Marler 60), J George,
D Cole (K Sinckler 60), M Itoje, O Chessum (G Martin 70),
C Lawes, T Curry (B Vunipola 74), B Earl.
Tries Tuilagi 14, Marchant 23
Con Farrell Pens Farrell 5 Drop-goal Farrell
FIJI I Droasese; V Habosi (S Maqala 46), W Nayacalevu
(capt), J Tuisova (I Masi 72), S Radradra; V Botitu, F Lomani
(S Kuruvoli 56); E Mawi (P Ravai 49), T Ikanivere (S Matavesi
49), L Tagi (M Doge 23), I Nasilasila, A Tuisue (V Miramira
76), L Tagitagivalu (R Meli Derenalagi 56), L Botia, V Mata.
QHabosi 24
Tries Mata 28, Ravai 64, Botitu 68
Cons Lomani, Kuruvoli 2 Pen Lomani
Ref Mathieu Raynal (France). Star Man Owen Farrell

And the losers… Captain Antoine Conversion blocker

FRANCE 28 29 SOUTH AFRICA
Sunday 15 October
Stadium de France, Paris. Attendance: 79,486
In this match A match for the ages,
surpassing even Ireland v NZ 24 hours
earlier, saw the Boks edge a seven-try
heartstopper and end France’s record
18-match winning run at home. France
conceded two tries from high balls and
Eben Etzebeth scored the decisive try.
Magic moment Cheslin Kolbe’s
charge-down of a Thomas Ramos
conversion – two critical lost points.
Dupont: “I think some clear and obvious Cheslin Kolbe foils
things weren’t whistled. I’m not sure the Thomas Ramos
refereeing was up to the challenge.”
FRANCE T Ramos; D Penaud, G Fickou, J Danty, L
Bielle-Biarrey; M Jalibert (Y Moefana 73), A Dupont (capt);
C Baille (R Wardi 50), P Mauvaka (P Bourgarit 64), U Atonio
(D Aldegheri 58), C Woki, T Flament (R Taofifenua 50),
A Jelonch (F Cros 51), C Ollivon, G Alldritt (S Macalou 69).
Tries Baille 4, 31, Mauvaka 22
Cons Ramos 2 Pens Ramos 3
SOUTH AFRICA D Willemse (W le Roux 51); K Arendse,
J Kriel, D de Allende, C Kolbe; M Libbok (H Pollard 45),
C Reinach (F de Klerk 45); S Kitshoff (O Nche 51),
B Mbonambi (K Smith 75), F Malherbe (V Koch 63), E
PICS Gaspafotos & Getty Images

Winners’ podium Coach Jacques
Nienaber: “Cheslin’s charge-down, you
don’t see that often – someone chasing
a lost cause. We were opened up a
couple of times but the scrambling, the
effort the players put in was enormous.”
Etzebeth, F Mostert (RG Snyman 45), S Kolisi (capt, D Fourie
46), P du Toit (Smith 61-75), D Vermeulen (Smith 51-61).
QEtzebeth 39
Tries Arendse 8, de Allende 18, Kolbe 26, Etzebeth 67
Cons Libbok 2, Pollard Pen Pollard
Ref Ben O’Keeffe (N Zealand). Star Man Bongi Mbonambi

45
 A
POOL
FRANCE 27 13 NEW ZEALAND
Friday 8 September.
Stade de France, Paris. Attendance: 78,680
In this match Mark Telea scored the
first try of RWC 2023 after 92 seconds.
But Thomas Ramos kicked 17 points to
help inflict a first-ever pool defeat on the
All Blacks – after 31 successive wins. Will
Jordan received the tournament’s first
card for an in-the-air tackle on Ramos.
Magic moment Damian Penaud
launched himself for the line on 52
minutes. A certain try – until Richie
Mo’unga hurled himself at the winger
and got his fingertips to the ball.
Winners’ podium Full-back Thomas
Ramos: “It was very hot and the ball was
slippery. In terms of desire and attitude,
we were there. We’re really happy.”
And the losers… Coach Ian Foster: “It
was a heck of an opening game. You
saw ambition from us. We fired some
good bullets, we just didn’t fire enough.”
FRANCE T Ramos (M Jaminet 76); D Penaud, G Fickou,
Y Moefana (A Vincent 58), G Villière; M Jalibert, A Dupont
(capt, M Lucu 76); R Wardi (JB Gros 53), J Marchand
(P Mauvaka 12), U Atonio (D Aldegheri 53), C Woki
(R Taofifenua 49), T Flament, F Cros (P Boudehent 63),
C Ollivon, G Alldritt.
Tries Penaud 54, Jaminet 77 Con Ramos Pens Ramos 5
NEW ZEALAND B Barrett; W Jordan, R Ioane, A
Lienert-Brown (D Havili 63), M Telea (L Fainga’anuku 72);
R Mo’unga, A Smith (F Christie 63); E de Groot
(O Tu’ungafasi 53), C Taylor (S Taukei’aho 57), N Laulala
(F Newell 53), S Whitelock (B Retallick 69), S Barrett,
T Vaa’i (L Jacobsen 57), D Papali’i, A Savea (capt).
QJordan 57
Tries Telea 2, 43 Pen Mo’unga
Ref Jaco Peyper (South Africa). Star Man Grégory Alldritt
PICS AFP & Getty Images
Lapping it up A France fan savours a winning start
Touch of class Ange Capuozzo scores Italy’s fourth try v Namibia – their biggest-ever World Cup victory
ITALY 52 8 NAMIBIA
Saturday 9 September. Stade Geoffroy-Guichard,
Saint-Étienne. Attendance: 35,515
In this match Italy won the second half
35-0 to record their biggest RWC win.
Namibia were overwhelmed, missing
42 tackles. TMO Joy Neville became the
first woman to officiate at a men’s RWC.
Magic moment The pick of Italy’s seven
tries was Ange Capuozzo’s bonus-point
clincher. A flowing backs move saw the
wing trade passes with Monty Ioane and
dive spectacularly into the corner.
Winners’ podium Wing Paolo Odogwu:
“We’re showing we’re not a team to
mess with. It’s been a roller-coaster few
months for me and I cried during the
anthems. I got a bit emotional.”
And the losers… Coach Allister
Coetzee: “I’m proud of the boys, they
never gave up. One has to put this
into perspective; this Italian side play
ten to 12 Test matches per season and
Namibia play eight to ten in four years.”
ITALY T Allan; A Capuozzo, JI Brex (P Odogwu 61), L Morisi
(P Bruno 48), M Ioane; P Garbisi, S Varney (M Page-Relo
48); D Fischetti (I Nemer 57), G Nicotera (H Faiva 50),
S Ferrari (M Riccioni 50), D Lamb, F Ruzza (D Sisi 12-16,
57), S Negri (M Zuliani 48), M Lamaro (capt), L Cannone.
Tries Cannone 11, Garbisi 15, Lamb 46, Capuozzo 55,
Faiva 74, Zuliani 78, Odogwu Cons Allan 7 Pen Allan
NAMIBIA D Rossouw; G Mouton (A van der Berg 64),
J Deysel (capt), D Burger (L Roux Malan 58); JC Greyling;
T Swanepoel, D Stevens (J Theron 58); D Sethie (J Benade
36), T van Jaarsveld (L van der Westhuizen 52), A Coetzee
(C Viviers 50), A Ludick (T de Klerk 50), T Uanivi, W Conradie
(P Goaseb 12-16, 50, VD Westhuizen 18), J Retief, R Hardwick.
QVan Jaarsveld 10
Try Mouton 21 Pen Swanepoel
Ref Andrew Brace (Ireland). Star Man Lorenzo Cannone
46
FRANCE 27 12 URUGUAY
Thursday 14 September. Stade
Pierre-Mauroy, Lille. Attendance: 48,821
In this match Boos rang out after
France toiled to a 16th straight win at
home. Lock Romain Taofifenua escaped
red for a brutal hit on Santiago Arata.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 20, became the
youngest Frenchman to play at a RWC.
Magic moment Only six minutes in, los
Teros stunned the crowd when Felipe
Etcheverry’s deft cross-kick sailed over
Melvyn Jaminet and was cushioned by
Nicolás Freitas, who gathered to score.
Winners’ podium Second-row Cameron
Woki: “A lot of frustration. We’re lucky
to win with 15 penalties (conceded). It’s
unacceptable. I thought we’d done a lot
of work on discipline. It’s a real shame.”
And the losers… Wing Nicolás Freitas:
“Sometimes we are underestimated.
Uruguay is ready for these things. This
is what we seek, the effort and passion
we put into the game to be recognised.”
FRANCE M Jaminet; L Bielle-Biarrey, A Vincent,
Y Moefana, G Villière; A Hastoy, M Lucu (B Couilloud 64);
J-B Gros (R Wardi 50), P Bourgarit (P Mauvaka 50),
D Aldegheri (S Falatea 50), C Woki (T Flament 58),
R Taofifenua (B Chalureau 50), P Boudehent, S Macalou,
A Jelonch (capt, F Cros 50).
QTaofifenua 26
Tries Hastoy 11, Mauvaka 55, Bielle-Biarrey 73
Cons Jaminet 3 Pens Jaminet 2
URUGUAY B Amaya; B Basso, T Inciarte, A Vilaseca (capt),
N Freitas; F Etcheverry (F Berchesi 58), S Arata (A Ormaechea
58); M Sanguinetti (M Benitez 50), G Pujadas (F Gattas 50),
I Peculo (R Piussi 50), F Allaga (I Dotti 58), M Leindekar,
M Ardao (C Deus 54), S Civetta, M Diana (L Bianchi 54).
Tries Freitas 6, Amaya 53 Con Etcheverry
Ref Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand). Star Man Maxime Lucu

NEW ZEALAND 71 3 NAMIBIA
Friday 15 September
Stade de Toulouse. Attendance: 31,996
In this match New Zealand’s 50th RWC
win saw Sam Whitelock equal Richie
McCaw’s record of 148 caps and Ethan
de Groot become the first All Black to
be sent off in a World Cup. Le Roux
Malan suffered a horrific broken ankle.
Magic moment Prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi
produced one outrageous offload. It
was great to see Anton Lienert-Brown
visit Malan in hospital and present him
with a signed All Blacks shirt.
Winners’ podium Captain Ardie Savea:
“Both teams are in the changing room
now sharing a beer. It’s humbling and
goes back to the traditional rugby values
of smashing each other on the field,
then hugging each other outside of it.”
Outnumbered
Uruguay half-back
Santiago Arata v Italy
And the losers… Captain Johan Deysel:
“The All Blacks were way too quick for
us. It was an incredible atmosphere.
Everyone was going nuts.”
NEW ZEALAND B Barrett (R Mo’unga 60); C Clarke,
A Lienert-Brown (R Ioane 69), D Havili, L Fainga’anuku;
D McKenzie, C Roigard (A Smith 67); O Tu’ungafasi (E de
Groot 48), S Taukei’aho (D Coles 52), N Laulala (F Newell
48), B Retallick (S Barrett 57), S Whitelock, L Jacobson
(Tu’ungafasi 74), D Papali’i, A Savea (capt, T Vaa’i).
Qde Groot 71
Tries Roigard 2, 7, McKenzie 20, 39, Fainga’anuku 25,
Lienert-Brown 35, de Groot 48, Papali’i 53, Havili 58,
Clarke 67, Ioane 77 Cons McKenzie 8
NAMIBIA C Loubser; G Mouton, J Deysel (capt), L Roux
Malan (JC Greyling 18), D Rossouw; T Swanepoel,
D Stevens (J Theron 79); J Benade (D Sethie 50), T van
Jaarsveld (L van der Westhuizen 50), A Coetzee, J Retief,
T Uanivi, W Conradie (PJ van Lill 50), P Gaoseb (M Katjijeko
69), R Hardwick (A Booysen 59, H Shifuka 74).
Pen Swanepoel
Ref Luke Pearce (England). Star Man Cam Roigard
RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review
Theatrics in Toulouse
Aaron Smith leads the
haka against Namibia
ITALY 38 17 URUGUAY
Wednesday 20 September
Stade de Nice. Attendance: 28,627
In this match Italy powered to victory
with three tries in ten minutes having
trailed 17-7 at half-time. Two of those
came with Teros captain Andrés Vilaseca
in the sin-bin after a harsh yellow card.
Magic moment Felipe Etcheverry had
a poor day off the tee but on the stroke
of half-time he let fly from long range
– and it crept over the bar. Uruguay’s
first drop-goal at a World Cup.
Winners’ podium Wing Monty Ioane: “At
half-time Kieran said we had to pull our
finger out of our a***. We’re confident,
the boys are ready to take on anyone.”
And the losers… No 8 Manuel Diana:
“We leave with a bitter taste. The yellow
card (for Vilaseca) was the turning point.
The second half was a bit dark for us.”
ITALY A Capuozzo; L Pani (I Nemer 30-38), JI Brex, P Garbisi,
M Ioane; A Garbisi (A Fusco 60), T Allan (P Odogwu 68);
D Fischetti (F Zani 68), G Nicotera (I Nemer 68), M Riccioni
(P Ceccarelli), N Cannone (D Lamb 50), F Ruzza, S Negri
(M Zuliani 60), M Lamaro (capt), L Cannone (G Pettinelli 63).
QN Cannone 25, Fischetti 27
Tries Pani 7, Lamaro 46, Ioane 52, L Cannone 56, Brex 61.
Cons Allan 5. Pen Garbisi
URUGUAY B Amaya (F Berchesi 63); G Mieres, T Inciarte, A
Vilaseca (capt), N Freitas (A Ormaechea 67); F Etcheverry,
S Arata (B Basso 67); M Sanguinetti (F Gattas 57), G Kessler
(G Pujadas 57), I Peculo, F Aliaga (I Dotti 63), M Leindekar,
M Ardao, S Civetta, M Diana (C Deus 57).
QVilaseca 42
Tries Pen try 27, Freitas 37 Con Etcheverry DG Etcheverry
Ref Angus Gardner (Australia). Star Man Michele Lamaro
 A
POOL
FRANCE 96 0 NAMIBIA
Thursday 21 September
Stade de Marseille. Attendance: 63,486
In this match Antoine Dupont, the face
of the World Cup, fractured a cheekbone
after a red-card tackle by Johan Deysel.
Namibia’s 62% possession didn’t stop
France breezing to their biggest win.
Magic moment Dupont’s assist for Louis
Bielle-Biarrey was pure genius, the No 9
executing an inch-perfect kick-pass on
the run. It was his tenth assist of the year.
Winners’ podium Coach Fabien
Galthié: “You can’t take 14 players off at
half-time. The aim was to give everyone
game time and not sit back for a month.”
And the losers… Coach Allister
Coetzee: “It was a horror movie. We
were completely out of system, out of
structure. Johan is cut up but it (the
red-card tackle) was an accident.”
FRANCE T Ramos; D Penaud, G Fickou, J Danty,
L Bielle-Biarrey; M Jalibert (M Jaminet 55), A Dupont
(capt, B Couilloud 46); C Baille (R Wardi ht), P Mauvaka (P
Bourgarit 55), U Atonio (D Aldegheri ht), C Woki
(R Taofifenua ht), T Flament, F Cros, C Ollivon, A Jelonch
(P Boudehent 55, Woki 57, Y Moefana 65).
Tries Penaud 6, 21, 55, Danty 9, 26, Ollivon 18, 68,
Flament 33, Dupont 38, Bielle-Biarrey 40, 64, Couilloud
47, Jaminet 76, Penalty try 80 Cons Ramos 12
NAMIBIA A van der Bergh (Divan Rossouw ht); G Mouton
(A Izaacs 56), J Deysel (capt), D Burger, JC Greyling;
C Loubser, J Theron (O Blaauw 59); D Sethie (J Benade 51),
L van der Westhuizen (O Nortje 65), A Coetzee (H Shifuka
74), M Tjeriko (PJ van Lill ht), A Ludick, M Katjijeko,
J Retief, P Gaoseb (R Hardwick ht).
QBenade 80 Q Deysel 46
Ref Matthew Carley (England). Star Man Damian Penaud
All Blacks at their best Mark Telea scores the third try as New Zealand take the Azzurri to the cleaners
URUGUAY 36 26 NAMIBIA
Wednesday 27 September
Parc OL, Lyon. Attendance: 49,342
In this match Los Teros overcame
deficits of 14-0 and 23-12 to notch a
fourth RWC win. Prop Des Sethie was
sent off for Namibia but the Africans
notched their best points tally in a RWC
game, beating the 25 v Fiji in 2011.
Magic moment Full-back Baltazar
Amaya’s finish for his second try. A
moment of balletic brilliance whilst
absorbing a tackle off a 5m scrum attack.
Winners’ podium Coach Esteban
Meneses: “The players were incredible.
In this World Cup we are making history,
playing on an equal footing with Tier
One teams. That speaks of our growth.”
And the losers… Coach Allister Coetzee:
“Four games in 18 days; we came out as
fresh as we could be to compete. When
you concede 13 penalties and three
cards (in the second half) it’s difficult.”
URUGUAY B Amaya; B Basso, F Arcos Perez, A Vilaseca
(capt), N Freitas (J Manuel Alonso 60); F Etcheverry
(F Berchesi 60), S Arata (A Ormaechea 67); M Sanguinetti
(F Gattas 61-65, 74), G Kessler (G Pujadas 61), D Arbelo (R
Piussi 61), F Aliaga (J Manuel Rodríguez 69), M Leindekar;
M Ardao, S Civetta (E Dosantos 61), C Deus.
QDosantos 75
Tries Amaya 19, 49, Kessler 28, Arata 54, Basso 66
Cons Etcheverry 3, Berchesi Pen Berchesi
NAMIBIA C Loubser; G Mouton (A van der Berg 72), A
Izaacs, D Burger, JC Greyling (J Benade 64); T Swanepoel,
D Stevens (J Theron 74); J Benade (D Sethie 58), T van
Jaarsveld (L van der Westhuizen 61), A Coetzee, A Ludick
(PJ van Lill 55), T de Klerk (M Katjijeko 72), P Gaoseb (H
Shifuka 49-58), T Uanivi (capt), R Hardwick (A Booysen 60).
QCoetzee 49, Uanivi 61 Q Sethie 62
Tries Mouton 1, Greyling 11
Cons Swanepoel 2 Pens Swanepoel 4
Ref Mathieu Raynal (France). Star Man Santiago Arata
48
Tangle in Lyon Tiaan de Klerk and Felipe Berchesi
w
NEW ZEALAND 96 17 ITALY
Friday 29 September
Parc OL, Lyon. Attendance: 57,083
In this match Talk that Italy might shock
the Kiwis was exposed as folly. They
suffered their third-heaviest defeat after
a 14-try rout that included a first Test
hat-trick by Aaron Smith. But Italy did
match their tournament record of 14 tries.
Magic moment Ardie Savea was
magnificent and his break from a restart
led to a fine team try scored by Mark
Telea, Beauden Barrett playing the link
role with a spin out of contact and
pinpoint pass to the winger.
Winners’ podium Coach Ian Foster:
“South Africa-Ireland was stop-start,
physical, combative. The ball was in play
27 minutes. You saw a different spectacle
tonight and at some point the world has
to decide which game it’d rather watch.”
And the losers… Coach Kieran Crowley:
“They just monstered us. It turned into
a glorified training run for them, didn’t it?
We won 33% in the scrum and 50% in the
lineout. We need to chuck it in the bin.”
NEW ZEALAND B Barrett; W Jordan, R Ioane, J Barrett
(A Lienert-Brown 64), M Telea; R Mo’unga (D McKenzie
64), A Smith (C Roigard 49); O Tu’ungafasi (T Williams
49), C Taylor (D Coles 57), N Laulala (T Lomax 49),
B Retallick, S Barrett, S Frizell (S Whitelock 49), D Papali’i
(S Cane 57), A Savea (capt).
Tries Jordan 6, 69, Smith 17, 27, 34, Telea 19, Savea 22,
45, Retallick 50, Papali’i 56, Coles 61, 73, McKenzie 67,
Lienert-Brown 76.
Cons Mo’unga 9, McKenzie 4
ITALY T Allan (P Odogwu 61); A Capuozzo, JI Brex, L Morisi,
M Ioane; P Garbisi, S Varney (M Page-Relo 49); D Fischetti
(I Nemer 18), G Nicotera (H Faiva 50), M Riccioni (S Ferrari
46-57, 65), D Lamb (N Cannone ht), F Ruzza, S Negri (M
Zuliani 50), M Lamaro (capt, T Halafihi 65), L Cannone.
Tries Capuozzo 48, Ioane 80
Cons Allan, Garbisi Pen Allan
Ref Matthew Carley (England). Star Man Ardie Savea
 RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review

