There is so much to look forward to in the coming weeks, so where do we begin? The Rugby Championship gets underway this weekend with Australia on tour in South Africa and New Zealand doing the same in Argentina, so that’s what will keep us glued to our screens this Saturday. Can Australia build on their strong finish to the Lions Series when they square up against World Champions South Africa on the Springboks home turf? It’s definitely a tall order and a genuine test of whether or not the Wallabies really have turned a corner this year. Meanwhile, can Argentina finally develop some consistency? They are a fabulous team but unless they can fix their Achilles Heel of being World Beaters one weekend and then a disorganised shambles a week later, then the incredible potential of the Pumas will continue to go unrealized.
As for the favorites this weekend, South Africa and New Zealand, it’s hard in the Springboks’ case to not see a potential whitewash in the making. The physicality of South Africa is a well-known commodity, there is some fantastic new talent coming through the ranks, and their attack is just as ingenious as their defense is resolute. All of it is coached by that wily master of subterfuge and intrigue on the pitch Rassie Erasmus, and probably the most inventive brain in the modern game. New Zealand, though, still remain an unknown quantity in new Coach Scott Robertson’s second year in charge. The skill sets are there by the bucketload, but the organisation at times looks slightly suspect. The All Blacks got the job done against an understrength but very talented French team this summer, but the Pumas will be operating at full strength and in front of their very loud and passionate fans. In short, it will be a hostile environment for New Zealand to operate in, to say the least. It will be excellent preparation for when the Springboks travel to New Zealand next month, but at least one of these Tests in Argentina is likely to be a genuine humdinger.
However, as an annoying distraction to our potential enjoyment of this year’s Rugby Championship, there is the depressing thought that this could well be the last year we ever see this tournament as we know it. The irritating spectacle of Mike Tindall’s proposed breakaway R360 league sadly appears to be gaining some momentum, while South Africa and New Zealand have decided to institute proper old school tours next year which leaves Australia and Argentina out in the cold for 2026. On top of all that, the new World Rugby Nations Championship, which kicks off next year, also adds to the fact that the International Rugby Landscape, as we know it, could change forever in the next 18 months. We are not averse to change and recognize that our beloved sport could do with a bit of it in order to grow and in some cases even survive, but a lot of this seems very poorly thought out.
Meanwhile, the excitement continues to mount here at the Lineout as we are a mere 8 days out and counting till the start of the Women’s World Cup in England. Canada completed their round of warmup games last weekend in Belfast with a convincing win over a spirited and feisty Irish side. Best of all, the team emerged injury free and ready for battle as they prepare to face Fiji in their opening game next Saturday in York. England remain the favourites but after watching England deal with France last weekend in the last of their warmup games, we couldn’t help but feel that the Red Roses are not invincible despite putting les Bleus to the sword in Southwest France last Saturday.
So let’s dive a little deeper into what got our pints frothy this week!
Is this the end of the Rugby Championship as we know it as competing pressures on its place in the calendar mount?
As we look forward to what could be one of the most competitive Rugby Championships in years, it would appear that the knives are out for what we think is an important tournament. Yes, the current malestrom of what the International Rugby landscape will look like after 2025 continues to take up irritating and distracting page space in a lot of the sources we go to in order to form our potentially miguided opinions over our pints. Unfortunately the debate seemingly just won’t go away, especially now that Mike Tindall and his Saudi financier friends are apparently gaining traction with the idea of their breakaway R360 league, even getting NFL reject and Wales superstar Louis Rees-Zammit to put pen to paper for the new league on his return to rugby.
It’s hard to argue against the fact that our beloved game has some issues right now. Club rugby around the globe continues to struggle to make money, even France’s hugely successful TOP14, arguably the creme de la creme of club competitions, struggles to break even despite packed stadiums and the fact that for much of the French public it almost takes precedence over France’s exploits in the International arena. Club rugby in England is permanently on the verge of bankruptcy with even established teams seemingly in danger of extinction – remember Wasps anyone? The club scene in Wales is a train wreck and is reflected in the fortunes of the National side. In North America, the MLR seems to change teams as many times as the emperor changed his clothes, while at the same time Canada and the USA hurtle backwards in the World Rugby rankings at a rate of knots. The URC featuring South African, Irish, Welsh, Scottish and Italian clubs is proving a mixed bag, but despite its growing popularity and quality of competition the logistics of it all are a huge burden on some cash strapped clubs, especially those in Wales. Super Rugby is fatally skewed when it comes to putting your name on any silverware as Australian teams and the Fijian Drua fail to make any kind of meaningful dent on Kiwi supremacy, making it for all intents and purposes a glorified domestic competition for New Zealand. The European Champions League, while on paper a good idea, is so broken in its current format that interest in it is hard to maintain.
