Month: September 2024

Argentina head coach Michael Cheika has made two alterations to his starting line-up for their Rugby Championship Test against South Africa in Durban on Saturday.

Despite suffering a 36-20 defeat in the corresponding fixture in Buenos Aires last weekend, Cheika has resist the urge to make mass changes with backline duo Juan Imhoff and Matias Moroni the new faces in the run-on side for the final round encounter.

Imhoff comes in for Lucio Cinti on the left wing while Moroni replaces Matias Orlando at outside centre respectively.

Joining Imhoff in the back three isJuan Cruz Mallia (full-back) and Emiliano Boffelli (right wing), while Moroni will form a midfield partnership with Jeronimo de la Fuente, who starts at inside centre.

Despite an underwhelming performance in Buenos Aires, Cheika has given Gonzalo Bertranou another chance at scrum-half and he is joined in the halfbacks by Santiago Carreras.

No changes to the forwards

In the forwards, Pablo Matera continues at number eight alongside Marcos Kremer and Juan Martin Gonzalez, who start on the flanks, while Tomas Lavanini and Matias Alemanno pack down in the engine room again.

Up front, captain and hooker Julian Montoya is joined by Eduardo Bello and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, who are the starting props.

There are also some changes on the replacements bench with Bautista Delguy coming in to join Tomas Cubelli and Benjamin Urdapilleta as the backline replacements while Mayco Vivas takes over from Thomas Gallo as front-row back-up. Meanwhile, the uncapped Pedro Rubiolo is preferred to Rodrigo Bruni as back-row cover.

Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Pablo Matera, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Augustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Pedro Rubiolo, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 23 Bautista Delguy

Date: Saturday, September 24
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Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 17:05 local (16:05 BST, 15:05 GMT)
Referee: Damon Murphy (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland) & Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Chris Hart (New Zealand)

Ligue 1 side AS Monaco are interested in signing Genoa striker 16-year-old Pietro Pellegri, according to Gianluca di Marzio.

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Juventus are in pole position to land the teenage Italian, and have already begun negotiating a deal worth €20m including bonuses.

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Wales head coach Warren Gatland backs Andy Farrell to take over the reins as the British and Irish Lions head coach in 2025.

Having led the Lions during the 2013, 2017 and 2021 tours to Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, Gatland may have been in the running for a fourth tour after returning as Wales’ head coach. 

However, he instead backed his defence coach in 2013 and 2017, Andy Farrell, to do the job in 2025.

“Only one person for the job”

Farrell‘s record as Ireland’s head coach speaks for itself, having guided the team back to the top of the World Rugby rankings after claiming a historic 2-1 series victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand. They added the scalps of Australia and South Africa in November as they went unbeaten during the Autumn Nations Series. 

Those results leads Gatland to believe that Farrell is the only person for the job.

“If you are picking a Lions coach at the moment, there is only one person that I think is in contention,” Gatland said during a Principality Stadium press conference on Tuesday.

“And he is across the water and living in Dublin at the minute. If you are successful, those opportunities come along.

Gatland’s focus is on Wales

“I hadn’t even thought about that (Lions tour). I am just thinking about the next 10 months,” Gatland added.

“I am well aware of how important the Six Nations and World Cup are next year.

“I don’t plan my pathway. I am a believer of if you are in the right place at the right time, then opportunities come along. What will be, will be.”

Robin McBryde poured cold water over speculation that he would join Wales’ coaching staff earlier this week, and Gatland confirmed that he had not had any discussions with the current coaching support staff so far.

While Wayne Pivac parted ways with the Welsh Rugby Union, his support staff are still on the Union’s payroll. The likes of Stephen Jones, Jonathan Humphreys and Gethin Jenkins all worked alongside Pivac and could continue their roles with Gatland.

“I haven’t spoken to any of the coaches,” he added. 

“There was a review process conducted by the union, and I am going through that process at the moment.

“I’ve got to make sure that I do the right thing and make the best decision for Wales and the team. That’s ongoing at the moment.”

Tough first task

Wales host Ireland in their opening Six Nations match of the new year on February 4, and Gatland sees the positives in facing strong opposition first up.

