Welcome to Hump Day fellow G&GRs. We can put last week’s game behind us (let it go!) and look forward to this weekend when the ABs aren’t playing in the Eden Park fortress. I was at that game and it was a fantastic atmosphere, there was a group of Australian supporters in front of us and the banter between them and us was great. Interestingly neither us nor them had too many issues with the referee. There were a couple of ‘What was that for?’ moments but generally there wasn’t much and I was really surprised when I saw the vitriol online after the game. Seeing McDermott go off so early was really sad and, while I thought Lonergan was very good, I think they lost a bit with Tate off the field. For me the Hooper/LSL/Frost combination worked very well and put the ABs under a lot of pressure and I’m looking forward to it being broken with Skelton coming back. Thank you, RA.
The Wallabies will be seeing this as a must win game with World Rugby ranking points needed for the RWC draw, a farewell to Slipper and a game that will get them back on track for the northern tour. I don’t see it as much for the ABs, I don’t think the Argies will beat the Boks so we can’t win the Rugby Championship no matter what. The Bledisloe is locked up for another year regardless of the result and I think it might be hard to get the team fired up for this match. What I’d love to see is for Razor to make about five changes to the team and start bringing in the future. I’d like to see Love at #10, Jacomb on the bench (or the other way), Faiunga’anuka at #13, Tupaea at #12 and Tuipolutu and Holland starting at lock. I think some of the ABs have had a poor tournament and they need a rocket to get them back to where they need to be.
James Slipper shares mixed emotions after making Wallabies history
James Slipper passed an impressive milestone on Saturday. However, written here by Ned Lester there were mixed emotions on the day. There are now three players in rugby’s ultra-exclusive 150 Test club: Alun Wyn Jones, Sam Whitelock and James. That’s a pretty small list and to get there is an amazing achievement but, it came with muted celebrations. While the Wallabies stalwart may be in his 16th season of Test rugby, he is yet to lift the Cup contested by the trans-Tasman rivals. “Mixed emotions,” Slipper replied. “Gutted with the result, but in terms of the 150, I’m super proud, humbled. I’m a little bit surprised I actually made it there.” A 150th Test cap was awarded at Eden Park, and while Slipper wasn’t sure where he would keep or display such a prized possession, he had a few others to keep it company.
The 36-year-old isn’t sure what the future holds, but has no interest in charging ahead for the sake of dethroning Welshman Alun Wyn Jones’ 160 international appearance record. Whether 2025 spells the end or not will be determined by his team. Slipper said there was potential for another run in 2026, but would avoid at all costs announcing his retirement only to be lured back into the fold, à la Nic White. “That’s what I don’t want to do, come out and retire and then potentially run out in another one,” Slipper laughed. “I’m here for the rest of the year, but whether I’m needed or not, that’s probably a team decision.” Regardless of Slipper’s potential inclusion, the Wallabies’ immediate future looks bright. Young stars are shining, and the game is experiencing a wave of renewed support Down Under thanks to a return to competitiveness in the global standings. “The one thing I know is that this team’s going to go forward in the years to come and be really strong and be what Australian rugby needs to be.” He said.
This is an amazing achievement and well done on him for pushing through for so long. He hasn’t had it easy and there must’ve been times when he questioned if it was all worth it. I’ve always liked Slipper, he may not’ve had the YouTube clips of others, but he always went out there giving it his best and going hard for the whole time. He’s a player the Wallabies can rely on and over the years he has continually developed and worked hard to get better. When he does go he’ll be missed and there’re a few players around who would do well to look at his dedication and work ethic and try and emulate it. They’d be better players if they did.
Tate McDermott set for long sideline stint, surgery after confirmed hamstring injury in Auckland
Reported here in rugby.com.au by Nick W, Tate McDermott is set for a long spell on the sideline. He’s been one of the Wallabies’ most effective attacking players for the last few years, but the men in gold are set for a long stint without their world-class halfback. The 50-capped Wallaby has had scans following his early departure from the field in Auckland with the procedure confirming a significant hamstring injury. McDermott has been a staple of the Wallabies of the 2020s, serving as co-captain of the Queensland Reds and earning his 100th cap for the club earlier this year.
Being caught in an awkward position during a cleanout in the 19th minute in Auckland, McDermott immediately went down, confirming to onfield medical staff that he was in pain in his hamstring. “Scans have confirmed that Tate McDermott will require surgery on a hamstring injury he suffered in Auckland,” the Wallabies confirmed in a statement. “He is expected to spend an extended period of time on the sideline throughout his recovery.”
