Super Rugby 2016 Review : First-half of the season

The Super Rugby Round 9 has ended this Sunday with the last game of the round, the Crusaders playing the Brumbies at Canberra, in their GIO Stadium. Like all the previous rounds, there is always something to learn from the Super Rugby games each weekend.

In 2016, Super Rugby has made the choice of the expansion with three new franchises coming : The Jaguares (Argentina), the Sunwolves (Japan) and the Southern Kings (South Africa). The 18 franchises are in four different conferences and two major groups also.

Contrary to the other seasons, there will be 18 Rounds during the 2016 Super Rugby season. Each franchise will have two bye weekends, which means that the players will be rested while the other franchises will play. So, each team will play 16 games in the season.

Currently, we are at the end of the first-half of the new season. The second-half will begin very quickly with franchises having played only seven games (like Bulls) due to the bye weekends. Let’s make a first review of the season and see which franchises are favourites.

1st : The Waikato Chiefs – 8 games – 33 points

The Chiefs are dominating the start of the Super Rugby season. They made a statement during their first game, winning against the Crusaders. They have been in fine form with counter-attacking masterclass and fullback Damian McKenzie is their new talisman.

2nd : The Canterbury Crusaders – 8 games – 32 points

For Todd Blackadder’s last season in charge, the Crusaders wants to win the title. They recovered from an early loss at home against the Chiefs to win the next seven games. The Crusaders were particularly impressive during their tour in South Africa and in Australia.

3rd : The Cape Town Stormers – 8 games – 28 points

Leading their conference, the Stormers have not changed their gameplan since Allister Coetzee’s leaving to coach South Africa. Playing with a lot of physicality, the Stormers’ only two defeats came against south-african franchises : the Sharks and the Lions.

4th : The Johannesburg Lions – 8 games – 27 points

Walking into a new era, the Lions are improving every weeks thanks to Johan Ackermann. The Lions coach wants to play the All Blacks way and that is working. Their pack, led by skipper Warren Whiteley, is strong and the back-three, with Ruan Combrinck, incredible.

5th : The Wellington Hurricanes – 8 games – 26 points

The Hurricanes started and finished their first-half of the season with disappointment. They recorded great wins including a game against the Blues at Eden Park. The Hurricanes have to put disappointment aside to focus on their tour with a young and talented squad.

6th : The Otago Highlanders – 8 games – 24 points

Defending champions had tough times. The Highlanders lost to the Blues in the opening game (31-33) before winning games but without taking the bonus point try against Western Force. They will have to bounce back following defeats against Reds and Sharks.

7th : The Pretoria Bulls – 7 games – 23 points

With a game to play compared to their opponents, the Bulls are in a good position. Following a defeat against the Stormers and a draw at home against the Sharks, the Bulls used their strength in the pack to win games with winger Bjorn Basson back to his best.

8th : The Melbourne Rebels – 8 games – 22 points

Inconsistency would probably be the best word to define the Melbourne Rebels season so far. They won away against the Waratahs but also lost at home against the Hurricanes, conceding 38 points. The coach Tony McGahan knows that there is room for improvement.

9th : The ACT Brumbies – 8 games – 21 points

Semi-finalists last season, the Brumbies started the 2016 season brillantly but lost two games. Missing their world-class flanker David Pocock, the Brumbies need to trust their playmakers Christian Leali’fano and Matt Toomua to climb in the standings very quickly.

10th : The Durban Sharks – 8 games – 21 points

The Sharks have been outstanding and disappointing so far. Prop and skipper Tendai Mtawarira led the franchise to a big win against the Stormers. However, they fell against the Blues before bouncing back against the Highlanders. Their season is full of surprises.

11th : The NSW Waratahs – 7 games – 17 points

There is some re-building to do at the Waratahs following Michael Cheika’s departure. Daryl Gibson is coaching them and kept the same gameplan. Key players of the franchise such as second-row Will Skelton and backs Nick Phipps and Kurtley Beale have to deliver.

12th : The Auckland Blues – 7 games – 16 points

Another franchise who needs time to find their game is the Auckland Blues. Tana Umaga has replaced John Kirwan and the message is playing an attractive game with offloads and breakdown commitment. The task will not be easy with the Blues needing consistency.

13th : The Bloemfontein Cheetahs – 8 games – 12 points

The Cheetahs do not have the most impressive squad in South Africa but they are trying to play with their abilities. If they need physical pack, their backline is firing, scoring 92 points against Sunwolves. They could not prevent defeats against Jaguares and Brumbies.

14th : The Queensland Reds – 8 games – 8 points

The first-half of the season is just finishing and the Queensland Reds have already sacked their coach. Richard Graham left after disappointing games including the Western Force loss. New coaches have done better thanks to Nick Frisby and the power of Samu Kerevi.

15th : The Buenos Aires Jaguares – 8 games – 7 points

There was a massive expectation from the crowd with the Jaguares coming in Super Rugby. They only won a game so far and it was against the Cheetahs. However, they have got a very good defence and they never lose by much. Argentinians need to find their game.

16th : The Tokyo Sunwolves – 8 games – 7 points

That was a tough learning for the Sunwolves with that 92-point defeat against the Cheetahs. The Japanese franchise is coached by former Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett. They won their first ever game against the Jaguares. They have to be physical though.

17th : The Western Force – 8 games – 6 points

The Western Force is not a franchise which deserves his ranking. They stayed in the contest with Hurricanes during an hour and lost by a point at home against the Crusaders. They rely on imports like All Blacks Alby Mathewson and Springboks Peter Grant.

18th : The Southern Kings – 7 games – 4 points

For their comeback in Super Rugby, the Southern Kings showed their desire to play well. The franchise recorded a win again Sunwolves and despite what the scoreboard could suggest, they were far from being ridiculous against the Crusaders and the Hurricanes.

Conclusion

The first-half of this 2016 Super Rugby season is coming to an end and that is possible to get some indications about franchises’ form and guess which of them will go in the play-offs at the end of Round 18. Nevertheless, that is incredibly close in the Super Rugby table.

The New Zealand conference remains very strong with four franchises (Chiefs, Crusaders, Hurricanes and Highlanders) at the top of the standings and likely to make the play-offs. Hurricanes and Highlanders need to be careful with the Blues representing a threat too.

The Australia conference is probably the Super Rugby conference which is creating some doubt because Melbourne Rebels are making improvements, Brumbies lost two of their last three games, Waratahs are struggling with Reds and Force taking their opportunities.

The South Africa conference (I) shows that Stormers and Bulls are going to be in the contest with Cheetahs and Sunwolves struggling to compete with these two franchises which have got the physicality but which have to play a more expansive game as well.

The South Africa conference (II) has got the same tendency with Lions and Sharks climbing at the top of the rankings. The Jaguares and the Southern Kings have to get more experience on the field to challenge them and it will be probably next season for them.

Based on their current form, the 8 franchises who will make the play-offs could be four New Zealand franchises, two Australia franchises and two South Africa franchises : Crusaders, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Highlanders, Brumbies, Waratahs, Lions and Stormers.

The second-half of the season is coming. Many things will happen !

Max.

Pro12 : Becoming a competitive league

In the last few seasons, there always had that speech saying that Pro12 was the less competitive domestic league in european rugby compared to the other leagues like Aviva Premiership in England and Top14 in France. There was a lot of criticism towards Pro12.

Today, that speech cannot be held any more because the 2015-2016 season is and will stay the rugby season when Pro12 became a highly competitive league with the same passion for the games and with the race to the play-offs becoming highly interesting this season.

We have to reckon that Pro12 becoming a competitive league is a very good news for the game because we have now provinces who are successful on the domestic stage thanks to a balanced policy where all is not about money compared to the Top14 games, in France.

Having a strong Pro12 would benefit the provinces from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. These countries will strengthen their academy players and the Six Nations Championship will only get better for those countries where academies are central to development.

1. Why is the Pro12 becoming suddenly competitive ?

The Pro12 league did not become competitive during the 2015-2016 season just because provinces thought that it was the right moment to start playing a more expansive rugby, years and years after the creation of that competition involving celtic and italian teams.

That is true that, in a way, the 2015 Rugby World Cup, may have help that switch. At the start of the 2015-2016 Pro12 season, many provinces had to play their first games without their international players who were on World Cup duties on September and October.

For example, Leinster Rugby had to do without front-rowers Jack McGrath, Cian Healy and Mike Ross, lock Devin Toner, flanker Sean O’Brien. That was the same in the backline with Eoin Reddan, Ian Madigan, Luke Fitzgerald and the Kearney Brothers called by Ireland.

As for Scotland, we could take the Glasgow Warriors example. More than a dozen of key players were missing including WP Nel, Alasdair Strockosh, Jonny Gray, Josh Strauss, Henry Pyrgos, Finn Russell, Duncan Weir, Matt Scott, Alex Dunbar and Stuart Hogg.

With Wales, it was not better either with the Ospreys and the Scarlets depleted at the start of the Pro12 season. Among the Welsh players called by Warren Gatland, we could mention Rob Evans, Ken Owens, Samson Lee, Alun-Wyn Jones, Rhys Webb and Dan Biggar.

Provinces like Connacht Rugby and Scarlets, even Edinburgh, enjoyed that World Cup window to get as many points as possible to climb in the rankings. The fact that these three provinces did not slip after the World Cup shows that we are witnessing a new era.

In fact, there are plenty of provinces which remain in the contest for the play-offs and Champions Cup qualification. The table is very close and there is not much between the sides. All the provinces have been decent so far and that is really pleasing to watch.

2. The Irish provinces : Setting the standards

The provinces in Ireland are in fine form in that 2015-2016 season. Even if we could argue that Munster Rugby had a tough season with Champions Cup place not secured yet, globally the Irish provinces have been dominating and powerful in that Pro12 league so far.

Munster Rugby were knocked out early in the Champions Cup, failing to reach the quarter-finals. They lost too many games in the Pro12 with a not good at all home record. However, displays against Leinster Rugby and Connacht Rugby were very good despite the defeat.

Ulster Rugby is a province which is in re-building as well. Not qualified in Champions Cup quarter-finals, their position in the Pro12 standings is better than Munster Rugby though they are not sure to play the play-offs. They will need favourable results in the next weeks.

Connacht Rugby is the province on the rise and the big surprise on european stage this season. Reaching the Challenge Cup semi-finals, Connacht Rugby will play their first ever Pro12 semi-final. They have got a good squad with a strong academy to deliver each week.

Leinster Rugby remain a major threat in Ireland. In a tough Champions Cup Pool with Bath Rugby, Wasps Rugby and Toulon, the Irish province re-focused on the Pro12 and they found again their game which makes them strong : powerful pack with creative backline.

