Author: Yowie

Wednesday’s Rugby News sees Russia suspended, leaping over defenders banned, Reece Hodge suspended and Wallaby movements (ruining the theme). World Rugby suspends Russia and BelarusThe Guardian reports that World Rugby has joined a growing list of international sports governing bodies by placing immediate suspensions on Russia and Belarus.The unions from the respective countries have been barred from all international rugby and cross-border club rugby activities until further notice. Furthermore, the Rugby Union of Russia has been suspended from World Rugby membership.In a statement released on Tuesday, World Rugby reiterated its condemnation of “Russia’s aggressive invasion of Ukraine and the facilitation…

Wednesday’s Rugby News sees James Slipper re-sign with the Brumbies, creative solutions to Super Rugby’s covid problems, the Junior Wallabies confirm their first squad of 2022 and Aussie Tawera Kerr-Barlow shares some stories. James Slipper re-signs with BrumbiesEmbed from Getty Images114test cap Wallaby prop (either side will do), three World Cup veteran, sorely-missed Red and current Brumby James Slipper is eyeing a fourth World Cup appearance after signing a one year contract extension with Rugby Australia and the Brumbies according to G&GR’s own Nathan Williamson.Having made his debut in 2010, the loosehead has been a mainstay for more than a…

Wednesday’s Rugby News sees Super Rugby Covid contingencies, a ‘Vintage Reds XV’ v Tongan Invitational side charity game announced for 15 February, Louis Lynagh joining Pommy squad for Jocks game and some basic laws clarifications for casual viewers.Super Rugby Covid disruptionSRuper Rugby News reports that the Western Force will base themselves on Australia’s East Coast for the opening rounds of the inaugural season of Super Rugby Pacific due to ongoing border restrictions in Western Australia. “Border Force” (thanks Habitual Offender), the Brumbies and Waratahs have agreed to swap home and away fixtures in the early rounds of the competition to…

Wednesday’s Rugby News sees Beale circling the Tahs for 2023, Welsh hard-case Jamie Roberts join the Tahs for 2022, 39-year-old Matt Giteau to play on in 2022 for the Los Angeles Giltinis and two Super Rugby pre-season matches axed due to Covid.Beale eyes 2023 Waratahs seasonPravda reports that Waratahs coach Darren Coleman is hopeful Kurtley Beale will return to the club from France, but says it won’t happen until 2023.Reports out of France indicated Beale would not extend his Racing 92 deal, preferring instead to return to the Waratahs, who lost all 13 games last season.Coleman, who apparently goes “way…

Wednesday’s Rugby News sees Aussies set to rule the 2022 Six Nations, Wallaroos establishing their culture, Japanese foreign vs domestic talent issues and Pommy updates. Australians to referee Six Nations Damon Murphy, Nic Berry, Angus Gardner and Brett Cronan been appointed to the 2022 Guinness Six Nations in Europe according to Pravda.Joining a team of 13 match officials from eight World Rugby Member Unions, all four officials will make Australian Rugby history, taking charge of three tier-one matches across one weekend.Nic Berry will kick off proceedings on February 12 when reigning Six Nations champions the Taffys (hi Eloise!) take on…

Hot off the back of last week’s news winning “Best GAGR News of the Week” with daylight second – today’s rugby news sees Melbourne Rebels’ Super W players getting paid (eventually), Hunter Paisami re-signing for the Reds, the wicked problem of rugby collisions and Stan Sport turning Japanese (I really think so). Rebels Super W payment deal in the worksEmbed from Getty ImagesESPN has given an interim update on the Melbourne Rebels’ plan to actually pay their Super W players. Melbourne CEO Baden Stephenson has told ESPN the administration has yet to determine what player contracts will look like and…

Bad news for recovering rugby chat addicts who needed the GAGR quiet period to continue uninterrupted. Today’s rugby news sees our Women’s Sevens back in gold, Quade Cooper swap “sweet-as bro” for “grouse”, Rugby Australia salivates over the 2027 World Cup and the All Blacks ponder being a bit shit.Women’s Sevens return to winning formEmbed from Getty ImagesAlways Broadcasting Communism reports that Australia’s women’s rugby sevens side have powered to a second straight Dubai Sevens tournament trophy in successive weeks, while their male counterparts fell agonisingly short in their final.On Saturday, the Australian women maintained their dominant, unbeaten sequence over…

