Author: Steve Timms

Q: What do The Australian Provincial Championship, The Ricoh National Championship, the Australian Rugby Championship and the Australian Rugby Shield have in common? A: they are all failed attempts at building the fabled “Third Tier” of rugby in Australia. You don’t have to spend long reading through our forum to find a mention of the ARC. Aussie posters constantly bemoan the lack of a Third Tier within Australian rugby. They speak lustfully of a true blue equivalent to the Currie Cup from South Africa or the Kiwi’s National Provincial Competition. The more learned commentators from around the world speak of…

Keeping with trends, we’ve punted coach Gagger mid-season and BaaBaa and I are joined by Sam Ikin. We have a wang on all things Australian Rugby, cast our eye over the week that was, the week to come and at one stage, we even looked at the week after that. But I digress… on with the show… Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right-click and save) Subscribe on iTunes

Less than a minute in and the first penalty was awarded to the Stormers, about 8 metres from the sideline 30 metres out. The Stormers duly kicked it and it was 3-0 to the Stormers. Then the curse struck again, putting on a step, Reds flyhalf Sam Lane looked to have done a knee. The Stormers reputation for all defence no attack was put to rest with a try to Gio Aplon. The try came from a super bit of counter attack. From a breakdown they kicked and some offensive defence from Juan De Jongh on Ben Tapuai, forcing the…

I tried really hard to make up some witty stuff about storm clouds on the horizon or tempests, but they all sounded lame. This game however, wont be. The defending champions have been through a rough patch, but a much needed win against the Aussie conference topping Brumbies and the week off will see them in the right frame of mind for a match they will know they will need to aim up for. The Stormers are leading the whole shebang, and until the weekend just past hadn’t dropped a game. That all came crashing down against the Crusaders when…

Jack, I are joined by rising Waratah wing Tom Kingston for a chat about how things are going in Tahland We are then joined by Gagger, who pulls rank and takes control of the second half. The video discussed during plays, is this gem of Steve Walsh considering a scrum penalty: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v39eqCU7OOo[/youtube] But, here is the show… Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right-click and save) Subscribe on iTunes

Jack, Gagger and I get together to recap the major talking points from the weekend. GAGR favourite Nathan Sharpe comes on to talk about how the weekend’s result went down and plenty more. Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right-click and save) Subscribe on iTunes

Jack, Moses and I get together with GAGR favourite Stephen “Squeaky” Moore to find out exactly how the Brumbies have turned it around (Like I said they would but Barbarian disagreed with). After that we recap of the major talking points from the weekend, including our Strike Play of the Week. As promised, here is the video of Dean “TipTop” Mumm’s awesome fend, Good On ya Mumm… [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwXG8LWrn38[/youtube] Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right-click and save) Subscribe on iTunes

A little bit Running of the Bulls, A little bit Parting of the Red Sea, didn’t really matter which one you chose, the Reds looked anything other than defending champs as the injuries list grew. Likewise, the Bulls made their re-building tag look silly as they showed their credentials. The first few minutes were frenetic, played at an incredible pace. Attack and through the hands seemingly the only thing on both teams minds. That spirit continued with the pace barely slowing, until a penalty was awarded within Steyn’s formidable kicking range and he put it over to give the Bulls…

While you can’t really seeing it being 92-3 with these teams, if the Reds win it, it will be very much against the grain. It has been well documented that the Defending champions roll into Pretoria slightly under-strength due to injury and suspension issues. Pre-Season everyone was talking about who was going to replace Quade Cooper at 10, Mike Harris or Ben Lucas. No one, however, was talking about who was going to replace them. Though replace them we have to with Mike and Ben both arriving back in Australia a couple of weeks early with hamstring issues. On top…

Jack, Barbarian and I get together to discuss a couple of bits of breaking news and for a recap of the major talking points from the weekend. Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right-click and save) Subscribe on iTunes

The Reds don their flash new charity jersey and begin their tour of the Republic at the Shork Tank in Durban, with both sponsor Stratco and Coach Ewen McKenzie pledging water units for their charity through World Vision, they will be looking to make a splash. After the, some would say, lucky win over the Rebels just before jetting out, Link has taken the opportunity to make a few changes and it appears he is going for the spark that seemed to ignite after the bench was emptied. The changes in the backs see Ben Lucas move to 10 replacing…

