Our resident scribe has returned from a much needed break in Portugal and we’ve managed to get up to speed on all the rugby of the last few weeks, and as a result get a brief summary down on paper so we can return to our regular missives. First up, a huge shout out to our fabulous Canadian Women who emerged as silver medallists in the recently concluded Women’s World Cup after a gutsy performance against now World Champions England in front of 81,000+ fans. In short, it was a momentous occassion and Canada’s Women did us all proud even if as we feared England in their Twickenham Fortress may just have been a bridge too far – for now at least but watch this space! Also congratulations to our own Sophie de Goede who has been named the Women’s Player of the Year, an honor which is richly deserved especially when one considers her remarkable comeback from a serious ACL injury last year.
In addition to the Women’s World Cup, the Rugby Championship drew to a thrilling finale last weekend in Perth and London, and has been the best we can remember making it all the more gutting that it’s future now looks in serious doubt. There have been some attempts this week to give the Southern Hemisphere’s flagship Tournament a new lease of life and we’ll give our thoughts on that and what was a stellar competition this year that left us all hungry for more.
Finally, our favourite club competiton the United Rugby Championship (URC) is now fully underway for the 2025/26 season and the first two rounds have thrown up some genuine surprises, as teams from South Africa, Italy, Scotland, Ireland and Wales get stuck into each other.
So, without any further ado, now the scribe is back here is a quick whip round of this week’s reunion banter over some frothy pints.
Canada’s Women put up a brave fight in the World Cup Final, but Fortress Twickenham still belongs to England
There’s only one negative aspect of this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, and that is the fact it’s over. However, for six weeks, we were treated to a glorious exhibition of not only the Women’s game but the sport as a whole. It was big, loud, and hugely entertaining, and some of the rugby on display by the four finalists in particular was breathtaking at times. Canada’s fabulous Women became fan favorites and played arguably some of the most innovative rugby we’ve seen in not just the Women’s game but the sport as a whole. It was heady stuff and had us glued to our TV screens. Every single member of Canada’s team at the World Cup should feel hugely proud of what they achieved, in some respects against all odds, and excited about the dawn of a genuinely exciting future for Women’s Rugby in Canada.
Now the dust has settled on a fabulous tournament, it’s time to take stock and build some perspective going forward. First of all and most important Canada’s Women, although naturally disappointed to have come just short in the Final, should feel exceptionally pleased with their World Cup campaign and no shame whatsoever in their Second Place Finish and silver medal. Without sounding disrespectful, we always felt that at this stage in their development, it was going to be hard for Canada to overcome England at the home of English rugby in front of a passionate home crowd. Canada, up to this point, had simply not played in that kind of pressure match and in front of that kind of a crowd. Consequently, to play as well as they did and almost claw their way back into the match in the first quarter of the second half shows enormous spirit and talent. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to get one over an England team that came into the match, having lost only one of their last 63 games.
Canada were clearly not in awe of England, and despite the pressure and the cauldron of noise and expectation they found themselves faced with, they remained competitive throughout. Ultimately, though England’s combined experience and almost clinical mastery of the basics of the game overcame Canada’s raw talent and determination. England were deserved winners as their technical proficiency in they key areas of the game, especially under pressure, was just that much better than Canada’s. They may not have been as inventive as Canada, but they had the Canadians’ game figured out and knew how to negate its strengths. England’s all court game was just that more fleshed out than Canada’s.
What really stood out for us, though this Tournament, is that although England may be World Champions, everyone else is catching up fast, especially Canada, New Zealand, and France. Meanwhile despite some lopsided scorelines in the Pool stages there are also new forces emerging in Women’s Rugby that will need to be watched so take note of Scotland, Australia, South Africa and Ireland in this next four year World Cup cycle. England may be Champions now, but we very much doubt that they will arrive in Australia in 2029 on the back of the same kind of winning streak that they started this year’s tournament with. In short, teams are going to start beating England with increasing regularity in the next four years. England’s undisputed reign over the Six Nations is likely to end, and their primacy in the WXV has already been shown to be vulnerable. They will still be the team to beat, but they will not be allowed the luxury of resting on their laurels for long.
