Author: Robert Matthews

Well, that was average. We were average. Don’t get me wrong, Argentina played well. They controlled possession, were patient, and were accurate. They were also lucky, but that’s sport I suppose.  Australia opened well, but fell away as the Argies tightened up. Some Wallabies went missing, and again, we made mistakes under pressure in key moments – both mistakes of execution, and errors in judgment right in front of Nigel Owens’ scrupulous – and honestly, unusually questionable – gaze. To the ratings… I’m reading a great book by Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman that outlines ways to avoid many heuristics and biases that…

The Queensland Reds walked the knife edge to Auckland’s garden of Eden Park, but entered the sheds at half time needing much more than a mere fig leaf to hide their shame. Forgive the overwrought clichés in both title and intro – after a dire match (at least for Australian rugby fans), I am left in want of some flourish. The Match Quade Cooper’s 100th Queensland Reds match opened solidly for both teams. The first seven minutes saw a good amount of open rugby played. Neither team challenged the other too much – each seemed to just work through the…

Despite the ardent endeavours of referee Chris Pollock, we were actually treated to a pretty entertaining and quality game of international rugby. For mine, the Wallabies looked quite good. Our forwards finally fronted up across the board, and seem to have learned how to pass and run. Our backs largely continued their purple patch. Ewen didn’t crack a grin, but I did a few times. Here’s how I saw it: [one_third last=”no”] James Slipper Our scrum looked the goods, and Slipper was perhaps even busier around the park than usual. Very good game. 7 [/one_third] [one_third last=”no”] Stephen Moore Squeak…

So, we’re world beaters again. Right? A few good backs’ tries in the second half were nice to watch. Our scrum, lo and behold, bettered that of the Italians by a fair margin. Our forwards were still pretty soft. It was okay, but we need more from this squad. Here’s how I saw it: [one_third last=”no”] James Slipper The scrum started well – and stayed that way. Got inverted once, but it was an aberration. Busy around the park and in support. Might have confused the No.1 on his back for an 11 – spent a bit of time on…

Armatt gives us his Player Ratings for Bledisloe I

A weekend of match-ups between similar teams promised some cracking games, and delivered they were with spectators the beneficiaries. Six of the eight teams ran up at least 30 points, with TSS close behind on 26 – but that’s only half the story. A strong TSS and a wounded Nudgee College faced off with Nudgee triumphing away from home in a rollercoaster fixture, and Nic Darveniza has posted his in-depth insights here. Meanwhile, Churchie and BBC, Terrace and Toowoomba, and State High and Ippy Gramma all squared off. After it all settled, BBC found themselves atop the table alongside Nudgee…

“The C-City Brothers are 5 pop stars who also play rugby.” Crusaders Andy Ellis, Willi Heinz, Israel Dagg, Telusa Veainu, Robbie Fruean – together the C-City Brothers – have swapped the stadium for the studio, releasing their first single “Never Walk Away”. [youtube id=”wvIkdmCEK38″ width=”600″ height=”350″] The single has already reached #1 on the NZ iTunes Chart, with all sale proceeds going to the Cystic Fibrosis Association NZ. Founder of the group, Andy Ellis, simply asks ‘people who have not yet bought the song off iTunes to do so. The more people that buy the song, the more money we can…

With the much-vaunted TSS out of action with their bye this week, the other schools faced off in a round of telling fixtures with some convincing and perhaps unexpected results. Nudgee College v ACGS (Churchie) Churchie upset title hopefuls Nudgee running in 5 tries to 1 on the back of a destructive performance by centres Nigel Tanuvasa and Izaia Perese – by Jordan Ayton. Nudgee left 17 points unanswered in the second half and kept themselves out of the game with numerous handling errors when pressuring the Churchie tryline, in one of their biggest home losses in memory. Nudgee opened the scoring…

With a mixed bag of results in Round One as schools first showed their wares, there was somewhat of a settling down this weekend as everyone geared up for the long short season ahead. Anglican Church Grammar School v Toowoomba Grammar School After unexpectedly falling to the resilient State High last week, Churchie sought to bounce back and to reassert themselves as one of the top tier teams in the competition. Toowoomba Grammar similarly sought a stronger performance than their underwhelming round one loss to BBC. Churchie showed their bullish intent early, turning down two very kickable penalty shots in…

