Loose Pass: Bring on the Rugby World Cup
This week we will mostly be talking about the way the World Cup could pan out, communication issues, when to go and a word on tackles…
Imagine if…
This has been a pretty classic November. It’s been laced with controversy, there’s been high-scoring open games, defensive games, bruising classics, surprises and near misses. It’s had everything. 12 months out from the World Cup, the buzz around the game has never been more active.
Not that all of it is positive. We’re still no closer to getting the TMO right, nor is the financial landscape healthy from top to bottom. But rugby fans the world over, from the most passive to the most active observer, have had much to chew on from the last four weeks. That can only be a good thing as Japan 2019 looms large.
It’s hard to get away from the notion that the order has irreversibly changed. It may take Australia and France another generation to emerge from their current slumps, while Ireland, and possibly Wales, may not have generations like their current ones for a long time.
England are competitive again – and who knows how competitive they might be if all their players were fit at the same time – while South Africa aren’t far away even if they didn’t get the results they wanted. New Zealand are still damn good, but they are being caught. For the first time in a few years we can genuinely wonder if they really are still the best or not.
Scotland and Argentina are both still banana skins for any team on their day, and that epithet now applies to a whole host of countries emerging from tier two. Japan – with previous – have beaten England over a half of rugby and will presumably be better-conditioned in their home arenas. Fiji – also with previous – have a team that could damage anyone again but this time a game to match.
If Samoa are disappointing, Georgia certainly are not. As only two teams can qualify from each group, the potential is there for a World Cup of upsets.
For example, while Ireland are virtual certainties to wrap up Pool A, the runners-up could be Scotland or Japan, or even Samoa were the latter to get their act together. And while New Zealand and South Africa will take Pool B, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for the Boks to cause an upset, setting up and Ireland-All Blacks quarter-final.
Meanwhile, although it is hard to see past England from Pool C, you’d suspect Argentina have the run on France, while Pool D is possibly the most open of all. With the emergence of Fiji, it’s no longer guaranteed that either of Wales or Australia have a free run. Wales first and Fiji second? Wales the Argentina and England v Fiji in the quarters?
That sort of scenario also has high potential for a quarter-final quartet of one southern hemisphere nation along with England, Ireland and Wales, one colonial semi-final and one Celtic.
England-Ireland in the final? England-Wales? The fans’ choice: Ireland v New Zealand is most definitely on. But it’s by no means guaranteed. We’ve said it before but it just keeps getting more obvious and exciting: this World Cup is the most open there’s been.
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A flea in his ear
Fascinating scene during the South Africa defeat to Wales, as one physio comes on to treat Duane Vermeulen and then shoves his earpiece in Vermeulen’s ear.
World Rugby regulations state that players may not wear communication devices during a match, but the regulation, for what must be deafeningly obvious reasons, does not talk about communications for short lengths of time.
Vermeulen has gone on the record – which is Twitter these days – to explain that he wanted to tell Rassie Erasmus about a shoulder dislocation he had suffered in the first-half. Which is sort of OK, but it absolutely begs the question: why could he not inform the qualified doctor standing next to him rather than insisting on telling Rassie personally?
Chances are slim of Vermeulen having the book thrown at him, and what player doesn’t want to get instruction from his coach at critical moments (it was just before Dan Biggar fired Wales two scores ahead). But we’re fascinated to see if there’s not a tiny rewrite of the regulations pertaining to communication devices and what have you in the wake of this one.
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The right time to announce an exit
It’s not going to affect the record of his tenure as a coach, but we’re intrigued by the timing of the announcement for the handing over of the baton from Joe Schmidt to Andy Farrell as Ireland coach after the World Cup – just as we are fascinated for the reasons behind it.
We’re told and can observe so often that media speculation is to be ignored, that it is just noise. We’re also given to great confidence in succession plans that unions often have these days.
But for every team that manages a coaching change well in advance in the right way, there are others who simply find their rhythm disrupted. Maybe it’s extra input from the chosen successor coming too early, or maybe it’s a small per cent reduction in intensity from the predecessor as he mentally shuts down.
A World Cup would surely put paid to any sign of the latter if all runs smoothly, but if Ireland fall at the World Cup hurdle, or even show signs of getting it wrong in the interim, does the mental intensity stay to get it right? Does the knowledge that one is going to walk away anyway result in a handing over of responsibility to players early, a more relaxed attitude of having done what needs to be done and a more peaceful management of the swansong? Does the limited timespan affect the planning thinking for the fixes?
Anyone associated with Ireland might feel it unlikely, but we can’t help but think that in this case, with Ireland finally having cracked the mantle of the ‘best in the world’ after years of hammering at it, that a maintenance of status quo and mic drop exit might have been better for the team in this instance. But ignore this if you like, it’s just media speculation…
Quote of the week
“Owen doesn’t try to tackle outside of the laws so he’ll keep on working on that.” – Eddie Jones after Owen quite clearly – again – tackled out of the laws and got away with it.
Loose Pass compiled by Lawrence Nolan