‘There were alligators and hippos running wild on the streets of Tbilisi' – Billy Holland recalls eventful 2015 visit to Georgia
'We decided we were going to celebrate like we'd won the World Cup,' recalls Billy Holland, the self-confessed veteran of the group.
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The 42
2 hours ago
- The 42
'You don't coach someone for 10 years and not have a relationship with them'
JOE SCHMIDT IS wearing a green tie and as he discusses a win over Fiji in his precise, well-pronounced way, you'd nearly think you were back in 2018. Mention of the Lions brings you swiftly back into the media room at MacDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, a couple of hours north of Sydney. Schmidt's Wallabies have just squeezed their way to a 21-18 victory over an exciting Fijian team, a late try from captain Harry Wilson sparing the hosts from defeat in their first Test of the year and their only game before the Lions series. The former Ireland head coach is relieved and frustrated. He knows his side haven't played well but is keen to stress that Fiji deserve respect. Schmidt mentions that England only just beat the Fijians in quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup, a tournament in which Eddie Jones' Australia lost to Fiji. Schmidt admits that it was 'inevitable to a degree' that his Wallabies players have been thinking about the three-Test series with the Lions that lies ahead. Well, now there are no distractions as he and his players hone in on the first clash in Brisbane in two weeks. Schmidt will be up against many familiar faces, with his former Ireland assistant Andy Farrell leading a Lions coaching staff that includes Schmidt's old defence coach Simon Easterby and his former on-pitch talisman Johnny Sexton. Schmidt has already coached against Farrell and Easterby, with some success. It was impossible to miss Schmidt's fingerprints all over New Zealand's 2023 World Cup quarter-final win over Ireland when he was an All Blacks assistant. Schmidt's Wallabies also gave Farrell's side a serious test last autumn in Dublin. But Sexton being in the opposition coaching box is a new one for Schmidt. 'I'm sure I will have a coffee with them at some stage,' he says. 'You don't coach someone [Sexton] for 10 years and not have a relationship with them and the same with coaching with Andy. It's one of the things I love about rugby. Joe Schmidt and Johnny Sexton in 2016. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO 'I caught up with Mick Byrne [the Fiji head coach] on Friday and some of the coaches, and it was great. Their analyst was our analyst at the Blues in 2007 so there is so much overlap between people that are good people, and you enjoy their company and you know not to talk rugby anyway.' Yet Farrell and Schmidt have spoken about rugby in recent times. It's understood they agreed that the Lions and Wallabies would do their utmost to keep the media chat to rugby during this series. No one wants a repeat of the toxic vibes of 2021 in South Africa. What they do want is a genuine battle in this series. The Lions are viewed as favourites, largely due to the Wallabies still being in recovery mode after the disastrous Eddie Jones experiment. The Australians improved under Schmidt last year but they are ranked eighth in the world. Their performance today against Fiji will only add to the sense that this is a prime opportunity for the Lions. Schmidt knows that his men are underdogs. 'It's not really a mindset that we've have time to consider, but I'm sure externally it'll look like that,' he says. Advertisement 'We didn't play well enough today for people to have expectation that we'll come bowling into Brisbane and knock the Lions over. 'I'm not sure that expectation was there before today, and so we're going to have to build that quiet resolve and inch by inch we can work our way towards that.' Schmidt and the Wallabies will be watching closely tomorrow when the Lions name their team to face the Brumbies in Wednesday's warm-up game in Canberra. 'I'll be interested to see who plays against the Brumbies because I think shaking towards the Test match that will give us a little bit more prediction in terms of who's going to be where and that will give us an indication of what might best help us to put pressure on them,' says the New Zealander. Schmidt was disappointed at how his Wallabies side became loose against Fiji, as well as missing a few key opportunities to score tries and give themselves breathing room on the scoreboard. Schmidt before today's game in Newcastle. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo He was happy to report that out-half Noah Lolesio should be OK. The Wallabies playmaker was carted off in a neck brace after suffering a head injury in the second half against Fiji, but Schmidt believes he will be fine. The Wallabies are due to name their squad for the Lions series on Friday and it sounds like Lolesio will be part of it. 'Noah's first question he asked me was, 'Did we win?' He was still very much focused on the game and appeared to be in good shape,' says Schmidt. 'That's the first thing and the most important thing. 'I think it was whiplash and his head hit the ground, so I'm hopeful that that's going to be something that will resolve itself reasonably quickly. But at the same time, we're going to make sure that he's OK and we don't take any risks we don't need to there, which is the same as Dave Porecki who came off with an HIA.' Schmidt is also hopeful that lock Will Skelton, back row Rob Valetini, and scrum-half Jake Gordon – who weren't involved in the Fiji game due to injury – will be back for the first Lions Test. Skelton and Valetini's directness was missed against the Fijians, as was Gordon's calm and accurate play at number nine. The reality is that Schmidt knows he needs everyone fit and firing if he's to pull off a series victory over the Lions. Asked about his confidence levels, Schmidt says he just wants to make Australian people proud. 'I'm not a really confident sort of person. There's not real confidence but there's a quiet resolve. 'And that quiet resolve, hopefully over the three-match series can build to something that will earn us the support of a very interested group. It's a great opportunity for us to bring the game back to the focus point that we'd love it to be in Australia. 'We've loved our week in Newcastle. People have stopped us in the street, they've taken a real interest in the game, they've milled around the team hotel and encouraged players in passing. You saw the crowd there today. 'If that's a taste of what's to come, I know that was a small bite and there's some big mouthfuls to come.'