3. The Welsh provinces : Probably a new hierarchy

Welsh Rugby was very confused that season because it is very hard to know which province is the best at the moment in the country. If Newport Gwent Dragons are struggling a bit, the Ospreys, the Scarlets and the Cardiff Blues are showing some good performances.

First, Newport Gwent Dragons had a mixed season. Their position in the Pro12 table is disappointing. However, they managed to reach the Challenge Cup semi-finals for the second season in-a-row, showing that there is some talent and potential in that team.

Then, there are the Cardiff Blues who are playing a more expansive game. Relying on two playmakers in Gareth Anscombe and Rhys Patchell give them license to create tries and spread the ball. The team is lead by Sam Warburton, the Wales captain, giving example.

Also, we have to mention the Ospreys. That World Cup hammered them with too many players away from the province. The Ospreys were not far from qualifying for the Champions Cup quarter-finals but unfortunately, their Pro12 form was rather poor.

Finally, the Scarlets are probably the best province in Wales at the moment. Even if they have lost their last games, probably preventing them from reaching the Pro12 play-offs, what they have showed this season could be legacy for the future with hope in the team.

4. The Scottish provinces : Making improvements

 In the last few seasons, many people would have thought that Scottish rugby was not in a very good place with only two provinces struggling to get results on european stage, in Champions Cup and in Challenge Cup. That is changing since the arrival of Vern Cotter.

The New Zealand coach Vern Cotter was appointed Scotland Head Coach before the start of the 2014 Summer Tour. Provincial rugby in Scotland started to rise at the same moment with the two provinces Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby threatening in the Pro12.

Glasgow Warriors have won the 2014-2015 Pro12 season, defeating Munster Rugby in the final at Kingspan Stadium. That same season, they were so close from Champions Cup qualification. During the 2015-2016 season, they maintained the same rugby standards.

One of the most surprising teams this season, along with Connacht Rugby and the Scarlets, are Edinburgh Rugby. Coached by Alan Solomons, they are building a strong academy and rely on Scotland international players such as hooker and skipper Ross Ford.

The two Scottish provinces are making some clear improvements since the start of the 2014-2015 season. Gregor Townsend, former Scotland fly-half and Glasgow Warriors manager, wants to achieve something great with his team by winning some silverware.

5. The Italian provinces : Remaining in the league

We know that Italian rugby is struggling at the moment and the two provinces in the Pro12 league are trying their best despite a lack of structure and a lack of support to develop academies and building a squad to improve the Italy results on the international scene.

There were some talkings following the end of the 2016 Six Nations Championship pleading for Italy relegation in a Tier 2 Six Nations Championship. The same things have been heard also about the provinces which should not play in the Pro12 league any more.

Actually, Benetton Treviso has got a Champions Cup place even if they are not qualified thanks to their Pro12 ranking. It would be a bad decision to knock Italy out of the Six Nations Championship because it woud be difficult for the team to bounce back quickly.

Benetton Treviso had a tough season in the Champions Cup and in the Pro12. However, some international players are coming to play with this team. Scrum-halves Brendon Leonard and Luke Burgess played a season with Benetton Treviso to help development.

Zebre Rugby was far from being ridiculous this season. They finished second in the Challenge Cup Pool stage, behind Gloucester. They lost games heavily but the scoreboard never reflected the game with Zebre Rugby trying to play an attractive offloading game.

Conclusion

The 2015-2016 season will stay as the season when Pro12 became competitive. With two games left before the start of the play-offs, there are still opportunities for all the provinces to play these play-offs and taking those Champions Cup places for next season.

Despite a miserable season for Munster Rugby, the four Irish provinces are playing very well. Connacht Rugby is on the rise, a bit like Munster Rugby in the 1990’s, and Leinster Rugby has got the same powerful game to go into these play-offs and win the Pro12 title.

Welsh provinces are not too far behind with the Scarlets potentially becoming the first province in Wales ahead the Ospreys. The Crusaders winger Johnny McNicoll will play for the Scarlets next season with Cardiff Blues delivering as well thanks to a good gameplan.

As for the Scottish provinces, they are making a lot of improvements. Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby are two provinces managed by talented coaches who are helping, with their ambitions, Scotland players who are aware of that great potential there.

The Italian provinces have to stay in the Pro12. Knocking them out of the league would be terrible as there are some signs showing that Italian provinces could play better : Benetton Treviso attracts international players and Zebre Rugby wants to play an expansive game.

It is really pleasing to see that the Pro12 is in a new era. Many people can feel the passion each weekend with big games and international players delivering. The table is very close and it is not because of the World Cup, that is because the league is becoming competitive.

The Pro12 is in a new era and there are some exciting times !

Max.

The Barrett Review : Super Rugby 2016 (Round 9)

On this weekend, with the Auckland Blues and the Pretoria Bulls having a bye weekend, there are 16 Super Rugby franchises who are playing in this Round 9. With the new competition format, there will be 18 Rounds this season with two resting weeks for teams.

It means that most of the franchisees involved in Round 9 are finishing the first half of the season to start the second half in the coming weeks. With the competition being so close, it will be important for the teams to get as many wins as possible to go in the play-offs.

The Hurricanes were coming back from Melbourne, in Australia, where they played last weekend. They had won with a comfortable margin, claiming the bonus point try and scoring not far from 40 points. That was a performance which brought a lot of confidence.

On Saturday, in Wellington, in their beautiful Westpac Stadium, the Hurricanes were hosting the Chiefs who were leading the New Zealand Conference before that contest. We all knew that it was going to be a great game with a lot of tries and some drama as well.

Team news : Ngani Laumape axed from the squad ?!

The Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd decided to name an unchanged starting XV to face the Waikato Chiefs. The players who started against Melbourne Rebels were given another chance to impress. Hurricanes skipper Dane Coles was leading the franchise once again.

Back-rower Blade Thomson was starting once again at second-row continuing partnership with Michael Fatialofa given James Broadhurst unavailability. The back-row remained the same with Brad Shields, Ardie Savea and Victor Vito driving the forward pack on the field.

In the backline, the half-back pairing was composed with TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett. Chris Boyd started Vince Aso and Matt Proctor in the midfield with Jason Woodward running at fullback with Hurricanes centurion Cory Jane and Julian Savea.

The biggest surprise, during that team announcement, was the Ngani Laumape’s absence. Rugby league convert made outstadning performances with the team so far. He was not part of the Hurricanes trip last weekend and the fans thought that he needed some rest.

Apparently, that is a tactic call which was made by the coach Chris Boyd. Willis Halaholo was named on the bench, which means that Ngani Laumape will not be involved with the franchise for the second weekend in-a-row since the start of the 2016 Super Rugby season.

Before that very important game, Chris Boyd made it clear that the Hurricanes needed to be at their best to win that game. However, he also said that a defeat on Saturday would not be “terminal” for them with plenty of games left in the season but tough ones though.

The first-half : Terrible weather conditions in the capital

That game was played in terrible weather conditions with a very strong wind which made the task difficult for the players. The Hurricanes applied an early pressure on the Chiefs who knocked the ball on early in the game, giving some possession to their opponents.

Thanks to a dominating scrum, Victor Vito took the ball and found TJ Perenara. The scrum-half gave it to Beauden Barrett who found space in the Chiefs defence and made an assist for Cory Jane who scored the first try of the game on his right wing. Early lead (5-0).

Missing the conversion, the Hurricanes were unable to secure the ball in the next phases of play. The Chiefs started to develop their game and following a promising build-up, centre Seta Tamanivalu took a gap and scored a try. The referee wanted a confirmation.

South-african referee Craig Joubert called for TMO to check about a potential knock-on. While the All Blacks pundit Justin Marshall suggested that the try should not have been given, TMO Glenn Newman advised Craig Joubert to award the try. That was controversial.

With a good conversion from Damian McKenzie, the Chiefs were in front for the first time (5-7). From the re-start, the Hurricanes gathered the ball and started a build-up. Playing the advantage after Chiefs’ infrigement, Beauden Barrett kicked a drop-goal.

The Hurricanes were back in front while we were playing the 10th minute (8-7). The tricky weather conditions meant that Beauden Barrett was unable to reward his forward pack with some points as two long penalties were missed by the All Blacks first-five eighth.

Playing during 20 minutes, the Chiefs used their counter-attacking abilities and the fact that the Hurricanes were defending at 14 men, with Jason Woodward receiving medical assessment, to score a second try thanks to Seta Tamanivalu who got his double (8-14).

Immediately, the Hurricanes tried to strike back. The Chiefs were very strong in defence and the hosts were unable to break the tackles. However, they were retaining possession in the Chiefs half with props Reggie Goodes and Jeff Toomanga-Allen making good carries.

Following many phases of play, lock Michael Fatialofa showed the way for the Hurricanes with a very strong charge. Hooker and skipper Dane Coles picked up the ball and raced to score on the left of the posts. Beauden Barrett nailed the conversion to take lead (15-14).

Just before half-time, while the Hurricanes had many try scoring opportunities, another penalty was awarded by Craig Joubert. Beauden Barrett had the opportunity to extend the lead but his attempt went wide. The Hurricanes were leading the Chiefs 15-14 at half-time.

Second-half : Crazy game with tense finish

The main problem for the Hurricanes since the start of this Super Rugby season has been ball retention. Once again, the Wellington-based franchises did not retain the ball at the kick-off and the Chiefs had an early possession at the beginning of the second-half.

The Chiefs stayed composed and benefited from the leadership of their All Blacks players. Second-row Brodie Retallick and flanker Sam Cane worked well together near the Hurricanes tryline to finally create space for Michael Leitch who went over for the try.

Five minutes into the second-half and thanks to another successful conversion, the Chiefs were comfortably in front (15-21). Still in the game, the Hurricanes looked to build some possession and competed at the breakdown to get the ball back against their opponents.

Playing the 50th minute, the Chiefs were running from their own half. Fullback Damian McKenzie made a clean break and made an offload that Sam McNicoll could not gather. Cory Jane picked up the ball and offloaded to TJ Perenara for Hurricanes’ third try (20-21).

Momentum was switching again from the Hurricanes to the Chiefs who got the ball back and tried to score another try. Back in the Hurricanes midfield, Damian McKenzie made amend for this last try combining with winger Toni Pulu to create Taleni Seu’s try (20-26).

Knocking the conversion over (20-28), the Chiefs were 8 points in front with a quarter to go. The Hurricanes relied on a dominant and powerful scrum to create their attacking platforms. Despite the mistakes, the Hurricanes were not giving up at Westpac Stadium.

