Prolific full-back Will Jordan was once again on the scoresheet for the Crusaders as the defending champions ran riot against the Fijian Drua, winning the quarter-final 49-8 in Christchurch.

The Crusaders had built a solid lead in the clash that resulted in a boatload of injuries for the star side and were attacking the Drua line in the 67th minute. The relentless pressure had sucked the visitors’ defence in, narrowing their set significantly.

Ever the opportunist, Jordan was wise to the narrow defensive line and spotted a practically empty blindside. The 25-year-old made the charge for the space and fortunately, replacement scrum-half Will Heinz saw his team-mate changing course and got a well-timed pass out to him.

Jordan had acres of space to work with and chopped back in to score a try by reaching for the line.
Awareness and instinct were the key attributes that bagged the All Black yet another five-pointer.

Will Jordan stretches over the line to extend the Crusaders lead 🔥

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Earlier, it was a dream start for the Christchurch side who only took two minutes to get on the board through front-row Oli Jager with fly-half Richie Mo’unga converting the score successfully.

Click here to see teams and scorers

Only four minutes later, hooker Codie Taylor crossed for his first of two tries, the second of which came in the 14th minute as Mo’unga added the extras for both.

The Drua managed to slow the bleeding in what was a horror start for them in their first taste of the Super Rugby Pacific play-offs and got on the board after 25 minutes as Frank Lomani kicked a penalty.

However, only nine minutes later the Crusaders started turning the screw yet again as Sione Havili crossed for a try that his fly-half also converted.

The Drua were given the smallest of hopes by an unconverted intercept try from Selestino Ravutaumada five minutes before the break.

Those hopes would soon be destroyed as the second period would follow with the defending champions flying out of the blocks as skipper Scott Barrett crossed in the 45th minute for a converted try.

Errors crept into the clash from both sides, making for a messy third quarter before Jordan scored his try with 13 minutes to play as Mo’unga continued to kick brilliantly from the tee.

Heinz was rewarded for his try assist as he crossed over for a late score with two minutes left, rubbing salt in the Fijian wounds. Fergus Burke was on hand for the final conversion.

The dominant win sets up an intriguing semi-final against the Blues next weekend in a replay of last season’s grand final.

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Video credit: Super Rugby Pacific

Although Wales have struggled with their form ahead of this year’s Rugby World Cup in France, Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones is wary of his Pool C rivals at the global showpiece.

Australia were drawn alongside Wales and Fiji for the third time in as many tournaments and they will be joined by Georgia and Portugal.

Wales have struggled in recent years and, after suffering a shock home defeat against the Lelos at the end of 2022, Warren Gatland returned to take over the coaching reins from Wayne Pivac, who was fired.

Gatland had previously coached Wales between 2008 and 2019, during which time they won three Six Nations Grand Slam titles, and they also reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2011 and 2015.

Wales still struggled despite Gatland’s return

But despite his return, Wales still struggled during this year’s Six Nations and finished in fifth position, with a win over bottom-placed Italy their only victory in the championship.

Apart from that, they lost the services of experienced players like Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb, who all announced their retirements after being named in Gatland’s preliminary World Cup squad.

And Wales’ situation worsened on Friday when Cory Hill, who has been playing his club rugby in Japan, became the latest player to leave Gatland’s squad to take up a contract opportunity outside of Wales.

Despite all those setbacks, Jones expects a tough challenge when the Wallabies and Wales do battle in their World Cup pool encounter in Lyon on September 24.

“They’ve had a tough Six Nations but sometimes a tough Six Nations can be almost the ideal preparation for a World Cup,” he told the BBC.

“You work out what you haven’t done well. You work out maybe some selection issues and then you go into the World Cup with a renewed focus and a renewed purpose.

“That’s the danger of Wales, they’ll get that. They’ve got one of the most experienced Welsh coaches of all time in Warren Gatland and we know he’s a very successful coach.

“He’s got a great track record at the World Cup, so we know it’s going to be a very difficult game.”

Meanwhile, former Wales wing Shane Williams has urged Gatland to look at how the Crusaders beat Fijian Drua in Saturday’s Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final and use that as a blueprint when Wales face Fiji in their World Cup opener in Bordeaux on September 10.

