Darry Worthington takes a look at the rugby news that has made the headlines over the past week.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
Rugby returned last week and the news mill is now in overdrive. This week’s headline news sees the Crusaders make a solid start to their Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign, the Blues rack up another impressive win, Scott Barrett possibly missing the rest of Super Rugby, Michale Chieka distancing himself from the Gloucester job and Kurtley Beale wanting an early exit from the Waratahs.
Blues Continue to Impress While Crusaders Fire a Warning Shot
The second round of Super Rugby Aotearoa was an absolute cracker with the Blues making it two wins on the trot as they beat the Chiefs 12-24. This was a highly impressive win as it came on the road and the Chiefs had a full-strength backline at their disposal.
While the Blues do look the real deal this year, there’s no doubt they’ll face competition form New Zealand’s most successful franchise, the Crusaders, The men from Canterbury opened their campaign up with a brilliant 25-39 victory over the Hurricanes. They looked unplayable at times, and the Highlanders, who they’ll play next week, will need to be at their best if they are to avoid being taught a rugby lesson.
Cheika Denies Gloucester Talks But Is Keen On European Jaunt
Former Wallabies coach Micahel Cheika has distanced himself from the Gloucester head coach job. The English Premiership side have been without a coach for the past month or so after they decided to get rid of Johan Ackermann.
Cheika seems to be keen on not rushing into anything and has said he is looking for a club that feels like the right fit. It’s probably a smart move to avoid Gloucester then as according to some reports. Johann Ackermann ended up falling victim to a mutiny from some of the suits and a handful of players. And Cheika knows all about situations like that.
SARU Take Control of Cash-Strapped Kings
It some rather sad news, SARU have yet again had to get involved with the Southern Kings as the South African rugby body announced that they will place the Kings under administration.
The equity shareholders, The Greatest Rugby Company in the Whole World, had a 74% stake in the Kings but it seems they have been struggling to pay staff wages, tax or the debt that they inherited when taking over the franchise.
This is yet another sad moment for the Kings franchise who were placed under administration back in 2016.
Kurtley Beale Wants Waratahs Exit
Moving to Australia now and it seems that Wallaby Kurtley Beale is keen to exit the Waratahs as soon as possible.
The utility back has apparently been granted permission to cut his contract – which still had four months to run on it – short as he looks to be at his peak for his move to Racing Metro.
This is a big blow for the Waratahs who are just a few weeks away from returning to play.
