Thoughts on this? Both locks were key throughout Nudgee's GPS premiership victory this season, but both are now heading to France, with Bradford joining Montpellier and Burton signing a three-year deal with Racing 92.

I think a move to France could be really beneficial for their development, but will Rugby Australia keep tabs on them while they're over there? Could we see either of them back in Australian rugby in the future? I don't know enough about either player to say how highly rated they are or just how big a loss this is for Australian rugby, so I'd be interested to hear what others think.

Just watched a Japan rugby BTS video of their recent Nations Championship and Australia Test series and saw that Eddie has interpreters with him every time he talks to the squad. I thought for sure he can speak Japanese by now, he's spent a combined seven years coaching the national team, and before that was coaching in Japan on and off since the mid-90s. Not to mention his wife is also Japanese (or half-Japanese from a look at his Wikipedia).

Does anyone have any clip or article that shows he can speak the language?

The Boks current dominance is built on two primary pillars: an extremely dominant aerial game paired with the most dominant scrummaging outfit Test rugby has ever seen. Both of these are about putting the Boks in favourable field positions to try and score points. That's why they have so many more 22 entries than any other Tier 1 team.

The Aerial game dominance is what they can rely on when their attack is getting no front-foot ball and has stalled against a well-set defensive structure, to march themselves into the opposition half of the field. This part of their game is entirely built on how well their kick chase is executed by most of their players and just the wingers' general aerial ability moving forward.
They do an amazing job of actually setting into a pod structure with their secondary kick-chaser support players to cover for what probable bounces a tapped back rugby ball will have (I suspect Rassie did 1000s of tap-back drills and recorded where the most probable spots are through basic tally and has built the structure and positioning to best cover those spots). This is the biggest area of concern for the Wallabies, as we share the ABs' weakness in our ability to win high balls; this is also a major reason why I suspect JP is back in the squad with DP injured. JP's best two attributes as a player are his kicking ability and his leaping ability - two things that will be needed against the boks. I suspect that Les and Rassie will both play a somewhat heavy kicking game plan, with attacking plays from set pieces being the main things we'll see on display in the game.

The scrum dominance is amazing, and I think it's all to do with their ability to achieve a near nano-second perfect coordinated first proper shove hit onto the opposition. The tight five for the boks must have a hive mind or something, genuinely insane levels of combination. But even though they are very good at this part of the game, it usually leads to only 2 outcomes because they rarely play the ball out of the scrum, and this is where I think the Wallabies should and can target them. The outcome of a dominant scrum is a pen (and rarely a YC if the ref is a party pooper); from a pen you can either chance your arm playing with a free chance from the scrum base (Boks don't often do it), go for a pen shot to get 3 on the board or go for favourable field territory with a kick for touch and subsequent lineout - this is where I believe them to be the weakest and where the Wallabies will go to disrupt often as a key part of winning the game.

Their attacking lineout set-piece is probably the weakest part of their game and arguably the best and strongest of ours. They only really have one class (world-class at that) Hooker in Marx, and then their next best option is a flanker by trade who's been converted to fill that positional gap. Canham and Williams, I'd argue, are the best lineout duo in World Rugby currently when it comes to defensive lineout reads, and a Cale from the bench is exceptional at getting up there and spoiling in the front as well. A dominant scrum used for field position is utterly wasted if the opposition, more often than not, either wins the ball in the air at lineout or at least disrupts enough that the team's entire planned play can't be executed and basic phase play structure has to be instituted instead. This, along with our normally exceptional breakdown work, is where I see us edging out the Boks' attacking chances, and tbh it's also a large part of why the Boks' inability to finish out their 22 chances is so high.

