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**truebluefan** · 12-07-2007, 05:01 PM

The increasing flow of leading southern hemisphere players to European clubs may upset the balance of test matches, according to outgoing International Rugby Board president (IRB) Syd Millar.

Traditional rugby powers New Zealand, Australia and South Africa could be weakened by this trend, said Millar who is due to make way for Frenchman Bernard Lapasset on January 1.

"We have New Zealanders and South Africans coming in after the World Cup. That will decimate those strong countries," the 73-year-old Irishman said in an interview posted on the BBC's Web site (BBC - bbc.co.uk homepage - Home of the BBC on the Internet) on Thursday.

"We've got to be very careful we don't upset the balance so they are no longer major countries, competing at the top."

All Blacks Carl Hayman, Chris Jack, Rico Gear and Luke McAlister and South Africa flyhalf Butch James have joined English clubs since the World Cup.

John Smit, who captained the Springboks to victory over England in the World Cup final in Paris in October, and fellow forward Victor Matfield are among a number of southern hemisphere players who have joined French clubs.

The IRB is working on an integrated international calendar to reduce to a minimum the club v country clash over the release of players.

"The money is in Europe," said Millar. "The players themselves would rather be at home, they will tell you that themselves.

"There's a huge attraction in coming to Europe. They don't have to travel, they get well paid and have already claimed their All-Black jersey. We've got to be very careful."

Millar was also concerned about the effect of the exodus from the south on the European nations.

"Clubs should really be developing players. We're denying Irishmen or Englishmen or whoever the opportunity of playing if we bring people in," he said.

"You have the example of the English soccer team. It's a huge problem and we've got to be very careful."

Millar was referring to England's failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 soccer finals, which led many critics to blame the high percentage of foreign players at Premier League clubs.

**truebluefan** · 12-09-2007, 03:24 PM

ROBBIE DEANS'S knock-back from the All Blacks coaching position will be a severe test for a man whose hallmarks have been patience and persistence.

Eight years of toil with the Crusaders, where he has truly stamped himself as Super Rugby's best coach, have meant nothing in terms of trying to land the top job in New Zealand.

The transition to coaching always seemed likely for the long-time Canterbury player who earned five caps for the All Blacks. He coached Canterbury from 1997 to 2000, guiding them to the national title in 1997. With rugby turning professional, he formed a strong association with the Crusaders, initially as manager.

He took over the coaching reins in 2000 and has been in charge ever since, guiding the Crusaders to the play-offs seven times in eight years, winning the title four times and finishing runners-up twice.

In 2001, he was persuaded to become John Mitchell's assistant at the All Blacks, and they formed a powerful partnership, leading the All Blacks to 22 wins from 27 Tests, with one draw.

Importantly, they returned the Bledisloe Cup to New Zealand after a long absence in Australia. But the Wallabies had the final say on the Mitchell-Deans combination when they upset New Zealand in the 2003 World Cup semi-final in Sydney.

The axe came down quickly, and Graham Henry took over.

Deans is very much a players' coach. He has a strong rapport with his squad and his assistants.

His ability to continually reinvent the Crusaders speaks volumes for his rugby brain. He has based much of his success with them around a resolute defensive system with flashes of brilliant attack.

One of the great thinkers on the modern game, the 48-year-old has been at the forefront of the push to have the experimental laws introduced into next year's Super 14.

It will be interesting to see how he now goes about implementing those as the Crusaders search for another Super rugby title.

Don't bet against Deans pulling off another master stroke with the red and blacks. And don't bet against him heading to Australia after the Super 14 to take charge of the Wallabies.

This is a man craving a Test job - one that may come back to haunt the All Blacks in Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup battles, not to mention the World Cup. It may all turn out to be hugely embarrassing to New Zealand rugby.

**truebluefan** · 12-09-2007, 03:25 PM

Wallabies forward Wycliff Palu will return to full training with the NSW Waratahs after police cleared him of any involvement in a nightclub incident which resulted in a patron being injured.

Police have met NSW rugby officials regarding the incident, which occurred in Sydney's west three weeks ago.

No.8 Palu was stood down by the Waratahs this week.

"Wycliff has been treated as a witness only in the police investigation," NSWRU chief executive Jim L'Estrange said in a statement today.

