Spiro Zavos on Wales
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
Winning on the road is Lions' biggest challenge
Spiro Zavos HERE is a recent news flash: ''South Wales police have asked for witnesses to come forward regarding the brutal crime against 15 Englishmen on a visit to Cardiff who were robbed of a Grand Slam they...
Campese out of order but Robbie still rankles
Spiro Zavos YOU KNOW when you've put both your rugby boots in your mouth when Wendell Sailor tweets this to you: "Well good morning to u Campo & I have to say u are on your own with this comment it's 2012 champ.
Spiro Zavos
Deans cops backlash of Jekyll and Hyde season
Spiro Zavos THE tendency of the Wallabies to lose Tests after some convincing performances is driving fans mad. A poll this week on Rugby Heaven showed that 75 per cent of 12,000 voters supported David Campese's...
Spiro Zavos
Cup chances on the line in northern festival
Spiro Zavos ABOUT 7am on Sunday, Sydney time, the Wallabies run on to the Stade de France to play the hosts. The Test is one of 10 to be played during the weekend, starting with a double-header in Wales, where...
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
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
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
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.
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
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 …
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
Waratahs must drop work-to-rule attitude if they want to win
Spiro Zavos IT was a dispirited and sullen crowd that shuffled from Allianz Stadium after the Waratahs' depressing loss to the Western Force last weekend.
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.
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...
