Author: Richard Edwards

NSW I notched up another big win on day 2 of the Australian School Championships, this time against Combined States, 40 – 5. The other still undefeated team, the ACT, beat NSW II 31 – 29, in another thriller. In other matches, the QLD teams struck back after first round losses. QLD I defeated WA 17 – 3, while QLD II accounted for Victoria 32 – 17. THE COMPETITION TABLES Here’s how the tables look with one more round to be played today before the finals on Saturday. POOL A POSITION TEAM WINS +/- 1 NSW I 2 +70 2…

The 2017 Australian School Rugby Championships kicked off yesterday at St Ignatius’ College, Riverview in Sydney. The tournament, now in it’s 43rd year, brings together 184 of the best schoolboy rugby players in the country. Day 1 featured four entertaining games, where lots of silky skills and huge hits were on display. NSW I and II opened their accounts with comprehensive victories over Victoria and WA respectively. In the other matches, Combined States narrowly beat QLD II and ACT knocked off QLD I in a thriller. COMBINED STATES 28 – 22 QLD II By “Covered” Both teams showed they mean…

The 2017 NSW GPS competition kicked off on Saturday, after an extended pre-season. All teams were chomping at the bit to get that all-important first-up win under their belts. Adding even more tension to the occasion, it was the final chance to impress the selectors, with the GPS teams to be announced that evening. GPS team selections here RIVERVIEW V NEWINGTON By “Short Ball” Newington won the trial 29 – 20, but Riverview had shown better form towards the end of the pre-season. Would Newington’s forward-oriented game plan prevail? Or would the class and speed in the Riverview backline secure…

The 2017 GPS rugby competition gets underway this Saturday and it looks like being another close one. The two round comp of recent years has been replaced with one round of five matches. This revised format follows an extended series of trials, which included some good wins and big losses against various CAS schools. Pre-season form indicates at least three teams have a serious chance of winning the ‘School Challenge Trophy’ and a tied premiership is a distinct possibility. A group of GPS writers takes a look at how each of the teams has been travelling, players to watch and…

St Patrick’s College, Wellington won the Pillinger Cup at the Scots College 7s, beating St Ignatius’ College, Riverview 29 – 17 in the final. The match capped off an outstanding campaign for St Patrick’s, who showed loads of resilience and a knack for closing out tight games. The tournament, which was contested by 12 teams from Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, produced many entertaining matches, including some nail-biting last-minute victories. There were also many memorable off-field moments, especially during the post-match trophy presentation, where the boys from Ratu Kadavulevu School, Fiji treated the crowd to a selection of Gospel Songs…

The Scots College, Sydney is hosting a schoolboys rugby 7s tournament this Saturday, 1 April 2017. Twelve teams from Australia, Fiji and New Zealand will compete in a full day of matches, starting at 10.00am. This year’s event will again feature some of the best local and overseas schoolboy 7s players, including several members of the recently selected Australian Youth Boys Rugby Sevens Squad. Four pools of three teams (see below) will battle it out for the Pillinger Cup, Rhino Shield and Midford Plate, with the Cup final kicking off at 4.30pm. The tournament is shaping up to be an…

Round 6 marks the start of the second half of the season and Riverview, Kings and Scots are tied for first. After a week off, all teams will be refreshed and chomping at the bit. Riverview host Joeys at Lane Cove, Newington travel to North Parramatta to play Kings and Scots are at home against Shore at Bellevue Hill. This week ”George Grant”, ”Crackerjack”  and ”Marched Ten” share their thoughts on what are sure to be three entertaining and intense matches. If you missed what happened in Round 5, check out the match reviews, as well as “sidesteppa’s” highlights video of the Scots…

Three more intriguing matches and some wet weather are on the cards for this Saturday, as we approach the half-way point in the 2016 season. Scots host Riverview at Bellevue Hill, Kings head to Northbridge to take on Shore and Newington clash with Joeys at Hunters Hill. This weekend’s games are the last in the first stanza of home and away matches, so mid-season ‘bragging rights’ are at stake. To add to the intrigue, this will be the second last opportunity for the players to impress selectors, with the GPS rep teams to be announced after Round 6. And just…

Welcome to Round 14 of FOREIGN EXCHANGES, the place to go for a run down on what happened in this week’s non-Aussie Super Rugby matches. Foreign Exchanges will be back in five weeks to cover the Round 15 games, which are played on 1 – 3 July. Hope you enjoy the June Internationals and good luck to your favourite team. Hurricanes 27 – 20 Highlanders by “Rich_E” A try in the last minute to Hurricanes flanker Ardie Savia, his second for the match, broke the deadlock and secured the win against the Highlanders in Wellington. Both teams had a bye…

Three bruising battles take place this Saturday in the race for the 2016 Premiership. This week, “Crackerjack” and “Rich_E” (yours truly) take stock of where things are at, what we can look forward to in this weekend’s matches and some players to watch. If you missed what happened in Round 3, check out the match reviews, as well as “sidesteppas” highlights video of the New v View 1st XV clash. https://youtu.be/_2qi0mbDtuM Where are we at? by “Crackerjack” All the pre-season ‘sages’ look to have been right. This is the closest 1st XV season in years. For the…

