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Thoughts on the English Premiership Rugby teams trying to kick Italy and South Africa out of the current United Rugby Championship & how it affects Super Rugby

by Sports Benches

Now we normally don’t look at the Northern Hemisphere side of Rugby, but there has been come chatter a few days ago about a British and Irish domestic competition featuring 10 teams from the English Premiership, 4 each across Ireland and Wales & 2 from Scotland that would leave two Italian and four South African teams out of the cold. 

As much as we’d liked to have South African teams coming back here & NZ in Super Rugby like it used to be, why kick them out from Europe when the current United Rugby Championship comp is working well for them that benefits a whole lot other European sides from a commercial and competition standpoint other than Wales  — despite the long travel of course to go back up & down between Europe and South Africa but still their European and African time zones are only 1-2 hours apart.

Speaking of Wales, yes, they barely had one team making the last 8 last season in the Ospreys & none at all the before that (2022-23). Don’t forget they’ve haven’t been good at all as seen a few months ago with still no win so far this year for the national team when they came down here for two Tests apart from the rare World Cups thanks to Head Coach Warren Gatland.

But would it be great if the Welsh teams be willing to try help out an ailing English comp like we see in English soccer when three of the comp’s recent teams unfortunately went bust last year? Maybe the lesser need of travel and the close build-up of rivalries to compete v the English teams may be work best for them while the URC can get a Georgian side & another SA side in the Cheetahs – even though it may end up being 14 teams instead of 16. That’s okay though as don’t see much changes for URC anytime soon when SA is playing at their No.1 best once again that won them 1 x URC title back in 21-22 for the Stormers from Cape Town while seeing at least one of their sides make the big dance every year and the Sharks from Durban recently won the European Challenge Cup title a few months ago v Gloucester; Plus, they won another World Cup triumph last year v All Blacks and now they get to beat the ABs twice on home turf with the cusp of winning the Rugby Championship.

Meanwhile going back home, there’s still some room of improvement when it comes to Super Rugby with the comp being more Trans-Tasman & across the Pacific rather than being the best of the Southern Hemisphere since its reboot three years ago. We’ve just lost a side a few months ago in the Melbourne Rebels (although we could continue to see some Melbourne games next season under the ACT Brumbies while always staying at traditional heartland in Canberra and Southern NSW) after 14 years due to financial problems as the 2025 season will now feature 11 teams (short-term) across 16 weeks, 2 byes and a new look three-week Finals featuring the Top 6. 

Since the European sides and countries benefitted SA competitively, why not we bring some Japanese players (I mean some best Top League and also Japanese aka Cherry blossoms Test players) coming over here with the help of Andrew Forrest by forming a partnership with Japan Rugby Football Union to revive the Sunwolves as the new Japanese/Western Australian side but have most of their home games in Perth with a few in Tokyo – doesn’t mean the Western Force should be disbanded since he’s the owner. He can continue to promote the Force differently like playing in a few post-season exhibition games that they’re doing right now over the next few weeks including a trip to South Africa, don’t forget a possible future National Club Comp is in the works & they can also enter in the Japanese Top League and even South Africa’s Currie Cup by having some home-grown talent in as a feeder team where all of this can be doable while retaining its junior presence (via U16/19 comps).

And to make up the 12th team, also like to see the Jaguares coming back and now this will be challenging with no direct flights now to Argentina since COVID at the start of this decade. But being based in Melbourne wouldn’t hurt for the most part with the regular season, although a few traditional long-haul trips would bring back some of the old days should they make the six-team Finals & they can truly play in Buenos Aires to bring the home crowd up and pumping on home turf.

At the end of the day, we all want Super Rugby to be competitive where things will take time without South Africa that will make New Zealand happy so they don’t really have to suffer on its own like we’ve seen in recent years, and also us Aussies happy too after barely winning any trophies other than some occasional winning matches to celebrate for a very long time.

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Thoughts on the 11-team 2025 Super Rugby Season structure with 16 rounds, two byes, no Super Round for now & one Quarter-Final lifeline out of six-team Finals 

by Sports Benches

The 11-team 2025 Super Rugby Season structure including its Finals system has just made its first steps today, although the full 16-round fixtures draw will be released later in the next coming days.

