Roar Rookie
Joined March 2020
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Long-time journo who believes that the story is more important than the person behind it.
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French referee Mathieu Raynal made the right decision when he asked the All Blacks to feed a scrum after he had first awarded a…
The second Test between Pakistan and Australia, which ended in a thrilling draw in Karachi on Tuesday, brought to the fore one rather puzzling…
The untimely death of Shane Warne at 52 has deprived the cricketing world of one of the true greats, a man who revived the…
If Cricket Australia ever decides to make Steve Smith captain of the country's senior men's team again, it would be making the most foolish…
More than any Test loss that Australia has suffered in recent years, this one has to really sting. And I'm referring to the loss…
What was Australia seeking to achieve in the final Tri-Nations Test of the season against Argentina? It was unclear whether they were aiming for…
It seems a little odd that in a three-country competition a team can win the trophy with two wins and two losses while the…
Is it really possible that New Zealand Rugby will give Ian Foster his marching orders in the event that the All Blacks lose to…
Australia drew a game that they should have won with ease, sharing points with Argentina in the Tri-Nations match on Saturday as they failed…
It appears that a few extra kilos are all that is standing between Isi Naisarani and a berth in the Wallabies' team. Coach Dave…
Australia may have lost the Bledisloe Cup again this year, but they have a good chance of winning the Tri Nations title after Argentina…
In the reign of every All Blacks coach, there comes a time when arrogance sets in, resulting in the thinking that "any of our…
When Australian scrumhalf Nic White was walking off the field after the whistle blew for halftime in the third Bledisloe Cup game on 31…
The AFL will either be hailed as a pioneer or as a foolish organisation in the near future, depending on the outcome of its…
A lack of foresight on the part of the T20 Women's World Cup organisers could see Australia, the favourite, miss out on a berth…
The ninth edition of Australia’s annual 20-over cricket tournament, the Big Bash League, ended on a rather downbeat note, with the final reduced to…
When the All Blacks won back the Bledisloe Cup in 2003, they defeated Australia 50-21 in Sydney. In Auckland, they won 21-17. So much for home advantage.
Bravo, Mathieu: Why Bledisloe ref made the right call for the sake of the game. Others must follow his lead
This season, I have only seen one ref – Jaco Peyper – who does not hold what amounts to a conference before making a call. The rest always confer with the other three match officials before making anything even remotely contentious.
Bravo, Mathieu: Why Bledisloe ref made the right call for the sake of the game. Others must follow his lead
For a third time, let me say that I watched the game a second time to try and understand where Mathieu Raynal’s annoyance was coming from. And I found numerous instances when he was treated with something less than respect by the Wallabies, all of which I have mentioned.
The time-wasting by the Kiwis was of no relevance to the final incident, hence there was no need to mention them.
Bravo, Mathieu: Why Bledisloe ref made the right call for the sake of the game. Others must follow his lead
Mumbling? You could hear everything the ref said on the TV broadcast.
Bravo, Mathieu: Why Bledisloe ref made the right call for the sake of the game. Others must follow his lead
As I said in an earlier post, the doings of the New Zealand team were really not relevant to the final decision which went against Australia.
Bravo, Mathieu: Why Bledisloe ref made the right call for the sake of the game. Others must follow his lead
I don’t agree that he had an “atrocious” game. When a Northern Hemisphere referee does a game in the Southern Hemisphere, there are always things that are different. Like the way they interpret the rules around rucks and mauls.
If you look carefully, then every ref makes some mistake or the other. But it is impossible for one man to catch every infringement.
Bravo, Mathieu: Why Bledisloe ref made the right call for the sake of the game. Others must follow his lead
Not sure if you have seen Tony Spreadbury referee a game; he retired some time ago. He was very good at running a game with very little effort. The players respected him.
Same goes for Jonathan Kaplan who is also retired.
Bravo, Mathieu: Why Bledisloe ref made the right call for the sake of the game. Others must follow his lead
Referees have become much more strict because World Rugby is facing a lawsuit over injuries to past players. I doubt times will bee set for scrums, penalty kicks or lineout throws because all timing issues will first have to be cleared with broadcasters.
Bravo, Mathieu: Why Bledisloe ref made the right call for the sake of the game. Others must follow his lead
Only Australia’s time-wasting was relevant to the referee’s last-minute decision. Hence I have cited only those instances. I agree fully that New Zealand is not a team made up of angels, but their time-wasting was not relevant to the incident.
Bravo, Mathieu: Why Bledisloe ref made the right call for the sake of the game. Others must follow his lead
I agree that Hoskins Sotutu should be in the team that takes the field. Exactly how the pack is changed to fit him in, I’m not sure, but he has been a standout whenever he has had game time.
After the departure of Owen Franks, New Zealand has struggled to find someone to replace him. That problem continues.
New Zealand winning by 20? I really doubt that margin. They may struggle and win, much in the same way that they beat France 8-7 in the 2011 World Cup final. Argentina can smell a trophy now, and with the added emotional boost from the death of Diego Maradona, they will play their hearts out to win.
All Blacks tinker with forward pack as Pumas make ten changes for Tri Nations clash
I don’t think Argentina had any choice but to ring the changes; remember, they have already played two games on the trot and have to last for another one after this week.
But it’s important to note that the changes have involved players like Facundo Isa who was very much part of the first XV. The same goes for Julian Montoya.
And the two players central to Argentina’s showing in the first two games – captain Pablo Matera and standoff Nicolas Sanchez – are very much there. So I would not write off Argentina.
All Blacks tinker with forward pack as Pumas make ten changes for Tri Nations clash
Sorry, that should have been the “third most important person”, not man. My bad.
Will Foster be shown the door if the All Blacks lose to the Pumas again?
Do I think that if the All Blacks had played the same 15 as in Bledisloe 3 they would have won again? I have no doubt about that at all. Not merely for physical reasons, but also due to psychological reasons.
This does not mean that Australia cannot beat the best outfit that New Zealand puts on the park – they did do that in the World Cup semi-final in 2003. And then we had the Perth hammering last year.
But this year is a different kettle of fish altogether. Rugby Australia has gone through all kind of convulsions recently, the Israel Folau ruckus has caused a lot of dissension in the team, and players don’t need that kind of stuff in their heads when they go out on the field.
Bledisloe 4: The team that wanted to win went right on the night
It would be good to examine the list of players who get just a game or two to establish themselves in any of the Australian teams, and contrast them with others who appear to get an endless number of games to do so. In the past, players like Brad Hodge and Greg Blewett have been jettisoned for little or no reason. One has to ask: what did Travis Head do wrong to be left out of this game?
Glenn Maxwell sorely missed as Australia lose in South Africa
How would Nine pay its bills without ad revenue? Yes, they are a pain in the nether region, but would you rather have no telecast or a telecast with ads? As to the annoying commentary, you can always mute it and listen to radio comms instead.
Ad nauseum: Channel Nine's coverage of the Ashes is not up to standard