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New England defence coach has singled out the Wallabies dangerman

(Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)

New England defence coach Anthony Seibold has singled out Nic White – a familiar face from the Gallagher Premiership – as the dangerman when the Wallabies visit Twickenham next Saturday in the latest round of Autumn Nations Series. The 31-year-old scrum-half was with the Exeter Chiefs from 2017 through to 2020 and he has since gone on to become Dave Rennie’s preference as Australia’s regular No9. 

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The Wallabies had arrived in the UK on the back of a winning five straight matches in the same season (outside of a World Cup year) for the first time since 2008 when Robbie Deans was in charge, but they were upset by Scotland last Sunday and will now look to bounce back against England in what will be Seibold’s first major Test as Eddie Jones’ defence coach. 

It was early September when the ex-South Sydney Rabbitohs coach, whose most recent full-time employment ended disastrously as the Brisbane Broncos boss in August 2020, was confirmed as a new England assistant following the sudden defection of John Mitchell to Wasps.  

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England came through their first match with Seibold in charge of their defence without conceding a try, a Courtney Lawes-led side defeating Tonga 69-3 last weekend, but the arrival of the Wallabies at English rugby HQ will present a very different challenge – especially with half-back White knowing so much about the calibre of player he is facing due to his time at Exeter.

“Nic White has been at the forefront of a lot of what they have done well over the Rugby Championship this year,” reckoned Seibold when asked to assess the threat posed by the Wallabies. “They didn’t get the result on the weekend but their previous performances I thought they built, even in a couple of games against New Zealand. I see Nic White as a key figure for them. 

“He has got a lot of experience now for the Wallabies. I know that Tate McDermott comes off the bench and replaces him but he is at the forefront of what they do well. Michael Hooper is obviously a world-class player. One of the areas we have seen significant improvement from the Wallabies is their ruck attack and it is off their ball-carrying ability. I expect those two and (Rob) Valetini, their No8, to be at the forefront of that.”

Seibold is following a well-trodden pattern of coaches who have honed their reputation in rugby league making the crossover to work in rugby union. They may be different codes but one aspect definitely features dominantly in both sports when it comes to defence. “One of the good things of all union and league defences is it is all built around attitude, it’s built around working hard for your mate and you build that trust over a period of time,” he said. 

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“What I would like you to see is that we are a team that works really hard for each other and they turn up for each other. It is not always going to be perfect but the attitude to get the job done is a starting point. I am a very defensively biased coach. I have been a professional coach for 15 or 16 years. Making sure the players understand their roles initially and then have the attitude and make the right choices to perform is at the forefront of what I do. 

“In any sport where you are trying to get from one end of the field to the other, speed of ball is key. What it does is it puts you under pressure. If it is fast ruck speed it is going to create some instability on defence at different times. It is about winning the first contact and making sure that the initial contact is solid.

“If you do that you are a chance of slowing down the ruck speed but if you don’t get that initial contact, teams create instability by getting one-on-one tackles. You see that in world rugby at the moment.

“Any time there is a one-on-one tackle there is quicker speed of ball so for us, it is about making sure we have two in the tackle. We believe that if we can do that and work hard for each other then you are a chance, but teams create instability when there is quick ruck speed.”

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J
JPM 28 minutes ago
Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

Unfortunately you don't know anything about French rugby, coaches and players but still making a lot of assumptions and judgements to push your prefabricated and simplistic point of view that Dupont is manipulating everything and is a bad guy. I am not a NZ rugby specialist and wouldn't dare make such theories about what is going on within the ABs team. Therefore my advice to you is to do like Dupont and stay humble when you don't know all the background of the issues !!!


Firstly if you knew a bit of Galthié, he is not the type of coach who is going to ask advice to his players and even his captain about team selection. He is as stubborn as you...


Second Ramos has played a lot of times as 10 with Toulouse and therefore Dupont (in particular when Ntamack is injured and unfortunately it has often happened recently and for long periods). He even played 10 during the last 3 games of the 2024 6N and this was far better performance than the first two games with Jalibert as 10.


Thirdly Jalibert lacked of respect to a La Rochelle player so your theory is once again out.


Fourth as I explained to you Galthié went for a 6-2 bench and Jalibert can only play 10 which doesn't fit that plan. Furthermore as 15 Buros is better under high balls than Ramos and everybody is prepared for a tactical kicking game.