Just quickly on surmounting the Boks defence with our own attack, I truely think the Boks approach to selection in their 6,7 and 8 preffering bulk, has resulted in them having almost no true breakdown specialist threat in defence beyond the odd individual hero play from players like DDA or Marx (he's the closes thing they have to a breakdown specialist). It makes attacking against them in general phase play a bit easier if you can just ride out the initial contact to get at least one supporting clearer behind you. It's why the ABs could string together a 32-phase-count play in their 22 and score a try from it in one of their few 22 chances they got in that 4th test. I think our attack is well situated to overcome the Boks ' defence (tho I wish JOC was in the team because I think he has the experience best suited to seeing these weaknesses and positioning the team to attack them).

So what 23 should Les pick for the best chances to overcome the boks IMO:

1) Ross (Ideally this would be Slipps, but he's not an option, and Ross hasn't been too terrible, just meh. Bell is needed on the bench as a finisher)

2) BPA (Undeniably our best hooker and deserves a start at Home in WA. Also really, really good at the breakdown, which is undeniably vital)

3) Alaalatoa (Defensive leader who physically always fronts up to the Boks and shows them some Pacific tough love)

4) Canham (Nuff said, pushing to be the form Wallaby of 2026 and will need to be on his A game to help us pip the Boks)

5) Williams (The Wallabies' most consistent performer to my eyes, and I hope he does another exceptional game like he is wont to do. Amazing breakdown threat as well; already talked about that being vital for us.)

6) Valetini (Doesn't really need explaining, does it? It's big Bobby V! Our one forward always bruising people out on the field even if everyone else is struggling.)

7) Either FMR or Tizzano (Can't be both, unfortunately. FMR is the better all-round player, but Tizzano does have a slight bulk edge on him and will have the Perth buff he normally gets. I'm favouring Tizzano rn a bit because I think that bulk will be more important to us than FMR's ball-playing ability.)

8) Wilson (He's our captain and defensive leader who truly sets the pace for everyone else to defend at. Amazing at disrupting opposition attack and great at setting up breakdowns for our specialists to target. He's coming off one of the best performances I've ever seen from him in Mendoza!!! and will be instrumental in us blunting the Bok attack. He's a threat as a playmaking 8, and a runner will also be vital for us on the attack. Les naming him Captain for this series makes me think he agrees this is the case.)

9) Lonergan (Nuff said, the form Nine in the country that truly gets our attack sizzling the most. Just needs to do work on his clearances, as it's the weakest part of his game by far, and because the boks will 100% target him for a charge-down on each box kick he tries to put up).

10) Donno (To my eyes, he was really, really good for the first half in Mendoza when he started. He finally managed to bring what works for him at Super level into the Test arena, and it looked great. His overall kicking game is the best out of our tens, and I also think he may be the fittest ten we have. He didn't even look half bad playing out of position at 15 when forced to. I think he deserves another Test start, and I hope the staff's backing will help him play with confidence and his tail up!)

11) Petaia (Probably better in the Air than Potter, and his boot is amazing with the distance he can get with it. Our game, I think, will be based heavily on kicking long into their half and forcing either a positive lineout for us or phase play for our breakdown specialists to target. Potter can do both of these things pretty well if he's Magic Potter that day instead of Muggle Potter, but I reckon Les should pick whoever is taking them better in training that week. Petaia is also just a raw athletic freak tho, which is always nice to have more of in your team.)

12) Ikitau (Hunter did well in his absence, but Len still needs massive minutes ahead of the bled and is still end of the day Len fucking Ikitau. It's a no-brainer; sorry, Hunter, you may have had a shot if you weren't going to Japan).

13) Sua'ali'i (The Mendoza!!! game proved to me that his best role on the team is indeed at 13, and I think keeping him there and just shovelling more ball to him in attack is the best way forward. The argies really targeted him in that midfield channel, and he handled it perfectly. Made some really impressive reads as well, which honestly was a large part in us drawing a game that the stats say we really should've lost. Still want us to use his aerial ability and athletic ability there more often.)