Superboot Mike Harris got the game underway, and from the kick-off the intensity from the Reds was high. They were pushing up hard and managed to charge down more than a couple of clearing kicks as they looked to setup camp in the Rebels quarter. 9 minutes in with Weeksy playing against his old team mate the Rebels pulled off a tighthead. Showing it wasn’t all a fluke, they then won the lineout against the throw from the resulting clearance kick. Looking to turn the newfound dominance into points, JOC took the kick from the first penalty in Reds territory.…

In a move that coach Ewen McKenzie says is not punishment for Beau Robinson missing the tackle on David Pocock on the weekend (a claim backed up by Luke Morahan keeping his spot), Liam Gill has been moved into the starting number 7 jersey for this weekend’s match against the Rebels. The only other changes are to the forward pack with James Hanson returns from the bench to start and Scott Higginbotham returning from his buttock strain. To accommodate Higgers, Radike drops to the bench, replacing Ed Quirk and Jake Shatz moves back to No. 8. The backline remains unchanged.…

Over the weekend there were quite a few tries scored. Two each for the Reds and the Force, a four try bonus point for the Waratahs and the Rebels got to score their first ever try against the Waratahs, scored by the wiley old character Penalty. The one that has caused the most discussion in the forum has been the first try during the Reds v Force game on Saturday night. Ben Tapuai scored the first try of the night team work that started with a Reds scrum 15m out from their line, a Mike Harris clearance kick was taken…

Jack and I are joined by a cast of thousands tonight (well, three people, but that is more than normal!). First we have a chat with two try hero, Waratah Tom Carter. The Monkey Cloud try celebrations we discussed are analysed here: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNsVpkSmX1g[/youtube] We then head south to Melbourne for a chat with Australia’s favourite Welshman, Rebels Captain Gareth Delve. Barbarian joins us for a recap of the major talking points from the weekend. Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right-click and save) Subscribe on iTunes

***Welcome*** 1. Ben Daley, 2. Albert Anae, 3. James Slipper, 4. Rob Simmons, 5. James Horwill (c), 6. Jake Shatz, 7. Beau Robinson, 8. Radike Samo, 9. Will Genia (vc), 10. Mike Harris, 11. Digby Ioane, 12. Jono Lance, 13. Ben Tapuai, 14. Dom Shipperley, 15. Luke Morahan. Reserves: 16. Saia Faingaa/James Hanson, 17. Greg Holmes, 18. Van Humphries, 19. Ed Quirk, 20. Liam Gill, 21. Ben Lucas, 22. Rod Davies 1.Pek Cowan, 2.Nathan Charles, 3.Salesi Ma’afu, 4.Toby Lynn, 5.Nathan Sharpe, 6.Matt Hodgson, 7.David Pocock (Captain), 8.Ben McCalman, 9.Brett Sheehan, 10.James Stannard, 11.Napolioni Nalaga , 12.Winston Stanley , 13.Patrick Dellit,…

Casting my mind back to the start of last season, there are some similarities to now. The first game of the year, against the force, was a close affair with a James Hanson try near the end sealing the win for the Reds. Similarly we saw some Dom Shipperley #Shipsanity (If you are on twitter, get it trending) sink the Tahs with a late try. This weekend though, Link will be keen to avoid the banana skin that followed. Looking at the team lists it is hard to see them slipping up. He has made several changes to the team…

Gagger and Podslam virgin Jack JNor are joined by Bret Harris to discuss books, old and new, as well as his love of technology. I join them after for a recap on round 1 of Super Rugby and other events from the weekend. Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right-click and save) Subscribe on iTunes

On the eve of the big Waratahs v Reds clash, I have been lucky enough to be given a video that was played to the Reds players in the team meeting before their captains run at ANZ stadium this afternoon. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jElfluFezfE[/youtube] As Tatsy “No More Gaps” Taylor says, Attack wins matches, Defence wins championships. Back to Back, Let’s go boys…

It has been discussed, 2011 was a massive year for rugby. I worked out that I attended 11 Super Rugby matches and 19 Test matches in 9 different venues. I only mention that to illustrate how much rugby there actually was last year (and brag a little). It is important to quantify the amount of rugby in the calendar though as the player who you chose as Player of the Year for 2011 played almost as many minutes as I watched. So let’s dive straight in and countdown to the winner. Game 1: Australia v Samoa Kurtley Beale – 3pts,…