The magic came from their playmaker Beauden Barrett who created space for lock Michael Fatialofa who made an offload to send Beauden Barrett over the try line (25-28). Fullback Jason Woodward took the kicking duties and the conversion from right was good (27-28).

Lot of tension in the last 10 minutes of that game. Going into the 70th minute, the Hurricanes applied a big pressure on the Chiefs pack at scrum and looked to counter second-five eighth Andrew Horrell. Hurricanes had got the possession and the territory.

Referee Craig Joubert, following consultation with his assistants, stated that the scrums would be now uncontested with too many injuries in front for the Chiefs. The Hurricanes could not rely on their powerful pack to get a penalty and have a chance to go in front.

In the last play of the game, Beauden Barrett found another gap in the Chiefs’ defence and made a pass to Jason Woodward on the right wing. The former Melbourne Rebels player knocked the ball on while he was so close of the tryline. The Hurricanes lost (27-28).

The Barrett Review : Tough moments ahead

Kicks : 2/7 with a drop-kick nailed at the start the first-half and a conversion from the left. Weather conditions did not allow Beauden Barrett to be at his best from the kicking tee with three penalties and two conversions missed with a very strong during all game.

General play : Beauden Barrett was outstanding in open play. He made an assist for Cory Jane on the first Hurricanes try. Beauden Barrett has also scored a try and was close of another assist at the end. He made many breaks and his pace was useful to the franchise.

The Topic : Kicking debate, a problem to solve quickly

For the first time since the start of his professional career more than five seasons ago, Beauden Barrett passed the kicking duties during a game. Against the Chiefs, Jason Woodward took the conversion on the right wing after Beauden Barrett try in second-half.

The kicking conditions were absolutely awful on Saturday night in the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. Among the five kicks that Beauden Barrett missed, at least three kicks were very difficult and it was not made easy by the strong wind to nail those kicks that night.

The Hurricanes has got many options as kickers. Beauden Barrett, Jason Woodward and James Marshall can all kick on the field. It is very difficult to know if there will be a change of a kicker for the game away next week in South Africa against Lions in Johannesburg.

The Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd may make the final decision on who will get the kicking duties next weekend unless he decides to leave that question to the players who will make themselves that call according to what is the best for the Hurricanes in immediate future.

Let’s be honest and we do not have to be carried by criticism. There is no interest in criticism except if you want to hurt the person that you are targeting with that criticism. We are not going to solve the problem thanks to criticism. We will solve it in another way.

Conclusion

Super Rugby is a strange competition and it can do that to you : in a week, you can go from happiness to disappointment. That was a tough night for Beauden Barrett from the kicking tee though he was very good in open play with a try, offloads and running metres.

The next game will be defining for the Hurricanes if they want to go in the play-offs. The Hurricanes are now starting a tough tour in South Africa with big encounters against the Lions in Johannesburg and against the Sharks in Durban. The season will be very tough.

That game for the Lions will have to solve three questions : Who will take the kicking duties ? Will that situation have an impact on Beauden Barrett performances ? Is that situation a blow for Beauden Barrett’s All Blacks aspirations before the Summer tour ?

You have nothing to prove Beaudy. Believe in yourself !

Max.

Stuart Lancaster : Tribute to a great person

Stuart Lancaster is a great human being who made a lot of people love rugby union. He may have known very tough times in the last few months, he has already left a legacy and Stuart Lancaster will never be forgotten in all the rugby world because he is pretty unique.

This man has always promoted great values of that game through the years and in particular, there is one value which was very important for him and the foundation of his goals that he wanted to achieve in rugby union, both as a player and as a coach : Respect.

During his time as an England coach, the time when we learnt who he really was, Stuart Lancaster has spread respect all around him. His declarations, his comments towards the opponents, his behaviour, his squad management, all what he was doing was about that.

We are going to see that Stuart Lancaster’s career, despite what happened during the 2015 World Cup, is highly successful and describes the perfect way to celebrate rugby union. Stuart Lancaster made it step by step and he has contributed to this game in the last years.

1. The 1988-1999 Years : Playing the game

Stuart Lancaster was born on October, 9th, 1969 in Perith. Perith is a little town located in the North West of England in the Cumbria County. He attended St. Bees College and started to play rugby union very early. Stuart Lancaster first played as hooker on the pitch.

However, when he was 15, Stuart Lancaster moved from hooker to flanker and it was in the back-row where he played his best rugby union. In 1988, Stuart Lancaster left St. Bees College to go to Carnegie College in Leeds and started a coaching career in the same time.

During that time in Leeds, Stuart Lancaster was playing with Wakefield RFC while he was coaching academies. Two years later, in 1991, at 22 years old, Stuart Lancaster got his first coaching job, managing teams at Kettlehorpe High School but was still playing the game.

Stuart Lancaster stayed at Leeds during his youth and the opportunities started to came. In 1998, he decided to stop coaching temporarily to play at full time with another English club : Leeds Tykes. He will play with them during two seasons, from 1998 to 2000.

Reaching 30 years old, Stuart Lancaster became the first Leeds player to play 100 games for the club. His mother being Scottish, Stuart Lancaster played for Scotland U19 and Scotland U20 but was forced to retire very soon. He began a full time coaching career after that.

While he was playing with Wakefield RFC, Stuart Lancaster won twice the Yorkshire County Cup, a provincial competition where all the counties settled in the Yorkshire were facing each other. Stuart Lancaster won that competition in 1990 and in 1998 as well.

2. The 2000-2007 Years : Learning the game

When he retired in 2000, Stuart Lancaster joined Leeds RFU academy for a five-year collaboration starting in 2001. Nevertheless, in 2006, Leeds Tykes were relegated and Stuart Lancaster was appointed Head Coach before the start of the 2006-2007 season.

Leeds Tykes were relegated from Premiership to National Division One, known today as Championship. During his first season in charge, Stuart Lancaster led the club to promotion, amassing 122 points through the domestic league. Massive achievement.

The club changed his name following the promotion in the Premiership. Leeds Tykes will be known now as Leeds Carnegie. At the end of the 2007-2008 Premiership season, Stuart Lancaster was named as the new RFU’s (Rugby Football Union) Elite Rugby Director.

3. The 2008-2011 Years : Working with the union

Stuart Lancaster was appointed in his new role by Rob Andrew stating that Stuart Lancaster had already coached so he had experience and what he had achieved with Leeds during the 2006-2007 season was legacy and was showing what he was capable of.

The main goal for Stuart Lancaster during these three seasons was developing the youngsters and working very closely with the academy system in England. It was very important to know which player would come through that academy system later.

That’s why Stuart Lancaster took charge of the England Saxons during the 2008 Churchill Cup that the Saxons finally won. That winning campaign included very important wins like that game against the Irish Wolfhounds that the England Saxons finally won 34-12.

He coached the England Saxons as well during the 2010 Churchill Cup and during the 2011 Churchill Cup. Two more successful campaigns proved that Stuart Lancaster was improving in his coaching role. The Saxons had plenty of talented youngsters on the pitch.

On top of that, these three Churchill Cups, Stuart Lancaster won the Grand Slam with EnglandU20’s team during the 2011 Six Nations Under 20s Championship. He lead EnglandU20 to three finals between 2008 and 2011 in the IRB Junior World Championship.

4. The 2012-2015 Years : Becoming the England coach

Following England disastrous World Cup in New Zealand in 2011, Martin Johnson decided to quit and the RFU (Rugby Football Union) was looking for a new coach. Stuart Lancaster was appointed on an interim basis before the beginning of the 2012 Six Nations campaign.

The RFU was still looking for a full time coach with the likes of Nick Mallett and Wayne Smith expected but following a second place in the 2012 Six Nations Championship, Stuart Lancaster was confirmed as the English Head Coach until the 2015 World Cup in England.

The first match in charge for Stuart Lancaster as the England Head Coach came on May, 2012 against the Barbarians. Coaching England during the 2012 Summer Tour and a series against South Africa, Stuart Lancaster got a draw (14-14) in the third and last game.

During the 2012 Autumn Tour, Stuart Lancaster lost against Australia and South Africa but became one of the three coaches, with Heyneke Meyer and Michael Cheika, to have beaten New Zealand under Steve Hansen era. England won against New Zealand 38-21 in 2012.

Stuart Lancaster started the 2013 Six Nations Championship very well. England won in Round 2 against Ireland in the Aviva Stadium (6-12). That was the first England win in Ireland soil since the 2003 Grand Slam which finally led to the World Cup Triumph.

However, England failed to win the Grand Slam in their last game against Wales with a heavy loss in Cardiff. England recovered from that disappointment during the summer tour with 2-0 win during the Argentina Series. It brought confidence back in the squad.

The autumn tour, that same year, in 2013, was successful for Stuart Lancaster. He won for the first time against Australia and beat Argentina a third time in less than 6 months. The final game was against the All Blacks and they got the win back after the 2012 defeat.

With only two years before the beginning of the 2015 World Cup, Stuart Lancaster kept the same desire to build a very good gameplan. During the 2014 Six Nations Championship, the England squad missed the Grand Slam following an opening defeat against France.

The 2014 summer tour with three Tests against the All Blacks gave plenty of hope. In the first game, England lost 15-20 at Eden Park while England had no players from Saracens and Northampton Saints with the 2013-2014 Aviva premiership final played days before.

The second game was also a very good performance with England not far from an outstanding comeback, coming back from 28-13 to 28-27. That is during that game that Stuart Lancaster decided to start the inside centre Manu Tuilagi to bring more power.

It was tough in the third game with New Zealand winning well. The 2014 autumn tour started with another game against the All Blacks and England lost by three points (21-24). Another loss came against South Africa before great wins against Samoa and Australia.

Finally, the 2015 year was there and that was the year of the World Cup. England performed well during the 2015 Six Nations Championship with four wins and a defeat against Ireland. England finished second in the table for the fourth consecutive year.

The World Cup warm-up games came very quickly in July 2015. England played three games following tough training camps in Colorado. There were two fixtures against France and one home game against Ireland. England won two games, losing to France away.

After that, the 2015 World Cup started. England won the opening game against Fiji but following defeats against Wales and Australia, England became the first country ever to host a World Cup failing to qualify through the Pool stage. Stuart Lancaster stepped down.

5. What happened during Stuart Lancaster’s coaching years ?!

One of the main problems for the England coach Stuart Lancaster from 2012 to 2015 was the midfield partnership. During these four years and until his last game (the Uruguay game in the 2015 World Cup), Stuart Lancaster will have tested 20 midfield combinations.

There were many candidates for the midfield in England under Stuart Lancaster : Owen Farrell, George Ford, Billy Twelvetrees and Henry Slade (as second-five eighths), Jonathan Joseph, Manu Tuilagi and Luther Burrell. Also, there was the arrival of Sam Burgess.

