FEED HIM ball close to the opposition line and it feels like Gavin Coombes racks up more scores than Hans Zimmer. He had ten tries in the league last season and led the United Rugby Championship for overall carries last term, with 126 to his name.
In Munster's frankly ridiculous run to a URC title last season - a run that saw them play their last five matches on the road, including the final in Cape Town - Coombes didn't just stand up and fight, he battled on the hoof. And yet for all the action the dynamic back-five forward brings, there's a stilled, contemplative nature to him.
"Gav's quite a quiet, reserved character around the building," says forwards coach Andi Kyriacou. "He is very good on the field in terms of the contact or the collision. His carrying is phenomenal. But what's grown through last year as well is that he knows when to speak. He says the right things at the right time as well.
Bu hikaye Rugby World dergisinin December 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Rugby World dergisinin December 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
"I stress-test my coaches' ideas but ultimately you have to let the bakers bake"
Northampton Saints' director of rugby explains how to be an effective coach
REMEMBER WHEN...WE HAD A HOTLINE ON RUGBY GOING PRO
RW readers could ring in to have their say on the amateur-pro debate
RUGBY RANT
Editor Joe Robinson on why rugby needs to take kit launches more seriously
WHAT IT'S LIKE TO...BE A SEVENS REFEREE SELECTOR
Irish official David Keane lifts the lid on his role behind the scenes
“You can still be fully professional and enjoy yourself"
The Wales great who also represented the Lions and Scarlets with distinction
CLEVEDON RFC
Giving grass-roots rugby the love that it deserves...
Downtime with... Jacob Umaga - "Best player in my family? I have to say Uncle Tana"
The Benetton fly-half on Italy, basketball and talented kinsmen
SHANE MCDONALD
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
100* Not Out
RW charts a century of Samoa's flagship national team, including its dramatic rebirth in the late 1980s
Chunk
More than a decade since his retirement, we caught up with Allan Jacobsen, the larger-than-life former Scotland prop