Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Rugby World

    “IRELAND ARE SPRINTING FORWARD WITH GIANT STRIDES”

    Mar 08, 2022 6 minutes
    Words Stuart Barnes
    Main Picture
    Harry Murphy/Sportsfile/Getty Images

    PITY THE poor All Blacks. It’s not often one experiences sympathy for New Zealand but a year and a half out from the 2023 World Cup, the almost inconceivable prospect of them failing to make the semi-finals looks a distinct possibility.

    Their management would have watched the recent Six Nations match between France and Ireland, groaning at their draw. A France side focused on the World Cup on home soil will be as severe a test as any side could want to kick off a World Cup.

    Win or lose against France (remember that South Africa lost to New Zealand on the opening weekend before winning the 2019 competition), unless Scotland find another gear between now and then, it will be a case of either South Africa or Ireland in the quarter-final. And here’s where we arrive at the subject of this column: New Zealand would rather face the current champions

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from Rugby World

    Rugby World3 min read
    Courtney Lawes
    FOR A while it looked like Courtney Lawes would finish as a one-club man. They are now an all-too rare commodity in a modern game where opportunities abound and loyalty is not always rewarded on both sides of the coin. Forward Lawes has been synonymo
    Rugby World2 min read
    Herbst Fiasco Was Human Error
    MOST REFEREES don’t like to grab headlines or have their officiating put under scrutiny. Usually, the best compliment a ref can get is for no one to notice they were at the game and there’s nothing about them in the media. When officials do make the
    Rugby World1 min read
    We Are So Lucky To See Generational Talents
    THROUGHOUT A recent trip to Hong Kong, it was interesting picking the brains of the athletes. Many sevens players, you see, are very proud of how hard it is to transition to their game. Wallaby great Michael Hooper, for example, is up against it to h

    Related