Tuesday 21 July 2026
Good Morning GAGR and welcome to another Tuesday’s rugby news. It’s a weekend after a very good Wallabies win, so things are definitely looking better than they did last week after the French affair in Brisbane. Speaking of Brisbane, regular Monday reporter Brisneylandlocal wasn’t on deck yesterday, so Hoss stepped into the breach with a concise yet insightful summary of the weekend’s Nations Championship, which you can find here. As it is Tuesday following a Wallabies test, we will do player ratings,
But before we do that, we will have a look at the Super Rugby W semi finals matches, and some general news.
Super Rugby W – Semi Finals
It was semi time in the Super W with the Drua hosting the Reds, and the Force hosting the Waratahs.
Finally!
Drua vs Reds
The Reds snuck into the Semi-Finals courtesy of their final round victory over the Waratahs, and they travelled to Churchill Park to take on the top of the table Drua.
The Reds put in a good shift, and were right in it after 20 minutes with winger Charlie Brigstoke showing genuine pace to beat two defenders on the outside and score a very good try to make the score 7-5 to Fiji. Unfortunately that was the Reds sole score for the match while Fiji ran in 31 points courtesy of 3 first half tries, and 2 second half tries.
At 19-5 down at half time, and with a Fijian player in the sin-bin, the Reds were looking for a strong start to the second half but unfortunately, it was the Drua who scored to make it a 24-5 game and really put it our of reach of the Reds. Fiji would also have the final say with a great team try pushing the score out to 31-5 to the Drua.
The Reds turned up to play, but unfortunately their lineout didn’t work the way they needed it to, and Fiji had plenty of sequences where they were in complete control, either though dominant carries, line-breaks, offloads, or pace and support play setting the platform for their tries.
Congrats to Fiji, who get to host the winner of the Force vs Tahs game next weekend in Fiji.
Force vs Tahs
The Force were looking to back up on their history making victory over the Tahs earlier int eh season, and the Tahs were looking to bounce back after their loss to the Reds in the final round of the regular season. Both teams had plenty of rep players and the Tahs welcomed back not only Maya Stewart on the Wing, but also Caitlyn Halse who returned from the bench after a long injury layoff. The Warathahs were also fielding a dynamic halves pairing with sevens star Tia Hinds lining up at 9, and Waiaria Ellis at 10.
It was that star power that led to the Tahs first try with Miller, making a break, finding Waiaria, andthen Hinds who went over almost untouched. It was a combination of pace, skill, and support play from the Tahs that saw them score, and take an early lead.
The Tahs scored four tries in each half and each one had all the elements of good team rugby, with forward carries getting over the advantage line, good ruck work, very good support play with multiple players putting themselves into position to receive the ball, and of course, some genuine pace and vision. Amelia Whitaker and Tia Hinds both scored doubles and the Force were up against it at 26-0 down late in the first half before capitalising on a rare Tahs error from the kick-off to force a 5 metre lineout and score a good try to hooker Hera-Barb Malcolm Heke just on half time. At 24-7 the Tahs were still in control, but the Force had something to build on for the second half.
Talking about building, Desiree Miller has taken over the goal kicking at the Tahs, and is doing a great job. It’s impressive to see her added that string to her bow this year, and it’s always great to see a professional rugby player add important skills to their game. It’s a lesson that a few of our fringe or aspiring Wallabies could heed.
Rugby is of course a game of two halves and the Force got themselves back into the game through tries to wingers Aiysha Wigley, and Adi Vani Buleki, either side of a wonderful try to Desiree Miller. It was 33-17 to the Tahs after 65 minutes and it was all to play for. Unfortunately for Force, despite some promising moments, it took until the 79th minute for them to score again and the final score would stay at 33-22 to the Tahs.
The Tahs will be heading to Fiji to take on the very impressive Drua next Saturday 25th July.
Wallabies Player Ratings
It’s amazing what difference a week makes, and a great win to boot. As usual, in the week after a Wallabies test we’ll do player ratings. As a reminder, these are my ratings, based on watching the game on Saturday, and re-watching the ball in play version on Stan couple of times, with some consultation with the G&GR crew. As always, we are using the G&GR scoring system.
