The Lineout

As we do every year the Lineout reviews the performances of the top ten international teams over the course of the last twelve months and gives them a score on what we feel they got right and what they got wrong.  As always as this is a Canadian based site added to the top ten list is the performance of the Canadian senior men’s team.

As in every World Cup year, it has been a year of massive ups and downs, with New Zealand as they have for much of the last four years cementing their place as the dominant force in World Rugby.  However, they were pushed hard this year and Australia and Argentina in particular gave them plenty to think about, while South Africa had to fight harder than ever to keep their traditional spot as the world’s second best team.  In the Northern Hemisphere the gap between the North and South grew even more obvious as England were knocked out of their own World Cup in the Pool stages, and Ireland who had risen to the lofty heights at one point in the year of being number two in the World Rankings, found themselves fading into obscurity by the end of the year.  Meanwhile Italy and France found themselves in complete disarray while a resurgent Scotland just got better and better with each outing and the Welsh found a level of depth against all the odds that surprised many.  Lastly Canada offered us plenty of excitement but in a year of much promise, they sadly ended it desperately short of results.

Argentina – 9/10

Some may raise eyebrows at Argentina’s score of 9, as while they impressed all who saw them they still didn’t manage to get beyond the semis, and did lose to their three main rivals at the World Cup – Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.  Nevertheless, they still managed to beat South Africa in Durban, finish third in the Rugby Championship and fourth in the World Cup.  In doing all of this they managed to put on display some of the most exciting rugby any of us got to see all year.  Their quarter-final victory over Ireland at the World Cup is already the stuff of legends along with the famous win over the Springboks in Durban earlier in the year.  Coach Daniel Hourcade rightly was recognised as one of the most influential and competent coaches in World Rugby in 2015.  His role in the transformation of the Pumas and the raft of exciting new talent he has brought on board has been key in providing Argentina with the complete game plan they have lacked for so long.  Argentina finally has an exceptional attacking platform coupled to their traditional awe inspiring strengths in the forwards.  Expansive and exciting in attack while having one of the strongest and most resolute defences in international rugby, the Pumas are going to be an exceptionally tricky proposition for their opponents in 2016.

The Pumas continued presence and growing prowess in the annual Southern Hemisphere Rugby Championship supported now by a quality Super Rugby franchise, are likely to make Argentina a consistent powerhouse in international rugby.  Despite the retiring of the old guard such as Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Juan Martin Hernandez and possibly Marcos Ayerza, there are so many outstanding newcomers coming through the ranks, the vast majority of them being under 25, that Argentina should be in fine form come the next global showdown in Japan in 2019.  With a long list of names to watch over the next four years, both Argentinian supporters and neutrals alike can look forward to the continuing development of a very exciting brand of Pumas rugby.

Australia – 9/10

Bridesmaids ultimately to New Zealand at the end of the year in the most important game of the year, Australia can still reflect on a vintage 2015 for the Wallabies.  Winning the Rugby Championship, albeit an abbreviated version, and finishing a close second to the best team in the World for the last four years are considerable feathers in your cap.  Coach Michael Cheika can pride himself on a complete transformation of the Wallabies fortunes in the space of a mere twelve months.  His no-nonsense attitude demands respect from his players, while at the same time his clear commitment to his players is there for all to see.

The big question for Australia over the next year will be how it deals with the loss of some key players to overseas clubs, as the exceptions made for Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell are unlikely to hold sway in 2016.  Still with this aside, Australia will be fielding five teams in the 2016 Super Rugby competition and while three of them may be of dubious quality overall, there are enough talented individuals in each of the three teams, along with top quality standard bearers the Brumbies and Waratahs, that Cheika should have little if any difficulty in fielding a world class Wallaby side.  If Argentina can do it with just one team, then surely given Cheika’s abilities it should be mere child’s play for Australia.  Rebuilding lies ahead, but this is a confident and assured Australia that knows exactly what it wants and how to achieve it.  Easy victories over the Wallabies are likely to be a thing of the past in 2016 and all teams will do well to approach them with a great deal of caution and respect.

Canada – 5/10

While Canada may have provided us with some fabulous entertainment over the past year, and individuals like winger DTH van der Merwe have become hot commodities for international club signings, Canada as a whole have had probably their worst year in 20 years of professional rugby.  Two wins this past year, and one of them against a European club side without its star players, is a record that most Canadian players and supporters will want to forget as quickly as possible.  A myriad of reasons have been put forward to explain the failings of the Canadian team in 2015 and it would appear that steps are being taken to address them in 2016.

Although having success with Canada in his early years as Coach, Kieran Crowley has been alarmingly bereft of results since October 2014.  Under his tutelage Canada continuously threw games they should have won, as they would inevitably implode in the last quarter.  Excuses were made time and again but Canada’s inevitable lapses in concentration in the final quarter of every major international they played since October 2014, were predictable with a depressing certainty.

While it would be unfair to lay the blame squarely at Crowley’s feet, it did seem to appear that he was a part of the problem and his ultimate departure from Canadian rugby announced in the last few weeks is unlikely to herald much protest from Canadian rugby fans.  However, Rugby Canada itself must also take some responsibility for carving a new direction for the senior men’s team.  It is heartening to see that in 2016 there will be a greater emphasis on moving players away from divided loyalties between the Sevens game and the full 15 a side game.  For me this was one of Canada’s biggest problems in the last eighteen months.  While Sevens can add a great deal to a player’s skill base, few players are able to transition effectively back and forth from the rigours of the two codes.  The stamina and overall game awareness required in the larger game does not come from Sevens and it was clearly obvious that the requirement for players to do double duty in both disciplines was detrimental to Canada’s overall success in the 15 a side game.  Lastly, it would appear that the senior men’s team will get two fixtures a year with Tier one teams, in 2016 they will play Italy in the summer and Ireland in November.

So with a new coach, a more regimented division of disciplines and training skills and greater international competition for Canada, 2016 should provide Canadian supporters with more of a sense of hope for the future than they have had in the last two years.  Continued competition in the Pacific Nations Cup and the newly organised Americas Cup all bode well for getting Canada the regular kind of exposure that it has lacked for too long.  Cautious optimism should be the modus operandi in the Canadian camp in 2016.

England 6/10

Let’s face it, it should have been England’s year and yet it fell so spectacularly short of the mark it will be one that most English fans would rather erase from the memory as quick as possible.  There were some highs but for the most part it was one crushing disappointment after another.  Despite putting in a memorable performance against France in the final game of the Six Nations, England still finished runners up for the second year in a row and imploded dramatically against Ireland midway during the tournament.  They ultimately never really looked like the finished product and this was clearly in evidence in the warm-up games leading up to the World Cup.