POOL A FINAL STANDINGS

NEW ZEALAND 73 0 URUGUAY P W D L F A BP Pts
FRANCE 4 4 0 0 210 32 2 18
Thursday 5 October
Parc OL, Lyon. Attendance: 57,672 NEW ZEALAND 4 3 0 1 253 47 3 15
ITALY 4 2 0 2 114 181 2 10
In this match NZ cruised into the URUGUAY 4 1 0 3 65 164 1 5
knockouts with Leicester Fainga’anuku NAMIBIA 4 0 0 4 37 255 0 0
grabbing a hat-trick. Sam Whitelock, in

his 150th Test, set two RWC records: most
appearances (23) and most wins (21).
Magic moment Damian McKenzie’s
scooped pass to Will Jordan, when it
seemed the ball must be going into
touch, created a try to cherish.
Winners’ podium Full-back Damian
McKenzie: “We problem-solved. We’re
trending in the right direction.”
And the losers… Centre Juan Manuel
Alonso: “It’s a dream. I’ve watched them
all my life, Richie McCaw, Ardie Savea,
McKenzie. For us every player in the All
Blacks is the best player in the world.”
NEW ZEALAND D McKenzie; W Jordan, A Lienert-Brown,
J Barrett (C Clarke 53), L Fainga’anuka; R Mo’unga
(B Barrett 63), C Roigard (F Christie 53); O Tu’ungafasi (T
Williams 46), C Taylor (S Taukei’aho 46), T Lomax (F Newell
9, Tu’ungafasi 74), S Whitelock (S Barrett 63), T Vaa’i,
S Frizell (E Blackadder 54), S Cane (capt), L Jacobsen.
Tries McKenzie 20, 53, Mo’unga 25, Jordan 33, 65,
Roigard 38, Newell 45, Fainga’anuku 49, 68, 77, Williams 73
Cons Mo’unga 5, McKenzie 2, B Barrett 2
URUGUAY R Silva; G Mieres (J Manuel Alonso 58), T
Inciarte, A Vilaseca (capt), N Freitas; F Etcheverry
VITAL STAT
(F Berchesi 50), S Arata (A Ormaechea 60); M Sanguinetti
(M Benitez 64), G Kessler (G Pujadas 63), D Arbelo (I Peculo
58), I Dotti (J Manuel Rodriguez 47), M Leindekar,
M Ardao, L Bianchi, M Diana (S Civetta 55).
Heat coach) and
watching from afar.”
FRANCE T Ramos (M
Jaminet 61); D Penaud,
27
Ref Wayne Barnes (England). Star Man Damian McKenzie G Fickou (Y Moefana 61),
J Danty, L Bielle-Biarrey; The number of tries
FRANCE 60 7 ITALY M Jalibert, M Lucu (B France scored in
Couilloud 55); C Baille the pool phase –
Friday 6 October
Parc OL, Lyon. Attendance: 58,102 (R Wardi 55),P Mauvaka two more than
(P Bourgarit 55),U Atonio their previous best
In this match France won the pool as (D Aldegheri 45), C Woki, figure set in 1987
Damian Penaud made it 14 tries in 2023, T Flament (R Taofifenua
taking Philippe Saint-André’s 1995 record. 45), A Jelonch, C Ollivon
Magic moment Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s (capt, F Cros 55), G Alldritt.
footwork and finish was special; Manuel Tries Penaud 2, 38, Bielle-Biarrey 13, Ramos 22, Jalibert
Zuliani showed power and grit for Italy’s 47, Mauvaka 54, Moefana 63, 75.
consolation try. Both have huge futures. Cons Ramos 6, Jaminet Pens Ramos, Jaminet
Winners’ podium Fly-half Matthieu ITALY A Capuozzo (L Pani 31); P Bruno (L Morisi 65),
Jalibert: “We played high-intensity rugby J Ignacio Brex, P Garbisi, M Ioane; T Allan, S Varney
for 80 minutes – good for next week.” (A Fusco 44); S Ferrari (F Zani 61), H Faiva (M Manfredi 61),
And the losers… Coach Kieran Crowley: P Ceccarelli (M Riccioni 55), N Cannone (D Sisi 57), F
“Teams at the top play a power game. Ruzza, S Negri, M Lamaro (capt, M Zuliani 44), L Cannone.
We lack that. I’d love to take these boys Try Zuliani 71 Con Allan
forward but I’ll be eating sushi (as Honda Ref Karl Dickson (England). Star Man Grégory Alldritt

Falling star
France’s Maxime Lucu
takes a tumble v Italy

49
 B
POOL
Eyes ablaze
Grant Williams cuts
loose v Scotland
IRELAND 82 8 ROMANIA
Saturday 9 September
Stade de Bordeaux. Attendance: 41,170
In this match Ireland got their biggest
World Cup win and carried for over
1,000 metres in a RWC match for the
first time. Johnny Sexton scored 24
points to match David Humphreys’s
1999 record and, at 38 years 58 days,
replaced John Hayes as Ireland’s oldest
men’s international. Nika Amashukeli
became the first Georgian ref at a RWC.
Magic moment Romania striking after
just 2min 11sec. Hinckley Vaovasa
intercepted Sexton’s grubber, tore up
the left and put Gabriel Rupanu over.
Winners’ podium Coach Andy Farrell:
“In the second half we were composed
and showed how in sync we were with
ball in hand. Our fitness was great.”
And the losers… Captain Cristian
Chirica: “Stay with us because as a small
team we will fight with every drop of our
energy to make Romanians proud.”
IRELAND H Keenan; K Earls (M Hansen 60), G Ringrose, B
Aki, J Lowe; J Sexton (capt, J Crowley 66), J Gibson-Park (C
Murray 60); A Porter (J Loughman 51), R Herring (R Kelleher 51),
T Furlong (T O’Toole 51), J McCarthy, J Ryan (I Henderson
56), T Beirne, P O’Mahony, C Doris (J van der Flier 56).
Tries Gibson-Park 5, Keenan 12, Beirne 17, 80, Aki 34, 75,
Sexton 40, 62, Herring 45, O’Mahony 50, 70, McCarthy 67
Cons Sexton 7, Crowley 4
ROMANIA M Simionescu; N Onutu, J Tomane, F Tangimana
(T Manumua 66), T Manumua (T Gontineac 57); H Vaovasa
(T Boldor 61), G Rupanu (A Conache 74); I Hartig (A Savin
49), O Cojocaru (F Bardasu 55), A Gordas (G Gajion 52),
A Motoc, S Iancu (M Iftimiciuc 61), F Rosu (D Ser 61),
V Neculau, C Chirica (capt).
QSimionescu 31
Try Rupanu 2 Pen Rupanu
Ref Nika Amashukeli (Georgia). Star Man Peter O’Mahony
SOUTH AFRICA 18 3 SCOTLAND
Sunday 10 September
Stade de Marseille. Attendance: 63,586
In this match Jesse Kriel’s high hit on
Jack Dempsey was missed by officials
in the second minute. Scotland lost six
lineouts in the Boks’ 22 and Darcy
Graham squandered their one gilt-edged
chance. SA used a traffic light system to
signal instructions from the coaches’ box.
Magic moment Manie Libbok’s no-look
kick-pass for Kurt-Lee Arendse to score.
The No 10 was looking at Grant Gilchrist
when he delivered his inch-perfect kick.
Winners’ podium Coach Jacques
Nienaber: “Scotland are a nuggety team
and we had to grind it out. The lights
(system) started when we played France
in Marseille. With this dome the sound is
phenomenal so you can’t hear people.”
And the losers… Coach Gregor
Townsend: “It (the Kriel incident) looked
like a head-on-head collision and I was
expecting the TMO to come in. We are
frustrated by that but more frustrated by
ourselves. We were slow to get going.”
SOUTH AFRICA D Willemse; K Arendse, J Kriel, D de
Allende, C Kolbe; M Libbok (W le Roux 69), F de Klerk
(G Williams 75); S Kitshoff (O Nche 53), M Marx
(B Mbonambi 48-53, 57), F Malherbe (T Nyakane 54),
E Etzebeth (RG Snyman 26), F Mostert, S Kolisi (capt,
M van Staden 65), P du Toit, J Wiese (D Vermeulen 60).
Tries du Toit 47, Arendse 50 Con de Klerk Pens Libbok 2
SCOTLAND B Kinghorn; D Graham (O Smith 65), H Jones,
S Tuipulotu (C Redpath 67), D van der Merwe; F Russell,
B White (A Price 67); P Schoeman (J Bhatti 56), G Turner
(D Cherry 56), Z Fagerson (WP Nel 56), R Gray, G
Gilchrist (S Cummings 56), J Ritchie (capt), R Darge
(M Fagerson 65), J Dempsey.
Pen Russell
Ref Angus Gardner (Australia). Star Man Manie Libbok
50
IRELAND 59 16 TONGA
Sunday 16 September. Stade de
la Beaujoire, Nantes. Attendance: 31,673
In this match Johnny Sexton bagged
16 points to surpass Ronan O’Gara as
Ireland’s record scorer, moving his tally
to 1,090. Bundee Aki, with two tries and
19 carries, starred against a Tonga side
that featured four former All Blacks.
Magic moment The celebrations when
Sexton dotted down to break O’Gara’s
record? Heart-warming. But it has to
be Mack Hansen’s finish for the third
try, the wing evading seven defenders
in an Ieuan Evans-esque angled run.
Winners’ podium Coach Andy Farrell:
“As a leader and a player, Johnny is a lot
more than a point-scoring machine. How
he prepares his team and gets them up
for absolutely every game selflessly is
more important to him and to us.”
And the losers… Captain Ben
Tameifuna: “Ireland are the best in the
world for a reason. They do the small
things very well, the micro skills you
don’t see on camera. It’s quite a while
since we got to test ourselves against a
Tier One nation but we’re not using any
excuses. We played our hearts out.”
IRELAND H Keenan; M Hansen, G Ringrose (R Henshaw 50),
B Aki, J Lowe; J Sexton (capt, R Byrne ht), C Murray (C
Casey 56); A Porter (D Kilcoyne ht), R Kelleher (R Herring ht),
T Furlong (F Bealham ht-50), T Beirne, J Ryan (I Henderson
50), P O’Mahony, J van der Flier, C Doris (R Baird 53).
QPeter O’Mahony 40
Tries Beirne 21, Doris 26, Hansen 33, Sexton 38, Lowe 59,
Aki 63, 69, Herring 80 Cons Sexton 4, Byrne 4 Pen Sexton
TONGA S Piutau; A Taumoepeau, M Fekitoa, P Ahki, S Kata
(F Inisi 71); W Havili, A Pulu (S Takulua ht); S Fisi’ihoi
(J Apikotoa 68), P Ngauamo (S Moli 50), B Tameifuna
(capt, T Kolomatangi 60), S Lousi, L Fifita (S Paea 71),
T Halaifonua (S Funaki 52), S Havili, V Fifita (S Vailanu 60).
Try V Fifita 48 Con W Havili Pens W Havili 3
Ref Wayne Barnes (England). Star Man Bundee Aki
Pure gold Johnny Sexton breaks O’Gara’s record

Oak on the run
Taylor Gontineac breaks v SA
SOUTH AFRICA 76 0 ROMANIA
Sunday 17 September
Stade de Bordeaux. Attendance: 38,789
In this match The Boks notched a bonus
point in 11min 13sec – a RWC record,
beating Australia v Namibia in 2003.
Cobus Reinach, one of four No 9s in their
23, scored a 24-minute hat-trick – he has
the two fastest trebles in RWC history.
Magic moment Let’s applaud Romania’s
one attack of note, a break by Taylor
Gontineac. His parents first met after the
Boks-Romania RWC match in 1995 and
dad Romeo, an Oaks legend, was in the
stands in Bordeaux cheering on his son.
Winners’ podium Scrum-half Cobus
Reinach: “We came in with the goal to
be dominant in all aspects and that’s
what the forwards did. I feel 21 in the
legs and 21 in the head.”
And the losers… Coach Eugen Apjok:
“We need to play at a higher level. You
PICS BSR Agency, Corbis, Getty Images & Quality Sport Images
can see the difference in intensity,
speed, physicality. Tier Two nations need
more games against Tier One nations.”
SOUTH AFRICA W le Roux; G Williams, C Moodie,
A Esterhuizen, M Mapimpi; D Willemse (F de Klerk 57),
C Reinach (J Hendrikse 46); O Nche (S Kitshoff 60),
B Mbonambi (capt, D Fourie ht), T Nyakane (F Malherbe
60), J Kleyn, M Orie (RG Snyman ht), M van Staden,
K Smith, D Vermeulen.
Tries Reinach 3, 9, 24, Mapimpi 7, 64, 68, Willemse 12,
Fourie 43, Penalty try 53, Williams 55, 62, le Roux 74
Cons Willemse 5, de Klerk 2
ROMANIA M Simionescu; T Manumua, J Tomane (G Pop
60), T Gontineac (A Conache 67), N Onutu; H Vaovasa, G
Rupanu; I Hartig (A Savin 57), O Cojocaru (R Irimescu 60),
A Gordas (T Cretu 51), A Motoc, M Iftimiciuc (S Iancu 52), A
Gorin (D Stratila 55), V Neculau (C Boboc ht), C Chirica (capt)
Ref Mathieu Raynal (France). Star Man Makazole Mapimpi
SOUTH AFRICA 8 13 IRELAND
Saturday 23 September
Stade de France, Paris. Attendance: 78,542
51
RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review
In this match A first RWC meeting of
these sides, ranked one and two in the
world, proved a belter in which the Boks
paid for wayward kicking – they missed
four out of five off the tee. SA made 30
dominant tackles, led by Siya Kolisi (four).
Magic moment The Cranberries’ song
Zombie was Ireland’s unofficial anthem
at this World Cup and this match saw its
first incredible full-throated rendition.
Winners’ podium Captain Johnny
Sexton: “I’ve never seen a crowd like
that. Someone said there were 30,000
(Irish fans) but it wouldn’t surprise me
if there were 60,000. We play for them
and they gave us the edge tonight.”
And the losers… Coach Jacques
Nienaber: “We missed points off the tee
but Ireland were better than us. They
were exceptional at the breakdown.”
SOUTH AFRICA D Willemse; K Arendse, J Kriel, D de
Allende, C Kolbe; M Libbok, F de Klerk (C Reinach 75);
S Kitshoff (O Nche 48), B Mbonambi (D Fourie 64),
F Malherbe (T Nyakane 62), E Etzebeth (J Kleyn 48),
F Mostert (RG Snyman 48), S Kolisi (capt, M van Staden
51), P du Toit, J Wiese (K Smith 48).
Try Kolbe 51 Pen Libbok
IRELAND H Keenan; M Hansen, G Ringrose (R Henshaw
22-35, 64), B Aki, J Lowe; J Sexton (capt, J Crowley 73),
J Gibson-Park (C Murray 66); A Porter (D Kilcoyne 75),
R Kelleher (D Sheehan 53), T Furlong (F Bealham 64),
T Beirne, J Ryan (I Henderson 53), P O’Mahony (R Baird
64), J van der Flier, C Doris.
Try Hansen 33 Con Sexton Pens Sexton, Crowley
Ref Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand). Star Man Bundee Aki
Clearing his lines
Faf de Klerk kicks under
pressure from Ireland
 B
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SCOTLAND 45 17 TONGA
Sunday 24 September
Stade de Nice. Attendance: 33,189
In this match Scotland won a bruising
clash scarred by two Tongan hits. The
first, by Afusipa Taumoepeau, ended
Jamie Ritchie’s game but resulted in just
a yellow card. But Vaea Fifita’s shoulder
to Finn Russell’s head brought red.
Magic moment Prop Ben Tameifuna, all
151kg of him, bulldozed through a bevy
of Scots defenders to score and strike a
memorable blow for the front-row union.
Winners’ podium Coach Gregor
Townsend: “It’s disappointing that our
captain was hit in the head and had to be
removed. I think we’re looking at ways
not to give a red card rather than what
is an illegal tackle and should be a red.”
And the losers… Captain Ben Tameifuna:
“Hopefully both teams have come away
unscathed. To wear this jersey and lead
this team, I’m incredibly proud. It goes
to show where Tonga is at the moment.”
SCOTLAND B Kinghorn; K Steyn (D Graham 48), C Harris
(H Jones 48), S Tuipulotu, D van der Merwe; F Russell,
B White (G Horne 48); R Sutherland (P Schoeman 48),
G Turner (E Ashman 59), Z Fagerson (WP Nel 59), R Gray
(S Skinner 65), S Cummings, J Ritchie (capt, M Fagerson
34), R Darge, J Dempsey.
Tries Turner 5, van der Merwe 26, Steyn 30, Darge 42,
Horne 54, Kinghorn 68, Graham 80 Cons Russell 5
TONGA S Piutau; S Kata, M Fekitoa, P Ahki, A Taumoepeau;
W Havili (P Pellegrini 78), A Pulu (S Takulua 55); S Fisi’ihoi
(T Koloamatangi 70), P Ngauamo (S Moli 52), B Tameifuna
(capt, J Apikotoa 66), L Fifita, S Lousi (A Coleman 55),
T Halaifona (S Vailanu 55), S Havili (S Paea 70), V Fifita.
QAfusipa Taumoepeau 33 Q Vaea Fifita 76
Tries Kata 20, Tameifuna 44 Cons W Havili 2 Pen W Havili
Ref Karl Dickson (Eng). Star Man Duhan van der Merwe
SCOTLAND 84 0 ROMANIA
Saturday 30 September
Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille. Attendance: 46,516
In this match Darcy Graham got four
tries to rise to joint-second on the Scots’
try list with 24, three shy of Stuart Hogg.
Ben Healy became the second player to
slot more than ten conversions in a RWC
match without a miss. Romania lost
three players to the bin in eight minutes.
Magic moment Graham’s dancing feet
sent the Oaks dizzy but top of the bill
was his scorching run off Ali Price’s
inside pass. “He’s like a bullet out of a
gun,” said commentator Greig Laidlaw.
Winners’ podium Captain Grant
Gilchrist: “Some of the tries Darcy
scored were world class. We needed
a performance that was a step forward
for us as a group and we got that.”
And the losers… Hooker Rob Irimescu:
“I was one of the yellow cards and I’m
upset for letting the team down. We were
doing well defensively at that moment
but after that the floodgates opened.”
52
SCOTLAND O Smith (B Kinghorn 59); D Graham, C Harris
(H Jones 65), C Redpath, K Steyn; B Healy, A Price
(G Horne 55); J Bhatti (R Sutherland 59), E Ashman
(J Matthews 59), J Sebastian (WP Nel 59), S Skinner,
G Gilchrist (capt, S Cummings 59), L Crosbie, H Watson
(R Darge 65), M Fagerson.
Tries Watson 9, Price 17, Graham 21, 34, 40, 77, Fagerson
38, Harris 45, Smith 53, Healy 58, Matthews 71, Darge 73
Cons Healy 11, Horne
ROMANIA M Simionescu; S Lama, J Tomane, F Tangimana
(N Onutu 57), F Tangimana; A Conache (T Boldor 53),
G Rupanu (F Bardasu 32-ht, F Surugiu 61); A Savin
(I Hartig 51), R Irimescu (Bardasu 59), G Gajion (C Burtila
57), A Motoc, S Iancu (M Iftimiciuc 61), F Rosu, D Ser,
C Chirica (capt, D Stratila 39).
QIrimescu 30, Rosu 31, Simionescu 38
Ref Wayne Barnes (England). Star Man Darcy Graham
SOUTH AFRICA 49 18 TONGA
Sunday 1 October
Stade de Marseille. Attendance: 60,387
In this match Siya Kolisi led the Boks
for the 50th time as they ended the pool
without guaranteeing a knockout spot.
Late call-up Handré Pollard got his first
action. For the first time since 2015, the
Boks leaked three tries in a RWC game.
Magic moment Like Pollard, Tonga’s
Pat Pellegrini was summoned from the
Premiership Cup. The Coventry fly-half
will never forget his thrilling ‘chip and
chase’ solo try from turnover ball.
Winners’ podium Coach Jacques
Nienaber: “Handré got 50 minutes
against a proper Tonga side that has
That makes four!
Darcy Graham scores to match
Gavin Hastings’s feat in 1995
 RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review

