Gorden Tallis was a terrific rugby league player. His charges into opponents, with and without the ball, made you recoil even though you were watching on the television screen. He was handy with his fists, too.

There  were any number of iconic moments in his career when he was captured on film smacking into his opponents, with his fists flying in a raging bull mood.

All this was great stuff  on the field.

But, unfortunately, he has taken this raging bull mode into career as a former player who sees his role as putting the biff on rugby union in defence of his beloved code of rugby league.

One of things that enrages him most, it seems, is the defection of rugby league players to the dark side of rugby union.

A day or so ago, Gorden was putting the biff once again into rugby union – a familiar rant actually – about the way that rugby union wasn’t concerned about the long term interests of players poached from rugby league.

“They use these players (league players) to get crowds to games and get more publicity,” Gorden fumed, giving rugby union yet another Tallis uppercut. “But when you stop getting them publicity and you mess up, they kick you out.”

This is supposed to be a warning to Jonathan Thurston not to switch to rugby union. The players he seems to be talking about are probably Mat Rogers, Wendell Sailor, and Lote Tuqiri.

Rogers was released from his contract with the ARU when he said he wanted to make a break from his rugby life in Sydney and go back to Queensland and play rugby league there. 

Where is the abuse here?

Sailor tested positive for cocaine and was banned for two years. He decided to come back as a rugby league player. The abuse here was clearly that which Sailor inflicted on himself.

Tuqiri had his Wallabies contract wiped out over a disciplinary breach. He has never revealed publicly what this breach was, even though no one has tried to stop him from doing so. He has subsequently played rugby union in England and now has joined the Wests Tigers.

If the breach was serious, then he can hardly complain about his treatment by the rugby union officials.

There is nothing in any of these cases that reflects badly on rugby union. Nor are any of these cases matters where players have been casually and cruelly thrown aside after their marketing value to the rugby union has been exhausted.

In fact, if  you look at the history of rugby union in Australia you’ll find that the code has an excellent record of embracing and helping players after their careers are over.

This applies even to players who left rugby union to play rugby league.

The most significant defection from rugby union (after Dally Messenger, of course) to rugby league was Trevor Allan. When Allan retired from rugby league, he came back to Australia. Rather than being ostracised by the rugby union game, he was, for many years, a revered rugby union commentator on the ABC.

Lloyd McDermott was the first Aboriginal to play for the Wallabies. He switched to rugby league to put himself through law school. Now a successful QC, McDermott runs an annual camp for Aboriginal youngsters based around a special rugby union side.

Going to the NSW Waratahs launch a couple of days ago I spotted Ken Wright, a Wallaby who then turned to rugby league, and now involved in rugby union matters.

And who is that coaching the Australian Sevens side? Michael O’Connor, that’s who. O’Connor is another Wallaby who went across to rugby league and has since been embraced again by the rugby union community.

Where is the “you mess up, they kick you out” in these cases?

The fact is that rugby union has a much better record of looking after former players (even those who decided for whatever reason to play ‘the greatest game of all’) than most other codes. Tallis is wrong to make the accusations he makes.

If he wants to retain any credibility, he should stop talking this nonsense.

His ludicrous (malacious is probably a better word) accusations invite the response that rugby league should look at its own history before putting the biff on rugby union.

Rugby league owed an enduring debt to the great Dally Messenger. He was the prize convert from rugby union and gave the new rugby league code in Sydney in 1908 a needed star attraction.

To refresh Gorden Tallis’ memory of how much the rugby league code cared for Messenger in his retirement, when he could no longer put bums on seats with his glorious play, here is a paragraph from Jack Pollard’s entry on Messenger in his magisterial history of Australian Rugby, The Game and the Players.

“There was a public outcry when the NSW Rugby League decided to charge him (Messenger) for the room he occupied at the Leagues Club in Phillip Street. Dan Frawley, who was the club’s chief steward, called the League officials, ‘a pack of ignorant and ungrateful bastards.’ The dispute was settled when Dally’s son paid the rent for him, in defiance of advice from his father’s friends and supporters.”

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• NRL goes on attack against AFL in western Sydney [149 comments]
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Crusaders assistant coach Daryl Gibson said McCaw was expected to return to Super 14 rugby duty for their team in the fourth round of the competition which kicks off this weekend.

