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Wallabies

Rugby

Jordie Barrett’s last minute TRY for the All Blacks has all but ended the Wallabies’ bid to take home the Bledisloe Cup series for the 20th year in Game 1 of 2 at Marvel Stadium

by Admin

By Daniel Cullinane

Twitter: @dcullinane02

Even after the defeat by the Springboks in the last round of the Rugby Championship, the Wallabies would go into this match with quiet confidence. With home advantage against an All Blacks team who have looked shaky in this competition and beyond, they would have felt that they could get on top of their old rivals.

New Zealand would be in a better place after a resounding win against the Pumas, but there is still a sense that they are unsure of themselves. The Wallabies would seek to test the All Blacks alleged fragile state. The Wallabies set the tone for the game by advancing on the All Blacks during the Haka, signalling that they were really up for this one. However, as the game got under way it was the New Zealanders who took the initiative.

After just 3 minutes, All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho powered over the Wallabies try line to open the scoring. Following a successful conversion from fly half Richie Mo’unga the score was 0-7. The men in blacks dominance continued and was rewarded with another 3 points from the boot of Mo’unga. They were building nicely. The Wallabies were yet to turn up.

After 17 minutes, some good work by the Australians from a lineout lead to a kickable penalty. Veteran Aussie fly half, Bernard Foley who was exemplary all evening opened his account with three points. Some slick handling saw Wallaby full back Andrew Kellaway score in the corner. But on closer inspection it was clear that he had been unable to ground the ball.

The Australian team were growing in confidence and starting to impose themselves on the All Blacks. They kicked to the corner after being awarded a penalty at the scrum. There was a short drive from the ensuing lineout and then a pick and go to score by Aussie No8 Rob Valetini. Foley made it 10-10.

With an All Black going to the bin, the momentum was firmly with the Australians. Marika Koroibete charged up the field and smashed into New Zealand wing Caleb Clarke. The Wallaby forwards then dismantled the All Blacks at the resulting scrum. Although the scoreboard didn’t reflect it, Australia were on top. But then, everything changed. The Aussies hit self destruct. A superb and powerful break by Clarke ended with a pile-up near the Australian try line. Indiscipline meant that Tom Wright and Darcy Swain were sent to the bin. The tables turned almost instantly, with the All Blacks being held up over the line. Half time came, the score 10 all.

The men in Black had clearly been told to take advantage of the 13-man Australia, and did so in spectacular fashion. A testing kick in behind and then some rapid passing saw Samisoni Taukei’aho score his second try of the match. Soon the Wallabies were back to a full compliment and picked up another kickable penalty. Foley rarely misses, making the score 13-17.

More indiscipline led to Wallaby scrum half Jake Gordon going to the bin. New Zealand soon took advantage with Richie Mo’unga dissecting the Aussie backline to touch down near the posts. He converted his own try, making the score 13-24 to New Zealand.

Beauden Barrett then reminded everyone what a world-class player he is with a superbly weighted chip over the gold defence that was collected by wing Will Jordan, who raced away to score. The All Blacks were in cruise control. Australia then fired a shot of their own down the other end with Andrew Kellaway running on to a flat pass from Foley to grab a much needed score. Foley converted. Minutes later, Kellaway was at it again. Some long passes stretch the New Zealand defence allowing the full-back to score in the corner. 27-31 to Australia.

New Zealand then extended their lead through a Mo’unga penalty, but Australia weren’t finished yet. A brilliant one-two between Koroibete and Pete Samu saw the back row forward score. Foley then drew the teams level at 34 all. A remarkable comeback by Australia.

When Australia were awarded a penalty in front of the posts, the replacement scrum-half Nic White stepped up and kicked the points for Australia to take them into the lead. As expected, the All Blacks fought back but then gave away a penalty 2 metres from the Aussie try line. Then a moment of controversy saw referee Mathieu Raynal award a scrum to New Zealand for Bernhard Foley allegedly time wasting.