Tussle Augustine Pulu tackles No 8 Jasper Wiese POOL B FINAL STANDINGS

P W D L F A BP Pts
IRELAND 4 4 0 0 190 46 3 19
SOUTH AFRICA 4 3 0 1 151 34 3 15
SCOTLAND 4 2 0 2 146 71 2 10
TONGA 4 1 0 3 96 177 1 5
ROMANIA 4 0 0 4 32 287 0 0

got better as the tournament has gone
on. He was solid, he ticked the boxes.”
And the losers… Coach Toutai Kefu:
“The boys had a real dig. We told them
to put a performance out there that you
are proud of, your family are proud of,
your village is proud of. And they did.”
SOUTH AFRICA W le Roux; G Williams, C Moodie, A
Esterhuizen, M Mapimpi (J Kriel 29); H Pollard (M Libbok
51), C Reinach (J Hendrikse 51); O Nche (S Kitshoff
45-55, 59), D Fourie, V Koch (T Nyakane 45), E Etzebeth,
M Orie (F Mostert 62), S Kolisi (capt, M van Staden 59),
D Vermeulen, J Wiese (K Smith 51).
Tries Reinach 5, Moodie 20, Fourie 32, Kriel 49, le Roux
58, van Staden 63, Smith 80 Cons Pollard 4, Libbok 3
TONGA S Piutau; F Inisi, M Fekitoa (A Taumoepeau 69), P
Ahki, A Tuitavuki; W Havili (P Pellegrini 71), A Pulu (S Takulua
52); S Fisi’ihoi (T Koloamatangi 71), P Ngauamo (S Moli
51-65), B Tameifuna (capt, J Apikotoa 55), L Fifita, S Lousi
(A Coleman 51), T Halaifonua, S Havili, S Paea (S Vailanu 59).
Tries Tameifuna 38, Inisi 53, Pellegrini 73 Pen W Havili
Ref Luke Pearce (England). Star Man Deon Fourie
IRELAND 36 14 SCOTLAND
Saturday 7 October
Stade de France, Paris. Attendance: 78,459
In this match Ireland stretched their
unbeaten run to 17 games and sent the
Scots crashing out in the pool stage for
a second RWC running. Peter O’Mahony
became the first back-row to win 100 Irish
caps. Kenny Logan and Doddie Weir’s
son Hamish delivered the match ball.
Magic moment Hugo Keenan’s first try
was a peach. A dummy drive, a Johnny
Sexton wraparound, cutting lines by the
centres and Keenan’s galloping finish.
Winners’ podium Coach Andy Farrell:
“It was a special performance because
Scotland threw everything at us. Our
attitude was the making of the game.”
And the losers… Coach Gregor
Townsend: “Ireland could dominate world
rugby for the next ten years. We’ve
never beaten a team ranked above us
VITAL STAT
in a World Cup, so you may have to go
back to 1987 to ask can we do better.”
IRELAND H Keenan; M Hansen (S McCloskey 21-33, 35),
G Ringrose, B Aki, J Lowe (C Murray ht); J Sexton (capt,
Winners’ podium
Prop Ben
Tameifuna: “One
of our sayings
69
J Crowley 45), J Gibson-Park; A Porter (D Kilcoyne 48), was to be feared.
D Sheehan (R Kelleher 48), T Furlong (F Bealham 49), Ireland, South Tackles made by
T Beirne (J Ryan 48), I Henderson, P O’Mahony (J Conan Africa and Tonga flanker Sione
49), J van der Flier, C Doris. Scotland are Havili across his
Tries Lowe 2, Keenan 26, 39, Henderson 32, Sheehan 44, probably sore four games – the
Ringrose 58 Cons Sexton 3 from our games.” most by any player
SCOTLAND B Kinghorn (O Smith 8); D Graham, H Jones, S And the losers… in the pool phase
Tuipulotu, D van der Merwe; F Russell, A Price; P Schoeman Coach Eugen
(R Sutherland 53), G Turner (E Ashman 59), Z Fagerson Apjok: “I hope
(WP Nel 59), R Gray, G Gilchrist (S Cummings 45), J Ritchie Romania Rugby put a development
(capt, M Fagerson 19), R Darge (L Crosbie 65), J Dempsey. programme in place. There will be no
QOllie Smith 42 performance if there is no investment.”
Tries Ashman 64, Price 65 Cons Russell 2 TONGA S Piutau (P Pellegrini 71); S Kata (K Taumoefolau
Ref Nic Berry (Australia). Star Man Jamison Gibson-Park 67), G Moala, P Ahki, A Taumoepeau; W Havili, S Takulua
(capt, M Paea 64); S Fisi’ihoi (P Latu 72), P Ngauamo (S
Anga’aelangi 75), B Tameifuna (S Tokolahi 71), L Fifita (S
TONGA 45 24 ROMANIA Mafi 72), A Coleman, S Paea, S Havili, S Vailanu (P Finau 59).
QLeva Fifita 32
Sunday 8 October
Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille. Attendance: 45,042 Tries Kata 11, 66, Moala 15, Taumoepeau 22, Vailanu 49,
Ahki 62, Taumoefolau 71 Cons W Havili 5
In this match Tonga got their biggest ROMANIA M Simionescu; N Onutu, T Manumua,
RWC win. Ex-All Black George Moala F Tangimana (M Graure 70), T Sikuea (G Rupanu 64);
made his RWC debut after a five-match A Conache, F Surugiu (A Bucur 52); A Savin (I Hartig 60),
ban. Romania ended a 267-minute try O Cojocaru (capt, R Irimescu 59), A Gordas (C Burtila 64),
drought when Cristi Boboc went over. A Motoc (S Iancu 61), M Iftimiciuc, F Rosu (Iancu 33-40),
Magic moment How fitting that Oaks C Boboc, A Gorin (D Stratila 60).
legend Florin Surugiu should mark his QAlin Conache 69
104th and last appearance with a sniping Tries Boboc 30, Surugiu 36, Simionescu 55
try. He wept during the anthem and got Cons Conache 3 Pen Conache
a huge ovation when he took his leave. Ref Angus Gardner (Australia). Star Man George Moala
Mind your hands!
A Tongan maul v Romania

53
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AUSTRALIA 35 15 GEORGIA
Saturday 9 September
Stade de France, Paris. Attendance: 75,770
In this match Ben Donaldson scored 25
points against the error-strewn Georgians
as the Wallabies ended a run of five
losses. Taniela Tupou won his 50th cap.
Magic moment Only magic for Aussies
– the 14-point swing on 56 minutes. Davit
Niniashvili broke through with support
but threw a wild offload that was snaffled
up by Tupou. He put Donaldson away.
Winners’ podium Full-back Ben
Donaldson: “Kicking was part of our
plan. For me, it was just providing a
loud voice and a big boot at the back.”
And the losers… Coach Levan
Maisashvili: “We don’t just scrummage.
We score a lot of tries with our backs and
today we created good opportunities.”
AUSTRALIA B Donaldson; M Nawaqanitawase, J Petaia
(S Vunivalu 57), S Kerevi (L Foketi ht), M Koroibete;
C Gordon, T McDermott (N White 35); A Bell (B Schoupp
50), D Porecki (M Faessler 59), T Tupou (Z Nonggorr 69),
R Arnold (R Leota 62), W Skelton (capt, L Gleeson 69),
T Hooper, F McReight, R Valetini.
Tries Petaia 2, Nawaqanitawase 9, Donaldson 56, 69
Cons Donaldson 3 Pens Donaldson 3
GEORGIA D Niniashvili (G Kveseladze 62); A Tabutsadze, D
Tapladze, M Sharikadze (capt), M Modebadze; L Matkava
(T Abzhandadze 69), V Lobzhanidze (G Aprasidze 52);
N Abuladze (G Gogichashvili 52), S Mamukashvili
(T Zamtaradze 58), G Papidze (B Gigashvili ht),
N Cheishvili, K Mikautadze (L Jaiani 59), T Jalagonia
(G Tsutskiridze 67), L Ivanishvili, B Gorgadze.
QModebadze 40
Tries Ivanishvili 47, Gigashvili 80
Con Abzhandadze Pen Matkava
Ref Luke Pearce (England). Star Man Ben Donaldson
PICS AFP, Corbis & Getty Images
Wallaby glee Ben Donaldson and Carter Gordon
Flipping crazy!
Liam Williams in the
thriller against Fiji
WALES 32 26 FIJI
Sunday 10 September
Stade de Bordeaux. Attendance: 41,274
In this match Wales, up 32-14, survived
a thrilling fightback to win a game that
brought criticism for poor refereeing. In
the final play, Semi Radradra knocked
on with the try-line at his mercy. Wales
made 253 tackles – a World Cup record.
Magic moment Fiji’s long-range
second try was a gem. Radradra and
Waisea Nayacalevu did the damage,
Lekima Tagitagivalu finished it off.
Winners’ podium Fly-half Dan Biggar:
“It was exhausting, we put everything into
it. The last ten minutes felt like the clock
never moved. I’m absolutely drained.”
And the losers… Captain Waisea
Nayacalevu: “We’re really disappointed
because we put a massive amount of
effort in. That last pass, man…”
WALES L Williams; L Rees-Zammit, G North, N Tompkins, J
Adams (R Dyer 59); D Biggar (S Costelow 67), G Davies (T
Williams 38-ht, 52); G Thomas (C Domachowski 63), R
Elias (E Dee 53), T Francis (D Lewis 63), W Rowlands, A
Beard (D Jenkins 59), A Wainwright (Thomas 70-79), J
Morgan (capt), T Faletau (T Reffell 59).
QDomachowski 68
Tries Adams 7, North 29, Rees-Zammit 48, Dee 66
Cons Biggar 3 Pens Biggar 2
FIJI I Droasese (S Maqala 75); S Ravutaumada, W
Nayacalevu (capt), S Radradra, V Habosi (J Tuisova 53);
T Tela, F Lomani (S Kuruvoli 53); E Mawi (P Ravai 57), S
Matavesi (T Ikanivere 67), L Tagi (M Doge 67), I Nasilasila,
T Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta (T Mayanavanua 70), A Tuisue
(L Botia 59), L Tagitagivalu, V Mata.
QTagitagivalu 64
Tries Nayacalevu 13, Tagitagivalu 17, Tuisova 73, Doge 78
Cons Lomani 2, Tela
Ref Matthew Carley (England). Star Man Dan Biggar
54
WALES 28 8 PORTUGAL
Saturday 16 September
Stade de Nice. Attendance: 28,700
In this match To Wales the points, to
Os Lobos the plaudits. Spirited Portugal
finished with 14 men after a disputed red
card for Vincent Pinto, who lost balance in
the air and hit Josh Adams with his boot.
Magic moment Nicolas Martins’s lineout
try brought the house down. It came from
a brilliant trick move, catcher Rafael
Simões’s no-look drop-down to the
flanker catching the defence unawares.
Winners’ podium Captain Dewi Lake:
“Portugal have players who want to
snipe and run. Their scrum-half and
15 are dangerous. We proved we’re a
physical team, it’s expected of us now.”
And the losers… Coach Patrice Lagisquet:
“We caught ourselves dreaming. Our
players’ strength is their enthusiasm
but it’s their weakness too. If Samuel
(Marques) hadn’t had a troublesome
calf, things might have been different.”
WALES L Halfpenny (J Adams 70); L Rees-Zammit, M Grady,
J Williams, R Dyer; G Anscombe (S Costelow 65), T Williams
(G Davies 65); N Smith (C Domachowski 51), D Lake (capt,
R Elias 51), D Lewis (T Francis 51), C Tshiunza, D Jenkins (A
Beard 51), D Lydiate (T Basham 54), J Morgan, T Faletau.
QJ Williams 27
Tries Rees-Zammit 9, Lake 40, Morgan 56, Faletau 80
Cons Halfpenny 3, Costelow
PORTUGAL N Sousa Guedes (J Moura 69); V Pinto, J Lima
(R Storti 57), T Appleton (capt), R Marta; J Portela, S Marques
(P Lucas 74); F Fernandez, M Tadjer (L Campergue 78),
A Alves (DH Ferreira 55), M Belo (T de Freitas 57), S
Cerqueira, J Granate (D Wallis 66), N Martins, R Simões.
QPinto 77
Try Martins 63 Pen Marques
Ref Karl Dickson (England). Star Man Jac Morgan

Semi detached
Fiji’s Semi Radradra
eludes the Wallabies
AUSTRALIA 15 22 FIJI
Sunday 17 September. Stade Geoffroy-Guichard,
Saint-Étienne. Attendance: 41,294
In this match Fiji beat Australia for the
first time in 69 years. They were again
on the wrong end of key decisions, but
superb goal-kicking by Simione Kuruvoli
and an opportunist Josua Tuisova try
saw the Islanders home against an
Aussie side that conceded 18 penalties.
Magic moment Tuisova’s converted try,
stretching the lead to 19-8, was colossal.
Carter Gordon failed to get to Kuruvoli’s
box kick and Tuisova pocketed the
loose ball and ran in from 30 metres.
Winners’ podium Captain Waisea
Nayacalevu: “Today we made history.
I’m so proud of the boys, proud of the
effort. I told them today is our final. The
mindset was do or die, fight to the end.”
And the losers… Coach Eddie Jones:
“After that I deserved more (jeers), mate.
They should be throwing baguettes,
croissants at me. I’ve got no regrets.
We’re building a team for the future and
we’re going to go through some pain.”
AUSTRALIA B Donaldson; M Nawaqanitawase, J Petaia,
S Kerevi (L Foketi 66), M Koroibete; C Gordon (S Vunivalu
50), N White (I Fines-Leleiwasa 57); A Bell (B Schoupp 79),
D Porecki (capt, J Uelese 59-65), J Slipper (Z Nonggorr
57), N Frost, R Arnold (M Philip 65), T Hooper, F McReight
(R Leota 59), R Valetini.
Tries Nawaqanitawase 23, Vunivalu 68
Con Donaldson Pen Donaldson
FIJI I Droasese; J Wainiqolo (V Habosi 42), W Nayacalevu
(capt), J Tuisova (V Botitu 68), S Radradra; T Tela,
S Kuruvoli (F Lomani 47); E Mawi (P Ravai 51), S Matavesi
(T Ikanivere 51), L Tagi (M Doge 51-59), I Nasilasila (T
Mayanavanua 66), T Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta, L Tagitagivalu,
L Botia (A Tuisue 59), S Kuruvoli.
Try Tuisova 43 Con Kuruvoli Pens Kuruvoli 4, Lomani
Ref Andrew Brace (Ireland). Star Man Josua Tuisova
Georgian tormentor
Davit Niniashvili scythes through
55
RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review
GEORGIA 18 18 PORTUGAL
Saturday 23 September
Stade de Toulouse. Attendance: 31,889
In this match A cracker – and only the
fourth RWC draw. Nuno Sousa Guedes
missed a last-gasp kick that would have
brought Portugal’s first RWC win. Merab
Sharikadze led Georgia for the 50th time.
Magic moment Raffaele Storti’s second
try, the wing taking Jerónimo Portela’s
offload and racing in from 40 metres.
Georgia reaction Flanker Giorgi
Tsutskiridze: “We’re struggling to realise
what’s going on. It’s a big surprise for
us. For us, a draw or a loss is the same.”
Portugal reaction Coach Patrice
Lagisquet: “Our first half was terrible,
it’s a miracle we could have won. But
we were mentally strong defending the
goal-line. That’s why we were still alive.”
GEORGIA D Niniashvili; A Tabutsadze, G Kveseladze, M
Sharikadze (capt), S Todua (D Tapladze 67); T Abzhandadze
(L Matkava 53), G Aprasidze (V Lobzhanidze 59); M
Nariashvili (G Gogichasivili 51), S Mamukashvili (T
Zamtaradze 55), B Gigashvili (G Papidze 59), V
Chachanidze, K Mikautadze (N Cheishvili 55), T Jalagonia,
B Saginadze (G Tsutskiridze 70), B Gorgadze.
Tries Tabutsadze 2, Zamtaradze 78
Con Abzhandadze Pens Abzhandadze 2
PORTUGAL N Sousa Guedes; R Storti, P Bettencourt, T
Appleton (capt), R Marta; J Portela, S Marques (P Lucas
73); F Fernandez (D Costa 55), M Tadjer (L Campergue 69),
D Hasse Ferreira (Fernandez 80), J Madeira, S Cerqueira
(M Belo 67), J Granate (Costa 42-45, D Wallis de Carvalho
59), N Martins, R Simões (T de Freitas 59).
QFernandes 36
Tries Storti 34, 57 Con Marques Pens Marques 2
Ref Paul Williams (NZ). Star Man Jerónimo Portela
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WALES 40 6 AUSTRALIA
Sunday 24 September
Parc OL, Lyon. Attendance: 55,296
In this match Wales became the first
team into the knockouts – and put the
Aussies on the brink of a first pool-stage
exit. Gareth Anscombe kicked 23 points
in an annihilation – Wales’ biggest win v
Australia, eclipsing the 28-3 win of 1975.
Magic moment Wales flew out the
blocks with a brilliant try off a lineout
involving Nick Tompkins, Jac Morgan
and runaway scorer Gareth Davies. See
page 90 for analysis of the try.
Winners’ podium Full-back Liam
Williams: “To beat Australia by 34 points
in a World Cup is a dream. Our pack
was outstanding. Once we’re all on the
same page we are a hard team to beat.”
And the losers… Coach Eddie Jones:
“I’d like to apologise to all Australian
supporters. I haven’t done a good
enough job. But I think I’ve got the
ability to turn things around.”
WALES L Williams; L Rees-Zammit (R Dyer 71), G North, N
Tompkins, J Adams; D Biggar (G Anscombe 12), G Davies (T
Williams 60); G Thomas (C Domachowski 67), R Elias (E Dee
67), T Francis (H Thomas 67), W Rowlands (D Jenkins 71), A
Beard, A Wainwright (T Basham 71), J Morgan (capt), T Faletau
Tries Davies 3, Tompkins 48, Morgan 78
Cons Biggar, Anscombe Pens Anscombe 6 DG Anscombe
AUSTRALIA A Kellaway (S Vunivalu 60); M
Nawaqanitawase, J Petaia, S Kerevi, M Koroibete;
B Donaldson (C Gordon 53), T McDermott (N White 68);
A Bell (B Schoupp 68), D Porecki (capt, M Faessler 60),
J Slipper (P Fa’amausili ht), N Frost, R Arnold (M Philip 66),
R Leota (F McReight 50), T Hooper, R Valetini.
Pens Donaldson 2
Ref Wayne Barnes (England). Star Man Jac Morgan
Strike one Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies scores the opening try during a grim day for the Australians
FIJI 17 12 GEORGIA
Saturday 30 September
Stade de Bordeaux. Attendance: 39,862
In this match Georgia led 9-0 at the
break and had a try disallowed for a
‘forward’ pass. Fiji hit back but at the
end had to frantically hack the ball away
as Georgia, who made a remarkable 21
dominant tackles, threatened an upset.
Magic moment Waisea Nayacalevu’s
twisting finish when it seemed Aka
Tabutsadze’s tackle must knock him into
touch. Athletic genius from the skipper.
Winners’ podium Hooker Sam Matavesi:
“When people think of Fiji, they think of
fast-flowing rugby and incredible tries
from our try-line. But to win it’s set-piece
first. Our lineout wasn’t good enough, we
were losing collisions, but we still won.”
And the losers… Coach Levan
Maisashvili: “We were unlucky. We had
many injuries, which had a huge impact.
But we showed the rugby world we are
capable of playing. The (disallowed) try
at the end of the first half could have
given us hope but it wasn’t awarded.”
FIJI I Droasese; S Ravutaumada, W Nayacalevu (capt),
J Tuisova, S Radradra (V Habosi 60); T Tela, S Kuruvoli
(F Lomani 48); E Mawi (P Ravai 48), S Matavesi
(T Ikanivere 60), L Tagi (S Tawake 71), I Nasilasila,
T Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta (T Mayanavanua 65),
L Tagitagivalu, L Botia, V Mata (A Tuisue 60).
QRadradra 41, Tuisova 79
Tries Nayacalevu 51, Habosi 68 Cons Lomani 2 Pen Lomani
GEORGIA M Modebadze; A Tabutsadze, D Tapladze,
G Kveseladze, D Niniashvili (T Abzhandadze 77); L Matkava,
V Lobzhanidze (G Aprasidze 59); M Nariashvili (capt,
N Abuladze 44), T Zamtaradze (L Nioradze 12), B Gigashvili
(I Aptsiauri 59), L Jaiani (N Cheishvili 17), K Mikautadze
(L Ivanishvili 61, T Kakhoidze 72), M Gachechiladze,
B Saghinadze (Mikautadze 66-77), T Jalagonia.
Pens Matkava 2, Niniashvili 2
Ref Karl Dickson (England). Star Man Levani Botia
56
Island hopping Fiji celebrate Vinaya Habosi’s try
AUSTRALIA 34 14 PORTUGAL
Sunday 1 October. Stade Geoffroy-Guichard,
Saint-Étienne. Attendance: 41,342
In this match Portugal won every
attacking metric bar tries. But a 21-point
hit during Pedro Bettencourt’s sin-bin
period proved costly. James Slipper
became the joint most-capped Test
prop (134) and his 21st RWC appearance
eclipsed George Gregan’s Aussie record.
Magic moment Let’s pick two. Tomás
Appleton’s cutout pass for Bettencourt’s
try. And the work-rate of Andrew
Kellaway, who tore across field to make
a try-saving tackle on Nicolas Martins.
Winners’ podium Coach Eddie Jones:
“The way rugby is being refereed is
causing crowd problems. We’ve got
so many stoppages now. We had
a TMO for everything and we are
destroying the flow of the game.”
And the losers… Hooker Mike Tadjer:
“We have a lot of amateur guys and
like to play rugby; we play the ball after
contact, before contact. I hope the world
now knows about Portugal rugby.”
AUSTRALIA A Kellaway (S Vunivalu 71); M Nawaqanitawase;
I Perese (S Kerevi 56), L Foketi, M Koroibete; B Donaldson,
T McDermott (I Fines-Leleiwasa 71); A Bell (B Schoupp 76),
D Porecki (capt, M Faessler 56), J Slipper (P Fa’amausili
47-76), N Frost (R Leota ht), R Arnold (J Kemeny 78), T
Hooper, F McReight (Porecki 61-71), R Valetini (Leota 23-33).
QFaessler 59, Kerevi 61
Tries Arnold 19, Porecki 22, Bell 26, McReight 47,
Koroibete 74 Cons Donaldson 3 Pen Donaldson
PORTUGAL N Sousa Guedes; R Storti (M Cardoso Pinto
56), P Bettencourt, T Appleton (capt), R Marta; J Portela
(J Moura 76), S Marques (J Belo 71); D Costa (F Fernandes
55), M Tadjer (F Bruno 71), D Hasse Ferreira (D Diniz 71),
J Madeira, M Belo (S Cerqueira 49), D Wallis de Carvalho,
N Martins, T de Freitas (R Simões ht).
QBettencourt 15
Tries Bettencourt 12, Simões 70 Cons Marques 2
Ref Nika Amashukeli (Georgia). Star Man Rob Valetini
 RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review

POOL C FINAL STANDINGS

WALES 43 19 GEORGIA P W D L F A BP Pts
WALES 4 4 0 0 143 59 3 19
Saturday 7 October. Stade de la Beaujoire,
Nantes. Attendance: 33,580 FIJI 4 2 0 2 88 83 3 11
AUSTRALIA 4 2 0 2 90 91 3 11
In this match Wales avenged last year’s PORTUGAL 4 1 1 2 64 103 0 6
defeat to Georgia on the back of Louis GEORGIA 4 0 1 3 64 113 1 3
Rees-Zammit’s first Test hat-trick. Injuries