In short, there are only two competitions that are in rude health, the Six Nations and the World Cup. International Rugby brings in the money and the punters, and of that, there is no question and it has never been more popular. The Rugby Championship, as the Southern Hemisphere’s equivalent of the Six Nations however, hasn’t really caught the imagination the way the annual dustup between England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales does. It doesn’t have the history of its famous Northern Hemisphere counterpart, and the age-old rivalries really only matter as almost life and death struggles between South Africa and New Zealand. Hence, the decision by said two teams to forego the Rugby Championship next year and embark on an old school Tour as in days gone by, leaving Argentina and Australia to look for something else to do. On top of all that next year, the Nations Championship, World Rugby’s controversial new showpiece event, kicks off after six contentious years in the making.
Meanwhile lurking around the fringes is Mike Tindall and his merry band of Saudi financiers and hedge fund manager mates from his time hanging around Ascot as a fringe Royal, looking to shake things up even further with their proposed breakaway R360 league. This proposes a series held from April to June and August to September in exotic locations around the world in an F1 Grand Prix style rugby circus format. It would feature made-up teams recruiting some of rugby’s biggest stars. Reportedly eye watering sums are being offered to players, and some big names have apparently taken the bait, most notably recently returned to rugby NFL castaway Louis Rees-Zammit, though apparently the Welsh speedster will still play with an existing club somewhere in Europe, with English Premiership side Bristol Bears managing to have the fattest cheque to wave in his face.
As we’ve already mentioned in previous posts we still remain highly sceptical of this competition actually getting airborne, despite the sums of money involved, especially as it will clash directly with competitions such as the English Premiership, TOP14 and URC’s knockout stages as well as whatever format emerges from a Rugby Championship currently undergoing intensive surgery. It may generate some useful debate about some much needed change in our beloved game, but as far as we’re concerned that is its only value added and we sincerely hope it never sees the light of day.
Rugby needs some fundamental changes plain and simple. This is something that none of us can argue with, and as rugby fans, we all take a united stand on. Players need better compensation for the sacrifices they and their bodies make on a weekly basis to entertain us. Player welfare and safety needs to be enhanced. We need a calendar that makes sense while still preserving the traditions and values of our beloved sport. Cherished tournaments like the Six Nations need to be kept safe while the World Cup’s value every four years must not be diminished. While doing all of this, the financial viability of the game needs to be ensured, and the game grown globally, and that applies equally to the Men’s and Women’s Game.
On this last point, we’d argue that some traction is being made as, at least when it comes to International Rugby, the global audience would appear to be growing every year. However, in the current climate of disjointed and competing attempts to achieve all of this, with vastly different motivations and objectives rugby’s current landscape and efforts to change it sound like a really bad mashup of three big 80s music hits. Go listen to Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime”, REM’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know it” and Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and maybe you’ll understand how confused and a tad frustrated we’re all feeling about all of this right now!
Canada’s Women claim an Irish scalp in their final warmup game in Belfast ahead of the World Cup
Canada’s fabulous Women were at it again last Saturday in Belfast with a solid win over Ireland in their last warmup game ahead of probably the most eagerly anticipated event in Canadian Rugby history. Canada’s Women have retained their ranking as the number two side in the World and head into the 10th edition of the Women’s Rugby World Cup next week in England injury free and in fine form.
All credit must go to Ireland, though, for giving Canada a genuine challenge and an excellent opportunity to make some last-minute adjustments ahead of the big show. Canada appeared to have the game sewn up by half-time with the scoreline at 33-7 in their favor. However, a concerted uptick in Ireland’s performance in the second half made sure that Canada could not rest on their laurels and forced them to keep up the pressure for the full 80. In short, excellent preparation for what lies ahead.
