One Percenters: Coaching great Smith backs Wallabies as World Rugby make further tackle amendments

Fri, May 12, 2023, 5:23 AM
Nathan Williamson
by Nathan Williamson
The Rebels and Brumbies played out a wild game in Melbourne

With so many players and clubs doing media each day, it can be hard to keep on top of a lot of the stories coming out.

Rugby is filled with them across all levels of the game and whilst most are covered through some form of media, there are others that might have slipped off the radar as the final rounds of Super Rugby Pacific dominate discussions.

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One Percenters looks at everything you might have missed from the week of Rugby.

Wallabies 'danger' at World Cup - Smith

Former All Blacks coach Wayne Smith has backed the Wallabies to stun some teams at the World Cup under Eddie Jones.

Smith, who took the Black Ferns to the Rugby World Cup title last year, believes Jones will have an immediate impact on a Wallabies outfit with a great draw for September's event.

“Eddie is going to get a lot of players back that Dave Rennie never had because of injury or overseas,” Smith told the All Blacks podcast.

“He always gets an impact anyway. Most new coaches do and I would say they will be more of a danger than people expect.

"So that is going to be an interesting one to watch.”

Stats to stun

In the modern game, there has never been a time when stats have been richer and more available to clubs, coaches and fans.

As data continued to develop, take a look at some of the more interesting and unique stats heading into round 12 of Super Rugby Pacific, courtesy of Opta.

  • The Chiefs and Reds' recent encounters have gone down to the wire, with their last three games decided by six points or less
  • The Chiefs are currently on their largest winning streak in club history, out to make it 11 in a row
  • Both teams have been dominant at home despite sitting in the second half of the ladder. The Force and Drua are 6/7 when playing in their home state/country (WA/Fiji) respectively and are 1/14 outside of it, which includes two 'home' games as part of Super Round
  • Carlo Tizzano has made an instant impact since returning, averaging 24 tackles per 80 mins, the most in Super Rugby.
  • The Waratahs are looking for three straight wins for the first time since 2018
  • Meanwhile, the Rebels are aiming for back-to-back wins outside of Victoria for the first time since 2021
  • The Brumbies will be out for back-to-back wins over the Highlanders for the first time since 2015.
  • Blake Schoupp has made three try saving tackles in 2023, more than any other player in Super Rugby
World Rugby confirms lower tackle height law trials for community rugby

World Rugby Council has unanimously approved a recommendation that unions participate in trials of a lower tackle height in community rugby.

The opt-in trial, which gives unions the freedom to adapt within their own jurisdiction, aims to improve player safety by reducing the mark to below the base of the sternum.

Unions including England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Italy and South Africa are set to join the trials alongside France and New Zealand where similar trials were already taking place

World Rugby Chief Player Welfare and Rugby Services Officer Mark Harrington added “This is the next step on a journey which first began with World Rugby investing in world leading research into player welfare at all levels of the game. 

“World Rugby will continue to support unions throughout the next two years in educating players, collecting data and analysing research so that our decision making continues to be informed by the best possible evidence.”

Simpsons reference stuns Savea

The National Provincial Competition in New Zealand went viral during the week after a bizarre Simpsons reference.

The episode sees Bart learning about sports betting and finds himself betting on Wellington, who appears to go down to Auckland from Bart's reaction.

"Whatever Rugby is Wellington sucks at it," he says.

This gave Wellington and Hurricanes flanker Ardie Savea a chuckle, reminding people of where they stand

“Did he just say Wellington sucks?” Savea asked when showed the clip.

“We’re the champs man. That is pretty cool though."

Social post of the week

There is innovation and whatever happened in U15s South African Rugby over the weekend.

The play starts with the Waterkloof backline lying down, only for it to somehow work when the chip kick finds the winger and he powers away to score.

Whilst effective, it's not something I think other teams will rush to replicate

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