It’s feeling like the adults are running the asylum. The Wallabies are not the finished product by any means. My biggest take away from the weekend was the scrum operated at 83% the lineout operated at 100% and apart from the restarts we looked like a team that gets the basics right. Sure, we can’t live with the Saffas yet, and will probably come up short against the New Zealanders but I reckon we’ll run other teams close for the rest of the year, and the games we lose will be by small margins.
As a fan that is all I ask that the team I support has a dig and doesn’t do dumb stuff.
Rugbynomics – If we think we have problems with finances.
Link Here
George Skivington has allayed fears about the financial future of Gloucester, last season’s ninth-place Gallagher Premiership club. The professional game in England has struggled coming out of the pandemic, with top-flight clubs Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish all going bust in a nine-month period during the 2022/23 season.
This was soon followed by the September 2023 demise of the second-tier Jersey Reds, who folded despite being Championship champions at the time. These closures have since been followed by financial speculation regarding other clubs.
It’s patter that has included murmurings about the future of Gloucester. Their latest accounts for the financial year ending in June 2023 emerged in March this year showing a turnover of £18,162,660, up from £17,035,172 the previous year.
However, in a report section titled ‘Going Concern’, it stated: “The directors have prepared forecasts for the period to 30 June 2025 which indicate that subject to securing additional funding which the directors are confident in obtaining, and the continued support of the club’s sponsorship partners, bankers and shareholders, none of which are guaranteed, the company will have sufficient resources to enable it to continue trading until the end of the forecast period.”
The elephant in the room is that the English Premiership is struggling for a new TV deal, and with the money that EP gets as part of their investment they won’t be able to dig their way out.
Force appoint ex-All Black Donnelly as forwards coach
Something for the sea of blue. I’ve been a fan of how they run things over there for a long time. Link Here
Tom Donnelly joins the Force after spending the past two seasons with fellow Super Rugby Pacific outfit, the Highlanders, as their forwards coach under Clarke Dermody. He’s been NPC side Otago’s head coach since 2020, having previously served as the club’s assistant coach from 2017, and will join the Force once those commitments conclude in October for the side’s Super Rugby pre-season. Donnelly also led the New Zealand Under-20s to the 2022 Oceania Championship as head coach, having previously worked as the team’s assistant coach in 2021.
He steps into the role made vacant following Irishman Jimmy Duffy’s return to his homeland at the end of the 2024 season. Donnelly was a prominent lock during his playing career that included 15 All Blacks caps between 2009 and 2010, along with 98 Super Rugby games across three franchises and 12 seasons.
Rotorua-born Donnelly played for the Highlanders (2003-2011, 65 games), the Crusaders (2012-2013, 19 games) and the Blues (2014, 14 games) before heading off to France at Montpellier (2014-2015, 25 caps) and Bayonne (2016-2017, 14 caps).
Donnelly said: “I’m thrilled about taking on this role. Obviously, the opportunity to keep coaching at Super Rugby level is exciting, but talking with the people at the club, like Goody (general manager of rugby Chris Goodman) and Crono (head coach Simon Cron), the ambition of the club really took me aback. They want to be a really competitive club in Super Rugby and while they’re in the building phase, the foundations are now in place which is really exciting about where we can go.”
When asked about what he can bring to the Club, Donnelly added: “Obviously I played professionally for a number of years and coached now for a while, so I’ve worked with a lot of good coaches and in a lot of different environments. All that experience I have I can now bring to the Force.”
Force general manager of rugby Chris Goodman was delighted to secure the well-regarded coach. “His skillset around lineout and scrums has been a real strength throughout his career and set him apart, as well as his delivery style and his experience as a player at the top level,” Goodman said. “He’s been with a Highlanders group with a similar age bracket to what we’ve got at the moment, so he relates to the players really well and knows the trajectory we’re on. He brings a hard-nosed approach to things. He’s pretty black and white which compliments the coaching staff.
“His long-term aspirations as a coach aligns to our thinking as a club around succession and stability too. We’re thrilled to have him on board.”2025 Western Force Memberships on sale in October – register your interest here
Wallaroos Squad WXV2
Jo Yapp has made some changes to the squad for the WXV2 tour to the northern hemisphere. For mine, it’s nice to see some changes from the team that rolled over against the Kiwis at Ballymore a few weeks back.
Uncapped trio, super mum Lucy Dinnen, Ashley Fernandez and Tiarah Minns, come into the squad, with prop Sally Fuesaina also coming in after making her debut in the Pacific Four. Fernandez and Minns have been involved in wider squads throughout the year while backrower Dinnen (née Lockhart) returns to the national set-up for the first time since before the 2022 World Cup, having won Super W Player of the Year in 2021. Maya Stewart has also been named to return after returning to full training after a hamstring injury sidelined her against New Zealand and Fiji.
Centre Trilleen Pomare and Ashley Marsters will potentially break the record for most Wallaroos caps on the tour, overtaking Liz Patu if they play every single game.
Setting a Referee Up For Failure
I feel genuinely sorry for Damon Murphy after the weekend’s QPR final. I follow the QPR quite a bit. My favourite way to enjoy rugby is at the community level, it’s fast, entertaining and physical. Almost every weekend a smattering of Super Rugby contracted players play and it’s always interesting to see them up against guys who are working at a real job on a Monday.
Damon Murphy was appointed to the grand final between Brothers and Wests on the weekend, which on the face of it is fine, he’s a capable referee who has adjudicated at the highest level. My issue is that Damon is a Brothers guy, he played for the Brethren 155 times over a 10 year career. Wiki Link Here.
Given that the game was decided by a contentious try and a highly contentious late penalty to give Brothers the win by 2, if I were a Wests supporter I’d be filthy as I don’t think they got any calls in the game. The QRU and the QRRA do an excellent job running a high level comp throughout the year, but, IMHO have left Damon hanging out on this one. It wasn’t a good look.
