Latest news with #EddieJones'
The Star
21 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Rugby-Springboks set Wembley date with Japan on November 1
(Reuters) -South Africa have added a date with Japan at London's Wembley Stadium to their autumn international series with the fixture to take place on November 1 in a rematch of an iconic game from 2015 Rugby World Cup. Coach Eddie Jones' Japan famously beat South Africa 34-32 in what was dubbed the 'Miracle of Brighton', though the Springboks exacted revenge by knocking the Asian side out of their own World Cup on their way to lifting the trophy in 2019.
Straits Times
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Springboks set Wembley date with Japan on November 1
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox South Africa have added a date with Japan at London's Wembley Stadium to their autumn international series with the fixture to take place on November 1 in a rematch of an iconic game from 2015 Rugby World Cup. Coach Eddie Jones' Japan famously beat South Africa 34-32 in what was dubbed the 'Miracle of Brighton', though the Springboks exacted revenge by knocking the Asian side out of their own World Cup on their way to lifting the trophy in 2019. "The game in Brighton 10 years ago changed rugby in Japan from being a minor sport to a boom sport," Jones, now back in charge of Japan, said. "Playing against the Boks is the dream of every young Japanese player." The Springboks also face France in Paris the following week before travelling to Italy (November 15), Ireland (November 22) and Wales (November 29) on an unprecedented five-match tour. South Africa also meet Argentina at Twickenham in their final game of this year's Rugby Championship on October 4. REUTERS
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
World Rugby announce final world rankings of the season as series to decide everything
The final World Rugby rankings of the season have been announced, with Wales ending the campaign in 12th place after finally putting an end to their dismal losing streak. After a brutal run of 18 Test match defeats, which stretched all the way back to the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, Welsh fans were finally able to celebrate a victory earlier this month as Matt Sherratt's side overcame Japan in the second of two showdowns with Eddie Jones' men on tour. That win not only got a sizeable monkey off the backs of all those involved with the national side, but also ensured that Wales moved back up the global rankings, having dropped to a humiliating record low of 14th in the world following their opening tour defeat to Japan, who leapfrogged Sherratt's side alongside Samoa. READ MORE: Appalling England complaint upheld by World Rugby as investigation emerges READ MORE: Steve Tandy named new Wales head coach in major WRU announcement: Live updates The slip also meant that Wales briefly dropped into the third banding of seeds for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, the draw for which will be conducted in December this year. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. The tournament in two years' time has been expanded to include 24 teams, with all of the qualified teams to be confirmed before the draw takes place. All of the qualified teams will be seeded based on their rankings at the end of this year's decisive autumn series, and with the competition comprising six pools of four teams, the seeding bands are broken down by every six teams. That means the top six teams in the world would be top seeds for the tournament, with those between 7th and 12th in the second banding of seeds and so on. Wales being outside of the global top 12 by the end of the autumn would likely prove disastrous, therefore, as they would be set to drawn in a 'pool of death' for the 2027 tournament with two of the world's top teams. The win over Japan, however, means that they head into their autumn international campaign in 12th place, just 0.64 ranking points behind Georgia and 1.57 ahead of Samoa. Wales could have dropped to 13th place had the Samoans recorded a shock victory over Scotland last weekend, but Gregor Townsend's side eased to a 12-41 win as they bounced back from their painful defeat to Fiji. A tough run of games now awaits Wales in the autumn, with three of the world's top seven sides - Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa - all heading to Cardiff, while a third clash with Japan is also part of the schedule. While it will depend on results elsewhere, a single win in the autumn could well be enough for Wales to remain in the world's top 12 teams and head into the next Rugby World Cup in the second banding of seeds. Elsewhere in the new world rankings, New Zealand have moved within 0.72 ranking points of top spot, with their 29-19 win over France seeing them edge closer to the number one spot currently occupied by South Africa. Defeat to the All Blacks has seen the French fall away from the global top three and closer to fifth-placed England, who now trail them by just 0.18 ranking points, while Scotland remain in eighth but move closer to Argentina in seventh after beating Samoa. Spain and Chile have also had ranking point boosts but the only positional changes come further down the table, with Zimbabwe moving ahead of Canada after qualifying for their first Rugby World Cup since 1991, and the Netherlands leapfrogging Namibia. The latest World Rugby rankings (July 21) 1South Africa 92.782New Zealand 92.06 (+0.34) 3Ireland 89.834France 87.82 (-0.34) 5England 87.646Australia 82.087Argentina 82.058Scotland 81.57 (+0.20) 9Fiji 80.5010Italy 77.7711Georgia 74.6912Wales 74.0513Samoa 72.48 (-0.20) 14Japan 72.2915Spain 69.12 (+0.20) 16USA 68.4517Uruguay 67.5218Portugal 66.4419Tonga 65.4620Chile 63.83 (+0.63) 21Romania 62.6722Belgium 61.2023Hong Kong China 59.9824 (↑26) Zimbabwe 58.80 (+1.01) 25 (↓24) Canada 57.75 (-0.20) 26 (↑27) Netherlands 57.0127 (↓25) Namibia 56.86 (-1.01) 28Brazil 55.90 (-0.63) 29Switzerland 55.2630Poland 54.06
