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Weekend Round-Up: Cowboys Advance After Moment Of JT Magic

By Calum Henderson
Johnathan Thurston

Catch up on the best of the weekend’s games on Rugby Pass, including tries galore in the Aviva Premiership, a close encounter with the Ranfurly Shield and an unlikely comeback in the Super League.

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NRL: Cowboys 26-20 Broncos
Watch: Full Game | Condensed
The Queensland derby produced yet another spectacular game of rugby league on Friday night. For the third time in four matches dating back to last year’s Grand Final the Cowboys and Broncos were inseperable after a late Johnathan Thurston penalty tied scores at 20-20. New extra time rules in place for the playoffs meant instead of the field goal frenzy of golden point the teams played five minutes either way. The deadlock was broken when – who else? – Johnathan Thurston produced a moment of brilliance to set up a try and lead his Cowboys to a Preliminary Final date with the Sharks next week.

Aviva Premiership: Bath 37-22 Worcester
Watch: Full Game | Condensed
English rugby traditionalists will be fair spewing at the gratuitous number of tries scored in the Premiership this weekend. Wasps scored ten in their 70-22 demolition of Bristol at Ricoh Arena on Sunday to come within a point of breaking their own competition points record. Saturday’s match between Bath and Worcester at the Rec only saw seven tries, as Bath overturned a 6-17 halftime deficit to win 37-22 and keep their promising start to the season rolling. Last year’s 9th placed side are now 3-from-3 to start the season, joint top of the table with Saracens and Wasps.

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Mitre 10 Cup: Waikato 20-20 Taranaki
Watch: Full Game | Condensed
Any New Zealander will tell you there are few things better than a good Ranfurly Shield battle and that’s what we got on Sunday afternoon at Waikato Stadium. The match turned on a late tackle by Taranaki’s Seta Tamanivalu which saw a potential match-winning try ruled out and the All Black centre sent to the sin bin. Waikato made their man advantage pay with a late penalty to tie the game at 20-20 and secure the old Log o’ Wood – for another ten days at least. They host Canterbury on the 28th.

Super League: Warrington 28-35 Wigan
Watch: Full Game | Condensed
Wolves led 28-14 and had one hand on the League Leaders’ Shield when Wigan’s Ben Flower was red carded for a late tackle in the 56th minute. The next 24 minutes saw 12-man Wigan run in four unanswered tries in one of the unlikeliest comebacks the Super League has ever seen. The League Leaders’ Shield will now be decided when Wolves play Hull FC in the final round next week.

Top 14: Racing 92 41-30 Toulon
Watch: Full Game | Condensed
Racing 92 remain unbeaten at home this season after beating Toulon in a high-scoring affair on Sunday. Winger Juan Imhoff scored a hat trick and centre Casey Laulala a brace of tries as Racing 92 played their glamour rival off the park. A bad day for Toulon, who lost experienced Ma’a Nonu to a sickening head clash, and while two tries in the final ten minutes restored some respectability to the scoreboard, embattled coach Diego Dominguez could well find his head back on the chopping block this week.

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A
Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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