The 42
15 hours ago
- The 42
Van den Berg strikes twice as South Africa beat Italy
SCRUM-HALF MORNE van den Berg scored two tries as Rugby World Cup holders South Africa beat Italy 42-24 in Pretoria in the first of two Tests. Winning his third cap, the 27-year-old half-back from the Johannesburg-based Lions also impressed with his tactical kicking and won the player of the match award. It was a game of two halves with the Springboks using their scrum power to score four tries and build a 28-3 lead by half-time in front of a near-capacity crowd at the 52,000-capacity Loftus Versfeld. Two of those tries came when Italy were temporarily reduced to 14 men after No 8 Lorenzo Cannone was sin-binned by Scottish referee Hollie Davidson. South Africa's Morne van den Berg kicks as Andrea Zambonin tries to block the ball. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Much-improved Italy outscored the record four-time World Cup winners by three tries to two in the second half despite fielding an experimental team with numerous first choices remaining in Europe. 'We knew it would be tough because Italy are an extremely passionate side. We certainly did not write them off and they showed why tonight,' South Africa captain and centre Jesse Kriel said. Advertisement 'There is lots for us to work on. In the first half we started strong, but in the second half they defended like their life depended on it. So it was very tough, but it always is at Test level. 'We let ourselves down a bit at the breakdown. They defended very well, but we wanted quick ball to attack with. They frustrated us and we have a lot of work to do there.' Italy captain and lock Niccolo Cannone said: 'We are very happy with our performance. It was a very tough, physical game. But we are happy, although there are some details to improve for next weekend. 'We know the guys we were playing against because we play them a lot in the United Rugby Championship. But this is another type of game and they are different when they wear that (Springbok) jersey.' Victory continued the 100% record of South Africa when hosting Italy, but it was the second smallest winning margin in eight Tests since 1999. The other Springbok try scorers were Kriel, winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, replacement prop Vincent Koch and flanker Marco van Staden. It was a special moment for tighthead Koch when he barged over as he notched his first try for South Africa while winning his 62nd cap. South Africa's Vincent Tshituka. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The outstanding try came from Arendse, who raced through the Italian defence from midfield to score after impressive Test debutant Vincent Tshituka won a lineout. Veteran out-half Handre Pollard slotted all six conversions, raising his total for the Springboks to 784 points in 81 Tests. Flanker Manuel Zuliani, replacement hooker Pablo Dimcheff on debut and Niccolo Cannone scored tries for the Azzurri. Out-half Giacomo Da Re kicked three conversions and a penalty for Italy, whose starting line-up included only five of the team beaten by Ireland in their last 2025 Six Nations Championship match. When Da Re converted the Cannone try with 11 minutes remaining, there were only 11 points between the teams, raising the possibility of a stunning victory for the visitors. But the Springboks put the outcome beyond doubt on 74 minutes when Van Staden powered his way over the line and Pollard maintained his perfect record from the kicking tee. The second Test is scheduled for Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in eastern coastal city Gqeberha next Saturday. – © AFP 2025
Irish Examiner
15 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Centurion Ford inspires England to surprise win over Argentina
Summer Test: Argentina 12 England 35 England recovered from two first-half sin-bins to down Argentina by a 35-12 score with Test centurion George Ford kicking 15 points. Alex Coles and debutant Seb Atkinson were shown yellow cards by referee Angus Gardner to temporary reduce Steve Borthwick's team to 13 men in La Plata, but after a superb regard defensive action, England were much improved after the break. Tom Roebuck grabbed a first try within two minutes of the restart and added another after Freddie Steward crossed over. Caden Murley concluded the scoring with five minutes left on a night where co-captain Ford showed his class on his 100th appearance for England. All eyes were on Ford initially, but it was scrum-half Ben Spencer who did most of the kicking early on with a number of box kicks as Argentina dominated territory. Infringements were a regular occurrence from England and Coles was first to be sent to the sin-bin for a head-on-head contact with Facundo Isa. It was followed by rock-solid English defence led by co-captain Jamie George and after Santiago Carreras missed a simple penalty for Argentina, Ford landed a drop goal to conjure memories of his virtuoso display in the 2023 World Cup group stage. Atkinson followed Coles in being shown a yellow following a succession of team offsides, which reduced England to 13 men. However, George again starred to keep Argentina at bay and while Ford missed another drop goal effort, it remained 3-0 at half-time. England started the second period with better intent and needed only 65 seconds to score the first try of the match. A fine carry by Ben Curry was followed by quick ball from Ford and Steward, who found Sale wing Roebuck and he crashed over on the right. Ford failed to add the extras, but quickly made amends with a superb pass to release his former Leicester team-mate Steward for England's second try. This time Ford kicked the conversion and the purple patch continued as Roebuck grabbed another in the 49th minute. After being stopped just short of the try-line after a free-flowing move, Roebuck made no mistake second time around to help England move 22-0 ahead. Pablo Matera helped Argentina to produce an instant response and when Pedro Rubiolo finished off a superb team attack minutes later, the momentum had suddenly shifted. Borthwick turned to his bench as Guy Pepper was introduced for his Test debut, but fittingly it was Ford who took charge on his 100th international outing with two inch-perfect penalties - the second from near the halfway line. Harlequins wing Murley entered the fray with eight minutes later and wrapped up the scoring with an excellent finish before Ford kicked his third conversion to help England begin their summer tour in style.
