Roar Guru
Joined June 2009
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Rugby threw the baby out with the bathwater when it finally embraced professionalism in the mid-1990s. The game had long expressed itself at the…
[caption id="attachment_28881" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The Waratahs Berrick Barnes kicks the ball against the Sharks during their Super 14 rugby match in Sydney on Saturday,…
For anyone whose focus is as much on club rugby as the commercial game, last Saturday's Sydney club results made alarming and depressing reading.…
We're into the fifteenth season of professional rugby, and remarkably, the professional ranks still include players who made their debut at representative and international…
Will the ABC show its matches in HD on ABC1, or in SD on ABC Comedy, the former ABC2?
What is the nature of the deal struck between the ABC and the A-League? Is the ABC paying for the right to show matches, or is the A-League paying the ABC?
A-League locks in free-to-air TV deal with ABC
I would watch the match on Kayo Sports, but for some reason KS has yet to come up with an app for my Samsung smart TV.
Has anyone noticed the Socceroos aren't on free-to-air TV?
I know it was at Bankwest Stadium. Not a good move, on the face of it.
Shute Shield never asked for Nick Phipps
Just 9222. That’s 40 per cent down on last year at NSO.
Well done, Sydney Rugby Union.
Shute Shield never asked for Nick Phipps
How many spectators showed up for yesterday’s Grand Final?
Shute Shield never asked for Nick Phipps
Looking back, as a man increasingly does in his so-called autumn years, and applying the boundary countback rule to the two tied Tests, it doesn’t look good for Australia.
West Indies win the first tied Test at Brisbane in 1960 by 88 boundaries to 69.
India win the second tied Test at Chennai (Madras) in 1986 by 104 boundaries to 95.
We can only hope that Test matches or series are never decided on boundary countbacks.
New Zealand were robbed in the World Cup final
Names and numbers on the back of Test players’ shirts? A cynic might suggest this is a solution in search of a problem.
Or is it a good thing? Let debate rage.
I mean, when the current Australian Test team is in the field, it’s devilishly difficult to distinguish Mitchell Starc from Pat Cummins, and Nathan Lyon from both of them _ especially when they’re bowling.
I’ve just watched some film of the 1956 Ashes. Jim Laker was bowling at one end and Tony Lock at the other. How could anyone tell them apart?
How great it would have been to have names and numbers on shirts 40 years ago, when the West Indies were at their peak. It was almost impossible in those days to identify Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd.
As Test cricket enters its consultant-driven brave new world, some questions have to be asked:
Will it be compulsory for players to have names and numbers on their shirts?
Will sanctions be imposed on conscientious objectors?
Will players have a free choice in the identifying numbers they choose?
If they do have a free choice, are we likely to see numbers such as 0, 69 and 99.94 adorning their shirts?
I think we should be told.
Test match shirts: A game of letters and numbers
Definitely a red, David. I’m surprised you think otherwise.
Red carding Waratah Jed Holloway was rubbish rugby
It seems to be taken for granted that Folau and Beale will both be selected for the Wallabies.
They probably will be. But should they be?
Where will the Wallaby selectors play Folau and Beale?
If Michael Cheika had a dollar for every time someone gets his surname wrong, he would be an even richer man than he already allegedly is.
This piece alone would have delivered another $12 to his bank account.
Mick O’Connor? Start Pocock in the 7 and Hooper off the bench, thanks
It’s no particular surprise that a rugby competition kicking off in mid-February can struggle for spectators early in the season. South-eastern Australia has had a heatwave recently, a heatwave that may not yet be over ( although it was a delightful 8 degrees in Canberra at 6am on Thursday this week).
Re TV coverage, what sort of audience does the Sunday morning FTA match get? I rarely watch it, having seen it already on Foxtel.
Time for administrators to wake up on failing Super Rugby: Wessels
In her Twitter profile, Lucy Zelic describes herself as a journalist. Fair enough.
But in the case of Alen Stajcic’s sacking, her self-appointed role of information gatekeeper appears to be in conflict with the normal responsibilities of journalism.
FFA and other parties are a hurry to ‘move on’. But this will run for a while yet.
If you're ‘in the know’ and on Twitter, Stajcic’s sacking makes total sense
Speculation thrives in a vacuum. FFA has lowered a veil of secrecy but it’s always the cover-up that brings you undone.
Stajcic may well sue for unfair dismissal, and/or defamation, in which case the details will emerge. Until then, we’ll just have to wait for leaks.
Alen Stajcic: Victim of the modern workplace, or creator of a flawed culture?
It’s not a first-class match. It’s not a match at all. At the request of the Sri Lankans, this exercise is nothing more than three days of centre-wicket practice, with players being rotated in and out. Everyone gets a bat and/or bowl.
Sri Lanka might have done better to spend three days/nights in the nets at Brisbane.
Australia's batting future on show in Hobart today
If Kerry O’Keeffe had a dollar for every time his surname is spelled incorrectly (even in headlines), he would be a rich man.
A response to Kerry O'Keefe from an Indian fan
Another excellent tribute to a distinguished Australian. Thank you, David Lord.
Australian rugby loses one of the greats as Wallaby legend John Thornett dies, aged 83
How many times do you have to hit the Enter key to ensure adequate spacing between paragraphs?
The rise of New Zealand cricket
My NZ team _ of all time, not since 1970 _ would be (in approximate batting order):
Glenn Turner
Stewie Dempster
Kane Williamson
Martin Crowe
Martin Donnelly
John R Reid (c)
Brendon McCullum (wk)
Daniel Vettori
Richard Hadlee
Shane Bond
Jack Cowie
What? I’ve just participated in a selection debate! What is the point of ironclad rules if you don’t obey them?
The rise of New Zealand cricket
What a marvellous piece by David Lord.
Even to someone of my vintage, Bill Watson was little more than a name . . . a NSW player in an era of NSW dominance, one who rose to the top briefly in the mid-1950s.
He was much more than just a name to David Lord, as this tribute shows.
Billy 'Blinks' Watson dies, aged 87
Demolition of Allianz Stadium has not started yet, as a story in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald made clear.
Planning approval is expected within the next two or three weeks, according to an Infrastructure NSW bureaucrat.
If that approval is granted, contractors will wait until the end of the Australia-India cricket Test before moving in with their heavy machinery.
NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley has warned the Government against going ahead with the demolition. Daley said that if Labor were to win government in the March state election, his party would not rebuild the stadium.
Sydney is the most embarrassing city in Australia
Danny, this is not a cheap shot, but it looks like ‘decile’ got autocorrected to ‘decibel’.
Unless some schools are louder than others, that is.
In any case, despite going to school in New Zealand, I’ve never been able to find out exactly what ‘decile’ means in an educational context.
Rugby in New Zealand is at risk of becoming an elite game
It has been widely reported that Nigel Owens suffered a calf injury during the England-New Zealand semi-final.
He got through the match, but the injury ruled him out of contention for the final.
World Rugby has handed the Springboks a big favour