Author: Nick Hartman

Monday’s Rugby News has all the reactions*: Daryl Gibson’s and Tony McGahan’s; Nick Stiles’; and Stephen Larkham’s. There’s also more bug news!! [one_half last=”no”] Tahs Good, Rebs Sad Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson reckons the Waratahs win against the Rebels will be a turning point of their season. Opposed to, y’know, another tease of hope followed by disappointment. “We’re playing the form team this weekend, that’s the way we’ll treat that, but we do know that each team we’ve played with has been very competitive so we’re going to be at our best,” Gibson told rugby.com.au “We know that but we love…

There’s no Richard today so it’s just James and Blake and their cute, rugby podcast man date. Get your weekly fix of Super Rugby, bum players and effin and jeffin into ya!

Friday’s Rugby News features a dying code in Australia, a new blue card on trial, a Force prospectus and the Shute Shield televised [one_half last=”no”] Rugby Ded Roy Morgan, the company, not the bloke who smells cartons of Winnie blues behind Dapto Library, has come up a report that claims that rugby participation is down by 63%. What a story to come out now. Rugby News reports the report as reporting that over a 15 year reporting period, rugby participation dropped from 148,000 regular participants (does regular participant include watching rugby on the pub?) in 2001 to 55,000 in 2016.…

Thursday’s Rugby News has Foley in, The Quade out, JO’C back in training and Matt Hodgson becoming pensive. [one_half last=”no”] Foley Return You know that saying, “you don’t what you’ve got til it’s gone?”. I think Kanye said it first. In his absence, that’s what Bernard Foley has been reminding everyone about. He’s now back in action, picked in the Waratahs XV to face the Rebels this weekend, after recovering from concussion. “It’s something that when you first initially get the head knock you think you’ll be right in a week, but obviously (that’s not what happened),” Foley told rugby.com.au. “It’s…

Wednesday’s Rugby News an eternally developing story, Brumbies wanting bums, and Luke Morahan’s and Matt O’Connor’s future. [one_half last=”no”] Bug Life If there’s anything keen rugby followers like more than scrum resets, it’s developing stories! That whole All Blacks Hotel Bug thing has had its first day in court, with Adrian Gard, the security guard charged with causing public mischief over the whole affair, entering a not guilty plea. Specifically, he is denying that he made a false statement to the popo. “[Gard] has participated with the police in their investigation and he respects the All Blacks and what they…

Rugby Reg, Matt and Hugh do as they do and wang on about Super Rugby, Australian rugby and anything inbetween. The five burning questions: What was the best and worst from this weekend of Super Rugby? Is the silent treatment by the ARU the best approach to the Sanzaar decision? Is the national coaching structure working in Oz? (Mario Ledesma and Mick Byrne) If you were CEO of the ARU, what would be your first focus? RWC 2019 rankings band have been confirmed – who do you want the Wallabies to avoid?

Tuesday’s Rugby News has Dane Haylett-Petty rested, Tolu Latu looking up, delayed reporting about the global season, and no French merger. [one_half last=”no”] DHP Rested The Cottlesloe speedsta, Dane Haylett-Petty, will not be joining the Western Force on their two-game tour of New Zealand, against the Crusaders and the Blues. While it sounds fishy, Force coach Dave Wessels insists that it’s all part of the plan. “It was part of his plan from the start,” Wessels told rugby.com.au. “I sat down with Dane probably a couple of days pre-Christmas and mapped out his season decided back then. “Dane’s played a lot of…

Monday’s Rugby News has Daryl Gibson being sad, Jake Gordon being proud, bad news for the Reds, and international rugby rankings. [one_half last=”no”] Gibson Takes Cop Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson has admitted his team are in a “hole” following Saturday’s night crudfest at Allianz. “That’s my responsibility as head coach to set the direction,” Gibson said, according to the SMH. “That’s firmly on my shoulders and then we’re all still very united in what we want to achieve and it starts on Monday with getting our training and preparation right for Friday. “That [loss] puts us into a real hole.…

Blake, James and Richard celebrate their one year anniversary by yapping on about Super Rugby, Ryan Crotty, and the Six Nations. Oh, and that’s a picture of Shaun Berne.

Friday’s Rugby News has Super CEOs staying mute, Larkham pushing back, Fardy back in, Rebels changing their team again, Genia rumours, and the Top 14 are also worried about Racing – Stade. [one_half last=”no”] Super Chiefs Go Mute Super Rugby CEOs have remained weird and coy about the prospect of an Australian team being cut. “Given that so many people’s livelihoods could potentially be at stake, the CEOs are respecting the ongoing process that Sanzaar are going through and that speculation of a future format does not help any team,” read a statement sent out by the heads of the Tahs, Reds,…