Many people never understood why Stuart Lancaster decided to pick Sam Burgess in the World Cup squad rather than Luther Burrell for example. At that time, Sam Burgess, coming from Rugby League, was struggling in his adaptation to the XV game with Bath.

Besides, Mike Ford, Bath Rugby coach , always said that he wanted Sam Burgess to play at flanker whereas Stuart Lancaster wanted him to play at centre. There were expectations in seeing Sam Burgess as the new Sonny Bill Williams. Unfortunately, that plan really failed.

There were also some talking after the 2015 World Cup saying that Stuart Lancaster had lost the control of the squad with his assistant coach and defence coach Andy Farrell making the calls before the games and managing the squad during the training sessions.

Finally, some of the team selection through his four years was criticised. According to former England legends, the heavy Wales loss in 2013 Six Nations Championship is linked with a not enough physical back-row to compete with Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric.

Conclusion

Between 2012 and 2015, Stuart Lancaster showed with England that he was a world class coach. He has won two times against Australia during the summer tour in 2013 and in 2014. Australia will finish second of the 2015 World Cup losing the final to New Zealand.

Stuart Lancaster has given many opportunties to many players and has managed his squad pretty well. His gameplan was relying on a strong defence with long phases of play in attack with some unpredictability from the backline to surprise the opponents in defence.

England finished second in the Six Nations Championship during four consecutive years (2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015). The country stayed competitive and he will remain as one of the only managers to have beaten New Zealand under Steve Hansen. It was in 2012.

There were some cruel defeats for Stuart Lancaster in particular during the 2014 Six Nations with the France defeat. England started to lose their game in that contest when Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care came off as we were were playing the last quarter.

Stuart Lancaster justified this substitution with the GPS datas which were saying that Danny Care was not in a good physical condition to play the end of the game. Many people blamed Stuart Lancaster for the defeat. They should have blamed technology instead.

Stuart Lancaster has never criticised his opponents. During the 2015 Six Nations Championship, the Scotland fullback Stuart Hogg said that England was not respecting Scotland and was quoting the Bath Rugby coach Mike Ford during the Champions Cup.

Mike Ford had said, at the end of the 2015-2016 Champions Cup Pool stage, that Bath Rugby had managed to qualify for the quarter-finals in a tough pool where were featuring Toulouse and Montpellier. The problem is that Mike Ford did not mention the fourth team.

That fourth team was Glasgow Warriors who were so close to win at The Recreation Ground. Asked about that, Stuart Lancaster said that he could not control what the people were saying and said again that England was respecting Scotland. That is pure class.

Stuart Lancaster has already background in coaching. Rumours said that he could manage a Super Rugby franchise very soon. That would be deserved for a man who honoured the game and who has a lot of respect. Stuart Lancaster is a very good human being.

You will never be forgotten Stuart.

Max.

Munster Rugby : Tough Times

When you have watched one of your favourites rugby clubs climbing at the top of European Rugby many years ago and when you watch this same club far from their usual standards nowadays, that is very hard to accept and you would want to go back to the winning days.

That was a great moment which remains a big part of the Irish Rugby when Munster Rugby won many Pro12 titles and managed to win the Champions Cup twice during the 2005-2006 season and during the 2007-2008 season with unforgettable european campaigns.

In provincial rugby, Munster Rugby was also very stong. There was a perfect management with players regularly rested to be ready for each end of the season. Despite this management, the province was staying competitive in the Pro12 and playing the play-offs.

Today, the situation is turning into a complete nightmare. Munster Rugby is not considered as a threat on the european stage any more and their results in their domestic league is worrying. Poor results could be the start of a possible decline if we do nothing.

Some explanations can be found to make us understand why Munster Rugby is in that state at the moment. There are more obvious risks and dangers for the next seasons. However, hope is there and Munster Rugby could come back very quickly at his best level.

1. The Munster Rugby Academy : not enough contribution at the moment

One of the biggest problems at Munster at the moment is their academy. We are not saying that the Munster Rugby Academy is not helping the province but we have to say the Truth : compared to the other Irish provinces, the Munster Rugby Academy is not efficient.

The Leinster Rugby Academy has got this great ability to develop many youngsters and giving them opportunities each weekend. There are many young players who are promoted from the academy level to the senior level at each end of the season at Leinster Rugby.

For example, during the 2015-2016 season, many youngsters came into Ireland’s radar for their performance in their province : props Dennis Buckley and Finlay Bealham (Connacht), back-rower Josh Van der Flier (Leinster) and centre Stuart McCloskey (Ulster).

In Munster Rugby team, it is difficult to find youngsters who managed to get some Ireland recognition. There are promising players at Munster Rugby like flanker Jack O’Donoghue, fly-half Jonathan Holland with wingers Andrew Conway and Darren Sweetnam as well.

However, none of his players who have been quoted have managed to get an Ireland cap in the 2016 Six Nations Championship. Munster Rugby needs to give the powers back to their academy because it is thanks to their academy that Connacht and Leinster succeeded.

The Munster Rugby board probably did not consider the academy development as very important during the last few seasons but with the IRFU (Irish Rugby Football Union) priority of developping young talents, the Munster Rugby board has made a big mistake.

2. The overseas players : struggling to find their marks

There is also another worry at Munster about the overseas players’ impact. Before the 2015-2016 season, the Irish province had five players from overseas according to the regulations wanted by the Irish federation with a quota (4-5 overseas players maximum).

Among these overseas players, there were the Crusaders first-five eighth Tyler Bleyendaal and the All Blacks centre Francis Saili, the Wallabies second-row Mark Chisholm and the Springboks prop BJ Botha and Gerhard van den Heever, a winger from South Africa.

Since the start of the 2015-2016 season, these players coming from overseas have never succeeded with Munster Rugby. The problem is not a lack of involvement from this players but they never had the opportunity to take their marks at the province, unfortunately.

The Crusaders first-five eighth Tyler Bleyendaal has not played very much since his arrival at Munster Rugby and the Springboks prop and 2007 World Cup winner BJ Botha has said that he was thinking about retirement. It seems that the players are lacking confidence.

One of foreign player who tried to bring something to the club is Francis Saili. He scored some lovely tries, made many line breaks but struggled to understand the Munster Rugby game plan. Francis Saili added magic in his game and he is one of the best in the team.

So far, the 2015-2016 season from the Wallabies lock Mark Chisholm is disappointing. He made his first start very soon and there was the desire from the coaching staff to make his adaptation easier. Once again, Mark Chisholm struggled to find his game very quickly.

3. Transition period : trying to replace the legends

Munster Rugby is in a transition period. The current coach Anthony Foley is always refusing to talk about that “transition” but when we we look at the situation, Munster Rugby is in re-building since three seasons with key players having left the province.

The legacy at Munster Rugby was built thanks to Irish legends. In the pack, you had props Marcus Horan and John Hayes, hooker Jerry Flannery, second-rows Donncha O’Callaghan and Paul O’Connell, back-rowers Alan Quinlan, Denis Leamy and of course David Wallace.

In the backline, the talent was there as well and the attacking moves were much more threatening for the defence : half-back pairing Peter Stringer and Ronan O’Gara were controlling the games with a lot of territory game and pack strength to score a lot of tries.

Obviously, it was always going to be very complicated to replace all those legends who won everything at the club. Munster Rugby recruited Ian Keatley for example to assume Ronan O’Gara’s legacy but it was unsuccessful. It is the same for Dave Foley in the second-row.

Munster Rugby is still one of Irish province with many Ireland internationals. There are scrum-half Conor Murray and wingers Keith Earls and Simon Zebo. Our second-row relies on Donnacha Ryan. Our back-row is strong as well with Tommy O’Donnell and CJ Stander.

We need to be back at our best level as soon as possible because the Ireland players are the integral part of the Munster Rugby set-up. Most of the time, these players are making the good choices and the good decisions and win games. Their talent is just invaluable really.

4. The coaching job : Confusion

When Declan Kidney left the coaching job at Munster Rugby to become the new Ireland manager in 2009, many people have seen that leaving as a big disappointment with the man having coached Munster Rugby to european Glory stepping down immediately.

He was first replaced by the australian coach Tony McGahan. Great tactician, Tony McGahan is coaching the Melbourne Rebels today in Super Rugby. Munster Rugby won the 2008-2009 Pro12 title  and the 2010-2011 Pro12 title thanks to him. He gave much hope.

Nevertheless, Tony McGahan left to start a new journey with the Melbourne Rebels and Rob Penney, another australian manager, came to the club with a great vision and restore a lot of pride. Rob Penney had to cope with the first retirement waves at Munster Rugby.

Though he did not manage to win the Pro12 title during his two seasons at the club (2012-2013 and 2013-2014), Rob Penney led the province to two successive Champions Cup semi-finals against Clermont and against Toulon. Two away fixtures where the win was so close.

Unhappy with board management, Rob Penney decided to leave Munster Rugby at the end of the 2013-2014 season and he was replaced by former Munster Rugby number 8 Anthony Foley. Massive mistake was made in not proposing Rob Penney a contract extension.

Since two seasons, Anthony Foley has failed to qualify Munster Rugby for the Champions Cup Quarter-finals. He has reached the 2014-2015 Pro12 final but was beaten by Glasgow Warriors. The board could create a DOR (Director Of Rugby) role to help him soon now.

5. The highest risk at Munster Rugby : possible exodus

The most terrible which could happen at the end of the current season at the province would be a massive exodus from the Ireland international players. They are certainly disappointed by the club’s season which is not at their standards. That is frustrating.

The balance in the Pro12 provinces which are making the success are strong home ground talents with international players playing home and overseas players delivering. If Munster Rugby cannot prevent the exodus, it is going to be a tragedy in the province.

Besides, the fan base is massively disappointed. Thomond Park record, both in the Pro12 and in the Champions Cup, is not a fear factor any more. The board has to make everything possible to give confidence back to the academy, the players and the crowd.

One of the solution would be the creation of that DOR (Director Of Rugby) role. If Munster Rugby can hire a world class coach to help Anthony Foley, as Andy Farrell did during a few weeks, it could be encouraging. Todd Blackadder could be the perfect man for the role.

The Crusaders coach is leaving the Super Rugby franchise at the end of the season. He is well aware of the talent in New Zealand and he could bring with him talented youngsters from the South who would struggle to make Test level given the competition in the South.

Finally, Munster Rugby has to work on his recruitment. The other Irish provinces have foreign players shining : Zane Kirchner at Leinster, Ruan Pienaar in Ulster, Bundee Aki at Connacht. Munster Rugby has to attract overseas players to re-build something now.

