Roar Pro
Joined December 2013
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Comedian, writer and sporting tragic. I once took 6 wickets in an over of indoor cricket but the opposition were drunk so it doesn't count.
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Clichés can be your friend. When I played rugby for the Griffith University Redbacks, what feels like a hundred years ago, we’d run through…
Is Australian Rugby going through another annus horribilis? I say another because 2017 was pretty darn bad. Sure, we had a win against the…
Like many other Wallabies supporters, I did a fair bit of swearing at the television on Saturday afternoon. This isn't an uncommon occurrence when…
The current Ashes series and subsequent hostile bowling from the Australian pacemen has evoked memories of the feared Australian fast bowlers of the late…
Yeah, imagine not rating a guy who was nominated for World Rugby player of the year last year. It’s a great way of telling people you either don’t watch rugby and/or you don’t understand it.
'Hooper's heir apparent': McReight stars in 'helter-skelter' Reds-Rebels try-fest
He said “flanker” not…you know.
'Hooper's heir apparent': McReight stars in 'helter-skelter' Reds-Rebels try-fest
Liam Gill starting over McReight? That’s a bold take. Anyway, he left the Reds 2 years before Thorn arrived.
The unnamed source attacking Brad Thorn through the media is a disgrace
Honestly can’t think of any player who left the Reds (apart from Kerevi who went for $$$) who would oust someone from the current team. Maybe Slipper (he had personal issues)?
The unnamed source attacking Brad Thorn through the media is a disgrace
Weird how the majority of their tries are scored by backs though, hey?
Tate with destiny: Reds X factor back to test Tah toughness, as Hoops misses out again
Read the whole sentence. He doesn’t play for a club or a school where he’d pop up on a radar of rep selectors. That is, he isn’t at a GPS school or playing at a club where selectors are watching. He’s at a school that isn’t on anyone’s radar. Plays rugby league on a Sunday though which is why the Broncos have him on a scholarship. He’s like a 15yo Cliffy Palu.
The Wrap: Rugby needs to keep the scrums up and put the ball down
My son goes to a non-GPS school and plays alongside a kid who’s tuition is paid for by an NRL team. This kid doesn’t play club or play for a school where he’d pop up on a radar of rep selectors. When he finishes Grade 12 he’ll most likely go straight into an NRL feeder club and earn more than a rugby player of the same age and experience. These are the kids slipping through the cracks. You are 100% that there are more opportunities in AFL/NRL but we’re missing so many more kids. How many kids give the game away because they didn’t get selected because they were in the wrong pathway? Would be hard number to guess but it’d be a lot.
The Wrap: Rugby needs to keep the scrums up and put the ball down
“Far too many rugby kids are being talent scouted by league. A number of kids are apparently using the Sydney GPS comp as a career launcher…”
That really isn’t the case. I would say the overwhelming majority of junior union players who switch and play professional rugby league were probably league juniors or always wanted to play rugby league but only played union because the school they attended played it. And given the professional pathways in union are limited and governed by people who judge you on what school you went to, who can blame them.
The Wrap: Rugby needs to keep the scrums up and put the ball down
I get the feeling that impactful verbals would be met with more twitching. checking of pad tightness and subsequent run scoring. Like the time a bunch of bullies picked on this weird kid at my school in Grade 5 and he took off all his clothes before challenging them to a fight. No one took Jeremy up on his offer of a fight and he was never bullied again. Maybe England should try bowling better first.
BRETT GEEVES: Marnus, Smith schtick is infuriating and must be countered by impactful verbals
Kerevi only played 1 test less (at the time of the nominations) than the winner, Dupont.
Why Michael Hooper should have been World Rugby's player of the year
I started out in the forwards in Grade 10. At 7, to be precise. Only because I wasn’t small, had played league so I could tackle but couldn’t kick. Plus I didn’t know the laws which was perfect for a 7 in 1989. During the 1989 Lions tour, the Lions trained at my school and I got an autograph from Finlay Calder, possibly the most terrifying man I’d ever met (and I met Mal Meninga when I was 9 and he was playing for Souths Magpies in the BRL). When he asked me what position I played, I said breakaway. “It’s flanker, son. And don’t you forget it” he growled at me. Then said with a wink “You can get away with all sorts of mischief in that position” A week later I was almost sent off for using some kid’s back like a ladder and punching another at the bottom of a ruck.
