NRL star Cameron Murray has shut the door on the Wallabies but one of the game’s biggest stars says he’d be excited by being involved in the 2027 World Cup.
Penrith ace Nathan Cleary, 25, told the YKTY Ebbs and Flows podcast that while it’s unlikely for him to be part of Australia’s hosting of the event, involved “it would be cool to try it out.”
Asked if the prospect excited him, Cleary responded: “It does for sure.
“I think that’s the exciting part of union, it is on that global stage.
“If you were to do it for Australia, it would be such a big thing because Australia has sort of neglected union for a while now and it hasn’t been a massive thing.
“I think that part of it is an exciting prospect, but league is all I have known and loved and it has been a passion for me.
“I couldn’t see myself doing it, but there is a little part of me that thinks it would be cool to try it out.”
Murray signed a new deal this week and revealed he hadn’t been spoken to by Rugby Australia despite Eddie Jones name checking him several times as a league player who could excel in union.
While Murray played union at high level as a junior, Cleary would be coming in cold.
“If I was to try it, I would 100 per cent have to be all-in, I wouldn’t just be doing it for the thought of having success or wanting that global status,” Cleary said.
“It would be such a process thing. It would take a lot of hard work, like I’d just have to know the game inside-out before I even felt confident pulling on an Australian jersey.
“I wouldn’t just want it because of what I’ve done in league.”
Cleary said he was committed to the Panthers cause as they chase a third straight premiership.
“I still feel like there’s still so much more for me to do in rugby league… it’s just a journey and I feel like I’m honestly just getting started,” he said.
“You can have all the achievements along the way, but you know within yourself what you can get out of your talent and what you’ve put in.”
Danty to miss opener
France’s hopes of starting the World Cup with a bang and continuing their momentum have taken a hit, with star centre Jonathan Danty expected to miss his side’s opening Test against the All Blacks in Paris.
According to reports in L’Equipe, the damaging inside centre will miss the opening night of the tournament because of a hamstring strain.
It’s yet another blow for Fabien Galthie’s side, who lost first-choice playmaker Romain Ntamack recently due to a knee injury.
Star loose-head prop Cyril Baille is another regular, who is expected to miss France’s opening couple of World Cup fixtures.
But the loss of Danty is perhaps the most significant to date.
Jonathan Danty of France is tackled by Lalakai Foketi during the 2023 Summer International match between France and Australia at Stade de France on August 27, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
The 30-year-old has been in devastating form over the past three years.
Without him in Dublin earlier this year Ireland managed to knock over Les Bleus.
He returned in time to face England and starred in their bloodbath at Twickenham, immediately giving them front-foot ball and causing a nuisance of himself at the breakdown.
Those attributes were on display on Sunday against the Wallabies, as the hulking inside centre delivered a standout performance.
He targeted the Wallabies’ small inside backs, running at Carter Gordon from first-phase set-piece ball.
It led to France’s opening try inside the opening 10 minutes, as France threw to the back of the lineout but played on quickly to allow Danty to target Gordon standing in the front line.
Galthie has options he can turn to.
France’s head coach Fabien Galthie has some decisions to make over his inside backs ahead of their tournament opening match against the All Blacks. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP via Getty Images)
Yoram Moefana, the Bordeaux utility back, deputised for Danty earlier in the Six Nations but Danty’s presence and ability to get France on the front-foot and, as such, help their shape was missed dearly.
Galthie could also turn to Arthur Vincent, with the Montpellier back teaming up alongside Danty against Fiji.
Despite their tough first-up challenge against Ian Foster’s All Blacks, France are expected to comfortably qualify for the quarter-finals with Galthie’s side to also play Italy, Uruguay and Namibia.
Ex-coach doubles down on ‘blight on the game’
Matt Williams, the former Leinster and Scotland coach, has doubled down on his criticism of the Springboks’ decision to use seven forwards on their eight-man bench last weekend, saying they didn’t just go “against the spirit of the game” but that it was a dangerous “blight on the game”.
The Australian coach came out strongly in the aftermath of the Springboks’ 35-7 victory over the All Blacks, saying World Rugby should step in to ensure coaches don’t stack benches with forwards.
Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber called up loose-forward Kwagga Smith to replace Willie le Roux after the fullback withdrew at the last minute because of a niggle.
Not wanting to compromise his wider World Cup squad, Nienaber turned to a forward who had been on standby.
It meant Nienaber only had halfback Cobus Reinach as his sole back.
