Incoming Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has urged Australian rugby union’s warring factions to stop airing their differences in public.
The New Zealander — who has ended his four-year spell as Glasgow Warriors coach — replaces Michael Cheika, who left after Australia were beaten in last year’s Rugby World Cup quarter-finals by eventual runners-up England.
Much has changed since the 56-year-old Rennie accepted the job, with Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle having resigned in April amid accusations that the first woman to hold the post had been bullied by “dark forces” on social media.
Photo: Reuters
Last week also saw Rugby Australia tear up the contract of Wallabies lock Izack Rodda after he refused to accept a coronavirus enforced paycut.
The COVID-19 shutdown has added to the financial strain on Rugby Australia, which was already struggling after reaching a multimillion-dollar settlement with star try-scorer Israel Folau over his sacking for homophobic comments.
Rugby Australia reported a provisional A$9.4 million (US$6.3 million) operating deficit last year and has laid off 75 percent of staff to cut costs during the pandemic, with former Australia captain Nick Farr-Jones among those openly critical of the governing body.
“Things have been a bit messy and that’s putting it mildly,” Rennie told a videoconference from his home in Glasgow on Friday.
“An enormous amount of stuff has come out in the press and that’s one thing I’d like to stop,” the 56-year-old added. “A lot of discussions need to happen behind closed doors.”
Rennie could not hide his disappointment at the departure of Castle, but said that he has no intention of walking away from the Wallabies.
“Raelene is an impressive person. She is tough, but has been bullied the last couple of years which is really disappointing,” Rennie said. “I am disappointed I won’t get the chance to work with her but I am committed — I signed a deal and intend to see it through.”
Despite the turmoil Rennie, who guided New Zealand to three successive Under-20 world titles, said: “There are lots of good things happening in Australian rugby.”
“The Super Rugby coaches have given us a lot of access to the players and we’ve done a lot of work with those guys,” Rennie added. “Personally I’m in a better place than I would have been if we [Glasgow] had been playing PRO14, so if there are any positives from the pause to the season it would be that. I’m a lot clearer on the players and where they’re at and what we need to do.”
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
Taiwan suffered its first defeat of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12, losing to defending champion Japan 3-1 at the Taipei Dome last night. Japan’s victory put Taiwan’s score at two wins and one loss in WBSC Premier12 championship Group B play. In the top of the first inning, a sacrifice fly from Japanese batter Shota Morishita allowed Masayuki Kuwahara to score a run on Taiwan’s starter Chen Po-ching (陳柏清). Taiwan’s attempt to catch up in the bottom of the first ended to no avail and an uneventful second inning saw the score
A debate over the soul of soccer is raging in FIFA World Cup holders Argentina, pitting defenders of the social role of the beautiful game against the government of libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei, who wants to turn clubs into for-profit companies. Argentina, which gave the world Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, is home to some of the world’s most devoted soccer fans — a fact attributed by supporters like Gabriel Nicosia to the clubs’ community outreach. Nicosia is a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo, a more than 100-year-old first division club based in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boedo where
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty and an overhead kick on Friday as Portugal beat Poland 5-1 to guarantee a place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals. Ronaldo turned in a man-of-the-match performance in a blistering second half. Rafael Leao broke the deadlock with a fine header 14 minutes into the second half and then Ronaldo got his 134th international goal from the penalty spot 13 minutes later. Bruno Fernandes scored a stunning third from almost 30m out and three minutes later Ronaldo’s pass gave Pedro Neto the space to lash home a fourth from a tight angle. Ronaldo made it five — and 135
RSS