Expert
Joined August 2011
981k
Views
352
Published
2.5k
Comments
Ben Pobjie is a writer and comedian whose promising rugby career was tragically cut short the day he stopped playing rugby and had a pizza instead. The most he has ever cried was the day Balmain lost the 1989 grand final. Today he enjoys the frolics of Wallabies, Swans, baggy greens, and Storm.
Published
Comments
There is a lot of hope around the country, but there's so much more work still to be done.
Australian rugby has many problems - financial crisis, ever-shrinking audiences, shortage of coaching expertise, Greg Martin, etc etc. But one problem which I have…
Three things in the world of rugby have caught my eye this week, and got me thinking very hard about the way forward, and…
If there's one thing Australian rugby is good at - and at time of writing, one thing might be all we can hope for…
My old junior rugby coach, an intellectual man given to deep thoughts, was always at pains to emphasise that rugby was a violent game.…
For me at least, rugby union seems to have an unparalleled ability to induce mixed feelings. This has been brought home to me especially…
It's a strange feeling to find myself in full-throated support for a team called "Queensland". As a boy born a bare year before Artie…
Tane Edmed is not the reason the Waratahs lost to the Highlanders. Except to the extent that, you know, he kind of is. A…
Look, we've just had a fantastic round of Super Rugby. The Highlanders and Blues put on a brilliant show, the Moana-Drua game was spectacularly…
Super Round is coming up, and Melbourne will be hosting all 12 teams this weekend - much to the chagrin of many supporters, who…
It will be a relief, this coming weekend, to see some actual rugby being played in Australia and New Zealand: genuine, serious, no-fooling, for-keeps,…
Personally, I never doubted them for a second. Although in the interests of strict transparency I suppose I should make clear that that first…
OK, so Eddie Jones has reaffirmed his total commitment to Australian rugby and made it clear that he has never even heard of a…
There are reasons. Of course there are. Hundreds of them, at least. Eddie Jones? He's a reason, for sure. Say what you like about…
It's often said that to win a Test match, you need to take 20 wickets. At Lord's in 2023, Australia proved that this is…
Bazball's care factor is a curious beast where winning and losing is not the be-all and end-all.
If you think Ben Stokes' declaration was the sole deciding factor in England losing, you need to think again.
The credits on Folau, the two-part documentary airing on the ABC this week and next, include a disclaimer making it clear that Israel Folau…
You've got to hand it to Stuart Broad: perhaps more than any other sportsman of our age, he has the ability to penetrate to…
The golden point system in extra time sucks the life out of rugby league.
Procter gets the new ball ahead of Neser.
What’s in a name? The all-time great Steve XI
It’s a weakness to have to have two keepers with Rhodes, who was only just an adequate 7, batting at 6 – though Smith and Waugh compensate to some extent for the uber-long tail. For some reason I thought that a Steve XI would be stronger. Handy pace attack though. Shows how both Matt and Steve are relatively recent names to come into fashion – no Matts or Steves in Bradman’s day.
What’s in a name? The all-time great Steve XI
Yep, love the kid’s attitude.
NRL Round 7 Talking Points: With big wins come big losses, and which coach is the game’s biggest sook?
Good call LP. Even when complaints are fully justified it will rarely be good for a team to dwell on them.
NRL Round 7 Talking Points: With big wins come big losses, and which coach is the game’s biggest sook?
I think Anzac jerseys should be the regular club jersey with a small commemorative patch sewn on. Nothing more.
NRL Round 7 Talking Points: With big wins come big losses, and which coach is the game’s biggest sook?
It probably goes without saying that a losing coach will whinge more than a winning coach, but I reckon what really turbo charges a whinging habit is a coach who is used to continual success suddenly finding his team struggling. It’s an alien feeling and he’ll lash out.
NRL Round 7 Talking Points: With big wins come big losses, and which coach is the game’s biggest sook?
You have to be mature in a pub, they don’t serve minors.
Five things: What Beale has over other golden oldies, double pain for Brumbies as Blues expose Australia's biggest weakness
Tom Waits – strong at the breakdown
Five things: What Beale has over other golden oldies, double pain for Brumbies as Blues expose Australia's biggest weakness
Even away from home surely the Rebels and Force are a show against the Kiwi whipping boys?
Five things: What Beale has over other golden oldies, double pain for Brumbies as Blues expose Australia's biggest weakness
Good point, professional fouls merit yellows. But I do think there’s a grey area in which a knock down can be “deliberate but not professional” if you take my meaning.
The Wrap: Why SANZAAR must hold Frank Lomani accountable for 'going back for his hat'
Possibly, yes. Certainly I’d support removing the possibility of a yellow card for the offence, as it’s just not on the same level as other offences for which yellows are awarded.
The Wrap: Why SANZAAR must hold Frank Lomani accountable for 'going back for his hat'
Again, no it’s not, because a charge down isn’t a knock on at all, and a slapped down pass is. Something that is not a knock on cannot be a deliberate knock on.
The Wrap: Why SANZAAR must hold Frank Lomani accountable for 'going back for his hat'
I would argue that the problem is not with the rule but with referees being bad at distinguishing between deliberate and accidental knock-ons.
The Wrap: Why SANZAAR must hold Frank Lomani accountable for 'going back for his hat'
No, because a charge down isn’t a knock on. By definition. You can argue it should be, but it isn’t. It’s a specific action that the game decided should be legal. Knock ons are a specific action that the game decided should be illegal. One or the other of these applies to everything anyone ever does in a game of rugby.
The Wrap: Why SANZAAR must hold Frank Lomani accountable for 'going back for his hat'
Funnily enough Vunivalu tended to come in off the wing too much even when he played league.
'Like a Scud missile': World Cup reject leads rout, but Reds suffer fresh blow with Petaia's season in jeopardy
I just don’t know how Tedesco will make ends meet after this.
NRL Round 7 judiciary: Knight gets ban for tunnel brawl, Tigers star facing ban, Roosters duo charged
I feel like that would sully its purity.
CONFIRMED: Wallabies land final piece of coaching puzzle as ex-Lion signs on ahead of showpiece event
I saw an old game recently where little Paul Taylor played second row!
This current Broncos forward pack is a long way from being the best they’ve ever had - is it the biggest?
Always remembering those giants of the past played in an era when Des Hasler and David Trewhella were big enough to play lock.
This current Broncos forward pack is a long way from being the best they’ve ever had - is it the biggest?
I mean, fair enough.
'Don't interview me': Chris Fagan in tense exchange with journo after defending Cameron's contentious Tribunal escape
No, he’s far too old.
'Both were really clear': Roosters in a rage over ref's contentious calls as Storm win on the back of two dubious tries
It will be very exciting to see Lazarus rise.
'Both were really clear': Roosters in a rage over ref's contentious calls as Storm win on the back of two dubious tries
I think the reason for the minimum spend is so that a cash-strapped club can’t simply fill its roster with suburban players on minimum wage and get destroyed every week so as to save money.
The Fish that broke the Panthers’ back: Dynasty in danger with JFH the biggest blow in long list of star departures
Yes. Did you? Because what you wrote seems to be in agreement with Mary, yet you claim to fundamentally disagree.
The Kyrgios case of Latrell and Lomax: Star duo need to put what's best for the team ahead of individual interests
I only dispute your claim that Matt Hayden wasn’t a great batsman.
What’s in a name? The all-time great Steve XI