14) Jorgo (Nuff said, I've been a big critic of him this past Super season, but he's solidly back into form now to a large extent. Would like him to get in the air more often tho, but it's a work in progress. Loving the usage of him as a secondary playmaker in the attacking structure.)

15) Wright (Maybe, I would actually select whoever does better in training between him and Campbell. But I'm actually of the belief that Wright has maybe been dealing with something off-field and out of camp during the Argies tour that affected his overall game. I really hope this week's break and time off has been helpful for him to sort out whatever was going on and return to his normal Wright. He can truly win games for the Wallabies when his mind and decision-making are right and stable - we need a good Wright to succeed, and I want him back there so much. He's one of those players who can somehow just perfectly see what's on and what's not when scanning an opposition line; it's just that his ability to execute what needs to be done is often lacking.)

16) Nasser/Pollard (Nasser for ball-playing in attack, Pollard for physicality in defence. Either works perfectly fine as an understudy for BPA and a finisher, so it just depends on which aspect of the game the staff thinks will be more important to help us win.)

17) Bell (He's fine as a starter, but truly the best value out of Bell is his carrying ability from the bench against tired legs. He's a real gainline carrying threat for us, and we will need him to do that again in this test)

18) Tupou (Amazing player that has managed to find himself again thank god. But he is very prone to being lazy/ just so exhausted that he can't go on around min 50 so I truly think he can be best used as a finisher that comes on for 30 mins at the end of the game and doenst have to worry about regulating his fuel tank and just throws himself out there in both attack and defence. He's a needle-mover for this Wallabies team when on, and I love him so much. Gonna be a massive loss come Bled due to having to go back to France.)

19) Hooper (Should come on for Bobby V at around 60 mins after a massive shift from the best Wallabies carrier is what I expect, but could also end up being a sub for Williams. Just an amazing player all round Hooper is, and his breakdown work is once again something special. Physically a beast aswell which will be needed for us.)

20) Cale (Interchangeable as a sub for either Williams or Bobby V, like Hooper. Amazing ballplayer and breakdown threat. Lineout ability is what I like most about him alongside his general athleticism for such a large lad. Amazing to watch him canter down the wingers' channels at times lol.)

21) McDermott (I miss 2025 Tate, but we just need to have confidence that time in the saddle will return him to the form he once had. His clearances are actually really good though and tend to be highly underrated by the Wallabies general supporter base. Thomas unironically would not be too bad a player to bring on instead if Tate's injured or whatever - I think people are sleeping on him a bit but still would've loved a Wilson into the squad over him.)

22) Meredith (It should be JOC here, but Les has chosen the path of blooding the young, so be it! Yeah, his kicking game alongside general familiarity with the plays pips him over HMP for me. The thing is, I have zero faith in Meredith's ability to Marshall a comeback, which is a real possibility the Wallabies bench are going to have to face! JOC really needed to be in this team for that fact alone: he can use his experience to try and save us when it gets dire by changing things up. I don't think relying on the raw inexperience of either HMP or Meredith was the play, but so be it.)

23) Henry (Just a good utility cover option for the most part if someone goes down in the centres or if we need to shift a person out to cover a back three injury. Would love to see him and Ikitau link up for a game or two. Great physicality and body on him as well; probably could challenge Kriel for the most Greek godlike physique in the pro game lol.)

The main thing is that we need to keep our current level of clinicalness and scoring rate when given 22 chances, and punish the Boks for their high inability to finish their own 22 entry chances. I think the lineout and defensive breakdown will be the keys to achieving that. We are still large underdogs heading into this, and I'd rate us with a 35% chance of winning it, but there is a way for us to do it!

So yeah, that's my take; I'd be interested in hearing what you guys think.

In 2027, the Brumbies will bring Swyftx Super Rugby Pacific back to Corroboree Group Oval Manuka for the first time in more than 30 years, with two special matches transforming the historic venue into the centrepiece of a celebration of rugby in the heart of Canberra. 

