Author: Reg Roberts

Micheal Chieka has made two changes to his starting line-up for the Wallabies next next against Argentina in Buenos London this weekend. Lopeti Timani comes into the starting team, his run on debut, at Number 8 following injuries to this year’s other 8 men David Pocock and Sean McMahon. Timani made his debut for the Wallabies off the bench in the last test against the Pumas in Perth. Timani follows his brother Sitaleki into the Wallaby jersey after Sitaleki made his debut for the Wallabies in the 2011 loss to Samoa in Sydney. The other starting team change is Rory Arnold…

Phew. That was a pretty damn amazing round of NRC. Two absolute bowl overs by QLD Country and the Western Sydney Rams gave hope to underdogs everywhere. Meanwhile the Spirit and the Rays won, and won well, at their respective home games. As to the best of the individual performances? Well it was tough to nail down, but let’s give it a crack. [one_third last=”no”] 1. Ben Daley (QLD Country) – 1st TOTW appearance It was great to see Dales back in his element on the weekend. He powered over Paddy Ryan in the scrums, ran hard and often and was an…

The Wallaby hoodoo at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria continues as the Sprinboks defeated the Wallabies 18-10 in a match that was there for the taking for the Australians. First Half: The intent was there for the Wallabies from the kick off as they opted to keep the ball in hand and both wingers got their hands on the ball early on for a couple of strong runs. Significantly Israel Folau was able to inject himself early on as well. The Boks, in turn, were a lot more direct when they got the ball and put the Wallabies under pressure when…

Just two rounds to go in the NRC in its new ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ season format. What it means is that pretty much every game has meaning, particularly as we race towards the finals in a couple of weeks’ time. Round 5 saw some incredible rugby played, with some brilliant pieces of individual skill but also a whole heap of superb team tries.  Round 6 features four cracking match-ups, each with their own significance and reason to watch. So, let’s get to it and have a look. QLD COUNTRY V NSW COUNTRY EAGLES (STREAMED VIA FOXSPORTS.COM.AU) SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER AT CLIVE BERGHOFER…

All the NSW teams won and all the QLD teams lost. Look I just don’t want to talk about it. I did love the Rising winning the Horan-Little Shield though. Check out Tom English on instagram for all the evidence we needed as to how much they enjoyed the victory! I don’t think Horan – Little have seen that much spilled beer since they toured regional QLD with the Web Ellis trophy back in 1991. But back to the NRC, there were some absolutely killer performances on the weekend, so let’s take a look at our NRC Team of the Week. [one_third…

Can you believe we are almost over? Here we are at Round 5 and we’ve only got two more weeks after this. I love the intensity of the season whereby there’s no chance to ease your way into the tournament and find your feet – you’ve got to take it out of the blocks. Unfortunately my Queensland teams have failed to do this and sit at the bottom of the ladder with the Rams. Meanwhile the Eagles continue their undefeated run, but you get the feel that the Rising and Spirit are on the rise and who knows how the…

The latest Wallaby squad has been announced, this time a 30 man squad to cover the upcoming games against South Africa in Pretoria and Argentina in London (England). The squad is: Hookers: James Hanson (Rebels) Tolu Latu* (Waratahs) Stephen Moore (Brumbies) Props: Allan Alaalatoa (Brumbies) Sekope Kepu (Waratahs) Tom Robertson (Waratahs) Scott Sio (Brumbies) James Slipper (Reds) Locks: Rory Arnold (Brumbies) Adam Coleman (Force) Kane Douglas (Reds) Rob Simmons (Reds) Backrowers: Scott Fardy (Brumbies) Michael Hooper (Waratahs) Dean Mumm (Waratahs) Lopeti Timani (Rebels) Sean McMahon (Rebels)  Scrumhalves: Nick Frisby (Reds) Will Genia (Stade Francais) Nick Phipps (Waratahs) Flyhalves: Quade Cooper…

The 2017 Super Rugby Draw has been released and launched with a couple of weeks of Thursday night football with the Rebels to host the first game of the season against the Blues on Thursday 23 February. During the 17-round season, the five Australian Super Rugby teams – the Brumbies, NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Melbourne Rebels and Western Force – will each play six matches in the Australian conference and nine matches against teams in other conferences. In the four-conference tournament structure, which follows the same 2016 format, each team will play 15 matches and have two byes. During the…

So the Eagles sit atop the ladder now as the only undefeated team, despite a valiant effort by the Fardy-led Rays. The Vikings have successfully defended their first challenge of the Horan Little Shield. The Perth Spirit made a stunning statement out west and the Queensland teams continue to bumble along. I must say this was one of the toughest TOTW’s to pick this season. I will say it up front – in a backline dominated by Spirit players, 3 try hero Luke Morahan does not get a call-up. So on to the team! [one_third last=”no”] 1. Paddy Ryan  (NSW…

Well that was quite a round wasn’t it? Perth Spirit claimed their 2nd win of the season, on the road to the Rams. The Rays also won on the road, over QLD Country, thus retaining their position on top of the ladder. The Vikings won the Horan-Little Challenge against Brisbane City, the first time Brisbane have ever lost the Shield. Finally the NSW Country Eagles took their gig to Tamworth and held off a fast finishing Melbourne Rising to join the Rays as the only undefeated team. It sets the scene nicely for a cracking Round 4 where we will…

