Well, we think it’s only fair to say that the primary focus of this week’s edition is Women’s Rugby. There was that thrilling conclusion to the Women’s Six Nations last weekend, which saw England become Grand Slam Champions for the third year in a row and the 16th time since the tournament began in 1996. Whichever way you cut it, that is an extremely impressive record, and one that on their present form shows no sign of being broken any time soon, despite a very determined France’s best efforts. There were some terrific matches this tournament and despite playing probably the worst game of the Championship when they played England and were put to the sword by the Red Roses, Ireland went from last year’s Wooden Spoon holders to finishing third and with it both automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup as well as the Tier 1 WXV competition at the end of this year. It was a much needed boost for Women’s Rugby in Ireland, which had plummeted from being Six Nations and Grand Slam Champions in 2013 to failing to qualify for the last World Cup.
To cap off a memorable weekend in Women’s Rugby our own fantastic Canadian Women got their Pacific Four campaign off to a rousing start in California by completely demolishing a US side that simply had no answers for their clinical and brutally efficient second half performance. It was only Canada’s first game of the year, and there were clearly some cobwebs to be dusted off in the first half, but the fourth best team in the world are already looking exceptionally dangerous.
In the rest of the rugby world, there was plenty of action as both Super Rugby Pacific and the URC, along with France’s Top 14 and the English Premiership all approach the business end of their seasons and those all important playoff spots. As we sadly don’t really follow events in France and England as these are purely domestic competitions, we can’t really comment but from snippets we have seen there have been some thrilling encounters and this upcoming weekend’s Champions Cup semi final between Toulouse and Harlequins looks set to be a cracker.
In Super Rugby Pacific, a familiar pattern seems to be once more emerging that Australian sides are unlikely to go much further than the Quarter Finals, and there are only two sides for whom that looks set to be a certainty. The United Rugby Championship also is increasingly looking skewed in favor of Ireland and South Africa, making that two Test series between the two in July a mouth watering prospect. However, Scottish interests are well represented by Glasgow, and Italy remains ever hopeful courtesy of an impressive looking Benetton outfit. In short, everything to play for now in these final few weeks of regular season competition in both hemispheres.
England reign supreme yet again, and who can stop them heading into a World Cup in their own backyard?
England may not be defending Champions when next year’s World Cup kicks off in their backyard, but it’s already proving difficult to see them as anything less by the time it all wraps up. Agreed, it’s New Zealand who are the current World Champions, but at last year’s WXV Tier 1 competition, they lost to England in Auckland. With England’s clinical demolition of France in Bordeaux last weekend, they have now beaten the French consistently for the last three years. In short, there is England, and seemingly, there is everyone else. New Zealand, France and Canada are all exceptional teams in their own right, and there is little doubt that by the time the World Cup rolls around they will have the potential to rain on England’s home parade, but it is going to take every ounce of ingenuity, composure and commitment with a generous dose of good luck thrown in for good measure.
England continued to trade on their physical dominance this Six Nations, and we have yet to see a team that can compete with them in that regard. However, England have now developed an attacking game that, at times, left us, let alone their opponents, breathless this Six Nations. Head Coach John Mitchell has added an offensive edge to this team to complement their physical game. Holly Aitchison at fly half has been the epitome of a quick thinking but strategic playmaker at fly half. Although the final game was more a showcase of England’s ability to cross the whitewash with their formidable forward pack, other games showed off the dazzling footwork and strength in the tackle of England’s assets out wide in the shape of Abby Dow and Jess Breach. One of the revelations of the tournament, particularly against Ireland was fullback Ellie Kildunne who was nothing short of sensational and ended up being the tournament’s leading try scorer.
While this tournament was a showcase of England’s player skills, as a team and as individuals, they simply dominated the vast majority of statistics across the board. Their opponents consistently struggled to stamp their own authority on any of the games in which England featured. It was only France who, in a second half, played at breakneck speed, looked like they had earned the right to play their own game and possibly get the better of England. In short, there is very little to say other than congratulations to a team who were simply the best at everything they did.
As they look ahead to the WXV Tier 1 Competition this year in Canada in September/October they know they have some work to do but it’s simply a case of fine tuning rather than wholesale fixes. Despite their phenomenal physical prowess, their scrum surprisingly remains a liability on occasion, and they had one of the lowest success rates in the tournament, with only Wales and Ireland faring worse than they did in terms of success at scrum time. Their goal kicking could do with some improvement, but then when you score as many tries as England did, it’s not surprising they missed the odd conversion. Nevertheless, come the World Cup next year, they won’t want to be missing valuable points opportunities in close games.
Apart from that, however, England can reflect on a memorable tournament that has clearly cemented their reputation as the current Rolls Royce standard of Women’s Rugby!
