by Here are your rugby headlines for the evening of Saturday, August 17.
Ford set for a code change
England star George Ford will end his career playing rugby league, according to his father.
The 31-year-old midfielder is entering his third season as a Sale Sharks player, having moved there from Leicester Tigers two years ago. He previously represented Bath and Leeds Carnegie between his two spells with the Tigers, although he has racked up 364 points in 91 appearances for England.
However, his roots are in rugby league, and his father Mike is a legend of the code. Ford played junior league from the age of five, representing Saddleworth Rangers and Waterhead before playing in the academies at Wigan Warriors and Bradford Bulls as a teenager.
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In a time that would come full circle for the England international, his dad says he plans to cross codes and see out his career as a representative for his hometown club Oldham. Ford senior was part of a consortium that took ownership of the club last year and is now managing director.
Appearing on the League Express podcast, he explained: “I’m not telling lies. We sat down and he worked out his career.
“He’s just turned 31, so we’ve gone, ‘Here’s what you do at 32, 33, 34 and 35’ and when he’s 35, he’ll be playing rugby for Oldham.”
The Wales skipper issues an update from hospital
Dafydd Jenkins has issued an update from hospital to fans after undergoing surgery on his knee and shoulder.
The 21-year-old, who captained Wales during this year’s Six Nations, will miss the start of the season after picking up the knee injury during the summer tour of Australia.
No time frame has been given for his return, but Exeter Chiefs’ director of rugby confirmed that Jenkins had been set for an “extended recovery period” with the club, with Wales agreeing that “the time was right. [the injuries] both faces”.
Jenkins has since taken to Instagram to share a photo of himself after the double procedure. Pictured in a hospital bed with his knees bandaged and his right arm in a sling, he wrote: “Patella ligament reconstruction (tick), ACJ and rotator cuff repair (tick)”.
Meanwhile, Baxter told reporters: “For me personally, I think the time is right for him. He’s a young man who has played a lot of rugby for the Chiefs and Wales, so it’s important to get them sorted now so he has that long recovery period to get himself fit and ready for the which everyone knows. be a very good occupation.
“Obviously the timescales are a bit fluid at the moment. We have to see early in the early stages of his recovery where he gets but one thing we know – from all the other injuries he’s had – is Dafydd. he is an extremely hard worker and rehabilitator, and if anyone can speed up the process of returning to these operations, we’re sure Dafydd will.”
Springboks overpower Australia
By The Associated Press
South Africa scored three second-half tries on Saturday to hand Australia their second loss in two weeks, beating the Wallabies 30-12 in a rain-soaked Rugby Championship game.
South Africa, who led 11-9 at half-time, outclassed the Wallabies 33-7 last Saturday in Brisbane to give Australia their first defeat of the season after three wins.
The Springboks led 18-9 in the 43rd minute on Saturday and after a Wallabies penalty goal extended their lead to 23-12 when hurler Malcolm Marx rolled over from a driving maul in the 64th minute. They scored their last try with six minutes remaining when Marx scored again from a maul with the Wallabies playing short man in front of more than 58,000 fans in Perth.
“It was a great two weeks coming down, getting two wins,” said South Africa green Eben Etzebeth. “It doesn’t happen often. The Wallabies are a quality outfit … we knew they would come out hard tonight and that’s exactly what they did. A good result in the end.”
On coach Rassie Erasmus making 10 changes to the starting side from last week’s game in Brisbane, Etzebeth said: “I think it’s genius. They were great. Of course, the guys off the bench, came They’ve been a good squad this whole trip.”
Japan-based utility back Jesse Kriel credited Erasmus for the team’s strong play. “I think with Rassie, it’s more about her mentality and encouraging us as players to go out there, to express ourselves, without being afraid to make mistakes,” said Kriel. “It’s exciting to be part of this team at the moment and to play the brand of rugby that we want to play.”
Australian coach Joe Schmidt said that despite the loss, he was satisfied with his team’s performance. “I can’t fault the effort,” Schmidt said. “It’s quite difficult trying to fight a Springbok maul with a fully fit pack. With a bit of a half pack kind of thing, it got very difficult, then we ended up with Seru Uru getting a sin bin, you know, that’s a really big ask.
“This is the best team in the world, this is not an easy side to play against at the moment and we want to mix it up with those teams.”
The Rugby Championship continues in two weeks when the Wallabies travel to Argentina for a two-test tour and the Springboks host the All Blacks for two games in South Africa.
