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Rugby News Australia: England’s robust defensive work ended the Wallabies hopes of taking the Ella-Mobbs Trophy home at the SCG

by Sports Benches

It was one huge decider to look back from last night at the Sydney Cricket Ground when Australia went head-to-head against England for the series trophy, as they came into the field at 1-1 apiece after England bounced back last Saturday in Brisbane. The away team struck the first blow before they responded to Tom Wright’s TRY from Australia with a one-point lead at half-time, courtesy of Freddie Steward. Although, Australia kept themselves in the hunt within England’s radar thanks to Folau Faingaa off the bench. But at the end of the day, it has to be England when Marcus Smith capitalised a small lead with a wonderful intercept TRY before they tightened their defense that frustrated Australia in the end. The final score on what has been the final ever rugby union match at the SCG – 17-21 – as we look forward to move back to the all-new Allianz Stadium soon next door.

It’s not been the series ending the Wallabies wanted last night during the 3rd and final Test decider v England. Their first-half run wasn’t bad when they took note of the opposition’s ill-discipline thanks to Nick Frost on second row, before they got the ball rolling via his Brumbies team-mate Tom Wright. A few changes off the bench during the second 40, especially when Folau Faingaa kept the Wallabies hopes alive towards stealing the series away from the English. Sadly, they just couldn’t get escape the opposition’s robust defense under pressure while suffering lapses of inconsistency going forward – which led to lost penalties/turnovers. It’s that one huge weakness they need to work ahead of the Rugby Championship beginning with Argentina in a few weeks, even though they have to keep moving without a few key players from the treatment room.

Meanwhile, England retain the series yet again when they have now taken home the Ella-Mobbs Cup, which is the new trophy after the Cook Cup was retired at the end of last year that spanned for 25 years since its series inception back in 1997. They were glad to get away from their own ill-discipline at the beginning & touched down Australia’s inconsistent attack where England showed excellent fightback in the first half. Not only they opened the scoreboard via the three-point penalty goal, but Freddie Steward’s TRY in the 40th minute puts them ahead of Australia by just one point at half-time, 10-11. They later capitalised on their narrow lead with another three-pointer followed by amazing finish from fly-half Marcus Smith, before England put their bodies on the line defensively that stopped Australia from slipping past them in their tracks going into full-time.

As said earlier, the Wallabies are now preparing for the Rugby Championship going into August. These two games in Argentina will be a Stan Sport exclusive since they kick off at 5am AEST our time which is 4pm over there, so it won’t be aired for free as Nine/9Gem tends to broadcast Super Rugby and Wallabies games within here and New Zealand. I don’t know about the away Springboks games at around midnight when Australia last played in South Africa since 2019, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough next year. For now, there’s some Club Rugby to watch before Nine/9Gem airs the Wallabies games again when the Springboks come here at the end of next month.

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Rugby News, Top 3 players from the 3rd Test between Wallabies v England at the Sydney Cricket Ground

by Sports Benches

Courtney Lawes has definitely frustrated & stopped the Wallabies from slipping past his English side last night as skipper on the Blindside (flanker role). His defensive work was outstanding every time the Wallabies tries to get themselves going under pressure before Lawes stepped in & called in his troops to lock the ball up, so they (Wallabies) can’t continue under the referee’s watch. He can also be an excellent support player with so much physicality going forward while calling for cover to ensure that the ball stays with England, which led to winning penalties/advantages off the back of the Wallabies ill-discipline. It led to a sigh of relief when the Wallabies were unable to capitalise going forward, while celebrating the series win at the same time.

Next up is Jack van Poortvliet – who came on for Danny Care at half-back not long before half-time – and he too made an instant impact ever since in the No.21 England shirt. He has a very good talk up when looking at ways to get past the Wallabies while calling out for some support. They were able to keep themselves ahead thanks to the Wallabies messy discipline/play via the advantages & later winning penalties before keeping a close eye in defense to close out this deciding test match – including his TRY assist to his Leicester team-mate Freddie Steward that saw England lead Australia by one point ahead of half-time at 10-11. And like Freddie, he proved that he can translate these premiership-winning skillsets at International level, as JVP put England in a great position on the run home with the series trophy.

Lastly, Tom Wright never stopped running on the right wing, especially when he opened the Wallabies scoring account with Nic White backing up on his way through the TRY zone. A few fresh faces in the 2nd-half kept his side closer within reach of England’s radar – thanks to Folau Faingaa. Unfortunately, he just wished that he gets supported more often where he was being isolated in both attack & defense. It would’ve helped the Wallabies get ahead of England once more & capitalise towards the win they desperately needed.

