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Joined April 2019
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The Brumbies made two changes to the side that beat the Lions at home last week. Jahrome Brown replaced Lachlan McCaffrey at flanker and…
The Sharks welcomed the Queensland Reds to Kings Park with both teams coming off losses in Round 9. The Reds were looking for their…
The Waratahs habe defeated the Melbourne Rebels 23-20 in Michael Hooper’s 100th match for New South Wales. On a dewy night in Sydney the…
The Highlanders have broken a five-game losing streak by defeating the Auckland Blues 24-12 in the New Zealand derby. Under the roof in Dunedin…
The Lions travelled to Hamilton coming off a loss to the Brumbies and were facing a Chiefs side that had won their last three…
The visiting Hurricanes have snuck home to beat the Sunwolves 29-23 in a frenetic encounter in the Japanese capital. For the home side, Rahboni…
KCOL – thanks very much mate. Agree that Thorn didn’t have any recent incidents to go off and there is something that we still do not know re Thorn and Cooper.
I love our game mate and I hate to see slowly fading out (as it may be at the moment). Any positives need to be spoken about as much as possible because there also a lot of negatives we could be talking about.
Thanks again for the effort and time you put into your comments and your feedback is much appreciated.
There is still reason to believe at the Reds
Hi KCOL,
Thanks for your feedback. Will look to improve on further articles.
Mate, Cooper did a lot of positive things for Souths rugby during his time while exiled from the Reds and I appreciate that.
I understand that this stuff is a long time ago, but the man has a decent rap-sheet.
2013 – ejected from a pub after clashing with hecklers while heavily intoxicated
2012 – boozy incident and scuffle with patrons in Brisbane with Kurtley Beale
2012 – fined and suspended for breaches of the code of conduct
2012 – banned from bars on Stradbroke Island after scuffle
2009 – fined after ‘food-fight’ in a hotel with James O’Connor
2009 – fined after breaking the window of a taxi while wrestling with a friend
I totally understand that these incidents were a long time ago but these sorts of things may have lingered in Thorn’s mind.
Thanks for the feedback.
There is still reason to believe at the Reds
Hi Tutema, yeah mate it’s a close call. I am mildly surprised that Paul Williams went straight to a penalty try. I thought he may have just penalised it and put the Jaguares on last warning. But I guess it didn’t affect the result in the end.
Moyano double sees travelling Jaguares over the line
@Waxhead
Look, it’s touch-and-go with Beale. Cheika will give him the benefit of the doubt. I agree that he certainly hasn’t ‘lit-up’ the competition in the last few years.
One thing I have noticed with Beale is that he tends to run laterally before straightening up. This sometimes puts the ‘Tahs under pressure because he runs away from his players, lets the defence slide and then they are on the back-foot trying to secure ruck/possession. Just noticed this recently.
This WB’s squad will be really interesting. Thoughts on the Pete Samu snub from the camp?
Moyano double sees travelling Jaguares over the line
Waxhead – thanks for your feedback.
I thought Foley had an ‘alright’ game. I agree with you that he is under pressure from many other candidates. Lealiifano, in particular, has been pretty impressive this season.
I think Beale will stay in the WB’s team because of his experience and Cheika knows that he can be game-changer.
Really disappointing from the ‘Tahs in front of what was a decent-ish crowd at Bankwest. They had some awesome opportunities to score but Kepu’s knock-on cost them. Another one in the final minutes when they ran 60 metres from the scrum but then Foley dropped it. Sometimes, the Waratahs are pushing the pass too much instead of just taking the ruck and going again. There is a time and a place for offloading but the Waratahs (in my opinion) looked to offload to often in scrappy, close contact, resulting in drop ball when they were in key positions.
Moyano double sees travelling Jaguares over the line
Hegarty was kicking at 85% heading into last night’s match. Probably the best of all the Aussie kickers. Unfortunately for him and the Reds, he had a poor night in a game they probably should’ve won.
'Tahs secure tight win over brave Reds
Muzzo – yeah mate sorry about that. That is a typo error on my part.
Pollard certainly is showing is quality this year. Top points scorer by a mile and runs his team round well. Looking good for the WC I think.
Belligerent Bulls streak past Rebels
KCOL – there wasn’t much in it. Early on, both sides were quite abrasive, especially Duane Vermuelen. I think a lot of it stemmed from the fact that Genia was getting taken out of the game every time he got the ball. The Rebels may also have been a little frustrated.
Belligerent Bulls streak past Rebels
Meakes is Mr Consistent at the moment. He doesn’t have many poor games.
Genia certainly did get shut down from the fringes of the ruck and was just not allowed to scoot from the back. Probably close to the first time this season he has been given no space to run.
Fair play to the Bulls in the sense that they were generally more clinical than the Rebels. Most of the time the Bulls managed to take some points away from time in the Rebels’ half. The Rebels, on the other hand, weren’t as clinical and struggled to accumulate points.
