Here's your rugby evening headlines for Tuesday, 16 August.
Former Welsh rugby boss slams New Zealand's CEO
Ex-New Zealand Rugby CEO David Moffett has once again slammed New Zealand's current boss Mark Robinson, branding the way he has left under-fire All Blacks coach Ian Foster sweating on his future as "absolutely deplorable".
Moffett, who also served as CEO of the Welsh Rugby Union between 2002 and 2005, has previously called for Robinson to resign over his handling of rugby matters in the Land of the Long White Cloud. And during an appearance on the Heather du Plessis-Allan radio show on Newstalk ZB, Moffett went in again on Robinson.
Read more: The words that should frighten Welsh rugby and the huge void left by two figures who've walked away
“I have heard a lot about this non-event that was the presser that he held and all he [Robinson] did was make things worse, dramatically worse,” bemoaned Moffett.
“Whether any of the fans think it should be Foster or it should be Scott Robertson (as head coach), the fact of the matter remains that Foster had been left out to dry by Robinson and I don’t think that is good enough. The average person would say, ‘Well, why don‘t you make a decision and either sack him or back him?’”
Moffett gave no indication as to what way the decision will go for Foster when this latest NZR review is completed. “I have no idea at all and by the sound of it neither does Ian Foster, which is absolutely deplorable. This guy has been left hanging now for weeks and weeks.
“Unfortunately, New Zealand Rugby is actually looking like they are a Government department, can’t make a decision, don’t know what to do, we’ll just hold a review, then we will hold another review. The reviews are coming out of their ears. They should have already known what they were going to do and the fact that they didn’t is incompetent.”
Shingler named Ealing captain
Former Scarlets and Cardiff fly-half Steven Shingler has been named Ealing Trailfinders captain ahead of the new season.
The Welshman joined the English Championship club in 2019, making 36 appearances in that time. Speaking about being named captain, he said: “It’s a huge privilege to be named Club Captain for the season. Rayn (Smid) has done a fantastic job since I’ve been here and he got up and introduced me in the team meeting and I know he’ll continue to have an impact here. The challenge for me now is carrying on all the great work from Rayn and ensuring that we are successful this year.
“I’m really excited for what we can all achieve. We’ve had a good crop of new boys in and I think we’re probably a stronger squad than we were last year, it’s now just about creating a culture and an environment where we can achieve our aims this season.”
Director of Rugby Ben Ward added: “After listening to input from the players and staff, Shings (Steven Shingler) was the outstanding choice to be our captain for the upcoming season.
“Although he is our Club Captain, we’re fortunate to have many impressive individuals here who are all leaders in their own way. Because of this, each week we’ll pick a team based purely on merit and we will select a match-day captain based on who we think will be the best choice to lead the lads for that game.”
Australian rugby boss doubles down on Super Rugby criticism
Rugby Australia boss Hamish McLennan has doubled down on his criticism of the current Super Rugby Pacific partnership between Australia and New Zealand.
McLennan has previously insisted that things have got to change if it is to have a future, with an imbalanced broadcast revenue split the cause of the problems. Currently, New Zealand rugby bring home considerably more than Australian rugby when it comes to revenue from broadcasters - with McLennan previously threatening to pull out of Super Rugby and start a new competition.
“We’re very open to an aligned global calendar in the men’s game and are talking to World Rugby about how best to achieve that end goal," he wrote in this month's copy of Rugby World as he once again pushed for an equal partnership. "As for Super Rugby, common sense will hopefully prevail, but for it to work it needs to be an equal partnership.
“Let’s not forget, Australia has a much larger economy and five times the population of New Zealand. It’s not been an equal partnership and gone are the days when New Zealand can dictate the terms of everything.
”There are cracks in the system and they need us more than ever. We won’t participate unless it’s a 50-50 joint venture… I want to be able to build a strong rugby ecosystem that will live for a long, long time.”
Chiefs star backed to be the future of All Black hooker's jersey
New Zealand hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho has been hailed as the future of the All Black two jersey after an impressive performance against South Africa on the weekend.
The 25-year-old Chiefs player impressed after getting the nod ahead of the more experienced Codie Taylor and Dane Coles, catching the eye of some former players. Both Isa Nacewa and Mils Muliana agreed that Taukei'aho should keep the starting jersey, while former Ireland international Isaac Boss said he is the guy that the All Blacks should now build the front row around.
“I still think there is a lot of growth left in his game, he’s not the finished product. He needs a bit of consistency there,” Boss told The Breakdown in New Zealand.
“There is still an important role for those other hookers to play around him. I think he has come along and he is definitely the future in that No 2 shirt and he needs as much time as possible."
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