The All Blacks saw their chance. They won the ball, and then moved it wide, allowing Jordie Barrett to score in the corner in the 80th minute. The kick was missed, but it didn’t matter. The men in black had done enough to win the match and retain the Bledisloe cup. Australia will say they were on the wrong end of a refereeing decision, and that cost them the game. Their discipline needs to be fixed before the return fixture. Final score 37-39. Great game.

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Rugby

Springboks wrap up their 2022 Australian tour with the win as visitors at the brand new Allianz Stadium in Sydney v Wallabies

by Admin

By Daniel Cullinane

Twitter: @dcullinane02

After an impressive performance against the South Africans in the first test, the Australians will have been confident going into the second match. The final score didn’t reflect the dominance of the Wallabies. The Springboks are all about getting the ‘W’. Their brand of rugby isn’t pretty, but it is physical and highly effective. Last week’s result will have hurt.

The game kicked off in a rainy Sydney at the Allianz Stadium. Right from the start, the Wallabies were looking to take the pace from the first test into this game. The South Africans looked sharp and were bringing their expected physicality. The Australians were struggling to handle the Bok’s powerful drives into their defensive line. This culminated in Damian De Allende crashing over the Aussie line in the eighth minute. The try was converted making it 0-7 to the Boks.

To add to the Wallabies’ pain, Matt Philip went to the bin for infringing in the build-up to the try. After a quiet game in Adelaide last week, South African captain Siya Kolisi, was putting in a much-improved performance. His steal at the breakdown stopped the Wallabies deep in the Boks half. Nic White was doing his best to get the ball away from the ruck with speed and was getting plenty of attention from the Boks and their fans. Possibly for his Oscar-winning performance in the previous test.

The Boks continued to go through their bullying tactics upfront but were creating little in the backs. They continually tested Reece Hodge in the first half under the high ball, but he dealt with everything that came his way. The Australians were building nicely in the Boks half and putting pressure on the South African’s defence. This eventually led to a penalty and three easy points for Wallaby fly half, Noah Lolesio.

As halftime approached the Australians would have been pleased with the 3-7 scoreline. The Boks had produced little in the way of creativity and were still there for the taking. Then, from a South African box kick, a moment of brilliance from their debut wing, Canan Moodie. He leapt high above Aussie wing Marika Koroibete, and raced away with the ball to score his first try for the Springboks. The half ended 3-12 to the South Africans.

After the break, both teams appeared nervy, and a kicking battle ensued. Two minutes into the half, and the Boks were starting to string together some passes leading to a try for lock Franco Mostert. A missed conversion by Boks fly-half Damian Williamse made the score 3-17.

The South Africans were taking control of the game. The Australians were desperate to get hold of the ball and keep it. Nic White made a timely intervention to intercept a pass to Mpimpi on the wing. Australia went on the attack and made their way up the field. They put the Boks under huge pressure forcing them to persistently infringe, however no cards were shown to any of the South African team. The Australians kicked to touch, but then let the Boks off by committing a penalty and allowing them to clear their lines.

It was clear to see that the Wallabies were starting to lose their shape and the Springboks were in full control. Wave after wave of Springbok attack lead to Damian De Allende being driven over the Australian line, but he was held up. Shortly after, a sweeping move by the South Africans saw Makazole Mapimpi score in the corner.

His celebration was not welcomed by Koroibete and sparked a huge brawl. Mapimpi was yellow carded, but expect more sanctions when the citing officer has reviewed the incident. A final flourish from the Wallabies saw Pete Samu score leaving the end result, 8-24. The Springboks were deserved winners of a niggly contest, and Siya Kolisi was immense.

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Rugby

2022 Rugby Championship: Australia vs South Africa at Adelaide Oval Match Report

by Admin

Coming into the game, both sides were coming off a loss and desperately needed a win to keep their title hopes alive. Australia started quickly with Fraser McReight scoring in the opening minute, conversion slotted by Noah Lolesio.

