Author: Nick Wasiliev

While test rugby is getting underway on weekend, it is important to remember the awesome club rugby competition that is the Intrust Super Shute Shield, which has entered into Round 11. While our coverage of the competition has been (to our shame) fairly minimal this year, all that is about to change. Here is our preview for Round 11 of the Intrust Super Shute Shield. The Table The Previews Free-to-Air Broadcast Match: Eastern Suburbs vs Southern Districts, McKay Oval (Centennial Park). Kick off: Saturday 3:10pm, LIVE on 7TWO in NSW and the ACT, replay in QLD. The broadcast match sees Eastern Suburbs host…

No Super Rugby, no ARU politics… Friday’s rugby news is all about the test rugby, with some Under 20s  thrown in for good measure. The Wallaby squad talking points Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has thrown caution to the wind and announced a combination of new and old in his squad for the match against Fiji on Saturday. The run on squad includes the notable debutants Ned Hanigan starting at blindside flanker, and Karmichael Hunt who will be thrown in the deep end at starting centre. Michael Hooper will also be captaining the side. The squad for the Wallabies can be…

Thursday Rugby News has more on the Buildcorp NRC, a new twist in the Super Rugby saga, players coming and going, and some rather blue-faced Lions. NRC still a worthy cause Following the news that Buildcorp had pulled their naming rights support of the NRC yesterday, the ARU have been quick to jump to the defence of the young competition. Josephine Sukkar, the Principal of the construction company, announced they had pulled support due to the ARU’s inability to commit to a women’s XVs National Championship. With Sukkar being President of Australian Women’s Rugby and also sitting on an ARU nomination committee,…

Wednesday Rugby News has angry sponsors losing faith, Mick Byrne begging to keep the faith, the Flying Fijians arriving in town and the Lions being pumped up. Buildcorp No-RC Well, it turns out us fans are not the only ones who are pissed at the ARU. Sponsors are too. Already this year, BMW and Lion Nathan have announced that they will be walking away from ARU brands. However, the biggest shock last night was, as reported by The Telegraph, the news that construction company Buildcorp will be pulling a million-dollar sponsorship of the naming rights to the National Rugby Championship. Buildcorp is…

Your weekly dose of rugby is back. This week, Rugby Reg, Hugh and Jamie Miller chew the fat on the upcoming Wallabies-Fiji test, the British & Irish Lions tour, the U20s tournament, the Super Rugby results,  and even find time to mention Wally Lewis for the first time ever in a podcast. The Five Burning Questions: 1. What do you want to see from the Wallabies this weekend? 2. What do we expect from Fiji this weekend? 3. Are Horne, Gordon and Mason the right call ups for the Wallaby squad? 4. Was the British & Irish Lions result vs the…

Friday is all about the feels… the rugby news sees Simon Cron feeling happy, Ireland feeling lucky, Stephen Larkham feeling sorry and Nick Phipps feeling disappointed. Defence makes Cron Cheerful Australian U20s coach Simon Cron is a notoriously tough coach, and a man seemingly never satisfied with the efforts of his teams. However, he showed his lighter side to rugby.com.au when chatting about Australia’s U20 defence in their thrilling win against Wales, 24-17 in Georgia. While he highlighted that Australia’s attack has yet to reveal it’s true potential, he had nothing but praise for the outstanding defence that won them…

The GAGR Rugby Show is back for another week to talk all the latest topics in Australian rugby. This week, Hugh and Matt were MIA, so Rugby Reg was joined once again by the ever reliable Jamie Miller, and our very own Brumby Jack, Steve Lenthall. The Five Burning Questions- 1. What is the biggest talking point about the Wallabies squad? 2. With conference race all but secure, can the Brumbies advance past the quarter finals? 3. How will the other Aussie Super Rugby teams approach the rest of the season? 4. Who do we think will top the other…

Friday Rugby News has trouble brewing in the west, positive development towards a national coaching panel, Higgers working up an appetite and bad news for Beale. News From the West Starting over in sunny Western Australia, the Western Force have been struggling to avoid the Super Rugby axe, but now could potentially find themselves even more up-creek without a paddle, following news in the Sydney Morning Herald that the club is reportedly battling to keep the $1.5 million major sponsorship deal with the Road Safety Commission. The Force received the sponsorship in January this year.  As part of the deal Force players were required…

Rugby Reg and Matt are back for another week to chew the fact on all the latest topics in Super Rugby, the Wallabies and Sevens Rugby. This week, they were joined by longtime GAGR collaborator, sportswriter and commentator, Brett McKay. The Five Burning Questions: 1. Which was the best Aussie team performance of the weekend? 2. Is the Aussie conference race now over? 3. Do we think there will actually be a reduction of teams in Super Rugby next year? 4. Is the Sydney 7s move to Australia Day good or a bad decision? 5. Who will play Prop for…

