Rediscovering the ‘X' Files

Nov 23 10:14 am

What is wrong with Matt Giteau? At times last Saturday he was brilliant, at others his thinking in the heat of battle became muddled. Something is out of kilter with the star playmaker and frankly his game has been off colour for most of the... Read more...

PREVIOUS JOURNAL ENTRIES

Time to blow the whistle on referees

Thu, November 19, 2009, 10:42 am EST

The very public humiliation of Australian referee Stuart Dickinson by IRB referees' boss Paddy O'Brien is a bit rich and warrants some inquisitive reflection.According to O'Brien, following post-match analysis of the clash between Italy and the All... Read more...

11 user comments

No Vintage Crop for Wallabies

Tue, November 17, 2009, 9:53 am EST

It was racing's equivalent of the Great Train Robbery. Not once, but twice, the brilliant Irish stayer Vintage Crop pinched the southern hemisphere's greatest race from under our noses.Two replica Melbourne Cups sit proudly in the foyer of the exclusive... Read more...

5 user comments

Redskins can scalp green army

Fri, November 13, 2009, 11:34 am EST

'Once a Queenslander always a Queenslander' will have special significance here in Dublin this Sunday.No less than 10 of the Wallaby starting XV honed their rugby skills in the Sunshine State.Although only half are still contracted to the Reds, all... Read more...

4 user comments

Welcome to a coach's nightmare

Tue, November 10, 2009, 5:03 pm EST

As the dust settles on Twickenham, England coach Martin Johnson has been lambasted for his side's so-called inept display. One newspaper critic has called for Lions' coach Ian McGeechan to be installed immediately.From my vantage point in the Northern... Read more...

2 user comments

Twickers fizz a perfect tonic

Fri, November 6, 2009, 12:29 pm EST

It is a home away from home for we colonials. The former market garden is not only the spiritual headquarters of rugby (according to the Poms), Twickenham also sits at the summit of Australian rugby achievement.Uppermost, it was the field of dreams in... Read more...

7 user comments

Wallabies lost in translation

Wed, November 4, 2009, 1:05 pm EST

Memo: Paddy O'Brien IRB Director of Referees:Please keep players on their feet before it is too late!By way of explanation, allow me to digress.Picture a desperate Aussie tourist on match eve, seeking a good old fashioned nerve-soothing 'cuppa' after... Read more...

36 user comments

Opportunity knocks - Wallabies must answer door

Wed, October 28, 2009, 12:36 pm EST

The evidence is irrefutable. England won the recent Ashes series on the toss of a coin.Ricky Ponting emerged with just one of the five tosses which meant the Poms grabbed the initiative and set the tempo from the outset.Therein lies the key for the... Read more...

0 user comments

All Blacks wary of icebergs

Wed, October 21, 2009, 8:20 pm EST

So the coaching deck chairs have been rearranged on the good ship All Blacks.Two years out from hosting the next Rugby World Cup, the Kiwis have made a bold, if not somewhat bizarre strategic move.Head coach Graham Henry is changing his role from... Read more...

7 user comments

"We before me" is Wallaby catchcry

Wed, October 14, 2009, 12:47 pm EST

It's time for the Wallabies to wholeheartedly adopt the Zen Master approach of legendary NBA coach Phil Jackson. Inspiringly, this master of the mind built basketball dynasties on the strength of a simple premise... 'We not me.'Jackson had to deal... Read more...

3 user comments