“It’s probably good, as they are the best team in the world, and rightly so.

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“Getting them first up at home is not the worst thing. It’s a tournament of momentum. You win your first game, and you’ve got a good chance of doing well.

“To get them first up, it’s probably the one game you want at home – playing against the best team where there is probably a bit more pressure on them.

“I think we will be pretty excited about getting ready for the game.

“My upbringing in New Zealand, we always believed if you work hard, you get results.

“That has always been my attitude, never ever afraid to take something on and believe if you do something, you can do something special.

“I wouldn’t be here doing the job unless I thought we were capable of winning things.”

French international central defender Presnel Kimpembe has rejected an approach from Manchester City, according to our colleagues at Paris United.

Guardiola is looking to sign a centre-back this month, but it won’t be the young PSG man, with City’s focus now on Athletic Club’s Aymeric Laporte, with this particular young man’s €65m release clause set to be activated in the coming days by the Citizens.

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Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie says his side need to be better this week against the Springboks if they are to win again after handing the world champions several opportunities last time out at the Adelaide Oval.

Rennie’s side claimed a positive 25-17 win over the Springboks last weekend, partially due to the South Africans being unable to capitalise on their territory during the second quarter of the game.

Crucial win in Adelaide

The triumph was vital after Australia had been blown out of the water by a rampant Argentina side 48-17 only a fortnight before.

The 58-year-old revealed that immediately after his side’s win in Adelaide he was already thinking of how they could go back-to-back against the Springboks.

“The interesting thing is when you win people think it’s relief, and really my thoughts five minutes after the game are how do we win next week,” Rennie said.

“And so the preparation and thinking is going into what our week looks like, how do we make sure that we create edge after a win rather than being satisfied with that.

“We’ve had a really good week of preparation, nice to be working with the same group of guys, and as a group of coaches, we’ve made sure that we’ve bought edge and the leaders have done a great job around driving expectations.

“We know we’re going to need to be better because we gave away a lot of penalties last week, and the Springboks weren’t able to hurt us, especially in our second 20 (minutes).

“They are too good a side for us to give them as many opportunities again.”

The Springboks have made eight changes to their starting line-up, many of which are injury-enforced, with key players Handre Pollard and Lukhanyo Am out for the remainder of the Rugby Championship.

Springbok depth

However, Rennie is under no illusions about the depth of the South African side and insists his team need to be better to claim the win in Sydney this weekend.

“The depth in the Springboks is phenomenal,” he said.

“They’ve made changes, I’d imagine some based on form and some based on injury, we’ve been through that as well and you just focus on who you’ve got and you get on with it.

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“What we know is that it’s still a quality Springboks side, there’s a little bit of youth and energy included, so we’re well aware of the threat they pose.”

 

L’Équipe report today that Lille had given Ibrahim Amadou the ok to join Crystal Palace on a loan with obligation to buy deal worth over €15m, thus the Ligue 1 side’s captain travelled to London last night.

There he underwent a medical with Crystal Palace, with the aim of finding an agreement before midnight. But Lille remained inflexible vis-à-vis a departure, with manager Christophe Galtier demanding that no players be sold so that he can focus all their resources on remaining in Ligue 1.

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Veteran Wallaby Kurtley Beale is raring to go after being recalled to the squad by coach Dave Rennie for the final two rounds of the Rugby Championship.

Beale had been sidelined for six months following a hamstring injury while playing for Racing 92 but has now recovered and is back up to “top speed”.

Aiming for fourth World Cup

The utility back has recently signed for the Waratahs, aiding his chances of selection as he builds to a possible fourth World Cup appearance at next year’s showpiece event.

The 95-Test star is looking to rub his experience off on the Wallabies squad as they look to find some consistency in the 2022 Test season.

“I’m feeling good and am back to top speed now and and feel ready; I’m really excited to be back with the group,” said Beale.

“I feel ready now and if given an opportunity I’ll make sure that I put my best foot forward but if not, then I’ll just keep grinding away helping around the team and make the 23 who are selected are ready to go.

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“I’m keen to rub off on my experience on the group and try to help out the guys as much as I can to get the results we want.”

