Author: Lee Grant
Lee Grant
Voted most valuable member of the G&GR Forum since records began - Ed.
The Force go to Palmerston North knowing that they have beaten the Hurricanes just once in nine attempts and that was by one point at home in 2007. And they probably recall the thrashing the Canes gave them in Perth last year. But that’s history; the Force will be more concerned about 2016. Embed from Getty Images James Marshall scoring one of five tries against the Force in 2015 The form The Force lost a winnable game against the Rebels in high humidity in Perth, then had a good win against a hapless Reds’ team, before showing poor discipline in…
The Waratahs will be looking for a bit of revenge after the drubbing the Highlanders gave them in the Super Rugby semi-final last June. And if the players aren’t saying that, they will feel it, and so will those in the crowd who were there last year. Embed from Getty Images Highlanders celebrate try in 2015 semi-final The Form The Highlanders have been impressive. They played two quality squeakers against other Kiwi teams and came out of that 1-1; then they put away the Lions clinically after the SAffers had beaten the Chiefs in Round 2. The Waratahs had a…
There were were some interesting happenings last weekend in Europe; here are 6 things from RBS 6 Nations. This week we look at Tongan cousins, maul laws, the try of the week, the Italy dilemma, eye-gouging and the affable Aussie Eddie Jones. Embed from Getty Images Billy Vunipola about to tackle Taulupe Faletau on Saturday The cousins Much was written about cousins Billy Vunipola (England) and Taulupe Faletau (Wales) playing no.8 against each other last Saturday. But they have played against each other before in tests and they aren’t cousins—their mothers are related but are not sisters. Billy, born in…
Although there is one round to go in the tournament, England won the RBS 6 Nations trophy on the weekend due to a shaky win over Wales on Saturday, and a perky victory for Scotland against France on Sunday. Before then there were cunning permutations mentioned by trainspotter journalists but it was always odds-on that the winner at Twickenham would take the chocolates whatever happened at Murrayfield. The first duck that France had to line up to win the big prize at the carnival, flew away. But Italy had some ducks to line up also, in Dublin—to avoid the wooden…
The Tuesday Top 5 comes up with some interesting happenings in Super Rugby and Sevens over the weekend. Las Vegas Sevens As in Sydney, the Aussies progressed to the final but lost it as their good luck ran out. For a windy weekend in Las Vegas, the Aussies changed their team. With one eye on Rio, Lucas, Cooper, Killingworth and McCutcheon replaced Stannard, Speight, Holland and Cusack (injured). Lucas played well until crocked and Killingworth looked like a old-timer. Cooper had some good moments on attack in the pool games but was less effective as defensive sweeper. New Zealand tried…
The Reds beat the Waratahs in the first game of the new Super Rugby Under 20 competition on Saturday. Later that day the Western Force Under 20s met the Melbourne Rebels in a Super Rugby curtain-raiser at nib Stadium. Green and Gold Rugby reporter “Delphy”was there, sweltering in the heat. Under 20s: Melbourne Rebels 30 — Western Force 26 by “Delphy” In the Big Bash League the Perth Scorchers play their home games at “the Furnace”. After Saturday afternoon the Western Force U20’s may be looking to adopt that moniker for nib stadium. The temperature reached 37.5 (in the shade),…
The third round of the RBS 6 Nations was held on the weekend and two teams had a perfect record going into it. England had the best chance to keep their Grand Slam hopes alive, playing a battered Ireland at home, whereas France, had to travel to Cardiff. In the other game Scotland went to Rome to try to avoid the wooden spoon, it seemed, and Italy was there licking its lips to make sure they got it. “Bardon” and I describe the action Embed from Getty Images George North – scored try after playing pinball Wales 19 —…
The Queensland Reds Under 20s had a convincing win over the NSW Gen Blues Under 20s at Fairfax Oval on Saturday. Fielding ten players who left school last year, the NSW lads took the lead early but the Queenslanders were stronger through 80 minutes and more rugby-wise. First half The Blues opened the scoring with a penalty from fullback Jack Maddocks who was the opening star for the Blues. Later he cleared off from his 22 on a long gain, and then started another raid that had NSW skipper Jack Hayson scoring in the corner. The home team led 8-0…
On Saturday the Waratahs and the Reds meet in their Super Rugby opener, as has become a tradition in recent years. This time it will be at Allianz Stadium and the joint should be rocking more than at the bigger ANZ Stadium at Homebush where the Sydney fixture has been held recently. The form If you like to take trial form as a guide, and you shouldn’t, the Waratahs have the edge. They had three hard-fought games against quality opponents in the Brumbies, Chiefs and Highlanders; all were decided late and they won one game and lost two. The Reds…
Yesterday the Waratahs’ Gen Blue Under 20s had their final hit-out before the new Super Rugby Under 20 competition starts next week. In the process they lost their third flyhalf for the year and his back-up was looking very dusty also after his shift at fullback. The Sydney University side they played had a mixture of Grade and Colts players such as ex-Rebel Angus Roberts, 2015 Aussie U20 hooker Folau Fainga’a and even fellows who played for the NSW Under 20s last week, Will McDonnell and Tim Clements. First half University played a narrow game in the Juniors’ 22…
