Author: Shane Sullivan

Australia have travelled to New Zealand for their second game of The Rugby Championship. They walk into one of the toughest arenas in world sport. New Zealand’s record at Eden Park is an amazing tribute to the power of a crowd’s support and a team’s belief in it. The Wallabies have six changes to the team that look lost in Sydney last week. Only time will tell if the changes will improve or damage the team’s chances of breaking their 28-year losing streak. New Zealand start the game but the first five minutes are very scrappy. The Australians look more dangerous and focussed in…

Brisbane put on a beautiful afternoon for Ladies day and the East v Sunnybank match at David Wilson Field. The strong easterly wind blew the length of the field all game had me wishing I had bought a heavier jumper but the kids playing footy on the training field never felt a thing. Easts started with the wind and the first 30 minutes we saw lots of enterprising play but little scoring with only a penalty each to show for the players efforts. But the last 10 minutes of the half was another story. Easts break down their left wing…

Jake White has attracted quite a lot of praise in  local rugby circles for his work with the Brumbies. His support for local club rugby in Canberra should also be applauded, with Brumbies players taking the field with local players, bringing a touch of class for spectators and competitors alike to enjoy. Thank you, Jake and Brumbies. On to the matches. Wests 52 def Easts 7 By Ben Doyle (Empire) This match saw five Brumbies players take to the field, with Peter Kimlin, Jesse Mogg and Fotu Auelua for Wests. Jerry Yanuyanutawa and Andrew Smith donned the red, white and…

If You Come, They Will Build It. As we walked into Albert Park on a beautiful Winter’s afternoon, the talk was not on who would win but on by how much. The consensus was Easts, by a lot! We bought some of the great burgers that Surfers Paradise Rugby make, found a spot and settled in to watch a walkover. But that’s not what we got! It was clear from the opening seconds that this was not the Breakers side we have seen for the last few weeks. These players were fired up, talking to each other, yelling for holes…

The Reds take on the Highlanders in round 17 of Super Rugby action at Suncorp Stadium tonight. These teams, along with the Crusaders, Hurricanes and Sharks, are in a desperate battle for the last two finals spots. For the loser of  this game it’s curtains for the season. The players and management of both franchises know what’s at stake and will be doing everything in their power to walk away with the win tonight. The Reds welcome back Ben Tapuai but have lost the hard-running Digby Ioane to a chest infection and boom openside Liam Gill to a hamstring injury.…

This match report of the East versus Uni match comes straight off the forum by regular contributor Tigerland12. Tigerland12 loves Qeensland Premier Rugby and his beloved Easts, and goes to most matches. Easts v. University Bottomely Park Strange but pleasant conditions created a healthy crowd for Round 9’s match of the round between two of the form heavy weights of the competition this year. Leading into the Premier game, University were looking for a clean sweep of the Tigers, given they had won all games that day. The size of the crowd watching, given the Wallabies game, was quite impressive,…

If You Come, They Will Build It Round 12 of the John I Dent cup saw plenty of action and a couple of upsets. Although the Vikings still sit atop the ladder the gap to the chasing teams has shortened. On to the games. Easts V Uni-North Owls By Ben Doyle On a cold but sunny day at Griffith oval, Eastern Suburbs hosted the Uni-Norths Owls. Uni had started the season on fire, with three wins in a row, and the luckless Easts still unable to chalk up a win in first grade. The first halve started well for the…

This is not how it was supposed to be. They are the Six Nations champions. Only two positions below us on the official World Rankings, well prepared and at practically full strength. We only had a few days together. Had been beaten by the Scots who at the time were a full 10 places below us in the rankings. We were missing a host of our first choice players and many of the players in the squad were out of form. The Welsh were too big, too hard, too awesome — but we won the first Test anyway. So they…

If You Come, They Will Build It Yet another round of Qld Premier Rugby has come to a close and the competition is really heating up. Sunnybank was back at Old Mac Oval this week, achieving a 26-14 win over Norths. Uni was also at home and defeated the Sunshine Coast Stingrays 71-12. Spectators at Chipsy Wood Oval witnessed a close game, with Wests just prevailing over Souths 25-17. Brothers defeated the Gold Coast 48-27. Qld Premier Rugby’s Game of the Round between Easts and GPS lived up to it’s prestigious tag, with a staggeringly close win being awarded to…

Team sheet for the Australia versus Scotland Test at 7:30 PM, 5 June 2012 Hunter Stadium, Newcastle. Australia v. Scotland 7:30 PM 5 June 2012 Hunter Stadium, Newcastle Australia Scotland 1 James Slipper Ryan Grant 2 Stephen Moore Ross Ford (captain) 3 Dan Palmer Euan Murray 4 Siteleki Timani Alastair Kellock 5 Nathan Sharpe Richie Gray 6 Dave Dennis Alasdair Strokosch 7 David Pocock Ross Rennie 8 Scott Higginbotham John Barclay 9 Will Genia Mike Blair 10 Berrick Barnes Greig Laidlaw 11 Joseph Tomane Sean Lamont 12 Michael Harris Matt Scott 13 Anthony Faingaa Nick De Luca 14 Digby Ioane…

