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World Rugby

October 2024

The All Blacks perform their traditional pre-match haka before a test against the Wallabies last year.

The haka is overused and we shouldn’t just stand for it

It is preposterous that opponents are supposed to be mute and reverential while 15 man mountains threaten to tear them to tiny pieces, writes Oliver Brown.

  • Oliver Brown

August 2024

Joe Schmidt with Laurie Fisher bring a wealth of experience to the Wallabies.

Why the stars are finally aligning for the Wallabies

Australia’s challenge against South Africa on Saturday is huge, but coaching changes and new rules designed to speed up the game bode well for the Wallabies.

  • Simon Poidevin

July 2024

Austral console each other after the loss.ia’s Faith Nathan, left and teammate Australia’s Teagan Levi

‘It sucks’: Distraught Aussie women walk away from rugby empty-handed

The sevens team came into the Games set for gold, but against Canada and then the US they watched a medal almost literally sprint away from them.

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen

January 2024

New Wallabies Head Coach Joe Schmidt at a press conference on Friday.

Kiwi Joe Schmidt tasked with Wallabies rebuild

The former Ireland mentor and World Rugby high-performance boss was unveiled on Friday, only a week after expressions of interest for the position closed.

  • Murray Wenzel

November 2023

Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan.

Hamish McLennan and rugby’s conflicts and coincidences

The Rugby Australia chairman has apologised, but all will hinge on a review being conducted by a panel with ties to the game.

  • Mark Di Stefano
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October 2023

South Africa captain Siya Kolisi kisses the Webb Ellis Cup after leading his team to their second consecutive Rugby World Cup Final victory.

South Africa’s Rugby World Cup win is a lesson in discipline

Everyone knew that keeping the referee happy would be more important than ever in this World Cup, and New Zealand proved it at their own expense.

  • Simon Poidevin
Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan.

Hamish McLennan can’t stop, won’t stop partying in Paris

The Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan has hosted another opulent party in Paris, starring rugby elites and the same celebrity chef.

  • Mark Di Stefano
Emiliano Boffelli of Argentina has an enviable kicking record.

Where the Rugby World Cup semis will be won and lost

Don’t believe reports that the semi-finals will be walkovers for New Zealand and South Africa.

  • Simon Poidevin
Ireland’s Johnny Sexton (left) and Tadhg Beirne celebrate after the Rugby World Cup Pool B win over Scotland.

Winning strategies for the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals

A deep dive into the performance stats reveals how the teams should approach these four matches between northern and southern hemisphere nations.

  • Updated
  • Simon Poidevin
Australia’s humiliating defeat at the hands of Wales in Lyon effectively dumped the Wallabies out of the World Cup and sparked a wave of recriminations.

Carlyle around the goal for Rugby Australia debt as PE scrum collapses

Sources said the first phase of debt negotiations kicked off before the Rugby World Cup in France and have now entered phase two.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Samu Kerevi makes a break during the Wallabies win against Portugal in Saint-Etienne on October 1.

Crunch games as Wallabies’ World Cup hopes hang by a thread

Australia still have a slim chance of reaching the quarter-finals if Portugal beat the favoured Fiji in the last round of group games at the Rugby World Cup.

  • Simon Poidevin

September 2023

Do or die: Time for the Wallabies to step up against Wales

The world has got very ugly for the Wallabies since their loss to Fiji, and will get worse unless they bring the mongrel, determination and smarts needed to beat Wales.

  • Simon Poidevin
Eddie Jones (far right) with Wallabies at a training camp in April. Left to right: Jed Holloway, Michael Hooper, Andrew Kellaway, Allan Alaalatoa, James Slipper and Nic White.

For Eddie Jones, Wallaby salvation will come from ‘on-the-run’ rugby

Eddie Jones is trying to build a team that plays more intuitively, as teams did so successfully in the ’80s and ’90s.

  • Updated
  • Simon Poidevin

August 2023

The Matildas went down 3-1 to England in an intense semi-final in the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Wednesday.

Should women play on smaller soccer pitches?

Women are physically different to men, yet the game makes no accommodation for this fact. Should the game be scaled down for them?

  • The Economist

July 2021

Golden moment. Waisea Nacuqu, right, of Team Fiji celebrates victory with Kalione Nasoko during the Rugby Sevens final in Tokyo this week.

Rugby uses Olympic showcase to tempt private equity

The code’s governing body is seeking to capitalise on the popularity of the Games event to boost funding for the sport around the world.

  • Updated
  • Murad Ahmed and Kaye Wiggins
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April 2020

Former Wallabies captain Stephen Moore says players need to take some financial pain for the game to survive.

Rugby needs to face financial reality, says former Wallaby captain

Rugby Australia's woes will continue until there is major structural change, says former Wallabies captain Stephen Moore.

  • Mark Ludlow
Lionel Messi, the world's highest-paid footballer, has taken a 70 per cent pay cut.

Can the sports industry survive the coronavirus shutdown?

There is optimism in some quarters that the lockdown measures will be a short-term blip to business. But many sports executives believe there will be lasting disruption.

  • Murad Ahmed, Mark Di Stefano and Anna Nicolaou

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/world-rugby-1nbe