Tag Archives: rugby
Super Rugby Showdown: Reds Secure Bonus Point Against Drua
The last home game for the Queensland Reds saw them play an uptempo match against Fijian Drua. 15,623 turned up to Suncorp and were thoroughly entertained. A comfortable 21-12 lead at halftime was quickly gobbled up by the Drua with two tries in 8 minutes by Manasa Mataele to put them ahead 24-21. The Reds were reinvigorated to score 4 more tries for a bonus point 45-24 win, lifting them to 5th on the Super Rugby table.
Aussie Gold Rush in Spain
Not since 2018 in Sydney have both our men’s and women’s Sevens teams won the HSBC 7s Round. This time in Valladolid, Spain, the penultimate round, ahead of Bordeaux next weekend, both our sides picked up Gold Medals. Beating the Top of the Table Blitzboks 26-19 shows a commitment our men’s team has been lacking. We’ve come to expect our women to do well, and their 27-14 win over the USA in the final, without star player Maddie Levi, was scintillating, putting them on top of their Table, leapfrogging New Zealand.
Western Gale Force Another Blow for The Reds
The Western Force has handed the Reds another close loss three weeks in a row last night in Perth, 19-14. What more do the Queenslanders have to do to cement their spot in the top 6? Discarded Reds players in the west outmuscle their former side with another technical performance proving the Suncorp thrashing wasn’t a blip. Saint Laurence’s old boy, John Bryant, replacing Fraser McReight, bumbled through the first half, dropping two important touches.
Two-try standout Carlos Tizzano was immense in an armwrestle with the Queensland Reds. 50 Super Rugby caps for the Wallaby back-rower showed he’s all class.
Tate McDermott Shines in UQ Rugby Return
On a balmy 23-degrees celcius afternoon of early autumn at the University of Queensland campus in St Lucia, a modest crowd watched a significant step in the journey of Brisbanerugby’s favourite son, Tate McDermott. In a flawless first-half performance for the Red Heavies, McDermott scored a try in classic style from a quick penalty tap. The boy is back, after the Reds’ second loss to the Western Force 14-19 in Perth; his return couldn’t come any sooner.
Reds vs Chiefs: A Thrilling Battle Overview
The Reds had their biggest home crowd of the season, with 14,438 of the faithful turning out for another cliffhanger two weeks in a row. Having lost the week before in super-point to the Blues during Super Round in Christchurch, the crowd were on their feet inside 10 minutes when Lachie Andersen showed what we had been missing since Round 4 with his return on the left flank, crashing over in the corner to put the Reds on the board first with a five-pointer converted by Harry McLaughlin-Phillips.
Chiefs replied quickly with a try to inform number 8, Wallace Sititi, and converted by the mercurial boot of Damien McKenzie, to level the score 7-all. The arm wrestle continued, and in the 14th minute, second-year New Zealand referee Marcus Playle awarded the Chiefs a penalty, giving McKenzie a shot at goal, basically in front of the posts; however, uncharacteristically, he pushed it to the right. Score remains 7-all.
In the 20th minute, Reds inside-centre, Hunter Paisami, gives his opposite number, Quinn Tupaea (VC), a bone-rattling tackle that requires the trainer to come to his assistance. The TMO deems it fair play.
The forward battle was immense when Playle awarded the Chiefs a try, which, on review, was denied due to several knock-ons. Under penalty advantage, McKenzie slots a penalty 5 minutes before half-time to put the visitors ahead 10-7. Another controversial decision by the Kiwi referee against Seru Uru denied the Reds a crucial 5-pointer before they went to the sheds. The Match Official has one look at it before the ref calls half-time to a huge chorus of boos from the crowd. Score remains Chiefs ahead 10-nil.
The entertainment didn’t stop with Conrad Sewell, who played fly-half for St. Laurence’s College up to Grade 10, providing his dulcet tones for the passionate crowd at the break (photo by David Kapernick @brisbanerugbycom).
The forward battle continued in the second half, with none other than Australia’s inform lock, Lukan Salakai-Loto (main photo by David Kapernick @brisbanerugbycom), snubbed by Joe Schmidt for the British & Irish Lions Tour last year; he will be first pick when Les Kiss takes the Wallabies’ coach’s seat from July. However, the Chiefs score first in the second half, extending their lead to 17-7.
McKenzie was under pressure and made a few errors as the battle intensified. The return of Carter Gordon also put a spring in the Reds’ step.
At the 65th minute mark, Harry Wilson receives the ball out wide from Gordon on the right flank, slips a pass (“the ball of the year“, according to Tim Horan in the commentary box) to Joe Brial, who goes over for a much-needed try. Converted by replacement half, Louis Werchon, to close the gap to 14-17.
A brain snap in the 68th minute by front rower, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, results in a yellow card. Proving costly for the Reds when it led to a double for Chiefs’ replacement hooker, Samisoni Taukei’aho. McKenzie adds the extras for the lead to go back to a 10-point margin, 24-14.
