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Highlanders def. Western Force in a scrappy tug-o-war with the one point win on home turf at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin by 7-6

by Sports Benches

Saturday night’s Super Rugby match at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, NZ was a tug-o-war for both of the bottom four teams on the table – the hosts Highlanders and the visitors Western Force from Perth. The first half was really quiet for the first 30-35 mins but the Force snagged the one successful penalty goal going into half-time by 0-3. Then the Highlanders have responded well with the one and only TRY from their No.9 Folau Fakatava in the 47th minute and although the Force might have won another penalty or two where they eventually found the second three-point penalty goal, but they were so fortunate to wrap up the night with a huge sigh relief including the home fans. The final score was Highlanders 7-6 Force.

Despite some injury cloud within the Highlanders dressing room, they now move to 8th ahead of Moana Pasifika with five rounds to go while the Force remain last after the Crusaders won for the 2nd time in a while last night in Christchurch v Melbourne Rebels 39-0. With that being said, Highlanders will jet off to Tonga v Moana Pasifika next Saturday afternoon as let’s see if they can overcome the visitors strong crowd to follow up another win to keep their Top 8 hopes alive. Force, on the other hand, will continue their NZ trip once more but then it will be even tougher v the Chiefs in Waikato next Saturday night.

We’ll start with Jake Te Hiwi on the inside centre at No.12 for the Highlanders who is not only defensively sound but can also smash it and create a hole for his team-mates to finish the job done as well. It goes to show he wears the shirt with pride considering he’s from there and has gone through the ranks that earned himself an opportunity to earn his stripes at Super Rugby level as his brute physicality and the way he talks up with his players saw the best out of him tonight. If one 22-year-old isn’t enough for the Highlanders fan to be excited about, how about Oliver Haig on the No.6 blindside back row? He might have grew up in the UK but moved to NZ during his teenage years and he’s loving his rugby here ever since. Surely the physical battle suits him perfectly in the best of both worlds and hemispheres whose showings tonight reflects how capable he is to push the Force out of his way and make them hard to beat defensively while he can back things up and shield the opposition with a brick wall going forward. Still a long way to go but if they can help keep the Highlanders on the right track & play Finals again, then that would be great for both Otago and NZ Rugby as these two here are future All Blacks material.

And Argentinean Santiago Medrano has been a huge part of the Western Force side for a few years now except 2022 after he put in a huge shift to try and stop the Highlanders in his tracks on the front row at tighthead. He’s tall and he’s got brute to muscle his way through the gate when his side won possession earlier on that saw his team-mate Ben Donaldson snag a late penalty goal just before half-time. Unfortunately, the Force just couldn’t make things work when their attacking executions was so isolated with 1-2 numbers having to do all the work by themselves despite having the advantage, which in turn let him and his forwards down defensively. The Force will have to give their all if they are to win the next odd game here and there.

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The Chiefs explosive counter-attack derails the Waratahs good start with an easy win to close it out tonight at Allianz Stadium, 22-38

by Sports Benches

Round 10 of 15 in the 2024 Super Rugby Season during the Anzac weekend saw all 12 teams back in full swing after taking their respective byes over the last three weeks and fortunately, I was able to see it on-site tonight at Allianz Stadium (awesome modern venue btw) in Moore Park where the NSW Waratahs welcome last year’s runner-up team the Chiefs from Waikato, NZ.

The first half saw the Waratahs off to a flying start following the Chiefs early ill-disciplines that saw two of their players having to sit out on the naughty chair (yellow card) for a while. Despite this, the Chiefs were able to move on and level the scoreboard with the Waratahs going into half-time at 12-12. Then the Chiefs were able to extend their lead with another set of tries while the Waratahs began to fall behind. Yes, the Waratahs might have not lost all of hope just yet when a successful penalty conversion and a 3rd TRY might have spark a bit of an outside revival. However, as the clock ticks away towards full-time, the Chiefs proved too strong for them whilst having the last laugh with one more TRY to close it out for the win once again 22-38.

Emoni Narawa has been lightning quick on the Chiefs right wing, having been blessed with the support needed to get things done on the counter-attack that made him so great. He can make things so difficult with his trickery pace for the opposition defenders to try and stop him in his tracks where he punished them not once but twice that puts his side in cruise control.

