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It was another weekend stocked full of top-level rugby, and those involved had plenty to say afterwards.
It was another weekend stocked full of top-level rugby, and those involved had plenty to say afterwards.
The British and Irish Lions warmed up for the first test against Australia with a 48-0 victory over an Australia New Zealand Invitation XV in Adelaide.
Fiji recovered from their last-second defeat to Australia by defeating Scotland 29-14. Wales ended their run of 18 defeats with a 31-22 in over Japan, and New Zealand ran away from France early on to record a 43-17 victory.
South Africa shrugged off a red card to beat Italy 45-0, Ireland showed no mercy to defeat Portugal 106-7, and England scored a late try to wrap up their series against Argentina with a 22-17 victory.
There was plenty of post-match chat, and here’s the best of this weekend’s.
“It was like being back at home when he was shouting in my ear next to me. It is amazing to have him back both at club and international level. It’s so exciting to see what he’s going to do for this group.”
Lions flanker Ben Earls welcomes back old pal Owen Farrell:
“They (Australia) are going to be clear underdogs, but I do know he (Joe Schmidt – Australia coach) is high on building belief in this group. That’s going to be one of their key assets. If they can be tough enough at the ball carry to get some front-foot ball against the Lions, they’ll be a challenge.”
Former New Zealand coach Ian Foster reckons that the underdogs can bite:
“Today is the end of a long season, but for Welsh rugby it’s got to be the start of something. The next guy coming in – the big motivation for the group was to let whoever that is start on a level playing field without the burden of the 18 in a row around his neck.”
Wales’s stand-in coach Matt Sherratt hands over the reins with THAT run ended:
“It means a lot. Living in Fiji, everyone watches rugby. Fiji is known for rugby so just playing at this level, playing for all my family and all my friends and they are all really proud of this achievement and the amount of support they’ve put into me.”
Fiji debutant Sam Wye knows exactly what his first cap means:
“We also conceded fewer stupid penalties. Before that, we were in their half, then we'd come back to our own half, concede a penalty, then they'd kick, have another maul, and then they'd end up scoring. When you concede two or three penalties like that, it becomes too difficult to turn things around.”
France’s Pierre Bochaton is brutally honest about his team’s performance:
“I certainly had a target on my back. They certainly ran down my channel. It was probably a plan to get into that channel, whether it was to get at me or not. The second test, that's where I busted my shoulder, and the first test there was a few line breaks through that channel as well. They were definitely coming through there.”
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham and ex-Australia flyhalf has painful memories of 2001:
“For the objective we set ourselves, it's a positive tour. The match against Namibia was good, as was the match in Pretoria, with many new players, including a new number 10 who could be a future option. Many of the team's usual leaders were missing, and from these matches, we saw who might have leadership roles in the future.”
Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada shakes off a 45-0 loss to the Springboks:
“We tried a few things and sometimes those things work and sometimes they don’t, and you have to take it on the chin if they don’t work. We won’t be able to do them again for a few games as people have seen them now.”
Don’t expect South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus to stop experimenting any time soon: