Month: September 2024

Despite hosting their Premiership fixture against Exeter Chiefs on Sunday, Worcester Warriors’ future is far from being sorted out according to the beleaguered club’s director of rugby Steve Diamond.

Although the Rugby Football Union (RFU) has said it will continue to work in tandem with the Sixways-based outfit’s owners with regards to financing and possible new buyers, the club’s debts are currently at £25million with several players and staff still waiting on their full salaries to be paid for the month of August.

Speaking after his club’s 36-21 loss to Exeter at Sixways on Sunday, Diamond said: “I don’t know how long we can keep going with this as I’ve been informed that negotiations are taking place behind the scenes but I’m not party to them.

Uncharted territory

“In the professional era, no director of rugby should be required to deal with such a situation as the players haven’t been paid their August salaries.

“There are limits to how many times players or staff can turn out on goodwill without being paid and it’s impossible for anyone to work without any internet and heating with winter around the corner.

“We are hoping to fulfil the fixture with Gloucester on Wednesday. We wanted to bring in a few loan players but at present we can’t afford to pay the RFU the appropriate sum.

“I’m hoping the money we’ve taken today can be used and not disappear down a black hole as we are on the never-never at the moment.

“Realistically I don’t know how long we can keep going for with the winding-up application due in late September, a line has to be drawn somewhere.”

Worcester delivered a brave and passionate performance despite their off-field issues but Exeter dominated for long periods. The Chiefs outscored their hosts by five tries to three with Richard Capstick leading the way for the Devon-based club with a brace while Olly Woodburn, Jack Maunder and Joe Simmonds also dotting down.

Alex Hearle, Gareth Simpson and Ollie Lawrence scored Worcester’s tries but despite showing plenty of commitment it wasn’t enough and the Warriors suffered their second successive Premiership defeat.

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“I’m very proud as it was a huge-hearted performance but the players will still get a b*****king as we conceded 16 penalties, lost half our line-outs and scored from only three of our 10 incursions into their 22,” said Diamond.

“Despite all the off-field hullabaloo, we need to be better than that.”

Worcester captain Francois Venter added: “What’s going on in the background is mentally tough but hopefully it will get sorted. We still don’t know the position but it will be very upsetting if it’s our last game on this pitch.”

The result means Exeter now have two successive victories this season and, despite always appearing to hold an edge, Chiefs head coach Ali Hepher revealed that they always expected a tough challenge.

Difficult task

“At the start of the day, we knew the game would be tough as they would be very high on motivation,” he said.

“We did things right in the first half but we then went off-script before bouncing through it to get the tries when we needed them.

“Their crowd was fantastic and we hope things work out for them as we love coming here as it’s always a competitive game.”

Marseille Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarretta has identified RB Salzburg’s 22-year-old central midfielder Diadié Samassekou as a possible summer target, according to L’Équipe.

Samassekou’s current deal expires in June 2019, but the Austrian side is still expected to demand between €15m and €20m in order to part with the player, a sum that Marseille are likely to be turned off by.

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The United Rugby Championship continues on Friday as three matches take place, including the highly anticipated Irish derby between Ulster and Leinster.

Bulls v Connacht

Bulls director of rugby Jake White has made six changes to his team that claimed a narrow home victory against Edinburgh in Pretoria last weekend.

The 2021/22 URC runners-up’s fans will be treated to the return of in-form Springboks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and Sbu Nkosi. Arendse and Moodie, both of whom quickly became fan favorites at Loftus with their electric pace and insane steps, will be high on confidence after making their Springbok debuts in recent months, scoring three tries between them at Test level.

Meanwhile, Nkosi, who is no stranger to the green and gold has made one appearance for the Bulls thus far and will also be looking to win over the Loftus faithful.

The aforementioned Bok trio will line up as the Bulls’ back three with Arendse starting at full-back. Elsewhere, Cornal Hendricks will partner David Kriel in the midfield, while Johan Goosen gets his first start in the number 10 jersey since returning from a long term injury that kept him out of the game for 11 months. The ever-industrious and busy Zac Burger retains his spot at scrum-half.