“Richie’s obviously taking a sabbatical in that period — normally when All Blacks take sabbaticals it can be up to six months, so we’re fortunate Richie’s decided that he’s only taking three weeks off.

“It’s pretty good and a mark of the man, really.”

A round four return would see McCaw step out against the Blues in Christchurch on March 6.

Local bookmakers have installed the Crusaders as competition favourites, the return of star first five-eighth Daniel Carter seen as key.

Carter was on his ill-fated French sabbatical last year when the seven-time champions somehow scraped into fourth place while struggling all campaign on attack.

Andy Friend announced a full-strength team containing 12 Test representatives, including the entire pack, with wingers Francis Fainifo and Pat McCabe and centre Christian Lealiifano the only players yet to earn Wallaby status.

Giteau, who has moved across from the Force, is still battling to overcome the quad injury which prevented him playing any trials.

“We will look at him tomorrow at training. If it looks like he’s no chance, then we will probably make a call then, but if he’s still a chance we will probably give him another day,” Friend told reporters on Tuesday.

“We certainly won’t push him, if he’s not right, we’re not going to force him to get out there.”

Young five-eighth Matt Toomua was bracketed with Giteau.

If Giteau is fit, Toomua will drop out of the 22, with Giteau and inside centre Christian Lealiifano giving the Brumbies dual playmakers.

New halfback Josh Valentine will complete the set of representing all four Australian Super franchises when he turns out against his previous employer.

Wallabies captain and blindside flanker Rocky Elsom has been named to make his Brumbies debut after missing the trials with a hamstring niggle.

Australian under 19 representative McCabe, who has recovered from a quad strain, will make his Super debut.

In the forwards, former Wallabies lock Justin Harrison will play his first Super match for the Brumbies since 2003.

Friend said it had been tough to exclude lock Ben Hand, but the Brumbies needed their best lineout forward and controller to play following problems in that area in their final trial against the Waratahs.

“The bloke who has got the most experience of fixing the lineout is Justin Harrison,” Friend said.

He was wary of the Force, who he labelled a bogey team following victories in their last two Super clashes over the Brumbies.

Wallabies prop Ben Alexander was rushed into the team despite not playing in the trials due to a broken hand.

Alexander, who will switch back from his Test position of tighthead to loosehead, wasn’t concerned about the lack of match fitness for Elsom, Giteau and himself.

“Those guys (Elsom and Giteau) are tremendously naturally fit, they are still topping the fitness testing, even though they haven’t been playing,” Alexander told reporters.

“Off-field fitness-wise running and stuff, I am setting personal bests, so I’m happy with that.”

While the Brumbies scrum struggled against the Waratahs in their final trial, Alexander said the technical errors were easily fixed and he wasn’t at all worried.

Friend and Alexander both felt the Brumbies could set up their season by winning at least two of their first three games on the road against the Force, Bulls and Stormers.

“If we win two or three of those games it really puts us in a good spot with only a couple of trips to New Zealand for the rest of the year,” Alexander said.

Brumbies: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Pat McCabe, Stirling Mortlock, Christian Lealiifano, Francis Fainifo, Matt Giteau/Matt Toomua, Josh Valentine, Stephen Hoiles (capt), George Smith, Rocky Elsom, Justin Harrison, Mark Chisholm, Guy Shepherdson, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander. Res: Huia Edmonds, Salesi Maafu, Ben Hand, Mitchell Chapman, Patrick Phibbs, Tyrone Smith, Alfi Mafi, Afusipa Taumoepeau.

In a sporting context, they and them are I believe marketeers and lobby groups, who get the ear of sporting bodies, perhaps slip them a bundle under the table, in order to foist upon us, the unsuspecting public, something we might not actually like, or agree with.

Take the current rugby Wallabies jersey.

It looks more like a bicycle shirt. Now, I reckon bicycle shirts look great on bicycle riders. They are entirely appropriate and practical for cycling.

But they suck as a substitute for rugby jerseys. I’m actually surprised many rugby fans are okay with this. But then I wonder if they have bothered to give it much thought.

I’ve been clamouring for a return of the jersey collar, then I saw the latest version of the Waratahs jersey.