Here’s what we know so far

  • Still an uneven fixture list but the annual rugby calendar during the first-half year is already tight anyway. At it stands, one will play twice v four teams and once v six other teams, with seven home and away games plus two week-long byes.
  • A bit more Sunday afternoon games where we got three on offer throughout the 2025 season with the option of expanding more Sundays when it comes to future seasons.
  • Season to start a bit earlier like mid-February with an extra round rather than the 3rd week of February like it was over the last few years.
  • No Super Round where all teams get to play at the one venue during the three-day weekend – at least for now, especially when Melbourne no longer has a Professional Rugby team in the Rebels. Although they could be back in 2026 as part of the Bledisloe Cup ANZAC Day weekend via A Festival of Rugby that is expected to take place at Optus Stadium in Perth.
  • Finals to look a bit different for three weeks in June with six rather than eight while the bottom five can no longer take further part once the regular season is over. Three Quarter-Final winners to go to the semi-finals before one each winning semi-finalist will go on to battle in the Grand Final, with the 3rd winning Quarter-Finalist being the lucky loser as the highest ranked losing team – so a bit like what we saw with the NSW Shute Shield (Club Rugby) during the 2023 season. Yes, some fans still don’t like it and I do personally like to see just a simple four-team Finals format (just two semi-finals and Grand Final) but this is where it’s going in the way we see in other Footy codes like AFL and NRL.

All in all, good to see some changes that will spice up the competition from a format perspective. We’ll see what happens, especially going into 2026. As much as I liked Super Rugby being a Trans-Tasman and the Pasifika competition over these last few years when South Africa moved over to Europe, we’d like to see the Jaguares come back from Argentina to make up 12 teams like it was before (2022-2024) but be logistically based in Melbourne for the most part with Finals on home turf.

With the idea of having more Super Rugby on Sundays, why not begin the day on the couch when the Jaguares sometimes play at home (if they do really want to play some of their home games truly in Argentina) before finishing off the afternoon either side of the Tasman? This would also be the perfect springboard when it comes to future expansion like North America & Hawaii at some point where we could have more Sunday games here/Saturday games there, but both USA and Canada are a long way off from where we are at least in the Top 10 competitively right now.

Although I’d also like to see Andrew Forrest’s Western Force side to team up with Japan by making one super revival team of the Sunwolves together featuring max involving the best of our players and also these Japanese Internationals from the Top League, with most games in Perth and some in Japan. That would be a great replacement to cover up the lost South African quality talent & income there. 

If the Western Force do wish to continue playing Rugby, it would be through the idea of a new third-tier National Club Competition or a series of exhibition matches like the Cheetahs do from Bloemfontein in South Africa while being a feeder club to the Sunwolves, as well as junior level in the Super Rugby U16 & U19 competitions – also run similarly to the one Rugby Victoria is set to operate now the Rebels are gone with some Melbourne games still a possibility by the ACT Brumbies next season.

But I guess we will wait and see between now and at least the home 2027 Rugby World Cup depending on the Wallabies performance. If not, I could see Twiggy going elsewhere to another comp – doesn’t mean the Force is going to be dead since he’s the owner. In the meantime, all we could hope for the best of Australian Rugby right now is to have at least two decent teams battling up front alongside the dominant NZers next season – even though it’s going to be a bit more difficult from here. 

That way, we could finally see our usual Brumbies or any other Australian team like the Reds or Waratahs to finally play in a Grand Final in a long time when simply advancing into a Quarter-Final & then getting eliminated right on the spot isn’t good enough.

Not even getting kicked outside the last 4 isn’t a good excuse either, especially for the Brumbies when we haven’t been winning for 10 years now since the Tahs last won it v Crusaders & over 20 if you count the Bledisloe Cup & even Rugby Championship for the Wallabies.

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Rugby News Australia: Los Pumas too good following their sensational 2nd half display while Wallabies walk away with such a big defeat after full-time by 67-27 in Santa Fe

by Sports Benches

The Wallabies two-week Argentinian tour v Los Pumas ended on a dismal low following their heavy 67-27 defeat in Santa Fe.

Yes, the Wallabies did fire off well at least going into half-time with a few points lead (17-20) thanks to two tries off Carlo Tizzano & Andrew Kellaway including some conversion kicking brilliance by their starting No.10 Ben Donaldson.

