Winners and losers: June Tests II
There's been top-flight rugby in nearly every continent this weekend, only early-summer Europe has been devoid of international action.
There's been top-flight rugby in nearly every continent this weekend, only early-summer Europe has been devoid of international action.
As befitting the vaguaries of sport, some will have excelled in – and indeed, on – their fields, while others will have watched aghast as chances slipped away or as moments of madness unfolded on the pitches in front of them. We have a sift through the weekend's action and see who's smiling and who's cowering with shame in their hole…
Winners:
1) Ben Youngs – England might just have a new talent in the right place at the right time here. Youngs has made his breakthrough towards the end of the current season, his challenge now is to do it next season as well when everybody knows what he's about. But for now, this is the young man everybody is talking about.
2) Martin Johnson – He's been asked all manner of soul-searching questions this week, never mind the ones he's probably been asking himself. The steely veneer that pervades his presence has been dangerously close to breaking, but he's stuck to his guns and he's managed to get his team to eke out a win in Australia. It's been a good week for Johnno.
3) Namibia – Remember the team that bowed out of the last World Cup having averaged only 7.5 points per game? Know that country just north of South Africa that has a population density of 2.5/sq. km? The rugby team that joined the IRB only in 1990 and only seven years ago was annihilated 142-0 by Australia? Well, that's the one that has just beaten Romania, Scotland A and Georgia to lift the IRB Nations Cup in Romania. Pool D of the 2011 World Cup just got a whole lot more interesting.
4) Nick Mallet – Not one to miss out on a chance for motivation and a spot of hi-jinks, Mallet said he would shave his head if Italy lost to South Africa by fewer than 20 points. They duly did. Mallet was asked if he would indeed take the razor to his noggin, whereupon he replied: “of course. A bet's a bet.” Kudos! We can't wait to see the end result!
5) Andy Robinson – The Scottish revolution is not gathering apace, but step by careful step, it is happening. Robinson and his players garnered the Scots' first-ever tour series victory on Saturday, a 2-0 win in Argentina. He may have been acrimoniously bundled out of England, but Robinson's work in Scotland is something to be proud of.
6) Dan Carter – The man is back! A display of consummate maturity, skill, power, control and pace accounted for Wales on Saturday, the Tri-Nations had better watch out!
7) Matt Giteau – Author of all 20 of Australia's points and an able buffer for the out-of-sorts display from Quade Cooper. Debate rages on about whether Giteau should be fly-half or not, but on this display he has to be in the team somewhere.
Losers:
1) Butch James – Hung out to dry a bit by the lack of match practice and constant bickering over selection, but offering up a cheap yellow card and an aimless display from twelve was not the way to play himself into the reckoning for next year's Rugby World Cup.
2) The Welsh – 25 minutes of domination and not a notable assault on the line to show for it. Two lapses in concentration and suddenly they are two tries down. More than any other touring team this June, the Welsh were exposed for being mentally a yard of the pace on Saturday.
3) Dunedin – A fond farewell to the House of Pain and a classic among international Test arenas. New Zealand Rugby and the city lose out, despite the proclaimed excellence of the new stadium being built for 2011. A roof in Dunedin to keep out the weather? somehow goes against the old tradition doesn't it?
4) The rugby community of Witbank – Given a Test match to make up for no football, yet the Boks were not only picked badly, they played badly, to a small stadium that wasn't even full. It may well be a long time before rugby heads back down that way.
5) Australia's forwards – They had a chance to set the record straight, but the record remains every bit as crooked as the Australian scrums ended most of the time. The learning curve for the green front row shows no sign of flattening soon.
6) Dan Carter – Seriously? After Saturday's display? Well, yes. Apparently two of Carter's three 'Gas Italia' clothing shops are set to close down. It seems that even an iconic best player in the world can't sell things in the current economic climate…
7) Matt Giteau – Again… really? But he played so well… indeed he did, but we couldn't help but also notice that once again, a simple kick went horribly west just when it mattered most. Ah well, even Tiger Woods gets the yips from time to time…