Author: KARL

Welcome one and all. That time of the week where we can stop thinking about what might’ve been and start looking forward to what may be. No doubt almost all Australian rugby supporters will be sending their hopes to the Brumbies while the NZ rugby supporters are still split between three teams. Personally, I’m putting everything behind the Crusaders as I just totally love how they have managed to be so consistent for so long. Some news today but also some opinion on how while we blame the referees and TMO, we’re actually the problem with a lot of the…

Time to put last week’s disappointments behind us as we look forward to the weekend and dare to dream of glory once again. Or in some cases just hoping to go out with a win at least. I hope your team goes well, unless your team is the Crusaders, in which case I hope they crash and burn so my Canes can go well. Sorry team, a short one this week as I was busy last night and forgot I had to do this. Woke up early and knocked it out before leaving for work so I apologise for any…

Welcome, fellow G&GRs. A few hours this morning to reminisce about last week before we start to concentrate on what glories the weekend will bring our teams. Hope you’re all having a great Hump Day. Lure of the Lions: As reported here on SMH, the lure of the Lions tour is helping keep players in Australia. The tour will be a moment in time for a lot of today’s players and with stories of past glory there’re a lot who seem to want to stay and experience this classic tour. In 2001 after the Lions had won the first Test…

Welcome fellow supporters of all things rugby. Today we put aside the disappointments or salutations of last week and look with anticipation into the games coming up this weekend. Our focus once again goes to the future as we dream of glory for the teams we support. Not something magical: Wallabies coach’s dig at All Blacks as he eyes two-decade Bledisloe boilover ‘Scared of me? Maaaaaaate! In another media talk where Jones will raise the hopes of rugby supporters here, and is saying the things they all want to hear, he’s talking up the Bledisloe match in Melbourne. Like every…

Welcome G&GRs, another day where we stop reflecting on last week and look forward to the weekend to come. If your team’s on a bye it means they won’t gain any points; however, it also means they won’t lose any either, and that might just be enough. Brad Thorn leaving the Reds at the end of 2023 Love him or hate him (and I absolutely love the guy) his time in charge of the Reds comes to an end this year. Our very own Nathan W writes here about the legacy of Thorn moving on after six years in charge.…

Happy Wednesday, team. Another few hours of basking in the glory of last week before we start facing up to the weekend games ahead. If your team’s on a bye then you have an additional week of wondering what might’ve been and could they just possibly have got across the line. Another league convert. But this time hoping for NZ – Nice to dream As written here on Fox Sports, Dolphins young gun Isaiya Katoa is open to following in Roosters star Joseph Suaalii’s footsteps in switching to rugby union, but only for the chance to play for the All…

Sorry you had to get me twice in a row but I’m away next week so Yowie and I swapped. What a huge weekend of rugby it was last week. However, it’s time to put that behind us and start looking forward to the games for this weekend and what they’ll bring us. Who will we remember for good reasons and who will we remember for bad reasons? Australian player in concussion lawsuit welcomes new tackle height limit As reported by Georgina Robinson here in SMH, not everyone is against the directive to reduce tackle height. Former Rebels and England…

Well, after what was an almost underwhelming weekend of rugby where Super Rugby tried, and failed, to compete with a league initiative (again), we can get back to home teams playing games at home and enjoy the rugby where we want it. Last week is gone and now it’s time to look forward. Note: I’ve deliberately not mentioned the Savea Issue. Others will want to make time out of that The Sua’ali’i Saga continues Reported here in that other site, the saga for Joseph Sua’ali’i continues as he appears to be set to reject rugby and accept a $750K contract…

As we get closer to the weekend and the opening round of Super Rugby Pacific I can almost feel the tension in the air. No hump day feelings today as last week was nothing and this weekend is everything. Brumbies ready to push for Super Rugby title As reported in Rugby News here Allan Alaalatoa is excited rather than intimidated with meeting the Waratahs first up at the new Allianz Stadium. He’s loving the “buzz” around rugby at the moment saying “It’s everywhere… and that’s awesome” He further said that “As players, we want to be performing in front of…

Welcome back, team. Life is just so much better with good rugby on TV. I must admit I did enjoy the 7s rugby and watching the skills of some of these players, especially the women, was just an awesome experience. But Six Nations is just something else. As from 12:00 today last week’s games become memories of what was or could have been and we now start looking forward to what this weekend will bring. Aaron Smith’s and Beauden Barrett’s moves to Japan confirmed 3 things we learnt from the Six Nations Opening Round From Stuff in NZ here news…