10 – A legendary performance to go down in the history books
9 – Outstanding performance: Man of the match shoo-in
8 – Excellent all-round game
7 – Good game with a few sparkles
6 – Solid performance
5 – Average – a pass mark
4 – Below par
3 – Had a bad game
2 – Tell your story walking pal
1 – A complete joke
0 – Didn’t make it on, or no meaningful involvement.
Player Ratings
Angus Bell – was more involved this week with the type of carries that we expect to see but struggled at scrum time, earning the ire of the refereeing team, and copping a few penalties. HAd to retake the field with Slipper off. 7
Brandon Paenga-Amosa – a very good performance from BPA with tackles, carries, and a presence in the ruck. Got a try for his efforts. 7
Allan Alaalatoa – A good shift from 7As, he was busy in his time on the field. 7
Josh Canham – After some solid performances against Ireland and Canham has put in his best performance in Gold, with effort throughout the game, He put himself in position to carry or distribute, great in the lineout, was good in defence, and scored a hat-trick of tries. Apparently the first Wallaby lock to achieve the feat. 9
Jeremy Williams – Along with Canham, helped to set a great platform for the Wallabies, in the lineout and around the field with carries, tackles and ruck presence. 8
Rob Valetini – Another game, another big effort from Bobby V. It’s not just the number of carries, it’s the violence of the carries, and the metres gained. Great stuff. 7
Carlo Tizzano – A rare start for the West Australian at home and he made the most of it. Super busy, topping the tackle count for the Aussies, getting three turnovers, carrying in tight, and breaking the line. 8
Harry Wilson – The captain was good this week, doing the hard work with tackles, carries, and lineout wins. 7
Ryan Lonergan – A bit wayward with the boot in the first half with 4 from 6, but did his core job of hitting his runners with the ball, and kicking in general play was good. 7
Declan Meredith – Was good this week in his 64 minutes on the field. sometimes hard to identify him with the same white headgear as some other players, which is a sign that he’s balancing his game. 7
Harry Potter – Found form and had a great game, lead the way for the Wallabies in terms of metres run, linebreaks, and carries. Was involved, and looked good chasing the high balls from Lonergan. 8
Len Ikitau – The Wallabies centre was very good, leading with ball in hand, and threatening the line with every carry, particularly with the try-line in sight. 8
Joseph-Aukuso Suaali – A solid game from JAS, some strong carries, and good defense. Provides a threat when he gets the ball, or he runs a decoy line. Spilt the ball from a chip kick in the second half, with the line open. 7
Max Jorgensen – a quite game by his standards, but ran well, including great support lines. Couldn’t find his way to the try-line this week. 7
Tom Wright – Had a decent game, but still not at his best. A poor choice to pass to Ikitau in a bad position gave the Italians possession and led to a try. His kicking out of hand lacked the precision of last week. 7
Billy Pollard – The reserve hooker was involved around the park, and kept the lineout functioning. Kept the energy up in the second half. 7
James Slipper – limited opportunity to influence the game in his 18 minutes on the field. Went off with a head knock. no rating.
Zane Nonggorr – Got some valuable game time, and is continuing to look the part of an international prop. Did the work in the scrum, and contributed around the ground with a turnover. Kept the energy up in the second half. 7
Miles Amatosero – Congratulations to Amatosero on his debut and becoming a Wallaby. Got involved, and although he was in the middle of a brawl in the second half, held his composure and didn’t get too involved. Was part of a bench that kept the energy up in the second half. 7
Fraser McReight – Replaced Carlo Tizzano and kept up the effort, with a great run late in the game. Was part of a bench that kept the energy up in the second half. 7
Tate McDermott – Got some good game time off the bench. was busy, didn’t kick too much. 6
Ben Donaldson – looked composed, and ran a great line for the last try. 6
Filipo Daugunu – Was on at 66 minutes, missed an early tackle, but responded with 2 absolute belters in quick succession. Was difficult to tackle when he ran, and secured a turnover. Added energy from the bench to keep the Wallabies ahead. 7
Player of the Match – Josh Canham. Not a perfect game, but dominant in the lineout, plenty of carries, tackles, and three tries.
That’s a wrap.
As always, thanks for making it this far. Have a great Tuesday, and look forward to the comments section.
Cheers
RAWF.
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