Conclusion

Munster Rugby needs to stregthen his academy immediately. The board has to make everything possible to give game time to the youngsters in British & Irish Cup and the All-Ireland League to finally make that switch from the academy to the senior side of the club.

On top of that, the overseas players who will come in the next seasons at Munster Rugby have to be aware that it will not be easy to come here and adapt to the province’s gameplan. It takes time to find his marks with Munster Rugby. There are tough days.

That is possible to talk about a transition period at Munster Rugby at the moment because so many legendary players have retired following glorious days with the province. Replacing all those legends will take a lot of time so patience is required at the club now.

It is unknown if Anthony Foley will stay the Munster Rugby coach next season. Staying or not, the coach will have to welcome the creation of the Director Of Rugby role because only improvements will be made under another world class coach who has the right vision.

Let’s hope that Munster Rugby qualifies for Champions Cup next season. In 7th postion, they have to be ranked in the first 6th places with one Italian province already qualified. Munster Rugby is battling with Edinburgh and Cardiff Blues to take that last place.

If Munster Rugby does not manage to qualify for the 2016-2017 Champions Cup season through the Pro12 league, we will be able to talk about decline rather than transition and the worst could be watching our best Irish players leaving this great club and this leagacy.

Munster Rugby future will be decided in the next few weeks.

Max.

The Barrett Review : Super Rugby 2016 (Round 8)

The pressure is growing and growing as we are not very far from the half of the Super Rugby season and plenty of big games will come in the next few weeks with franchises getting bye as well to rest and think about the best way to be part of the play-offs.

Following a big win against the Jaguares in the Westpac Stadium of Wellington with the bonus point (44-22), the Hurricanes were flying to Melbourne, the australian capital, to play a tough game against the Melbourne Rebels, who had a deserved bye last weekend.

That game was a tricky one for the Hurricanes. They were on a winning streak before that game with four consecutive wins against Western Force, Auckland Blues, Southern Kings and Jaguares but last two games were against franchises which have to take their marks.

That’s why that the Hurricanes were aware of the threat against the Melbourne Rebels. Actually, the Melbourne Rebels were confident before that game, having won against the Waratahs in the Allianz Stadium, two weeks ago with an outstanding Jack Debreczeni.

Team news before that game : Adjustements from Chris Boyd

The Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd had decided to make some adjustements to his team before the important game against the Chiefs which will take place last week in Westpac Stadium in Wellington. The message in the week from the coach was : improvement.

Chris Boyd thought that the Hurricanes were only at 3 out of 10 on their potential scale after their win against the Jaguares and was particularly unhappy with the control at the breakdown. The Hurricanes were sloppy last week and they had to keep the ball more.

The All Blacks hooker Dane Coles was leading the side with Vaea Fifita coming in the second-row with Michael Fatialofa. The back-row remained unchanged with that magic trio Savea-Vito-Shields, TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett forming the half-back pairing.

The other adjustements came in the backline with Vince Aso and Matt Proctor paired for the first time of the season in the midfield. Jason Woodward started at fullback with Julian Savea and Cory Jane on the wings. Centre Ngani Laumape was benched for this game.

The first-half : Playing in the sand

One of the major concerns at the beginning of the game was the pitch. While the first scrums were played, the turf was turning into sand and that is a worrying sign. The AAMI Park will host a summer game when Australia and England face each other next June.

The Hurricanes started not very well with a knock-on after a first lineout, giving the possession to the Melbourne Rebels. The hosts had a first try disallowed by a TMO call. Adam Thompson was denied following good defence from Victor Vito. Pressure was there.

Thanks to a good build-up with several phases of play, centre Tamati Ellison made a grubber and Julian Savea tripped in the sand. Melbourne Rebels winger Dom Shipperley won an uncontested race to score the first try which was unconverted though (5-0).

The Hurricanes reacted to that opening try. Jack Debreczeni was under pressure and the Wellington-based franchise earned a lineout in the 22-metre zone. The ball came to Beauden Barrett, finding space in the defence and making an assist for Victor Vito’s try.

Beauden Barrett converted the try and the Hurricanes were in front on the scoreboard (5-7). The Hurricanes struggled to keep the ball in the kick-offs and were penalised. Fullback Reece Hodge kicked the penalty and Melbourne Rebels were back in front (8-7).

Applying pressure to the Melbourne Rebels’ scrum-half Nic Stirzaker, Julian Savea and Beauden Barrett found fullback Jason Woodward in counter-attack. Playing againt former team, Jason Woodward made a chip and re-gathered the ball and passed to Cory Jane.

The All Blacks winger had space and scored the Hurricanes’ second try of the game on the right wing (8-12). The Hurricanes used every opportunity to counter-attack. While Melbourne Rebels were starting an attacking move, the ball was intercepted by the Canes.

First-five eighth Beauden Barrett raced to score his first try of the night and the third for the Hurricanes. He converted the try successfully (8-19). We were playing for 30 minutes and that was much better from the Hurricanes with more accuracy in their performance.

Just before half-time, following a good attacking move and a promising build-up, Beauden Barrett made a crossed-field kick. Julian Savea was tackled just before the try line but Jason Woodward gathered the ball to score a fourth try in a great first-half of rugby.

Beauden Barrett converted the fourth try. That was half-time and the Hurricanes were comfortably ahead (8-26). They had the bonus point as it was standing with four tries against one try for the Melbourne Rebels. Fantastic effort from the Canes in first-half.

The second-half : Management and the flourish

To be honest, the second-half of that game was very strange. The two franchises came on the field with the same passion and the same desire to score tries but there were too many mistakes from the two sides and that was really frustrating for all the players involved.

It was the Hurricanes who were the first on the attack once again. The New Zealand franchise had the territory in the Melbourne Rebels’ own half but just could not take their opportunities. However, skipper Dane Coles wanted to play and opted for lineouts.

Melbourne Rebels were too much penalised at the beginning of this second-half with flanker Sean McMahon yellow-carded after an act of foul play when he played the ball in the ruck close to his try line. Referee Rohan Hoffmann sent him to the bin for 10 minutes.

The Hurricanes stayed in the Melbourne Rebels half but were unable to score a try immediately with the australian franchise hanging on in defence thanks to the defensive work made by flanker Jordy Reid and winger Sefenaia Naivalu, staying composed.

Finally, the Hurricanes managed to extend their lead thanks to another opportunity taken by Ardie Savea. The back-rower applied a pressure on the ball which was out of the ruck while the Melbourne Rebels were trying to build something not far from their try line.

While we were not far from the last quarter of the game, around the 65th-minute mark, the Hurricanes had scored a fifth try (8-31). The Melbourne Rebels tried to play their own game and got some penalties at the breakdown and decided to play very quickly.

The australian franchise finally found some space in the left wing with Sefanaia Naivalu setting a great try for winger Cam Crowford. The try was not converted by the Melbourne Rebels who had something on the scoreboard in this frustrating second-half (13-31).

With only five minutes to play, in the 75th minute, the Hurricanes were on the attack. Trying to kick a grubber, Beauden Barrett had his kick charged but he managed to gather it and beat two defenders to score his second try of the night that he converted (13-38).

The Hurricanes won that game comfortably (38-13). That was very important for the players to get confidence before the big game next week against the Waikato Chiefs at home. Chris Boyd will be pleased with the reaction of his players after next weekend.

Cory Jane played very well and scored his 25th Super Rugby try. Julian Savea did not score but had a good game with some line breaks. Jason Woodward was playing against his former team and was superb with an assist for Cory Jane’s try and a try for himself.

The Barrett Review : One of the finest displays

1. Kicks : That was a 4/7 performance. There was an early penaly miss and two conversions missed from difficult angles. Nevertheless, Beauden Barrett kicked four successful conversions including two very difficult conversions from the left touchline in that game.

2. General play : Beauden Barrett was at his brillant best. He looked for space in the defence during all the game, made line breaks, offloads, an assist on Victor Vito’s try and scored two tries showing pace and skills to beat defenders and secured points for his team.

Conclusion : Beauden Barrett has achieved one of his best games ever. He has scored 18 points and has now scored more than 800 Super Rugby points and 16 Super Rugby tries thanks to his double today. He was dedicated to the team and made rugby proud tonight.

You are at your brillant best Beaudy ! Keep the passion !

Max.

Leicester Tigers : Respecting the game

Leicester Tigers are the most successful club in England since the beginning of the Aviva Premiership many years ago. It would take a lot of time to describe how successful the side have been through the seasons. Leicester Tigers have earned the respect with their game.

Founded in 1880, Leicester Tigers have won the most Aviva Premiership titles. They have been crowned 10 times and won two Champions Cup titles during the 2000-2001 season and during the 2001-2002 season following great finals with high intensity and drama.

The English club has appeared in a record 9 successive Aviva premiership finals between the seasons 2004-2005 and 2012-2013. Leicester Tigers won 4 finals during that period and they also won Anglo-Welsh Cup 7 times with their last title during 2011-2012 season.

As we can witness through the seasons, Leicester Tigers managed to achieve something that is very difficult in rugby union nowadays : keeping the consistency and the cohesion to build the right gameplan, winning silverware and staying at the very highest level.

The 2015-2016 season has already started. That season is a post-World Cup season, which means that all the teams which had many of their international players involved in the World Cup will have to play very well all the season. Leicester Tigers kept the confidence.

1. Richard Cockerill : The right man for the job

The current Leicester Tigers coach Richard Cockerill was named Director Of Rugby at the club at the beginning of the 2008-2009 season. Richard Cockerill knew at the start that keeping the legacy and playing styles which made the club famous was very important.

Under the Richard Cockerill era, Leicester Tigers delivered on a regular basis. The club won silverware : three Aviva Premiership titles (2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2012-2013) and one Anglo-Welsh Cup (2011-2012) including a Champions Cup final (2008-2009 season).

Even if Aviva Premiership is regulated with strong rules about money spending with Salary Cap for example, Richard Cockerill made it clear from the start that it was important for him to have in his squad, players shining with the England team at international level.

Heading in his 6th season with Leicester Tigers, Richard Cockerill has managed the team during more than 250 games, all competitions. He has got an outstanding winning rate with an average of 60% win. That is decent considering how competitive the game is.

The coaching staff at Leicester Tigers is very talented. Richard Cockerill works with two legends of the game. Former Leicester Tigers fullback and Ireland international Geordan Murphy is working as the skills and attacking coach for a couple of seasons now.

On top of that, the All Blacks legend Aaron Mauger joined the team to collaborate with Richard Cockerill. He is the assistant coach and remains a big inspiration for all the players. The All Blacks centre left unforgettable memories in the Southern Hemisphere.

