Author: Happyman

Happy Thursday, comrades. Welcome to the first week of the rebuild of Australian rugby. Remember it is always darkest before the dawn. Either that or the light at the end of the tunnel is the oncoming train. As always this is a fan run site and any contribution is always welcome feel free to reach out to me at happyman@greenandgoldrugby.com.au, be it with an article an idea or an opinion piece. We also have a submit an article page as the vision is that world domination. RWC – What Did We Learn Are we there yet? France, are paying the injury gods…

The Match Game starts with the usual pleasantries. Scotland come out well against an energetic Tongan team. Both teams did well in the early exchanges. While the Tongans made some thunderous hits in the first half the they ultimately missed 23 first half tackles which allowed the slick Scottish backline more space than afforded by the South Africans last week. Scotland ultimately had a bit more cohesion scoring four first half tries to secure the bonus point. Fortunately the yellow card to the Tongan winger was not upgraded which was a line ball decision. Jamie Richie who was tackled did…

Happy Thursday Comrades. Welcome to week two for those of us who’ll become sleep deprived over the next six weeks. Week one was a marathon and a shock to those who weren’t game fit. Eight games over the weekend, The hardest part for me was leaving the Chile v Japan game which was a cracker as I needed the sleep to survive for the Scotland v South Africa and the instant classic that was Fiji v Wales. As always this is a fan run site and any contribution is always welcome feel free to reach out to me at happyman@greenandgoldrugby.com be it…

Happy Thursday, comrades. Welcome to week two for those of us who will become sleep deprived over the next six weeks. Week one was a marathon and a shock to those of us who were not game fit. Eight games over the weekend, The hardest part for me was leaving the Chile v Japan game which was a cracker as I needed the sleep to survive the sleep for Scotland v South Africa and the instant classic that was Fiji v Wales. As always this is a fan run site and any contribution is always welcome feel free to reach…

The Match Australian Reason to watch this game: former Sunnybank Dragon, Jason Tomane (brother of former Wallaby Joe). The game itself. Much like Republicans in the American election the Romanians wanted to stop the count at two minutes after taking an unexpected and well taken try. After that, normal transmission was resumed with the Irish going into half time leading 33 to 8. The Irish then showed a ruthless streak in the second putting on another 49 points against the outclassed Romanians The Man of the Match/Standout Player Player of the Match Bundee Aki just too big and fast for…

Happy Thursday Comrades. Here we are at the pointy end. Everything we have seen and on until now has just been the hors d’oeuvre for the main course of the group stages. I, for one, am embracing the sleep deprivation that is to come.  As always this is a fan run site and any contribution is always welcome feel free to reach out to me at happyman@greenandgoldrugby.com.au be it with an article an idea or an opinion piece. Always remember this is a broad church so feel free to express your opinion it. Diversity of opinion is welcome. Public Notices The Dropped…

Happy Thursday Comrades. We are in that wonderful place in the RWC cycle before a ball is kicked where hope and expectation are about to meet reality. At least we don’t feel like the English. The real news starts next week with a team of guys and girls putting together a substantial RWC coverage. If you want to assist please reach out. As always this is a fan run site and any contribution is always welcome feel free to reach out to me at happyman@greenandgoldrugby.com.au be it with an article an idea or an opinion piece. Always remember this is a…

Happy Thursday Comrades. We are in that wonderful place in the RWC cycle before a ball is kicked where hope and expectation are about to meet reality. Todays article was suggested by the Mayoress and while they do not necessarily represent her views she provided the inspiration. I thought this was going to be a slow news day and then many thngs happened all at once. Lets hook in to it. As always this is a fan run site and any contribution is always welcome feel free to reach out to me at happyman@rugbydownunder.com be it with an article an idea or…

Happy Thursday Comrades. Our rugby focus will now move to the Northern Hemisphere this week for the international game and for those of us who enjoy the club game finals start to come to their conclusion As always this is a fan run site and any contribution is always welcome feel free to reach out to me at happyman@rugbydownunder.com be it with an article an idea or an opinion piece. Always remember this is a broad church so feel free to express your opinion as long as you are not some sweaty cellar based troll your opinion and diversity is welcome. Owen…

Happy Thursday Comrades. Our rugby focus will now move to the Northern Hemisphere this week for the international game and for those of us who enjoy the club game finals start this weekend. As always this is a fan run site and any contribution is always welcome feel free to reach out to me at happyman@rugbydownunder.com be it with an article an idea or an opinion piece. Always remember this is a broad church so feel free to express your opinion as long as you are not some sweaty cellar based troll your opinion and diversity is welcome. Just a real shame!…