Then came the disaster of the World Cup and being the first host team in the tournament’s history to be knocked out in the pool stages.  They looked nervous against Fiji and then proceeded to lose the plot against Wales and then be blown out of the water by Australia and with it their place in the knockout stages.  Bizarre decision making at times by both players and management certainly didn’t help matters and a selection policy, that often had no rhyme or reason to it, found England still experimenting with combinations and untried players, the Sam Burgess episode being a case in point, at a time when they could least afford it.  Their World Cup was a disaster but players and management needed to take responsibility for it.  While those at the senior management level have for all intents and purposes absolved themselves of any guilt, credit must be given to former Coach Stuart Lancaster and many of his senior players who tried to make sense of the wreckage.

Lancaster and his colleagues are now no longer part of the England setup and the rebuilding of England has been left in the hands of former Wallaby and Japanese Coach Eddie Jones.  While many have given Jones credit for the remarkable performance of Japan at last year’s World Cup, coaching England and all the pressures and politics that come with it are an entirely different kettle of fish.  Whether or not he can pull it off and turn England’s fortunes around remains to be seen.  There is little doubt that he has all the resources he could possibly ask for and a player base that boasts enough domestic talent to make England a true powerhouse of international rugby to rival even the All Blacks.  Whether or not Jones will be allowed to use the considerable assets he has at his disposal to their full potential is something only time will tell.  The English rugby public are desperate for results and Jones and England will be under the most unforgiving microscopes known to international rugby for the next four years – we wish them well!

France – 4/10

While England may have had a rough year, it pales into insignificance when compared to France’s fortunes in 2015.  Finishing a poor fourth in the Six Nations, a hit and miss warm up series of matches leading up to the World Cup and then what could only be described as France’s worst ever World Cup.  France looked poor in the Six Nations, not helped by the fact that very few of their players ever played more than one match together.  There were grounds for optimism in the final barnstormer match against England as we saw some tantalising glimpses of French flair.  However, come the Pool stages of the World Cup and France looked disjointed and demoralised.  A scrappy outing against Italy, followed by nail-biting encounters against Romania and Canada ended in their final humiliation by Ireland.  Sure they managed to claw their way out of their Pool only to face the ultimate humiliation of their quarter final thrashing by the mighty All Blacks.  I had the good fortune to be at the Quarter Final match in Cardiff and really felt for the gloomy French fans on the train after a match that for most would be one to forget.  The only cause for celebration amongst French fans seemed to be that it finally marked the end of the Philippe Saint-Andre coaching era which for many seemed to be as popular as the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.

I for one couldn’t help sharing the French public’s relief at Philippe Saint-Andre’s departure.  He came across as divisive and arrogant, coupled with probably the most indecisive and inconsistent selection policy in French rugby history.  Clearly disliked by his players, Saint-Andre was without a doubt the architect of his own downfall and with it the dramatic decline in French rugby fortunes over the last four years.  However, it would be irresponsible to lay the blame solely at his feet.  The French domestic structure and the phenomenal financial and political power of the French clubs has all but strangled French rugby at the national level while denying many promising young French players the kind of game time and exposure they need, as the ranks of many French teams are swelled by a majority of high priced foreign players.  As successful as they are Toulon is a case in point, as on any given match day they are represented by a mere handful of French players.  For all intents and purposes Toulon like many of the French clubs is more like a World XV than a French team.  Until the insatiable ambition and greed of the domestic clubs is balanced with the needs of the national team, it is unlikely that new Coach and former Toulouse maestro Guy Noves will be able to reverse the decline of France on the international stage.  Guy Noves has made a series of bold statements in relation to how he wants to see change take place in French rugby and the clubs have said that they support it, however it remains to be seen how much of this is mere lip service.  It is hoped that for the sake of this proud rugby nation that has provided us with so many memorable moments over the years, Noves is given the scope he needs to return France to its rightful place at the highest levels of international rugby.

Ireland – 7/10

Ireland held so much promise but ultimately fell prey to all the hype surrounding them and left most of us with a crushing sense of disappointment as they once more exited yet another World Cup with a whimper.  As they headed into their preparations for the World Cup as back to back Six Nations champions and a string of solid wins against South Africa and Australia at the end of 2014, many were touting them as the dark horse of the 2015 World Cup.  However, for many yours truly included, alarm bells were starting to sound during the course of the Six Nations.  Ireland were clearly having a problem with scoring tries when they needed them most despite the wizardry and tactical genius of Coach Joe Schmidt and a raft of exceptionally talented players.  The dangers became abundantly clear in the match against Wales as Ireland essentially lost a game they clearly could have won and with it their first Grand Slam since 2009.  They would still go on to win the Six Nations by the narrowest of points differences but for many it lacked the conviction that you felt was needed of a team that was being touted as one that could lift the Webb Ellis trophy at Twickenham at the end of October.  Furthermore, there was an overwhelming reliance on one or two key players such as Captain and lock Paul O’Connell and fly half Johnny Sexton.  Remove these two from the mix as we saw in the World Cup quarter-final against Argentina and Ireland suddenly looked creaky and disjointed.

It is clear that despite an initial run of fabulous successes, Coach Joe Schmidt’s honeymoon period with Irish rugby is over.  Now the real work begins as he seeks to rebuild the Irish dream, especially now that many of the old warhorses are unlikely to be seeing duty in Japan in 2019.  There is little doubt that Schmidt possesses one of the best brains available in international rugby at the moment, and the Irish setup is exceptionally well suited to providing him with the tools and support he needs.  Add to this a wealth of young Irish talent coming through the ranks, as well as one or two foreign players now eligible to play for Ireland and on paper the future looks exceptionally bright for Ireland, especially should Schmidt choose to renew his contract in 2017 and take Ireland to the next World Cup.   While Irish fortunes in this year’s European Champions Cup do not reflect the Irish dominance of European Club rugby of years gone by, there is still enough talent and depth in the Irish provinces to weld together a truly formidable national team.  Irish rugby will reinvent itself of that there is little doubt and while the process of rebuilding may mean that this is a year of uncertainty for Irish rugby, it is only a question of time before the label of dark horse is once more firmly attached to Irish fortunes.  Irish rugby finally has the kind of depth it has lacked for so long.  This World Cup may have taught them some painful lessons, but ones which will no doubt serve them well as they prepare to be clear contenders for the ultimate prize in Japan in 2019.