Up front, the loose trio gets a little shuffle as Marco van Staden starts at seven with Ruan Vermaak dropping out for this game and joining the Bulls XV that face the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. Captain Marcell Coetzee continues doing what he does best in the six jersey, with returning Springbok Elrigh Louw remaining in his ‘happy-place’ with the number eight on his back.

Ruan Nortje and Walt Steenkamp have formed a formidable pairing in the engine room over the last season, and will continue in that department for this game.

Francois Klopper earns a well-deserved start at tighthead prop, as Mornay Smith drops to the bench, with Johan Grobbelaar and Gerhard Steenekamp at hooker and loosehead respectively.

Meanwhile, Connacht head coach Andy Friend has rung the changes to his starting XV after last weekend’s defeat to the Stormers in Stellenbosch.

There are seven alterations in all, with David Hawkshaw handed his first Connacht start at fly-half. He forms a new-look half-back pairing with Kieran Marmion, while the only other change in the backs is the return of Tom Daly to inside centre. He partners Tom Farrell, with an unchanged back three of wingers Mack Hansen and John Porch and full-back Oran McNulty.

In the pack there’s a return for Dave Heffernan who forms a very experienced front-row with Denis Buckley and Finlay Bealham. There’s a new second-row pairing of Leva Fifita and Oisín Dowling, meaning Josh Murphy moves to blindside flanker. The rest of the back-row consists of openside flanker Conor Oliver and number eight Jarrad Butler, who also captains the side.

The management have opted for a six/two split on the bench and includes hooker Grant Stewart and Academy graduate Ciarán Booth, who will both make their debuts for the province if called upon.

The teams:

Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 David Kriel, 11 Sbu Nkosi, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Marco van Staden, 6 Marcel Coetzee (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Reinhardt Ludwig, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Lionel Mapoe

Connacht: 15 Oran McNulty, 14 John Porch, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Tom Daly, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 David Hawkshaw, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jarrad Butler (c), 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Oisín Dowling, 4 Leva Fifita, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Gavin Thornbury, 20 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 21 Colm Reilly, 22 Byron Ralston, 23 Ciarán Booth

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 BST, 16:30 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

Ulster v Leinster

Ulster born and bred, Luke Marshall, is set to run-out in front of his home crowd at Kingspan Stadium for his 150th appearance in Friday’s derby with Leinster.

After an explosive return from injury saw him score the first try of the new season against Connacht, Academy graduate Marshall is once again set to form the centre partnership with Stuart McCloskey, who himself hit the 150-cap milestone the last time the Leinster men were in town.

In a homegrown back three unchanged from last week’s victory over the Scarlets, and with an average age of 24, winger Jacob Stockdale will be looking to add to his impressive tally of 27 carries in the United Rugby Championship so far. He is once again joined by fast-as-lightening Aaron Sexton, who made his first start for the province last week, alongside full-back Michael Lowry who played his part in Ulster making the most metres in Round Two, with a personal tally of 143.

Last weekend’s Player of the Match, scrum-half John Cooney, who was in unstoppable form with 30 points to his name by the end of a fast-paced win over former Ulster coach Dwayne Peel’s side, is again coupled with fly-half Billy Burns, who crossed the whitewash for Ulster’s fifth try on Saturday past.

Captain Alan O’Connor, meanwhile, retains his position at lock, and is joined in the second-row by Kieran Treadwell in a starting line-up which sees only one change from last week’s win. Matty Rea will be joined in the back-row by brother, Marcus, who is becoming synonymous with the turnover, and Ireland international, Nick Timoney, at Number eight.

Hooker, Rob Herring, will bring his experience gained in the Ireland jersey once again to set-up as he is joined in the front-row by props Andy Warwick and Tom O’Toole, who are both products of Ulster’s Academy pipeline.

Forward cover will be provided by John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Marty Moore, who contributed to last week’s try tally, Sam Carter, and Greg Jones while David Shanahan, Angus Curtis, and Ben Moxham are on the backs on the bench.

Meanwhile, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has named a strong matchday 23 for this encounter.