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Shute Shield returns on free to air next Saturday on 9Gem with three regular rounds left when Manly takes on Warringah

by Sports Benches

We’re very excited to say that Shute Shield will be back on free-to-air with the Week 16 game between Manly v Warringah next Saturday at 3pm on 9Gem. There should be more to come with another two regular season games to finish off before continuing with one Playoffs round in August. They already showed some women’s rugby earlier this season on 9Gem with the Super W competition, as well as the opening Wallaroos match v Fiji.

It’s been a long time coming since club rugby hasn’t been aired on Free TV here in NSW since Stan Sport & the Nine Network replaced Fox Sports & Network 10 as Rugby Australia’s broadcast partner last year under an initial three-year contract, with the option to extend another two years afterwards.

Although Channel 7 was the previous rights holder for these Shute Shield games through a separate deal prior to 2021, but then Rugby Australia brought that product off Club Rugby TV and bundled them up under the one roof ahead of the next broadcast rights deal at the time two years ago.

We can’t wait to see how the business end of this year’s Shute Shield season pans out for those who don’t have the Stan Sport subscription to look back over the last 10-15 weeks. We’re also aware that there was some free-to-air Hospital Cup Rugby on last year on 9Gem via the QLD market alone, while we didn’t get to see that opportunity at all when lockdown in NSW also at the time effectively cancelled the 2021 Shute Shield season without a champion.

But let’s see if some of Nine/Stan’s regular Super Rugby & Wallabies commentary team will be present for these free-to-air club rugby games at the ground.

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Rugby News: Top 3 players from Game 2 last night between Wallabies v England

by Sports Benches

Billy Vunipola was outstanding last night in the No.8 shirt for England at Suncorp Stadium. They definitely did his favours when not only he won them plenty of penalties but he was also destructive in the attack – especially after he ended up being the only tryscorer of the night. The sheer physicality he unpacked throughout the whole time alongside with a couple of his support numbers has definitely caused the Wallabies so much pain from the opposition end. It goes to show that England were well ahead within the winning circle under Vunipola‘s all-round ability to cause damage, as well as looking out defensively on the back row.

Next up is Owen Farrell at inside centre in the No.12 shirt for England. He’s always an excellent kicker towards the goal posts as always thanks to a number of winning penalties. The ill-discipline mistakes made by the Wallabies gave England plenty of ball opportunities going forward with patience before it made Farrell’s life easier to score from his kicking tee. He also has the pace & tackling to track back defensively before covering up the Wallabies as one of the support numbers while his England team build some phases. He continues to be an important presence for England at age 30 alongside his premiership-winning mindset that helped him deliver five titles & three European trophies for Saracens.

And great to see Taniela Tupou back in the Wallabies shirt on the tighthead front row after a while off the pitch from injury. He definitely gave England a huge threat with his packed muscle before Tupou opened the scoring account not long before half-time. Although he may have felt a metre short of the TRY line on when Tupou continued to do some damage, but the Wallabies got themselves through the gate for their second TRY with his assistance in none other than Samu Kerevi. Unfortunately, a lot of ill-discipline cost them plenty of points before it’s too late – especially when they missed a couple of key backline players to the treatment room.

#AUSvENG #Wallabies #England #Rugby #RugbyUnion #SuncorpStadium #InternationalRugby #TanielaTupou #OwenFarrell #BillyVunipola

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A series of lost penalties & ill-discipline has postponed the Wallabies bid to take home the Ella-Mobbs Cup to another week after England’s win last night

by Sports Benches

We are all set for a decider for the Ella-Mobbs trophy now going into the Sydney Cricket Ground next Saturday. England were well ahead with the Billy Vunipola opening TRY alongside a number of three-point penalty conversions into the goalposts. Although, the Wallabies scored two tries in between halves in order to try and stay in this game. However, it’s the messy discipline alongside a couple of missing key players have ultimately let them down. The final score is 17-25 to England as the Wallabies’ will have to wait a bit longer to take the series home, or else it will remain in England’s hands for another year.

It’s not been the night the Wallabies have hoped for in Brisbane. Yes, they got themselves up and running just in between the two halves when Taniela Tupou made a excellent threat with his packed muscle against the English going forward at tighthead (prop). He helped them score two tries on his first game back from injury – including one for himself right before half-time. Sadly, a lot of lost penalties with the ill-discipline cost the Wallabies plenty of points that was slipped away with England’s successive three-point kicks before it’s too late.

And congratulations to England with the win. They got themselves well ahead thanks to the Wallabies poor start with their ill-discipline, as well as their mis-aligned attack where they locked them up defensively. Not only Billy Vunipola was immense with his all-round prowess and execution at 8 but we also saw Owen Farrell’s near-perfect kicks into the goal every time they won penalties closer within the Wallabies danger zone.

