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Springbok and Wallaby teams named for first Tri Nations Test 2011

Written by Mike on July 19th, 2011. Posted in Fantasy Rugby, International Rugby, Tri Nations

Australia and South Africa have announced their teams to contest the first test of the 2011 Tri-Nations at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday. The Wallaby team that dramatically lost to Samoa this weekend has been overhauled, including the dropping of Wallaby-stalwart Matt Giteau.

Meanwhile, South Africa, who have sensationally left 21 of their top players at home have named 4 new caps in their side for Saturday. Werner Kruger, Dean Greyling and Ashley Johnson are set to make their test debuts, with scrumhalf Charl McLeod coming off the bench.

As usual, the the Mandela Challenge Plate…

Wallabies Team Named to Play All Blacks in Hong Kong

Written by Mike on October 29th, 2010. Posted in International Rugby, Rugby Blog, Rugby Union News

New Zealand All Blacks' Daniel Carter (R) is tackled by Australia's Wallabies Adam Ashley-Cooper (top) and Salesi Ma'afu during their Bledisloe Cup rugby union match in Christchurch August 7, 2010. REUTERS/Simon Baker (NEW ZEALAND - Tags: SPORT RUGBY IMAGES OF THE DAY)

The Wallabies team to play the All Blacks at Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong has been named. There are two changes from the Australian team that lost by one point to the All Blacks in the dying seconds of the Sydney test. Ben Alexander and Drew Mitchell return to the side. Drew Mitchell missed the last match due to injury, while Ben Alexander missed the whole Tri-Nations tournament due to injury.

Fresh from a sevens silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, Lachie Turner is the outside back cover on the bench. 13 players from…

KooGa Rugby

Written by Mike on May 11th, 2010. Posted in Fantasy Rugby, Rugby Gear

Over the last few years it has been hard not to notice the impact KooGa Rugby has started to have on the rugby union landscape. What is really striking about the success of KooGa Rugby recently is the amount of professional sports teams they provide rugby gear and rugby clothing to. The list reads like a who’s who of rugby teams.

KooGa International Rugby Teams

Internationally they supply KooGa sportswear to the Wallabies from Australia and the Fijian Rugby team, both of whom are in the top ten IRB ranked countries, with the Wallabies traditionally sitting in…

Peter Duckworth

February 3, 2012 | #

I agree entirely, I would even go so far as to say that, based on form & dubious refereeing through the competition the French didn’t deserve to be in the final in the first place. All credit to them that they did so well in the final but at the end of the day the All Blacks did better & fully deserved the win.
Mike

February 1, 2012 | #

Thanks for your comment Jock. Yes, Parks does seem like a player limited to one type of gameplan (which I thought he did quite well?) but that must be frustrating considering some of the talent available on the outsides.
Jock Mitchell

February 1, 2012 | #

As long as Parks is part of Scottish set-up we can forget about playing attacking rugby. It is so sad to see backs that have potential being wasted because the stand off does not know how to carry ball and attack opposition. iT IS LAUGHABLE TO KNOW THE OPPOSITION ARE REALLY PLAYING WITH AN EXTRA PLAYER AND THEY KNOW THEY DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT STAND-OFF.
We need to move on and change our style of playing. Henry critisized England and had no comment about Scotland. A small country like N.Z. can loose Carter and tthen have no shortage of top class reserves.We must encourage young players and give them hope.I have no idea how Townsend can't see a problem.
They want to take players into academies later when they see their real potential in club rugby.(I could make comments about players selected for academies but I will resist)
elsmido

January 31, 2012 | #

Which Irish fans are these? I think we will cope just fine without him and are probably second favourites for the championship. It’s always tough losing a player of his calibre but there is plenty of young talent coming through. Our provinces are riding high in the Heineken Cup. The only question now is whether Declan Kidney and his staff can fashion victories out of that.

Careful with your generalisations.
Elmer

December 29, 2011 | #

I’m from South Africa and have lived in the UK for 10 years now. Since I arrived here I have watched quite a lot of UK rugby league on TV and the NRL stuff too. It’s a completely different game to me and at first I thought it was a joke with those scrums, no lineouts etc…I used to laugh. It all seemed very one dimensional with very direct running and some offloading occasionally with a predictable grubber after the 5th tackle. I’ve changed my mind now and accepted it for what it is. It’s a different sport and a good tough one. I really enjoy the big games and the internationals and really enjoy watching the Sam Tomkins of this world play. Rugby Union is a far more technical game and tactical game and caters still for just about every shape. I can see why rugby league fans say Union is boring, because some games particularly a couple of years ago were dominated by kicking which was and is dire. At its best, Union should be a combination of kicking, scrum and forward phases and clever running by the backs.

Obviously RU is a more popular global game and is my favourite with Cricket second. Rugby league has its own place in sport though. It’s a good tough and entertaining sport and is certainly a better code than the round ball with all its cheating, diving and crowd violence/behaviour. I look forward to watching more rugby league!