Jethro Tah
Bob Loudon (25)
This really has to be a G&GR record:
Cardiffblue - join date Oct 2011 with 493 posts at an average of 25 per day !!
Cardiffblue - join date Oct 2011 with 493 posts at an average of 25 per day !!
No, Central contracts wont work in the pehrochial environment that is Welsh club rugby. Villageism rules i'm afraid,I think that central contracs are inevitable and have already been factored in. the benefits of players being together like the australians are obvious to all but the diehard regionalists. the challenge is to make sure that the contracts go to the best players and there is still a route for renewal.
Cardiffblue - join date Oct 2011 with 493 posts at an average of 25 per day !!
Wow... there must not be much to do in wales....
Seriously mate, loving your work, keep it up
EDIT: Whoops, he lives in Sydney... carry on then...
The play-off between The Wannabes and Wales for 3rd/4th place is important because it will determine the actual team seedings for the next World Cup in England 2015. The higher the team finishes the better the draw for the Quarter finals Its only the top eight teams are seeded and then the process of which seeded teams go into which pool can be worked out from there. Example: 1/8-seeds in Pool A, 2/7 3/6, 4/5, etc!
So who else has just realised (excluding the Barbarians match) we are playing Wales 5 times in a row?
I suggest starting a new thread or put it in "everything else".
As a HAC old boy (for study not rugby) I wish I could be there but live a bit too far away. Go the Blood & Mustard !!
Methinks Andrews/Pauls intercollegiate rugby has been around a tad longer than this competition.Soon to slip into back into the sleepiness of rhe Australian off season -until run up to Dec 3. I have one last rugby mission for november and I need to advertise it somewhere- but don't know where on this site to put the ad.??
The latest chapter in Australia's longest running inter-collegiate rugby comp between Hawkesbury Agricultural College (my team) and Royal Military College Duntroon is about to take place at RMC in Canberra on 29th of Oct. It's a significant year for both since 2011 is the centenary of RMC and 120 yrs of HAC. There's a presentation to RMC being made by ACTRU at half time.
If you are a HAC alumnus or know one and are interested in attending you'd be most welcome. the stands will be packed and great atmosphere. A whole day of fieldsports organised culminating in the football game at about 4pm. Just drop me a line via this site if you like. Blood and mustard attire is optional but preferred!
Wallabies and Wales to serve up RWC treat Darren Walton
October 20, 2011 - 5:09PM
.AAP
Australia and Wales have vowed to release the shackles and serve up an appetising entree on Friday night ahead of a four-Test feast between arguably world rugby's two most promising teams.
The two youngest sides in the Rugby World Cup enter the third-place playoff at Auckland's Eden Park shattered not to be playing for the game's greatest prize two nights later, but with plenty to prove.
The Wallabies are desperate to "right some wrongs" and showcase their attacking style after disappointing fans in kick-happy knockout displays against the Springboks and All Blacks.
Wales, too, are burning to entertain - and win - after proving the tournament surprise packets with a series of vibrant performances before suffering semi-final heartache at the hands of France.
Warren Gatland's exciting Welsh outfit lost two matches by a point - to South Africa in the pool stages, after five-eighth James Hook had a penalty shot controversially waved away, and to the French after captain Sam Warburton was sent off in the 19th minute.
Gatland has declared his team determined to finish the tournament as No.3, giving their excited fans plenty to look forward to when they meet the Wallabies again at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium next month.
And the Australian Rugby Union will be licking their lips at the prospect of hosting the Welsh in a three-Test home series next June.
"They're a very good side. They've shown an awful lot in this tournament," Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said.
"They've been unlucky obviously in terms of the way they departed the quest for the ultimate goal.
"They're a side that has played with ambition and clearly are an emerging group."
Teenager George North has been a revelation on the wing for Wales and promised Red Dragon fans his side wouldn't die wondering in their bid for a consolation bronze medal.
"With the talent we have in the squad and in the team, it will be a great game to watch," North said.
"We look on ourselves these days and we are playing with what I guess people would call no fear.
"Everyone is excited to get a chance to play against a southern hemisphere side down in New Zealand. It is a great opportunity.
"There are very similar attributes in both the teams. We enjoy to play, throw the ball around and have a crack.
"Hopefully, it won't just be a boring 3-all game. Hopefully, it will be a good game to finish with. Have a crack and enjoy it."
Wallabies captain James Horwill believes the return from a hamstring injury of classy fullback Kurtley Beale will give his side a vital attacking edge.
"He's held in high regard by all the players and also he gives that second playmaker for Quade (Cooper) because he's played a lot of 10 in his time," Horwill said.
"He can step into that first-receiver role and help out there. He gives some good voice and obviously he's got that x-factor that you can't coach.
"He can create something from nothing."
Australia: Kurtley Beale, James O'Connor, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Ben McCalman, David Pocock, Scott Higginbotham, Nathan Sharpe, James Horwill (capt), Salesi Ma'afu, Tatafu Polota Nau, James Slipper. Res: Saia Fainga'a, Ben Alexander, Rob Simmons, Radike Samo, Luke Burgess, Anthony Fainga'a, Rob Horne
Wales: Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Shane Williams, James Hook, Mike Phillips, Ryan Jones, Toby Faletau, Dan Lydiate, Luke Charteris, Bradley Davies, Paul James, Huw Bennett, Gethin Jenkins (capt). Res: Lloyd Burns, Ryan Bevington, Alun Wyn Jones, Andy Powell, Lloyd Williams, Stephen Jones, Scott Williams
I am now satisfied that my anti-pedant shields are in place tested and energised.
Reeeeally?
Has has? Des Hassler?
Does anyone think it more than a little strange that at the end of the season Deans decides rocky needs a rest?
I think rocky's bests days are behind him and maybe Deans is giving him a dignified excuse but its more than a month to the next game so "resting" doesn't seem right.
Is it a changing of the guard?