Author: Happyman

How good is rugby across the world? The European competitions are heading towards their finals. Super Rugby is intriguing on many levels and community rugby is up and running across the country. The British & Irish Lions will be announced tomorrow and that will be interesting.Back in Business: Ellia Green shocks rugby world with powerful comeback in men’s leagueIn 2022 I wrote the following for G&GR here. I’ve copied and pasted it for ease of reading.Much has been made of the exclusion of transgender women in sport over the past few months, so I’ve done a little research. Firstly, I’d like to…

G’day everyone, Super Rugby is hitting the pointy end while community rugby is well underway. Thoughts and prayers to all the Queensland groundskeepers who have to try and put a decent field together after early rain. Feature photo credit to https://www.instagram.com/grahamlandbecksports/ for his fine work every week; this one’s from the Wests v Souths game on the weekend. He and many others do God’s work for the social media content across all clubs and venues.Adults running the show – Les Kiss is the new Wallaby coachWhile many were saying RA was being too slow in putting together the next Wallabies coaching structure,…

Hi everyone, the teams have dropped, the injuries are out, G&GR had a crapperazzi meeting last night and we have big things lined up for the Lions tour with extra content and pods. There’s much to embrace going forward. If you feel the need to scratch the journalistic itch or have something to say reach out and join the team we all do it for love and it’s a great community. I’ll be away on holidays next week so there’s a spot to have a run on Thursday.This week’s ground is the mighty Roma Echidnas. Send in a photos of…

Hi everyone, the teams are out, the injuries are out and there’s a bit of news. To say a bit has happened in the last week of so in an understatement so let’s get into it.This week’s ground is in Alaska.New TV deal dropsWhile some will bemoan the lack of content on free-to-air, this is by any measure a good deal. If the Super Rugby teams perform at a high level, and an appetite and advertising dollars develops, then the broadcaster will have many of the games on FTA.This from PRAVDAThe five-year deal is valued at up to $240 million, with…

Hi everyone, the teams are out, the injuries are out and there’s a bit of news. Had a great day at club rugby on the weekend, round one in Brisbane was a bit damp. A few clubs will be counting the cost of playing on wet fields for the rest of the year. But is was good to get among it.Professional sport “Business and Team” (opinion)I was struck this week by an article about Israel Folau and his wish to play against the British & Irish Lions. Setting aside my opinion on the matter, it made me consider how the…

Hi everyone, the teams are out the injuries are out and there’s some news as well. Loving how close Super Rugby is this year, Club rugby is back this week so get down to your local club and support the grassroots of the game.Highlanders medical staff are cheats (in my opinion)Now that I have your attention I’m accusing the Highlanders medical staff of cheating. The Highlanders replacement prop Sefo Kautai injured his leg immediately after taking the field. The trainer taking him from the field told the referee the player had suffered a HIA, giving them a period to time…

Hi everyone, the teams are out the injuries are out and there is a bit of news. How good is rugby?RFU Mismanagement and RugbynomicsRugby in the UK is having a bit of an existential crisis with the Welsh problems both on and off the field. In the midst of all of the this the RFU has reminded me of the omnishambles that was the ARU from about 2005 to 2020. RFU to host special general meeting amid calls for CEO’s removalThe meeting, which is reportedly set to take place in late March or early April, comes after 141 member clubs and referee…

Hi all. Back from a week’s holiday as I caught up with the weekend’s games and ruminate upon some of the things from the week that was.Norths Rugby Union Clean Up DayThe featured photo is from the last flood and the one above is from a great day’s rugby.From Norths Facebook if you live in Brisbane and have an hour to kill on Sunday.Following the flooding of Field One, Norths will be having a clean up day this Sunday from 9am. We are asking for anyone able to donate a few hours of their time to assist. We will be…

Another great weekend with Super Rugby and the Six Nations providing some enthralling rugby with games that suited every want and whim. This week I also caught up on a Japanese game which was fast paced. If you get the chance it is worth finding it on YouTube.Teams for the WeekHappyman’s fearless guessing: Landers by 7Tahs by 5Chiefs by 15 (the Chiefs are better and the Doleman effect)Blues by 5 to get the season on trackReds by 10 this is a start of a tough road tripFriday 5:05 pm AEDT – Moana Pasifika v Highlanders at North Harbour Stadium, PASIFIKA (1-15): James Lay,…

How good is it to have the Super Rugby back with fast, fun and exciting footy? I expect this year’s comp will be the closest in years with any team capable of beating another. The Six Nations is heading for the pointy end so let’s get into it. Keith will preview on Saturday; don’t worry mate we’ll keep the Calcutta Cup safe for you for another year.Wallaby coaching appointment opinion.RA is in an enviable position going into this appointment of the Wallabies coach. For the first time in 20 years, we have the opportunity to have continuity with Joe Schmidt…

This week we’ll run around the around the world with Rugbynomics and other matters. We’ll also dive into the Super Teams for the weekend and injury news.Gats GoneWhile I never want to see someone get sacked something had to change for Welsh rugby to move forward. By any measure Warren Gatland has had a successful career in rugby. Link Here. 17 caps for New Zealand. He coached from 1989 to 2025 starting at Galwegians RFC and finishing up with Wales. My favourite Gats coaching tip is be the best at things that require no talent. Follow the Link for potential replacements, which includes everyone’s…