VITAL STAT
to Gareth Anscombe (warming up) and
Taulupe Faletau soured the victory.
Magic moment Do we highlight Davit
Niniashvilli’s slashing run that brought
Georgia back to 24-19? Or the way
(V Chachanidze 49), M Gachechiladze (G Tsutskiridze 68),
B Saginadze, T Jalagonia.
QNinashvili 70
Tries Sharikadze 35, Karkadze 59, Niniashvili 62
lost but happy we
got a point to make
the quarter-final.
We put a lot of
13
Rees-Zammit left defenders for dust to Cons Matkava 2 pressure on
latch on to Liam Williams’s chip kick? Ref Mathieu Raynal (France). Star Man Tommy Reffell ourselves.” Portugal’s win over
Winners’ podium Lock Will Rowlands: FIJI S Maqala; S Fiji pushed them up
“Give the ball to Zammo in space and Ravutaumada (P Matawalu three places in the
you can stop running – he’s electric. FIJI 23 24 PORTUGAL 77), W Nayacalevu (capt, world rankings to
We’re really excited about next week.” I Masi 62), J Tuisova (T Tela 13th – their highest
Sunday 8 October
And the losers… Coach Levan Stade de Toulouse. Attendance: 32,223 72), V Habosi; V Botitu, position ever
Maisashvili: “This is the first time we’ve F Lomani; E Mawi
played every game aiming to win. We In this match Rodrigo Marta’s try sealed (P Ravai 60), S Matavesi
didn’t meet our target but never gave up.” Portugal’s first RWC win in coach Patrice (T Ikanivere 60), L Tagi (M Doge 60), I Nasilasila,
WALES L Williams (M Grady 68); L Rees-Zammit, G North, Lagisquet’s final game. Fiji’s bonus point T Mayanavanua (Te Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta 17, Mata 80),
N Tompkins, R Dyer; S Costelow, T Williams (G Davies 59); booked their first quarter-final since M Derenalagi, L Botia, V Mata (A Tuisue 72).
G Thomas (N Smith 51), D Lake (capt, E Dee 51), T Francis 2007, condemning Australia to their first QBotia 49
(H Thomas 51), W Rowlands, D Jenkins, A Wainwright pool exit on the head-to-head record. Tries Botia 48, Doge 68 Cons Lomani 2 Pens Lomani 3
(T Basham 61), T Reffell, T Faletau (C Tshiunza 68). Magic moment When Jerónimo Portela PORTUGAL M Cardoso Pinto (V Pinto 65); R Storti, P
QBasham 70 kicked the ball dead to signal Portugal’s Bettencourt (T Appleton 61-72), J Lima (capt, Appleton 74),
Tries Francis 16, Williams 23, Rees-Zammit 43, 67, 74, victory. The tears of joy among players R Marta; J Portela, S Marques; F Fernandes (D Costa 57),
North 80 Cons Costelow 5 Pen Costelow and fans was beautiful to see. M Tadjer (D Diniz 74), D Hasse Ferreira (A Alves 62),
GEORGIA L Khmaladze (D Tapladze ht); A Tabutsadze, G Winners’ podium Coach Patrice J Madeira, S Cerqueira (D Torgal 77), D Wallis de Carvalho,
Kveseladze, M Sharikadze (capt), D Niniashvili; L Matkava Lagisquet: “It’s a fantastic moment. The N Martins (J Granate 69), R Simões.
(T Abzhandadze 68), V Lobzhanidze (G Aprasidze 57); G players surprised me one more time.” Tries Storti 45, Fernandes 51, Marta 79
Gogichashvili (N Abuladze ht), S Mamukashvili (V Karkadze And the losers… Lock Isoa Nasilasila: Cons Marques 3 Pen Marques
ht), B Gigashvili (I Aptsiauri 49), N Cheishvili, K Mikautadze “It’s mixed emotions. Disappointed we Ref Luke Pearce (England). Star Man Nicolas Martins

Pandemonium!
Flanker David Wallis joins
in the Portuguese mayhem
 D
POOL
Chased down
Pablo Matera halts Ollie Chessum
ENGLAND 27 10 ARGENTINA
Saturday 9 September
Stade de Marseille. Attendance: 63,118
In this match George Ford kicked 27
points as England overcame the early
loss of Tom Curry. Curry’s red card was
the first of numerous baffling decisions
at RWC 2023 concerning head contact.
Agustín Creevy became the fourth
Puma to play in four World Cups.
Magic moment Ford offered a kicking
masterclass and his first two drop-goals,
monster efforts on 26 and 30 minutes,
were reminiscent of Jannie de Beer’s
performance against England in 1999.
Winners’ podium Captain Courtney
Lawes: “What won us that game was
effort and intent, especially in defence.
Fordy had an unbelievable game and
he led us around the park.”
And the losers… Coach Michael Cheika:
“Pretty much everything that could go
wrong did go wrong. We let play get too
stop and start. But the world isn’t over.”
ENGLAND F Steward; J May, J Marchant, M Tuilagi
(O Lawrence 69), E Daly; G Ford (M Smith 75), A Mitchell
(D Care 59); E Genge (J Marler 54), J George (T Dan 72),
D Cole (W Stuart 50), M Itoje, O Chessum (G Martin 59),
C Lawes (capt, L Ludlam 66), T Curry, B Earl.
QCurry 3
Pens Ford 6 Drop-goals Ford 3
ARGENTINA J Cruz Mallìa (M Moroni 3-11); E Boffelli, L
Cinto, S Chocobares, M Carreras (Moroni 63); S Carreras,
G Bertranou (L Bazan Velez 69); T Gallo (E Bello 63), J
Montoya (capt, A Creevy 69), F Gomes Kodela (J Sclavi 50,
Gallo 67), M Alemanno (G Petti ht), T Lavanini (P Rubiolo
50), P Matera, M Kremer, J Martin Gonzalez (R Bruni 59).
QS Carreras 10
Try Bruni 79 Con Boffelli Pen Boffelli
Ref Mathieu Raynal (France). Star Man George Ford
JAPAN 42 12 CHILE
Sunday 10 September
Stade de Toulouse. Attendance: 30,187
In this match A joyous RWC debut for
Chile. The tournament’s lowest-ranked
team, at 22, fought tooth and nail before
running out of steam. Skipper Martín
Sigren was relieved not to see red for
a head contact on Kotaro Matsushima.
Magic moment Rodrigo Fernández
scoring Chile’s historic first RWC try on
five minutes. It followed an Iñaki Ayarza
break and Marcelo Torrealba’s offload.
Winners’ podium Back-row Michael
Leitch: “The noise of the Chilean
supporters was amazing, crazy. I wish
they could come to every World Cup.”
And the losers… Captain Martín Sigren:
“I’m super proud of being a Chilean and
super proud of my people. Resilience is
one of our main characteristics. We’ve
been through hell to get here. It’s a
fighting team and a fighting nation.”
JAPAN S Masirewa (L Lemeki 56); K Matsushima, D Riley, R
Nakamura, J Naikabula (T Osada 63); R Matsuda, Y Nagare
(capt, N Saito 61); K Inagaki (C Millar 58), A Sakate (S Horie
50), J Gu (A Ai Valu ht), A Saumaki (W Dearns 55), A Fakatava,
M Leitch, K Shimokawa (S Fukui 50), J Cornelsen.
QRiley 47
Tries Fakatava 8, 40, Naikabula 30, Leitch 53, Nakamura
71, Dearns 79 Cons Matsuda 6
CHILE I Ayarza (L Carvallo 61); S Videla, D Saavedra, M
Garafulic, F Velarde (I Gurruchaga 29-35, JI Larenas 56);
R Fernández, M Torrealba; J Carrasco (S Lues 54),
D Escobar (A Bohme 58), M Dittus (Gurruchaga 68),
C Saavedra (P Huete 65), J Eissmann (S Pedrero 56),
M Sigren (capt), R Martínez (I Silva 58), A Escobar.
QDittus 24, Sigren 38
Tries Fernandez 5, A Escobar 48 Con Videla
Ref Nic Berry (Australia). Star Man Amato Fakatava
58
SAMOA 43 10 CHILE
Saturday 16 September
Stade de Bordeaux. Attendance: 39,291
In this match Samoa got their RWC off
to a flyer, scoring four tries in 12 minutes
to put away a Chile side that leaked 17
penalties. There were four cards, one a
bizarre call against Samoa No 9 Ereatara
Enari for an innocuous ruck clearout.
Magic moment Samoa’s clever second
try featuring a Christian Leali’ifano
wrap-around. Lock Theo McFarland
was double-tackled but offloaded to
Jonathan Taumateine to bag a beaut.
Winners’ podium Full-back Duncan
Paia’aua: “There’s quite a few sore
bodies – we’re meant to be the physical
side but Chile really gave it to our boys.
I dedicated my try to my late cousin
who passed away last week.”
And the losers… Coach Pablo Lemoine:
“We planned for a close first half and
then launching our forwards to give us
more energy in attack but it didn’t work
well. Of the four substitutes, one got
injured and two got yellow cards.”
SAMOA D Paia’aua; D Toala (E Fidow 64), U Seuteni, T Manu
(L Sopoaga 56), N Ah Wong; C Leali’ifano, J Taumateine
(E Enari 54); Ja Lay (Jo Lay 52), S Lam (S Malolo ht),
M Alaalatoa (capt, P Alo-Emile 53), C Vui (S Slade 60),
T McFarland, T Seu, F Lee, S Luatua (J Taufua 58).
QSeuteni 6, Enari 63
Tries Paia’aua 40, Taumateine 42, Lee 47, Malolo 52, 80
Cons Leali’ifano 2, Sopoaga Pens Leali’ifano 4
CHILE I Ayarza; S Videla (P Casas 22), D Saavedra,
M Garafulic, J Ignacio Larenas; R Fernández, M Torrealba
(B Videla 62); J Carrasco (S Lues ht), T Dussaillant (D
Escobar ht), M Dittus (E Inostroza 70), P Huete (J Eissmann
ht), S Pedrero (I Silva 54), M Sigren (capt), C Saavedra,
R Martínez (A Escobar ht).
QA Escobar 62, Inostroza 71
Try Dittus 6 Con Videla Pen Garafulic
Ref Paul Williams (N Zealand). Star Man Theo McFarland
Chile grinder
Samoa’s Nigel Ah Wong

ENGLAND 34 12 JAPAN
Sunday 17 September
Stade de Nice. Attendance: 30,500
In this match England toiled to victory
in a game of excessive kicking and
handling errors – even Japan kicked the
ball 37 times. Michael Leitch set a Japan
record with his 15th RWC appearance.
Magic moment With England up 13-12,
George Ford’s pass deflected off Will
Stuart’s hands, cannoned off Joe Marler’s
head and fell for Courtney Lawes to
stroll over the try-line. A comical score.
Winners’ podium Prop Joe Marler: “It
was planned. I’ve been practising my
headers in activation with Dan Cole and
Jamie George. I took inspiration from the
mighty Seagulls doing a demolition job
on Manchester United, my son’s team.”
And the losers… Coach Jamie Joseph:
“We made too many mistakes under the
Aerial contest
Freddie Steward beats Kotaro
Matsushima to a high ball
PICS AFP & Getty Images
Blue brothers
Samoa perform the Siva Tau
pump. Sometimes you need a bit of luck
too and we never got any. The Lawes
try, wow. That’s a first for me, man.”
ENGLAND F Steward (M Smith 69); J May, J Marchant,
M Tuilagi (O Lawrence 69), E Daly; G Ford, A Mitchell
(B Youngs 59); J Marler (E Genge 59), J George (T Dan 74),
K Sinckler (W Stuart 51), M Itoje, O Chessum, C Lawes
(capt, G Martin 63-74), B Earl, L Ludlam (B Vunipola 51).
Tries Ludlam 24, Lawes 56, Steward 66, Marchant 80
Cons Ford 4 Pens Ford 2
JAPAN S Masirewa (L Lemeki 7); K Matsushima, T Osada, R
Nakamura, J Naikabula (D Riley 50); R Matsuda, Y Nagare
(N Saito 65); K Inagaki (C Millar 50), S Horie (A Sakate 62),
J Gu (A Ai Valu ht), J Cornelsen, A Fakatava (W Dearns 62),
M Leitch, P Labuschagne (K Shimokawa 74), K Himeno (capt)
Pens Matsuda 4
Ref Nika Amashukeli (Georgia). Star Man George Ford
ARGENTINA 19 10 SAMOA
Friday 22 September. Stade Geoffroy-Guichard,
Saint-Étienne. Attendance: 38,358
59
RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review
In this match The Pumas became the
first side at RWC 2023 to record a 100%
set-piece: 16/16 lineouts and 9/9 scrums.
Duncan Paia’aua was lucky to avoid red
for a silly shove after 30 seconds that
sent Santiago Carreras crashing to earth.
Magic moment Samoa No 9 Jonathan
Taumateine darted for the line off a 5m
scrum only for Marcos Kremer to knock
the ball from his hands with a superb hit.
Winners’ podium Coach Michael Cheika:
“We passed the mental test much better
today. Our defensive foundations were
there, the maul was much better. This
game was about living and surviving.”
And the losers… Coach Seilala Mapusua:
“We knew Boffelli could slot them from
anywhere and that early yellow card
didn’t help us. It’s hard enough to play
Argentina with 15, never mind 14.”
ARGENTINA J Cruz Mallía; E Boffelli, M Moroni (L Cinti 71),
S Chocobares, M Carreras; S Carreras (N Sanchez 67),
G Bertranou (T Cubelli 67); T Gallo (M Vivas 80), J Montoya
(capt, A Creevy 73), E Bello (F Gomez Kodela 43), G Petti,
M Alemanno (P Rubiolo 61), P Matera, M Kremer, J Martin
Gonzalez (R Bruni 55).
Try Boffelli 9 Con Boffelli Pens Boffelli 3, Sanchez
SAMOA D Paia’aua (D Toala 58); N Ah Wong, U Seuteni
(A D’Angelo Leuila 49), T Manu, B Lam; C Leali’ifano, J
Taumateine; Ja Lay (C Faumuina 55), S Lam (S Malolo 55),
P Alo-Emile (M Alaalatoa 55), B Alainu’uese (T Seu 55),
C Vui (capt), T McFarland, F Lee, S Luatua (J Taufua 59).
QPaia’aua 1
Try Malolo 75 Con D’Angelo Leuila Pen Leali’ifano
Ref Nic Berry (Australia). Star Man Emiliano Boffelli
 D
POOL
ENGLAND 71 0 CHILE
Saturday 23 September. Stade
Pierre-Mauroy, Lille. Attendance: 44,315
In this match Henry Arundell, 20,
became the fourth player to score five or
more tries in a RWC match. Only Jonah
Lomu has scored a World Cup hat-trick
at a younger age. Owen Farrell led
England for the 44th time, moving ahead
of Chris Robshaw into second all-time.
Magic moment For his first try, Marcus
Smith nudged a grubber behind Chile,
outpaced Matías Garafulic and seized
the bouncing ball to score in the corner.
Winners’ podium Wing Henry Arundell:
“A lot of those tries were tap-ins, so it’s
the work done up front, then the smarts
from the inside lads to get the ball wide.”
And the losers… Captain Martín Sigren:
“The first 20 minutes were fantastic. To
keep the score to 0-0 against England
was great. Four years ago we were
losing games to Brazil. Now we’re here.”
ENGLAND M Smith; H Arundell, E Daly (G Ford 50), O
Lawrence, M Malins (J Marchant 71); O Farrell (capt), D
Care (B Youngs 50); B Rodd (J Marler 55), T Dan (J Walker
55), K Sinckler (W Stuart 55), D Ribbans, G Martin, L
Ludlam (O Chessum 55), J Willis, B Vunipola (B Earl 67).
Tries Arundell 20, 30, 48, 60, 69, Dan 24, 45, Rodd 35,
Smith 40, 77, Willis 80 Cons Farrell 8
CHILE F Urroz; C Game, D Saavedra, M Garafulic (L Carvallo
78), F Velarde (I Ayarza 63); R Fernández, B Videla; S Lues
(V Lastra 57), A Bohme (T Dussaillant 57), M Dittus (I
Gurruchaga 63-78), C Saavedra, J Eissmann (P Huete 62), M
Sigren (capt), I Silva (R Martínez ht), A Escobar (T Orchard 63)
QDittus 44
Ref Jaco Peyper (South Africa). Star Man Henry Arundell
JAPAN 28 22 SAMOA
Thursday 28 September
Stade de Toulouse. Attendance: 30,187
In this match Japan’s victory confirmed
England as pool winners and set up a
shootout with Argentina. Indiscipline cost
Samoa again as Jonathan Taumateine
was sin-binned on his birthday and Ben
Lam was sent off for a dangerous tackle.
Magic moment Michael Leitch was sent
off in the teams’ previous meeting. This
time the Japan great finished well after
a lovely miss pass by Rikiya Matsuda.
Winners’ podium Captain Kazuki
Himeno: “We have a phrase, ‘Samurai
Time’, that reminds us of our courage
and mentality so we can all be on the
same page. We managed to do that.”
And the losers… Coach Seilala
Mapusua: “Proud of the effort. We may
be out of the quarter-finals but we want
to make sure we automatically qualify for
Australia 2027. That’s a big carrot for us.”
JAPAN L Lemeki; K Matsushima, D Riley, R Nakamura (T
Osada 75), J Naikabula (A Sakate 41-47); R Matsuda (S Lee
76), N Saito (K Fukuda 75); K Inagaki (C Millar 47), S Horie
60
(Sakate 58), J Gu (A Ai Valu 47), J Cornelsen (W Dearns 63),
A Fakatava, M Leitch (K Shimokawa 75), P Labuschagne
(Dearns 48-58), K Himeno (capt).
QHorie 37
Tries Labuschagne 13, Leitch 32, Himeno 49
Cons Matsuda 2 Pens Matsuda 3
SAMOA D Paia’aua; E Fidow (N Fomai 73), T Manu, A D’Angelo
Leuila (D Toala 33), B Lam; C Leali’ifano, J Taumateine
(M Matavao 58); Ja Lay (Jo Lay 51), S Lam (S Malolo 51),
P Alo-Emile (M Alaalatoa 51), S Luatua, T McFarland, T Seu
(B Alainu’uese 5), F Lee (capt), J Taufua (A Motuga 58).
QTaumateine 31 Q B Lam 47
Tries S Lam 38, Paia’aua 65, Leali’ifano 78
Cons Leali’ifano 2 Pen D’Angelo Leuila
Ref Jaco Peyper (South Africa). Star Man Lomano Lemeki
ARGENTINA 59 5 CHILE
Saturday 30 September. Stade de la
Beaujoire, Nantes. Attendance: 33,963
In this match Nicolás Sanchez was the
toast of the first South American derby
at a World Cup. He earned his 100th
cap, scored 20 points, won Man of the
Match and overtook Gonzalo Quesada
as Argentina’s top RWC point-scorer.
Magic moment Maul lovers got a treat
when almost all the Chile team drove
Tomás Dussaillant over the try-line –
it raised the day’s biggest cheer.
Winners’ podium Prop Eduardo Bello:
“We wanted to play our game, have
a good lineout and maul. We are very
happy and must take lots of positives.”
And the losers… Coach Pablo Lemoine:
Blood and glory
Jack Willis celebrates his
try v Chile with George Ford
 RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review

Show of passion Chile hooker Augusto Bohme POOL D FINAL STANDINGS

P W D L F A BP Pts
ENGLAND 4 4 0 0 150 39 2 18
ARGENTINA 4 3 0 1 127 69 2 14
JAPAN 4 2 0 2 109 107 1 9
SAMOA 4 1 0 3 92 75 3 7
CHILE 4 0 0 4 27 215 0 0

