A strangely subdued atmosphere descended on the Principality Stadium this weekend. All verve seemed to have drifted up through the open roof and away into Cardiff’s crisp autumn air. The…
Australia
Wales 8-32 Australia: Five talking points
The slowest of slow starts Wales have become notoriously sluggish starters in the autumn internationals. However, Wales’ 32 – 8 loss to Australia was beyond sluggish. This was like watching…
Can Australia replicate 1984’s Grand Slam heroes?
It was 1984. Australia were led into battle by the rugby equivalent of Donald Trump, a political speech-writer (and future radio chat-show host) named Alan Jones. With only one season…
Uncapped Southern Hemisphere stars heading for Europe this Autumn
By Alex Shaw The southern hemisphere’s ‘Big Three’ have named their squads to tour Europe next month and amidst the array of global stars, there are several uncapped inclusions. If…
Rugby Championship: Australia search for finishing touches against the Pumas
Super Rugby came to Twickenham in 2011 and this weekend the Rugby Championship follows suit, with Argentina moving their home game with Australia 6,000 miles north in a bid to…
The Rugby Championship: The game Australia dare not lose
By Alex Shaw Rugby is a results business and if those results fall below challenging for titles and championships for the Springboks and Wallabies, it simply isn’t good enough. Coaches…
Can Argentina break into the world’s ‘top three’?
Times, they may be a changing. The traditional triumvirate of power in the Southern Hemisphere – New Zealand, Australia and South Africa – is no longer the all-powerful force it…
Analysis: New Zealand blindside Australia for Bledisloe victory
August 16, 2014 – precisely two years and two weeks ago – saw Australia hold New Zealand to a 12-12 draw at a sopping wet ANZ Stadium in Sydney. Neither…
Southern hemisphere stars of the future
By Alex Shaw The All Blacks’ 42-8 demolition of the Wallabies in Sydney was exquisite, only further expanding the gulf in quality – both technically and mentally – between themselves…
Round One: The Rugby Championship highlights
The Rugby Championship got off to a thrilling start. Just hours after a bugging device was said to have been found at the InterContinental hotel on Sydney’s picturesque waterfront, the…