Author: Nutta

Hello Fellow Wanderers. Again I greet and welcome you all to the pages of the Green & Gold Rugby universe, where we dream of days past, hope for golden days ahead, and search about for something to get excited about on the date in-between. And again I’ll remind all and sundry that this is a fan-run site and any contribution is welcome. So feel free to reach out to me at nutta@greenandgoldrugby.com.au be it with an article, an idea, an opinion piece, or something betwixt them all. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option on the Home page. So feel…

Hey All, First things first and I’ll remind folk that this is a fan-run site and again stress that any contribution is welcome. I mean, for Chrissakes, we even let Yowie publish. Feel free to reach out to me at nutta@greenandgoldrugby.com.au with an article, an idea, an opinion or even just a clue (given I often lack any). And there’s also the ‘Submit a Story’ option. So have a crack, as the more the merrier. I hope this week’s missive finds you all fighting fit, pizza pockets and rippa rita’d for another fun-filled exciting week of finding something to do while we sit out…

Post tenebras lux – after darkness I hope for light. Hi Ya Cobbers, and thanks for joining me yet again as we gird our loins, tighten our cinches, take another swig from the bottomless bottle of hope and strap ourselves in for yet another year of journeying down paths deep, dim and twisted that surround the gift that just keeps giving – Australian rugby. Yes friends, I refer not to Stage Three Tax Cuts, but to our strange, inexplicable adherence to a faith under more pressure than the latest Christian Brothers recruitment drive: being an Australian rugby fan. And I…

By Guest Writer “AussieIrish” Due to unforeseen circumstances, Part 3 of the series is both a little later and shorter than intended, my apologies for that. Some people might say that the enforced brevity is to everyone’s benefit. But nonetheless, I trust you will find something in this week’s article to keep the conversation going for a few more days. Just like in Australia, Ireland has multiple sports competing for the hearts and minds of players and punters alike.  Administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), Ireland’s Gaelic games are the most popular sports, and the heart-blood of local communities…

By Guest Writer “AussieIrish” With Part I, and the subsequent conversations that took place in the chat (thanks to all who took part), hopefully you now have a bit of an idea of both the geography and the complexity of the politics that impact on rugby on this beautiful island of Ireland. Please note that while I’m doing what time permits to validate the facts within the article, as with everything these days, opinions and perspectives may vary. Feel free to offer alternative opinions, and so ‘add to the mix’ in the comments below.  I really liked the description from Who? in…

By Guest Writer “AussieIrish” Over the last few years Ireland has made a significant impression on world rugby, and the G&GR community at large. Given that work’s slow this time of year, and there isn’t much going on rugby wise down under, the time seems right to chip in and provide a background of Irish rugby, the structures, and the journey Irish rugby has taken to enable their teams to compete at the highest levels. However, to understand Irish sport and rugby, you must understand a little bit about the context in which it has developed, including the people and…

Hello all. In my inbox this morning: “…the tackle height will be lowered to below the base of the sternum for all competitions below Super Rugby that commence after 10 February 2024.” Apparently also Sydney JRU are bringing tackling forward from U8s to U7s.

Top of the morning to you all Cobbers. A reminder that this is a volunteer site. It’s for love, not money, stuff. So to that end, feel free to submit a story , or drop me a line on nutta@greenandgoldrugby.com.au if you have an idea, a pic or just want to clue me in on something to look at, especially if it’s bush rugby related. Last Friday, Hoss signed off on 2023 for most of us. And that included for me. But then I attended the Pasifika Youth Cup Rugby Festival over the weekend and I just couldn’t let it…

I remind all that this is a volunteer site. New contributors are always welcome and indeed sought. So please reach out on contact@greenandgoldrugby.com.au should you wish. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier. New beginnings are great; that sense of a new hope, a new day, and the levity and renewed spirit a new start brings is just so uplifting. Now everything will be just fine. What am I talking about? As we all know, Rugby Australia dumped their chairman Hamish McLennan over the weekend and ex-Wallaby Dan Herbert was…

Hi Ya Cobbers, near and far. I hope my musings find you fit, well and healthy as we wind down towards the annual Christmas and New Year siesta. I remind all that this is a volunteer site. New contributors are always welcome and indeed sought. So please reach out on contact@greenandgoldrugby.com.au should you wish. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier. I notice the Rugby Australia Chairman Hamish McLennan remains the gift that keeps on giving, despite the rest of us actively trying to avoid any mention of him. We…

Hey Cobbers, I remind all that this is a volunteer site. New contributors are always welcome and indeed sought. So please reach out on contact@greenandgoldrugby.com.au should you wish. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier. I’ve used my platform here to have a bit to say about the nature of the game’s leadership and governance in Australia over the past few weeks. I’m not backing away as it’s not an issue that’ll be resolved anytime soon. And the “Yeh, she’ll be right” trust we have bestowed on those on high…

