Author: Reg Roberts

Yeah ok so there is still a week to go in the Super 14 season but this site is about content. So this is as good a time as any to look back on the season that was and check in on ten of the real highlights, from a purely Aussie perspective that is. And there’s is no more obvious place to start than the: 1)      The Waratahs. Sure it’s great to see an Aussie team in the finals, but for me it is how they approached the season that was the big positive for the Tahs.  They say it’s…

Ok ok. It’s that time of the year when the talk turns to Origin again. Nah, I don’t mean the Slater, Inglis, Lockyer, Hayne, Kimmorley and co. Sure that State of Origin series is on, but it just happens to coincide with the call for a State of Origin in Rugby Union as well! Look, Big Kev is into it here . Let’s be honest. The chat started in rugby the same way it started in league. Because QLD were sick of being smashed by teams in which their own players were doing the smashing. Back in the 1970s the…

My first decision when writing this article was whether to end that headline with an exclamation point or a question mark (you will note I opted for neither). For, make no mistake about it, the signing of NRL super star Israel Folau by the Melbourne Rebels and the ARU will have fans falling into two groups. Those who think its a ripper of a signing and those who think it is a dud call. I want to look at all the arguments here, but let’s start with a bit of background. This might be more the purposes of our readers…

Look I don’t want to take away the efforts of the players (well, at least the Force and Reds players), but how about the reffing this weekend? Baffling at stages. Also quite baffling is how we can go from the fantastic footy played by the Reds and Force, against the Stormers and Crusaders respectively, to the turgidity displayed by the Waratahs and Brumbies out at Homebush. Yeah ok, bring on the “typical local derby”, “it was slippery conditions” and “over officious ref” excuses, but how can players of the calibre of Dean Mumm, Berrick Barnes, Matt Giteau and Rocky…

While all the media are talking Storm you can bet everyone at Ballymore are talking Stormers! Well maybe not around Will Chambers, the former Storm centre. Gees, I’ve marvelled at the timing of some of his runs and hits this year, but how about the timing of his exit from the Storm? Beautiful! Forgetting all the kafuffle happening down south in the self-titled ‘home of Australian sport’, let’s focus on what, in 2010, has quickly become the home of Australian rugby – Ballymore. Too biased? Perhaps but sensationalism sells! The catchword of the day out that way is belief. The…

Each week we here at G&GR select our Wallaby Team of the Week. Rather obviously, this is the best performed Australian players of the previous weekend’s Super 14 Rugby. What we’ve found is that there is yet to be a player to rise up to the challenge and stake a claim for the outside centre jersey with a consistent set of dominant performances. One problem for the selectors (both our amateur ones and the Wallabies’ professional ones) is that at least two of the leading candidates have spent limited game time at outside centre. It is such a crucial position…

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING STORY MAY CONTAIN ELEMENTS OF INHERENT BIAS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. IF BIAS DOES CONCERN YOU FOLLOW THE SAFETY PROCEDURES AS FOLLOWS: (1) FILL LARGE BUCKET WITH WATER; (2) INSERT HEAD INTO BUCKET OF WATER; (3) WAIT. CONCERN OVER BIAS WILL SOON SUBSIDE. IF NOT, SEE A MEDICAL PRACTITIONER. Can we do a quick recap of the weekend? Tahs – didn’t play. Brumbies – bleedin’ awful. Force – back to dismal best. Reds – fan-bloody-tastic. What a win.  The best of the season without any doubt. The game plan was sensational and played to perfection.  From…

As many readers will have now realised, Green and Gold Rugby has started working together on a number of initiatives with the Australian Rugby Union. One aspect of this will be providing content for their web site, www.rugby.com.au. So over the coming months you will hopefully see a fairly steady stream (ok, possibly a trickle) of G&GR writing on the ARU site. The first of these will be a series of ‘Wallaby Watch’ articles. Whilst Lance has written a couple of great articles on the possible and probables of the Wallaby squad, these articles will take it all one…

One week further along the season and things are getting way more interesting at the top of the ladder. The Waratahs had a hard fought loss to the Crusaders, snagging a bonus point along the way. As a result the Tahs have slipped from first to third, whilst the Cru jump up one spot to second. It can only get worse, it would seem, for the Tahs as they have the bye this week and there are three teams that can somewhat feasibly leap over the top of them.