As for Canada, the future continues to look bright, especially when you consider that the average age of Canada’s matchday 23 was 29. While that does mean that quite a few of these players are unlikely to feature in Canada’s next World Cup performance in Australia in 2029, there is still a core of young talent and experienced veterans in this squad and more rising through the ranks that there is every reason to think that Canada can be even more competitive in four years time.
The key will be to fast-track those players coming through the system, especially to ensure they get time playing in Europe or New Zealand as many of the current squad do. While we respect the value of the US domestic league, Women’s Elite Rugby, it is simply not of the caliber of say England’s Premiership Women’s Rugby, France’s Elite 1 Feminine or New Zealand’s Super Rugby Aupiki. It’s a bit like what the MLR is to the Men’s game. It’s nice to have, but it doesn’t really help in the development of a team that can compete internationally with the World’s best. Canada are as good as they are now because the likes of Sophie de Goede and many of her colleagues are playing week in week out alongside some of the players representing England in teams like Saracens and Exeter. Those pipelines to England, France, and New Zealand must be kept open so that at least 75% of our players are developing their skills and a knowledge of their potential World Cup opponents in four years’ time.
While we would dearly love to see our National Team players closer to home and their family and friends, the harsh reality is that in order for Canada to remain competitive on the World Stage and keep the momentum of this World Cup going, then the future lies outside North America – plain and simple. It will be Rugby Canada’s responsibility to assist and strengthen those linkages and opportunities for Canadian Women to play overseas.
If all this is done, and the services of stellar Coaches like Kevin Rouet are kept and augmented with additional staff akin to the other big teams we saw at the World Cup, then the future for Canada’s Women looks exceptionally bright. However, most important of all right now is to pay tribute to a fantastic effort by Canada’s Women at this World Cup and one which lit the imagination of rugby fans and sports fans in general in this country from St. John’s to Tofino! Congratulations also to Sophie de Goede for being named Women’s Player of the Year. De Goede really does have a remarkable all court game and is hugely talented in so many aspects of the sport. As a result, Saracens must be even more excited to have her back for their shot at the Premiership Women’s Rugby Trophy in England this year. So well done Ladies you made us all so proud and onwards and upwards to even bigger and better things! The World Cup may be over, but as Winston Churchill once famously said , “This is not the end, but the end of the beginning!”
It was a Rugby Championship that finally delivered excitement, thrills, and spills by the bucketload – making its potential demise seem all that more unjust!
This is just a quick summary of the Rugby Championship, as we’ve had to condense all four games of the final two rounds into a rushed viewing. South Africa emerged as well deserved Champions, though it has to be said that things didn’t quite go their way as we expected them to in their final “home” game of the Championship at Twickenham. Even though it was technically Argentina’s home game, there is no denying that Twickenham is home to probably the largest group of Springbok supporters outside South Africa. New Zealand ultimately finished a strong second, after two convincing Bledisloe Cup outings against a much improved Wallaby outfit, though Australia ultimately faded towards the end of the tournament as injuries and fatigue post the Lions Tour took their inevitable toll. Finally, Argentina pulled up the rear, but their position on the table doesn’t really do them justice as they were a genuine threat to anyone they took on, and look set to keep getting better.
What this Championship highlighted perhaps more than anything else was the fact that its demise next year needs to be addressed. It’s a quality competition featuring increasingly evenly matched teams. All four teams play distinctly different styles of the game, and exposure to those differences and how to cope with them has been hugely beneficial to the development of all four participating teams. We’d argue there is infinitely more value in terms of making your team competitive come the World Cup by a Rugby Championship format than what it is being replaced by next year, a reversion to All Black/Springbok Tours at the expense of Australia and Argentina. We think that the fans in South Africa and New Zealand would much rather see their team play four extra Tests against Argentina/Australia as opposed to one extra Test against each other and a series of relatively meaningless games against provincial sides.
