Stephen Moore to play in France

The Wallabies have flown Stephen Moore over to France to join the squad, Adam Freir injured himself at training so is in doubt to the Australia A vs Barbarians game today. No word as yet on which of the two will be take the field.

Mat Giteau wants to be at Flyhalf during the Wallabies European tour. Go for it Mat!! The other Mat who wants to play in that position is Mat Rogers.. well I like Mat Rogers, but I think that Giteau has the goods - or at least the edge.

Melbourne Cup... who to bet on.. Makybe Diva I guess, Leica Falcon? and.. I don't know...

Highway Bribery!

Should New Zealand win the 2007 RWC they will each receive a $100,000 bonus. Pretty safe bet :) The new salary arrangements for NZ rugby players should encourage them to perform - much more player performance incentives. Super 14 salaries start at $65K Nice one!

An IRB report has apparently be leaked to The Sunday Times - a pommy publication. The report is about selecting the 2011 RWC host nation and the money now seems to be on South Africa - yep, Japan and NZ don't fare as well... You can read about it over at Foxsports.

New Players a Plenty!

There is a total of 28 new players for Super 14 rugby next year over in the Shaky Isles. They've spread it around pretty evently though with half a dozen players each for Auckland, Canterbury and Otago. The Chiefs and the Canes will have 5 new players each. I think the Hurricanes ended up on the good end of the stick - Jason Eaton of Taranaki and Isaia Toeava - the two new All Blacks will be stepping out for the Canes.

It isn't all joy of course over there in NZ - Danny Lee's disappointed that he's ended up dipping out on Super 14 rugby.

NZ Super 14 Squads

The New Zealand Super 14 franchises were due to announce their squads this morning - I still haven't seen them, but either way at least the anxious wait is over for those boys.

The Hurricanes should be happy though! They've picked up the new All Black young Isaia Toeava for next year's Super 14 rugby competition. That should help their cause next year.

Must be time to head to the pub.... 2pm on a Friday arvo!! Later.....

Shiney new jersey for the Wallabies

The Wallabies have unveiled the new Wallaby jersey - you can see the pic here, or head over the the ARU site. The jersey isn't terribly different - the main difference being that the green hoops have been removed from the sleeves, and there's a green panel under each arm. The jersey also has a more tailored cut, which is practical to help stop opposition from getting their grubby mitts on you :)

Some good news for the Kearns family. Daughter Andie who fell under the rear wheel of Phil's 4WD in their driveway has shown a marked improvement despite her internal injuries and all things going well they will have her home by Christmas. The Kearns have asked well wishers to make donations to the intensive care unit of the Sydney Children's hospital if they feel so inclined. If you have a few bucks you'd like to send that way you can find the details over here.

Peter Hewat has scored the most points in a calendar year for the Waratahs. Good on him! In 2005 Hewat has scored 243 points which surpassed the record previously held by... you know who I'm going to say.... Matt Burke.

And over the sea far far away where the weather is crap and cold and dark and nasty most of the time.... Lawrence Dallaglio has apparently heard and seen enough of the finger pointing and name calling that has occurred since the British Lions NZ tour earlier this year - and he's called for an end to it. "Clearly, we were outplayed, out-thought and ultimately beaten 3-0, and that says it all." He's not such a bad bloke huh? Good footy player... Yes boys, you should all play nicely :))

Later

Cheetahs Core Contracted

First up... the news this morning said that Phil Kearns' daughter Andie is still in a critical but stable condition in hospital - if you're vaguely religious you might want to say a quick prayer for the Kearns family.

Riding high on victory in the Currie Cup, Rassie Erasmus has signed up his key players for the Cheetahs Super 14 team. There's some big names in there as well! Os du Randt, Ollie le Roux, Wian du Preez, CJ van der Linde, Jannie du Plessis, Gaffie du Toit, Keith Lowen, and Ronnie Cooke. Hmmmm... I get the feeling that they will be entering Super 14 rugby in 2006 with a bang.

Keep an eye out for Daniel Halangahu who plays for Sydney university at fly half; Rookie of the Tour for the Tahs Eastern Europe tour just completed, and according to Ewen McKenzie, "Definitely the find of the tour."

Just another day in paradise...

Another successful Indy race for the Gold Coast yesterday with the Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais taking out the race. Congratz!

Graham Henry has named 5 new players in the All Black squad to tour Britain and Ireland next month, citing preparation for the 2007 world cup as the primary motivation for doing so. Well why not? That makes sense :) The new players are Angus Macdonald (lock), Chris Masoe (flanker), Neemia Tialata (prop), Isaia Toeava (back), and Jason Eaton (lock). Both Toeava and Eaton are very versatile so that should help Henry get the depth that he is seeking.

Ewen McKenzie appears to be spoilt for choice when it comes to the Tahs Super 14 side for 2006. What a enviable position to be in!!

