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Wasps Rugby Discussion / Max Malins looks set to leave Saracens
« on: September 29, 2022, 10:58:57 AM »
From Telegraph today:
Max Malins looks set to leave Saracens for Bristol Bears at the end of the season.
Telegraph Sport understands that the 25-year-old, who has 14 caps for England, has held talks over rejoining Pat Lam at Ashton Gate for the 2023-24 campaign, having spent a successful year there on loan between 2020 and 2021.
A desire for more game time at full-back, his preferred position, is thought to be among the chief motivations for Malins and sources have indicated that he has opted against extending his Saracens contract.
The presence of both Alex Goode and Elliot Daly has made it difficult for Malins to feature at full-back for Saracens. Indeed, he has only started there three times in 2022. In one of those matches, against Worcester, Malins scored four tries.
Just this week, Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, laid out the complications of keeping a squad together under current salary cap constraints and how early business is being done. Next season is the last with the Premiership cap at its current level of £5 million plus up to £1.4m in credits. The ceiling is set to rise again for 2024-25.
“It’s hugely complicated and it’s one of the more difficult puzzles you can do,” McCall explained.
“We had some plus-one contracts the players had signed a while back. In the past, you wouldn’t start to have conversations about what is going to happen this year and the year after until October or November. Those conversations began on day one of pre-season, to be honest, about understanding where people want to be in a year’s time.
“With those are people who have got plus-one contracts on both sides, it was important to know where they were going to be because every decision has an effect on someone else. There will have to be difficult decisions made and we need to be skilful about how we do that.”
It would appear that Malins is a player that McCall has been unable to retain. Given that Charles Piutau is in the last year of his contract, and Ioan Lloyd has chosen to target inside centre as his long-term position, he should have plenty of opportunities in the No 15 shirt for Bristol.
Malins has only started once for England at full-back, against France in the 2021 Six Nations. Since then, the emergence of Freddie Steward caused him to shirt to the wing. His five subsequent Test starts came on the wing, before Malins was dropped for the last match of the 2022 Six Nations in Paris and then missed out on the July tour of Australia.
He has remained prolific at club level, however, and has now scored 19 tries in his last 17 Premiership matches for Saracens. Before that, he enjoyed a fruitful loan spell with Bristol, scoring 18 tries in 19 matches across all competitions after joining Lam’s squad when Saracens were relegated following the salary cap scandal.
Malins and Ben Earl, a fellow Saracens academy graduate, were huge hits at Bristol. At the beginning of last season, Lam praised them for embracing a different playing philosophy.
“Those boys came in to play the Bears way,” said the Bristol director of rugby a year ago. “We didn’t play the Max Malins or the Ben Earl way, they came in and excelled because they got to know what our game was and they got a chance to experience and play it.”
Bristol won the 2020 European Challenge Cup with Malins, a former age-grade fly-half once likened to Beauden Barrett by Mark McCall for his versatility and balanced running, starting at full-back and scoring a try in the final against Toulon.
Bears then topped the table in the regular Premiership season before losing to Harlequins in the play-off semi-final, despite a hat-trick from Malins.
England's fascinating traffic jam of full-backs
The depth that any given country possesses in any given position often seems to rise and fall like waves. A few short years ago, for instance, it felt as though England lacked openside flankers. Now there are about four or five fighting to catch the eye of Eddie Jones.
Full-back is another area that would appear to be at high tide, and Malins looks to have taken the proactive decision to ensure that he is in his preferred position as often as possible.
It will not have been easy to opt against staying at Saracens, his boyhood club, but makes a lot of sense – not least because Malins’ poise and intuition suits Lam’s possession-based approach. That much was apparent during a glittering loan spell.
For the rest of this season, Malins will probably remain on the wing for Saracens as Daly and Goode share the No 15 shirt. This is the compromise he had to make for England since Steward’s emergence, as well.
His high-ball skills and defensive tenacity, especially when chasing kicks, have improved over the past couple of years, and Malins is a veritable try machine at club level. However, he evidently feels more comfortable at full-back – and that is obviously important to him.
Around the Premiership, similar situations are playing out. Northampton Saints, for instance, have both George Furbank and Tommy Freeman. The former started at full-back for England as recently as six months ago in the loss to France.
Furbank is a classy, pacey playmaker. Freeman is England’s incumbent left wing, yet could eventually settle as a full-back and featured there against the Barbarians last summer.
Ali Crossdale switched from Saracens to Wasps in 2021. Tom de Glanville continues to progress at Bath.