Hello Cobbers, I remind all that this is a volunteer site. New contributors are always welcome and indeed sought. So please reach out on contact@greenandgoldrugby.com.au should you wish. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier. Just when you think you’ve reached the bottom of a muddy pit, you generally find there’s a bit further to go. Things really can get worse. I write this on Monday afternoon, 30 October. We all heard around 08:30 Sunday night that Eddie Jones had resigned as Wobbly coach. And while at time…

PREVIEW Gudday Cobbers, I typed ‘greatest sporting rivalries’ into Doctor Google the other day, and of the first ten lists that came up, 8 of them included the All Blacks against the Springbok in their Top10. Even the shamelessly American sites, with their infatuation and preoccupation with only themselves, included the ABs v Bokke in their Top10. And so if you need to be told, if you didn’t already know, be assured that when South Africa meet New Zealand on the rugby field for the 106th time this coming weekend, it’s recognised around the world as close to the absolute…

Hey All, Over the past few weeks I’ve articulated some pretty solid criticisms of RA, and particularly its board of directors. Those deliberately harsh words were triggered in the moment by the dismal results of the Wobblies at the 2023 World Cup. But it’s more than that: it’s the culmination of years of the pent-up frustrations of a lifelong rugby fan watching a slow motion train wreck that everyone could see coming, yet was still allowed to happen. It’s the manifestation of finally being sick to the very back teeth of having our collective goodwill and loyalties abused by 20+yrs…

Ahoy there Cobbers! I pen these thoughts mid afternoon on Monday, in a wierd, vibey haze induced no doubt mostly by the sleep deprivation of the weekend just passed, multiplied by the beef kebab for lunch, offset by the grainy, semi-cold flat white from the angry barista in the downstairs foyer area of our multi-level and multi-business office block. So things are a bit surreal for me right now. And thus I implore you to go a bit easy on me as linear thinking may not be my strong suit right now. But what was decidedly not hazy of late…

PREGAME Well bonjour mes amis and welcome to the pre-game chat regarding RWC2023 quarter-final no4 to be duked out by the quite literal heavyweights of the finals, Les Frogs (aka Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys – CESM) and the Saffas (aka ‘Catholics’ given they generally hate the pill). This match is slated for Stade de France, Paris at 9pm Sunday night (6am Monday Sydney local time). And Kiwi Ben O’Keeffe will blow the pea, ably assisted by Paul Williams and James Doleman with Brendo Pickerill up in the TMO Box. For me, and indeed for everyone I think, this is a…

Hello Cobbers, Part of me wants to write a feel good piece about the end of the pools phase of the RWC, for we’ve seen some magnificent footy to my mind. We’ve seen the likes of the Bokke and Les Frogs show pure power across the park. We’ve seen the precision and ruthlessness of the All Blacks racking near a ton of points on the Italians. We’ve seen the creativity and flair of the Irish, the dogged ‘we will win somehow’ of the English and even the ‘we will run from anywhere’ of Los Pumas. Sprinkled in and around that…

Konnichiwa Cobbers Welcome to this, the seventh instalment of Los Pumas versus Bureibu Burossamuzu (Brave Blossoms) to be played at Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes at 1:00pm frog local (Sunday night 10:00 Sydney). For the particular among us, Kiwi Ben O’Keeffe is abusing the pea for this match, while Paul Williams and James Doleman run the touch and Brendon Pickerill drives the TMO bunker. PREVIEW: With the score at 5 wins to the Argies (aka FISMs – Falkland Islands Silver Medallists) and 1 to the Angry Flowers, some may say it’s a foregone conclusion that World No9 FISMs will devour…

Gudday Cobbers, I confess I’m really struggling to write anything this week, I’m just so empty. And I’ve had a bit to drink so my chat is even more crap than usual. Normally I’m a pretty upbeat guy; I’m normally the guy who can find a silver lining in almost any cloud. I almost pride myself in that I can take nearly any topic and make it fire folk up, or make them reflect a bit. And the World Cup is on for Christssake. Surely I can be upbeat about something yeh? But this week, I confess it’s all just…

Hola mis amigos, Welcome to this 53rd clash between the Los Pumas of Argentina (FISMs) and the Chilean Los Condores (Chilean Angry Birds – CABs) scheduled for 1500hrs Frog local time (2300hrs Sydney local) at Stadium Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes. Our man with the pea will be referee Paul Williams, ably assisted by Andy Brace and Chris Busby with Ben Whitehouse in the bunker box. And I suspect the officiating team may have their work cut out for them as while this may seem a bit of a non-event on the surface as the World no9 FISMs meet World…