With Queenslanders now freezing in low double-digit morning temperatures, Wednesday’s Rugby News has a Wallabies injury list, referee Ben O’Keeffe fancies his chances facing a press pack after a Barry Crocker, non-specific talk about saving Moana from a NZ politician, and some remarkable South African news.

Butcher’s bill for potential Wallabies squad

Tate McDermott scores

ESPN has done a round-up of current potential Wallabies in rehab. Scrum-half Jake Gordon is out for the entire Test season, the halfback confirmed to have ruptured his Achilles tendon in the Waratahs’ season-ending loss to the Force on Saturday night. Big unit lock Will Skelton is also on Australia’s long-term injury list with a ruptured Achilles.

Tate McDermott has finally returned from a long-term hamstring injury.

Reds centre Hunter Paisami could also be out for July after he suffered an injury in Queensland’s win over the Drua on Friday night.

Len Ikitau is well advanced in his return from a shoulder injury that sidelined him earlier in the year.

Queensland No. 13 Josh Flook is off to Benneton in Italy at the end of the season on a two-year deal, but Schmidt may yet include him for the July campaign against Ireland, France and Italy. Flook would then certainly be in contention under Les Kiss, who will replace Schmidt as Wallabies coach from August.

Prop Angus Bell‘s stint with Ulster has finished after the Irish province failed to reach the United Rugby Championship playoffs. Bell had before that made a successful return from a foot injury and started at loosehead prop in Ulster’s European Challenge Cup final defeat by Montpellier.

Coach Joe Schimdt is expected to name a Wallabies squad of around 36 players towards the middle of the month, with players from the Waratahs (why?) and Perth to join a train-on squad in Sydney from next week.

Referee Ben O’Keeffe open to fronting the media after matches

‘Me?’

PlanetRugby reports that NZ referee Ben O’Keeffe is open to fronting the media after matches like coaches and players do and has urged World Rugby to ‘innovate’.

Match officials are often thrown into the spotlight after big games, but they aren’t given the same luxury as the players and coaches in being able to comment on decisions or their performances.

However, O’Keeffe is open to giving it a go, having copped his fair share of criticism throughout his career, particularly during the 2023 Rugby World Cup when he took charge of South Africa’s knockout wins over France and England.

BOK does admit that doing so in the immediate aftermath of a game is perhaps not the best idea, but he believes that doing so after the officials have reviewed the game and their performance would be ideal.

“Coaches get to say what they want to straight after a game,” he said.

“I know that I would have liked to say a few things as well, straight after, but that is probably not the best time for referees to be giving feedback.”

“It’s not until I guess the day after, when I’ve actually gone through the decisions, apart from knowing what happened live in my head, that I need to go through in detail what those decisions I made were. So, to be well informed, I reckon that’s really important. Then, like on Monday or maybe even Tuesday, after we’ve done our full review with the rest of the coaches.”

“The process will be my management staff, and my coaches, in terms of the referee coaches, will get together and try to be aligned. Once we’re aligned, then you know this is the decision that it should have been.”

“On a Tuesday, potentially we could do that, and to stop, I guess a lot of the controversy or the continued discussion that happens throughout the week, what if on Tuesday we could say ‘Yup, hand up, we got that decision wrong, or actually this is the law and this is the reason why we made the decision, this is why the decision is correct. Here are other examples of when it has been correct.’”

Tuesday referee laundry days would also assist Wednesday rugby news editors on fan-run websites.

“So, potentially, what was said in the media or what was said over the weekend is wrong, and I reckon people would love that because people just want to be educated on the game.”

Do they though? Or do people prefer partisan whinging?

Moana Pasifika not dead, merely pining for the fjords

Stuff dot bro dot cuz reports that New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says he has instructed officials to engage with New Zealand Rugby “with urgency” to explore “all possible options” to save the Moana Pasifika rugby franchise.

The Super Rugby team said in April that it would disband at the end of the 2026 campaign, unless new investors could be found.

They played what was expected to be their last match on Saturday, beating second-best Aussie team the ACT Brumbies 21-19 in Canberra.

However, speculation has been driven by Peters that the franchise could be saved, despite liquidators having already been appointed and shareholders voting to wind up the franchise.

Last Wednesday, ahead of the Budget, Peters hinted at “good news” and insisted the club had a “great future”.

Asked if the Government would step in to help, he said no before referring to deputy New Zealand First leader Shane Jones, who added “there’s an appointed time when all will be revealed”.

At the time, Sports Minister Mark Mitchell said he had no clue what Peters or Jones were talking about.

Peters said he indicated to both the Samoan and Tongan Prime Ministers that New Zealand shares Samoa and Tonga’s aspiration that Moana Pasifika can continue to play in future seasons.

Granted a licence in 2021, Moana Pasifika was added to Super Rugby in 2022 and initially had financial support from the New Zealand Government and World Rugby, but that backing dried up.

In April, New Zealand Rugby said they were “saddened” by Moana’s predicament but it later made it clear it would not throw the franchise a financial lifeline.

South African coach accepts result in good grace

Rugby365 reports that BlitzBok coach Philip Snyman said “Australia were deserved winners tonight [Sunday],” after his side suffered a 19-26 defeat to Australia in the men’s sevens final.

“They used their opportunities better in the final and deserved the win – they played very good rugby all tournament long.”

Snyman believes that the TMO call for a forward pass at the end of the match, which disallowed what would have been a try by South Africa to level the scores, was par for the course.

“Sevens is brutal, and so are the margins sometimes. We also had other opportunities, which we did not use. That one pass was not the reason we did not win.”

At time of publication, no 62-minute video has ‘leaked’ of Snyman criticizing the referee.

In a return to regular programming, Rugby365 also reports that The Stormers’ Director of Rugby, John United Rugby Championship, has the shits with World Rugby Law 22, which states that when an attacking player is held up over the tryline, it results in a goal-line drop-out for the defending team.

Previously, this scenario resulted in an attacking five-metre scrum, but the law was changed to reward defending teams for stopping the ball from being grounded.

“That’s the one law in rugby that has to change. I’m not saying that just because it’s against us. I just don’t understand this concept. You do so well, and you’re rewarded with receiving the ball back on your 10-metre line. The old law was much better. If you attack well, [you win a] five-metre scrum.” said Dobson.

Coincidentally, the Stormers are the team most often held up over the tryline in the United Rugby Championship.