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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.
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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.
Being a sports fan can do funny things to a person. And plenty of not so funny things.
In 1989, Australia won the Ashes, 4-0, against an England side that had been supremely confident of a third straight series win over an…
I guess many great talents were lost in the days when there was no living to be made. Not just in rugby either.
If Australia is looking for big men, let's not neglect the old and the fat
You’d be first picked in my side.
If Australia is looking for big men, let's not neglect the old and the fat
I can safely say that, like every Australian player who has ever joined an overseas club, he’s actually rubbish and we don’t need him.
Wallabies in danger of losing Hanigan to ambitious French club just as forward enters his prime
He’s a second or third cousin of mine.
If Australia is looking for big men, let's not neglect the old and the fat
From your mouth to the NRL’s ear, Mike. I’d applaud an increase in send-offs. It’s funny that back in the days when the game was supposedly wilder and rougher, referees were much more willing to properly punish foul play.
Tackle it head on: Finucane and Lewis can teach the NRL why concussion rules have to change immediately
She’s got great eyebrows.
AFL News: 'Shame for our game' - legend unloads on Greene ban, 'world's gone mad' as skinfold tests punted
Now you’re getting it!
'It's disappointing': Petaia's Super season over - and it could end his Reds career
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
AFL News: 'Shame for our game' - legend unloads on Greene ban, 'world's gone mad' as skinfold tests punted
I must admit when I hear him commentate thoughts start to drift to “surely this guy can’t have been any good”
What’s in a name? The all-time great Steve XI
The Graham/Graeme XI:
Gooch
Smith
Hick
Pollock
Thorpe
Yallop
Manou
Swann
McKenzie
Dilley
Onions
Quite a few good batsmen left out. It’s a name that gravitates to the willow.
What’s in a name? The all-time great Steve XI
I only dispute your claim that Matt Hayden wasn’t a great batsman.
What’s in a name? The all-time great Steve XI
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'
The lock’s job is to get the pill. And give it to the halfback. We’re just pharmacists really.
If Australia is looking for big men, let's not neglect the old and the fat