Month: March 2019

The Brumbies have announced that Toni Pulu has signed a two-year contract with the club following an exceptional season with the Chiefs.

Pulu, born in Los Angeles, USA, moved to New Zealand at the age of three and was educated at Dilworth School in Auckland and sprung to prominence when selected for Counties Manukau in the NPC.

After three years of consistent performances for Counties, Pulu was drafted into the Chiefs wider training squad before making his Super Rugby debut in 2016 against the Force in Waikato. He has since been capped 32 times and has scored 14 tries.

Regarded as one of the quickest players to ever take part in Super Rugby, a genuine match-winner and a regular try-scorer, Pulu is an exciting addition to a star-studded Brumbies back-line.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Brumbies and am looking forward to beginning a new stage of my rugby career in Australia,” Pulu said of his signing for the Canberra-based club when speaking to the Brumbies website.

“The Brumbies are a well-known and well-respected organisation and I have been impressed by what I have seen and heard when playing against them. They are known for their free-flowing rugby and for their unique family culture.

“I have enjoyed my time with the Chiefs immensely but am very much looking forward to moving to Canberra and settling in with my new club.”

It’s not just in XV’s that Pulu has shown his scintillating speed as the winger has been selected for three Sevens competitions for Niue, his ancestral home, playing his part in the 2011 Gold Coast Sevens amongst other tournaments.

“With the changes we’re making in our game, and the style we’re looking to play, we’ve got to recruit guys that match that,” Brumbies head coach Dan McKellar commented.

“Toni has genuine speed, but not only that, he’s a natural footballer too, he sees space well, communicates and has an excellent offload game. He’s come from a team which has had a lot of success and play a similar style to the one we want to play so he’s a good fit for us.

“Character is very important when we are deciding who to sign. We’ve got to bring talented players here, but the right people as well and Pulu fits that.”

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Australia captain Michael Hooper has given his team a boost ahead of their Rugby Championship opener by revealing he should be fit to play.

The flank has been on the sidelines in recent weeks with a hamstring injury, which he suffered in the Wallabies’ fixture against Ireland in June.

But after coming through training in Cessnock, New South Wales, he’s admitted to feeling good ahead of the clash with New Zealand in Sydney.

“Hiccups aside, with a week of training, I should be in a good position next week,” he told rugby.com.au in a significant fillip for Michael Cheika.

Openside Hooper added that he feels his time away from playing could benefit him long-term as he feels recharged both mentally and physically.

“I want to get back on the field but it’s given me a different perspective at some of the great things that go on around rugby. It’s been enjoyable to give my body a rest but I want to get back on the field,” he said.

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Argentina head coach Mario Ledesma has named an extended squad that includes six uncapped players ahead of their Rugby Championship campaign.

The new boss, who takes over from Daniel Hourcade, has selected new faces Marco Ciccioli, Diego Fortuny, Lucas Favre, Mayco Vivas, Franco Molina and Santiago Grondon, as the Pumas prepare for their opening game against South Africa at Kings Park in Durban next weekend.

Ledesma has opted for a 36-man squad which includes household names such as Agustin Creevy, Pablo Matera, Nicolas Sanchez and Emiliano Boffelli.

They will be looking to improve on last season’s Rugby Championship campaign when they lost all six of their games.

Extended Argentina squad for Rugby Championship

Forwards: Matias Alemanno, Rodrigo Bruni, Marco Ciccioli, Agustin Creevy, Lucas Favre, Diego Fortuny, Santiago Garcia Botta, Santiago Grondona, Marcos Kremer, Ignacio Larrague, Tomas Lavanini, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Pablo Matera, Vivas Mayco, Santiago Medrano, Franco Molina, Julian Montoya, Javier Ortega Desio, Guido Petti, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Juan Zeiss

Backs: Gonzalo Bertranou, Emiliano Boffelli, Sebastian Cancelliere, Tomas Cubelli, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Bautista Delguy, Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, Bautista Ezcurra, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, Martin Landajo, Juan Cruz Mallia, Matias Moroni, Ramiro Moyano, Matias Orlando, Nicolas Sanchez

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Leicester Tigers have added Fiji international prop Campese Ma’afu and Tongan international prop David Feao to the senior squad ahead of the new Premiership season.