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Rugby News, Top 3 players from the 1st Test between Wallabies v England in Perth

by Sports Benches

Samu Kerevi has never looked out of place since he returned to the Wallabies set-up a year ago, even though he currently plies his trade over in Japan for the first few months of the year. His physicality has definitely plowed over the England defense last night – especially in the 2nd half where Kerevi passes, pushes and smashes through so he can call his men to get the job done for him. It’s exactly how the Wallabies took advantage of a tied 1st half spell with England when they rectified their messy passage of play with patience, before these support numbers became more involved going forward made Kerevi’s life easier to execute which led to TRY after TRY, so England can’t catch them with little time remaining.

Next up is Folau Faingaa who made an instant impact off the bench in the 2nd half for Dave Porecki as hooker. He’s destructive as usual at line-out time when Faingaa kept the ball under wraps via the maul before his team-mates him figure out where to go with a bit of space & off he goes to extend the Wallabies winning margin. Speaking of communication, he also kept a great eye as support cover going forward to make sure the Wallabies are on the right track. And can we say that Perth can claim his own now? It’s because he just signed a two-year deal with the Western Force beginning next season. I’m sure a lot of Perth youngsters will look up to him after his amazing spell last night.

And Freddie Steward did well to push as he possibly can for England with very little time remaining at full-back. He’s got youth by his side at age 21 alongside an abundance of pace where he created two late TRY-scoring opportunities off the back of his attacking mindset. We saw him land the TRY assist to Henry Arundell on the far-left short side; A minute later, the ball came to him once again & found another gap where he called Jack Van Poortvilet for his help to finish it off for him that secured another late TRY. Sadly, it was too little, too late when England couldn’t stop the Wallabies in their tracks & fight them back more often like their last minute rebound.

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England’s back-to-back last minute tries just wasn’t enough to derail the Wallabies’ brilliant night with the close loss in Perth

by Sports Benches

It was a really close game to watch that began our new International Rugby season from last night with the first of three Wallabies v England test matches at Optus Stadium in Perth. Both sides went up and down on the pitch through a series of three-point goals between the sticks at 6-6 in the first half. Although England fought back on occasions including two last-minute tries, but it’s the Wallabies who dominated the entire 2nd-half thanks to a few new faces off the bench with a 30-28 win.

So unlucky for England where they fell just short in the end but great game & effort though – especially in the last two minutes of this 1st Test. They fired off really well off the back through a couple of early penalties where England nailed two three-point penalty goals in the 1st half. The fightback is shown there when England later opened their scoring account in the 2nd half. However, a couple of lost penalties and also limited opportunities against the ball isolated the English defense with loads of pressure before it was too late to catch up towards a very small chance of winning v Wallabies.

Speaking of the Wallabies, what a way to go 1-0 up with two Test matches left in a bid to wrap up the Cook Cup series early next Saturday at Suncorp Stadium (Brisbane). Their first half run was all over the place when we saw a messy passage of play going forward off the back of winning penalties/opportunities with the ball, as well as Tom Banks’s forearm injury & Darcy Swain’s red card. Luckily, they fought back right before the break at 6-6 before a few changes off the bench & an improved attacking setup with patience oversaw three straight tries in the 2nd half that changed everything on the up for Australia. Yes, they may have conceded two late tries in the last minute or two by England but it’s still a win nonetheless.

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Rugby News, Thoughts on Folau Faingaa switching teams from the Brumbies to Western Force beginning next year

by Sports Benches

We didn’t see that coming when Folau Faingaa just defected teams from the ACT Brumbies to now the Western Force starting next season on a two-year deal, while remaining with Rugby Australia for Wallaby selection at the same time. He also reunites with a couple of ex-Brumbies who now play their trade in Perth – including Reejan Pasitoa, Bayley Kuenzle, Issak Fines, Kyle Godwin, Toni Pulu, Harry Lloyd & Angus Wagner.

It’s a great sign of ambition being shown there from the WA-based Super Rugby side – who wants to make the most of themselves in the long-term at Super Rugby level – and be a competitive front on the pitch. Plus, it will be great to see Faingaa get the chance to show his full 80 spells ahead of Felati Kaitu’u for the leading hooker position after he always start half-games often, before he was replaced by Lachlan Lonergan every time later during the 2nd half in a Brumbies shirt.

They have came from a long way since their shock axing back in 2018 before COVID changed everything three years ago, and Rugby Australia has came to their rescue once more as the 5th full-time Super Rugby Team here alongside the Melbourne Rebels, ACT Brumbies, NSW Waratahs & Queensland Reds.

From the Super Rugby AU Qualifying Final in 3rd last year to a near Top 8 finish in 9th this season in the Super Rugby Pacific; They’ve gone from strength to strength, having replaced Tim Sampson with one of the emerging coaches from New South Wales in none other than – Simon Cron – as the new head coach.

Not only he knows the NSW Rugby system & talent pool very well like current Tahs head coach Darren Coleman, he also most recently worked with Steve Hansen over the last three years as Director of Rugby at Toyota Verblitz in Japan.

