Rugby
Lions in the sand: Hansen praises Australian sides
Paul Cully The strong form of the Australian Super Rugby sides has been recognised at the highest level across the ditch, with All Blacks coach Steve Hansen admitting on Monday: "This is a tricky year for us."
Rugby
Wallabies mustn't ignore young bulls
Paul Cully Remember the name of Bulls inside-centre Jan Serfontein. The outstanding young midfielder - big, strong, fast but with skills and vision- has the ability to change the way the Bulls attack and be a...
Paul Cully
Hoeft helps put scrum on a firm footing
Paul Cully Could an answer to the game's most problematic area be on the horizon?
Rugby
Hansen not without his challenges for All Blacks
Paul Cully There are a few dark clouds in the land of the long white one.
Rugby
Roar of Lions: Gatland wary of Wallabies with X-factor
Paul Cully Warren Gatland does not come across as a man who lacks respect for opponents .
Rugby
Streetwise Warburton stakes his claim
Paul Cully The role played by two hands stuck in the head after watching Wales grind out a 28-18 win against Scotland at Murrayfield at the weekend.
Paul Cully
Manu mountain: Tuilagi is trouble for Wallabies
Paul Cully There are 112 kilograms of trouble coming the Wallabies' way in the unmistakeable form of Manu Tuilagi.
Rugby
Farrell evokes Johns in Irish stew
Paul Cully After the openness of the first round of Six Nations, came something more familiar. Ireland and England, adventurous just a week ago, succumbed to a force greater than either of them: Dublin's grey...
All aboard the player-go-round
Paul Cully Paul Cully takes a look at the top 20 signings for the three SANZAR nations and what they will bring to their new teams.
Paul Cully
Six Nations kicks off with questions to be answered
Paul Cully IT IS apt in this year, a Lions year, that the Six Nations kicks off this weekend with a famous Lions voice ringing in many ears.
Wallabies off the mark and still drifting away
Paul Cully No one has ever claimed it wasn't a cruel game: for most of the match Italy's five-eighth Luciano Orquera had outplayed his opposite, Kurtley Beale, yet it was left to him to hit a 79th-minute...
He can rest easy, but Deans isn't home free
Paul Cully The restless nights now belong to another coach from New Zealand. Two weeks into November, Warren Gatland is dealing with a crisis in Wales - they do them so well - and an inbox full of half-hearted...
Absence of veterans may be pointer to Bleus tactics
Paul Cully For those trying to ascertain what the French will bring against the Wallabies this weekend, the easy route is simply to point to their emotional volatility and say no one knows.
Deans' men undone by problems old and new
Paul Cully It will be the infuriating predictability of the Wallabies' loss to France in Paris that sits like acid in the guts of the bleary-eyed loyalists.
Talking points
Five things we learnt
Paul Cully The talking points from Saturday's Bledisloe Cup clash.
Rugby
European campaign a useful audition for Lions tour
Paul Cully If some members of the Wallabies squad to tour Europe announced yesterday are yet to fully comprehend the scale of the British and Irish Lions tour next year, they can be forgiven.
Paul Cully
World Cup closing in on Wallabies' rivals
Paul Cully Australia is about to have rugby's kitchen sinks hurled at it.
Paul Cully
Percentage boosters: Welsh hopes rest on winning battle for territory and possession, the points will follow
Paul Cully After the humiliation comes the hard part. Imposing inside-centre Jamie Roberts aside, the Welsh side that will face the Wallabies in Brisbane tomorrow night is the one that first won admirers at the...
Paul Cully
Super Rugby is not the best competition in the world, but it has the best players
Paul Cully Three weeks ago at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, the Welsh five-eighth Rhys Priestland spotted a lack of numbers down the Irish short-side and took the ball to the line.
