Ode to Rhyan Grant: The homespun hero
‘El Gráfico’ was a hugely influential Argentinian monthly sports journal with a naturally heavy emphasis on football.
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Joined June 2017
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Live in Brisbane, Australia, having previously lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina and London, United Kingdom for 5.5 years. Love Football, Cricket, Rugby and Rock'n'Roll.
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‘El Gráfico’ was a hugely influential Argentinian monthly sports journal with a naturally heavy emphasis on football.
The position of football in Brisbane’s hot, humid, sun-soaked and sepia-tinged sporting landscape is, much like peak Thomas Broich, hard to pin down.
Having moved to Buenos Aires six months ago, much of my experience here so far has naturally been framed by football, such is my passion and borderline unhealthy obsession with the game.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, when Guinness suppliers cancel all employees’ annual leave, when dreary Saturdays are spent inside warm pubs, when Welshmen of all ages warm up the tonsils and when Landsdowne Road respects the kicker.
The forthcoming Copa Libertadores final between River Plate and Boca Juniors is an unprecedented sporting, cultural and social event in Argentina, with one newspaper already declaring that “the country will never be the same after this”.
It is apt that the final, enduring image of Sam Warburton’s brilliant career was that of himself and Kieran Read, smilingly as the lifted the trophy together in the pouring Auckland rain, after last year’s epic Lions-All Blacks series.
An Australian supporting England in most sporting endeavours is akin to high treason – an act so reprehensible, deplorable and unconscionable that the revoking of citizenships and forced registration on a public list would be fully justified.
Utter the name Ned Hanigan in the company of Australian rugby fans and instantly the mood shifts, with music screeching to a halt, birds fleeing their nests and otherwise well-adjusted people whipping themselves in to an irascible rage.
Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before, but French rugby is still ill with under-performing players, disciplinary issues off the field and an administrative structure as sturdy as a soggy pain au chocolat.
Scotland is a land of stunning natural beauty, indecipherable accents, some of the best sporting and live music crowds in the world, out of control binge-drinkers, funny bastards, serial rugby under-achievement, and of course, deep fried mars bars.
The historical enmity between Wales and England has been shaped by centuries of cultural, political, economic, and most importantly, rugby union-based mistrust and conflict, rendering the Australia versus New Zealand rivalry a primary school sandpit fight in comparison.
The commencement of the 2018 edition of the Six Nations heralds the return of international rugby, Eddie Jones, centuries-old gripes against the English, fantastic Italian hair, warm pubs and industrial amounts of Guinness to our lives.
The annual Twickenham Test between England and Australia promises to be as tight as Kurtley Beale’s budgie smugglers, and Eddie Jones-like blue language is sure to be uttered by fans, players, coaches and possibly even Eddie’s mother this week.
This forthcoming Saturday, at 9:47am, six mates and I will board the Greater Western Railway service at London Paddington station with beers, coffees and bacon sandwiches in tow, ready to pilgrimage west for the Wallabies’ annual victory over Wales.
Karmichael Hunt’s professional rugby league debut for the Brisbane Broncos, in Round 1 of the 2004 NRL season, was a seminal moment for touch footy enthusiasts in Queensland.
The news of Mario Ledesma’s impending departure from the Wallabies coaching set-up has sent the Australian scrum enthusiast community (all ten of you) in to mourning.
With it being two years since England’s early World Cup exit on home soil, and just under two years until Japan 2019 kicks off, Eddie Jones has officially entered (you guessed it) phase two of his reign as England coach.
After the Wallabies vomit-inducing display during the first Bledisloe Cup Test in Sydney, it looked like only one Tom Petty song would sum up their 2017 – Free Fallin’.
Grand final week still manages to stir up the passions of the most casual of casual sporting fans – your mum, the bloke at work who still thinks Alfie Langer or Wayne Carey play, the kid at school who doesn’t know a footy from a physics calculator.
Ireland, France and South Africa are currently duking it out to see who will be crowned host of Rugby World Cup 2023, and the hyperbolic statements have ratcheted up a notch ahead of the November 15 decision.
Absolutely buzzing!
Women's World Cup hosting win exactly what football in Australia needs
A lot of good debate on this, and one thing I’ll say is that I’m glad we’ll actually be properly aligned with Asia. Always been disorienting seeing Asian Champions League matches in the dead of the off-season here, not to mention A-League can fill the European off-season void for many.
A-League’s winter move fraught with danger
This is brilliant. Good stuff mate!
The Fowler tactics that inspired the Roar's revival
Yeah Ballymore would be perfect if it wasn’t such an unbelievable pain to get to, despite its close proximity to the city.
Football in Brisbane: Steady as she goes
They do play incredible football, but they’ve stirred nothing in me when they’ve won the league the past 2 seasons – of course the team with 2 world-class players in each position that they bought for a bomb were going to win the league.
Personally I believe the 2001-2002 Arsenal team played the most thrilling, beautiful football in the PL’s history, and they did it with a blend of the old English guard and absolute bargains from Europe. It felt more natural back then.
The English Premier League is slowly killing the beautiful game
In for a rude shock when I move back home end of this year.
