All Blacks great Jeff Wilson has been accused of an “arrogant” take in the wake of New Zealand’s crushing defeat by South Africa in their final World Cup warm up match.
One of Wilson’s statements on The Breakdown’s summary of the match has gone viral on social media, and angered fans in South Africa.
Wilson told the Sky Sports show that the Springboks couldn’t play better than they did in the record-breaking 35-7 win. The margin surpassed the All Blacks’ previous losing margin – a 21-point loss to Australia in 1999.
Wilson, who played 60 Tests for New Zealand, was looking on the bright side.
“If you think about the success we had against the Springboks at Mount Smart Stadium, it was the fact that we were able to get some momentum and our ability to get over the advantage line,” he said.
“We didn’t get that this game. The great carries that we got from Shannon Frizell, what we got from Scott Barrett… If you look at what we were trying to achieve, that’s the only way to create space.
“The tempo of this game [and] our inability to get over the advantage line… we just weren’t making breaks, we weren’t going forward.
“That didn’t allow Will Jordan to get into the game and as you watched it, the stop-start nature of the affair, the fact that we were down to 14 men, the Springboks didn’t need to overcommit to breakdowns because their defence is exactly what a world-champion defence should look like.
“But the great thing for me is, that’s the best that the Springboks can play, that’s it. We know that we can play so much better, and there’s not another team in this [World Cup] coming forward that we can anticipate can play like that.”
That last sentence was seized upon by non-Kiwis, including former England player turned pundit Andy Goode.
Murray sticks with NRL
Cameron Murray admits he was “annoyed” by constant speculation he would jump ship to rugby union as he revealed Wallabies coach Eddie Jones never came to the table with a concrete contract offer.
Murray, who penned a five-year NRL extension with South Sydney on Monday, said he didn’t entertain leaving the Rabbitohs despite being frequently linked with a code switch to the game he played as a schoolboy.
Jones repeatedly singled the Souths captain out as a target for Rugby Australia, whose heavily-hyped NRL recruitment raid has only yielded the signature of Sydney Roosters prodigy Joseph Suaalii thus far.
Murray effectively closed the door on a cross-code move this week with his new Souths deal keeping him in league until 2028, a year after the Wallabies host the Rugby World Cup.
“I never heard from rugby union, I never spoke to anyone there,” said Murray, who will be 30 by the time his Souths contract expires.
“I’m happy now that my future for the next five years is locked up, I don’t have to keep talking about it, to be honest.
“It got a little bit annoying. But on the one hand, it was a little bit flattering to obviously be in the conversation.
“I guess I’m someone who likes to fly under the radar a little bit and not have their name flying around the headlines too much.”
Cane hopes for bounce back
New Zealand captain Sam Cane hopes their record defeat by South Africa might prove a blessing in disguise ahead of the World Cup in France where they will be one of the favourites.
The All Blacks suffered their heaviest Test defeat in losing 35-7 at Twickenham to the Springboks in a warm-up game on Friday and have since moved onto their training camp in Germany.
“With a couple of days to settle I think we’ll look back and hopefully take the lessons we have from the game and implement them,” Cane told New Zealand television.
“Then I really hope that we can look back and say we’re glad it happened when it did. But only time will tell. It was a horrible feeling on Friday night and the next day.”
Cane suggested he and the rest of the squad would be putting in extra work to make up for the defeat.
“It’s pretty easy to focus on the work, particularly coming off the game we just had at the weekend,” he said.
The All Blacks play the opening game of the World Cup against hosts France in Paris on September 8 and the skipper said anticipation levels were rising.
“I think it’s probably natural. The build-up has been a long time coming. There is a lot riding on it, we know that, but we’re pretty excited by the challenge and we know that anything can happen.
“All our efforts are going into nailing this first game and we’ll reset and continue that path. It’s cool that it’s finally here,” he added.
(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
England can still get through says Monye
Former England wing Ugo Monye has backed the side to progress from their Rugby World Cup pool despite admitting to being “frustrated” with their current form.