Thursday’s Rugby News has news that will make you go ‘nawww’ cos there’s a Vickerman Cup, the return of Genia, an ABs/England game and a players’ strike. [one_half last=”no”] Vickerman Cup Naw, ain’t this nice! The Waratahs and Brumbies (for as long as they exist) will play for the Vickerman Cup. Dan Vickerman played for the Brumbies 20 times and the Waratahs 58 times. “Dan was one of those teammates who was admired by all that knew him and I know both sides will be wanting to take home the Dan Vickerman Cup,” NSWRU chief Andrew Hore said. “It is…

Wednesday’s Rugby News has more depressing Super news, 100 caps for Sooper Hooper, more Beale chat, and a new club in France. [one_half last=”no”] Fin By Fin Harold Vester, boss of the Bloemfontein Cheetos, has delivered the bombest of bombshells. “All I can say is that we are safe. I keep my ear to the ground,” Vester said, reports rugby.com.au (via the Afrikaans-language Netwerk 24). “There is much discussion about the current series and the format and two teams of South Africa and a team from Australia. “There was even speculation that we would return to a Super 12, but my information is…

Host Rugby Reg, Matt and Hugh gather round the round table at Castle GAGR to bravely chat about Australian rugby without crying. 1. Are our Australian teams fit enough? 2. Is Daryl Gibson’s coaching gig safe? What about Nathan Grey as Defence coach? 3. What should determine which Aussie team gets cut? 4. Who would win between the Poms and the All Blacks? 5. Will the RWC lose its lustre similar to the Olympic Games (and perhaps Commonwealth Games? Get some pod into ya!

Tuesday’s Rugby News has Stephen Moore news, Brumbies and Waratahs saying stuff about each other, and the England winning the sevens. [one_half last=”no”] Moore Benched You read that headline right. Stephen Moore will be benched BENCHED “for a game” in the Reds upcoming South Africa/Argentina tour says the Daily Tele. That means golden boy Andrew Ready, who knows what’s what (i.e. he follows me on Twitter) will get a starting shot. “When we signed Stephen, we knew we had to manage his load with starts and some time off the bench,” Reds coach Nick Stiles said. “By using him later in the…

Monday’s Rugby News has the latest on Sanzaar’s Big Meeting, the results from the Canada leg of the sevens, and England winning winning winning (+15 more times) [one_half last=”no”] Robust Discussions Sanzaar is as Sanzaar does. The various bigwigs of rugby in the southern hemisphere got together in London to have a chat about the future of Super Rugby…and all they got was this lousy presser: The SANZAAR Executive Committee (Exco) met in London on Friday 10 March to assess the economic and sporting environment under which its tournaments (Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship) are operating and to review the…

James, Blake and Richard say a bit of this and a bit of that, in the third Rugby Report Card of the 2017 season.

Friday’s Rugby News features the return of Big Dig, a renewed friendship, a focused Waratah defence, and Eddie Jones at it again. [one_half last=”no”] Digby’s Back The Big Dig is back. The Crusaders are handing a debut to Digby Ioane – against his alma mater, the Queensland Reds. It’ll be a bit of a nostalgia fest on Saturday night, with a lot of the players from the 2011-winning Reds side coming back to replay that year’s grand final fixture. Meanwhile, Reds coach has taken the angry red pen to the Reds teamsheet, furiously scratching out the names ‘Kane Douglas’, ‘Adam…

Thursday’s Rugby News has a “tactical” squad from the Brumbies, updates on Adam Coleman and Jed Holloway, and an exciting prospect out west. [one_half last=”no”] Fardy Dropped Scott Fardy has been dropped from the Brumbies squad for Friday night’s game against the Force, the first time the flanker hasn’t been part of the Brumbies squad since 2013. Coincidentally or not, this so-called “tactical” decision has come only a few days after Fardy announced he was doing one to Leinster at the end of the year. “That’s a tactical decision, there’s no injury there with Fards,” Stephen Larkham lied to rugby.com.au. “It’s just…

Wednesday’s Rugby News has concerns about contracts, the ARU hoping for a new rugby calendar, Cheika spinning his diplomatic magic and Fisher quitting. [one_half last=”no”] New Contracts On Hold Australian Super teams are being asked to delay signing Australian players who aren’t Wallabies, the Canberra Times reports. With an eye to the SANZAAAAAR’s Big Meeting on Friday, the ARU has been quietly asking the franchises to hold their hand. As the report says: “Teams can still start informal talks with players and give an indication of whether or not they will be offered a new deal, but the contract process will be be…

Rugby Reg, Matt Rowley and the Australian Mark Twain, Hugh Cavill, debate all the hottest topics in Australian rugby. They’re joined by Bruce Wilkinson, of Fantasy Super Rugby, to provide the kiwi perspective on some of these hot topics. Here are the five burning questions:  Is anyone interested in Aussie local derbies, other than the fans of those teams?  The SANZAAR decision is this Friday. What do we think should/will happen?  Which Australian team is the most likely to beat a Kiwi team?  What Wallabies are under threat (e.g. Cooper, Moore, Folau)  Who’s impressed in the up and comers?