Author: Kate Elizabeth

This isn’t going to be a deeply data-driven article from me, but rather a plea. You can’t look at any form of media at the moment without being aware of the massive impact of COVID-19 on the world as we know it, and certainly for many people, the future of their worlds. The impact is enormous.  Firstly, a little context for my position, and my plea. The last two weeks have been the toughest of my career. I work in an industry that has been totally (and I mean totally) impacted by COVID-19. There is no revenue in our industry,…

With both the Rebels and the Waratahs coming off the back of two losses, both teams are desperate to record a win. The Tahs have won 15 of the 17 clashes, and the Rebels have been dealt a last-minute blow with Rugby Australia ruling they had named too many international players in the matchday 23, so Frank Lomani was dropped from the bench to bring in Theo Strang. Louwrens was already starting instead of Lomani. The Match The Waratahs appeared to be the Rebels bogey team, but even off the back of two poor matches from both teams and the…

The Reds escaped the embarrassment of two away losses to the Sunwolves when they won 34-31 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium with their first win of the 2019 season. 63% of the possession, 58% of the time spent in the opposition half and 3 points the difference at the end of the 80 minutes. Fans will take the win, but it certainly isn’t the shiny new guard we had been promised. Brad Thorn was clearly taking the points, seeing his relieved smile in the coaches box at the end of the match, but the Sunwolves will be rueing the loss after such…

I am doing a fair bit of work around tribes at the moment, as a marketer. The need to belong to one, or several, is vital to the human experience. The need to create one as a marketer is paramount – to find a group of people who will give you permission to talk with them is a core function of marketing. Many of us may take our tribes for granted – I have my rugby tribe, my marketing tribe, my arty-farty tribe, my cheerleaders. Tribes bond us together. They give us support. They drive us forward. They are our…

Brisbane City has quite a bit of ground to make up in this year’s NRC, starting this weekend. After winning back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015, they crashed to finish in 6th and 7th place in the 2016 and 2017 competitions. They have some big names among their squad (more on that later) and a healthy mix of players from all the Brisbane Premier Rugby squads. Hopefully, the 2018 season sees them regain their attacking flair and finish in the Top 4. The coaching staff Mick Heenan is at the helm for a second year, supported by returning assistant Elwee…

A rematch of the Major Semi-Final, this match between UQ and GPS was set on a perfect Ballymore afternoon with swirling Ekka winds and a hill bustling with parochialism (and always fun). Going into the match UQ looked the stronger side with a pack featuring three young Reds players (is there any other kind), but GPS had absolutely dominated Easts last week.  The Match GPS broke a 22-year drought when they won the Queensland Premier Rugby Hospital Cup, leading from start to finish against UQ. An early break by Ruan Smith showed intent and they came within metres of a…

Saturday afternoon rugby saw the Reds trying to break their four game losing streak and Lions looking to extend their wins away from home.   The Reds were celebrating Club Rugby round so the players wore the socks of their clubs.  And in other news, Benny Lucas had a haircut.   The Match Attacking early inside the Lions 22 the Reds showed more physicality than they had in previous matches.  A lineout throw to Douglas saw an energised JP Smith cross for the Reds first try in only the first minute of the match. The physicality of the Reds manifested itself in big…

Day Two of the Brisbane Tens started bright and sunny with a wee bit of heat predicted, but still nothing like 2017. It wouldn’t take long before we understood which teams would carry on through to the finals. And questions still remained about the tournament and the format and whether it could make enough of an impact to draw decent crowds. Shake it out The first two games of the day saw Pool A wrap up with the Wild Knights and Rebels not progressing.  Thankfully the points differential fell the Reds way and they squeak into the finals. Pau finally…

The Brisbane Global Rugby Tens rolled into town for the second year with a slightly different format – afternoon and evening matches to counter the February heat.  The crowd wasn’t large to start with, but Friday clock off saw more people roll through the gates. French team Pau and Fiji were playing in the competition for the first time and Japanese team Panasonic Wild Knights appeared again alongside all Kiwi and Australian teams. Early exits Kurtley Beale and Nick Phipps were early withdrawals for the Waratahs before they even took the field for their first match. Good jersey taste also appears…

I think perhaps because this Brisbane City v Greater Sydney Rams game followed on from one of the truly great NRC matches (Queensland Country beating Fijian Drua in Fiji) and Brisbane went totally off the boil in the second half, I don’t look fondly on this match at all*. The Match In poor weather conditions again for Brisbane City, they needed to win this one to have a solid chance of finishing in the top 4 and making the semi finals. Dylan Riley scored early on and only minutes later Jake Strachan and Karmichael Hunt set up Ed Fidow who…