“We have attracted new fans, brought
Chile up the world rankings, evolved
in attack. We’ve spoken about people
feeling part of this project from all
around Chile and we’ve achieved that.”
ARGENTINA M Bogado; R Isgro, L Cinti (J Cruz Mallía
12-24), J de la Fuente (capt), J Imhoff (Mallía 62);
N Sanchez (S Carreras 77), T Cubelli (L Bazan Velez 47);
J Sclavi (M Vivas 62), A Creevy (I Ruiz 55), E Bello (F Gomez
Kodela 47), G Petti (J Oviedo 62), P Rubiolo, J Martin
Gonzalez, M Kremer (M Alemanno 51), F Isa.
QIsgro 26
Tries Sanchez 9, Gonzalez 16, 68, Creevy 23, Bogado 46,
Isgro 64, Ruiz 77, Carreras 79
Cons Sanchez 6, Carreras 2 Pen Sanchez
CHILE I Ayarza (F Urroz 65); S Videla, D Saavedra, M
Garafulic, J Ignacio Larenas (A Escobar 79); R Fernández,
M Torrealba (N Herreros 69); J Carrasco (S Lues 47-72),
A Bohme (T Dussaillant 56), M Dittus (E Inostroza 65),
S Pedrero (I Silva 62), J Eissmann (A Sarmiento 69),
M Sigren (capt), C Saavedra, R Martínez.
Try Dussaillant 73
Ref Paul Williams (N Zealand). Star Man Nicolás Sanchez
VITAL STAT
“My heart breaks for these boys. We
were dominant in most facets. We were
able to expose space in open field and
stopped England for 70 minutes.”
Winners’ podium
Captain Julián
Montoya: “Every
mistake we made,
167
ENGLAND F Steward; J Marchant, M Tuilagi (O Lawrence Japan capitalised
58), O Farrell (capt), J May; G Ford (M Smith 51), A Mitchell with points. But our Average number of
(D Care 66); E Genge (J Marler 55), J George, D Cole resilience made tackles that Japan
(K Sinckler 48), M Itoje, O Chessum, C Lawes (G Martin the difference.” made per game –
59), T Curry (B Vunipola 45-55, 74), B Earl. And the losers… the most in the pool
Tries Chessum 9, Care 73 Con Farrell Pens Farrell 2 Departing coach phase. Michael
SAMOA D Paia’aua; N Ah Wong, T Manu, D Toala Jamie Joseph: Leitch made 62
(C Leali’ifano 65), N Fomai; L Sopoaga, J Taumateine “My first few years
(M Matavao 62); Jo Lay (Ja Lay 58), S Malolo (S Lam 62), was about selling
M Alaalatoa (P Alo-Emile 58), S Slade (M Faiilagi 58), B a home World Cup and we got a tick for
Alainu’uese, T McFarland, F Lee (A Motuga 62), S Luatua. that. The last four years have been more
QManu 66 difficult but I’m proud of the team.”
Tries Ah Wong 22, 29 Cons Sopoaga 2 Pen Sopoaga JAPAN L Lomeki; K Matsushima (J Naikabula 60), D Riley,
Ref Andrew Brace (Ireland). Star Man Lima Sopoaga R Nakamura (R Yamanaka 70), S Fifita; R Matsuda, N
Saito; K Inagaki (C Millar 48), S Horie (A Sakate 48), J Gu
(A Ai Valu 43), J Cornelsen, A Fakatava (W Dearns 51), M
JAPAN 27 39 ARGENTINA Leitch, P Labuschagne (A Saumaki 70), K Himeno (capt).
QLabuschagne 23
Sunday 8 October. Stade de la
Beaujoire, Nantes. Attendance: 33,624 Tries Fakatava 16, Saito 38, Naikabula 65
Cons Matsuda 3 Pen Matsuda Drop-goal Lemeki
In this match Mateo Carreras’s hat-trick ARGENTINA J Cruz Mallía; E Boffelli, L Cinti (M Moroni 70),
decided this end-to-end thriller. Michael S Chocobares, M Carreras; S Carreras (N Sanchez 59),
Cheika, the Pumas’ ex-Wallaby coach, G Bertranou (L Bazan Velez 59); T Gallo (J Sclavi 67),
qualified for a third quarter-final in a row. J Montoya (capt, A Creevy 78), F Gomez Kodela (E Bello
Magic moment Easy – the try by Amato 43-70), G Petti, T Lavanini (P Rubiolo 48), P Matera
Fakatava. The Japan lock galloped down (M Alemanno 24), M Kremer, J Martin Gonzalez.
the wing, chipped over the top and Tries Chocobares 2, M Carreras 28, 46, 68, Boffelli 58
snatched a kind bounce ahead of Santi Cons Boffelli 3, Sanchez Pens Boffelli, Sanchez
Carreras to score. Sensational stuff! Ref Ben O’Keeffe (N Zealand). Star Man Mateo Carreras

ENGLAND 18 17 SAMOA
Saturday 7 October. Stade Pierre-Mauroy,
Lille. Attendance: 47,891

In this match Samoa led 17-8 but hopes

of a first win over England were dashed
by Danny Care’s late try. Owen Farrell
leapfrogged Jonny Wilkinson’s 1,179
points haul to become England’s top
scorer but fell foul of the shot clock –
he exceeded the 60-second time limit
as he lined up a crucial penalty.
Magic moment History beckoned Samoa
in the 79th minute as Neria Fomai raced
towards the line – but Care’s incredible
tap-tackle saved England’s bacon.
Winners’ podium Captain Owen Farrell:
“I was unaware of the clock. I got lost
a little but that’s not good enough. All
credit to Samoa, the way they fired
shots at us was tough to deal with.”
And the losers… Coach Seilala Mapusua: Beat that! Amato Fakatava scores one of the tries of the World Cup during a ding-dong clash in Nantes

61
 Power and speed, physicality and flair – there’s a real mix of skill-sets in our combined

HE QUALITY of play from a phenomenal final and was nailed on to defenders for fun, 40 in four games to
inside-centres Jordie Barrett win Player of the Match if NZ had won it. be exact. Jordan just nicks it despite

T and Bundee Aki left us with

no choice but to find room
for both of them in our Team
of the Tournament, writes Josh Graham.
Luckily, Aki has plenty of experience in
the 13 jersey. He was in the form of his
life for Ireland at the World Cup. It was
a shame one of them had to exit at the
quarter-final stage but Aki’s heroics will
not be forgotten by the travelling Irish.
Barrett was one long-range penalty
away from kicking New Zealand to
World Cup glory, but that aside still had
France’s Thomas Ramos looked the
most assured at full-back bar one key
charge-down, but luckily for him his
quarter-final nemesis Cheslin Kolbe is
alongside him in our team on the wing.
That left a straight shoot-out between
top try-scorer WIll Jordan and his fellow
All Black wing Mark Telea, who beat
15
THOMAASNRCAEM
FR
OS
having a disappointing final.
Richie Mo’unga’s triple threat boosts
any side and his form over the entire
tournament edges out Handré Pollard,
who didn’t miss a kick for the Boks.
Antoine Dupont’s ability to bounce
back from a fractured cheekbone and
still hit the heights that others simply
cannot completes the half-back pairing.
11
12 LBE
CHESLHINAKFROICA
SOUT

13 J ORDIE BARR
NEW ZE
ETT
ALAND

14 N
BUNDEAENADKI
IREL
10
WILL JORDA
NEW ZE
ALAND
9 UPONT
’UNGA
RICHIEZMEAOLAND
NEW

ANTOINE D
FRANC
E
8 EA
ARDIEESAALVAND
NEW Z

7 AN
JAC M(COARPGTAIN)
WALES 5 T
M O ST E R
FRANUCTOH AFRICA
COACH SO

3 EIFUNA
BEN TTAOMNGA
PATRICE LAGISQUET
PORTUGAL

62
 RWC 2023: The Ultimate Review

MAGIC
NUMBERS
XV from the 2023 Rugby World Cup. It features six nationalities TOP TRY-SCORERS

Ardie Savea was the easiest pick of all

8 6 5
at No 8 while at openside is our captain, WILL DAMIAN BUNDEE
Wales’ Jac Morgan. His back-row basics JORDAN PENAUD AKI
NEW IRELAND SOUTH New Zealand France Ireland
shone and he even kicked a 50:22 in
ZEALAND 1 AFRICA
4 5 a break-out World Cup aged just 23.
Pieter-Steph du Toit is on the blindside TOP POINT-SCORERS
after a ferocious final but an honourable
mention must go to England retiree
Courtney Lawes, who just misses out.
Eben Etzebeth has had a stellar year 75 74 67
BREAKDOWN and joining him in the second row is
Springbok team-mate Franco Mostert. OWEN
FARRELL
THOMAS
RAMOS
EMILIANO
BOFFELLI
BY COUNTRY Defensively perfect in the knockout
stages, Mostert made 49 tackles without
England France Argentina

missing one when it mattered most.

Up front, tighthead Ben Tameifuna MOST TACKLES
won two Player of the Match awards in
four games for Tonga. French hooker
Peato Mauvaka rose to the occasion for
the hosts in the absence of the injured
92 80 73
WALES TONGA FRANCE Julien Marchand. How Mauvaka ended MARCOS BEN FRANCO
1 1 3 KREMER EARL MOSTERT
up on the losing side against South
Argentina England South Africa
Africa in the last eight is anyone’s guess.
Lastly, at loosehead is Bomb Squad
extraordinaire Ox Nche. It’s no MOST CLEAN BREAKS
exaggeration to say that South Africa

6 IT
would not have won without his scrum
supremacy against France and England.
13 12 10
E P H D U TO
Co-ordinating this star-studded side
PIETER-STH AFRICA is Patrice Lagisquet, the Portugal
DAMIAN WILL LOUIS BIELLE-
SOUT coach, who bowed out on PENAUD JORDAN BIARREY
a high with a fabulous France New Zealand France
win over Fiji. n

4
EBETH
1 MOST RUNS

EBEN ETZ RICA

SOUT
H AF OX NACFHREICA
SOUT
H
82 81 72
ARDIE BUNDEE BEAUDEN
SAVEA AKI BARRETT

2
New Zealand Ireland New Zealand

E AT O M AUVAKA MOST OFFLOADS

P RANCE
F

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

10 10 9
Let us know what you think of our World Cup XV and who SALESI ANTOINE ARDIE
PIUTAU DUPONT SAVEA
would be in your team. Get in touch via our social media Tonga France New Zealand
channels or email rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com

63
 Words Sarah Rendell // Pictures Getty Images

T YSON
BEUKEBOOM
SPOTLIGHT ON

The hard-hitting Canada lock has a new challenge with Ealing Trailfinders

Age 32 (10 Mar 1991)

Born Edmonton, Alberta
Position Second-row
Club Ealing Trailfinders
Height 6ft
Weight 12st 10lb
Canada debut
v England, 2013

64
 HYSICALITY IS at
the heart of Canadian
P second-row Tyson
Beukeboom’s game
and if fans didn’t
know that before the World Cup
semi-final against England last
November, they did afterwards.
Beukeboom came on in the
second half and made her
presence known. She made a
sparkling line break, beat two
defenders and, while she was
being hauled to the ground by
Sadia Kabeya, offloaded to keep
Might Tyson
Scoring in the Pacific Four
Series against the Wallaroos
the attack going. Four rucks later
it was Beukeboom who scored.
Canada went on to lose that
match 26-19, but Beukeboom’s
physicality remains in the memory
and it was the element of the
game that made her fall in love
with rugby in the first place.
The 32-year-old did not start
out in rugby. Her father Jeff was a
pro ice hockey player and so she
naturally followed in his footsteps.
“I peaked in height when I was
12 or 13,” she says, “so I was twice
the size of everyone I was playing
against (in hockey). I took a lot of
penalties and got in trouble a lot.
My cousin told me ‘you should
play rugby’ and I was like ‘what’s
that?’ She said, ‘I don’t really know
but you pass backwards and you
are allowed to hit people.’ I said,
‘Wait, I’m allowed to hit people?’
“So I went out and in my first
practice I had no idea what I was
doing. My first game I was playing
eight and I checked a girl like I
would in hockey. The ref stopped
and said, ‘You have to wrap.’ From
that moment on I was sold.”
Beukeboom played rugby and
hockey and had a dual scholarship
at university, but balancing both
sports became too much. “That
was definitely a hard decision as
hockey was my first love,” she
says. “But with rugby I got sucked
in and here I am, it paid off.”
She has accumulated more
than 60 caps for Canada and
played in three World Cups,
including the 2014 tournament
where Canada reached the final
but lost to England. Over the
course of the tournament she
could see the positive effect that
regular, high-level competition
was having on her game. She
wanted to continue that at club
level and so decided to play her
domestic rugby away from
Canada for the first time.
“I’d been stubborn and like
‘No, I can develop in Canada.’ I
definitely had the opportunities
to do that but in the high-level
games I was less consistent.”
She spoke to Canada head
coach Kevin Rouet as he had
formed connections in England
and France. Rouet gave
Beukeboom a few options of
where he thought she would like
to play and among them was
Women’s Premiership Rugby
team Ealing Trailfinders.
65
Trailfinders are embarking on
their first season in 2023-24. The
club’s head coach Giselle Mather
has been tasked with putting a
team together from scratch –
and it includes Beukeboom.
“I connected with Giselle. She
has a similar coaching style and
philosophy to Kev and I really
enjoy the way he coaches us and
creates the environment,” she
says. “After talking to her, we had
M Y TOP 3
a short conversation where she
gave me an overview of what she
wants to do. In that short amount
of time I was like ‘I’m sold’.”
Beukeboom moved to England,
a transition that’s been smoother
than she had first anticipated.
“It has been interesting. I wasn’t
honestly sure how much I would
enjoy it or if I would enjoy it at all.
But I have loved it. The process of
getting there was a bit stressful.
Leaving my job, my home, leaving
everything I have behind to start
a new life in a new country.
“I have one of my team-mates
Julia Schell who I live with, and
it’s nice to have someone from
home there. We’re really good
friends. The team and the
atmosphere Giselle has created,
it makes you feel like you are at
home. You step into a team where
everyone is on the same page,
everyone is excited, everyone
wants to see what we can do. I
was pleasantly surprised to find
I really am enjoying living where
I am and playing where I am.” TOUGHEST
The English top flight begins OPPONENTS
on 18 November and Beukeboom
will bring her physicality and skill. FIAO’O FA’AMAUSILI
Before that there was the start of “One of the most
the new annual WXV tournament, impressive players
in which Canada played Wales, I’ve had to face”
England and France.
KELLY RUSSELL
“It’s so exciting we have this in
“A powerhouse on both
place. World Rugby is making an
sides of the ball, tough
effort to get every nation involved as nails and a leader”
and develop the women’s game.
It is just going to make the World MARLIE PACKER
Cups, when we get there, so “As hard as nails and
much stronger and so much she runs hard lines,
more exciting. This past one was makes tackles, she’s
already so exciting. To imagine a solid player. Marlie
the level of development (below) knows how to
that is going to come from get under people’s skin
WXV is incredible.” and just irritate”
Fans saw what Beukeboom
could do in the World Cup.
With her development, they
can expect plenty more bruising
tackles, slick line breaks and deft
offloads at the 2025 event. n
 STEPHEN JONES
Ru gby’s most ou t s p o ke n an d inf luent ial journalist

“The Australian World

Cup should start with
a bang, not a whimper”
With France 2023 done and dusted, we cast our
eyes four years hence to the next men’s Rugby World
Cup – and Stephen Jones is demanding changes

O THAT was by running rugby and it seemed scenes of drunkenness than

S
France 2023. What
did you think, either
travelling around
the country or
following it on the television?
Personally, I thought it was
sometimes terrific, sometimes
definitely not. Some of the rugby
on show and the contests within
them were supercharged and
from the quarter-finals onwards
everyone threw caution to the
winds. The ceaseless boredom of
box-kicks was thankfully replaced
to leave everyone feeling elated.
At half-time in the brilliant
France-South Africa game, I
turned to the next seat, occupied
by young Alex Bywater of the
letters@futurenet.com
Mail (I was talking him through
the game) and we both agreed
that it had been one of the most
brilliant halves we’d ever seen.
The tournament was also
uneven, sometimes a little
annoying. The barrage of 9pm
kick-offs we waited for were
preposterous and caused more
WHAT DO
rugby has ever seen before.
YOU THINK? I was also staggered by the small
number of screens outside the
stadiums so followers could watch
Email rugbyworld
other games played that day, and
staggered by how few screens
there were in the town centres
Facebook Rugby – in 2007 in France, thousands
World Magazine congregated in the towns and
cities as if on a pilgrimage.
And on the field, the refereeing
Twitter started well and then it fell off a
@Rugbyworldmag cliff. Too many of the key games
or @stephenjones9 were shaped by decisions

66
Moment of joy
A Wallabies fan
 a fine starting point to do so ahead of
Australia 2027. Before we start teasing
Australians for their shameful
performances in the recent World Cup
and the true disaster that was appointing
Eddie Jones, we should admit what they
did for the World Cup back in 2003.
In that era the event was still
plagued by unions wanting to grab
shares in it, even if they lived thousands
of miles away from the action. But
Honouring the fans
John O’Neill, the Australian CEO at
Japan take their bow
the time, fought hard and successfully
for Australia to be the single host of
which looked wrong at the time John, you are a great man but you the competition. He handled it
and then looked even worse on are palpably not the man for this. beautifully and the Rugby World Cup
replay. There is so much space for It was interesting recently to hear was beautiful as a result. Australians
improvement ahead of the 2027 event. Agustín Pichot, the former Argentina are outgoing, friendly and welcoming,
But now what? First and critically, the scrum-half and captain who would be and they have just enough mischief
future of World Rugby, the sport’s my choice to take over as chairman in there somewhere to do things a
governing body, and the future of Rugby of World Rugby, revealing that he little differently here and there,
World Cup must go hand in hand. Sir Bill has effectively been forced out by the compared to previous iterations.
Beaumont is standing down shortly after cold shoulders of the establishment. And now on to the structure. We
his long tenure and he will do so at the That is utterly disgraceful. already know that there will be 24
most vital point in the history of our So if the administration revises itself teams in the competition (there were 20
great sport. It has lost ground lately, and recasts itself in a new mould, it is this time) and that they will be split into
it has been grievously slow in its
administration, it has been horribly Utter disaster
selfish. Enough, enough, enough. Australia exited
World Rugby needs a bold new look in the pool stage
to its administration, it needs to have
commissioners for competitions instead
of hoary committees, and it also needs
outside experts in various fields, notably
in marketing and communications; it
must be said, the relatively small
number of communications people
employed by World Rugby really do
deserve gold medals of their own.
And so the governing body needs
more experts, as well as the
disbandment of the World Rugby
Council which has the power to knock
back any sort of new look or initiative.
And finally, the number of people
representing the Old Guard Unions
within World Rugby must be reduced in
proportion, so that this faction lose their
control of the game. Don’t worry, no one
is going to shove them away as long as
they embrace the whole sport.
And the successor to Beaumont?
Again, so vital for World Rugby and also
for Rugby World Cup. John Jeffrey, the
former Scotland flanker, has named
himself as a candidate and from all the
whispers that you hear from within the
organisation, he appears to be the only
candidate in the running. The process
should stop now and re-examine itself.
Are we saying that there is no group
of high-powered administrators or
business people out there somewhere
who would like to take charge? And has
Jeffrey simply canvassed his old mates
on the unions to get their support?

six groups of four. The top two in
each pool, along with the four best
third-placed teams, will progress to
a Round of 16 that has been inserted
before the quarter-finals.
Other formats were available but
I think reverting to pools of four is the
right option. The new format will reduce
the pool phase, and thus the duration
of the whole competition, by a week.
The tournament will commence on
1 October and finish on 13 November.
Whatever the format chosen, the
tournament is inevitably weakened a
little because of the long gaps which are
now needed for rest and recuperation.
France 2023 sagged in the middle,
when not so much was happening and
the intensity and continuity of spectacle
was lost or, at least, diminished. The
shortening of the Aussie 2027 event
suggests World Rugby clearly noticed.
And whichever way you slice up the
pie, there is an ever-present risk that
“F rance 20 23 sa gge d in th e
mid dl e, wh en not s o m uc h wa s
h ap peni ng a nd i n te ns it y w a s l ost”
we will witness more of those savage
defeats which popped up now and
again at France 2023.
I think, too, that World Rugby needs to
be a little more choosy. There are four
teams which you could say have proved
themselves in the past, or even in the
recent past, to be good contenders to
come out in the draw. Three of those
would be Spain, USA and Canada and
then you could add Russia into the mix
as well, but with the latter dependent
on the ending of the war in Ukraine.
That would give us our 24 teams but
I am not at all sure that either Namibia
or Chile deserve to enter the fray
willy-nilly. Namibia are making no
progress and I think that it’s time that
World Rugby removed the automatic
qualification from the African group,
possibly to team up Africa with another
geographical entity for a final play-off.
But even that is not enough. When
World Rugby announced the final set-up
– there was speculation it might have
been eight times three, rather than six
times four – they should also have given
us some financial facts. It is categorically
no good inviting people to the
tournament if they do not also give them
the funds and wherewithal to improve
their team out of sight. Think of what
World Rugby did by investing in Fijian
Drua. There should be Romance in the stands Home fans brought passion to France 2023
at least four more Druas
or their equivalents
around the globe, funded
by World Rugby.
Think that would be
a drain on resources?
It’s said that the 2023
tournament has realised
not much less than
£500,000,000 in profit.
Some of us will be
watching like hawks to
see where that money
actually goes and if a silly
proportion of it goes to the major,
established unions, then there will be
protests and the 2027 World Cup will
be guaranteed to be a bore. Once they
have identified competitors, World
Rugby should appoint high-performance old guard are desperately trying to
and high-intelligence people so that
when they plough back into the game
the vast resources they have recently
earned, then each country can use it
where it is most useful.
Perhaps a boost for Samoa and Tonga
of the Moana Pasifika team. There
should definitely be a complete
dismantling of the useless Rugby
Europe competition, replaced by a
dynamic event in which the likes of
Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Russia,
Germany and all the others can come
boiling up towards the surface, and one
Making history Rodrigo Marta’s dramatic try brought Portugal their first-ever World Cup win, against Fiji
69
Stephen Jones
day challenge the terrified ranks of the
Six Nations by unearthing the sacred
principles of promotion and relegation.
And so on throughout the world.
Of course, it is a problem that the
conclude the arrangements for a
nutcase global bore-fest in which they
will play each other and not anyone
from outside their own, long-established
ranks, even more than they do now. It
just staggers you how little conscience
these people seem to have.
And as the Australian World Cup
approaches, they can put it on the map
and start it with a bang, not a whimper.
The event is now of a sufficient status to
hire the biggest musical act in the world
to raise the curtain. The family of rugby
will be presented with 24 teams and you
would love there to be an event held
somewhere in the world for numbers
25-48 to have their own tournament.
Glorious Australia should be a decent
venue. They are never comfortable
with doing things the old way. France
2023 was excellent, but in terms of
who organises the global sport it
must be the last of its type. n
MAIN IMAGE Cameron Spencer/Getty Images. PICS Getty Images
 BUNDEE AKI
The Ireland centre was a total menace with ball in hand in every game he featured in
OMBIE WAS everywhere. expected. He was dangerous going computer, trying to figure things out. He
The Cranberries song forward and pumped-up in defence. is actually a smart fella, believe it or not!”

