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Spiro Zavos

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2,861,878 Article Reads
862 Articles Written
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Member Since:: December 2006
Based In:: Sydney
Favourite Sports:: Cricket, Rugby,

Latest Articles

Showing articles 1 - 6 of 862 | More Articles >

SPIRO: Super Rugby TMOs are making too many mistakes

3 days ago

Ewen McKenzie has created the rugby quote of the week - make that the quote of the season – with his accusation that the Super Rugby television match officials (TMO) are “pulling camera angles out of their bum”. The Reds coach was commenting after the South African TMO, Johan Greef, over-ruled two Reds tries in their [...]

SPIRO's Lions Diary: Deans goes for experience, plus Folau

6 days ago

The first question at the media conference where the first Wallaby squad of 25 for the Tests against the British and Irish Lions was announced got to the heart of the matter. “Robbie, there’s no Quade Cooper in the squad?” one of the journalists asked. And Robbie Deans got to the heart of the matter, [...]

SPIRO: Wallabies experienced, All Blacks rebuilding

16 May 2013

When Robbie Deans announces the Wallaby squad of 25 on Sunday, the likelihood is that only two uncapped players will be on the list. Those players are Christian Lealiifano and Israel Folau. Deans has foreshadowed that he will not risk new players unless they have much more going for him than his more experienced counterpart. [...]

SPIRO: Happier days are here again for the Waratahs

13 May 2013

Here’s the situation in the closing minutes of a tough-as-a-Test, pulsating Waratahs vs Stormers match at Allianz Stadium: The Wararahs are behind 15-11. They win a penalty right in front of the posts. Do they take the points? They still have to score five points to take the lead. But will it be easier to [...]

SPIRO: Beale and Folau brilliant, Mogg subbed

6 May 2013

This was one of the best rounds of the 2013 Super Rugby tournament. We had the first four matches going past the stipulated 80 minutes as sides either tried to hold on to a close lead and their opponents banged away for to achieve a win, or in the case of the Force and Reds, [...]

SPIRO's LIONS DIARY: Deans says Lions will play "gain-line rugby"

2 May 2013

Those ancients like myself, through copious reading and watching, have an idealised picture of the British and Irish Lions that sees the side as an examplar of brilliant and thrilling back play generated by some of the greatest halves in the history of rugby. Oh my Roger Spong, Jackie Kyle, Cliff Morgan, Gareth Edwards, Barry [...]

Spiro's Recent Comments

Spiro Zavos has written a total of 1494 comments

Sanzar “shafts Japie” sides

Gavin has brought up an interesting different point of view here. I have always argued that using local referees instead of neutrals places an unfair burden on a local referee, especially in a big match. Any decision that is made is judged from the template of where the referee lives, rather than on the decision itself. There is also the perception problem. There was a recent case of a South African referee who gave the local South African side a long advantage after they had retrieved an opposition knock-on. After the long advantage, the South African team kicked put on the full from outside their 22. The referee immediately brought the teams back for a scrum and a local side feed. Shortly after this, the visiting side retrieved the ball from the local side's knock-on. The referee immediately called 'advantage over' and brought the play back for a local scrum feed when the ball was kicked out on the full. I heard the visting captain asking for an explanation and what was offered didn't seem to make much sense to the visiting captain. It is all about perception. You rarely get the opposite happening with the local referees. So I agree with Gavin. Use the local referees for the local derbies and use the neutral referees for the other inter-conference matches. I agree with biltonbek, as well, that referees from other countries should be used. But only if they are really experienced. The experiment with the Argentinian referee, so far at least, hasn't been very satisfactory.

3 days ago

Your Wallabies XV unveiled!

