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Green and Gold Rugby

Green and Gold Rugby
A blog for all Wallabies fans to talk, whinge or maybe even one day gloat about anything to do with Australian rugby union, including Rugby World Cup, Tri-Nations, Super 14s

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Articles

The many faces of Greg
2007-08-09 20:03:00
As pointed out by G&GR readers, everyone's favourite Chief Rugby Correspondent has some pretty variable mug shots out there (haven't we all?). And as they say, every picture says a thousand words....Greg ory the apprentice Keen as mustard, this picture - taken on his second day at work - captures the apprentice scribe's diligence (cop the specs & tie), ambition and joie de vivre. If he can keep the stories as sharp as his pencil, he could even one day make Chief Rugby Correspondent. No time for lunch though, I'll just grab a pie.Staffer Greg He certainly found the pies, but this chirpy and effervescent journo is still like a big Labrador bouncing around the office and tracking down those hard to get stories. A fully grown rugby reporter, how lucky can you get?The growling beginsA little older, a little wiser, and more than a little pissy. Greg's chipper smile has faded as the temples have greyed. Who do these footy pla...
More About: Faces , The Man

Lunch with Larkham - By Coatsie
2007-08-08 09:16:00
Dear Matt and readers,What I failed to mention in my first/last post was I come from Terrey Hills Rugby Club, in the hinterland behind Sydney?s Northern Beaches. We are a little club with a reasonably good following with a great club spirit and social atmosphere. Being a single sixth division team (and not even that this season unfortunately) we are very much the proverbial ?Drinking Cub with a Rugby Problem?.Bi-annually we hold a guest speakers luncheon fundraiser, which have always proved to be a success financially and socially. Past functions have included speakers Allan Jones, David Campese, Peter Fitzsimmons (dammit; missed that one he said with a thick layer of sarcasm), and Enrique ?Toppo? Rodriguez. On that last occasion we also heard from Lachlan MacKay who is a former junior of our club. Prior to Lachy, our most famous exponent was Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, but of course he was a Kangaroo and not a Wallaby (boom-boom).To be honest I?m afraid as a member of the club commit...
More About: Lunch , Oats

England vs France - Pommy team announced
2007-08-07 23:17:00
The England team to take on the Rugby World Cup 2007 hosts - Franc e - next Saturday was announced today. It has 11, yes eleven, changes from the team that destroyed the Welsh last weekend. Looks like Brian Ashton is mixing it up a bit.Notable changes:Catt in as captain and 12. He's 35 and was seen as over the hill when the poms came to him before the last world cup. Must be laughing his guts out now. Can he put Farrell out of his misery for inside centre?Barkley at 10. Important Wilko back-up spot. Can he hack it against the frogs?Abendanon. Who? (find out here)Cipriani on the bench. Highly rated talent.Moody. When will they see the emperor has no clothes?What's maybe more important is that Perry, Regan, Sheridan, Shaw and Dellaglio retain their spots from last week, making you think that these guys have done enough to be seen as solid players in the key area for England; the forward platform.It's an interesting balancing act for Ashton; giving alternatives a run without getting ...
More About: Team , Anno

Wet blanket watch 2 - it's hotting up
2007-08-07 19:56:00
In earlier postings on Green and Gold Rugby, we've covered how the Chief Rugby Correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald (and contributor to RugbyHeaven.com.au), Greg "the Gossip" Growden, has been waging a single handed campaign to disrupt the Knuckles regime by endlessly harping on about supposed rifts in the coaching team. This wouldn't be so bad if he had a shred of new evidence or could actually name or quote one of his shadowy sources.Well, it wasn't just us who've had a gut-full of it. First off, in a pretty unusual step, Connolly himself wrote an article for the Herald singling out Growden as being a gossip monger and general pain in the arse:"I can't emphasise enough that the players, the staff and the coach of the Wallabies are united. I want to assure everyone that's definitely the case. Unfortunately we deal with very inaccurate, unnamed sources in news reports at times and most of it has been driven by one individual. I'm sure after this column another serve i...
More About: Watch , Blanket

England vs Wales - analysis for Australia
2007-08-06 20:32:00
So what does this result mean for the Wallabies, who will definitely meet Wale s and probably England in the early stages of the World Cup? Unfortunately, despite the scoreline, there?s probably not too much you can take for the Welsh match-up as they were missing at least five big names and will no doubt get their tails up with a vocal crowd behind them in Cardiff. Thrashings like this won?t help their confidence or momentum though.The bigger message out of this match came from England. They have unashamedly shown their 10-man World Cup game plan, and like it or not, it?s the right one for them. This pack can stand toe to toe, if not dominate, any other and as long as Wilkinson is fit, his boot will punish all comers. Those memories of Baxter and Dunning capitulating to uncontested scrums two years ago could easily pay an unwelcome visit again. The England eight on Saturday was 4 stones heavier (at 144 stones) than the one that won the world cup ? Australia this year have been aroun...
More About: Analysis