However, despite this small lead, the Pumas went on to take over and then extended their lead by a country mile while Wallabies limped off with extreme disappointment following full-time ahead of yet another difficult Bledisloe Cup series v All Blacks starting in a fortnight’s time at Accor Stadium in Homebush. Okay, the Springboks did wrap up their two-match series on home soil with another win v All Blacks, as they are now one stop closer towards securing this year’s Rugby Championship. But still can’t guarantee for sure when it comes to the Bledisloe Cup when the Wallabies are still out of their depth against a few top-notch sides like the Boks and Pumas, and yet they haven’t won a Bledisloe since 2002.

What a performance by reserve lock/loose forward Joaquin Oviedo when he came off the bench for Tomas Lavinini and finished off with stunning back-to-back 2nd tries where no one couldn’t stop him. Wondering where he was last weekend when he wasn’t playing in that first match? Anyways, he played like a true Puma who possesses all the physical characteristics that allows him to get around the Wallabies gate & he turned out to be the major catalyst to his side’s big win in Santa Fe.

Lucio Cinti: the next Pumas player you need to know on the outside centre 13. He constantly keeps on plowing on the Wallabies defense all day including his side’s extraordinary 2nd half that caps off with the Pumas game-ending winning TRY of his own. Cinti does a bit of everything every time he turns up on the counter-attack, who adds an extra metre or two up front, before they finished off the work for him thanks to the Pumas hugely extended 2nd half run.

Both players we saw there were grateful of playing their Rugby across Europe while still getting to don the Pumas with Oviedo playing a key role for Perignan in France while Cinti came off a huge year for Saracens in England as more to come from these two later this year with the Boks later this month + the November European tour v Italy, Ireland & France.

And Max Jorgensen was the best out of this Wallabies bunch on the wide right who can also play on the left as well as from the back at 15. His first-half run helped the Wallabies put themselves on the map with a knack of his defensive tackling, pace and swift passes where he’s been making such an instant impact straight out of high school since his Super Rugby debut early last year for the Waratahs. It’s just a shame that poor 2nd half deprived him with a lack of service while his side were easily run down by the Pumas & that isn’t a good look ahead of another difficult Bledisloe Cup series later this month.

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More Thoughts/Suggestions to Rugby Australia on revisiting the idea of a third-tier comp with a mix of the best Club Rugby teams & outside traditional state Franchises

by Sports Benches

The 2024 Australian Club Rugby season is now over following two close Grand Finals from the weekend in the NSW Shute Shield yesterday & QLD Hospital Cup earlier this afternoon, with Eastern Suburbs finally won a premiership after a long 55 years wait since 1969 over Northern Suburbs by one point (36-35) while Brothers still came out on top v Wests Bulldogs by two points (29-27). 

Both Grand Final winners will go on to take on the annual pre-season Australian Club Championship challenge match in early March 2025 between the Easts v Brothers.

For now, it was great seeing some of our Super Rugby contracted players playing for their respective local/grade clubs during the latter stages of the regular club rugby season including Finals including some free-to-air time on 9Gem in addition to full-season coverage on Stan Sport.

I wish we could take a lead off FIFA’s brand new annual Intercontinental Cup tournament/old FIFA Club World Club format in Soccer or maybe the short-lived Super Rugby Unlocked from South Africa back in 2020 before the South African teams packed their bags for Europe nowadays though as our next third-tier competition to replace the previous National Rugby Championship between 2014-2019.

It would involve a mix of the Grand Final winning Club Rugby teams from NSW, ACT & QLD and some fully professional franchises like the Western Force, Fijian Drua & Rugby Victoria (using the former Melbourne Rebels name licence).

Sure, we need to keep a close eye on player welfare when players need to take some time off after a long six month season on the field. Don’t forget that some 1st grade Club Rugby players who isn’t tied up to their respective Super Rugby club have day jobs too, so they won’t mind have to travel that much while getting to spend more time with their families & loved ones.

However, it would be awesome if we run a few weeks festival alongside our Super Rugby U-19s comp either between mid-September to the end of October or the start of February to mid-March and the respective Club Rugby seasons might need to start a bit later in April. 

