Author: Steve Lenthall

The curtain will fall on Nathan Sharpe’s career for the final time this weekend when the Wallabies take on Wales in Cardiff. After a few attempts at retiring and more farewell tours than John Farnham, this will be the 116th and last time ‘Sharpie’ pulls on the Green and Gold for Australia. The Wallabies are coming off a win against Italy last week, whilst Wales are struggling for a win of any sort in 2012 with their last competitive win being against France during the Six Nations. This week they come up against a team they haven’t beaten in seven…

The future plans for Quade Cooper’s sporting career have been revealed today after he fronted a press conference in Brisbane. Flanked by good mate Sonny Bill Williams and manager Khoder Nasser, Cooper has declared his intention to enter into the boxing ring and put his rugby career on hold. Cooper said his interest in boxing came about after attending his first live boxing bout, and that interest continued during his layoff from the knee injury he suffered at the 2011 World Cup. Cooper wasn’t going to speculate on the ARU negotiations, stating that his current contract ends on 31 December…

The Wallabies have held on for a less than inspiring 22-19 win over Italy in Florence overnight. In a match that really was a game of two halves, the Wallabies looked great in the first 40 to be leading 22-6 at the break before a combination of poor second half on their part and a fired up Italian performance saw the game go right down to the wire. The Italians opened the scoring with a penalty goal from in front to Luciano Orquera when Timani cleaned out at the ruck incorrectly after the Wallabies turned the ball over. The Wallabies…

The Wallabies European tour has moved onto Italy where they will take on the Azzurri in Florence on Saturday. There have been four changes in total to the side that damaged England’s purple chariot last week, with Brett Sheehan making his long-awaited return to the starting lineup to replace Nick Phipps. Drew Mitchell is back on the left wing at the expense of Digby Ioane who has reportedly been battling a knee injury. There are two changes in the pack with Scott Higginbotham starting at blindside flanker after serving a two match ban for having the nerve to touch Sir Ruchie inappropriately.…

The Wallabies have made four changes to the team that got bashed by France last week for this week’s game against England at Twickenham. After injuries and suspension worries this week, Robbie Deans has made changes to both the backs and forwards as they attempt to get the first win of the tour. As if losing David Pocock and Kane Douglas to injury earlier in the week wasn’t bad enough, Pat McCabe was added to that list with a neck complaint. But to make matters worse, the IRB judiciary Wheel of Misfortune spun up eight weeks for lock Rob Simmons…

Bonjour Madames et Monsieurs, The Wallabies have landed in Paris ahead of their clash with les bleus this Sunday morning at 7am (AEDT). After shaking off some jet lag and getting stuck into training in conditions vastly different to Sydney last week, coach Robbie Deans has named his team. In the first game of Captain Nathan Sharpe’s final, final farewell tour, Deans has gone with an all-Waratah front row of Benn Robinson, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Sekope Kepu. Ben Alexander didn’t make the 23 after struggling with the wrist injury that kept him out of the Bledisloe clash in Brisbane. Sharpe…

The verdict from Quade Cooper’s hearing has just been handed down. After the hearing and deliberations took more than four hours, the three-man panel comprising barrister Dominic Villa, David Giffin and Mark Woolley has found Cooper guilty on two charges and handed him the following penalty: $40,000 fine – $10,000 of that applied to a tweet regarding an ARU licensed product, the video game ‘Rugby Challenge’; a further $20,000 fine, suspended for two years; a three-match ban suspended for two years, applicable to either Super Rugby or Test matches. Cooper was ordered to face a code of conduct hearing after…

The Brumbies have finalised their squad and commenced pre-season training for their 2013 campaign. The squad has a distinct South African influence with the inclusion of new members with South African background, plus the return from injury of former player Clyde Rathbone. Coach Jake White spent his off-season scouring the playing ranks and has signed up some big units in the quest to return to finals rugby. In the forwards, the big signing during the off-season is Wallabies flanker David Pocock, who will fill the shoes of Michael Hooper who has returned to his hometown of Sydney to play with…

The return of David Pocock, Stephen Moore and Berrick Barnes headlines the 30-man

