Tim Reynolds's Roar Profile

The apparent decision on consequences for May is breathtaking. Firstly he hit Walsh after the ball had been passed to the outside player – late tackle! Secondly he led with his head directly into Walsh’s head. If this was in rugby, soccer or any other sport which involves contact, May would have been sent off immediately and would have an extended time on the sideline. If league doesn’t get serious with such wanton acts of violence to a player’s head, the sport will be hit with a raft of claims from those concussed in these situations.

'If the NRL are serious about concussions, where does this sit?' Kevvie fires up after May escapes ban for Walsh's fracture

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League

Des Connor is not the only player to represent both Australia and NZ. He was preceded by Bill Hardcastle, Ned Jessep and Keith Gudsell, and followed by Owen Stephens.

Representing both sides of the Tasman: Why Des Connor is the greatest Australian halfback

I’m interested to see the effect of the recent One Day World Cup on the Test series. The one dayers were significantly influenced by T20 cricket in that it was basically attack from the start, and with England already having experimented with some success at the go for broke approach in Tests, that could be the new norm. Remember when 250 was an OK score in a one dayer? Now you’re behind the 8ball if you don’t top 300.

Captain's resigned, four frontline quicks ruled out - who's excited for Pakistan's Test tour of Australia?

Nov

What a strange, incoherent article. Has Foster got a raw deal? Look at his record: First loss ever to Argentina; first loss to Argentina in NZ; first loss to Ireland in NZ; first series loss to Ireland; implosion in last 10 minutes for a draw against England; close calls against Scotland and Japan in 2022. NZ is lucky that Ryan and Schmidt came to the rescue and together they have all got the ABs into the Final. But that doesn’t absolve Foster from what happened in the preceding years.

Waiting for the All Blacks to crumble: Final yardstick of NZ fans' treatment of Ian Foster

Oct

It rapidly became obvious that Roger was not going to become a fixture in the ABs. However, I was impressed with how he continued to give his best for the Auckland Blues while his contract remained. It would have been a fairy tale if he had been running out at the Stade de France on Saturday night and ended up a World Cup winner, but he’ll probably be quite happy with his other achievements. If he helps the Warriors to their first GF win his cup would runneth over.

How Webster lured Tuivasa-Sheck back from All Blacks as Warriors set sights on reaching even greater heights

“No Smith, no problem”? Shouldn’t that be 2 Smiths (Brandon and Reimis), no problem?

Three takeaways from Round 1 of the NRL season

2021

It’s interesting when you write an article like this. I hope that it will stimulate some thinking at a level deeper than the ref was a cheat, etc, etc. The Sharks played a brilliant game and should have won. But it wasn’t the ref’s fault that the Hurricanes pulled off a great move for Barrett’s try; or that West was able to split the line and give the backhander to Laumape. Just like it wasn’t the ref’s fault that the Sharks got the tries they did – it was a mixture of their skill and the Hurricanes’ errors.

I hoped to get people thinking about how the Sharks lost from their position of dominance – and not just blame the ref. And how the Hurricanes hung in while everything was against them. And what a great game it was right up until the 84th minute.

There was so much good in the game to marvel at. Why do we descend to petty nitpicking on such occasions?

Sometimes editorial changes can polish an article, and sometimes they can make it look like the writer doesn’t know their facts. West’s backhander that led to a try did not produce “the first try” but the first one for Laumape. I’m not sure why the editor chose to not give Laumape his moment in the sun.

Re Ardie Savea’s possible impact on this game, it would have been more in the symbolic area of showing the rest of the Hurricanes pack that they could fight fire with fire. Often the Hurricanes forwards were driven back by Sharks backs.

And what about Robert Du Preez’s kicking? That gives the Sharks the confidence to really have a go, knowing they already have about 15 points in the bank.

Hi Chris,

Very little response, which is par for the course. People focus on petty point-scoring rather than deeper issues. I like any sport that puts a premium on attack while respecting the need for defence, and when Brazil plays soccer I can enjoy watching. But when players dive for penalties, pack their defence or kick the ball back to the goalie, I go and watch the grass grow.

Code War? Football is already miles ahead

Football

Shades of Michael Cheika in Ricky Stuart’s histrionics. How can a coach expect their team to be cool and calm under pressure, as they will be in every game they play, when they see their mentor carrying on like a jackass on the sidelines?

Ricky dances into the night

Sounds a bit like whistling in the dark to me. Soccer’s problem in Australia is that elsewhere in the world soccer doesn’t need to keep boosting itself by constantly saying “we’re the world game”, etc. The less advantaged of those countries just play or follow the game for whatever reason. In Australia people play or watch a sport through choice, not because it’s the only show in town. Australian soccer will always at best be second rate as all the best players seek their fortune overseas.

There is a rich irony in Warner being offended when someone slurs him or his family in English, and offended when someone might be doing the same thing in another language. Speakers of all the other world languages, please don’t speak your language near Mr Warner as he could well take offence.

The whole point with sledging is to disrupt the concentration of the person being sledged, and Warner is reinforcing why it is so successful against him.

