One training session turned around England's dismal rugby World Cup campaign last year when the defending champions were on the verge of elimination, according to coach Brian Ashton.


England, humiliated 36-0 by eventual champions South Africa in the group stages, rallied to beat Samoa and Tonga and reach the knockout stages where they defeated Australia and hosts France to reach the final for the second successive tournament.


In an interview in The Independent newspaper on Thursday, Ashton described the notorious emergency meeting when the team sat down with the management to thrash out a survival plan after the South Africa defeat.


Autobiographies published since the tournament by former captain Lawrence Dallaglio and Mike Catt have suggested Ashton was out of his depth as coach and the players had been forced to take command.

"There was a good deal of talk, very honest talk, and everyone who wanted to make a contribution did so. Contrary to popular belief, there was no swearing that I can remember," Ashton said.
"What I do remember is a considerable amount of disagreement between the players themselves about things we'd done in the buildup to the tournament. What emerged was a need for clarity."

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South Africa's first black rugby boss Peter de Villiers said on Thursday that players would continue to be picked on rugby criteria.


De Villiers, successor to World Cup-winning coach Jake White, was addressing fears that his appointment could mean the break-up of the predominantly white Springboks team.

"There is no free ticket for any black player in this country to become a Springbok," he told radio listeners. "I never worked with black players and I never worked with white players.
"I only worked with rugby players throughout my career. At one stage there was a great bunch of black players I coached, at another stage there was a great bunch of white players."
He added: "I never, never see colour and a lot of players can tell you that."

De Villiers was named as successor to White on Wednesday, becoming South Africa's first black coach in 116 years of test rugby.

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We must be on guard so extremists don’t win the day


Some time ago, a young and ambitious rugby referee was eager to impress an old hand who had been sent to assess his progress.
The ref had just handled a game in which, to put it mildly, the offside rule had been more honoured in the breach than the observance.


“What did you think?” he inquired of the assessor afterwards, with a confident smirk on his face.

“Well,” the assessor started tentatively. “Not too bad, but I think you need to tighten up on the offside law.”
“Oh, I know all about the offside law,” the young ref retorted. “But today I wanted to let the game flow!”


The International Rugby Board, mercifully, has resisted similar laissez faire in its recent tampering with the laws to let the game “flow”.


In an attempt to make the game more attractive allegedly, teams in the Super 14 early next year — and possibly even the Tri-Nations later — will be allowed more room for attack by setting new offside lines at the tackle and set pieces (5m back rather than the last-feet-in- the-scrum rule), greater freedom with quick throw-ins and further restrictions in kicking for touch from inside the 22.


Penalty offences are to be reduced and free-kicks will be more regular.


These new laws (rugby, like cricket, has “laws” rather than “rules”) were enthusiastically put on trial at that great rugby laboratory in Stellenbosch, where the popular Friday-night koshuis league often uses experimental changes such as a clean catch anywhere on the field allows the catcher a free kick.

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New Zealand maintained their perfect start to the IRB Sevens World Series with a 34-7 defeat of Fiji in the final of the Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens at Outeniqua Park in George.


The defending champions raced into a 29-0 lead with tries from Lote Raikabula, Victor Vito (two), captain DJ Forbes and James Kamana before Neumi Nanuku scored Fiji’s only try of the match.

Fiji, just as in the Dubai final last weekend, had two players sin-binned in a match which the Kiwis controlled with Israel Dagg completing the scoring with his first touch after coming on as a replacement.


The title is New Zealand’s fourth consecutive in the IRB Sevens World Series after victories in London, Edinburgh and Dubai and gives them a maximum 40 points from the opening two tournaments of the 2007-08 campaign, eight more Fiji.


South Africa, semi-finalists in both Dubai and George, are third with 24 points, four more than Argentina, who followed up their plate victory in Dubai with a cup semi-final in George. England and Kenya are next, both with 12 points.


Tries from Richie Pugh and James Lewis saw Wales recover from 19-7 down to beat England 21-19 in the bowl final.


Source: Western Mail