Author: Reg Roberts

Below is a letter we’ve sent to Andy Marinos, the current Chief Executive Officer of SANZAAR, regarding some concerns we have around the refereeing of Super Rugby in recent years. Mr Andy Marinos Chief Executive Office SANZAAR Dear Andy: I write to you on behalf of the readers of the biggest supporter driven web site in Australian Rugby – Green and Gold Rugby (www.greenandgoldrugby.com) as well as, it would seem from recent social media activity, many rugby fans across the southern hemisphere. I am sure you have seen the media that has been driven by some preliminary research one…

Queensland fans get to say sayonara to the Sunwolves this weekend in Brisbane, but will they be waving goodbye to their team’s finals hopes as well? The Reds finally get to play a home game, having spent much of the last three weeks living out of their luggage in hotels across the southern hemisphere.   Whether two bonus point losses and brilliant first forty against the Jaguares, will be enough to drag the many jaded rugby fans back is yet to be seen. Personally, I think there remains a hell of a lot to like about this team with some exciting…

Queensland have arrived in Buenos Aires on the final leg of a horror opening three rounds of travel, looking to get more out of their play-cation, than just a couple of bonus points.  The Jaguares, on the other hand, have enjoyed the company of their loved ones, the comfort of their own beds, and the advantage of their home stadium since Super Rugby launch a few weeks ago. As such comparing respective records at this time is like comparing apples with oranges. Well except that they have both played the Lions with different results.  The Jags kick started the season…

The third annual Super W competition kicks off this weekend with Buildcorp again showing their support for the women’s game by sponsoring the competition.  It could be said in the past that Buildcorp were better supporters of women’s rugby in Australia than Rugby Australia, but that’s definitely changing.  While Buildcorp continue to support the game, RA have upped their ante as well. While the financial support is being primarily focused on the national program, their is flow on to this competition.  Expect to see a clear lift in the standard of the competition this year as each state program continues…

One of the biggest challenges for sport specific news agencies is to keep the content flowing all year around.  Now we here at GAGR don’t put ourselves under that pressure, and probably suffer because of our approach but, hey, what are you going do?  Elsewhere, other outlets don’t have that freedom (or apathy).  But what do you do when you don’t have regular matches to report on and you need to steer clear of the more mundane, controversial off-field related stories? You fall back on that all-time favorite source of easy to produce, engagement stimulating trope of “best ever teams”!…

I haven’t come across too many people making a strong stand for Michael Cheika to remain on as Wallaby coach since the team’s departure from the Rugby World Cup last weekend. But there is a level of thought out there that the disappointing results of the last few years was just a continuation of a trend that commenced basically after we won our last World Cup way back in 1999. Ben Darwin, through his work with Gain Line Analytics has proposed as much for some time, whenever talk of a new Wallaby coach has been raised. The truth is most…

Sydney were yet to win in this NRC, having a disrupted start to the season due to the impact of the Shute Shield Grand Final and the Argentina v Randwick clash.  Meanwhile QLD Country were hot favorites on the back of their one point loss to the ladder leader Force in Perth followed by an upset win over the star-ladden Canberra Vikings. First Half: In front of a crowd of mostly team support staff, Sydney started on fire snagging a turnover early and then taking advantage of a poor kick from Filipo Daugunu. Centre Harry Burey made a clean break…

The NRC continued to produce high quality rugby last weekend with the Force and NSW Country remaining the only teams with two wins, while Brisbane City are undefeated however with a draw in Round 1.  The Force started last round with a super impressive away win over the Drua – just their 2nd loss at home since they joined the NRC two years ago.  NSW Country had a strong win over the Rising in the unlikely surrounds of Adelaide, while the two Queensland teams had big wins in a double head on the Gold Coast.  The table now looks like…

On the back of Western Force’s statement yesterday in defeating the Fiji Drua in Suva, this match would become a crucial statement maker for both teams.  Forming a interesting little rivalry, at least since the recent resurgence of the Queensland Country side, these match ups are invariably close but never boring. First Half: Queensland Country made all the play early and it was basically all forward play.  On the back of repeated dominant scrums, Queensland were able to make all the territory. Once close enough, the pack picked and drove until Harry Hoopert was the one to get the pill…

Both Brisbane City and Sydney had performances that probably surpassed many expectations last week, yet both still were unable to come away with the win. With a lighting fast season proper, two games without a win would be danger for any team wanting to make the finals. Sydney missing plenty of players due to the Randwick v Argentina game, and seemed disorganised. To the point that two of their players didn’t have numbers on their jerseys. First Half The winds that are doing such damage through both NSW and QLD, would also have an impact on this game.  Brisbane controlled…