Beale offers incredible versatility across most of the backline, but his immediate target is to be physically ready for Test match intensity regardless of where he might play.

“I guess my versatility helps me … but I think in this group it will be in the outside backs, fullback, I’m assuming.

“The key message for me from David is to make sure that I’m sharp – pretty straight and simple.

“He wants me to make sure that I’ve got the speed, the agility that I once had and after a long injury, it’s important that I’m I’m confident in my ability to be able to display that.”

All to play for

The Rugby Championship is wide open heading into the Bledisloe Cup, with all teams having a chance to claim the title in the final two rounds.

The Wallabies are looking to win the Bledisloe for the first time since 2002, and Beale believes this squad has what it takes to topple the All Blacks.

“Absolutely and we feel that we can get the job done,” he said.

“We’ve got to respect the ABs – they’re a great team – but we have to go out with full belief.

“After South Africa there’s been a lot of constructive criticism and harsh conversations but they’re ones that will allow us to make sure we have our own backyard sorted to bounce back.”

The first Bledisloe Test is in Melbourne on Thursday next week before the final clash at Eden Park.

Speaking to RMC, St Étienne full-back Mathieu Debuchy discussed his difficult time at Arsenal.

“I would have liked to have left Arsenal earlier and to have played for a different club… There were moments when I was angry with the manager. There was an approach from Manchester United and he did not want me to leave.”

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Italian speedster Monty Ioane has signed for the Melbourne Rebels ahead of the 2022/23 Super Rugby Pacific season.

Ioane, born in Australia, announced his return to his home country after agreeing to mutually terminate his contract with United Rugby Championship club Benetton due to mental health issues earlier this month.

Full circle

The elusive runner has represented Italy on 14 occasions during his time in Europe but is happy to return to Melbourne, where his love for rugby was born.

“Growing up in a strong rugby family, Melbourne was where my love for the game first began,” said Ioane.

“It’s honestly a dream to return back home and represent my city at the highest level now. I never thought the opportunity would arise but here I am today and it’s one of the most exciting moments of my playing career. I can’t wait for the opportunity to push my case and run out onto AAMI Park wearing a Rebels jersey.”

Ioane was impressed with how the pathways in Melbourne have developed since he played junior rugby in the region years ago and is looking forward to representing them on the field.

“Looking back on my time in juniors, I’ve had some great memories playing for Endeavour Hills, especially from under-12’s when I was captain and we ended up winning the grand final against Northcote,” he explained.

“When I started my junior rugby here, it was tough, but looking forward to where Melbourne has come with rugby now and the pathways available, it’s honestly incredible.

“Having homegrown players playing for the Rebels is special and as a Victorian, I have great pride seeing the opportunities created for the kids, that next generation, and giving them something to dream of and pursue.”

Exciting times

Rebels general manager of rugby Nick Stiles echoed Ioane’s sentiment and is looking forward to seeing the local star run out in Rebels colours.

“It’s great to have such a quality talent, and person like Monty join the Melbourne Rebels,” Stiles said.

“After growing up playing in the Victorian rugby community, it’s been fantastic to see Monty’s pride in the growth of rugby in our state and the opportunities that are now available for young, hungry, and talented Victorian players.

“Monty will obviously be a valuable addition on the field, but off it, he’ll bring great value mentoring our next generation of Victorian Rebels and showing them what it takes to develop into a successful Test player.

“It’s a really exciting time for Victorian rugby. We’ve just had the senior and junior grand finals, Melbourne’s hosting a Bledisloe match for the first time since 2010 with five Rebels pushing for selection and next week, we’ll be hosting the inaugural Victorian Cup Series which will see our state’s best club players receiving the opportunity to test themselves against Super Rugby competition and compete for a spot on the Rebels tour of Japan.”

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31-year-old Rennes midfielder Yoann Gourcuff is angling for a summer move to Qatar when his current contract expires at the end of the season, according to Ouest France.

A source contacted by the regional daily went as far as to suggest that it is “Qatar or nothing,” with the former French international then supposedly willing to end his career at the end of this campaign if a move to the 2022 World Cup host country fails to transpire.

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