"As a result of the meeting with police I have withdrawn the disciplinary charge against Wycliff and he is free to resume team duties.

"We don't apologise for being decisive because consistency in our approach to disciplinary matters is paramount to our game.

"The good news is that Wycliff has no case to answer and we can get on with the job."

Palu has played 17 Tests for Australia and featured prominently in Australia's failed World Cup campaign this year.

**truebluefan** · 12-09-2007, 03:26 PM

Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie fears grassroots rugby could be neglected if an Australian isn't appointed as the Wallabies coach.

On the same day as Crusaders Super 14 coach Robbie Deans confirmed he would contact Australian officials about the job, McKenzie said such an appointment could place all the focus on the elite level at the expense of development.

"If we think coaching the Wallabies is just about coaching 22 blokes to play on any given weekend, we're selling ourselves short," McKenzie told The Sun-Herald.

"You need to get the rugby community on board and to do that you need to know who the people are, where the influence is and where the politics are at - and that is something local coaches know more about than a foreign coach.

Complete article

**truebluefan** · 12-09-2007, 03:27 PM

New Zealand stamped their mark on the IRB World Sevens series with an emphatic 34-7 win over Fiji in the Cup final at George.

The All Blacks were the defending champions at the south-western Cape coastal town and also the winners from Dubai last weekend in the first leg of the series.

They also defeated Fiji in the final on that occasion, winning 31-21. It was a completely different story on Saturday as the New Zealanders ran in six tries - four in the first half - to down the men from the South Sea islands 34-7.

The Kiwis led 24-0 by the eighth minute after tries by Lote Raikabula, Victor Vito (two) and D.J. Forbes.

Three minutes after the interval the defending champions stretched their lead to 29-0 after a James Kamana try, before the outgunned Fijians finally got on the scoreboard through a converted Neuni Nanuku try.

Israel Dagg finished off the misery for the islanders when he crossed in the 18th minute.

Fiji qualified for the Cup final after a thrilling 21-12 win over hosts South Africa, who again failed to go all the way in their own tournament.

Two late tries by Akuila Nawerecagi and Tomasi Mawi turned around a 12-7 deficit after home town favourite Kabamba Floors had put the South Africans ahead after the restart.

South Africa, while disappointed they didn't get to the final, can count themselves rather fortunate they even made it to the last four after being pushed until after the hooter had sounded to record a quarter-final win over the gutsy Scots.

The men from New Zealand were simply too powerful for the Argentinians in their semi-final, running out comfortable 38-14 winners.

They had earlier beaten the USA 36-0, while the men from South America won through to the semi-finals after defeating Samoa 22-19.

In the other finals on the day, Canada overcame an ever-improving Zimbabwe 31-14 to lift the Shield, while in the Bowl final, Wales triumphed over arch-enemies England 21-19.

And, Kenya's fairytale ride continued after their wonderful showing on Friday when they beat England and Zimbabwe to qualify for the Cup quarter-finals.

On Saturday they lost 24-12 to finalists Fiji, but then beat Scotland and the USA to win the Plate final.

**truebluefan** · 12-14-2007, 06:13 PM

Queensland rugby coach Phil Mooney says the revised Super 14 laws could transform the ailing Reds from wooden spooners into title threats.

The Super 14 competition will adopt a revised version of rugby's Experimental Law Variations for the coming season, with the changes aimed at speeding up the game and promoting the running rugby that has largely gone AWOL at the top level.

Some of the new laws include backlines being five metres back from the scrum, quick throw-ins can go backwards towards a team's goal line and free kicks instead of penalties for all offences other than offside and foul play.

Mooney joined rival coaches last week at the SANZAR conference and believes the changes will not only benefit frustrated fans but the Reds, who are coming off the worst season in Queensland rugby history.

Mooney, who has taken over from Eddie Jones, says the Reds squad is a good fit for the new laws and could become a "dangerous commodity" if the likes of speedster Digby Ioane take full advantage of the predicted open spaces.

"I think it will be a good fit for us. We've got Digby, Chris Latham, Clinton Schifcofske - guys of that ilk are very good from broken play and there will be more of that," Mooney said.

Complete article

**truebluefan** · 12-14-2007, 06:25 PM

The more the Australian Rugby Union continues to deny Robbie Deans is the man it wants to be the next Wallabies coach, the closer the New Zealander is to becoming the first foreigner to coach the national side.

