As we do at the end of every year with their seasons over till February, we look back at the highs and lows of the Southern Hemisphere season and hand out our verdicts on the big four Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. With less than nine months left before the biggest rugby showContinue reading “The Lineout’s Annual Southern Hemisphere Report Cards for 2018 – Part 1 – Argentina”
Author Archives: Neil Olsen
2018 – Canada’s long year in the wilderness!
Whichever way you cut it – 2018 was a long and painful year for Canada and one which they will no doubt want to forget. It was salvaged at the death by a solid performance in the World Cup repechage tournament, which saw them snatch the last place up for grabs in this year’s globalContinue reading “2018 – Canada’s long year in the wilderness!”
Tier 2 Teams most likely to cause a stir in Japan this year!
As we like to do once the year is done and dusted, we look back at a handful of Tier 2 countries who caught our eye this past year using our usual report card system. Furthermore, with the added frisson of a World Cup in prospect at the end of this year, we’ve chosen theContinue reading “Tier 2 Teams most likely to cause a stir in Japan this year!”
The Lineout’s Team of 2018
So as we do at the end of every year, we look back on the last twelve months of International Rugby and pick our Team of the Year. A team is nothing without a good bench, so in fairness to all the outstanding performances we’ve seen from some remarkable players this year, we always pickContinue reading “The Lineout’s Team of 2018”
Rugby – a personal journey
Not our usual fare, but with the holiday season upon us, we thought we’d add a personal note to our regular musings. As the international season takes a much-needed break over the holidays, we thought we too would make a departure from our customary thoughts on the global game and add in a personal twistContinue reading “Rugby – a personal journey”
One of the most fascinating November Test windows in a long time, has given us plenty to think about as we head into a World Cup year!
In a month that saw plenty of excitement, we learnt a great deal about the pecking order in International Rugby and what it means, with less than a year to go before the final whistle in Japan and the crowning of a new World Champion. There were upsets, there was controversy, but throughout we wereContinue reading “One of the most fascinating November Test windows in a long time, has given us plenty to think about as we head into a World Cup year!”
While it would be hard to top last Saturday’s action there is still one last weekend of Test Rugby this November that gives us plenty to look forward to!
Like we say the remarkable Test match in Dublin last weekend lived up to its billing and then some! While this weekend’s final round of the November Test window may not quite have the aura of that memorable occasion there is still much to capture our interest this coming Saturday. Scotland once again kick offContinue reading “While it would be hard to top last Saturday’s action there is still one last weekend of Test Rugby this November that gives us plenty to look forward to!”
It was an epic weekend of Test Rugby with the Dublin dustup rightly taking front and centre stage!
Now that we’ve finally had a chance to catch our breath after the thriller in Dublin, we can put pen to paper on a few things that stood out for us after a memorable weekend. There is no question that the showdown in Dublin between Ireland and New Zealand provided the most talking points, asContinue reading “It was an epic weekend of Test Rugby with the Dublin dustup rightly taking front and centre stage!”
The biggest Test of the year awaits us in Dublin, but there is still plenty of action to be had in Edinburgh and Lille this weekend!
There is no doubt that this weekend’s fixture in Dublin is one of the most anticipated Tests of the year, and one which will tell us a lot about how close the number two side Ireland is to the world’s best New Zealand. Ireland know that should they lose, there can be no excuses andContinue reading “The biggest Test of the year awaits us in Dublin, but there is still plenty of action to be had in Edinburgh and Lille this weekend!”
An absolutely brilliant weekend of Test Rugby leaves us with plenty to mull over!
It’s not often that four Test matches over a November weekend live up to their billing. However, this weekend produced two titanic struggles and two matches, which although not the prettiest to watch at times, still provided some extraordinary moments. Our two highlights of the weekend were without a doubt the Twickenham and Paris thrillers.Continue reading “An absolutely brilliant weekend of Test Rugby leaves us with plenty to mull over!”
The Lineout 