Italy – 5/10

Whichever way you cut it, it was a pretty poor year for Italy, their only real saving grace was narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon in the Six Nations.  There were moments of excitement in the Italian camp as they showed some promise at times in the Six Nations and gave France and Ireland a good workout in the Pool stages of the World Cup.  However, there was never a point where Italy looked like a cohesive unit with a clear game plan, and given that they were without inspirational Captain Sergio Parisse for a large part of 2015 they were always going to be up against it.  With Parisse on the field Italy is a different unit and can mount a serious challenge on any given day.  Remove him and Italy looks promising but ultimately rudderless.  One positive for me has been the development of fly half Tommaso Allan at the expense of New Zealand import Kelly Haimona, as the latter was out with injury for much of 2015.  As readers of this blog know, I have often been puzzled by Italian Coach Jacques Brunel’s fascination with the New Zealander.  Haimona in my opinion has done little to impress in an Italian shirt, whereas Allan has grown in confidence in the role over the last year and much of what was good about Italy in 2015 featured the young fly half.  If Brunel has any sense, he will continue with Allan for this Six Nations tournament as he has much to offer and is clearly a rising talent for Italy.

That brings us to the question of Jacques Brunel.  With the forthcoming Six Nations marking the end of his tenure with Italy, and few positive results to show for his time with the Azurri, many Italian supporters must be looking forward to his imminent departure.  One would be hard pressed to find a more disinterested looking coach.  While it would be unfair to lay the blame for Italy’s misfortunes squarely at his feet, he hasn’t exactly sought to answer any of his critics and certainly doesn’t appear to inspire his charges.  This is unfortunate as Italy is under the radar after this World Cup as other up and coming European countries like Georgia and Romania are calling into question Italy’s place in the European rugby hierarchy.  Furthermore, despite Italian woes in European Club competitions, there is no denying that Italy has some quality players.  They have always been able to boast a competitive if at times undisciplined forward pack, and Captain and number eight Sergio Parisse is without doubt an icon of the modern game.  Italy has found some exciting pace and power in their backs of late and as a result given the right support and coaching there is a reasonable expectation particularly at the Six Nations level that Italy can upset anybody on their day.  It is unlikely with Brunel having this forthcoming Six Nations as his swansong with the Azurri, that Italy are likely to improve on their fortunes of last year and if anything are sadly likely to walk away as the traditional holders of the wooden spoon.  However, Italy and their supporters will need to look beyond March 2016 and hope that the impending change in coaching staff will breathe new life into an Azurri setup that has promise but desperately needs a level of commitment and forward thinking that has been sadly lacking in the last few years.

New Zealand – 10/10

Winning two back to back World Cups in many ways says it all about New Zealand.  Having dominated international rugby for the last four years it was only fitting that they would lift the Webb Ellis trophy once more.  There have been very few cracks in New Zealand’s plans over the last four years and 2015 was no exception.  While in 2015 they didn’t appear as all conquering as they had in previous years they still ultimately proved masters at adapting to adversity and the unexpected.  They finished runners up to Australia in this year’s abbreviated Rugby Championship but had it run its full length then as most pundits agreed that too probably would have been theirs for the taking.  With some of the greatest players the game has ever seen in the shape of Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu and Richie McCaw and who now have hung up their international playing boots, New Zealand has been in an exceptionally privileged position.  However, with the departure of such legends there will be lots of questions around what the 2016 version of the All Blacks will be able to achieve.  I for one doubt there will be a massive sea change in New Zealand’s fortunes.

Firstly, let’s look at a couple of key facts.  Coach Steve Hansen who has led this remarkable group of individuals to such dizzying heights remains in charge until 2017. Take a look at the team sheet that he has at his disposal which boasts names like Nehe Milner-Skudder, Sonny Bill Williams, Aaron Cruden, Beauden Barrett, Julian Savea to mention just a few.  These are just some of the names who have stood out in the last two years coupled to a raft of emerging talent and ultimately there should be little if any cause for concern in New Zealand and if anything it should simply be business as usual as a new look All Blacks team picks up where they left off on October 31^st, 2015.

To be honest I don’t have much to say about New Zealand.  Their score of 10/10 in many ways says all there is to be said.  They were the best plain and simple.  Sure there are some cracks in the armor, but the abilities of the New Zealand coaching staff and the sheer staggering depth of talent they have in the land of the long white cloud will allow them to comfortably address any immediate deficiencies in the short term and well into their future plans for 2019.

Scotland – 7/10

You may be surprised to see Scotland score as highly as they did, considering that they were wooden spoon holders in last year’s Six Nations.  However, it was that World Cup quarter-final against Australia that for many made people sit up and take notice of Scotland.  They had threatened all year long, and under Coach Vern Cotter were looking better with every outing.  They were competitive in all their matches in the World Cup and in their last match of the tournament against Australia came agonisingly close to making history and turning the established order of international rugby on its head.  The decisions that to many robbed them of a glorious victory will be debated long into the future, but what it did show is that Scotland are here to be taken seriously going into 2016.

With a crop of exceptionally exciting backs led by Stuart Hogg but including the likes of Tim Visser, Mark Bennett and Peter Horne, Scotland is developing some exciting and expansive playing styles and with Duncan Weir, Greg Laidlaw and Russell Finn providing quality ball from the halfback department Scotland will be a force to be reckoned with in the Six Nations.  Couple this exciting backline to a powerhouse set of forwards boasting names like David Denton, the Gray brothers, and Josh Strauss and on paper Scotland is looking like the most complete side they have been in many years.  What was lacking at times last year was that killer instinct at the finish and the composure to go with it, but Coach Vern Cotter is deeply respected by his players as a hard but fair taskmaster.  I very much doubt we will see some of the same costly lapses in concentration Scotland made last year as we head into 2016 and they seek to make a statement in the Six Nations.  Does the term “dark horse” sound familiar?

South Africa – 7/10

South Africa in the eighteen months leading up to the World Cup suddenly and irrevocably entered a downward slide.  There were a myriad of reasons put forward – political interference, bizarre coaching decisions and a degree of arrogance and complacency amongst the players coupled with a serious lack of imagination and inability to adapt to the playing styles being adopted by other countries.  Put all of these together and you probably have the sum total of South Africa’s problems.  What sadly seems to have happened is that the Coach Heyneke Meyer, whether you liked the man or not, has been made to be the fall guy for the Springboks woes post the World Cup.  While he must take some of the blame I still feel it unfair that he has essentially been brushed aside.  South Africa were unlikely to find a more passionate and committed supporter of the Springbok cause as Meyer, and it was clear that after the World Cup and the soul-destroying defeat to Japan, that Meyer was keen to learn from his mistakes and take South Africa forward by essentially throwing out the old rule book.