Experienced front-rower Ma’afu arrives as an injury dispensation signing with England international Ellis Genge sidelined by a knee injury.

The 33-year-old Ma’afu includes Cardiff Blues, Nottingham and Northampton Saints among his former clubs.

Tigers head coach Matt O’Connor said: “We’re obviously disappointed to have Ellis sidelined for the start of the new season after suffering a knee injury on the England tour in the summer and we look forward to seeing him back to full fitness in due course, but Campese is a very experienced prop with good knowledge of Premiership and European rugby.

“He comes into a competitive group of front-rowers at the club and we look forward to seeing him work with coaches Mark Bakewell and Boris Stankovich as we build up to the new campaign.”

Ma’afu follows Tonga international prop Feao in joining the Tigers squad.

The 27-year-old Feao played for Tonga in their three summer Tests against Georgia, Fiji and Samoa, and has previous experience in European rugby after spells with French clubs La Rochelle and Narbonne.

Feao, who was born in Brisbane and played his club rugby with Souths, Brisbane City and NSW Country Eagles in Australia before moving to France, weighs in at around 20 stones and joins his new club colleagues in the build-up to the new season now that the paperwork on his move has been completed.

The former Australia Schoolboys cap went to the Junior World Championships with Tonga Under-20s in 2010 and played for Tonga ‘A’ in the Pacific Nations Cup before stepping up to Test status.

He initially joined La Rochelle on a short-term contract at the end of the 2015/16 season but then stayed for an extra season before moving to Narbonne.

O’Connor added: “David comes in with some good experience in Europe and we think he can continue to make good progress here. he is a big, powerful man and we look forward to getting him to work in the build-up to the new season.”

Former Tigers props Logovi’i Mulipola (Newcastle Falcons), Michele Rizzo (Petrarca) and Ben Betts (Ealing Trailfinders) have joined new clubs since the end of last season, while Kyle Traynor and Chris Baumann have also left Welford Road at the end of their contracts.

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Johnny Sexton has been named as the new Leinster captain ahead of the upcoming season, taking over from the recently retired Isa Nacewa.

Sexton, who has won 76 Ireland caps and has represented the British & Irish Lions on 14 occasions, made his Leinster debut in January 2006 and has added a further 147 caps since then, becoming the all-time leading Leinster points scorer in the process with 1,344 to date.

In his time with Leinster he has won four Heineken Champions Cup trophies, a Challenge Cup trophy and three Celtic League/PRO14 trophies.

Meanwhile, Rhys Ruddock, 27, has been named vice-captain. Ruddock has won 19 Ireland caps. He made his Leinster debut in December 2009 and has won 142 caps in total for Leinster, scoring seven tries. He has won a Challenge Cup, three PRO12/14 titles and added a Heineken Champions Cup medal last season.

Commenting on the appointment of both Sexton and Ruddock, head coach Leo Cullen said:

“Johnny is a player and person who is always striving to improve and get better and he has driven incredibly high standards during his time at Leinster, where he has become one of the most decorated players in the game.

“He has already carried out the role of captain of the team on a number of occasions and we are very fortunate to be able to announce Johnny as club captain for the 2018/19 season as he is a player that greatly deserves this honour.

“He is hugely excited by the challenge of leading his teammates over the course of the season as we look to maximise the team’s potential.

“Likewise Rhys, we have seen him grow into an outstanding leader at Leinster and indeed he has captained Ireland on tour to Japan and again last season against Fiji and I think that this appointment today is further evidence of that growth.

“You couldn’t get two players that better represent the values and behaviours that we want to be judged on than Johnny and Rhys and I look forward to working even closer with them over the coming months.”

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Munster captain Peter O’Mahony has praised the signings made by head coach Johann van Graan, in particular the acquisition of Tadhg Beirne.

Along with Beirne, Van Graan has signed Leinster back Joey Carbery, loose forward Arno Botha from the Bulls and Sale Sharks full-back Mike Haley as he looks to bolster the squad in a bid to end a trophy drought that stretches back to 2011 for the Limerick outfit.