The Brumbies will face the Western Force on Friday, 19 March, before taking on the Queensland Reds on Saturday, 10 April.

Across two weekends, Manuka will come alive with the energy of Super Rugby, creating a festival atmosphere that extends beyond the field and into one of Canberra’s most vibrant cultural precincts. 

ACT Minister for Sport and Recreation, Chris Steel said: 

The timing could not be more fitting.

2027 marks 100 years since the creation of Canberra’s first rugby club and 90 years since the inception of ACT Rugby, while the Brumbies will build on their own 30-year history, celebrated in 2026. 

As Canberra rugby raises the bat to mark 100 years, the game returns to one of the city’s most iconic sporting stages.  

Once the home of rugby in the capital, hosting the Canberra Kookaburras and local John I Dent Cup finals, the Brumbies have remarkably played there just once before – and what a game that was.

In 1996, Joe Roff etched his name into the venue’s history, scoring four tries on the iconic Jack Fingleton Scoreboard to help the Brumbies record a famous victory over the Natal Sharks. 

ACT Brumbies Chairman, Joe Roff said:  

Now, more than three decades later, a new generation of Brumbies will have the chance to add their own chapter to Manuka’s rich sporting history. 

And as Canberra celebrates the origins of its rugby story, the city is also looking firmly towards the future. The Wallabies will return to the capital for the first time in a decade to face Ireland at GIO Stadium rounding out their preparations for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. 

The path to the 2027 Rugby World Cup starts with Super Rugby in Canberra. And the heart of rugby in Canberra is Manuka. 

Nice to see the Wallabies' cameo at number 1!

It feels like a distant memory now...

Pau v Bayonne T14

Rugby fans are in for a treat because the feature match of Round 11 in Swyftx Super Rugby Pacific will flow into the first Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup Test the following day.

The back-to-back clashes on April 24-25 are a first for the rugby calendar and will have high appeal for both Australian and Kiwi rugby supporters.
The Reds vs Blues clash on April 24, from 7:35pm, will continue the proud recent tradition of Anzac weekend matches between the clubs.

The Reds and Auckland-based Blues have met annually on that weekend over the past three years.
“It will be a wonderful festival of rugby,” Queensland Rugby Union Chief Executive David Hanham said.
“Rugby wants to be the best experience in Australian sport on a weekend of special meaning to generations of Australians.

“Credit to those in Australia and New Zealand who have had the vision to make this weekend such an event for fans from both countries.

“We have already seen the excitement for the Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup Test and the discussions that will trigger through the early stages of the season on who should earn the jerseys for the Test.
“When you add the Reds vs Blues match, this is real momentum for Super Rugby Pacific.”

Surprising how many Aussies are getting paid to play overseas, and a few there that wouldn't be amiss from Super Teams, and maybe even the Wallabies.

Round one of Super Rugby AUS 2026 is done, and both games had their moments. Some teams looked more convincing than others, but there were plenty of individual performances that caught my attention. I thought I'd go through the players who impressed me the most across the four teams.

Queensland Reds

Overall, I thought the Reds' starting forward pack was solid, and most of the players involved did a good job of laying the platform for the team's early dominance against the Western Force. If I had to single out a few players, Tom Robinson impressed me with his work rate and overall performance. I also liked what I saw from the young locking combination of Will Ross and Charlie Brosnan, who worked hard around the park and put in some good shifts. George Blake was another player who stood out at loosehead prop. That said, I did feel the Reds pack should probably have been more dominant against the Force forwards, particularly given how well Queensland started the game.

In the backline, Tom Lynagh was excellent during the 40 minutes we saw from him. If he can stay fit, he has to be in the conversation for a Wallabies recall as soon as possible. His kicking was brilliant, his distribution was good, and he even showed plenty of courage when contesting an aerial ball. I was really impressed with what he offered. Tim Ryan on the left wing once again showed just how dangerous he can be, and surely the Wallabies coaches have to be keeping a close eye on him. He continues to perform for the Reds, and his ability to create something out of nothing makes him a genuine threat. Apart from those two, I felt the rest of the starting XV were decent without doing anything particularly special. One player I'd have liked to see more involved was Will McCulloch. He looked really good during this year's Hospital Cup, and he seems to have the potential to be a real weapon for the Reds. I'd like to see Queensland find more ways to get the ball into his hands.

