Author: Shane Sullivan

The Chiefs’ had one of those weeks. Good – home game, Bad – Have to fly back from Africa to get there, Good – Have their All Blacks back, Bad – didn’t get a full weeks training. How will it effect them? Probably not at all. The Waratahs flew to the Tron brisling with confidence fresh from their drought-breaking win over a Kiwi side (any Kiwi side!) with only the return of their Wallaby halfback Nick Phipps stopping an unchanged team running out. The Match The Waratahs started the game with two perfectly executed set piece moves resulting in tries to Cameron…

In another lifetime the Reds had the measure of the Chiefs, but not these days. Will it be business as usual or can the Reds buck the Kiwi domination? The first is much more likely than the second but I’m eternally optimistic. The Match The first 20 minutes of the game was all Chiefs. They dominated possession and territory to strangle the Reds game. Tries to Tyler Arden and Charlie Ngatai were a direct result of that dominance. The Reds didn’t help their cause, losing a tighthead and coughing up possession in contact. The only bright spot for the Reds…

My confidence is shaken. 20 minutes into the Reds game against the Brumbies I was feeling pretty good about being on the Red bandwagon. But then it all fell to pieces. Meanwhile, the Waratahs have notched three wins on the trot, even if one of those was against the Sunwolves. So here then, are the key matchups. The Packs There is a massive difference in the way these two forward packs approach the game. The Tahs have a lighter, more mobile pack that aren’t that effective gaining metres in the tight channels but who will run and defend all day…

The Reds this season have exceeded all expectations. A young team with a rookie coach was supposed to be easy meat for more experienced sides. No one thought to tell the Reds what was supposed to happen. The Stormers may be under the Reds on the ladder but they have already played their games in NZ. Can the Reds keep their momentum going or will the Stormers attacking play be too much for the Reds brick wall defence?  The Match The first half A great half of rugby by the Stormers and especially Damian Willemse saw them score two tries and move…

One of the crazy things that happens in Super Rugby is this road trip. Fly from Australia to Argentina, play some footy, fly from Argentina to South Africa, play some footy, fly from South Africa to Australia. That’s a tough trip without all the stuff that comes with playing a sport at a high level. Waiting for them on the first leg is a team who have slept in their own beds for a couple of weeks and who also smashed the Reds old foe, the Waratahs last weekend. The Reds aren’t sporting a lightweight clone like back five in…

I have one super clear memory of the Reds playing the Bulls and Suncorp. Mostly because it makes me look like a rugby genius.  I was walking into the game with my buddy Linc and he asked how our lineout would go, would we dominate? I said we’d be lucky to take one lineout win off them all night because they had Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield and the best lineout running around. The Reds pressured the Bulls lineout all night but couldn’t take a lineout off them. About 55 minutes in the game is on a knife edge, and…

The Reds took on the Brumbies in a hard fought game in Brisbane last Friday night. Green and Gold Rugby had three photographers at the game covering it from as many angles as we could. Green and gold is all about the fans so here is everything that wasn’t blurry or doesn’t have a finger over the lens. Special thanks to Staphen Tremain and Cloe Tapp for their efforts. Click on the gallery to make things biggerer.

First up an apology, I really should have written this days ago but I… Forgot! What can you do? Own up and say sorry. Here is the form, for what it’s worth in round three. The Waratahs had an unconvincing win against the Stormers in Sydney last week Their scrum looked weak and generally they looked average except for the usual suspects. Rob Simmons did something stupid in a lineout. The Stormers managed to get a bye the second week of the comp but, in the first week, they played a very entertaining and fast-paced game against the Lions before…

I stumbled accross this in my latest Reds newsletter. 2018 Brisbane Global Rugby Tens Coach Summit Date: Thursday 8th February Time: 12 Midday – 4pm Format: A series of key note presentations from Brisbane Global Rugby Tens coaches including Robbie Deans and Scott Robertson as well as featuring current Wallabies national coach Michael Cheika. An interactive master class and regular Q&A segments with leading coaches from around the world will also take place. Venue: Suncorp Stadium, 40 Castlemaine St, Milton QLD 4064 Members Dining Room (Access through Gate c) Ticket cost: $60 Michael Cheika and Robbie Deans for 60 bucks!…

What’s to know? Today Rugby Australia, RUPA and the Super Rugby teams announced their new collective bargaining agreement. The CBA starts immediately and runs until 2020 when the current Broadcast deal ends. For the first time, the CBA includes players from the Wallabies, the Wallaroos, all Super Rugby teams and both Australian Sevens teams. Players will continue to receive 29 % of revenue generated. For the first time Super Rugby players and Sevens players, male and female will have the same pay with the minimum full-time salaries the same for all players across the board. Rugby Sevens players will continue to be eligible…

