Here are your rugby headlines for Monday, June 20.
Shaun Edwards pays respects to Phil Bennett after Barbarians win
Barbarians assistant coach Shaun Edwards has revealed the team watched old videos of the late, great Phil Bennett last week ahead of an inspired and dominant 52-21 victory over England.
Before the win, the Barbarians players formed the number 10 before the match in tribute to Wales legend Bennett, who died a week ago. And, after the Baa-baas inflicted a record triumph over England, Edwards, who of course has strong connections with Wales given his years coaching the national team alongside Warren Gatland, saved a few words for 'Benny' in his post-match interview.
"We've been watching clips of him all week of him and obviously the famous 1973 try in Cardiff has been played numerous times," Edwards said of a man who played 20 times for the Barbarians.
"I was lucky enough to meet him on numerous occasions in Wales and one thing that always shone out was his humility for such a great player. The biggest respect to his family in this very difficult time."
Eddie Jones 'pleased with intent' despite record loss
Eddie Jones played down the significance of a record 52-21 rout by the 14-man Barbarians even though it sent England crashing to the heaviest defeat of his reign.
England fell to a third successive loss as Fabien Galthie's high-quality side amassed eight tries in the non-cap international at Twickenham, despite having Will Skelton sent off in the 38th minute for a dangerous challenge.
It was the first time the Barbarians had received a red card, yet their battalion of French stars made light work of opposition who were using the match to prepare for next month's three-Test tour of Australia.
"We approached the game in a particular strategic way. We wanted to try to play a bit differently, extend ourselves and give the young guys an opportunity show their ability, particularly with the ball," Jones said.
"But we were beaten pretty badly at the breakdown, so it's a good reminder of how much work we have to do before Australia. From that point of view I'm really pleased with what we did.
"I'm not pleased with how we performed. I'm pleased with the intent of what we tried to do and it's great preparation for Australia. But obviously not happy with the result. No one is happy about the result but, again, we look at it in the light of what we're trying to do.
"There's a contextual situation here. I know you're struggling to understand it, but we're trying to build a new team, play a different way, a style that suits the players and there are going to be some ups and downs.
"I don't know, if we would have played a normal England game, what the score would have been but that's not what we wanted out of the game.
"Now we wanted to win the game against the Barbarians, don't get me wrong, but this was preparation for Australia so we tried to play differently and extend the players. In some places we didn't cope well with it."
URC has a 'bright future', claims winning boss
Stormers head coach John Dobson believes the URC has a "bright future" after his side came out victorious in Saturday's final with the Bulls.
The Stormers beat the Bulls 18-13 at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, something which seemed scarcely possible to Dobson at the start of the campaign when his team were almost pulled from the competition.
“It’s an incredible story,” Dobson said after the Stormers' triumph. “I was in a train outside of Venice before that first game [against Benetton] and we didn’t know what was going to happen.
“Somebody phoned me to say that there was talk of us being pulled out of the URC and that we were going to be replaced by the Cheetahs. I had a journalist asking me that question on the train, so it’s an amazing story.”
Dobson now hopes money is pumped into the competition, which has had its detractors in this corner of the world, to enable the tournament to grow and improve in the coming years.
“I think if you are sitting as one of the potential investors and see the product that was out there in terms of the result and crowd, then we are obviously going to be a sought-after investment,” said Dobson.
“There is no question people are going to buy into Western Province Rugby, so I am not worried.”
Springbok prop says URC win up there with World Cup victory
South Africa prop Steven Kitshoff has said that winning the maiden United Rugby Championship is up there with winning the World Cup with the Springboks
The Stormers captain lifted the trophy after their 18-13 win over the Bulls in Cape Town. Afterwards, the 30-year-old admitted it was up there with beating England in the World Cup final in 2019.
“This win is definitely up there. Looking back, when we started our home leg and were just thinking of getting a top eight spot and qualifying for the European Cup,” Kitshoff said after the game.
“We pushed those goals further and further, got a home semi (final) and then a home final. It’s been an incredible journey and it’s in the top two of my achievements.”
Rennie urges Australia to stay in Super Rugby
Australia coach Dave Rennie has urged Rigby Australia (RA) not to walk away from Super Rugby Pacific.
RA chairman Hamish McLennan has reportedly told New Zealand counterpart Stewart MItchell that Australia could walk away from the competition due to an imbalance in broadcast revenue.
Previously, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand split broadcast profits it three ways, with the arrangement extended to Argentina when they joined the competition.
But after South Africa and Argentina and South Africa were cast aside on the back of the Coronavirus pandemic, the arrangement has no longer stood.
"We'll honour our commitments in '23 but we need to see what's best for rugby in Australia leading up to the Rugby World Cup in Australia in '27," McLennan told Fox Sports last week. "All bets are off from '24 onwards with NZ."
But Rennie believes it's crucial that Australian teams continued to play their New Zealand counterparts, rather than potentially set up their own league.
"I've made it pretty clear in the past I think it's good for both countries that we play trans-Tasman footie," he said.
"I think the competition has been excellent this year and our sides have certainly been more competitive. It's good for them, it's good for us and I'd like to see that continue.
"I'm not going to crystal ball gaze this situation. But what I think, and I think a lot of New Zealand clubs will think too, is that us playing trans-Tasman games is good for us," he said.
"I'm supportive of the competition continuing, but it's not my call."