London Irish are intent on keeping Henry Arundell at full-back. The Exiles also boast James Stokes and Tom Parton, who is out of contract at the end of this season and has been linked to Saracens.
Leicester Tigers tied down Steward and also have Anthony Watson, one of Jones’ favourites, on their books. The latter enjoys the No 15 jersey.
Back-three roles are interchangeable, of course. Arundell looks set to continue his Test introduction as a wing and will be encouraged to swing off his flank searching for the ball in phase-play, something he is doing for Irish as a full-back anyway.
Adopting a wider perspective on things, Malins joining Bristol would continue one trend of the Premiership’s salary-cap reduction – a redistribution of talent around the league.
Other textbook examples include Saracens losing Vincent Koch to Wasps and Sale Sharks acquiring both Jonny Hill and Tom O’Flaherty from Exeter Chiefs.
Bristol would have to make room in their cap for Malins but, for Premiership officials hoping to make the competition more marketable, these stories are much more preferable than an exodus of peak performers to the Top 14 or Japan.
England supporters benefit, too, because Malins is backing himself to break back into the international reckoning.
Max Malins looks set to leave Saracens for Bristol Bears at the end of the season.
Telegraph Sport understands that the 25-year-old, who has 14 caps for England, has held talks over rejoining Pat Lam at Ashton Gate for the 2023-24 campaign, having spent a successful year there on loan between 2020 and 2021.
A desire for more game time at full-back, his preferred position, is thought to be among the chief motivations for Malins and sources have indicated that he has opted against extending his Saracens contract.
The presence of both Alex Goode and Elliot Daly has made it difficult for Malins to feature at full-back for Saracens. Indeed, he has only started there three times in 2022. In one of those matches, against Worcester, Malins scored four tries.
Just this week, Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, laid out the complications of keeping a squad together under current salary cap constraints and how early business is being done. Next season is the last with the Premiership cap at its current level of £5 million plus up to £1.4m in credits. The ceiling is set to rise again for 2024-25.
“It’s hugely complicated and it’s one of the more difficult puzzles you can do,” McCall explained.
“We had some plus-one contracts the players had signed a while back. In the past, you wouldn’t start to have conversations about what is going to happen this year and the year after until October or November. Those conversations began on day one of pre-season, to be honest, about understanding where people want to be in a year’s time.
“With those are people who have got plus-one contracts on both sides, it was important to know where they were going to be because every decision has an effect on someone else. There will have to be difficult decisions made and we need to be skilful about how we do that.”
It would appear that Malins is a player that McCall has been unable to retain. Given that Charles Piutau is in the last year of his contract, and Ioan Lloyd has chosen to target inside centre as his long-term position, he should have plenty of opportunities in the No 15 shirt for Bristol.
Malins has only started once for England at full-back, against France in the 2021 Six Nations. Since then, the emergence of Freddie Steward caused him to shirt to the wing. His five subsequent Test starts came on the wing, before Malins was dropped for the last match of the 2022 Six Nations in Paris and then missed out on the July tour of Australia.
He has remained prolific at club level, however, and has now scored 19 tries in his last 17 Premiership matches for Saracens. Before that, he enjoyed a fruitful loan spell with Bristol, scoring 18 tries in 19 matches across all competitions after joining Lam’s squad when Saracens were relegated following the salary cap scandal.
Malins and Ben Earl, a fellow Saracens academy graduate, were huge hits at Bristol. At the beginning of last season, Lam praised them for embracing a different playing philosophy.
“Those boys came in to play the Bears way,” said the Bristol director of rugby a year ago. “We didn’t play the Max Malins or the Ben Earl way, they came in and excelled because they got to know what our game was and they got a chance to experience and play it.”
Bristol won the 2020 European Challenge Cup with Malins, a former age-grade fly-half once likened to Beauden Barrett by Mark McCall for his versatility and balanced running, starting at full-back and scoring a try in the final against Toulon.
Bears then topped the table in the regular Premiership season before losing to Harlequins in the play-off semi-final, despite a hat-trick from Malins.
England's fascinating traffic jam of full-backs
The depth that any given country possesses in any given position often seems to rise and fall like waves. A few short years ago, for instance, it felt as though England lacked openside flankers. Now there are about four or five fighting to catch the eye of Eddie Jones.
Full-back is another area that would appear to be at high tide, and Malins looks to have taken the proactive decision to ensure that he is in his preferred position as often as possible.
It will not have been easy to opt against staying at Saracens, his boyhood club, but makes a lot of sense – not least because Malins’ poise and intuition suits Lam’s possession-based approach. That much was apparent during a glittering loan spell.