Wales vs England RWC warm up - Tries
2007-08-06 20:29:00
Here are some video highlights from the England 's 62-5 drubbing of Wale s . The vid could've done with just a phase more of the build up, but gives a good flavour of the game. ....follow link for more
More About: Trie

New English rugby kit - it's so gauche
2007-08-05 17:58:00
Regardless of what you think of the new Wallabies jersey, it looks a hell of a lot better than what the poms ran out in on Saturday. If you can get over the fetching 'sash effect' across the front of the jersey and the under-sized number on the back, you've then got the red and white pop-socks to contend with. At least we wont lose the world cup fashion stakes. ....follow link for more
More About: English , Rugby , Gauche , Auch

New English rugby kit - it's so gauche
2007-08-05 17:58:00
Regardless of what you think of the new Wallabies jersey, it looks a hell of a lot better than what the poms ran out in on Saturday. If you can get over the fetching 'sash effect' across the front of the jersey and the under-sized number on the back, you've then got the red and white pop-socks to contend with.At least we wont lose the world cup fashion stakes.
More About: English , Rugby , Gauche , Auch

England vs Wales - result and score
2007-08-04 19:58:00
England 62 Wale s 5So you turn up to 'fortress' Twickenham with a half strength side, but you figure it's a baking hot day and hey, you're Wales, you can probably run the ball around a bit to hold up your end. Just how wrong can you get.England today displayed exactly how they're going to defend their title. The England 8 ripped the Welsh side's limbs off and then repeatedly sodomised them with the bloody stumps. No, actually, it was more brutal than that.To give you an idea of England's forwards supremacy; the first 50 points came from tries scored through numbers 1-9. The lion's share of those tries coming from driving rucks and mauls following attacking line-outs or scrums in the Welsh 22. Only in the 77th minute were the girls out wide allowed to run in a couple of tries, with Robinson and Tait burning off a destroyed Welsh defence.The armchair ride that the pack created made a couple of heros. The rookie 8 Nick Easter deservedly picked up 4 tries (to the chagrin of a Dall...
More About: England , Score , Result

England - Wales World Cup warm up preview and teams
2007-08-04 08:06:00
Considering it's going to be getting towards 30C at Twickenham, it doesn't exactly feel like a classic rugby day. Nevertheless, it's going to be a fascinating game, not just for England and Wales fans, but also for Wallabies supporters as Australia could face both of these teams early in important world cup 2007 clashes.For those who don't know, Wales are the serious competition in the pool stage for the Wallabies. The game will be played in Cardiff (I'll be there!) and as such will be no easy game against a full strength Wales team with very vocal support. The last time the Wallabies played there was thrilling draw, with Latham's dream solo try an indelible memory of the match.The importance of this World Cup pool match is that the losers most likely play the winners of South Africa vs England . Perceived wisdom is that South Africa are the danger men to avoid, but this England squad has the talent to beat anyone, the question being whether they find the right combinations in...
More About: Preview

Pat Howard - welcome back
2007-08-02 23:18:00
Well, I'm not quite ready to eat my words on the Growden bashing - moving aside the performance director and making the PR guy redundant ain't quite a 'clear-out' at the ARU. I'll save my humble pie for if an assistant coach actually goes. But more important is the good news; the ARU have taken on Pat Howard as their high performance director. Pat has the hallmarks of a real star in the Wallabies' brains trust. He's represented the top clubs in both hemispheres, played for the Wallabies, already coached to success, and most importantly, all of this has taken place in the professional era (he was born in 1973)Here's and excerpt from an article from The London Times that did a great job of summarising what they think of him up here:?Off the pitch, he?s a shambles,? Simon Cohen said with the air of a man who has had to rummage around Pat Howard?s car, looking for a lost ignition key, too frequently for comfort. ?On the pitch he?s brilliant, his understanding of the game is quic...
More About: Back

Rugby World Cup '03 Semi-final; Australia vs New Zealand
2007-08-01 22:35:00
Here it is - probably the finest game the Wallabies played until the one against the All Blacks at the 'G this year. Warms the cockles of your heart.I remember at the time thinking - where did that come from? Can't see why we couldn't do it it again this year....The actual rugby starts at 2:25 - if you want to skip the anthems and stuff.
More About: World Cup , World , Australia , New Zealand , Final

Wet blanket watch
2007-08-01 21:59:00
Latest Growden grumble:Meanwhile, Camp Wallaby remains unsteady, with several players privately voicing their concerns they will be involved in yet another training camp next week in Brisbane. While the players are happy to be part of a three-day camp in Sydney this week, some have said another camp next week is "overkill" - especially as it will involve commando training. The players have been told the camp is to build team morale.Give it a rest.
More About: Watch , Blanket