Sadly, Meyer’s demise has left a vacuum and as of going to press South Africa is still officially without a Springbok coach.  The front runner seems to be former Stormers Coach Alastair Coetzee, despite much of the South African public clamoring for a foreign coach.  Despite the poor state of coaching in South Africa, as evidenced by the woeful performance of South African teams in the annual Super Rugby competition, I for one do not hold that a foreign coach is necessarily the panacea that many in South Africa believe it to be.  Navigating the highly complex political, financial and social landscape that rugby has to operate in in South Africa requires a degree of local knowledge and cultural nous that a foreigner is unlikely to possess or more importantly have the stomach for.  For all his faults Meyer had four years with the Springbok structure and certainly in his first two years in charge brought them considerable success on the international stage.  It was also ironic that much of his initial success was through a playing style and player base that sought to move away from traditional smash and crash Springbok strengths.  It was all the more confusing that he reverted to the old dinosaur style of play in the last eighteen months.  Nevertheless, post the World Cup, Meyer really seemed to want to embrace change and transform Springbok rugby.  I can’t help feel that he was still the best man for the job and South Africa may rue pushing him into a corner so early whatever his perceived faults.

As for the Springboks themselves, they boast enough talent to easily put together a world beating team, just look at the demand for South African players in European Club rugby.  Like New Zealand they seem to have infinite reserves of talented young players coming through the ranks.  We have already seen the likes of prodigies such as centres Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel last year, and there is plenty more where they came from.  The towering figures of lock partners Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jaeger will continue to strike fear into opposition packs for many years to come, and although showing some cracks recently the South African scrum will always be a force to be reckoned with.  There is no question that answers on the wing are needed to replace the likes of Bryan Habana and giants of the game like Bismarck du Plessis and Victor Matfield are now no longer part of the picture.  However, like the All Blacks, Springbok rugby is essentially gifted with more resources than most coaches would know what to do with.  Find the right man to use the resources at his disposal and South Africa will quickly return to their rightful place at the top of rugby’s high table alongside their ultimate rivals New Zealand.  We wish them success in their hunt for the right coach and for the sake of this fanatically proud rugby nation hope they make the right decision.

Wales – 8/10

We finish off with Wales and a solid score for them after reflecting on a year in which perhaps more than any other team in international rugby, they were the best in showing us the true meaning of the guts, grit, determination and glory that is synonymous with our great sport.  Finishing a strong third in the Six Nations last year and providing us with some heroic performances, most notably their incredible defence against a determined Ireland and their try fest against Italy, Wales looked set for a great World Cup.  Then a rigorous training programme over the summer in preparation for the global showdown, left many wondering if too much emphasis had been placed on physical fitness and less on actual ball skills.  The summer warm-up games were for the most part a disappointing experience for Wales, made worse by the fact that in the process they racked up an injury count from hell, knocking key players like Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Webb out of contention for the World Cup.

By the time the World Cup kicked off in September a depleted Wales seemed to offer little hope of effective resistance against fellow pool giants England and Australia.  What transpired over the next four weeks rapidly became the stuff of legends.  A Welsh team showed up that defied all the odds and produced some heroics that will be talked about for many years to come.  The Welsh World Cup team under the skillful guidance of controversial Coach Warren Gatland, stood up and were counted to a man.  Whether or not you like Warren Gatland you can’t deny that he knows how to get results and inspire a remarkable sense of self-belief in his charges.  The sheer commitment of Wales at the World Cup was inspirational, and they along with Japan and Argentina became firm favourites of many a neutral.

Wales efforts against the host nation England which started England’s inevitable departure from the World Cup may not have been the most remarkable game of rugby in World Cup history but what it clearly showed was that the power of self-belief and hard work can often overcome even the most daunting of odds.  Despite their injury list, and the loss of talisman and key kicker Leigh Halfpenny, Wales found a new hero in the form of fly half Dan Biggar.  He had always looked impressive up to that point but in the World Cup he simply took it to another level and was instrumental in propelling his team to the successes they achieved.  You could not have asked for a more composed and accomplished kicker under pressure.  Blessed with a GPS in his boots, Biggar along with a monumental physical effort from Welsh forwards Alun-Wyn Jones, Sam Warburton, Dan Lydiate and for me the unsung hero of Welsh rugby Justin Tipuric, helped keep Wales constantly in touch with supposedly superior opposition.  Although they lost to Australia, they were still competitive to the end and at times had the Wallabies feeling distinctly uncomfortable.  Scrum half Gareth Davies also showed that the loss of Wales first choice number 9, Rhys Webb was hardly the calamity everyone had feared, instead he too proved to be yet another inspiration in the red jersey.

Perhaps like Scotland, Wales will look back on that quarter final match against South Africa which many thought they had in the bag until the last ten minutes, as a painful moment in a proud history.  However, what they should take from it that there is now considerable strength and depth in a Welsh team that has some rising young stars teamed up with some very seasoned and experienced campaigners.  As Wales builds towards the next World Cup and Coach Warren Gatland has pledged his commitment to take them there as his last hurrah, they should feel excited about the future rather than despondent about what might have been.  Wales will be a serious contender for Six Nations glory in 2016 and they probably start the year as the most unified and cohesive unit in international test rugby other than the All Blacks.  Welsh performances in 2015 have earned them top marks and I doubt there will be few of us wanting to be away from our televisions in 2016 whenever the Men in Red take to the field.

As we conclude our look at Rugby World Cup 2015, we take a look at the existing competitive structures in International Test Rugby and throw out some ideas as to how they could be improved.  Lastly we’ll throw out an idea about an annual tournament that we feel is critical if the North/South divide in terms of skill and quality can ever be truly be addressed.  We saw the benefits of how competitive this most recent World Cup was especially from some of the Tier Two countries and it is hoped that Rugby’s global governing body will work hard over the next four years to ensure that this competitiveness across the board is increased.  So we’ll start with Europe first, then the Southern Hemisphere and finally end with an idea that we would like to see implemented if not before this next World Cup then certainly thereafter.  We’ll also look at how North America and the Pacific Islands need to be integrated more into the bigger competitions.

Europe

One thing was abundantly clear in this World Cup, Georgia and Romania need greater exposure to quality Test matches on a more regular basis.  Georgia especially were one of the revelations of the tournament, and if they can ever develop a back line to match the power of their forwards then they should be able to mix it with the best.  Romania also showed great promise at this World Cup and were a problematic side for everyone in their pool.

As far as we’re concerned the first changes need to happen with the European Champions Cup.  In the case of Georgia and Romania both these teams should be integrated more effectively into the lesser Competition the Challenge Cup.  If successful after a two-year period then they should be allowed to qualify for the premier tournament the Champions Cup.  There should be a qualification system for the Champions Cup and a Romanian and Georgian side should be given the chance to compete for a spot.  Given the woeful state of Italian club rugby at the moment, I can’t see how we can continue to justify their inclusion in the Champions Cup at the expense of Georgia or Romania.  If a relegation system meant that poorly performing sides would be out of the competition for a year then I think you would see an increase in performance from existing teams seeking to avoid relegation and those seeking qualification.  In short a win for European rugby as a whole.

