Author: Scott Rowe

The Wallabies have come in for a mixed bag of criticism and praise for a solid RWC performance against Fiji. The failure to secure a bonus point could damage our chances of progressing out of the pool, but against an improved Fiji side, a 15 point win is nothing to be sneezed at. Dual Opensides of Glory Is it time to reassess what we Australians consider to be our signature style of rugby? God knows the backline was largely ineffectual in the win against Fiji. The memories of Campese, Latham and Larkham effortlessly gliding through defences, roll in their…

The Highlanders would have come to Perth expecting a win, but with the Force having won the last six between the two teams, they weren’t taking the Force lightly. The Match The game started at a rapid pace. The Force broke their usual mould and created some opportunities with the ball in hand in the first  ten minutes. They were the first team to go close to scoring when Sias Ebersohn found a hole close to the ruck but a likely try to Brache was snuffed out by some desperate defence by Ben Smith. The next five minutes was chewed up…

Coming on the back of the Western Force’s 10th straight loss, it’s time to have a look at their season to date and place in the competition going forward

The tale of the table would tell you this match is a foregone conclusion, but with the injury to Cruden and return of Hodgson for the Force it may prove to be anything but. Return of the Talisman The moment every Force fan has been waiting for finally arrives this week, the return of Matt Hodgson. The talismatic leader dragged the Force to wins they had no right of claiming all through the 2014 season. His value isn’t so much in his open side play, though he was in vintage form. It’s that he lifts the team around him. Another…

The Force were desperate to arrest their 6 game losing streak, but it wasn’t to be with the Cheetahs rock solid defence seeing them run out convincing 24-15 winners. The Match The match started with clear skies and both teams tried to take advantage of that with some ball in hand running rugby. The Cheetahs scored the first try in the 5th minute after Joe Pietersen  found a hole inside the Force defence directly in front of goal. The resulting recycle allowed Willie Le Roux to throw a wide cut out past and Raymond Rhule ran in for a try…

Here it is – the G&GR writers’ Super Rugby team of the week for round 6   . In a strange week where despite 3 of the Aussie teams losing, it could be argued none of them played badly. Which of the players made the G&GR writers, Team of the Week. [one_third last=”no”] 1. Scott Sio Battled manfully against Kepu, but really helped the Brumbies get on top after Ryan came on [/one_third] [one_third last=”no”] 2. Tolu Latu   Really stepped up in Polota Nau’s absence. Seemed to be in everything and scored a great try to seal the win.…

In the Aussie Super Rugby grudge match of the round, the little brother of Australian Rugby will be heading west to see if they can upset their slightly older sibling. It may have gone unnoticed in the hallowed halls of the traditional Rugby states (who have become sidetracked trying decide which Chardonnay is their favourite) but out in the rugby wastelands where the ARU won’t buy you a former league star to keep you happy, there has been a fierce rivalry growing between the newest Aussie franchises. In this spirit, “22meter” and I had a face off earlier today. As…

The Tuesday Top 5 sees a mixed bag start for all of the Aussie teams, offloading teams dominate and we have a look up north to see who are shaping up as the World Cup contenders. JOUBERT SEES RED View image | gettyimages.com Hayden Triggs was the second recipient of a red card for the 2015 season after James Horwill’s red card last week. Triggs was reported by the Assistant Referee to Craig Joubert for punching Duane Vermuelen in back play. Subsequent video replays while from a wide angle, clearly showed Triggs trying to land a left right combo on…