RUGBY

Win against Brumbies crucial to Tahs' finals chances

Spiro Zavos Last Saturday night at Allianz Stadium, Waratahs supporters stood up and yelled, applauded and roared their team on in the last few dramatic moments of the contest with the Stormers.

Rugby

Lions to kick against their revered heritage

Spiro Zavos Not long after the 2013 British and Irish Lions squad was announced, I received this email from a well-informed England supporter: ‘‘The two best players in their position left behind [Andrew...

Flawless Smith sure to get Test tick as bungler Cooper stays in the cold

Spiro Zavos A FEW days before NSW played their first rugby match against a British rugby side, on June 2, 1888, a Probables- Possibles match was contested in Sydney to work out a starting XV.

Rugby

Ditch old boys network for centralised system to bring out gold

Spiro Zavos THE ARU has unleashed a new version of the Wallaby jersey for the June Tests against the 2013 British and Irish Lions. There is a slash of green along the top.

Rugby

Beale must concentrate on tackling his demons

Spiro Zavos IT seems a blink in the mind's eye, but several years ago the ABC presented a live telecast of Joeys playing Riverview in the GPS rugby tournament.

Rugby

When the music stops, McKenzie may go Irish

Spiro Zavos THERE is no doubt that by announcing the end of his association with the Queensland Reds at the end of the Super Rugby season, Ewen McKenzie is stating he wants to coach the Wallabies.

Spiro Zavos

Game must underline clean slate to rid stain

Spiro Zavos THE ARU was told a year ago by ASADA, while the Australian Crime Commission's secret investigation into doping and match-fixing in Australian sport was gathering pace with its investigations and...

All Blacks' brilliance likely to ensure winning streak is unbroken

Spiro Zavos ONE way or another, rugby history is going to be made tonight. The moveable feast of the Wallabies faces an unstoppable All Blacks force at Suncorp Stadium.

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.

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...

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...

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

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

Waratahs prove winning smart beats winning ugly any day

Spiro Zavos THE greatest spectacle in rugby is the ensemble try, especially when it is scored to win the match. This is rugby as a great orchestra in full, soaring voice.

Spiro Zavos

Foley's folly - NSW must end reliance on kicking

Spiro Zavos SO HERE we are at the launch of the 2012 Super Rugby season. Michael Foley, the new NSW Waratahs' head coach, dapper in a businessman's suit and club tie, is insisting that his side will be more...