Food for thought as would love to see our best Club Rugby teams across QLD, NSW and ACT getting some extra competition at a national level v the likes of the Force, Victoria and Drua rather than creating another set of generic-based Rugby teams from each state as seen with the NRC in the past. Hope Rugby Australia can see this so more Super Rugby players who isn’t playing for the Wallabies right now can play there a bit longer that will benefit the best Club Rugby players and also the juniors coming through the ranks.

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Argentina v Wallabies Game 1 of 2024: Wallabies came out unscathed with the last-minute win over Los Pumas by a single point 

by Sports Benches

Well, that was close when the 1st of the two Pumas v Wallabies games ended up in a huge tug-o-war under difficult conditions over in Mar Del Plata but happy to see the Wallabies take that last-minute win by a single point (19-20) thanks to Ben Donaldson’s successful three-point penalty conversion. Now they will need to make a 2-0 clean sweep next weekend also away from home to try & reclaim the Puma Trophy off Pumas in Santa Fe. 

The first half saw the Pumas getting a headstart with a few points lead by 13-7 at half-time, although Wallabies got one back with No.9 Jake Gordon other than a few missed late opportunities. Then 2nd half saw the Wallabies close in again via Rob Valetini while Pumas tried to hold on their lead with a series of three-point penalty goals when the Wallabies went on to lead for the first time before the Pumas snatched one back as the game wasn’t over just yet with a few minutes to go. 

But at the end of the day though, it was the Wallabies who came out strong under pressure over the Pumas – still lots more to come under the tutelage of Head Coach Joe Schmidt as congrats with the win.

Sure, he may be injured many times before including the 2nd-half Super Rugby 2024 season where the Tahs really missed his on-field services. However, Angus Bell’s class is permanent every time he puts in a shift including that crucial last few mins to seal the Wallabies last minute win v Pumas after he came back on all at loosehead. He is simply excellent in all forms of both attack and defense where his side wasn’t far behind at half-time before he came back on to finish off the job – no matter how ugly that is – as everyone in Australia needs him and we got the 2nd Game next week to make up that clean sweep v Pumas.

Then we’ve got Rob Valetini being a huge mainstay of the Wallabies three-man loose forward glue at blindside six, who doesn’t disappoint every time he starts & produces in a high-standard game, as seen both at Super Rugby & International level so far in 2024. His all-round tackling, physicality and skillsets allowed the Wallabies to play catch-up including his one & only 2nd half TRY through the toughest of conditions whether under rain or the cold Canberra weather. More to come next weekend & if he can help the Wallabies win again, I’m sure the ABs won’t have an easy time later this month under his watch.

And Tomas Lavanini unexpectedly came on that early in the Pumas locks when their starting No.5 Pedro Rubiolo was down with an immediate impact to get the ball rolling where his side was a few points in front at half-time. Gotta say he’s in the right place at the right time to create the perfect storm based on his towering height, a mix of tough tackling & brute and also his vast experience via the best of both hemispheres including last year’s 4th-placed World Cup. What the Pumas could’ve done when they were so unlucky at full-time was not keeping him on; Without him, the Wallabies had a great sniff to nail them down under pressure & there goes that 1st game in the end with the loss.

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2024 NSW Shute Shield Grand Final: Eastern Suburbs finally tasted premiership victory in 55 years following a one point win by 36-35 over Northern Suburbs at Leichhardt Oval

by Sports Benches

After 80 minutes of Shute Shield Grand Final rugby of 2024, we saw another new winner since Randwick lost the Week 2 Finals last weekend. But today’s moment was all about the Eastern Suburbs who just ended their long 55-year drought since 1969 over the Northern Suburbs by one point, 36-35. 

To begin with, Norths had some close battles earlier on when they led for a bit at one stage but Easts dominated most of the first half pie by 16 points, 29-13. 

Now Norths began to play catch-up while Easts able to extend their lead a bit further on the scoreboard as this 20-30 min grand final came down to a close two-horse race towards the final front stretch where one will win & another will have to watch on with disappointment at the finish line. 

In the end, that unfortunate last-minute TRY attempt by Norths was ruled as knocked-on by the ref when they were one point shy off the lead sums up this season-ending match, with Easts finally able to taste grand final winning glory for the first time in a very long time. 

Congrats with the win by the way to Easts where they’ve got excellent players with some of their brilliant youngsters on the books at the Tahs while Norths came from a long way who knows what it takes to succeed in Finals footy from 6th spot.