In a weekend that saw Brisbane City relinquish the Horan-Little Shield for the first time and NSW Country Eagles and Sydney Rays remain undefeated, there were ample quality individual performances. Let’s check out our latest Team of the Week. [one_third last=”no”] 1. Pettowa Paraka  (Brisbane City) – 3rd TOTW appearance Paraka’s back for the third week in a row on the back of his strength in the scrum, power running and, most impressively, his pilfer game which is simply outstanding.[/one_third] [one_third last=”no”] 2. Robbie Abel (Canberra Vikings) – 1 Another couple of tries on the weekend sees Abel jump into the top…

Storms throughout the Brisbane day ensured uncertainty around crowd size but also what we could expect come game time. Clear skies by kick off, and the fantastic Suncorp Surface was good to go for another intense Nelson Mandela Challenge was sure to take place. Scoring Plays: 3rd minute – Aussies snagged an early turn over and looked to attack by spreading wide, but a loose carry saw the Boks regain possession and spread it wide where Etzebeth sent Habana away for a run before Genia took down Mohoje in a cracker. Eventually the Boks were able to continue to take…

Round 2 of the Buildcorp NRC produced some stunning matches and while we are only two weeks in, the season is shaping up to be the closest ever. And talk about unpredictable? How do the Vikings go from putting 60 odd points on the opposition one week, chuck a few Wallabies in their team and then go down by 60 themselves?  Talking about inconsistencies, how good were QLD Country in their first half against the Melbourne Rising? Well unfortunately they were as bad in the 2nd half as they were good in the first and let a big lead slide.…

What a belter of a weekend of NRC rugby we’ve just had. Two arguable upsets and two very near things. Let’s take a look at some of the standout individual performances of Round 2. [one_third last=”no”] 1. Pettowa Paraka  (Brisbane City) – 2nd TOTW appearance Paraka stepped up from his impressive form in Round 1 with a Man of the Match performance against a massive Rams pack. Made crucial metres with the ball with some deft passing. Rory O’Connor (Rays) and James Slipper (QLD Country) also had their moments.[/one_third] [one_third last=”no”] 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa (Western Sydney Rams) – 1 Let’s just…

The NSW Country Eagles have made the biggest statement of the NRC so far this season with an absolute shellacking of an all-star Canberra Vikings today. On a seemingly delightful Sunday afternoon in Canberra no one could have predicted the events that will soon to unfold between these two first round winners. The Eagles came out of the blocks at 100km/hour whilst questions have to be asked as to whether the Vikings actually made it out of the change room. The stage was set within minutes when Eagles winger, Alex Newsome, intercepted a Joe Powell pass down the short blind…

Brisbane City recorded their first win of the season to retain the Horan-Little Shield, but they didn’t have it all their own way against the Western Sydney Rams.  The 44-36 victory at Ballymore on a ripper of a spring afternoon, showcased some Brisbane brilliance however the Rams went close to bullying their way to a surprise win. The Rams have an extremely physical forward pack who love to run with the ball and whilst Brisbane’s defense was willing early on, the Rams were able to make plenty of metres. A strong bust and off-load by the Rams No.8 Tyron Viiga…

Round 1 of NRC 2016 version threw up a few surprises with some contenders failing and some flying high. Still early days though, but the season is short and the results this weekend could be even more important than Round 1. It’s Father’s Day on Sunday and this round is themed as such, so grab your dad (or significant male mentor) and get along. The ARU have also partnered with the Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia (PCFA) to launch #Pass4Prostate and this round will be used to raise awareness of prostate cancer. So as well as encouraging everyone to use the…

The first week is done and dusted and some wonderful rugby was played. Who were the standouts though? We take a shot at coming up with our NRC Round 1 Team of the Week. [one_third last=”no”] 1. Pettowa Paraka  (Brisbane City) Big Pettowa was part of a dominant Brisbane City scrum and strong presence across the park showing some silky smooths for one so large![/one_third] [one_third last=”no”] 2. Tolu Latu (NSW Country) The scrum suffered but Latu’s work around the park was constant and dynamic. A strong running game and a menace to Brisbane City everywhere. Damien Fitzpatrick made a handy return…

The new 2016 streamlined version of the Buildcorp National Rugby Championship kicks off this weekend, and once again Green and Gold will be doing our best to cover all games. For those of you struggling to get excited about Australian Rugby at the moment, given all that’s happened this year, then I’d strongly recommend the NRC as the perfect antidote. Let’s look at this week’s match ups as part of our NRC 2016 Round 1 preview. Perth Spirit v Melbourne Rising (streamed via foxsports.com.au)  Saturday 27 August at UWA Sports Park (Perth).  Kick-off 11:00am (local time) Perth get to host the opening match…

Wallabies All Blacks 1. Scott Sio (19) 2. Stephen Moore – captain (106) 3. Sekope Kepu (67) 4. Kane Douglas (24) 5. Adam Coleman (1) 6. Scott Fardy (34) 7. Michael Hooper (55) 8. David Pocock (57) 9. Will Genia (67) 10. Quade Cooper (58) 11. Dane Haylett-Petty (4) 12. Bernard Foley (31) 13. Samu Kerevi (2) 14. Adam Ashley-Cooper (115) 15. Israel Folau (42)  1. Joe Moody (14) 2. Dane Coles (40 3. Owen Franks (81) 4. Brodie Retallick (51) 5. Samuel Whitelock (76) 6. Jerome Kaino (70) 7. Sam Cane (35) 8. Kieran Read – captain (88) 9. Aaron Smith (51) 10. Beauden Barrett (40)…