#360Rugby: Bath better off without Burgess, Cooper in-form

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Burgess, Cooper, the Olympics and more.

    In this week’s take on all things rugby, Sport360 looks at a Sam Burgess-less Bath, a resurgent Quade Cooper in Toulon, the Olympic sevens ‘threat’ and the best of UAE rugby.

    Bath better off without Burgess

    Was Slammin’ Sam right to leave Bath? Or has the rugby union failure demonstrated a lack of loyalty? Either way, the West Country outfit is better off without Russell crowe’s sparkly eyed man.

    – Burgess set for a return to rugby league’s Rabbitohs
    – RFU became a laughing stock over Burgess handling
    – RWC: Hansen and McCaw reveal future plans

    While Mike Ford has quite rightly pointed out that Burgess’s departure has left a huge hole in Bath’s back row stocks, a 45-14 away demolition of London Irish would suggest the team has moved on.

    One of the biggest losers in the Burgess experiment in its early days was Bath’s emerging utility back Ollie Devoto. The England hopeful was forced to sit on the bench and watch Burgess take his position in both the Bath starting XV and the England World Cup training squad.

    However Devoto stayed where many would have not (probably including Burgess) and has fought his way back into the starting team to great effect.

    Other than a second-half sin-binning the young centre looked assured at 13 and will play a vital role in Bath’s title charge this season.

    Cooper rediscovers best form in France

    French rugby has always favoured flair over consistency, so it is perhaps unsurprising that Quade Cooper has finally rediscovered his best form in Toulon.

    The mercurial fly-half played a bit-part role in Australia’s run to the Rugby World Cup final, but demonstrated his full range of trickery as the European champions dispatched Montpellier 52-8 to get their season back on track.

    The presence of fellow Wallabies Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell, Lachlan Turner and James O’Connor will no doubt have helped the transition but it is the less-structured playing-style of Top 14 that has helped Cooper rediscover his magic touch.

    The former Reds playmaker did throw a telegraphed intercept pass that led to an opposition try, but as long as Cooper is creating at least five try-scoring opportunities a match, Toulon will not be too fussed with that. 

    USA PRO rugby league to help Eagles catch up

    Alongside England’s group-stage exit from their own World Cup, one of the most disappointing aspects of the tournament was the poor form of the USA and Canada.

    The USA in particular had been tipped to impress at England 2015. With star names Samu Manoa, Takudzwa Ngwenya and Blaine Scully among their ranks and a growing sense in the country that rugby is on the up, the Eagles suffered a horrible bout of stage fright to lose every single game (albeit in a very strong group).

    However a new professional rugby league that will start in April 2016 and comprised of six teams is a huge step towards bridging the gap for US Rugby.

    Slightly disappointingly Canadian teams will only be allowed to join from 2017, but with only five foreign players allowed in each team, the league will provide an effective vehicle for snaring players from other sports/

    It is now World Rugby’s turn to support the US growth by providing the senior men’s side with regular competition against tier-one sides during the year.

    Sevens ‘threat’ to traditional rugby is foolish

    With Bryan Habana and Sonny Bill Williams both announcing their intentions to take part in the Rio 2016 Olympic sevens competition this week, interest and credibility in the sport has never been higher.

    However while most modern rugby fans see the growing popularity of sevens as an effective tool to boost the globalization of rugby union, some of the more archaic corners of the game see sevens’s popularity as a threat to the future of the 15-a-side game. This is nonsense.

    Rugby Sevens is a far less attritional game than XV-a-side and as such attracts a very different type of fan. The majority of rugby fans enjoy both in equal measure because the glamorous nature of sevens events on and off the field perfectly combine with the regularly traditional rugby season to provide excellent viewing for all fans around the world, throughout the year.

    Over the next five years rugby has a chance to become a truly globalised sport. However rugby traditionalists must now realize that developing rugby sevens is the only way to benefit both codes in this quest.

    UAE domestic rugby offering fans more than ever

    The UAE Premiership has been extended, changing from a five-game round robin league format with the top two teams facing off in a final, to a home and away 10-game format where the top team takes the title.

    The Gulf Top Six has been replaced by the West Asia Championship, which will feature nine teams instead of six, plus we have the Dubai Rugby Sevens.

    For fans of rugby and those who cover it, it’s excellent news. The UAE Rugby Federation have ensured a lot more rugby will be played this season and that’s great for all concerned.

    One issue that will need addressing, however, is the staggered fixtures of the Premiership.

    After seven rounds, the Premiership now takes a four-month hiatus, returning at the end of March next year.

    With the title race finely poised between reigning champions Abu Dhabi Harlequins, resurgent Exiles and third-placed Saracens, the mid-season break has arrived at the wrong time.

    It will no doubt be welcomed by teams who have been banged up by seven intense opening rounds, but you have to feel that such a long gap may prove to be too much of a distraction for others.

    Extra-time

    It was mentioned earlier that Quade Cooper has rediscovered his spark at Toulon and there is no better example of his genius than the no-look kick that set up countryman Lauchie Turner’s try. This sort of trickery cannot be taught so sit back, relax and enjoy.  

    Recommended