In the 73rd minute, a long cut-out pass by Gordon puts 19-year-old Treyvon Pritchard in a position to score his first Super Rugby Pacific try, smoking McKenzie in the process, to close the margin to 21-24 with the successful conversion by replacement halfback, Luis Werchon.
In the 78th minute, Sititi goes over for a double, breaking the hearts of the Lang Park faithful to extend the lead back to ten, 31-21. The Chiefs close out the match, and a chance at a home quarter-final for the Reds goes begging.
With three more weeks of Super Rugby Pacific, coach Kiss has to focus his chargers on maintaining a position in the top six. He said after the match that he wanted his players to stay cool, even if the referees’ decisions went against them (12-5).
Rugby at Hanazono
About a 20-minute train trip east of the transit station of Namba in Osaka, we find the rugby town of Hanazono. The Hanazono Rugby Stadium 🏟️ was established in 1929, the first stadium in Japan specifically designed for rugby. I got off the Kintetsu-Nara Line at Higashi Hanazono. I made my way to the stadium, about a 15-minute walk away, past shops and restaurants supporting the local team known as the Kintetsu Liners (est. 1929); even the manhole covers displayed rugby images from when Japan hosted the Rugby World Cup in 2019, and this boutique stadium, which holds about 27,000 spectators, was one of the venues for some of the international matches. In fact, there will be another international match there this year, when the Japanese Brave Blossoms host the Wallabies on August 8th.
A pleasant 24 degrees Celsius on Saturday and largely blue skies, after a few rainy days during the week, saw the locals turn out in force for this Japanese Div. 2 match between 1 and 3 on the table. What was supposed to be a walk in the park for the local Kintetsu Liners certainly looked that way when they ran in the first try. With Springbok legend, five-eight Manie Libbok, at the helm, the Liners looked every bit why they were the Top of Div. 2 and regained their status in Japan League One. However, the Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks were not going to give up without a fight. Their half of the East Stand in blue (see photo below) became vocal as they started scoring points. Rugby in Japan is serious business.
At halftime, the beer queue under the stadium was long but efficient, and I had some yaki-soba washed down with a Nikka Black Highball. The smoking area was set up like a rugby field.
In the second half, the men from Koto-ku in Tokyo kept their foot on the pedal, snuffing out any chance the local team had of winning. Kintetsu are one of the oldest rugby clubs in Japan, founded in 1929. They have won three All-Japan National titles: 1966, 1967 & 1974 and eight Company Championships: 1953, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1966, 1969, & 1074 (Wikipedia). It’s been a while since they’ve won any titles, so they need to get back into the Japan League One. An Australian coach, John Mulvihill, from Souths Rugby Club in Brisbane, was the last person to get them back into that top league, and he coached them for several years. Currently, two former players and Brisbanerugby favourite sons, Will Genia and Quade Cooper, are the present head-coaches. Genia told me he was quietly confident his team would pull through the play-offs at the end of May to regain their position in League One. However, the Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks were not going to make their job any easier by running away with the 29-19 victory this afternoon.
Springboks Eye Historic Fifth Title at RWC 2027
The Rugby World Cup draw took place last week, and the ‘big players’ have been dispersed across the Pools. The All Blacks and Wallabies meet for the first time in World Cup history in a round-robin match as the heavyweights of Pool A. South Africa and Italy headline Pool B; Argentina & Fiji in Pool C; Ireland & Scotland in Pool D; France & Japan in Pool E; and finally, England & Wales in Pool F. However, it is hard to go against the Springboks achieving a record fifth Webb-Ellis Trophy to make it three in a row under the leadership of Siya Kolisi.
According to the World Rugby rankings, the round of 16 would mean that the Top two finishers in the six Pools, plus the next four teams placed after the round-robin stage. The eight winners would progress to the knockout stage.
The opening match will be held in Perth, likely between the hosts, Australia and New Zealand, to a record sold-out crowd. This will mean that these two teams won’t meet again until the final in Sydney. The All Blacks will have to negotiate a tough semi-final against the Springboks, while the Wallabies will have to overcome a mighty English side.
The Wallabies will have to play Japan in the quarter-final, a team they only managed to beat 19-15 at Tokyo’s Kokuritsugyogijo Stadium on October 25th this year. Eddie Jones’ men will be up for the challenge, possibly trying to replicate their RWC 2015 win over the Springboks in the Miracle in Brighton, arguably the greatest upset in not only Rugby World Cup history, but sport in general.
RWC 2027 is set up for the greatest contest in Rugby World Cup history, and the permutations will be studiously studied by the coaching staff of each participating nation, none more so than the mercurial Eddie Jones. Bring it on!!
