Author: Nick Wasiliev

The Benn Robinson Bell is heading to Sydney’s west as the Greater Sydney Rams claimed their second win to go top of the table, taking down a spirited Rays side in a seesawing contest at Macquarie Uni sports fields.  The Match The Macquarie University Sports Fields were the sight of some utterly outstanding rugby with the Uni Sevens playing the entire weekend. The Uni management team and the Rays had done a wonderful job at creating a real atmosphere to the game. When the NRC teams turned up, the crowd of around 1,500-2,000 were treated to some outstanding rugby. The Rays looked…

Friday’s Rugby News sees the Wallabies and Boks naming squads and firing shots, the Battle for Andy, Uni 7s arriving in Sydney, and an important report being released in New Zealand. [one_half last=”no”] Firing Shots The Boks are back in town! And they are certainly back in form! It seems that last year that many in the Republic were believing rugby was at death’s door. There hadn’t seen a Super Rugby title in six years. The Boks had their worst international season, winning just four of 12 Tests. Many were calling for Alistair Coetzee to be shown the door. What a difference…

Thursday’s Rugby News sees Twiggy’s rebel competiton pick up speed, a call for a senate inquiry, the Wallabies out to prove their worth and an ear-xtremely notable ban. [one_half last=”no”] Hong Kong Calling The culling of the Western Force has left many rugby fans on all sides of the country shaken. Twiggy Forrest pledged that, should the Force’s appeal by unsuccessful, he would launch a rebel Indo-Pacific League. Many, particularly at Fox Sports, have come out and said they believe that it would be impossible for such a competition to exist. Even former Force player Drew Mitchell encouraged current Force players…

In light of the events of yesterday, there was a need for a huge podcast. Reg and Hugh are back to chew the fat on the latest episode of the Green and Gold Rugby Show, and were joined by the ever reliable Brett McKay to talk all things NRC. In light of the law decision regarding the Western Force in the NSW Supreme Court yesterday, the lads were also joined by lawyer and popular GAGR contributor Paul Jurdeczka (otherwise known as Bay35Pablo) to explain the legal ramifications behind the license agreement and the repercussions of it. Much of the podcast also makes reference…

Well, many of us expected the Rams would be in for a tough season. But all that ended in an outstanding display at their new home TG Milner Field, that saw them claim a 43-22 win against last years minor premiers NSW Country Eagles. The Match It had been a hot afternoon for most of the day in Sydney, but as the teams took to the field the weather became notably cooler, ideal conditions for running rugby. The Eagles started the match as hot favourites. They had retained most of their squad for the season and were coached by the 2017…

The National Rugby Championship (NRC) will be entering its fourth season this year, with Perth Spirit looking to defend their maiden title. This year also sees the arrival of the Fijian Drua to the competition, which has perked up the interest of many rugby supporters. When the draw was announced near the end of July, it was a really encouraging sight to see more people voice their approval about the season starting again. For me personally, after the basket case that was the 2016 Australian Super Rugby Season, the NRC was the perfect antidote. It was rugby that, for the…

Friday’s Rugby News has Cheika seeing the Perth test as a significant moment for Aussie rugby, Simmons re-signing, a motivated Quade Cooper, and the NRC teams announced. [one_half last=”no”] Test in the West It has been a tough three weeks for fans of rugby in the West. Since the announcement that the Western Force will be cut from the competition, there have been staged protest rallies in Perth, meetings with ARU officials in Adelaide (I still can’t believe the ARU wouldn’t even come all the way over to Perth), and the appealing of cases to the NSW Supreme Court. The Force experienced an increase in crowd numbers…

Thursday’s Rugby News see’s Twiggy calling for blood, Beale calling for fans, Coleman thanking the Eagles and a revamped Brisbane Tens. [one_half last=”no”] There will be Blood Yep, Twiggy’s pissed. So pissed in fact, that he’s willing to take the Australian Rugby Union to the High Court of Australia if the Western Force loses its appeal hearing in the NSW Supreme Court, which is set to be decided next week. The Force and Twiggy are willing to exhaust all their legal options if necessary, in the hope that they are able drag the saga out long enough for them to compete in…

No, you’re not imagining things. There’s a special bonus podcast this week! About two weeks ago, The Green and Gold Rugby Show was approached by Will Reid, a bloke who works for The Feed, a show on SBS Viceland. Will was working on a documentary about rugby in Australia, when he was given the chance to interview ARU CEO Bill Pulver, and it was an interview that he wanted to share with us. Nick, our producer who usually works behind the scenes, takes over mic duties for this bonus podcast, where he discusses with Will the interview he had with Pulver, before diving…

Finally! It’s that time again! The NSW Country Eagles came so close in 2016. Is 2017 the year the Country finally takes home the Toast Rack? There is a real fierceness about rugby support in the country. Last year it was particularly notable that fans travelled a long way to see the Eagles play. I got to see them in their rescheduled game against Perth Spirit at Concord Oval, after Endeavour Oval in Orange was deemed unfit to play due to the rains, and when they played a few weeks later against the Rams during the Pacifika Round. I myself…

It was such an unbelievable performance by the Wallabies in Dunedin that Reg, Hugh and Jamie were still on a high from it when they sat down to do this weeks Green and Gold Rugby Show. The Five Burning Questions – 1. Are we happy with Saturday’s performance? 2. Who were your Wallaby standouts? 3. Will this be the start of a Wallaby resurgence? 4. What are we most looking forward to about the NRC this year? 5. What else caught our eyes around the grounds?