Friday Rugby News has Mumm asking for answers, SA Rugby’s franchise plan, and some big stories out of England. Mumm calls for an end to ‘anxiety’ RUPA President Dean Mumm has echoed many calls throughout the week about the stress that the current Super Rugby saga is having on the players. In a press conference yesterday outside Allianz Stadium, Mumm said that the RUPA board met on Wednesday and unanimously voted for the EGM. Echoing the words of RUPA boss Ross Xenos, Mumm hoped that the EGM would provide some much needed transparency for the players. “In terms of performance, it’s a…

Don’t worry folks! The Bye week is over and the lads are back at it for another week of the GAGR Rugby Show. This week Rugby Reg and Hugh were joined by longtime guest, Jamie Miller, to talk about all of the latest topics in Super Rugby and the Wallabies. 1. Was the Western Force win the best performance by an Australian team this year? 2. Can the Queensland Reds still win the conference? 3. What do we want from the coaching summit? 4. What are the talking points from the World Cup Draw? 5. Who will play at Outside Centre…

Friday’s Rugby News involves a couple of NRL blokes, good news for a certain Queensland halfback and a Victorian flanker, and more complaints about the structure of world rugby.  The Cronk Saga (Updated) It’s all been about Cooper Cronk the last few days. Following news that he will be exiting the Melbourne Storm and moving to Sydney to spend more time with his fiancé, many have been hopeful that he might come over and sign up with the Waratahs. Well, since then Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has added fuel to the media by suggesting that…

Reg, Matt and Hugh are having a well-earned week off from the GAGR Rugby Podcast, but will be back next week (16th May). All those looking for a podcast, listen to this short recording…

It wasn’t to be for the plucky Force this week, with the Sharks comprehensively outplaying them in a 37-12 loss at the Shark Tank in Durban, off the back of an outstanding performance from Curwin Bosch, one of the most promising players to come out of the Republic in recent years. Compared to previous weeks of competitive performances by the men from the west, this week was a bit of a disappointment, to say the least. Unlike their previous two efforts, the Force’s small mistakes were extremely costly by the end of the game. Embed from Getty Images The Match Curwin Bosch started off…

The Sharks have looked to have found their winning ways again and return home to host a plucky yet injury-ravaged Western Force in Durban on Saturday night.  The Big Picture Starting with the Sharks, they had a pretty good campaign so far this season. They currently sit very comfortably in the SA Conference’s wildcard sport, with six wins and an eight point gap between them and their nearest rivals, the Jaguares. However, they sit in 8th overall, and must continue winning games to consolidate their position in the competition and to hopefully finish higher, or they run the risk of…

Friday Rugby News has Rob Clarke calling it quits, more bloody silence, nervous Kiwis and plenty of welcome returns. Clarke Calls it Quits For months we’ve heard next to nothing from the ARU, with talk about decisions behind the closed doors of the HQ in St Leonards, and whisperings and apparent disagreements running rife in the media. So, if there was any indication of what actually is happening, then yesterday we may have got a glimpse of it: the chief operating officer Rob Clarke officially tendered his resignation. Touted as the next in line after Bill Pulver is sacked resigns, Clarke’s removal couldn’t…

Rugby Reg, Matt and Hugh chew the fat on all the latest in Aussie rugby, and in light of the most recent match between the Reds and Waratahs (and other Super Rugby results this week), some ranting was well overdue. WARNING – Mild language 1. Were the Queensland Reds robbed? 2. Which is the better race in the Australian conference currently: the race for first or the race for last? 3. If a Super Rugby team is cut, should the foreign player policy be cut as well? 4. What is the most damning statistic in Australian rugby at the moment?…

Sorry Reg, look away now. In front of 18,781 fans at Suncorp Stadium, the Waratahs have managed their seventh win in a row against the Queensland Reds, downing them 26-29  in a fiery encounter that actually, for once, truly lived up to the hype.  I hear the angry online rugby supporters circling… But I’m going to be honest here, coming from a neutral perspective: I really enjoyed this match. Both sides have had tough, tough seasons so far. The players confidence is absolutely shot. The fans are angry. So what did they do? They brought it back to one of…

Friday rugby news has Pek Cowan commenting on the Force situation, Changes to the Lions Tour format, rumblings about the All Blacks squad for the Lions, and the Waratahs falling on desperate times. Pek Comments Pek Cowan has come out in support of his teammates, saying that they are focusing on trying to play as best they can for their fans and that the ARU situation is “out of our control.” His comments come just after the ARU declined two invitations to attend a meeting with RugbyWA. It is understood that the Western Force, through it’s ‘Own the Force’ campaign, is close to closing…

Rugby Reg, Hugh and Matt are back to chin wag on the latest topics in Aussie rugby, from Super Rugby to Wallaby selection to the Lions tour. The Five Burning Questions: 1. How many matches will the British & Irish Lions win on the New Zealand tour? 2. Where to now for the Waratahs? 3. Was the improved performances by the Force and Rebels a sign of better things to come? 4. Who’s going to play Hooker for the Wallabies in 2017? 5. Will the Aussie Womens Sevens team be able to bounce back and defend their title?