This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with the mixed business end of the season and the storylines in the oft-ignored Nations’ Cup…
Comings and Goings, Hopes and Disappointments, Structures and Restructures…
It’s an odd time of year in rugby, full of conflicting situations when the round-robin sections of the European (and African) leagues and Super Rugby come to an end. For the non-internationals down south, a chance to rest up before some provincial stuff; for some of them, a chance to disappear from view and nurse the disappointment of non-selection for national teams. Up north, similar sentiments, except it’s a chance for a well-earned month of rest before pre-season kicks in, whether international ambitions were dashed or not.
For those in the play-offs, well, it’s the play-offs, yet those with international matches also on the radar will naturally be hoping perhaps just a little more that injury does not strike. Doubtless, too, there’ll be a frisson of envy at those who get to rest up before international season.
International coaches will doubtless be sweating on the fitness of their stars, all the while keeping an eye on those who just missed the cut to make sure the motivation is still there in case of an injury.
And then there’s the contracts. Exits are announced. Culls of squads made. Teams deconstructed and rebuilt, refreshed, reshaped. Coaching tenures end. While some players cruise toward a career zenith, others are unsure where the next adventure will be. If there is to be one.
This end of season has been particularly resonant. The departure of Mark McCall from Saracens really is the end of an age: 15 years at the helm is an astonishing tenure. That it ended without a playoff place – indeed, with a team so renowned for its ability to tough it out being out-toughed in rough conditions at Sandy Park – is a harsh reminder that you don’t always get the exit you wished for.
A similar sentiment applies to James Lowe’s exit from Ireland. One year out from a World Cup, the writing on the wall amounted to 47 words from Leinster and nothing official from the IRFU, with whom Lowe was not on a central contract. The decision looks very much to have been his, with it believed to be unlikely that Andy Farrell would not at least have liked him around as one of his leadership group, even if the pace and strength had begun visibly to wane over the past 12 months.
Newcastle, Sale, Gloucester and Ulster, the former fuelled by banknotes adorned with Red Bull wings and the latter three opting for major surgery, have all cut swathes of squad players as the respective coaches seek to prolong their own tenures after disappointing seasons, with Newcastle signing a phalanx of fresh talent to replace the departed.
Such luxuries are not afforded to Welsh regions, with the Ospreys still unsure of their future beyond next season and having just announced a GBP 1.8m loss this season and with the Scarlets only a little more sure of their continued status.
And what of coaches? Aside from McCall’s voluntary departure not a Prem coach has been ousted from his tracksuit despite a fair bit of disappointment around some of the teams this season, although the lieutenants have had a reshuffle. And of course, Newcastle’s new era will begin with Dan McFarland after the undignified shooing-off of Steve Diamond in October and the stressed exit of Alan Dickens in March. Down Under, the departure of Mike Catt from the Waratahs will doubtless raise a few eyebrows as well as perhaps turning a couple of heads.
But this is the era of the long-term plan on the sidelines. Andy Farrell is under contract for five more years. Tony Brown has a new job ready for him in 17 months’ time, when his current one ends. There haven’t been many coach changes, but there have been a fair few performance director ones, such as Robbie Deans arriving at Harlequins and Nigel Davies at Scarlets.
The future pictures at club, province and Super Rugby level have begun to resolve themselves, with a whiff of next season already strong in the air. But those playoffs now: derby semi-finals in England, an Ireland v South Africa epic in the URC, La Rochelle’s phoenix act in France and New Zealand’s hegemony of the Pacific region already complete. Sit back and enjoy this weekend, but keep eyes on the merry-go-round behind the scenes…
All Blacks: New Zealand Rugby set ‘no later than’ deadline on Dave Rennie decision
The Nations Cup is where the curiosity lies
The hints are already there. A wider England squad, with the potential for a less-than-first team being run in to face Fiji in between England’s matches against South Africa and Argentina. France’s Top 14 Final, which will surely feature Toulouse against someone else, is one week before France are guests of the All Blacks, followed by a visit to Australia.
It’s a nice concept, and Loose Pass may have called this wrong, but it seems a little poor that the opening two rounds of World Rugby’s shiny new thing might be disfigured by squad rotation among the major nations. We’ll see, but with the new, expanded Australia 2027 World Cup hoving into view, the real value in this Test window might be in seeing which of the 12 Tier two Nations shows up this July.
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Uruguay v Georgia and the USA v Portugal are the picks of round one, while the opportunity to see Zimbabwe get into gear ahead of their World Cup appearance, to see Spain continue to climb the ranks, to see Canada continue their renaissance and to see what Tonga and Samoa can bring together from the scattered diaspora is potentially far more fascinating than watching a sub-strength France once again fight gallantly down under or watching Fiji play a home match against Wales in Cardiff and a home match against England in Liverpool. Not to mention the ability of Georgia to overcome the scandal that has wrecked the national team’s reputation.
Weekends full of fixtures and with much of the Nations Cup taking place in American longitudes, lots of it in the small hours. But if you’ve the stamina and the caffeine tolerance, there’ll be a stack of interesting action at tier two this July…