Here’s another experienced young talent Kaylum Boshier on the Chiefs openside back row at 7 after he kept a good eye on the Waratahs at his own end, so he can turn the ball over, muscle it up & cash it in on return as the rewards have paid off. He’s a multi-talented player with a background in both rugby and cricket who’s got tremendous mobility that reflects his natural game-changing abilities and that is how Kaylum made the Waratahs suffer towards the end with a big win away from home.

Both of them may not had much International experience but they can certainly compete v the best of the rest and that includes the unbeaten Hurricanes in the hope they can translate success in all fronts of New Zealand Rugby. The road to go one better continues as they will be back at home (FMG Stadium in Waikato) next Saturday night v Perth’s Western Force.

And Julian Heaven has converted a couple of the line-in throws into tries for the Waratahs tonight including one for himself thanks to these winning penalties. He’s still young at 23 who might not have gone through the traditional route but his hard work handed his side a huge early headstart off the back of the Chiefs ill-discipline that saw two players sat 10 minutes at each time on the naughty chair. But what’s even naughty is the way his side failed to get the job done at times through open play despite having good possession as the Chiefs explosive counter attack really punished them in the end that handed them yet another loss. It doesn’t look any good from here with the Hurricanes next up & it’s even going to be a long trip to get to Wellington in NZ for next Friday on what is going to be a really tough run-in to finish off this term.

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Super Rugby 2024 Week 9, Crusaders still not up to it in their rebuilding phase as Western Force walk home with a huge win at HBF Park

by Sports Benches

Week 9 of the 2024 Super Rugby Season ended with the battle of the bottom feeders before all 12 teams will be back on the road to finish off the regular season – Western Force v Crusaders at HBF Park. Crusaders fired off early as always with their strong starts but Force filled most of the first half up with some good momentum going into the break 15-5. Yes, the Crusaders have their moments at times where they thought they were back on track but then half of the side isn’t still up to it as the Force went on to extend their lead including a couple more not long before full-time with a huge win in Perth 37-15.

The man who kept a great eye on the Crusaders’ struggles tonight is Izack Rodda after he made an instant impact off the Western Force bench unexpectedly early on the second row with so much powerful physical straits to lock them down both ways in attack and defense. It led to so many things going his team’s way where the Force made the most out of their opportunities with a good first-half lead followed by an extraordinary 2nd half performance in front of the home supporters as great to see him back in Super Rugby through his previous years with the Reds after a tough last 1-2 years due to injury.

Next up is Ben Donaldson – another key Force player looking to make No.10 on his own every week – having had some inconsistencies before with the Waratahs over the last few years and also for at Wallabies lnternatonally. His kicking game looks near 100% for a start when adding the extra points off the back of the Crusaders’ poor discipline and defense; he’s also able to stretch his attack across the pitch which was another factor to the Force getting past the opposition on the counter attack with numbers on the board and can spot them being isolated which reflects his good defensive awareness all around.

Great to have the wealth of experience alongside a great coach (Simon Cron) & the goal now is to get some winning momentum from here for an outside Top 8 push starting with the Highlanders in Dunedin next Saturday.

And Sevu Reece holds the glue in the Crusaders dressing room where he just became the leading TRY scorer (53) which was an enormous achievement from the wide right. They are so grateful for his explosive pace and most importantly the experience on offer as he still has unfinished business at 27 having returned from a long-term knee injury at the start of this season. But in the meantime it’s just him running the show alone when the forwards simply weren’t on par that led to a pile of discipline and defensive mistakes as well as missed opportunities that isolated him and his backline & the current No.10 didn’t do much good either – looks like the Top 8 chances now looking near nigh now where things will be even harder before they will have to sit out the Finals for the first time in 2024 with the Melbourne Rebels next up at home in Christchurch on Friday.

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Thoughts on whether Rugby Australia can still accommodate the resources & funding to support five Super Rugby teams after the Melbourne Rebels huge success so far in 2024

by Sports Benches

Last night, Melbourne has witnessed their own Rugby team winning another game this time v Highlanders in the form of the Rebels and they now sit in 4th place on the ladder with a bye next week before they resume to go all in & hopefully have their first taste of Finals footy. Although they did play in the Qualifying Final back in 2020 v QLD Reds under a temporary Super Rugby AU comp when COVID interrupted our daily lives at the time & the Waratahs weren’t doing much good back then.