The news comes as a major headache for Joe Schmidt and his team, and adds questions as to the makeup of the Wallabies halves for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series. For the Perth Bledisloe, the Wallabies coach will have Jake Gordon and Ryan Lonergan in camp, with the former returning from a hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined for two months, while the latter played 60 minutes on his debut over the weekend. Veteran Nic White has returned to the camp following his second retirement to assist the squad for this weekend’s clash, though it’s unlikely that he’ll be under consideration to play in the side.
However, beyond the Bledisloe Cup, Schmidt will need to consider his options at scrumhalf if McDermott misses the November internationals as expected. Teddy Wilson (NSW Waratahs), Kalani Thomas (Queensland Reds), and Klayton Thorn (ACT Brumbies) have all had big seasons this year across Super Rugby Pacific, Super Rugby AUS, and the British & Irish Lions tour.
That’s a tough blow for both Tate and the Wallabies. I must admit I’m still a bit torn as to wanting to see him as a starter or a finisher. He’s been so good coming on and firing up the team for a good finish with both his sniping runs and defence I just wonder if that’s not where he should stay. However, not for a while anyway and let’s hope his recovery goes well and is short. Personally I’d like to see Teddy Wilson given a go in the squad. I thought he did very well for the Tahs when Gordon was injured, and in fact I thought their link between forwards and backs deteriorated when Gordon came back. For me #9 has always been a bit of a weakness and the constant going back to the past has been a lot of the problem, a bit like the ABs at #10.
Australia ready to meet high bar set for 2029 women’s World Cup
Reported here by AAP Jilly Collins, Rugby Australia General Manager, Women’s Rugby has admitted that there’s “A lot to live up to,” This year’s edition, capped by the hosts beating Canada 33-13 in the final at a sold-out Twickenham on Saturday, smashed ambitious forecasts for revenue from tickets, brand and commercial partnerships, media rights and merchandise sales. Playing standards improved and social media engagement was phenomenal. Jilly and Australian government representatives shadowed World Cup organisers to learn what made the women’s event tick ahead of hosting the men’s tournament in 2027 and the women’s two years later.
World Rugby, however, are not going to judge Australia on the numbers alone, be they dollars or bums on seats. “Our focus now is diversifying what the definition of success looks like, looking at the unique cultures” of future tournament hosts, Sally Horrox, Chief of Women’s Rugby, World Rugby said on Monday. The 2029 Women’s World Cup in Australia “will be an incredible but distinct sort of success story around their culture, their community, the First Nations (and) the Pacific legacy program that we’re already building.” Collins was grateful for having four more years to prepare. “Australia is unique,” she said. “We have our own challenges, geography being one, and next year we will be deciding what that looks like in terms of the tournament model. What we need to do is build that fan base, build the visibility. We need to make sure that our fans in Australia know the names of women stars from all around the world, not just the Wallaroos. And that’s a big job.”
Key to driving momentum from 2025 and turning Australia’s Wallaroos into a title challenger is the upgraded WXV tournament from 2026-28, guaranteeing up to six extra tests each year, home and away with commercial rights conceded by World Rugby to game hosts. The Wallaroos have a recent at-home guide on capturing public attention: during the soccer Women’s World Cup in 2023 when the Matildas made a best-ever run to the semi-finals. The Wallaroos reached the rugby quarter-finals this month and have reached the semi-finals once, in 2010. “We’re ambitious for 2029; we want to be there on the final weekend,” Collins said. “That is incredibly important for us.” England World Cup organisers tallied up their record-breaking numbers: 444,465 tickets sold (92 per cent); crowds were 53 per cent women; half of all attendees had never been to a women’s game; 95 per cent of all attendees planned to attend another. “Was it a commercial success? Absolutely,” World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said. “We’d be making a mistake if we talk about when Women’s Rugby World Cup becomes profitable. This one could have been profitable (but) we chose to deliver standards that have never been seen before in women’s rugby to teams, to players, to spectators. The next one could be profitable; we may choose to make a net investment still. That’s an important distinction.”
I loved the WRWC. The way the women interacted with each other and the fans, the sheer joy they displayed both on and off the field and the culture of being there to play well and have fun doing it was, for me, absolutely fantastic. RA have a huge job ahead of them, they need to find a way to get the women more and better games, develop the coaching and skills and at the same time keep the goodwill flowing. They won’t be able to have the full professional environment that England had – and was a huge reason why they’ve done so well – but there’re things they can do to bring the women along. A better integration between XV and 7s would be a start as it’d provide something so they don’t have to go off and play AFLW or NRLW to make enough money to pay their bills. There are a lot of challenges ahead, but as was demonstrated in England, this could be a real game changer if done well.