With the Reds falling to the sword of the Crusaders on the weekend, we now look back at all that was in 2013 with the official G&GR Season Review. Final ladder position – 5th (Wildcard Finalists) Overall season vibe It’s hard to settle on one feeling in respect of the Reds’ season this year. Frustration would have to go the closest to summing it up. Moments of great skill, tenacity and enterprise certainly reared their heads. Though not a Super Rugby game, their Wallaby-lacking performance against a strong Lions side was thrilling to watch, and garnered much respect, and with…

The trials are done and it’s time to get this season underway, with round one this Saturday, 20 July. Some old heavyweights are bringing another solid team to the table, while some schools that may have been also-rans front with able and competitive teams. Accordingly, this season of the Queensland schoolboy GPS 1st XV comp promises to be a belter. Jordan Ayton, Sam Phillips and I have run our eyes over the sides. Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) After promising so much last season but failing to deliver Churchie will be looking to rebuild its reputation as a leading school in the…

The Wallabies have defeated Wales 14-12 in Cardiff

Being a Queenslander, where our curtains fade slower and our cows are at peace with the world, I failed to account for Daylight Savings time when working off an advertised 10am kickoff for this match – so I missed the first seven minutes. Thus my caveat: if something earth-shattering happened in that time, I missed it. I certainly tuned in to see Higgers already on the field for Kane Douglas and immediately feared how we’d fare in a war of attrition against the passionate Los Pumas at home. My fears were quickly allayed. That’s not to say the battle up…

With school holidays in full swing, student report cards across the GPS will be getting opened. We thought it fitting to produce our own for this season’s 1st XV teams. Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) Plenty of pre-season chat rightly saw this group as having a very good shot at the title, with young stars throughout the side. An opening round loss to Toowoomba Grammar quickly sobered many, and the results continued to go the wrong way for the men in blue and grey in their centenary year. Disjointedness was the order of the season – opportunities were regularly missed…

Brisbane Grammar School capped off a fantastic year with an inspirational win away

For the second weekend in a row, a number of matches were fought out between teams at the top of the ladder. Unlike last weekend however, the weekend’s scores were almost universally tight. Barring the anomalous 18 point victory by Ipswich Grammar over BBC, the average margin was a little over 2 points. Fighting tooth and nail for every point and every metre gained was the order of the day.  Toowoomba Grammar School v. Nudgee College At home, Toowoomba have proven to be quite the formidable foe this year, with a string of strong performances over fancied sides. Challengers Nudgee would have been…

Well into the short GPS season, round six was the pundit’s dream and the tipster’s nightmare. Of the five barely separable sides at the top of the table, four played each other and Brisbane Grammar took on the under-performing (but doubtlessly dangerous) Churchie outfit away from home. It was known that coming away from the weekend, teams’ prospects would be clearer and that some would rise to the top. This was to be after some tough and bruising encounters. The Southport School v. Toowoomba Grammar School After an impressive home dismissal of then-competition leaders Ipswich Grammar at home the previous week, Toowoomba faced an…

In a competition of nine sides, five now sit in a logjam at the top of the table. Ipswich, Nudgee, Toowoomba, TSS and BGS each have had a single loss; Ipswich and Nudgee are tied for first only because they’ve played an extra match and are yet to have their bye. With every result crucial, each side will be taking even greater than usual interest in other results for the remainder of the season. Toowoomba Grammar School v Ipswich Grammar School Ipswich Grammar, leading the competition after four rounds, journeyed up the range to take on Toowoomba Grammar at high…

Each fixture of Round 4 featured a stamping of authority. The Southport School were able to clinically undo a strong Churchie outfit. Toowoomba Grammar put Downlands College to the sword. As for BBC versus Gregory Terrace, authority was sought defiantly and came heralded by the shrill of the referee’s whistle. The Southport School v. Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) TSS came into the match on a high, back at home after unseating the vaunted Nudgee College outfit at Nudgee the previous weekend. Conversely Churchie, still seeking their first win of the season, must have been feeling the pressure. An early…

It is often said that a draw is like kissing your sister and given their sides’ results on the weekend, BBC and Churchie supporters both have good reason to be swilling the mouthwash. Conversely, Toowoomba Grammar and Gregory Terrace supporters each have reasons to smile. Brisbane Boys’ College v. Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) Having already endured a disappointing start to the season, Churchie entered round three with grim determination. Meanwhile BBC had reason for confidence, with a strong opening round performance against Nudgee College followed up with a dessert of Brisbane State High last weekend. The sides traded penalties early…