The Rugby Championship is getting to the pointy end with all teams in with a chance to win it from here.
What makes rugby the greatest game to watch
As much as it may puzzle outsiders or even irritate fans of other sports, rugby union is a game unlike any other – rich in nuance, layered in complexity, and fuelled by a kind of beautiful chaos that makes it endlessly compelling. Critics often argue it’s difficult to watch and harder still to officiate, and even loyal supporters must admit that sometimes referees’ decisions seem like a mystery.
The game flows not from clarity but from the tension between what’s permitted and what’s just beyond the edge, negotiated on the fly by players and officials alike. Unlike other sports where play stops at the moment of a tackle or contact, rugby insists that the contest continues – every breakdown, scrum, and maul is a stage for subtlety and strategy.
The law book, far from being a set of definitive instructions, becomes a canvas of interpretation: what does it mean to release the ball? What counts as entering through the gate? The answers are never fixed – they live in the moment, shaped by how the referee sees it and how convincingly the players sell it.
The best forwards are not simply physical giants, but artists of illusion, operating in that murky space between rule and reality, disguising intention with technique, manipulating perception with experience. And while sports like football or basketball celebrate deception as flair, rugby gives it a complicated morality – one man’s ingenuity is another man’s infringement.
Every game becomes a story told in referee gestures, team tactics, and fan interpretations. That’s why officiating always finds itself at the centre of rugby discussions; it’s not just about blame, it’s about the nature of a game that invites multiple truths. Rugby does not pretend to be black and white – its power lies in the grey, where theatre, sport, and strategy collide. That’s not a flaw to be fixed, but a feature to be appreciated, the very essence of what makes the sport extraordinary.
I saw this piece online and it struck me this is why great teams find a way with the man in the middle. Take Paul Williams on the weekend: for the first half the Wallabies were on his bad side. The maturing of this team was the changes made in the second half to adjust to the way he was adjudicating the game which objectively changed the outcome.
The NZ v Saffas game was adjudicated completely differently which created a quite different spectacle.
Super Rugby AU Teams for Round 1
Super Rugby AU fires up this week. It gives valuable game time for emerging players within the Super Rugby lists to get valuable game time and players who are just outside the Wallabies squad or coming back from injury a chance to impress.
Our overlords at Stan are doing the right thing and showing the games live and on demand.
Friday, 12 September 7:30pm AEST – Waratahs v Force at Warringah Rugby Club, Sydney,
WARATAHS (1-15): Tom Lambert, Ethan Dobbins, Dan Botha, Matt Philip (c), Miles Amatosero, Leafi Talataina, Jamie Adamson, Chlayton Frans*, Teddy Wilson, Lawson Creighton, Sid Harvey*, Jackson Ropata*, Henry O’Donnell, Otto Serfontein, James Hendren
Replacements: Oniti Finau*, Isaac Kailea, Apolosi Ranawai*, Ben Grant, Austin Durbidge*, Michael McDonald*, James McGregor*, Leo Jacques*
FORCE (1-15): Marley Pearce, Albert Alcock, Bradley Kuhn, Mitch Watts, Darcy Swain (c), Will Harris, Kane Koteka, Vaiolini Ekuasi, Henry Robertson, Max Burey, Viliami Fine, George Poolman, Boston Fakafanua, Justin Landman, Mac Grealy
Replacements: Wes Thomas, Max Sawers, Sean Paranihi, Max Johnson, Reed Prinsep, Titi Nofoagatotoa, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, Kurtley Beale
Sunday, 14 September 3:00pm AEST – Reds v Brumbies at Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane,
REDS (1-15): Aidan Ross, Theo Fourie, Massimo de Lutiis, Conor Vest, Seru Uru, Tom Robinson, Joe Brial, Hamish Muller, Kalani Thomas, Harry McLaughlin-Philips, Heremaia Murray, Dre Pakeho, Isaac Henry, Tim Ryan, Jock Campbell (c)
Replacements: Zac Hough, George Blake, Sef Fa’agase, Charlie Brosnan, Kohan Herbert, James Martens, Will Cartwright, Xavier Rubens
BRUMBIES (1-15): Lington Ieli, Liam Bowron, Rhys van Nek, Lachlan Shaw, Harvey Cordukes, Toby Macpherson, Luke Reimer (c), Judah Saumaisue, Klayton Thorn, Declan Meredith, Ollie Sapsford, Jarrah McLeod, Hudson Creighton, Kadin Pritchard, Louis Bartley-Saena
Replacements: Chris Mickelson, Tauati Chan-Tung, Tevita Alatini, Tuaina Taii Tualima, Rory Scott, Dan Nelson, Joe Dillon, David Feliuai
RUOK
Today is RUOK day something that is near and dear to many of us at G&GR.
In my experience, it’s never the wrong time to ask a friend of colleague or even an acquaintance if they’re OK. It starts a conversation and the person you ask may not’ve noticed changes in their demeanour or external attitude. It also shows that person someone cares about them no matter how they feel.
Late Mail
Tom Lynagh is out, Tane Edmed to start.
LSL on to the bench. I have a feeling Nick Frost will get the rest.
Skelton looks like he is not coming home for the Bledisloe.
JOC to also miss the Bledisloe despite what he said on GBR AU.
Paisami to start at 12 with Lenny to get a rest.
Hossman back tomorrow