As usual, it was a superb team effort from Canada that saw them get the job done. However, there is no denying that in scoring two fine tries center Florence Symonds once again made us sit up and take notice. She really is an exceptional player in attack and defence, and in any kind of space is absolutely lethal. Her passing game is outstanding, and she is exceptionally strong in the tackle, being very difficult to bring down. She has already been cited by several rugby pundits as a potential player of the tournament, and while we tend to shy away from singling out individual players as we feel it detracts from their teammates, especially given that rugby is a sport that relies so heavily on the efforts of a team as a whole as opposed to single players, there is no doubt that Symonds has something special. We very much doubt that her teammates would begrudge whatever moments she may have in the limelight over the next few weeks, and given her humility, we very much doubt it will go to her head.
In terms of what lies ahead, we watched with interest England’s final warmup game against France last weekend, and while England dispatched France with relative ease 40-6, there was no denying that it looked slightly labored at times. Take away England’s rolling maul, and all of a sudden, they don’t look as daunting. Although they have some truly amazing backs in the shape of Ellie Kildunne and Abby Dow, their passing was not nearly as precise as Canada has shown over the past month. Admittedly it was bakingly hot in the Southwest of France last Saturday, but it was the same in Ottawa a fortnight ago for Canada against the USA with some killer humidity thrown in to make the ball even more slippery.
As for Canada’s other two main rivals, France and New Zealand, they also haven’t exactly had us quaking in fear in their warmups. New Zealand lost the second of their two recent warmup games in South Africa to the Springboks and only narrowly won the first. Admittedly, it was an understrength Black Ferns side that traveled to South Africa, but it is worth noting that Canada comprehensively beat the Springboks in both of their games on tour to the Rainbow Nation in July. Meanwhile France looked nowhere near being ready against England, however it’s also worth pointing that out that since that one point loss to England in the final game of this year’s Six Nations, this was their only warm up game, so it’s rather difficult to judge where they are at in terms of their preparation.
We fully expect to see France, England and New Zealand in dramatically different form once the World Cup kicks off on Friday, August 22nd, but there is no denying that Canada should feel genuinely pleased at their state of readiness for the big event and proud of all the hard work put in so far!
Australia arrive in South Africa for the first leg of their Rugby Championship campaign, which is likely to be twice the challenge that the Lions Tour was!
Whichever way you cut it, you could almost argue that the Lions series could be classed as child’s play when you look at what the Wallabies are now faced with. Australia’s fragile but hard earned sense of confidence and optimism after the Lions Tour could all be undone on the highveld on Saturday afternoon at one of International Rugby’s most daunting citadels – Johannesburg’s Ellis Park (sorry we’ll never get our head around Emirates Airline Park).
South Africa who are the tournament’s defending champions this year, will want to get their campaign off to a rollicking start ahead of a challenging two Test tour of New Zealand featuring a fixture at a ground the All Blacks simply don’t lose at – Auckland’s Eden Park. It’s a remarkable fact that the last time the Springboks beat New Zealand at the fabled ground, it was 1937. Coach Rassie Erasmus, who is well on his way to ticking every conceivable International Rugby landmark event there is, will no doubt be coming up with a cunning plan to pull off the unthinkable However, if history is to keep the All Blacks legendary status intact at EdenPark, then Erasmus will know that two big points haul wins over Australia are critical if they are to defend their title this year. As a result our collective hearts go out to the Wallabies this Saturday as very few if any prisoners are likely to be taken in an intensely physical and bruising encounter, all played at altitude which South Africa will be fully acclimatized to.
Furthermore, to make matters worse for Australia, they continue to be without their most valuable player in terms of the physical battles, flanker Rob Valentini. Big “Bobby V” has traveled with the Wallaby squad to South Africa, though is still deemed not fit for the opener, but hopefully, he will be available for the critical second Test in Cape Town. However, his physicality and all-around ball carrying ability around the contact areas will be sorely missed on Saturday. South Africa’s second and back row stocks for Saturday’s encounter are alarming, to say the least. Even though second rower Lood de Jager hasn’t got a ton of time under his belt this season due to injury, he is such a powerful commodity that even on a bad day he will pose serious problems for the Wallabies and alongside Eben Etzebeth the lineouts could be a torrid place for Australia.
