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Joined July 2012
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My dream is for rugby league and rugby union to merge into one code. Imagine Biarritz playing Bradford, or Leicester playing the Storm, or the Rabbitohs playing Otago. It makes the mouth water. A unified code has so much potential and petty arguments about each are counter-productive. I enjoy most sports and have a passionate love for the All Blacks, Celtic FC and Wigan RL. I am a student of history and have enormous respect for those original northern English RL clubs like Wigan, Bradford, St Helens who broke away to form what was to become rugby league. I'm also a supporter of the Blues in Super Rugby and Everton FC in the EPL.
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I can't escape the irony in the way professional rugby union is set up in the Australasia. Those who run the game are generally…
Forget about the All Blacks v Wallabies – as a sports lover, I want to see the All Blacks v the Kangaroos. And I…
In July this year, New Zealand Rugby Union CEO Steve Tew updated the media on the progress of negotiations to bring Sonny Bill Williams…
The origins of rugby league lay in the close-mindedness of the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Having tried their utmost best throughout the early 1890s…
In an article in today's New Zealand Herald, rugby writer Gregor Paul lambasts the New Zealand Rugby Union for failing to send an All…
In my last Roar article I alluded, in an off-handed way, to the intriguing notion of the All Blacks representing New Zealand in international…
The Swans v Saints AFL game in Wellington, New Zealand provided me, and no doubt many thousands of other New Zealanders, with the first…
The late comic genius Spike Milligan wrote one of the funniest books I ever read. It was about his war days and it was…
I've often wondered why the Warriors or the Waratahs haven't won a title. I see a lot of similarlities between them. At first glance…
It's taken me a while to absorb that Welsh victory over the weekend. What a cracker of a game. It was a victory built…
I'll begin with three home truths for all Australian rugby fans. First, unless a miracle happens, putting the third tier right is going to…
In the next month or so the All Blacks will add a further, perhaps lesser known but still amazing, achievement to their illustrious list…
There's been a lot of recent speculation in the media about the possibility of an NRL Nines tournament being held each year in Auckland.…
Super Rugby has kicked off again for another season. The competition is often billed as the best rugby competition in the world, but unless…
Liam Gill – 95 kg, Michael Hooper 96 kg. OK Farrah may not be the biggest, but I can;t see him taking a backward step to anyone
All Blacks vs Kangaroos: the ultimate Bledisloe Cup clash
Kiwi brosef, it’s not about the different games, I just want to see the best talent playing against each other. Many of the players could cross over, but the point is, in Australia, the Wallabies don’t cut it anymore. I’d rather watch paint dry than watch them nowadays. 11 years without a bledisloe series win is pitiful. Then you look across at the talent playing in the NRL, and see why Aussie rugby is poor. the best talent is playing in the NRL – thats; the point of the article. Seems I hit a few raw nerves, but the truth hurts I suppose.
All Blacks vs Kangaroos: the ultimate Bledisloe Cup clash
The only thing that is stupid is the code divide itself. If you cannot see that, then that;s your problem. Why is the code divide stupid? because it denies sports fans and players the chance for best to play against the best. The games are far more alike than not, even if the ball sizes are different. It’s not about gimmicky exhibition games. It’s about the best of the best playing against the best of the best. Every Union player is capable of playing league, and vice versa. There is no divide, and there shouldn’t be one – not from a true sports fan’s perspective.
All Blacks vs Kangaroos: the ultimate Bledisloe Cup clash
It’s not about exhibition games or hybrid games. I specifically kept away from any talk about the rules. What I want to see is the best rugby players, league or union playing against each other. I want to see the great clubs, Wigan, St Helens, Leieester, Bath playing against each other. But more importantly, I want to see a decent Bledisloe Cup series for the first time in 11 years. The Bledisloe has lost its shine, because the Wallabies are soooo poor. The Wallabies are soooo poor, because in actual fact, the greatest and best footballing talent at the moment, is playing NRL.
