Tahds by 1050. Rebels are a joke.

Is that taking into account this man?

Tahds by 1050. Rebels are a joke.

Is that taking into account this man?

If K Beale plays will this be the first time that he has faced his old team since the move to south of the border? Could be a nice little sub plot to the game.
Much as the Tah's are lowest on my list of aussie teams to support I can't see this being anything other than a right royal rogering for the Rabble

Yep, he was injured in round 1.

Cripple fight

Possibly, but doubtful. All things point to a manshaming with the Waratahs suddenly looking like world beaters again.

No doubt that they will score multiple try's and their fan boys will wank on about how they are back on track. And then the Crusaders arrive in town.....

As an aside I am beginning to think that there is something in the Dumbledore/Huxley man crush theory. I mean following your favourite player inter state . . .

The more I think about the Tahs forward pack then more I get worried for this game.

you should worry.
see my post above.

i have written repeatedly that it's a matter of time before a team decides to destroy the Rebels' pack with an 80 minute assault.
that time's coming
this week?

you should worry.
see my post above.

i have written repeatedly that it's a matter of time before a team decides to destroy the Rebels' pack with an 80 minute assault.
that time's coming
this week?

Yeah I know what you mean. As much as Delve, Pyle and Jones are playing well it doesn't make up for the fact that the other 5 forwards aren't holding their own.

The Highlanders were the first team to really show our pack up, at halftime they were even and the Highlanders obviously worked out that quick ball and attacking the forwards and we would go to shit. Unfortunately the other teams have paid attention to that!

ROCKY Elsom's gut instinct tells him he will make his first appearance for the NSW Waratahs in their Super Rugby game against the Melbourne Rebels in Sydney on Saturday night, but he will not know for sure until he attempts to run at training tomorrow.

Elsom, who returned to Sydney after playing in Dublin and Canberra for the past three years, has been sidelined this season with a hamstring injury he sustained at the World Cup in New Zealand last spring.

The Waratahs are anxious to gain Elsom's leadership and experience but he does not want to aggravate the injury and spend even longer in the grandstand.

"I think it will be fine," Elsom said. "I ran freely last Friday. As long as I can run freely on Tuesday I should be good to play a few minutes."

If Elsom is fit to play, NSW coach Michael Foley may look to bring him into the team via the reserves bench.

Elsom, who is the Waratahs captain, would lack match fitness while Dave Dennis has been playing well at blindside flanker, scoring a try off a rehearsed lineout move in the Waratahs' important 23-18 win against the Western Force in Perth on Friday night.


"Its a possibility that would happen," Foley said. "A number of guys have been playing well. Dave Dennis has been outstanding. He has been one of our better players."

If the Waratahs are to finish on top of the Australian conference, a win against the Rebels is almost non-negotiable.

The biggest danger facing the Waratahs could be complacency.

They beat the Rebels comfortably in Melbourne in the second round. And the Rebels, who do not travel well, are coming off a 37-6 thrashing in Canberra on Saturday night.

Foley will emphasise the dangers the Rebels pose, particularly the Three Amigos -- Kurtley Beale, James O'Connor and Danny Cipriani.

"James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale are obvious dangers," Foley said. "We have to be aware of what Danny Cipriani and Mark Gerrard can do. Gareth Delve has been a standout and their pack is well drilled.

"They shouldn't be taken lightly. They beat the Blues two weeks ago. Last night they would have been disappointed with their first half, but they pressured the Brumbies' defence with the ball in hand in the second half."

The return of Beale to Sydney will add extra interest to the game.

The Waratahs were very disappointed when Beale left them to join the Rebels. Even though he is playing on the wing instead of fullback, Foley believes Adam Ashley-Cooper had filled Beale's boots for the Waratahs.

"We were fortunate to have Adam join us," Foley said. "He has moved from fullback to the wing, but is playing better and better."

Foley was pleased with the team's effort against the Force, particularly winger Tom Kingston's try off turnover ball, which they have been working on.

"We played some good footy in the first 40 minutes and we were unlucky not to be further ahead at half-time," Foley said.

"A feature of the game was how we used turnover ball."

We need desperately:

A good tighthead
A good hooker
A fetcher
A strong ball running 8
A ball playing 10, someone who takes the ball to the line like Cips does. O'Connor isn't there yet.
A lightning quick finisher

Get all on those and we should be ok, although it will be interesting to see who we can recruit between now and the end of the season.

What's the limit on foreign players for next season?

We need desperately:

A good tighthead
A good hooker
A fetcher
A strong ball running 8
A ball playing 10, someone who takes the ball to the line like Cips does. O'Connor isn't there yet.
A lightning quick finisher

Get all on those and we should be ok, although it will be interesting to see who we can recruit between now and the end of the season.

