Former New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has labelled the Springboks' late team changes a "debacle", as Dafydd Jenkins declares himself ready for the new season and the Ospreys begin pre-season with a comfortable win.
Hansen weighs in on Springboks-All Blacks furore
After the Springboks levelled the four-Test series in Cape Town last Saturday, All Blacks coach Dave Rennie accused South Africa of 'walking around' at the scrum, prompting a furious response from Rassie Erasmus. That started a back-and-forth throughout the week, with coaches and media being sucked in.
However, Hansen admitted he wasn't too concerned about the furore over the scrums. "I don't know. I don't think any team scrum's straight," he said on the Rugby Unity podcast. "So they'll deny it, and the All Blacks will say they are. So, what does it matter what we think? It's all about the referee, really, and what he's thinking. The rules do say you've got to stay square."
Hansen, who coached Wales years before leading New Zealand to World Cup success in 2015, was less impressed by the late changes made by Erasmus. The Springboks coach switched out his entire starting front-row less than an hour before kick-off in Cape Town.
'It's a debacle'
"It's a debacle I reckon; it's just a waste of time," said Hansen. "You've got sports betting, and people are having the first try-scorer, and then all of a sudden the team has changed and the guy you backed has been dropped."
"So it doesn't achieve anything, like whether he's trying to play mind games with his players or mind games with the All Blacks, or look really smart, I don't know. To me, I think it's a waste of time. Pick your team, and if you can't pick your team on Monday, then don't pick it on Monday. Pick it when you can. Name it when you can; pick it properly."
Jenkins ready after 'tough' summer
Dafydd Jenkins says he's ready for the start of the new season after having to watch his Wales team-mates from afar for the second successive summer. Having missed Wales' tour of Japan last year to undergo back surgery, he once again went under the knife this summer, with a shoulder operation after Exeter's Prem final defeat ruling him out of the inaugural Nations Championship.
With Rob Baxter confirming this week that he should be fine for the start of the Prem season later this month, Jenkins admitted it was difficult to miss out on being involved with Wales in July. "It's always tough to miss those Wales games," said Jenkins. "You want to play as much for your country as possible with your good mates. It's tough to watch, but the Nations Championship was an exciting competition. I enjoyed watching it as a spectator."
Having been part of an Exeter team that turned around their fortunes to reach the Prem final, Jenkins believes Wales can go on a similar trajectory under Steve Tandy. "I think it's a similar team," he added. "We were a really young team two years ago and Rob (Baxter) put faith in us. We're slowly improving. With Wales, if we can do the same thing, obviously it's on a bigger magnitude and in international rugby there's less margin for error, but I do see similarities in both."
Ospreys start with comfortable win
The Ospreys started pre-season with a strong 52-12 victory away at Coventry. Mark Jones named different teams for each half, with a handful of new signings handed debuts.
One of those new signings, Wales wing Tom Rogers, dotted down for his first try minutes after Harri Houston had opened the scoring for the Ospreys. Ross Moriarty would barge his way over for the Ospreys' third score either side of the home side's two tries on the night.
The second half began with another new signing, former Australia captain Liam Wright, crossing for a score. Lewis Lloyd would go over for the next try, with the hooker ending up in the sin-bin minutes later. His replacement, Efan Daniel, was next on the scoresheet, before Keelan Giles and Morgan Morris rounded off the evening with tries.
Skivington backs Welsh duo
Gloucester head coach George Skivington has backed Welsh duo Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake to be a success at Kingsholm this season. The two men who have shared the Wales captaincy in recent seasons have moved to the Gallagher Prem together from the Ospreys, as the Cherry and Whites look to improve upon last season's eighth-place finish.
"They've got a lot of experience," said Skivington. "They're still young men, but they've got a lot of experience. They're very humble characters, very obviously good rugby players, but I think it's more than that with those two. I think they're two straight shooters. They want to achieve something. They're excited to play in a new league."
"I think they'll bring a different sort of leadership to what we've had in the building. They want to do something. I'm excited for them to come in, bring their experience and bring their professionalism. It'll help the young lads. We've got some real talented lads for them to help guide."
De Bruin opens up on exit
Swys de Bruin has opened up about his shock exit as head coach of the Springbok Women. SA Rugby confirmed the 66-year-old had left his post this week, just days before they take on New Zealand. During his time in charge, he led South Africa to the knockout stages of a Women's World Cup for the first time ever.
Speaking for the first time since his departure, he denied his exit was over bonuses supposedly owed to him, describing that information as "new to me". "From my side and SA Rugby's side, I spoke to the president, Mark Alexander, and the plan was to delay it until the Bok Women's match against the Black Ferns," De Bruin told Rugby365.
"I sent my resignation to Dave Wessels [general manager of High-Performance at SA Rugby] a long time ago. The coaches were aware of my resignation, and I know they would've told the players. So, there were no secrets. I'm not one to keep secrets." Ahead of Saturday's match against the Black Ferns, assistant coaches Laurian Johannes-Haupt and Franzel September will take charge.
