Cracking the Code

If there is a competition that highlights time and again that the divide between success and failure in sport can be beyond negligible, it is Australia’s premier rugby league competition the NRL . With time up in this year’s grand final the Cowboys of North Queensland trailed the Brisbane Broncos by 4 points, for the Broncos it was a case of one more tackle and they would be premiers. However, the Cowboys bundled up all the clichés as they threw caution to the wind, rolled the dice and held nothing back to produce the impossible to score in the corner. With the board locked at 16 each, Jonathan Thurston stepped up to win the game for his beloved Cowboys. As the kick homed in on the posts and drew back in classic Thurston fashion , the North Queensland talisman raised his arm in the air believing his kick was about to creep inside the sticks only to see it collide with the near upright. As it materialised, JT would get another opportunity, and this time he was on the money as he nudge

Back in 2006 whilst on my pre university jaunt, known more commonly as the ‘gap ya’, I stopped by in Melbourne to take in the Commonwealth Games. My foremost memory of the event, other than the devastated reaction of local fans as an Aussie boxing man was KO’d 3 seconds before the end of a bout he had in the bag, was Wales winning some form of kitchenware (bowl or plate) in the Rugby sevens. With Google seemingly unable to assist, I’m going to have to back my memory and say that the winning try scorer in the final was a young James Hook. What I can say with certainty was that Hook, Wales’ playmaker, was the stand out player. The time Hook had on the ball and his ability to beat a defender convinced me that I was watching a guy who would not only go on to represent Wales in the XV man format but would be world class in doing so. Fast forward some nine years and Hook was removed from the Millenium Stadium pitch midway through the second half of Wales’ World Cup warm up match

As Australia and England took centre stage, at Sydney's Olympic stadium to contest the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, there was a tangible difference between the two outfits. The like of which, we would never see again at a World Cup. A difference that perhaps symbolises the final stages of the transition of elite rugby from an amateur to a professional game. If the use of the word 'outfits' hasn't already given it away, I am of course referencing the disparity between the playing jerseys of the two adversaries. In the green and gold corner, you had a Wallaby outfit in a traditional Canterbury of New Zealand cotton rugby shirt, complete with white collar. At the other end of the spectrum, were Clive Woodward's men in their light, tight fitting, sweat removing, Nike jerseys.  This new high spec number, unveiled just before the tournament, blew away one of the game's age old traditions. Rugby shirts until that point were as a rule, cotton, loose fitting with

Since Leinster's Rob Kearney won the 2012 award, the three subsequent recipients of the crown of Europe's premier club rugby player, have been English ex pats plying their trade with French clubs. Jonny Wilkinson receiving the award in 2013, was but another accolade for the by then internationally retired great. However, the recent crowning of Abendanon, as it did with Armitage a year ago, has lit the touch paper in the ever simmering debate on selection of overseas players to wear the red rose.  Those that vindicate the inclusion of the overseas based players do so because they believe that for England to have an optimum opportunity for success, the selection process should result in the best XV players taking the field, regardless of whether a player is domiciled in Toulon or the Toon. The decision of Aussie selectors to renegade on their own long standing home not away policy, is evidence that they feel they can field additional quality by drawing on their overseas bas

Finance and its impact on the motivation of young sportsmen has been a prominent topic this week, what with Raheem Sterling's questionable decision to go public on his ongoing contract negotiations with Liverpool. Meanwhile in rugby circles, the news that one of New Zealand's hottest properties Charles Piutau , 23 has signed a big money deal to ply his trade with Ulster shocked the rugby fraternity in both hemispheres. Some on Twitter even querying whether it was an April fool. Admittedly a pretty niche joke, hardly Alan Partridge to be new presenter of top gear. In his interview for the BBC , Sterling was quick to assert that the fact he had turned down the comprehensive financial offer from Liverpool didn't make him a "money grabbing 20 year old", claiming that his primary motivations were to win silverware and be perceived as a "kid that loves to play football and do the best for the team". Although a move away from the Reds may indeed enhance S

Whilst millions at home were enjoying watching Six Nations super Saturday unfold, I was forced to scurry around the Internet looking for alternative outlets for following events. The letters VPN became my nemesis. A combination of Radio Wales, Radio Ulster, BBC sport app and Twitter just about managed to keep me in check. Although the masses lauded this the best day's rugby in history, questions quickly started to emerge around the structure of the competition and why fans hadn't been treated to such free flowing games on previous weekends.  It is difficult to reject the notion that synchronised kick off times on the final weekend would assist in creating a level playing field as teams fight it out to determine their final standing. The concept is deployed in major football competitions for that very reason. It was undoubtedly to England's advantage that they had a total to chase, as opposed to Wales and Ireland who knew they just had to post their best and hope. Conver

Bored with nobody to discuss Welsh rugby with whilst in South America resulted in me discussing it with myself. As Wales held on to beat Scotland at Murrayfield, the Newport Gwent Dragons were creating history as they defeated Irish superpower, Leinster, for the first time on Irish soil. Whilst opinion on the former dominated my social media feed, the achievement of the Dragons was subject to a limited number of posts from more fanatical rugby followers. I wonder, two weeks on how many Welsh fans would even be aware of the result out in Dublin? I would anticipate a small percentage. I accept that International rugby is the headline show in Wales, and enjoy that interest in the sport is heightened when the national team takes to the field. What I struggle with is where the passion, opinion and interest in the sport goes for the remainder of the year. To walk the streets of Cardiff on an international day, it would be reasonable to assume that the level of public interest would manif