On Saturday night the RaboDirect Rebels will play the Waratahs for the Weary Dunlop Shield on what has been dubbed 'Armed Forces Night', named in honour of those from NSW and Victoria who have served and are currently serving

The match, which takes place four days prior to Anzac Day, will be the fourth time the two teams have contested the Weary Dunlop Shield, the trophy named in honour of Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop, one of the great Australians and a Victorian rugby pioneer. It is awarded to the victor of each contest between the two teams.

As well as a curtain raiser between the Army and Navy, the evening will also see a special half-time performance from the Navy Band, the playing of the Last Post by the Navy bugler, a reading of the oath and a moment’s silence to honour the fallen.

As part of Operation Rosemary, volunteers from the Australian Defence Forces will also be handing out rosemary sprigs to raise funds for Legacy, the charity providing services to Australian families suffering financially and socially after the death of a spouse or parent, during or after their defence force service.

Tickets for the FxPro Super Rugby Round 9 match between the RaboDirect Rebels and Waratahs at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday (kick off 7.40pm) are available online from Ticketek.com.au - $20 for adults, $10 for juniors and $50 for a family of four.

MELBOURNE REBELS fullback Kurtley Beale says he is injury free, but still not at full fitness, as he prepares for a long-awaited clash against his former team, the Waratahs, on Saturday night.
Beale had an interrupted early season because of hamstring and calf injuries but has been handy when he has been on the field. The Wallabies star yesterday conceded there was still some work needed.
He said he was watching his diet and had a program in place to be back to his peak within six weeks. ''I am 100 per cent,'' Beale said. ''Obviously having soft-tissue injuries, they can hold you back a little bit and get you down in confidence, but I'm back 100 per cent.
''I've still got a bit of work to do on conditioning the body but that will come.''
Meanwhile, he said he was looking forward to facing the Waratahs in Sydney after he missed the teams' first clash in round two when the Rebels were beaten 35-19.
''I'm very, very excited to be going back to Sydney,'' Beale said. ''They're a great side the Waratahs. They've got a very big forward pack and some dangerous backs out wide. I just want to treat it as a normal game. I don't want to treat it as a different game because I'll lose focus.''
The Rebels are trying to bounce back from a 37-6 loss to the Brumbies and Beale said his side needed to try to contain the Waratahs' powerful forward pack.
''They've got a Wallaby front row and then having Cliffy [Wycliff] Palu at the back, it's going to help them a lot in trying to gain momentum, so it's important for us to chop legs and really get under them and stop their force.''

Rodney Blake runs out in Rebels colours for his 50th game of Super Rugby on Saturday night. His journey is typical of many, one that covers clubs across many countries and rugby communities.

Born in Tonga, Blake’s rugby education began with an introduction to the game at the hands of his father Paul who played for Otago in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship.

The Blakes moved Rodney and his five siblings to Sydney in 1996. He began his junior rugby with West Harbour in Sydney in a junior career that included five caps with the Australian School Boys and the Australian U21’s.

He got his big break with the Reds while playing for West Harbour in Sydney’s Shute Shield side in 2003. Urban legend has it that then Queensland Coach Jeff Miller came to observe one of Blake’s West Harbour teammates against Norths, only for the novice prop to catch his eye.

Blake’s Super Rugby run on debut with the Reds was preceded by solid performances from the bench, most notably against the Bulls, and scored his run-on start against the Highlanders in 2005. He finished the last three games of that season as the starting tight-head prop. Coincidently, he crossed paths with other future Rebels in that line-up - Julian Huxley and Lloyd Johansson.

He would play 36 games for the Queensland side between 2005 and 2008. In 2006 he won the Pilecki Medal - the award for the player of the year, as judged by the playing group. It placed him in illustrious company, with other winners including Wallaby John Eales, Rod McCall and Peter Slattery.

He made massive strides, being co-opted into the Wallabies for the 2006 home series against England. The Sydney crowd would watch the tighthead prop receive an outside-ball from Phil Waugh and bullock his way straight through England reserve back Matthew Tait to ground the ball in the 75th minute, scoring a try on debut. He played the entire 80 minutes.

In an interview with the ARU’s Onside Newsletter, he described his debut:

“It was quite surprising actually. I was just focused on making the Reds team at the start of the season and just wanted to play good footy for the Reds,” said Blake.

“Playing for the Wallabies wasn’t in my thoughts at all. 2006 was a special year. Making my Test debut and scoring a try on debut was a dream come true.”

