Author: Matt Rowley

Final Score: Hurricanes 44 – Reds 21

Right, I’ve got f*ck all time, waiting for a boarding call in an airport lounge, so here goes. Really, we should feel pretty confident about this one. The Chiefs have had a shocking run all year, and have been leaking points at home. They’re missing key players and a traditional tight Tahs gameplan, should starve them of the pill through the guts and then give them more than they fancy out wide to finish.  Fat Cat and Horney back in the team –  a potential bonus point beckons. But does anyone feel that confident?

To the casual observer, seeing the 5th place Tahs go down in sh*tty weather to the lowly placed Highlanders might look like a banana skin slipped on. The truth is that it held a deeper significance. Of course there was the open goal that the table presented: with both the Reds and Crusaders losing, this was the Tahs chance to nigh on cement themselves a semi. Instead, with the next game away to the Chiefs followed by a home tie against improving Hurricanes, the idea of a finals place looks trickier than a bra strap with one hand and a…

Final Score: Highlanders 26 – Waratahs 10 Outmulleted! A highlight though from Bryce Lawrence:

Another week, another mystifying performance from the Brumbies. The self styled ‘closed family’ of Aussie rugby usually leaves little for the outside world scrutinise, but following the contentious loss against the Tahs, all of a sudden there’s dirty linen a-flappin’ in the breeze. There have been reports this week  – both in the papers and through our own sauces – of the Wallaby Captain Rocky Elsom locking horns with Coach Andy Friend during a video review session of the Hurricanes match, and of Friend believing there were too many voices on the pitch during the Cheetahs game, over and above…

Just in case you wondered what Bondi’s most prominent referee had scrawled up his arm on Saturday, the G&GR SUPAZOOM can reveal the delicious irony.   Apparently it says “He who controls the himself, controls the game”, except it seems to spell “He” with a “W”. Do you think Stephen Hoiles saw the funny side?

Final Score: Waratahs 19 – Brumbies 12

Final Score: Western Force 24 – Crusaders 16

Final Score: Reds 16 – Stormers 13

You’ve got to take your hat off to Channel 9. For as long as I can remember they’ve been running a “cricket memorabilia” racket programme that would make Bernie Madoff blush, and without one fraud investigation. An offering from earlier this year was a cracker; for just $340 you can be the proud owner of an unsigned, framed lithograph (poster) depicting “The Great Escape – one of the most remarkable victories in the history of the game”. In case you’re wondering, it’s referring to the second test vs Pakistan where a young Pakistani team spectacularly threw away a meaningless friendly.…

As I sat last Saturday watching the Brumbies end their title hopes with a rugby version of Hara Kiri, it struck me that I had seen this exact event all too often last season – except with the Wallabies. The parallels to recent Wallaby defeats were stunning; outmuscled at the breakdown and a backline that when it wasn’t going sideways, squandered the ball with poor kicking. After outlasting some initial bluster, the opposition pinched themselves, and then got on and took the match as it lay garnished on a platter. It was the Tri-Nations and Murrayfield 2009 all over again.…

Thanks to MattyK for the breaking news

Final Score: Reds 19 – Bulls 12 Read a review here

Fancy your own club team training session with Robbie Deans? How about the honour of knowing you and your team scored the best try in all of Australian club rugby for 2010, as personally chosen by the Wallaby coaching staff? On top of these, how does a swag of the latest KooGa and Skins gear for you and your team mates grab you? All this and more could be yours if your club enters and wins the Green and Gold Rugby Best Aussie Club Try competition.

Following the news that Wycliff Palu has buggered his knee for the rest of the season, Noddy wrote a great post about the options in trying to plug the massive hole that big Cliffy will be leaving, not just for the Tahs, but the Wallabies. His post got me thinking about the style of player we should be looking for, and that in turn made me wonder whether a look at the Super 14 stats would put forward any clear winners. Looking at the numbers, the field cuts down dramatically.

Here’s the press conference at the end of the Crusaders game, kindly supplied by Harfish who informs me that “Phil’s reaction to the final question was priceless, he looked extremely pissed off but knew he couldn’t say anything” Powered by Podbean.com

Final Score: Brumbies 61 – Cheetahs 15

Final Score: Evil Saders: 20 – Mighty Tahs 13

It’s unanimous; Quade “Trip-Hop” Cooper played a blinder in the Reds’ 28-30 loss to the Sharks in Durban last Saturday. Here are the highlights of his individual play. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A9HFPqCCwE[/youtube] As is evident from the clips, what’s so impressive about Cooper’s attacking play

Final score: Waratahs 40 (Tries: Horne, Robinson, Baxter, Beale, Holmes Cons: Halangahu 2, Barnes Pens: Halangahu 3) Cheaters 17 (Try: Nel, Uys  Cons: Olivier 2  Pen: Olivier)