Lolesio then kicked a penalty just a few minutes later to put the hosts 10-0 into the lead. In the 23rd minute, Handré Pollard kicked a penalty of his own to bring South Africa within 7 points.

In the 30th minute, South Africa looked dangerous attacking the Australian line as Ox Nché barrelled his way over from a short distance just to be held over the line by the Aussie defence.

Just before the half-time whistle blew, Springbok scrum-half Faf De Klerk was controversially yellow carded for striking fellow scrum-half Nic White in the head which reduced the away side to 14 men.

Australia started the second half strong as outside centre Len Ikitau made a darting run into the South African 22 before the ball was spun wide to Marika Koroibete who finishes the beautifully worked try.

In the 56th minute, Australia once again scored following a beautiful break from fly-half Noah Lolesio who popped it on to Fraser McReight who scored his second of the game.

The try was converted once more by Lolesio before slotting a penalty also to take the hosts 25-3 into the lead as we entered the final quarter of the match.

It took the Springboks 74 minutes to score their first try of the match as substitute Kwagga Smith ran one in for the visitors.

Aussie number 8 Rob Valetini was yellow carded in the final minute of the match which led to Kwagga Smith scoring his second try of the match, however, it was too little too late for the visitors who lost the match 25-17.

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Rugby

Top 3 players from the Los Pumas v Wallabies in Game 1 of the 2022 Rugby Championship

by Sports Benches

What a performance it has been to kickstart this year’s Rugby Championship campaign in none other than Folau Faingaa, who started and played most of this opening match in the Wallabies No.2 shirt at hooker. He provides excellent throw-in accuracy as always at line-outs before Faingaa hides the ball while pushing the maul square that helped the Wallabies nail down a few tries on the board. It’s one of their main scoring sources, especially when they began to catch up to the Pumas when not only the Wallabies scored the penalty TRY in the 2nd half, but also extended their lead when Faingaa scored a TRY himself not long before he earned a well earned rest with eight minutes left. He hopes to keep up the good work and put another full game performance next Sunday AM Australian time v Pumas in San Juan.

Next up is Hunter Paisami on the Wallabies Inside Centre at No.12 where he never stopped running and working hard all game v Los Pumas. His passes was outstanding when looking out for numbers within the backline that helped plant foundations for the Wallabies to get the job done. We saw him pass to Quade Cooper before Cooper helped Jordan Petaia open the Wallabies TRY scoring account through a bit of space in the first half; He did the same thing to Len Ikitau via the quick offload where Ikitau finished this match on a high note. Not only he can be a excellent provider, but he can also use his physicality and pace to track back and make up bumps that reflects his all-round output in the midfield. Well done.

And Emiliano Boffelli made up most of the Pumas scoring tally on the wide left at No.11. His tall build has provided excellent cover with pace in the Pumas attack, so he can shield the Wallabies defense before opening a bit of space for his men to get the job done through the gate. Plus, his kicking accuracy through the goal posts is unbelievable in any angle with the help of a few winning penalties and these two converted tries. Unfortunately, the Pumas just couldn’t get over the line when a few lost penalties via ill-discipline saw them regress before it’s too late.

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Rugby

Rugby News, Wallabies off to a flying start with the win in Round 1 of the 2022 Rugby Championship v Pumas in Mendoza

by Sports Benches

The 2022 Rugby Championship season is back with the Wallabies beginning their two week tour v Los Pumas in Argentina; first stop: Mendoza where the action took place earlier this morning Australian time at Malvinas Argentinas Stadium. The Pumas were off the mark early in the first half at 19-10 while the Wallabies began to make up lost time from behind. Although the Pumas extended their lead a bit further, but they couldn’t stay ahead on the run home when the Wallabies took advantage of their lost penalties via the ill-discipline before the away team was too good in the end, 26-41.