This week, though, there seems to be some remorse and a rather half-baked scrambled idea to hold the Rugby Championship at the same time as the Six Nations is being proposed. Quite frankly, we can’t see it getting airborne, despite some arguing that it is the first step in a much talked about alignment of the global calendar. However, at least there is recognition of the value of this important Tournament and how it mustn’t be allowed to fade into obscurity and irrelevance.
So, as mentioned above, South Africa emerged victorious and back to back Champions for the first time in the Tournament’s history. Despite some wobbles along the way, most notably in the opener against Australia at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park, the Springboks increasingly looked the dominant side. If it wasn’t for some seriously shaky lineout work at Auckland’s Eden Park, they probably might have even made a clean sweep of New Zealand, as their second game in Wellington was an emphatic dismantling of the All Blacks. That was followed up by an even more impressive shredding of a quality Pumas side in Durban and the coming of age of new sensation Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the fly half berth. However, as the game at Twickenham against a vastly improved Argentinian side a week later showed, the Springboks are still far from having things their own way, and there were collective sighs of relief all round at the final whistle and a narrow two point win to seal the Championship.
What South Africa did show, however, was the truly alarming depth across the park they now possess, much of which, unlike their rivals, has almost matured into a fine vintage. They have a range of options for any given match day, and barring some discipline, kicking errors and that occassionally misfiring lineout, the Springboks look the closest they’ve been to being the finished product ahead of the next World Cup. The world has been warned that the World Champions are waiting for them, and they seem rather well prepared.
New Zealand who found themselves second on the log when festivities wrapped up have essentially figured out what their toolbox looks like for this World Cup cycle and who and what’s in it. The next year is all about refining those combinations and finessing procedures. All the requisite parts are in place, they just need to be assembled properly and adapted to different opponents. Much like South Africa, they too are spoilt for depth, though we’d argue that some more experience needs to be gained before New Zealand can start to look like a finished product. That also extends to the Coaching Box as despite what others say, we feel that Scott Robertson is slowly but surely getting the measure of life as an International Coach. It’s still a work in progress, but we’d argue that once this year wraps up for the All Blacks in Cardiff, Robertson will have the requisite experience necessary to silence his critics.
Australia will perhaps feel the most disappointed of all the teams this year as they end up finishing third after being in the hunt for the silverware right up until Round 5, something they have been distinctly unused to in recent years. That win for the ages, in the Tournament opener against South Africa at Ellis Park, will be a source of inspiration for this Wallabies side as they head into the next phase of their World Cup preparation without the exceptional guidance of Coach Joe Schmidt who has transformed this team. Schmidt, as agreed, is leaving his role as Coach due to family commitments back home in New Zealand. However, the foundation he leaves behind is a huge opportunity for Australia to build on under new boss Les Kiss. We’ll be honest the jury is very much out for us as to whether the Wallabies can continue to shine as a result of this changing of the guard in their Coaching box ahead of a potentially punishing Northern Hemisphere Tour this November.
Nevertheless, despite the upheaval in the Coaching box, the Wallabies have successfully rebuilt themselves from the wreckage left over after the last truly disastrous World Cup. This year, the Wallabies have played some genuinely brilliant rugby at times, which has been a joy to watch. Some promising talent, particularly the much hyped Joseph Sua’alli’i, has finally shown his potential as an outstanding center. They have a powerful and capable forward pack, and their backs when not nursing injuries are absolutely electric but also starting to show a defensive acuity that has been sorely lacking in Australian rugby for the last few years. In short, there is lots to like about the Wallabies version 2025.0. If they can keep their current momentum going this November and return home with some big scalps while not missing a beat after Joe Schmidt’s departure, then all of a sudden that home World Cup in 2029 is something for every Australian supporter to feel genuinely excited and optimistic about.
Finally, bringing up the rear this year are Argentina, but as already mentioned, it’s not a fair reflection of their performance this tournament. They beat Australia and New Zealand twice, once at home and once away, and almost managed a win over the mighty Springboks. The Pumas played some mesmerising rugby at times this tournament, which combined their enormous physical prowess with some genuinely silky and polished attacking play. As always, they were monsters in defence, and some of their offloads under pressure in attack had to be seen to be believed. Argentina, possibly courtesy of its legendary success with the round ball, possess some genuinely unique skills with both ball in hand and off the boot. What’s perhaps most exciting is the amount of talent they are now producing and how quickly it’s maturing. Their second and back row stocks are truly impressive, while in the center channels and the back three, they can field world class combinations on any given Saturday.
