Author: Mst

Hi folks. Welcome to the final Tuesday Top 5 for the year. This week we are doing a bit of a look back at our Top 5 moments from 2020 – the year that just went on and on and on. From watching our first Super Rugby game in 40-degree heat in the middle of bushfires to watching our last Wallabies game, in the rain surrounded by a Global Pandemic. What a fun ride it has been! Super Rugby It seems like forever ago that we were just getting into the Super Rugby season. We were pondering how the Brumbies…

Welcome back to another edition of the Tuesday Top 5. This week we will take a quick look at the Wallabies v Pumas match, but there is a lot of other rugby going on around the place at the moment, so we will check out the happenings in Super Rugby Unlocked (I still think that was the worst of the 3 Super Rugby names), talk referees – though probably not in the way you’re thinking! – and see what’s going on over in Europe. What more can we really say? There has been plenty said about the match on Saturday,…

Welcome to the Tuesday Top 5. Just a short, sharp one this week. The Good Bits So, what stood out? What were, in the opinion of MST, the best bits about Saturday’s match? * Koroibete! I have to admit, for the first couple of years he was with the Wallabies I was dubious. But this game proved just how far he has come, his defence in particular has improved out of sight (thought as you will see below, he still has some work to do there). * On the other wing, Wright had a fantastic debut. He showed no signs…

This week we are going to look at some observations from Bledisloe 3. Yes, I know we would all like to forget that abomination from Saturday night, but I think there are some interesting things we need to take notice of. Oh … and apparently the 6 Nations was decided over the weekend too. Looking at the numbers I am going to look at a very specific set of numbers here, relating to the scrum halves. Jut for a moment, I want you to compare these stats. As I said, these are the stats for the scrum halves. Now I’m…

Hi all and welcome to a more subdued Top 5. So, who saw that coming? I guess in some ways it shouldn’t have come as a massive surprise, we all know what the All Blacks can pull out of the hat when they look to be under pressure. Plus Eden Park and all that … This week we take a bit of a look at the game but then change course and head over seas for a bit, checking in with Super Rugby Unlocked (yes that is a real thing!) and the rugby action in the Northern Hemisphere. So ……

We had a bit of a break, but now we’re back full of enthusiasm and optimism. Hands up who enjoyed the rugby on Sunday afternoon! via GIPHY It was pretty good, wasn’t it! Well in this edition of the Tuesday Top 5 we recap some of our thoughts in the lead up to, and during the game. We also take a quick look at the numbers from the game, make of them what you will! What is going on? It is post Bledisloe game 1 and one of my biggest takeaways was how different the experience was from past years.…

Welcome to the post final edition of the Tuesday Top 5. Well I have to say, I am one happy little vegemite. It was a pretty fun weekend here in the MST household. This week in the Top 5 we look at 4 things from the final and then duck quickly overseas to check in on the Champions Cup. McKellar knows what he is doing Look, I’ll admit it. There have been times since McKellar took the reins that I have questioned his coaching ability. There have been odd selections, playing out of form players and some unusual game plans…

Welcome all to the Tuesday Top 5 – grand final edition. This week we look at this weekend’s final match and how the teams got there, we talk Wallabies and go visiting Europe and New Zealand. The final! Yes, the inaugural Super Rugby AU champs will be crowned this Saturday night. Unlike other reports I have seen, I refuse to say that whoever wins this will take home their first Super Rugby Championship since (insert appropriate year here), because this comp is not Super Rugby as we have known it. Winning this does not equate to winning Super Rugby with…

As a fun little intro – I just read this after I was finishing up. Ruan Smith is in Isolation awaiting results of a COVID-19 test. Given that he came off the bench against the brumbies, if he does happen to test positive (and I don’t know what the chances of that are, probably pretty small) it could have HUGE ramifications for both the Reds and Brumbies. Stay tuned to whatever rugby news you use (GAGR of course!) to keep up to date to see if they have more info! Aaaannnnddd back to the Top 5. This week we talk…

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly The Good – More than good actually. I know this has been written about a lot in the past 5 days, but it was so good to see Amy Perret given the whistle for the match on Friday night. The way she handled the game was great, she certainly wasn’t afraid to tell the players off and lay down the law. The Bad – This is one that annoys me on a regular basis. Advantage. In particular when there are multiple calls of advantage in the one area. A prime example, on Saturday…

