The Rogues Rant

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The Qld Reds season went from bad to worse last week with the shoulder injury suffered by Quade Cooper. The injury will keep Cooper out for the remainder of the Super Rugby season. It will also keep him out of the upcoming Wallaby series against the French which gets underway on June 6 in Brisbane. Without doubt Wallaby coach Ewan McKenzie’s plans also took a hit with the injury. I reckon Cooper would have been right at the top of McKenzie’s list of players for the series. All being well Cooper should be OK for the first Championship match with the All Blacks in Sydney come August 16.

The Junior Illawarriors have kept the flag flying high for Illawarra phone number library Rugby over the last few weeks. Our young teams have won three NSW Country Championships over the three tournament weekends. It’s not unusual for the zone to win at least one age group in a season as has happened many times over the years, but to win three in one season is an outstanding performance. Dominating the young age groups of 12’s, 13’s and 14’s would suggest that the future of Illawarra Junior Rugby is strong.

Last week I asked the question whether Kiama were going to be pretenders or a force in this year’s Builders Club Premiership. After their match with Shamrocks on Saturday I’m not sure if the question has been answered. After impressing with their structure and composure in the first half it all went wrong after the break. Most people at the ground were prepared to back Kiama to win after their sound first half performance. When things didn’t go their way early in the second stanza they lost the plot completely and went down to an energetic Shamrocks effort. Kiama’s first half performance reminded me a lot of the style of the Illawarriors team of 2012.

It’s getting very interesting at the top of the Super Rugby Aussie conference. The Waratahs win over the Lions lifts them back into the six. With losses for both the Brumbies and the Force in South Africa, the three Aussie sides are within four points of each other on the table. The last five rounds, punctuated by the Internationals, are going to be very interesting. My tips for this week are Sharks, Waratahs, Bulls, Crusaders, Chiefs, Force and Stormers.