Lawes says Kiwis will know all about him come full-time
COURTNEY Lawes vows that New Zealand will be able to fully identify England’s players by the end of today’s World Cup semi-final in Yokohama.
All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick was on Monday forced to recall the moment he said “Michael Laws” when he was asked which of Stuart Lancaster’s 2014 tourists were known to him.
Michael Laws is a Kiwi politician and former Mayor of Whanganui and Retallick’s failure to correctly name a single England player was perceived as a slight at the time.
Courtney – who Retallick was intending to name drop – insists there will be no confusion over identities once battle at International Stadium Yokohama commences.
“If they don’t know, then they will tomorrow, it’s just one of those things mate! We will just get on with it,” Lawes said.
Retallick went on to be crowned world player of the year just months after making the gaff and he was visibly annoyed when asked to relive a moment that saw him propelled into the headlines.
“Is that supposed to be humorous? I made a mistake, called them the wrong name, the name of a New Zealand politician. Good on you,” Retallick said.
“We have great respect for all the rugby players out there. We know who they are and we know what they’re about. We look into every opponent going into the weekend.”
The perception has long been that European rugby makes few waves on the other side of the equator with the Six Nations regarded as a second-rate competition, while the Gallagher Premiership barely registers at all.
Lawes admires the All Blacks but insists that England also bristle with power as a titanic clash between the packs awaits.
“We’re excited. None of us have played in a semi-final before, it’s a challenge but we’re very excited to get out there,” Lawes said.
“They have gone with a pretty big pack. That’s fine with us. We are used to that. In terms of the lineout, Scott Barrett is a good jumper.
“He’s normally a second-row forward and not a flanker, but we have addressed that and have the callers and jumpers to deal with it.
“They have a great pack and have a lot of great players across the board – but so do we. We have two of the best packs in the world going up against each other.
“It’s a massive occasion and we want to win – we have to win.”
Full-back Elliot Daly admits England face a deadly back three but is ready to meet the challenge head on.
“If you look around the game at the moment, the best teams in the world have exciting back threes,” Daly said. “They’ve got Beauden Barrett at the back who is pretty experienced and George Bridge has come in and done really well for them. Sevu Reece as well.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge. We haven’t played against two of them before so it will be interesting. We are excited for what could come our way.”
Meanwhile, New Zealand assistant coach Ian Foster admits the All Blacks are not invulnerable in their pursuit of ongoing global domination.
New Zealand have not lost a match in the tournament since 2007 and Foster, who is expected to eventually take over from head coach Steve Hansen, concedes that remaining at the pinnacle of the game creates its own pressure.
“It has always been one of the great challenges of sport - how you keep growing the group that is performing well?” Foster said.
“I guess that’s part of the All
Blacks story and we feel pressure to keep writing that.
“We know the expectations and pressure upon us every time we play. It’s a matter of getting used to that. We don’t always get it right.”
There are growing concerns in New Zealand over the alarming decline in the number of boys playing the game in secondary school, leaving prop Joe Moody to conclude that the All Blacks have a duty to entertain as well as win at International Stadium Yokohama.
“There is a lot less people playing rugby through school. There’s probably too much Playstation and soccer being played,” Moody said.
“If we can put out a decent show out there against England and through all of the games we play and make it somewhat attractive for the younger generation, that would be great.”
WALES star Jonathan Davies has admitted that he feared the worst after suffering a knee injury that stalled his World Cup campaign.
Davies will line up against semifinal opponents South Africa on Sunday following a successful fight back to fitness.
He was hurt during the pool victory over Fiji 16 days ago, and missed Wales’ tense quarter-final success against France.
Scarlets centre Davies was ruled out of the entire 2015 World Cup because of a knee ligament injury sustained while playing in France for Clermont Auvergne.
“I trained fully on Wednesday and there was no reaction, so it’s so far, so good,” he said.
“I am confident in it, and I was just glad the scans came back all clear and I’ve been able to push on and get back fit.
“It was sore when he [Wales doctor] was testing it [during the Fiji game], and I did fear the worst, to be honest.
“I would like to think I know my own body quite well, and I did have a bad feeling. Thankfully, I don’t know it too well! It was good news with the scan.
“On the morning of the [France] game, me and Prav [Wales’ national medical manager Prav Mathema] did a few drills to see if I could get
GIVEN a home tie in the first round of the Scottish Cup, the holders would invariably be favourites. But a lot has changed in the domestic game since Ayr won that trophy as well as the league championship in the last campaign, and they will be underdogs at Millbrae this afternoon against a Marr side who are the only undefeated club in this season’s Premiership.
With much of the squad who swept all before them last season having signed up for the Ayrshire Bulls Super 6 franchise, Ayr have had to regroup, and currently sit sixth in National One. They know the derby will be their toughest challenge to date, but assistant coach Stephen Adair – who played for both clubs during a successful career as a hooker – takes heart from the improvements he has seen his players make in recent weeks.