Not the usual news, but a great piece of footage found by GAGR’s Tasmania-based northern hemisphere correspondent Keith Butler this morning.Heads we win… Bridgend full-back Howley’s unorthodox effort wins it at SwanseaEmbed from Getty ImagesThe BBC [ https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/rugby-union/59453849 ] has a great 43 second video of Bridgend Ravens full-back Edd instinctive actions leading to the winning try in Welsh rugby’s Indigo Group Premiership Cup at Swansea.According to KARL it is legal. The visitors won 20-13 at St Helen’s.

Today’s rugby news sees James Slipper named Wallaby Captain, Angus Scott-Young’s NPC stint, Jaapie tears and Joe Biden celebrating with the Irish. Slipper named Wallaby Captain for Welsh TestGAGR’s Nathan Williamson has given the official go-ahead for James Slipper to Captain the Wallabies for the upcoming Wales test (3:30am Queensland/correct time Sunday morning).On Tuesday evening Rugby Australia confirmed that Slipper would step up in place of Michael Hooper, with the flanker ruled out with a foot injury.It will mark just the second time the 32-year-old will captain the side, handed the honour against the USA ahead of the 2015 World…

Today’s news (which an un-named Kiwi forgot to do) sees Covid hit the England camp, Men’s sevens fallout and Ellia Green retire from Sevens. It slightly bothers me that, apart from being three stories not four, this 30-minute fill-in effort seems to be virtually indistinguishable to the news items I spend 1-2 hours preparing…Positive PomEmbed from Getty ImagesAccording to the Guardian, England’s preparations for Saturday’s autumn international with Australia have been hit by after Joe “Irish horse” Marler was ruled out of facing the Wallabies because of Covid. Marler has been forced into isolation after contracting the virus. On Tuesday…

Today’s news sees the Reds run through the jungle, “World 12s” rugby tournament no fortunate son, Beale denies sinister purpose and the night time is the right time for telling jokes according to James Haskell. Reds camp it upWith the Wallaby contingent in the UK, the rest of the Reds Super Rugby AU-champion squad have gone through an intense three-day camp at the notorious Kokoda Army Barracks training facility at Canungra according to Ex-P.F.C Williamson.The site has become a favourite of coach Brad Thorn, adopting a similar approach in 2018 ahead of his rookie season, the three-year break being necessary…

Jagged Little WillFrance-based stars Will Skelton, Rory Arnold and Tolu Latu have previously been confirmed in the Wallabies Spring Tour squad. Now Channel 9 have written a piece on the redemption arc of Will Skelton. In 18 Test matches for Australia between 2014 and 2016 Skelton was 2.07m and 148kg and one of the biggest bodies in professional rugby. However, the giant lock copped criticism for his fitness and work ethic.Skelton moved to Saracens in London in 2017.”He came in initially for a bit of injury cover,” says Kevin Sorrell, a veteran of 195 games for Saracens and now the…

With Hoss presently on the run from the ICAC corruption probe it fell on the rest of the GAGR News Team to draw straws to do today’s news. Counselling is available to assist the disappointed – not to be confused with Hoss’ current nemesis – Counsel Assisting the Commission. McKellar explains tour squad omissionsNine reports that Wallabies assistant coach Dan McKellar has elaborated on the reasons for omitting Noah Lolesio and Harry Wilson from the Spring Tour.Head coach Dave Rennie has asked five-eighth Lolesio to put on some muscle in the off-season in a bid to improve his defensive capabilities.…