There’s also a talented youngster in Jeremy Williams coming over from the Tahs where he will replace the now-retired Jeremy Thrush on the second row, while they convinced experienced Flanker/Number 8 Michael Wells to move back home from the Rebels.

The best is yet to come when Faingaa’s vast 63-cap Super Rugby and 25-cap Wallaby experience will change the way how the Force executes their throw-ins and driving maul come line-out time.

It could be a game changer under his watch that will provide plenty of competition across the Trans-Tasman in the hope of beating some New Zealand teams, as well as an extended shot via the Playoffs as long as they can finish Top 8 in the regular-season ladder every year.

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Top 3 players from the Blues v Crusaders Game at Eden Park in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific Final

by Sports Benches

The last time Pablo Matera played in a Super Rugby Final was three years ago as runner-up in a Jaguares shirt. He now went one better this year this time with a winning team for the Crusaders – where he simply kept the Blues quiet in all fronts tonight on the blindside flanker role at No.6. His tall build, leadership & physicality gave him an outlook of how the Blues play their rugby before the mistakes began to pile up on their end, as he capitalised on it defensively. Matera can also be dangerous in the attack where he made up two 2nd 40 TRY assists off the back of winning penalties/turnovers/intercepts; One for the opening big score to Bryn Hall and another with the cross kick to Sevu Reece that secured them the Super Rugby Pacific title.

Next up is Richie Mo’unga who has to be the best playmaker out of the No.10s tonight for the Crusaders ahead of Beauden Barrett – his opposite dial over at The Blues. We love how he kickstarted the match with two three-point goals while he sets up the attack with a mix of pace, team-work and passing that requires persistence to get past the Blues through the gate. That is one big area his opponents couldn’t match where the Saders took care of his creative work off the back of winning penalties/turnovers being given to them with the ball, and they managed to get the job done with two 2nd-half tries tonight.

And Dalton Papalii made a huge difference for the Blues off the bench throughout the 2nd half on the openside back row. He too gave the Crusaders some nerves having created a line break going forward with some pace, as well as being the main man cheering them up with the scrum and maul feed. He unpacked all of these attributes when being tested both in attack and defense that gave the Blues a lift thanks to Finlay Christie’s TRY with 20 minutes to go. However, the continuous mistakes limited their attacking chances to get the job done that saw them settle as 2nd best, especially at line-out time where inaccurate throws cost the Blues time after time before it’s too late.

#SuperRugby #Rugby #TheBlues #Crusaders #EdenPark #PabloMatera #RichieMounga #DaltonPapalii #RugbyUnion

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Rugby News, A series of lost chances going forward from the Blues slip away as the Crusaders take home the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific title at Eden Park

by Sports Benches

What a way to wrap up the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific Season on a high at Eden Park with the Blues v Crusaders Final in Auckland, New Zealand. The Crusaders collected two three-point goals with the early lead going into half-time at 0-6, before they extend their winning margin off the back of Bryn Hall’s opening big score. The Blues may have responded to the Saders’ strong start when they were right back in the mix with 20 minutes left, courtesy of Finlay Christie’s TRY. However, they couldn’t find a way to close the gap where a couple of lost chances with the ball forced the Crusaders hand, as Sevu Reece’s TRY in the 76th minute was enough to secure the visitors with the championship, 7-21.

Commiserations to the Blues at home where they had to settle as 2nd best tonight but a fantastic season nonetheless. They got the build-up base going defensively, as well as a couple of fresh faces off the bench that helped them win a couple of penalties/turnovers along the way. They just couldn’t bridge the other end when it comes to the attack/executions; their throw-ins were poor at line-out time that held back time after time before a messy passage of play and a lack of numbers through the channels saw the ball flying over the place. It’s one huge weakness the Blues couldn’t match the Saders top-notch standard in the end.

Meanwhile, it’s good to see the Crusaders on top once again after they topped the regular-season winners tonight that secured another piece of silverware on their trophy cabinet. They didn’t rush anything whatsoever when the Saders kept a great eye on the Blues’ struggles going forward, especially at line-out time that wasn’t theirs to throw-in, as well as their messy attacking shape going forward. That’s how the Saders capitalised with the ball away from the opposition where they can do whatever they want, having scored two second half tries before they reached the finish line comfortably as these celebrations have already just begun – including those supporters watching back home in Christchurch.

After 18 weeks of action through 91 matches being played throughout the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific Season, we now turn our attention to the mid-year International tests – starting with the three-match Wallabies v England tour that begins on Saturday July 2 next month at Optus Stadium in Perth. We also hope to watch a couple of Shute Shield games in a few weeks time via free-to-air on 9Gem, as there’s so much rugby to look forward through the 2nd half of 2022.

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