For the rest of this season, Malins will probably remain on the wing for Saracens as Daly and Goode share the No 15 shirt. This is the compromise he had to make for England since Steward’s emergence, as well.
His high-ball skills and defensive tenacity, especially when chasing kicks, have improved over the past couple of years, and Malins is a veritable try machine at club level. However, he evidently feels more comfortable at full-back – and that is obviously important to him.
Around the Premiership, similar situations are playing out. Northampton Saints, for instance, have both George Furbank and Tommy Freeman. The former started at full-back for England as recently as six months ago in the loss to France.
Furbank is a classy, pacey playmaker. Freeman is England’s incumbent left wing, yet could eventually settle as a full-back and featured there against the Barbarians last summer.
Ali Crossdale switched from Saracens to Wasps in 2021. Tom de Glanville continues to progress at Bath.
London Irish are intent on keeping Henry Arundell at full-back. The Exiles also boast James Stokes and Tom Parton, who is out of contract at the end of this season and has been linked to Saracens.
Leicester Tigers tied down Steward and also have Anthony Watson, one of Jones’ favourites, on their books. The latter enjoys the No 15 jersey.
Back-three roles are interchangeable, of course. Arundell looks set to continue his Test introduction as a wing and will be encouraged to swing off his flank searching for the ball in phase-play, something he is doing for Irish as a full-back anyway.
Adopting a wider perspective on things, Malins joining Bristol would continue one trend of the Premiership’s salary-cap reduction – a redistribution of talent around the league.
Other textbook examples include Saracens losing Vincent Koch to Wasps and Sale Sharks acquiring both Jonny Hill and Tom O’Flaherty from Exeter Chiefs.
Bristol would have to make room in their cap for Malins but, for Premiership officials hoping to make the competition more marketable, these stories are much more preferable than an exodus of peak performers to the Top 14 or Japan.
England supporters benefit, too, because Malins is backing himself to break back into the international reckoning.
2
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Saracens play-off, if they get that far
« on: November 26, 2020, 02:37:24 PM »
Telegraph today
Saracens must navigate a treacherous Championship play-off if they are to bounce straight back from relegation, Telegraph Sport understands.
The Rugby Football Union is set to finalise the league structure for the 2020-21 Championship season within the next fortnight. It is widely accepted that completing a 22-game season is unviable with only one spare weekend in the calendar and so several alternative formats are being explored.
One proposal would be to omit four teams for a single season and to go ahead with an eight-team league, however all 12 teams have commenced stage one of elite training and none has shown any indication of wishing to abstain. That could change depending on which clubs are permitted crowds in the tier system which is announced on Thursday.
An alternative would be for the league to be split into two conferences with the winners meeting in a play-off. As one source said: “There are just too many variables for a 22-game season to be completed with different tier systems, Covid flare-ups, squad sizes and travel restrictions. You would be planning for failure.”
Whatever format is agreed, a play-off is certain to replace the current first-past-the-post system to ensure the best team is assured of promotion, given how likely the season is to be interrupted by cancellations and postponements. That is likely to mean a winner-takes-all match between Saracens and Ealing Trailfinders to decide promotion. While Saracens, with their strong contingent of England stars, would be red-hot favourites to return to the top flight, the play-offs always breed an element of uncertainty.
Both London teams have commenced their pre-season. Ealing recently played Newcastle Falcons while Saracens have arranged three warm-up matches. The other 10 clubs, however, remain stuck in limbo with many players still on furlough. With the season start date fast approaching, they will shortly need to return the players to payroll to recommence contact training and to organise warm-up matches after nine months out of action.
Many Championship clubs first learnt of the January 16 start date from Saracens director Lucy Mercey (nee Wray) in a group conference call.
Several obstacles remain for the competition to go ahead. Full-contact training would require the introduction of testing, which many clubs would find prohibitively expensive without further financial backing from the RFU.
Then there are the logistical challenges of travelling between different Covid tier systems. For instance, would clubs be forced to charter planes to travel to Jersey? The RFU acknowledges multiple conversations are taking place behind the scenes, but answers will be needed quickly.
“We need to take our players off furlough next week if you want to get them ready for January 16,” an insider said. “It is all very well for Saracens and Ealing but our players need to be given time to adapt to contact training and matches. My fear is that we are being considered an afterthought.”
Saracens must navigate a treacherous Championship play-off if they are to bounce straight back from relegation, Telegraph Sport understands.
