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Straits Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Australia rugby coach Joe Schmidt backs Jake Gordon's skills but no hints on Wallabies captaincy
– Australia rugby coach Joe Schmidt has given a glowing review of Jake Gordon's importance to the Wallabies as a player, but offered no clue as to where the experienced scrum-half fits in his leadership plans for the British and Irish Lions series. Schmidt, who will name his squad over the next two weeks, has not yet confirmed who will captain the Wallabies against the Lions, but an Australian media report said last week that it would be Gordon. The New South Wales Waratahs skipper was left out of the squad for the last World Cup by former coach Eddie Jones – who is now in charge of Japan – but his Test career was revived by Schmidt and he started all nine Tests in 2024 ahead of Tate McDermott and Nic White. 'Jake, he's one of the leaders in the group, but so is Nic White... and Tate McDermott has been a former captain,' Schmidt told reporters in Perth. 'Jake has a really good skill set, mature player, very nice kicking game, one of the sharper passes around and he is utterly committed when he's on the grass. 'His ability to cover corners and make tackles, involved in the physical stuff, he's a multi-purpose sort of player, but at the sharp edge of his game is really his pass-kick, which were very helpful to us last year.' The Lions play Argentina in Dublin next week before heading to Australia for six tour matches and the three-Test series in late July and early August. Schmidt said he knew from his time as Ireland coach just how special the Lions jersey was to the players who wore it and warned that the Wallabies would really need to roll their sleeves up to be ready for the Tests. 'They can play in so many different ways,' he said of the tourists. 'They can be really physical, they can be square and coming at you. They can get you on the edges. They have got the likes of Tommy Freeman and Hugo Keenan, who are so good in the air that you're going to have to be good there. 'We can just try to work as hard as we can, to be as well-prepared to understand the threats they're going to bring, and be ready to combat them and also to try to put our stamp on the game a little bit, and take the initiative when we can.' REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Schmidt backs Gordon's skills but no hints on Wallabies captaincy
SYDNEY - Australia coach Joe Schmidt has given a glowing review of Jake Gordon's importance to the Wallabies as a player but offered no clue to where the experienced scrumhalf fits in his leadership plans for the British & Irish Lions series. Schmidt, who will name his squad over the next two weeks, has not yet confirmed who will captain the Wallabies against the Lions but an Australian media report said last week it would be Gordon. The New South Wales Waratahs skipper was left out of the squad for the last World Cup by Eddie Jones but his test career was revived by Schmidt and he started all nine tests last year ahead of Tate McDermott and Nic White. "Jake, he's one of the leaders in the group, but so is Nic White ... and Tate McDermott has been a former captain," Schmidt told reporters in Perth. "Jake has a really good skill-set, mature player, very nice kicking game, one of the sharper passes around and he is utterly committed when he's on the grass. "His ability to cover corners and make tackles, involved in the physical stuff he's a multi-purpose sort of player, but at the sharp edge of his game is really his pass-kick, which were very helpful to us last year." The Lions play Argentina in Dublin next week before heading to Australia for seven tour matches and the three-test series in late July and early August. Schmidt said he knew from his time as Ireland coach just how special the Lions jersey was to the players who wore it and warned the Wallabies would really need to roll their sleeves up to be ready for the tests. "They can play in so many different ways," he said of the tourists. "They can be really physical, they can be square and coming at you. They can get you on the edges. They have got the likes of Tommy Freeman and Hugo Keenan, who are so good in the air that you're going to have to be good there. "We can just try to work as hard as we can, to be as well prepared to understand the threats they're going to bring, and be ready to combat them and also to try to put our stamp on the game a little bit, and take the initiative when we can." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
News.com.au
06-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Reds' Super Rugby finals hopes end in quarter finals again as Crusaders make Queensland pay
The Reds have failed to progress past the first week of the Super Rugby Pacific finals series for a fourth year in succession, with Queensland completely outclassed by the clinical Crusaders in Christchurch on Friday night. The Queenslanders were never in the contest, with the Crusaders dominating all over the park in slippery conditions to win 32-12. It was perhaps even a scoreline that flattered the visitors, who were trailing 27-0 in the 70th minute before scoring back-to-back consolation tries through replacement hooker Josh Nasser and star flanker Fraser McReight – both when the Crusaders only had 14 men on the field following flanker Ethan Blackadder being yellow carded for a swinging arm. Fittingly, it was the Crusaders who scored the final try of the game, with replacement halfback Kyle Preston crossing over out wide to send Queensland packing again. The Reds also lost at the same stage of the finals against Kiwi teams in New Zealand in 2022, 2023 and last year. 'Again we've fallen over at the quarter-finals (week one),' disappointed Queensland skipper Tate McDermott said. 'We'll continue to work out what we need to do to go forward.' The Hurricanes led 12-0 at half-time, and the margin could have been greater such was the Reds' failure to value possession and a lack of discipline. Poor handling from McReight led to the Hurricanes' first try in the 17th minute. The Reds had won a lineout near their tryline, but McReight couldn't hold the ball, allowing Crusaders lock Scott Barrett to scoop it up and force his way over the line for a five-pointer. The visitors continued to cough up possession and were again punished just before the half-hour mark when Crusaders prop Tamaiti Williams proved too strong close to the line to extend his side's lead. By half-time, the Queenslanders had already conceded six penalties compared to Crusaders' one. The Reds were also hit with an injury blow, with flyhalf Tom Lynagh forced off in the 35th after suffering another head knock and subsequently failing his concussion test. With no replacement No.10 on the bench, fullback Jock Campbell moved to flyhalf and replacement Tim Ryan, usually a winger, assumed the custodian role. The procession continued after half-time with Crusaders half-back Noah Hotham and flyhalf Rivez Reihana each scoring tries to put the game to bed. 'You've got to give credit to the Crusaders. They were all over us at the breakdown and collision area and we just couldn't get into our cycle,' McDermott said. 'They're really good at disrupting your ball and slowing you down, and they did a good job at that.'