So here we are, games all played for the year and it’s that time when we can sit back and reflect on the year that was. I hope you enjoy my last post for the year, it’s been a lot of fun doing this and the banter has, for the most part, been awesome. Special thanks to Yowie for stepping up and sharing the load with me as work wouldn’t allow me to do this every week. I’m thinking about a refereeing piece to put up over the break just to keep the site going so check in occasionally as…

Welcome to Hump Day fellow G&GRs. A day when we can start leaving the despair of the weekend behind us and start building up the hope and anticipation of the weekend coming. Or can we? With the plays that went on last weekend do any of us really have any expectation of a change this coming weekend? It seems to me that we’ve been spending a lot of time hoping for some positive changes, dreaming of wins we should actually expect but ever more falling further and further into the despair of having our expectations dashed yet again. As a…

Welcome team. Last week’s games can now be put to rest as we look forward to this weekend with some anticipation that the drivel we saw last week will be rectified. Or is it with a level of apprehension that we think the same poor performances will continue and so we approach the weekend with more hope than expectation and already mentally prepare ourselves for the worst with the hope that we will be pleasantly surprised? NZ Rugby to reduce height of tackles in club and 1st XV rugby New Zealand has taken the bull by the horns and will…

Welcome to Wednesday team. That day of the week where the morning is still filled with the reminiscence and disappointment of the weekend just gone and where, in the afternoon, hope again raises its head as we get closer to another two days off work when we can watch rugby again. This week it’s the Women’s Rugby World Cup in NZ and the As v Japan again. Happy hunting team World Rugby outlines legacy plans for women’s growth amid world record crowd World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin is hoping a world-record crowd at Eden Park on October 8 can be…

Today’s news is brought to you from the great Soap Dodger, Keith. Being both old and a Pom he has no idea of technology and so I’m posting this on his behalf. Note at the end is a list of G&GR rugby players. If you’d like to be included send your particulars to Keith in the comments section. The Good? The Bad? and The Farkin’ Awful? Desperate times call for desperate measures and I can’t think of anything more desperate than, in the absence of our famed weekly correspondents, calling on a Soap Dodger to fill a hole. Once more…

Sorry for the delay team. I woke very early to return from NZ and had an appointment that took longer than expected. I’m getting old, which while being infinitely better than not being able to, does mean I get tired quicker these days and last night I crashed before I could write this. It’s certainly been an interesting last 5 days and with everything leading into the game of revenge this weekend I thought I’d add an opinion piece just to settle things down. Now I know there are some here who will take this to the ultimate level but…

Not quite the half way mark for the next game but time for the anger and disappointment of the last game to sink down and for some hope to gently start rising again as we contemplate what changes are needed to move the Wallabies forward. ‘Give these guys a chance’: Ex-Wallaby’s World Cup message for next gen amid No.10 crisis If there’s a player who knows what the next generation of Australian rugby stars might be feeling like at present it’s Berrick Barnes. On the basis of one starring match in his first season, against the Highlanders, he was plucked…

Welcome to the week before what will be a major game for the Wallabies this season. Make no mistake about it, this week is a defining game for the Wallabies this year. Win and they are on track for a good season. Lose and their season is looking like going downhill. If they lose questions will be asked about the players, selections, coaching team and management. However, it’s Wednesday which means it’s the day we put the disappointment of the last game behind us and we start looking forward with hope to the game this weekend. Good luck for the…

Sorry for the delay today team. Been a busy week and I still haven’t managed to watch last weekend’s games yet – hopefully today. However, today we stop reminiscing about last week and start looking forward to this weekend. Can the Wallabies continue their good run? Will the ABs fall again, and if so what will this mean for Foster? Wallabies focused on backing up ‘special’ performance With a great start to the RC despite injuries, late withdrawals and a slow start the Wallabies are now concentrating on backing up this week and maintaining top spot in the RC Last…

Right team, as from 12 today it’s time to stop with the disappointment of the past and start looking forward to the next game. It’s been 10 days since we played England and it’s 10 days until we play Argentina. Let’s look forward not backwards. Not a lot of information on where teams are at for the upcoming games and so there isn’t a lot to say about them. About all I’ve got is that I think the Wallabies need to beat the FISMs and at least 1 game against both the DDF and the ABs to be setting things…