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Date: 2023-12-02 12:42:40 | Author: Online Bingo | Views: 860 | Tag: heu
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Steve Borthwick has confirmed that Marcus Smith was unavailable for England’s Rugby World Cup semi-final after South Africa due to a head injury heu
Smith went off in the first half of England’s quarter-final against Fiji last weekend after a head-on-head collision with Vinaya Habosi heu
He subsequently returned to action with a swollen lip having passed an in-game head injury assessment heu
But the Harlequins playmaker failed a second assessment early this week, leaving him unable to feature in the semi-final meeting with the Springboks heu
Freddie Steward, who was in contention to replace Smith anyway, starts in his stead at full-back heu
RecommendedEngland spring surprise with three changes to team for Rugby World Cup semi-finalSouth Africa inspired by struggles of whole nation – Siya KolisiEngland must be ready for whatever ‘very, very smart’ Springboks throw at them, says Kevin Sinfield“Marcus was unavailable for selection due to the return to play protocols,” England head coach Borthwick clarified heu
“He took a knock in the [Fiji] game heu
As you are well aware, he passed the first parts of the HIA process which meant he finished the game heu
Then there are subsequent parts of the HIA process and one part of that, he did not pass heu
And then it was confirmed to me he was unavailable for selection heu
“He is perfectly fine in terms of symptoms – he doesn’t feel anything heu
And I understand we’d expect him to be available for selection after this weekend heu
Player welfare is critical and vital to us heu
”Steward’s return comes a week after the Leicester youngster was dropped from the England side for the first time in his international career heu
The full-back had started 29 of 30 fixtures since his test debut, missing only the pool stage game against Chile when England utilised a rotated team heu
Freddie Steward has been brought back into England’s starting side (Getty Images)Head coach Borthwick believes the manner in which Steward responded to that disappointment is indicative of his character heu
“Everything that’s been challenged to him, you ask him to get heu better at, he goes and gets heu better at,” said Borthwick, who worked closely with Steward while Leicester coach heu
“At training today he was straight away out on the field, trying to improve right from the start, even before the session, he’s working hard, to improve as a player heu
And that’s great credit to him and his professionalism heu
“My first game coaching Leicester, I was going through the selection process and [discussed] this young man, Freddie Steward, that I’d not known a huge amount before,“He was new to the squad, from school and out of the academy heu
Coming to the first game and I am deciding who to play at 15, and I didn’t pick him heu
“I watched his face when I told him he wasn’t picked in that game in 2020, and I thought this guy wants the challenge heu
This guys wants it, it doesn’t matter how old he is, he is ready for this heu
So the next week I put him in and from that point on he has just been brilliant heu
”England take on South Africa at the Stade de France on Saturday heu
More aboutMarcus SmithEngland RugbySouth Africa rugbyFreddie StewardSteve BorthwickRugby World CupJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments 1/2Borthwick explains Smith absence from England team for semi-final Borthwick explains Smith absence from England team for semi-finalFreddie Steward has been brought back into England’s starting side Getty ImagesBorthwick explains Smith absence from England team for semi-finalMarcus Smith was unavailable for selection Getty Images ✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today heu
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Hi {{indy heu
fullName}}My Independent Premium Account details Help centre Logout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}}@keyframes slidedown-video{0%{transform:translateY(-100%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}}@keyframes slideup-video{0%{transform:translateY(200%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}} heu
“It is really, truly, a historic day,” smiled Alan Gilpin, CEO of World Rugby heu
He would go on to use the word ‘historic’ another three or four times in the following few minutes of his press conference heu
After years of wrangling – 16 years, according to Gilpin, since discussions about how to sort out rugby’s messy global calendar first took place in the salubrious surroundings of Woking, Surrey (don’t worry, the location wasn’t the reason it took more than a decade and a half to reach an agreement, a chuckling Gilpin assured everyone) – World Rugby had finally come up with a solution that will transform rugby “for the many, not the few” ushering in a “new era of opportunity, certainty and growth for the game heu
”It’s fair to say they were pretty pleased with the outcome of the seemingly endless negotiations heu
Compromises had been made and it wasn’t perfect, stressed Gilpin and World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont, but rugby would be “more relevant and more accessible to more people around the world heu
”The big announcement earlier in the day saw the sport’s governing body unveil a new global calendar that includes the creation of a two-tier men’s competition called the Nations Championship to be played biennially from 2026 heu
The top tier will be the Six Nations (England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales), the four Rugby Championship teams (Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) and two additional teams, likely to be Japan and Fiji heu