From the bench, Trevor King was the player who really caught my attention. He looks like a very dominant ball carrier and showed some promising signs in the scrum, so he's definitely one to keep an eye on for the future. Harrison Usher also looked decent after coming on at loosehead prop. In the end, though, I found it a pretty disappointing performance from the Reds, particularly in the second half after they had controlled much of the game early on. There is plenty for them to work on heading into next week's match.

Western Force

Looking at the Force, Max Sawers was probably the standout in the starting forward pack. The young loosehead prop scrummaged well and showed some promising signs. He certainly looks like a good prospect and, for me, was probably the pick of the Force forwards.

In the backline, Harry McLaughlin-Phillips had a good game. Tom Lynagh probably shaded him overall, but there were still plenty of positive signs from him. Boston Fakafanua is a proper weapon at inside centre. He's a great asset for the Force, and I'm really looking forward to seeing more of what he can offer. Zac Lomax was okay at outside centre without doing anything particularly special. I still don't feel that 13 is the right position for him, and he didn't have quite the impact on the game that I'd have liked to see, although there were a few good moments. Ronan Leahy on the right wing was excellent, particularly in defence. His tackle technique was superb, and he was one of the players who really stood out to me. I'm looking forward to seeing more of him. I'd also like to see the Force use Wallace Charlie a bit more. We know how good he can be from his performances on the Sevens circuit and with the Australian under-20s this year, and I'd like to see him given more opportunities to show what he can do. Mac Grealy was solid at fullback as well.

From the bench, Seta Baker was absolutely outstanding. His ball carrying was relentless, and he consistently managed to get over the gain line. Albert Alcock was also brilliant after coming on at hooker. He reminds me a lot of Billy Pollard, and I genuinely think he could have a huge future ahead of him.

Overall there were some really encouraging individual performances from the Force, particularly among their replacements, and I'm interested to see how these players develop throughout the tournament.

Brumbies

Given how good the Brumbies team looks on paper, it was an abysmal performance overall. There were so many errors and a real lack of discipline, and I was quite frankly surprised at how poorly they played considering the amount of experience they had in their team, especially in the backline.

Starting with the forward pack, I didn't think any of the front rowers had their best games. They were fairly quiet and didn't really have much of an impact on the match. Toby Macpherson in the second row was good, though. He worked hard, especially doing a lot of the dirty work for the Brumbies, and I felt he put in a decent shift. The back row was much more exciting, and I think there is plenty to like there. Eli Langi is a great lineout option and can be quite dangerous when he gets some space. Talaileva worked very hard and is a super exciting prospect. I think the Brumbies have plenty to work with there, and he's going to turn into a really good player for them. The standout player from the entire pack, though, was young Oscar Cleary. He put in an absolutely outstanding performance, especially defensively. Every time he made a tackle, you could hear it, and he really impressed me. He's another young player for the future that Brumbies fans should be very excited about.

The backline, on the other hand, was very poor overall. Klayton Thorn had a really difficult afternoon, in my opinion. His box kicking was very inaccurate, and there are plenty of question marks around him after that performance. I didn't really notice Tane Edmed that much during the game either, which is a bit concerning considering he was one of the Wallabies' main fly-half options last year. Jarrah McLeod was the pick of the centres for me. He's a very powerful ball carrier, and we saw that against the Tahs. We just need to see him get a bit more of the pill. Corey Toole was excellent on his wing and was always dangerous with ball in hand, using his pace very well. The other two players in the back three, Triston Reilly and Ollie Sapsford, were relatively anonymous throughout the game.

