Friday’s Rugby News sees the teams for the weekend, the latest in clubland, Izzy getting called into the headmasters office and new record being set.
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That Time of the Week Again…
The squads are up, the teams are ready, so let’s get into this weekend of Super Rugby.
Starting off, the Waratahs will be heading off to Tokyo to play the Moon Dogs in what will look like a really interesting encounter. The Sunwolves haven’t won a match so far, but they have shown glimpses of potential, particularly when they nearly knocked off the Lions in Johannesburg.
Alex Newsome has been named as the guy to replace Israel Folau, and Daryl Gibson has thrown in a couple of other changes, with Will Miller and Cameron Clark coming into the mix.
Waratahs Squad: Bryce Hegarty, Alex Newsome, Curtis Rona, Kurtley Beale, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Bernard Foley, Jake Gordon, Michael Wells, Michael Hooper (c), Will Miller, Rob Simmons, Ned Hanigan, Sekope Kepu, Damien Fitzpatrick, Tom Robertson. Reserves: Hugh Roach, Harry Johnson-Holmes, Paddy Ryan, Tom Staniforth, Jed Holloway, Mitchell Short, Lalakai Foketi, Cameron Clark
The Dogs have been playing an interesting brand of rugby this year, but I see the Tahs winning this one. They’re in okay form and should they win, they’ll become the third Aussie team to go three on the trot this year. Tahs by 7.
The second Aussie match sees a derby in Canberra, with the Brumbies looking to make amends for their very disgruntled fans against the Reds.
The horses have made three changes, with Matt Lucas, Chance Peni and Tom Banks coming up to the starting lineup. Sam Carter is also back on the bench for the homeside, after being cleared from a concussion.
Scotty Higginbotham is in as skipper for the Reds, along with five other changes including Liam Wright and Lukhan Tui. The Reds have also named a young gun to potentially debut off the bench, Jordan Petaia. More on him in a minute.
Brumbies Squad: Tom Banks, Henry Speight, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Lealiifano, Chance Peni, Wharenui Hawera, Matt Lucas, Isi Naisarani, David Pocock, Lachlan McCaffrey, Rory Arnold, Blake Enever, Allan Alaalatoa, Folau Fainga’a, Scott Sio. Reserves: Robbie Abel, Faalelei Sione, Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin, Sam Carter, Tom Cusack, Joe Powell, Kyle Godwin, James Verity-Amm.
Reds Squad: Aidan Toua, Filipo Daugunu, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Samu Kerevi, Eto Nabuli, Jono Lance, Ben Lucas, Scott Higginbotham (c), Adam Korczyk, Caleb Timu, Kane Douglas, Izack Rodda, Taniela Tupou, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, James Slipper. Reserves: Alex Mafi, JP Smith, Ruan Smith, Lukhan Tui, Liam Wright, James Tuttle, Hamish Stewart, Jordan Petaia
While the Brums will be motivated to play better, they’re coming up against an arguably more organised team. After last weeks performance, I haven’t got much confidence so I’m gonna say the Reds will take it by 5.
The Rebels have the bye.
In Super W, the penultimate round will see many teams playing for pride. With Queensland and NSW locked in for the final, most of the girls will be looking to finish off the season on a high.
The last placed Rebels Women will be up against the NSW Women side, and I don’t see any result other than the visitors running away with it.
The more intriguing match comes next in a battle for 3rd and 4th, with the Brumbies Women hosting the Western Force Women. They lost at the death last week, but I don’t think there will be any denying the Force girls this time. Reckon it’s going to be a cracker of a game though.
Enjoy your rugby this weekend folks.
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Club Corner
Club rugby properly gets underway this weekend, with four of the five major club competitions in action. Sorry Victoria, the Dewar Shield won’t be kicking off for another fortnight.
We’ll start in Queensland, where round two will see the following matches:
GPS v Bond University
Wests v Sunnybank
Souths v Easts
Brothers v University of Queensland
Norths will have the bye this weekend, in what will shape up to be a fascinating weekend of rugby. University of Queensland, GPS and Wests grabbed the wins last round, while Sunnybank and Norths played out a 27-27 draw to kick off their season. If there is any indicator of where the teams are this weekend, it’ll be seen in these matches.
Next, we head down to NSW, where the Shute Shield kicks off this weekend. Nick H and myself were present at the launch on Wednesday night, along with the likes of Michael Cheika, Raelene Castle, and our good old buddy Cameron Clyne.
Last year it’s fair to say that with disappointment after disappointment on the international level, having a club competition like this being on FTA and being so prevalent and successful gives at least some hope to the grassroots of rugby in this country.
