Happy Monday G&GRs, and God bless the Queensland People’s Republic of Queensland. And God bless the dirty stinking drunken Oirish, who will be henceforth referred to as the Irish. What wins, but more on that later. We are blessed again this weekend with both the Super Rugby Pacific Round 4 and the Six Nations. How can you not love having this much rugby on?
So this happy Monday I’ll review the six matches of SRP 2024 Round 4, and do a quick review of the SRP 24 ladder. Then we’ll dive in, and have a quick look at the three matches in the Northern Hemisphere 6 Nations tournament. Then to bring home I will have another go at RA off the long run up, as I am known to do. Hey, like I have anything better to do!
Remember, it is only a week and a half til our Easter break, so not long to go. Sit down, grab yourself a cup of Kwoffeeeee 
, and let’s get into it, on Australia’s Number One Fan Run site Green And Gold Rugby.
As always this is a fan-run site and any contribution is welcome, feel free to reach out to me at bris@greenandgoldrugby.com.au be it with an article an idea, or an opinion piece. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier.
Super Rugby Pacific 2024 – Round Four
Wellington Hurricanes 14 defeated Canterbury Crusaders 10
KARL’s beloved Hurricanes have snuck out 14-10 winners in what was a very wet and windy game day in Christchurch. This win puts the Hurricanes at the top of the SRP24 ladder – undefeated! The Crusaders are now 0 from 4. Let me say that again, the Dark Saders are 0 from 4. This has to be the worst start for a Super Rugby Championship season for this franchise ever.
Friday night’s game was a scrappy, low-scoring rugged kind of affair. However, unlike most of the games for the Canterbury crew this season, they were well and truly in this game. Lacking most of their senior players, they struggled to get key elements of their game plan working. They weren’t the only team that was struggling. The Hurricanes normally firing back line struggled in the conditions and against a scrappy Saders outfit.
The Crusaders in the last stanza of the game were reduced to 14 men after lock Jamie Hannah was cheddar cheesed defending his line, after multiple warnings from referee, James Doleman, Hannah wore his team’s punishment for their ill-discipline. While this yellow was deserved it was one for the team, but the next one to Owen Franks was anything but.
The Crusaders were deep in attack with less than 2 minutes to go and three points behind, needing a try to win, but having possession. Franks has what can only be described as a total brain explosion and cleans out with a shoulder to the head of a Hurricanes player. TJ Perenara screams out to Doleman and the TMO goes “check check”! The play is reviewed, Franks is ‘Cheddar Cheesed’, and there goes the game. And likely Franks for the next 3-4 weeks after the card was upgraded post-match.
This one will particularly hurt the Saders. They had taken a late 10-7 lead over the Hurricanes with less than 10 minutes to play, putting them in the box seat. But were outplayed by their opposition to let this one slip away.
Queensland Reds 53 defeated Melbourne Rebels 26
Well, my beloved Reddies have delivered another stunning performance to down the poor struggling Rebels in Melbourne on Friday night. Banging down five tries in the opening 40 minutes put the Reds up 33-7 at oranges. In what was a half of shock and awe the Rebels struggled to fire a shot, with the Reds making post-tackle metres at will.
The second half was a different affair with the Rebels refusing to let the Reds have it all their own way, dotting down three tries in 15 minutes which gave them a chance to get back into the game. But as the night would go, the Reds pulled their fingers out and sealed the game.
There were many notable players for the Reds, but MotM honours have to go to Seru Uru with 2 tries and great post-contact metres, as well as being solid in the lineout. Josh Flook and Fraser McReight were also standouts. The speed of delivery from Tate McDermott enabled the Reds to play at pace. Liam Wright also had a great game. But this truly was a team performance that showed what functioning as a team in attack and defence looks like. The Rebels on the other hand didn’t have such a glorious night. Their standouts were LSL, Rob ‘The Mule’ Leota, and the Ginger Ninja. Tupou was subbed off after 32 minutes, and to be honest, doesn’t look like he is yet fit enough to be playing Super Rugby.
Coach Foote has some serious work to do on how the Rebels keep giving away massive head starts. Whereas Les Kiss needs to work with Queensland on making sure they can keep their foot on the throat of their opposition. However, that said, I’m sure there is plenty in both teams that Joe Schmidt will be able to delve into.
Moana Pasifika 22 defeated Western Force 14
The Twiggy Forrest All-Stars were unable to close out their first home game of the year, going down 22-14 to Moana Pasifika. Throughout the game, there were moments where both sides were unable to take control til the final stanza where the Force bench again let them down, and MP was able to steal a solid away from home victory.
