Friday's Rugby News. - Green & Gold Rugby - Australia News Beep

Greetings one and greetings all, and welcome to another Friday’s Rugby News. A gap week for Wallaby’s fans, but with our Wallaroos to play and rugby news a-plenty, we are spoiled for choice.

Today we kick off with a rugby sermon on the mount with ‘Knowaddimin’. We then check in on our Wallabies and our northern brethren to see if their ok with ‘Oh the humanity’. In the neutral corner, we run an eye over the first of four ‘Greatest Rivalry’ tests in ‘Time wasting kant!’ Then we get to celebrate a number of milestones for our Wallaroos with ‘100 not out’. Before farewelling the working week with ‘Fridays Goss with Hoss’ now available to hire as a role model for your kids. Look around: just how bad could I really be!

‘Thou shalt do as I say. Nowaddimin!’

Knowaddimin.

A bit of conspiracy theory stuff already about the return on His Royal Rugbyness to the Tahs and the possible/probable outcomes for Kiss and co.

Now I acknowledge a slight Tahs bent in my rugby psyche, but that aside, I would argue the return of his HRR is actually great for all of us as Oz rugby fans. Should he be able to wave his magic golf club over Tah-land and get them more consistent, more competitive and more combative, isn’t that a good thing for all of us overall? Doesn’t a ‘rising tide lift all boats?’ If the Tahs are better (they would be under him). If the Tahs can retain more talent (they would under him), doesn’t that by default have to make the other Oz sides better and more competition for spots overall – thus driving better standards across all levels of Oz rugby?

Having watched B2P this week, I agree with their observations: ‘should’ the reporting be true, Cheik will want to re-imagine the Tahs in his image, make a SF & final in his two years, which are up at the end of 28, just in time for an international gig with a country (not Oz) in time for the ’31 Seppos Gun & Rugby Show.

I don’t get the hate? Only coach ever to win major rugby tournies in both SH & NH. Took his home country to a RWC final and another country to a RWC SF. Took an underperforming Pom club side to the big dance and got pipped at the post. The guys a winner. A rugby winner.

Yet we want to hang him out to dry over internet conspiracy gibberish? Give me a break already. And if you want a point of comparison – how did Steve Hanson conduct himself over the same period?

I want the Tahs to win and the Wallabies to win and I don’t care whos arse gets kicked or who’s number gets taken along the road. History is written by winners. Not whiners.*(originally posted 18/08)

‘But that’s what Cheika did. Say it aint so?’

Oh the humanity.

Now I don’t want to panic you northerners, but I need you to sit down and clutch your pearls for a second. You ready? Lean in, don’t want this getting out to the masses. Les Kiss might be considering playing two 7’s in the one side. There. I said it, I couldn’t keep it in anymore. I know – I know, you still haven’t recovered since your rugby antichrist did it in 2015 to take us to a RWC final. But the word from one of those 7’s is, that 2 x 7’s (which is taught as equalling ’11’ in QPRQ schools) it’s a real possibility under new Wallaby coach Wendy Matthews.

Carlo ‘Mad Dog’ Tizanno and Fraser ‘The Beaver’ McReight were both on field at the same time against the Kawasaki Touring XXIII last week in Far North Nowhere and the sky did not fall. Indeed one half of ‘Mad Dog & The Beaver’ (also reportedly a possible documentary name being kicked around about the Swans (alleged) time in Melbourne last week) thinks it might be a portend to the future. Admitting that having two ‘fetchers’ in some games, could be a real asset.

F-Mac spoke with AAP as the squad prepares to assemble in Sydney Saturday, and then fly out Sunday to Argentina. He went on to say (and I paraphrase): ‘yeah, look, it was only Japan, lets all keep our Kimonos on shall we, because they’re pretty crap. And we’re gonna need to play a shitload better against the ref bashers next Saturday. And for sure, we will be looking to square up for what they did to our Gus by snotting a few of them on the sly.’

‘I don’t care if Rassie calls it a ‘player safety issue’, we want to play!’

Time wasting kant!

22 August: South Africa vs New Zealand – Ellis Park, Johannesburg. Coverage from 12.00 midnight, kickoff 1.05am AEST

Ahhh Rassie Erasmus: Great innovator? Lateral thinker? Pushes the envelope? Or just an out and out cheat? Largely depends on where you were born I reckon!

The kick-off to the first of four Greatest Rivalry Tour is upon us folks and the barbs are already flying thick and fast: The Boks are ‘time wasters’ (no shit-Sherlock!). The Nearlies ‘tuck shoulders’ when hitting rucks, and are offside a lot (shock horror). The dog whistling has started, the battle lines are drawn along geographical lines, and it all counts for bupkis. All that matters now it what happens from 1.05am AEST Sunday.

Dave Rennie has picked a formidable side to face the Bokke. The only possible weakness in the XXIII, no out and out reserve #10 on the bench? I get D-Mac can shuffle from #15 to #10, but he himself is just coming back from injury. Instead Ren’s has opted for the utility of ALB at #22 and Kiwi Corey Toole, Leroy Carter at #23.

Apart from that it’s a settled and formidable side. Big and mobile in the low numbers, electric and dangerous in the fairies.

I’ll expand more on the Saffa side when announced.

South Africa: TBA

All Blacks (15-1): Damian McKenzie, Will Jordan, Quinn Tupaea, Jordie Barrett, Josh Moorby, Ruben Love, Cam Roigard; Ardie Savea (capt), Luke Jacobson, Tupou Vaa’i, Fabian Holland, Josh Lord, Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot. Reserves: Asafo Aumua, George Bower, Fletcher Newell, Anton Segner, Peter Lakai, Kyle Preston, Anton Lienert-Brown, Leroy Carter

Fearless prediction. You don’t win back-to-back World Cups by luck, but I can’t shake the feeling the Boks are a tad underdone for this one. Kiwis by 8.

A new dawn

100 not out.

The Wallaroos face the Black Ferns this weekend in what is an historic outing for a variety of reasons:

First test for new Wallaroo’s coach Sione Fukofuka.

100th Wallaroo test.

Maddi Levi set for a debut.

The Stan team reported earlier in the week that Levi might have even been considered for a start at #13, which would be a big ask due to the defensive responsibilities of the position. I mean, you can’t just waltz into a national rugby team and be plonked at #13, that would just plain stupid. Instead Levi finds herself in the #23 jersey and should expect to see 20 minutes or so of action in this historic match.

Whilst I will be keen to see signs of new game plans and structures from the new coach, the reality is the Fern’s will still be far too good for this one, but still, I am excited for this new chapter for our Wallaroos.

NZ: Not available at time of publishing

Wallaroos Starting XV. 1. Brianna Hoy 2. Tania Naden 3. Eva Karpani 4. Kaitlan Leaney 5. Michaela Leonard 6. Siokapesi Palu Sekona (c) 7. Lily Bone 8. Piper Duck 9. Tia Hinds 10. Waiaria Ellis 11. Desiree Miller 12. Cecilia Smith 13. Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea 14. Maya Stewart 15. Faitala Moleka

Replacements 16. Brittany Merlo 17. Allana Sikimeti 18. Bridie O’Gorman 19. Pia Tapsell* 20. Emily Chancellor 21. Samantha Wood 22. Bienne Terita 23. Maddison Levi*

Fearless Prediction: Black Ferns by 22.

‘You heard it here first eventually.’

Friday’s Goss with Hoss.

Raining money.

Not just content with putting the next 13 generations of Coinslanders into debt for the 2032 Olympics, the ‘We’ll Stop Pauline Party’ has also announced a $40,000,000 spend on a whole new ‘Teams in Gold Facility’ at Ballymore.

Natho over at propaganda weekly reports: ‘Featuring a new and dedicated training pitch, state-of-the-art gymnasium, team rooms and office space, the Teams In Gold Facility will provide a year-round base for the fulltime Australian Sevens and Wallaroos programs as well as the Wallabies when in Queensland.

Allowing for upcoming cost blow-outs, CFMEU involvement and inevitable increases in material costs, the $2.5 billion dollar project is expected to be completed within 18 months. Understanding that ’18 months’ will be a perpetually rolling timeframe from whenever the completion date question is asked.

I did it my way.

Whispers from the SMH that one JAS just might be headed to the wings in Argentina as part of a new backline under Les Kiss. I had a quiet chuckle this week when on Stan’s B2P, and my fave host, Big Grimace Maloney scolded us folk for constantly arguing the merits of ‘Sue’ at #13, well it seems the new national coach just might have other ideas about the #13 (and perhaps by default, the #12) jersey as well! No doubt Lenny Ikitau gets first jersey, but Isaac Henry (who is a natural #12) absolutely played the house down, and Hunter Paisami wasn’t half bad either.

Food for thought anyway. Oh, and another conversation starter. If he is to be a winger, Sue would have to play right wing, because he absolutely can’t pass L2R. Although if he started at fullback…………..

‘Sleepy’ awakenings.

Good news this week that Tom ‘Sleepy / Dozy’ Lynagh will return for the Reds in the AR AUS comp and will likely have Izzy Perese line up alongside him. Lynagh returns after a horrid injury run through the year that limited his game time to a handful of minutes, thus avoiding being tarnished with the same stink that his teammates all got from another shithouse SRP year.

Meanwhile Perese returns from time spent at Leicester in the Pommy competition, coincidentally also the club his new SR AUS coach Peter Hewatt was at.

Until next week.

Hoss – out.

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