“During my playing days I loved being part of Ayr match-day squads, and we are keen to instil that camaraderie in the young boys who are coming through in the club XV just now,” said the 32-year-old, who only hung up his boots as a Marr player in the summer. “Having been at Marr and seen their results this season to date we know they have some good players, but so do we and the newer players to this level of rugby will get a real buzz playing in front of a big home crowd.
“Nothing beats playing, but seeing young guys working hard and improving every week gives you a great buzz too. The pack has come on massively in recent weeks and they are always up for a challenge. We know that if the boys can put in an 80-minute performance then we will definitely be in this cup tie.”
Besides the local rivalry, the incentive for Marr is to return to winning ways after losing their 100-per-cent Premiership record last week in a home draw with Edinburgh Accies.
“We have high standards in our team,” lock Fraser Grant said. “We want to be the best club side in Scotland, and to do that we have to be able to put our stamp on games like this, but rest assured, Ayr will be up for it.”
Accies, meanwhile, are officially at home for the first time this season but, as redevelopment continues at Raeburn Place, they are hosting Musselburgh at New Field, Edinburgh Academy’s ground. Boroughmuir are also home from home against Jed-Forest as, with Meggetland unavailable, the tie will go ahead down the road at Myreside. Like Ayr, Boroughmuir have lost some of their club stalwarts to their Super 6 side, and they will start as underdogs against the Borderers.
At Netherdale, Gala welcome a Kelso side whom they beat 23-15 in National One at the start of this month. Since then; however, Kelso have claimed their first league win of the season, and that narrow victory over Heriot’s Blues will convince them they can turn the tables on their Borders rivals.
Heriot’s themselves are at home to GHA, who have won three of their last four Premiership fixtures. Premiership Hawick will also be favourites to reach the quarter-finals in their home game against Cartha Queen’s Park, but the visitors will take heart from some inconsistent recent performances by the Greens.
One of the toughest ties to predict is the game at Philiphaugh, where Selkirk, fourth in the Premiership, take on second-place Currie Chieftains. The Edinburgh club beat Selkirk 34-17 in the league in September, but Selkirk’s morale is high after they put 60 points on Musselburgh last week.
Highland’s match against Stirling County Wolves could also be tight. Only two points separate the teams in National One.
GLENN BRYCE knows all too well how vital confidence is in the world of top-class rugby.
The 28-year-old has been through the mill in the past few years, with a move from Glasgow Warriors to Edinburgh three seasons ago not working out in the way he hoped, which resulted in a dip in form and a significant knock to his confidence.
However, Scotland 7s came calling last season, which worked wonders for Bryce’s game, before Glasgow Warriors stepped in to re-sign the full-back.
The Alloa man appears to have made the transition back to 15s seamlessly, but he admits playing for 80 minutes again has taken a bit of getting used to.
“The year I had with the sevens was great,” he said. “I love playing with the ball in the hand and I trust myself on the field.
“The big difference between sevens and 15s I’ve found is the mental side of things – focusing for 80 minutes. With sevens, the game is done in 14 minutes so it was more about getting used to going for 80 minutes again.
“You need to get really well prepared in the warm-up and get right up for the game. And then I like to try to get some early touches in the 15s game and stay focused for the entire match.”
Warriors have had a shaky start to this season’s PRO14 campaign, opening with losses to the Cheetahs and Scarlets before a win over Cardiff Blues a fortnight ago got last season’s runners-up back to winning ways.
Dave Rennie has made a number of changes to the starting line-up to take on Dragons at Rodney Parade this evening. Niko Matawalu returns, as well as Kyle Steyn and Oli Kebble coming in to join Bryce, who is confident that he and his team-mates can build on that win in their last outing.
“We’re excited to get back on the field. We’re feeling refreshed and we want to build on the win we got against Cardiff.
“This league is all about momentum so we went to get another win,” he said. “The Cardiff win was a good starting point for us and for me personally, today is another opportunity to showcase what I can do.”
Bryce has started the season well, including being awarded man-ofthe-match in one of Warriors’ pre-season matches against Ulster. With Scotland’s World Cup contingent back in the fray now, competition for places will be intense but Bryce believes he can make his mark, as well as help his team to climb the table.
“Things didn’t go as well as I hoped at Edinburgh but I’m using everything that’s happened in the past to push me on,” he said.
“I’m a positive guy and I like to showcase what I can do. I’m 28 now and I know the score so it’s just about believing in yourself and putting all that hard work into the game.
“We definitely want to be back up the right end of the table. It’s a long competition but I have confidence that come the end of the season, we’ll be up there. The boys coming back from the RWC will be keen to get back in and get some wins under their belts.
“We got that win last time out and while it might not have been the prettiest, we still got there. And we’ve gone over in meetings the little details – if we get them right, we’ll hopefully get another win today. It’s small margins and with boys coming back in to bolster the squad, we’re feeling good about the games coming up.”