He couldn’t win a contract to stay with the Reds, with a form slump over his head, so he left Australian rugby for Bayonne in the French Top 14. His absence left a big hole in the Queensland scrum. On his departure, then Reds coach Phil Mooney said “…We've lost a big, damaging ball runner with Rodney's move to France”.

He would spend two years with Bayonne, adapting to a different style of rugby, refining his scrumming. He quickly noted the difference in standard and style of the Gallic form of rugby while he was there.

He was quoted on the West Harbour website on his return:

“Rugby over there is a lot different. The standard is definitely different [to here in Australia] and it's a different style".

Former Rebels forwards coach Mark Bakewell commented on the acquisition of Blake to the Herald Sun, lauding his development in his two years in France.

“From his experience, Rodney returns to Australia with a broader range of skills as well as the desire to be the best player in his position in the country…We believe he can exceed the expectations put on him before he left for France and become a major asset for the Rebels and Australian rugby.”

Many Rebels fans, watching the player signings roll in, were delighted that the new franchise had signed the former Wallaby. Since then, Blake has played 13 Super Rugby games for the Rebels, in the run on side and off the bench, into both ends of the front row.

He played six games last year, his first of which was against the Hurricanes. He scored his first Super Rugby try for the Rebels that night. It was a monstrous pick-and-drive. Using the full force of his bulk he smashed himself into the defence, swivelled and managed to ground the ball left of the uprights.

No-one knew it was Blake until he emerged from the pile of bodies. When he did, the crowd’s thunderous approval shook the roof of AAMI Park. He’d had to bide his time behind Greg Somerville and Laurie Weeks, and when the opportunity came he took it and ran - literally.

The journey says a lot about the man. He’s been all the way to the top of the game and after two years away from the Australian rugby scene has come home and effectively begun again. He has persisted, learned and worked hard to be reborn as an effective front-row force.

When he takes his spot on Saturday night against the Waratahs, for his 14th game for the Rebels, he’ll complete a remarkable homecoming. It’s an amazing journey punctuated with achievement and hard work, and one that should be truly celebrated.

Rodney Blake; congratulations on 50 games of Super Rugby.

Honestly.. Rodney seems to have Zero impact in the rebels games i have seen him play.

Have always been a big fan when he first burst on the scene.... But im starting to think that perhaps he is a bit too overhyped.?

Have you actually watched any of the rebels games this year? I would recommend that you look at the games when he came on as a sub and the improvement in scrummaging.
TBF he is a bit over rated, suffers from fat bastard syndrome where everyone assumes the fatter you are the better you are at something.


Hang on . . . .

Rodzilla might be a plump Islander, but at least he's contributing and building the game.

Rodzilla might be a plump Islander, but at least he's contributing and building the game.

We need desperately:

A good tighthead
A good hooker
A fetcher
A strong ball running 8
A ball playing 10, someone who takes the ball to the line like Cips does. O'Connor isn't there yet.
A lightning quick finisher

Get all on those and we should be ok, although it will be interesting to see who we can recruit between now and the end of the season.

NEW South Wales centre Tom Carter says the Waratahs have too much respect for Melbourne star Kurtley Beale than to rattle his cage in tomorrow night's Super Rugby clash in Sydney.
It's the first time the former Waratah will face his old side, but Carter insists there will be no special attention given to Beale.
Perceived as one of Super Rugby's biggest on-field antagonists, Carter says the Waratahs would be setting themselves up for failure if they made the clash all about their former full-back.
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Carter said even after five years of playing alongside him, the Waratahs could not fully know what to expect from the Wallaby.
''No, not at all. Not when you're that good anyway,'' said Carter when asked whether there would be a target put on Beale's head.
''You don't try and fire them up - that's for sure. You can know his game as well as you want but he's a world-class player.
''He's a tremendous player and after the game we'll say hello and what not, but it's just game nine for us and really important we win.''
Former NRL star Cooper Vuna has been included on the Rebels' bench in his first match back from suspension. The winger has been named on the bench and is likely to be used as an impact player.
Melbourne desperately needs a win on the road to stay alive in the Australian conference, while the Waratahs have a chance to take the lead if they can win. AAP
WARATAHS: Foley, Kingston, Horne, Carter, Ashley-Cooper, Barnes, McKibbin, Palu, Alcock, Dennis, Douglas, Mumm, Kepu, Polota-Nau, Robinson (c). Res: Elsom, Halangahu, Jenkins, Pretorius, Ryan, L. Timani, S. Timani, Ulugia.
REBELS: Beale, Mitchell, Johansson, O'Connor, Gerrard, Cipriani, Phipps, Delve (c), Lipman, Saffy, Pyle (vc), Jones, Blake, Robinson, Henderson. Res: Holmes, Owen, Campbell, Davidson, Kingi, Huxley, Vuna.