The Rugby Football Union is set to finalise the league structure for the 2020-21 Championship season within the next fortnight. It is widely accepted that completing a 22-game season is unviable with only one spare weekend in the calendar and so several alternative formats are being explored.
One proposal would be to omit four teams for a single season and to go ahead with an eight-team league, however all 12 teams have commenced stage one of elite training and none has shown any indication of wishing to abstain. That could change depending on which clubs are permitted crowds in the tier system which is announced on Thursday.
An alternative would be for the league to be split into two conferences with the winners meeting in a play-off. As one source said: “There are just too many variables for a 22-game season to be completed with different tier systems, Covid flare-ups, squad sizes and travel restrictions. You would be planning for failure.”
Whatever format is agreed, a play-off is certain to replace the current first-past-the-post system to ensure the best team is assured of promotion, given how likely the season is to be interrupted by cancellations and postponements. That is likely to mean a winner-takes-all match between Saracens and Ealing Trailfinders to decide promotion. While Saracens, with their strong contingent of England stars, would be red-hot favourites to return to the top flight, the play-offs always breed an element of uncertainty.
Both London teams have commenced their pre-season. Ealing recently played Newcastle Falcons while Saracens have arranged three warm-up matches. The other 10 clubs, however, remain stuck in limbo with many players still on furlough. With the season start date fast approaching, they will shortly need to return the players to payroll to recommence contact training and to organise warm-up matches after nine months out of action.
Many Championship clubs first learnt of the January 16 start date from Saracens director Lucy Mercey (nee Wray) in a group conference call.
Several obstacles remain for the competition to go ahead. Full-contact training would require the introduction of testing, which many clubs would find prohibitively expensive without further financial backing from the RFU.
Then there are the logistical challenges of travelling between different Covid tier systems. For instance, would clubs be forced to charter planes to travel to Jersey? The RFU acknowledges multiple conversations are taking place behind the scenes, but answers will be needed quickly.
“We need to take our players off furlough next week if you want to get them ready for January 16,” an insider said. “It is all very well for Saracens and Ealing but our players need to be given time to adapt to contact training and matches. My fear is that we are being considered an afterthought.”
3
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Paul Sackey: 'When I was at Wasps we played hard and partied hard'
« on: October 22, 2020, 03:56:35 PM »
From Telegraph
Former Wasps wing Paul Sackey used to call the club, ‘The Orphanage’. Sackey’s one-time team-mate, lock, Simon Shaw, referred to it as a gathering place ‘for waifs and strays.’ Whatever it was that drew such a disparate band of characters together, from Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards in the management team down to Sackey, Shaw, Lawrence Dallaglio and others, it proved to be one helluva formula for success.
As Wasps head to Twickenham on Saturday to tilt for their first Premiership title since 2008, they could do worse than invoke the spirit of the noughties when the team dominated the club scene, winning two Heineken Cups and four league titles.
Sackey, 40, was a Wasps original even if he did leave for Bedford and London Irish after graduating from the academy in the late nineties. He always knew that he would return to Wasps, which he sees as his spiritual home, and a place he was drawn to despite, or maybe because of, the "horrible" Spartan training facilities in Acton, befitting a down-to-earth side without airs and graces.
A former triallist with Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace, Sackey had to be persuaded to give rugby a try in the first place.
“I hated rugby and had to be dragged down there,” he recalls. “I loved football. I was quick and my teachers felt that suited rugby. I was spotted playing for my school, John Fisher in Purley, at the Rosslyn Park Sevens.”
The eagle-eyed scout was ground-breaking sports agent, Maria Pedro, who already had Jeremy Guscott on her books. She was not averse to ringing up Sackey’s dad, Paul Snr, to tell him that his son was bunking off training.
“Maria was a mentor to me, just wonderful,” said Sackey. “She took me under her wing. It was more like a youth training scheme than an academy. There was only a few of us. You had to muck in and get on with it.”
By the time Sackey returned to the Wasps fold in 2005, the Golden Age was under way.
“We worked hard, played hard and partied hard,” said Sackey. “We came from all different backgrounds. Gats was a great man-manager. He moulded us, treated us all the same, knew when to give you a cuddle, when to encourage you and when to tear a strip off you. There were no egos, Lol [Dallaglio] got a b******ing in front of everyone else, so did I, same as if it were the newest kid. That togetherness can take you a long way.”
Wasps had to scrap their way to the top. There was a "no excuses" mentality. Wasps were ahead of their time in shaping their fitness work to peak for the knockout stages. They used to go to Poland twice a season to use cryotherapy chambers as part of their conditioning programme overseen by Craig White, an arrangement that Gatland was to transfer so successfully to Wales and the Lions.
