Author: Zeno

The Brisbane comp is on holiday this weekend. Sydney and Canberra plough on… Queensland Premier Rugby Round 9 Results: Sunnybank 47 def. Easts 10 Brothers 39 def. Wests 15 GPS 38 def. Souths 17 University 29 def. Norths 7 Six tries to two tells the story of Sunnybank’s mighty win over the previously unbeaten Easts. That result overshadowed the rest of the round, which saw the top end of the table belting the bottom end, as expected. Ladder: The City XV v. Country XV match is the curtain-raiser for…

Read More

G&GR’s coverage of the Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra first grade comps returns herewith. If you’ve missed the reports lately, I apologise. My plate got over-full for a while. Queensland Premier Rugby Round 8 Results: Sunnybank 31 def. Sunshine Coast 9 GPS 48 def. Norths 5 Gold Coast 23 def. Souths 20 University 34 def. Wests 19 Easts 35 def. Brothers 28 The result of the Easts–Brothers match was fitting: the first-placed Tigers are just that bit better than their nearest rivals. The Breakers’ good win over the Magpies was the only surprise from the other matches. Ladder: …

Read More

SANZAR Judicial Hearings will be held later today relating to two dangerous incidents in the weekend’s SupeRugby matches. During the second half of the Highlanders–Lions match in Dunedin on Saturday evening, Lions openside flanker Michael Rhodes cleared Clan winger Siale Piutau out of a ruck with a move that looked like a combination of a cagefighting chokehold and a crocodile’s deathroll. Piutau, once he’d disengaged himself, gave Rhodes one good punch in the head and attempted a few follow-ups. That was enough to get him reported too. Check out all the action in this clip: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLWiAc9vtmw[/youtube] Rhodes has been cited…

Read More

It’s the last weekend in May and the late-starting Brisbane season is well under way (though offering a surprising result or two each week) and the Sydney and Canberra comps are about half-done. There’s a common pattern: each table shows a strong leading group, a set of middle-rankers who can’t quite get there, and a battling tail end. That’s the way of the world, of course, but for some clubs the rest of the season probably looks like a drawn-out, depressing prospect. Enough gloom; let’s see what the weekend’s clashes hold in store. Queensland Premier Rugby – Round 5 Brothers…

Read More

Let’s take a quick look at the results from the weekend’s matches, the table standings and the draw for the next rounds in these three great competitions. Brisbane Round 4 Results University 20 def. Brothers 13 Easts 65 def. Norths 15 Wests 32 def. Gold Coast 30 Souths 27 def. Sunshine Coast 18 GPS 16 def. Sunnybank 15 The big story from Round 4 is GPS’s fine win over a Sunnybank line-up that Lance Free called ‘Queensland Reds A’. What a great turnaround from getting belted by Brothers the week before. The Brethren also turned their form around,…

Read More

It’s time — in fact I’m running kinda late — to take a quick look at the weekend’s action in Australia’s three top club rugby competitions. The point of interest in Brisbane is that the Reds have a bye so a host of squad members will be turning out for their clubs. Sydney offers a series of even match-ups that couldn’t have been better scheduled by a dating computer. It’s a similar story in Canberra, were first plays second, third plays fifth, and sixth plays seventh. Why is the Brumbies logo in our header image? The ACT and Southern NSW Rugby…

Read More

Let’s have a quick look at tomorrow’s action in Australia’s two three premier club comps. In Brisbane most matches involve one team each from the top and bottom halves of the table, so while it’s only Round 3 the season pecking order could be settled right now — or thrown right open. In Sydney there are two middle-of-the-table derbies that hold particular interest. There’s a long way to go in the season but now is not the time to let gaps open up. Randwick and Sydney Uni, I’m talkin’ ’bout you. And we pick up coverage of the Canberra Premier…

Read More

Here’s a quick preview of the games in the second round of Brisbane Premier Rugby and the sixth round of the Shute Shield in Sydney. Queensland Premier Rugby — Round 2 University v. GPS @ St Lucia — 3:00pm Saturday The Students and the Gallopers registered first-round wins, both in low-scoring matches. Expect the Students to press on a little better this week. University: 1. Kevin Davis, 2. Mitchell Wade, 3. Sam Cochrane, 4. David McDuling, 5. Jordan Chapman, 6. Vili Faingaa, 7. Stuart Valdal, 8. Tim Buchanan, 9. Ian Prior, 10. Dan Rothnie, 11. Tom Cox, 12. Herman Porter,…

Read More

The 2011 season of Queensland Premier Rugby starts today. The Brisbane grade competition dates from 1929 and nowadays comprises ten clubs: eight from the capital and one each from the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast. We thought we’d take a look at the first round match-ups, and while we’re at it cast an eye over Round 5 of Sydney Premier Rugby — the long-running contest for the Shute Shield involving 12 great clubs from across the metropolitan area. Fly your club colours with comments below. Queensland Premier Rugby — Round 1 Sunshine Coast v. Easts @ Stockland Park, 3:00pm…

Read More

Commenting on Timmsy’s Quick Review: Reds v. Tahs post last night, I said I hoped someone would be able to log the sequence of events between the 50- and 70-minute marks in the match. That’s the period when the Tahs had all the possession, field position, and a string of dominant scrums, and were trying to use brutal, grinding forward power to score a try. Today I decided to do that logging myself. Why? I’m fascinated by the way that part of the game unfolded. I really enjoyed watching it, seeing the forward packs struggling with each other, the ref,…

Read More