Ireland’s Women cautiously crawl out of the abyss they’d fallen into for the last four years
The neglect of the Women’s game in Ireland over the last few years has been an injustice, particularly when juxtaposed against the remarkable success of the Men’s game. There is still a long way to go, but this Six Nations finally saw Ireland start to rediscover some of the magic that saw them win the tournament in 2013 and 2015, with the 2013 win achieved on the back of a Grand Slam. You got the feeling that a corner had finally been turned in their opener against France when they denied the French the opportunity to relax for the full eighty minutes in Le Mans. They could and should have beaten Italy at home a week later had it not been for some questionable decision-making at times. That got rectified two weeks later as they put in a solid and composed performance against Wales and got themselves a handsome win in the process.
The game against Wales made the outright disaster at Twickenham a week later, all the more difficult to both understand and justify. The 88-10 drubbing at the hands of England was painful to watch, and Ireland were woeful plain and simple. Very few people expected them to win, but to capitulate in the manner they did was hard to fathom. As England essentially scored a try every six minutes, Ireland looked at sixes and sevens defensively for the full eighty minutes. Once again, the questionable decision making that tripped them up against Italy came to the fore, and we lost track of the number of handling errors. In short, it’s one thing to lose against arguably the best team in the world, but to not show up for the occasion is another matter altogether, and at times Ireland were guilty of doing just that.
The final game against Scotland wasn’t pretty at times, but Ireland regained their shape and the composure that made them so effective against Wales. Their lineout remains a red flag item heading into both the WXV Tier 1 at the end of this year and, more importantly, the World Cup in 2025, which they have now qualified for. Their goal kicking could use some work, and their scrum definitely creaks at times. However, they are becoming as ferocious and effective in the rucks and at the breakdown as their male colleagues are renowned for, and they passed the ball more than any other team this Six Nations. If they can just make said passes go to hand then in winger Beibhinn Parsons they have a player who was second in the tournament to England’s phenomenal Ellie Kildunne for metres gained and metres carried, while in flanker Aoife Wafer they have one of the most exciting new players in the Northern Hemisphere.
Ireland are back and although they may have tripped over their bootlaces a few too many times this tournament there is no denying that this is a side who mean to make a statement once more in the years to come. In short, watch this space.
Canada make a statement that they clearly intend to pick up where they left off last year by putting the USA to the sword in the opening Round of the Pacific Four series
First, let’s give Captain Sophie de Goede and every one of her exceptional charges a standing ovation for that performance last Sunday against the USA. Given the disastrous state of the Men’s game in this country, De Goede and her colleagues gave us an 80-minute display that made us feel almost deliriously proud to be Canadian rugby fans. This really is a remarkable team for whom the future looks exceptionally bright indeed.
It was obvious that there were a few cobwebs to be dusted off in the first quarter, but Canada still found themselves 10-0 after only 10 minutes. The USA did manage to find their feet and fought their way back into the game, ending the first half 17-7 behind, but in the second half, Canada simply tore away in a clinical and perfectly executed game. Canada were on point, and their kicking game was outstanding. Once they found their groove, they were away, and there was simply no looking back as Canada ran away comfortable 50-7 winners. The only criticism we could make was stated in no uncertain terms by Captain Sophie de Goede in the post-match interview. They simply need to play with the same intensity and precision in the first half of games that they showed in that second half against the USA. If they do, then arguably, the sky is the limit for this team.
With the core of the team now seasoned professionals in Europe, there is experience and big match temperament in this Canadian squad. Well Coached by Kevin Rouet, we were impressed by how well drilled they looked after only 30 minutes considering this was their first game together since that memorable win against France last November in the WXV Tier 1 competition, which saw Canada finish second. Sophie de Goede is the glue that holds this exceptional team together, but veterans such as prop Emily Tutosi, second rower Tyson Beukeboom, scrum half Justine Pelletier and centre Alex Tessier provide the spine of a team that clearly gels both on and off the pitch. Add to that some genuinely exciting new talent in the shape of back rowers Pamphinette Buisa and Julia Omokhuale, fly half Claire Gallagher and utility back Fancy Bermudez Chavez, and Canada looks well positioned to be one of the contenders come the World Cup next year.
There are plenty of stern challenges ahead in the next few months which will really allow Canada’s remarkable women to measure where they are at in relation to the likes of England, New Zealand and France – but we think all the signs are already looking exceptionally positive. Roll on May 10th, which sees their next Pacific Four fixture against 5th ranked Australia and onwards and upwards ladies!!!
Is it business as usual once again in Super Rugby Pacific as we edge towards the playoffs?