Wasps knocked Leicester off the top of the domestic perch, winning that 2008 final against them 26-16, a challenge that now presents itself to this generation of players as they set their targets on Exeter Chiefs.
“We never believed we would lose,” said Sackey. “Even in the tightest of corners, Lawrence [Dallaglio] would have us believing that anything was possible. It has been so good to see the way the Wasps boys have picked up this season. Lee [Blackett] has done a brilliant job with them and they have got to go into Saturday’s final with that same mentality.”
Sackey was a distinctive character for Wasps as well as for England, featuring in the 2007 team that got to the World Cup final in Paris and winning 22 caps. There was always a sense of difference about him, from his laid-back air to his part-time car-sourcing business where he would locate high-end vehicles for clients and sell them on. He has sold that business and, as well as property ventures, is pursuing different projects from his north London base. Sackey was a Wasps Ambassador for five years, travelling up to Coventry to help with community clinics and spreading the word.
“It’s taken the club a few years to create a new identity but they’ve done it and Saturday will be a great reward for them,” he said. “I really want them to experience what we did. I’m proud of what we achieved but I’m not selfish about guarding it. I want the next Wasps generation to flourish. Saturday is their chance.”
Former Wasps wing Paul Sackey used to call the club, ‘The Orphanage’. Sackey’s one-time team-mate, lock, Simon Shaw, referred to it as a gathering place ‘for waifs and strays.’ Whatever it was that drew such a disparate band of characters together, from Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards in the management team down to Sackey, Shaw, Lawrence Dallaglio and others, it proved to be one helluva formula for success.
As Wasps head to Twickenham on Saturday to tilt for their first Premiership title since 2008, they could do worse than invoke the spirit of the noughties when the team dominated the club scene, winning two Heineken Cups and four league titles.
Sackey, 40, was a Wasps original even if he did leave for Bedford and London Irish after graduating from the academy in the late nineties. He always knew that he would return to Wasps, which he sees as his spiritual home, and a place he was drawn to despite, or maybe because of, the "horrible" Spartan training facilities in Acton, befitting a down-to-earth side without airs and graces.
A former triallist with Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace, Sackey had to be persuaded to give rugby a try in the first place.
“I hated rugby and had to be dragged down there,” he recalls. “I loved football. I was quick and my teachers felt that suited rugby. I was spotted playing for my school, John Fisher in Purley, at the Rosslyn Park Sevens.”
The eagle-eyed scout was ground-breaking sports agent, Maria Pedro, who already had Jeremy Guscott on her books. She was not averse to ringing up Sackey’s dad, Paul Snr, to tell him that his son was bunking off training.
“Maria was a mentor to me, just wonderful,” said Sackey. “She took me under her wing. It was more like a youth training scheme than an academy. There was only a few of us. You had to muck in and get on with it.”
By the time Sackey returned to the Wasps fold in 2005, the Golden Age was under way.
“We worked hard, played hard and partied hard,” said Sackey. “We came from all different backgrounds. Gats was a great man-manager. He moulded us, treated us all the same, knew when to give you a cuddle, when to encourage you and when to tear a strip off you. There were no egos, Lol [Dallaglio] got a b******ing in front of everyone else, so did I, same as if it were the newest kid. That togetherness can take you a long way.”
Wasps had to scrap their way to the top. There was a "no excuses" mentality. Wasps were ahead of their time in shaping their fitness work to peak for the knockout stages. They used to go to Poland twice a season to use cryotherapy chambers as part of their conditioning programme overseen by Craig White, an arrangement that Gatland was to transfer so successfully to Wales and the Lions.
Wasps knocked Leicester off the top of the domestic perch, winning that 2008 final against them 26-16, a challenge that now presents itself to this generation of players as they set their targets on Exeter Chiefs.
“We never believed we would lose,” said Sackey. “Even in the tightest of corners, Lawrence [Dallaglio] would have us believing that anything was possible. It has been so good to see the way the Wasps boys have picked up this season. Lee [Blackett] has done a brilliant job with them and they have got to go into Saturday’s final with that same mentality.”
Sackey was a distinctive character for Wasps as well as for England, featuring in the 2007 team that got to the World Cup final in Paris and winning 22 caps. There was always a sense of difference about him, from his laid-back air to his part-time car-sourcing business where he would locate high-end vehicles for clients and sell them on. He has sold that business and, as well as property ventures, is pursuing different projects from his north London base. Sackey was a Wasps Ambassador for five years, travelling up to Coventry to help with community clinics and spreading the word.