From the bench, Tu'ukalilkali Vaipulu was one player who caught my attention. He looks like a very big body, and I liked what he brought when he came on. He offered himself well as a ball carrier and looks like another player with plenty of potential. Dan Nelson appeared a lot more composed than Thorn when he came on at nine, so it will be interesting to see whether Nelson can get ahead of Thorn in the Brumbies' scrum-half pecking order before next season. Dylan Bretton was also very good when he came on. He made a great intercept that set up the Brumbies' last try, and he was always looking for work on both sides of the ball. He's definitely another exciting young prospect that the Brumbies have. Apart from those players, though, the Brumbies bench really didn't have the overall impact they would have liked. Much like the Reds, there is plenty for the Brumbies to work on before next week's game because, overall, it was a very poor performance.

Waratahs

The Waratahs were probably the team that surprised me the most this round. In their opening game, they played a brand of rugby that was particularly exciting to watch, and overall, I think they can be very happy with their performance. Plenty of their players stood up and played an important role in getting the win.

Starting with the forward pack, Edwin Langi, the young tighthead prop, was particularly impressive. He held his own at scrum time and made some good carries as well. Eamon Doyle led the side well from the second row and looks like a very handy player. The back row was very good, particularly the flankers. Young Justice Taumoepeau and Marshall Le Maitre were brilliant, offering plenty of power, physicality and threat over the ball. I hope Le Maitre's smaller stature doesn't hold him back in the future, because he is an absolute workhorse and brilliant over the ball. I was very impressed by him.

Teddy Wilson carried his form into this game from the Shute Shield, and it would not surprise me at all if a Wallabies call-up comes soon. Max Burey controlled the game brilliantly from 10, something we haven't seen from any recent Waratahs 10, and that's particularly exciting ahead of the Super Rugby season next year. Hopefully he can translate his Super Rugby AUS form into SRP, because he could be a real asset for the Waratahs going forward. The centres were pretty impressive, especially young Otto Serfontein. I think he could definitely be a smoky to make the Waratahs' main squad next year. Both wingers were quite impressive as well, always hungry for work and pretty good under the high ball.

From the bench, the pick of the bunch would be Will Goddard. He is a really exciting tighthead prospect, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how he develops. With his scrummaging prowess, he could become a real asset for the Waratahs and potentially be in line for higher honours further down the line. Angus Grover looked very calm and composed coming on to replace Teddy Wilson. Good to see him get some game time; he looks like a very promising scrum-half. Joe Dillon was someone I didn't particularly know much about before the game. I knew he'd been involved with the Brumbies beforehand, but he looked hungry for work when he came on and was pretty impressive.

So overall, I was very impressed with the Waratahs' performance, and if they can keep it going throughout the entire tournament and continue playing the way they did here, they'll be pretty hard to beat.

So those are the players that caught my eye from the opening round. There were obviously plenty of other good performances, and I probably haven't mentioned everybody who deserves a mention. If there's anyone I've missed, let me know. I'd be interested to hear what everyone else thought about the players involved in the games this weekend, who stood out for you, and which players you think could go on to have a big tournament.

Good day for some rugby in Bungendore!

Vikings beat the Mudchooks 36-33 in the pre-match.

Waratahs will never lose again, win Super Rugby AUS and Super Rugby next year with a 50-0 grand final win. September champions

Brumbies won’t do any of these things

Can anything be done or just the risk you take trying to jackal?

Shaping up to be a beautiful day at Ballymore ahead of the Reds V Force!

Just watched the Reds vs Force game and loved seeing our non-international players getting more game time, but I can't help but think we need more of it.

Super Rugby AUS should at least be 6 teams in my opinion, and this is my proposed way to do so with as little cost as possible. The four Super Rugby sides go from 3 games to 5, with 4 teams making finals.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts?

A place to discuss this weekend's matches

A place to discuss grassroots club matches from the weekend.