In very wet conditions in Brisbane, City took on Melbourne Rising. Recording their fourth win, and first at a water park, City ran away with the match in the first half but the Rising took advantage of a half-time reset and some cards to play some really lovely rugby in the rain. The Match It didn’t take long for players to be covered in mud. It also didn’t take long for Chris Kuridrani to score in the corner. The try was brilliantly set up by Samu Kerevi who judged his runners well to set Kuridrani into space that he capitalised…

After the South Africa v New Zealand match this morning, the Wallabies can finish second in the Championship by posting a win.  And if that doesn’t totally reflect the state of Australian rugby (wing and a prayer friends, wing and a prayer) then I don’t know what does.  Actually, scratch that, I do know – the Australians are fielding the same starting line up for the first time in three years.  Whoop. First Half The Wallabies struggled to make any in roads in the early phases of the match, with our scrum being worriedly punished by Los Pumas and our…

In this top of the table clash, the Drua, at home for the first time this season, look to be strong favourites after their very convincing last two rounds against NSW Country Eagles and Melbourne Rising. Perth Spirit have done well to operate in the limbo-vacuum caused by the decision to ditch the Force and need a win to keep their momentum going in this odd space. It took a while to score first points With more than 6000 people at the stadium it was always going to be a good afternoon of rugby.  Perth Spirit had more than their…

Queensland Country played their first home match of the 2017 season at Noosa Dolphins against Brisbane City.  Off the back of a close loss last week and never having won the intrastate derby, they needed to master their defense and continue their strong attack to have any chance of nullifying Brisbane City.  Additionally their coach Brad Thorn needs to win more than just the Super 20s to justify any discussion about him replacing Nick Stiles at the helm of the Reds coaching team. Tuttle and Stewart gel Queensland Country looked very comfortable from the start with James Tuttle and Hamish…

With no form guide on the Fijian Drua and Brisbane City with a lot to prove after their last season, this could be anyone’s match.   With a good crowd at Ballymore to watch this first home match of the season, this was tipped to be a cracker in the Saturday afternoon sun. The Match The big units of the Drua looked like a solid machine as they worked their initial set pieces well, but it wasn’t enough to stop a mass of Brisbane City bodies crossing the line with Ready at the bottom to open the scoring for Brisbane…

The last three seasons for Queensland Country in the NRC have not been illustrious, finishing 8th each year (2014 – 2:6; 2015 – 2:6; 2016 – 1:7). The team has never looked as coherent as others in the competition and has its fourth coach in four years. COACHING STAFF Assistant Coach in 2016, Brad Thorn was announced as taking over the coaching duties from Toutai Kefu for 2017.  He is paired with Paul Carozza as Assistant Coach having successfully coached Queensland U20s side this year.  With some of the same players in the squad, the coaches are confident that they…

I think the statistic that the Reds have won 4 of the last 5 matches against the Highlanders is both surreal and no representation of the status of these two teams in the 2017 season. The Match The Highlanders auspicious start to the match undoubtedly caused eye rolls throughout lounge rooms around Australia when the scintillating Naholo crossed within the first 2 minutes as the Reds were caught unprepared. Some solid play from players like Izack Rodda and the other forwards saw the Reds make ground in the first half, with good possession and field position, but they couldn’t convert…

So your dad played rugby? Nope. Your brother? No, I chose rugby for me (among 3 other sports – cricket, V8s and Formula 1 also make the list). What’s your club? Sunnybank – I have been a supporter for more than 20 years. I remember standing in a crowd of excited 7 and 8 year olds when John Eales returned from a shoulder reconstruction for Brothers in a match against ‘bank in the late 90s. I remember quite intensely standing at Ballymore in 2005 when we won the Prems final against the Gold Coast Breakers. I remember watching players like…

This one hurt even loading in the review template and the match hadn’t started.  All the stats from the season hadn’t helped assuage my feeling of dread either.  Reds 2-7, Chiefs 8-1. Chiefs 3+ try bonus points 5, Reds 0.  Reds last won in NZ in 2013. I don’t think the Chiefs missing Cruden will make that much of a difference as Stephen Donald was called in again to counter the still-booed Cooper.  All Black players and contenders were once again pitching their case for a selection against the British and Irish Lions which was always going to increase the…

Day Two of the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens started bright and sunny with a good vibe from yesterday and expected temps of 40+.   A very clever points and pool structure meant no teams had yet been eliminated from the tournament.  Who would come away with the inaugural trophy? It took only the first two matches though for two teams to be eliminated.  The Rebels and the Waratahs didn’t make it through to the knockout stages when the Chiefs absolutely pummelled the Wild Knights who had named a B team but even with a loss still finished second.  That the Chiefs…