It was a big week for international rugby after the draw for the Australia 2027 Rugby World Cup was made. It allowed teams to find out who they would be facing, and the routes they can plot to the final.
On the field the Investec Champions Cup and EPRC Challenge Cup swung into action, with matches across Europe and in South Africa. There was thrilling play in both competitions, and lots of reaction post-match.
Off the field the Super Rugby players are preparing themselves for the start of pre-season, and the fall out from the Eben Etzebeth citing reached a conclusion with the South Africa lock receiving a 12-match ban.
Here’s what caught ATR’s ears this week…
“It’s about getting comfortable sometimes being the favourite. We’re not great at that in South Africa – when we’re favourite, we seem to find a problem somewhere. When we’re the favourite, we must embrace it without being arrogant.”
Being favourite hasn’t done your team any harm recently, Rassie Erasmus:
“Playing my 50th Test was definitely great. It’s every boy’s dream to play for the Springboks and having done that 50 times is unreal. It’s a privilege and something I’ll always be thankful for.”
How many will Cobus Reinach have come Australia 2027?
“We want to be the team that everyone wants to watch at the World Cup. We will do everything we can over the next two years to make sure the team is in the best position to achieve that result. We’re going to have to play above ourselves and we understand that it is going to take an extraordinary effort, but there is no reason why we can’t do that.”
Eddie Jones remains positive about how his Japan team can perform:
"If we prepare to play South Africa as if it’s a dream to play the world champions, it will be a nightmare. We have to stop seeing the fact that we are playing them as an achievement. No, an achievement is if you compete with them, because it’s still rugby. I’m not here as a tourist.”
Romania head coach David Gérard promises his team won’t roll over against South Africa:
"There's a bit of buzz in the room. For our players, playing the All Blacks is a massive task and a massive opportunity. To also play the hosts, as daunting as it is, you couldn't have scripted it better. We're staking a claim to be everyone's second favourite team.”
Hong Kong China head coach Logan Asplin looks forward to facing the hosts and three-time champs:
“Lots of people like to plan out the permutations - who knows what's going to pan out."
England coach Steve Borthwick isn’t looking too far ahead:
“There’s a lot of potential paths you can go down but if we get the Springboks in a quarter-final it’ll be exciting. It’s a challenge which we’re going to have to be ready for.”
Australia captain Harry Wilson is ready for anything:
“Watching the draw live always stirs something inside you. You feel a certain joy when you start to imagine and project yourself into the competition, because it awakens that deep desire to be part of it.”
France coach Fabien Galthie is already feeling the RWC 2027 vibes:
“It would help massively if we got on the right side of the result for a change. Going to Dublin for the last game of next year’s championship will be tough, but we played really well last time we were out there. But it’ll be a more difficult World Cup if we haven’t managed to beat Ireland in the next two seasons.”
Gregor Townsend knows what is needed before another World Cup encounter with Ireland:
“You’re going into a Rugby World Cup and you’re Razor, you’re thinking, ‘are we going to raise the white flag? Maybe we can rest our top XV for the first match to avoid the Saffas‘.”
Israel Dagg questions the value of New Zealand trying to avoid South Africa:
“It’s one of the anomalies the way this format’s come along. Just with the sides of the draw and the way it shapes, sometimes it can fall that way, but you just want to play your best every Test, that’s the mindset you’ve got to have.”
Scott Robertson refutes any idea of not trying to win:
“He is freakish, he genuinely is freakish. He’s got his head down and he’s learning. He is by no means the final product, he has got a lot to learn. He’s raw but, athletically, I’ve genuinely not seen many better than him.”
Jamie George likes what he’s seen of Saracens youngster Noah Caluori so far:
“I think teams are entitled to prioritise home games. It’s up to every club to do what they want to do. You’ve got 42 players to pick for your squad and it’s up to you whether you are prioritising your league campaign or this competition.”
George’s boss Mark McCall knows there will be mix and match at this stage of the Champions Cup:
“We wanted to suffocate them (The Bulls), not wait for them to dictate the pace. It was part of our plan to inject a lot of speed right from the start.”
Bordeaux-Begles’ Matthieu Jalibert loves it when a plan comes together:
“It’s not ideal, is it? Eben’s devastated. It’s a big blow for us. He’s one of our star players – a huge part of our tight five and our leadership – so it’s not ideal at all.”
Sharks coach John Plumtree sums up how his side will be affected:
“On considering all factors leading into and beyond the incident, based on the balance of information, and acknowledging a highly charged end to the fixture, no formal sanction will be issued to either party by Six Nations Rugby on this occasion.”
Tom Curry won’t face the judge after the Argentina fracas:
“If two centres go down, he might be in the mix, but there’s also a lot of young guys in South Africa that we think can do it.”
Rassie ain’t rushing to beat England to Bernard Janse van Rensburg’s services:
“To run out here the Aviva first time having the home crowd on my side, it was awesome and beautiful to come with the win.”
It’s a good first impression for Rieko Ioane at Leinster:
“If he can have high capacity, in terms of whacking guys, consistently through 80 minutes then he can build. That’s what the Welsh coaches are looking for.”
Dragons coach FIlo Tiatia keeps instructions simple for loanee Mackenzie Martin:
“I thought I was just winded at first, but I tried to take a deep breath and just couldn’t. I was blowing on the green whistle for a bit and got taken to hospital, did a few scans and the x-ray found I had broken my rib, and the next day I did a CT scan where I found out I punctured my lung too. I spent about four days in hospital. That was tough, but you can’t dwell on the past. I’m back and healthy now.”
All’s well that ends well for All Black Emoni Narawa: