G’day punters, no Bris today who has been seconded, at short notice, as personal security guard for Karl Stefanovic as he prepares for his upcoming podcast special: Putin: pariah or just really, really, good guy. So you’re stuck with me. Deal with it.
Always stronger together. Although that Kiwi flag looks suspiciously from the side.
Branzac Day locked in!
Great news over the weekend that the deal has been done to lock in an bi-annual (not fussy about which ‘annual’ it sleeps with) Bledisloe Anzac Day Test has been locked in for 2027, 2029 and 2031 all rightfully at Suncorp Stadium, which is the best rugby watching venue in Oz, bar none.
Natho over pravda.com.au also points out that: ‘According to the Australian War Memorial, ten members of the Wallabies and 13 All Blacks made the ultimate sacrifice during the first World War. Of those, at least five Wallabies and two All Blacks were killed at Gallipoli, where the spirit of ANZAC was born.‘
With the deal now done, the only wonder remains why it has taken 100 years to come up with the idea, but that aside, well done RA and NZR for having the wisdom and goodwill to see this brilliant concept finally come to fruition. For though we share a few differences on the rugby field, murdering the English language and paddock passions, there can be no greater bond between any two nations, than that that exists between our great southern land and those of the rocky outcrops of the poxy isles. Long may it continue.
It just don’t get no better!
Rugby, rugby, and even more rugby.
Test match rugby is back peeps and not just some random meaningless game between easy beats like Wales and Namibia, but proper, every match counts, full throttle test match rugby with week one of the Nations Championship. If you’ve got plans, cancel them, because here’s what’s coming at you this weekend:
All on Stan and times AEST
Sat 4th July NZ , France 4.30pm
Sat 4th July Japan v Italy 6.30pm
Sat 4th July Wallabies v Ireland 7.30pm
Sat 4th July Fiji v Wales 11.00pm
Sun 5th July. South Africa v England 1.30am
Sun 5th July Argentina v Scotland 5.00am
And a reminder that G&GR will have live match blogs available for those who want to participate (just set your Disqus comments filter to ‘Newest’ and you can join in the conversation. The blogs open up 30 minutes before kickoff
Whack: and we’re off.
The Australian U20s side has kicked off their Junior World Cup campaign in style, demolishing Span 90-22. Young #10 Finn Mackay was outstanding, so to Treyvon Pritchard at #12. The young Aussies running in 14 tries, after a lighting delayed start to their fixture in Georgia.
The run and result will be a great hit-out and confidence boost for their next game July 7th, against the perennially strong French u20 side. You can catch all results & upcoming fixtures for the JWC at: worldrugby.com
That’s a lot of bail money right there!
Bogan’s Bulging Balance Sheet.
The horse guy over at gaol ball has finally done it. He’s out-monetised the AFL, with a reported $5,000,000,000.00 TV broadcast deal over a seven year period, starting from 2028. You know what? Fair play to him and the code. And already the drums are beating about a ‘war chest’ and ‘raids of rugby juniors’, but yawn, so what? Hasn’t that been the case for the last 25 years and will be 25 years from now and 25 years from then? If rugby in Australia has proven one thing to everybody, it’s that it is resilient. There is always another player coming through. There is always another ‘X’ factor player on the horizon, tomorrows stars that are unknown today and with the grown ups doing a terrific job at RA these last few years, there will always be room for our game to thrive.
Make it stop. Or make it better.
Yuck!
There’s some stuff you just can’t un-see can you. Like the weekend round of SRW. Clueless game plans, dreadful skills and viewing that actually had me involuntarily and convulsively, dribble down my chin. It was like I was in a rugby induced, trance like coma. Trapped in my own body, and unable to turn the tv off. It was such horrendous viewing that in my stupor I couldn’t turn it off, I needed to see just how bad it would get. And it didn’t disappoint, just as I thought ‘well, ‘we’ve hit a new low’, the teams just kept on drilling, until new reserves of puerile sporting/viewing shite was unearthed.
Tim Walsh, lean in for a moment, a bit closer, closer still mate: bugger me if you aint facing a bigger challenge in improving the women’s game, than Angus Taylor does in being leader by December.
The rugby was horrid. The skills were rank. The spectacle diabolical. But apart from that…………
Until Friday.
Hoss – out.