By now you’ve heard the earth-shaking news – Jonno has bitten the bullet and dropped Jonny Wilkinson for the French game Saturday. (The Times headline included the words ‘England turn to youth’ but probably should have read ‘England turn to stone.’)
Ben Foden is set to make his first England Test start after fellow fullback Delon Armitage was dropped on Tuesday from the squad to play France in the Six Nations finale in Paris on Saturday.
Skipper Keven Mealamu wants to see the Blues do the business first before he celebrates a personal Super 14 rugby milestone on Friday night.
The Waratahs have unsurprisingly stuck with the combination that thrashed the Lions in their last Super 14 start for Saturday’s clash with the Western Force in Perth.
Record-breaking Reds hooker Sean Hardman is battling for minutes on the paddock and he couldn’t be happier.
Headlines have read that Waratahs prop Dan Palmer is heading to the Brumbies next season due to “the teams’ direction” and “regular game time” as he sits behind Baxter, Robinson and Kepu.
If we were to go way back in time to around the 1920s, before rugby and football sat in somewhat a similar position, football was in front, but not by the margin it is today.
The Waratahs have re-signed one forward lost another and will hold talks on Wednesday with a third, as the Super 14 rugby player merry-go-round gathers momentum.
At a time when people are talking about talking and no one is offering a real concept, coaches from 14 of the country’s top colleges are bucking the trend.
The Waratahs victory over the Lions last Saturday finally proved the perennial underachievers are capable of playing running rugby. But it is no time to mention the F word.
One of the more common criticisms of the state of Australian rugby is that there’s no depth, or even that there’s not enough quality to cater for four Super rugby teams, let alone one more with the arrival of the Melbourne Rebels in 2011.
Former All Black great Tana Umaga is to return to New Zealand and leave his post as a member of the backroom staff of France Top 14 club Toulon.
France stayed on course for their first Grand Slam since 2004 on Sunday as they outclassed Italy 46-20 in their Six Nations clash at the Stade de France.
Stirling Mortlock’s late-career fade may not only cost him his place in the Brumbies side on Friday but also a marquee position at the Melbourne Rebels.
Five rounds into the final Super14 season and the Reds are in sixth spot, although with a bye coming up, they will probably fall behind the Tahs (assuming the Tahs beat the Force). After that, there is a three week trip to South Africa, but with two winnable games against the Lions and Cheetahs.
Julian Huxley expressed a desire to regain his Brumbies and Wallabies positions after making an accomplished return to rugby on Sunday, two years after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Red-hot Queensland’s long-awaited Super 14 resurgence hit top gear on Sunday night with a record 50-10 smashing of the Western Force.
Too often on The Roar we are negative, and that includes me. So following the Waratahs lead from Friday night, here’s something positive. Last weekend I had the pleasure, for the second year running, to attend the Cowra 10s – Australia’s oldest 10s tournament.
Samsung and Panasonic have just announced that they’ll be bringing 3-D TV sets to the US market starting today, and this could – repeat could – be instrumental in making some rugby games less boring for players and spectators wherever rugby is played.
As I write this I feel feel pride at Friday night’s result. The Waratahs absolutely caned the Lions. The fans demanded running rugby and running rugby they received.