Well that was a cracking start to the NRC.  Three of the games were of extremely high standard.  While you can’t deny the class of the Vikings, their clash with the Rising didn’t match the quality that was the other three games. Early on it looked like the first game, the NSW Derby in Dubbo, was going to be all one way traffic but Sydney fought back and pushed Country all the way. Meanwhile two nail biters on either coast meant left both Queensland teams without a win, yet only one with a loss. The draw in Brisbane and a…

With the Rugby World Cup fast approaching and the excitement building daily, we wanted to help fill the gap that sits increasingly inconsistently between our podcasts. So let us take you back. First back four years to 2015 but then back alternately between 1991 and 1999.  You see back in 2015 I set about interviewing a ‘team’ of Wallaby World Cup Champions to get some insight on their experiences with their World Cup wins. Now these podcasts were recorded four years ago and so there are aspects that are dated, particularly questions about how we thought the Wallabies of the…

NRC 5 comes alive this weekend as week one kicks off under all the pomp and ceremony we’ve come to expect from this tournament.  Yeah, I know. It hasn’t but that’s probably the nature of the tournament as it struggles for resources behind the Wallabies, Super Rugby and probably the 7s programs too.  With all eyes being on the Rugby World Cup, the NRC definitely seems to have taken even more of a back seat than usual. In reality it all seems very rushed again. Well, more than usual.  All teams, except the Rising, only released their squads this week.…

All attention in the rugby world at the moment, rightly, is on the upcoming Rugby World Cup.  With squads named and final tests being played, the wrap up of the Wallaroos season has been somewhat overlooked. The Wallaroos have just completed their most extensive season of test matches, outside of a Rugby World Cup year, in their relatively short history.  Having played their first international, against New Zealand, in 1994 the Wallaroos have just completed a four test campaign with their next World Cup campaign still two years away. The season will sit at a record of two and two,…

Michael Cheika has announced his final RWC squad for this year’s tournament in Japan.  The Rugby Australia selection panel looked to have a relatively easy decision making process after a record win over New Zealand in Perth a few weeks ago.  That was turned on its head when the All Blacks returned serve with a dominant showing in Auckland, with many Wallabies under performing. The big winners would seen to be in the centres where teenage rookie Jordan Petaia has been named, despite limited game time this year, alongside the veteran Adam Ashley-Cooper who will be part of his fourth…

The 2019 NRC Draw has been released, as the title of this article suggests, and as usual there is plenty of interesting snippets that comes with this announcement.  The sixth iteration of the tournament will once again be played across a variety of club and regional grounds, feature new law variations and be more accessible than ever. Law Variations: There are two key law variations, or trials, for this year’s tournament.  Rugby Australia have followed the lead of the Global Rapid Rugby law (which stole it from the NRL) and introduced a 50/22 kick rule.  Basically, any general play kick…

The Wallabies have earnt a well-deserved, and vital, victory at their beloved Suncorp Stadium defeating Argentina 16-10.  The Australians were never behind on the scoreboard and impressed with their perseverance and resilient defence.  A return to Wallaby colours by Christian Lealiifano, Luke Jones and James O’Connor, as well as Will Genia’s last test at home were some of the sideline stories that contributed to the significance of a rare Wallaby win – only their 5th in their last 17 matches. First Half Fan-demanded improvements were evident early for the Wallabies as Samu Kerevi was able to break a tackle AND…

The Australian Schools Rugby Championships continues its glorious tradition next week in the picturesque grounds of St Ignatius College, Riverview. The event is not without controversy this year, as I discussed here a couple of months ago. While Rugby Australia’s new Academy program kicked off last weekend, with the Queensland Reds Academy dishing it to the Melbourne Rebels Academy by the tune of 46-14. The Queensland Schools teams will be up against it next week, however, with most of their normal source of talent, the GPS Rugby schools, opting to prevent their students from trialing. It’s part of the new…

Expectations weren’t particularly high for the Reds this year given the lack of significant off-season signings and the turmoil that was season 2018. When young gun Jordan Petaia went down early in our 2nd game, the hopes were dashed further.  A tough draw to start the season proved the case and we were never able to rebound from it.  But it was an odd season. Some of our stars from last year were disapointing, while new players stood up and took their opportunity.  We won the same number of games as last year but finished further down the ladder.  We…

The Junior Wallabies will enter this Sunday morning’s (AEST) full of confidence but also with the weight of the nation on their youthful shoulders.  Australian rugby is crying out for international success (well, any success) and it seems so long since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Reigning champions, France, will be no pushover but are the last hurdle before Rugby Australia gets to dust down their trophy cabinet again. The Journey So Far: The Aussies began their preparation by taking out the Oceania Championship earlier this year on the Gold Coast. The highlight of the tournament being their memorable…