z became the soundtrack of

the first half of this World
Cup as Ireland built up a
As Murray added of team-mate Aki:
“He has been playing the rugby of his
life. He can come across as a bit of a
Before the quarter-final battle with
New Zealand, Aki had racked up 61
carries for 567 metres and beaten 23
head of steam. Every win they had, the messer but behind the scenes Bundee defenders. In that final match, he tore
stadium DJ raced to get the tune on and is incredible, the level of detail he off 75 metres with
the Irish fans – and every neutral in the goes into – he is always on the ball in hand in his 20
ground, including the French – gave
themselves over to the Nineties anthem. FACT FILE carries. He passed
seven defenders and
The Irish players loved it too. Veteran Age 33 (7 Apr 1990) scored a vital try.
scrum-half Conor Murray said as much Born Auckland, NZ Now-departed All
ahead of the quarter-final date with Province Connacht Blacks boss Ian Foster
New Zealand. Before adding: “Bundee Position Centre made a point of
(Aki) thinks they’re singing ‘Bundee, Height 5ft 10in hugging Aki after the
Bundee’, but they’re definitely not!” Weight 16st 6lb match, Foster having
They may as well have, such was the Test debut v South worked with him at
level of performance from the centre. Africa, Nov 2017 Counties Manukau
The Connacht man was a locomotive Ireland caps 52 (16T) and the Waikato
on loose wheels, speeding ahead but Instagram handle Chiefs. Opposite man
never seemingly on the track opponents Form of his life Aki attacks v South Africa @bundeeaki Jordie Barrett had

70

Roaring Ireland on
Aki celebrates
already made a beeline for him on the
final whistle, lifting up the disconsolate
Aki and embracing him.
That “messer” side of Aki was
evident on the flight home, when Jack
Conan commandeered the plane’s
loudspeaker to pronounce that retiring
great Johnny Sexton would be up for
kisses, hugs and chats with anyone on
the flight. Aki reportedly jumped in to
add: “Because he’s retired, he has the
time” to do so. Cheers, Bundee.
During France 2023, Aki earned his
50th Irish cap, a notable achievement
for the New Zealand-born star who
has been with Connacht since 2014.
Heading towards a decade in Galway
and a superb stint in green generally,
there is huge appreciation for what
the 33-year-old has done. He was
deservedly shortlisted for the World
Rugby Men’s Player of the Year award
and has penned a contract extension
with the IRFU until the end of 2024-25.
His RWC will always be remembered.
France 2023: Headline Makers
MANUEL ARDAO
The Uruguay flanker was a turnover terror for los Teros
NEVITABLE, REALLY, that half, giving their six opportunities to
Manuel Ardao would create turn us over, which he did brilliantly.
I carnage for opponents at
this World Cup. From a
young age, he was all about
“He’s a master at that. There’s
probably only two or three guys
in world rugby at the moment that
the mischief. “I was a brute as a kid. have the skill that six has around the
A little devil,” he tells Rugby World. breakdown – like Pocock used to.”
Against Italy, he was on a rampage Well, when it comes to links
and a key reason why los Teros went between Ardao and Pocock, you
in at half-time leading 17-7. Forty-five could say the Uruguayan has been
minutes in and Ardao had produced there and got the T-shirt. As Ardao
the ultimate pincher’s performance, explained exclusively to us: “I got
turning over Italy five times. According David Pocock’s shirt in 2019. Jack
to rugby data specialists Oval Dempsey didn’t have a spare one
Insights, Ardao won a whopping nine but Pocock had two and one is
turnovers across the competition, now framed in my house.”
being a ‘defensive He also told us, “I’m not
nuisance’ at the ruck obsessed but I really like
14 times and making
‘effective defensive ruck FACT FILE jackaling.” Well, we are
obsessed with his ability
entries’ 48.6% of the Age 25 (9 Sept 1998) there and will be watching
time. So almost half the Born Montevideo on with interest as the
time he went into a Team Miami Sharks flanker plies his trade for
defensive ruck, he was Position Flanker the new Miami Sharks
disruptive. A devil indeed. Height 5ft 10in franchise in Major League
After that performance, Weight 14st 7lb Rugby. Ardao also made
Italy assistant Marius Uruguay debut four offloads in this World
Goosen compared Ardao v Fiji, Nov 2018 Cup and stood proud as
to David Pocock, saying: Test caps 26 (5T) they frustrated France. We
“We were playing a little Instagram handle suspect he’ll run amok in
bit too much in our own @manuardao the US competition.
PICS Getty Images
Creating havoc
Offloading against Italy
71
 France 2023: Headline Makers
The New Zealand wing’s lethal finishing made him top try-scorer at this World Cup
E HAD a World Cup final
to forget, sure, but the
H numbers are still
staggering. Will Jordan
finished this competition
as the top try-scorer of the lot, with
eight tries to his name. The next down
the list was France’s Damian Penaud
with six. But Jordan also has this frankly
ludicrous return of 31 Test tries in 31
matches for the All Blacks.
As our own Stuart Barnes wrote for
The Times: “His work-rate is spectacular
but it is the capacity to spot space that
Emotional
With Aaron Smith
PICS Getty Images
WILL JORDAN Line dancer
Jordan scores in the semi
marks him as statistically the greatest like I had (against the Pumas) where
finisher in the history of the international you catch it and dive over. It’s more
game. Nobody seems to ease through
a defensive gap quite like Jordan. The
best attackers see the space before the
about involvement in the game for me
and just trying to pop up and give us
an extra number on attack.
defence realises it exists.” “It’s always cool to be able to score
The occasion got the better of him as tries and dive over but it’s not the main
the rain tipped down in the final – and marker I use around how I’m going.”
as he lost control of the ball amidst Maybe not for him but it is for the rest
a helicopter ride on Cheslin Kolbe’s of us. And the Kiwi is now in the history
shoulder, you knew it wasn’t his books as he matched
night. But there have been many the great Jonah Lomu,
nights that did belong to the
Christchurch flyer on this trip. FACT FILE Bryan Habana and
Julian Savea as top
No one knows the wing-cum- Age 25 (24 Feb 1998) try-scorers at World
full-back better than incoming All Born Christchurch Cups, with eight tries
Blacks boss Scott Robertson. He Club Crusaders in one tournament.
was the coach who stood by his Position Back-three And, of course, his
man and gave him as much time Height 6ft 2in team-mates love it.
off as he needed amidst the better Weight 14st 5lb “They get excited
part of a year out with vertigo. New Zealand debut when he gets the ball
Talking about his approach after v Australia, Nov 2020 and creates something
the semi-final win over Argentina, Test caps 31 (31T) out of nothing,” says
Jordan said: “It’s not so much Instagram handle New Zealand assistant
about scoring tries. You get a few @willjordan_ coach Scott McLeod.
72

The explosive flanker-turned-No 8 was a revelation for England in France
HAT A Test turnaround.
He came off the bench
W against Scotland and
Italy in the Six Nations
and that was it – Ben
Earl was exiled from the England set-up.
That is until it was time to prep for this
World Cup. And then Earl was elevated.
Back in the groove in white.
In France he was England’s best
player, demonstrative of course
but also utterly dynamic off the
back of the scrum and in midfield.
“Ben Earl deserves all the
accolades he gets,” said team-mate
Jamie George after England
claimed third place against
Argentina. “He’s had a really tough
journey in international rugby.
“Us at Sarries have known for
a long time that he’s something
special. He’s different to what
we’ve ever had in an England shirt.
His dynamism and his maturity for
a guy that has not been playing
Carrying hard
In the semi-final
France 2023: Headline Makers
BEN EARL
international rugby for too long was
spectacular. There’s many hidden
talents, he’s an absolute weirdo!
“Hopefully you get to see that a little
bit. We’d like to show a little bit more
character of this England team going
forward. That’s something I’d like to do
because we want to connect with the
Family ties
English public as much as we can and
Earl with loved ones
bring the fans on a journey for us. It’s
probably for the
best if we try to rein telling Owen Farrell drop-goal that
FACT FILE Ben in though…”
On the park there
sealed the result for them. After that
match, defence coach Kevin Sinfield
Age 25 (7 Jan 1998) was no reining him in. suggested he was touching World XV
Born Redhill, Surrey The Saracens flanker quality. Then in the semi-final with South
Club Saracens really shone in the Africa he stood up and was counted in
Position Back-row quarter-final victory a match they could easily have won.
Height 6ft over Fiji. With the Ahead of that semi, Earl said it was
Weight 16st 12lb match in the balance, “sink or swim”. With the character he
England debut the man with eight on showed in France, he pretty much did
v Scotland, Feb 2020 his back ripped off a the butterfly stroke in record time. Now
Test caps 25 (1T) 50m carry upfield – he should have the chance to make
Instagram handle one that ultimately set that No 8 shirt his own. Now that would
@benearl7 England up for the be something for him to celebrate.
 Words Alan Dymock // Pictures Getty Images

DAN
McKELL AR
SPOTLIGHT ON

The Australian coach wants to create a new history for Leicester Tigers

Age 47 (17 July 1976)

Born Brisbane
Position Head coach
Playing position Prop
Teams played for
Souths, Wicklow
Teams coached
Leicester, Brumbies, Red
Hurricanes, Australia

74
 UMANS DON’T like
too much change.
H That’s something
Dan McKellar was
aware of as he came
into the Leicester Tigers set-up in
the summer. Having served as a
Wallabies assistant coach, and as
Brumbies head coach from 2018
to 2022, he knows all about jobs
under the strongest spotlights.
But whatever the expectations
or reputation you are coming in
with, you have to be aware of
where you’re heading to.
Eye on the future
McKellar surveys his side
“I spoke to both staff and
players from day one around
change,” McKellar explains to
Rugby World. “Change creates
a little bit of stress. It creates a
little bit of anxiety. And I wanted
to put their minds at ease.
“I didn’t need to rip things up or
put the broom through the club
because the club is in pretty good
shape after the last couple of
years. It wasn’t me coming into a
club that was underperforming by
any means. I was really respectful
of what’s happened over the last
few years. But what I did talk
about is that I’m driven to get the
best out of myself and my staff
every day, and that’s something
that won’t change. We will tweak
some things and we’ll get better
in some areas. Because the
reality is we need to be better.”
At a club you are scraping off
rock-bottom, there might be a
bit of freedom to try any and all
things to get better. Having won
a Premiership title under Steve
Borthwick, before a demi-season
under the interim care of
Richard Wigglesworth following
Borthwick’s elevation to England
head coach, the Tigers have had
a few seasons now when fans
can expect pushes for success.
But that doesn’t add any extra
pressure, McKellar says, because
he is well aware of Leicester’s
history and inherent drive. To this
he adds, “I’m very present. I’m
a big believer that if you’re well
prepared, you’ll generally have
confidence off the back of that.
If you have confidence, you can
do things with intent. And that’s
how I coach all of my teams.”
Asked what the hallmarks are
of a McKellar-coached team, he
tells us that he demands high
standards both on and off the
field. He also loves discipline,
telling us: “I don’t believe you can
live a life of ill-discipline and then
flick a switch on a Saturday or
Sunday afternoon and all of a
sudden become a disciplined
rugby player.” And expect detail.
McKellar goes on to tell us that
rugby is a complex game but
often we are guilty of adding
even more layers of complexity to
it when it’s not needed. So every
Tigers player should have it
clarified for them what their role
is and what’s expected of them.
Uncertainty, he feels, bleeds into
75
your play, and how often do we
see indecisive teams get rolled?
Back to the heritage of the club
and McKellar talks of a Tigers
DNA – of set-piece, physical play,
brutal efficiency and smart kicking
strategies. But in discussing the
Rugby World Cup quarter-finals,
the Australian marvels at how the
very best sides have plans A, B
and oftentimes C to be able to
win games in different ways. And
M Y TOP 3
so he wants to honour and hone
what has been built already in
Leicester, and then add to it.
In his coaching team is Matt
Everard on defence, Brett Deacon
for collisions and Alan Dickens
on attack. McKellar is also joined
at Welford Road by scrum coach
Dan Palmer, considered to be
one of the most exciting young
coaches in the global game and
recently the lineout coach for
Australia under Eddie Jones.
And he’s an intriguing bloke,
with McKellar saying of the former
Wallabies prop with a PHD in
neuroscience: “He’s spent a
whole lot of time in university
studying all sorts of different
things, operating on rats and
whatnot. He’s certainly had an
interesting life and he’s now
developing into a quality coach,
not just a scrum coach.”
There was a good omen for
McKellar when he and wife Carla
came over in April on a “recce”
and witnessed Chris Ashton
breaking the Premiership try CAREER HIGHS
record in green, red and white.
He describes the local area as ASSISTING AUSTRALIA
beautiful and has enjoyed seeing “The Bledisloe, facing
the villages and towns out in England in a series,
the surrounding land. The family playing France in front
has settled in Rutland, with his of 80,000 is up there”
daughters enrolling at Oakham
JOINING TIGERS
School. And as for the fans, they
“To lead them forward
have been warm and welcoming,
over the next period is
even after a slow start that saw an incredible highlight”
Tigers lose to Bristol and Sale.
“I’m not here for the short term, COACHING BRUMBIES
I want to hopefully coach this club “We won games
for a long period of time,” he says. overseas, on the road
“I think part of that experience is in South Africa, and
also buying into the community won Super Rugby AU”
and making sure that you feel
engaged with that and really
having a life experience,
not just a work one.”
Finally, on the gig
he concludes that he’s
embracing expectation:
“It’s about creating a new
history for the club.” n
France 2023: Headline Makers

DUTCH FANS
Well done to the rugby diehards coming from the Netherlands
IMMY BARTEN is part of other, via facebook or email, and
Rugby Club Hilversum, always know who’s going.”

J while wife Marielle is

the chair of the famous
The couple confirm they know of
hundreds of fans heading over from
Amsterdam Sevens. So it’s the Netherlands, with Marielle saying:
safe to say that rugby means a lot to “With every club, they are going.”
the family from the Netherlands. As Jimmy adds: “When we went to
No surprise, then, that they couldn’t the stadium in Marseille or Lyon, you
wait to tour France for the Rugby always met people you know. There
World Cup. In fact, they were part was really a lot of Dutch people.”
of a staggering number of fans who Asked who they were backing, the
journeyed from the Netherlands to couple say that it’s the joy of rugby
see the top Test sides play ball. that brings them and while Jimmy
“We travel because we don’t have has been known to sport a Scotland
big games in our area and you always shirt – owing to a relationship with
have to travel,” says Jimmy. “But for Tim Visser – he laughs about the
France you can jump in opportunity to pick a
your car and be there in favourite side every match.
five or six hours. And then
you get to see the best DID YOU So should we expect an
army of fans in orange
games in the world.
“Most of the group
KNOW? touring World Cups of the
future, even if their national Wolf on the hunt
(travelling fans) are a bit The Netherlands side don’t qualify? Marielle A searing run v Australia
older, but hardcore fans men are ranked 27 in replies: “Now it’s much
will travel around the the world, while the easier for everybody to get
world and we always go women are ranked 16. tickets by internet.” We’ll
to the Dubai Sevens; I’ve The men have never take that as a yes then. O REST for the wicked.
played in Bahrain a few been to a World Cup, It was a drive away this Just one week after the
times. There’s a hardcore
group of fans who always
keep in touch with each
but the women have
played in three: in
time. But don’t be shocked
to see Dutch fans at the
1991, 1998 and 2002. 2025 and 2027 events.
N bewildering, brilliant win
against Fiji, Portugal’s
Player of the Match
Nicolas Martins was back to the
Showing their colours day job, whacking folk for Soyaux
Barten (left) and friend Angoulême in France’s ProD2.
He will have been walking on air –
and hitting like a Beyoncé banger –
when he went back to his club,
following his impressive displays
at the World Cup. In a team full of
neutrals’ favourites, he stood out.
In their opening match, Martins got
the most pleasingly sneaky score from
a trick lineout play when the ball was
plopped off the top diagonally to him
at the front and he eased past the
Welsh defence to score. But it was the
openside’s efforts in defence that
earned him the most plaudits.
It should not have come as a
major shock. In the Rugby Europe
Championship, according to Opta, ten

76

NICOLAS MARTINS
From his first try to his last tackle, the Portugal breakaway wowed fans throughout the tournament
of his 49 tackles in the competition were
‘dominant’, which had him top of that
chart. In last season’s ProD2, he was
fifth for most tackles on average. At this
World Cup, he was fifth for most tackles,
with 63 on the official site’s tally.
And yet it wasn’t written in the
stars that the France-born star
Worn with pride Martins in Portugal colours
PICS Jimmy Barten & Getty Images
would be a tackling machine in the changed my mindset and helped me
colours of Portugal. As Martins told become a better player for my team.”
writer Francisco Isaac after the Described as “outstanding” by the
tournament: “You know, it’s funny Telegraph’s Charlie Morgan, he has
because when I was young I didn’t like been a standout for a Portugal side that
tackling. I was actually a bit scared of it added more spice to the World Cup
and, in time, I learned than a Ghost Pepper sandwich.
how to surpass it. Before defeating Fiji – Portugal’s
FACT FILE “I had a coach who
said a very important
first-ever World Cup win – head coach
Patrice Lagisquet spoke of not caring
Age 24 (18 Jan 1999) thing to me one day: about the ramifications for the Flying
Born Toulouse ‘You don’t have to Fijians or the Wallabies as both sides
Club Angoulême be the best at every hoped to make the quarter-finals. All he
Position Flanker position. You don’t wanted to do was keep the Portuguese
Height 6ft 5in have to be the best dream of winning a major match alive.
Weight 15st 10lb runner or kicker… your Post-match, following the most rousing
Portugal debut role is to be good of wins, Angoulême man Martins said:
v Georgia, 2022 where we need you, “It’s the best moment of my life.”
Test caps 13 (4T) and we need you to Well, as the dream was realised, he
Instagram handle be great in lineouts played one of the biggest roles in that.
@nicolas.mrtns and tackling.’ That Hats off to the defensive maniac.
77
France 2023: Headline Makers

EBEN ETZEBETH Crucial intervention

Scoring against France

At his spoiling best against France in the quarter-finals, the giant lock is finally getting his dues
IRTHDAY PRESENTS don’t France, when he scored the decisive really being dominant in a tight game
come much better. Barely try 13 minutes from the end to shatter with mauling and rucking, just running

B an hour after the Boks won

their fourth Rugby World
Cup, Eben Etzebeth turned
32. He had the trophy in his mitts.
It’s been some year for the enforcer.
Having come back from his own injury
troubles of the past to being a true
leader for this outfit, he barely had much spades. Matfield told the Telegraph: “I
time to make an impact for the Sharks
before he was needed in green.
Recently former locking icon
Victor Matfield said Etzebeth was
“probably the best player in the
world”, and he was finally, finally,
shortlisted for the World Rugby
men’s Player of the Year award.
You doubt there will be any acting
gongs in his future after a truly
hometown hearts. Of course, he was
already soaking up the boos in that
into a wall, Eben is in his own class.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Ireland lock
match after swinging out his wing to flap James Ryan, who said during this World
down a French pass – the Paris crowd Cup: “He’s pretty much the complete
was convinced it was a deliberate second-row. He’s got a good work-rate,
knock-on but the officials waved play on. a good set-piece player, very good in
Brain or brawn, Etzebeth has both in the air in terms of lineout defence, a
great feel for the game. He is a huge
think when it comes to physicality, player for them.
“You’ve obviously
FACT FILE got huge respect
for them but I think
Age 32 (29 Oct 1991) big games are
Born Cape Town about making sure
Club Sharks you impose yourself
Position Lock on the game.”
Height 6ft 8in It’s something the
Weight 18st 10lb South African did
PICS Getty Images & Inpho

wooden cameo in the Afrikaans soap South Africa debut in impossibly tight
opera Binnelanders, but out on the v England, June 2012 matches. If you want
field he has been doing typically Test caps 118 (5T) to win by single
terrifying Etzebeth things. Take the Instagram handle points, he’s a fella
World Cup quarter-final against Icon Etzebeth imposes himself on every match @ebenetzebeth4 to help with that.

