Behind the Ruck

Langford 7s Day 2: Aussie girls back in the groove to claim vital silver

They only just fell short at the final hurdle, with a gallant 4pt loss to reigning champions New Zealand in the Cup Final their only loss of the tournament. But the Australian Women’s Sevens team have put together arguably their best weekend of footy of the season in Langford, Canada, picking up a silver medal and crucial World Series points to go towards their automatic qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
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Langford 7s Day One: ‘Green Machine’ helps Aussies to unbeaten start

The Aussie Women’s Sevens side has got back on track with an impressive unbeaten start to the Langford Sevens in Canada, with Ellia Green playing a starring role with five tries across three pool matches.
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Beachside bonanza as Marlins pip Souths in 80pt thriller

We’ve become used to the Intrust Super Shute Shield delivering a spectacle week after week, but the competition excelled itself with the feast on offer at Manly Oval last Saturday, with 80pts, eleven tries, and five yellow cards as Manly edged Southern Districts 41-39.
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Junior Wallabies down Baby Blacks to claim maiden Oceania title

A superb Junior Wallabies side have downed New Zealand U20s for only the second time in their history, keeping them scoreless at 24-0 to claim the Oceania U20s crown for the first time ever in the process.
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Intrust Super Shute Shield: Hot Shots & Pie-Baggers – Post-Round 4

Who is leading the way in terms of points and tries in 2019?
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What they said… Randwick v Eastern Suburbs

Post-match reaction from both camps with Hadley Jackson, Pauli Taumoepeau and David Vea.
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Beasts tamed as gutsy Randwick claim ANZAC Day derby spoils

With a combined five losses from six to the start the season, neither Randwick nor Eastern Suburbs went into their ANZAC Day derby clash with much in the way of runs on the board for 2019. But it was the Wicks who got rid of the zero in their wins column, prevailing 23-15 in a hard-fought contest where their tenacity at the breakdown rendered them more Grappling Greens than Galloping.
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Meet the New Bloods: Rory O’Connor

Every year a new batch of graduates takes the step up from club land to Super Rugby to achieve their dream of a professional career. But while they are usually well known amongst the grassroots fraternity that has keenly followed their progress from schools and rep footy, they arrive at the next level as largely unheralded potential. So in the first of a new series of Behind the Ruck in-depth interviews, let’s find out a little bit more about NSW Waratahs prop Rory O’Connor – one of the New Bloods!
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Triple Sinclair: Norths’ band of brothers in search of further glory

As if the rarity of seeing three brothers running out for one team wasn’t enough, last weekend’s Intrust Super Shute Shield saw two sets of sibling trios take the field. But while the achievements of Robbie, Charlie and Jacob Abel in turning out together for their new side Gordon are an equally worthy milestone, the path travelled by the Sinclair brothers – Angus, Hugh and Hamish, in order to achieve their dream in the colours of Northern Suburbs, is one that encompasses a tad more groundwork and history.
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Souths lead the way as club rugby returns with a bang

With club rugby going from strength-to-strength in recent years, the start of the 2019 Intrust Super Shute Shield competition had been eagerly awaited ever since the draw was released last November.
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Maligned Mason ‘back on the horse’ with style and plenty of guts

Posted on April 12, 2019 by Paul Cook Leave a comment

A week sure is a long time in footy. Eight days prior to stepping out for Eastern Suburbs in last Saturday’s opening round of the Intrust Super Shute Shield, flyhalf Mack Mason had been pulled from the field after just 56 minutes for the Waratahs, in their shock loss to the Sunwolves in Newcastle.

Club Rugby

Vale Lloyd McDermott – A pioneer on and off the field

Posted on April 8, 2019 by Paul Cook Leave a comment

Australian rugby lost one of it’s most special custodians yesterday, with the passing of Lloyd McDermott at the age of 79. A proud ‘Mununjali and Waka Waka’ man, he was the second Aboriginal player to represent the Wallabies, and went on to become the country’s first Indigenous lawyer.

Wallabies

Harry Potter and the Defence of the Shield: Can Uni do it all again?

Posted on April 6, 2019 by Paul Cook Leave a comment

Was the decision to interview a player with the same name as a rather popular fantasy character, a chance to come up with some sort of witty title and graphic to riff on that? Well of course it was!

But it was also an opportunity to shine the light on a gifted young player who largely flew under the radar for Sydney University last year. Meet the real Harry Potter.

Club Rugby

Cooper back with a vengeance as Rebels demolish Reds

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Paul Cook Leave a comment

Quade Cooper may have left Queensland rugby as a diminished hero forced to play club rugby. But he returned in style to reclaim his Suncorp Stadium throne in opposition colours yesterday, orchestrating a dominant 32-13 win for the Melbourne Rebels over the Reds, that sees the Victorians go back to the top of the Australian conference.

Super Rugby

Newcastle nightmare as toothless Tahs get bitten by Sunwolves

Posted on March 30, 2019 by Paul Cook One comment

They talked about the danger of it happening all week, but the Waratahs’ worst nightmares were realised on Friday night in Newcastle, with a 31-29 defeat to the bottom-placed Sunwolves immediately cancelling out the highs of last weekend’s victory over the high-flying Crusaders.

Super Rugby

Search begins to unearth next First Nations talent

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Paul Cook Leave a comment

The search to unearth the next Kurtley Beale, Mahalia Murphy or Maurice Longbottom has begun, with Rugby Australia’s High Performance team embarking this week on an Indigenous talent ID tour from Bathurst all the way up to Alice Springs.

Wallabies

Defensive mettle helps Waratahs end Crusaders’ unbeaten run

Posted on March 24, 2019 by Paul Cook Leave a comment

The SCG is proving to be a happy-hunting ground for the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby, their third win in three appearances at the iconic cricket ground arguably their biggest yet, with two-time champions the Crusaders taken down 20-12 in wet and tricky conditions in Sydney on Saturday night.

Super Rugby

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