While the decision didn’t come back to haunt him, it could easily have.
Matt Williams has doubled down on his opinion that World Rugby must ensure teams don’t exploit the use of reserves. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Instead, Neinaber added another forward to his “bomb squad” as the Springboks turned the heat on their Southern Hemisphere rivals.
But Williams, who also coached the Waratahs, said the Springboks exploited what the bench was brought in for in the first place: player safety.
“Just so everyone knows, the bench was put in place because, in the old days, you had 15, and if you got injured, bad luck,” he said on Virgin Media.
“Then they put a bench in, but what teams ended up doing was they might play, say Alan (Quinlan), as a back row and a prop got hurt.
“They were then putting back rowers in the front row, and guys were getting hurt.
“So this whole bench issue was a safety issue; it’s the same with the back three, same with scrum-halves getting tackled at the breakdown and getting hurt; this was a safety issue to have a bench.”
The Springboks had seven forwards to bring off their bench against the All Blacks at Twickenham Stadium on August 25, 2023 in London. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Williams, who acknowledged the Springboks were simply exploiting the laws to their benefit, reiterated that World Rugby had to step in to ensure the integrity of the game was not lost.
“What South Africa have done is abuse player safety issue and put a whole pack on the bench, and it’s against the spirit of the game, and it’s against those safety rules,” he said.
“World Rugby should have seen this coming because for years, teams, not just South Africa, France as well have been picking a six, two bench (in favour of the forwards), and it should never have been allowed to get to this.
“All world rugby had to say, was three of your bench have to be recognised backs; that’s all they had to do, and this problem would not be there.”
“What South Africa did, the other day, is totally against the spirit of the game and certainly totally against player safety.
“I am just totally against this; World Rugby should act in the next week and say during the World Cup you need three recognised backs on your bench, problem over.
“But the fact is that they, South Africa, are not breaking any rules, but it is a blight on the game that needs to be stopped right now.”
All Blacks have lost aura from embarrassing defeat: Marshall
Former All Blacks captain Justin Marshall has questioned the current side’s leadership and believes the rest of the world will have taken confidence out of their hammering by the Springboks last week.
While the All Blacks have generally had their tails up after Bledisloe successes ahead of recent tournaments, Foster’s side were smashed 35-7 at Twickenham in their final match before their September 8 opener against France.
The defeat has seen a cloud hover over the All Blacks’ chances of claiming a fourth World Cup, with the huge loss coming from nowhere on the eve of the tournament.
Marshall, who will be a commentator for South Africa’s Super Sport for the World Cup, said oppositions would have taken confidence out of the All Blacks’ heavy defeat.
“Every other international side that are looking at the All Blacks… were watching their performance, but they were watching, more importantly, what was frustrating the All Blacks in not allowing them to play. They were gathering information from it,” he said.
“They’re all of a sudden getting confidence that the All Blacks aren’t invincible, they are vulnerable.
“It worried me that there was no counter punch over 80 minutes at all, there was nothing.
“The South Africans actually put us into our shell that much that it’s encouraging for the rest of the world to go, ‘We can shut this team down.’”
Justin Marshall (2nd right) says the All Blacks have lost some aura ahead of the World Cup after they were thumped by the Springboks. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)
Nothing went right for the All Blacks, with their discipline horrible and their physicality missing. Even the side’s experienced playmakers failed to turn the ship around behind a badly beaten pack.
The defeat came after not playing for three weeks, while others had a longer spell on the sidelines after Foster freshened up his squad for their narrow escape against the Wallabies in Dunedin after earlier sealing the Bledisloe Cup in late July.
Marshall said the All Blacks not only were bashed up, but questioned where the leadership within the side was.
“I was really surprised to be honest, mate, that the All Blacks struggled the way they did,” Marshall said on The Platform.
“They pretty much got ambushed by a side that came out super physical, super committed, was massively positive.
“I think I said during the commentary that Siya Kolisi turned down many kicking opportunities to try and accumulate points which sometimes South Africa tend to do to go for more.
“Eventually that led to obviously yellow, red cards, and the All Blacks just not being able to maintain the intensity that South Africa brought to the game.
“We’ve spoken for the last two weeks, three weeks mate that we needed to get our number one side out there, and needed to go out there and flex our muscles and make a statement about intent of Rugby World Cup.
“Credit to Ian Foster he named a full-strength side to a degree but they just weren’t up for it. They just mentally weren’t there and I can’t understand why.”
He added: “Where’s the leadership?”
