This week we will mostly be reviewing November and looking at growing pains…
So November is almost done and dusted. South Africa’s rediscovered will and physicality must still face Wales’ new-found love of stretching teams from side to side, but basically, we’re sitting back and reflecting.
The overall score from November reads Six Nations 5, Rugby Championship 7, which is better reading than normal but absolutely reflects the shifted nature of global rugby power. Moreover, the wins were of better quality too: sides are winning with tries in the Test arena these days. No longer are Six Nations teams winning with ‘northern hemisphere rugby’, the game has become less rigidly strategic and reflects a greater emphasis on skilled players making good decisions at the right moments – such as Aaron Smith’s pass to Waisake Naholo for New Zealand’s first try on Saturday in Cardiff.
It makes for an interesting Six Nations, not least England’s visit to Murrayfield, where Scotland’s resurgence will be fully tested against an England team in no mood to allow any other team to express itself.
The Scots really have been the story of November. Long given short shrift and few words from any columnist, let alone these lines here, the transformation under Gregor Townsend and his predecessor Vern Cotter has been remarkable. It can be harder to dominate against 14 men than against 15, but Scotland simply picked Australia off.
They’ve scored at an average of more than five tries a game through November which, considering two opponents were New Zealand and Australia, is in itself a terrific achievement – more so when you consider that chief game-breaker Stuart Hogg was struggling with injury niggles.
The match against Samoa was the epitome of rugby chaos, which suited both teams – and spectators – just fine. Scotland delighted in it. In the past the attempts to conceal limitations by a restrictive game-plan left the Scots hidden in the shadows and looking miserable but as the game has, nudged by laws, evolved towards the open so Scotland has evolved with it. They have depth now too.
England and Ireland continue to look more like teams who know how to win however. Never mind the dourness of England’s wins, three tries shipped in three Tests is impressive when weighed up against the free scoring habits being developed at international level. Ireland’s record was similar, yet the impression remains that the Irish continue to be a step behind England in terms of belligerence.
Wales look happier with their new game even if it has not brought the results yet. But the Welsh do have a direction; beating South Africa with it would be enough of a reward for it to be persevered with.
France do not look happy at all. Tired old players are being supported by plenty of bright new ones, but Guy Noves doesn’t seem to be leaving any kind of trademark on the team. The FFR must be considering his position after the draw with Japan, but while it is difficult to see progress under Noves, it’s just as difficult to see who would have the attributes to replace him.
Elsewhere, New Zealand remain irrepressible after a peculiar year where they’ve looked more vulnerable yet remain free-scoring and with a host of new players putting hands up. Australia’s siege mentality needs to be checked before they start dwelling on injustices too long at the expense of flaws, South Africa’s politicians need to sort themselves out. And the Pacific Islands continue to frustrate in the Test arena – especially with all the infighting going on in the background.
But it was a fun November, with some great rugby.
And on the subject of infighting…
Probably one of the less-noticed results at the weekend was Germany’s 32-10 defeat at home to Chile. 24th in the world going down at home to 28th (the two have since more or less swapped places). But on previous form, Germany should have won the game comfortably.
The background to the game was not one of rising hope, however. Germany fielded a side weakened by a large player strike, laden with sevens players and including an 18-year-old hooker from Frankfurt making his first start.
Why? Well, in a story that will be remarkably familiar to the Samoas of this world and a few others besides, it appears the union has fallen out with its major benefactor: Hans-Peter Wild, owner of Capri-Sun drinks and Stade Francais, with the former accusing the latter of not honouring agreements and the latter accusing the former of poor governance and a lack of strategy.
Wild has ploughed, by most estimates, at least EUR 10m into German rugby over the past few years, setting up a fully-fledged academy in Heidelberg and paying a team of players to both play and help the game in the country move forward – the bulk of the players were placed there with the strategy of making it to Japan 2019.
It was a strategy supported by the union, but since Sevens was included in the Olympic Games, the German Olympic fund has released a flood of cash to the union for support in sevens – and this is the crucial bit – Sevens only.
Which has left the union’s support for its 15s game trailing in the sevens support’s wake, all the more so when considering the cushioning support to 15s offered by Dr. Wild.
However, the 15s players have also been left neglected by the union – to the extent that there was apparently no match doctor organised for Germany’s first two November Tests until the last minute. This precipitated the strike, and Dr. Wild’s refusal to continue 15s support while the current administration would not outline its future strategy for 15s and sevens integration.
The union fired back, grumbling about agreements not being honoured, whereupon Dr. Wild and his sporting director Robert Mohr more or less demanded that the three-man board of the union resign for their shabby governance – and not unjustifiably wondering publicly why some of the board could go around earning multiple sources of income from the rising popularity of the sevens game, yet neglect their roles of office so wilfully.
The two sides are yet to gather around a table and actually talk to each other, instead choosing to bewilder local sporting journalists and fans with volleys of long-winded press releases and veiled accusations. Peace is far from breaking out, but one thing is clear: Germany’s rise up the global ladder has been abruptly halted, which is very unfortunate.
Loose Pass compiled by former Planet Rugby Editor Danny Stephens
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