Welcome to a (mostly) touchy, feely, positive vibe giving Top 5. Yes, it’s one of those weeks where I am seeing all the good in Aussie Rugby and trying my best to ignore the bad bits that pop up (though I did have to bring some up, it wouldn’t be the Top 5 otherwise!) This week we wish we all had the guts to make some big calls, bring back the Good, Bad and Ugly (with a twist) look into the crystal ball for the next 2 rounds, inspect the Super Rugby AU draw (better late than never, right?) and…

Well, what a weekend that was. Not so great for us Brumbies or Reds fans, but Victorians finally have something to smile about, and Waratahs fans are probably still checking to make sure it wasn’t a dream. Weekend Wrap Talk about turning things on their head! This weekend put everyone in a spin, had people questioning where their team was and who those people wearing their jerseys were and made the next few rounds ridiculously interesting! Las weekend everyone seemed to be in agreement that the final would be between the Reds and the Brumbies. But based on what we…

Yep, it’s Tuesday again. It’s starting to roll around fast hey? Another week gone, another round under our belt and another top 5 for your enjoyment (yes, I know that ‘enjoyment’ may be pushing it a little too far). But for whatever reason you’re reading this … here’s the Tuesday Top 5. Super Rugby AU wrap This weekend we finally saw a successful conclusion to a Super Time, and it still felt like a letdown. The last time we had a game tied after 80, when the Reds and Rebels slugged it out, Super Time as a bid ole snooze-fest…

Well … what an interesting weekend of Rugby. We saw some big differences between last week and this week, both in the quality of games and teams. This week in the Top 5 we will recap the weekend that was, here and in New Zealand, talk some numbers, laws and calls and look at some of the great tries from the weekend. Super Rugby AU Recap Once again, I was a little uninspired after the first match of the weekend, quality wise it was far from the best we have seen. So what happened to the Waratahs from last weekend? This…

Ok, so this round of rugby restored my faith in the Rugby Gods. Across all 4 Super Rugby games played this weekend, the average winning margin was just 3 points. And that average was blown out by the Reds 7-point win over the Force! The winning margins were 7, 2, 1 and 2, three of those games were decided in the final 3 minutes of the match and in one case after 80 minutes. Excitement overload! Round 3 Recap Unlike the matches I tried to forget from last week, this week’s games had me on the edge of my seat…

Welcome to another Tuesday Top 5. I would love to say I had the enthusiasm I had last week, but after two pretty dire matches it was hard to put the word “Top” in the title. But as always, there were still some positives to come out of the weekend, here and across the ditch. Hopefully the game quality was just a blip and next week we be full of praise once again! Week 2 Summary After the positivity surrounding last week’s matches, I think I just came thumping back down to Earth. Last week I was willing to put some…

We’re baaaaack! Yes, like the rest of the world, we isolated ourselves. Then we took a peek outside and decided to stay hidden away a little longer because we didn’t much like what we saw. But things are on the up, rugby is back in Oz and hopefully soon we will all be able to go see our teams in person. But here we are, ready to get back in the swing of things. So sit back, brace yourselves and get ready for the Tuesday Top 5! Week 1 Summary Well in my opinion it was a pretty successful start to the Super…

So, let’s keep this short, sharp and to the point. In writing this I am going to try to remain as neutral as I can be. We can all read, we all have Google at our disposal and can all make our own judgments. It not hard to take the time to go back and fact check for ourselves, construct a history and piece together a story. But in reality, even after doing that it we are sometimes left wondering what is the real story that we are reading, what’s it really about? One way to do this is through…

Welcome back to a fairly relaxed Top 5. Here in Canberra we get picked on a fair bit, but yesterday was a public holiday here so ner ner! This week we look at stats and how they can be misleading, question the goal kicking (or lack thereof) we are seeing, have some fun at the beach, get a little angry at Scotland and check out some of the more entertaining things from the week in rugby. Stats No, I am not going to go through all the stats from each team, there is way too much work involved in that. But I…

Howdy and welcome to this week’s edition of the Tuesday Top 5. This week we manage even more expectations, wonder why the players are playing, talk petty behaviour, get a quick check up at the doctor and look at our picks of the best bits of the week. Managing Expectations Part 2 Last week I said “Maybe if we all manage our expectations a little better then those ‘poor performances’ may not to turn out as poor as we thought” in regards to some of the younger players. Well I think this week we learnt that it also goes the…