Welcome to my contribution for this week and a thank you to Yowie for Wednesdays work.
We are all looking forward to the next four weeks of international Rugby and I will touch on some of the opposition this week. I also go down a bit of a rabbit hole so apologies.
Scotland name 14 Uncapped players in the Autumn international training squad.
As A Scottish born Australian I would warn all of those people who are talking up the Australia playing Scotland as a easy win beware. Scotland recently beat the Soap Dodgers At Twickenham last year and the Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys in Paris and to be honest were a bad twenty minutes against the Welsh away from winning the Six Nations.
They have named a large squad and in what should serve as a warning to Australia going forward it cannot include the players form English based clubs at the moment including
Stuart Hogg – Sean Maitland – Chris Harris – Duhan Van Der Merwe – Finn Russell– Jonny Gray – Simon Berghan – Rory SutherlandHuw Jones – Adam Hastings
Link HERE
Squad is as follows
The Most notable inclusion for Australian Rugby Nauses is Glasgow Warrior Via Japan and the Melbourne Rebels Sione Tuipulotu (Scottish Grandmother) go well young man.
Forwards:
- Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 13 caps
- Nick Haining – Edinburgh Rugby – 8 caps
- Hamish Watson – Edinburgh Rugby – 41 caps
- Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped
- Dylan Richardson – Cell C Sharks – uncapped
- Jamie Ritchie – Edinburgh Rugby – 27 caps
- Luke Crosbie – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped
- Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby – 45 caps
- Jamie Hodgson – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped
- Rob Harley – Glasgow Warriors – 22 caps
- Marshall Sykes – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped
- Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 38 caps
- Oli Kebble – Glasgow Warriors – 8 caps
- Murray McCallum – Glasgow Warriors – 3 caps
- George Turner – Glasgow Warriors – 17 caps
- Fraser Brown – Glasgow Warriors – 54 caps
- Stuart McInally – Edinburgh Rugby – 40 caps
- Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped
- Jamie Bhatti – Glasgow Warriors – 18 caps
Backs:
- Rufus McLean – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped
- Damien Hoyland – Edinburgh Rugby – 4 caps
- Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby – 19 caps
- Cole Forbes – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped
- Sione Tuipulotu – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped
- Mark Bennett – Edinburgh Rugby – 22 caps
- Matt Currie – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped
- Sam Johnson – Glasgow Warriors – 18 caps
- James Lang – Edinburgh Rugby – 6 caps
- Kyle Steyn – Glasgow Warriors – 1 cap
- Jack Blain – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped
- Blair Kinghorn – Edinburgh Rugby – 25 caps
- Ross Thompson – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped
- Charlie Savala – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped
- Ali Price – Glasgow Warriors – 42 caps
- George Horne – Glasgow Warriors – 14 caps
- Jamie Dobie – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped
Queensland Super W Rugby Squad 2022
In an effort to close the gap on the NSW team the reds have announced a 48 player squad for the 2022 season.
Rama Chand will return as head coach for the 2022 Super W campaign, and he is looking forward to working with a host of players over the next few months.
“Our role is to compete and win Super W, but we also need to produce Wallaroos and with the Rugby World Cup just around the corner, the players have an opportunity to put their hands up for selection.”