Associated Press
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Crusaders beat the Queensland Reds 32-12 to clinch a home semifinal in Super Rugby
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — The Crusaders produced a clinical performance in difficult conditions to beat the Queensland Reds 32-12 Friday and claim home advantage in next week's Super Rugby semifinals. Lock Scott Barrett and prop Tamaiti Williams scored first-half tries to reward an outstanding performance from the Crusaders' forwards in wet, slippery conditions and bitterly cold temperatures. Scrumhalf Noah Hotham defied the conditions in the second half to score a superb solo try and, after kicking a conversion and penalty to make the score 22-0 at the hour mark, flyhalf Rivez Reihana scored a try which took the game beyond the Reds. 'Typical Christchurch weather, cold, wet and dark and we love it,' Hotham said. The result means the Crusaders are now 30-0 in home playoff matches while Australian teams are 0-20 in playoff matches in New Zealand. 'Obviously we're really disappointed with the result but I'm really proud of this group and the season that we had,' Reds captain Tate McDermott said. 'They were all over us at the breakdown and collision area and we just couldn't get into our cycle.' The Reds fought hard and created early chances which often were undone by handling errors close to the goalline. They finally had success in the 70th minute when Josh Nasser scored from a lineout drive. Then, in the 76th minute, Fraser McReight scored from a kick by fellow backrower Harry Wilson. Replacement scrumhalf Kyle Preston finished with an intercept try for the Crusaders in the last minute. The Crusaders had scrum superiority which produced four penalties in the first half alone and dominated the collisions and the breakdown. The Reds suffered a major setback when they lost Wallabies flyhalf Tom Lynagh to a head injury midway through the first half. 'We had to grind it out near the end there but I think the way our forwards set it up was huge and our set piece was huge so we're really happy with that,' Crusaders captain David Havili said. In the 15th minute the Crusaders won a breakdown turnover and Havili put the ball out five meters from the Reds line. Josh Canham won the ball cleanly for the Reds but in transferring it to Fraser McReight, Barrett got a hand in the way. He regained the ball and drove over for the first try of the match. In the 20th minute, the Crusaders won a penalty close to the Reds 22 when McDermott was ruled to be not supporting his weight at a ruck. The Crusaders kicked to the corner, Barrett won the lineout and after several thrusts, Williams forced his way over. He limped from the field a few minutes later with a knee injury. Rivez Reihana landed one of two conversions and the Crusaders led 12-0 at halftime. Reihana left the field temporarily for a head injury assessment before halftime which allowed veteran flyhalf James O'Connor to make an earlier than expected appearance against his former Reds teammates. Hotham pursued his own kick to score a brilliant try in the 57th minute and Reihana scored after the Crusaders had sorely pressed the Reds' defense from lineouts. In other matches in the first playoff round, the Chiefs will play the Auckland-based Blues in Hamilton and the ACT Brumbies will play the Wellington-based Hurricanes on Saturday. ___ AP rugby:
News.com.au
05-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Queensland Reds searching for key to Super Rugby Pacific finals success in New Zealand
The Reds must beat one of Super Rugby Pacific's top-four teams for the first time this season on Friday night in Christchurch if they are to avoid being knocked out in the first week of the finals series for the fourth successive year. A Queensland team that finished fifth on the ladder meets the second-placed Crusaders, who will end the Reds' season with a win at Apollo Projects Stadium. The two teams met at the same venue at the same stage of the finals series in 2022, with the Crusaders winning 37-15. Queensland's trend of losing in New Zealand in week one of the finals was to continue in 2023 and 2024, with successive losses to the Chiefs. 'We've had a number of quarter-finals here in the last couple years ago, so we know what it's going to be like,' Reds captain Tate McDermott said on Thursday. 'We know that the crowd and weather might not be on our side, but it's a really exciting challenge for this group, particularly after the disappointment of last year's quarter-final.' Tomorrow, we go ðŸ�¨ — Queensland Reds (@Reds_Rugby) June 5, 2025 The Reds were beaten 43-21 by the Chiefs in Hamilton at the same stage last season, with the game as good as over in less than 25 minutes after the hosts scored four unanswered tries. 'You've obviously got to start fast and if you don't start fast, you've got to stay in the grind which we didn't and found ourselves down four tries,' McDermott said. 'It's all about momentum (on Friday) night. We've got to make sure that first of all, we try to get that momentum, and you can do that through a number of ways, but then if we don't have the momentum, we use our defence to get the momentum back. 'We haven't iced those big moments when we've been in the lead in a couple of quarter-finals, just taking our foot off a little bit. and we can't do that.' The Reds announced on Thursday that McDermott's fellow halfback Kalani Thomas had signed a new two-year deal with Queensland. 'Being around home in a good environment and playing for a team I love, I didn't want to leave,' said 23-year-old Thomas, who will come off the bench on Friday night. 'I had a couple of options to consider but I want to commit in Australia, especially with the World Cup coming up in 2027. 'My ultimate goal is to play for the Wallabies. I may or may not. but I'll know I've given it my all.'