Losing Nic White due to knee swelling shortly before the game didn’t help, and the Force had to delve deep to pull another scrum half onto their bench. MP opened the game in that typical Pasfika way of flat-out, throwing the ball around, with the Force trying to demonstrate that they can play this way too.
The Force had some good points with their lineout dominating MPs, and their scrum held well, even when Carlo Tizzano was sent to the naughty corner with some cheddar cheese. But their discipline was costly, giving away 5 penalties in under 15 minutes.
The Force came up with a completely different game plan for the second half, playing far more directly. But the never-ageing Christian Leali’ifano steered his team really well. The Force picked up a late try through Tizzano, but a whopping penalty from about 55 metres out by William Havili took the MPs out to an 8 point lead with less than 8 minutes on the clock taking the game out of reach for the Western Force. Ill discipline and unforced errors cost the Force heavily during this game.
ACT Brumbies 27 defeated Otago Highlanders 21
To quote that white rapper, Eminem, “Won’t the real ACT Brumbies please stand up! Please stand up!” And stand up they did. I’ve been speaking to many Brumby fans who are friends of mine (yes, Yowie I do have real friends), and they were lamenting what the hell had gone wrong with the Puppy Killers season so far. Well rest assured, the Ponies came back with style, grace, and power on Saturday in an excellent display of rugby.
The Ponies yesterday had a much-improved performance, especially in the second half, to give the Highlanders a 27-21 touch-up. While I wax lyrical, the Ponies performance wasn’t fault-free, with them trailing 11-7 at Oranges. But almost immediately after halftime, Corey Toole demonstrated yet again that there is no substitute for pure speed by smoking his opponents down the left-hand side to dot down his 5th try of the season. And I am sure that #InJoeWeTrust has got his eye on this guy.
The Clan not to be outdone, snatched back the lead by the end of the third quarter, with a nice little try dotted down by Billy Harmon. Unlike the last few weeks, the Ponies rallied via a 3 pointer to LoLo and Lachy Lonergan banging down a 5 pointer.
In what is good news for the Brumbies and the Wallabies selectors, Noah managed to ice five from five off the boot, and the Puppy Killers managed to pull off their first win in Dunedin in over a decade.
Waikato Chiefs 46 defeated Fiji Drua 29
Fijian Drua after a brilliant performance last week defeating the Dark Saders in Lautoka, fell to their third defeat with a 29-46 loss to the Chiefs. The Crew from Waikato came back hard from their loss to the Queensland Reds last week, especially in the second half.
Fiji managed to score four tries to the Chiefs six, and in periods were able to dominate the Chiefs with their direct in tight set piece play. But the Chiefs clearly demonstrated that when their attack fires, other than the Reds there have been few teams that can dismantle it. It is simply a joy to watch.
One thing that I noticed during the game was that the Chiefs appeared to be getting a bit of a free-for-all at the ruck by the referee. Whether it is because they appear so dominant, or for some other reason, there were multiple cases of the Chiefs cleaning out way past the ruck, and holding onto Fijian players, not allowing them to get out of the ruck and return to the defensive line. There were also numerous occasions where they played the 9 and were deliberately rolling north-south instead of east-west, killing any chance of the Flying Fijians getting quick ball in attack. I don’t have a problem if this is the way the game is going to be refereed, but it has to apply to both teams and in this author’s humble opinion, it wasn’t. What did the rest of you G&GRs think?
Auckland Blues 12 defeated NSW Waratahs 10
The Waratahs demonstrated again that their form this year is in reverse, by not being able to put away the Auckland Blues who were having a really bad night in Sydney on Saturday evening. After going down 23-21 against the Clan last weekend, the Tahs performed poorly to lose a game they could’ve easily won.
The Blues, in what can only be described as one of their worst performances in a decade, seemed to spill the ball in attack the moment they entered the Tahs 22. On top of this Blues kicker, Stephen Perofeta, had an absolute Barry Crocker missing four shots at the sticks, leaving more points behind than the Tahs scored in total. There were several tries that were overruled by the TMO for both teams.
Commissioner Gordon’s simple error of stepping on the touch-line while trying to boot the ball clear ended up being a costly mistake for the Tahs. As well as another missed shot at the sticks for Tane Edmed, who is demonstrating more ways not to get selected for the Wallabies than any other 10 at the moment, despite what the Shouty Site and Stan would have you believe.