It was a day of rugby celebration down at North Sydney Oval, and the sight of an unbelievable contest as Warringah and Northern Suburbs made it a grand final for the ages to round off the Shute Shield.  The writing was on the cards for this to be a special grand final. The vibe was there. From the moment people started coming through the gates, there was something to it. Eventually, when something close to 20,000 were in the gates (honestly, I think it might’ve even been more), the Shield was delivered via chopper, and the Rats and Shoreman came on the field.…

[one_third last=”no”] 1. Scott Sio It was a bit of a mixed bag from Sio. The scrum did come under some pressure in the first half, but he more than made up for it with some good carries and being part of a better defensive effort. Solid all round 5  [/one_third] [one_third last=”no”] 2. Stephen Moore  Played a much better game than last week. The lineout was solid, and in general play looked much more focused this time round, but his performance in the scrum left much to be desired. Was replaced at the 38th minute.  5  [/one_third] [one_third last=”yes”] 3. Allan Alaalatoa Like Moore, was…

Friday’s Rugby News sees more talk about the Wallaby squad, the latest gossip from the All Blacks camp, the Uni7s launches in Launceston, and the Wallaroos giving back. [one_half last=”no”] Diddly Squad! The Wallabies will be out to try and regain some pride when they face the All Blacks in Dunedin this coming Saturday for the second Bledisloe Cup match. After the performance last week, many have called for a major shake up of the squad, the coaching, and pretty much everything else to do with the national side. So Michael Cheika decided to pretty much go with three changes,…

It’s the biggest day in NSW club rugby: the Intrust Super Shute Shield grand final! So it’s time for us to crack open and talk about our preview, while also taking the time to review the action from the Semi-Final weekend.  Semi-Finals Review WARRINGAH 27 – 17 MANLY, PITTWATER RUGBY PARK, 19TH AUGUST 2017 The servings up that these two fierce rivals have delivered this year have been some of the best matches of the Shute Shield! And what’s also been great has been the crowds. There was something close to 12,000 that packed into Rat Park for this decider. If you want…

Thursday’s Rugby News sees the Force win the right to an appeal in the Supreme Court, Hooper calling for a warm-up match, a very bewildered RUPA and the Wallaroos serving revenge upon the Irish. [one_half last=”no”] Force granted leave to appeal axing Man, this entire Force-ARU court case has got more thrills, spills and drama than Game of Thrones! After the Force were announced as being the team to be axed following the arbitration meeting, RugbyWA were granted leave to appeal against the ARU’s decision by New South Wales Supreme Court judge David Hammerschlag, who has now begun to hear their case.…

Yep, we’ve reached it. After the woeful performance at the Bledisloe Cup by the Wallabies, Matt, Hugh and Jamie stepped up to the mike to give their thoughts for this weeks Green and Gold Rugby Show. And with this podcast comes a return of the burning questions: Warning- moderate coarse language (can you blame them?) The Five Burning Questions-  1. Is this an all-time low for the Wallabies? 2. Who takes the blame – Cheika, Grey or everyone else? 3. Can we take any positives out for this week? 4. Was the Force rally good or bad for Aussie rugby? 5. Around…

It’s nearly time for the Bledisloe! Friday’s Rugby News is here to talk all the latest in the Wallabies and the Wallaroos, high hopes for the Uni Sevens series, and the Reds, Tahs and Brums all coming together for a chat. [one_half last=”no”] Bring back the Bledisloe! It’s that time of year again. The Wallabies will be set to do battle tomorrow night when they take on the All Blacks at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. It has certainly been an different build-up compared to previous years for the Wallabies, training out at Cessnock and Penrith and away from prying public eyes.…

Thursday’s Rugby News sees the launching of the new Fijian NRC Franchise, concerns about the Perth Pigs,  the Rebels searching for a new coach, and more goss on the Wallabies and Wallaroos. [one_half last=”no”] The Fijian Drua launches And here I was thinking all this time that we would just be playing the Fiji Warriors. Nope. But it is still exciting times for the NRC this year. The Fijian team was officially unveiled on Wednesday as the Fijian Drua, named after the historic double canoe that comes from the Pacific Island Nation. In addition to the unveiling of the name,…

Well I’ll be damned. There were plenty of upsets to be had during the qualifying finals, and it has caused a right shakeup going into the semi-finals. Here’s our thoughts on the latest Intrust Super Shute Shield action.  QUALIFYING FINALS REVIEW Manly 34 – 40 Eastwood, MANLY OVAL, 12TH August 2017 Yeah, I did not see this one coming. The Woodies had been so inconsistent the last few weeks I thought it would play heavily into the result of this match. The Marlins were going to turn it on and push their way into the finals. How wrong we all were?! Eastwood came with…