Author: Nick Wasiliev

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…

Well, that sucked. While we weren’t able to acquire the services of the Eggchaser lads to get their insight on the England victory,  Matt, Hugh and Reg had plenty to discuss about the game itself, and where the Wallabies go from here as they head into the final match of the season against Scotland. WARNING – coarse language The Five Burning Questions: 1. What the f**k happened? 2. Who caught our eye on both teams? 3. The refereeing decisions: were they right or wrong? 4. How important is the Scotland game? 5. The Rebels signings: good or bad for Aussie rugby?

Friday’s Rugby News sees the fallout from the World Cup announcement, O’Driscoll calling for Bill to head down under, the Wallabies announcing their squad for the England test and a trio signing for the Rebels. [one_half last=”no”] France’s Fallout In what was a pretty unprecedented move, instead of going for something new and pick Ireland, or go where World Rugby wanted to go and pick South Africa, the voting parties decided to go where the money was, and picked France as the host of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The French triumphed 24 votes to South Africa’s 15 in the World Council voting process,…

Thursday’s Rugby News has us (finally) see the senate report handed down, more on the Wallaby chat, a description on the RWC selection, and the Brumbies relaunching their rugby academy. [one_half last=”no”] The Senate hands down its report (finally) Finally, after all the talk from the Senate, we finally have a report which cronicles the findings made from it’s meetings with Bill Pulver, Cameron Clyne and more. And to put it simply, there was plenty to talk about. The report highlighted eight major recommendations by which the game could be fixed, ranging from an ASIC review to new structures on player welfare. The…

We’re back to a standard hour and will be delivering you an early podcast this week. Matt and Hugh were in the chair to talk about the Wallabies-Wales match as well as the anticipated match-up against England. They were joined by Tim Cocker from The Eggchasers Podcast for all things on the Spring Tour, as well as by our producer Nick for the aftermath of the NRC final. The Five Burning Questions 1. What mark out of 10 do you give the Wallabies win over Wales? (feat. Tim) 2. Which Wallaby/Welsh player caught your eye with a strong performance? (feat. Tim) 3. Who are…

Friday’s Rugby New sees a new Wallaby squad, the latest on the home front, Ireland being upset and the Kangaroos playing the All Blacks (Yep, that’s actually not a joke). [one_half last=”no”] Hodging your bets… As the Wales match approaches, the Wallabies will be looking to build on the progress set during the Rugby Championship and the test in Japan. One part of that test, having Reece Hodge at flyhalf, could play dividends as Michael Cheika looks to increase the depth in the flyhalf position. Hodge will be starting on the wing for the match against the Scarlets, but Mick Byrne admitted to…

Thursday’s Rugby News sees Coleman chatting, some troubles in Samoa, some talk from James Tuttle and some surprisingly worried Kiwis. [one_half last=”no”] Lions are a-waitin’ With the Wallabies landing in Wales earlier this week, thoughts now turn to the upcoming competition against the men in red. And Adam Coleman believes that it will be a different side to the one the Wallabies romped last year in Cardiff, with the end result of the Lions series feeding on to some good Wales form. “They’ve spent more time playing together (because of the Lions series),” he said to rugby.com.au. “I’m not sure…

We promised a special NRC podcast. And we keep our promises. Ahead of the grand final down in Canberra this week, Rugby Reg, Brett McKay and Nick our producer sat down to talk about the upcoming final, but also to shed light on this season of the NRC and on the competition as a whole as it nears the end of it’s fourth season. The Five Burning Questions: 1. Who starts as favourites this weekend? 2. Are the Drua a positive inclusion? 3. How do we rate the Sydney teams? 4. Standout, surprise and disappointment for each team? 5. Where to for the NRC going forward?

It’s NRC Grand Final week, and as a result the boys of the Green and Gold Rugby Show will be bringing you not one, but two podcasts. First up is Matt and Hugh, who got to talk about all the latest on the international level following the Wallabies victory over Japan, with a bit of NRC and Twiggyball thrown in for good measure. The Five Burning Questions: 1.What did we get out of the Japan test? 2. What do we expect from the Wales test? 3. Two years out from Rugby World Cup Grand Final, what positions are you worried about? 4.…

Friday’s Rugby News sees the announcement of the RWC fixtures, chat on the Wallaby squad, SBS to the rescue and playing the Game of Thorn. [one_half last=”no”] Fixtures In Well, it’s only two years out from the World Cup, and yesterday we got the fixture list for the event, which you can view in it’s entirety here. The Wallabies are located in Group D, against the likes of Wales, Georgia, Fiji and one Americas team (once it is picked). They will play four matches at four different venues, travelling up and down the length of Japan during the group stages. They…

Thursday’s Rugby News see’s big news out of World Rugby, big news out of the Tahs and Brumbies, big news out of New Zealand and big chat on the NRC semi-finals. [one_half last=”no”] WC Selection The Rugby World Cup Council is set to meet on November 15th to decide the official host of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and all eyes are on South Africa to take the crown after the most comprehensive host-selection process in World Cup history. The Rainbow Republic looks set to be the front runners to host Bill in six years time, after the RWC Ltd Board, with…

With the aftermath of the Wallabies-Baabaas match, the announcement of the Spring Tour squad and the NRC heading into the finals, we needed a solid edition of The Green and Gold Rugby Show this week to meet your rugby needs. Rugby Reg, Hugh and the one-and-only Brett McKay were in the chair to chew the fat and serve up their media expertise. The Five Burning Questions: 1. Did we gain anything from the Barbarians match? 2. What were the big surprises from the Wallaby squad selection? 3. What are our expectations for the Wallaby tour? 4. What were the standouts from the…

The Rams had nothing to play for but pride. The Vikings – a potential chance to finish top of the table. Regardless, it was a fascinating match that finished off what has been an incredible regular season of the NRC.  If they were only playing for pride, no one had told the Greater Sydney Rams. After an encouraging start to the season, the men from Sydney’s west came crashing back to earth in the middle half of the season. However, last week they pulled off an outstanding victory against Brisbane City, and as this game approached, everyone was expecting that,…

Friday’s Rugby News see’s Izzy taking the John Eales medal, squad announcements for the weekend, and Gunn looking up to George Smith. [one_half last=”no”] Izzy wins John Eales medal It was Australian rugby’s night of nights, and with many players putting their hand up this year it was always going to be a tough choice to pick the John Eales medalist. In the end, it went to our leading try scorer: Israel Folau, for a record third time. Izzy had to face off some stiff competition, including from Kurtley Beale, Bernard Foley and Michael Hooper, but it was clear that Izzy…

Thursday’s Rugby News sees Baabaas squad changes, players considering futures, the NRC finals makeup, and a big plan by English rugby. [one_half last=”no”] Potgeit-nah Sorry Baabaa and Tahs fans, but unfortunately we won’t get to see Tahs legend Jacques Potgieter on the field against the Wallabies this weekend. The big Saffa is almost regarded as a cult figure to many Tahs fans, and rightly so: he was an important part of the team that went on to win their first Super Rugby title. However, Potgeiter has now been ruled out for Saturday’s clash with injury. Don’t worry though, his expected replacement is…