Australia have some definite spoilers, though, make no mistake. Will Skelton, who made such an impact in the second and third Tests, is available and is likely to have his opposite number Etzebeth’s infamous temper boiling over continuously by minute 10 onwards. Despite the Wallabies relative success in the scrum department especially when Taniela Tupou was introduced into the mix against the Lions, South Africa’s combination of Ox Nche, Wilco Louw and Malcolm Marx is likely to negate many of those gains.
However, even without Valentini, there is no reason why Australia can’t cause some mayhem in the back row of their own. Number 8 and Captain Harry Wilson really came of age on the Lions Tour while Fraser McReight is a master opportunist in the loose. Tom Hooper also made important contributions to the Wallabies’ physical efforts in the third Lions Test. If they can hold their own against the all star Springbok trio of Marco van Staden, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi then the argument that the Wallabies have finally managed to negotiate a very difficult set of curves in their recent history will have some genuine validity.
In the half backs it’s no secret that Wallaby Coach Joe Schmidt’s selections have turned some heads. With a combined age of 70, the Australian halfback pairing for Saturday’s game makes the term veteran seem almost geriatric. Nic White was set to retire after the Lions Series, but ongoing injury concerns for regular Jake Gordon have seen the celebrated scrum half answer the call to postpone his rugby after-life until the end of the Rugby Championship.
Meanwhile Australia’s brilliant but at times errant schoolboy, James O’Connor answers the Wallabies mayday call in the ten jersey, as Tom Lynagh is still unavailable after the shocking clearout in the final Test saw him be subjected to the head injury protocol. We can remember watching James O’Connor when he was tipped to be Australia’s next big thing way back in 2008. Since then, lapses in discretion both on and off Tour have seen him fall out of favor for the most part with Australian selectors. The rebel teenager is gone, and what has replaced it is a mature and capable playmaker even if he is at the endgame of what could have been a very promising career.
For South African supporters, they will be crossing every finger and toe that their own fly half Manie Libbok will be having one of his “on” days as opposed to some genuine Test shockers we’ve seen in recent years, especially in the goal kicking department. Libbok is an excellent player make no mistake, and when on song, he can produce a master class in inventive game management. However, consistency is just not his strong suit, with there being very few grey areas between his good and bad days. Scrum half Grant Williams suffers from much the same problem, and in big pressure occasions for the Sharks this season, he often fell short. However, like his teammate in the 10 jersey, he can be utterly electric on a good day and also rather handy with the boot should Libbok have brought the wrong pair to Ellis Park on Saturday.
With South Africa’s centre pairing of Jesse Kriel and Andre “the Giant” Esterhuizen set to bulldoze the Wallabies into submission in the centre of the park, it remains to be seen if Australia’s often porous defence can contain the likes of the scrum cap wearing Springbok danger men out wide in the shape of Kurt Lee Arendse and new find Edwill van der Merwe. If they can, then expect Dylan Pietsch and the exceptional Max Jorgensen to create some genuine fireworks on Ellis Park’s hard and fast track for the Wallabies. In the back, though, Australia will be secure in the shape of Tom Wright, who also excels at counterattacking from deep, as does his Springbok counterpart Aphelele Fassi. We’d argue Fassi has more of the X factor, but Wright has a more complete game. In short, a fascinating contest awaits at the back end of the field on Saturday.
Springbok Coach Rassie Erasmus is famous for his 7-1 bench spilts (ie seven forwards and one back) on the assumption that his charges will collectively bludgeon their opponents into submission for the full eighty minutes leaving the backs free to run about unhindered and injury free. However, this Saturday, he has gone with a 5-3 split. What that says to us is that he is wary of the realistic threat that Australia’s runners pose. However, it could also be saying that the attrition caused by South Africa’s physical assault on Australia’s defences will be so high that by the final quarter they will have already emptied their benches in a desperate attempt to contain the likely South African dominance up front. Coach Joe Schmidt’s selection of a 6-2 bench split would appear to favor that hypothesis.