However, questions will still need to be answered by Rugby Australia amid the Rebels still being broke as whether or not if they have the resources including the talent pool to support as many as five teams? It’s been a long-running debate that saw two teams end up in the hole including the ACT Brumbies whose existence will not be taken away anytime soon thanks to their decorated history regularly up front that reflects long-running success. There’s another team that won’t be in for the axe at all is the NSW Waratahs whose history is also so strong in a Rugby dominated state/market that goes back to hundreds of years despite their mediocrity over the last couple of years; Same goes to the Queensland Reds – so rule both of them out too as removing those big influences & RA investing more into the Brumbies, Rebels & even Western Force won’t help that much.

While we’d like to go back to the way things were when the Wallabies were oh so good with just three teams in the 1990s and early 2000s, it won’t happen since the world has changed over time with most professional sports here having an excellent national footprint. At the end of the day, it’s still going to be five teams without needing to axe a team again under a few conditions – if the Rebels get cut, 1. I’d to see a like-for-like replacement with the Jaguares coming back this time as a Melbourne-based team by inheriting most of the Rebels players with a few Los Pumas Internationals coming over and 2. Western Force gets some help from Japan and merge with the Sunwolves while still playing most of the games in Perth.

That way, we will able to meet the goal of having all five Australian Super Rugby teams thriving against the long-dominating New Zealand counterparts. Plus, the talent pool will be stronger as ever which in turn will get more quality Australian Super Rugby players coming from all five teams for the benefit of the Wallabies returning to its former glory by winning games & silverware again while expanding overseas selection availability since the Springboks won back-to-back recent World Cups under this model including the next crop of local grassroots kids who will learn massively from the seasoned Internationals playing here.

And hopefully no more fighting after consistently losing to the All Blacks over the last 20 + Bledisloe Cup editions while experiencing the worst World Cup campaign ever where they exited the group stages for the first time last year in France as the worst thing can happen is for RA to face someone in the courtroom yet again like the Force back in 2017, The end.

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2024 Super Rugby Half-Yearly Report, Hurricanes still unbeaten with Melbourne Rebels finally thriving other than the ACT Brumbies

by Sports Benches

Round 8 is now done and we are at the halfway stage of the 2024 Super Rugby Season with one more shortened series of four games next weekend while some teams will undertake the required week-long off the field and all 12 teams will then look to bring it home non-stop towards the end of this regular home and away portion. For now, let’s look back what happened over the past month between Rounds 5 to 8 when we finished March while having an Easter long weekend before entering April and the clocks have moved back an hour with all cold game nights ahead after Daylight Savings was over one week ago.

New Zealand teams

Hurricanes still strong albeit Cam Roigard’s knee injury that will keep him out of the field for six months as let’s see if that unbeaten run continues with games coming up v Fijian Drua as well as two Aussie teams like Brumbies & Waratahs. What else? Blues also on the same wavelength as the Hurricanes where they got the Brumbies next up followed by the Reds and Rebels, so won’t be easy when facing Aussie opposition but they should be alright though with 1-2 wins mainly v Reds and Rebels. Chiefs also not bad despite some losses lately v Crusaders in Christchurch a few weeks ago as well as the unbeatable Hurricanes just now & they have a good next series of matches which we will expect to see them again at Finals time. Then Highlanders have shown that they can always stay in the game but four losses over the last month isn’t a good look whose progress is still in the rebuilding phase which will take a bit more time. And on the Crusaders, great to see them win at last two weeks ago v Chiefs. Although they were unlucky v Waratahs again the other day thanks to Will Harrison’s last-minute drop goal, but they are on the right track though lately as they still need to win the rest if the Saders want to play Finals this year.

Australian teams

ACT Brumbies are still unstoppable who currently sits 2nd with games coming up v the Top 2 such as Blues next Saturday and the Hurricanes after that. Can they be the top ranked side in this comp other than being just the best here that saw them accomplish regular semi-finals over the last couple of years? We’ll see. Melbourne Rebels, on the other hand, got away with really good wins off the back of the Waratahs as that team so far can only win v the new-look Crusaders, as well as Fijian Drua who still struggle away from home and of course, the Highlanders by a comfortable margin. They now sit 4th amid financial problems at the start of this year as nothing is still guaranteed whether if they will be back playing next season & beyond.

Plus, the Queensland Reds good start under Les Kiss has turned sour in recent weeks after three straight losses to the Western Force, ACT Brumbies and now Moana Pasifika. The good news is they are still within the Top 8 bubble in 6th but bad news is they need to win games again if Queensland wish to do well in the Finals and not let it slip out with fear like last year when Brad Thorn had his course as head coach. Meanwhile, the NSW Waratahs are still struggling other than winning games v the Crusaders and they too have a series of tough matches ahead after next week’s bye like Chiefs, Hurricanes and also the Brumbies again. And while the Western Force was fortunate to celebrate the rare home win v Reds, they still haven’t been at their best despite having lots of experienced players. Looking ahead, the run-in fixtures doesn’t look any good to them as an outside finals berth looks less likely but surely they will get some wins at home though like Crusaders, Drua and Waratahs.