It’s Round 15 of Super Rugby and this week will sees 6 games and 3 teams on a bye with the Reds, Lions and Western Force taking a well earned break. On Friday night there are 2 home conference derbies that should both be crackers! Crusaders V Highlanders Rebels V Brumbies Fri 1 July 17:35 AEST Fri 1 July 19:40 AEST Crusaders Highlanders Rebels Brumbies 1 Wyatt Crockett Jamie Mackintosh Nic Henderson Ruaidhri Murphy 2 Corey Flynn Andrew Hore Adam Freier Stephen Moore 3 Ben Franks Chris King Jono Owen Ben Alexander 4 Luke Romano Jarrad Hoeata Cadeyrn Neville Scott…

We thought we would put the Super Rugby team lists for round 14 up on the front page. We will update the teams as they are announced.We are still messing around with the format so tell us what you think of it so far. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ PlayerChiefs V. BullsHurricanes V. RebelsBlues V. Highlanders PositionsChiefsBullsHurricanes RebelsBlues Highlanders 1Toby Smith Dean GreylingBen May Nic HendersonTony Woodcock Jamie Mackintosh 2Hikawera Elliott Chiliboy RalepelleDane Coles Ged RobinsonJames Parsons Andrew Hore 3Ben Afeaki Werner KrugerJeffery Toomaga-Allen Jono OwenTevita Mailau Ma’afu Fia 4Craig Clarke Phillip van der MerweJeremy Thrush Cadeyrn NevilleLiaki Moli Jarrad Hoeata 5Brodie Retallick Wilhelm…

With the June Test around the corner we thought it was time to look at the contenders for wallaby spots in each game. We have Tests against Scotland on Tuesday the 5th and Wales on the 3 following Saturdays. The make up of the first test side will be strongly influenced by the Super Rugby schedule with the Reds and the Force both having byes on the weekend before the match. Further complicating things is the need to field a competitive side 4 days later for the Welsh test. Firstly lets look at the contenders for the positions. The Contenders:…

Sunday afternoon Rugby in Brisbane is always special, but when it’s on a beautiful clear Autumn day it’s nearly perfect. The chiefs had the early running until Liam Messams pass into the arms of Mike Harris, who scuttled off downfield attracting three defenders before passing to Dom Shipperly for the Try. Harris couldn’t convert the try but the Reds lead 5-0 All of a sudden the reds are looking dangerous! They move the ball left from the kick off and Morahan slips the tackle of Kahui  and bolts off down the eastern touch line. This time the Chiefs defence is everywhere and Morahan’s pass to…

This Sunday is Mothers Day in Queensland and thousands of them will flock to Lang Park to see the Reds take on the top of the ladder Chiefs. Adding to the incentive of having their mothers in the crowd is the massive ego boost they must have after “modelling” at the very successful Reds Ladies Cocktail Night. Mrs Sully and friends had a great time and will be back for more next year. Back to the serious stuff. The chiefs are hot. 9 wins in a row and a back line the envy of the competition. Add a no nonsense…

An improving Reds side travelled to Christchurch to take on a Crusaders side who look to be on a mission to win another Super Rugby Title. The Reds hadn’t read the script though and from the kick off charged down Ellis’s kick for touch, regained the ball and through fast and hard ruck work set up James Hanson for a try. The game was barely 60 seconds old and the Reds were up 5-0. The Crusaders took the early set back in their stride and from the kick off worked their way into Reds territory. From here they win a…

Sunday afternoon football returns to Sydney this weekend. And the fans are set to embrace it with more than 35,000 expected to turn up for what is most likely the match up of the round. The Crusaders in recent weeks have looked awesome. They have a complete game and a style very few can match. It will take a special effort to match them in the form they bring into this match. The Waratahs have shown for periods of the season that they have the game to match the Crusaders. But they are yet to put together a complete performance.…

Digby Ioane took just 60 seconds to celebrate his 50th game with a try in the Reds’ defeat of the Blues in Auckland tonight. Ioane was heavily marked by the Blues centre pairing of Nonu and Ranger. And surely he’ll feel Nonu’s tackles tomorrow. The big Blues enforcer didn’t miss. But the Reds were all business from the moment they regained their kick off till the 80th minute when they turned over a Blues ball to end the game. There were more than a few occasions where this fan’s heart was in his mouth. This wasn’t the 2011 Reds but…

Anthony Faingaa is back! I’ve been hearing the rumours for days but I wasn’t getting my hopes up until I saw his name on an official team list. Well the QRU media release just hit my inbox and there he is at 22. The Starch in the Reds defencive line will finally reappear to scream orders at his team mates. Oh how I’ve missed that high pitched scream when the Reds have their backs to the wall. I’m excited Anthony Faingaa is back! But this game isn’t all about Anthony Faingaa (he’s back). The Blues and the Reds have had…

The Reds have defeated the Brumbies 20-13 in a tight, hard-fought game. Important for the Reds, there was a return of commitment. Commitment to defence, a commitment to contest at ruck and lineout time, commitment to the game plan and a commitment to retain possession. ‘Retain possession?’ I hear you say, ‘They kicked the ball away 50 times!’ But the possession I’m talking about that won at the ruck and maul. Most of the marginal passes off the floor were gone and that’s a good thing. The defence had structure and sting. Also a good thing. The attack was willing,…