“It’s taken the club a few years to create a new identity but they’ve done it and Saturday will be a great reward for them,” he said. “I really want them to experience what we did. I’m proud of what we achieved but I’m not selfish about guarding it. I want the next Wasps generation to flourish. Saturday is their chance.”
4
Wasps Rugby Discussion / How to deal with a ref
« on: August 26, 2020, 03:26:31 PM »
From the Telegraph, could we learn from this next time we get CMK?
South Africa ‘complimented referee Jerome Garces on his physical appearance' to get decisions at Rugby World Cup
The book, 'Miracle Men', details how South Africa approached their handling of referees after extensive research
South Africa complimented referee Jerome Garces on his physical appearance in order to receive favourable decisions during last year's Rugby World Cup, a new book into the Springbok's triumphant campaign has revealed.
Rassie Erasmus, then South Africa's head coach and now SA Rugby's director of rugby, launched an extensive study into the mannerisms of all the game's top referees following South Africa's controversial 12-11 defeat to England in November 2018, when Owen Farrell was surprisingly not penalised for a high tackle late in the game.
The book, 'Miracle Men’ written by Lloyd Burnard, examines how Erasmus turned South Africa around in his two years as head coach, with the research that went into understanding the game's leading referees in order to potentially get the rub of the green proving beneficial in Japan. South Africa comfortably defeated England in the final, with Garces on the whistle.
"The research included analysis on how the referees blew games of rugby, from scrummaging to the dark arts at the breakdown and the offside line. But it went much deeper than that," Burnard writes, in an excerpt published by SA Rugby Magazine.
"The level of detail in the refereeing reports included personality traits, all with the hope of finding an edge. The Springboks would role play at team meetings and at training sessions, practising what they would say to the match officials with the research in mind.
"The report compiled on Garces, for example, revealed that he responded well to being complimented on his physical appearance. If the match was fast-paced, the Boks would make a point of praising Garces on his condition and his ability to keep up with the players, hoping to rub him up the right way."
The book also details how South Africa assigned players with individual roles when it came to interacting with Garces. Duane Vermeulen, the player of the match in the final, would raise any concerns, while Springbok captain Siya Kolisi would take a more respectful approach.
Having recognised that Garces favoured sides who showed "a clean set piece" at the scrum and lineout, Springbok hookers Bonga Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx were put in charge of ensuring both areas remained well-structured.
Other notable methods including players bending down to tie a shoelace or resting their hands on their knees when being spoken to by officials, so that referees were taller in that moment than the players they were addressing, with some referees as a result feeling "more powerful or more in control".
South Africa ‘complimented referee Jerome Garces on his physical appearance' to get decisions at Rugby World Cup
The book, 'Miracle Men', details how South Africa approached their handling of referees after extensive research
South Africa complimented referee Jerome Garces on his physical appearance in order to receive favourable decisions during last year's Rugby World Cup, a new book into the Springbok's triumphant campaign has revealed.
Rassie Erasmus, then South Africa's head coach and now SA Rugby's director of rugby, launched an extensive study into the mannerisms of all the game's top referees following South Africa's controversial 12-11 defeat to England in November 2018, when Owen Farrell was surprisingly not penalised for a high tackle late in the game.
The book, 'Miracle Men’ written by Lloyd Burnard, examines how Erasmus turned South Africa around in his two years as head coach, with the research that went into understanding the game's leading referees in order to potentially get the rub of the green proving beneficial in Japan. South Africa comfortably defeated England in the final, with Garces on the whistle.
"The research included analysis on how the referees blew games of rugby, from scrummaging to the dark arts at the breakdown and the offside line. But it went much deeper than that," Burnard writes, in an excerpt published by SA Rugby Magazine.
"The level of detail in the refereeing reports included personality traits, all with the hope of finding an edge. The Springboks would role play at team meetings and at training sessions, practising what they would say to the match officials with the research in mind.
"The report compiled on Garces, for example, revealed that he responded well to being complimented on his physical appearance. If the match was fast-paced, the Boks would make a point of praising Garces on his condition and his ability to keep up with the players, hoping to rub him up the right way."
The book also details how South Africa assigned players with individual roles when it came to interacting with Garces. Duane Vermeulen, the player of the match in the final, would raise any concerns, while Springbok captain Siya Kolisi would take a more respectful approach.