Pasifika teams

We all know that the Drua like the Western Force and Melbourne Rebels can have a strong home crowd impact which reflects their impressive winning record there but not so much away from home. They got the Hurricanes and Moana Pasifika coming up at home soon to close out April, so this could mean business for them to get back on track to stay inside the Top 8 bubble and hopefully play Finals again like they did during their sophomore campaign last year. And what about Moana Pasifika? They made some excellent progress at last as seen in the early rounds of 2024, although they had some heavy losses recently until Moana beat the Reds the other day but that was against the top teams. They will need at least 3-4 wins now in order to enjoy their first finals experience as long as the ladder doesn’t change that much over the next 4-6 weeks, but again Moana is making some gradual progress on their third year before they can be more like Drua and win more games in the long run.

Post-Notes

All in all, the New Zealand teams are still dominating Super Rugby as the Crusaders downfall should only last this season while Australia has made some great progress too – including a couple of upset wins against some of the established or original foundation teams should I say – with the Brumbies and Rebels being their best so far in 2024. Nothing much will change as wouldn’t mind a couple of more upsets and other team wins that isn’t a New Zealand team or from somewhere in the bottom four, but the only exception we might see is for the Crusaders to win all the remaining games as they can & make the Finals just inside the Top 8 by the time we wrap up Round 12 before all 12 teams will then become eight teams after Round 15.

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2024 Super Rugby Season Week 8, Melbourne Rebels’ explosive backline & attacking pace ran the Highlanders ragged with the big win

by Sports Benches

It was a huge scoring game at AAMI Park in Melbourne tonight with Highlanders unpacking the brawns of physical strength thanks to their good start or early lead while picking up some good points along the way, but then the Melbourne Rebels outsmarted them with an abundance of pace, accurate passing and communication and an unreal backline that got way with another win in front of their home crowd. Rebels responded well to the Highlanders opening converted TRY with two Darby Lancaster tries on top of their 1st minute opening score account where they were leading 26-10 at half-time. Highlanders thought they’re beginning to close in after the break but nowhere close enough as the Rebels went on to extend their lead further afield with a Carter Gordon scoring double followed by another Darby TRY that sealed the hat-trick to close the match his way and the Rebels way, 47-31. Rebels will take the well deserved rest next week before they travel to Christchurch on Friday 26th for R10 v the under fire Crusaders & Highlanders head off to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Friday v the Reds.

Andrew Kellaway was outstanding by leading the Rebels backline who made his side’s attack so much better that gifted them tries at No.15. He absolutely knows where to find his man where he is right on the money with the ball on hand through the counter-attack as long as the numbers are there like Darby Lancaster’s first-half double TRY on the left-wing as well as No.10’s Carter Gordon’s first try of the match when the Rebels extended their lead in the 2nd-half. Then tough to say who is 2nd best as discussed between Darby and Carter – both of whom are exceptional Rebels youngsters – but gotta say Darby made a huge name for himself with a hat-trick of tries, having established himself in the World 7s circuit for Australia before and now he continues to cause opposition players carnage in the 15s and Super Rugby level. This Melbourne Super Rugby team is high flying right now in 4th amid financial problems but surely they have a really great squad with Kellaway being an established Wallaby while Gordon earned some stripes last year & surely Darby will be fast-tracked soon enough under Joe Schmidt.

And Sean Withy never stopped working hard in order for the Highlanders to keep the Rebels in check whose physicality and application on the blindside (No.6 flanker) opened up plenty of opportunities that went his side’s way. His opening TRY puts them up front for a short time while he adds so much pressure to make that brick wall against the Rebels so they don’t steal it under his watch including at scrum and mauls, even though the Highlanders were trying to play catch up in a race against time after losing the lead for the majority. But what really let him down tonight is that his side’s so scared of attacking earlier on despite winning a few penalties yet the defense is so poor while the backline weren’t simply up to the Rebels’ standard; Okay, some late changes might have helped but it still puts them at odds as the clock ticks down & sadly it was too late.