78
 Wo r d s St ua rt B arn es & Tom E ngli sh // Pic ture s Get ty Image s

Once again an enthralling World Cup finished without a European

victor. So how did the home nations fare in France? We assess their
performance and cast our eyes towards Six Nations selection…

79
Report Card

ENGLAND
SUBJECT: Gold star
For all the external criticism, England
could not be knocked for a lack of effort.
From the sending-off of Tom Curry to
scraping bronze against Argentina,
England gave this competition every
ounce of energy. In that way, they were
a credit to the rugby nation.
Commitment seems to be bred in the
English bone, together with a cussed
streak which shows in their delight in
proving doubters wrong. They may not
receive marks for aesthetics but are
willing to do exactly what they are told.
Some may wonder whether this is
healthy but it did lead to an outstanding
effort in defeat against a more balanced Captain’s knock
Boks side who looked tired and who Owen Farrell drops a goal
struggled in the wet Parisian weather.
Steve Borthwick’s game plan worked
superbly in that semi-final. To get within to allow their boss, be it Borthwick or
a point of such an innately superior Eddie Jones, to drill various disciplines
team was a fine effort. The manager into them. It isn’t easy to point the finger 15 Henry ARUNDELL
gave his men a plan and they carried it just at England’s players as they are
14 Adam RADWAN
out close to perfection. Yet this can be taught to do as they are told. They must
a weakness more often than a strength. be a delight for those who teach them.
13 Henry SLADE
The one area England were leaders Unfortunately, this comes with a less
12 Ollie LAWRENCE
in rugby thinking was the drop-goal. satisfactory flipside. They are content to
11 Elliot DALY
Defences have tightened through the do the same thing over and over again 10 Owen FARRELL
era of defence coaches. England have but are uncomfortable when left to their 9 Alex MITCHELL
the memory of Jonny Wilkinson to own devices. The modes of teaching 1 Val RAPAVA-RUSKIN
inspire them at a World Cup and they have to be questioned. 2 Jamie GEORGE
quietly took drop-goal opportunities. 3 Nick SCHONERT
Without the three by George Ford SUBJECT: In detention 4 Maro ITOJE
against Argentina, the one to quell a 5 George MARTIN
Fijian surge and the semi-final kick by The attacking game is an utter mess. 6 Tom CURRY
Owen Farrell that had fans believing, this The geometry of their running lines is 7 Sam UNDERHILL
report card could look very different. awful. The quality of passing is poor and 8 Ben EARL (CAPT)
the finishing is, well, difficult to describe.
SUBJECT: Room for improvement The backs simply don’t score in open
play. With the exception of the outing
England aren’t very good at thinking for against Chile, England rarely looked like
themselves. They have become content causing trouble with ball in hand. Henry
Arundell scored five in this
Showing emotion match. He has a reputation
Joe Marchant but coaches seem
incapable of trusting him.
The only tick in the
attacking box was the
decision to give Marcus
Smith time as second
fly-half, disguised as a
full-back. Bar that, the
squad and management
displayed complete
aversion to creativity. Ahead
of the Six Nations, England
need to employ a visionary
upgr
devoid of the work ethic. ad
C be ed fr o m
semi cause o
- fi na f
80 l e ff
ort

IRELAND
SUBJECT: Gold star
To the bitter end, Bundee Aki was
Ireland’s totemic performer, but he had
some serious back-up from his back
three (Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen and
James Lowe) and his forward pack.
Peter O’Mahony won his 100th cap
along the way. Johnny Sexton broke the
Irish point-scoring record. To stretch
their winning run to 17 on the bounce
after the win over Scotland was
testament to their excellence.
The win over South Africa was colossal.
Every last one of them was tremendous
and the focus on finding their weakness
only intensified. Scotland thought they
had found it but got hammered.
Ireland bowed out after an epic duel
with an inspired All Blacks. Another
quarter-final exit and the most painful
since the late, late defeat to eventual
champions Australia in 1991. Maybe it’s
even worse as Ireland were favourites.
The Irish fans were gobsmacking
in terms of numbers and noise. They
occupied every city they arrived in.
They wanted to see Sexton getting
his dream finale but sport is cruel.
SUBJECT: Room for improvement
The biggest job is to examine the
failings of the lineout. It’s been a
recurring theme and, at times, it hurt
them. The scrum was costly against the
All Blacks too. Andrew Porter complained
bitterly about interpretations.
There’s not a lot wrong with this
team. Yes, the All Blacks targeted the
breakdown remorselessly and won a big
victory there – neutralising the previously
sensational Caelan Doris – but Ireland’s
breakdown has been outstanding for a
Fond farewell
Johnny Sexton
Report Card
Fine margins
James Lowe attacks
v New Zealand
year and more. They lost by a tiny margin
to a New Zealand side that delivered
their best stuff in years. Jordie Barrett’s 15 Hugo KEENAN
extraordinary defensive play in stopping
14 Mack HANSEN
Rónan Kelleher from scoring late will live
long in the nightmares of every Irish fan.
13 Garry RINGROSE
At prop, the bench could be stronger
12 Bundee AKI
for sure, but the strength in depth
11 James LOWE
elsewhere is good. Jack Crowley will 10 Jack CROWLEY
now take Sexton’s crown (a hard one to 9 Jamison GIBSON-PARK
wear lightly, but he’s a hell of a talent), 1 Andrew PORTER
with Ross Byrne backing him up. Sam 2 Dan SHEEHAN
Prendergast might come on quickly. 3 Tadhg FURLONG
Ireland will be fine once they get over 4 James RYAN
the desperate disappointment and 5 Iain HENDERSON
Andy Farrell is going nowhere. 6 Peter O’MAHONY
7 Josh VAN DER FLIER
SUBJECT: In detention 8 Caelan DORIS (CAPT)
Did Farrell overplay too many players?
Ten of the 15 that started against the
All Blacks started all five games. Sure,
some were taken off early in the rout
of Scotland but did Farrell
need to play them so often?
Did the fatigue hit them
against New Zealand?
Sexton was out there
until the bitter end
despite looking tired.
These are all moot
points because it was
still a monumental effort.
You wouldn’t put any of
the squad or game plan in
detention. It was just a cruel
exit after a brilliant battle
with the Blacks. Win that,
they’d have made the final.
81
Report Card

SCOTLAND
SUBJECT: Gold star
When you’ve not fired a shot and
scored just three points in your first big
game (against South Africa) and got
obliterated in your other one (against
Ireland), then we’re pushing it to award
gold stars. Darcy Graham scored four
tries against Romania, Sione Tuipulotu
was good in a futile fight against the
Irish. Jack Dempsey had his moments.
Really, the standouts were the Scottish
fans. The way that they took over Nice
and Lille was something to remember
in a tournament to forget.

SUBJECT: Room for improvement

In the shallow end
You just can’t get away from the fact Scotland exit at the pool stage
that Scotland were in an outrageously
difficult group and all sides from the
other half of the draw may well have not true. They’ve lost eight in a row
perished in a similar way. The Scottish against South Africa, nine in a row
lineout needs to improve, the attack against Ireland and have never beaten 15 Blair KINGHORN
needs to be less predictable against the the All Blacks. Some realism, please.
14 Darcy GRAHAM
big boys, they need to stop their ruinous Less back-slapping, more hard talking.
habit of conceding tries in clusters and
13 Huw JONES
they are too easy to score against. SUBJECT: In detention 12 Sione TUIPULOTU
The defence needs to improve
11 Kyle STEYN
dramatically to compete with the The way Scotland play can be thrilling 10 Finn RUSSELL (CAPT)
elite. Ruck ball was too slow. Game when they’re given space. The problem 9 Ben WHITE
intelligence and problem-solving on the comes when they haven’t got space. 1 Pierre SCHOEMAN
move was lacking. So many issues. They still play a wide-wide game no 2 George TURNER
They just looked a bit lost in adversity. matter the circumstances. Plan B is 3 Zander FAGERSON
They lack street-smarts. What’s the more of Plan A. The reality is that 4 Richie GRAY
point of giving up an easy three points Scotland don’t have the players to play 5 Grant GILCHRIST
against Ireland early on and going to any other way, they don’t have the 6 Rory DARGE
touch for a close-range lineout that, if power up front to win a slugfest. In 7 Hamish WATSON
won, tends to deliver nothing from the detention? The entire Scottish game plan 8 Jack DEMPSEY
subsequent maul. That’s just handing a and whether they can find a few new
psychological edge to your opponent. beasts to make it less one-dimensional.
Scotland players need to stop Duhan van der Merwe is a try-scoring
deluding themselves that ‘on our day machine but serious questions need to
we can beat any team in the world’. It’s be asked about work-rate off the ball.
Nowhere near good
enough. Kyle Steyn was
unlucky not to get more
game time. Jamie Ritchie
has been dogged by
injury and was well off
his best. Scotland’s
breakdown came up
short. Richie Gray, the
respected breakdown
coach from Galashiels,
should be enlisted
immediately. There are no
Showed up well players coming through, so
Scotland fans the coaching needs to be
a whole lot more detailed.

82
 Report Card

WALES
SUBJECT: Gold star
Wales could not be faulted for effort. It
might not sound sexy but as Dan Biggar
said on the eve of their quarter-final
elimination by Argentina, his team were
“doing a lot of stuff that doesn’t require
a lot of talent, like chasing” and, in the
main, they did it extremely well.
Some may see this as damnation with
the faintest of praise but a clarity of
mind and an overwhelming commitment
has taken Wales to four straight quarters.
Given the state of Wales a year ago, this
is success based on sleeves rolled up
and a lot of sweating in the French sun.
If one aspect of the team merits praise
it’s the back row. The injury to Taulupe
Faletau might be the difference between
winning and losing against Argentina.
This tournament was a triumph from 6-8
in the pool. Nobody should be surprised
at the No 8’s form. He always produces
when it matters. But Jac Morgan,
inspired by captaincy, took his Six
Nations form to the global level. Wales
have a future great on their hands.
Aaron Wainwright also excelled. His
speed against Australia surprised a few.
Tommy Reffell is a fine player but by
fielding two sevens against Argentina,
Wales lost balance in the back row. It
was somewhere Wales, until Faletau’s
injury, were at their strongest.
SUBJECT: Room for improvement
With Liam Williams off to Japan, the
noticeable lack of poise at the back was
worrying when he limped out of the
tournament. Wales have a dangerous
back three that can benefit from broken
fields. The decision to switch Louis
Rees-Zammit to 15 and introduce Rio
Major loss
Liam Williams
Inspirational
Jac Morgan
Dyer was the right one on the day. But
Rees-Zammit had a tentative time at 15.
Indeed Argentina were able to target 15 Louis REES-ZAMMIT
the Welsh match-winner, so insecure
14 Rio DYER
was he when he stepped infield. It’s
not a reason for not being bold in Six
13 George NORTH
Nations selection, but the flying wing
12 Nick TOMPKINS
needs someone to help him at full-back.
11 Josh ADAMS
10 Sam COSTELOW
SUBJECT: In detention 9 Tomos WILLIAMS
1 Gareth THOMAS
That naughty Welsh lineout. It hasn’t 2 Dewi LAKE
functioned as it should for years now 3 Tomas FRANCIS
and it went missing again when they 4 Dafydd JENKINS
needed it. Wales haven’t found a 5 Will ROWLANDS
hooker to rely on under pressure and 6 Aaron WAINWRIGHT
the lineout forwards have been beaten 7 Jac MORGAN (CAPT)
to ball or see it fly over their heads. 8 Taulupe FALETAU
Dewi Lake lost his place in the team
but by half-time against Argentina, Ryan
Elias was in equal trouble. The scrum is
a set-piece that improved enormously
between Six Nations and the World Cup
but the collective dunces
cap was falling over the
eyes of thrower, lifter and
jumper alike. We were
going to include Wales’
choice to keep taking
three points instead of
being tempted by five
or seven from kicks to
the corner against the
Wallabies but it would be
crazy to do anything else
based on the problems
Wales had. They’ll struggle
to top the Six Nations tree
until this is improved. n

83
 Words Josh Graham // Pictures Getty Images

SAM
WHITELOCK
SPOTLIGHT ON

The All Blacks legend is moving to France after a record-breaking World Cup

Age 35 (12 Oct 1988)

Born Palmerston North
Position Lock
Club Pau
Height 6ft 8in
Weight 18st 6lb
NZ caps 153 (7T)
Instagram handle
@samuelwhitelock

84
 Y THE barest
of margins, Sam
B Whitelock fell short
of the one record
that really mattered.
He was just two points short of
ending his storied New Zealand
career as the first man to win
three Rugby World Cups after
triumphing in 2011 and 2015.
South Africa’s 12-11 win in a
pulsating Paris final ensured the
Springboks joined Whitelock as
back-to-back champions after
retaining their 2019 title.
Dab hand
Making yards
against Italy
However, it meant the great lock
finished his 153rd and final All
Blacks match, and 26th RWC
appearance – both new records
– on the losing side for a change.
“Sport can be pretty cruel,” he
said in the immediate aftermath.
But that’s why we love it. The fine
margins, the element of jeopardy
and everything in between. And
Whitelock knows more than most
what it’s like to come out on top.
When Rugby World, in the
RWC final mixed zone, asked
hooker Codie Taylor to sum up
Whitelock’s impact, he said he
has been the archetypal All Black.
“Massive, massive respect for
him as a person, as a player and
as a father,” Taylor explained.
“He defines what an All Black is.
He’s uncompromising, he goes
about his work and leaves it all
out there. I’m really gutted that
we couldn’t finish it for him.”
When asked if Whitelock had
said anything in a heartbroken
changing room, Taylor admitted
that emotions were high all round.
“Ah no, I think he’s pretty
emotional at the moment, which
is understandable. There’s a lot
going through his head and all of
our heads. We’ll get a chance to
connect later on and enjoy what
has been a formidable career.”
You can say that again. An U20
world champion in 2008, he
made his Super Rugby debut for
the Crusaders and his senior All
Blacks bow just two years later.
Whitelock went on to be named
Crusaders captain in 2017 and
was at the heart of a dynasty that
saw seven successive Super titles
come back to Christchurch with
Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson as coach.
Both men are moving on as
Whitelock has signed for Top 14
side Pau, where he will join
brother Luke. And Robertson will
take over from Ian Foster as the
new All Blacks coach, without his
key man in the engine room.
While Whitelock has spent the
last two months traversing France
for the World Cup, it is only now
starting to sink in that the country
will be his new permanent home.
“It’s a bit weird. It hasn’t sunk in
yet,” he said after the final defeat.
“I am still here with the team and
speaking English. It’s going to be
completely different when we get
back but that is a month away. I’m
dealing with this at the moment.”
85
Scott Barrett’s emergence as
one of the All Blacks’ form players
saw Whitelock’s role switch as he
was often used from the bench
during the tournament, although
he did start ahead of Brodie
Retallick in the comprehensive
semi-final rout of Argentina.
But undoubtedly his most iconic
contribution came in the quarters.
With the clock ticking down and
New Zealand four points ahead of
Ireland, then the world’s No 1 side,
Andy Farrell’s men hurled the
kitchen sink at the All Blacks.
An incredible 37 phases of
TOP 3
attack were absorbed before
Whitelock came up with a vital
turnover in the 84th minute to
ruin Irish dreams of grandeur and
bring an end to one of the best
games we’ve ever seen.
Ardie Savea’s recollection of
that moment paints a pretty good
picture of the emotion involved.
“What I remember was Sammy
Whitelock getting that penalty.
(I was) screaming and just
relieved and very, very happy.”
Before that, though, the pool
stages were all about the
personal milestones. Not that
Whitelock enjoyed that much.
He drew level with flanker Richie
McCaw’s previous caps record of
148, then made 150 in the 73-0 win
over Uruguay. It felt like a seismic
record was tumbling every week.
So much so that Whitelock
described it as “being kind of
drawn out a little bit but I wouldn’t NEXT MOST RWC
have changed it for anything”. A P P E A R A NCE S
To get an idea of why Whitelock
is so revered globally, it’s wise RICHIE McCAW (22)
to pay heed to the words of his The two-time winning
opponents. Uruguay centre Juan captain (below) is now
Manuel Alonso describes the four games short of
post-match scenes in Lyon for us. Whitelock’s new mark
“Whitelock came to say some
JASON LEONARD (22)
words, we gave him a 150-cap
The former record caps
(commemorative Uruguay) shirt. holder for England
“He gave a speech – that was played in two finals
really, really nice. He said he across four World Cups
never expected to play one cap
and now he’s played 150 and he AGUSTÍN CREEVY (22)
had goosebumps and he was Playing in the bronze
really proud of our World Cup. final drew the great
“It’s really an honour for us to Pumas hooker level
play someone like that.” A classy
touch and heart-warming stuff.
Whitelock will undoubtedly now
give everything to the Pau cause.
However, it does feel fitting
that the ultimate team man
finishes up as the leading
individual All Black. n
 Danny Cipriani

T IS nearly 2,000 days since he prefers to be seen simply as a

Danny Cipriani last pulled on decision-maker. And perhaps his most

I an England shirt but his status interesting decision is the one that

WORDS JOSH GRAHAM // MAIN IMAGE PHIL BARKER/FUTURE

as one of the country’s most comes next in his rugby career.
recognisable rugby players Contrary to popular belief, Cipriani has
shows no sign of diminishing soon. not officially retired despite the fact he
That is largely due to his off-field hasn’t been seen in action since turning
escapades and high-profile romances out for the Barbarians in a friendly game
which returned to the public sphere with against Northampton last November.
considerable force during an explosive That was his first appearance since
serialisation of his new autobiography, leaving Bath at the end of the previous
which was released in September. season and despite just turning 36,
There’s no shortage of salacious Cipriani believes he could still replicate
quotes in what is a raw and revealing the kind of form he showed in 2018-19
memoir written in the present tense. when he became Premiership Player of
Cipriani reveals that “threesomes the Season in his first year at Gloucester.
became the norm” and accuses Eddie “That is out of my control, brother,”
Jones of behaving like a “horny Cipriani tells Rugby World when asked
teenager”, something he then denied. if he will lace up the boots again.
Ironically, Cipriani has the public “I would love to play again and I’d
profile which rugby union craves but play the game in a way now that I would
finds himself at odds with certain play the best rugby I’ve ever played.
aspects of the game. While many have I feel so solid and free internally.”
labelled him disruptive and a maverick, What’s stopping him then? “It would
take a coach who wouldn’t mind having
a conversation. I’m not going to go in
there and be disruptive as I’ve been
labelled throughout my whole career;
that was often people who mostly didn’t
want to hear a different opinion.
“If there was a coach willing to have
that conversation, it would be a beautiful
partnership and I’d love to play.”
Those with good memories will recall
Cipriani’s time training with various
professional football clubs to maintain
his fitness before he moved to Australia
to join the Melbourne Rebels. And he’s
very much still partial to a kickabout as
he keeps his hand in physically.

Danny Cipriani is never shy of an opinion, as his new

autobiography shows. We catch up with the former England
sensation to find out if his future still lies in the game

87
 Danny Cipriani

and I’d love to do it, but the opportunity

Fun and games has to be really exciting to leave my
On tour with Eddie family daily. I don’t want to just dip my
Jones in 2018
toe in, I don’t want to be ticking a box.”
Cipriani lists La Rochelle’s Ronan
O’Gara and new All Blacks coach Scott
Robertson as two of the head honchos
he admires in the modern game.
“If there was a coaching staff that was
open, compassionate, humble and
wanting to excel, I would definitely like
to be a part of that because then we
could all grow and learn together and
become a phenomenal coaching outfit.
“If it’s one that wants to look like it
has the right answers and doesn’t
listen to views or opinions and is rigid
then it’s not something I’m interested

“I’m playing football on Monday
and Wednesday nights, keeping fit.
My mobility and strength is great,” he
explains. “My body is free of injury and
I feel very happy after 18 years not to
be in pain anymore, which is great.”
Cipriani has been linked with the usual
talk of lucrative moves abroad but
insists salary is not, and never has been,
a deal-breaker. In fact, his ill-fated spell
at Bath underlined one thing for him
clearly: the hunger is still there.
“I’ve never played rugby for money.
I’ve always wanted to be the best I
could be. When I went to Bath it was
more for me to explore ‘Do I still want
to do this?’ And I did to a degree.
“I spoke to the coaches there in
PICS Phil Barker/Future, Getty Images & HarperCollins
Open
do this’. And I’m
way fitter than I Book
was then, so if the
opportunity comes Cipriani’s raw autobiography
(HarperCollins, £22) caused a
and it’s exciting
stir as his romantic escapades
then I’m up for it.”
made headlines. But it’s full
So if playing of rugby insight. He likens the
doesn’t transpire, England RWC 2015 leadership
perhaps Cipriani group to the mafia and reveals
could find himself how the pitch was his safe
as a coach. Who space during a chaotic time.
better to run an
attack than the
man who at his
best unlocked pro defences for fun? in. And I experienced that a lot as a
“It’s something I would perhaps look at player. If there is that environment
at some point if the opportunity was somewhere then man, I’m all in. But
exciting enough for me to leave my if not, there’s lots of other things that

pre-season, they didn’t really want to
listen. Normally I would tell them, ‘We
are doing it my way’. I was at a point
where I wasn’t trying to play from ego or
drive the thing, so I let them do it.
“It didn’t turn out too great on the field
but I had a really great experience off
the field working with the young players
and coaching them. During the season, I
had four games and I was like ‘I can still
family every day and go and do
something which I’m very passionate
about and I love to do,” says Cipriani,
who is now a stepdad and stepgrandad
after marrying wife Victoria.
“I felt like I experienced that when
I was playing at Sale, Wasps and
Gloucester in my career. When I went
to Sale, the first year I learnt a lot and I
recognised that I didn’t want to be at the
mercy of a coach’s opinion, so then for
the next three years I learnt how to
coach in a way.
“Then at Wasps and
I’m very passionate about.”
Cipriani is clearly big on diversity
of opinion but believes views should
be substantiated. It’s fair to say he’s
not a fan of people blagging it.
He adds: “Showing vulnerability in
those environments is a strength but we
have this idea in rugby that if you look
like you know what you’re talking about
and you say the right thing all the time,
then you must know what you’re talking
about. That just keeps the game
confined within its current structures.”
At the RWC, Jonny May compared

FACT FILE Gloucester it was

different. It was just
Steve Borthwick to code-breaker Alan
Turing but perhaps Cipriani would be
Age 36 (2 Nov 1987) get the message best used as a chief problem-solver. The
Born Roehampton across to as many Borthwick-Cipriani axis is highly unlikely
Height 6ft 1in people as possible. to materialise but surely there are
Weight 14st 6lb I really enjoyed that. potential suitors in the game for him.
Position Fly-half or 15 “I know as a coach Maybe now it’s time to allow Cipriani
England caps 16 the impact I could to be an industry disruptor for good. It
Test points 64 (3T) have in terms of would be a great shame for him to exit
Instagram handle structure of attack. It rugby permanently via the back door.
@dannycipriani87 would be so enjoyable We await his next move eagerly. n
Chewing the fat RW sits down with Cipriani