Having recognised that Garces favoured sides who showed "a clean set piece" at the scrum and lineout, Springbok hookers Bonga Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx were put in charge of ensuring both areas remained well-structured.
Other notable methods including players bending down to tie a shoelace or resting their hands on their knees when being spoken to by officials, so that referees were taller in that moment than the players they were addressing, with some referees as a result feeling "more powerful or more in control".
6
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Ross Neal on Coventry Telegraph
« on: March 27, 2020, 09:50:24 AM »
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/rugby/ross-neal-wasps-rugby-seattle-17989898
Perhaps of note, he says of his former team-mates at Wasps "I spoke to a couple of them and they said the actual environment hasn’t changed that much, they’re just winning."
Perhaps of note, he says of his former team-mates at Wasps "I spoke to a couple of them and they said the actual environment hasn’t changed that much, they’re just winning."
7
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Rugbypass
« on: February 22, 2020, 11:15:24 AM »
Anyone know if they have suddenly become VPN aware? Or, perhaps I am being a dimwit. Have a VPN set to Singapore yet getting Geo Blocked, it was working find when I set it up a couple of weeks back.
9
Wasps Rugby Discussion / It was Quins wot did 'em in
« on: January 22, 2020, 11:10:47 AM »
Owen Slot in the Times
Rivals’ dossier aided Saracens fall
Rival clubs were feeding information to Premier Rugby about Saracens’ suspected breaches of the salary cap, helping to put in place the investigation that resulted in the English and European champions being relegated.
Harlequins were one of the clubs that did their own investigations and compiled what The Times has been told was a “huge dossier”. The information was then passed on to Andrew Rogers, the Premier Rugby (PRL) salary cap manager.
The south west London club were working on their dossier towards the end of 2018, which is when PRL began its investigation. Harlequins started searching for information through Companies House, unearthing information about the network of co-investments that Nigel Wray, the then Saracens chairman and owner, had entered into with some of his players.
Harlequins also shared details about alleged property ownership in north London and the St Albans area and about farm ownership in South Africa.
Other clubs were also passing information to Rogers, The Times understands. It was felt that his one-man department was understaffed and could do with all the help he could get.
One of the deals that PRL was advised to investigate was the move by Jim Hamilton, the Scotland lock, from Montpellier to Saracens in 2014. Hamilton chose to go to Saracens despite the interest of other English clubs.
Some of the information that the clubs passed to PRL came second-hand through player agents. At the time, Saracens had a history of cutting agents out of their players’ contract deals, which enraged the agents, who were then happy to pass on their own knowledge of how Saracens were doing their business.
The investigation by PRL finally came to fruition in the ruling last November that Saracens had breached the cap in three successive seasons. They were initially fined £5.36 million and docked 35 points. When it became clear last week that they were set to break the salary cap again this season, they accepted automatic relegation.
Throughout the process, Saracens have worked to keep information of the illegal deals exposed by the PRL investigation out of the public eye.
Many people at PRL want to publish the judgment, but that would require the approval of all the clubs and Darren Childs, the PRL chief executive, said yesterday that Saracens had gone out of their way to prevent it happening.
Two months ago, Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, said that he would like the judgment to be published. However, that is clearly not the official position of the club.
“I would be very keen to look at a more open approach,” Childs said. “But just so we are really clear, there is a specific action by Saracens to tell us not to release. We do not have their consent to release that document and we have that in writing from them.”
Childs also said yesterday that in the unlikely event that Saracens overcome their 35-point deduction to finish in fourth — they are 29 points behind fourth-placed Sale with 14 games to go — they would not be allowed to compete in the play-offs.
“The current thinking is that if they hit top four, they won’t be participating in the play-offs,” Childs said. “The fifth-placed club will take part instead. We are still working through the final details. This is a club that for four years in a row has failed to demonstrate its compliance with the league’s regulations.”
Childs said that the review into PRL’s governance aimed to “make sure nothing like this can ever happen again.” He said: “The only outcome I want to make sure of is [that] we are never in this situation again.”
England rules to be decided
There is no decision yet on whether Saracens players could keep playing for England if they move to a foreign club on loan next season.
The RFU has an agreement that all England players must play for an English club, barring “exceptional circumstances”. “Anything to do with exemptions and exceptional circumstances is a bit hypothetical at this stage,” Bill Sweeney, the RFU chief executive, said. “The first time we need to consider things like that are the autumn internationals.”
Rivals’ dossier aided Saracens fall
Rival clubs were feeding information to Premier Rugby about Saracens’ suspected breaches of the salary cap, helping to put in place the investigation that resulted in the English and European champions being relegated.