This then raises the thorny issue of the Six Nations.  While this tournament steeped in history has always developed along an invitational basis, I can’t help feel that for the good of the tournament and European rugby in general this needs to change.  A relegation system needs to be put in place similar to the one proposed for the European Champions Cup.  While the Six Nations continues there should be a parallel tournament for the six other Tier Two countries in Europe.  The wooden spoon holders for the year in the Six Nations would then be relegated to the Tier Two competition the following year while the top team in the Tier Two competition would take the place of the wooden spoon holder of that year’s Six Nations.  This would ensure that while Georgia and Romania are not guaranteed a place in the Six Nations they can compete for a place every year.  Meanwhile underperforming sides of the last few years such as Italy and Scotland would have some real incentive to up their game to avoid relegation for a year.  Having said that I think Scotland’s woes are a thing of the past in the Six Nations but Italy is under pressure and even France is in danger of struggling to field a genuine Six Nations team.  Contentious perhaps, but worth doing for the continued development of a quality game in Europe – absolutely!

Southern Hemisphere

For the most part I don’t see a great need for change here.  Super Rugby is producing a superb standard of rugby year in/year out and the inclusion of an Argentinian team will only add more spice to an already highly entertaining competition.  There has been much debate about Japan’s inclusion but after this World Cup and Japan’s heroics I doubt that there are too many people complaining, even though they may be scratching their heads regarding the logistics of it all.  With the development of a professional league in North America in the next few years though, there could be scope for including a North American team in the competition, but I doubt very much that this is something we could consider until after the next World Cup.

The Rugby Championship which replaced the old Tri-Nations format once Argentina was included is the Southern Hemisphere’s equivalent of Europe’s Six Nations.  Here I do feel there is room for change as well although perhaps not until after the next World Cup.  The Pacific Island countries of Samoa, Tonga and Fiji although firmly camped in the Southern Hemisphere lack any kind of regular international top-level competition.  The same applies for the North American teams and Japan even though they can’t be regarded as Southern Hemisphere teams.  They have the annual Pacific Nations Cup which is a worthy tournament and gets more competitive each year, but ultimately they will need annual exposure to either the Southern Hemisphere’s big four or Europe.  I would argue that Europe is perhaps too crowded to include them on an annual basis but there is room in the South.  Therefore, post 2019 the Rugby Championship could be expanded to five countries and the Pacific Nations Cup reduced to five countries.  The top team from the Pacific Nations Cup every year would qualify for a place in an expanded Rugby Championship while wooden spoon holders in the Rugby Championship would be relegated to the Pacific Nations Cup the following year.  As proposed for the Six Nations in Europe both these competitions would be run in parallel every year.  I doubt there are many people who could deny the benefit the Pacific Islands, North American and Japanese national teams would derive from this kind of annual exposure.

Hemispheres Cup

What on earth I hear you say is this?!!!!  This is a perhaps far-fetched brainchild of the Lineout but something we think is absolutely critical if the debates raging in pubs and bars around the globe as to which part of the world plays better rugby is ever to end.  At the moment apart from the World Cup every four years there is no annual regular competition to allow us to really see how the North/South divide really measures up.  Sure there are the summer and autumn internationals but these tend to be one-off tests in which the Northern Hemisphere inevitably get thrashed away from home in June, and then manage to bag a few one-off victories at home in November.  As far as I am concerned the only way we are going to make sure that competitions such as the Six Nations and Rugby Championship are on a level footing is to have teams from both competitions meet once a year and go head to head for a title.  Hence the proposed Hemispheres Cup.  So how on earth would this work I hear you say?

Every year the top two teams from the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship compete at the end of the year in place of the annual autumn tours of Europe by the Southern Hemisphere teams.  The Autumn tests would still continue in that the two lowest ranked teams (or three if the Rugby Championship ever was expanded to five countries as proposed above) in the Rugby Championship would still tour the four lowest ranked teams in that year’s Six Nations.  This would have the added advantage of freeing up some quality opposition for some Tier Two countries touring Europe in November such as Canada, USA, Japan and the Pacific Island countries as in the past these countries have struggled to get more than one if any fixtures against the Six Nations teams.  Georgia and Romania could also benefit from this process as well in November.

However the two top teams from each competition, the Six Nations and Rugby Championship would play each other in October/November in a proposed Hemispheres Cup in place of their regular participation in the Autumn Tests.  Let’s use this year’s standings as an example.  England and Ireland topped the Six Nations while Australia and New Zealand did the same in the Rugby Championship.  Therefore in November they would play each other in a format similar to that of the abbreviated Rugby Championship we saw this year.  To keep things fair and so that it’s not always home European advantage, the winner would also ensure that the tournament for the following year would be held on their side of the equator.  For a competition to be held in the Southern Hemisphere it would probably have to be moved to the middle of October as opposed to November.  If we are really serious about bridging the gap between Southern and Northern Hemisphere rugby then an annual competition such as this for a recognised trophy that actually means something as opposed to a one-off friendly is the only way to do this.

Scheduling

Now here’s where I hear you all say, well that sounds great but how on earth is it going to get slotted into all the other rugby going on?  Challenging but not impossible.

European Champions Cup – October/December/January/April/May
European Challenge Cup – October/December/January/April/May

Six Nations – February/March
European Tier Two Challenge – February/March

Super Rugby – February/March/April/May/First two weeks of July

June tours of the Southern Hemisphere – June

Rugby Championship – Last week of July/August/September
Pacific Nations Cup – Last week of July/August/September

Autumn Internationals Europe – November

Hemispheres Cup – October/November

While I appreciate that there are domestic competitions to fit around all of this, the primacy and ultimate spectacle of Rugby Union is still, as evidenced by the World Cup, the International Test Arena and long may it stay that way. There are significant challenges from clubs, none more so than in France, where the national interests of the sport are being slowly strangled in the rampant commercial interests of the domestic competition. However, as witnessed by the phenomenal television viewing statistics of the recent World Cup what players and supporters are inspired by the most is the ultimate excitement of country versus country. Rugby is unique in this more so than any other sport and it is our belief that to keep it that way is vital to the continued growth and success of our glorious game!

So as we all adjust to life after the World Cup, what have the ten countries at the top end of international rugby learnt as life returns to normal for them?  As they head into next year’s Six Nations and Rugby Championship what lessons do they need to take from this tournament and what are the challenges they are likely to face?  As this is a Canadian site we’ll also look at Canada’s performance in this World Cup and what it means to them.  So without any further ado here’s a quick wrap-up.

