The Tight Five with Jim Tucker: Queensland rivalry with NSW is not what it used to be
HERE’S hoping Sunday’s Queensland v NSW clash is a ripper to enliven what was once branded as “The Battle of the Border” because it has lost its fizz.
Rugby
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby. Followed categories will be added to My News.
RUGBY writer Jim Tucker has a crack at hits and misses of the week in rugby union in his Tight Five column.
1. HAS THE QUEENSLAND-NSW RIVALRY LOST SOME FIZZ?
It’s a tough topic when you have to admit Australian rugby’s longest-standing rivalry is not what it used to be in terms of build-up, feisty storylines, feeling between the combatants and the spectacle itself without the fire-and-brimstone of the old days.
Here’s hoping Sunday afternoon’s clash at Suncorp Stadium is a ripper to enliven what was once branded as “The Battle of the Border” and lived up to it.
There are a few reasons why the Queensland-NSW clash has receded in prominence in recent years.
The two interstate clashes are now part of a breathless 15-game season so the focus on individual games is naturally lessened.
The Waratahs v ACT Brumbies has soared as the best spectacle among the local derbies and there is palpable feeling between the sides.
Those clashes are real toss of the coin contests and have produced some epic rugby.
Too often over the past decade Queensland-NSW games have not delivered classic rugby from both sides or been rather one-sided.
Perhaps, the last classic finish was back in early 2012.
Remember, it was the night in Sydney when a 20-year-old Dom Shipperley scooted away on a 50m run to seal a 25-21 escape for the Reds on full-time after the Waratahs misguidedly kick the ball back to the Queenslanders.
Even the excitement of that interstate match was locked in the finale rather than the full 80 minutes which was largely February rugby.
The make-up of Queensland teams has changed too. When you have five Auckland-born and two Fijian-born players in your starting team it is hard to imagine the same from-the-cradle dislike of all things in blue jerseys.
That said, the responsibility is on the leaders in the Reds ranks to guarantee there is a fervour beyond the normal for interstate games.
That’s why it was great to hear Reds skipper James Slipper deliver this unsanitised line this week when talking about a contest against many of the same NSW players he competed proudly beside at the World Cup.
“They are good blokes but I hate ‘em with a blue jersey on,” Slipper said.
Australian rugby needs a classic Queensland-NSW showdown.
2. BRUMBIES BROUHAHA
Plenty of strong words and drama at the top have come from the national capital this past week and we don’t mean from Parliament House.
ACT Brumbies chief executive Michael Jones is on war footing, his words, for a showdown with those figures he feels are trying to hack him down.
The Brumbies have always operated a little like a lone wolf since they were born 21 years ago, in part because they had a Berlin Wall between them and the Waratahs-centric powerbrokers in
Sydney that served their psyche well.
Jones has taken on the Brumbies mafia head on, as rugby writing colleague Georgina Robinson put it well.
There will be casualties. Jones will likely be one because it’s hard to see him as a unifying commander-in-chief even if he proves his point or some part of it.
The relief for Australian rugby at large came when ARU boss Bill Pulver essentially said there will always be a Brumbies team on the field.
3. MANN UP
His ill-discipline cost the ACT Brumbies any chance of winning in Cape Town last weekend but when did we last get the chance to see if an Australian rugby player could actually throw a punch not a handbag?
Brumbies hooker Josh Mann-Rea threw two quick right hand punches that both landed.
4. TRY HARDS
The TMO in rugby is an exasperating beast. As ever technology is introduced to clear things up but often only succeeds in clouding issues.
Take the “try” scored by Stormers winger Dillyn Leyds against the Brumbies in Cape Town.
Leyds was clearly losing control of the ball in the cover tackle of Joe Tomane and his own headshaking seemed to confirm that.
After watching the slow-mos, the video ref believed Leyds’s hand-wrist had retained some contact with the ball all the way to the grounding even though the ball was spilling from his grasp.
Come on. He lost control of the ball. It was a knock-on.
I have a rule of thumb. You never reward errors. That’s why I can never side with a player who drops a kick cold and appeals to the ref that the ball went backwards.
You can bet a good ref from the old days like the late Kerry Fitzgerald or tricky Dick Byres would have ruled knock-on, no try, with no TMO in sight.
5. BIG CONGRATS TO LOGAN CITY
Finally, well done to the Queensland Rugby Union for ushering Logan City into the Premier Rugby competition for 2018.
The Saints will be a valuable stepping stone for the abundant talent from a great rugby nursery south of Brisbane.
Just think of this start to a backline from talent reared or school-raised from the Logan area ... Israel Folau, Nick Cummins, Karmichael Hunt, Matt Toomua and Quade Cooper.
Originally published as The Tight Five with Jim Tucker: Queensland rivalry with NSW is not what it used to be
‘It will change your life’: Wallaby’s message of hope after ADHD diagnosis
After years of grappling for an extreme and compulsive workload, Wallaby Carlo Tizzano sought help. And he says what happened next changed his life — and rugby career — for the better.
Rugby Sevens golden girl’s quest for LA games as a mum
She won Aussie hearts as a fresh-faced youngster steamrolling opponents on her way to Olympic gold. Now Charlotte Caslick wants to add mum to her list of titles on the way to a fourth Games.