Super Rugby Pacific is the big conundrum here at the Lineout. We’ll be completely honest and say that individual loyalties aside, the competition still fails to fire our imagination. That is not to say for a moment that there isn’t some outstanding rugby on display – far from it. Watch the highlights reel of any weekend, and there is more action and try scoring glory than most tournaments serve up in a month. However, as a competition, its outcome still seems to be all too inevitable. Come the semi-finals it will essentially become a New Zealand domestic competition, with the possibility of one Australian side, most likely the Brumbies, thrown into the mix to give it a semblance of being the Southern Hemisphere’s showpiece club/franchise tournament. Given the woeful state of Australian rugby at the moment, even that mix could be doubtful.
Let’s look at the front runners so far, for those four semi-final berths – you guessed it the Hurricanes, Blues and Chiefs from New Zealand and the Brumbies from Australia. The defending champions New Zealand’s Crusaders are making a late charge and could well end up bagging a quarter final spot, but in reality they are a shadow of the side that has so completely dominated the competition for the last seven consecutive years. New Zealand’s other outfit the Highlanders have simply not been at the races in Super Rugby Pacific since its Post Covid inception in 2022, to the point where they are consistently duking it out at the bottom of the table with the likes of the Western Force and Moana Pasifika. The Hurricanes given that they have only lost one game this season on the road to the Brumbies are likely to head into the playoffs at the top of the log, with a relatively easy ride to the end of their season, if their form holds. For the second placed Blues, it’s a slightly less comfortable ride, but if anything, their form seems to be improving as the season draws to a close. Finally fourth placed Chiefs have arguably the hardest road to the knockouts but with extraordinary fly half Damian McKenzie allied to new sensation Cortez Ratima in the other halfback slot and a back line that can slice and dice opposition defenses at will they should get the job done relatively easily.
In Australia, as they do every year, the Brumbies still look the most complete side on the western side of the Tasman and expect to see new Wallaby Coach Joe Scmidt draw a significant number of his squad from the Canberra outfit. They may not be the flashiest unit on the Australian circuit, but they know better than any other Australian squad how to work as a team and get the job done, and most importantly, secure those all important results. However, their two losses to date this year both on the road and to New Zealand sides, make for uncomfortable viewing as while they will most likely secure a home quarter final, thereafter some form of life on the road beckons. Surprisingly it’s the Melbourne Rebels, despite their financial woes, who are the next best Australian outift, but like the Queensland Reds right behind them in sixth place, consistency is not their strong suit and in the Rebels case they have yet to trouble a New Zealand side except for the utterly woeful Highlanders. For the Reds, there is no denying they are an exciting team to watch and in the shape of new winger Tim Ryan they have probably discovered the most exciting thing to happen to Australian attacking rugby since David Campese and Michael Lynagh. However, their run to the playoffs is an uncomfortable ride, featuring a trip to Fortress Fiji, and then the home of a rejuvenated Crusaders side in New Zealand. For the Rebels it’s an even more challenging road trip seeing them pack their bags to Fiji, Brisbane and Canberra, with their only two home games being against the red hot Blues and Chiefs from across the Tasman. As for the Waratahs and Western Force, pride is sadly the only thing left at stake for the remainder of the season.
Of the two Pacific Island sides, Fijian Drua are the strongest team, and the chances of them making a quarter final are looking like a very safe bet. However, they haven’t looked all that flash on the road, and New Zealand’s Hurricanes managed to break their winning streak at home with a win in Suva, though nobody seems to be able to crack Fortress Lautoka. They do have a relatively favorable fixture list in the runup to the playoffs with two home games against the Reds and Rebels. Then it’s a potentially easy road trip to Dunedin to face New Zealand’s bottom feeders the Highlanders along with a trip to Perth to face Australia’s worst outfit the Western Force. However, no one will envy them this weekend’s trip to Canberra to take on the Brumbies. Defensively, they also haven’t been that sharp, and discipline continues to trip them up in the heat of the moment. They have been huge entertainment value as always, especially at home in the Islands, but in all reality, a quarter-final berth is where the party is likely to end.
As for the other Pacific Island side, if you can really call them that considering they play 90% of their games at their “home” stadium of Mount Smart in New Zealand, Moana Pasifika have been fun to watch but have never really looked like upsetting any kind of established pecking order. A lot of their set piece work with the exception of their scrum is weak, and defensively, they often look suspect. A feisty and courageous team sadly lacking composure under pressure and the execution needed at times to win consistently. However, their game this weekend against the Highlanders in Tonga will be a great celebration of Pacific Island rugby, and we have a hunch Moana will make the locals proud.
We really hope that the end of this Super Rugby Pacific regular season will turn the competition on its head and make for a set of playoffs that turn the traditional form book inside out, but somehow it’s already shaping up to be yet another case of dusting off the turntable and playing that New Zealand’s greatest hits album all over again.
