Author: Shane Sullivan

Fridays Rugby News sees the return of the Hair Bear, CTE, Changes to the Wallabies and Coach Campo. [one_half last=”no”]  The Hair Bear Is Back The Hair Bear is my daughter’s pet name for her favourite player Tatafu Polota-Nau. TPN was minding his own business in Leicester when an unknown number turned up on his phone. Tatafu had figured his days in gold were over so he hadn’t bothered to give his number to the Wallabies coach. But that didn’t stop Cheika hunting down his man. Even though TPN wasn’t keen on a farewell tour he was a bit peeved…

The Australian girls racked up a big win last week built on the huge work rates of Millie Boyle and Grace Hamilton. But the Wallaroos didn’t have it all their own way with big games from Fujimoto and hooker and 31 tackles from Suzuki in the centres keeping them in check.  Embed from Getty Images The Match After a beautiful welcome to country by Uncle Ray Davison and the national anthems play got underway with both teams lining up as advertised. Japan fumbled the kick-off and handed the Wallaroos an early chance to work into their patterns, and that exactly…

Thursday’s Rugby News Looks at The Wallabies path to the final, Bok B team, John I Dent Cup Brumbies and, Nic White to start. [one_half last=”no”] Wallabies Can Follow Same Path Former Wallaby skipper Stephan Moore reckons we can just do what we did last time to come second in the World Cup. Moore says that even though the Wallabies are coming off their worst season since 1958 that should just stick with what they were doing and not bring in new players. Moore believes that experience is vital and that his successor Michael Hooper needs all the support from…

Friday’s Rugby News sees the Wallaby squad announced, young guns included, Brumbies lineout break down, and the Super Final [one_half last=”no”]  Wallabies Named! First the big news. Christian Leali’ifano is back in gold for the first time since 2016. Lilo, in this reporters opinion, has been the best flyhalf in the country this year it only remains to be seen if that form can translate to test rugby. Hopefully, we’ll have a better idea after he plays his 20 test, this time against the Springboks, in a couple of weeks. Lilo’s inclusion probably comes at Quade Cooper’s expense but that’s probably…

Friday’s Rugby News has a milestone for Lilo, redemption for Slips, a return for JOC, and new faces for women’s Sevens. [one_half last=”no”] 150 for Liali’ifano It’s been a rare pleasure to watch Christian Leali’ifano, affectionately known as Lilo by just about everyone, clock up 149 games. And no matter what the result of this Saturday’s semi-final against the Jaguares it’ll be an honour to watch his 150th. What’s particularly surprising is the lack of test matches to compliment his Super Rugby appearances. There’s no doubt he had the class to be a long term Wallaby but a Knee injury,…

Friday’s Rugby News looks at crowd numbers, contract negotiations, the U20 World Championships and the Nations Championship. [one_half last=”no”] No Magic Bullet? In GeeRob’s and Blocka Dutton’s article in the SMH this week Raelene Castle, when asked about crowd numbers, is quoted as saying: “Obviously it’s a concern. It’s a concern for sport across Australia really. There’s a lot of codes, particularly in the Sydney market, are finding that it’s quite challenging,” she said. “There’s no magic bullet, it’s about a lot of hard work. “The conference formula is probably not ideal, it creates confusion and that’s why we’re going…

Fridays Rugby News sees Sio’s 100, Fun and games at the Reds, Remembering Shawn Mackay, and Warren’s back with the BIL! [one_half last=”no”]  Thumbs Up For Scott’s Ton A very long time ago I managed to rack up 100 games for the mighty Euros RUFC in western Queensland. It’s something I was quite proud of and I still have the certificate somewhere. I can’t imagine how much prouder I’d be to rack up a hundred Super Rugby games. I’d be intolerable. But that’s exactly what Scott Sio will do this weekend when the Brumbies face the Reds in Canberra this…

Friday’s Rugby News sees Horan on the pooper, McCaffrey on athletes, Junior Wallabies racking up points, TJ and Beauden’s ton [one_half last=”no”]  Horan Say No World Cup With Pooper I’ve been saying this for ages but not even my family pays any attention to me. They’re both great players and in lots of cases, you can just squeeze two great players into any position they fit. But I like to think of the back row as one position played by four players every game. If you pick the wrong guys the position is not greater than the sum of its parts.…

Friday’s Rugby News sees Saracens secret, new tackle guidelines, Farrell’s high shot, Laurie’s cameo and a random Photo from Peter Mitchell [one_half last=”no”]  How Saracens went from ‘absolute rubbish’ to ‘phenomenal’ Embed from Getty Images I can’t really do it justice here but there’s a great article over on the BBC website ahead of Saturday nights Premiership Final. It’s the story of how Saracens put culture ahead of winning and won. A real rags to riches story. It was the 2005-06 season and Sarries, big names and all, finished third from bottom in the Premiership. Now, 14 years later, England…

Friday’s Rugby News sees Dan McKellar hopes for the future, WR upping their offer! Uelese found dark places, the Crusaders robbed and a random feature image from Stephen Tremain. [one_half last=”no”]  SUPER RUGBY ON FTA! We’ve all said it and thought it for years but, finally, someone high up in the rugby community has said it. SUPER RUGBY NEEDS TO BE ON FREE TO AIR. Quick! Go set off the fireworks, let the church bells ring. say a prayer to your false idols. The truth will set us all free. McKellar says the crucial next step is getting the…

