Author: Nick Wasiliev

Thursday’s Rugby News sees a legend getting a fitting farewell, some troubling stories out of Sydney’s west, Rodda back for the Reds and even more Force signings. [one_half last=”no”] Sir Nick gets a fitting farewell Starting in Sydney, Sir Nicholas Shehadie was farewelled with a memorable funeral service at St. James Church yesterday. The legendary Wallaby skipper and former Sydney mayor was a well regarded member of the international rugby community, and of New South Wales in general. Among the many folks who attended the ceremony included former Prime Ministers Paul Keating, John Howard and Tony Abbott, former NSW Premier Kristina Keneally, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika,…

Wednesday’s Rugby News sees Higgers taking the reins, Macqueen concerned over rugby laws, more Beale goss, and some trouble brewing in the west. NOTE: Sorry folks, but unfortunately we were unable to do the podcast for this week. However, we’ve got a GAGR favourite locked in for next week, so we’ll be back right as rain then to kick off the new year with a solid pod then. [one_half last=”no”] Skipper duties Scotty Higginbotham is the new skipper for the Reds, and will lead the Sunshine State onto the field on Friday night against the his old club, the Rebels. In what is a pretty…

Tuesday’s Rugby News sees Karmichael in the clear (possibly), Fiji calling for a Super Rugby side (again), more news on the Rebels and Force front, and a big loss for the Reds. [one_half last=”no”] Kar-mon-icheal Karmichael Hunt has basically taken on the role of the new James O’Connor in Australian rugby. The only difference between them is James’ multiple awful hairstyles, and their choices of finding themselves in hot water.  One liked being thrown out of airports and breaking team curfew, while the other keeps getting arrested due to possession of cocaine. Well, hopefully Karmichael can now leave it all behind, now that is…

Monday’s Rugby News sees the first Super Rugby results, the Waratahs hoping to win back fans, Coleman aiming to be honest, and some new rules from Rugby Australia. [one_half last=”no”] The Rugby Is Back God, it feels good to write that! Yep, Super Rugby is indeed back, kicking off over in South Africa with two cracking games. Starting in Cape Town, the Stormers got off to winning ways with a scrappy win over the Jaguares, 28-20. In what was a really seesawing affair, the Stormers got off to a flyer with tries to Raymond Rhule, Damian de Allende and loose-forward Siya Kolisi.…

Friday’s Rugby News sees trial results, a signing for the Force, Jarryd Hayne chasing dreams, and the upcoming rugby this weekend. [one_half last=”no”] Trials and Error There were a couple of trials that went down last night, and it’s fair to say a few of our teams came out looking a little worse for wear. Starting in Sydney, the Waratahs and the Rebels came together at Brookvale Oval, and the Tahs put their Victorian rivals to the sword, winning 47-5. The Sydney Morning Herald headlined the event by saying the Tahs showed they were the ‘real deal’ to go all the…

Thursday’s Rugby News sees more trial results, Eddie grumbling about World Rugby, the Reds, Tahs and Rebels trial matches, and news for Taqele and the Western Force. [one_half last=”no”] Chiefs out muscle Brumbies Trials, trials and more trials are the dominant feature of these last few weeks. The Chiefs look to be making plenty of progress so far in their preparations, accounting for the Brumbies 38-26 at Sunshine Coast Stadium last night. After trailing 26-7 at halftime, the Brums fought back with three quick tries in the last twenty minutes. But it proved to be too little too late. It was…

Wednesday Rugby News sees Lealiifano returning home, big plans for the Wallaroos, the second part of the Super W squads and Gordon looking to knock off the Wallaby scrumhalf. [one_half last=”no”] Coming home to the Herd He’s back. It’s a sight that many in the Brumbies camp have been waiting for. After two long years, Christian Lealiifano will officially be starting at flyhalf for their final pre-season trial. Since being diagnosed with Leukaemia in August 2016, Lealiifano has only played one game, being a bench appearance in the Brumbies quarterfinal loss last year. However, with him making a full recovery, he has…

Tuesday’s Rugby News sees us farewell a legend of the game, redevelopment on the cards for Ballymore, squads announced for the maiden Super W season and more bad news for Beale. [one_half last=”no”] Wallaby great Sir Nicholas Shehadie passes away Aussie rugby is mourning the loss of legendary skipper Sir Nicholas Shehadie, who passed away on Sunday night, aged 92. A pivotal figure in the growth of the game in this country, Shehadie enjoyed a lengthy period wearing the Green and Gold, with over 30 tests and a hundred games for our country between 1946 and 1958. During that time, he also served…

Monday’s Rugby News sees the aftermath of the Brisbane Tens, all Super Rugby coaches on the same footing, more news on both the RA and WA front, and the latest results from the Six Nations. [one_half last=”no”] Blues, Queensland tally up at Tens I think everyone can agree that the Brisbane Tens was, once again, a real highlight of the pre-season. We had tries, big hits, and even the Honey Badger attempting to channel his inner Bob Hawke. On the results front, the end result on the Mens side was much to be expected. The New Zealand teams dominated the…

Friday’s Rugby News sees Beale out of the Brisbane Tens,  De Villiers heading to Zimbabwe, Dingo Deans having his two cents worth, and the latest Six Nations goss. [one_half last=”no”] Beale Out On the eve of the Brisbane Tens, it’s been announced that Kurtley Beale has had to withdraw from the competition due to an elbow injury. The loss is a big one for the Tahs, who will fall back on the experience of Damien Fitzpartick to lead them into the competition. It’s also frustrating for the competition’s organisers. Beale was one of the major poster boys for the event. However,…