Squad listed below
FORWARDS
Alapeta Ngauamo* – GPS, Aleena Greenhalgh – Bond University, Annabelle Codey – Wests, April Ngatupuna – Easts, Bree-anna Cheatham – Wests, Carola Kreis – Bond University, Christina Sekona** – Sunnybank, Ema Masi -, University of Queensland, Emilya Byrne* – University of Queensland
Grace Qaranivalu – Bond University, Haidee Head* – Easts, Hana Lane – Wests, Hilisha Samoa** – GPS, Kiri Lingman** – Easts, Laina Cooper-Finau – Easts, Lesa Kaleti Mataafa – Sunnybank, Liz Patu** – Wests, Madison Schuck – Bond University, Melehifo Sikimeti* – Norths, Okeroa Manihera – Sunnybank, Shannon Parry** – Easts, Sophie Holyman – Bond University, Taulaga Malaitai* – Easts, Theresa Soloai – Easts, Tiarna Molloy – Wests, Tina Brown – Easts, Tina Campbell* – GPS, Vuanimasei Rasolea – GPS
BACKS
Athena Vili* – Easts, Caitlyn Costello* – Bond University, Cecilia Smith** – Easts, Cobie-Jane Morgan** – Easts, Destiny Brill – Easts, Georgia Hannaway* – Wests, Giverny Robinson* – University of Queensland
Imogen Mcleod* – Noosa/Queensland Country, Ivania Wong – Sunnybank
Lillian Kolb* – University of Queensland, Loretta Lealiifano – Easts, Luisa Sekona – Sunnybank, Malaela Su’a* – Easts, Melanie Wilks – Bond University
Natalie Wright – University of Queensland , Nicola Emsley – ADF/Caloundra, Renae Nona – Sunnybank, Sarah Lewis* – GPS, Tyesha Mikaio* – Easts, Vani Va’aga* – Sunnybank
Congratulations to all of the players selected. my only gripe is that this squad is chosen from only a few clubs and having watched some of the womens comp I believe the net could have been cast a little wider. I just hope it does not lead to a further concentration of talent as girls see that the way to get picked is by playing for one of the clubs inside the tent.
Cornelsen excited by ‘unreal’ opportunity to face Wallabies
The Brave Blossoms will have flavour of Australia when they face the Wallabies on Saturday
With Jack Cornelsen and Ben Gunter in the Squad Australian fans could be looking ahh the two very good sis and wondering what went wrong and why they were overlooked by Australian judges.
Cornelsen Said
“It would be huge. If I do get the opportunity, it would be unreal,” Cornelsen told AAP on Wednesday.
“Growing up it wasn’t the path I imagined that I’d have taken but quickly how things can change.
“I’m obviously really grateful for the position I’m in now and it’s not a position I would have seen happening a few years ago.”
Certainly not when he first received a call from Robbie Deans to join the former Wallabies coach at the Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan’s Top League in 2018.
Full Story HERE
Ben Gunter is a similar story unwanted by Australian Super Rugby clubs and close to joining the Army he got a development contract in Japan and the Rest is history.
Gunter said
“Then obviously Robbie and Panasonic came knocking on the door and they gave me a chance. They believed in me.”
Youtube of some of his work is HERE
Gunter, 23, and Cornelsen, 27, are living proof it’s not just seasoned Test stars in their career twilight like Will Genia, Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley following the yen.
Story HERE
If Eddie Picks This One It Will Hurt Introducing Nic Dolly
When the Wallabies face England at Twickenham next month, a little-known footballer from Sydney’s northern suburbs may fulfil a childhood dream and run out in the No. 2 jersey.
But contrary to what that dream usually contains – it will be in a white uniform, not gold.
After a year spent playing Colts at Eastwood, Dolly travelled to the UK in 2017 to visit his grandparents. He was spotted by a Sale Sharks talent scout while playing club rugby abroad and joined their academy on a five-year deal.
Qualifying through his grandparents, Dolly went on to play for England’s under 18 and under 20 sides and while on loan at Sale FC, Dolly impressed the Leicester Tigers. The Tigers offered Dolly a deal and six months later, his strong club form has seen him picked by Jones in a squad that has made headlines for its emphasis on re-vitalisation. England face the Wallabies on November 13.
SMH Article HERE
Rant mode on this continues what turned out to be my theme for the day Australian talent identifying coaches are useless. They cannot see the forrest for the trees and pick the same big fat lazy kids form the same schools that they always have. They look for these so called athletes who are not hard workers and who are usually totally self entitled useless fools with very little in the way of work ethic and a want to get better. I know one who went to Japan as a 21 year old this year and this article will be rewritten about him in a few years time.
I am happy to concede that we are a net exporter of talent but this is just ridiculous.
Assuming Hoss did not get detained by ICAC he will be off a shorter run than me tomorrow.
