The Rogues Rant #281

July 30 2021

Welcome to The Rogues Rant, an occasional look at all things Rugby.

By Ron Wood

With the Covid restrictions being extended as expected till the end of August, the future of the 2021 IDRU season is very much in doubt. The IDRU Board and clubs have been consulting regularly in the hope of achieving a restart to the competition. Time is quickly running out with a September 25 deadline for active Rugby. It’s crunch time this coming Monday when the Board will meet to make the next call on the situation. Perhaps it’s time to start planning for 2022.

The Aussie Men’s sevens finished seventh in a disappointing Olympics but the girls are keeping the Aussie flag flying. Big wins against Japan and China on day one for the tournament favorites was followed by a narrow loss to the strong USA team on day two. It was an impressive physical performance from a big athletic American side which made the Aussie girls work very hard for a 12 – 0 lead. The size and power of the Americans eventually took its toll on the Aussies as two late tries completed a 14 – 12 win. The Aussie girls now progress to the Quarters against Fiji.    

What an absorbing First Test between the Springboks and the Lions. The Boks led 12 – 3 at the break after enjoying the run of play during the first half before the Lions put it together in the second term to run out 22 – 7 winners. It was an intense match and I think we can expect more of the same this Sunday again in Cape Town.  

RUGBY DIARY

TO BE ADVISED

All opinions offered in this column are the opinion of the author. They should not be considered to represent the views of the IDRU.