2. The 2015-2016 squad : The perfect mix

Like Aviva Premiership sides as Exeter Chiefs and London Wasps as well, Leicester Tigers managed to build a very good squad with the magic formula : a perfect mix between home ground talent, England players and foreign players coming from South and Super Rugby.

Leicester Tigers have got in their squad players having represented England at the highest level : hooker Tom Youngs, prop Dan Cole, second-row Ed Slater, back-rower Tom Croft, scrum-half Ben Youngs, centre Manu Tuilagi and fullback Mathew Tait to name a few.

The foreign players coming at Leicester Tigers show that the club has always been attractive and we can see that with players from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the Pacific Nations having agreed to play with Richard Cockerill’s side this season.

Among these talents, there are Samoa prop Logovi’i Mulipola, New Zealand lock Michael Fitzgerald and flanker Brendon O’Connor, Australia back-rower Lachlan McCafferey and centre Peter Betham with Fiji Vereniki Goneva and Tonga Telusa Veainu playing on wings.

As we can see, there are talents everywhere in the forward pack and in the backline. Struggling to find some game time, Springboks centre Jean de Villiers is also part of the squad with Wallabies playmaker Matt Toomua expected for the 2016-2017 season.

Leicester Tigers has produced through the ages players who were part of British & Irish Lions Tours. Foreign players often came to play at Welford Road because the Richard Cockerill’s gameplan suits them. That is an expansive gameplan to score a lot of tries.

3. The Aviva Premiership season : Reaching the play-offs

Leicester Tigers has never finished below the 6th position in the Aviva Premiership table since the creation of the domestic league. They have never been relegated to the Championship either, proving that they are very competitive every rugby weekend.

During that 2015-2016 season, Leicester Tigers started very well. They are currently in fourth place, battling with London Wasps and Northampton Saints to secure a place in the play-offs. Saracens and Exeter Chiefs are the favourites for a home semi-final this season.

The coach Richard Cockerill has managed his team very well in the Aviva Premiership this season, giving opportunities to all his players and trying to find all the playmaking options with Freddie Burns, Owen Williams and Tommy Bell pushing for a starting position.

Leicester Tigers recorded famous wins in the Aviva Premiership during the 2015-2016 season including an away win against Gloucester at Kingsholm thanks to a late try and a home win against defending champions Saracens during the Six Nations window.

The key for Leicester Tigers is the management of the team. With the Champions Cup, an important goal, Richard Cockerill will have to give some rest to his key players if he wants to see his team competing in these two competitions as long as possible of course.

Even if Leicester Tigers were not going to make the play-offs, it would not be considered as a setback in any way because Aviva Premiership is one of the toughest league in rugby union. Besides, Leicester Tigers is playing at their best and they will have no regrets.

4. The Champions Cup : 160 minutes away from Glory

During the 2015-2016 Champions Cup season, Leicester Tigers played at their best. They were drawn in a pretty tough pool with Top14 club Stade Français, Irish province Munster and the italian province Benetton Treviso. The schedule was also a tough one for them.

Leicester Tigers finished the 2015-2016 Champions Cup Pool stage with 5 wins in 6 games, losing the last game away against Stade Français. However, they recorded a win at Thomond Park against Munster. Winning at Thomond Park is not something usual.

Since the first Champions Cup season, during the 1995-1996 season, only three teams had won in the competition at Thomond Park in 20 years : Leicester Tigers, Ulster Rugby and Clermont. Leicester Tigers were the first team to beat them during the 2006-2007 season.

What makes Leicester Tigers so special is that they were the first team to win twice in this stadium in the Champions Cup with Richard Cockerill becoming the first manager to achieve that performance as he was the assistant coach during the 2006-2007 season win.

The team scored some wonderful tries during the Pool stage with Tongan winger Telusa Veainu running the show. Leicester Tigers topped their pool and earned the right to play their Champions Cup Quarter-final at Welford Road, once again against Stade Français.

Even if there were some mistakes which were made during that game (forward passes, knock-ons and breakdown infringements), Leicester Tigers scored an amount of tries to win with a big margin against the Top 14 club. They will play at home for the semi-finals.

Conclusion

Leicester Tigers has got a big opportunity to make History during the 2015-2016 season. It seems that this is the perfect season for them to deliver and win some silverware to reward this talented squad led by an inspiring coach giving everything for the team.

The Aviva Premiership side can have the confidence because they have in Richard Cockerill the best man to do the job at the moment. He knows very well the club as he was an assistant coach in the past and his coaching staff at the moment is just world class.

They have an outstanding squad at the moment with many international players regularly called in the England training squads and talented players coming from overseas and bringing their experience gained in Super Rugby and at Test level through the years.

Leicester Tigers has got a big opportunity to reach the play-offs in the Aviva Premiership. If a home semi-final might be very complicated to get, Leicester Tigers showed this season that they are a team which was more than able to win away and deliver big performances.

In Champions Cup, they will reach the semi-finals for the first time in seven seasons, since the 2008-2009 season when they played that final against Leinster at Murrayfield. That was Richard Cockerill’s first season in charge as the Director Of Rugby at the club.

That season, they won the Aviva Premiership title as well and Leicester Tigers could achieve their third double this season after the unforgettable 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 campaigns. Leicester Tigers are definitely in a much better situation that the last season.

It is time for the Leicester Tigers to deliver. We are waiting !

Max.

Wasps Rugby : Making Rugby Proud

On Saturday, 10th April, 2016 at the Ricoh Arena, Wasps Rugby played their second Champions Cup Quarter-final in a row after the quarter-final played during the 2014-2015 season, having won the 20th and final ticket for the competition in a two legs play-offs.

Wasps Rugby are one of the best sides in English rugby ever. They have won the Aviva Premiership title many times and they have been crowned Champions Cup Champions twice during the 2003-2004 season and during the 2006-2007 season.

That club has got a big legacy to honour through the seasons. London Wasps have always played an attractive rugby on the pitch and it is fair to say that it is one of the only Northern Hemisphere sides today which is trying to play like the Super Rugby franchises.

London Wasps have got today new ambitions and that 2015-2016 season has to reward everybody working at the club, board, players and coaching staff, following improvements that have been made for many years now even though the club knew very tough times.

We are going to see how London Wasps came back to the highest level in rugby despite some structure problems. What is the most pleasing with London Wasps is that you do not need only money to come back at the best level. The values are stronger than anything.

1. An incredible legacy to defend on the pitch

The English club was not always named London Wasps. Between 1996 and 1999, the club was named Wasps RFC. The board finally decided to change the name of the club in London Wasps not to make a confusion with Wasps FC, the amateur side of the club.

London Wasps have been coached by talented managers who took high responsabilities in rugby union after their experience in the club. Between 1996 and 2002, London Wasps were coached by Nigel Melville, current USA Rugby C.E.O, the governing body there.

On top of that, Warren Gatland, coaching Wales since 2008, managed the club between 2002 and 2005. Sir Ian McGeechan took the opportunity to work with London Wasps between 2005 and 2009 and then stepped down to coach the British & Irish Lions.

These three outstanding managers have reached heights with London Wasps. Nigel Melville leaded the team to their second Aviva Premiership title during the 1996-1997 season with London Wasps beating all their opponents and dominating the league.

That was at the start of the XXIth century that London Wasps enjoyed the better times. We have to give credit to Warren Gatland. During his first season at the club, he won the Challenge Cup after an incredible 48-30 win against Bath, during the 2002-2003 season.

What the current Wales coach achieved after that means respect : three Aviva Premiership titles in a row and a Champions Cup win including the double : Aviva Premiership and Champions Cup during the 2003-2004 season. London Wasps were the best in Europe.

Another talented tactician came to work with the team at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season. Sir Ian McGeechan won silverware with London Wasps as well. It started with the Anglo-Welsh Cup after beating Llanelli Scarlets at Twickenham during the final.

On top of that, under his era, London Wasps won the 2006-2007 Champions Cup and the 2007-2008 Aviva Premiership, both against Leicester Tigers who never managed to find how to play them, losing respectively 25-9 and 26-16 in these two prestigious finals.

2. Troubled times : the 2009-2011 period

When Sir Ian McGeechan left at the end of the 2008-2009 season to coach the British & Irish Lions who were heading to South Africa, London Wasps had finished 7th in the Aviva Premiership and were unable to qualify for the 2009-2010 Champions Cup campaign.

The club lost many of their key players who announced their retirement, like second-row Lawrence Dallaglio, or who decided to leave the club to play elsewhere : scrum-half Eoin Reddan, fly-half Alex King, back-rowers Tom Palmer and James Haskell, …

Problems for London Wasps started to come at the beginning of the 2009-2010 Aviva Premiership when they finished 9th in the standings. The new coaches who were brought to maintain that legacy did not manage to succeed with a massive exodus at the club.

London Wasps did not play the Champions Cup during many seasons. There were English sides who were playing better than them at the end of the 2010’s such as Bath, London Irish and Harlequins. There was a new squad to build and it was going to take a lot of time.

Some youngsters came through the academy system and tried their best for the club. However, the club relied on experienced players such as Dave Walder to deliver at the big stage. The key for the club was to get back the glory but they were not preparing future.

However, the team featured well at the 2009-2010 Challenge Cup, losing in the semi-finals against Cardiff Blues, coached by Dai Young who will become London Wasps manager a few years later. That season, London Wasps finished 5th in Premiership.

Unfortunately, London Wasps could not take that momentum and the 2010-2011 season which follows was a complete disaster. London Wasps finished 9th in the Aviva Premiership table and the board agreed to say that is was time to look for another coach.

Former Cardiff Blues manager Dai Young, who won the Challenge Cup during the 2009-2010 season, was appointed London Wasps Director Of Rugby at the beginning of the 2011-2012 season. Dai Young came to build the future. The new era definitely started in 2011.

3. Dai Young re-building : the new era

Talented and respected coach, Dai Young knew that London Wasps would be back at their best level if there was a clever balance between a strong academy system and imports with players coming from overseas to help the team during these difficult moments to spend.

First, Dai Young convinced Italy fullback and 2012 Six Nations Championship Player Of The Year Andrea Masi to join the club. Also, he welcomed back at the club James Haskell who had spent the last seasons of his career playing overseas (Stade Français and Highlanders).

London Wasps could rely on England winger Tom Varndell as well. The player is second on the all-time try scorers list in the Aviva Premiership behind Mark Cueto and his attacking style benefited the way that London Wasps wanted to play his rugby for the next seasons.

The 2011-2012 season was even worse than the previous one. London Wasps avoided relegation, finishing at the 11th place in the Aviva Premiership. The team was caught in a bad momentum. That season, they beat future champions Saracens at Twickenham.