What a start to the 2022 Rugby Championship campaign by the Wallabies with the win in Mendoza. They may need to work on their fire offs when the Wallabies fell behind earlier in the first half, which is something they need to rectify ahead of their upcoming meetings v Springboks & All Blacks in a few weeks time. But they eventually got the ball rolling and began to make up lost time when Jordan Petaia scored their opening TRY before the Wallabies upped the ante in the 2nd half with a few tries on the board.

Not only they were able to close in on the Pumas, but took advantage of their opponent’s regressed momentum with the ill-discipline & never looked back after they took over the lead with the win. It’s good to see them top the ladder charts right now with a bonus point but there’s still more work to do if the Wallabies can go all the way with five games left.

It wasn’t the afternoon the Los Pumas wanted to see out at their home turf with a hefty loss v Wallabies. Their first half run was not bad when the Pumas got ahead early when Pablo Matera opened the account before they took home a series of three-point penalty goals. They continued to extend their lead a bit further in the 2nd half when the Pumas followed up with another big score by Juan Manuel Gonzalez. Unfortunately, the Pumas lost all progress when ill-discipline began to catch up against them, especially when Matias Alemanno had to sit ten minutes in the naughty chair following a Wallabies penalty TRY. And it’s the one huge weakness that held the Pumas hostage before it’s too late when it was just too difficult to rebound towards full-time.

The second & final stop in this year’s Wallabies tour of Los Pumas continues next Sunday 5 AM AEST at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentario.

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Motorsport

Looking ahead to Round 5 of the 2022 ARG SpeedSeries season with TCR Australia & Trans-Am this weekend at Queensland Raceway following a two month break

by Sports Benches

It’s been a bit over two months when we last had SpeedSeries at Eastern Creek with the TCR Australia, Trans-Am & S5000. Although the main S5000 portion may be done, but SpeedSeries is back at Queensland Raceway (Ipswich) this weekend for Round 5 of 7 in the 2022 season.

There’s plenty of exciting headlines to look ahead when we’ve got a jam-packed Trans-Am grid of 29 cars alongside a couple of debutants from Tom Hayman (Aussie Racing Cars), Jack Sipp (Super2) & Brodie Kostecki (Supercars).

Plus, TCR Australia will make up their half-century milestone at 50 races during Race 2 this Sunday. And it has been a long time since the TCRs last raced there in QLD three years ago when the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID, while this track wasn’t selected out of the shortened five-race calendar last year.

This is one huge event you don’t wanna miss as Nine will once again put Race 1 of the Trans-Am & TCR Australia this Saturday afternoon on their free-to-air channels via 9Go (NSW/QLD/ACT/NT) or 9Gem (VIC/SA/WA), with the whole weekend’s activities being a Stan Sport exclusive. Then as usual, Nine will showcase a two-hour highlights package the following weekend (August 13-14) on 9Gem/9Go.

You can sign up to Stan Sport for a seven-day free trial right now to watch every race live, as well as, full event replays & highlights. It only costs $20 a month to keep your fix of motorsport at any time, anywhere within Australia, such as, Formula E, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, Motocross and many more.

I would love to watch another SpeedSeries race live on free-to-air, having watched the season opener earlier this year at Symmons Plains in Tasmania. But I will be leaning on Club Rugby with Shute Shield regular season finale at North Sydney Oval at the same time between Northern Suburbs v Eastern Suburbs; That game will be live on 9Gem in NSW and ACT as well.

I will continue to keep a close eye though on the SpeedSeries from QLD within the next few days, while the Rugby Championship with the Wallabies & Australian Superbike Championship are back on my sports viewing fix also this weekend.

