Shane Williams - news, views and opinion - The Rugby Paper

Village teams which gave stars their start

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 03:59:19 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND WHEN the Principality Stadium crowd rises to salute Leigh Halfpenny as he makes his final appearance on the international stage against the Barbarians this weekend, the fans should couple Gorseinon RFC in their applause. That’s where Leigh’s love of rugby was first developed and he rose through the ranks […]

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Gatland’s decison to stay is best news of all

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 02:59:12 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND THERE’S just a week to go at the Rugby World Cup in France and you’d have to say it has been pretty spectacular. All four quarter-finals were the sort of advertisements that World Rugby would have wanted for the game at large. The semis were pretty good as well […]

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The only way is up for this team

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 02:59:55 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND IF IT was all a bit of a let down in the end, let’s not forget that many people in Wales didn’t even think Warren Gatland’s side would get to the quarter-finals. The Pumas hung in there and won the aerial battles, the battle for territory and at the […]

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I expect Wales to make semi-finals

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 08 Oct 2023 02:59:46 +0000

WALES AND LIONS LEGEND SHANE WILLIAMS JOB done for Wales in Nantes, but no cigar! Six tries, five points and a 100 per cent pool record are great, but the victory over Georgia was probably their least impressive at this World Cup. This is going to be a critical week on all sorts of fronts. […]

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In Gats we trust! Old boss has new tricks

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 02:59:25 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND IF THE Wales win over Australia proved anything it is that in Gats we trust! There were those who criticised the WRU for going back in time to recall Warren Gatland to take over from Wayne Pivac. They said his methods were old hat, that he hadn’t enjoyed much […]

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Morgan needs to lead way for Wales

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 02:59:42 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND ONE thing is certain about today’s vital Pool C clash between Wales and Australia in Lyon – both teams will quite rightly believe they can win the game. When you consider that the last five encounters have been decided 3/2 in Wales’ favour, with the margins, either way, of […]

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Great to see the spine of a new team emerge

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 02:59:49 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND JOB DONE . . . just! Five vital points to Wales, but many of the plaudits to the Portuguese. A week earlier we were all praying for the end of the game to come against Fiji, but six days on in Nice it was all about fitting in enough […]

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Welsh Lions are strong enough to down Fijians

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 10 Sep 2023 02:59:35 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND IT’S the ‘Flying Fijians’ in France yet again for Wales ... and we all know what happened the last time! Whether today’s game is even bigger than the one in which I played in 2007 is debatable. That was win or bust for us in Nantes, and we went […]

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Wales must be at their best to take on Fiji

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 02:59:04 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS THERE will be a few nervous players from the Home Unions getting on planes and heading to France today. Everything they have been working towards over the last four years is now within touching distance – it’s time to deliver! All four teams will be traveling in different states of readiness. In some […]

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Now South Africans are the team to beat

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 02:59:30 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND THIS may still be the phoney war period, but what a statement the world champion Springboks made at Twickenham with their latest demolition job on the All Blacks. Yes, the All Blacks! Their 35-7 win put Wales’ even heavier drubbing at Principality Stadium six days earlier into a better […]

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Dyer’s yellow was a flawed decision

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 20 Aug 2023 02:59:48 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND THERE’S no point beating around the bush and waffling on about positives because what we saw at the Principality Stadium was what I expected. I hoped Wales wouldn’t lose by so many points, fall to their heaviest defeat under coach Warren Gatland in 133 fixtures, concede more than 50 […]

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No excuses – Wales simply switched off

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 13 Aug 2023 02:59:49 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND For about 60 minutes of England versus Wales, I wondered why I was watching it – it hadn’t been the best of matches and I was finding it difficult to fathom why there was only nine points between the countries. Then it suddenly came alive during a bizarre ending […]

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Why deny us Louis’ moment of brilliance?

