Here is your rugby evening news for Sunday July 17.
Woodward talks up Six Nations teams
Sir Clive Woodward believes Six Nations teams have put down a huge World Cup marker after their summer tours and warned the southern hemisphere giants should 'be worried.'
England beat Australia, Ireland stunned New Zealand and Wales pushed world champions South Africa strongly before gallantly falling 2-1.
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The countdown has begun ahead of next year's 2023 tournament in France and Woodward says the Six Nations is the perfect launchpad for European sides to prepare.
In contrast, he reckons, the big guns from down under will be looking over their shoulders.
"What is clear is the Six Nations is now the ideal preparation for any World Cup success, not touring the southern hemisphere. That has never been the case previously, but now it is," said Woodward in a column for the Mail.
"With the exception of Italy, every Six Nations game allows for a real opportunity to prove your World Cup credentials. The southern hemisphere nations will be worried and certainly should be."
Pivac's final message to Wales stars
Wayne Pivac addressed his squad one final time before they left South Africa on Sunday night, leaving them in no doubt as to what he expects moving into World Cup year.
The Welsh players will disperse and enjoy some time off after a gruelling three-Test tour of South Africa. But they will soon be in training with their domestic sides at the start of what will feel like a never-ending season going through to the World Cup in September 2023.
Wales might have lost the series against the Springboks, but they snatched an unlikely historic victory in the second Test and proved far more competitive than many predicted. After the defeat to Italy, pride has been restored in the jersey at the very least and Pivac had a message for his players before they go back to their clubs.
“It’s something that we’ve talked about and I’m going to address them again before we break up,” he started. “The standards that they set for themselves on this tour in terms of the way they manage themselves, their training and their performance. We need these guys to go back to their clubs and be genuine leaders, to lift the standards.
“It’s going to help us in the long run if we’ve got our clubs performing well, which is certainly what we want to happen.”
Pivac opted for some consistency across the series with South Africa, only making minor tweaks to the matchday 23 when injuries dictated. It was a change in approach after spending the last few years experimenting with players.
He agrees that three consecutive Tests against the world champions, though, is just about as tough as it gets. During the Six Nations, players have a week off after two matches and they will not face three matches against such formidable opposition in 14 days during the World Cup.
“You’re bang on and we’re talking about being in their backyard with two of those games at altitude,” said Pivac. “I thought with the preparation we did coming in, we ticked the right boxes. It was probably just a bridge too far.
“We were a pretty banged up group but, again, we showed a lot of resilience. We’re just disappointed that the scoreline crept out at the end.
“This tour has been fantastic for us on a number of fronts. It’s the first time we’ve really toured and the camaraderie on and off the training field, as well as the performances on the field – the positives clearly outweigh the negatives from a coaching point of view.
“We talked about this in the huddle after the game but we’ve set a bit of a standard for ourselves now. It wasn’t the most clinical rugby on this tour but we certainly had a bit of an edge about us in terms of our defensive efforts.
“We competed with South Africa in that first Test and we could go on and on about the ifs, buts and maybes. We felt we were a bit unlucky. In the third Test, we had our moments. It was a slow start but the resilience of the team showed and we brought it back. They put a lot of pressure on us and quite a few penalties went against us.
“But there are definitely more positives than negatives and it’s something to build on for the next campaign.”
Greenwood backs Jones after fan fracas
Former England World Cup winner Will Greenwood has defended Eddie Jones after his fracas with a Wallaby fan.
England boss Jones took exception to being called 'a traitor' as his side beat Australia in Sydney and three times told the supporter 'Come here and say it”, before being held back by security.
Asked about the unsavoury incident on Sky Sports, pundit Greenwood said: "We maybe think of the new education minister, Andrea Jenkyns, last week when she was going into 10 Downing Street with the hand gesture and her response was that she’s only human and I think that’s the same with Eddie Jones.
"You get objectionable young people, not a keyboard warrior, but in this case a behind-the-fence warrior, who shout things and think they’re immune from any response and when you get one, it makes news. The reality is Eddie is a rugby lover and an Australian lover.
"He does the best he can for his country and some yob shouts some pretty average language and he gets the right to respond. We’ll park it, leave it, and move on.”
Jones himself said: "Clowns think they have full go to abuse coaches. You have got 48,000 people full of drink and they want to see is their team win. When you turn them away, it’s a great experience. A great feeling."
Sexton warns Ireland must kick on
Captain Johnny Sexton has warned Ireland against complacency ahead of next year's World Cup following a momentous series win in New Zealand.
Andy Farrell's men underlined their credentials for the 2023 tournament in France by clinching a historic tour success against the All Blacks courtesy of Saturday's pulsating 32-22 victory in Wellington.
Sexton, who surpassed 1,000 career points for his country in the Test decider, has repeatedly said the Irish must not repeat previous mistakes by peaking too soon for a World Cup.
But the influential fly-half also stressed that his side cannot afford to ease off before attempting to hit top form when it matters most.
Following a summer break, Ireland's players will reconvene for Dublin clashes against world champions South Africa, Fiji and Australia in the autumn before preparing for another shot at Six Nations success.
"We've got a full season to play and it shouldn't be 'beat New Zealand and let's wait for the World Cup'," said Sexton. "There's plenty more to play. There are big home games in November, there's a Six Nations to play where we still haven't achieved things we want to achieve in that.
"We got a Triple Crown this year but a championship or better would be something we're aiming for, so there's no reason why we shouldn't be trying to progress and do that.
"It's very Irish to think 'oh, we have to take it easy until the World Cup'. No, let's keep making the most of it, let's keep getting better."
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