“Thank you, Scott Robertson and your Crusaders players for showing Wales the way to beat Fiji in their opening game at the World Cup,” wrote Williams in his column in The Rugby Paper.

“Unlike Wales in 2007, they didn’t get involved in a running battle. They played territory, turned the game into a forward slog for as long as they could, and were thoroughly committed at the breakdown.

No panic from Crusaders

“Even after they had gifted the Drua an interception try they didn’t panic. They kept things tight and won with something to spare in the end, with the forwards scoring the majority of their tries.

“The blueprint for Wales was laid out for them. Now all Gatland needs to do is get his front five ready for action and decide who he picks in his back-row to dominate the breakdown area.

“Whoever Wales pick at centre will need to be ready for 80 minutes of hard tackling and staying in shape. The Crusaders managed to frustrate all attempts at the Fijians to break up the game and create chaos with the running and off-loading.

“It wasn’t easy and it came at a high physical price as they ended with 13 players having run out of replacements.”

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Aston Villa and French youth international left-back Jordan Amavi has made a change in agent representation, with a view to a summer move, Get French Football News has learned.

Amavi, 23, was the subject of intense interest from Marseille in the January transfer window, who had a bid turned down and has been a reported long-term target for Liverpool.

The former OGC Nice man has left established French agent Christophe Mongai and joined up with up and coming agency Classico Sports Management.

As an agency, Classico Sports Management have a considerable presence in the French market, which, speculatively speaking, might suggest that that is in fact where Amavi’s future destination lies.

On Friday, Ligue 2, France’s second division, will play its last batch of the 38 chapters that constitutes the 2016/17 season. At the end of which, not three but two sides will be directly promoted to the country’s top division, with the third-placed club forced into a play-off fixture with whichever side finishes 18th in Ligue 1. In a quite extraordinary turn of events, any side currently occupying the top six places in the Ligue 2 table can win automatic promotion on Friday evening, with an enormous 30 different combinations of how the top two will finish being possible. With only three points separating the top six, literally anything could happen.

Below are the games relating to the race for promotion which you should look forward to:

Strasbourg v Bourg-Péronnas

Reims v Amiens

Sochaux v Troyes

Lens v Niort

Brest v GFCO Ajaccio

Laval v Nîmes

Strasbourg

As competition in the French top flight has strengthened, France has seen a fair share of big town-clubs falling down the football league ladder in recent years, Strasbourg being one of them. If the Alsace-based side do seal promotion on Friday, they will achieve a feat that is not as uncommon as its inherent nature might suggest: winning back-to-back promotions from National (3rd division) and then Ligue 2. Recent examples of this include Evian-Thonon Gaillard’s surge in 2010/11 and Gazelec Ajaccio’s double-promotion which saw them be a part of Ligue 1 in 2016/17. The latter club has deep connections associated with Strasbourg’s success this season, with manager Thierry Laurey and talismanic Moroccan international Khalid Boutaïb both quitting Corsica last summer to join the then newly-promoted from National side. A return to the top flight for Strasbourg would represent their first foray in the French top flight since 2008 and provide the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup winners with the chance to re-establish themselves as a landmark on France’s football landscape.

Amiens

The hometown of recently elected President Macron, if Strasbourg’s potential back-to-back success would be a surprise, then Amiens’ would be nothing short of a miracle. Like Laurey’s side, Amiens spent last season in the French third division and have relied on an indomitable team spirit and the tenacious midfield duo of Tanguy Ndombele and Guessouma Fofana to provide constant shocks to the Ligue 2 system. Described insultingly by French football magazine France Football as “goats” in its Ligue 2 season preview, manager Christophe Pélissier’s decision to stick the article on the dressing room wall as motivation serves to encapsulate the Amiens’ combative, gung-ho approach. A win would seal their first ever French top flight campaign so long as Troyes do not better their goal difference, but a trip to Reims, relegated just last season, represents the toughest of all the final hurdles that face the promotion-seeking pack. Their presence in Ligue 1 would certainly be a fairy-tale – there is currently only one bus that leaves the city centre for the stadium when you seek to go to an Amiens match.

