The growth and expansion of the NRLW and an enviable depth of talent has put a target on the Jillaroos’ backs but other nations have made advances too“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail,” Benjamin Franklin once said. The sentiment may be squarely in the minds of the Jillaroos when they take to the field at York Community Stadium on Wednesday (Thursday morning AEDT) to kick off their Women’s Rugby League World Cup campaign.Australia go into this tournament somewhat surprisingly with no warm-up games under their belt, and without having played a Test match in three years because of Covid-19. This is a green and gold squad full of inexperience, with 12 debutants and just five players remaining...
Successes against New Zealand and England have put Australia in a strong position ahead of next year’s tournament in Cape TownGretel Bueta. Ash Brazill. Liz Watson. Steph Wood. The names variously missing from recent team sheets in Australia’s recent back-to-back Test series wins have been conspicuous, but the absent stars are also the reason Stacey Marinkovich’s side should be favourites for next year’s World Cup in Cape Town.The Diamonds – who were in the unfamiliar position of being trophy-less in March last year – have collected titles over recent weeks against New Zealand and England without several of their genuine star players, reinforcing the strength in depth of their squad. Continue reading...
Victory will lift confidence at the start of the Wallaby’s tour of Europe but their Murrayfield performance was underwhelmingFor much of his reign as the Wallaby’s head coach, Dave Rennie has urged the rest of us to focus on his team’s performance rather than the scoreboard. Wins and losses are how most elite sports teams are measured, but the patterns and shapes mattered just as much. At least that’s been the message from the man in charge.Not this time. A messy and disjointed affair, littered with handling errors and misplaced passes, ended with Australia edging a contest that they probably should have lost. They conceded more tries, made less carries into contact, lost the battles for possession and territory, were...
A commitment to equality had been questioned after the introduction of the men-only ATP Cup sparked a seething reactionThe triumphant announcement of a mixed-teams event across Australia to launch the next summer of tennis stems from a crisis of conscience three years ago. Billed as a world first “showcasing equality at the highest level of the sport”, the United Cup will feature the world’s best men and women and is a positive step forward for tennis.Three years in the making, the 18-team, $23m event promises to be a celebration of tennis at its best to whet the appetite leading into the Australian Open at Melbourne Park. Bar for the onset of Covid-19, it is a competition that would have started...
Without minnows’ exposure to elite sides like Australia a more level global playing field will never be achievedEveryone loves seeing a bully put on their backside. Crowds adore the mouse that roars or a minnow that swallows a whale. International sport is built on such David v Goliath dramas. It’s the victory of heart over head, the triumph of the fight in the dog, not the dog in the fight – a reminder that the favourite is a misnomer and it’s the dark horse we’re often drawn to.Hence why the handful of upsets in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup so far have been more satisfying than the shellackings and spiflications that are usually the norm at this event. It’s...