YUK! Make that double YUK!

If you’re going to treat the collar like some kind of stick-on, then I would rather they did away with it all together. Either we have the full collar, or nothing.

I also want to see a return to jerseys with some give. Yeah, I know why they did away with collars and ‘give’ in the jersey – so the tackler has nothing to grab onto.

Hell, it didn’t hurt anyone in the old days.

As for grabbing collars, it very rarely happened. Firstly, if the ref didn’t penalise the offender, then the offender sure knew the opposition was going to retaliate big-time.

In American football and baseball, the traditional outfits have been retained, despite all the latest technology being used in the fabric. Why is it so difficult for rugby to retain its traditional look.

Why this rush to embrace the future before we actually need to?

Finally, sponsorship on the national jersey. I appreciate Qantas’ involvement with rugby. I’m sure they’ve paid a lot of money for the privilege of having their name on the national jersey.

But it’s still wrong! Especially being inundated with the ‘Qantas’ Wallabies. Qantas doesn’t own the Wallabies, we, the fans, own the Wallabies. It belongs to the country, not some sponsor paying the highest bid at any one time.

Qantas can have its name across all the training gear, but not the playing strip. Sponsors can have their names on club and provincial jerseys, but not the national jersey.

If only the people in charge had the balls and morals to do the right thing!

Many would argue that the Pacific Islands already play a similar game.

However, as the 7-man game improves and spreads globally, it will play an increasingly important role within the XV man game. The important role of Sevens has seen Robbie Deans state his intentions to use Sevens Players for the Wallabies, as he believes the game brings out “accountability” in players.

However, in terms of the actual style itself:

* Different styles of rugby include a Northern Hemisphere forward-oriented game, involving a greater emphasis on set-piece, and rolling mauls.
* The French play an off-load game very effectively.
* In the Southern Hemisphere, it is generally an counter-attack oriented game, where an attack can be generated from anywhere across the park.

But what would a Sevens-oriented style of XVs look like and could it work?

In Sevens, the players try to avoid being caught at the breakdown at all costs, meaning that sometimes a ball carrier will quite often run backwards before running sideways, or passing it along.

It would also be an off-load oriented game, as well, to try to keep the speed of the game up, as well as minimizing any breakdowns. There would be attacking from anywhere, even from within the tryline (watch Fiji Vs South Africa at NZI, as an example).

No doubt, there would have to be some changes to such a style. Many will argue the obvious – that in XVs there are 16 extra players on the park.

Maybe.

Though the better attacking teams could implement such a game plan in the second half – running backwards to draw in the tired forwards before spreading the ball wide.

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Matt Giteau’s departure to the Brumbies and a season-ending hamstring injury to former Springbok Andre Pretorius has left the flyhalf role wide open at the Force.

Bartholomeusz impressed in the No.10 jersey during the Force’s thumping trial win over Queensland last week and the 32-year-old felt he was the right man for the job for the upcoming season.

“I’ve played in that role before,” Bartholomeusz said.

“It’s a position I enjoy playing and at this stage of my career probably my best position.

“I’ve been training there since we started (pre-season training) in November along with Andre.

“We’ve been working together with the squad so it’s not foreign from the point of view of fitting in with the team framework, that’s for sure.

“Obviously it’s heartbreaking for Andre, the news he’s going to miss the whole season.

“But things move on and opportunities arise for other people.

“And if that’s the way it pans out and that’s where I play on Friday night I’ll be looking forward to the challenge.”

Force coach John Mitchell has flagged the possibility of using star back James O’Connor, Sam Harris and Stefano Hunt at five-eighth during the season.

But Bartholomeusz, a one-Test Wallaby who also spent time at English Premiership outfit Saracens and Irish club Ulster, is almost certain to get first crack.

The Brumbies have named Giteau in a star-studded line-up to take on the Force but Bartholomeusz, who notched 68 Super caps for the Canberra-based franchise and was part of the 2004 title-winning side before heading off to Europe, was confident of the Force’s chances.

“They’re a good side but our focus is on our own game,” he said.

“I did think it was a bit ironic after I agreed to come to the Force to see the fixture list and see the Brumbies first up.

