Latest news with #PeterHorne
BBC News
05-08-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Wallabies scrap rule limiting foreign-based players
Australian rugby bosses have confirmed that the so-called 'Giteau's Law', which restricted how many overseas-based players previous Wallabies coaches could pick, has been Rochelle's Will Skelton, as well as Taniela Tupou, Tom Hooper and Langi Gleeson - who will play for Racing 92, Exeter and Montpellier respectively next season - are among those who may Australia say head coach Joe Schmidt will favour players at one of their four Super Rugby franchises if they are of "equal calibre" to an option outside their borders."Joe's got no impediment to select whoever he wants. That's always been the case. The Giteau Law's kind of redundant," said Rugby Australia's director of high performance Peter Horne. "But we've also made a choice that we select domestically if the players are of equal calibre, it's important that we invest in our premier competition in Australia."The Wallabies, who compete for domestic talent with Aussie Rules and rugby league clubs, have struggled for depth and consistency in recent years - sliding to sixth in the world two-time world champions suffered a pool-stage exit at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in 2015, Australia had a blanket ban on overseas-based players representing the with the likes of playmaker Matt Giteau, wing Drew Mitchell and prop Sekope Kepu lured abroad by big contracts, 'Giteau's Law' was introduced to allow a set number of overseas players - who had served time in Super Rugby and the national team - to still be law has been further relaxed in recent years, with players with a commitment to return to Australian rugby excluded from the overseas Len Ikitau and prop Angus Bell's forthcoming season-long sabbatical stints at Exeter and Ulster are such Gleeson was reportedly excluded from a Wallabies training camp, external at the start of this year after news of his impending move to France became public. Porecki calls day on rugby career Wallabies hooker David Porecki has retired from rugby just days after the end of the three-Test series against the British and Irish 32-year-old started Australia's second Test 29-26 defeat in Melbourne, but missed the first and third meetings with concussion and a cut heel spent five seasons in England, between 2015 and 2020, playing for Saracens and London Irish before returning to Australia to play for the won the first of his 21 Australia caps in 2022 and captained the team in three matches at the 2023 Rugby World Cup after an injury to first-choice skipper Skelton."Rugby has given me so much to be thankful for and has been such a massive part of my life for so long, but it feels like the right time for me to turn the page," said Porecki.
BBC News
17-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Scotland must match England's physical challenge
Scotland are going to have to show "desperation" to keep their Six Nations hopes alive against England on Saturday, says assistant coach Peter Scots were well beaten by Ireland at Murrayfield earlier this month and sit fourth in the table after two rounds of also laughed off the suggestion, from a correspondent in a Sunday newspaper, external, that Scotland's forwards are "weedy"."The boys have got experience of going down there and getting results, so I think you need to make sure we're not caught off guard by their physicality," Horne said."There's been a lot in the press about them imposing their physicality on our weedy forwards. I think we'll need to make sure we're ready to match that. Our guys are certainly up for the physical challenge, especially off the back of a disappointing result."Having won the last four, there'll be a little bit of needle to add to what's always a very big game. It's a good challenge for our boys to get back on the horse and stay in the tournament."Asked if the description of Scotland's forwards as "weedy" had circulated around the camp, Horne said that it hadn't been discussed, but that he saw the comment on an app on his phone and it made him giggle."I've been chucking that at the boys a little bit today just to wind them up," Horne added. "That's the sort of thing, if I was a player, it would annoy me. I'd be looking forward to getting out on the park and proving everyone wrong."Scotland's lack of physicality against Ireland was "an area that we were a bit disappointed with," he added. "We've done our review. There's been a lot of honest conversations. "I know our boys are really keen to get out and right some wrongs. It's a great challenge. If we're serious about staying involved in the tournament and in the hunt for the competition, then we've got to go down and do this this weekend."We've got to go out there and perform. There'll be that desperation. That's what we want to see. We want to see that desperation to stay in the tournament."