In this author’s opinion, this game was a game between two teams who seemed to want it the least. Both sides had terrible games, but the Tahs had their chances and failed to put a NZ team away from home to the sword, especially when they were playing that terribly. A missed opportunity.
Super Rugby Pacific Ladder
Round 4 has made a few big changes to the SRP 24 ladder. The Canes have cemented themselves to the top of the ladder, undefeated at this stage, with my beloved Reddies in close second. The Ponies have snuck into the top half of the ladder at the expense of the Rebels. The Crusaders after 4 straight losses are down the bottom with the Western Force.
Whoever had said that the ladder would have looked like this after four rounds before the season commenced would’ve been committed.
6 Nations
France 33 defeated England 31
The Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys, a team that blew their opportunity to win a home World Cup, have finished second in the 2024 6 Nations, with a last-minute win over the Soap Dodgers 33-31. England picking up a losing bonus point managed to scrape into third place ahead of the Haggis Eaters.
Courtesy of a late penalty, the French managed to steal victory over England who scored more tries than the French, 4 to 3. England’s ill-discipline cost them with Ramos nailing a penalty from the halfway line, ensuring a Fench victory at home. England will rue their mistakes and lack of discipline, but considering where they were at the start of the 6 Nations, they came home strongly.
Ireland 17 defeated Scotland 13
As mentioned previously the dirty stinking drunken Oirish, who will be henceforth referred to as the Irish, have won the Six Nations for the second successive year. They overcame a feisty Scottish team to seal the victory 17-13.
In a very tight match, the team from the Emerald Isle seemed to overcome the Scots defiance at about the three-quarter mark of the match. Despite a late surge by the Haggis Eaters through Huw Jones, to bring them within striking distance, the Oirish remained calm and in control and got the job done even after copping a serve of cheddar cheese and playing out the game with 14. Despite losing the opportunity to make it a Grand Slam, the Irish clearly demonstrated why they are still the top Northern Hemisphere team.
Italy 24 defeated Wales 21
The Azzurri dominated the Northern Hemisphere Sheep Shaggers, defeating them soundly 24-21. They are surprise package of this year’s 6 Nations, outplayed their rivals earning a well-deserved victory. The loss for Wales gave them this year’s wooden spoon, their first since the early 2000s. It is also the first time that the Italians have remained undefeated for three games in a row in their entire history.
The first half was well and truly dominated by the Italians, playing with width, while the Welsh infringed continually. The Welsh finally got some luck when the TMO ruled that Elliot Dee had crossed the line saving their trousers and getting some points on the board. The Welsh toiled away, but every time they almost got back into the game the Italians managed to shut them out.
The Welsh really had a shocker, and it is alleged that Warren Gatland offered his resignation after the game. The Welsh Board have apparently knocked it back. I wonder if Warren wishes otherwise and the Welsh know that no one of value would want to take the role.
Eddie says he had approval!
As recently covered in the Australian, Eddie reckons he had approval! See the article here.
In lots of recent media coverage, it was revealed that the Wallabies blew their RWC23 budget by $2.6 million; this was on top of an already undisclosed total expenditure. In a recent interview, Eddie ‘Dr. Evil’ Jones stated in opposition to this “Any organisation sets a limit of what to approve, and I can tell you everything we did was approved”.
“If someone is actually suggesting we are going and spending $2m without approval – I mean it just doesn’t happen without approval, I can tell you everything was approved. I wasn’t actually involved in who approves it – but ultimately everything is approved by the CEO.”
Neither confirming nor denying this CEO Phil Waugh has declined to indicate who actually approved this level of spending, above and beyond the budget.
Now I don’t know about you boys and girls, but after the better part of 30 years in the regular army, and then working in state government and the mining industry, I know that no one gets to spend that amount of money without someone signing off on it. It just isn’t possible to have that level of expenditure without approval. Otherwise, it would be classed as theft or misappropriation of funds.
Don’t get me wrong here G&GRs, I’m not taking Eddie’s side in this argument, because this man is just a pox on our nation, an utter disgrace. But the point he raised may well be valid. I think there’s a lot of water to still pass under this bridge before we know what happened. Whether Hamish the Hammer approved it, or directed Phil Waugh to approve it or some other poor schlep, we don’t know. But in this case, daylight is the best disinfectant, and the truth will eventually come out. So best to get on the front foot and get it out there early. Own it, and be honest. But I suspect there’s a fair bit more dirty laundry to come to light.
Anyway, enough of the negative. Because the rugby has just been great. Over to you G&GRs, have at it!