So you can blame Galthié for a lot of things (as you clearly enjoy doing at the end of your post and you should be very happy as an AB fan) but certainly not Dupont. Sorry once more for your conspiracy theory.


And don't worry about potential disharmony in the French team; they are excellent mates around their captain. Jalibert is well known in the French rugby circles to have not a strong character (and we saw that in the WC quarter finals as he is very nervous in any decisive international game unlike Ntamack and Ramos as for his late penalty kick vs England this year).


In conclusion enjoy the game tmrw night. It is good that the ABs are very upset; we should watch a great game of rugby. I hope for running rugby and not too much kicking. With 5 key players injured on our side (Ntamack, Baille, Atonio, Cros and Penaud) and 2 on your side I and various French fans see you as favourites. I obviously hope for another result.


If you are interested you can read a good article in the Guardian on the subject of France-NZ games.

92 Go to comments
K
KB 30 minutes ago
The 'one difference' between Boks and the back-to-back All Blacks

Consistency hasnt been there they have many great players SA were also not unbeaten in the 2023 WC - NZ were in 2015 WC McCaw and Carter Nonu and Smith - SA did not have those Marque players in those postions in 2019 or 2023 - I wouldnt rank them ahead of the 20I5 ABs - They clocked up 60 points against France in the QF - Furthermore I do not believe for one moment SA won 2023 fairly no way - they were so favoured it became obvious that behind the scenes SA the nation bought the title - Their last 3 matches were won by a solitary point there were many contentious decisions that went their way that it became obvious it wasnt coincidence - Sport has been hijacked by a satanic cult just as is Politics

Some players coaches officials and sponsors are involved - they know who they are - its called Freemasonry - any sport that allows betting is corrupt - its not all about money either for these parasites its also about control - Lots of American NFL players have spoken openly about games being scripted - Football is also rigged Referees have been caught on film showing freemason hand signs - The 95 RWC final ranks as the highest and most obvious attempt at cheating There was no way SA were going to allow NZ to gate crash Nelson Mandelas reunification party - NZ were so good they had to posion almost the entire team to get a 3 point win - a Hollywood Movie ( theres your Red Flag ) was made about SAs triumph called Invictus


William Henley wrote a poem called Invictus


It starts


Out of the night that covers me BLACK ( All Blacks ) as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever GODS maybe for my unconquerable Soul ...( Olan says INVICTUS is an evil Malevolent entity who corrupted the Titans ... this is Mandelas double meaning speech ( hes a fraud ) - of thanks for helping overcome SA's adversary NZ - There is only ONE true God Yahuah - Only a false god would be complicit in Cheating Corruption and Harming others to win a RWC for a sick and sinful Nation ) the poem ends with


I am the CAPTAIN of my soul


SA will forever bear the stain of guilt and disgrace over their involvement in poisoning the ABs a day before the 95 RWC Final

10 Go to comments
C
CO 1 hour ago
Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

I cannot believe that you don't think the French rugby team coach and captain are not discussing putting Jalibert on the bench in favour of Duponts club teammate that doesn't even play at 10.


This is a terrible, massive insult to a 10 and I'm sure Dupont would also be very enraged if benched for a player that doesn't even play halfback.


A good captain would've insisted to the coach that it was an idea of madness and either select Jalibert or replace him with another 10 if you want him to be reserve.


Jalibert may not be the world's finest tacklers but that's often not a tens main strength that the loose forwards and second five cover. An intercept pass is never great but they happen.


When any player is playing for his club then it's club first, respect doesn't need to be shown to opposition players simply because they're internationals.


Who exactly are you claiming Jalibert hasn't respected? If it's Toulouse international players then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this bench demotion out.


The outcome of selecting Jalibert to the bench and he then throwing his croissants out the window of the team bus immediately prior to playing the Allblacks is a disaster that will be team disharmony as any team mates of Jalibert are in a state of anger and revolt so a performance that will be sub optimal against a team that is thirsting for revenge against France.


I don't know about you but the Allblacks are very upset they've lost twice in a row to France and want to put out a statement performance so this preparation by Galthie of creating havoc looks to me like a coach that is clueless.

92 Go to comments
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LONG READ Wales 'in one of their deepest holes for a long time' Wales 'in one of their deepest holes for a long time'
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