The benefits really started to come during the 2012-2013 season with London Wasps finishing the season 8th in the table. Dai Young thought about the right gameplan with a big defence and the ability to score many points at every attacking opportunities.

New era definitely began during the 2013-2014 Aviva Premiership season. The club finished 7th in the stadnings and got the 20th and final ticket for Champions Cup winning a two legs play-offs against Stade Français with Joe Simpson and Andy Goode shining.

The 2014-2015 season confirmed that we were witnessing a new era. London Wasps secured a Champions Cup Quarter-final after a draw with Leinster in the Ricoh Arena, their new stadium after leaving Adams Park for financial struggles and difficulties.

The Aviva Premiership season was very good for London Wasps. Play-offs push was probably too early for them but they managed to finish 6th behind Northampton, Bath, Leicester, Saracens and Exeter. The Champions Cup place was secured for them though.

4. The 2015-2016 season : Making History

The move from Adams Park in High Wycombe to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry was very important for London Wasps. That move allowed the club to be more secured with the financial difficulties that the team was knowing a few seasons ago when all went very bad.

At the beginning of the 2010-2011 season, London Wasps only had a few £ in their bank account. Today, that move to the Ricoh Arena saved them and the money that they got was never used to build a World XV like French clubs did : Racing 92, Montpellier and Toulon.

As Dai Young explained in 2016 with rumours announcing Manu Tuilagi at the club for several hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, it is important for a club not to over-spend on a player because if he does not deliver, then the rest of the team becomes angry.

The 2015-2016 London Wasps squad is looking very strong. That is the ultimate balance between English players playing at Test level and talented players coming from overseas and from Southern Hemisphere in particular. There are talented players everywhere.

The squad includes England players : prop Matt Mullan, second-row Joe Launchbury, back-rower James Haskell, scrum-half Joe Simpson and centre Elliot Daly. Other England players, not capped at Test level, deliver as well : Dan Robson, Ben Jacobs and Rob Miller.

As for Southern Hemisphere players, there is an interesting balance between Springboks (hooker Ashley Johnson), Wallabies (back-rower George Smith) and All Blacks (winger Charles Piutau). Frank Halai and Siale Piutau (Charles’ brother) are also outstanding.

London Wasps have made some massive improvements this season. They are 3rd on the Aviva Premiership standings at the moment, pushing for the play-offs. They won their home Champions Cup quarter-final against Exeter Chiefs to qualify for the semi-finals.

There is a new era which is being built at London Wasps. Dai Young knows how to manage a team and balance is key in the team’s success. The strong academy system and the foreign players coming are making a good squad where competition becomes excellence.

Conclusion

London Wasps has been, is and will always be a great English club. They have got a legacy to defend and they have won silverware in the last few years including many Aviva Premiership titles, two Champions Cup titles, Challenge Cup and Anglo-Welsh Cup.

The club has been managed by talented coaches like Nigel Melville, Warren Gatland, Sir Ian McGeechan and Dai Young nowadays. London Wasps had troubled times at the end of the 2010’s with players retiring and other players leaving the club. There was an exodus.

The big task for Dai Young was re-building the squad when he was appointed. It took three seasons to him to build a new squad, convincing some players to join the team and welcoming back former players who were part of these glorious days at London Wasps.

Today, London Wasps managed to come back at the highest level. This is even more remarkable when you think that, despite the money that they got thanks to the move to Coventry, they used it cleverly, showing that you do not need a World XV to win in rugby.

London Wasps are a joy to watch. Their success is deserved.

Max.

The Barrett Review : Super Rugby 2016 (Round 7)

The 2016 Super Rugby season is already giving us some indications about the franchises’ current form as we are already playing Round 7. The Hurricanes had a bye last weekend, which means that they were not playing and taking some time to sit down and relax.

Last time that the Hurricanes played was during Round 5 with a tough win against the Southern Kings. The Wellington-based fracnchise was hosting newcomers, the argentinian franchise called Jaguares, in Westpac Stadium in the New Zealand capital.

That game was never going to be easy for the Hurricanes because before that game, the Jaguares had not lose a game in Super Rugby by more than 8 points. Besides, before that game, no franchise had taken a bonus point win against these talented Jaguares.

Team news : a comeback and milestones

When the Hurricanes played in Round 5 against Southern Kings, there was a big surprise in the team announcement. The Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd had decided to drop Julian Savea following inconsistent performances against Auckland Blues and Western Force.

The All Blacks winger took the opportunity to have two free weeks with the bye in Round 6 to follow a new diet to find his form again. Finally, Julian Savea worked hard in the last few weeks to be back at his best level and he was starting that game against the Jaguares.

Also, days before the game, the Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd highlighted the fact that he had no pleasure when he dropped the winger for Southern Kings game. He said that Julian Savea worked hard to be back and his work ethic was never put in doubt in the squad.

That game against the argentinian franchise will see as well an outstanding achievement for Cory Jane. The All Blacks winger, World Cup winner in 2011, will start at fullback for his 100th Super Rugby cap. He has scored 120 points for the franchise, including 24 tries.

With that milestone, Cory Jane becomes the 8th Hurricanes player to win 100 Super Rugby caps for the franchise. The winger joins legends of the game such as Tana Umaga, Neemia Tialata, Rodney So’oialo, Jeremy Thrush, Andrew Hore, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith.

That weekend was also the Hurricanes’ 21st birthday with the franchise having played for the first time in Super 12 against the Auckland Blues during the 1996 season. That was the first Super 12 game ever and it was played at Palmerston North. Unforgettable memories.

Scrappy start for the Hurricanes in Wellington

Both sides came in this game with great intentions to move the ball quickly and to play some running rugby. The Hurricanes had an early possession with territory but conceded some turnovers with the Jaguares forcing the mistakes and frustrating the All Blacks.

The Hurricanes were trusting themselves and they were finally rewarded after 10 minutes into this game. Back-rowers Brad Shields and Victor Vito won a turnover, allowing Ardie Savea to make a grubber kick. Beauden Barrett was chasing and scored on the left wing.

Conversion was good and the hosts were leading 7-0. However, a lack of discipline was very costly for the Hurricanes with Ardie Savea yellow-carded after disrupting a maul. The Jaguares benefited from the advantage to come back and it was all square after 21 minutes.

Number 8 Leonardo Senatore scored the try thanks to another driving maul to make it 7-7. Moments after, the Hurricanes were under more pressure. Trying to speed the game, TJ Perenara’s pass was intercepted by centre Matias Moroni. Jaguares took the lead (7-12).

Reaction from the Hurricanes was needed immediately. The Wellington franchise found again more accuracy with better moves. After long phases of play, Beauden Barrett put second-row Blade Thomson into space to make the assist for Julian Savea’s first try.

Two minutes later, the Hurricanes, counter-attacking from their own half, found space on the left wing thanks to scrum-half TJ Perenara who kicked the ball in front of him. Julian Savea was chasing the kick. He took the ball and scored his second try of the night.

The two tries scored by Julian Savea were both converted. With half-time coming, the Hurricanes were leading 21-12. First-half with a lot of intensity and much rugby played. The Hurricanes made mistakes but managed to secure the ball at the breakdown.

Tough times, lack of discipline and great tries

From the Hurricanes’ perspective, that second-half was as tense as the first-half if not more. The team sticked to the gameplan. Nevertheless, too many opportunities were offered to the Jaguares and there were too many TMO calls for foul play in second-half.

The Jaguares had the initiative at the start of the second-half. Late hit from second five-eighth Ngani Laumape gave the opportunity to the Jaguares fly-half Nicolas Sánchez to kick a penalty to come back in the game with Jaguares trailing the Hurricanes 21-15.

It became even more confused in the following moments of that game. There were too many mistakes from both franchises with TMO calls from New Zealand referee Nick Briant to take decisions after foul play from Hurricanes and Jaguares. That was frustrating.

Then, while we were not far from the 60th-minute mark, the Hurricanes launched a counter-attack with Jaguares claiming the ball. In broken play, Brad Shields intercepted to score the bonus point try but the decision was ruled out by referee Nick Briant.

In fact, a Jaguares player had a feet in touch before the phase of play where Brad Shields intercepted the pass. From the following touchline, the Hurricanes build strong phases of play with first five-eighth Beauden Barrett making a reverse pass for skipper Dane Coles.

Five minutes later, playing the 63rd minute, the Hurricanes, having scoreboard advantage (28-15), started to threaten the Jaguares defence. Using a platform thanks to a big scrum, Julian Savea got the ball on his wing and scored a treble, the bonus point try.

Leading 33-15 after the try, the Hurricanes were unable to secure the re-start. The Jaguares had many penalties at scrum time. Finally, scrum-half Martin Landajo found the gap and scored the try on the right wing, cancelling the Hurricanes’ bonus point (33-22).

Pressure came on the Hurricanes at the end of the game with the Argentinians pushing for more points. Try was ruled out by the TMO with a knock-on from winger Emiliano Boffelli. The Hurricanes played quickly and looked for the lineout with seconds left on the clock.

After one last effort, the ball was secured at the lineout. All the Hurricanes players were ready in the backline. The forward pack finally made the job with prop Ben May scoring at the end of the game for the important bonus point try and a hard-fought 40-22 win.

The Barrett Review : Confidence and Talent

1. Kicks : Very good performance with a 5/6 for the kicks. Early miss in front of the post but three difficult conversions from the sidelines in the first-half. Confident display with tough kicks nailed. All about confidence and that performance will give him that.

2. General play : As usual, not many kicks in play. Beauden Barrett decided to keep the ball. He tried to break the line twice. Missed a lineout from a penalty but managed the game well. Some grubber kicks as well for his wingers to create try scoring chances.

Conclusion : Beauden Barrett was playing today his 70th game in Super Rugby with the Hurricanes. He has scored 15 points (1 try and 5 conversions) and 72 points in 6 Super Rugby games that season. That is a very good season for Beauden Barrett so far.

We believe in you Beaudy !

Max.

The All Blacks’ new era : Year 2016

New Zealand is often considered as the best rugby union team ever. Sometimes, it is even described as the best team ever among all the teams in all the collective games. That is not wrong. The winning percentage for the All Blacks is something 90-95 % every season.

Since the end of the 2011 World Cup and the appointment of Steve Hansen, which was the assistant coach under Graham Henry, the All Blacks lost only three times in the last four years. That is an incredible performance which shows how tough the All Blacks are.

The three defeats that New Zealand knew under the Steve Hansen era was in 2012 against England during the November Tour, in 2014 against South Africa during the Rugby Championship and against Australia in 2015 during the Rugby Championship as well.