Like a lot of people, I take the opportunity at the end of every year to reflect on the year that has passed and my conduct and see if I could have done anything better. Nah, that’s crap. I’m usually so flat out at the day job and with all the other Christmas jobs and parties that I don’t even think of New Year’s resolutions let alone rugby ones until after most punters have broken them. This year isn’t any different but for some reason, I’ve had a little time to think about it. so here they are my rugby…

News reports coming out of Brisbane have Karmichael Hunt being charged with drug offences… Again. The Facts! What we know so far is that Karmichael was walking McLachlan Street in Fortitude Valley about 12.40am on Saturday when they were approached by police officers conducting a random street stop. A bag of white powder was found on the ground between the two men. Hunt was charged with two counts of drug possession. The other man, who was with Hunt at the time, was also arrested and later charged with possessing an item used in a drug offence. This is not Hunt’s first run-in with…

The man who knows all things rugby in Queensland, Jim Tucker, Broke the news yesterday that Brad Thorn and Quade Cooper had had an ‘honest conversation’. Honest conversations with coaches are never a good thing and word is Quade is not training with the Reds anymore. There has been no official word from the Queensland Rugby Union yet, but Jim rarely gets things wrong. The reaction from the fans has covered the entire gamut of emotions from ‘OH MY FUCKING GOD ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY’ to ‘yawn, Quade is so 2011’. My reaction was ‘What!’…Then nothing. Players, coaches and staff…

The long Welsh Australian rivalry continues. The Wallabies have dominated this contest and most pundits have predicted this to continue. Wales, I’m sure, have other plans. The Match The First Half A great half of rugby from both teams with the Wallabies leading on the scoreboard and have most of the play and possession. Australia scored three tries to one with the first to Tatafu Polota-Nau who drove a lineout maul ten metres to score in the right corner. The second to Adam Coleman running the hard line and catching a beautifully timed  ‘flat’ pass from Will Genia and scoring untouched…

The Wallabies don’t play Japan very often, but it shouldn’t be hard to work out how they think the script should pan out. Top three against a minow sitting outside the top ten. The Wallabies will think they can overpower the Brave Blossoms, while they will hope to use their speed and guile to go around the Aussies. The Match First half The Wallabies were up 14 -3 after 20 minutes of the game thanks to two very well worked tries. The first to Samu Kerevi was simple numbers after the Wallabies had moved the ball from sideline to sideline…

Bond university’s #1 field is famous for the huge mound in its centre. That didn’t stop a great crowd enjoying a festival of rugby starting with a win for University of Queensland in the AON uni 7,s. The  Queensland Red took out the Australian U16 Championship before the NRC game started. And the Under 15 final after. The Match The first half was a hard fought affair with Queensland Country’s defence the difference. That defence came at a cost for both teams with Melbourne losing Siliva Siliva, Semisi Tupou and Kiotone Ratu to injuries and Queensland having both wingers in…

This week the 2018 Super Rugby draw arrived and besides from the shock of having the Sunwolves in the Australian conference. ( I don’t know why I was shocked, I mean what else was going to happen) And no Force in our conference! But besides from that, I was like… Meh! I’m a rusted on fan. I played my first game in 1978 when I was 14 and played well into my thirties and only stopped when my body stopped working like it’s supposed to. I’ve been to every test match and Super Rugby game since… Well, it’s so long I can’t remember…

Here’s a quick quiz for all my fellow Reds tragics. How many head coaches have there been at Ballymore since 1997? Ten! that’s 10! John Connolly (1989–2000) Mark McBain (2001–02) Andrew Slack (2003) Jeff Miller (2004–06) Eddie Jones (2007) Phil Mooney (2008–09) Ewen McKenzie (2010–13) Richard Graham (2014–16) Matt O’Connor & Nick Stiles (2016) Nick Stiles (2016–) Knuckles and Link account for eight of those years so the other eight coaches only lasted a year and a half each! So why am I surprised to hear that the rumours of another coaching change? Actually, I was surprised but after a…

Neither side can win the Rugby Championship but who gives a toss. This is still test match rugby! I think this will be close. Argentina have been managing 50-60 minutes of great rugby and then fading. The Wallabies have been hot and cold. Anything could happen! The Match 1st half Having just watched the All Blacks pick apart South Africa 50-0 I was looking forward to seeing another great contest. And it was a contest with Argentina taking a 13-10 lead at halftime but it wasn’t pretty rugby. In fact, it was bloody ugly. Argentina scored the first try bashing…

What difference a few days make. A few days ago the Wallabies were coming off a ‘glorious’ defeat at the hands of the All Blacks and all was right with Aussie Rugby. South Africa had taken care of the Pumas with relative ease so obviously, almost All Black toppling, Australia would blow past the Argies with ease. But the world doesn’t work like that. Australia blew a decent lead and looked scrappy to draw against South Africa. And now Los Puma is the almost All Black toppling super team at least for half a game. So who do we have…