Rugby Exclusive

Despite rumours that Rugby League turncoat Sonny Bill Williams would return to Australia in an attempt to not only win back fans but once again run rampant on Australian soil, he has resigned with French club Toulon.

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Once touted as one of the most exciting young prospects in Australian Rugby League, the Kiwi born Williams, along with his manager, have decided that he will attempt to play out his contract in Europe.

Williams, who defied both law and logic, followed his boy hood hero Tana Umaga after the All Black international lured him away from the sport that has turned him into a household name.

Shunned by the Rugby League world, Williams began a career that lasted less than a month after a broken leg left him sidelined for the majority of the season, much to the dismay of Toulon manager Mourad Boudjellal.

Boudjellal, known for his hard line approach and zero tolerance policy, may very well be rubbing his hands together now as Toulon looks certain to avoid relegation after elevating themselves to eleventh on the ladder.

Williams has provided a major contribution to the team’s recent winning streak despite rumors that he was homesick and wanted to return to the country that had given him so much.
To add a little sulphur to the fire, a man who needs little introduction , has shown interest in playing alongside the Rugby convert.

Jonny Wilkinson has reportedly made trips France to meet with Toulon management and expressed quite an interest in playing with the side.

Queensland Rugby Union will stop at nothing in their quest for Super 14’s success this year after it is rumoured they approached former Waratah’s Captain Chris Whittaker in an attempt to sure up their backline against the Chiefs in just over a weeks time.

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Whittaker’s ties to the club are undeniable as his brother Ben is the QRU’s Rugby performance manager.
It is also no secret that Chris was quick to text his brother to congratulate him after the Reds stunning 25 – 13 victory over the Sharks on Saturday night.

The Red’s have struggled thus far in the Super 14’s season and have narrowly missed a couple of victories that at certain stages in the match looked like they should have been four points to the Reds.

The Red’s starting half back Ben Lucas looked in grave doubt after he suffered rib damage to his rib cartelege and although was able to play on, the Red’s quickly needed to source a back up half back.
And who better to replace him than former wallaby hafl back Chris Whitaker who currently is playing out a contract for Leinster in Ireland.

The move could see tension between the old foes New South Wales and Queensland further flare after the Red’s narrowly lost to the Tahs a few weeks back and their Coach was quick to point out that the Tahs were extremely lucky to come away with the points on that occasion.

Nothing is set in stone but it would certainly be entertaining to see the former Wallaby return to the Super 14’s for a one off cameo, playing for a side he faught so hard to contain over the years.

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Well, well, well, we all knew it had to happen at some point but few of us could have predicted that sonny Bill Williams return to Australia would not be with his tail between his legs after a horror season for French team Toulon, rather in the black and white stripes as a member of the Barbarians.

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Williams will line up for the Barbarians who are essentially the who’s who of international Rugby, a star studded line up of the best players from around the globe.

It is a reason for all to celebrate as it sees the long awaited return of international rugby to the Sydney Football stadium as the Bar Bar’s take on the mighty gold Wallabies in what is sure to be a notorious clash.

Last time the two teams played the Wallabies emerged victorious as an underdone and at times unorganised Barbarians side squandered several opportunities and the Wallabies capitalized.

William’s is not the only superstar to be recently named in the Barbarians starting line up.
Former England Captain Martin Corry will line up for the Bar Bar’s along side All Black great and renowned hard man Jerry Collins as well as French International Sebastian Bruno.

The three aforementioned players have over one hundred and thirty test caps between and will be a formidable force up front alongside the as yet uncapped Sonny Bill.

Another boost for the Barbarian’s comes after Cardiff Blues boss David Young was named as Coach and will be assisted English international Mike Catt.

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If there’s one thing that the South African cricket team are world renowned for (if not being the second best cricket team in the world) it’s chasing down world record totals.

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The one question this poses is – can they do it in the second test against a red hot bunch of so called amateurs otherwise known as the current Australian test cricket team?
According to coach Tim Nielson the answer is no.

Upon setting a more than competitive total against the Proteas in the first test he proclaimed triumphantly that he expected no other result from his charges than outright victory.

Again he made the same statement after his top order batsmen set the massive total that exceded five hundred yet his relatively inexperienced bowlers have been met with somewhat staunch resistance from South African batsmen that to date have offered nothing since dominating on Australian soil.

The toast of Australian cricket, Mitchell Johnson, has yet to penetrate the middle order after the other bright light of Australian cricket – and the newly proclaimed saviour of the Australian top order Phil Hughes – sent records tumbling when he posted two solid tonnes in two consecutive innings of the same test.

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Regardless of the resistance from a ragged and possibly spent South African batting line up that is obviously missing the presence of an injured Graeme Smith, Australia are poised on the precipice of a famous victory that will not only ensure the return of their number one ranking, but return respect and peace of mind to an otherwise worried cricketing nation.

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The Australian women’s cricket team, who seem to perennially live in the shadow of the men’s team (the men just recently regained their world number one ranking) have managed to notch up their first win against the Proteas women side in the women’s world cup of cricket.

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Coming off the back of an extremely unsuccessful Protea’s tour of Australia by the Australian men’s team, the women’s team has continued to shine by maintaining their dominance of the international women’s .

