Author: Matt Rowley

I don’t know if it was as a request from the Australian Association of Psychiatrists, but Foxsports has recently been playing “classic” Wallaby games from the past; a sort of digital Prozac for recently traumatised Wallaby supporters. So I sat down to watch the replay of the Wallabies clinching the 2001 Bledisloe Cup, where Australia wins 23-15 for a first ever victory at Carisbrook. I was salivating over some Bernie backline action, but what did I see? One, maybe two Wallaby line breaks in the whole match. The deadly weapon that this vaunted Wallaby backline exercised in this historic win…

Which was more f*ckwitted? You decide [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogzU8UT2EWY[/youtube] [poll id=”77″]

WARATAHS 39 (D Halangahu 2, D Mumm, T Polota-Nau, L Turner tries Halangahu 4 con, 2 pen) BLUES 32 (R Ranger 2, I Toeava, R Wulf tries; S Brett 3 con, 2 pen)

Gloating’s been thin on the ground for Queenslanders in recent years – but aren’t they making up for it? Anyhoo, here’s something to fan the flames!

Dr K: John, thanks for coming in again. Do you know why you’re here? JM: WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?! Dr K: Who? Where? JM: Over there in the corner! IS THAT FUCKEN CHEIKA? WHAT’S THAT PUBE HEADED C*NT DOING HERE?!? Dr K: John there’s no one here besides ourselves

Here’s what caught our eye last weekend

Final score: Reds 50 – Western Force 10

Certainly there are plenty of tries to watch as the Tahs thumped the Lions 73-12. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ymTXedkYlE[/youtube] For second part of highlights

It rained tries at the SFS! Tahs 73 (Drew Mitchell 6m, Dean Mumm 11m, Tom Carter 17m, Lachlan Turner 32m, Drew Mitchell 40m, Wycliff Palu 51m, Drew Mitchell 58m, Drew Mitchell 63m, Josh Holmes 74m, Josh Holmes 77m, Lachlan Turner 82m, Conv Berrick Barnes 9/11) def Lions 12 (Tonderai Chavhanga 9m, JC Janse Van Rensburg 69m, Conv Earl Rose 0/1, Burton Francis 1/1)

The public standing down of Super 14 referee Paul “Skid” Marks this week for “imbalance from a management perspective” seems to have marked a new official openness in discussing referee performance. If that’s the case, I’d like like to submit to the SANZAR panel a piece of evidence for long-term referee imbalance that’s far more conclusive than the footage of Kurtley’s knock on last weekend. In the table below is a summary of Jonathan Kaplan’s Super rugby refereeing history with the Waratahs, together with a few comparisons. The first thing you’ll notice is that with Kaplan having been in charge…

Despite what our Super 14 round-up says, I believe the real star of the Reds win over the Chiefs last weekend was none other than Ewen “Link” McKenzie. Even the most rabid Reds supporters had thought that playing the rampaging Chiefs at home while missing a run-on back 3 and three of the teams’ top internationals was a bridge way too far. But while he surely wouldn’t have chosen it, I believe Link must’ve had a secret smile all last week in the lead up to the game for he knew that if this young team could execute his gameplan,…

The last two minutes of the Waratahs vs Sharks match have generated more than their share of controversy. First of all, in the 78th minute, faced with a two on one overlap, Kurtley Beale either failed in an intercept, or cynically knocked the ball on (depending on your point of view). You can see it in the video below. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPbObkDJ3II[/youtube] The argument from Sharks supporters and Tah detractors is that

Here’s Van Humphries’ victory speech after the Reds gutsing out a great win away at the Chiefs on Friday. The eloquence of the man – love it! Check out the smiles on the faces of his team mates when they spot the camera. EXPLICIT LANGUAGE WARNING [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLfoBUvYNDY[/youtube]

NSW WARATAHS 25 (Tom Carter, Daniel Halangahu, Tatafu Polota-Nau tries Berrick Barnes 2 cons 2 pens) bt SHARKS 21 (Adrian Jacobs, Ryan Kankowski tries Andy Goode con Goode, Ruan Pienaar pens drop goal) at Sydney Football Stadium. Referee: Paul Marks (AUS). Crowd: 20,651.

Hands up who tipped this result? [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwZtwnr22Gw[/youtube] For the second half highlights

Finally, your head’s no longer stuck up Al Baxter’s arse, and the wind is whistling over your scrum cap. From no-where, the ball hits you in the chest and you’re off! Galloping full tilt in the direction Berrick keeps bloody kicking it, that distant white line looming. But wait, there’s a last lone defender; the square-jawed, 117kg Angolan mercenary – Danie Rossouw. You fleetingly glance for support – none there, just some idiots shouting your name behind you. You swerve right, he moves across. You swerve left, he comes back. There’s nothing for it, you’re going to have to lay…

Versus the Stormers Luke Burgess was like a wet week trapped in a room listening to Johnny Farnham. This week he’s pipping SuperSanchez on the G&GR player of the week, only behind the G&GR player of the decade, George Smith. Here’s a few clips to demonstrate the difference. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQjMEi3Ufzo[/youtube]

It was far from perfect and resulted in a solitary competition point, but with their performance against the champion Bulls in Pretoria, the Tahs showed that the new demands 2010 Super 14 are starting to sink in. The big difference this week; pace and aggression. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftvDiphIJWY[/youtube] As you can see from the highlights above, gone was the ponderously slow ball

Here they are, highlights of the round 3 Super 14 games for the ACT Brumbies, Queensland Reds and Western Force. Waratahs highlights vs the Bulls in that game’s review. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK83MJns-wE[/youtube]

FINAL SCORE: BLUES 27 (Anthony Boric, Alby Mathewson, Rene Ranger, Rudi Wulf tries Stephen Brett, Lachie Munro cons Brett pen) bt QUEENSLAND REDS 18 (Will Genia, Laurie Weeks tries Quade Cooper con 2 pens) at Ballymore