All Blacks vs Kangaroos: the ultimate Bledisloe Cup clash
How on earth then do you explain the shocking tv ratings for rugby union compared to league in Australia? So many union fans in Australia have their heads in the sand. And this is coming from someone who loves the game.
All Blacks vs Kangaroos: the ultimate Bledisloe Cup clash
It’s not so much about what type of game they would play. I just want to see the best rugby athletes, whatever code, playing against each other. After 11 years of watching poor Wallaby sides, devoid of talent, fire and guts, and compare that with what I see week in and week out in the NRL and in State of Origin the penny has dropped.
All Blacks vs Kangaroos: the ultimate Bledisloe Cup clash
Union might have access to the top talent, but does the code actually pick the right talent from what’s on offer?
All Blacks vs Kangaroos: the ultimate Bledisloe Cup clash
Well something has to happen, as the last time I looked, the Wallabies hadn’t won the Bledisloe in 11 years, and have become the butt of jokes all around the rugby world. If you had read the article carefully, I specifically said the issue of rules was put aside. There could be breakdowns, there may not be, that’s up to others to decide, but as sports fan, what I want to see is the best and greatest football talent playing against each other. The code divide prevents that, and we are all the poorer, and in the case of Australian rugby, it’ll be another 11 years before they win it back, if they’re lucky. I can;t see them winning a three test series against the ABs in the foreseeable future. Gallen would certainly toughen that soft underbelly up.
All Blacks vs Kangaroos: the ultimate Bledisloe Cup clash
Sheek, I suppose what the Wallabies need is that mongrel. I’ll never forget the way Dan Vickerman stood up, I think in his last test against the ABs. he monstered the ABs, and the Wallabies won. The boys in gold pay too much respect to the ABs, and are too passive. They need that mongrel, which in Australia, you are more likely to find playing league. They used to have it in guys like Poidevin and Scott-Young – even the way Campese used to boot the ball around during the haka – take it to the ABs. The Wallabies lack this mongrel and arrogance.
All Blacks vs Kangaroos: the ultimate Bledisloe Cup clash
The only joke is the Wallabies record against the ABs, and the failure to secure the Bledisloe Cup for 11 years now. It’s time for Australia to restore to some pride on the rugby field – and frankly, that means fielding a few of the Kangaroos
All Blacks vs Kangaroos: the ultimate Bledisloe Cup clash
Thanks for that Sheek, but I refer to what Steve Tew and Steve Hansen said. They said in all their dealings with Khoder Nasser, that he was transparent, ‘very up front’, and honest. Is the public perception of Nasser warranted, given Hansen and Tew are the people in the know and have heaped nothing but praise on the man?
In defence of Khoder Nasser
I personally don’t think it matters that these boxers SBW fights are so-called no-names. Whether they’re no names or not, they are still blokes you and I wouldn’t want to meet in a bar room fight, and who would be capable of pummelling 99% of the male population in the world on any given day. It takes enormous courage to get in the ring, as SBW has done, to put your reputation on the line, and not really knowing what is about to hit you. Hindsight is a great thing.
In defence of Khoder Nasser
Exactly my thoughts too eagleJack. Everything SBW has done, from walking out on the Bulldogs, playing Union in France, coming back to the Super 15 relatively untried, making the ABs, boxing in four professional bouts, going back to the Roosters – every one of these has been a risk, that at any stage could’ve gone to custard, but they haven’t, and I think a lot of the credit has to go to Nasser.The level of trust between the two of them in the others respective abilities must be absolute, and unconditional.
In defence of Khoder Nasser
Yes I do believe he’s more well-known in the English-speaking rugby (union + league) world than both Carter and McCaw. While those two are household names in rugby union areas, I doubt they would be in rugby league areas, simply because they are not proven cross-coders as SBW is, and they have not been exposed in the true sense to the millions of supporters of rugby league in the north of England. While the brand of the All Blacks would be well known in heartland rugby league, the individual players wouldn’t be. It would be different if both Carter and McCaw had crossed codes, of course, but they haven’t. SBW has crossed the divide, and is a household name with both union and league supporters. Of course its different when you add in non-english speaking parts, like Argentina, France, Japan etc, but I was not talking about those markets.