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2024 Super Rugby News Week 7, Brumbies too good for the Waratahs as quiet first 40 turns into an ACT counter-attacking display

by Sports Benches

Week 7 of the 2024 Super Rugby Season wrapped up with the ACT-NSW rivalry between the Brumbies and Waratahs at GIO Stadium in Canberra where it was a quiet and defensive focused first-half with the Brumbies holding a 10-point lead after a series of penalty goals by the two teams but No.9 Harrison Goddard has got Canberrans on the board right at half-time with his first TRY of the night, 16-6. Then the Brumbies went on to build on their good first-half with an excellent 2nd-half performance of a few tries on the board that sums up their 5th straight win of 2024 while the Waratahs might have secured the one and only TRY but struggled mightily despite their good defensive structure earlier on as the full-time score was 40-16.

It’s a hard pick with so many Brumbies players performing at their best tonight v Waratahs but how good was Corey Toole who was so electrifying that made the most of his team’s unbelievable 2nd half counter-attacking performance on the left wing at No.11. It’s not just his explosive finishing and slick passes that puts Toole on the front foot but he can also cover everything in between including defense as he deseves the step up into Wallabies level soon enough. Then shoutout to James Slipper who plays on the front row at loosehead for the Brumbies after he just became the most capped Australian Super Rugby player of 178 caps & he too had a great game to keep a great eye of the Waratahs earlier on while giving his team winning penalties and big scores to help the Brumbies stay ahead. He’s so important on and off the field with a plethora of experience alongside a high standard of physical and mental toughness required both at Super Rugby and Wallabies level as credit to him on turning the Brumbies into a regular finals contender since he came over from the Reds back in 2019. Now look out Blues and Hurricanes, they are gunning for the top spot now & hopefully the Super Rugby trophy later in June. But first, they got the week-long off for next week before the Brumbies head to Auckland v Blues on a Saturday night for Week 9.

And Charlie Gamble did the best he can to hold the Waratahs glue together on the openside back row at No.7 with excellent defensive contribution to turn the game over including some attacking intent which reaped rewards along the way, especially when going up against an outstanding Brumbies team who controlled really well with possession. It’s just a shame that his team’s attack wasn’t on par with the Brumbies backline in the 2nd half when it comes to the lead, having built some defensive stability throughout the opening 40. Once again, the Waratahs still haven’t won in a while that goes back to Round 2 last month v Crusaders whom they will be facing up next this time at home (Allianz Stadium in Moore Park) on Friday night.

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Brumbies looking to standout as the No.1 Super Rugby team now after a one-point win v Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium, 19-20

by Sports Benches

It’s been another close game to finish Round 6 of the 2024 Super Rugby Season, but this time it was between the 1st and 2nd best Australian Super Rugby teams right now as the Brumbies were able to shut down the Queensland Reds just in time ahead of the final hooter on their home turf once again (Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane) by just one point in the end, 19-20. The first-half was quiet with both teams opening their respective tries before Noah Lolesio snuck a successful penalty goal where Tom Lynagh couldn’t do for the Reds not long before half-time, 7-10. Yes, the Reds were able to get themselves back on track with a penalty TRY followed by another big score. But then they couldn’t stop a destructive Brumbies attack and also their scrambled defnese with plenty of mistakes being made under pressure and that was the game itself, with the Reds having to suffer another loss in recent weeks after losing to the Western Force last Saturday while the Brumbies took the win once again.

Tom Wright was outstanding from the back at No.15 tonight for the Brumbies following his two TRY performance at Suncorp Stadium v the Queensland Reds. He offers pretty much everything that you need to know every time he has the ball such as kicking out of trouble as well as his defensive contribution and most importantly in attack where he can beat his man 1 on 1 while getting the job done with blistering pace. Then Noah Lolesio put in an unbelievable performance in the No.10 Brumbies shirt whose conversion kicks has been spotless that gave them a slight advantage while prioritising for the best of the team. It’s so important for Noah to emphasise this which is so crucial for his team to spot the Reds isolated and scrappy attack before he was able to open up his attack easier and also in defense too, particularly through the latter stages of the 2nd half.

The Brumbies are still by far the best Australian Super Rugby team and it’s kinda a surprise not seeing them both play at the World Cup in France last year which was a disaster as new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt will look to get them back in the squad for the 2nd half of 2024. Now can they go all the way and stand themselves out as the best of Super Rugby this year? We’ll see having lost once to the Chiefs back in Round 2 (Super Round) but for now, they got the Waratahs next Saturday.