Welcome back everyone for another year of G&GR. I’m going to try and keep it positive this year, personally I think Super Rugby will be the most competitive in many years. Let’s dig in shall we.Rebels Squad, where are they now?With the unfortunate demise of the Rebels, I thought I would give a quick update on where they all ended up. While I have no sympathy for the club I do have feel for the players and coaches who have had to move families to new places of employment.Australian ExilesI have always maintained that the reason Australia doesn’t have at…

Good news everyone. After 10 years the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be just that: a light, not an oncoming train.Personally, I had a great year of rugby starting with a trip to Roma (highly recommend). I caught up with the G&GR boys at the Reds v Tahs game. I also got to a few more matches while watching heaps of community games and then the northern tour. I hope your year was as good.I thought it might be a good time to do a quick review of the Wallabies tests and look forward to the…

What a difference a week makes. We played well against Scotland and but for unfortunate injuries late in the week, some illness and an injury early in the game to a position we didn’t have cover on the bench, it could’ve been different.Scotland are a good team and are 20 points better at Murryfield than 100 yards down the street. An English media personality asked after the game was Australia suffering from a bug or virus as he felt they looked very lethargic. A fair question.Personally, I liked the St Joe post-match press conference not seeking comfort in any excuses.Ireland without…

What a difference a week makes with more progress from a team coming off a good win the previous week. My observations were that we put an inferior team away on the day. How many times in the past ten years have we allowed the opposition set the tempo and subsequently played down to their level?Scotland will be a step up in what could be the game of the year as both teams like to play. The weather could play a part with a 65% chance of rain on game day.Samu Kerevi gets shafted by the judiciaryOne of my favourite…

Wales 1 Gareth Thomas 2 Dewi Lake 3 Archie Griffin 4 Will Rowlands 5 Adam Beard 6 James Botham 7 Jac Morgan 8 Aaron Wainwright 9 Ellis Bevan 10 Gareth Anscombe 11 Blair Murray 12 Ben Thomas 13 Max Llewellyn 14 Tom Rogers 15 Cameron Winnett Substitutes16 Ryan Elias 17 Nicky Smith 18 Keiron Assiratti 19 Christ Tshiunza 20 Tommy Reffell 21 Rhodri Williams 22 Sam Costelow 23 Eddie JamesAustralia1 Angus Bell 2 Matt Faessler 3 Allan Alaalatoa 4 Nick Frost 5 Will Skelton 6 Seru Uru 7 Fraser McReight 8 Rob Valetini 9 Nic White 10 Noah Lolesio 11 Max Jorgensen 12 Samu Kerevi 13 Len Ikitau 14 Andrew Kellaway 15 Tom Wright Substitutes16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa 17 James Slipper 18 Zane Nonggorr 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 20 Langi Gleeson 21 Tate McDermott 22 Ben Donaldson 23 Joseph-Aukuso SuaaliiMatch Officials: Referee: James Doleman (NZR) ARs: Karl Dickson (Eng) & Angus…

What a difference a week makes after one of the great games of 2024. Word from League Central that the NRL hierarchy are enquiring of Channel Nine why they’re giving rugby so much coverage. Newsflash: rugby is an international game. This week it’s Wales, hopefully more progress is made.My other laugh for the week is that now the narrative from my gaol rugby friends is that all NRL players would be world class rugby players. My response is to name Suli Vunivalu, Will Chambers and quite a few others.International games of interest this week.Italy v Georgia is always feisty. USA…

Isn’t international rugby great? While most of us will be looking at the big games it’s important to note there are 15 international games on this weekend. I would imagine there are some spicy fixtures among some neighbouring countries, eg Czech Republic v Croatia.The Rugby Hierarchy OpinionRugby is a game played by alpha males and females who like to physically dominate their direct opponent. But, most rugby players are submissive when dealing with coaches who ultimately decide how the team is run and how much they play in an inequitable dynamic.Samu Kerevi has his opinion here and Danny care has his here on Eddie Jones.…

This week I spent a couple of days on a road trip, which was a wonderful opportunity to listen to most home nations podcasts. With the autumn internationals coming up it gave me a level of insight into how the Australians are perceived; I can report that without exception the Wallabies are perceived as the easy game. With the Scottish podcast in particular saying that a loss to us could see Gregor Townsend in the hot seat. As an ultra loyal Aussie I will never tip against the Wallabies, but as a realist I pose this question: what do you…

If you thought the Wallabies had it hard try being a Newcastle Falcons supporter or player.Newcastle Falcons consultant director of rugby Steve Diamond believes their win over Scott Sio’s Exeter Chiefs was the first step towards regaining respect in the Premiership. The 24-18 success at Kingston Park last Friday was a first for 581 days in the league and came after 25 successive losses. Some observers had questioned the Falcons’ worth in the league after such a terrible run, so Diamond knows the timing of the result was crucial.”That was the first fix,” he said. “For the product that we are trying to…