Garry Ringrose again captains the side from outside centre, with Robbie Henshaw in the number 12 jersey beside him. Elsewhere in the backs, it’s the same back three for Cullen with Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour and Dave Kearney selected as a trio for the second weekend in succession.

It’s a new half-back combination this week however, with Luke McGrath retained in the number nine jersey but he is joined by Ross Byrne.

To the pack and there is only one change for Cullen from last week, with the same front five selected for the game in Belfast against the team at the top of the URC table.

Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Michael Ala’alatoa form the front row, with Ross Molony and Jason Jenkins behind them in the second-row.

Ryan Baird and Josh van der Flier are again selected at blindside and openside flanker, with Jack Conan the final change to the XV, coming in for his first appearance of the new season.

James Ryan and Johnny Sexton are both in line to make their first appearance of the season should they be introduced.

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Aaron Sexton, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andy Warwick
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Sam Carter, 20 Greg Jones, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Angus Curtis, 23 Ben Moxham

Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose (c), 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Vakhtang Abdaladze, 19 James Ryan, 20 Will Connors, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Johnny Sexton, 23 Charlie Ngatai

Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Eoghan Cross (Ireland), Andrew Cole (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Cardiff v Lions

Lopeti Timani will make his first start in Cardiff colours as the Lions visit the Welsh capital on Friday evening.

Following his summer arrival from Toulon, the Tongan international has made two appearances from the replacementsbench in the opening weeks of the United Rugby Championship.

However, with Dai Young’s side looking to bounce back from last week’s defeat to Glasgow, Timani comes into the run-on side to form a second-row partnership with Seb Davies.

A reshuffle in the back-row sees Taulupe Faletau returning to the number eight jersey after a Player of the Match display in the win over Munster, with James Botham and captain Josh Turnbull occupying the flanks.

Elsewhere, Theo Cabango recovers from a shoulder injury to take his place on the left wing, replacing the injured Josh Adams. The academy product enjoyed a breakthrough campaign last season and will make his first appearance of 2022/23 in a back three that includes Aled Summerhill and full-back Rhys Priestland, who slots into the number 15 jersey following injuries to Liam Williams, Jacob Beetham and Matthew Morgan.

Rey Lee-Lo is reunited with Max Llewellyn in midfield while Jarrod Evans and Tomos Williams continue their half-back partnership.

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A double change in the front-row sees Brad Thyer and Liam Belcher joining Dillon Lewis in the starting XV.

Meanwhile, Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has made two alterations to his run-on side after their triumph over the Ospreys last weekend.

The only backline change sees Henco van Wyk coming in at outside centre where he replaces Zander du Plessis, who has been relegated to the replacements bench.

Elsewhere, Van Rooyen has brought in Pieter Jansen van Vuren into his second-row where he packs down alongside the team’s captain, Reinhard Nothnagel. Van Vuren takes over from Ruben Schoeman.

Meanwhile, Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has made two alterations to his run-on side after their triumph over the Ospreys last weekend.

The only backline change sees Henco van Wyk coming in at outside centre where he replaces Zander du Plessis, who has been relegated to the replacements bench.

Elsewhere, Van Rooyen has brought in Pieter Jansen van Vuren into his second-row where he packs down alongside the team’s captain, Reinhard Nothnagel. Van Vuren takes over from Ruben Schoeman.

The teams:

Cardiff: 15 Rhys Priestland, 14 Aled Summerhill, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Theo Cabango, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 James Botham, 6 Josh Turnbull (c), 5 Seb Davies, 4 Lopeti Timani, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Dmitri Arhip, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Mason Grady, 23 Uilisi Halaholo

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Quan Horn, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (c), 4 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Sti Sithole
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 JP Smith, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 Ruhan Straeuli, 21 Morne van dern Berg, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Zander du Plessis

Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Carwyn Williams (Wales)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)

Nathan Staples, Adam White and Samuel Rooke discuss the final piece of domestic silverware up for grabs in the Coupe de France final before taking a look at the penultimate Ligue 1 weekend.

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England centre Ollie Lawrence has opened up about his sadness at Worcester Warriors’ downfall and hit out at the suspended Premiership outfit’s co-owners, Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham.