In defence of Davey Warner

Superb effort, Harry. England chose the wrong Jones to carry them to greater heights.

The Ballad of Super Rugby

It’s a bit grim when the base for Queensland hopes is a player who last showed some razzle dazzle a few years ago, and who has been exposed so often when the going got tough. I think there’s a lot of Graeme Hick in our Quade – star against the minnows but a bit wanting against the bigger boys.

Super Rugby preview: Reds No.1, with Cooper the key

2017

Rieko Ioane already has his All Black shirt!

Super Rugby 2017 preview: New Zealand conference

If they’re going to give NSW players a blue cap and a baggy green when they first play for their State, then they’ve got to be able to use them both. But Hughes shouldn’t give up hope. Almost the last 10 Aussie captains have come from NSW so when he gets his chance he may come in at the top.

Why was Dan Hughes overlooked?

I hate to be the fall-guy in this discussion, but when did autumn become fall? If you wrote an article on a US website and referred to autumn rather than fall, the editor would change it. So why do we tolerate these USisms that are creeping insidiously into our vocab? If we don’t make a stand now rugby players will soon be trash-talking like US basketballers, baseballers, etc.

2017 Six Nations preview

Alison is superb, and it sounds like the Test veterans who sit beside her recognise her absolute professionalism and competence.

The rise and rise of female sports commentary

Other Sports

G’day Chinmay,

I think euphemisms are more a feature of US English than Indian. Thus, bathroom for toilet; passed away for died; ass for arse; butt for bum; etc, etc. Our misfortune is that people around the world watch the drivel that comes out of the USA, particularly on TV, and accept that these US sensitivities are how we speak English.

As for the reign of the Lions in the early 70s, many people think back to the 1971 tour and see the Lions overwhelming the ABs – in fact they won the series effectively by one point! If the ABs had won the last Test 15/14 rather than draw it 14/14, the series would have been tied. No quibble with their win in South Africa in 1974 – they were magnificent.

I hope that you are spreading the rugby gospel amongst your countrymen and women. We need a country to replace South Africa!

SANZAAR year in review: Part 2

Chinmay, you have done a superb job on summarising the AB year, and I’m guessing your heritage gives you an objectivity that many other writers do not have. Three minor quibbles amidst the gems: a try is only a try when it is awarded – Dane Haylett-Petty caused an avoidable obstruction on Savea and was rightly penalised; your euphemism of “bathroom” in relation to Aaron Smith’s blunder – I can guarantee there was not a bath in the toilet where he did his thing; and the Lions upset the ABs in 1971, not 1974 (when they did the same to the Boks).

The Lions winning the First Test would make a huge tour even bigger. But to get there they need to survive playing most of the Super Rugby teams first. Drop a few of these and the mountain gets Everestish. Win them all and they will have so much momentum. Wouldn’t the Rugby Championship be great if all teams are firing? Putting aside my wish that the ABs win everything always, my biggest wish would probably be that the Boks return to where they should be, fighting to be at the top of the tree.

The annual Christmas wish list: Rugby edition

I would be very careful about counting my Irish chickens before they truly hatch. In the euphoria of the Chicago victory and the monster lead the Irish jumped out to, it has tended to be overlooked that the ABs were undermanned in the forwards; they let in tries even the Springboks would be ashamed of; yet still they came back and almost stole the Test again from the Irish. If the Irish can perform another miracle and win in Dublin, it will be against an AB team that is ready for them and will have no excuses. Ireland needs to win a lot more than a one-off game in Chicago if it is to join the elite of the sport.

The Neutral Weekly: New waves ready to rise in Irish and French rugby

Since Mark Taylor took over the captaincy there have been 5 long term captains, and of these 4 (Taylor, Waugh, Clarke, Smith) played for NSW. The fifth (Ponting) lived in Sydney. Of the two short-termers, Gilchrist started with NSW and Watson played for NSW. Of the team that got humiliated in Hobart 6 come from NSW. The reigning Sheffield Shield champions, Victoria, had nobody in the team. And the solution to Australia’s batting woes is to put in Patterson and Maddinson – where do they come from?

Up to six changes for Australia's Test team at Adelaide - who's in?

Interesting article Harry, but you’ll have to brush up on your Olympic history. Armin Hary won the 100m for Germany in 1960 and Valery Borzov for the USSR in 1972. In the 400m Juantorena from Cuba won in 1976, and Markin from the USSR won in 1980.

A Saffa ramble

Harry, NZ does have a medallist in the Olympic sprints. Arthur Porritt won the bronze in the 100m at Paris, 1924. If he had allowed his name to be used in the film you would have seen him commemorated in “Chariots of Fire”. I didn’t see the game because of those b….s in Foxtel, but it seems like the game had all the hallmarks of the loss to the Wallabies in Sydney, 2015. Weak defence letting in soft tries; and just not turning up for the game. But there have been very few comments on the fact that the heart and soul of the All Black pack was injured, and without them the experience and grit was not there to counter the Irish fire. Remember though what followed the loss in Sydney last year – the Wallabies got massacred in Auckland. The All Blacks rarely play badly twice in a row.

Option two: To beat the All Blacks, be different than the All Blacks

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