From our Tasmanian Correspondant. Remember comrades this is afan site and any contributions are welcome send them to happyman@rugtbydownunder.com and if they pass the extensive content requirements they will get a run. The English Team Announced with some big omissions. Leaks to the left and leaks to the right. This is the squad that is being banded about with my slightly negative and vaguely depressed comments. England’s World Cup squad Props Dan Cole Leicester, Ellis Genge Bristol, Kyle Sinckler Bristol,Will Stuart Bath, Joe Marler Quins, Bevan Rodd Sale Hookers Jack Walker Quins, Theo Dan Saracens, Jamie George Saracens Locks Maro Itoje Saracens, Courtney Lawes Northampton, David Ribbans…

Happy Thursday Comrades. I for one am looking forward to this weeks Bled Two in NZ it should be a cracker. I am not as devastated about the game on the weekend as some and we were good in patches. Our Best is world class our brain fades are 6th grade at best. As always this is a fan run site and any contribution is always welcome feel free to reach out to me at happyman@rugbydownunder.com be it with an article an idea or an opinion piece. Always remember this is a broad church so feel free to express your opinion as…

Happy Thursday Comrades. I for one am looking forward to this weeks Bled one in Melbourne. Talk about putting pearls before swine. Still, I hope a couple of my friends enjoy the game. As always this is a fan run site and any contribution is always welcome feel free to reach out to me at happyman@rugbydownunder.com be it with an article an idea or an opinion piece. What Makes a Person a Professional Athlete – Opinion ‘Sideshow Bob listen up. have we all remembered our names?’ One of my favourite quotes about professional sports is from a former NFL player Mike Golic. He…

Welcome Comrades week two for me I will touch on the same subject that I looked at last week with the To Play or Not to Play. I will also touch on some generally good news with the Challenger series which was a great investment by the Reds last year and the LIONS. Remember guys this is a fan run site so if you want to contribute or have a topic you want us me to touch on reach out to happyman@rugbydownunder.com To Play or Not to Play – Opinion Photo credit Stephen Tremain The word on the street is…

To Play or Not to Play – Opinion Photo credit Stephen Tremain people playing I was struck by this piece by Michael Atkinson Here regarding the Australian players lack of match fitness during the South African game. I have always had the opinion that the only way to become proficient at anything it to train and then implement the skill. INHO one of the biggest issues with Australian Rugby over the past 20 years has been the lack of rugby that the players play during the developmental years. Many of our best players do not actually play that much meaningful rugby in…

Happyman on Thursdays. Many of us bemoan the ‘chocolate wheel of justice’ and what it means when a player commits an act of foul play and how the sanction is levied. The RA link is here for the full document it is excellent bedtime reading. The WR document is here. Here is a breakdown of the acts of foul play and the prescribed sanctions. Most fans issue is with the ‘good bloke’ defence. I would much prefer the sanctions to be lower with a simple definition of what a good record means there is no early guilty plea. I would…

Happy Thursday, Comrades. This week the final’s upon us with the Crusaders (Double Dongers) playing the Chiefs for all of the chocolates. It should be a cracker. I’ll touch on a few topics this week and then am going to step away for a while as I have a few other things on my plate. As always ladies and gents this is a fan site so if you feel like you have something to say have a crack, I’ve certainly enjoyed it. Good Rugby Players Are Not Necessarily Great Athletes – Opinion Great Piece From RugbyPass A very good coach that…

Happy Thursday, Comrades. This week we enter the finals with the game in a state of flux. Super Rugby 2023 is down to 4 with the two quarters featuring the Reds and the Canes as honourable losers; the Tahs and Drua got flogged. I must admit to some schadenfreude in watching our Kiwi brethren explaining how the Canes were hard done by.  Congratulations Brad Thorn Like many Reds fans I wanted to say a sincere thanks to Brad Thorn for his contribution to both Queensland and Australian Rugby. By any measure his playing and coaching career has been outstanding. Link…

Happy Thursday, comrades, this week we enter the finals with the game in a state of flux. The Reds, Drua and Tahs have a hill to climb. London Irish basically kicked out of the English comp which seems to be in crisis at the moment and the RWC on the horizon. Let’s get into it. Short one today as I am in transit. You Are What Your Record Says You Are. You never see it, but this is how the table looks in the coach’s box. Quote from former NFL player and coach Herm Edwards. So to the boys from…

Happy Thursday, comrades. This week with the help of our Tasmanian correspondent today’s news will be an eclectic mix of my musings and some news from the North. Enjoy the break this weekend mate, hopefully the Mayoress treats you well. What Does it Mean to be a Fan Wallabies Fans Definition from Webster Also another good one Here Fan is generally–and very likely correctly–believed to be a shortened form of fanatic. The origin of fanatic (which can be traced back to the Latin word fanum, meaning “sanctuary, temple”) is less often commented on. In English, fan made an early appearance in the late 17th century only to disappear for…