Author: Lee Grant

At the end of Round 7 Australian teams had played three games against New Zealand teams to be 3-0, but in their ten games against South African teams they were only 3-7. There had been nine Aussie derby games played also. There will be one game each against Kiwi and SAffer teams this weekend.  Brumbies v. Kings The Brumbies got a scare in their last game but they have to be more ruthless against a fledgling Kings’ team. To be credible title contenders they have to win this match well; they won’t say so but not getting a bonus point…

Aussie teams were 1-3 against South African teams last week and 1-0 against a New Zealand team.  This week there are two games against the Saffers and one against the Kiwis, plus an Oz derby. Highlanders v. Reds The Highlanders will be aching to get a win at home after losing three of them already this season and not winning their one game away either. The Reds, who have never won a Super game away against the Highlanders, will want to get a good start, get the foot on the throat, slip in the knife, and get out of town…

Every year Super Rugby reveals exciting young players or confirms that some who have made earlier appearances are the real deal. There is a bumper crop of young stars in 2013 and several of them will win be earning test caps before too long. Here is a list of youngsters, aged 21 or younger at the time of writing (end of March 2013), who I would pick in a Super Stars For The Future XV. (I have not named players who have already received test caps. This excludes 20 year-olds Liam Gill and Johan Gossen, and 21 year-olds Michael Hooper,…

G&GR’s Most Valuable Poster – Lee Grant – looks at how these vital matches will shape up for the Aussie teams in round 6 of Super Rugby

The Cheetahs had one on their finest wins two years ago in Sydney and tonight they spoiled the party again for the Waratahs when they won a gripping contest. The Waratahs took a lead into the sheds at half time but the Cheetahs scored their third try with 11 minutes to go and held on with stern defence to win 27-26. The Match Things couldn’t have started worse for the Waratahs.  After winger Willie le Roux got the ball in the first minute he saw not many defenders on the Tahs’ left-hand side, chipped the ball, regathered it and…

The HSBC Waratahs revealed a new gun at Newington College

The HSBC Waratahs broke a nine match losing streak when they beat the Melbourne

The British & Irish Lions forward pack will be formidable in 2013. They will be entitled to favouritism at scrum time but will not have their own way over the ball. The Lions selectors will have to select their forwards with great care because a depleted Wallabies team competed well up front against England and Wales in the 2012 Autumn Tests. In the past Lions’ coach Gatland has chosen players for Wales who play club rugby in France, and he will have good look at those who are not playing test rugby just because they play in the Top14. But…

The British & Irish Lions are coming and it is time that we turn our minds to the players who will be visiting us. There are still three rounds of the RBS Six Nations to be played and they will have a significant impact on selection decisions. But whom would Lions coach Warren Gatland chose now, as it stands? We have to make some assumptions first. How many will be in the squad? How many players will be taken for each position. What about players who are currently injured? Let’s assume that they will choose 37 players as they did…

It wasn’t just hype after all: the HSBC Waratahs had a crack at the Crusaders in the final trial match for both teams and moved the ball around to do it. They lost the game 16-14 because they dropped the pill like millionaires but not many of the Waratahs’ faithful at Allianz Stadium cared too much because rugby had broken out. THE MATCH The Crusaders weren’t much better at control. The defended well for long periods but when they had a chance they tried too hard. Perhaps they would have had better rhythm had they pressed their attack instead of…

2012 Wallabies’ Rookie of the Year and new HSBC Waratah player Michael Hooper was kind enough to spend some time with me after training last Friday. The impression one gets from this bright and articulate young man is that rugby is fun. How did rugby start for you, Michael? At the Manly Roos — I started when I was 6. Can’t remember much about my first game, but it was good fun though. Then I went to St. Pius College in Chatswood. I loved the school and I had a lot of mates — who I still talk to…

The HSBC Waratahs have contracted former Wallaby tourist Mitchell Chapman for the 2013 season. He replaces Damien Fitzpatrick, who re-injured his left knee during rehabilitation after surgery. The original injury occurred when the Waratahs defeated the Melbourne Rebels in Round 2 of Super Rugby last year. Coach Michael Cheika said: ‘Damien will require a specified period of time to ensure that his injury fully recovers. That will rule him out of most of the coming Super Rugby season but we are planning for him to be back in time to take part in the second half of the Shute Shield…

If the Waratahs thought their coaches would ease them back into Super Rugby training after the Christmas break they were sadly mistaken. There was no happy new year because they got hammered`in their first training session of 2013.  That included those Wallabies who came back to training a week before they were due. Benn Robinson, Dave Dennis, Berrick Barnes, Drew Mitchell, Kane Douglas, Sitaleki Timani, Paddy Ryan and the big signing, Michael Hooper, all got some hill-training work at Centennial Park as a reward for showing up early. What they did Assistant Coach Alan Gaffney had all the players going…

For those who want a professional rugby career it can be disheartening to be overlooked and it is hard to keep the dream alive. There are others just starting out in senior rugby hoping to get a call against odds. For ten uncontracted players the call came when they were invited by Michael Cheika to train with the Waratahs squad until the start of the 2013 Super Rugby season. When he got back to Sydney after head coaching stints at Leinster and Stade Français, Waratahs’ head coach Michael Cheika didn’t know the current Sydney players, except from watching recordings; so…

Queensland Reds fans breathed a sigh of relief as Quade Cooper agreed to the terms of a two-year deal with the ARU last Friday. The hoo-ha around these negotiations is well known. But what of the fundamental question behind them: is Quade as a player worth the dough? Quade Cooper is a wonderful player when he is on his game and now that he has been through the wringer perhaps he will be a happier camper and be contrite. If he can shift up a gear in big Test matches — e.g. against the All Blacks — we will soon forget…

The biggest scrum at Waratahs’ training yesterday was the media because Israel Folau was

Here’s part two of our review of the teams for the 2012 European tours. Argentina An agreement between the UAR and the Top 14 clubs for the release of their players is going to diminish the chances of the Pumas in the Autumn Tests, and critically so in their match against Ireland. To satisfy mandatory annual rest periods Argentina had to forgo using all their players in the June window Tests against France and Italy so they could play in TRC. In the November window they were restricted to choosing no more than two players from each Top 14 club.…

The Autumn Test matches in 2012 do double duty. First there will be the annual pissing contest between north and south, and second, the dance cards for the 2015 Rugby World Cup will be worked out. And everybody wants to dance with an ugly partner. England England coach’s Stuart Lancaster has decided to not use players based in France because of training realities, and in doing so had to forgo selecting the form openside flanker in Europe, Steffon Armitage. Flyhalf: Gloucester’s Freddie Burns, a risk-taker and a better running threat than Toby Flood, was left out of the squad but…

Last week it was confirmed that the NSW GPS 1st and 2nd XV competitions in 2013 will involve just six schools:

Most aspects of rugby are better now than back in the day — except for scrums. From being a jewel in our crown they’ve become a millstone around our neck, and a new study run by the IRB itself has now proved them an unnecessarily dangerous one at that. Scrums are collapsing, the number of resets is multiplying; front-rowers’ necks and backs are hurting; referees are guessing; dominant scrums are wondering, early engages are increasing, scrum tunnels are disappearing, scrum-halves are cheating; old skills are dying, time wasted is rising, and fans are leaving because value for money is decreasing.…