At the launch of the Asteron Life Super Rugby competition today the ARU announced that there would be a new competition for Under 20 players. Most of the matches would be curtain raisers to Super Rugby games and patrons will get a fascinating preview of future Aussie stars and wonder if there is another Scott Sio, Liam Gill, Sean McMahon or Michael Hooper who will emerge from the age group. This competition replaces the national championships held in 2014 and 2015. That tournament featured teams from NSW, Queensland and a side from the the rest of Australia, called the Australian…
The NSW Under 20s had a tough trial yesterday against a Randwick team of mostly 2015 grade players who were older and stronger. First half Randwick had the wind behind them in the first half and the Juniors had trouble getting out of their own 22 let alone their own territory. They had to clear the ball often, which gave more possession to the Galloping Greens in good real estate. When the Under 20s couldn’t defuse a bomb that sailed long, Randwick went over with a maul try to flanker George Harrison after 12 minutes. The youngsters suffered from losing…
The Waratahs have named a more experienced team for their second 2016 trial, against the Chiefs at the Rotorua International Stadium, tomorrow at 2pm AEST. Seven Wallabies at the recent Rugby World Cup [RWC] will start the game as will ex-All Black Zac Guildford who gets his second trial at fullback. New THP Angus Ta’avao teams up with Jeremy Tilse who is having his second run-on gig at LHP, with hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau having his first. Benn Robinson and Paddy Ryan are on the bench, but expect them to wear the 1 and 3 jerseys against the Highlanders in the…
The men with the mikes The RBS 6 Nations commentators we listened to in Australia were in good form. When Italy flanker Alessandro Zanni had to go off for a blood bin and be replaced, Eddie Butler quipped. On comes Dries van Schalwyk—not the most Italian of names. When the Paris crowd started singing “La Marseillaise” when they were one point down, Wales legendary flyhalf, “Jiffy” Davies, remarked: I think, they think, they’re winning. Ex-England hooker Brian Moore, a lawyer, was also in Paris: The laws are that the scrum has to stay completely still until the ball comes…
The 2016 RBS 6 Nations started on the weekend with two new coaches, and they both got the lollies in their debut games. The first round of Six Nations is always interesting because the players cut through all the nonsense of pre-season previews and the pundits can recalibrate before they release their next opinions. The first two matches were interesting, but the third was a battle of gladiators showing skill and endurance ; it left spectators scarcely less exhausted than the warriors themselves – or so it seemed to me. “Bardon”, “Kevin O” and I report on the three games.…
The Waratahs have chosen an exciting back three for their first trial of the year—against the Brumbies this Saturday at Wagga Wagga. All Black Zac Guildford will play at fullback, which could signal his playing there when Israel Folau gets a chance to perform at outside centre later on. Impressive ex-leaguie Reece Robinson will be on the right wing and young gun Andrew Kellaway, one of eleven trial players not to have played yet in Super Rugby, will play on the left. Head Coach Daryl Gibson praised Robinson: What Reece offers is the type of winger that we don’t have.…
In the next few weeks Green & Gold Rugby will post some excellent season previews on various Super Rugby teams. They will be well-researched and will give some interesting insights and provide excellent analyses of their strengths and weaknesses. Readers will be well-served to bookmark some of these gems. However this is not one of those. This is a rant by Green & Gold’s resident idiot clown, “Dismal Pillock”, a long-suffering Blues’ fan with an axe to grind. And no, I don’t know what he is talking about some of the time either; so don’t ask me. [Exit – stage…
The RBS 6 Nations starts on the weekend and perhaps it will end in the exciting way it did in 2015. On the last day Ireland, England and Wales were throwing the ball around like lollies at a kids’ party as they chased tries galore to get a better points differential than the other two teams, who were otherwise equal on the ladder. The 6N teams had a poor group result in the 2015 Rugby World Cup [RWC] but they will put that behind them for this traditional tournament that can have more twists and turns than “Days of…
Today the Waratahs named 23-year-old Bryce Hegarty as the last player in their core playing squad of 30. Head Coach Daryl Gibson recruited him for one year for a few reasons, and one was to allow Bernard Foley to ease back into rugby in Australia after the Rugby World Cup and a stint in Japan. As Foley is still there, involved in a relegation battle, Gibson said he “wanted the luxury of not having to play him ” Another reason was to allow Kurtley Beale to play fullback instead of subbing for Foley early in the season and this…
Waratahs’ Head Coach Daryl Gibson has chosen 24 year-old Michael Hooper to be the captain of the Waratahs for 2016. He replaces Dave Dennis as he did when Dennis was injured against the Brumbies late in the 2014 season, before leading the Waratahs to victory in the Grand Final. He is not new to the leadership role. As a 22-year-old Hooper also captained the Wallabies for virtually the whole of 2014 after Stephen Moore injured himself minutes after the start of the first test of the year against a visiting France team. He has always done things well when young.…