Great timing Mr Palu. The day after he re-signs with the ARU he gets injured and is out for the year. If he’d held off his discussions until after this game, the bye week, his negotiating ability, and thus bargaining power, with some of those overseas clubs might not have been as considerable. Bigger picture, it won’t be such a bad thing in the lead up to next year’s World Cup in New Zealand. We know the story. Each of Timmy Horan, Matty Burke, Steve Larkham, Owen Finegan and John Eales spent prolonged periods out of the game in the…

by Juan Cote & Noddy Well who would have picked that both Grand Finalists from last season would be rolled by less fancied opponents in round one? Hard to believe but the Filth were beaten by the Sunny Coast and Souths were pipped by GPS. The pre-season bully revolved around the threat that Sunny Coast posed and it has proven to be the case with them getting over the reigning premiers 33-20. The Stingrays have now recorded back to back wins by accounting for the Goldie and Brothers in their opening two games have to be taken seriously. At Chipsy…

Well that was some good footy! Now I’ll give you that Force v Stormers game didn’t set the world on fire, and the weather (and the visitors) impacted the quality of the Tahs v Cheetahs match, but the rest of the round was pretty damn good. And all the Aussies won! [ed: really?] The aforementioned Force game was dour but a credit to the boys from out west. A nice tough win. The Tahs took care of the Cheetahs in a fairly blah kind of a game.  No offense to the Waratahs, but that Cheetah team looked pretty bloody mindless.…

There was a lot to like about the Australian sides this weekend. The Reds won in South Africa for the first time since 2006 whilst recording their third straight win for the first time since 2004. The Waratahs defeated the Blues in a high quality game with the exciting Rob Horne and Kurtley Beale both back in the starting team and showing their class. The story of the Brumbies was all about the return of Julian Huxley, and it was an encouraging performance by Hux. However the game was also significant for the debuts of two young open sides in…

Last week we launched the first look at the comings and goings of each of our Super 14 teams, plus the new player in the market, the Melbourne Rebels.  This week we’ve seen a continuation in the signing-season with all teams announcing the re-signing or recruitment of players.  All teams, that is, except for the Western Force. Unfortunately for the Force, recent news stories about coach John Mitchell declaring his decision not walk away from his contract when it ends in 2011 will not assist player recruitment. Especially when the smart money is on him losing his job at the…

Oh come on. Do I have to? REALLY? Sharpie wasn’t the only one swearing in frustration after that round. The Waratahs can count themselves lucky that they were playing the bottom ranked team, otherwise they could have joined the ranks of the Force and Brumbies in a winless round. As it was the Tahs got up and now sit somewhat uncomfortably in the top four.  And if you listen to Camp Tah, every thing is fine. Other than a little show of emotion from Berrick Barnes, one gets the feeling that Chris Hickey is a little like Kevin Bacon’s, Chip…

I wrote an article almost a couple of weeks ago now foreshadowing a signing bonanza as the ARU’s signing deadline for the Melbourne Rebels passed.  Well that deadline, 15 March, came and went and we heard nothing. Could it be that the Rebels actually OBEYED the ARU and hadn’t actually spoken to anyone prior to that date? I find that hard to believe. Things changed a little at this week’s Weary Dunlop lunch. Here a packed house of Victorian rugby fans heard Rebels CEO Brian Waldron announce his first Australian signing in Laurie Weeks. But the Rebels aren’t the only…

Week five saw two of Australia’s teams, the Reds and the Waratahs, put in their best performance of the season to date. On the flip side it saw another team, the Force, put in perhaps their worst performance for a number of years. The Brumbies? Well they won.  They haven’t clicked just yet, but how well are they sitting? They are in 5th spot, on for and against alone, as they have the same number of points as the 4th placed Chiefs. It’s a handy run in for them town, basically staying in Australia for the rest of the comp,…

Well that was quite the round.  Three wins from three games for the Aussie teams. For the first time since SANZAR expanded the Super 12 competition into the Super 14 competition in 2006, all Australian teams playing on the weekend won. Surely you can’t be serious? I am serious and don’t ca….well….you should know the rest.  On the face of it, it seems an amazing stat. In reality though? Well in reality the Reds have sucked since then, and the Force haven’t been too crash hot either.  But that was then! This…this is now! It really was an interesting round

So were the inspirational words spoken by Russel Crowe as Maximus, one of cinema’s greatest ‘Rebels’, in the Oscar winning moving “Gladiator”.  Rod McQueen could hardly be confused for Crowe, nor a Gladiator, and it would be unfair to suggest that he had ever planned to ‘unleash hell’ on anything. However, in one week’s time, on Monday 15 March 2010, the Melbourne Rebels are free to do just that.  For that is the date the ARU have decreed is ‘Go Time’ for Rebels recruitment.  And the Australian Rugby world is holding their collective breath as to what goes down. As…

So the Reds play the Chiefs this Friday over in the ‘tron.  It’s a 4.30pm kick off Briso time, 5.30pm on the rest of the east coast. PERFECT for Friday afternoon drinks with your mates, watching it on the big screen. But who’s that dude playing 5 for the Chiefs again? And who’s on the Reds’ bench this week? Where the hell can I get my hands on a match program here at the pub? Well your questions can now all be answered in the one place. Green and Gold Rugby will be releasing Official G&GR Programs for each of…