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"Never confuse motion with action."
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After this weekend there will be five more rounds of Super Rugby Pacific and then the finals. So, let's reflect on the five biggest…
Rugby in Australia is often not well represented by Rugby Australia. To be Australian in Australia is often to raise one state over country.…
No teams in the top five sports leagues of the world are folding or being saved by national unions. Curse the money all you…
Italy sits above Australia in world rugby, with the Wallabies wallowing in ninth, until of course Eddie Jones moves Japan into the top four.…
Australia infamously stayed in the pool in 2023’s World Cup. What were the key shortfalls of the woebegone Wallabies? As new coach Joe Schmidt…
Less than one hour past the game, as we trod to the bars, the Calcutta Cup safe back in the arms of glad Scots…
Round One of the frontloaded 2024 Six Nations pitted the top two northern teams against each other. It was not the contest we expected.…
Louis Armstrong was asked once: ‘What is jazz?’ His reply: ‘Man, when you got to ask what it is, you’ll never get to know.’…
“Nobody goes for pints with Joe,” I was told by someone who knows what she is talking about. “But he will teach. He has…
The 2025 Lions will tour Australia as the Irish and British Lions. Surely half of Andy Farrell’s selections will be green. The final cuts…
Come let us bury Rugby Year 2023. Wallabus Annus Horribilis began with great promise. Let us be more precise: January began with a great number…
In 2022 I opined the “worst decision Rugby Australia could make for the Wallabies in 2023 would be to hire Eddie Jones as their…
Several million rugby tourists are making their plans to be in Australia. A British and Irish Lions series kicks off only 13 Wallaby Tests…
The tenth Rugby World Cup is done. Injured players who made it back before or during the tournament did well. Replacements did, too. Following…
Imagine a man who had grown up in Despatch with Rassie Erasmus but had spent the last five years in a medically induced coma,…
The gentle rains have come to the shrugging Alps and bright cashmere scarves are shielding the French as they return to work, chastened. Four…
The pools are drained of minnows. Only seven big fish remain; Fiji flew into finals with broken wings. But before the ‘business end’ beckons…
As we reach matchweek week five of the Rugby World Cup some themes are starting to emerge. 1. Union is expanding in name as…
With the Wallabies done but for a miracle, the numbers in the three first games are illustrative of why the campaign failed. The Experience…
Escaping from Lyon’s maze of a stadium a bit early, up, and then down concrete spirals Dante would have approved as illustrations for his…
Yes, watching NBA playoffs, I’m struck with how many breaks there are but how good! How frantic it is when it matters. Breaks are ok.
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
It’s been rough
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Agreed; just needs to stay healthy
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Correct.
Mostly W Cape schools at the top
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Yes, I’d put him on a Northampton weight gain plan. He’s got explosive power and that’s what’s hard to find
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Thanks for posting! I see some Nienaber-Felix elements in that Blues D. Good coaches copy other good coaches!
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Hoppy? Full of barley?
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Thanks for reading, GKL
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Yes, he’s been, as he was in 2023, absolutely clinical in all he does.
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Grey College. Paarl Gim had a chance to level it 29-29 at the death but the conversion took the wrong bounce off the far post. This is not the exclusive territory of schoolboys (I saw it several times in the 6 Nations) but when you cross the try line at the end of a match, down 5 or less, it’s almost as do-or-die to work your way in closer to the poles than it is to score the try.
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Yes, this has been one of the huge points of this season and augers well for the Blues’ playoff run.
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Thanks, jeznez. That’s good to know. Perhaps he will have just the right amount of 🏉 in him!
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Yes, these last rounds may turn on who is out and who comes back in.
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
This is a profoundly interesting post. I will ponder it. The fast rise of e-sports and MMA suggest a malleable fanbase. Branding, I suppose.
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
I have seen elsewhere (not on Brumbies site) that he is listed at 1.97 m which seems more accurate. I don’t think he’s 104 kg; I bet it’s 108 kg or so. But he also looks like he has the frame to get to 115 kg w/o worry.
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Tane is kicking superbly this year, but yes, nail a game winner + perception changes.
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game
Exactly the kind of James Ryan-esque (cue all the same attacks on Ryan as against Ned) ruck cleaner, stamina, LO, good team man that Joe Schmidt puts to work. Simple solution: pick anyone who’s eligible for the Wallabies, no matter where they play.
Wallabies in danger of losing Hanigan to ambitious French club just as forward enters his prime
100%
Humans love contrasts
Let's celebrate rugby for its differences: Why imitating league is not the answer
This.
Scrap the Giteau Law: Rugby Australia should look to Rassie's 'Boks RWC recipe if it wants to re-join the big boys' table
Several of those moments and they went both ways, but JB had a kick, which if made, likely would’ve won it. Usually comes down to that in RWC. Donald made his; Jordie will have another shot, I reckon.
Scrap the Giteau Law: Rugby Australia should look to Rassie's 'Boks RWC recipe if it wants to re-join the big boys' table
Me too. But lots of smarter guys than me disagree.
Scrap the Giteau Law: Rugby Australia should look to Rassie's 'Boks RWC recipe if it wants to re-join the big boys' table
Yes, it’s silly. Dan McKellar and Laurie Fisher are friends. They can talk
Scrap the Giteau Law: Rugby Australia should look to Rassie's 'Boks RWC recipe if it wants to re-join the big boys' table
He still loves Ulster and is talking about becoming an assistant coach.
Scrap the Giteau Law: Rugby Australia should look to Rassie's 'Boks RWC recipe if it wants to re-join the big boys' table
Cheers.
Scrap the Giteau Law: Rugby Australia should look to Rassie's 'Boks RWC recipe if it wants to re-join the big boys' table
I don’t know if he is a Test 10. I’d test him
Five surprises, five disappointments and five things to figure out as Super Rugby 2024 reaches the end game