Wallabies’ European Tour: A Season of Struggles
The Wallabies’ European vacation came to an end with a 48-33 loss to Les Bleus at Stad de France, just outside Paris in Saint-Denis. It capped off a season in which they won only five of their 15 tests, with memorable wins over the British and Irish Lions in Sydney and the mighty Springboks in Johannesburg.
With a 19-all half-time score, including a double by Queensland Red Matt Faessler, the Wallabies were right in it. In fact, they were only trailing by one point, 26-27, at the hour mark before conceding three converted tries to go down by 15. A much-improved outing by Joe Schmidt’s men before Tom Hooper received a Yellow Card in the 65th minute, and the penalty count was mounting, 10 in the second half. John Eales Medalist Len Ikitau was the standout, with 15 carries. Angus Bell was immense, scoring a breakaway try in his 50th test, and Josh Nasser went over on debut. Also, congratulations to Queensland Reds’ halfback, Kalani Thomas, on making his Wallabies debut.
Their European campaign started off at Twickenham with a bruising 25-7 loss to England, followed by a loss to Italy, 26-19; ironically, all 5 tries were scored by Australians. Unfortunately, Luis Lynaugh and Monty Ioana were wearing the blue of Italy. They moved to Dublin, where it all unravelled, despite the in-and-out-again James O’Connor trying his best to go down to 3rd ranked Ireland 46-19. Against France, they showed attacking flair with Matt Faessler bagging a double and his front row partner, Angus Bell, crossing the paint in the first half to have it all locked up 19-all at the break. World Rugby player of the year nominee, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, broke the Aussies’ spirit with a brilliant individual try in the first half and helped, Man of the Match, Nicolas Depoortere to a double. Fabien Galthie’s men were too strong in the end to smash the Wallabies
It is the first time since 1958 that the Wallabies have gone winless on the European tour. However, technically, they did beat a spirited Eddie Jones-orchestrated Japanese outfit, 19-15, in Tokyo on the first leg of the Spring Tour.
Rugby in the Land of the Rising Sun
Earlier this year, when I saw that the Wallabies had a fixture against Eddie Jones’ Japanese side in Tokyo on the 25th of October, a plan was activated. It had been six years since my last visit for the RWC2019, and that was such a brilliant tournament, a testimony to the hospitality or “ometenashi” of the Japanese people. I booked a flight, organised accommodation and made an itinerary to maximise my time rediscovering a land where I lived for five years in my 20s.
Tokyo Olympic Stadium, or “kokuritsukyogijo”, was where the RWC2019 final was supposed to be played; however, due to oversight, the stadium wasn’t ready in time, and Yokohama Stadium was used instead. The stadium did host the delayed 2020 Olympics in 2021 (a great Trivial Pursuits question). A healthy crowd of 46,000 people sat comfortably in the cavernous 80,000-seat stadium while the match was played out on a rainy day in Tokyo. Joe Smidt’s experimental Wallaby side struggled to penetrate the well-drilled Brave Blossom’s side back under the tutelage of local hero, Eddie Jones. Wave after wave of forward runners were thwarted by the tenacious Japanese, and it was only a skilful interchange of passing that saw Josh Flook slip through for a try. The Aussies managed three tries in an underwhelming performance to start their spring tour to the Northern Hemisphere, only scraping home 19-15. The crowd favourite, Michael Leech, was immense, and his name was called out every time he touched the ball.
To say Japan is not a rugby-playing nation is a gross underestimation of her success. Following the ‘Miracle in Brighton’ at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, where the tenacious Brave Blossoms, under Eddie Jones, orchestrated one of the biggest upsets in not just rugby history, but all sports, where they took down the might Springboks in the dying seconds to win 34-32, saw a resurgence. Hosting the 2019 reiteration, they managed to beat Scotland and Ireland to claim top spot in their Pool and make the quarter finals for the first time.
Rugby union in Japan is a major part of the Japanese sporting landscape. While it may not catch the eyeballs of baseball or even the J-League soccer, it still has a rich history. A lot of Wallabies, Springboks and All Blacks ply their trade in Japan and get paid a healthy salary for their effort. We’ve seen the likes of Michael Hooper, one of the highest-paid Wallabies of late, have a sabbatical over there at the back end of his career. Noah Lolesio is over there now preparing for the League One, which starts shortly.
The Kansai region in western Japan is a fertile ground for rugby. The mighty Kobe Steelers have been a dominant force in Japanese rugby over the years. Wallaby legend Ian Williams played for them in the 1990s to great success, and of late, Dan Carter has led them to premierships. But it was in eastern Osaka where I found a rugby heartland at Hanazono, the Kintetsu Liners, coached by Will Genia and Quade Cooper, who had also played for them for several seasons.
To sum up my 17 days in the Land of the Rising Sun would be to say it was awesome. I had forgotten the generosity and hospitality of the Japanese people. Six years is just way too long. With Japan being part of the new Nations Cup of rugby, it will be sooner rather than later that I get back there.
本当にお世話になっておりましたお感謝します。
Brisbane Rugby.com 