Easts No.10’s Jack Bowen had a whirlwind 2024 from overseeing the Easts’ unbeaten campaign including today’s long-awaited Grand Final triumph to making some Super Rugby appearances for the NSW Waratahs. Gotta say he demonstrated excellent creativity that is paramount to the Easts’ counter-attack where you got some excellent wide players and forwards around him through the gate. We’ve that before when he was earning his stripes and like Teddy Wilson, he came back as a better player – more to come as the Tahs future 1st choice No.10.

Here’s another standout Easts player that you need to know and it’s Jamie Adamson from England who also put in a championship-winning display on the blindside No.6. Yes, he’s plying his trade here normally for work on weekdays but glad he brings top level World 7s experience from both England and Team GB to Easts that benefitted his team-mates & some juniors coming through the ranks. He was simply destructive with his towering height and physical skillsets both in attack and defense where Jamie nailed it right there to help steer his Easts clear off Norths.

And Norths outside midfield 13 Henry O’Donnell did the best he can to try and crack the code once again on what has been his second straight Shute Shield grand final at the same Leichhardt Oval venue. There’s a reason or two why Western Force wanted him under former Norths coach Simon Cron where he was blessed with the service being given on the counter-attack via his excellent running when looking for space & the way he beats defenders which is the same when being tested defensively. Yes, so unlucky when their reserve hooker just couldn’t nail it down at the in-zone but poor ball retention every time Norths lost/gave the ball away is what really consigned them to another Shute Shield runner-up finish of 2024.

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2024 Shute Shield Week 2 Finals at North Sydney Oval: Darby Lancaster’s last-minute TRY winner sends Easts to next Saturday’s Grand Final v Norths by four points 38-34

by Sports Benches

What a game that is to close out the 2024 Shute Shield Week 2 Finals at North Sydney Oval. We began the day with Northern Suburbs punching their ticket to the big dance yet again over Randwick 17-34 that marked the end of Stephen Hoiles’ two-year stint as the Wicks head coach and now they will be joined by the Eastern Suburbs who shut Warringah down in the dying seconds over by a four point gap 38-34. Heartbreak for the Rats who fired off well on what has been a good first half (17-22) thanks to some Easts ill-discipline but the game wasn’t over yet and Easts able to overcame their slow start with a series of tries before they proved to be the team to beat at the end of the day thanks to Darby Lancaster.

Now we got one more game to settle next Saturday between Norths v Easts at Leichhardt Oval where one of them will become champions with both teams having last celebrated their respective triumphs with Norths back in 2016 & Easts way back in 1969 other than a runner-up loss back in 2007 v Sydney University.

How good was Darby Lancaster as always on the left wing 11? Having made an immediate impact earlier this year for the now-defunct Melbourne Rebels team in Super Rugby, made his Wallabies debut last month v Georgia, and now he’s back in Sydney full-time since he will be playing for the Waratahs next season. Love how he deflected that Warringah kick earlier on before he unleashed his best beast with pace and that’s where he scored a hat-trick of tries including the last-minute that broke the (Warringah) Rats’ hearts. Keep an eye out on him next weekend v Norths.

Teddy Wilson is another Easts player to keep tabs on as their main half-back 9 following his excellent attacking performance in the way he gets them out of trouble on the counter while he’s able to make that attack expansive thanks to the Easts’ patient play. We know he has some Super Rugby experience under his belt with the Tahs over the last 1-2 years, so safe to say Teddy built another great personal achievement at Shield level in season 2024. He’s the future we got here in Daceyville as a Grand Final win next weekend would reflect his high standards before Teddy go on to achieve something special from here in the years to come.

Yes, Easts experienced some ill-discipline for sure where most of the pie went to the Rats. But their unbeaten run in 2024 proved how much physical and mental toughness Easts can pull off until the very end and yet they’ve done it with one more task to go – that final task will be up against the Northern Suburbs who has been great at Finals in recent years but haven’t yet won a Grand Final since 2016.

And Kiwi Coby Miln did the best he can to push Warringah over the line on top of the top-notch Easts side at 10. Pretty sure his kicking game never gets tired after he collected all nine conversion kicks including penalties while Coby doesn’t hesitate doing this via open-play to get his Reds side out of trouble. Gotta credit his side’s forwards pack with the winning penalties/turnovers/line-outs so he can make make that attack work via the channels or short side where they were oh so close before Lancaster broke their hearts with the team’s exit last minute. 

