Author: Matt Rowley

They say there’s no substitute for gas. Check out Carlin Isles,

With all the hoo-hah around Quade Cooper’s contract negotiations, it’s easy to forget

When you’re as famous as the Honey Badger, it’s bound to happen. [youtube id=”SmHUl4_q1Qg” width=”600″ height=”350″]

This sure brought a lump to the throat (although I’m not sure about the soundtrack choice for the first bit). [youtube id=”LrM-ra8RU2w” width=”600″ height=”350″]

So how did you think each of the Wallabies fared in beating the Taffs yet again to send off Sharpie? Give em a rank! Wallabies vs Wales in Cardiff 2012

Steve Timms and I have a good old wang on about the ‘victory’ over Italy and everything else that needs discussing. Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right click and save)

The beautiful thing about stats (God that sounds nerdy)

You know the drill: rank how you think each of the Wallabies did against Italy in Florence. Wallabies vs Italy Florence 2012

Here’s a FREE, legal live stream of Italy vs Austraila in Florence. It may not work in your region though (which is maybe why it’s free). If anyone can see it – let us know where you are! Broadcasting live with Ustream Those countries where it won’t work: IT, AE, YE, DZ, TD, EG, LY, DJ, MR, MA, SO, SD, TN, KW, BH, IR, IQ, JO, LB, OM, PS, QA, SA, SY, MY, AU, BZ, CR, SV, GT, HN, MX, NI, PA, AR, BO, BR, CL, CO, EC, FK, GF, GY, PY, PE, SR, UY, VE, FJ, UK, SG, ZA,…

Staying with the positive vibe out of last weekend, here’s a vid of a few more little highlights. But first, a little mention about… Michael Hooper …who’s absolutely killing it. You wouldn’t blame the guy for thinking ‘Shit, international rugby really isn’t that hard’. Check out where he’s come in each of the matches he’s been ranked on G&GR: He did it again last weekend, making mincemeat of the pommy back row. The inspired injury-forced selection of Ben Tapuai had a big impact on the Wallabies’ attacking potency. Going around rather than through defenders, Taps also has a great offloading…

Attending his first rugby international, my son found his first Wallabies hero — Nick ‘The Honey Badger’ Cummins, whose dynamism and commitment stood out a mile at the ground, and didn’t make a bad highlights reel either. [youtube id=”oNZ4mJFThNI” width=”600″ height=”350″] He also gave a pretty darn good post match interview about his ‘Test meat’! [youtube id=”8gzb2VuaRW0 ” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Last night the renowned rugby union reporter and rugby league agent-mouthpiece

How would you rank each of the players in this gutsy Wallabies performance? Wallabies vs England, Twickenham 2012

Our stats preview against France last week warned of the ugliness to come, and this week against England it doesn’t get any better for the Wallabies.

News just in: Rob Simmons has been given an eight-week ban for his tackle on Yannick Nyanga in Paris last weekend. https://twitter.com/iainpayten/status/268758737509027840 https://twitter.com/iainpayten/status/268763428192141312 Here’s the tackle itself — what the hell??? [youtube id=”JdtGU9B1lOA” width=”600″ height=”350″] Remember, Sam Warburton got three weeks for this little number in the World Cup: [youtube id=”yLpptT_nCp0″ width=”600″ height=”350″] In the meantime, Adam Thomson has got off close to scot-free for stamping on a man’s head: http://twitter.com/thepaulwilliams/statuses/268767299798978560 Other news is that Pat McCabe is out of Saturday’s Twickenham Test match with a stiff neck. http://twitter.com/iainpayten/statuses/268762476429074432 Can this tour get any worse already?!? (Don’t answer that!)

In my last piece looking at the IRB ranking point scenarios for this spring tour, a key assumption I made was that if the Wallabies lost to France, it would be by less than 15 points — bugger! So what does that mean for our prospects? Clearly we’ve already lost second spot to South Africa, but what about the permutations following the weekend coming? Below is a table that summarises the main permutations that can unfold this weekend. Again I’ve assumed wins will be within 15 points and that the Saffas will off the Scots*. As you can see, any…

I have an enlightening chat with G&GR’s own Luke Burgess about the Wallabies and

How do you rank our boys’ performances as the frogs got their revenge? Wallabies vs France 2012

Most of the noise around this match has been about how close can the Wallabies get to the record win over France at Stade de France in 2010, when they won by seven tries to one. However, a few things have changed since then, including France’s almost winning a World Cup and Australia completely reversing its approach to rugby, as described in this post. In a nutshell, since 2011 the Wallabies have relied on forcing teams into yielding points through penalties by holding onto the ball for inordinately long periods of time. They hold possession for more than any team…

I catch up with Cam Treloar (@Skywalkerinc)  of the Reds, Tahs and Top 14 side Bordeaux ahead of the Wallabies clash with the French in Paris this weekend. Find out what it’s like to live with Radike Samo, mix it with French forwards and get on a Tahs or Reds team bus in Argentina! Also, we mention Cameron’s recent red card in the podcast. Watch the air-swings for yourself below! Download this episode (right-click and save) Podcast Powered By Podbean [youtube id=”RimrlLQVg9A” width=”600″ height=”350″]