The Warriors were suspended and will be relegated from England’s top flight at the end of the season after their partial liquidation last week, with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) pursuing unpaid tax totalling £6million.

Administrators are still working to find a buyer for the beleaguered club, while several players have moved on to new teams.

Lawrence is one of them, as he has joined Bath on a long-term contract, but he acknowledged that he will probably never fully understand the events that unfolded at Worcester.

Worcester owners’ public statement

Goldring and Whittingham even criticised Worcester’s players and supporters, effectively blaming them for the club’s financial problems in a public statement that caused plenty of offence.

“Currently, I am still living in Worcester and commuting back and forth. Until I move here (Bath), I don’t think it will fully sink in. I don’t think it ever will, to be honest,” said Lawrence.

“We felt like we had been let down by our owners. I think if we had have known a bit more about their financial struggles, it would have given boys more time to look elsewhere.

“We seemed to be on the back foot a lot of the time, and we were the ones going out on the weekends trying to put in shifts for each other, knowing that within the next couple of weeks we might not even be a club.

“It is an element of frustration, feeling let down and just disappointed that they were allowed to do what they’ve done.

“With everything going on now, hopefully it will all unfold and it will all come out regarding what has gone on at the club.

“When that statement was released, it didn’t make sense or go down well with a lot of people.

“They needed to take accountability for what they’ve done, because at the end of the day they can’t blame players for the situation they were in.

“They gave us contracts, they agreed to the terms. If they couldn’t afford to keep the club, then they should have made that clear earlier.

“There was no communication, and then the one time we did get communication it was basically a slating.

“To blame fans, saying there should have been more at games, they were just trying to find excuses to make themselves look better when, in fact, they have just made themselves look worse.”

Former Worcester club-mates Ted Hill, Fergus Lee-Warner and Valery Morozov have joined Lawrence at Bath, while Duhan van der Merwe moved back to Edinburgh, Joe Batley rejoined Bristol and Tom Howe and Andrew Kitchener have joined Saracens on short-term deals.

While Lawrence’s main focus must now be on Bath, he will be determined to regain an England call-up and add to his tally of seven Test caps.

“Whatever is going on with the situation at the club (Worcester), we want to see them back in the Premiership and be part of the league for a long time,” he added.

Keen for Worcester Warriors to survive

“There is so much history with the club and there are a lot of boys there who need the club to survive.

“We all want the best for the club, and no-one in the rugby community would have wanted to see what has happened to them.

“I am concerned by what is happening and will always have my attention in the corner of my eye to make sure my friends and stuff are looked after.

“It doesn’t look great going forward, but hopefully, fingers crossed, they can get a new owner and build back up from the Championship.”

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Sale maintained their perfect start to their 2022/23 Premiership campaign as they sealed a superb come-from-behind victory over the champions, Leicester Tigers, at Welford Road on Saturday.

It was a memorable return for England scrum-half Raffi Quirke, who was back in action for the first time in six months after recovering from a torn hamstring. The 21-year-old was a half-time replacement and inspired his team to victory as they were trailing 16-12 at the interval.

Quirke scored one of the visitors’ four tries which condemned the Tigers to their second successive defeat.

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Freddie Burns opened the scoring for Leicester with a penalty after six minutes after Sale’s defence, stretched by a good break by Harry Potter, were pinged for offside.

But it was the Sharks who had the game’s first try in the 11th minute as Tom O’Flaherty almost got away before his fellow winger Tom Roebuck slipped through some flimsy tackling to score down the left.

Rob du Preez missed the conversion, giving Burns the chance to kick the Tigers 6-5 ahead with his second penalty after Potter was obstructed when trying to claim a high ball.

Following another successful kick at goal by Burns, as Sale’s discipline let them down again, Leicester went over for their first score of the afternoon after 29 minutes.

Potter caused problems again down the left, as it took a last-ditch tackle by Manu Tuilagi to stop him, but Jasper Wiese picked up before being helped over in the corner by a gaggle of team-mates.

Sale were quickly back in the picture however, as Gus Warr played the ball off the back of a scrum to Du Preez, who weaved his way through to score before converting to reduce the hosts’ lead to 16-12.