Glasgow and Munster show Leinster the error of traveling to South Africa late in the season with an understrength squad while the Bulls show why they’ve put all their eggs in the URC basket this year
What error we hear you say in relation to Leinster. They have to focus on their Champions Cup home semi final at a sold out Croke Park this weekend against Northampton, so it was no wonder they kept the big guns at home for the two week trip to South Africa, just like the Bulls chose to keep their hotshots at home instead of putting up a legitimate challenge in the Champions Cup so they could focus on the URC. So far it seems to be paying dividends for both teams, and Leinster are still second on the URC log with three relatively soft matches left in the URC and as a result plenty of time to wrestle back that top spot on the log from Glasgow. It’s very hard to argue with that logic, and in Leinster’s case given their stellar form both in Europe and the URC it’s not difficult to see them in the driving seat once more when the URC regular season wraps up on May 31st.
However, there is no denying that the focus has shifted to Scotland and Glasgow after their demolition of a hapless Zebre Parma last weekend catapulted them to the top of the URC log. With them out of the Champions Cup you can rest assured that they will be taking their two week tour of South Africa which will see them face both the Lions and the Bulls on the Highveld, very seriously indeed, with a contingent of front line troops on the long flight South. Come out of that with flying colors and a soft home game against Zebre Parma could see the Scottish side emerge top of the table at the end of the regular season. We can’t wait to find out!
And then there’s Ireland’s third placed Munster, who, just like last year, all of a sudden look like genuine contenders at the end of the regular season and seem to relish a late tour to South Africa. Unlike Leinster, they traveled to South Africa with all their heavies and got back to back results on the highveld against the Bulls and the Lions. They like Glasgow have a relatively straightforward end of season with two local derbies at the hallowed and often impregnable ground of Thomond Park against Connacht and Ulster and what should be an uncomplicated trip to Edinburgh given their excellent away form.
For South Africa’s Bulls, who currently sit in fourth it’s still a tough slog to the knockout stages even if they have the luxury of facing a potentially jet lagged but table topping Glasgow at Fortress Loftus Versfeld. That’s followed by a visit from Italy’s red hot Benetton, though the Italians will not have had the luxury of a week to acclimatize to the vagaries of playing at altitude coming straight from the steamy lowlands of Durban and the Shark Tank. Deal with the Scots and the Italians and the Bulls should be in the playoffs but they still face a challenging final regular season game on the road against a dramatically improved Sharks outfit.
Those are the teams we think will be in the semis, but what of the rest and the Quarters we hear you ask? We can’t see much change out of the Stormers, Connacht, Ulster, and Benetton making up the other four spots in the last eight going to the Quarters. Of those four and despite a strong campaign to date Benetton have the toughest end to their season, comprising two away games in South Africa, with the added complexity in addition to the travel of one being at sea level and the other at altitude. There’s an outside chance, and we mean outside that the Sharks could blaze their way off the back of three maximum points haul wins to that last Quarter Final spot, but we have trouble believing it.
The three main three wild cards are the Lions, Edinburgh, and Ospreys. For the Lions, their final two fixtures are a bit daunting, to say the least, admittedly a home fixture against Glasgow, but that’s followed by a trip to Cape Town and the Stormers. The Ospreys do have one soft target in terms of a home fixture against struggling Welsh compatriots the Dragons and then away to Cardiff, but their next immediate fixture against Leinster on the road is likely to be a foregone conclusion and one not in their favor. Last but not least, Edinburgh will be hoping that Ulster’s tough end to the season may help slingshot them into the final eight, providing they can make sense of Benetton in their final game on the road.
There’s no denying that the URC is arguably becoming the most fascinating of all the regular club competitions outside the Champions Cup, given the variety of playing cultures it embraces. It’s a much flashier product than the old rather stodgy and lackluster Pro14, which a bit like Super Rugby Pacific was for the most part dominated by Irish teams come the business end of things and lost much of its international appeal. Sure some of the logistics leave a bit to be desired at times, particularly juxtaposed against the demands of International Rugby and the European Champions Cup, but it’s still become a competition that we thoroughly enjoy, and it’s conclusion this year looks set to be even more fascinating than last year’s thrills and spills.
Well, that’s it for this missive. There’s lots to look forward to in the coming month, so strap yourselves in. The conclusion of the Champions Cup and the wrapping up of the regular seasons in Super Rugby and the URC are all in the mix, and perhaps best of all for us here in Canada, our extraordinary Women in action in the Pacific Four Series. Enjoy it all along with the start of spring and time to haul out the barbecues and enjoy some deck life once more!