Brumbies have shown they are the form team in Australia at the moment. Despite last week’s loss, I’m still liking the look of the Reds and tonight will be a big test for them against the Tahs. I don’t think they will challenge at finals time, but I think there is a lot to like for future seasons at the Reds.
Belligerent Bulls streak past Rebels
Certainly, agree on Koroibete. For a winger playing outside someone like Quade Cooper, he has only scored one try for the season. There was also definitely one chance down towards the right corner in the second half where a good Test winger would’ve had the pace to score in the corner.
Meakes (when he came on) and Hodge had particularly impressive games.
The Rebels just seemed to continually slip off tackles in the first half, resulting in regular linebreaks from the ‘Canes.
With the Reds and the Brumbies now right on the Rebels’ tail, they have got to quickly turn their form around. They play the Reds next week at home so that will be a big game that will have a big effect the Aussie conference.
Rebels' late charge not enough in windy Wellington
Well, it will be interesting. From what little I understand about Sam Whitelock re-signing with NZ rugby, he will still be eligible for All Blacks selection despite playing in in the Japanese League in 2020 (instead of Super Rugby). So I guess if the All Blacks want Parker, they could sign him to a similar deal?
The All Blacks must consider Hayden Parker for the World Cup
Damian McKenzie is out of the RWC with an ACL injury I believe
The All Blacks must consider Hayden Parker for the World Cup
Don, which SR team would you like to see him play for?
The battle for Australia's No.9 jersey
I agree that Phipps shouldn’t be the reserve half. But it seems that Cheika likes picking Phipps so don’t be surprised!
The battle for Australia's No.9 jersey
The Crusaders vs Lions match is in Christchurch.
The Brumbies just have to ensure they make use of the momentum they have. You don’t want to leave your run too late so they will want to try and put some consistent performances on the board in the next month.
Brumbies stave off Stormers to secure away win
That’s a really good point you present. I agree with you now.
The battle for Australia's No.9 jersey
Hi Bobby, yes Genia is indisputably the no.9 for the Wallabies. The real question is who the reserve half will be. That is why I have tried to present the stats and styles of Phipps, Gordon, McDermott and Powell. It is a crucial position in any team and scrumhalf’s are key decision-makers. This is why the reserve half position will be closely battled between these four.
The battle for Australia's No.9 jersey
I agree that McDermott is probably the best all-round scrumhalf at the moment after Genia. I guess it just comes down to whether Cheika thinks it is too early in his career to back him into a World Cup. Cheika may go for Powell or Phipps purely because they already have Test match experience which is vital heading into a World Cup.
The battle for Australia's No.9 jersey
You’re right. Tough, but not impossible. If they can come close to replicating a similar performance against the Jaguares, a win is not unlikely. The Jaguares will be confident, especially playing at home with their home crowd behind them.
For me, the Jaguares vs Brumbies game will be one of the matches of the week along with the Crusaders vs Lions match.
Brumbies stave off Stormers to secure away win
That last wicket looks like it hit the batsman outside the line. Still a great spell from Pattinson though!
James Pattinson's match-winning five-fer in bonkers run-fest
I agree with your point regarding Duncan Paia’aua. He is a player that can drive the Reds into the future. He has been a touch out of sorts recently but I’m backing him to turn that around.
Super Rugby coaches should keep resting stars
Your 100% correct about the Highlanders loose-forward trio of Frizell, Dixon and Lentjes. They are quality. To keep a player like Akira out of the game is a special effort.
The quality of the game compared to the others was noticeable. The handling skills were much cleaner and after the Blues scored the first try, the match really opened up.
For me, I really like the look of Josh Ioane. His kicking style reminds me of Sopoaga and he seems to be very calm under pressure. The more he plays with guys like Aaron Smith, he will continue to improve and could be one to watch in the future.
Highlanders cruise past Blues in NZ derby
This year especially. For some reason, the NZ teams are not impossible to beat as typified by the Lions win. The Aussie teams have also had some success this year against NZ teams so it has really opened up the competition
Lions roar to end Chiefs' winning run
I agree that Beale did have a great kicking game last night. He also took some excellent high balls under pressure. The Waratahs should leave him at 15 for the rest of the season. I think he needs to continue to improve in that area of the game.
With Folau now gone, one thing I believe the Wallabies do lack is a quality fullback. Beale can certainly play that role at the World Cup. We have got plenty of good centres in Meakes, AAC, Hunt, Kuridrani, Kerevi etc. Beale can become the genuine fullback Australia needs.
Waratahs prevail in grinding Aussie derby
@Waxhead
For mine, this was Koroibete’s ‘break-out’ game. He was very quiet early in the season but in the last few weeks he has really got involved. This is probably the game that could play him into a WC spot.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how Bryce Hegarty goes tonight. He has been shifted back to fullback and McGahan has moved to 10. Hegarty could be a dark horse for the WC.
With Lealiifano also playing this afternoon, it could be a chance for both of these blokes to play themselves into WC contention. Thoughts?
Tahs trample over Rebels to win tight encounter