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 06 Aug 2023 02:59:51 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS As useful as technology can be in professional sport, there are moments when you have to curse it. Why oh why did Nic Berry deny the crowd the chance to celebrate that wonderful piece of magic from Louis Rees-Zammit near the end of the game? Berry admitted he didn’t know if it was […]

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Halfpenny deserves to join illustrious 100 club

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 30 Jul 2023 02:59:25 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND IHOPE that Leigh Halfpenny’s name is the first put down on the team sheet by Warren Gatland this weekend. If any player ever deserved to reach 100 caps for his country then it’s Leigh. He should have cruised past that milestone years ago, but a string of serious injuries […]

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Attention! Get ready for the phoney war

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 23 Jul 2023 02:59:29 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND THE phoney war is about to start next weekend when the northern hemisphere sides get into action in the World Cup warm-up period. ‘Phoney’ because the players will still be leggy from their training camps, the coaches will be trying things out and nobody will want to give away […]

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The NextGen needs to be close at hand

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 02:59:31 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND IT WAS great to see the World Rugby U20 Championship back in full swing and it was a pretty cathartic exercise for the Welsh team. Wins over Japan and Romania may have been the highlights, but scoring five tries against a powerful Junior Wallabies team and getting within a […]

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World League will add to the pressure

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 02:59:24 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND ALL the excitement in the game at the moment surrounds the upcoming World Cup in France, and that’s the way it should be. But what is going to happen when we have the new World League in play? Where is the highest value going to go then? I’m not […]

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Torture of the ice age gave us faith

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 02 Jul 2023 02:59:24 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND DON’T tell me or any of the boys from 2011 that the players in the Welsh squad training for the World Cup are having a hard time of it. Hoods, splashes of water in their faces and carrying logs on long marches – luxury! For me, Warren Gatland has […]

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Why this merger just might be the way to go

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 02:59:22 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Another week in Welsh rugby and another potential drama emerges. They always say the close season is the ‘silly season’ for stories, but I’m not sure which end of the scale I’d place the suggestion of a potential merger between Cardiff and the Ospreys. You’d have to say it […]

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Let’s hope our new big hitter has a big impact

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 18 Jun 2023 02:59:29 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Among the many social media comments on the appointment of Richard Collier-Keywood as the new chair of the Welsh Rugby Union was this corker: “He’s a step up from a geography teacher.” That does Rob Butcher a disservice for his two-year stint as chair between 2020-22 and it was […]

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Crusaders give Gats a blueprint to beat Fiji

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 02:59:22 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Thank you, Scott Robertson and your Crusaders players for showing Wales the way to beat Fiji in their opening game at the World Cup. The 49-8 win by the Cantabrians over the Fiji Drua in their Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final was an object lesson in how to take the […]

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No Webb or Carre but plenty of talent

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 02:59:28 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND We have a summer of international rugby to look forward to before Wales get to the World Cup in France. The numbers of players available to Warren Gatland may be falling week by week – Rhys Webb followed Justin Tipuric and Alun Wyn Jones in retiring from international rugby […]

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One night in St Helens made us all feel good

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 02:59:27 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS For all those ‘Doubting Thomases’ out there who keep thinking there is nothing good left in Welsh rugby then Wednesday night at St Helens gave us all something to feel really good about. Swansea’s 150th anniversary celebrations concluded with a spectacular game against the Barbarians that doubled as a possible final farewell to […]

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We need more time to prepare the 2025 Lions

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 28 May 2023 02:59:21 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND I was fortunate enough to go on two tours with the British & Irish Lions and then to be called up briefly for a third in 2013. They were incredible experiences, the final seal of approval on your career as an international player. Even when things didn’t go well […]

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When it’s your time to go, you just know

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 21 May 2023 02:59:17 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Well, I didn’t see any of that coming! Two retirements within an hour of each other on a Friday afternoon is unusual to say the least. Given it involved two of the most iconic players of the professional era in Welsh rugby made it even more stunning. It left […]

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Fish is my kind of player – reliable and committed

