Spiro Zavos
Deans's Third XV faces a monumental battle but with a live chance to triumph against the odds
Spiro Zavos HOW about this line-up for a Wallabies side to play the Pumas at Rosario?
Quade's quite correct, there is a toxic element to the camp - it's him
Spiro Zavos THOSE outrageous and deceptive dummies, passes, dinky kicks and runs that used to come off for Quade Cooper on the rugby field and no longer do at Test level are being replicated off the field.
Spiro Zavos
Cheika makes promise to hit ground running
Spiro Zavos It was a small gesture that has large implications for a better future for the Waratahs and the Wallabies.
Pumas need to adopt Che's doctrine of attack
Spiro Zavos DURING a debate in Melbourne recently between rugby and AFL tragics over the merits of their codes, Adam Freier, the former Wallabies hooker, argued convincingly that the international range of rugby...
Henry in Pumas' corner shows coaches transcend nationality
Spiro Zavos THE main Wellington newspaper, The Dominion Post, had a killer photo on its main sports page this week.
Rugby union
Myopic Deans bashers reveal the ugly head of xenophobia
Spiro Zavos THIS week a xenophobic antagonism towards Robbie Deans has emerged in mainstream media. It is being asserted publicly that a New Zealander - and an All Black to boot - can't be trusted to coach the...
Games tribute harked back to the Wallabies' golden moment
Spiro Zavos THE opening ceremony of the London Olympics had references to rugby union in it, which correctly reflected the true history of the Games.
Spiro Zavos
Hardy times: Waratahs' slapstick routine no laughing matter
Spiro Zavos WHAT a fine mess the Waratahs franchise is in. The team manager, Chris Webb, has resigned. The coach, Michael Foley, has defected to a rival franchise.
Spiro Zavos
McKenzie's blunder raises questions over his tactical nous
Spiro Zavos In the 20th minute of the engrossing qualifying final between the Reds and the Sharks, Ewen McKenzie made a fateful and wrong decision.
A tale of wrong referees and unfair advantage
Spiro Zavos TOM Keneally, wordsmith, describes the hype before big matches as the foreplay. Not unexpectedly, the qualifying finals between the Crusaders and Bulls and the Reds and Sharks have generated intense...
Blossoming Brumbies show up warring Tahs
Spiro Zavos IT wasn't meant to be this way for the woeful Waratahs this season. When SANZAR scheduled tonight's Waratahs-Brumbies match it was intended to be a warm-up for the local side before the climax of the...
Spiro Zavos
Race to the Super finals is reaching fever pitch
Spiro Zavos NOW, where were we, before the June Test series stopped this year's Super Rugby tournament in its tracks …
Best-laid plans great for creating a surprisingly different result
Spiro Zavos THE Wallabies coaches have access to technology that analyses Tests so minutely that 500,000 pieces of information can be evaluated.
Spiro Zavos
Mr Carlton, please note: the Wallabies are not the Waratahs
Spiro Zavos READERS of last Saturday's Herald might have been surprised to find in the news section of the paper a self-described ''traitorous'' rugby opinion piece by Mike Carlton.
Spiro Zavos
Deans cruelled by Test scheduling and critics' short memories
Spiro Zavos WE were a miserable group, dripping wet, cold and shattered, coming back from Newcastle on the train after the agony of watching the Wallabies snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against Scotland.
Spiro Zavos
Will the real Waratahs please stand up … only with a new coach and playmaker
Spiro Zavos INSIDE the Waratahs is a good team waiting to come to life. If this team, the good Waratahs, manages to emerge tonight for 80 minutes at Allianz Stadium, the rampant Hurricanes could be in for a...
Spiro Zavos
Reign of Foley has run its course as Horror-tahs fail to kick their habit of dispiriting fans
Spiro Zavos ROD Kafer is bringing down the house at rugby lunches with this barb: "I congratulate the Waratahs on being in their 16th year of their three-year plan to win the Super Rugby tournament."
State of the union gets a clean bill of health
Spiro Zavos WHEN the 2.285 million strong People's Liberation Army of China designated rugby as one of its 10 core sports, I was told by the chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union, Rob Fisher, that officials...
Spiro Zavos
Hot air over depth of Australian conference neglects cold hard facts
Spiro Zavos PHIL KEARNS talked about it on the Rugby Club. John Plumtree, the New Zealand-born coach of the Sharks, says the same thing.
Spiro Zavos
Bring back Campo: Waratahs' back line could do with some help
Spiro Zavos Let's have more afternoon Super Rugby matches, please. It was just like old times on Sunday walking down Moore Park Road to the ground to watch the Waratahs play the Crusaders.
