New Zealand clearly set the benchmark for the rest of the tournament this past weekend and it looks highly unlikely that anyone will catch up with them let alone cause an upset to their potential Grand Slam of the tournament this year, while at the same time the Bledisloe Cup is once more firmly lockedContinue reading “Round 2 of the Rugby Championship sees New Zealand assert their dominance, Australia and South Africa continue to struggle and Argentina learn how to close out big games!”
Author Archives: Neil Olsen
Round 2 of the Rugby Championship looks set to see New Zealand emerge the clear front-runners!
On one side of the coin, this weekend’s Rugby Championship action gives us one of the easiest predictions we’ll make all year while on the other one of the hardest we’ve had to call. The contest this Saturday between New Zealand and Australia in Wellington is likely for all intents and purposes to be aContinue reading “Round 2 of the Rugby Championship looks set to see New Zealand emerge the clear front-runners!”
Rugby Championship Round 1 kicks off in style as New Zealand make an emphatic statement!
The Rugby Championship got off to a thundering start this year after its abbreviated format from last year. New Zealand destroyed last year’s champions Australia and the Wallabies were handed an embarrassing lesson in basic rugby skills as they were made to look utterly clueless for most of a painful 80 minutes. Meanwhile in SouthContinue reading “Rugby Championship Round 1 kicks off in style as New Zealand make an emphatic statement!”
The Lineout’s Review of the June Internationals – Part 2
Unfortunately, the first month of summer caught us slightly by surprise here at the Lineout, and what with all the rugby to watch, school finishing and various work commitments we regrettably didn’t get to cover the momentous events taking place in International Test Rugby in June in as much detail as we would have liked.Continue reading “The Lineout’s Review of the June Internationals – Part 2”
The Lineout’s Review of the June Internationals – Part 1
Unfortunately, the first month of summer caught us slightly by surprise here at the Lineout, and what with all the rugby to watch, school finishing and various work commitments we regrettably didn’t get to cover the momentous events taking place in International Test Rugby this past month in as much detail as we would haveContinue reading “The Lineout’s Review of the June Internationals – Part 1”
Another exciting weekend of International Test Rugby awaits as we hurtle towards a potentially enthralling final weekend!
The stakes couldn’t be higher this weekend as we look ahead to the second weekend of the June Tours by the Northern Hemisphere sides south of the Equator. South Africa and Australia will be desperate to restore some pride and confidence after getting off to a poor start against Ireland and England respectively. Of theContinue reading “Another exciting weekend of International Test Rugby awaits as we hurtle towards a potentially enthralling final weekend!”
The first weekend of the June Tours provides thrills and spills galore!
In a fast and furious weekend of Test Rugby we have a quick look at what stood out for us in a superb start to the June Tours. As expected a new look New Zealand struggled to gel initially for the first hour but once they did were able to put a brave Welsh sideContinue reading “The first weekend of the June Tours provides thrills and spills galore!”
June sees the return of International Test Rugby as the Northern Hemisphere sides travel South and Canada has a chance to really lay down some markers for the future in three eagerly anticipated fixtures
It’s that time of the year again as International Test Rugby returns to the front and centre of everyone’s attention as the Northern Hemisphere sides journey South to test their mettle against the Southern Hemisphere’s Big Three. After a relatively disappointing Six Nations, in which England were the clearly dominant side, we really get toContinue reading “June sees the return of International Test Rugby as the Northern Hemisphere sides travel South and Canada has a chance to really lay down some markers for the future in three eagerly anticipated fixtures”
The Lineout wholeheartedly shifts its attention to Super Rugby as the competition heats up in Round 11!
With the prospect of some exciting summer tours by Ireland, England and Wales rapidly approaching, we turn our attention to the Southern Hemisphere’s premier club rugby competition, Super Rugby, to get an idea of who we may be looking at come June. This year’s Super Rugby has been enlarged by three teams, one each fromContinue reading “The Lineout wholeheartedly shifts its attention to Super Rugby as the competition heats up in Round 11!”
The Lineout gets a glimpse at the challenges facing the future of rugby in South Africa
I had the great fortune of getting a fascinating look at the trials and tribulations of South African rugby post the World Cup and the start of a new coaching regime for the Springboks. On a recent holiday visiting my wife’s family in South Africa, I had the privilege of attending an excellent school matchContinue reading “The Lineout gets a glimpse at the challenges facing the future of rugby in South Africa”
The Lineout 