Friday’s Rugby News sees Waratahs team named, Quade news, A Ballymore redevelopment, and Victorian rugby reporting. [one_half last=”no”]  Waratahs Named  The Waratahs have named their side to face the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday night. The Waratahs season rests on a knife edge with only four wins from ten starts. In the almost there or WTF is wrong with us column is the five losing bonus points from those six losses. If the Tahs had fallen over the line in just two of those games they’d sit atop the Australian conference. as it is they sit in fourth position just…

Friday’s Rugby News sees fake news, Kuridrani rested, a World Cup bid, and a shakeup for the Bulls [one_half last=”no”]  Thor’s Fake News  Australia’s rugby news was awash with news of a player revolt lead by Taniela Tupou’s defence of Israel Folau only it didn’t actually happen. It was sensationalism at its worst. Tupou actually came out in defence of his skipper Samu Kerevi whose easter message was misinterpreted by a few special individuals as some kind of defence of Folaus anti-gay stance. Here is Samu’s original post. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten…

Friday’s Days Rugby News sees a curtain raiser, Junior Wallabies named, Sunwolves axed, Scott Johnson talks sense. [one_half last=”no”]  Tahs Curtain raiser. The Waratahs game against the Sharks at Bankwest Stadium (hopefully you know where that is) on Saturday just got a curtain raiser. West Harbour and the Two Blues will play their round four Shute Shield game before the Waratahs play their round 11 Super Rugby game. NSW Rugby Union CEO, Andrew Hore, said there is genuine excitement in taking the NSW Waratahs games to Western Sydney, with the region known for producing great rugby talent. “We are thrilled…

Friday’s Rugby News sees no more Israel Folau news, [one_half last=”no”] Pocock Out!… Again Embed from Getty Images The fallout from the Wallabies disastrous pre-season training camp continues with David Pocock ruled out for his tenth game this season. His absence and an injury to eight-man Lacky McCaffery opens the door for Jahrome Brown to have a crack at the openside flanker spot. The Brumbies have moved Tom Cusack to blindside and left Pete Samu at eight but their depth is being sorely tested with a plethora of injuries to their back row stocks. Lachlan McCaffery (knee) has dropped out…

Mondays Rugby News sees Kafer’s view on Folau, Wild Brumbies, Rebels looking for the edge and, Blitzbok blitz Fiji. [one_half last=”no”]  Kafer Savages Folau! Rod Kafer has gone hard at Folau over on Foxsport. Christy Doran’s article headlined Wallabies stronger on the field without Israel Folau on field says Rod Kafer Tells it how it is. While praising the dual international’s athletic brilliance and unique skill set, Kafer said that at international rugby Folau had been found wanting at times and that the Wallabies’ balance had been compromised by playing him at fullback. “If we just take the Wallabies view,…

Fridays Rugby News sees Israel boned, Thorn signed, Wallaroo news, and an 82-year-old rugby player [one_half last=”no”] Folau Boned Look… There’s flat earther stupid, and then there’s anti-vaxers stupid. And then there throwing away a multi-million dollar contract posting preachy, talk down to ordinary folk memes on Instagram stupid. I could go on but I’d probably start saying things that could get me and GaGR sued. RA sent out a media release last night which ended with this quote from Raelene Castle, “In the absence of compelling mitigating factors, it is our intention to terminate his contract.” Punters immediately jumped…

Fridays Rugby News sees Wallabies selling Oz short, Brumbies declining, Crusaders name change, and changes to the Waratahs. [one_half last=”no”]  Are Wallabies Selling Australia Short Christy Doran Has a question for everyone over at Foxsports. How much is the Wallaby jersey worth? Wallabies Rory Arnold, Sefa Naivalu and Nick Phipps have already confirmed their departure with Adam Coleman and Marika Koroibete also rumoured to be off. Add Pocock and Foley to the mix and things start to look grim for next year. But the guy Christy (and me) wants to keep in Australia is Samu Kerevi. It’s hard to see where he’s…

Fridays Rugby News sees Wallaby dark horses, rule changes, English rugby savaged, and Leicesters bold bid. [one_half last=”no”]  Wallabies World Cup Dark Horses? In an opinion piece over at stuff.co.nz  Brendan Venter is talking up the Wallabies chances at the world cup amd I don’t like it one little bit. Venter says, ‘I think Australia will prove the dark horses at the Rugby World Cup in Japan, with the Western Force’s exit having strengthened their cause owing to those players having been absorbed by Australia’s four remaining franchises. When Australia had five Super Rugby teams, their talent was spread too thin…

Friday’s Rugby News sees Valetini hurt, Wallaby back row under pressure, the SCG turf fiasco, and Crusaders name change talk. [one_half last=”no”]  Valetini Gawn Rob Valetini start-stop career has stopped again. The talented 20-year-old has struggled with knee problems since he debuted and this time is no different. Apparently, this time is not so bad because it’s not the medial ligament he’s hurt twice before. Whatever the injury his predicted recovery time is expected to be six to eight weeks. Blocka Dutton talks of Valetini getting back on the park to stake his claim for a Wallaby World Cup berth in…

Friday’s Rugby News has a voice for the players, a new Reds flyhalf, no Hunt and a honey badger. [one_half last=”no”] Test rugby stars demand a greater say Ahead of the summit to nut out the Global Championship rugby players around the world are demanding a permanent seat at the table. The International Players Council (IRPC) are demanding a permanent voice in any negotiations regarding the future of the game. The real question is why haven’t they had a voice in the past? Australian member, and Wallabies captain, Michael Hooper said following a conference call of the players’ council: “We want to be part…