Growden won't give up
2007-07-31 17:31:00
There's another article today from Grumpy Greg over at RugbyHeaven - Deans targeted as rift triggers clean-out - that takes his last dodgy piece (see my previous post) and takes it to the next level of anonymous gossip fueled supposition.Wading through all the re-hashed crap based on the off-record say-so of 'several' players and 'ARU officials' (so that's 4 nameless guys not saying no to Grow den's leading questions) what you get to is the stunning revelation that there could be a 'clear-out' after the World Cup, and that Robbie Deans is a potential name in the frame.No sh*t sherlock.Connolly's gone after the cup so it'll be all change anyway, and Deans, along with Nucifora have been the front runners for the job (although if Deans holds on he could just snaffle an AB coaching job post the cup anyway - I wonder which he'd take).So Growden's still got nothing. What is interesting that's come out of this, and is the little bit of flame that he's trying to fan into a bus...
More About: Give , Give up

Wallaby coach split - I smell hype, again
2007-07-30 21:57:00
So how's this for timing - the Tri-Nations finishes, there are no games to generate a story until the Rugby World Cup, and bingo, Grumpy Greg Growden reveals his scoop: The Split s in Camp Wallaby.At first you think 'crap, just what we need going into the 2007 Word Cup' as you read:"The Wallabies' World Cup campaign is under threat of being derailed because of a major rift involving the coaching staff, which has prompted the intervention of Australian Rugby Union officials."Even worse when you read"Monday Maul has been told by several sources that at the function, Wallabies team officials bickered, and in front of stunned onlookers, at least one had "heated arguments" with high-ranking ARU figures."From the rest of the article you figure that far from working as a team, the coaches are going hammer and tongs at each other. Just the next day in The Australian though; Connolly claims all coaches agree. In it we find out that the big bust up at the function was just Muggleton gettin...
More About: Coach , Hype , Smell , Alla

Peter Hewat - harsh, fair or who cares?
2007-07-27 16:22:00
Having been heavily snubbed by the Wallabies and having his nose rubbed in it to boot (via that great telephone incident with chief idiot Tuqiri), Peter Hewat is finally off.It is understood that Waratahs back Peter Hewat will earn an estimated $450,000 a year playing for the London Irish club in England from next season - almost four times more than what he has been paid at NSW. Hewat, 29, has signed a three-year deal with the club after reaching an agreement with NSW Rugby and the Australian Rugby Union allowing him to move to England despite having a year to go on his NSW contract. The agreement brings to an end months of uncertainty for Hewat, who, despite having the second-highest points tally (636) of any NSW player after Matt Burke, has never been called up to play for the Wallabies.While this was never an open and shut case, you've got to feel that Hewat, with his impressive points tally and attacking instincts, at least deserved a run with the Wallabies to see if he could ...
More About: Fair , Ares

New Wallabies jersey for RWC 2007
2007-07-27 11:01:00
Nursedude wrote:Hey Matt, along with the cast of idiots, can you throw in some comments about those hideous new jumpers the Wallabys are wearing? They look like somebody crossed a sports bra with a Tour De France bikers jersey...PS-What's it like being an Aussie surounded by all of those POM's? Great Blog, BTW.Mate, good description. While the new jerseys do make 'em look like they have man-boobs (not a good look for the supporters) it probably was about time we caught up with the rest of the world on this front. Everyone else made this move about 5 years ago. Although that white 'collar'.....As for living surrounded by poms - just this morning at work I've been asked who we're gonna blame everything on if we vote out the queen in the next referendum and shown the video of John Howard tripping over. I was also here through the '03 RWC and ashes loss. Painful.On the plus side, I got to the 91 RWC final at Twickenham and even managed to meet Bob Dwyer pissed out of my skull af...
More About: Jersey , Wallabies , Alla

Sucked in Boks
2007-07-25 19:26:00
Below is some great news just in - it's like Eddie's become our new secret weapon....THE surprise appearance of former Australian coach Eddie Jones at Springboks training this week may work in the Wallabies' favour, says Australian Rugby Union boss John O'Neill.South African coach Jake White convinced Jones, a friend, to spend this week with his team in Cape Town and be involved in their World Cup campaign."I found it a bit amusing," O'Neill said. "I am not sure whether Eddie is going to be able to offer any particularly useful insights, and I don't think that in any way it should alarm the Wallabies. It might help them."O'Neill said Jones perhaps hadn't properly thought through his "very curious decision" to, among other things, "advise the Springboks on how to beat the Wallabies"In O'Neill's just-released autobiography, It's Only a Game, he reveals that had he remained ARU chief after the 2003 World Cup, he would have recommended Jones be replaced as Australian coach an...

