Author: Nick Wasiliev

Friday’s Rugby News has more on the Wallabies squad, Foley hitting 50, the Australian Schools side getting ready to rock and roll and the NRC squad chat. [one_half last=”no”] Rookies Galore No, I tell a lie. It’s only three. But for Izack Rodda, Jack Dempsey and Marika Koroibete it will be a case of being thrown in at the deep end when they play at altitude tomorrow against the Springboks. All three players have certainly shown their potential as future Wallabies, and their inclusion in the squad has come at the expense of Rob Simmons, Ned Hanigan and Henry Speight. The rest of the squad…

Thursday’s Rugby News has some mighty depressing news on the coaching front, more about the Wallabies and fitness at altitude, Roach thriving in the NRC and calls to ban harmful contact from British academics. [one_half last=”no”] ‘Blood’y hell! God this piece of news pisses me off. A lot. As if the loss of the Force wasn’t depressing enough, the exodus of the talent looks to make things even worse.  As it turns out, one of the most promising rising talents in Australian rugby coaching, Dave ‘Blood’ Wessels, COULD be set to sign with Munster.  According to Irish tabloids, Wessels is expected to be…

No last minute clashes like last week. Reg, Matt and Hugh are all back to chew the fat on a busy couple of weeks in Australian rugby with our latest edition of the Green and Gold Rugby Show. The Five Burning Questions – 1. Does the win over Argentina give us any pointers on how we’ll go with South Africa? 2. Is Lukhan Tui a good option to play 6? 3. Where should 2023 RWC be played – Ireland, South Africa or France? 4. Is Australia’s support of Fiji rugby a good thing in light of the Force decision? 5. Should Stiles…

Apparently, the URL tells me this is is our 200th edition of the Friday Rugby News. Time flies. Today’s news sees the Super Rugby draw named, an elephant (or lack of) in the room, France throwing more money at World Rugby, and squads named for the NRC. [one_half last=”no”] Super Rugby Draw Announced The biggest news story is the announcement of the 2018 Super Rugby draw. Let’s call a spade a spade: the eighteen team format was bollocks, and good riddance to it that it now no longer exists. Super Rugby has gone back to the three conference system, with the Jaguares…

Thursday’s rugby news sees the senate inquiry getting underway in WA, breaking down the IPRC, France insisting they take the World Cup, and more NRC Goss. [one_half last=”no”] A dog’s breakfast Nup, the image has nothing to do with the actual dogs breakfast that were the early findings of the WA senate inquiry into the culling of the Western Force. But the bewildered face really says it all. Force fans, look away. The next few paragraphs are not for pretty reading. It turns out (and this will most likely be of no surprise to many people), the Melbourne Rebels received…

Friday’s Rugby News has the all the RC goss, FTA on the cards for the IPRC, the Vikings calling for a merger of competitions, and more on the Uni 7s. [one_half last=”no”] RC Goss After the Springboks test in Perth, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika promised that he’s pretty close to nailing down his ideal starting XV. It looks to be the case, as there is to be only two changes for the squad from the side that drew the Boks last week to the side facing the Pumas this weekend down in the Nation’s Capital. And that one change is certainly an…

Thursday’s Rugby News has Slipper bulking up, Argentina-Wallabies chat, a date set for the clash between England and the All Blacks, and a whole lot more information on the Indo-Pacific Championship. [one_half last=”no”] Slipper-y customer Reds skipper James Slipper is a man on a mission. After a rough six months rehabilitating following a nasty torn achilles injury, Slipper has circled his goal of playing the October 14 match of the NRC, when he will represent Queensland Country and head to Sydney to take on the Greater Sydney Rams. But he’s coming back with a lot more on his mind. He hopes to come…

Rugby Reg, Hugh and Matt are back in the chair to talk the latest on all things rugby. For this week of the Green and Gold Rugby Show the lads talked about the Wallabies-Springboks test, the upcoming test against the Pumas, the NRC, and of course, Twiggyball. The Five Burning Questions – 1. How do you grade the Wallabies performance against the Boks? 2. Has Kurtley Beale already won the John Eales Medal? 3. What changes should Michael Cheika make for the Pumas? 4. Could Twiggyball save Australian rugby? 5. What was the best performance of the NRC last weekend?

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.…