88
CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Stuart - - - , Scotland lock from
1997-2005 who has size-15 feet (6)
5 A red one has been the symbol
of English rugby since 1871 (4)
8 Head coach who steered Fiji into
the knockout stage of the World Cup
for the first time since 2007 (5,8)
9 What teams outside the top
division strive for (9)
10 Number of points that Romania scored
against South Africa in Bordeaux (3)
11 South Africa’s coaches used traffic
lights to - - - to players (6)
13 Scotland wing - - - Murray marked
Jonah Lomu – and scored a try –
in the RWC 1999 quarter-final (6)
16 Acronym for Federazione
Italiana Rugby (1,1,1)
17 City that hosted two of the 2023
World Cup quarter-finals (9)
19 Three of this Toulon prop’s
16 England caps came during
the 2015 World Cup (6,7)
20 Italian club loves
sparkling white wine (4)
21 Central contracts for England players
should be “top of the - - - ,” said
Saracens boss Mark McCall (6)
THE WINNER OF THE OCTOBER CROSSWORD IS
CIARÁN ELSTER FROM YATE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
ACROSS 1. Joy Neville 8. Sally 9. Rounder 10. Long run 11. Errie 12. Scouts
14. Odiase 17. ANZAC 19. Rhubarb 21. Kemsley 22. Tryst 23. Ardie Savea.
DOWN 2. Orlando 3. Noyer 4. Verona 5. Lou Reed 6. Elder 7. Irné Herbst
8. Sale Sharks 13. Tackled 15. Analyse 16. Argyle 18. Zumba 20. Ultra.
DON’T MISS NEXT MONTH
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DOWN
2 Nickname linking recently retired
Scotland hooker Stuart McInally
with Sylvester Stallone (5)
3 Julián - - - , Argentina captain who
celebrated his 30th birthday the
day after the World Cup final (7)
4 A maul can be restarted after it’s
become - - - provided it happens
within five seconds (6)
5 Norrie - - - , Scotland’s tighthead v
Romania at the 1987 World Cup (5)
6 Mask Len remoulded for Chile’s
professional team (7)
7 Gabin - - - , Toulon and France wing (8)
9 Moana - - - , Super Rugby franchise
coached by Tana Umaga (8)
12 Franklin’s - - - , home of the Saints
and once described as the
“Champs-Élysées of Northampton” (7)
14 “When you see a fans village in the
city full of people in red singing the
national anthem, it is - - - ,” said Wales
forwards coach Jon Humphreys (7)
15 Saudi - - - played their maiden rugby
Test in 2016, losing 43-13 to Jordan (6)
17 Florida’s oldest rugby club (5)
18 Danny Cipriani says he wasn’t - - - by
a clique of England team-mates (5)
The crossword winner will receive £20. Closing date for entries is
Wednesday 29 November and the result will appear in our February 2024
issue. Send your entry, name & address and an email address to: Alan
Pearey, China Cottage, Kenwood Mews, Outwood Lane, Horsforth, Leeds,
West Yorkshire, LS18 4HR. Alternatively, email your name & address plus
a photo of the completed crossword to alan.pearey@futurenet.com.
The competition is open to all ages. Compiled by Alan Pearey.
What’s on your bucket list?
Our January issue comes
with a FREE 2024 calendar,
themed on rugby experiences
you don’t want to miss
PLUS…
The Champions Cup returns
with a new format. Can La
Rochelle make it a hat-trick?
Hard-hitting opinion
from Stephen Jones
Top insights from The
Analyst, Sean Holley
 T H E A N A LYS T

WHY JAC MORGAN

CAN BECOME A
WORLD GREAT
The Wales captain has taken his game to another level, says Sean Holley

JAC MORGAN has emerged as the
new sweetheart of Welsh rugby for his
immense performances and modest
demeanour. A back-row mainly playing
in the No 7 shirt, he has developed in
similar vein to one of his predecessors
as Wales captain, Sam Warburton.
Like Warburton, Morgan has taken to
Test rugby like a duck to water, with the
ex-Lions captain even labelling Morgan
“Wales’ Antoine Dupont”. But unlike
Warburton, Morgan can be used in ways
that allow him to show his footballing
ability, passing range, footwork and
acceleration – all skills that add value to
his position. He’s extremely consistent
and his knowledge and thirst for the
game make him an ideal captain.
Morgan’s performances at the recent
World Cup typified this. His light shone
brightest in the 40-6 rout of Australia,
where his array of skills forced the Australian rucks more than any other
rugby world to sit up and take note. Welsh player too, as well as making
Morgan’s searing line break to set up 17 tackles – the most by any player
the first try for Gareth Davies highlighted in the game. Add to that a try and a
Wales’ ability to use him off first-phase mesmeric 50:22 kick that went a long
play. He arrived at more attacking rucks way to breaking Wallaby hearts.
for his team than any other player (28), I’ve highlighted the three biggest
with 19 of those as one of the first three moments of that game in which Morgan
players to get there. He countered the demonstrated his world-class talent…
With his subtle hands and great perception, Morgan can be used in
the back-line as an attacking threat. Against Australia, Wales initially
used a lineout play that had produced a George North line break
against Fiji – knowing the Wallabies would have done their homework.
Soon after, Wales had another lineout on halfway and set up in the same formation.
This time, however, Nick Tompkins draws the tackle from Samu Kerevi (below) and
passes inside to Morgan, who steams through the line. His angle of run, towards the
corner flag, commits the covering defender, Mark Nawaqanitawase, so that when
Morgan then straightens and feeds the supporting Gareth Davies on his inside, no
one can stop the scrum-half racing in. A brilliant try in both thought and execution.

THE EXTRA
BACK

1122 To
om
m
mpkins

1133
12 Kerev
12 Kerevi
vi

13 North
13 13 Petaia
13 Peta a
Pe

14 Na
14 Nawaqqanittaawase
awase

WHO IS
SEAN HOLLEY?
A former Ospreys and
Bristol coach who has also
worked with Wales and
is now a TV analyst

90
 Morgan has an innate footballing ability, with terrific feet and an
THE
awareness that belies his 23 years of age. With the match poised
at 10-6 in Wales’ favour, Australia opt for a 5m lineout. The ball is
INSIDE
overthrown and Morgan catches the ball in space at the tail.
Most back-rows here would panic or seek a half-back to pass to. Not Morgan.
LINE
He looks up and strikes the ball so perfectly that it sails down the 15m tram-line,
crosses the Australia 22 and bounces into touch for a 50:22. From a dangerous
situation in their own 22, Wales have an attacking lineout in the Aussie 22. I was at Round out your back-row
this match and could see the Wallabies’ body language visibly sink at this moment. skills, writes Sean Holley

1
THE KICKING Practise in stages
BACK-ROW Morgan must avoid being in
front of Tompkins when he
eases off his run to pass. Walk
through the play, simulating the
effect of the movement on the
defence. Progress to full speed
with defenders behaving as
planned. The centres must look
like they’re going to get the ball.
In anticipation of a line break,
channel work for the final
execution is effective. Start
with the pass back inside to
seven from a standing start.
7 Morgan Get support runners to pour
through, with the last defender
entering the channel and
scramble defenders running
back to disrupt the play.

2
Kicking tuition
Encourage back-rows to
join in a backs kicking
Morgan is often used in the lineout as a front lifter, but his low session, particularly at the end
centre of gravity makes him perfect for the back of a driving maul. of training. They can help the
With the result in the bag, he shows his killer-instinct leadership. kickers by being a catcher and
From a 5m lineout, Morgan, stood in the nine position (below), waits kicking the ball back to them.
for catcher Taine Basham to bring the ball to ground and nestles into it alongside Ask your regular kickers to
Taulupe Falatau, with Dillon Lewis and Dafydd Jenkins peeling around to set up a coach technique. For Morgan’s
perfect formation around their skipper. Morgan’s strength and leg power allow him 50:22, he kicks the point of the
to stay in the maul as the lifters buffer the drive ahead of him. He doesn’t overdo ball to maximise accuracy and
his role, waiting for the impetus to take his pack to the line where he dots down. distance. How he holds the ball
and transfers it to his foot is
THE BACK OF imperative. Who knows, we
20 Basham
20 THE MAUL may get No 8s box-kicking from
the base of a scrum in future!

3
Patience is a virtue
Morgan’s patience and
understanding of his role
makes this work. If he enters
7 Morgan the maul like a bull at a gate,
he could force it to go down. If
he’s not tight enough into the
maul, his team-mates will find it
harder to bind and get the maul
tight. Also, defenders may grab
his shirt and destroy the set-up.
In training, allow defenders
ILLUSTRATIONS Artlife

to ‘swim’ through the maul to

try to get to the carrier. Morgan
has the ball on his inside arm
to stop defenders getting to it.

91
 B O O T C A M P

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING THIS MONTH…

BE READY
TO KICK
I WASN’T a goal-kicker
when I was younger but I’ve
always been adamant about
having strong legs, writes
Ulster scrum-half and kicker John
Cooney. Generally the stronger your
legs, the stronger you’ll kick a ball.
The longer your levers are, generally
the longer you’ll be able to kick a ball,
so smaller players should try to have
strong legs, working on their squats
and hamstring exercises.
One thing I can struggle with is focus.
So if I go out just to kick for the sake
of it, I’ll sometimes lose concentration
and start missing. So I like to keep it
to a ten-kick or 12-kick challenge. If I’m

“ I li ke t o kee p to a t en -ki ck
o r 12 -ki c k cha ll e n ge”
not kicking that well, I tend to start on
the 15m line and work my way out to
the five, but I have to land five kicks
in a row to move. So if I only get two,
I start again, or if it’s three I start again.
Until I can get all five in a row.
If there’s anything I’ve been doing
wrong, once I get five in a row I’ve
generally fixed the problem.
Then at the end of a session, I’ll
usually get a coach to pick three kicks Relishing pressure
John Cooney kicks at goal
and give me scenario-based events.
So they might say, “Okay, the score is
7-0 and you’ve just got a score by the Are there any gym exercises
touchline and you’re feeling good. Kick that can help with goal-kicking?
from here.” Then next it might be, “It’s
10-7 to them, from the kick-off we’ve
got the ball back, penalty in front.” One exercise I do love is a Landmine Single Leg
The last kick is generally a pressure Romanian Deadlift, writes John Cooney. It’s
WORDS Alan Dymock. PICS Getty Images & Inpho

one and I’ll kick it and that’s it. If I miss
three that’s bad; if I get them all, good.
The coach can also kick the ball off
the tee, or tell me I’m s***. He can do
what he wants and I actually enjoy it,
him trying to put me off as much as he
can. I find it’s good to have game-based
scenarios and I enjoy being taunted or
someone trying to rattle me!
unbelievable: you hold one end of a bar side on,
balancing on one leg as you lower that bar forward while your
back leg extends away from you. If you do it correctly, making
sure your foot is stuck into the ground, your balance is good and
you’re not rushing the exercise, then it’s excellent for your plant
leg and also hamstrings, which is important for goal-kicking.
It’s something I’m adamant about doing for my kicking and
also weekly for maintenance in the legs.

92

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
SERVES 4-6
1 Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the
onion and fry gently for 5 minutes to
soften. Add the ground coriander
and cook for 1-2 minutes.
2 Add the butternut squash and sweet
potatoes and pour in the vegetable
stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for
20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
● 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
● 1 onion, chopped
● 2 teaspoons ground coriander
● 750g butternut squash,
deseeded and cubed
3 Pour the soup, in batches, into a
blender and whizz until smooth. You can
prepare a couple of days in advance
and chill in an airtight container.
4 To serve, warm the soup through
thoroughly. Swirl in the soured cream
at the end and add a sprinkling of
crushed peppercorns. Enjoy!
● 2 medium-sized sweet
potatoes, cubed
● 1.75 litres vegetable stock
● 150ml soured cream
● 1 teaspoon crushed peppercorns
93
STEPS
TO SUCCESS
Try these three exercises to
strengthen those legs while
keeping things dynamic…
1
Med ball squat
// 3 x 6 REPS
Hold a medicine ball in front
of you with both hands. Sit
into squat, lowering until your thighs
are at least parallel with the ground.
2
Box jumps
// 3 x 6 REPS
In front of box, quarter squat
and swing arms, explode
off ground. Land on the box softly.
3
Overhead squat
// 3 x 6 REPS
With barbell pressed or
snatched above head, feet
shoulder-width apart, lower into squat
as deep as you can before rising again.
 P R O I N S I G H T

HOW TO
RETURN FROM
INJURY
Former Scotland No 8 Johnnie Beattie talks through recovery

“The timing of the

injury can be “We are
important. Maybe you are very lucky as
in contract negotiations or professional players to
maybe it happened at the start have access to the best
of a run of games you really physios and doctors and people
wanted to play in. The first who work incredibly hard to get
thing to think about is what you back to fitness as quickly as
you need to do to get possible. You want to find that
back to fitness.” purpose again because that’s
one of the things you
lose when you are
injured.”

“Don’t come
back until you’re
ready. Give your body
“When I started,
every chance of being healed,
WORDS Sam Larner. PICS AFP & Sportsfile/Getty Images

you rocked up and

repaired and strengthened.
touched your toes a few
Whether it’s a contact injury or a
times and you were ready to go.
ligament or a break, take the time to
By the end I did primers to activate
get yourself right. That will get you in
myself before sessions. I’d also have
the right headspace to return to
a stretching routine after matches
that first contact session
and sessions to take away some
confident that you’ve done
stiffness. I also did yoga to give
everything you can to
myself the best chance of
be ready.”
being ready for those
matches.”

94
 Email your letters to rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com
or write to our editorial address

Going the extra mile

I’m a long-time reader of Rugby World. I’ve got some
remarkable ‘international’ news from the Netherlands
about Jordan Paterson, who joined Tovaal Rugby Club
from his town of birth Stevenston in Scotland.
Jordan, 25, ran 120km from Leiden, the town of his
current club DIOK, to Goes, where he started his Dutch
career at the Tovaal club in 2017 at the age of 19. On
one of the hottest days of the year, he hoped to complete
the run in 13 hours, but in the end it took 20.5 hours due
to tough conditions. The brave Scotsman raised €3,235
for Stichting Mind, a foundation that is committed to
helping people with mental problems.
I hope his effort was special enough to get some
attention in Rugby World.
Hans Markusse, President Tovaal RC
RW says: It certainly is special enough, Hans. Thanks for
Marathon effort
highlighting this fantastic fund-raising effort by Jordan.
Jordan Paterson

TMO strangling rugby
Was that the Rugby World Cup or the
TMO World Cup! The game we all love
is being strangled by the 20 or so TMO
playbacks per game… whilst we just wait
for the decision… then the next one…
Surely it can’t be beyond the wit of
man to stop TMOs encroaching so much
on the game. I appreciate the need for
head safety but maybe it should be like
tennis where you can only have a
restricted number of calls. Or the TMOs
PICS Getty Images & Tovaal RC
could get just one shot at the big screen England rugby in easy access to the
and not have countless reruns! non-South-Eastern fans to build our
Nick Thomas (Scarlets fan), Caerleon game and fill the RFU coffers that they
are most bothered about.
New England fortress Greg Noble, Sheffield
Let’s have a second rugby stadium for
England rugby. Based in Leicester – a End red card nonsense
rugby city. It has great communications The head injury protocol has developed
in all directions, airports, train, M1, M6, into a farce. The authorities are tying
M69/M5. Rent it out to Leicester so they themselves in knots in trying to develop
can cash in Welford Road and then we a ‘one size fits all’ sanction whereas
can have each situation is different and needs
common sense to be applied.
The game is played at such a pace
THE RW POLL and with so many tackles that it is
impossible to eradicate accidental head
Are emerging nations clashes, such as the case when Tom
treated more severely Curry was sent off against Argentina.
by disciplinary panels? There should be no red card for
clearly accidental head clashes. And
No Yes any ban for marginal incidents should
14% 86%
be limited to one match.
Alan Lewis (Welshman), Watford, Herts

RFU’s own-goal
Are other clubs struggling with the farce
of first-aiders for kids’ rugby? You have
to have one dedicated per age group,
Tigers’ den Should Welford Road become a second home for England? but it can’t be someone with an existing
 Worthy of support
Uruguay and Namibia
role (eg, a coach) or in more than one
age group. And it can’t be a doctor or
surgeon. Bureaucracy is pushing people
away and not making the game safer.
And what about the crazy regulations
for colts which mean only three U18s
are allowed in an U17 squad, rather than
having six and letting them have half
a game each. Yet another own-goal
making kids decide to stop playing.
Pete Williams, West Yorkshire
Do it like cricket
The biggest issue around the World Cup
is not the tournament itself but the lack
of competitive rugby for lower-ranked
teams, Japan being a prime example.
Take a leaf out of cricket’s book
and have them tour with Tests against
the home nations and warm-ups
against top Premiership sides –
Saracens v Japan would sell out.
Ian WN Dougall, St Albans, Herts
Feast, not famine
Having more teams in the RWC is a
good idea, especially scheduling more
midweek games so we don’t have the
current famine between weekends.
Increasing squad sizes to accommodate
the six-day turnaround would also help.
Introducing a Plate event would be
a fantastic way to have a rugby feast
instead of famine. By giving ‘minnows’
more opportunities to play, they improve
more quickly, as witnessed in sevens
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where minnows have won the cup on
many occasions. It would also provide
an incentive for teams to strive for third
and fourth place while the rest go home.
Bruce Williamson, Sydney, Australia
Fiji hard done by
Fiji’s loss to England in the World Cup
was a stark reminder of the adverse
consequences when unconscious bias
influences match officials’ decisions.
World Rugby should consider having
substitute referees ready to step in
when a referee makes unfair decisions
due to unconscious bias. They should
also educate refs about this and the
potential impact on their decisions. This
could be integrated into their training.
Eliki Waqavakatoga, Fiji supporter
My knockout format
I agree with the decision to increase the
number of teams at World Cups to 24,
but I’d have four pools of six. The top
two in each pool would qualify for the
Cup quarter-finals. The third and fourth
teams would qualify for Plate quarter-
finals, and the fifth and sixth teams
would qualify for Bowl quarter-finals.
This structure would give everyone at
least one meaningful knockout match.
Had it been in place in France, we might
have had a Plate quarter-final line-up of,
say, Scotland v Uruguay, Italy v Tonga,
Australia v Samoa and Japan v Georgia.
Ray Wells, via email
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THE
SECRET
PLAYER
“We want to see serious upsets
and some massive falls from grace”
FOR ALL the joy of seeing the
emerging nations go hard at the
established powers, I can’t help but fear
we go right back to the status quo after
this World Cup. The fat cats who have
money tied up between World Cups
aren’t going to willingly invite in the likes
of Chile, Uruguay and Samoa. They
already have competitions ringfenced
that guarantee their financial security.
So there are green shoots but I
suspect there’s no desire from a
Scotland or Italy to invite Georgia
or Portugal to the Six Nations party.
It’s turkeys voting for Christmas.
There are lots of potential factors
behind the impressive form of
some of the emerging nations at
the recent World Cup: a golden
generation, incredible coaching,
Tier One sides rotating and not
respecting them properly…
But you can see a trajectory of
development. I have a bunch of
mates who play for Chile and
Namibia and Tonga, and the
amount of time they get together
compared to established powers
is pitiful. But still they impress.
What World Rugby needs to do is
lobby and fund-raise and promote new
Test competitions where these teams
get high-level, high-intensity games
each year, so it’s not just a Hail Mary
that they might show up at a World Cup.
We need players to want to play every
match for these teams too. So the
Piutaus and Fekitoas don’t just link up
with a Tonga for a World Cup but for
all of their Tests through the year.
These emerging nations don’t have
their destiny in their own hands because
Our former pro provides a unique insight into the game
they don’t control the pennies sadly. I
want to see these guys get more regular
games and new, stronger competitions
for them all. I want to see the sides
from the Americas get more regular
games against Tier One nations and
a strong Asia-Pacific group.
I’d also like to see us blow the autumn
wide open so this new World League
idea allows these guys in more regularly.
The power can’t just lie with the giants.
So impressive
Georgia and Portugal
The World League has to help, or else
what’s the point? We hope promotion
and relegation comes in quickly. It’s
what every fan and every player I’ve
spoken to wants. The drama of Premier
League football or the Top 14 pulls in
fans and makes stories – it should be
a proper elevator, an indicator of
progress. And you have to earn the
right to play the top teams in the world.
Looking ahead to a World Cup in the
USA in two cycles time, you need a
quality of organised tournament, the
chance to play more meaningful Tests
and scope to improve. And if we are to
98
have 24 teams competing in the USA,
you don’t want some of the basketball
scores we saw in France. It needs to
be competitive and compelling.
The issue, as ever, is ensuring that
teams get their players together. In
the Pacific, for example, aside from the
Drua and Moana Pasifika, how are they
going to get their best Europe-based
players available for all those games?
We need to fight to ensure that.
Some teams will be able to
shift up a tier, many won’t.
But you have to create the
opportunity for them to do so.
Any new competitions must
be properly resourced. Then
when interest comes into the
games, the unions involved can
commercialise their own rights
and reinvest that money in
growing the competition again.
You hope World Rugby will
guide but with plans to give
emerging unions autonomy.
And private equity coming in
would be awesome. There are
rumours about interest from wealthy
states. I’m not sure if there’s any
substance to that but if anyone did, it
could fast-track the quality of any new
competitions. I also want to see a funnel
upwards so that what you might call Tier
Three nations have a chance to rise too.
It’s all really exciting. It’s too early for
the Rugby World Cup in Australia
I’d suggest, but come the
2031 World Cup in the USA
I’d like to think we’ll see
more serious upsets and
some massive falls from
grace too. That’s drama. n
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