Behind the Ruck

Penney perseveres with Tahs but expects a derby response

NSW Waratahs head coach Rob Penney has resisted the urge for wholesale changes to his side, after last weekend’s unedifying 51-14 defeat at the hands of the Chiefs. But he has called for a response from his playing group when they take on the high-flying Brumbies in the derby in Canberra on Sunday.
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Six Nations: Scotland stun France as tournament hit by coronavirus

Round four of the 2020 Six Nations saw sport play second fiddle to health and safety, as the Ireland v Italy match due to be played in Dublin fell victim to the coronavirus, with the rest of the competition also likely to be put on hold for the foreseeable future.
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Brumbies dispatched as NSW Women throw down the gauntlet

And on they go. The NSW Waratahs Women have maintained their unbeaten run in Super W, with a dominant 41-8 victory over Brumbies Women at Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta last night.
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Six Nations: Vive le France, England find form, and Scots off the mark

If the games that made up week two of the tournament had fallen foul of the weather and largely been occasions for the purists, dry decks and a bit of sunshine provided a welcome platform for some wonderful rugby in week three, with France’s hugely exciting 27-23 win over Wales a clash for the ages.
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Stars ready to shine as Super W 3.0 gets underway

Season three of the Super W competition kicks-off this evening, with reigning champions NSW Waratahs Women travelling down to Victoria to take on the Melbourne Rebels Women, in the first part of a double-header ahead of the Super Rugby clash between the Rebels and Waratahs.
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Six Nations: Weather the winner as France and Ireland lead the way

Week two of the 2020 Six Nations was more a story of the conditions the three games were played in, than the wins for Ireland, England and France that eventuated.
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Sydney Sevens: Mixed bag for Aussie Men as they finish 6th

It was a tale of two contrasting days for the Australian Men’s Sevens team at the Sydney Sevens last weekend. Saturday saw them show plenty of promise as they stood unbeaten after two pool matches against Japan and Scotland, with a combined tally of 64pts and ten tries. But Sunday was a painful reminder of how much improvement is still required if they are going to become genuine contenders in this year’s World Series, and at the Tokyo Olympics.
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Six Nations: Sloppy England undone by French resistance

Any suspicions that England may suffer a World Cup hangover bore some pretty ripe fruit in Paris at the weekend, with a rejuvenated and youthful French side downing the tournament runners-up 24-17 as the 2020 Six Nations kicked-off – having led 17-0 at the break.
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Sydney Sevens: Aussie Women claim bronze on home soil

It wasn’t the colour they wanted but the Australian Women’s Sevens team had to content themselves with a bronze medal in Sydney on Sunday, downing France for the second time of the day after going down heavily to an impressive Canada in the semi-final.
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Sydney Sevens: Unbeaten Aussie girls top pool to reach semis

The Australian Women’s Sevens team have sailed into the semi-finals at their home event in Sydney, after topping their pool with three wins from three.
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RWC 2019: Quarter Final Previews Pt 2 with Simon Cron

Posted on October 20, 2019 by Paul Cook Leave a comment

In Part 2 of our Quarter Final previews, former Waratahs assistant coach Simon Cron talks about the rise of the Brave Blossoms and their impact on the sport in the Land of the Rising Sun, and the remaining two clashes between hosts Japan and South Africa, and Wales and France…

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RWC 2019: Quarter Final Previews Pt 1 with Simon Cron

Posted on October 19, 2019 by Paul Cook One comment

The phoney war is over as the 2019 Rugby World Cup reaches the pointy end, with the eight remaining teams contesting the Quarter Finals this weekend. Former Waratahs assistant coach Simon Cron, now based in Japan, runs the rule over each knockout clash.

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RWC 2019 Pool Game 36: Sexton on song as Ireland overcome Samoa

Posted on October 13, 2019 by Paul Cook One comment

This was more like it, Ireland overcoming a red card to overpower Samoa 47-5 in Fukuoka last night, and put themselves back in the frame as a Rugby World Cup contender.

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RWC 2019 Pool Game 29: Reinach on fire as Boks run rampant

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Paul Cook One comment

A devastating first half has helped South Africa towards a 66-7 dismantling of Canada in Kobe, the Springboks racking up 10 tries as they booked a place in the Quarter-Finals. Scrumhalf Cobus Reinach scored the fastest hat-trick in World Cup history as they blasted to a 33-0 lead inside the first quarter, but they were helped somewhat by a soporific

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RWC 2019 Pool Game 26: Superb Japan stay the course to see off Samoa

Posted on October 6, 2019 by Paul Cook One comment

Japan’s World Cup odyssey continued last night with a hard-fought but well-deserved 38-19 defeat of Samoa in front of a jubilant home crowd in Toyota.

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RWC 2019 Pool Game 23: Springboks too strong for powerless Italians

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Paul Cook One comment

The World Cup dreams of Italy – and their talismanic captain Sergio Parisse who retires at the tournament’s end – have been shattered after a 49-3 humbling at the hands of an impressive and powerful South Africa in Shizuoka.

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RWC 2019 Pool Game 22: Ireland labour to victory over stoic Bears

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Paul Cook One comment

Ireland have got their World Cup campaign back on track with a 35-0 defeat of Russia in Kobe, going some way towards putting the horror show against hosts Japan to rest. But given they were playing the 20th ranked team in the world, and a Russian side forced to play for 20 minutes a man down after two yellow cards, this wasn’t quite the one-sided try-fest that was predicted, or indeed expected.

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