Author: Michael Korolishin

Starting the 2015 6 Nations off with a bang, Wales and England are set to attempt to bash one another to death in Cardiff. Will an injury-depleted England be able to keep up with a very strong Welsh side in the Dragon’s Lair? England 21 – Wales 16 The match kicked off with a fired-up Welsh side playing classic Gatlandball going one-off, same-way and also straight down the field. Wales would proceed to bully England at the ruck and in general play on both sides of the ball, forcing some rushed kicks by George Ford. The underbelly of the dragon…

Piping hot out the oven, today we’ve got Cheika focusing only on the immediate future, Gatland with one eye on the World Cup, Sonny Bill winning out in the battle for the black 12 jersey, and a certain Fijian rightfully making his debut for England on the weekend. [one_half last=”no”] Cheika Taking it One Test at a Time Wallabies head coach Michael Cheika has recently admitted that his sole focus is currently to win the test against Wales on the weekend. With the World Cup still some months off, Cheika has chosen to ignore the history of recent success the…

Fresh from the garden and onto the plate we’ve got the Welsh naming George North at 13, Sean McMahon in line to make his test debut and send the hype train off the rails, Wellington 7s showing some signs of weakness and a fantastic analysis of South Africa’s evolving attack from our friend Murray Kinsella. [one_half last=”no”] George North to be Shifted to Centre for Wallaby Test With a pair of injuries robbing the Welsh side of starting 13 Jonathan Davies as well as his backup Scott Williams, Warren Gatland has named George North to start in the 13 jersey…

Hot off the presses we’ve got Nick Stiles fighting for the future of the NRC, The All Blacks engaging in spy games in the UK, Cheika learning from the north in preparation for the coming winter, and new technology being tested which may allow for real-time monitoring of head injuries during sport. [one_half last=”no”] Will the NRC Survive? While the details of the relative financial success of the inaugural NRC have yet to come to light, some are already fighting for the future of the competition. Brisbane City head coach Nick Stiles has cited the positive impact of the competition…

In today’s special we’ve got the Wallabies squeaking past the Babas, Brisbane City stunning the Western Force Perth Spirit, the All Blacks conscious of a rising England and the Darkness overwhelming the USA Eagles at Soldier Field. [one_half last=”no”] Wallabies Get Past Barbarians, Barely In what was a stunning debut for rising star Sean McMahon, the Wallabies squeaked past the Barbarians at Twickenham on the weekend with a final score of 40-36. Paced by the consistently excellent form of Tevita Kuridrani and the explosion of Sean McMahon onto the test stage the Wallabies were able to close out a very…

Well, it’s finally here. I’ll be trying to update this post every few minutes to keep those of you without a stream of Fox Soccer Plus in on the action. Not much else to say, so let’s just get into it. Venue: Soldier Field, Chicago USA Weather: 6.1ºC – wind is blowing North at around 17km/h Match Officials: Craig Joubert, Chris Assmus (Asst 1), Asst 2 TBA, TMO TBA (IRB has them both listed as ‘Rugby Canada Appointment’ on their match officials log, sorry everyone) Pre-Match Coverage While the turf at Soldier Field is notoriously unstable (just ask any Chicago Bears…

In what could prove to be a truly historic moment for USA Rugby, the All Blacks have come to American shores for the first time since 1980. With tickets sold for all 61,500 seats at Soldier Stadium this game has absolutely shattered all records for rugby match attendance on US soil. While the All Blacks have given King Ruchie and the tight five a rest, they will still be fielding a very formidable side – especially from numbers 6 through 15. Can the Eagles soar over the Darkness on Sunday? Unlikely, but they are American – we fight to the last man.…

Welcome back everyone. I hope you’ve all found the time to wash your scarf and get your voice back after last weekend’s Six Nations action. If you haven’t, well, suck it up – we’re in the home stretch! Italy v. England The Forwards I’ve laid a lot of praise on the English pack so far this Six Nations. As painful as it has been (absolutely excruciating, to be precise), I won’t be changing my tune for the match in Rome this weekend. England’s defense was once again led by the blitzing forward pack and once again the succeeded in…

Welcome back you beautiful people. So what’s on the books for this weekend’s Six Nations tournament? Well.. we’ve got a story of Irish redemption about to unfold, a battle of mad scientists brewing in Scotland, and a clash between the orcs and their cryogenically-enhanced neighbors. In other words, another typical weekend in the RBS Six Nations. Enough chatter, let’s dig in. Italy v. Ireland The Forwards Italy have had to make some drastic changes to their back row in light of the recent injuries to Zanni and Parisse. Both will be missed sorely, they are quality operators. Unfortunately, I can’t…

Wales v. France The Forwards Last round the Welsh pack was simply not able to keep up with the Irish and lost in a pretty embarrassing fashion. Wakes pack gave away far too many penalties during the match – totaling to 16 across the squad. This stopped them from getting any momentum from any ball that they did get. Missed tackles were also an issue, with the pack missing 11 between the front 5 alone. Warburton and Lydiate both put in a shift, making 13 and 14 tackles respectively with no misses. With the exception of Faletau the Welsh pack…

Last weekend was a great reminder why the RBS Six Nations is the premier tournament in the northern hemisphere. We were treated to seeing shades of a young O’Driscoll, but this time wearing an electric blue jersey. We were also witness to a titanic clash in Paris where the ball was in play for an astonishing 46 minutes. At the same time, we also saw the Scottish side unable to ask questions of the Irish defense, and a Wales team performing well below the level we all know they are capable of reaching. So, what’s in the bag for this…

Key players to watch and some predictions for the first round of the 2014 Six Nations

Can you believe that the final game of Super Rugby 2013 is already upon us? With the introduction of the Kings, the resurgent form of the Brumbies and Waratahs, the Lions invasion and the typical surprises and upsets of Super Rugby, this season has absolutely flown by.  This weekend we will see a Grand Final clash between two teams who represent two very different philosophical approaches to the game of rugby. The Chiefs play some of the most fluid rugby seen since the early 2000’s Auckland Blues side, which featured players such as Carlos Spencer and Joe Rockoko, terrorising Super…

Let’s take a look at the most interesting stats from Rd. 20 of Australian Super Rugby!

Time to take a look at the stats from the final Wallabies v. Lions test!

Let’s take a look at the stats from the second Wallabies v. British and Irish Lions test!

Is Jonny Sexton injured? Some signs on the field seem to point that way

Time to see what the stats say about the first test between the Wallabies and the British and Irish Lions!

Five surprising stats from last weekend’s matches

The Waratahs have been doing some serious scoring this season. Read this to see why!