In defence of Khoder Nasser
Well he’s muslim so he can’t technically be the messiah anyway
Sonny Bill is not the Messiah (he's just a very talented boy)
Roosters by 10. Looking forward to this bust up!
Your ultimate guide to the 2013 NRL grand final
A good question posed in this article is “how can the Wallabies dominate the rucks and mauls 84-48”, and yet still get hammered? The answer is that while the All Blacks may only win half the rucks and mauls the opposition win, the ABs win the rucks and mauls that count. For years the Wallabies game plan, under Deans and now it seems, McKenzie, seems to be based around going from maul to maul, ruck to ruck, slowly building pressure, in the hope someone in the Black defensive line will fail and open up a try-scoring or penalty opportunity. But it doesn’t work that way. In fact, the result when building pressure in this way is normally for the Wallabies to make a mistake 8 or 10 phases in, ie, drop pass, knock on, poor kick, turnover or concede a penalty. It’s money for jam for the ABs. A huge number of tries scored by the ABs do not come from building pressure, plodding from ruck to ruck or from maul to maul like the Wallabies. They come from capitalising on an opposition mistake, and they always seem to have that extra man ready to dot down in the corner. How many times have we seen the ABs magically always have that one extra man at the end of the line following a movement started down field by a mistake by the opposition? The ABs prey on mistakes. They pounce on it, seize it, and within a couple of minutes have turned it into a seven pointer. Given the Wallabies don’t have either the personnel or the skills to eradicate mistakes completely, it’s a given the ABs are going to score 2, 3 or 4 tries against them. The only way to beat the ABs is to smash them up front. To do this, you need tough, big, mobile, abrasive, fearless forwards, who pay no respect to the Black jersey. The only bloke in this category in the gold jersey at the moment is Michael Hooper. The rest may as well not be on the paddock – that’s how completely ineffectual, and non-dangerous they are. Look at the great forwards of the past who’ve stood up to the ABs and gone down in rugby folklore – Merv Davies, Eric Champ, Bakkies Botha, Cockerill, Brian Moore, Poidevin, Teague, Skinner, Jeffrey. All these guys are tough buggers. These are the type of blokes you need to get into the ABs. It’s a state of mind, and frankly, the Wallabies lack this abrasive hardness.
Awful Wallabies to wait one more year
This result was entirely predictable, and it will be a massacre next weekend too, as long as the Wallabies keep coming out of the tunnel with a lack of fire in the belly. Seriously, has there ever been a softer squad in international rugby? When are Australian forwards going to learn that rugby is a man’s game, and first and foremost, you have to come out fizzing with naked aggression if you’re going to come close to beating the All Blacks? They were so flat. The last Wallaby forward I seen lay into the ABs was Dan Vickerman, I think back in 2011. Since then, well their forwards could all pass for over-sized backs the way they just stand back and take a pasting without fighting back.
All Blacks hammer Wallabies 47-29 in Bledisloe Cup
I’ll keep this brief. Sorry to my aussie friends, but the Wallabies are in for another absolute flogging. I can’t see them winning.
SPIRO: Can Wallabies stop All Blacks getting 100 wins?
I can’t believe Robbie lasted so long. Will be interesting to see how the Link goes.
McKenzie to get tough with wayward Wallabies
Wallaby forwards woeful, from the first kick off, they were dominated and only half-fired up for what was the game of their lives.
British and Irish Lions hammer Wallabies 41-16, seal series win
A pulsating game. I enjoyed every minute of it. Is the Wallaby scrum improving, or is the BIL scrum just poor. Suppose we’ll find out the answer to that question in the Rugby Championship. This was a night where Deans and Horwill made the right calls. Can’t wait for next Saturday night. Too close to call.
Wallabies seal 16-15 comeback win over Lions, level series
Yeah but Toulon played ….Glasgow – South Canterbury U21s could give those guys a hiding.
All Blacks vs Kangaroos: the ultimate Bledisloe Cup clash