Gotta feel sorry for the Rats but the loss of Komiti Tuilangi to injury straight after an early 1st half TRY hit the Rats hard & that’s where the backline group began to struggle unfortunately. That’s how Easts got their way when they played catch-up and not having the same functioning backline to make the most out of the Rats attack ultimately sealed their fate – both with the Week 2 Finals loss & elimination. 

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Rugby News: Springboks wrap up their Australian tour with an 2-0 clean sweep following a 18-point win over the Wallabies

by Sports Benches

Round 2 of tonight’s Rugby Championship game between the Wallabies v Springboks at Perth’s Optus Stadium was a huge physical battle under rainy weather. Both sides were neck and neck to begin with where Wallabies got away with a few penalty goals while Boks also scored a few but hold a one-point buffer by 11-12 at half-time. But at the end of the day, the winner belongs to the World Champion Boks team once again who continues to extend their winning share off the back of another few fresh faces off the bench despite fielding a B-team starting line-up by Head Coach Rassie Erasmus.

The final score was 12-30 as the Boks wrap up their two-game Australian tour with a 2-0 clean sweep by 18 points that includes retaining the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate once again. Boks will now head home as all four teams (All Blacks, Los Pumas, Springboks and Wallabies) will each get a week-long rest next week before they will be back on the road towards the end of this month. The Boks’ next two games will be v All Blacks at home while the Wallabies next two games will be in Argentina v the Pumas. 

Please note: you will need a Stan Sport subscription to watch the Wallabies away games including the next two games v Pumas as Nine/9Gem only covers the home games including one when they play in NZ v All Blacks.

One of the world’s best locks continued to shine tonight in Perth for the Boks with no introduction to Eben Etzebeth. He ticks off everything that the Boks need to get on the board that ranges from the experience, leadership and skillset as do understand the big changes Rassie Erasmus did for Game 2. But again, any opposition team will have to get through him first who is really, really tall & at the end of the day, that access has been denied while his Boks has been simply unstoppable with the win all night long.

Malcolm Marx also made a big difference when he came on in the 2nd half as the Boks reserve hooker that safeguarded his country’s two-match clean sweep Australian tour. Like Eben, he too brings a wealth of experience; Although he’s based in Japan though nowadays & can still play for them thanks to the Boks free selection policy. He’s simply outstanding with a mix of throwing and physical power after he scored back-to-back 2nd half tries, especially when playing in the rainy cold weather as Marx is well used to tackling the brave as being tested in the Top League & he’s done that again tonight.

For the Boks, it’s great seeing them play on our turf this year since it’s been a while from the last time they’ve played each other here two years ago. We wish them all the best of luck for the rest of this Rugby Championship tournament.

And how about we give the journeyman and WA local for the Western Force Carlo Tizzano who’s grown so much over these last few years & he’s never let anyone down in his 2nd Wallabies Test at the blindside No.6 position. Building a solid defensive structure is a good start where winning penalties and turnovers were there that led to an okay first half performance. It’s a shame the Wallabies were unable to grasp the way they attack v the World Champs – maybe our backs firepower aren’t as good as them to rattle the Boks at their own end unfortunately.

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2024 Shute Shield Week 1 Finals: Randwick successfully came back from behind that left Gordon hanging in the balance with the close seven-point win at Coogee Oval by 36-29

by Sports Benches

This afternoon’s one of the three Shute Shield semi games this weekend was a cracker at Coogee Oval between reigning champions Randwick and 2020 champions Gordon. Randwick may have scored the first points thanks to the penalty TRY but Gordon stole the first half show by two points at the break 12-14. 

Gordon may have extended their winning share later on but the game wasn’t over just yet when the Wicks began to make up lost time thanks to some fresh faces off the bench before a series of Gordon’s handling errors went their way & then Randwick somehow regained the lead to shut them down towards full-time 36-29.

As it stands, Eastern Suburbs (who were too good at the same time v Manly 45-17) and Randwick are through to next Saturday’s Elimination Finals day.