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Rugby

Rugby News Australia: England’s robust defensive work ended the Wallabies hopes of taking the Ella-Mobbs Trophy home at the SCG

by Sports Benches

It was one huge decider to look back from last night at the Sydney Cricket Ground when Australia went head-to-head against England for the series trophy, as they came into the field at 1-1 apiece after England bounced back last Saturday in Brisbane. The away team struck the first blow before they responded to Tom Wright’s TRY from Australia with a one-point lead at half-time, courtesy of Freddie Steward. Although, Australia kept themselves in the hunt within England’s radar thanks to Folau Faingaa off the bench. But at the end of the day, it has to be England when Marcus Smith capitalised a small lead with a wonderful intercept TRY before they tightened their defense that frustrated Australia in the end. The final score on what has been the final ever rugby union match at the SCG – 17-21 – as we look forward to move back to the all-new Allianz Stadium soon next door.

It’s not been the series ending the Wallabies wanted last night during the 3rd and final Test decider v England. Their first-half run wasn’t bad when they took note of the opposition’s ill-discipline thanks to Nick Frost on second row, before they got the ball rolling via his Brumbies team-mate Tom Wright. A few changes off the bench during the second 40, especially when Folau Faingaa kept the Wallabies hopes alive towards stealing the series away from the English. Sadly, they just couldn’t get escape the opposition’s robust defense under pressure while suffering lapses of inconsistency going forward – which led to lost penalties/turnovers. It’s that one huge weakness they need to work ahead of the Rugby Championship beginning with Argentina in a few weeks, even though they have to keep moving without a few key players from the treatment room.

Meanwhile, England retain the series yet again when they have now taken home the Ella-Mobbs Cup, which is the new trophy after the Cook Cup was retired at the end of last year that spanned for 25 years since its series inception back in 1997. They were glad to get away from their own ill-discipline at the beginning & touched down Australia’s inconsistent attack where England showed excellent fightback in the first half. Not only they opened the scoreboard via the three-point penalty goal, but Freddie Steward’s TRY in the 40th minute puts them ahead of Australia by just one point at half-time, 10-11. They later capitalised on their narrow lead with another three-pointer followed by amazing finish from fly-half Marcus Smith, before England put their bodies on the line defensively that stopped Australia from slipping past them in their tracks going into full-time.

As said earlier, the Wallabies are now preparing for the Rugby Championship going into August. These two games in Argentina will be a Stan Sport exclusive since they kick off at 5am AEST our time which is 4pm over there, so it won’t be aired for free as Nine/9Gem tends to broadcast Super Rugby and Wallabies games within here and New Zealand. I don’t know about the away Springboks games at around midnight when Australia last played in South Africa since 2019, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough next year. For now, there’s some Club Rugby to watch before Nine/9Gem airs the Wallabies games again when the Springboks come here at the end of next month.

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Rugby

Rugby News, Top 3 players from the 3rd Test between Wallabies v England at the Sydney Cricket Ground

by Sports Benches

Courtney Lawes has definitely frustrated & stopped the Wallabies from slipping past his English side last night as skipper on the Blindside (flanker role). His defensive work was outstanding every time the Wallabies tries to get themselves going under pressure before Lawes stepped in & called in his troops to lock the ball up, so they (Wallabies) can’t continue under the referee’s watch. He can also be an excellent support player with so much physicality going forward while calling for cover to ensure that the ball stays with England, which led to winning penalties/advantages off the back of the Wallabies ill-discipline. It led to a sigh of relief when the Wallabies were unable to capitalise going forward, while celebrating the series win at the same time.

Next up is Jack van Poortvliet – who came on for Danny Care at half-back not long before half-time – and he too made an instant impact ever since in the No.21 England shirt. He has a very good talk up when looking at ways to get past the Wallabies while calling out for some support. They were able to keep themselves ahead thanks to the Wallabies messy discipline/play via the advantages & later winning penalties before keeping a close eye in defense to close out this deciding test match – including his TRY assist to his Leicester team-mate Freddie Steward that saw England lead Australia by one point ahead of half-time at 10-11. And like Freddie, he proved that he can translate these premiership-winning skillsets at International level, as JVP put England in a great position on the run home with the series trophy.