Harlequins were one of the clubs that did their own investigations and compiled what The Times has been told was a “huge dossier”. The information was then passed on to Andrew Rogers, the Premier Rugby (PRL) salary cap manager.
The south west London club were working on their dossier towards the end of 2018, which is when PRL began its investigation. Harlequins started searching for information through Companies House, unearthing information about the network of co-investments that Nigel Wray, the then Saracens chairman and owner, had entered into with some of his players.
Harlequins also shared details about alleged property ownership in north London and the St Albans area and about farm ownership in South Africa.
Other clubs were also passing information to Rogers, The Times understands. It was felt that his one-man department was understaffed and could do with all the help he could get.
One of the deals that PRL was advised to investigate was the move by Jim Hamilton, the Scotland lock, from Montpellier to Saracens in 2014. Hamilton chose to go to Saracens despite the interest of other English clubs.
Some of the information that the clubs passed to PRL came second-hand through player agents. At the time, Saracens had a history of cutting agents out of their players’ contract deals, which enraged the agents, who were then happy to pass on their own knowledge of how Saracens were doing their business.
The investigation by PRL finally came to fruition in the ruling last November that Saracens had breached the cap in three successive seasons. They were initially fined £5.36 million and docked 35 points. When it became clear last week that they were set to break the salary cap again this season, they accepted automatic relegation.
Throughout the process, Saracens have worked to keep information of the illegal deals exposed by the PRL investigation out of the public eye.
Many people at PRL want to publish the judgment, but that would require the approval of all the clubs and Darren Childs, the PRL chief executive, said yesterday that Saracens had gone out of their way to prevent it happening.
Two months ago, Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, said that he would like the judgment to be published. However, that is clearly not the official position of the club.
“I would be very keen to look at a more open approach,” Childs said. “But just so we are really clear, there is a specific action by Saracens to tell us not to release. We do not have their consent to release that document and we have that in writing from them.”
Childs also said yesterday that in the unlikely event that Saracens overcome their 35-point deduction to finish in fourth — they are 29 points behind fourth-placed Sale with 14 games to go — they would not be allowed to compete in the play-offs.
“The current thinking is that if they hit top four, they won’t be participating in the play-offs,” Childs said. “The fifth-placed club will take part instead. We are still working through the final details. This is a club that for four years in a row has failed to demonstrate its compliance with the league’s regulations.”
Childs said that the review into PRL’s governance aimed to “make sure nothing like this can ever happen again.” He said: “The only outcome I want to make sure of is [that] we are never in this situation again.”
England rules to be decided
There is no decision yet on whether Saracens players could keep playing for England if they move to a foreign club on loan next season.
The RFU has an agreement that all England players must play for an English club, barring “exceptional circumstances”. “Anything to do with exemptions and exceptional circumstances is a bit hypothetical at this stage,” Bill Sweeney, the RFU chief executive, said. “The first time we need to consider things like that are the autumn internationals.”
11
Wasps Rugby Discussion / ED at 15
« on: November 22, 2019, 03:23:53 PM »
Sarries team for Ospreys, Elliot at 15.
15 Elliot Daly
14 Rotimi Segun
13 Duncan Taylor
12 Brad Barritt ©
11 Alex Lewington
10 Manu Vunipola
9 Tom Whiteley
1 Mako Vunipola
2 Jack Singleton
3 Titi Lamositele
4 Will Skelton
5 George Kruis
6 Nick Isiekwe
7 Ben Earl
8 Jackson Wray
Replacements
16 Jamie George
17 Richard Barrington
18 Josh Ibuanokpe
19 Joel Kpoku
20 Andy Christie
21 Richard Wigglesworth
22 Alex Lozowski
23 Matt Gallagher
15 Elliot Daly
14 Rotimi Segun
13 Duncan Taylor
12 Brad Barritt ©
11 Alex Lewington
10 Manu Vunipola
9 Tom Whiteley
1 Mako Vunipola
2 Jack Singleton
3 Titi Lamositele
4 Will Skelton
5 George Kruis
6 Nick Isiekwe
7 Ben Earl
8 Jackson Wray
Replacements
16 Jamie George
17 Richard Barrington
18 Josh Ibuanokpe
19 Joel Kpoku
20 Andy Christie
21 Richard Wigglesworth
22 Alex Lozowski
23 Matt Gallagher
15
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Well done Bristol
« on: March 01, 2019, 09:52:12 PM »
Done us a favour, hopefully
5 points tomorrow...
5 points tomorrow...
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