Author: Matt Rowley

You tell us how you think the boys performed in Bledisloe 1 2012. (Photos to come) Bledisloe 1 Wallaby Player Rankings

Just in case you weren’t amped up already for tomorrow’s Test… It is a bit worrying, though, that the last positive footage from a Wallabies point of view is in the wrong video aspect ratio… [youtube id=”5FEBmn1LicI” width=”600″ height=”350″]

How do you think The Rugby Championship ladder will shake out by the end? Let us know! Final Ladder: The Rugby Championship 2012

This year the Aussie Super conference dolled out points like it was the Eurovision Song Contest, our under 20’s got schooled at the Junior World Cup, the Waratahs management spectacularly imploded and we still have no national third tier competition. Alarm bells anyone? Perhaps not. Perhaps – like the ARU – you believe that being 2nd in the world rankings with best ever ‘participation’ numbers everything is fine and dandy. Either way, it’s the perennial issue in Australian rugby – are we doing the best with what we have? Enter the G&GR THINK TANK. Over the next week or so – while…

Who’ll notch up the most yellow cards in this year’s The Rugby Championship? Rank em in order! Let us know if we’ve missed any obvious offenders and if you get the likes we’ll add them to the list. Most yellow cards in The Rugby Championship?

With the Reds players back in contention the 36-man squad has been reshaped. [one_half last=”no”] IN Digby Ioane Dominic Shipperley Anthony Fainga’a Mike Harris Will Genia Scott Higginbotham [/one_half] [one_half last=”yes”] OUT Mitch Inman Lachie Turner Bernard Foley Ben Mowen Hugh Pyle Paddy Ryan[/one_half] Nathan Sharpe stays in the squad having sat out the first training meet through old age. The players who were not considered because of injury are: Salesi Ma’afu (Force), Dan Palmer (Brumbies), Saia Fainga’a (Reds), James Horwill (Reds), Ben McCalman (Force), Wycliff Palu (Waratahs), Paddy Ryan (Waratahs), Christian Leali’ifano (Brumbies), James O’Connor (Rebels), Joe Tomane…

Think you’d read just about all the Kiwi sour grapes there could possibly have been following the All Blacks’ loss in the 2007 World Cup quarter? Think again. Sir Graham Henry has just released a book in which he claims the stats against his hard done by All Blacks were so one-sided  that something ‘bizarre’ had taken place. The book states: He told them he believed, given the graphic video evidence available, that the NZRU should pressure the International Rugby Board to institute an inquiry. He also emphasised that it was incomprehensible that the IRB did not have strategies in…

How do you think it’ll end up by the close of the season? You tell us! Sydney GPS Rugby Premiership 2012

How do you think the Brisbane GPS Premiership table will end up this season? Let us know and RANK IT! Brisbane GPS Premiership Table 2012

Oakhill College defeated rugby powerhouse and favourites for the ISA title, St Augustine’s College

It’s different when it comes to finals footy right? Tighter games, not many tries scored? Wrong. Looking back over the eight finals games played in 2010 and 2011 (two years in the same universe, at least when it comes to breakdown interpretations, thereby affecting scoring) we see that unlike Aussie derbies, Super Rugby finals are anything but dour affairs. [one_third last=”no”] Difference The average points difference per game is 15.5 — and the only game won within 7 points was last year’s Reds-Saders final.[/one_third] [one_third last=”no”] Tries The average number of tries scored by the winning team per match is 2.25. (In only…

Here’s your chance to show what discerning Australian followers of Super Rugby

Quade Cooper today received a one-week suspension following his

I have a chat with Queensland Reds lock Adam Wallace-Harrison about everything from

You may be aware that former Wallabies coach Eddie ‘Beaver’ Jones is now the head coach of Japan. Anyway, back at the end of June, Japan played the French Barbarians and lost 40-21. Here’s the press conference aftermath. It may be the translation, but I’m not sure he was happy with his team’s performance. Make sure you see the bit from 2:30 on. If the Japanese captain ever writes his memoirs, I’ll bet this makes them. [youtube id=”qubao1O6Ldc” width=”600″ height=”350″] And here’s the second half…. [youtube id=”LbZpAnaUOi0″ width=”600″ height=”350″] Eddie did make changes to the side — 12 in fact.…

Here ya go — tell us what you think — rank what you thought the Wallabies pecking order was after the Test series against Wales in June. The positions will change with each vote, so check back to see what the most informed set of Aussie rugby readers think. How the Wallabies Performed in the June Tests

With 10 Tests in the bag between the home nations and the Southern Hemisphere

I’ve wanged on about it in a number of different places, including the second Test match review and the latest PODSLAM, so I thought I’d bung together some quick video analysis to show what I’ve been on about. The difference in the way the Welsh defended the ruck between the first and second Tests was pretty crucial. In the first Test they obviously either thought our wide threats were worth sacrificing men at the breakdown for, or had underestimated Sanchez and our pack in close. Either way, they certainly changed it for the second Test. Of concern for Australia will be…

Timmsy, analytical genius coach Scott Allen and I look over the weekend’s games and Aussie rugby news. With talent like this, who needs celebs? (Don’t answer that.) Podcast Powered By Podbean

The Wallabies were 25-23 victors tonight in a tense match that saw them go 2-nil up in the three-Test series against Wales. The game really couldn’t have started worse for Australia — losing the restart as per usual and then Barnes kicking out on the full in the first minute. From that error, Wales employed a front-of-lineout move. A number of phases later deep in Australian territory, George North picked and went to score on the 4th minute, with the conversion following. From this inauspicious start, play was an arm-wrestle and it was noticeable that the realignment of Wallabies forward…