“This is like a new start for us starting at ME Bank Stadium (instead of the Force’s former home ground of Subiaco Oval).”

The Force are still sweating on the fitness of Wallabies centre Ryan Cross, who missed the trial match against the Reds with an abdominal injury.

Much of this tumultuous half of a decade has been blamed on the emergence of kicking as a preferred method of scoring, avoiding the breakdown, which has developed as a home place for the defending side.

With a new focus on the attacking side, old style rugby is set to return to the forefronts of the game.

But as always, we must look beyond this to a permanent change to the game, rather than base it on referee’s interpretation, which over time can fall back into old habits.

One answer to this is infusing it with some Sevens, and dropping the place kick.

Removing the place kick would not only remove downtime from the game, and make kicking a faster process, but it would also make a penalty kick harder for the offensive team, meaning greater incentive to play the ball in hand.

This would also defeat the argument by rugby conservatives that any change in laws is the league-ing up of our game.

This would not make sense to those who think the current system is working but the fact is it isn’t, and introducing a single style of scoring would simplify the rule book and speed up the game. Pair this with a reduction in penalty goal points and it reduces the rules even more.

It would mean that the kickers would have a specific style of kicking to focus on, and would act faster. One problem that could be seen over time would be the close perfection of the drop kick, as has been seen with the penalty kick. But the difference would be that the game down time would be reduced and a quick kick would most likely emerge over any lingering currently seen with place kicks.

Dropping the place kick would one change to speed up the game. Above all else, though, is the possibility of simplifying the game, paired with the prospect speeding up of it.

At the launch of the NSW Waratahs’ 2010 Super 14 season, officials were happy to play down expectations about how their team will perform this year, with public utterances of confidence. But privately they are convinced that this is the Waratahs’ year. 

The sales pitch for Waratahs tickets reflects this, with the punchline: It’s Our Time.

Last year the Waratahs were one try off a finals placing.

They won all three of their matches in South Africa, the only time this has been done by any Australian or New Zealand team. They won more matches than the Crusaders.

But they did not win enough bonus points, and especially early on in the season, played in a negative way that turned off supporters and the media.

This year, the coaching staff is into its second season and has a better understanding of what it takes to complete a successful Super 14 ‘journey.’ They have learned, for instance, that playing a battering ram at inside centre like Tom Carter does not help the continuity game the Waratahs are aspiring to play.

More importantly, the squad has been given an impetus from a series of excellent additions.

The key new signings are Berrick Barnes and the try-scoring machine Drew Mitchell. Barnes will give the Waratahs a world class five-eighths for the first time in Super Rugby. Mitchell should ensure that tries are scored from breaks made by the clever and incisive running of the inside backs.

The pack did well last year and in the trial matches has been over-powering its opponents.

In Benn Robinson, the side has a world class prop who lifts the entire pack with his combination of mongrel, scrumming skills and energy around the field on attack (he has one of the best catch and pass games in the side) and defence.

The Waratahs play only six matches at home. But they also play only two matches in South Africa – against the Sharks and the Bulls.

I am the only Greek I know who is not a gambling man, but the odds against the Waratahs on the TAB Sportsbet of $13 – $1 seem to be so outrageous that a habit of a lifetime might have to be broken.

The TAB Sportsbet market is: $3.50 on the Crusaders, $5 ACT Brumbies, $6 Bulls, $9 Hurricanes, $10 Chiefs, $11 Blues, $13 Waratahs and Sharks, $14 Stormers, $81 Reds, Force, Highlanders, $126 Cheetahs, $251 Lions.

The bookies put their money where there mouth is so you have to respect their judgment on these matters. But they seem to rely a lot on past history with the market they have set.

Their first three sides are three of only four teams (the Blues are the fourth side) that have won a Super rugby title.

The Crusaders, with Daniel Carter and the addition of a new superstar winger Zac Guilford, who should give his team some easy tries, look to be a good bet.

The Bulls, too, with Fourie du Preez, with Carter, one of the great backs in the history of rugby, should be contenders.

But they have lost Bryan Habana to the Stormers. In my view, Habana was about 80 per cent of the Bulls kicking game and it will be interesting to see if the team adjusts and runs more as it did when it annihilated the Chiefs in last year’s final.