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 14 May 2023 02:59:29 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND I WAS gutted when I read that Dan Fish is going to miss Cardiff ’s Premiership semi-final clash with Newport today after breaking a bone in his wrist last week. Having orchestrated a win over the Black & Ambers in the Premiership Cup final at Principality Stadium, it seemed […]

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My Team of the Season shows promise for future

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 07 May 2023 02:59:22 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND The silverware for the season is set to be handed out without any Welsh involvement. The quarter-finals of the URC took place this weekend, while the finals of both the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup will both be region free. Is it the worst season on record for […]

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With so many leaving, we must give youth a chance

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 30 Apr 2023 02:59:28 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND The strange goings on in Welsh rugby continued on Thursday night when Cardiff Rugby took to Twitter to announce the 16 players who will be leaving the club this summer. It coincided with their annual awards, but you’d have thought their most capped player, someone who has given countless […]

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A great showcase…now let us unite on all fronts

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 02:59:24 +0000

WALES AND LIONS LEGEND SHANE WILLIAMS I ENJOYED some great days out at the Principality Stadium, but among the most special was playing for my village club Amman United in the Bowl Final in 2017. It might have been a few rungs down the playing ladder from a Grand Slam clash with the French, or […]

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How I’d cut down on a blight in modern game

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 16 Apr 2023 02:59:27 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND What is happening to our game? There were plenty of cheers for Ulster hooker Tom Stewart as he made it back-to-back hat-tricks with his three-try salvo against the Dragons on Friday night. It was a performance that took his league try tally in the URC this season to a […]

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Hawkins highlights pathway problem

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 02:59:15 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND "Don't go Joe!" That was the plaintive cry around Wales last week as news emerged that Ospreys centre Joe Hawkins had signed a contract that will see him move to Exeter Chiefs next season. Not the news that Warren Gatland would have wanted to read over his cornflakes, and […]

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Ospreys have the talent to pull off a big surprise

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 02:59:30 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND I HOPE the Ospreys of 2023 have learned the lessons of their predecessors of 2008 ahead of their Heineken Champions Cup clash with Saracens today. Fifteen years ago I was part of a team that thought it merely had to turn up at Vicarage Road to win and progress […]

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Changes threaten smaller nations

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 26 Mar 2023 02:59:20 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Here we go again! No global season, but a new inter-hemisphere international tournament set to be overlaid on the international calendar. There had better be a truck-load of cash involved in World Rugby’s move towards a North–South world league or it is in danger of just making things worse. […]

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Standing tall as we finish on a high

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 03:59:47 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND What a brilliant start by Wales at Stade de France and what an encouraging performance with which to end what had been an otherwise pretty miserable Six Nations campaign. But let’s be fair, there have been many Welsh sides that have failed to score one try in Paris, let […]

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Great shout, Warren! Rhys justifies his recall

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 12 Mar 2023 03:59:50 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Buzzing: Rhys Webb celebrates Taulupe Faletau’s try Right: Rio Dyer PICTURES: Getty Images LET’S hope victory for Wales in the eternal city will lead to a 24-hour ceasefire on tearing the game apart. I don’t think that is being too optimistic, but 48 hours might be a little too […]

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Italian fire is starting to burn brightly

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 05 Mar 2023 03:59:18 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND I used to love playing against Italy. Nine tries in nine games! But I also never forget that there were only seven wins in that sequence. There was also a two-year period when Wales didn’t beat them. I experienced an 18-18 draw in Cardiff in 2006 and then a […]

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It’s do-or-die in Italy so we must pull together

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 03:59:52 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS I know exactly how the Welsh players are feeling at the moment because I’ve been there. I came back into the side after the 2003 Wooden Spoon campaign and helped Wales to reach the last eight at the World Cup later that year. We put up a great show against New Zealand and […]

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WRU now the laughing stock of world rugby

