Author: Matt Rowley

Podcast 55 including Richard Graham and a mystery guest

Thanks to the HSBC Waratahs, we have a number of double passes for the HSBC Waratahs vs Emirates Western Force at the SFS next Saturday night. To be in with a chance of winning, just tell us below in 25 words or less how you think Waratahs captain Rocky Da Vinci will be psyching his team-mates up for this Aussie derby. The 3 entries that we reckon best capture the essence of Australian rugby’s polymath will get the tickets!* We’ll announce the winners on Wednesday morning, so get them in by midnight Tuesday 13th March. *Note – Green…

What I love about G&GR is the interaction: the sharing of ideas, the banter, the laughs, the access to people you might not otherwise get. If that also describes you, then join the growing numbers of GAGR-ites dominating the Twitter playing field. This guide will talk you through how to get up and running and have an instant group of mates with you, ripping it up in 140 characters or less. If you’re already on Twitter, this guide will help you get more out of it, including gaining followers using The GAGR Twitter secret handshake. Now there’ll be a few of you…

Video highlights of James O’Connor’s Wallaby 2011

With a Super Rugby title under his belt, Ewen ‘Link’ McKenzie is the Aussie coach of the moment. If there’s any one coach who has words put in his mouth on the G&GR forums, it would be him — so we thought it would be great if he could answer some of our forum members’ questions directly, and he kindly obliged. Thanks to ThatGuy for the idea! Reman – What are the top 3 things you learned at the Tahs, in France then at the Reds? (3 in total) 1. To control the team direction, it’s crucial to have…

Australian rugby fans have accepted their fate – another two years of the Dingo Deans show: like it or not the ARU re-signed his contract prior to the World Cup, and even if it hadn’t been, the crowd’s favourite, Ewen McKenzie is surely bound to the reds. For many, any remaining vestiges of resistance were quelled with the contrite suggestion from Robbie that he would seek McKenzie’s input as a consultant. That’s just how it is, isn’t it? Well information has come to G&GR, which if true, would make this NOT the case. In my post last week, I mentioned…

Gagger, Mr Timms and Baabaa get together to lament over last weekend. They then try to keep it rational as they look ahead to next weekend, review the Wallabies’ tournament as a whole and react to the news of 2 more years of Robbie Deans Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right click and save) Subscribe on iTunes

Robbie Deans’s role as coach through to the British and Irish Lions in 2013 would appear — for better or worse — a done deal. But on the eve of the quarter-final in Wellington, a source in the Australian media relayed to me a conversation with John O’Neill in which the ARU CEO responded to such assertions before the world cup with the words ‘there are clauses’. We know that a semi-final appearance was seen by the board as a ‘pass mark’ in this campaign, meaning we were one Justin Bieber missed goal from a ‘fail’ and presumably the activation…

Here’s the next bucketload of numbers courtesy of RuckinGoodStats, looking ahead to the game this weekend. Have a read, but if you’re a Wallaby supporter (what are the odds on this site?) it’s not all sweetness and light. The nasty bit comes with the amount of possession (2nd v. 15th) and territory (3rd v. 11th) that New Zealand are commanding over Australia, combined with their attacking stats such as the highest offloads and linebreaks in the comp. If these are allowed to compound this weekend like they were last, then even Pat McCabe sacrificing his remaining body joints won’t prevent…

Here’s a little exclusive that the French flanker legend Serge Betsen wrote for GAGR about the ultimate, ultimate old bull versus new bull openside showdown about to happen this weekend. Read more from Serge on weare4rugby or follow him on Twitter @sbetsen. Let’s start with Richie McCaw the legend. With over 100 caps, a phenomenal, outstanding player and great leader.  One of my fiercest opponents. But is he going to sustain this challenge? What he has been doing now for a long time is incredible, but sometimes I wonder about how he continues to play with his injured foot? It…

Cote, Gagger and Mr Timms talk about the quarter-finals this weekend  and their ramicfi consques results. WARNING: This podcast was recorded at 3am in Wellington after the match. If you’re looking for cutting edge analysis, this ain’t the podcast for you. We might manage some of that later in the week. Podcast Powered By Podbean

I caught up with some guy called John Eales today, just before the QF team was announced. Here’s what he said about the RWC so far, the McCabe dilemma, and who’ll be taking the plane to Auckland. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhGDM_I0giM[/youtube]

Our mate RuckinGoodStats has provided us with an indepth look at the two teams going into Sunday’s mega Quarter Final. You can download it by clicking on Tale of the tape RSAvAUS QF RWC2011 Now obviously a lot of the stats so far have come from games against ‘minnow’ sides so not all will be representative of the game we would expect to see these two sides be able to take to each other. Nevertheless, there are some interesting ones. Here are the headlines that RGS and I take away from the numbers… what about you? Pace of the game…

Gagger and Barbarian got together on tour in NZ and knocked out this world cup weekend wrap up Apologies for any blurred speech – it must be the internet connection in New Zealand….. Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right click and save) Subscribe on iTunes

In Nelson for the Australia v. Russia game with the Great Crusade, I decided to see if I could track down a dinky di Russian supporter… [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqkQvts7VKI[/youtube]

Some of you guys might be aware that I’m actually over in New Zealand coinciding with a slug of the World Cup (hopefully the IRB won’t mind me using those two words together…). It’s courtesy of the Great Crusade from Qantas. So far I haven’t been rained on, or even nearly spat on by any NewZealanders. In fact, so far they’ve all been very cool including Simon and Nicole whom I sat next to as we crossed the ditch. They whipped up the video below to win their way onto the trip. It made me laugh and I thought it…

Gagger and Baabaa are joined by Western Force Head Coach and former Wallabies Assistant Coach, Richard Graham (a.k.a. Woody) They discuss what went so wrong against Ireland and look forward to see if they can spot any further upsets in the World Cup. Also, find out why the internet is being overtaken by Western Force players…. Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right-click and save) Subscribe on iTunes

The latest installment from Aussie Rugby’s own Ron Burgundy [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izCf6gZPK5s[/youtube]

A new periodic table element has been confirmed today. Called “Wobblanium” [Wb], it has split the Rugby world’s scientific opinion – between those who find its mysterious origin a source of untold frustration – and everyone else who finds it “piss funny”. The problem with Wobblanium is its wild instability. One minute it is a lustrous gold and “looks a million dollars”, the next minute it quite literally turns to shit. This sudden variation in form often seems to come about under pressure or in the presence of water, although a total collapse in structure can happen seemingly randomly and…