The Mainichi
05-07-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Rugby: Japan out to repeat history with test win against Wales
KITAKYUSHU, Japan (Kyodo) -- Japan will head into Saturday's first match of a two-test series against Wales looking to repeat history with a rare win against a Six Nations opponent. The Brave Blossoms defeated a touring Welsh team 23-8 at Tokyo's Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground under Eddie Jones' "first administration" in June 2013, marking a major turning point in Japanese rugby, according to the head coach. The 65-year-old Australian said the "breakthrough game" laid the foundation for Japan's 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign, including their famous victory over South Africa. Having returned as head coach and steered Japan to four wins in 11 matches last season, Jones is under pressure to deliver improved results, starting with Saturday's clash at Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu in southwestern Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture. His opposite number, Wales interim head coach Matt Sherratt, meanwhile, is aiming to snap a nightmare run of 17 consecutive test losses for the proud rugby nation. Jones has selected eight uncapped players, plus a further eight with just 10 caps or less, in a squad captained by 87-test veteran Michael Leitch. Center Dylan Riley, with 28 caps, is the next most experienced player in the side, which includes test debutants Yota Kamimori in the front row and Kippei Ishida on the wing. Ishida did not take part in Friday's final training, as a precaution for a muscle issue, but is expected to start. New Zealand-born lock Warner Dearns, who is set to join Wellington-based Super Rugby side the Hurricanes in the 2026 season, will start at No. 5. "We're looking forward to playing against a Welsh side that's in a similar situation to us, in having a young team rebuilding," Jones said after Thursday's team announcement. Both teams have focused on acclimatizing for the high heat and humidity forecast for Kitakyushu. "We know Kitakyushu is going to offer difficult conditions for both teams, and the team that handles the conditions best will win the game," Jones said. Kobe Steelers flyhalf Lee Seung Sin is set to start at No. 10 in his 19th test for the Brave Blossoms. "I understand that this is a very important match for Japanese rugby," Lee said at Friday's training. "I want to execute our plan without thinking about anything else." The Brave Blossoms will play Wales in the second test on July 12 at Noevir Stadium Kobe.
South Wales Guardian
04-07-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Matt Sherratt ‘doubles down on the basics' in bid to end Wales' losing streak
Wales are in Japan for a two-Test series against Eddie Jones' Brave Blossoms and attempting to end a run of 17 successive Test defeats – a record for a Tier One nation. Cardiff boss Sherratt has overseen the last three of those losses after replacing Warren Gatland during the Six Nations Championship in February. 📸 Final prep 💪#WelshRugby — Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) July 3, 2025 Sherratt initiated improvement in losing narrowly to Ireland in his opening game, but Wales were well beaten in Scotland before producing a late fightback and then hammered 68-14 at home by England on one of Welsh rugby's darkest days. 'I learned a lot during the Six Nations,' Sherratt said ahead of Saturday's opener in Kitakyushu with Wales targeting a first Test win since beating Georgia at the last World Cup in October 2023. 'What we've really focused on for this tour is going back to basics. 'Over time the way I like to play is multiple passes and for my teams to be brave, but at the moment it's laying the foundations for Welsh rugby. 'So we've really doubled down on the basics and gone back to the foundations of the game – kicking, defence, contact area. 'We can build on that in time, but those basics are the platform for everything else and the foundation for any team.' Skipper Jac Morgan and Tomos Williams were unavailable after being selected for the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia. There are only four survivors from the side humbled by England in March – number eight Taulupe Faletau, prop Nicky Smith, centre Ben Thomas and full-back Blair Murray. Faletau makes his 109th appearance and winger Josh Adams (61), Smith (54) and scrum-half Kieran Hardy (23) are the only others with more than 20 caps in the starting line-up. Asked what winning would mean for Wales, Sherratt said: 'It's massive. I spoke to the players before we came away and wondered what their motivation was, and why they were coming here. 'The short answer was that they want to win for Wales. 'For the future this tour is probably the end of something. Let's hope it's the also start of something and they start on a level playing field (under the new head coach).' Jones has been his usual bullish self ahead of the series, which concludes in Kobe next week, saying he is hoping for a 'nice hot day and we can really run Wales off their feet'. The former Australia and England boss refused to budge from the 2pm local kick-off time when the temperature is expected to be above 30 degrees Celsius with high humidity. Sherratt said: 'Both countries are in a very similar situation as lots of experience has come to an end at the same time. 'The key to the win will be who controls the key moments. 'With the wet ball (due to the humidity) field position will be very important and, with that, who takes the chances.'