Why Argentina needs to get the import-export balance right
Been living here a bit over 9 months. Even the cheapest bottle of Malbec from the local supermarket tastes absolutely superb. We’re talking $5-10 AUD. Only so many steaks, empanadas and milanesas one can take though.
Why Argentina needs to get the import-export balance right
Posted before I saw your comment – basically made the same point. Inflation and economy in general shocking.
Argentina's case for a second Super Rugby franchise
As someone who currently lives in Argentina, I can tell you the economy is so bad here right now that the idea of creating a new SR franchise out of thin air is pie in the sky stuff. No offence meant, but that’s the reality – people are struggling and the capital flight out of the country will not subside until inflation gets anywhere near a respectable level.
Argentina's case for a second Super Rugby franchise
Didn’t check that the game is actually Friday night here and not Saturday – slightly better weather forecast then!
The Wrap: Only one Australian finalist a poor Super Rugby return
The weather has been absolutely rotten here in Buenos Aires this past week (not to mention the ridiculous country-wide blackout yesterday), and it looks like yet more rain on Saturday, so could even things out a bit in the Jags-Chiefs game.
Although the big event for me this week will be the mad scramble for Pumas-All Blacks tickets released at Friday noon.
The Wrap: Only one Australian finalist a poor Super Rugby return
I’m not even a Spurs or Liverpool fan but I was giddy after both games – just that weird, shocked sensation that only football can produce!
Spurs stun Ajax to seal all-EPL ECL final
Wasn’t a dig at true casual commenters such as yourself, more the ones that suspiciously appear to have been created just to argue over this issue.
Tah-Tah, Izzy: Rugby Australia, NSW Rugby confirm they'll sack Folau
A lot of ‘Guests’ and Roar ‘Rookie’s’ with unfamiliar usernames populating the site today – I don’t imagine many of them will be sticking around to give their opinion on the rugby matches this weekend.
Tah-Tah, Izzy: Rugby Australia, NSW Rugby confirm they'll sack Folau
Drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, idolaters – sounds like every rugby team I’ve ever been a part of!
Folau slammed over anti-gay comments
No I’m not a fan of either team, but a ticket came up and the opportunity to go was too good to pass up. I have adopted Ferro Carril Oeste (team in the 2nd division here), due to me being an Aston Villa fan and the fact Ferro’s original kit was based off Villa’s. Not too far a walk from home either.
As a neutral was hoping it would come down to the final day showdown between Racing and Defensa, but they are deserved champions – played some great football this season.
Football in Argentina: A passionate tango
His exploits for Boca hold a lot of weight here.
Football in Argentina: A passionate tango
As an aside to all the crowd comparisons and stadium talk etc here, and because there’s nowhere else for me to comment on it, I was able to attend the Independiente vs Racing Club derby here in Buenos Aires last weekend.
It’s probably the 2nd biggest derby here after the obvious one, and despite Independiente (the home team) being thoroughly outclassed, the atmosphere, both on the streets pre-game and in the stadium all throughout was unreal. The benefit of attending football matches here is its still a kind of unpolished, raw affair without alot of the corporate things we all dislike about modern football. Highly recommend!
Western Sydney Stadium is the feel-good story the A-League needs
The official tweets from WR and Gosper are just such corporate weasle-word rubbish, the sort of guff you get from banks or insurance companies, and that in turn makes fans even angrier.
World League plans won’t pay off
Ridiculous idea – would kill off Lions tours and make test matches feel less special if they play each other all the time. The All Blacks test against England in November was special because it’d been 4 years since they played, whereas all the Wallabies tests at Twickenham and Cardiff are starting to blur in to one for me because we play them every year on the Spring Tour.
It sounds straight from the American way of doing things:
Suit 1: “Hey you know what everyone loves? The World Cup.”
Suit 2: “Yeah they do, so let’s have it every year!”
World League plans won’t pay off
Love seeing him and Genia back together, and he looks extremely fit and motivated.
On a Welsh sidenote Nic – is Halfpenny ever going to return? The whole sudden removal from Ospreys last week wasn’t a good sign, and it’d be a shame if this ruins his whole year. Can’t take too much care with his symptoms though, especially with his history.
Also Wales by 5 on Saturday.
Welcome back to the big time, Quade Cooper
How on earth can they leave out the 94-96 one?
Cricket Australia letting fans vote on next retro ODI jersey
The All Blacks have become rugby’s equivalent to Brazil at the FIFA World Cup
Haven’t won it in nearly 20 years, live off the glories of their past legendary teams and prematurely implode in tears under their own absurd hype? For the Wallabies sake lets hope the AB’s really are Brazil’s rugby doppelganger!
My dream Rugby World Cup holiday: Yokohama, stunning scenery, and international rugby's greatest rivalry
Ah Dominici – every rugby fan with an ounce of romanticism in them eternally loves him for the ’99 SF.
Does size really matter?
Haven’t posted on here for a long time, but having lived in Buenos Aires from September 2018 to October 2019, I’m so happy for Los Pumas. Argentinian people are so tough yet kind, and so I’m stoked for all Argie rugby fans around the world (especially at San Isidro Rugby Club and Hurling Club!)
Pumas beat All Blacks for the first time