Author: Xaviera

Tantalising. Finally, it’s time, and all the posturing is over. No more resting of key players, no more excuses for losing soft matches. Get it wrong and it’s simply no more. Get it right, and who knows? These two teams have played two finals matches in recent years, and each time, the winner went on to win the comp. Here we have the Tahs (notionally 3rd) against the Highlanders (notionally 6th), but with the teams level on points, so that trajectory is less likely than their previous encounters, but still possible. FORM Only nine weeks ago these teams met at…

This one’s a smokey. When looking at the draw before the season kicked off, this match would have attracted more than its fair share of “meh” from many. But there’s a lot to like about it. FORM Here’s the first reason – top of the conference versus bottom of the conference (and, for that matter, the whole shebang), and they’re both coming off wins. Surprisingly, and here’s another reason, both teams are three from five in recent matches. Who’d have thunk it? So don’t write off these Moondoggies just yet, because, like most things rugby, it’s never as simple as…

Tricky. REALLY tricky. If you’re one to follow form lines or at least try to dissect them, head straight to the couch now. It’s not so difficult from the NZ conference side, but the Australian conference is akin to a spreadsheet that has vomited its dataset randomly into a new file. Sunwolves v Reds anyone? FORM Those sage pragmatists with hearts of ice and mines of data, the bookies, say this should be a straightforward win for the Speights sippers. And yet, this seems to be the most contentious match of the round. We may have to step into the…

First in one conference playing at home versus last in another conference playing away. The former has five wins, the latter just two (one of which is against the Sunwolves). It’s a no-brainer, right? If only. FORM Get out your whiteboard and pay close attention – this could be tricky. The Tahs flogged the Reds, the Lions pantsed the Tahs and the Reds beat the Lions, all in consecutive weeks. The Blues traditionally struggle in Sydney, yet overcame that last year. This…

Fresh from a Heritage Round win over the now struggling Reds at the SCG, the Tahs move straight into the ANZAC round right next door at Allianz after a six-day turnaround. Meanwhile, the Lions come off the bye to start their major travel leg of the season. It’s the top team from each of their respective conferences, but at this time of year, sometimes such a standing can only flatter to deceive. FORM It’s a fascinating match-up. The 2016 and 2017 finalists, and the form team of Africa in recent times, against the Waratahs, coming off a dreadful 2017 but…

I’m Xaviera, and I’m a Waratahs fan. There, I’ve said it. Now I can start the 12 steps… In keeping with the theme of disclosure, I’m a huge fan of Simon Cron, having seen first hand what he did with Norths. I’m also fond of Daryl Gibson. He’s a good human, although shy, and one on one, he has a quiet aura about him. So, for all these reasons, I really want to see the 1874 boys and girls do well on the rugby field. But we’re only three matches in, and already it’s a tough gig being a Waratahs…

The Waratahs take on the Jagauares in their last home game of 2017

Looking at the data alone it would be easy to assume this should be a close match.* Both teams are loitering at the bottom of the table (whichever table you choose to view) and have a negative points differential as close as it gets without being identical. They’ve played the same number of matches, and have similar stories in attack and defence. So why then do we see the bookies saying the Tahs are screaming favourites? How can this be? The Teams Waratahs It’s all about perspective. The Waratahs have played some good rugby, in between complete lapses of concentration,…

The smell of cut grass, hailstones the size of cricket balls, 47 degrees in the ‘burbs, the variously liveried flannelled fools playing here, there and everywhere, and surf carnivals up the wazoo. What does it all mean? Rugby season of course! But wait! Before the blood flow moves elsewhere in the body, we must prepare ourselves. We must prepare ourselves to combat the bombast of alternative facts which will spew forth from our audio-visual devices as the commentators attempt to educate us on the Law changes. We must be prepared for that question on a Friday night, after the third…

We look in depth at the NRC to see how the law variations have played out in 2016 and see what that means for the development of Aussie rugby

It is a truism well accepted that if rugby league is checkers, then rugby union is chess. The supporting evidence is plentiful, none more so than the legal structure of rugby. A modern referee has to have an understanding of at least some of the following: The Laws of the Game – 212 pages Law Clarifications – eight alone in 2015 Competition Rules – Sydney Juniors, who play for massive sheep stations each weekend – 71 pages Pathway Laws – 16 pages Law Regulations (World Rugby Handbook) – 560 pages. That is NOT a typo; and Game Management Guidelines -…

Here are the 5 key changes you need to know, plus the winners and losers from them……

View image | gettyimages.com Now that we’ve had a moment to draw breath, recover from the unusual jet lag induced by not travelling any further than from the lounge to the fridge and return, and realise that there is now a numb void in our lives, we also have time to contemplate on some key issues from RWC 2015. One of the most discussed and most emotional issues was the allocation of teams to the pools. Australia’s pool quickly became the “Pool of Death” and a superficial look at the teams would suggest the epithet was a fair one. But…

View image | gettyimages.com VIBE A cool, cloudy but still night in Kingsholm Gloucester saw a match-up between old foes RWC2019 hosts Japan and the sleeping giant of world rugby, USA. Japan, everybody’s second team of the tournament after their earlier efforts in the Pool, were shooting for three wins, whereas the USA were looking to break their duck. Despite the result not having any material effect on the tournament, it was bound to be an interesting match. And so it proved. The Blossoms again entertained with fine tight technique and highly skilled passing and running, whereas the USA, despite…

View image | gettyimages.com VIBE In only the second meeting between these sides, Tonga winning previously 20-14 in 1997, they headed to the southernmost venue of the tournament and in front of a capacity crowd of 12,500 locals still missing their Mumm, Tonga again won, their pigs earning the bacon in Devon. Both teams made plenty of changes from their previous match, with Tonga making ten, including losing their incumbent skipper to injury and a very late sub on the wing, robbing the Exeter fans of seeing one of their “own”. The conditions were warm but windy and when Burger…

VIBE Given Namibia and New Zealand have never played a Test match prior to this, it was always going to be difficult to pick a winner, especially with Namibia not yet having played a match in the tournament. This didn’t stop the crowd of 51,820, who happily backed the Africans throughout, even though the ABs had finished their heavy lifting and gained the bonus point by half-time, the quickest in the tournament so far. The second half was pedestrian, with Namibia giving a master-class in how to slow down play and suck momentum from their stronger opposition, and the ABs…

VIBE Looking at the tournament schedule, this should have been an easy match to predict, but Japan v South Africa changed all that; that match, combined with Wales playing their first match and being at home, meant Wales were nervous, and it showed. Being behind 6-0 after nine minutes only reinforced that. However, normal service soon resumed and despite a brave effort for the full 80 from Uruguay, Wales had both the bonus point and the win in the bag by half-time. However, that is not to say Warren Gatland would have been pleased – far from it. He’ll take…

With RWC 2015 finally here, it behoves us to assess two of the talking points. For Australia, the choice of Stephen Moore as captain, and for New Zealand, Richie’s last great hurrah. Talking points that are not unrelated. For the Wallabies, the Australian public and probably Michael Cheika too, the choice for Australia came down to two – the incumbent, Michael Hooper, and last year’s first choice, Stephen Moore. Squeak obviously got the nod, but why, and was it the right choice? For the All Blacks, Richie’s record as a player speaks for itself (most capped ever, most wins, most starts),…