Indy Fever

It's THAT day of the year here on the Gold Coast, Indy day. I can hear the cars zooming from my place.... 3km away they sound like mozzies on steroids :)

My heart and best wishes go out to Phil Kearns and his wife and family this morning after reading in the local paper that his infant daughter Andie is in hospital after a tragic accident at his home yesterday morning involving their 4WD. I'm sure that the Australian rugby community's thoughts and prayers are with the Kearns family.

Over in NZ, last night Auckland beat Otago 39-11 to take out the NPC championship. There's always next year for the Dunedin boys :(

The Tahs are happy to have picked up Clint Eadie - they will obviously be hoping for big and bright things from the young centre. It's all good.

The humming of the Indy cars is getting to me... I think I might just take a stroll into Surfers :)

Reds vs Highlanders in Townsville

May 12 next year will be the date that the Queensland Reds play the Otago Highlanders in Townsville. Argh! Townsville! What a waste....

Just as we all knew, the Wallabies had more possession than the All Blacks and the Springboks during the Tri-nations series this year, but the Wallabies couldn't convert that possession into points on the board. There's info on the stats and what not in this report over on Foxsports.

Smoke and Mirrors

With Jeff Miller being told that he won't be coaching the Queensland Reds past next year's Super 14 season, the internal goings on of the franchise seem to be becoming just a little bit clearer. According to this report in the Australian today, former Reds coach John Connolly (1989-2000) just may be going to have an advisory position with the Reds once his contract with Bath expires next month. Tim Lane, former Wallaby assistant coach, has also thrown his hat into the ring - as Queensland Red's coach. Is that the sound of fireworks I hear coming from Ballymore? In my opinion, a loooooong overdue but most welcome shake up!

It's now official... Tony Brown will play for the Sharks in next season's Super 14. He and Campo can hang out together. I can almost hear the wails of despair in Dunedin from here :)

Don't call us we'll call you

According to a report in the Sunday Mail, Queensland Red's coach Jeff Miller has been told that his services will no longer be required after the end of the 2006 competition - one year short of his contract. The decision is hardly surprising given the abysmal results the Reds have had since Miller took over the reigns, yet the QRU have not allowed Miller an immediate release - an interesting decision. Given the recent appointments of Alex Evans as Forwards Coach and Damon Emtage as specialist Backs coach for the team the Reds probably only need a figure head in their head coach anyway.

I must admit that I enjoy reading the comments that David Campese makes about Australian Rugby - he certainly says it as he sees it! Campo has signed a one year contract with the Sharks and had a go at Jones and Co by saying that you have to be... a "yes man" in the "inner circle" if you were to get a coaching gig at home".

What's going on?

I've been scarce for a bit I know - I want to sell up and move house and so I have been busily trying to turn the yard from barren wasteland to something out of Home Beautiful. Where's Jamie Durie and his Backyard Blitz team when you need them?

But what's happening in rugby? The Highlanders are coming to terms with the fact that centre Anthony Tuitavake will most likely be playing with the Blues come Super 14 2006 instead of with them. The talented Tuitavake re-signed with North Harbour so it's highly probable that the Auckland Blues will want to keep him for themselves.

Congrats to Jeremy Paul for winning the John Eales medal this year. He scored 194 votes from his fellow Wallabies to take out the prize. George Smith, who won the medal last year, came in second with 176 votes, while Matt Giteau came third with 132 votes.

There were more celebrations at the John Eales medal dinner last night with the first group of Wallaby legends inducted into the Wallaby Hall of Fame. Each year two more Wallabies will be added to the list. The first five entrants are Ken Catchpole, Mark Ella, Tom Richards, John Thornett, and Col Windon.

The Reds have won 2 from 2 on their Argentina tour. Sounds like the Mendoza game was rather...er.... unorthodox! The field's floodlights went cactus just before the scheduled kickoff, and the game eventually got underway at 10.50pm. What a waste of good drinking time :)
Queensland Coach Jeff Miller says on the QRU site ... "The referee barely policed the game at all and our players were kicked, punched, had their hair pulled, everything you could imagine. They showed terrific resolve and I am very proud of them all." Now while I know that isn't quite cricket (mixed metaphor?) I dare say a bit more of the rough and tough stuff might be just what the doctor ordered for the Reds. It's a tough old game.

Have a great weekend!

Congratz Sunnybank

Sunnybank ended up walloping the Breakers last Sunday - well the scoreline suggested as much.. 41-17. To tell you the truth, I don't think the scoreline reflected the closeness of the game. With a quarter of the match to go, it was all locked up at 17 a piece. Oh well... there's always next year :) Congratulations to Sunnybank who were the better side on the day. How good was Ben Gollings for them? Awesome.

The Reds are in Argentina for a four match tour - I hope they go well. Not sure what I think of the new look.... well.. I know what I think of it, but my mother told me if I can't think of something nice to say then I shouldn't say anything at all.

Here's the Super 14 Draw for 2006 - it's a pdf file, I'll whack up a normal one when I get a chance.

Cheers