Wednesday’s rugby news sees the proposed new centralised model for Australian Rugby, New Zealand confirmed to be number twos, the Tahs recruiting from Manly and To’omua to miss the spring tour due to concussion. Straight from Central CastingAs reported in the comments* earlier this week, Fox Sports reports that Rugby Australia is on the cusp of moving to a more centralised model, following the lead of the Oirish and the Hobbit Kingdom. (*we’ll report the news thank-you-very-much)Rugby Australia will be involved in all the appointments of head coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, player signings as well as have greater control…

Len Ikitau re-signs until 202322-year-old centre and Brisbane boy Len Ikitau has been quickly locked into a contract extension by the Brumbies and Rugby Australia until the 2023 Rugby World Cup after his two-try rampage against then World No 1 South Africa last Saturday.Nathan “True Blue” Williamson reports that Ikitau was quick to deflect praise when speaking to media on Tuesday.“I scored two tries but they were team tries, I guess I was just there in the right place,” Ikitau said on Tuesday.“I feel like I’m trying to get better each week and improve my game. Everyone’s trying to push…

Wednesday’s Rugby News sees Cooper and Rodda return from the wilderness, the Welsh study into rugby brain injury, the Seppos learning rugby via reality television and Rassie not touring to Australia.Cooper & Rodda dare to dreamGAGR’s own Nathan “True Blue” Williamson reports that Queensland refugees Quade Cooper and Izack Rodda could play on Sunday in the third Bledisloe Cup Test in Perth, after centre Hunter Paisami and second-rower Lukhan Salakaia-Loto both left camp to be with their expecting partners.70-Test Cooper has not played for Australia in four years and will soon depart for another season in Japan.25-Test Rodda will play…

Wednesday’s Rugby News sees the Argies shift the Wallabies to 7th in the world, Referee treatment chat, Tim Walsh sticking up for the Sevens program, former Wallaroos coach Dwayne Nestor’s response and some recruitment gap-filler. Green And Gold Rugby · Rugby Report Card 130 – The Old Familiar Sting [one_half last=”no”] Wallabies slip to 7th in meaningless arbitrary rankings Australia have slipped below Argentina in World Rugby’s global rankings (shut up rankings you’re not my real dad!) following nothing in particular on the last two Saturday nights. Rugbypass reports that this is the joint lowest position the Wallabies have occupied since…

Wednesday’s Rugby News sees Kerevi (potentially) back in gold, the deep insights of Aaron Smith, Sydney making history and Olympic Sevens fallout. [one_half last=”no”] Samu Kerevi in squad for Perth Bledisloe Channel Nine reports that wrecking ball centre Samu Kerevi will return to the Test squad for the third Bledisloe Cup Test in Perth on August 28. Kerevi has not played for the Wallabies since the 2019 Rugby World Cup after taking up a contract in Japan with Suntory Sungoliath. But the 27-year-old is in Sydney in hotel quarantine after representing Australia in sevens at the Tokyo Olympics. “The big thinking for us around…

Wednesday’s Rugby News sees Bledisloe anticipation, Giteau, Ashley-Cooper & Darren Coleman clean-up for Los Angeles, the Lions Series race to the bottom and Shannon Frizell controversy. Green And Gold Rugby · The Dropped Kick-Off 25 – Knee’den Park [one_half last=”no”] Bledisloe 1 GAGR’s own Nathan Williamson reports that Matt To’omua has enjoyed the change in positions and responsibility as he allows Lolesio to take control of the side in James O’Connor’s (groin) absence. “It’s been good playing for Noah,” To’omua said on Tuesday. “We’ve seen him develop across those three Tests and I think he did really well to close out…

Thursday’s Rugby News sees the Bledisloe back on, a men’s Sevens wrap-up, Rassie Erasmus’ multiple Twitter personalities and the on going Super Rugby format arm-wrestle. Green And Gold Rugby · The Dropped Kick-Off 24 – Paying The Rent [one_half last=”no”] Bledisloe back on New Zealand closed the quarantine-free travel bubble with Australia last week, despite NSW’s gold standard contact tracing. However New Zealand Sports Minister Grant Robertson said the Wallabies had been granted entry under a clause allowing exemptions for events that have a “sugnuficant economuc umpect” according to Rugby.com.au. “This is important economically,” Robertson said, putting a…