[Edit: this comment has been included in the body of the article] The Roarers should be proud of themselves. They have selected a side that is strong in the forwards, experienced where it matters and has exciting game breakers, X-factor players, in the backs. This is a side that could really test the British and Irish Lions in all phases of the game. But, in my view, it isn't the side that the Wallaby selectors will put on on the field for the first Test. If the side selected by Robbie Deans and his fellow selectors wins the Test, or shows enough to suggest that it will win the next Test (as Rod Macqueen's Wallabies did in 2001), the selectors will stick with their first choices. But if the first Test side is defeated convincingly by the Lions, then I reckon they will go for a team along the lines of the selection of The Roar readers. Deans has already stated that he won't be experimenting or picking too many new players (unless their inclusion is irresistible) for the first Test, at least. So I reckon he will pick the Waratahs front row, even though Stephen Moore is a much more accurate lineout thrower than Tatafu Polota-Nau. I have no doubt either that Sitaleki Timani will partner James Horwill in the second row. Timani will be used as a battering ram in the middle of the field and Horwill is terrific running off Genia. With these two huge, mobile runners smashing into the Lions defence, holes will hopefully be opened up for the outside backs to convert into tries. Scott Higginbotham was out of favour a bit last year. But his play for the Rebels has been compelling. He gives the Wallaby backrow great size, aggression and terrific pace. The point here is that Wycliff Palu is a straight-on basher of a runner. He doesn't have much lateral speed and is rarely seen when the opposition gets behind the defensive line of his team. Higginbotham and Smith provide the necessary speed to balance out the power that Palu provides with his carries around the rucks and mauls. If would expect Michael Hooper to be the back-up Smith as the openside flanker ahead of the excellent Liam Gill. Hooper's great pace is unmatched by openside flankers around the world, and especially in the Lions. Smith has the advantage, too, of being able to play all three backrow positions when someone like Hooper is brought on later in the Test. My thinking on Quade Cooper is that he will probably be included in the squad of 31 but not Sunday's squad of 25. The Reds play the Lions early on in the tour. Reading between the lines from comments made by informed journalists it seems that the selectors want to see how Cooper performs against the Lions before sending him out for the Wallabies. I reckon the Test backline will be: Will Genia, James O'Connor, Pat McCabe, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Digby Ioane, Israel Folau and Berrick Barnes as the fullback. Christian Lealiifano will be a reserve who can cover fly half, inside centre and probably fullback. Before Roarers go beserk about McCabe, who is still to start for the Brumbies, the point is that the Lions will have huge centres (unless O'Driscoll get a run) and huge wingers. The Wallabies need a tackler like McCabe to hold the middle of the field in the way Stirling Mortlock used to and how McCabe did against the Springboks in the RWC 2007 quarter-final. This is an argument in favour of McCabe that Mark Ella has made recently. The fact that Cooper is the overwhelming choice my Roarers is a reflection of his popularity with many rugby supporters, especially in Queensland. But has he done enough to make up for his 'toxic environment' comments about the Wallaby camp last year? The point here is that the senior players in the Wallabies at the time were offended by his comments. It was their representations that led to the fines against Cooper. As the Wallaby environment is shaped as much by the players leadership group as it is by the coaching staff, this is an important consideration for Deans to consider. I would say that Cooper's behaviour has been sort of forgiven but not forgotten. He will get his chance when the selectors believe he is absolutely crucial to the success of the Wallabies. In all probability, that time has not been reached - yet. But an injury to O'Connor could, of course, change everything. Who knows, though. The Roar readers might be reading the mind of the selectors better than I am trying to do. All will be revealed, or most of the mystery, will be revealed on Sunday.

17 May 2013

SPIRO: The high price of rugby being the war game of the Empire

Sean, thank you for all this information. I have made the point before and would make it again that I regard you as the most informed and insightful historian on the early history of rugby union and rugby league in Australia. Most of the stuff I write about, especially in Australia, in this period is informed by your work on the newspapers, magazines, diaries and memoirs from the period. I am looking forward to your book on the tour of Australia and New Zealand by a British rugby team (the fore-runners of the Lions) in 1888. I wanted to write especially about the rugby people, as this was the point about my argument that rugby is a/the war game of all the modern sports. But this should not be construed by implication as a comment on the other major sports at the time. Sean endorses my argument that rugby, especially in the 1900s when the amateur ethos was extremely strong, promoted the values that could transfer easily for young and not so young men to embrace a world war where, they believed, those values were being tested.

25 Apr 2013

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