Author: Chris McCracken

While it may be hard to believe for many, there is football happening all around us. And this weekend is a big weekend for Rugby. Not just because of the Wallabies playing the All-Blacks, either. I mean, really, who knows what will happen? So, I’m choosing to concentrate on the NRC – at least until the whole Wallabies debacle dies down a little. This weekend sees the last games of the NRC’s home and away rounds. And there are a couple of very important games deciding who will head into the finals series and where they’ll play their games. Melbourne…

In Part 1 of my Wallabies bench analysis I identified that the 50-70 minute period in the game is particularly crucial and that the Wallabies are not scoring enough points in this period.   The bench plays a significant role in determining the outcome of the match and it could be used a bit more strategically by the Wallabies. The strategies for bench selection can be split into two groups; ‘cover’ and ‘closer’. Selecting a bench for ‘cover’ means that you select players to carry on your gameplan when the starters come off. You do this by either using players…

What do the numbers say about the effectiveness of the Wallabies bench strategy? We analyse them to find out

Rather than just hosting a game, Orange turned on an event for the top of the table NRC match between Melbourne Rising and the NSW Country Eagles. The day started at 11am when the NSW Country Under 16s took on the President’s XV and Western Sydney Barbarians teams in abbreviated matches. This was followed up with the Eagles’ Development squad taking on an Australian Barbarians squad. The Eagles won convincingly, but it gave a number of local boys (on both teams) the opportunity to play in front of a pretty big home crowd. There was also a coaching clinic for…