There’s one more semi-final game to settle tomorrow afternoon at 3.05pm with Warringah v Northern Suburbs as Manly already out of the running. If Warringah win, they will play v Randwick and Gordon won’t be out of the race just yet, but Gordon will have to face the 1st-placed Easts. But if Norths win, then Gordon will join Manly as the ones being left out as they will play v Randwick & Warringah to play v Easts. It remains to be seen if the Elimination Final games will all be played at North Sydney Oval like it was last year.

It’s just the 2024 Shute Shield Finals wording has slightly changed a bit that’s all as the highest ranked losing 1st week Finals side will get a second chance in either Gordon (4th) or Norths (5th) with Warringah already safe regardless of tomorrow’s result since they finished 2nd.

That young midfielder Matias Jensen saved the day for Randwick when he came off the bench in the 2nd half & finished off knowing his side is still in the Playoffs fight with the 36-29 win. You just couldn’t take off the eyes every time the ball comes to him who can do whatever he wants to cross the line with pace including one TRY for himself. Let’s hope his ongoing focus to help Randwick retain their Shute Shield title for 2024 will be enough for the Brumbies to give him a chance at Super Rugby level next season.

Ben Houston on the other hand at 8 for the Wicks also brilliant to watch like a firefighter to help get themselves out of trouble & that turned out to be the win he wanted following a hard-fought 2nd half shift. Those firefighter qualities he’s got reflect his natural game with unfinished business ahead. He’s so good in defense, as well as the leadership since he’s the skipper and how he helps out with a mix of pace & power in attack via the ruck, scrum/maul & on the counter – that’s all. 

And we did enjoy James Armstrong’s two-try performance on the outside No.13 for Gordon where he knows how to beat his man thanks to the depth being offered through the short side or gate. The fight was there every time Gordon attempts to play catch up with the Wicks on the counter & there’s no need for an introduction other than Armstrong thanks to his explosive running ability. It’s just a shame Gordon gave the ball away including the ill-discipline & that’s gotta hurt not just with the result but also possibly their bid to win the Shute Shield if Norths win over Warringah tomorrow afternoon. 

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Rugby News Australia, World Champions Springboks unstoppable with their brilliant start to the 2024 Rugby Championship following a 33-7 win over the Wallabies

by Sports Benches

The Summer Olympics may not be over just yet but we had a Rugby match just now over at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane to kickstart the 2024 Rugby Championship season between the Wallabies and Springboks. The first half 100% belongs to the Boks with three early tries (21-0) before they kept on adding another 1-2 tries later on to safeguard their huge win & the Wallabies finally added the one and only TRY that late following a tough afternoon in the office with a few mins to go when the Boks had to play 13 men due to their yellow card punishments. The final score was Springboks 33-7 Wallabies.

Everyone in Rugby can’t get enough of the Springboks left winger Kurt-Lee Arendse following his two-try haul this afternoon v the Wallabies in Brisbane. He’s one of the Boks best players any team would want him any day of the week having won both United Rugby Championship and World Cup titles including last year. Not only he’s an outstanding team player as long as Arendse is supported via the passage of play, he’s also an unreal athlete when it comes to these 1 v 1 battles as well as team-supported tries through the gate.

Here’s another Bok who always have been there and done that before with lots of winning games and titles and is still doing it with no introduction to Pieter-Steph Du Toit on the second row at No.5. One word to describe his performance today – a beast in all areas every time the Boks go their way. Also, having lots of ball benefitted his game too including these winning penalties and ball carries on the counter-attack that led to so many tries including an early 1st half TRY for himself.

Gotta say the Bokke were simply too good to begin their 2024 Rugby Championship campaign & they’ve have another match to come v Wallabies also away from home (It’s going to be like this going forward every two years probably due to the long travel times since the 2022 edition) next Saturday night at Optus Stadium in Perth.

And the best Wallabies player to look out for today in spite of an underwhelming performance today v the World Champs is Hunter Paisami at second five-eighth No.12. He did his best all afternoon who has all the physical skillsets to smash and lock up any opposing team, especially when playing regularly at Suncorp Stadium every first-half season for the Reds. It’s so unfortunate the Wallabies have lost it for the most part when less ball and ill-discipline came back to bite them, not even a late TRY was even enough & it’s up to them to match the Boks attack for the 2nd Test in Perth.

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