Wallabies

Currently the boss of Scottish club Glasgow Warriors, Rennie has agreed a three-and-a-half-year deal as Australia's new head coach and will join the Wallabies at the end of the current UK season.

"I've got a bit of work to do from an Australian perspective," said Rennie, who was appointed in the wake of Michael Chieka's departure following the Wallabies' World Cup quarter-final exit.

"We're sorting out staff, not just coaches but the whole staffing group, and it's an extensive review.

The 22-year-old’s stint with the Sevens program is set to be extended through the first half of 2020 with Maddocks looking to lock down a place for the Tokyo Games.

He helped the men’s team book an Olympics berth through a qualification tournament in Fiji earlier this month after being “seconded” into the squad.

If Maddocks makes the team for the Olympics, which runs from July 24 to August 9, he will be unavailable for the two-test Ireland series in June as well as the opening Bledisloe Cup match in Melbourne on August 8.

The 26-year-old said that he has moved from the Reds to Japanese outfit Suntory Sungoliath after his manager said that it will help him qualify for Fiji for the RWC in France. With only 33 caps to his name, Kerevi is now unable to represent Australia under the Giteau Law, which requires overseas players to have over 60 caps.

This has received the level of outrage that would be expected, with accusations of disloyalty being thrown at Kerevi. However, he has since responded, sharing a statement on Instagram, where he says his comments were taken out of context.

Australia were dumped out of the Rugby World Cup in a 40-16 quarter-final defeat to England on Saturday.

Cheika brought his five-year stint in charge, which included a run to the World Cup final in 2015, to an end after the defeat.

New Zealand coaches Jamie Joseph and Dave Rennie have been linked with the post but, when touching down after flying back from Japan, Cheika told reporters Rugby Australia should look at home for their next appointment.

"I think definitely we should be pushing for an Australian coach," he said. 

"If he actually cared about Aus rugby he would have done it a while ago," Cooper wrote on Twitter.

The 31-year-old first-five hasn't played for the Wallabies since 2017.

He was included in the preliminary squad six months out from the World Cup in Japan, but didn't make the final 31-man party.

The winger, who scored the opening try of the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, has also predicted on Twitter that the Wallabies will win by six points.

This is a bold prediction from Tuqiri seeing as the Wallabies have lost all six matches against Eddie Jones’ England, and last beat them at the 2015 RWC.

Then again, the two-time world champions showed that they have a world class performance in them against the All Blacks earlier this year, with their record 47-26 win against them in Perth.

Cancer survivor Lealiifano said it’s “hard to say” if he is ready for that sort of load after having been carefully managed through the pool phase of the tournament.

Coach Michael Cheika this week indicated the 32-year-old had the inside running to take the problematic playmaking role in Saturday’s quarter-final against England in Oita.

Cheika indicated Lealiifano hadn’t played there more because of the need to cater for his wellbeing.

Cheika has been criticised for failing to select the same player in the No.10 in successive matches since Lealiifano started both Bledisloe Cup Tests in August.

The position has taken on an experimental feel in Japan, with Bernard Foley handed a start against Wales and Matt To'omua against Georgia.

Lealiifano started the first and third games, against Fiji and Uruguay, and while not entirely convincing, he appears set to run the show against England on Saturday.

There are five faces that remain from the 45-10 defeat of Uruguay, with Jack Dempsey, Nic White, Matt To’omua, Kurtley Beale all retained, while exciting rookie Jordan Petaia swaps to the right wing.

David Pocock will captain the new-look side in Michael Hooper’s absence as his workload is eased ahead of a probable World Cup quarter-final in Oita next weekend.

Remarkably, it’s just the seventh time Hooper will start off the bench in what’s set to be his 99th test appearance, and only the second time he’s done so with Michael Cheika as coach.

Richard Kahui and Andy Ellis, both members of New Zealand’s 2011 World Cup winning squad, believe Michael Cheika has created a negative vibe in their camp which will permeate down to the players.

“I see Cheik and I feel for him because he’s obviously a man under pressure. It’s not just this World Cup, it’s been building the last 2-3 years,” Kahui told The Breakdown television show.

“(But) the way that he’s going about talking about referees and things, I just wonder how much that influences the players.