Despite posting a modest total after the South African’s women’s team failed to dismiss the Australian’s – only managing to get a third of the way into the order – the Australian bowling order showed why they are held in the upmost regard on the international cricketing circuit.

The South African’s looked rather in control as they cruised to one for ninety one in the twenty fifth over but tight bowling of consistent line and length meant that the Protea’s were forced to take chances – and the built up pressure soon took it’s toll.

Middle order bowlers from Australia wore down the defensive style being played by the South African’s and wickets were the inevitable result.

Chasing just two hundred and fifty eight the Australian’s dominance in both batting and bowling soon became evident and the total never really looked in danger.  You can also bet all all the Australian rugby on centrebet.com.au.

The win is the second in a row for the Aussie’s who now move to outright first top of their pool and cement their position as almost un-backable favourites to take out the World Championship.

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The Brumbies have given their play off chance another shot in the arm following a thrilling one point victory over the third placed Bulls at Canberra Stadium over the weekend.

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The Brumbies were at long odds to make the play offs and even longer odds to challenge for the trophy just a few weeks ago but solid performance since have seen them get within a win of the top four.

After disastrous tour of South Africa that saw the death of team mate and International Rugby 7 ‘ s representative Shawn Mackay following a crushing defeats at the hands of the Sharks, the Brumbies appear to have their season on track.

However, the most recent match was not without it’s controversy after prop Guy Shepherdson was yellow carded in the twenty seventh minute.

The hulking number three was subsequently suspended for two matches which will mean he will miss the majority of the rest of the season should the Brumbies indeed miss the play offs.

A betting man would be as safe to put his money on the Brumbies as any other team after they leap frogged the Crusaders into seventh position.

Remarkably, with just a handful of matches left to play each, a mere five points (the maximum points for a win) separates the eighth placed Crusaders and the top of the table Chiefs.

However, the Brumbies have a tough run home with three of their final four matches being played away, two of which against top four sides (Chiefs and Hurricanes).

It is pretty much official, the Queensland Reds Super 14s Rugby team is dead and buried for 2009 and should be looking to either save face with a few late victories or attempt to blood new players in the hope of rebuilding for next year.

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It is not a far stretch to refer to the Queensland Reds as one of the biggest under achievers in Super 12s and Super14s history.

Year after year they boasted star studded line ups with many notable internationals but have failed to produce any real results having consistently missed the play offs.

This years turning point was undoubtedly a heart breaking loss to their biggest rivals in the New South Wales Waratahs.

After leading when the full time whistle blue, New South Wales put up a bomb that bounced awkwardly for the full back only to see Rugby League convert Tiamna Tahu pounce and sprint some twenty five metres to score the winning try.

Since then the Reds have been disorganised through the back line and lacked any real firepower up front.

They currently sit in second last place having notched up just two wins from nine starts whilst managing a respectable five bonus points for a total of just thirteen points putting them well outside the top eight with just four games remaining.

A tough run home will see them play against top eight sides in all matches including two away matches in New Zealand meaning they are unlikely to even improve their position on the ladder.

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Injuries are always a pain, especially when you lose star players and that result in a dip in morale for the rest of the team, but sometimes with a little bit of luck, it doesn’t have to be that bad.

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The New Zealand Warriors have lost their star winger Manu Vatuvei, but managed to have their workhorse forward Michael Luck for the NRL match against Brisbane. However, despite a player on the bench, there is still no room for club veteran Stacey Jones, even so after his match winning plays in the defeat of Manly in Sydney, he remains on the interchange bench with other players such as Nathan Fien.

Michael Luck returns from injury time, after missing the Manly match where he was knocked out by a Fuifui Moimoi tackle in the season opening match which the Kiwis won over Paramatta.

Aidan Kirk is the substitute for Vatuvei, who is out due to a knee injury. This is good news for Aidan, which will see him in his first NRL run of the year, after doing a fantastic job last year.

Other players on the bench include Lesson Ah Mau after he dislocated his shoulder. All up, three players were lost after beating the Eels, and after Manly, many more were battered. That said, the Kiwis still have many players that they have on the standby, which will see the team still go on strong, and even more evident us the Kiwi’s prowess when they took out North Queensland and Melbourne.

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A betting man would do well to steer well clear of a struggling

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The Reds are perhaps one of the most under performing teams in the history of the Super 12s and Super 14s and despite turning in a number of commendable performances so far this season, have failed to strike a combination that will bring them the results players, coaching staff and fans are craving.

At this stage it appears the Reds will now lose regular hooker Sean Hardman which will give ex Brumby Saia Faingaa his first opportunity to take the field as part of the starting line up.

Faingaa has been largely warming the bench since making the move to Queensland from the ACT earlier this year and will no doubt be salivating at the prospect of taking the pitch for the opening kick off.

However it will take much more than a fresh face in the Reds line up to get them over the line against and in form Highlanders who are potentially just two solid wins out of the top four if results go their way.

The Reds are languishing in second last place and have given up any chance of reaching, concentrating more on blooding new players and attempting to find a combination that will bring more positive results for the Queenslanders rugby sesion.

The Reds will offer great value in betting circles and realistically they are only six points behind the highlanders but it will be an uphill battle against the Highlanders at home.

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