Australia’s bench contains some genuine threats who proved their worth and then some in the Lions series with second rower Jeremy Williams, and back rowers Nick Champion de Crespigny and Langi Gleeson doing some solid work during the Lions series. The front row is always a necessary complete shift change, leaving only Tate McDermott to come on and bring his customary final quarter breakneck impact in the scrum half berth and Andrew Kellaway to provide some much needed fresh legs to a back line probably dead on their feet at that stage.
South Africa’s bench although not quite their typical “bomb squad” approach is potent enough to seal the door on Australia’s fate if the scoreline has gotten out of control in the Springboks favor by the final quarter. Bongi Mbonambi is back to replace Marx at Hooker, though once again on the big stage for the Sharks this season, he had a rather patchy record. However, two of our favorite and in our opinion most underrated Springbok Test animals Franco Mostert and Kwagga Smith lie in wait to cause havoc in the loose and at set piece time. Finally, an all-star set of replacements for the backs in Cobus Reinach, Damian Willemse, and Canan Moodie should ensure that the Springboks start their Rugby Championship campaign the way they want to finish it. Willemse may appear sooner rather than later if Libbok is having an off day with the boot. Try scoring machine Moodie needs no introduction and Reinach’s speed off the base of the scrums and rucks, combined with some serious big match experience give the Boks a real edge here.
On paper, this is South Africa’s game to lose, which most of us find it hard to imagine. However, if Australia come out of the blocks firing on all cylinders, are able to give as good as they get in the physical department, which let’s face it is exactly what they did in the Third Lions Test in appalling conditions, then the script could be dramatically rewritten setting up a fascinating second Round in Cape Town with everything to play for for both sides. We certainly hope so!
South Africa vs Australia – Saturday, August 16th – 11:10 AM (Eastern) – TSN+, FLO Rugby, Premier Sports Asia and Stan Sport Australia (live and on demand)
Argentina will relish the opportunity of hosting the All Blacks in their first two legs of this year’s Rugby Championship and will seek to create a least one memorable repeat of that fine win in Wellington last year!
As Argentina prepare to face New Zealand twice on home soil this month in probably the last iteration of the Rugby Championship as we know it, here’s an interesting fact, the Pumas have never beaten the All Blacks at home. The closest they came to it was a draw way back in 1985, but it would appear that home advantage simply does not favor Argentina. By contrast, since 2020, the Pumas have beaten the All Blacks away from home three times, once in Australia and twice in New Zealand. It seems they are much more comfortable facing a team they love to play, away from the high-pressure stares of their devoted and passionate fans. Will this year be different? More importantly, if it is, can they do it in back to back games? Consistency from one match to the next is simply not part of Argentina’s rugby DNA, it would seem. We really hope this year is different as they are fan favourites here at the Lineout in terms of how they play the game and their passion for it.
As for New Zealand, despite being seriously tested at times by a developmental French squad last month, they regard the start of the Rugby Championship as the real deal in terms of the beginning of their season. Although, they arrive in Argentina comfortable in the knowledge that they have never been beaten in the Pumas’ backyard, Argentina have increasingly become the South American equivalent of the All Blacks’ Irish banana skin these days when they least expect it. They will know that Argentinian fans will both expect and demand that the Pumas finally get that elusive home win against their fabled opponents and that these two games will be fought to the death.
At the time of going to press, we have yet to see either team sheet, so it’s a bit hard to comment on how this game may play out. One thing we do know is that the majority of Argentina’s big hitters who missed the Series against England are available, most notably one of the biggest men in International Rugby utility forward Marcos Kremer and utility back and Toulouse star Juan Cruz Mallia. Perhaps the most significant return to the Pumas fold, though, will be Toulon bound and former Benetton fly half Tomas Albornoz. Albornoz had a huge influence on the Pumas historic win over the Lions earlier this summer in Dublin and is the fly half that Argentina have been looking for with limited success since the retirement of Nicolas Sanchez. Throw in others like Santiago Chocobares, Matteo Carreras, Gonzalo Garcia, Lucio Cinti and Bautista Delguy, and this could be an exceptionally potent Pumas side more than capable of creating their own version of history over the next two weeks.