Argentina

In short, a stellar World Cup for the men from South America, with Coach Daniel Hourcade being one of the most influential figures of the tournament.  While it was clear that the retirement of some of the current Pumas legacy is on the cards in the next year, there is so much raw talent in this Pumas team that the future can only be something to get excited about.  Winger Santiago Cordero, centre Matias Moroni, lock Tomas Lavanini and others are all beacons for the future given that they are all well under the age of 25.  Argentina’s continued exposure to the cream of Southern Hemisphere rugby in the form of their participation in the Rugby Championship and the most recent addition of an Argentinian franchise to the Super Rugby competition in 2016 all bode well to cement Argentina’s position as a rugby superpower.  I can only see a very bright future for the Pumas.

I regard Argentina as one of the most improved teams in the last four years and this trend looks set to continue in the buildup to Japan in 2019.  I really don’t have all that much to say about Argentina other than I thought they were one of the most inspired and exciting sides in the tournament, and like many I am really excited to watch their continued development in the next four years.  A truly great side being steered by an inspirational coach.  Argentina are unquestionably sitting at the high table of international rugby at the moment and are likely to remain there for many years to come.  The key will be the continued development and exposure of the young talent they are bringing forward, but based on what we saw in this World Cup I would have to argue that Argentina have a game plan that seems to be working just fine!

Australia

The Wallaby Phoenix has well and truly risen from the ashes this past year.  Coach Michael Cheika has performed miracles with his charges in the last twelve months.  Miracles is perhaps the wrong word as the talent was always there it just needed the right hand to steer it.  Uncompromising yet deeply in tune with his players Cheika brings both the intelligence and sheer bloody-mindedness that Australian rugby has lacked for so long.  There is still much work to be done as evidenced by Australia essentially losing the plot against Scotland in the quarter-finals.  However, given the right support and coaching Australia has all the essentials for a World Cup winning team in 2019.  Some work will need to be done in a continued tightening up of Australia’s forwards strengths while also finding suitable replacements for the likes of Adam Ashley-Cooper and Israel Folau in the backs.  While Bernard Foley still needs to settle completely into the role of Australia’s first choice flyhalf, the skill levels he showed in this World Cup surely left no doubt that he has the ability.  With Will Genia not being around for 2019 Australia will have to figure out who they want to focus on for scrum half.  Nick Phipps has potential but his execution and nerves often leave a lot to be desired.  I was very surprised to see Nic White not make the cut in this position and it remains to be seen how his Wallaby future will play out over the next four years.  Nevertheless, a well coached team brimming with talent and a crop of younger talent likely to come to the fore over the next few years, puts Australia in excellent shape and gives their supporters a lot to be optimistic about.  I can’t help feeling that what we saw this World Cup from Australia was only the tip of the iceberg.

Canada

Canada had one of the most exciting players of the tournament in winger DTH van der Merwe and put up an inspirational fight against France and Italy.  While always likely to be put to the sternest of tests by Ireland they still never looked like a side who was in danger of giving up.  Against France and Italy they caught the imagination of every neutral fan in the stands and those watching on television and there is no question that they could have won both games especially the Italian game.  It was their final game against Romania which was perhaps the most worrying.  To go and lose a game that you had dominated for almost an hour at 15-0 and then leak 17 unanswered points defies all logic.  Romania to their credit played with more self-belief and once their tails were up there was no stopping them.

Canada in the last 2 years have proved incapable of playing more than 60 minutes of rugby with the type of intensity and efficiency that you need to close out big games.  Two wins out of 17 games is simply unacceptable no matter how courageous and entertaining Canada is on the field.  While we may have some dazzling skills on the pitch much of this has been honed in our relative success in the sevens game.  However, they simply do not translate into eighty minutes of rugby plain and simple.  Canada has to find a way to address this and the fifteen a side game needs players who are focused on the bigger game.  Having players jump between the two codes in my opinion is just not practical.  Use the sevens series as a breeding ground for younger players to hone some skills and then integrate them into the fifteen a side game and keep them there.  Canada needs more international exposure and I have always argued that a closer continental tie-in with Argentina on a yearly competitive basis would be a key step in the right direction.  Canada could learn an enormous amount from the successful development of the game in Argentina as sporting wise there are enormous similarities between the two countries.

Like England, Canada’s record in this World Cup will raise questions about coaching and while I am not necessarily of the opinion that wholesale change is the answer, a recognition of the fact that it may be part of the problem allied to the way the national side is managed and developed may go a long way to fixing Canada’s issues.  Canada could and should be doing so much better than they are and it is hoped that in the next four years instead of merely entertaining us, they will also find that winning mentality and self-belief which so often seems to desert them when they need it most.

England

England’s World Cup can only be described as a disaster, albeit a puzzling one.  There is no question that England has some of the best resources in international rugby at its disposal but yet somehow has been unable to obtain much in the way of silverware in the last four years.  There is considerable talent in England in terms of a player base which makes the lack of success all the more baffling.  As we saw in this World Cup, they are more than capable of scoring quality tries and Johnny May and Mike Brown certainly did not disappoint in this department.  What seems to be lacking is a genuine structure to the team and clear purpose as to what kind of rugby they want to play.  I also can’t really understand many of the coaching decisions made by England in this World Cup and while not necessarily being of the fire Stuart Lancaster mentality, surely questions need to be asked about what exactly the last four years have been about under his tenure.  The fact that untried combinations were being experimented with during the heat of a World Cup in the most unforgiving Pool of all beggars belief – surely that’s what the four years leading up to the World Cup were for?

England will also need to wrestle with an increasingly self-centred club structure and domestic competition that runs the risk of mirroring the destruction caused to the national side as seen across the Channel in France.  While the rampant greed and disparity of national and club interests hasn’t quite reached the level of the poisoned atmosphere that exists in France, the lack of commitment by the clubs to address England’s national fortunes is worrying.  A real litmus test of this will be how much Clubs are willing to release key players to the national squad prior to the Six Nations as well as the overall success of English clubs in this year’s European Champions Cup.  England hit rock bottom during this World Cup and you would hope that it is only onwards and upwards from here.  However, until we know what the coaching structure of England will look like going into 2016, England’s future still looks murky as a team in crisis struggles to find some answers.

France

With no disrespect to French readers of this site, I have to say that the situation in the French camp looks fairly hopeless.  The ineptitude of coach Philippe Saint-Andre aside, there was little on display by France in this World Cup that could be held up as a sign of hope for the future.  France only looked good, and even then they struggled at times as evidenced against Canada and Romania, when up against tier two countries.  The total annihilation of France by New Zealand was the final straw for many French fans.