“You look at the guys that we have signed – the positions, the characters – we’ve done very well,” he told the Irish Mirror. “We’re not that far off but the problem is you’re not automatically back in the semi-final this year – we’ve a huge amount of big games to go before you start talking about that.”

And in Beirne, O’Mahony believes they have the world’s best ‘on the poach’. The 26-year-old Irishman returns home from a stint with the Scarlets last season, where he broke the record for the most turnovers in a PRO14 campaign with 39 – 17 more than anyone else.

“He’s been one of the in-form players in European rugby over the last couple of seasons, he’s come from Leinster, got his opportunity with Scarlets and been one of the best,” said O’Mahony.

“He’s an incredible signing for us, his workrate and ability to get over the ball is second to none in the world. He’s probably the best in the world on the poach.

“His lineout ability, ball-carrying ability, he’s a quality footballer – to get somebody of that calibre is a super signing for us.”

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Bernard Foley would like to think he hasn’t been cruising as the Wallabies’ only specialist fly-half but he has welcomed the return of Matt Toomua as a positive for his form and the team.

Toomua signed a new deal with Rugby Australia and the Melbourne Rebels last week before making a surprise start at fly-half for the “Cheika’s Choice” team in the Wallabies trial at Leichhardt Oval.

The 28-year-old is set to return to the Wallabies squad for the opening Bledisloe Cup game next week – his first Test appearance since 2016.

Toomua has spent the last two years playing for Leicester in the English Premiership – and will return to play one more season – but made the decision to re-sign in Australia to play for the Wallabies again, and push for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

The return of Toomua provides much-needed depth in the Aussie playmaking ranks, with centre Kurtley Beale having been Foley’s back-up in the past year and Reece Hodge having even played a Test at number 10. Quade Cooper’s decision to stay in Queensland to play club rugby has him out of the picture, too.

The presence of 33-Test playmaker Toomua will bring intra-squad heat on Foley to hold his spot but the incumbent number 10 says he isn’t looking at it that way.

“I don’t feel added pressure, I just think it is great that we have that extra depth and competition throughout our squad,” Foley told Rugby Australia’s official website.

“It is what we need, if we want to be serious and take Australian rugby to the highest heights. We have to have that competition and have everyone pushing for that selection. That depth, especially in that playmaking role, is definitely what we need.”

Foley said he didn’t think an absence of genuine competition for his position in the team had impacted his desire, motivation or form.

“Hopefully not – I always think I am internally motivated.

“But maybe it has, maybe it hasn’t.

“Having Pup (Toomua) back, he is such a wealth of knowledge. He has played at such a high level for such a long period of time. He played when he was 18 or something.

“His experience overseas has definitely helped him see the game differently, and his game is really well rounded now. Being able to tap into that and have him push me, and push himself and drive the team, is something that can only be good for us.”

Toomua has played both fly-half and inside centre for the Brumbies and the Wallabies.

Former Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie gave Toomua a Test debut in the number 10 hot seat against the All Blacks in 2013, and Cheika used him as a back-up to Foley at the 2015 World Cup.

Most of Toomua’s Test caps have been at number 12, however.

Foley said there were lots of benefits for a team in having a couple of experienced playmakers in the squad, particularly if they have different styles.

“Sometimes you can use those different combinations,” he explained.

“I don’t think we are the same player, so having a guy who take the line on or having a guy who is more the distributor who can control a game, just having different flavours in a team definitely helps and allows us to prepare differently and allows us to see different things.

“If we are only seeing through one pair of glasses, you don’t get the whole picture. For us to have different players and different input, and different experience, can only be a good thing.

“If we sit in a meeting and see a scenario or we talk strategy, you can have more people bring their input and their own experiences over time, that can only be a good thing.

“Then we start evolving our game to be more well-rounded. If are doing something one or two ways, that’s short-sighted.”

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All Blacks hooker Dane Coles admits he almost hung up his boots but has persevered through his injury troubles because of his love for the game.

