Author: 22metri

With English, Shipperley and Jones representing the Baa Baas, the Rising have picked uncapped players for their defence of the Horan-Little Shield. Zane Hilton has been forced to call upon new faces for the first home game of the season, the crucial clash against reigning champions Brisbane City on Saturday at Ashwood Reserve, the home of the Harlequin Rugby Club. “It has disrupted our plans a little bit, but we are very proud of our boys and we have faith in the players stepping in their shoes.” Zane Hilton told G&GR The two outside backs will be replaced by Stacey Ili (Melbourne Uni) and Cook Islands’ international Justin…

Students taught hard lessons by ‘Quins The third Dewar Shield win in a row came with ease for the defending champions with the game a one sided affair. The Students didn’t rise up to the expectations of a Grand Final and missed bringing to an end the 48 year drought. The game saw a Harlequin dominance through and through, with a total of eight tries to nothing, the defending champions obliterated the challengers form on the field. Quins defence was relentless and the students were unable to find any space. The huge amount of work done by the Quins forwards allowed their…

On Saturday the Victorian Premier Grade will find its champion The defending champions Harlequin are looking for their third Dewar Shield in a row, but the surprise package Melbourne Uni will fight for their first title since 1967. The 2015 Grand Final of the Direct Connect Dewar Shield will not figure the minor premiers, Box Hill, which, after a dominating season, came home with wet sails. The Broncos lost the major semi-final against Harlequin and the preliminary final against Uni. To add insult to injury it will be played at their ground. Behind Box Hill all season, both Harlequin and Melbourne…

As every year these days, in 2015 many players will leave Super Rugby. Here’s my 2015 best departure lounge Super Rugby XV. I know I’m treading on shaky ground, making a best XV team is asking for it; I’ll forget some excellent players, I’ll put in the starting line-up someone’s best mate. So will it be. This RWC year will mark one of the biggest exoduses in Super Rugby history, hundreds and hundreds of caps will move to the rich French shores, to the green fields of Britain, to exotic Japan… Like parents watching their grown ups kids leaving home, we will soon see the business lounges…

Thanks to a good first half display, Footscray withstood an Endeavour Hills’ comeback to keep pace with the top flyers. Entertaining game at Henry Turner Reserve, where the Footscray Bulldogs square off against the Endeavour Hills Eagles in perfect conditions.  Both teams were, as all Dewar Shield’s teams, without the Super Rugby assigned players, and had to rely only on amateurs. In a game of two halves, Footscray looked settled for an easy win after scoring four tries in a solid first half display.  Endeavour Hills was able to turn the table around in the second half and give the Bulldogs a good…

The Rebels closed their best season with a loss against the Western Force; the Superman jersey they wore didn’t help the players to go “Up, up and away”. The Match In a game that resembled the spectacular heights of a Saffer Currie Cup encounter between the Griquas and the Blue Bulls, the Rebels and Force farewelled their followers with a less than impressive game. Few will remember it except as being the last match for Scott Higginbotham, Sam Wykes and Pat Leafa for their clubs. First Half A gritty first half delivered no tries, hard contacts and a lot of yawning to…

This is a must-win game for the Brumbies. Brumbies fans, and Matt To’omua , will remember the same match in 2013,  when the ball was passed forward  from the Brumbies’ in-goal at the end of the game.  The Force were leading 21-15 and had just miss a penalty goal—and To’omua  was looking for a quick 22-metre dropout.   The trouble was that he neglected to ground the ball before the pass for the quick kick and the Force ended the game after kicking for touch from the scrum. The Brumbies lost any chance of scoring a late try and getting…

This game against the Sharks is a great chance for the Rebels to turn their two-loss streak around. Last season this match would have been a one-sided affair but it will be more interesting this year, and may witness the first win in the Republic for the Melbournians. Unaccountably Gary Gold’s Sharks haven’t delivered on expectations based on last season, when they dominated the South African conference. This year the play-offs are out of reach as the du Plessis’ brothers and Co. became less of a threat, at home and abroad. On the other hand, the Rebels are a much-improved side,…

Canada gets one back and defeats Australia in Amsterdam Last week the fighting Australia seven’s women team came from behind against Canada in London, today the Wallaroos got a taste of their own medicine by the Canadians in another game to remember. Canada struck first blood after five minutes with a try from speedster Paquin, but Aussies’ skipper Williams was quick and powerful to beat the Canadian defence and equalise the score minutes after. With Dalton’s conversion Australia went in the lead. But the North Americans ended the first half ahead with a try of last year’s women world cup…

Here is another edition of Green and Gold’s Tuesday Top Five We start our Top Five with the win of the Aussie Women Seven’s team in London; then move to the boys for an outlook on the Rugby World Cup 2015; touch base on the fight for the Australian Super Rugby Conference; pay tribute to Red’s comprehensive win and finally we will acknowledge the quality of rugby played across the ditch. 1.  Top Girls The Wallaroos Sevens win in London was one of the best Aussie performances of the year, in any rugby event: they won every match in the…

