South Africa 42 England 6
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South Africa have hit form at the exactly right time as they humbled England 42-6.
South Africa led 20-6 at halftime and went on with it after the break running away with a 42-6 win against an English side with no answers.
The Springboks scored 6 tries to nil to complete the humiliation for England.
England 39 defeat Pacific Islanders 13
England under new coach Martin Johnston were too strong for the Pacific Islanders running out 39-13 victors in a five tries to one victory.
The new star of English Rugby Danny Cipriani was a star in only his second test with a try and 14 points off the boot for a personal tally of 19 points. His performance will go some way to reassuring England that life may still exist after Jonny Wilkinson.
The Pacific Islanders were no easy-beats and pushed the English on many occasions but the English side had too much firepower and match fitness in the end.
Jonny Wilkinson out with knee dislocation
The injury curse that has befallen Jonny Wilkinson since the 2003 Rugby World Cup continued overnight as Wilkinson was again struck with a nasty injury. This time it was a dislocated knee in the match against Gloucester as his team lost 39-23.
Wilkinson who has been totally luckless in recent years will almost certainly be ruled out of the upcoming tests for England and once again his career goes into an extended hiatus.
The new focus of attention in England, Wasps Daniel Cipriani is most likely set to take Wilkinson’s place for England in the upcoming internationals. The loss of Wilkinson for Newcastle is a major blow as they are likely to continue to struggle without him in their side.
Could Rugby have a World Series?
Reports from the Daily Mail in the UK have claimed the IRB are looking at organsing a Rugby World Series that would occur every two years.
The World Series would start as a round robin as part of the Six Nations and the current Tri-Nations teams including Argentina with results counting towards the World Series. Tests between the hemisphere’s rugby teams would continue to take place between June and November.
The top two teams would play-off every two years, most likely at the new Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000 people where the winner could take over in excess of AUD $20 million.
Chances are any plans of getting this up and running before the next World Cup would be unlikely but if the IRB can get all the Union’s on board then it could start by 2010.
IRB World Rankings
South Africa have reclaimed the second spot on the IRB World Rankings after their win over Australia 53-8 in Johannesburg. Australia can reclaim second spot with a win against New Zealand in Brisbane.
No other changes occured in the Top 10 due to a lack of international rugby matches.
The list of the top 10 are below;
New Zealand
Australia
South Africa
Argentina
England
Wales
France
Ireland
Scotland
Italy
Rugby Poll: Best Openside Flanker
The Ruck and Maul’s Rugby Poll on who our visitors think is the best openside flanker in the game at the moment is doing showing a clear win to Richie McCaw.
RIchie McCaw is widely hailed the best flanker in the game and it seems our visitors have no doubt McCaw is the best in the game. At the time of writing this article we have had 37 votes, with Richie McCaw scoring 50%, George Smith 22%, Schalk Burger 11% and Other 8%.
If you have not voted yet, vote now before our next new Poll starts. This Poll will stay open on our Polls page for a while to allow visitors to keep voting should they wish to nominate their favourite openside flanker in world Rugby.
England hatch plan to develop local talent
England have developed a plan to maintain the ongoing development of local players at the expense of imported talent in a sign that the English administration are gravely concerned about the influx of foreign players.
Southern hemisphere players have started flocking into the Guinness Premiership, French Top 14 and Magners League with the 2008-09 season set to be the biggest yet. English Rugby are concerned that the increase in players from overseas could send the local competition heading in the same direction as Premier League Football.
To combat this the English adminstration will provide 16 million pounds of rewards and incentives to teams that limit the influx of foriegn players. Rob Andrew, the director of elite rugby in England, who unveiled the scheme indicated that the current mix was about 65% English to 35% foreign and that for the good of English Rugby it should stay this way.
Starting in the 2009-10 season the RFU will offer 210,000 pounds to each club that throughout the year maintains an average of least 14 of their 22 man squad as English players. The incentive increases towards 300,000 pounds depending upon the level that clubs exceed the minimum requirements.
IRB World Rugby Rankings
The IRB latest world ranking’s have been a major blow to the South African Springboks as they have dropped from No 1. at ths start of the year to No 3. behind the New Zealand All Blacks and Australian Wallabies.
South Africa have had a horror Rugby Tri-Nations series while Australia have improved dramatically after being fourth at the start of the Rugby Tri-Nations series.
The list of the top 10 are below;
New Zealand
Australia
South Africa
Argentina
England
Wales
France
Ireland
Scotland
Italy
Rugby Poll: Best Openside Flanker
The Ruck and Maul’s new Rugby Poll is on the best openside flanker in world rugby. Every year the question is posted, who is the best openside flanker?
More often than not it has been Richie McCaw in recent years but Australian’s George Smith and Phil Waugh have shown they are more than capable of going toe to toe with the All Black captain.
Let’s not forget Schalk Burger from the Springboks, Burger has been sensational since he came onto the scene and is as tough as nails which is a key attrbute of a world class openside flanker.
Even Lewis Moody has delivered at the highest stage for the English team and earnt the tag Mad Dog Moody in the process. So who is the best openside flanker in world rugby?
Vote in The Ruck and Maul Poll and share your thoughts in our comments section. Do you have a favourite openside flanker not on the poll, share what makes them the best in the world at their craft.
Top 10 International Rugby Appearances
The recent appearance of Percy Montgomery in his record making 100th international appearance for the Springboks got me thinking of all time record appearances for international teams.
Below is the top 10 players who have made the most international appearances for their country.
139 - George Gregan (Australia 1994-2007)
118 - Fabien Pelous (France 1995-2007)
114 - Jason Leonard (England 1990-2004)
111 - Philippe Sella (France 1982-1995)
102 - Stephen Larkham (Australia 1996-2007)
102 - David Campese (Australia 1982-1996)
101 - Alessandro Troncon (Italy 1994-2007)
100 - Gareth Thomas (Wales 1995-2007)
100 - Percy Montgomery (South Africa 1997-Current)
98 - Raphael Ibanez (France 1996-2007)
A number of players in the above list signed off at the last Rugby World Cup such as George Gregan and Fabian Pelous. Both sit at the top of the list. The most capped players list is likely to be re-written in coming years as the amount of internationals played now is much higher than even a few years ago. Stars such as George Smith for the Wallabies will blow these records away providing he maintains his fitness and current form.