Coles was named in Steve Hansen’s squad for the Rugby Championship on Monday despite only being expected to return in the latter stages of the tournament as he continues his recovery from a ruptured ACL suffered against France last November.

This, after, having played only 11 games in 2017 due to concussion problems. All this led to the 31-year-old questioning whether it was really worth carrying on, but he says his love for the game and his wife and two children have given him the strength to battle on.

“I’ve had a pretty frustrating couple of years,” the Hurricanes hooker told Radio Sport on Wednesday.

“You have times where you’re like, ‘Is this really worth it?’ or ‘Is this going to come right?’”

“I think the drive, especially for me of getting back out there playing for the All Blacks or playing for the Hurricanes, has been a massive motivation,” he added. “Just playing rugby again. I love the game.

“I didn’t want the injury to determine my outcome I wanted, leaving on my own terms I suppose.

“You have really good weeks and you go ‘I’m making good progress’, then I had the calf stuff and you just find yourself in this routine of ‘I’m not really getting anywhere’ because I was so close, but then again I was so far.

“You’ve just got to find a way to keep motivated. I’m lucky cause I’ve got kids and if I’ve been frustrated at training I can go home and decompress and be a dad.

“Just getting away from the rugby side of things and just being normal really helps, so when I come to training I’m 100 per cent focused on doing my running or my weights.

“You find ways to get yourself back on track and to be patient. I don’t want to rush these things because if I rush that might be me done, or another nine months on the sideline.”

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Dan Carter believes Beauden Barrett is still the best in the fly-half position for the All Blacks, despite stiff competition from Richie Mo’unga.

Mo’unga has been in sparkling form, guiding the Crusaders to a ninth Super Rugby title, prompting many to suggest it was time he was given a shot in the coveted All Black number ten jersey.

While Carter paid tribute to Mo’unga’s ‘fantastic season’, the three-time World Player of the Year believes Barrett’s experience and leadership still give him the the edge.

“It’s obviously hotly debated at the moment and credit to Richie Mo’unga for putting his hand up over a fantastic season,” Carter told the New Zealand Herald.

“It’s hard to go past what Beauden’s achieved over the last couple of years. A lot of the All Blacks’ success has come because of his performances. He’s a leader of the team now.”

Barrett is the current holder of back-to-back World Rugby Player of the Year crowns. But it is Mo’unga who has stolen the limelight in Super Rugby this season, with Barrett’s form slightly underwhelming in contrast.

“I’ve been in that position with young guys nipping at your heels. It makes you work harder and appreciate your position in the team more,” Carter added.

“It’s great there’s competition. Damian’s not a bad talent as well. It’s great the All Blacks have such depth.”

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England wing Jonny May has targeted continued improvements in his game after producing some of the best rugby of his career over the summer.

The Leicester Tigers wideman scored in all three Tests against South Africa in June, taking his streak to crossing in the last five times he has represented his county.

The 28-year-old though still believes he can add to his game that has so far returned 17 tries in 37 caps.

“I want to get smarter and I want to get faster and that is the product of years of working,” he told England Rugby.

“You spend your whole career working and every week looking at bits about how you can get better here or there.

“The end goal, and end product, is hopefully putting it out there at the weekend and playing some good rugby.

“I feel like over time I’ve gradually been getting better and I was playing my best rugby I think I’ve ever played out in South Africa.”

May’s preparations for the new season have included a two-week stint at the Michael Johnson Performance centre in Texas, where he interacted with American sprinter English Gardner and some NFL players.

“I like the training there, it’s perfect for what I want to do – I had a good couple of weeks there and I came back feeling good,” he added.

“The primary focus is on speed training, lots of agility, plyometrics, acceleration, top end speed; America don’t mess around with sports.”

England are next in action in November when they take on South Africa in the Quilter Internationals before facing New Zealand, Japan and Australia.

It is part of a big season for England which culminates in the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, and May hopes the squad can use the tournament as motivation throughout the season.

“It’s exciting isn’t it being a World Cup year?”

“Let’s make sure it brings the best out of us, it is not something to burden us or stress us out it is something to get excited about.”

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