In short, French rugby strikes us outsiders as being in a complete mess at a national level and there are few if any signs that things are likely to improve between now and the next World Cup.  The appointment of a new Coach, Guy Noves, has done little to instill a sense of optimism as the national side still remains completely subservient to and strangled by the needs and wants of France’s domestic competition.  While a strong grassroots level competition is a cornerstone of a successful national side, in France it has been blown out of all proportion.  Add to this the fact that much of the domestic competition is dominated by international players, much as in European football, and it is hard for quality French players to emerge.  The glory days of French rugby and that mystical French flair are very much the stuff of legend these days.  It remains to be seen whether or not Guy Noves can turn things around and offer up French sides that are something more than disjointed and demoralised outfits that do little to inspire the imagination.  I hate to say it but France under the current structure, with little sign of a change in attitude from the clubs, is starting an inevitable slide to tier two status if something radical isn’t done soon.

Ireland

Oh Ireland, you promised us so much but left us with so little as the ghosts of 2007 came back to haunt you.  This should have been one of Ireland’s best World Cups ever but instead they left with a whisper.  While I think the media are partly to blame for building a certain myth around this Irish side coupled with the fact that injuries cost them dearly, there is no escaping the fact that when it mattered Ireland just did not look like the finished product.  On the plane home the day after the quarter-final loss to Argentina which I attended in Cardiff, I was interested to read one Irish commentator in the Irish press dismiss Ireland’s success as back to back Six Nations champions.  In his view, while it is commendable to win the Six Nations and no mean feat, if you look at the standards on display by Southern Hemisphere teams in the Rugby Championship, the Six Nations suddenly starts to look like the Second Division.  Based on what we saw on display by the Six Nations competitors in this World Cup with the possible exception of Wales, you can’t help feeling that there is a grain of truth in that statement.  As impressive as Ireland’s wins against South Africa and Australia were last November, when was the last time an Irish side or any team from the Six Nations for that matter beat a Southern Hemisphere team in their own backyard?  Like me you’re probably having to go to a Google search for that one.  Yes I know Ireland beat Argentina, last year in Argentina but that was not against their first choice team and was very much a Pumas B team, who even then managed to run Ireland close in both games.  Until that starts happening on a regular basis there is no denying that a gap does exist between North and South in terms of skill and quality.

Ireland got the job done in their pool against their Northern Hemisphere opponents France and Italy but even against Italy they looked shaky at times and certainly not world beaters.  Although Ian Madigan admirably stepped up to the plate for Johnny Sexton in the game against France, his performance against Argentina the following weekend was far from composed or assured.  Ireland despite a raft of promising young talent starting to emerge, showed in this World Cup that their game is built far too much around one or two key players for them to be an effective unit that can take on the rest of the world day in and day out.  Remove Johnny Sexton and Paul O’Connell from the equation and Ireland lose too much of their lustre, though in their defence none of their ambition or determination.  However, without these two players they looked far too predictable at times and as I said back in March during the Six Nations they need to score tries and lots of them, something they struggle with on a regular basis.  They have the talent and the adventurism to do so, but all too often lack the finishing skills and confidence to follow it through.  Luke Fitzgerald in the game against Argentina was one real bright spark of hope for Ireland in this regard and there needs to be much more of this kind of expansive play encouraged and perfected by Ireland if they are to challenge the Southern Hemisphere’s big four in 2019.  Coach Joe Schmidt has a great deal of work to do with Ireland in the next two years and the tour to South Africa next year along with Ireland’s record in the Six Nations in a few months will be a serious litmus test of what a new look Ireland is likely to be capable of.  Remove the hype, build a complete 15 man team solid in defence and expansive in attack and Ireland can get back to the winning ways that looked so promising at the beginning of the year.  The potential and talent is there backed by a domestic structure that is probably more supportive of such a process than any of the other Six Nations countries.  Ireland will regroup and under Schmidt they are unlikely to make the same mistakes more than once.  It’s back to the drawing board but the pencils are still sharp!

Italy

Italy made several valiant stands at this World Cup and can be commended for finishing third in their pool and thus automatic qualification for the next World Cup in 2019.  However, that’s where the good news ends and pessimism kicks in.  Italian sides woeful performances at the European level and a traditionally poor showing in the Six Nations do little to instil a sense of belief in a side desperate for answers.  Add to that a change in the coaching team after this Six Nations, a raft of retirements of many of Italy’s old guard and Italy is left with more questions than answers.  Lastly the future of talismanic Captain Sergio Parisse’s long-term involvement with the Azurri is also a grey area, and while he will likely feature in Italy’s Six Nations campaigns for at least the next two seasons his involvement as a player in Italy’s 2019 challenge is highly unlikely.

Still despite concerns there are also grounds for optimism.  Italy does have some exciting backs especially in the shape of Giovanbattista Venditti and Leonardo Sarto and these two should both be available for World Cup duty in 2019.  The halfback partnership of Tommaso Allan and Edoardo Gordi is showing some real promise, and I personally think Italy would be foolish to bring back import flyhalf Kelly Haimona as for me Allan has really matured in the last year and his kicking is far more reliable than that of Haimona.  It’s the forward platform where Italy is in danger of becoming slightly rudderless.  You can have the most exciting backs in the world but without a platform to deliver them quality ball you are going nowhere in a hurry.  As veterans like Martin Castrogiovanni hang up their boots it remains to be seen what Italy has in terms of developing players to fill the void left by Castrogiovanni and others.  Right now I don’t see much to get excited about in this department from an Italian perspective and this should be a primary focus of whoever takes over from departing coach Jacques Brunel.  Italy has produced a solid forward pack before and there should be no reason that they can’t do it again.  Italy has an enormous task ahead of them and if they revert to type in the Six Nations over the next few years and end up being consistent wooden spoon holders, emerging European powers like Georgia will be pressing hard to claim their spot.  You can’t deny the legitimacy of Georgia’s claim but Italy for now deserve their spot in the Six Nations however tenuous some critics may be calling it – but results are needed and sooner rather than later!

New Zealand

In a word – brilliant!  New Zealand’s emphatic win in this year’s Rugby World Cup final cemented their undisputed place at the top of the world’s rugby hierarchy.  There is little to find fault with in another year where New Zealand essentially eclipsed all those who came before them.  However, as we saw in Sydney during this year’s Rugby Championship, as good as this team is it not without the odd chink in its armor, especially as some of its more established players such as the legendary Richie McCaw,Daniel Carter and Ma’a Nonu hang up their All Black boots for good.  However, with the All Black factory churning out young superstars like the electric Nehe Milner-Skudder who only made his Test debut this year, it is unlikely that the All Blacks will suffer any major setbacks in their continued campaign for world domination.  As we all witnessed during this year’s Super Rugby, New Zealand is bursting at the seams with exciting young players as well as some older more established players likely to make a return from injury in 2016 such as Aaron Cruden and Israel Dagg.  Furthermore, World Cup winning Coach Steve Hansen will be with the All Blacks as they transition out the old guard and bring in a new one over the next two years.  Add to that the fact that unlike many countries New Zealand boasts a host of Super Rugby coaches who all know what a winning culture feels like and there surely is very little cause for concern in the land of the long white cloud.

