Who’s hot and who’s not: Women’s Sevens steals the Olympic spotlight, All Blacks star returns and TJ Perenara’s departure
Split with USA 7s Ilona Maher and All Blacks TJ Perenara.
It’s time for our Monday wrap of who has their name in lights and who is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons after the weekend.
THEY’RE ON FIRE!
New Zealand Sevens: After the men’s action concluded, it was the women’s turn to take to the field in Paris as their three-day spectacle provided much in terms of entertainment and upsets. Despite some shock results it was, however, one of the favourites who won the gold medal as New Zealand came out on top against Canada in the final. Stacey Waaka, Sarah Hirini and Michaela Blyde et al put on show en route to being crowned back-to-back Olympic Games winners last Tuesday as New Zealand retained the title they won in Tokyo in 2021.
The women’s event: The second of three women’s themed hots this week focusses on the tournament as a whole. Record crowds entered the Stade de France during the competition and they more than got their money’s worth. As mentioned, there were shocks galore as an in-form Australia were stunned by both Canada and USA in their final two games while China were a real surprise package as they impressed throughout. Sevens grabbed the world’s attention and it was wonderful to see such a reaction from not just rugby supporters but also new fans. We now have new role models for youngsters and social media voices as the game’s been given a real shot in the arm after this event.
USA’s big-money pledge: On top of the team’s impressive bronze medal success, the cherry on the cake came afterwards in the tunnel when prominent sports businesswoman Michele Kang pledged the women’s outfit a whopping $4 million dollar donation – $1 million per year – leading up to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. There was one catch, however, as Kang said tongue in cheek that “it was to get you guys to win the gold medal”. Performance coach for USA rugby teams, Phil Greening, told Planet Rugby earlier in the tournament that a medal in Paris would “send ripples through America” and he isn’t wrong. Perhaps this could finally be the springboard for rugby in the USA.
The moment USA women’s 7s team found out they were getting $4 Million donation from Michele Kang 👏🏼
It’s understood Kang wants to see the squad take home gold at the 2028 LA Olympics 🥇
Investment into women’s rugby – we love to see it 🤝🏽 pic.twitter.com/ZpGm0ivnyJ
— Stella Mills l SPORT (@stellamills__) July 31, 2024
Will Jordan’s return: After missing the entirety of the Super Rugby Pacific season, it was fantastic to see the speedster back in action when he made a try-scoring return for Tasman during a pre-season match. Jordan showed no signs of the shoulder injury which has ruled him out since the Rugby World Cup, playing 60 minutes in the 36-7 triumph over Southland. The talented back has now put himself in contention for a Rugby Championship start this weekend and we wouldn’t be against him being thrown straight into the starting team.
Rob Penney gets reprieve: Despite being in charge of the Crusaders’ worst season in living memory, Penney has been retained as the Christchurch-based outfit’s head coach while all his assistants have been reappointed. After a full review of the season, Super Rugby’s most successful side’s chief executive, Colin Mainsbridge, said more than 50 recommendations were made but none of it concerned the coaching staff which means Penney and his backroom team continue in their roles and they have the full support of the Crusaders board and players.
COLD AS ICE!
Henry Slade update: The centre will miss the start of the season after undergoing surgery on an injury sustained while playing for England in the Six Nations. Slade was able to carry on playing for the rest of the season for Exeter and the Red Rose, but he has now gone under the knife. He will therefore miss the start of the Premiership campaign and is a doubt for the November encounters at Twickenham.
Mike Phillips: The former Wales and British & Irish Lions scrum-half has received a 25-month ban from driving after he was found to be three times over the legal alcohol limit. The 41-year-old, who made 94 appearances for his country and also played in five Tests for the Lions, pleaded guilty to driving an Audi A4 on the road with 108 micrograms of alcohol per 100mm of breath. The incident occurred last month and the legal limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100mm of breath.
Australia’s sevens failure: They were arguably favourites for gold in the women’s event but the Aussies were shocked in the semi-finals by Canada, which ended their chances of winning the competition. Australia then led the USA in the bronze match going into the latter stages, but they were left stunned as their opponents went coast-to-coast to snatch the medal away from them. The players were left distraught as they failed to repeat their success from the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Wallabies injuries: Australia’s head coach Joe Schmidt announced his 36-man squad for this year’s Rugby Championship last week and two notable absentees from the group were names of Reds back-row duo Fraser McReight and Liam Wright, who are both sidelined with injuries. McReight will miss the first two matches against the Springboks after having surgery on a thumb injury while Wright is also ruled out after he had an operation on a bicep issue which he sustained against Wales last month.
All Blacks lose TJ: In a blow to Scott Robertson, scrum-half TJ Perenara has decided to exit New Zealand at the end of the season after signing a deal in Japan. The 32-year-old has agreed a three-year contract with Black Rams Tokyo from 2025, which has effectively ended his international career. It will leave the All Blacks short of experience at scrum-half, with the next in line, Cam Roigard, Noah Hotham and Cortez Ratima, only having eight caps between them.