Lastly, Tom Wright never stopped running on the right wing, especially when he opened the Wallabies scoring account with Nic White backing up on his way through the TRY zone. A few fresh faces in the 2nd-half kept his side closer within reach of England’s radar – thanks to Folau Faingaa. Unfortunately, he just wished that he gets supported more often where he was being isolated in both attack & defense. It would’ve helped the Wallabies get ahead of England once more & capitalise towards the win they desperately needed.

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Rugby

Shute Shield returns on free to air next Saturday on 9Gem with three regular rounds left when Manly takes on Warringah

by Sports Benches

We’re very excited to say that Shute Shield will be back on free-to-air with the Week 16 game between Manly v Warringah next Saturday at 3pm on 9Gem. There should be more to come with another two regular season games to finish off before continuing with one Playoffs round in August. They already showed some women’s rugby earlier this season on 9Gem with the Super W competition, as well as the opening Wallaroos match v Fiji.

It’s been a long time coming since club rugby hasn’t been aired on Free TV here in NSW since Stan Sport & the Nine Network replaced Fox Sports & Network 10 as Rugby Australia’s broadcast partner last year under an initial three-year contract, with the option to extend another two years afterwards.

Although Channel 7 was the previous rights holder for these Shute Shield games through a separate deal prior to 2021, but then Rugby Australia brought that product off Club Rugby TV and bundled them up under the one roof ahead of the next broadcast rights deal at the time two years ago.

We can’t wait to see how the business end of this year’s Shute Shield season pans out for those who don’t have the Stan Sport subscription to look back over the last 10-15 weeks. We’re also aware that there was some free-to-air Hospital Cup Rugby on last year on 9Gem via the QLD market alone, while we didn’t get to see that opportunity at all when lockdown in NSW also at the time effectively cancelled the 2021 Shute Shield season without a champion.

But let’s see if some of Nine/Stan’s regular Super Rugby & Wallabies commentary team will be present for these free-to-air club rugby games at the ground.

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Rugby

Rugby News: Top 3 players from Game 2 last night between Wallabies v England

by Sports Benches

Billy Vunipola was outstanding last night in the No.8 shirt for England at Suncorp Stadium. They definitely did his favours when not only he won them plenty of penalties but he was also destructive in the attack – especially after he ended up being the only tryscorer of the night. The sheer physicality he unpacked throughout the whole time alongside with a couple of his support numbers has definitely caused the Wallabies so much pain from the opposition end. It goes to show that England were well ahead within the winning circle under Vunipola‘s all-round ability to cause damage, as well as looking out defensively on the back row.

Next up is Owen Farrell at inside centre in the No.12 shirt for England. He’s always an excellent kicker towards the goal posts as always thanks to a number of winning penalties. The ill-discipline mistakes made by the Wallabies gave England plenty of ball opportunities going forward with patience before it made Farrell’s life easier to score from his kicking tee. He also has the pace & tackling to track back defensively before covering up the Wallabies as one of the support numbers while his England team build some phases. He continues to be an important presence for England at age 30 alongside his premiership-winning mindset that helped him deliver five titles & three European trophies for Saracens.

And great to see Taniela Tupou back in the Wallabies shirt on the tighthead front row after a while off the pitch from injury. He definitely gave England a huge threat with his packed muscle before Tupou opened the scoring account not long before half-time. Although he may have felt a metre short of the TRY line on when Tupou continued to do some damage, but the Wallabies got themselves through the gate for their second TRY with his assistance in none other than Samu Kerevi. Unfortunately, a lot of ill-discipline cost them plenty of points before it’s too late – especially when they missed a couple of key backline players to the treatment room.

#AUSvENG #Wallabies #England #Rugby #RugbyUnion #SuncorpStadium #InternationalRugby #TanielaTupou #OwenFarrell #BillyVunipola

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