The Red Rose went down to a shock defeat to Fiji at Twickenham last weekend, their third loss in four matches, with the pressure mounting ahead of the tournament.
England head coach Steve Borthwick, who replaced now Wallabies boss Eddie Jones, has cut a disappointed figure in the stands and in front of the media after a record of just three wins in his first nine games at the helm, with pundit Monye clearly irked by the form of the side as he believes they are not playing as a team.
“I totally get the frustration, I’m frustrated,” he told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
“I’m seeing a team of 33 individuals, or at the weekend 23 individuals, that aren’t playing to their potential and a gameplan that I don’t think brings the best out in them.”
Indeed, it’s been a poor Rugby World Cup warm-up campaign for England and the sight of empty seats at Twickenham last weekend spoke volumes of their showings.
They must now regroup and get things right on the training field ahead of their Rugby World Cup opener against Pool D rivals Argentina in Marseille on September 9.
They will be without both Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola for that match as the duo serve a suspension, with Monye feeling the team needs to make drastic changes.
“We can talk about stats all we like, but the most gruelling and objective stats we have is games played versus games won and lost and it would be an indication that this current gameplan they have doesn’t quite suit this current trend of how rugby is going or doesn’t suit the squad,” he continued on England’s form.
“I want to see these boys go and deliver what I think they are capable of delivering.
“Has my faith been waivered over the last four weeks? It’s been tested but am I less convinced England will make it out their pool based on what I saw at the weekend? No, I still think they will. And that’s the juxtaposition when you’re talking about England, they haven’t played well and lost three of four matches this summer but I still believe they will be in a World Cup quarter-final.”
Wilson heads north
Harry Wilson, fresh from starring for Brothers in their Hospital Cup Grand Final win over Wests, has left to join a host of fellow Wallabies to play for the Barbarians against Northampton.
The BaaBaas squad, coached by Aus A’s Jason Gilmore, features 11 Wallabies and five players from Japan.
The make of the squad is a win for Eddie Jones, who wanted potential World Cup emergencies playing and in the right time zone.
Barbarian F.C. squad to face Northampton Saints
FORWARDS
Josh Canham (Melbourne Rebels, Australia A)
Harry Johnson-Holmes (NSW Waratahs, Australia )
Kenta Kobayashi (Tokyo Sungoliath)
Tom Lambert (NSW Waratahs, Australia A)
Lachlan Lonergan (ACT Brumbies, Australia)
Faulua Makisi (Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay, Japan)
Shunta Nakamura (Suntory Sungoliath, Japan U20s)
Cadeyrn Neville (ACT Brumbies, Australia)
Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (Melbourne Rebels, Australia)
Kanji Shimokawa (Suntory Sungoliath, Japan)
Lachlan Swinton (NSW Waratahs, Australia)
Sam Talakai (Melbourne Rebels, Australia)
Seru Uru (Queensland Reds, Australia A)
Harry Wilson (Queensland Reds, Australia)
BACKS
Lachie Anderson (Melbourne Rebels, Australia A)
Filipo Daugunu (Queensland Reds, Australia)
Ryan Lonergan (ACT Brumbies, Australia A)
Nicholas McCurran (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo)
James O’Connor (Queensland Reds, Australia)
Hunter Paisami (Queensland Reds, Australia)
Dylan Pietsch (NSW Waratahs, Australia A)
Kaito Shigeno (Toyota Verblitz, Japan)
Taichi Takahashi (Toyota Verblitz, Japan)
Tom Wright (ACT Brumbies, Australia)
Ryohei Yamanaka (Kobelco Kobe Steelers, Japan)
Squads complete
The 33-man sqauds have been locked in for all World Cup nations.
Fifteen of the 20 nations have opted for 19 forwards and 14 backs, with five opting for an 18-15 split.
CLICK HERE TO SEE EVERY SQUAD
(With agencies)
