Rugby

Another giant leap as Folau gets Test call-up

Paul Cully Israel Folau's stunning rise in his third code is complete, with Wallabies coach Robbie Deans naming the Waratahs fullback on the right wing to face the British and Irish Lions on Saturday.

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Rugby

Coaches earn their cash in tight series

Paul Cully All of the cards have finally been shown. Robbie Deans' 31-man squad to face the British and Irish Lions has been announced, putting into place the final pieces of the jigsaw he hopes will be enough...

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Rugby

A little more North in the south would be good thing

Paul Cully Economics will prevent it, but the performance of British and Irish Lions winger George North against the Western Force on Wednesday gave a tantalising glimpse of what lustre a northern star could...

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Rugby

Farce endangers future tours as Fleet Street shifts into high dudgeon

Paul Cully So it begins. Wednesday's Force v Lions match was the beginning of a journey that will be in turns enthralling, nailbiting, surprising and infuriating.

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Rugby

Barnes' storming efforts could have him in starting side

Paul Cully The significance of Berrick Barnes' cameos against the Stormers and Brumbies in successive weeks is that he could be playing his way into the Wallabies starting XV, let alone the 25-man squad.

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Tight Five

Emotions run hot in the debate over five-eighth

Paul Cully In the third instalment of the Herald's look at the race for Wallabies jerseys, we look at five more positions. We start with five-eighth.

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Rugby

Who will squeeze into Deans' 25-man tent

Paul Cully Trying to squeeze in 25 names for the initial Wallabies squad to be announced on May 19 is akin to putting away a tent for the first time.

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Rugby

Folau's Wallabies stocks up in leaps and bounds

Paul Cully Israel Folau has one arm in a Wallabies jersey.

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Rugby Union

Deans spoilt for choice, but strategy will dictate picks

Paul Cully With the Lions series fast approaching and the highly charged Reds v Brumbies game doubling as a virtual Wallabies trial, Fairfax Media looks at five key Test positions.

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Rugby

Folau shows skills to take off on the wing

Paul Cully The Herald looks at five more Wallabies positions before the British and Irish Lions series, with three Super Rugby rounds before Robbie Deans names his first squad of 25 players.

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Rugby

Wallabies look pretty good, even to NZ selector

Paul Cully There was a a caveat, but the acknowledgment of the good work of Australian Super Rugby from All Blacks selector Grant Fox was unmistakeable.

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Rugby

Industrious Force lack polish but loom as a stumbling block

Paul Cully One reason that young Force No.12 Kyle Godwin has a good chance of playing for Australia inside the next year or two became crystal clear in the 24th minute of last week's loss to the Cheetahs.

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Rugby

Wallabies will struggle to replace leader

Paul Cully Robbie Deans is reaching for the stress ball, if not the bottle.

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Tight five

Battle heating up for Wallabies' five-eighth spot

Paul Cully Quade Cooper has work to do to challenge the sceptics.

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Paul Cully

Australia can't afford to give Azzurri a sniff

Paul Cully The origins of the All Blacks' five-pointers against Italy in Rome last weekend were as follows: lineout, lineout, lineout, scrum and counter-attack.

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Perth likely to be a battle for runner-up

Paul Cully Those old enough to have grey hairs will have allowed themselves a wry grin at some of the commentary emerging from South Africa this week.

Paul Cully

Five things we learnt

Paul Cully The talking points from the weekend Rugby Championship matches.

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Wales' Kiwi coach to lead Lions to Australia

Paul Cully NEW ZEALANDER Warren Gatland has confirmed he will coach the British and Irish Lions against the Wallabies next year, and has expressed his surprise at Australia's "disappointing" performance against...

Rugby

Cruden awakening: Wallabies' lack of back-line size is exposed

Paul Cully Upon the completion of the Super Rugby tournament, Australians seeking to get a glimpse into a rosy future by the study of numbers were confronted with some unco-operative data.