The Barbarians will not be able to include any of England’s 2017 Lions for their match against New Zealand at Twickenham on 4 November, ending hopes of making the match an unofficial decider after the Lions’ drawn series. The Barbarians face the All Blacks one week before the start of the autumn international series in Europe. England face Argentina the following week and their head coach, Eddie Jones, wants all his players in the two-week training camp that precedes the meeting with the Pumas. The Barbarians will be coached by Robbie Deans, the New Zealander who was in charge of Australia for the 2013 series against the Lions. They customarily struggle to field current internationals in their November and May matches, but have been in contact with the four home unions and Premiership Rugby to try to make the side that faces the All Blacks more contemporary than historic. Lions did themselves proud against New Zealand – a draw was a fair result Nick Evans Nick Evans Read more “We are
Yonder Alonso Womens Jersey going to assemble an extremely strong squad for this game,” said a spokesman for the Barbarian club whose chairman, John Spencer, was the Lions’ tour manager in New Zealand. “We hope it will include players involved in the Lions series with the All Blacks and that they will get the chance to face New Zealand for a fourth time this year. We have reached an agreement with Premiership Rugby, who have been very supportive about player release. We will talk with the home unions about access to players.” England’s response was swift and curt. “England players will be focusing on preparing for our matches ahead of the Old Mutual Wealth Series and will not be released for the Barbarians fixture,” a Rugby Football Union spokesman said. As the Six Nations champions supplied 10 players to last Saturday’s matchday 23 for the final Test in Auckland, the Barbarians will be light on Lions. Wales, who had five starters and two players on the bench, face New Zealand in Cardiff on 25 November, the third of four autumn Tests, and will be reluctant to overexpose players who will not long have returned to playing after missing the opening weeks of the season to recover from the Lions tour. Advertisement The Wales head coach, Warren Gatland, who led the Lions in New Zealand, agreed in principle after the draw at Eden Park that using the Barbarians as a means of extending the series “would be good, wouldn’t it,” but the logistical problems that beset the Lions this summer, most
http://www.officialathleticshop.com/ notably the lack of preparation time, come into play again. The RFU’s deal with Premiership Rugby gives the England head coach an extra week’s access to players before the start of an autumn series and the Six Nations, leaving clubs without their national squad members the week before the first international. Whether England would be able to subcontract the players would be a matter for negotiation, but Jones would be loth to release one, never mind 10, given the value he places on his time with his charges. England tried earlier this year to hijack the fixture as they were not due to play the All Blacks until the autumn of 2018, but New Zealand, who go on to play France, Scotland and Wales, agreed a deal with the Barbarians, who had been trying to arrange a fixture with Australia. The New Zealand Rugby Union will receive half the gate receipts, which could be worth ?3m, double the amount they were offered by England. New Zealand kick off the defence of their Rugby Championship against Australia in Sydney on 19 August. The match will be refereed by France’s Jér?me Garcès, who sent off the centre Sonny Bill Williams in the first half of the second Test against the Lions in Wellington for a
Mike Shannon Youth Jersey dangerous tackle. Five of the 12 matches in the tournament will be controlled by Frenchmen. The Ireland centre Garry Ringrose, who narrowly missed out on a place in the Lions squad, will be out of action until the new year after shoulder surgerySpencer, meanwhile, has described Gatland as “without doubt the best head coach in the world” and predicts he will be “in very big demand all over the world” when he steps aside as Wales coach in 2019. The manager also suggested the Lions would have won the series with more preparation time. “My honest opinion is, yes. The preparation is extremely important. Gold medals are won on the training pitch a long time before they are won on the match pitch.” Gatland would potentially be interested in being involved on the 2021 tour – “If that opportunity came again, it would be something you would consider” – and believes scheduling negotiations should start as soon as possible. “We’d hope we don’t let the next four years go before we start planning and putting things in place. I’m not being stupid, I’m not asking for a month. I think a week in the UK or Ireland beforehand, then arrive in South Africa for a week before the first game is reasonable.” It has also emerged that the Lions captain, Sam Warburton, was unsure at Saturday’s final whistle whether or not additional time would be played. “I didn’t actually realise it was a drawn series; I was ready for 20 minutes of extra time. I was trying to drink as many electrolytes as I could because I was cramping up but then I realised everyone was shaking hands. You never think it is going to go down to that situation so I never looked into what would potentially happen. If I’d had to, I would probably have tossed a coin and gone for the win, with extra-time or a golden point or something. It would have made for an amazing climax; I think it would be nice to see a winner.” Hansen, though, felt the game should have ended in normal time and questioned the referee Romain Poite’s decision to change his mind about awarding
http://www.officialcardinalsbaseball.com/authentic-30-orlando-cepeda-jersey.html New Zealand a late, kickable penalty. “I think he just over-thought it,” said Hansen. “If he had gone with his instincts, he would have made the right decision. I bet he is not feeling good about that