The game was then turned on its head eight minutes into the second half when Quirke broke through down the right before timing his pass to put Sharks captain Tom Curry in the clear.

The Sharks had their bonus-point try in the 54th minute when Joe Carpenter made a break on the left wing before passing to Quirke, who had a comfortable run in.

It then took a superb tackle by Tigers full-back Freddie Steward to stop O’Flaherty getting on the scoresheet as well and just about keep the hosts in the contest.

Having made one try and scored another, Quirke then prevented one at the other end by scampering back to stop Matt Scott in his tracks inches from the try line after the ball ran loose.

Du Preez then missed the chance to extend Sale’s lead further by pushing a penalty wide, but by then time was running out for Leicester to mount a comeback.

Gloucester continue Bath’s misery

Bath’s search for their first win of the season continues after their forward-led fightback fell agonisingly short in a 21-17 Premiership defeat to Gloucester.

Trailing 14-0 and 21-7 at the Recreation Ground, Bath went on to dominate a compelling second half, but having crossed through Tom Dunn and Niall Annett, they could not finish off their west country rivals.

Two missed conversions from replacement fly-half Orlando Bailey ultimately proved the difference, with Adam Hastings nailing all three of his in a match that produced a try count of 3-3.

In the end, first half tries from Matias Alemanno (2) and Santiago Socino with Hastings’ conversions helped Gloucester to secure victory while Bath’s other points came courtesy of a Miles Reid try in the opening period which was converted by Piers Francis.

Ollie Lawrence made a strong debut following his loan move from relegated crisis club Worcester, providing some of the punch Bath have lacked from their carriers so far this season.

But despite perfect conditions for enterprising rugby, the afternoon was dominated by the two packs and all six tries were scored by forwards, although Lawrence, Joe Cokanasiga and Mark Atkinson shone in their attempts to make something happen.

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Speaking exclusively to RMC Sport, AS Monaco’s Fabinho explained the process behind his move to Liverpool, which was confirmed this evening.

“Contacts have been ongoing for a few weeks. I spoke with people at the club, with the manager, they gave me a lot of confidence. I wanted to go to a club that really wanted me, who showed great interest. With all that, it was easy to say yes. I thought about it a bit and I said to my agent that he could enact the deal. I am very happy that this has been done at the start of the window… I had two real choices, not just interest. I will not speak about other clubs. It is done, I am a Liverpool player. I had already decided.“

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Former Australia head coach John Connolly has urged the Wallabies selectors to be brave and leave veteran utility back Kurtley Beale out of their squad for their upcoming tour to the northern hemisphere.

Connolly, who coached the Wallabies in 2006 and 2007, made the difficult decision of leaving experienced Test scrum-half George Gregan behind when Australia went on their end-of-year tour in his first season in charge of the two-time world champions.

The 71-year-old said that move paid dividends as Gregan came back stronger and had a good season in 2007. And now he wants current Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie to follow his example and do the same with players like Beale, saying Rennie can learn more about his players ahead of the 2023 World Cup in France.

New Zealander Rennie is set to name a squad of around 35 players for his five-Test tour – against Scotland, France, Italy, Ireland and Wales – on Sunday.

Important tour

It’s an important tour for Rennie whose win rate is at just 38 per cent from 29 Tests since he took over the coaching reins in 2020.

Rennie initially backed young players but has turned to more experienced campaigners of late with Beale, who is currently back at the Waratahs, returning to the Test fold for last year’s year-end Tests. He has also recalled veteran fly-halves Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley during this year’s Rugby Championship campaign.

The coach has also chopped and changed players at full-back due to injuries and form with Beale, Tom Banks, utility back Reece Hodge, as well as wings Jordan Petaia, Tom Wright and Andrew Kellaway, all wearing the Wallabies number 15 jersey since last year.

But Connolly believes giving Banks or uncapped Reds full-back Jock Campbell a chance on the Wallabies’ European tour would be a “brave” decision which would suit Rennie better in the long run.

“In 2006, we had a decision to make around the half-backs,” he told Fox Sports.