ESTAC Troyes

A perennial yo-yo club, ESTAC Troyes have created a reputation for flourishing in Ligue 2 only to perform dreadfully on each opportunity that they have to rub shoulders with France’s best in Ligue 1. In possession of arguably the French second flight’s most technical player in 40-year-old attacking midfielder Benjamin Nivet, the club has the necessary motivation to return to the big time in order to eradicate a pitiful record which they established over the course of the previous Ligue 1 campaign, recording the division’s worst ever points tally: 18.

RC Lens

Lens were in fact playing their home matches at Amiens during their last successful Ligue 2 promotion campaign in 2015/16 owing to their usual ground, the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, being renovated at the time for EURO 2016. The club may be enjoying the creature comforts afforded to them by returning home but they are one of the few Ligue 2 sides this season to have actually collected more points on their travels (two, to be exact). This can perhaps be explained by their famously outstanding away fan contingent. A club that is rich with history in a town that breathes football, the return of Lens to the top flight would undoubtedly be a victory for French football. This, even though manager Alain Casanova has received plenty of criticism for his side’s rather apathetic brand of football this campaign. He has journeyman Habib Habibou to thank for a recent injection of life into his team that might well propel Lens back to the top flight after a two season-long hiatus.

Stade Brestois

Despite sitting in 5th before the start of play on Friday, Brest have been sitting top of the league for most of the season – specifically at the end of 25 of Ligue 2’s 37 rounds of fixtures thus far. They failed to pull away from the rest of the pack, losing three matches on the spin against direct promotion opponents (Amiens, Troyes and Nîmes). They play mid-table outfit Gazélec Ajaccio who in theory have nothing to play for. A win is essential, but one fears that come the end of the evening, Brest may have the biggest regrets.

Nîmes

Kicking off the 2015/16 campaign with an eight points point deduction following an unsavoury match-fixing affair, Nîmes miraculously remained in the Ligue 2 after a hard-fought relegation battle last season. At the turn of the calendar year, Nîmes were on nobody’s radar but an incredible run of fixtures has seen them lose just twice in 2017 and incredibly put them in the mix for promotion. This is a sensational story that deserves the ultimate climax – Nîmes have not finished above 8th in Ligue 2 since the turn of the century. With a trip to already relegated Laval, the odds are certainly on UNFP Ligue 2 Manager of the Year Bernard Blaquart’s men to grab three points.

In a league where the final promotion place last season was decided not by points, nor goal difference but number of goals scored, as Bob Bradley’s charges at Le Havre were denied a Ligue 1 adventure by the smallest of margins, turn your attentions on Friday night to the weird but wonderful French second tier for what is sure to be a spectacle of drastically contrasting emotions

P.B.

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London Irish became the latest victims of the financial crisis gripping the Premiership after they were suspended by the Rugby Football Union on Tuesday.

The Exiles join Worcester and Wasps on the sidelines as the bleak outlook of the sport in England continues, with the top league now having 10 teams.

But the trio aren’t alone with struggles as here the PA news agency looks at their fate and those clubs that have also been affected by the grim outlook.

Gone

Worcester Warriors

The first club placed into administration back in September, Worcester‘s future is still uncertain despite being taken over by Jim O’Toole’s Atlas Group. Entrance into the second tier Championship has been blocked by the Rugby Football Union for their failure to meet certain conditions and their plan of joining with Stourbridge and relaunching in the fifth tier appears dead in the water.

Wasps

The month after Worcester folded, Wasps followed them into administration as the league suffered the crushing blow of losing one of English rugby’s most famous brands. Further misery was to come as having targeted rebirth in the Championship, the failure to meet certain conditions forced the RFU to revoke their license and demote them to the foot of the rugby pyramid.

London Irish

Burdened by debts of around £30million and with owner Mick Crossan desperate to sell, London Irish have followed Wasps and Worcester out of the Premiership. The RFU granted an extended deadline of June 6 for either the proposed takeover by an American consortium to be completed or for Crossan to prove he can finance Irish for the entire 2023/24 season. Neither came through, resulting in the club being suspended from the entire league structure.