The return from injury of Adam Ashley-Cooper, Wycliff Palu and Drew Mitchell headline the team named by Robbie Deans to take on the All Blacks at Suncorp on Saturday night. ANOTHER UPDATE: News just in brings word that Team Rehab has claimed another member with prop Ben Alexander ruling himself out with a wrist injury. James Slipper will take over at tighthead prop and Sekope Kepu will be amongst the reserves. UPDATE: In the latest news, reserve hooker Saia Faingaa has broken his hand at training today and will miss the match with his Reds understudy James Hanson coming into…

The twittersphere was abuzz this morning with rumours that head honcho of the ARU

The Wallabies have held on for a gritty 25-19 win over Argentina in Rosario this morning. In a match that was riddled with handling errors and the shrill of referee Craig Joubert’s whistle, it never really reached any great heights. It took the boot of ‘Aussie’ Mike Harris to keep the Wallabies in front for the most of the game and that proved the difference in the end. The Wallabies opened the game strongly and showed their hand by rolling the ball through the forwards. The pressure led to an early penalty for offside right out in front and Mike…

The Wallabies have lobbed in Argentina to take on Los Pumas for the first time since 2002. Once again, Robbie Deans has a selection headache after sustaining more injuries in the loss to South Africa last weekend with Berrick Barnes and Adam Ashley-Cooper joining the ever increasing team rehab stocks. It’s almost to the point where Deans is resorting to pulling names from a hat to fill the 22 available spaces on the team sheet and called for reinforcements to bolster the squad with Rebels lock Cadeyrn Neville and Reds back Luke Morahan answering the SOS to join the squad.…

The Wallabies’ winless streak at Loftus continued when they went down 31-8 to a rampaging Springboks side. Their injury curse struck again and combined with little ball meant they were in for a long night as they watched Springboks’ winger Bryan Habana score a hat-trick on the night. The match didn’t start well for the Wallabies with Scott Higginbotham ruled out during the warm-up with a back injury that meant a reshuffle to the reserve bench with Mike Harris coming into the 22. There were some early nerves for the kickers as both Berrick Barnes and Johan Goosen missed their…

The Rugby Championship continues this weekend for the Wallabies when they take on the Springboks in South Africa. After a week of off-field turmoil, Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has come up with yet another new lineup for the clash in Pretoria. The biggest talking point is at fly-half where Kurtley Beale has been recalled to the starting XV at fly-half in place of Quade Cooper to take the reins of the Wallabies backline at Loftus. On the bench Rob Simmons has been named to provide cover at lock in a reserves bench that sees a 5/2 split. The Team is:…

The Wallabies 28-man touring squad for the forthcoming TRC Tests against South Africa

The Rugby Championship continues this weekend when the Wallabies take on

The Tuggeranong Vikings have held off a determined Wests outfit 29-17 to secure their second successive John I Dent Cup premiership. It was a game of two halves. Vikings looked like they could run away with it, but a determined second half from Wests made the Vikings work hard for the win. Vikings opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a try to captain and scrum half Beau Mokotupu after sustained pressure near the Wests line. They almost added to their score in the 20th minute but lost the ball forward right on the line, much to the relief…

The 2012 season of Canberra Club Rugby reaches it’s conclusion this Saturday with Tuggeranong Vikings and Western Districts to face off in the Grand Final at Viking Park. In what is a replay of the 2011 Grand Final, Wests will be out for revenge after Tuggeranong ran away with the 2011 title decider with a record winning margin. To help their cause, Wallabies centre Pat McCabe will make his debut appearance for the Lions from the bench as he returns to action after recovering from stress fractures in his leg. As part of his rehabilitation, McCabe will be allowed a…

After a week off, The Rugby Championship caravan has arrived in Perth for this Saturday’s Test match against the Springboks. Despite the week off, there have been just as many headlines with the ‘will he?’ or ‘won’t he?’ rumors surrounding the coaching situation of Robbie Deans and time to reflect on the big donut handed out by the All Blacks in Auckland. With much to consider, Deans has announced the following team to take on the Springboks. 15. Kurtley Beale 14. Dominic Shipperley 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper 12. Berrick Barnes 11. Digby Ioane 10. Quade Cooper 9. Will Genia (c) 8.…