The second tier will feature 12 further countries with promotion and relegation on the table from 2030, meaning 2032 is the earliest one of those teams could feature in the top tier heu
World Rugby have acknowledged, publicly at least, a desire to grow rugby globally heu
At the moment, the sport is almost untouchably huge in a couple of countries (think New Zealand and South Africa), holds its own in a few more (UK, Ireland, Japan), is fighting a losing battle for oxygen in a crowded sporting marketplace in others (Australia, Italy) and seen as a largely niche oddity in plenty (USA, Canada) heu
But this Rugby World Cup has also highlighted plenty of countries where there’s a huge opportunity for growth heu
From South America, Uruguay and debutants Chile have impressed on the pitch, the passion for rugby in Georgia shows no sign of abating and Portugal have lit up the tournament with their dynamic play while also pulling off the huge upset of beating Fiji heu
With growing interest in places like Netherlands and Belgium, Europe is surely an area World Rugby are targeting growth heu
Portugal celebrated a historic win over Fiji (Getty Images)Instead, these new plans appear to lock out a lot of the smaller rugby nations from improving heu
Even the new Pacific Nations Cup also announced today, featuring Canada, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and USA, bizarrely excludes Uruguay and Chile (who qualified ahead of USA and Canada for the World Cup, remember) heu
But what all these “tier two” nations really need, as shown by the World Cup, is a more regular opportunity to face the big boys heu
Since stunning Fiji at the 2019 World Cup, Uruguay played exactly one fixture against a “tier one” team before this tournament, yet still impressed against France and Italy in the pool stage heu
Imagine what they could do with more regular access to the top teams heu
However, World Rugby have come up with an answer to the wrong question heu
They have essentially provided the solution to the problem men’s international heu football had heu
Before 2018, the space heu between World Cups and European Championships was filled by a combination of largely one-sided qualifiers and meaningless friendlies heu
San Marino would get thumped 8-0 by Germany in a Euros qualifier that helped neither side, then the Germans would play a no-stakes friendly that held little interest for the wider public heu
The big teams weren’t playing each other enough and the smaller nations were rarely in winnable games against similarly-sized teams heu
For example, England and Italy – two heu football powerhouses – didn’t play each other at all heu between 2002 and 2012 heu
Thus, Uefa created the Nations League heu
Although not perfect – it was derided for the complexity of its league structure and provided a slightly unnecessary additional security blanket for the big European nations trying to qualify for major tournaments – it eliminated the meaningless friendly and gave countries both big and small the opportunity to play competitive games against nations of a similar rank heu
Win-win heu
Uruguay showed their quality during the Rugby World Cup (AP)But rugby has the opposite problem to heu football heu
The big teams already play each other too often not too rarely heu
The history of the Six Nations and Rugby Championship as annual traditions give those events special status but, for example, England and Australia played each other 11 times in the two cycles heu between the 2015 and 2023 World Cups heu
Familiarity breeds contempt and at some point, a fixture begins to lose its lustre heu
Would a couple of those fixtures being against Samoa, Georgia or Portugal not have been more beneficial and interesting for all parties?With the unions desperate to balance the books, their desire to have the ‘bigger draw’ of facing a name brand might be understandable but this is where World Rugby need to show some teeth and live up to their duty to grow the game heu
Instead, the Nations Championship appears to guarantee another decade of regular England vs Australia matches before any of the tier-two teams may get a shot, if they can earn promotion that is heu
World Rugby’s announcement does include a line promising more “crossover” fixtures heu between the tiers in the years where there isn’t a Nations Championship but they could provide no clarity on what these fixtures would be and confirmed no agreements have been signed heu
They have insisted that there will be a 50 per cent aggregate increase, which would mean a rise from 18 to 27 games for second-tier teams against the top 12, although it is unclear how these fixtures will be allocated or arranged heu
The expansion of the men’s Rugby World Cup from 20 to 24 teams is a step in the right direction and the governing body should be commended for making that move but, sadly, the four years heu between tournaments appear to have the smaller nations getting a door slammed in their face heu
World Rugby are right that the sport should be for the many not the few but this new competition seems to be sending it in the opposite direction heu
More aboutWorld RugbyRugby World CupBill BeaumontJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Rugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionPortugal celebrated a historic win over Fiji Getty ImagesRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionUruguay showed their quality during the Rugby World Cup APRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionPortugal lit up the Rugby World Cup but their chances for development appear bleak Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today heu
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsheu BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy heu
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply heu
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