London Irish GONE

Wasps GONE

Worcester GONE

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Another dreadful day for club rugby union

— Alex Spink (@alexspinkmirror) June 6, 2023

Shaky foundations

Leicester Tigers

Leicester needed an emergency cash injection of £13million from directors Peter Tom and Tom Scott in February to address what chief executive Andrea Pinchen described as “very challenging conditions”. A letter from the club to shareholders sent in March stated that if the funding was not approved, there would be no option but to appoint administrators.

Exeter Chiefs

Even Exeter, one of the few clubs in the pre-pandemic era to operate at a profit, were forced to take special measures in December. Chiefs owner Tony Rowe bought a stake in a hotel owned by the club in order for it to service its debts, including Covid loans issued by the Government. Rowe’s intervention has shored up the finances for the time being.

Blues skipper Dalton Papali’i waxed lyrical about his star winger Mark Telea ahead of the Aucklanders’ final game of the season against the Highlanders at home.

The 2023 regular season may not have been as glittering as last year but the Blues sit in a comfortable third place on the table heading into the final round.

Red-hot Telea

One highlight of the year so far has been the continued rise of Telea, who has shown his venom with ball in hand throughout and is establishing himself as one of the most effective runners in Super Rugby Pacific.

He makes people look SILLY 😵

Mark Telea is the full package right now 📦

Catch The Breakdown at 7.30pm Sundays on #SKYSportNZ and Youtube 🏉 pic.twitter.com/tUFwb1Qovf

— Sky Sport NZ (@skysportnz) June 2, 2023

Papali’i labelled Telea as a problem but not within the squad, rather one for any defenders trying to stop him.

“He’s unbelievable, man, seriously crazy,” said Papali’i. “He’s got really good balance, and for his size he’s bloody powerful. I’ve played him at NPC and gone to tackle him, and he’s just given me a bullet fend. Its like, ‘hey, I’ve got to think how to tackle this guy’.

“He’s been a problem, and he’s always going to be a problem.”

Will only improve

The captain joked about having Telea slow down once he almost inevitably breaks the line to let him catch up. Papali’i only expects him to get better.

”If he makes a break I tell him to pipe it down a little bit, let me catch up,” said Papali’i. “He is in exceptional form and if he carries on I’d say he’s either the best or one of the best wingers in the world. He’s just got to keep doing what he’s doing.

“He’s a hard worker, and has the gifts to take it all the way. I’ve seen him grow on and off the field. He’s already one of the best or if not the best winger in the game, and he’s still getting better.”

Papali’i is searching for a complete performance from the Blues to gather some momentum going into the play-offs.

“We’ve got to put an 80-minute-plus game together. We tend to fall off during games,” said Papali’i. “We know that’s the problem and we’ve talked as leaders that we need to bring the boys in … we call it a grip moment, where we need to take it by the hands and execute.”

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New Zealand’s two-time Rugby World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw has backed arch-rivals Australia to spring a surprise in France.

After reaching the World Cup final in 2015, the Wallabies have struggled to remain at the top table of the global game.

They exited the 2019 showpiece at the quarter-final stage before Dave Rennie took over from Michael Cheika.

Rennie would only last until the start of 2023 when he was sacked, ending his tenure with a 38 per cent win record.

Former head coach Eddie Jones, who led Australia to a runners up spot in 2003, has since returned and McCaw knows the immediate impact he could have.

In the mix

“Eddie Jones, whatever team he takes over, he usually causes some change pretty quick and they get a real bounce and he will probably do the same with the Aussies,” he told World Rugby.

“You might think they might not be where you would usually consider them to be, but they have a unique way of using what they have got to be right in the mix.”

McCaw doesn’t have a clear favourite for the Webb Ellis Cup and believes that the upcoming tournament is “pretty wide open”.

“You are not too sure what might happen. So there is that side of it and, I guess from a New Zealand point of view, in the past you have sort of always knew that if they can put it together they can go and get the job done, whereas after the last year you sort of go, ‘jeepers, there is going to have to be some improvements to put the team in the right spot’,” he said.

