Ewen McKenzie
Rugby
Waratahs want to run? We've been doing it for years
Ewen McKenzie The bye week has finally come around for the Reds and we'll use it as a chance to gain some well-earned rest but also as an opportunity to reflect and look around.
Rugby
Joys of turning poison chalice into silverware
Ewen McKenzie Coaching is a constant roller-coaster ride, so there is plenty to be thankful for when I click over the 121-game mark as a head coach-director of coaching in Super Rugby this weekend.
Ewen McKenzie
It's question time but the answers could be a way off
Ewen McKenzie We are three rounds into the competition, which means we've hit the time of the season where questions are asked of everyone and everything. Nothing is immune to scrutiny.
Ewen McKenzie
Reputations on the line and emotions again at fever pitch for battle between old foes
Ewen McKenzie In 1882, a Queensland team first took on NSW in a two-match rugby union series before the Queensland Rugby Union was officially formed at Brisbane's Exchange Hotel on November 2, 1883.
Rugby
Folau in front seat on one fickle rollercoaster
Ewen McKenzie Seven days is a long time in rugby and a lot can happen to turn around a team's performance. It's even longer in the world of the media and there are two stories which have stuck in my mind from the...
Criticism of Queensland's culture was well wide of the mark
Ewen McKenzie One thing I've learnt coaching is that every decision you make is never 100 per cent right or wrong, but the worst thing you can do is be guilty of not making a decision or having no opinion at all.
There's only one set of stats that count at the end, the scoreline
Ewen McKenzie The importance of a fast start was never more prominent than in the Super Rugby qualifying finals last weekend.
Ewen McKenzie
The smart money is not on fast money in rugby
Ewen McKenzie Professional rugby player movement decisions always bring to the spotlight the debate about club loyalty and the rights of players to do the best by themselves financially.
Ewen McKenzie
Early results no easy feat
Ewen McKenzie Getting results at the front end of the season is always a complicated process. That we’re enjoying our best start to a Super Rugby campaign since 1999 by winning our opening two games proves just...
Ewen McKenzie
Injuries an occupational hazard in modern game
Ewen McKenzie I was recently chatting to a good mate of mine, Simon from ruckingoodstats.com, about all things rugby, and we drifted onto the topic of injuries.
Ewen McKenzie
Scant knowledge can prove to be very dangerous when new players are thrust into high-pressure situations
Ewen McKenzie Waratahs coach Michael Foley made a comment the other day that made me think about what the real expectation was of incorporating new players into a different playing environment.
Ewen McKenzie
Conference call: closeness a sign of competition's growing strength
Ewen McKenzie I was asked on New Zealand radio yesterday about the relative strength of the Australian conference compared to the rest.
No surprise to me that Beale is a trump at No.10
Ewen McKenzie It's always interesting to note what the perception is and what is written in the public domain. More often than not there is such haste and enthusiasm to announce the next big thing that sometimes...