And Josh Nasser has made an immediate impact off the bench that puts the Reds back on track in the 2nd half – one was a penalty TRY followed by a TRY himself. He was able to correct some of the team’s mistakes from earlier on which was so crucial when the starting hooker Matt Faessler didn’t do well at line-out time but their scrappy discipline unfortunately allowed the Brumbies to bounce back before they were closed out under pressure with time running out against the clock at the end there. The Reds haven’t been bad which reflects their good start of the year but losing games isn’t a good look lately as they now got a break next week & then hopefully get back to winning games again starting with Moana Pasifika.

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Western Force’s strong home performance ends Queensland Reds’ strong start to the 2024 Super Rugby Season at HBF Park

by Sports Benches

It was a high scoring game with a huge encouraging performance from the home team as the Western Force has just secured their first win of 2024 v the Queensland Reds at HBF Park in Perth after a winless first couple of games. They were able to get the ball rolling as many as three tries that puts them way in front throughout the first half, although the Reds finally got their first big score not long before half-time as the scoreline was 28-5. Now the Reds again thought they are back on track thanks to another Tate McDemott TRY but then the Force continued to increase their lead over time where they have absolutely dominant all along even though the Reds were able to pick up some late points towards the end, 40-31. After five rounds, the Reds drop to fifth while the Force push the Crusaders to last & now into 11th just behind the Waratahs (10th) by two points.

Hats off to Bayley Kuenzle who was unbelievable on the wing tonight for the Western Force, even though he usually specialises at 10 or on the centre. But again, his Super Rugby experience & physicality is something the opposition couldn’t underestimate where he always keeps on moving as his two TRY performance alongside his excellent defensive work has put the Western Force on the front seat all along for his team’s first win of 2024 – such an excellent team player. There’s another good player with Super Rugby experience who is doing really well back home in Perth also for the Force and his name is Carlo Tizzano who plays on the openside back row at No.7. He is someone the Reds didn’t enjoy every time he locked up the Reds attack in defense whose form was isolated before he and his team made the most out of their quick and electrifying attacking passage of play including two tries for himself. After a winless first couple of rounds, he and Bayley credits the strong home crowd at HBF Park as they will look to give back more good wins from here starting with the Fijian Drua away next Saturday.

And Reds’ No.9 co-skipper Tate McDermott did the best he can to keep up the scoreboard where his team fell short following his own two TRY performance in between half-time. The attacking build-up is there to see where he knows where to find his men on the counter as promised from the beginning, but then a few poor executions allowed the Force to swoop successfully in return where the Reds were vulnerable at their own end before it was too late with little time remaining. The Reds had a great start under Les Kiss (new head coach) until now which wasn’t easy after making the few hours trip to Perth as they will do so again on the way home before another tough test ahead v the high-flying Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium next Saturday.

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2024 Australian Club Championship, the winner goes to Queensland’s Hospital Cup in Wests Brothers after they hold on to defeat NSW Shute Shield’s Randwick 25-18

by Sports Benches

Yesterday afternoon, the best of the Shute Shield and Hospital Cup winners have gone head to head to show who’s the best of Club Rugby in Australia for another year this time between Randwick v Wests Brothers at Crosby Park in Queensland. It was a very close one to watch with the Wests Brothers leading Randwick in the first half 17-8, although the Galloping Green were so close including the last minute on what has been an improved 2nd half performance but the winner has returned to a Queensland team since Easts three years ago with the Australian Club Championship Trophy in Wests Brothers following a match-winning TRY that kept the Wicks away from snatching their lead through the end 25-18.

Congratulations to Wests Brothers who deserves to take out the win with a couple of great players in there as this is the fifth time now that they won this trophy since 2010 v Sydney University, having fell short to the Northern Suburbs back in 2017 & even to Randwick several times before in the 70s & 80s until they finally answered their decades-long revenge now which is incredible. Meanwhile, tough to see the Wicks fall short where things would’ve been better from the beginning to give themselves a good advantage rather than come back from behind until it was too difficult to pull off at the last minute. But they are still the most successful side to win six times in the Australian Club Championship with unfinished business ahead under head coach Stephen Hoiles after a championship-winning Shute Shield campaign last year & Kurtley Beale also returned on the field in the Galloping Green for the first time in a year after going though a lot of his personal challenges.

The 2024 Club Rugby season will be back in a few weeks time with both QLD Hospital Cup and NSW Shute Shield Competitions beginning on Saturday April 6 through 18 weeks of regular-season rounds plus a few weeks of Finals.

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