Argentina are shackled at the moment by an almost complete lack of scrum prowess. If there is one thing Coach Felipe Contepomi has to address urgently ahead of a challenging November, it’s this. For every Argentinian supporter this must be really hard to stomach, as in the past the Pumas scrum has been one of their most powerful and effective weapons, but it’s sadly been quite a while now since we’ve been able to talk in whispered tones of reverence about Argentina’s ability in this critical area of the game. Their other Achilles Heel remains consistency, though we can’t help feeling that they are closer this year to hitting that elusive target than they’ve ever been. Fix that and the scrum, and Argentina will be a team that has every reason to believe they can make the final four come the next World Cup in Australia!
The URC gets underway, and already there are plenty of surprises in what could be the best year yet for the competition
We know that we have a bias towards the URC as a club competition, and we make no apologies for it. France’s TOP 14 is utterly outstanding, and England’s Premiership is producing some excellent rugby so far this season. However, it’s that international flavor of the URC, featuring teams from Italy, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and South Africa that draws us in every year and gets the focus of our limited time to watch rugby over the winter at the weekends. This year’s edition has already got off to a rollicking start but in the process thrown up more questions than answers, to the point where we ask ourselves if we’re not on the cusp of what could end up being the best season yet.
After only two rounds, it’s South African sides who are dominant, as the Bulls and the Stormers top the table. The big question on everyone’s lips is, will they travel well this year? Both teams have played their first two fixtures at home, but this weekend sees the Stormers visit Wales to play the Scarlets and the Bulls with a potentially awkward encounter in Belfast against Ulster.
The big talking point for us, though, after two rounds is the fact that perennial Wooden Spoonists, Italy’s Zebre Parma, find themselves fourth on the log after 2 Rounds. Furthermore, last weekend, fellow Italian outfit Benetton beat defending URC champions Glasgow. This weekend, Benetton host South Africa’s Lions, who Zebre beat last week, while Zebre make their first road trip of the season to Wales to face the Ospreys. If both Italian outfits record wins this weekend, are we finally witnessing the Italian potential that has been on show lately in the Six Nations? We can’t wait to find out.
Meanwhile, across the Irish sea, it’s troubled times for some and cause for celebration for others. Is this the year that Munster or even Connacht finally show Leinster how it’s done? Let’s be brutally honest here, Leinster have looked decidedly off boil in their opening two Rounds on tour in South Africa. Admittedly there were glimmers of the old Leinster magic in a spirited attempt at a comeback against the Bulls last weekend, but so far Leinster look a shadow of the side that for the past few years has been the dominant force in the competition. Meanwhile over on the West Coast of Ireland, Connacht under new Coach Stuart Lancaster look very impressive indeed, even if they have only played one game so far as last weekend’s fixture was cancelled due to inclement weather, a fate which also befell the other Irish side Ulster. Munster though, look their usual gritty selves, and after some cabinet reshuffles, look quietly menacing so far this season.
The big shock, though, has been traditional Irish giants Leinster’s lack of form so far. Admittedly, they started their season with a difficult tour to South Africa to face the country’s two best teams, the Stormers and Bulls. Their opener against the Stormers, which saw them lose 35-0, was a horror show. They fared better a week later at altitude against the Bulls but are still a long way off from being the customary powerhouse of the competition. It’s early days, and their game at home in Dublin against South Africa’s Sharks this weekend will tell us much as to whether or not Leinster will be able to stop the rot this season.
Well, that’s it for this week folks, as mentioned above, this was simply a quick chat around rugby after we only just managed to catch up due to various absences. More to come next week in terms of a return to regular service. Take care and hope everyone is adjusting to slightly cooler weather after what seemed like an endless summer.
The Lineout 