Author: Happy Hooker
Happy Hooker
A reasonable player whose enthusiasm never quite matched his ability. Snuck into teams by surrounding himself with talent and passing it off as his own. Played in Sydney grade, subbies and also had a stint in Hong Kong and is probably better in a suit than rugby boots.
After the loss to Argentina recently, the rumblings of discontent have started about Michael Cheika’s reign as the Wallabies Coach. Having now been in the position for 4 years, he has had long enough to establish himself and his squad. Cheika’s style is unique. Waratahs fans will recall the use of the Golf club and all fans will know of his infamous temper. This sort of style has had the desired impact at various clubs. At Leinster he won the coveted Heineken Cup in his fourth season, 2009. At the Waratahs he won the Super Rugby title in his second…
Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s recent remarks regarding a so called Indo Pacific competition bring with it some interesting ideas. He appears to be focusing on the Asian region directly to the north of WA and starting small – probably a wise idea. Below outlines a bolder vision for an Asia Pacific competition that could push World Rugby forward. Asian Rugby For many years, Asian governing bodies have talked of an elite competition – in Hong Kong (where this author played and knows well), the talk was always of eventual admission into an expanded Super Rugby competition. Perhaps it was ambition above…
So that’s week one of the 2015 RWC over. What have we learnt? This RWC is going to be the best ever Why, you ask? Just about every single stadium is full and the rugby is of a great standard – its not clear what the Brits have done but they’re filling it with colourful tourists and locals alike. They’ve also got a great mix of small, local grounds that are giving a wonderful atmosphere to those smaller matches. The nation seems to have really embraced the spirit and there is a buzz about this tournament. In addition, the standard…
Leading into this years Rugby World Cup, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the man leading the Wallabies and compare him to those who have won the RWC before him. Nobody doubted that Cheika was the man for the job when he took up the position just under 12 months ago, but a quick profile and comparison suggests there may be more to the appointment than immediately meets the eye. The current coach – Michael Cheika As a player, he was the stalwart number 8 surrounded by star studded Randwick line-ups between 1985-1999 that included…
It’s hard to know what to make of the Waratahs Highlanders game, but there was enough in the match to safely say that the Waratahs were comfortably beaten by a better team on the night. The Highlanders played smarter semi-final Rugby, with intelligent kicking, good forward play, lineouts and great offloads that kept the Waratahs on the back foot all night long. This author was at the game last night, but couldn’t help but re-watch to clarify whether initial thoughts out at the game were similar to the broadcast. There were a few things that were worth noting that did…
Last year marked one of the most successful years for the Force since their arrival on the scene in 2006. How much of this success came from a recruitment policy favouring South African players and how sustainable is that going forward?
Who will be the next Super Rugby team? Some months ago, I performed a high level analysis on the possible franchise locations as rumoured within the press at the time. Based on the criteria selected and a rough calculation of scores, Japan came out as the preferred franchise, and Singapore, the least preferred location. Since then, Hong Kong have ruled themselves out of contention and rumours have strengthened about Singapore’s bid. Both Singapore and Japan have tendered bids for the team and it is rumoured that a decision is hamstrung and will be heading to arbitration. “The two standout expressions…
Saturday’s test match at the SFS saw over 43,000 pack into the Sydney Football Stadium and the stadium was abuzz with an atmosphere unparalleled for a Sydney Rugby fixture. It seems that despite the ARU and Waratahs attempts to build the game in Western Sydney, the Eastern and Northern Suburbs of the city are still the heartland of Sydney Rugby and this heartland yearns for more Rugby at the SFS. Je voudrais après-midi de rugby (I would like afternoon rugby) The last time an international fixture was played at the SFS was in 2012, when 42,900 turned out to see…
The Australian U20s team continued their strong series against the clearly outclassed Samoans, with a strong 60-5 win at Somerset College on the Gold Coast on Saturday. With a number of notable names allowed to head back to their Super sides, it was the perfect opportunity for others to stake their claims prior to Mondays selection of the Australian Junior World Cup Squad. On a perfect day, with only a slightly swirling breeze to contend with, the Aussies amassed nine tries to one to decimate the Samoans. Outside Centre, Andrew Kellaway (Randwick) and fullback Jonny Vaux (Sydney Uni) bagged a…
Just this week SANZAR announced that Super Rugby will evolve to an 18 team model, with additional South African and Argentinian teams. The question then remains – who should be the 18th Super Rugby team? Rumours have come from wide and far and countries as far flung as Spain, Italy and the USA have been touted as possible additions, yet while they may have some credible arguments, it seems the ARU are strongly in favour of Asian expansion, and most likely into Japan. Expansion – a quick market sizing According to the commercial media, it sounds like there are number…