The ARU has again rejected claims it has been head-hunting the Canterbury Crusaders coach while putting the main Australian candidates through an exhaustive interview process. Only now, with Deans having missed out on the All Blacks coaching job to Graham Henry last Friday, is the ARU recognising him as a candidate - as an official late entrant.

Yesterday, the ARU announced Deans had been granted a formal interview set for early this week. The ARU received on expression of interest from Deans on Saturday when the ARU's high performance manager, Pat Howard, telephoned him. The call was made at the request of ARU chairman Peter McGrath following a discussion he had about Deans with chief executive John O'Neill and his deputy, Matt Carroll, earlier that day.

However, while the ARU says it wants to exhaust all avenues to find "the best person for the job", there are deep-rooted concerns among many in Australian rugby that the ARU's process has been anything but clear and fair. Many insiders are asking why the process has taken so long with the five shortlisted applicants - Ewen McKenzie, David Nucifora, Alan Jones, Laurie Fisher and John Muggleton - asked to undergo psychological tests as far back as September before their final interviews with the selection panel on November 9.

Complete article

**truebluefan** · 12-14-2007, 06:26 PM

If some Australians are cringing at the thought of one New Zealander taking over the Wallabies, they should think twice - don't rule out John Mitchell joining Robbie Deans at the helm of the men in gold.

After being overlooked for the All Blacks job Deans is now the frontrunner for the Wallabies position.

He has the coaching credentials if not the birthright for the position and given the unashamed drive by ARU boss John O'Neill to lure Deans across the Tasman, it's hard to see anything but his appointment to the job later this week.

If that pans out as expected the next question will be who does Deans put on his coaching staff?

His old mate and All Blacks boss Mitchell could be top of his hit-list.

Dumped by New Zealand after they led the All Blacks to a 2003 World Cup semi-final loss at the hands of the Wallabies, they have quietly done the business on either side of the Tasman and remained good friends ever since.

Deans has maintained his grip on Super rugby with the Crusaders and Mitchell has made a success of quickly building the new Western Force franchise into a competitive Super 14 outfit.

Complete article

**truebluefan** · 12-14-2007, 06:26 PM

World Cup winning coach Jake White is making the first moves away from rugby with reports in South Africa saying he is about to be made head of marketing for Richmark Holdings, a telecommunications company in Johannesburg.

The Sunday Times said White, who led the Springboks to glory at the World Cup after four years in charge of the national side, wouldn't be lost to rugby entirely but he was keen to pursue what he hoped would be a long career in big business.

Richmark Group chief executive Gavin Varejes, a lifelong sports enthusiast who boasts the biggest collection of sport memorabilia in South Africa, engineered the deal.

Varejes, who is president and founder of SA Rugby Legends, said his motivation to employ White came from a fear of losing him to an offshore role. There have been strong suggestions that White will take over as England coach.

"That would have been terrible. He would have lost the heart of every South African," Varejes told the Sunday Times.

Varejes described White as a "deal-maker" whose skills as a coach were perfectly suited to the business world.

"He knows what makes people tick, he's sharp, a great talker . . . he's the most popular guy in SA right now," said Varejes.

Complete article

**truebluefan** · 12-14-2007, 06:27 PM

A majority of New Zealanders support the reappointment of Graham Henry as All Blacks coach, although he led to the team last month to its worst performance in Rugby World Cup history, a survey shows.

The survey, conducted by URM research and released Tuesday, shows 61 percent of New Zealand approved of the New Zealand Rugby Union's decision last week to reappoint Henry for a two-year term.

Henry became the first All Blacks coach to retain his job after a Rugby World Cup defeat, holding out a challenge for his position from successful Canterbury Crusaders Super 14 coach Robbie Deans.

The URM survey showed support for Henry declined with age. Henry's reappointment was approved by 74 per cent of respondents aged under 30 but only 51 per cent of those over 60.

Opposition to Henry was strongest in Christchurch, Robbie Deans' home town, but 57 per cent of those polled in the South Island city were in favor of Henry's reappointment.

The survey asked respondents to state why they though the All Blacks had lost to France, 20-18, in the tournament quarterfinals.

The main reasons given were the French defence, the referee, the All Blacks' lack of composure in the last 10 minutes and the lack of competitive matches in pool play.