Welcome to Round 13 of FOREIGN EXCHANGES, the place to go for a run down on what happened in this week’s non-Aussie Super Rugby matches. Lions 52 – 24 Jaguares by Jack Colley The Jaguares dismal first season in Super Rugby has continued, with the Lions running in eight tries in a rout that could have been much worse. The visitors were without regular internationals, missing No. 8 Leonardo Senatore (10 weeks for biting) and dynamic rake Augustin Creevy (one week for a lifting tackle). The lack of leadership showed in the second half, where they failed to show any…

Round 3 of the GPS Rugby comp presents some tantalising tussles that are sure to have a big impact on the ladder. After two massive rounds of GPS ruggers, Kings and View top the table with consecutive hard-fought victories. New and Shore have played some good footy but are yet to register a win. And Scots and Joeys sit in the middle of the pack with a 50% win-loss ratio. Three more games that are guaranteed to entertain await us this Saturday. Shore take on View at Lane Cove, Kings host Joeys at North Parramatta and New travel to Bellevue…

Welcome to Round 12 of FOREIGN EXCHANGES, the place to go for a run down on what happened in this week’s non-Aussie Super Rugby matches. Highlanders 34 – 26 Crusaders by Brent Craig aka ‘waiopehu oldboy’ The defending champions have proven their repeat-title credentials with an emphatic bonus point victory under the dome in Dunedin. After looking to be barely hanging on at 3 – 9 after 22 minutes, the Highlanders stormed back with a brace of tries to wing Waisake Naholo either side of one to centre Matt Faddes to lead 20 – 12 at the break. All the…

Some cracking clashes await this weekend in Round 2 of the GPS comp. Scots head to Parramatta, Shore host Joeys and New take on View at Stanmore. All three matches should be fast, fierce and furious, with this year’s comp looking like being the closest in ages. The rewind If you missed what happened in Round 1, check out the match reviews, as well as “sidesteppas” highlights video of the View v Joeys Ist XV game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3qg1bAhXsI#action=share The fast forward This week, ”Crackerjack“ outlines who he thinks is going to win and why. For a man that knows…

Welcome to Round 11 of FOREIGN EXCHANGES, the place to go for a run down on what happened in this week’s non-Aussie Super Rugby matches. Round 11 at a glance The Highlanders knocked off competition leaders, the Chiefs, with strong defence the key to their victory. The Sharks scored four tries and a Bonus Point win against the Hurricanes. The Blues claimed their third straight victory in a fairly unconvincing display against the Kings. Highlanders 26 – 13 Chiefs by Trevor Robertson The Highlanders showed starch and won three tries to two. The Chiefs had their moments, but blew…

The Tahs return home from a largely unexpected win against the Stormers at Newlands to face a Cheetahs team all too familiar with winning down under. After beating the Force and Stormers in two consecutive weeks on the road, the Tahs’ confidence is up and expectations of a third straight win would have to be high. But the Cheetahs have won three of their last four matches against the Tahs, although in two of those wins, the difference was a single point. Also, the Tahs have lost their last three games on home soil this season, all by less than…

The 2016 NSW GPS Rugby Season kicks off this Saturday and it looks like being the closest in many years. So what can we expect from each team? How did they go in the trials and who are the players to watch? A group of regular GAGR GPS writers has put each of the 1st XV teams under the microscope to address these and other key questions. Yours truly also had a crack at predicting where each team will finish. Wow what a tough task that was. As tough as picking a broken nose. It wouldn’t surprise if we end…

Welcome to Round 10 of FOREIGN EXCHANGES, the place to go for a run down on what happened in this week’s non-Aussie Super Rugby matches. Round 10 at a glance The Chiefs claimed a narrow victory over the Sharks in a match with lots of mistakes. The Hurricanes ran up a big score against the Lions who have now lost their last three starts against Kiwi opposition. The Jaguares scored 11 tries in their win over the Kings and chalked up their first home victory. Chiefs 24 – 22 Sharks by ‘Brumby Runner’ In a game that had the…

The Tahs appear to have their mojo back, but they will need to be at their best to beat the Stormers, who currently top the SA conference. Confidence is up in the Tah’s camp after last week’s comprehensive win over the Force. The 49 points amassed was the most they’ve scored against an Australian team in Super Rugby and they executed their attack with a level of sustained precision not seen all season. But the Force had lost five on the trot going in to last week’s clash, while the Stormers are in second place overall and Newlands is a…

Welcome to Round 9 of FOREIGN EXCHANGES, the place to go for a run down on what happened in this week’s non-Aussie Super Rugby matches. Round 9 at a glance The Sharks claimed an important away win over a disappointing Highlanders with all points coming from the boot of Garth April. The Sunwolves recorded their first Super Rugby win, knocking off fellow cellar dwellars the Jaguares in Tokyo. The Chiefs beat the error riddled but expansive Hurricanes in an entertaining match. The Lions smashed the Kings and now sit only one point behind the Stormers on the South African group…