Author: Peter Mitchell

Melbourne came into this match unbeaten, winning all their NRC matches easily. Perth were not overawed though and stayed steeled in their resolve to topple their more fancied hosts. The Match Melbourne have been unbeaten all season while Perth did just enough to make the final four, despite losing more than they have won. Perth however bolstered their side with plenty of Super Rugby experienced players. Conversely the Rising lost a few Super players, three to the spring tour Wallaby squad. Melbourne were the bookies favourites paying only $1.16 compared to the Spirit’s $5. But Perth were reading from a…

Four teams enter, two teams leave. The 2014 NRC semi finals feature a sumptuous feast of knockout rugby. NSW Country Eagles v Brisbane City Outside of Melbourne, these two teams are the most consistent performers of the NRC, having lost only two games all season. They both come into this semi-final fresh from good wins, against quality oppositions. The Eagles beat the fourth placed Spirit and City ended the Vikings finals aspirations. The Eagles have the home advantage here, thanks to a losing bonus point, but besides that both teams have near identical records.That bonus point was earned in their…

As the NRC enters the final round of the regular season, three teams have already made the semis, three are out and three teams will fight for the final semi position. Enjoy our preview of round 9 of the NRC. Sydney Stars v North Harbour Rays The Stars will be in a rush to close out their NRC season. They haven’t yet won a game and were easily beaten last week by fellow cellar dwellers QLD Country. On average they have conceded 45 points per game, yet only scoring 23. Sydney have been in a class of their own, just…

The Rams came into this fixture needing a win to keep their finals aspirations alive, with a bye in the last round this match is the last of their season. The Rising came in as the only team to have already qualified for the finals, they were fresh from their bye and undefeated all season, a six game winning streak. In a highly entertaining match the Rams showed how to play with desperation and never gave up. The Rising though showed us again why they are dominating the NRC, ultimately outlasting the Rams to win this see sawing fixture and…

The NRC’s penultimate round will set up finals footy for some and send others to the scrap heap. Check out what to expect as we preview round 8 of the NRC. North Harbour Rays v Brisbane City North Harbour play the Thursday night fixture for the second week in a row. Last week they held on for a draw in Canberra, the same result they earned the week before against the Rams. They look a solid team except for their scrum which has been shown ineffective at times. While not far off the competition pace, they will certainly need to…

Argentina, showed great intensity and application to earn their first ever Rugby Championship win. The Wallabies, much like last week, were well in the contest but struggled to keep the ball and earn territory. The Match The match started quite well for the Wallabies, their first scrum was competitive and they were playing with some great intensity. The first try came early and easily, Hooper intercepting a loose pass, linking up with Higginbotham to take play to the twenty two. From there the ball was simply put through the hands until Kuridrani straightened off a Folau pass and went over…

Brisbane were blown off the park, the Rams dominating the match to record their most impressive win of their NRC season.

Here’s Green and Gold Rugby’s NRC round 7 preview. With the Rising on a bye, everyone has a chance of winning.

Strap yourself in for Green and Gold Rugby’s NRC Round 6 Preview.

Here’s a quick preview of this year’s NRC round 5. QLD Country v GS Rams The first game of the round sees the winless QLD Country team take on the resurgent GS Rams, in the very rural city of Brisbane. The Rams have won two on the trot after losing the opening two rounds of the competition. They are in the middle of the table, a win here could see them as high as third while a loss could put them in the bottom three. QLD Country are second last on the ladder, no wins and only a couple of…

NRC leaders the Melbourne rising faced a strong Perth Spirit team, determined to make up for last week’s loss. The Match The Rising entered the stadium to the sound of rock music, in a puff of pink smoke. Much was expected of the league leaders after last week’s demolition of Brisbane City, but the early exchanges were in Perth’s favour. The Spirit’s kick off was fielded deep by Melbourne Captain Nick Strizaker who had the ball turned over. While winning it back the Rising found it hard to get out of their own half due to good play by the visitors.…

Get ready for what round four of the NRC has in store with this rapid fire round 4 preview.

A humorous look at the names of the nine NRC clubs and what it says about them.

Get up to speed with a rapid look at round 3 of the NRC: Rays vs Eagles The round kicks off with the North Harbour Rays hosting the NSW Country Eagles at Manly’s Brookvale Oval. The Eagles are flying high (so sorry for that), with two bonus point wins they are equal league leaders. The Rays are playing their second game of the season, last week’s bye coming after a high scoring away loss to the impressive Melbourne Rising in the first round. The bye will mean the Rays are a bit fresher than the Eagles who are coming back…

The Canberra Vikings overcame a slow start to beat a spirited Greater Sydney Rams in the opening game of round two of the NRC. The Match The GS Rams came out to the sound of drums, breathing fire in their first home game of the season. They dominated territory and possession for the first quarter with the Vikings’ captain, Fotu Auelua, getting warned early for repeated infringements. The Rams energy at the breakdown was palpable and deservedly rewarded when half back Vasa Falealifii went over on the right wing to open the scoring. The Vikings Jesse Mogg was having an…

The opening game of NRC round two sees two teams looking to improve on last week’s performance. The Vikings, playing at home, were run over late by an inspired Perth team. The Rams were perhaps more soundly defeated by NSW Country, although conditions were dire and it was quite a close game up until the last fifteen minutes. This game will decide who’s season is back on track and who is going back to the drawing board. The Rams: The Rams lacked an out and out fetcher last week so will be looking for an improved performance over the ball…

Match review of Brumbies vs Western Force Super Rugby Round 11 2013