Whether or not future All Black teams will be quite as invincible as the class of 2012-2015 remains to be seen, and it would be hard to replicate their exploits no matter how much talent you have available.  However, New Zealand still are likely to be the team that sets the standard for the rest of the world to aspire to, even if their track record over the next four years is unlikely to be as good as we have seen.  Invincible – no, but still the most challenging team to beat between now and 2019 – probably!

Scotland

The heart wrenching and controversial loss to Australia in this year’s World Cup quarter-finals will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Scotland’s players and supporters for a long time to come.  Nevertheless as painful and possibly unjust as it was Scotland need to move on. Under Coach Vern Cotter they have a firm and steady hand to guide them out of such a crushing disappointment. Scotland as they have all year showed plenty of promise in the World Cup and one can’t help but feel they are on the verge of an exciting and positive period in Scottish rugby. As many others have pointed out, perhaps the most exciting thing about this Scottish team is its youth. Scotland proved more than capable of taking on the big teams up front, with the Gray brothers, John Hardie, David Denton and WP Nel all getting highly honorable mentions in the tournament. Meanwhile, in the halfbacks Scotland has talent galore with Greg Laidlaw and the emerging talents of Finn Russell, Duncan Weir and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne. With the electric form of fullback Stuart Hogg a threat to any defence, ably assisted by Mark Bennett, Peter Horne and Tim Visser, Scotland now have some real quality attacking players in their back line.

I personally think that Scotland are going to be one of the big if not biggest surprises of the 2016 Six Nations. Their days as wooden spoon holders in the competition I feel are a thing of the past and while they may not be grabbing any Grand Slams in the near future we are likely to see a Scottish side improving by leaps and bounds every year leading up to 2019. These should be some heady times for Scottish rugby as a country with such a proud tradition and heritage in the sport climbs back to the heights they have been accustomed to in the past.

South Africa

South Africa, after the disastrous start to their World Cup campaign against Japan, have to be commended for the way in which they rebuilt themselves and in that semi-final against ultimate World Champions New Zealand, ran the All Blacks so close. Springbok rugby has always been associated with an unshakeable belief and pride in the history and legacy of the jersey. While South Africa’s game plan and style of play has not quite kept pace with the changes in the modern game, it is still devastatingly effective when all 15 players sign in to that unique Springbok mindset.

However, having said that as a new generation of Springbok players seek to carve out their own legacy in South Africa’s rugby history it is unlikely that a reliance on traditional strengths and attributes will be enough to guarantee them success. As we have seen in South African sides poor showing in the Super Rugby championship over the last two years, South Africa is struggling to adapt to the advances made by countries such as New Zealand, Australia and more recently Argentina. Furthermore, the state of coaching in South Africa is, with one or two exceptions, a complete mess and far too conservative to allow South Africa to adapt. Throw in an unhealthy dose of political interference in the sport’s transformation coupled with a wholesale retirement of legendary veterans like Victor Matfield, Schalk Burger and Bryan Habana and others and whoever is tasked with taking the Springboks to the 2019 World Cup has probably the most challenging job in not just world rugby but sport in general.

In a country that has the talent and a player base in terms of numbers that most countries can only dream of, South Africa should on paper be in a very good position. However, the political challenges faced by the sport coupled with a weak coaching base mean that as resource rich as South African rugby is, at the moment the component parts are unable to effectively line up together. The jury is out after this World Cup as to whether or not current Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer will keep his job in 2016. Many people have called for a foreign coach to be brought in, but while I have my doubts about Meyer being the right man to take South Africa to 2019, I can’t help feeling that an outside coach is not the right answer. South African sport has too many complex internal issues governing it and it is only someone with the right local knowledge and connections who is likely to be able to navigate their way through it and provide the success the Springboks and their supporters demand. I do think some foreign influences in the coaching department, especially say in the forwards and backs coaches would be valuable support to a local coach, but ultimately the man in charge should be South African.

What South African rugby will look like in 6 months time will be fascinating to see. As we saw in this World Cup, despite the problems they face, South Africa is still one of the best rugby nations in the world and as a result they continue to get the respect they deserve. The key for the next four years will be to build on this tradition while at the same time adapting the game to both the political realities prevalent in South Africa and the rapid transformation in the skill sets required to play the modern game. South Africa has the players to do it, it just needs the right hands to guide the process. A World Cup just wouldn’t be the same without a strong and competitive Springbok side and I am sure we all hope that the next four years see the development of a side that will at least be in the semi-finals of 2019 if not the final itself!

Wales

Many of us going into the World Cup, had probably written off Wales’ chances of getting out of the so-called Pool of Death as they went into the tournament with a raft of crippling injuries and absentees. Then a certain Dan Biggar stepped up to take his first kick, while Gareth Davies made his first offload from the back of the scrum and all of a sudden the world sat up in a hurry and took notice. Dan Biggar in particular singlehandedly turned Wales fortunes around. Ignoring his slightly bizarre pre-kick dance moves, the Welsh flyhalf caught the imagination of the world in a truly inspired series of performances during Wales five-week campaign. Meanwhile Gareth Davies at scrum half would ensure that Wales would score five pointers to complement the GPS system that Dan Biggar was obviously wearing in his boots. Throw in some heroic performances from lock Alun-Wyn Jones, flanker and Captain Sam Warburton alongside Justin Tipuric and this Welsh team instantly became the stuff of legends.

For me, even though they lost to Australia in the Pool stages they were outstanding. When you consider the character this Welsh side showed as well as displaying some spectacular running rugby at times, it was no wonder that they ran South Africa so close in the quarter-finals. However, you couldn’t help feeling that despite all the hurdles the Welsh had overcome given their injury list, the game against South Africa as a result was just that bridge too far, even though Wales came so close to snatching a historic victory. Nevertheless, given that they performed so well with so many new younger players, Wales must surely feel more than a little excited about what the next four years holds in store for them. I personally think there is at least one Six Nations Grand Slam in Wales prior to 2019, along with the possibility of a big scalp somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere during the summer tours as well as some real success at home during the Autumn tests. For Wales it should simply be a case of regroup and rebuild over the next four years while learning what the secret is to go the extra mile come World Cup time. The only question mark that surrounds this process is whether or not Coach Warren Gatland will still be there in 2019 to guide them through it. While many people questioned his wisdom going into this World Cup as the Welsh roster resembled a combat casualty list, he still managed to get the absolute best out of his players when it mattered most. Whether you are a Gatland fan or not, the type of consistency he brings may in Wales case be just what they need at least till 2019. If he wants to stay till then and the Welsh public let him remains to be seen, but I would go with the opinion that perhaps more of the same with a dash more creativity might just be what Wales needs and Gatland is probably the best man to provide it.