Cracking the Code

“Unfortunately that’s two threes (pens) we’ve had to take now, not a try” At the time it seemed a clever quip from Wallaby skip, Michael Hooper. His nod to sticks, delivered with a subtle side of dissatisfaction. The open side, casually reminding referee, Jaco Peyper that this was the second occasion that an Australian attack had found itself thwarted by an All Black infringement, when he felt the watch was ticking towards try time.  Had this been Soccer Football, Hooper would have been in the grill of the South African whistleblower. His thumb pressed against his index finger, frantically waving an invisible card, whilst issuing a barrage of profanity, in attempt to gain sway with the official. Alas, this is Rugby Union. When dealing with ‘Sir’, one must refrain from such truculence in seeking to influence the referee's perception. A clever quip, perhaps, but I ain’t got no quarrel with the officiating. It is the mindset that manifested in the decision to go for the t...

Monday’s copy of the Sydney Morning Herald made for a somewhat disheartening read for the Welsh consumer. Granted, by no stretch the target audience, I still found it frustrating at the ease by which their first piece in the build up to today's test match between Wales and the Wallabies, dismissed - in but a paragraph, any Welsh hope of victory. Incensed, my immediate reaction was an internal blurt along the lines of ‘we got closer to the All Blacks than you did’. Yes, unfortunately this is now the barometer for the rest of the Rugby planet. I calmed, and read the rest of the piece that focused on how Ireland would pose the first real threat of derailment to Australian hopes of a first Grand Slam tour since their one and only success back in 1984. The journo’s justification for the perceived lack of threat posed to the Wallaby slam train in Cardiff had nothing to do with form, quality of player, coaching reshuffle or playing style. Instead, it pointed solely to history; Wale...

October 31 2015, Rugby World Cup Final, New Zealand (1/3 - FAV) v Australia (9/4) , Twickenham. October 22 2016, Bledisloe Cup (dead rubber), New Zealand (1/25 - FAV) v Australia (9/1), Eden Park. Cold hard facts that paint a tale of exponential growth in All Black dominance, not just over their cross Tasman rivals but also the rest of World Rugby. Patience, England, we know you fancy a pop. To think there were concerns that post the Autumnal glory at HQ, the All Black ship would find itself in choppy seas without good ol Captain McCaw and First Mate Carter to guide it home. Transition period? Not here.    The All Blacks are the World's premier rugby team. News to nobody. However, the manner in which they have extended their preeminence over Rugby Championship rivals this season, is news. Six games, six victories, six bonus points and a score differential of 178 – an average winning margin of nearly 30 points. Australia, South Africa and Argentina all finished t...

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...