Thursday’s Rugby News has Twiggy pushing ahead, what Quade Cooper has been up to, Barnes weighing in on the Sunwolves, and more Brisbane Tens squads. [one_half last=”no”] Twiggy puts his foot down RA boss Raelene Castle commented at the start of this week about the trip she had when she visited WA to see the many justifiably disgruntled members of the rugby community. Well, yesterday Twiggy had a say of his own: that regardless of whether RA approve of it or not, the IPRC will be going ahead in 2019. Castle mentioned that her and Twiggy had some encouraging discussions around the competition,…

Wednesday’s Rugby News see’s Coleman taking the captaincy, Thorn knuckling down, the Brumbies bringing back the glory days, and more selections for the Brisbane Tens. [one_half last=”no”] Captain Coleman The Melbourne Rebels have officially announced their captain for the 2018 season, with Wallaby and former Western Force lock Adam Coleman taking up the mantle for the franchise’s eighth season. Coleman is one of a dozen Force players who made the journey over to Melbourne to join their coach Dave Wessels. The recent history between the two clubs has been a complicated one, with both being on the chopping block as the…

Tuesday’s Rugby News sees Clark talking tens, the French in hot water, Miller settling into Tah life, and the girls cleaning up again. [one_half last=”no”] Talking Tens with Cam Clark The Brisbane Tens is set to kick off again this weekend, and the Waratahs could be in for a tough tournament with their squad missing many of their marquee players apart from tournament ambassador Kurtley Beale. But, according to Cam Clark, that doesn’t mean the men from New South Wales are taking the tournament lightly. “You obviously can’t play the game you’d like to play coming into the Super Rugby season but there’s…

The news is back, ladies and gents! Hope that all you GAGRs had a wonderful Christmas and new year, and have put the woes of 2017 behind you. I’m back from break and keen to get back into all things rugby. So, without further ado, lets begin… [one_half last=”no”] Sevens Heaven God, it’s been a good couple of weeks for our Sevens teams! Following the Mens and Womens clean sweep of the Sevens in Sydney last week, the boys have picked up a very respectable third place in Hamilton, defeating the hosts New Zealand by one point in the bronze play-off. Who…

The reviews are done, the changes have been made to the coaching structure, the players recruited and a new home found. It is against this backdrop that the NSW Waratahs are preparing for in 2018. The team’s pre-season trials are locked in, with two games against 2015 Super Rugby champions the Highlanders in Queenstown on 2 February and the Melbourne Rebels at Brookvale Oval in Sydney on 15 February, plus the Global Brisbane Tens in mid-February. But the challenge of this coming season is not lost on Head Coach Daryl Gibson, who has also taken on the role of defence…

It’s the final news day for the year. Friday’s Rugby News has concerned Fijians, some concerned Reds, and news from the guys and gals of Aussie Sevens rugby. [one_half last=”no”] Rokocoko warns Starting overseas, a major topic of discussion has begun to surface in the Top 14. On Wednesday of this week, Stade Francis players Josaia Raisuqe and Waisea Nayacalevu stood trial over a drunken brawl in a famous Paris nightspot. Raisuqe was also charged with sexual assault. The trial has highlighted many issues in regards to player conduct outside of the rugby field, but also conversely, has raised issues about Pacific Islander player treatment,…

Thursday’s Rugby News sees Kepu being handed a well-deserved ban, the Wallabies falling down the rankings, some more positive Super Rugby News and some more positive club rugby news. [one_half last=”no”] It’s a fair cop The aftermath of the Wallabies-Scotland match continues, as Sekope Kepu was handed a well deserved three week ban for his god-awful attempt of a ‘clean out’ on Hamish Watson. For his troubles, World Rugby has slapped Kepu with a three week ban. The ban will be held over into next year, meaning Kepu will miss the opening two matches of the Waratahs Super Rugby campaign against the…

With the Wallabies season finishing up last weekend, the lads came together for our final podcast of the year. Rugby Reg, Matt, Hugh and Jamie were all still traumatised from the horrifying performance they had to watch on Sunday morning, and so used this podcast as a cathartic healing process to get their feelings off their chest about the year we’ve had. Hopefully, it’ll help you too. The Five Burning Questions: 1. What the f**k happened… again? 2. Can we draw any positives from that Scotland match? 3. Is Cheika’s job on the line? 4. What was our highs and lows from the 2017 season? 5. What can we look…

Friday’s Rugby News sees the Scotland squad announced, Karmichael looking to 2019, the Waratahs on Super Rugby, and Coleman going to you-know-where. [one_half last=”no”] Late to the Party Yep, it’s almost become a habit that, just before I publish the Friday News, the Wallaby squad is dropped. So this time I planned ahead, and low and behold, Scotland release their squad first instead. Go figure. There will be four changes to the side that nearly beat the All Blacks, with Sean Maitland, Grant Gilchrist, Ryan Wilson and Simon Berghan all set to don the famous navy blue jersey. “It’s moving on – we…

Thursday’s Rugby News sees Squeak retiring, people coming to Cheik’s defence, the Brumbies picking up a major young find and Uelese setting a bar high for himself in Melbourne. [one_half last=”no”] Squeak to retire at Murrayfield In case you missed it, Australia’s second most capped Wallaby and our fifth most skippered captain, Stephen Moore, is fast-tracking his plans to retire at the end of next year, announcing that the final test of this year against Scotland will also serve as his final test match. According to the Courier Mail, Squeak had been mulling over the decision for weeks, before making…