However, like we say the nagging doubt surrounding these two games is that while the likelihood of at least one win over the All Blacks is a distinct probability, the Pumas seeming inability to string together two quality back to back performances is almost certain to trip them up once again. Whether it’s over confidence or simply a lack of focus and fitness, it’s impossible to guage with Argentina. Just suppose, though, that they pull off the unthinkable and score two back to back victories against the All Blacks. All of a sudden, they head to Australia to face a Wallaby side that sadly has probably taken a bit of a beating at the hands of the Springboks. They would then find themselves once again in the hunt for the tournament’s silverware, which they were all last year, having beaten all three opponents once, but singularly unable to repeat it a week later. If they do, the seeming demise of the Rugby Championship which has been key to making the Pumas so competitive and made them the fifth ranked team in the world prior to England’s summer Tour, will seem even more short sighted and unjust than it already is. However, once again this summer on home soil, they just couldn’t maintain their status, losing both Tests to a developmental England side. Hopefully, home advantage stops being a curse rather than a blessing for the Pumas over the next two weeks.
As for New Zealand, confidence should be high as the dust starts to settle on their transition to new Coach Scott Robertson now 18 months into his tenure. He knows what he has in his player stocks and hopefully how best to use them. However, a lot of New Zealand’s combinations still look slightly clunky and unsure of themselves. There is an amazing team in the making here make no mistake, and New Zealand should easily go deep into the next World Cup and possibly even lift the silverware itself for a fourth time. Nevertheless, the All Blacks still look quite a way off from being the finished product, and if anything, their Argentinian opponents look the more settled side if that even sounds plausible.
Like we say without the teamsheets in front of us as we put pen to paper it’s hard to get a feeling of what sort of All Black squad will run out for the opening Test against the Pumas in Cordoba this Saturday. One question, no doubt, at the forefront of Robertson’s mind is who will wear the Captain’s armband. Will it be the most difficult back rower in the world to contain Ardie Savea or steady and reliable Scott Barrett in the second row? Does Savea perform at his whirwind best without the responsibility of the Captain’s armband, or are his performances with it on so inspirational to his teammates that it takes them to another level? In a match likely to be full of heated emotions, perhaps the more calm and war in the trenches type of attitude as displayed by Barrett may be more appropriate.
Who gets the fly half berth? That’s probably the next biggest question. Is Beauden Barrett’s big game experience the preferred option, or is Damian McKenzie’s unpredictability and genius akin to Scotland’s Finn Russell the preferred route? McKenzie is not the biggest lad on the park and you can be sure that in a high pressure and visible role of running the game in the ten jersey, the Pumas big boys will be targeting him all day and likely make his life a misery. Perhaps it is best to slot him in at fullback and weave his magic there from space, which he simply won’t be allowed to have in the 10 jersey.
It’s New Zealand’s back line and center pairings we can’t really get our heads around. The only self-evident picks are likely to be Will Jordan on the wing and Jordie Barrett in the centers. We feel that this area of Robertson’s squad is still hugely experimental and a long way from being the finished product that we’re likely to see being finessed for the World Cup in two years’ time. We think he knows what his forward pack is starting to look like, but from the nine jersey on, it’s all still a bit of a grey area. By the end of this Rugby Championship and even this tour to Argentina, especially ahead of a hugely anticipated clash with the Springboks at the All Blacks’ fortress of Eden Park, we think we’ll be able to answer those questions. However, until then, half the fun of these next two games will be some animated debates over our post-match pints as to who should get which jersey for the All Blacks going forward.
So on that note of wait and see as it were for both sides, we’ll sign this one off for the week and let the games begin!
Argentina vs New Zealand – Saturday, August 16th – 5:10 PM (Eastern) – TSN+, FLO Rugby, Premier Sports Asia and Stan Sport Australia (live and on demand)
So, like we say, that’s it for this week, but as the excitement continues to mount for the start of the Women’s World Cup next week, make sure you support our fabulous Women. Help out with that final funding push through the link on the TV page and get your Canada jerseys. Also, there is a really neat initiative from legendary Canadian band, the Tragically Hip, who have lent their support to the cause. They have designed a very classy T-shirt with the Hip and Rugby Canada logo specifically to help fund the Ladies, see link below along with an image of the shirt, so make sure you get yours:
The Lineout 
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David John
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