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 03:59:12 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Oh, what a week that was! I felt the pain along with every other Welsh rugby lover seeing our great game being dragged deeper and deeper into the mire. All we can hope is that the troubles have now bottomed out. That certainly won’t be the case if on […]

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Time for real honesty within Welsh set-up

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 03:59:49 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Returning Wales coach Warren Gatland really knows now the size of the job on his hands with Wales after tasting his first Six Nations defeat to Scotland. His jinx over them evaporated in some style in the Scottish capital and there is real work to do for the rest […]

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Win at Murrayfield or it will be a long campaign

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 03:59:50 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS Warren Gatland and his coaching team know they can fix the problems they saw in the performance and the defeat to Ireland in the Six Nations opener in Cardiff. Wales have a reputation as slow starters and Ireland certainly were on fire in that first 20 minutes and completely caught us cold and […]

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Keep your cool and you’ll have a chance

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 03:59:23 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS The phoney war is about to end, and we will be getting down to the action in the Six Nations this weekend. Get ready for the usual rollercoaster ride of emotions, upsets and heartbreaks before one team emerges triumphant. It is the biggest annual prize in the game and something, as a player, […]

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Morgan shows the way as Ospreys come to life

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 22 Jan 2023 03:59:28 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND ALL of a sudden, the dials on Welsh rugby are starting to point in the right direction. Hot on the heels of completing the double over the French champions Montpellier, the Ospreys added the scalp of the English champions, Leicester Tigers, to their collection as they reached the knock-out […]

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Gatland will want players on edge

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 15 Jan 2023 03:59:30 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Main man: Dan Biggar is in line to be captain PICTURES: Getty Images IT is going to be fascinating to see who Warren Gatland picks for his Six Nations squad on Tuesday. Expect a few curve balls, a couple of controversial selections and many talking points. It’s what he […]

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Gatland has great chance to make a big difference

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 08 Jan 2023 03:59:31 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND It was a pleasant and pretty reassuring sight seeing Warren Gatland back in the stands at Rodney Parade on Friday night watching the Dragons take on the Bulls. He was out again yesterday watching an intriguing head-to-head between Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny in the Cardiff versus Scarlets derby. […]

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Quartet hoping to impress Gatland

The Rugby Paper Team — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 03:59:33 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND It doesn’t take much to change the mood of Welsh rugby. A win here, a sidestep there or even a good performance against a top side. We’ve had that and more in the past few weeks, but there is perhaps one stand out reason for the current mood of […]

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Ospreys win points to happier New Year

The Rugby Paper Team — Fri, 23 Dec 2022 03:59:36 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Christmas certainly has come early in Welsh rugby. Firstly, Warren Gatland rides in on Santa’s sleigh and then the regions finally start firing in Europe. But will it be a happy New Year? Seeing the Ospreys build on their magnificent Heineken Champions Cup win in Montpellier would be the […]

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Big names will help the game develop in Japan

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 03:59:15 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND THE season kicked off in Japan yesterday and I was delighted to see my old club the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars playing in the top-flight. I spent three seasons there at the end of my career, but only in the second tier. Now they are in the big […]

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Time for players to impress Gatland

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 03:59:28 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND New coach, clean slate, new opportunities. Every player who has played for Wales in the past, is in the current side or who fancies stepping forward to play in the World Cup should be redoubling their efforts this month and next to try to get into Warren Gatland’s plans […]

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Out-of-date 60-cap rule is holding Wales back

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 03:59:20 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND The time has come for the regions and the WRU to finally make their peace and find a solution that means the players, coaches, back room staff and fans can look forward with a degree of certainty. The hiatus last week about whether or not the Dragons lock Will […]

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Time’s up for Pivac, bring back Gatland

The Rugby Paper Team — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 03:59:51 +0000

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Wayne Pivac looked a dejected man at the end of the defeat to Australia even though there were some green shoots for him to point to in a much better performance from his players than the previous weekend against Georgia. For an hour we had something to shout and […]

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