Author: Nic Darveniza

GAGR’s coverage of the Gold Coast 7s 2014 will be posted on this page, which will updated after each game of the day one campaign. Australia’s first game against Portugal is located at the bottom, and the latest games will appear above it.  Gold Coast 7s 2014 Match 3: Fiji #457043586 / gettyimages.com Though both sides had secured a spot in tomorrow’s finals series, the final match of Day 1 saw the hosts of the Gold Coast 7s take on Fiji to determine the seedings for tomorrow’s finals. The winner would take on a Welsh team lucky to be there at all after…

As another chapter of GPS Rugby closes, so too do the First XV careers of many talented players. Green and Gold Rugby will farewell some familiar names of the competition and reflect on the season that was in a season review, coming in a few weeks. We will also be conducting a Team of the Year election in the same post, in mostly the same format as 2013. Before we begin the round 9 match reports, congratulations are due for the competitions Australian Schoolboys, currently on tour in New Zealand. Churchie Number 8 Harley Fox was selected to captain the side, joined by teammates Richie Asiata and Izaia Perese, who scored two tries…

Before we get in to the match reviews for Round 8 of the GPS Competition, let me take you on a walk down memory lane. On the 13th of June, 2009, Brisbane Grammar School sent their First XV to Carina to take on Brisbane State High in a legendary fixture, now shrouded in infamy. State High’s 8 Australian Schoolboys, including today’s Super Rugby stars Chris Feaui-Sautia, Curtis Browning, and Paul Alo’Emile, dismantled Brisbane Grammar 103-0 in an 15 try massacre that sparked the arms race now so embedded into GPS Rugby. Since 2009, the offering of Rugby Scholarships has become a key talking…

Why does work always keep distracting us from whats really important in life? And when I say “really important”, is there any doubt that I mean the latest happenings in QLD GPS Rugby?! With university mid-semesters wreaking havoc on the free time of the writers, coverage of the QLD GPS comp has been patchy over the last few weeks. To make up for it, please accept this peace offering: two blockbuster Games of the Round from the last two weeks, as well as short match reviews for each of the 6/8 we couldn’t get to. Round 6 was headlined by a phenomenal…

Unfortunately Green and Gold could only get to one match this round, but we picked a good one in Nudgee vs Southport. Across the GPS, Churchie recorded a strong win against BBC 30-5, Ipswich Grammar pipped Brisbane State High 29-22, and Toowoomba Grammar came back after trailing by 12 at halftime to win  26-19 in an absolute thriller For the in-depth match report from Round 5 of the 2014 GPS Competition, just press your right arrow key (or swipe to your right if using a smartphone). Enjoy!

“Brisbane likely to cop a month’s worth of rainfall in two days, with a major wet weather event set to drench the South-East. Forecasters say 40mm to 60mm of rain will hit Brisbane over the weekend. However falls could be as high as 100mm.” “On Saturday, there is the chance of a thunderstorm in Brisbane. A top of 18°C is forecast with winds becoming east to north-easterly 15 to 25km/h during the morning.” In the lead up to this weekends fixtures you could be forgiven for assuming the apocalypse was just around the corner. Players were advised to pack their snorkelling gear,…

Across the ovals of GPS Rugby this weekend, students were being given a lesson in maths as First XVs from all corners of South East Queensland scored a collective 30+ tries in a series of roaring victories (and one squeaky). The talent being showcased in GPS Rugby 2014 is just unreal! Will Rafter (RuggasXV) sat through a thriller on Miskin St as Toowoomba Grammar tried to put the final nail in BBC’s Premiership coffin before they could get out of first, but fell short by only a conversion after roaring back into the game late, keeping BBC’s season alive for another week.…

MATCH REPORTS – Round 1 There are no more passionate supporters of Rugby than Schoolboys in Queensland, and when it comes to the 150 plus years of direct competition between some schools in the GPS, it’s unsurprising that the tribal cries of warring schools have again echoed into 2014. With all the storied history and Wallaby Old Boys, there has been an evolution in GPS Rugby in recent times. A step up. School’s now possess scouts and recruitment budgets, and are splashing out big money on Stadiums equipped with ice baths, JumboTrons, and lights for possible night time fixtures. School’s that…

The Super Rugby 2014 Final Power Rankings are here, and the results are not what we expected. The table is included below for you to examine at your leisure, but I’ll only be addressing those teams highlighted in red – the Top 6 of 2014’s competition. 1st Seed – New South Wales Waratahs #451364160 / gettyimages.com The Waratahs were Power Ranking Leaders for 2014 with 116.12 points. At one points over the last 5 games they rose to 124 points, the highest power ranking I’ve ever seen. The Tah’s had one of the weakest ‘Strength Of Schedule’ ratings of the competition,…

