Author: Nick Hartman

Friday’s Rugby News has some Force players getting up to no good, Ed Quirk chin wagging about all things Sunwolves and Ranga identity, wheelchair rugby coming down to Australia again, and Kiwis kidnapping our rugby kiddies. [one_half last=”no”] Force Players Get In Trouble There’s been a few shenanigans of ill discipline during the Western Force’s trip to South Africa, and captain Matt Hodgson ain’t happy about it. Hodgson, who was ruled out of the rest of the season a few weeks ago due to injury, was furious about the news emanating out of Bloemfontein, accusing the players in question of “ruining”…

Thursday’s Rugby News has the Force signing a new prop, a Richie McCaw movie, a new debutant for the Reds and Matt Toomua being pretty bloody honest as to why he’s going overseas. [one_half last=”no”] Force Sign Daley As mentioned at the very end of yesterday’s news, the Western Force have confirmed the signing of Reds prop Ben Daley. The signing of Daley raises a few eyebrows, as the loosehead has spent a lot of his career on the injury table. Aged 28, Daley has been with the Reds for 9 seasons yet only ever played 80 games for the Queenslanders…

How hard has it been being a Wallaby fan this last three weeks? That’s now four losses in a row, with loads of dropped balls, stupid flicks and just plainly better opposition in between. Well, welcome to the world of the Force fan. For the past few years – you could probably extend that to their whole existence – they’ve had to endure all that, and worse. You can also add to that, having to put up with those dastardly east coast elites. Over the June international break, it’s been a bit wild out west, as the deafening noise surrounding…

Wednesday’s Rugby News has Jake Schatz pondering the questions of life, the release of the Olympics Sevens schedule, Kane Douglas looking to make his mark at the Reds, and the Force have officially started looking for a new coach. [one_half last=”no”] Reds Backrow Reboot Jake Schatz, talking to the Courier-Mail on Monday, gave away that he was considering his options due to the backrow upheaval at the Reds. Now that upheaval has taken a further step, with the announcement of Curtis Browning’s move to Lyon. “There are few scenarios out there but I’m not making any decisions right now because…

Tuesday’s Rugby News has the latest Wallaroos squad announced, bad news about Super ratings in South Africa, another Aussie coming back home to boost the Super stocks, and Tatafu Polota-Nau gunning for the full 10 points on offer. [one_half last=”no”] Wallaroos Squad Announced The squad for the Wallaroos, the Australian women’s rugby union team, has been announced in anticipation for their two-match series in New Zealand to be held in October. The squad, currently at 35, is to be trimmed down by coach Paul Verrell to 26. Talking to rugby.com.au, Verrell said “I’m expecting the level of intensity at the camp to be…

Monday’s Rugby News features more Super expansion, Jarryd Hayne fulfilling his lifelong dream of making the most headlines out of anyone ever, the Rebels sweating on putting together a squad after so many injuries, and Joe Tomane getting ready to return before he buggers off to France. [one_half last=”no”] Islands Super After Super Rugby’s solid debut in Fiji on Friday night, chatter has returned about introducing – or re-introducing, if you’re older to remember a Fiji team playing in very earliest of Super competitions a Pacific Islands team to Super rugby. According to Gregor Paul of the NZ Herald, new Sanzaar…

It’s like God is a rugby fan himself, because the week ends and the weekend starts with some Super rugby, and what’s the best way to shoo work out the door while you usher rugby in? Rugby GIFs, of course! This week there’s some smashin’, some ankle tappin’, some solid D from Faf de Klerk, a banger of a try and a clanging of a try, as well as an update on Matt Giteau’s health and some Poms forgoing the sweet chariot to carry themselves home early. Boomfa Crushed Wobbles Faffing About Like Sashimi Oh Noes Git Out Cherished Memories

Not another great week in Australian rugby, but like any other week rugby GIFs come only second to beer in best ways to see it off. This week we’ve got: a new perspective destroying an argument quite literally founded on sand; a referee seeing things no one else is seeing; Rob Horne’s defending; jedi tricks, three barnstorming tries – two by Western Force props Shambeckler Vui and Mees Erasmus; and a rather nasty ankle tap. Also, hopefully Cheika picks Taqele Naiyaravoro for the final England test just so we can see than disgusting mullet mohawk of his again. Angles Obstruction Construction…

Wednesday’s Rugby News features Ben McCalman and his fractured scapula, the Aussie sevens naming their training squad for a pre-Rio camp, more commentary on Steve Hansen’s comments and Michael Cheika discussing his long-term strategy. [one_half last=”no”] Ben McCalman Injured Western Force and Wallabies n0. 8 Ben McCalman has fractured his scapula, putting him out of contention for not only the final England test on Saturday but also for the rest of the Super season. Given 6 – 8 weeks to recover, there’s a chance McCalman will have recovered in time for the Rugby Championship and beyond. He injured himself not…

Tuesday’s Rugby News has the final Olympics sevens spot sealed, Los Pumas beating Les Bleus, a rugby league legend visiting the England camp and Nathan Grey batting away Steve Hansen’s barbs. [one_half last=”no”] Spain Seal Sevens Spot Spain pipped Samoa 22-19 to win the repechage tournament, held in Monaco over the weekend, to become the 16th and final team to qualify for the Rio Olympics. This means that Spain now joins Australia, Fiji, South Africa, Great Britain, United States, Argentina, France, Kenya, New Zealand, Japan and Brazil in the men’s event. While information on the draw for the pools is incredibly thin…

Monday’s rugby news has Bill Pulver left embarrassed by the AAMI Park pitch, and considering the ARU’s stadia options, Steve Hansen’s on the whole coaching side of the England-Australia series, some good fortune for the Western Force and an opportunity for improving your skills.  [one_half last=”no”] Pulver left “embarrassed” ARU head honcho Bill Pulver was “embarrassed” by the state of the AAMI Park pitch, according to the SMH. The pitch’s performance on Saturday night also has many in the ARU considering tearing up an agreement to play a Wallabies game there in 2017. Pulver, who no doubt was feeling the pressure to please seated between World…

Well, the Poms won and David Pocock fractured his eye socket (and may or may not have taken up a career in piracy in revenge). So, what better than to see off this rather horrible week than with some awesome rugby GIFs? Targeted Pinpoint Thief Choo Choo Quick Thinking Facesitting Quantity vs Quality Peter Pan

It’s Friday, which means its time to do awesome shit like watch rugby GIFs. Slick Flick Push/Pull Wrong Way Git Gets Hit (and Hooper gets RKO’d) Breaking/Making Hearts Backburners Catches Win Matches* Throwback *Canada didn’t actually win that game

World Cup winning coach Bob Dwyer talks about what he expects from the upcoming test series, the Wallabies squad and the mind games from BOTH coaches

The Aussie women’s sevens team – The Pearls – are in red-hot contention to make history and win their first world series this weekend, as they head to France for the final leg needing at least a 6th place finish to win the damn thing.

Bam! That’s the sound of Michael Cheika dropping the Wallabies squad press conference bomb. There’s a few shockwaves, but the biggest one has come in the form of Leroy Houston’s long-rumoured return to the Australian rugby fold after 40 – ok, 6 – years traversing the barren wasteland that is English club rugby. It’s a training squad of 39 which will be cut down to 30 closer to game time, so there’s a few more developments yet to be had. But having caught the affections of Cheika, it looks like Houston, a man with a name straight out of some…