The All Blacks players finished the 2013 Test season unbeaten following an incredible win at the Aviva Stadium against Ireland. With their 2015 World Cup success, New Zealand is the country which has won the most World Cups (three in 1987, 2011 and 2015).

With the World Cup triumph in 2015, New Zealand has seen six of his best players retiring after the competition : prop Tony Woodcock, hooker Keven Mealamu, flanker and skipper Richie McCaw, first-five eighth Dan Carter and also centres Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith.

Today, we are at a third of Super Rugby for this new season in 2016. Six Rounds have been played out of 17 Rounds (without the play-offs). We are going to try and guess what the All Blacks squad will be for the Summer Tour and the three games planned against Wales.

1. The All Blacks squad in 2015 : The World Cup winners

There were 31 players who were named by Steve Hansen at the end of August, 2015. At the beginning, Steve Hansen had called between 40 and 45 players and made a lot of turnovers during the Rugby Championship campaign and the Bledisloe Cup game at Eden Park.

There are, in fact, 33 players who have been crowned World Champions because there were two call-ups during the competition. The two props Joe Moody and Pauliasi Manu were respectively called following the Tonga Pool game and the France quarter-final game.

Hookers : Dane Coles (Hurricanes), Keven Mealamu (Blues), Codie Taylor (Crusaders).

Props : Wyatt Crockett (Crusaders), Charlie Faumuina (Blues), Ben Franks (Hurricanes), Owen Franks (Crusaders), Tony Woodcock (Blues).

Second-rows : Brodie Retallick (Chiefs), Luke Romano (Crusaders), Sam Whitelock (Crusaders).

Flankers : Sam Cane (Chiefs), Jerome Kaino (Blues), Richie McCaw (Crusaders), Liam Messam (Chiefs).

Number 8’s : Kieran Read (Crusaders), Victor Vito (Hurricanes).

Scrum-halves : Tawera Kerr-Barlow (Chiefs), TJ Perenara (Hurricanes), Aaron Smith (Highlanders).

First-five eighths : Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes), Dan Carter (Crusaders), Colin Slade (Crusaders).

Second-five eighths : Malakai Fekitoa (Highlanders), Ma’a Nonu (Hurricanes), Conrad Smith (Hurricanes), Sonny Bill Williams (Chiefs).

Wingers : Nehe Milner-Skudder (Hurricanes), Waisake Naholo (Highlanders), Julian Savea (Hurricanes).

Fullback : Ben Smith (Highlanders).

Call-ups : props Joe Moody (Crusaders) and Pauliasi Manu (Chiefs).

We all know that the All Blacks squad is the most competitive squad in the world. It is incredibly tough to become an All Black and stay in that squad for many seasons and for many years. That is a massive challenge for all the players in the five franchises.

Let’s make an assessment for the five New Zealand franchises to see how each franchise is playing in this new Super Rugby season, who the players on the rise are at the moment and how the future looks like ahead of the 2017 British & Irish Lions Tour, June 2017.

2. The Blues : Tana Umaga re-building

The Auckland Blues are a franchise who needs some re-building. In the last few years, the Blues were coached by John Kirwan, an All Blacks legend who was playing on the wing. During his time in Auckland, John Kirwan never managed to reach heights with them.

The 2015 Super Rugby season was tough for him and the Blues. The franchise struggled to find his game and despite many All Blacks international players on the pitch, it seemed that the team was never able to play running rugby that made Super Rugby famous.

Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Patrick Tuipulotu, Jerome Kaino and Steven Luatua were all part of the squad last season. However, the Blues finished at the bottom of the All Blacks conference, losing many games though they recorded a win against the Brumbies.

Today, that is another legend who is coaching the Auckland Blues. Tana Umaga has given hope to all the players and he is building a young squad following his first ITM Cup season as a coach when he managed Counties Manukau, a province which belongs to Auckland.

The Blues have got an incredible backline with talented players such as Tevita Li, Lolagi Visinia, George Moala and Ihaia West. Their pack is decent and they just need to be more accurate on the pitch. There are no reasons why they could not succeed in Super Rugby.

3. The Chiefs : Looking for perfection

Since the 2011 World Cup, the Chiefs have become one of the most famous franchise in Super Rugby. Located in Hamilton, the franchise is managed by Dave Rennie who could become the next All Blacks coach when Steve Hansen, the current coach, will leave.

The Chiefs have won Super Rugby twice in 2012 and in 2013 beating their opponents with some class. Running rugby is in their DNA and the players are always looking for space in the opposite defence. We could say that they are playing a different game sometimes.

When we look at the squad, the Chiefs are a settled franchise with one of the greatest players of the game in the pack and in the backline. Sam Cane, the skipper, is tipped to become the new Richie McCaw and James Lowe is scoring many tries on the wing.

It is really incredible to say that but the Chiefs do not seem to have any weaknesses. When they get a ball, they always manage to do something with it. They can score tries from everywhere on the pitch and all the players represent a threat during the 80 minutes.

Obviously, the Chiefs will be contenders for the title in 2016. They have strength in depth despite some key players heading overseas like Ben Tameifuna, playing now with Racing 92 in France. That franchise is looking strong and they are playing the game brillantly.

4. The Crusaders : The Todd Blackadder Legacy

Starting this new Super Rugby campaign, the Crusaders know that an era is ending. It will be the last Super Rugby season for their charismatic coach Todd Blackadder. This man coached the Christchurch-based franchise for many years now and he deserves credit.

Todd Blackadder, even if he did not manage to win Super Rugby titles with his franchise so far, will leave a legacy. The Crusaders were outstanding under Robbie Deans. We can say that the Crusaders played with the same passion under current coach Todd Blackadder.

With some key players leaving before the 2015 World Cup (Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Colin Slade, Tom Taylor), you would have thought that the Crusaders were going to be less competitive in 2016. No way because that franchise will always have big talents to deliver.

Crusaders brought this season three playmakers to score tries : Richie Mo’unga, Ben Volavola and Marty McKenzie. Ryan Crotty is coming back at centre and their pack is their strength with All Blacks like Codie Taylor, Owen Franks, Sam Whitelock and Kieran Read.

The important for the Crusaders will be delivering the same performances through the season. They started well and they are building confidence. Home quarter-final, home semi-final and home final is key to their Super Rugby campaign. They can do it.

5. The Highlanders : Chasing the double

Many years ago, the Highlanders were probably the franchise in New Zealand which was inspiring the least fear. The 2015 Super Rugby campaign has completely destroyed what we could think about their ability to perform at the highest level. They won the title in 2015.

The franchise, located in Dunedin, is coached by Jamie Joseph. What the Highlanders did in 2015 is highly remarkable when you think that they only have three established All Blacks : scrum-half Aaron Smith, centre Malakai Fekitoa and fullback Ben Smith.

The ultimate challenge for them in 2016 is achieving what the Chiefs did between 2012 and 2013 : winning Super Rugby two consecutive times. The Highlanders have not lost so many players and they will be probably in the play-offs to defend their honour and the title.

The Highlanders have got the same philosophy that the Chiefs but they have different ways to play their game. The Chiefs play every ball and look for tries immediately whereas the Highlanders are the best when we talk about counter-attacking rugby in the game.

During the first Round that season, the Highlanders were beaten by the Blues at Eden Park (33-31). They have recovered from this opening defeat and they are looking very strong once again. It will be very difficult to stop them in their hunt for more and more glory.

6. The Hurricanes : Weight of History

The franchise, based in Wellington, is often described as cursed. They are the only franchise in New Zealand, at the start of the 2016 Super Rugby campaign , not having won this title. They lost their home final to the Highlanders in 2015. That was a nightmare.

All the Hurricanes fans, including me, were absolutely devastated. We had the team to do it, we had the best players, we had to honour all the legends who had played for that franchise before. We failed and we did not blame the players or the coach. That is sport.

For this 2016 Super Rugby season, hope is far from having disappeared. The franchise kept All Blacks superstars like Dane Coles, Victor Vito, TJ Perenara, Beauden Barrett as well as Cory Jane, Julian Savea and Nehe Milner-Skudder. That team is looking very strong.

The coaching staff, led by coach Chris Boyd brought Ngani Laumape at centre. Former rugby league player, he is doing well with Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith now playing their rugby in France. The Hurricanes are improving though the weeks and that is pleasing.

Weight of History does not have to be an intimidating factor for the Hurricanes, it has to be the final boost. So many people are believing in them. They have promising players (Vaea Fifita and Ardie Savea in the back-row). We all believe in them. Let’s go Canes.

7. My All Blacks squad for the 2016 season

This is my All Blacks squad for the 2016 Summer Tour and the three Tests games which have been planned against Wales. I am going to unveil a 31-man squad with a 17-14 split including 17 forwards and 14 backs. It is a squad to build the future for New Zealand.

Hookers : Dane Coles (Hurricanes), Hikawera Elliot (Chiefs), Codie Taylor (Crusaders).

Props : Wyatt Crockett (Crusaders), Charlie Faumuina (Blues), Owen Franks (Crusaders), Pauliasi Manu (Chiefs), Joe Moody (Crusaders).

Second-rows : Sam Whitelock (Crusaders), Brodie Retallick (Chiefs), Luke Romano (Crusaders), Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues).

Flankers : Sam Cane (Chiefs), Jerome Kaino (Blues), Ardie Savea (Hurricanes), Matt Todd (Crusaders).

Number 8 : Kieran Read (Crusaders).

Scrum-halves : Tawera Kerr-Barlow (Chiefs), TJ Perenara (Hurricanes), Aaron Smith (Highlanders).

First-five eighths : Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes), Aaron Cruden (Chiefs), Lima Sopoaga (Highlanders).

Second-five eighths : Ryan Crotty (Crusaders), Malakai Fekitoa (Highlanders), George Moala (Blues), Charlie Ngatai (Chiefs).

Wingers : Nehe Milner-Skudder (Hurricanes), Waisake Naholo (Highlanders), Julian Savea (Hurricanes).

Fullbacks : Ben Smith (Highlanders).

Conclusion

The All Blacks will start the 2016 Test season in the Southern Hemisphere as favourites. The main question is : Will they have the same status at the end of their season during the November Tour ?! I think that we all know the answer for the moment and that is yes.

New Zealand has got an incredible pool of players with talented youngsters stepping up immediately even if some legends of the game retired or are playing now in other countries. This is the success of a system where national team means everything.

The All Blacks are facing many opportunities to make History once again. They have the opportunity to end their 2016 Test season unbeaten, becoming the team with the most consecutive games won at international level with the British & Irish Lions Tour coming.

As it stands, New Zealand remain the best rugby team ever.

Max.