Author: Roscoe Tims

It’s going to be a big year for the Australian Rugby Union Schoolboys team. There are inbound tours from Tonga and New Zealand Schoolboys, and an end of year tour to Ireland and the UK. These are stars of the future who’ll become well known to you in years to come. How do I know that? Lets just randomly look at any Australian Schoolboys team from the past, 2000 as an example. Mark Gerrard, Jone Tawaki, Ben Hand, Will Caldwell, Luke Doherty, Lachlan MacKay, and that’s just the back row in the photo. Cooper Cronk, James Hilgendorf, Lei Tomiki, Peter…

The Springbok selectors recently named a 23 man squad for the opening Tri-Nation’s match to be played against the All Blacks in Bloemfontein this Saturday. As expected, they’ve gone with the core of the side that defeated the British & Irish Lions in the first two tests of the recent series.

Unlike in recent years there’s a real edge to commentary across the ditch for the opening All Blacks v Wallabies Tri-Nation’s series start. The apparent lack of success in the domestic lead-up matches by the All Blacks has left the populace a little nervous about what’s to come. The scorn with which Graham Henry and associates reappointment to the All Black coaching positions for the next two years has been received by some is palpable and has been much discussed. In fact, you’d think our Kiwi cousins had adopted a typical Australian response to this: cynical and sarcastic with a hint of irreverence!

The Aotearoans are asking themselves just where is the depth after the 2009 All Black Tri-Nations squad was announced by Graham Henry earlier this week. There are plenty of names in it that just don’t run off the tongue like de Malmanche, Crockett, Franks, Evans and Ross. It’d be true to say that Kiwi rugby fans and the media are speculating that this 30 man squad is one of the weakest in recent years with a significant lack of experience in key positions. The domestic lead-up matches against Les Bleus and the Azzurri were unconvincing with a series loss against the…

British & Irish Lions 28 South Africa 9 Justice 4 all was done in last night’s Springbok v British and Irish Lions test match. It may not have been a classic confrontation like last week’s blockbuster at Loftus but it was another torrid encounter which the Lions won, inflicting a serious defeat on a South African team that had an experimental look to it. A test match nonetheless, where more than a few pundits thought the Springboks would prevail. I thought some important Afrikaner had died when I saw all of them come out wearing white armbands;

Day Two and still waiting: it’s been a good 48 hours since we learned that the Dark Shark has been rubbed out from any further contribution to Wallaby history. He’s had his security pass taken off him and been escorted out of the building. He’s not even been given the courtesy of clearing out his desk. There’s a lot of us rugby folk that are not entirely happy with this development and would like to know what the f*ck is going on! WHAT THE F*CK IS GOING ON? Well, it’s actually about 52 hours and I’m still breathlessly waiting for…

Out with the old and in with the new. Or is that the other way around? The Springboks and the British & Irish Lions have both named their test sides for this weekend’s donnybrook at Ellis Park in Jo’burg. There is an experimental look to the Bokkies in particular; but with the Lions it’s probably more about ‘the last man standing’. The Bok coach has made no less than 10 changes to the side that clinched the series with a 28-25 win over the Lions in Pretoria last Saturday.  Zane Kirchner will make his Springbok debut in the No 15…

UPDATED UPDATE – Friday 3 July: Lote Tuqiri has so far refused to comment on the reasons for his sacking, only prepared to say that the matter will now be in the hands of his solicitors and is sub judice (or words to that effect). The mail is that the previously surmised Crown Casino late night episode may have facilitated a code of conduct breach, which has contributed to his demise. Channel Nine is reporting that Lote was offered 6 months dosh to end his contract but that he declined. UPDATE – Thursday 2 July: At a press conference this morning, where the Wallaby Tri-Nations squad was announced, ARU chief John O’Neill refused…

South Africa 28 – British & Irish Lions 25 What an absolute pearler, best game I’ve seen in a couple of years. And such a thriller at the end for sure. It was a gladiatorial contest of titanic proportions. The British & Irish Lions threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Bokkies and just when they could see victory over the horizon, were heartbreakingly defeated on the bell. This will go down in the annals of South Africa v Lions matches as a classic.

New Zealand 27 – Italy 6 The All Blacks struggled to overcome a committed Italian side tonight scoring three tries to none, but it was the manner of the win that will have the AB brains trust a little concerned. The result was never going to be in doubt, just a matter of by how much. In previous encounters the score has always been substantial but tonight our Eyetie compatriots tackled their hearts out and in fact, had a huge territorial advantage for most of the game (70%  played in the All Black half).

What a shame that British & Irish Lions tours have been condensed and watered down to just a rump of what they should be. It used to be a four test full blown tour encompassing all the decent provincial sides and some lesser mid week opposition, with all home international players allowed to participate.

This provided the touring side with an opportunity to build up some test combinations and importantly, give the rabid Yarpie fans a decent rugby spectacle all around the Republic. Times have changed in the professional era, for the worse in this case. Here we are with a week of the tour to go and what have we seen to date? Apart from the excitement of the test last weekend and maybe a couple of other decent games, the fans have had bugger all to cheer about.

South Africa 26 – British & Irish Lions 21 This is a game that had it all: an unbelievable crowd, a charged atmosphere, drama and excitement, heroes and villains, scrum battles that ebbed and flowed, inches (or centimetres in the new age) and a team that won a huge amount of possession and played the majority of game in the opposition half, but lost the match.

New Zealand 14 France 10 Now that’s what I call an old style All Black performance amongst the mud, the blood and the beer. What a terrific, intense and wholehearted game with the ABs muscling up against Le Frogs in the abysmal Wellington weather. I remember reading about former All Black fullback Allan Hewson suffering from hypothermia in a game in Wellington once. It looked a bit like that tonight, except Les Bleus fullback Maxime Metard had plenty of work to do and wouldn’t have been standing in one place for long enough.

Q. Mate, what have the British and Irish Lions been doing in South Africa lately? A. Ummm, playing five games of rugby (six as of tonight), maintaining match fitness, busting their gut trying to get selected for the test side  and generally working up combinations? Q. Great. What have the Springboks been up to? A. Bugger all! And in a nutshell, that could be the difference between winning and losing in Durbs this Saturday. Apart from a pissant game against Namibia, the equivalent of playing the Kenmore Bears U12s – yeah, I’ve never heard of them either……they’ve only been trudging around the training park…

France 27 – New Zealand 22 O.K. Lets put all the crap to bed first. The excuse the Nuw Zulenders will use for their 22 – 27 defeat to Les Bleus will be that they were without McCaw, Carter, So’olialo, Ali Williams, Conrad Smith, Sivivatu, Wulf, Kahui, etc etc yawn! However, let’s not forget that our continental friends, colloquially known as Le Coq Gaulois, were not without their own difficulties. Think Rougerie, Parra, Nallet, Harinodoquay, Bonnaire 

Reds 24 – Japan 17 I have to say from the start that I was surprised with the intensity of this match. The Reds fronted with essentially a Super 14 starting side minus their internationals, and the feeling amongst the crowd was that this would be a bit of a jaunt. How wrong they were. The Japanese were full on, defensively very staunch and the game was only won by the Reds in the last 10 minutes.