As I grew older, the boys around me grew taller. I didn’t. I finished school having played in the backrow and at fullback. When I went to uni in Melbourne I tried out for the Colts team. Told them I played flanker (nod to Mr Calder) to which everyone laughed and said “Halfback is it”. I loved that position and was quite good at it. Over the next 7-9 years I played every position in the backline with my favourites being 9, 10 and 15. I found centre too terrifying in defence.
Now I’m a dad of two young rugby players. One is skillful and destined to be a flyhalf. The other is extremely quick, built like a Greek God and scored 40 tries in each of the last 2 seasons. He’ll play wherever he wants as long as he gets to touch the ball. When I’m at training passing the ball, I struggle to convince the other parents that I was a lithe back. COVD has done a number on my waist.
“Surely you were in the front row???”
'We all end up as props': A rugby memoir
I tried to watch the NRL this season just gone and found myself getting utterly bored. It’s touch footy but with tackles. Quick ruck play looking to get a Six Again just turns the game into a farce. I’ll still watch the State of Origin though because it’s in my blood to support my state of QLD.
Is it too late to reverse rugby's long decline?
That still image of the Scottish flying wedge is infuriating. I’d cast that to the back of my mind but now it’s resurfacing like a rash. Disgraceful adjudication during that match from the TMO and Poite.
Coach's Corner: How European-based players impacted the Wallabies
This is such a ridiculous comment. You should feel bad for wasting everyone’s time.
'Forever tarnished': Nic Berry reveals heavy toll of Rassie's 'character assassination'
His performances have been fine. Certainly one of the better refs out there. One of the best things about rugby is the respect the ref gets and it’s sad to see this kind of crap being peddled. Refs aren’t perfect but no one is. They are allowed to make mistakes and they learn from them. To get hauled out through a video highlighting your mistakes (and, I might add, not highlighting all the good things you did) by an aggrieved coach is disgusting and I’m glad they cracked down.
'Forever tarnished': Nic Berry reveals heavy toll of Rassie's 'character assassination'
That’s great stuff. Good theatre.
Disrespectful? Ireland fans' musical reaction to the haka causes a stir
The problem is, Poite is so inconsistent. Some matches he’s fine, in other’s he’s all over the place. Agree that they didn’t take Poite out of the equation though. The two denied tries could have been the catalyst for a very dominant win.
You aren't imagining it... proof the Wallabies were hard done by
I remember the RWC match between Australia and England in 2015. First scrum of the match was a penalty to England and it appeared the status quo was in order. The Aussies then just took it to England and Poite had no choice but to award them penalties. You could almost see the disgust on his face. I’ve never liked him as a ref. Too inconsistent with some oddities thrown in here and there.
You aren't imagining it... proof the Wallabies were hard done by
Here’s a tip: they are already 1 win from 1 game so far on this tour.
The Thursday rugby two-up: Last chance to revise Spring Tour predictions for the southern raiders
The location on the field also influences the outcome. LeRoux tried to intercept the ball with the Wallabies having a 1 man overlap 20m out. Barrett tried to do it 55+m out.
The laws of rugby and their loose connection with common sense
I really noticed the Bok tactic of flooding the landing zone of a kick with “potential” receivers. We all know none of them are there to catch the ball. They are there to make it difficult for the defender to catch the ball and also to put pressure on him if he does. It’s completely legal but it’s an issue.
How the Wallabies overcame excessive blockages in Oita
Which winning teams were those?
Hooper: A crucial 2023 World Cup lesson starts now for promising young Wallabies outfit
He’s always been playing well. It’s just now he has a pack around him that are also playing well. Talk of him being dropped because of the win/loss record is nonsense. You don’t drop the best player because the team is losing.
Hooper: A crucial 2023 World Cup lesson starts now for promising young Wallabies outfit
The best thing about the Gold Coast is that those couple of thousand kiwi fans are a short ride away from the venue.
'Playing too well to leave out': The Wallabies selection headache forced by McReight's great leap forward