Author: Happyman

Special thanks to Marcoondam Images for permission to use this from the weekend’s game between Roma and the Toowoomba Rangers. Fresh off a sensational rookie campaign in Super Rugby Pacific with the Queensland Reds, flyhalf Harry McLaughlin-Phillips is expected to play a leading role with the Junior Wallabies at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Cape Town. Australia U20 fielded a star-studded squad at the event last year, but they had their work cut out for them in a pool of death that featured England, Fiji and Ireland. The Irish were coming off an unbeaten run to glory in the Six Nations U20 from February to…

Fearless Prediction The weather forecast is good and a sold out Eden Park should be humming. I think the Chiefs have caught fire in the finals series and have demonstrated the form in the finals campaign that can, and I reckon will, take them all of the way. Chiefs by 10. Saturday 22 June 5:05 PM AEST – Blues v Chiefs at Eden Park, Auckland, BLUES (1-15): Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Ricky Riccitelli, Marcel Renata, Patrick Tuipulotu (c), Sam Darry, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papali’i, Hoskins Sotutu, Finlay Christie, Harry Plummer, Caleb Clarke, AJ Lam, Rieko Ioane, Mark Tele’a, Stephen Perofeta RESERVES: Kurt Eklund, Joshua Fusitu’a,…

Lead photo is a nod to one of your contributors, see if he/she gets it. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto says he will be ready to answer a call from Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, despite missing the back half of the Super Rugby Pacific season. LSL was the form lock in Australia prior to his injury and would be an excellent addition to the Wallabies this year. The Melbourne lock had a pin inserted in his foot after fracturing it in mid-April and hoped to make his return this weekend if the Rebels made the semi-finals. They were eliminated by the Hurricanes last Saturday, but the 27-year-old said he’d…

With the demise of the Melbourne Rebels this article in The Guardian is a timely reminder that the economics of rugby are not easy and fiscal restraint must be shown. It’s easy to forget that while we’ve lost the Rebels the English have lost three clubs, Wasps, Londons Irish and the Worcestor Warriors.  I would point out the Rebels were always going to find it difficult. There are nine AFL teams located in Melbourne as well as the Storm (which lost money for a very long period of time). Also soccer, basketball and netball all competing for 6.6 million total population of…

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. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier. Antoine Dupont is the Best Player In The World View this post on Instagram A post shared by BallCarrier Rugby (@ballcarrier) Stats from the Champions Cup. I don’t like to compare players across eras. However, IMHO Antoine Dupont is the best player in the world at the moment. Prove me wrong…

German rugby operates one step below the Six Nations in Europe and have come close to getting on the 7s circuit a few times. 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. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier. Super Rugby Judiciary Incompetent or Broken I have long held the view that the judiciary is incompetent. This year there has been more than one instance where…

In 1965, a deadly explosion at Cambrian Colliery in the Rhondda valley claimed 31 lives. Two years later the colliery closed down, ripping the heart out of the local community. The legacy of the miners lives on through the local rugby ground, as Cambrian Welfare chairman Jonathan Davies explains. “The ground is at the top of a mountain,” says Davies, who explains that a century ago, miners took their pickaxes to a patch of land and levelled it. “There wasn’t really a team or a league to play in, but it was something for the miners to do at weekends…

Parisian grounds, just magnificent. 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. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier. Mosese Tuipulotu Signing a Scottish Perspective From an economic perspective Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are net exporters of talent. The facts are that rugby is an international game and decent players can earn better money playing in France, Japan or the United Kingdom. For those…

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. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier. Ex-Scotland captain Hogg ‘resets’ in rehab after arrest It’s always a good time to reach out to a friend, acquaintance or colleague and ask the question ‘are you OK, mate?’. You don’t have to wait for a specific week. While some of Stuart Hogg’s wounds have been self-inflicted I hope he’s…

Harold George (Eastern Suburbs, Waratahs, Wallabies):A prop forward and stalwart of the game, George was ever present in Waratahs and Wallabies teams from 1910 until the war broke out days before the final Test against the All Blacks in 1914. “It is hard to imagine anyone playing a harder, tougher game than he did. Perhaps never super-brilliant, he always played himself out to the last ounce, and was an awfully hard man to beat for the ball in the front rank of a scrum” wrote The Arrow of George. Enlisting in the AIF, and just two weeks into the Gallipoli campaign, he undertook a “heroic rescue of a wounded comrade,…

Today’s feature photo is from the Hong Kong Tens, it’s worth the visit for any rugby fans. 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. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more, the merrier. Strap in guys and girls.  Late Mail: Giteau Law to Stay Personally happy about that. Byrne accepts appointment as the new FIJI Water Flying Fijians coach From the Fiji Times This is either an astute…

Rugby School was established in 1567 and is famous for two things: Tom Brown’s School Days, and inventing the game of rugby. The legend of William Webb Ellis, a pupil who picked up a ball during a game of football and ran with it, is part of the sport’s folklore. The game that evolved was picked up by other schools and then codified at Rugby School in 1845 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. There’s also…

Situated on the banks of the Severn, Bridgnorth RFC’s home is at constant risk of flooding, in fact the pitch has been submerged five times within a two-year period. The club are currently fundraising to build a new “flood-proof” clubhouse on stilts. 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. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier. Strap in guys and girls, this’ll be a long…

Welfare Ground South Wales “The land was a donation to the community from the Miners’ Welfare Fund and the local colliery owners, Powell Duffryn,” explains the Porth Harlequins club secretary, Christian Rees. “The ground is on the site of what used to be an iron slag tip. It was for the whole community to use, not just the rugby team.” 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. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free…

‘The best vista of any sporting club in the world’ is how a world-renowned rugby commentator described the location of the Cottesloe Rugby Union Football Club while looking out across the pitch to a backdrop of a sparkling blue Indian Ocean and Rottnest Island. We couldn’t agree more. Our rugby club began in 1893 and we have a proud history of playing great rugby. 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. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option.…

Donegal Town RFC’s home since 1980 is in a truly idyllic spot, next to Holmes Beach on a quiet peninsula overlooking Donegal Bay. It’s not just the picturesque setting that makes this club remarkable; formed in a corner of Ireland dominated by Gaelic football, it grew from basic beginnings to represent something more substantial. The team began in 1973 amid The Troubles, a violent and bloody conflict that claimed thousands of lives and saw communities in Northern Ireland divided on sectarian lines. During this bleak period, the team would often venture across the nearby border to play matches, breaking down…

The small town of Kamaishi, on Japan’s eastern coast, has been described as a place built on “fishing, metal and rugby”. The local team, Kamaishi Seawaves, won Japan’s national championship every season from 1979 to 1985. Courtesy The Guardian. 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. Particularly looking for some input from our Western Australian brothers and sisters. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier.…

Love that footy is back. For those that have time the Australian Club Championchip is on at Brothers this weekend with games between Brothers and Randwick for the main prize and Wests and Tuggeranong. Should be a great afternoon. Photo is of the Alaskan Rugby Club. I’ll be putting up beautiful rugby ground images this week, feel free to email me yours. Here 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. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option.…

Happy Thursday, comrades. Welcome to the start of the Super Rugby season. I for one am looking forward to an exciting season. The rubber meets the road with round one of Super Rugby and round three of the Six Nations. I would like to apologise in advance to my sleep cycle and liver. 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. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the…

Happy Thursday, comrades. Welcome to the start if the start of the Super Rugby season. I for one am looking forward to a exciting season. I know the code has some serious headwinds and while I’m aware of them I’ve made the conscious decision to be positive this year. 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. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier. Santos –…