Knuckles' report card to date
2007-07-25 11:04:00
Saturday?s test result has drawn the full range of emotional responses. For the winners, a palpable relief swiftly turning into a surge of confidence. For the losers, disappointment expressed through blame and then self-doubt. But putting these immediate responses aside, how good a job has Connolly and co. done so far this year?From a win/loss point of view the Wallabies have achieved, but not excelled; having won their 5 home games and lost the 2 away. But you need to look underneath those numbers to get the real story. At home against Wales, SA and NZ they managed dramatic turn-arounds, coming back from big points deficits to win, a signature of some of the best Wallabies teams of old. In the two away losses they demonstrated fighting spirit and control under pressure for long periods of both matches.As for the most important benchmark - against the world?s number 1 - putting all excuses and and whinges aside (from both sides), the facts state it?s one apiece. The All Blacks out-m...
More About: Card , Report , Knuckle

Rugby World Cup 2007: Wallabies squad announced
2007-07-24 11:56:00
The Australian squad to go to France was announced last night. While there weren't too many howls about players left out, there aren't many slaps on the back for any visionary selections either.In the backs, Huxley (lucky idiot) and Berrick Barnes made it in.While Barnes hasn't had a great year for the failing Reds and Beale is obviously the future, he does have a lot more top grade footy under the belt than Beale, who is not yet ready for the biggest stage. We can also be thankful they went for Barnes over Norton-Knight, who is a disaster at five-eighth. In the end, should (or when) Bernie Larkham gets injured, it'll be Gits to 10 and Staniforth to 12, so the back up is really for second string cover.One gamble I would have taken though is Lachlan Turner on the wing. He proved himself at S14 and should have been given a run out at least for the Wallabies. He has more pace and physicality than Mitchell.The pack is relatively straight forward until you get to the front row. Dunni...
More About: World Cup , World , World Cup 2007 , Rugby , Rugby World Cup

Trinations score & stats: New Zealand vs Australia
2007-07-21 11:23:00
All Blacks 26 - Wallabies 12The all blacks picked up the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe cups today with a good second half performance against Australia .It wasn't all New Zealand 's way though with Australia unlucky to go in at half time 12-9 down, having had the lion share of possession, territory and continuity. They also stole 4 New Zealand line-outs.Impressive Australian handling in wet conditions meant that the ABs didn't actually have a scrum feed until the second half, at which point their superiority in this set piece paid off.Penalties (and a wobbly Giteau 50m field goal) were traded until the 58th minute when Tony Woodcock was adjudged to have got over for a close range effort on the Australian line. Form then on the Wallabies were never in it, tackling to keep the scoreline respectable.NZ - Tries: Woodcock, Pen goals: Carter 7Aus - Pen goals: Mortlock 3, Drop goals: GiteauAt a sodden Eden Park in Auckland with some Welsh guy as ref.Possession: NZ 47%, Aus 53% Territory: NZ 5...
More About: Stats , Score

Boys will be boys, but do they need to be idiots?
2007-07-17 23:46:00
Is Julian Huxley the most unlucky or the most idiotic member of the Wallabies right now? (and that's saying something with LT around) If you didn't know, Julian Huxley is out of Saturday's momentous game, because at a brumbies piss up Gene Fairbanks tackled him, thereby corking his leg.Can you imagine what Knuckles must have said to him? This guy, thanks to the selectors putting a heap of faith into him, was just hanging onto his spot at fullback. Every game Connolly was defending him to the press, asking for more time so that Huxley could develop at the top level, despite the dodgy restarts and lack of running impact.Add to this how lucky Huxley was anyway to have a shot in the first place, with the words best fullback (Latho) and Cameron Shepherd out to injury. Who knows if these guys will be right for the world cup? Knuckles must be thinking this and Huxley had a good shot at getting on the plane to France. Don't like the chances now, especially if new wonder kid Ashley-Coop...
More About: Idiots , Boys

Tri-Nations: New Zealand vs Australia, Bledisloe preview
2007-07-17 21:35:00
This weekend effectively sees the grand final of the 2007 tri-nations, with the Wallabies taking on the All Blacks in Auckland. The twists and turns of this year's competition means the default supposition of only a month ago - that the ABs should stroll this one - is no longer a foregone conclusion. So what can we expect on Saturday?I see two scenarios.Scenario 1 - 'Doomsday'The Wallabies haven't won at Eden park since 1978, and Saturday doesn't buck the trend. The Australia ns yield yet another horrific start to a test, however, this time there's no turnaround. The All Black scrum finally exerts its superiority and the Wallabies simply can't get their hands on the ball. McCaw reigns supreme at the breakdown, milking penalties and turnover ball in dangerous positions.With the pristine ball delivered by the forwards, the AB backline starts to click, to devastating effect, and put away all of the tries they've spilled earlier this season. McCallister shows his ability to bea...
More About: Preview , New Zealand , Nations , Tri-Nations

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