If all things go to plan in Round 19, Australian Rugby fans could see three teams in the Super Rugby Finals, a first in the competitions illustrious history. With a stunningly comprehensive victory against competition heavyweights the Highlanders, the Waratah’s have locked up the minor premiership for the 2014 Super Rugby season – and with it, a guaranteed home semi-final, granting coach Michael Cheika the opportunity to continue his side’s unbeaten affinity for matches in Sydney. With the Waratah’s occupying the top seed, there are 5 spots left to fill in 2014’s Finals series. The second seed will go to…

The Queensland Schoolboy Trials 2014 were held at Ballymore over the weekend, and even though the school holidays had started for the majority of Queensland’s students, the hard work had only just begun for aspiring players desperate to pull on their State’s colours in the National Championships.  DAY ONE GPS 3 opened their trial campaign against the Chairman’s XV at 4:30 pm on Saturday by recording a dominant win 7 tries to 0, with 7 missed kicks at goal resulting in a 35-0 scoreline. Nudgee College wing Tyrone Hussey was electric during the match, combining well with a great performance from Terrace centre Hiale…

Many of you contributed a vote in the Queensland GPS 2013 All-Stars: Forward Pack piece released last month, but now our attention turns to the All-Stars of the Backline. If you hadn’t, simply click here to submit your votes for the All-Stars Forward Pack. Southport lead the group with candidates in every single position in the backline, rounding out an incredible 15/15 nominations for the 2013 Team of the Year. BBC are a close second, only narrowing missing out on 2 positions, bringing that school to 5 backline nominations. Nudgee and Churchie are tied in third place with 4 backline…

For the first time in 130+ years of GPS Rugby History, voting for the Queensland 2013 GPS All-Stars is now open. Who do you think deserves selection in a GPS All-Stars team for 2013? Which School had the most talented squad? Who really knows? In ages past, there had been no way to definitively find out who exactly was the best. Green and Gold have now provided the solution. Our team of GPS Experts went out to the fixtures, watched, recorded, and covered as much Queensland GPS Schoolboy Action as we could in 2013, and after months of debate and analysis, we feel…

The Super Rugby Franchises are halfway home, three Australian Franchises are in the running to crack the Top 6, and earn a chance at taking out the 2014 Super Rugby Trophy.  While the finals race for several teams is heating up, many teams (and fans) will be left in the dust, reflecting on what could have been ‘if only’ or ‘maybe if’. Upon reflection, many teams in Super Rugby possess win/loss ratios that they might not deserve. Teams that either started slowly or lost close games, like the Crusaders and Reds respectively, are represented by a table that does not…

Beach Footy In Australia’s final game in Hong Kong for 2014, Fiji decided that serious competition was boring, and put on a beach rugby style exhibition on free flowing play, delighting the fans. What delighted the fans more was that Australia had no answers, and Fiji ran up a 21-12 score in a fun match to watch. I’m writing this article in a Stadium being shook to it’s foundations by 40,000 people screaming each and every syllable of that classic Hong Kong 7s hit, ‘Hey, Hey Baby!’. The Stadium is erupting, and the Party has officially started. The singing is…

After the thrilling events of Day One and Day Two of the 2014 Hong Kong 7s,  Australia beat all challengers in Pool B and earned the right to play in the Finals on Sunday. Quarter Final: As winners of Pool B, Australia will play the second seeded team of Pool C, Canada, at 2:34 pm AEST. Australia score a try on the full time siren to snatch a win from Canada in the Cup Quarter-final! Canada and Australia last met at Plate Final the Wellington 7s in February 2014, winning a tight affair 12-10. Australia has played Canada 38 times…

France, Match 2, 1:03 pm local time Australia have guaranteed a spot in the Finals on Sunday with a 26-0 victory against France. With inclement weather a factor in the lead up to the match, it was looking likely that this match would turn in to a slugfest. However, that turned out to be wrong as the rain halted and classical running 7s rugby was able to be resumed. France looked a full head and shoulders better than their poor performance against South Africa last night (31-7),and were the better team against Australia for the opening quarter of the match. Fijian…

Day One Australia have played their first pool match of the 2014 Hong Kong 7s against Spain, and won the game 28-14. From the outset it was clear that Australia were willing to risk handling errors on a humid and foggy Hong Kong night in the pursuit of entertaining rugby. Australia attacked the middle of the park in a frenetic opening period, where Tom Lucas and Cameron Clark tried a combination of switches and dummy switches to scramble the Spanish defence. In combination with a healthy offloading game, Australia look well-organised and incisive, while Spain was missing tackles faster than…

In the wake of last weekend’s Tournament in Tokyo, Japan, the 2013 Hong Kong 7s Tournament should live up to the high annual standards set by the World’s most famous Rugby 7s Event . Green and Gold Rugby have prepared this guide to educate even the least partial of Aussie 7s’ fans in all you need to know heading in to the Tournament. The stage is set for the Annual Hong Kong 7s Tournament, generally regarded as the premier Rugby 7s Tournament in the world. Thousands will flock to Hong Kong Stadium for the last weekend of March to celebrate…

Just how stuffed have we been?