Ireland and France

“I guess from a northern hemisphere point of view, Ireland have set the pace in the Six Nations and the French aren’t that far behind, so it makes it pretty intriguing.

“There is no doubt that people consider the French and the Irish have got a pretty good chance of winning.”

The top two ranked teams are currently Ireland and France, with the latter also benefiting from having home advantage.

McCaw sees both teams as title challengers but has been particularly impressed by how Andy Farrell’s men have progressed.

“As we have found out in years gone by, where you are ranked going into a World Cup, actually doesn’t necessarily count for a whole lot,” he added.

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“But just to put aside the rankings, I got to see the Irish in New Zealand last year for three Tests and there is a quite a strong resolve about them, of knowing they are on a mission.

“The way they put together that series win was pretty impressive and they have backed it up again just recently so it is going to make it interesting.”

Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones has claimed that he will be leaving the side after the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. 

The news comes as a surprise with Jones’ deal signed until the 2027 World Cup which will be hosted in Australia. The prescribed tenure over his contract period would also include the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour down under.

However, Jones seems insistent that he will be leaving his role after the World Cup regardless of their performance.

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“It will be time to go”

“I’m only coaching to this World Cup. I’ve signed, but as I’ve made the mistake before, I’ve stayed too long. So we win the World Cup it will be time to go. If we lose the World Cup it will be time to go,” Jones told The Evening Standard podcast.

Rugby Australia (RA) responded swiftly by claiming that Jones is still locked in and they have no concerns that he will leave the job.

“Eddie’s contract runs until 2027,” the RA spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Meanwhile, Jones is hoping for changes in Giteau’s Law that restricts the coach to selecting only three overseas-based players with a minimum of 30 Test caps. It is designed to incentivise players to remain in Australia and offer reward to locally-based talent.

Jones suggested that even though he has not approached the RA regarding a policy change he believes there will be a good response.

“Can’t snub that sort of talent”

The veteran coach outlined four stars who could not be looked past including gargantuan lock Will Skelton who has recently added another Champions Cup medal to his collection.

“They [Rugby Australia] had a law called the Giteau Law which was you could only get three players outside Australia with 30 caps,” Jones said.

“But we haven’t tabled that [a policy change] with the board yet, but I’m sure we’re going to get a positive response about more players. Because we’ve got [Will] Skelton, who’s probably the best right-hand-side lock in the world. Richie Arnold at Toulouse, who’s a fantastic player in the Top 14. Quade Cooper, [Samu] Kerevi, [Marika] Koroibete, we can’t snub that sort of talent.”

Big packs are important at Test level

Jones, who coached the Barbarians against a World XV last weekend, outlined the importance of a big pack of forwards in the modern game especially considering the physicality of teams like France and the Springboks.

“You look at the game statistically, 70% of the game is played within one pass, so they’re big man carries,” he said.

“Just yesterday with the Barbarians we had a tighthead prop from the Sharks, [Carlu] Sadie, comes on the second half; he’s got no leg speed but when he carries he takes men with him so it gives you a good base to work off.

“So a big right-hand side lock, big number eight, big number three [is what we need] mate.”

Plenty of time to make a difference

Jones’ second stint with the Wallabies well and truly kicks off against the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld in the Rugby Championship on July 8. Even with the limited time to prepare for a World Cup charge, the veteran is upbeat about his chances to improve the side.

“We’ve got five Tests matches, which is plenty. [World Cup-winning coach] Bob Dwyer used to say if you can’t change a team in a week, you can’t coach. So we’ll give it a go,” he added.

Ligue 1 side PSG are interested in signing Bayern Munich winger Douglas Costa, according to Gianluca di Marzio.

Juventus are also pushing for the Brazilian in a major way and hope to convince him to join Serie A this summer.

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Manchester City have presented AS Monaco with a €130m offer for striker Kylian Mbappé, according to Téléfoot.

The media outlet claims that Real Madrid have also raised their original proposition to this amount.

The report does not provide any other specific details in a story which will certainly develop in the coming days.

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