I'm feeling somewhat smug this morning! Jimmy Gopperth popped a field goal in the dying minutes of the Hurricanes vs Stormers game to give the Canes a 3 point (12-9) win. Yeah!

The Cats vs Highlanders game was worth staying up to watch as well. There's some big boys in that Cats team huh? That didn't deter the Otago boys led by stalwart Anton Oliver - their defense was rock solid and they came away with a 16-12 win. A handy 4 point pick up :)

I'm looking forward to the Tah game tonight!

Have a good one!

Better get this week's tips in! Here we go:-

Round 5 Super 12 2005 tips

Tonight:

Hurricanes vs Stormers (live on Foxsports at 6.30pm - 5.30pm Qld time) Well, the Hurricanes copped a flogging last weekend, but the Stormers haven't been playing all that well. The Stormers are also without Joe Van Niekerk this week so I'm going to tip the Hurricanes by 3.

Tomorrow:

Cats vs Highlanders: (live on Foxsports at 1.55am - 12.55am Qld time) Geez this is a hard one to pic. My common sense says the Cats, but I'm going to go the Highlanders anyway :) I'm not too confident though so I'll say by 1

Waratahs vs Bulls: (live on Foxsports at 7.00pm - 6.00pm Qld time) Yep, the Bulls scored an upset win last week over the Hurricanes but I really just have to back the Waratahs! I think the boys from NSW will do it comfortably at home so I'll go the Tahs by 5

Sunday:

Sharks vs Brumbies: (live on Foxsports at 1.55am - 12.55am Qld time) I think even the Mums of Sharks players would back the Brumbies in this one - I'm going them by 12

There ya go! Good luck with your tipping this week :)

The Sharks have given the boot to coach Kevin Putt. Dick Muir will be replacing Putt - let's hope something starts to go right for the Sharks in 2005.

Hansie's tips for Round 5 are up - check them out here.

I'll get my tips up when I've done them :)

There's only 4 Super 12 games this weekend - the Blues, Crusaders, Reds and Chiefs all have byes. Anyone would think it was Easter!!!

If you are heading off for a break over Easter - have a safe one!

It's all happening!!

Ali Williams has copped a six week ban for stomping on Richie McCaw's head in the Blues vs Crusaders game last weekend. Fair call too - the cameras caught the incident in all its glory. David Gibson and Sam Tuitupou were also cited in the incident, but since they didn't stomp McCaw's head they only received a two week ban.

Waratah Cameron Shepherd has been banned for one week and fined $5,000 for misconduct after he was arrested earlier in the week. No doubt he has bigger worries at the moment given that he will face court on April 11 on malicious damage charges.

The ARU is apparently aiming to have the Perth team given "favoured franchise" status and get the draw next year to be that Perth (and the extra South African team) play seven home games including their debut. Bah!! Helllllllllllooo - how about trying to jig it so that the Reds get a decent draw... for once?

Lote Tuquiri has said he's been sledged about his race in both rugby codes. He doesn't go whining about it though...

"I'd try to get them on the field and do something there than off the field," he said.
"You just get on with playing the game and I just try to get one on them on the field
and try to deal with it that way." Source: The Australian

His attitude is just one of the many reasons why we all love Lote - good on him!! :)

More strife in the Waratah camp - Cameron Shepherd was arrested early yesterday morning in Sydney. Those Tahs boys must be causing a few grey hairs at the Waratahs club!!

Good morning :)

Hansie's wrap up of Super 12 2005 Round 4 is now up! I must say he does a good job! Thanks Hansie :) Hansie's also put fingers to keyboard to say that he thinks Brian O'Driscoll is the current world's best player. Yeah.. he's certainly very good. I'm not sure who I'd pick - that would take some thought. I know for my money that Schalk Burger would certainly be up there... Tana Umaga, Chris Latham, George Smith, Phil Waugh... seems I have a slight Southern Hemisphere bias.. heh :)

I just checked out Round 4 tipping results. There's a swag of us who scored 5 points, but the outright winner is Charley from Sydney who snagged 6 points in 'Tip the Winners' for the round. Nice going Charley :) Drop me an email so I can send out your $5 scratchie.

Cheers!

Justin Harrison received a three match suspension from the judiciary for his racial slur. The suspension includes the match he stood down in over the weekend, so that's only two to go. He's copped a fine as well. I'm pleased he was dealt with in a fair manner - it would have been devastating had his rugby career ended on this note. Let's all get back to rugby :)

Later!

The Super 12 2005 Points Table as at end of Round 4 sees the Waratahs remain on top with 19 points, the Brumbies have moved into second place on 17 points, and breathing down their necks are the Crusaders on 15, and the Hurricanes on 13. The Highlanders have moved into 5th spot - what a difference a couple of rounds make huh?

Former Waratah Milton Thaiday has written a character reference for Justin Harrison who faces the tribunal this evening.....

Australia is into the quarter finals of the Hong Kong sevens - despite being thumped by Fiji 31-5 in the comp. Good luck guys!!

I hope you all enjoyed the truckload of rugby since yesterday afternoon :)

The rugby fest began with the Bulls thumping the Hurricanes (21-12) - so much for my tip! The Bulls played a hard defensive game and were obviously very hungry for a win. Good luck to them - they deserved to win the game.

Round 4 glamour event between the Crusaders and the Blues saw the Canterbury boys win by 41- 19 in front of the Auckland boys' home crowd. The clash was entertainingly fast and furiously paced as the old rivals tried to better each other. Ali Williams copped a red card in the second half for a stomp on Richie McCaw's head in the ruck. McCaw had a top game for the Crusaders, and Aaron Mauger was superb as well.

The Waratahs 25-10 had a good win over the Stormers (back luck Hansie :) and they remain on top of the Super 12 ladder after Round 4. They didn't pick up a bonus point, but they were certainly impressive on the paddock. They managed to pinch a pile of lineout balls, and Morgan Turinui scored a try in each half - he seems to grow with confidence every game. Phil Waugh, Nathan Grey, and Lote Tuqiri were awesome! If you didn't catch the game, it's worth seeing the replay even if it's just to check out Lote's facial 'do'. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a weird moustache or what.... :)

Matt Giteau was named 'man of the match' in the Brumbies 34-29 win over the Cats in Capetown. Giteau, back at flyhalf this round, scored a couple of tries, four conversions, and two penalties.

The Highlanders played very well indeed this week for a convincing 43-7 win over the Sharks in Durban. Ben Blair scored three tries for the Otago boys. Sharks' fans will be doing it tough with their team still winless after four rounds.

Six Nations - Wales toppled Ireland 32-20 to win the Six Nations event in a magnificent game of rugby at Cardiff. More than 74,500 people packed into the Millenium stadium to cheer on Wales to their first Six Nations title in 27 years. That's a loooooong time between drinks huh!! I like Ireland, but I like Wales as well - they sure did play a fine game and are deserved title holders.

I'm exhausted after all that rugby!! :)