Round One Fixtures:
Eastern Suburbs v West Harbour
Eastwood v Manly
Northern Suburbs v Warringah
Randwick v Gordon
Southern Districts v Penrith
Sydney University v Parramatta
If you’re in Sydney this weekend, head along and check out one of the best club rugby competitions in the world.
Next up we head to the National Capital, where the John I Dent Cup kicks off this weekend. There will be a new addition to the competition this year, with the Bob Hitchcock Territory Shield on the line for teams this weekend. Working in a similar format to the Ranfurly Shield in New Zealand and the Horan-Little Shield in the NRC, the Shield will be given to teams who, once they win it, can be rewarded for consistent home dominance. The first clash for the shield will be between Easts and Uni-Norths, a match which will see both teams celebrating their 80th anniversary seasons.
Add to that, four of the seven clubs will have new coaches in a bid to topple Royals from their dominance of the Cup over the past few years.
Round One Fixtures:
Queanbeyan V Gungahlin
Tuggeranong V Royals
Easts V Uni-Norths
Wests will have the bye.
And finally, we go west across the Nullabor to another competition that experienced rapid growth last year, the Pindan Premier Grade. This comp this year has also got a new spin to it, with the Force team having contracted players to every club, and a new format:
“The new competition will see all clubs in the Premier Grade competitions play qualifying rounds in the first stage of the season before clubs are separated into two divisions for the second stage of the season. This separation will be based on the performance of the clubs’ first-grade results during the qualifying rounds,” says the RugbyWA website.
Round One:
Palmyra v Wests
Coastal Cavaliers v Associates
Southern Lions v Cottesloe
Wanneroo v Kalamunda
Perth Bays v Joondalup
ARKs v UWA
Nedlands will have the bye.
Hope everyone gets along to club rugby this weekend, and lets #makeclubrugbygreatagain.
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Not again Izzy
Izzy Folau is in hot water again over a controversial Instagram comment that wasn’t particularly nice to homosexual people.
He’s been in trouble with this before, saying that he would not support same-sex marriage during the referendum last year.
However, this time he’s gone a little bit further.
What’s been interesting in all this though, is that unlike the previous time when Rugby Australia didn’t really call him out that much, this time, it looks like Izzy could actually face some serious consequences.
Qantas (which was one of the most vocal supporters of same-sex marriage, and also is the Wallabies main sponsor) immediately called him out, saying that ‘We’ve made it clear to Rugby Australia that we find the comments very disappointing.”
Rugby Australia was also quick to respond, with Raelene Castle jointly releasing a statement with NSW Rugby Union boss Andrew Hore.
“Israel’s comment reflects his personal religious beliefs, however it does not represent the view of Rugby Australia or NSW Rugby,” Castle said.
“We are aligned in our view that rugby is a game for all, regardless of sexuality, race, religion or gender, which is clearly articulated in rugby’s inclusion policy.
“We understand that Israel’s comment has upset a number of people and we will discuss the matter with him as soon as possible.”
Both Castle and Hore will meet with Folau in the coming days to discuss with him how he uses social media.
However, probably the best response (and one that I think should end the discussion) came from Sydney’s first gay-inclusive rugby club, the Convicts.
“Disappointing to see these comments from Israel but his statements do not reflect Rugby Union’s attitude to gay people,” the club tweeted.
Having played against them personally, I completely agree.
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In with the (very) new
The Reds are set to break a record this weekend when they head out to face the Brumbies in Canberra.
If Jordan Petaia takes to the field against the horses, he will become the youngest ever Super Rugby debutant, at the age of 18 years and 24 days.
This kid has got some chops on him, having played Brisbane State High’s 1st XV in 2016 and 2017, played in the Australian Schoolboys last year, and only this year, debuted for Wests in the Queensland Premier Grade.
So impressive was his performance, Brad Thorn decided to give him a crack with the Reds.
“He may be young, but he has bags of talent and has shown plenty of promise at training and in our intra-squad trial,” he said to rugby.com.au.
“It’s a good opportunity for him.”
“I was pretty amazed, stunned really. It’s exciting,” Petaia himself added.
“The coaches have said just to keep doing what I’ve been doing.
“My parents were in shock when I told them.
“I called Dad and he was super happy, he sounded a bit teary.”
With so many young players in the squad, Thorn has admitted that selecting a squad has become increasingly difficult. This weekend, they’ll be five changes to the Reds squad.
“It’s been tough to select the side each week,” he admitted.
“The guys are pushing each other hard at training and unfortunately some people miss out.
“It’s difficult, but it’s good to see the competition and depth within the squad.”
The Reds will be playing the Brumbies on Saturday night.
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