Tag Archives: General Commentary

COVID-19 has sadly thrown a massive spanner into all aspects of our lives in 2020, and we are clearly a long way from being out of the woods yet. We don’t for a second deny the gravity of the situation, but by the same token are longing for some sense of normality to return. TheContinue reading “State of the Union Address – “it ain’t pretty”!!!”

It was another fast and furious weekend of Super Rugby action, with the New Zealand teams once more showing off some dazzling displays of skill, but South African supporters can be heartened by some notable heroics from the Stormers and the Sharks this weekend. Australian teams, courtesy the of the Brumbies, started the long climbContinue reading “Some more great Super Rugby action in Round 7 and one last look at the Six Nations!”

As you may recall we are taking a sabbatical from our regular weekly musings on International rugby until the end of May in time for us to spool up for the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in June. In the meantime we will continue to bring you the best of the actionContinue reading “Super Rugby gets to the point where teams need to start making a statement; the European Champions Cup takes on a distinctly Irish flavor and we take a quick look back at the highlights of an epic Six Nations!”

With this year’s Six Nations just around the corner we finish our look at the fortunes of the Northern Hemisphere’s big six in 2016 and rate them accordingly. While most of the teams struggled with the inevitable rebuilding that takes place after a World Cup, there was still plenty of excitement on hand. England clearlyContinue reading “The Lineout finishes our Report Cards of 2016 for the Northern Hemisphere’s top six and a precursor to this year’s Six Nations!”

We continue our look at how the teams we regularly follow over the course of the year fared in 2016. This week we look at the Southern Hemisphere’s big four – Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Without a doubt the talk was all about New Zealand’s continued dominance and South Africa’s slide intoContinue reading “The Lineout’s Annual Report Card for 2016 Part 2 – The Southern Hemisphere’s big Four!”

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”

Yes you read it correctly we’re taking a month off in April, as travel and family responsibilities call.  I have the fortune to be travelling to South Africa for two weeks this month and hope to get caught up in some of the enthusiasm and excitement surrounding this year’s Super Rugby tournament.  It’s already beenContinue reading “The Lineout takes a break for April but we’ll be back in May!”

As we do every year the Lineout reviews the performances of the top ten international teams over the course of the last twelve months and gives them a score on what we feel they got right and what they got wrong.  As always as this is a Canadian based site added to the top tenContinue reading “The Lineout’s Annual Report Card for 2015”

As we conclude our look at Rugby World Cup 2015, we take a look at the existing competitive structures in International Test Rugby and throw out some ideas as to how they could be improved.  Lastly we’ll throw out an idea about an annual tournament that we feel is critical if the North/South divide in termsContinue reading “A few thoughts on the structure of International Rugby after the lessons learnt from the World Cup”