“We had (Brett) Sheehan, (Sam) Cordingley, who were both playing reasonably for their states, Cordingley had a few injuries, and we had (Matt) Giteau who we wanted to have a look at halfback. In conversation with George, we decided to leave him at home and then we decided to look at our halfbacks strongly. George had a great Super season and went to the World Cup.

“In this situation, this is a lot easier than the George situation, that was a tough call, he had a rest and came back and had a great season.

“These two guys, we don’t know how good Banks and Jock Campbell are. Playing Kurtley who hasn’t played eight months, and struggled to make the team before he left, makes no sense. If he (Beale) has a great Super season, plays the house down, yes he goes.”

Australia’s 2006 European tour did not go according to plan as they drew their first Test with Wales before sealing a narrow win over Italy but they then lost to Ireland.

Connolly duly decided to take a gamble by handing Stephen Moore his first Test start at hooker in their final Test of the tour against Scotland and, despite him struggling during the early stages of that encounter, players like Stephen Larkham and Chris Latham soon took control of proceedings and guided the Wallabies to a memorable win.

With with just 10 matches left before the World Cup, Connolly feels the Wallabies should be brave and take similar risks for this year’s European Tests.

“I remember the other coaches wanted to get him off but I said we’re playing the right out and giving him every chance to be successful, and in the second half he was more comfortable, played well at the end of the game and the rest is history, he went to the World Cup and has turned out to be one of our best hookers,” he said.

Trust your judgement

“But you’ve got to trust your judgement and we thought he had size, we thought he had the ability, so you’ve got to back your judgement.

“Both those players, Banks and Campbell, have the game to play at Test footy – how much improvement they have in them, I would argue that Campbell has more improvement left in him than Banks.

“Campbell has improved every game like Latham, a country kid who came to the city and improved.

“Playing Kurtley, at his age, who hasn’t played since February, give him an off season. If he plays well for the Waratahs then he goes to the World Cup.

“You’ve got to be brave.”

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24-year-old central midfielder Adrien Thomasson is soliciting interest from Italian outfit Parma, with his Nantes deal expiring at the end of the month, according to France Football.

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Parma are not alone in their interest, with St Étienne, Montpellier, Strasbourg and Stade de Reims having placed the player on their respective shortlists.

The Springboks and All Blacks will complete their Rugby World Cup preparations when they face off at the ‘home of rugby’, Twickenham Stadium.

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Just two weeks before the global tournament starts in France, where New Zealand face hosts Les Bleus in the opener, the dominant forces in the game will go head-to-head.

Both nations have won the World Cup three times, with the Springboks the current holders after beating England 32-12 in the final in Japan.

A vital fixture

Jacques Nienaber, the Bok head coach, said: “We’re excited to play this vital fixture before the Rugby World Cup at the iconic Twickenham Stadium.

“There is a large contingent of passionate expats and Springbok supporters in London, and we have no doubt they will come out in numbers and give us a lift before we attempt to defend our World Cup crown.”

The match will kick off at 19:30 BST (18:30 GMT) on Friday, August 25, almost eight years after they played each other in the World Cup semi-final at the same stadium.

SA Rugby director of rugby Rassie Erasmus added: “The Springboks and All Blacks share one of the greatest rivalries in rugby, and to face them at Twickenham will be an exciting experience for the players and our fans. I have no doubt it is going to be an epic encounter.”

Following the end of the 2023 Rugby Championship campaign, the Boks will play two warm-up as they face Wales before taking on the All Blacks.

South Africa and New Zealand are currently third and fourth in the world rankings, and will no doubt be among the favourites when next year’s global tournament begins.

Titanic battle

“This match will form an important part of our preparations for Rugby World Cup,” All Blacks head coach Ian Foster said.

“Matches against the Springboks are always hard-fought and we are expecting nothing less than a titanic battle on this unique occasion.”

Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney is also delighted as they host two of the biggest teams in world rugby in their own backward.

“We are looking forward to welcoming two powerhouses of global rugby. Both nations have sizeable ex-pat communities in London and beyond, who will no doubt contribute to what is set to be an electric atmosphere at Twickenham Stadium,” Sweeney said.