The Footscray Bulldogs downed Power House in the third game of the Victorian Competition. A red card against Power House at the 28th minute changed the match. The Match Thanks to a bye for the Melbourne Rebels a record 17 contracted Super Rugby players were on display in the Dewar Shield today. In the match between Power House and Footscray, four Rebels were on display: Tom Sexton and Tom Kingston for The House, and Cadeyrn Neville and Cruze Ah-Nau for the Doggies. All of them contributed to the quality of the game and showed passion and commitment to their host…

The Rebels overcame the Reds in their first home win of the season but James Horwill’s red card at the 20th minute changed the match. The Match The Queensland Reds can blame nobody but themselves for their sixth loss of the season, they started dominating, went nine points ahead in the first 20 minutes, but then gave it all away when James Horwill got his second red card of the season. To add to the loss of a player from a red card, the Reds lost Quade Cooper again—to a shoulder injury. The Rebels struggled to convert possession into points again…

After a streak of four consecutive losses the Force will have another tough encounter, in their first game in the Republic. Theirs will be second encounter between an Aussie and a South African team in the 2015 Super Rugby season, and will get underway in the early hours of Sunday.  In the first, on Friday evening,  the Rebels will host the Lions in Melbourne. Bulls in Perth in 2014 – they have the form in 2015 View image | gettyimages.com The form The season started on an high note for the Western Force with an unexpected win against the reigning…

Brumbies on top The start of 2015 has been very positive for the ACT outfit and they deserve the top spot in this weeks Tuesday Top Five. Four convincing wins and a narrow loss against the Chiefs, the Brumbies look the most complete team of the competition, maybe they are not the most exciting to win, despite being much more enjoyable to watch – for a neutral observer – than the Jake White Brumbies. The defensive system of the Brumbies is very effective and builds a very solid platform for one of the best backs formation in the competition. Next…

                                                    Box Hill Box Hill Rugby Club will start the 2015 Dewar Shield after a surprise season in 2014, when it moved from cellar-dweller to top flyer, by contesting the 1st Grade premiership against Harlequins. The main reason for the resurgence of the triple Dewar Shield premiers (1999, 2000 and 2001), was the meticulous work of their coach and the ties with the Fijian community, through Island Breeze Australia – a ministry of Youth with a Mission, a not for profit Christian values-based organisation.  They provided some real talent in Sefanaia Naivalu (“Super Sefa”), the first player to obtain a Super Rugby contract…

Harlequin The Harlequin Rugby Club comes to the start of the 2015 Dewar Shield after back to back  1st Grade premierships. Thry have a strong base of players and supporters and one of the best infrastructure of any Victorian club. Despite yet another change in the Head Coach position role, the introduction of two well known names in the Victorian rugby scene as player/assistant coaches will guarantee the continuity. Founded in 1928, Harlequin grew slowly and won its first premiership in 1955. It has established itself as one of the major forces in Victoria in the past years, having 1st, 2nd, 3rd Grade and…

                                   Southern Districts The yellow and blue Pirates of Melbourne’s Southern Districts have been on a slide since the 2010 loss in the Dewar Shield final, but the future is looking brighter with new recruits and a lot of enthusiasm at the club. And there have been some key appointments on and off the field, the most important of which is that of young gun centre, Sione Tuipulotu, who played for the Australian Schoolboys last year. Founded in 1972, Southern Districts is the second youngest team in the Victorian Rugby Union and assumed it’s current name as recently as…

Melbourne University For Melbourne University Rugby Football Club, unlike the students’ clubs in the other major capitals, Sydney and Brisbane, the glory days are dust-covered from the sixties. It is a foundation  club of the Victorian Rugby Union and the only such club remaining in the Victorian Premier Division since 1909. The club fields five teams in the Premier Division, including a Colts (U20) team, and a team including Over 35’s. But with personnel changes and new blood the Melbournians look positively at the coming championship. G&GR interviewed the students’ General Manager and Head Coach Jason Jones ahead of the 2015…

The Rebels ran and sweat but fell short in the rain to the Brumbies who had a more organised game plan and better discipline. The Match It was a tale of two halves, as the infamous Melbourne weather transformed a warm Australian summer night in a cold wet English one. After a relatively sleepy first half marked by Rebels’ indiscipline, the hosts had more possession and territory, but not the points on the scoreboard; the only light of the first half was Kuridrani’s try. After the break the players struggled to control the ball in the wet and windy conditions and…

Melbourne Rebels co-captain ready for another tough encounter. So far the Rebels’ season has seen the team play against the finalist and the winner of last years’ Super Rugby season, and their next game will be against the team that lost the semi-final against the eventual champions. Scott Higginbotham opinion of the Brumbies showed his respect for the team: “semi-finalist last year and finalist the year before, (they are a) strong side, they’ll come here to play, (they are a) very structured side. It’s gonna be a tough match. They got a lot of quality backs in their team, guys like…