The Sharks and Waratahs are relegated to a seventh position in favouritism, behind even the Blues.

My first fearless prediction for 2010 is that the Blues will play some fantastic rugby and some awful rugby that will keep them out of the finals.

On paper, at least, the Sharks and the Waratahs seem like sides that have been unfairly written off by the bookies.

The Waratahs, as I’ve observed, appear to have ticked all the boxes needed for a successful season. The playing list of the Sharks, too, suggests that coach John Plumtree should have a rewarding season.

There are players like Bismarck du Plessis, Juan Martin Hernandez, Adrian Jacobs, Ryan Kankowski, Rory Kockett, Tednai ‘The Beast’ Mtawarira, Odaw Ndungane and Ruan Pienaar. A squad with these players in it should be a finals side.

The Highlanders are a side, too, that could surprise.

Last season they lost a number of matches by 3 points or less. They have a strong pack with the All Black Tom Donnelly certain to be a strength in the lineout. They have some of the most talented and exciting young backs currently going around in New Zealand rugby.

Israel Dagg (what a great NZ rugby name!) is a talented fullback. Robbie Robinson may be as good as Aaron Cruden (the Hurricanes great new talent) as a five-eights. Winger Ben Smith was a surprise All Black on the European tour and then revealed himself to be an excellent, all-round player.

Going back to the Australian sides, I’m surprised that the ACT Brumbies are ranked so high.

Admittedly the addition of Matt Giteau is a plus. But Giteau was not able to lead the Western Force (which had a better squad in my view than the Brumbies) into the finals. There doesn’t seem to be much depth in the Brumbies squad and the pack, apparently, was monstered by the Waratahs in their trial game.

The Western Force was dealt a terrible blow with the long-term injury to Andre Pretorius. The team has some prodigious young talent in James O’Connor and David Pocock. But there is not much depth in the squad.

Part of the fun of the pre-season posturing is to make predictions, knowing that the future rarely unfurls in an expected pattern. So here goes: the Crusaders, Bulls and Waratahs are finals sides, for sure.

The Hurricanes, Sharks and the Highlanders are most likely (in my view) to contest that fourth position.

And the winner of the 2010 Super 14 title? I fall back on a mantra that has served me well in the past when I have been asked for a prediction: “We’re having the tournament to find out the answer to that.”

Game on!

Late last week Brumbies and Wallabies openside flanker Smith announced his immediate retirement from Test rugby and the coming Super 14 campaign will be the last with the Brumbies.

Rival No.7 Waugh has been either playing with or against Smith since they were 14 years old.

Smith has logged 110 Test caps to the 79 of Waugh who was born almost 10 months before his great rival.

Smith’s decision to exit the international arena would appear to smooth the path back to Test rugby for Waugh, who missed out on the Wallabies Spring tour late last year.

“That doesn’t change my focus, it’s always the same,” Waugh said at the Waratahs’ season launch on Monday.

“It’s disappointing to see George go, I’ve really enjoyed the battles that we’ve had.”

He was looking forward to their Super rugby showdown, which fitness permitting for both players, will eventuate in a round 11 clash in Sydney in late April.

While Waugh has shed his share of blood and collected his portion of knocks in scrapping with the likes of Smith and All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw, the encounters haven’t produced the same affect as his recent experience aboard Sydney to Hobart maxi yacht Investec LOYAL.

“I don’t feel sick when I’m playing rugby,” joked Waugh.

He supported the recent SANZAR directive to referees about play at the contentious breakdown area which should favour attacking teams and theoretically make life more difficult for ball pilferers like himself.

“It encourages teams to run with the ball which is good and gives the attacking team the advantage which is also important,” Waugh said.

“I think it will also reward guys that are good at the breakdown and guys who aren’t, will get penalised.”

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Instead of the usual end-of-season match played between the Barbarians and Wallabies, All Blacks or Springboks, when Australia, New Zealand and South Africa go on their spring tours to Europe, have the best from the Northern Hemisphere go up against the combined might of Southern Hemipshere rugby.

What would the two teams lineups look like? And who would win the game?

Every Rugby World Cup winning rugby team has a world-class general playing at 10. In the past, the Wallabies have been blessed with Michael Lynagh and, of course, Stephen Larkham.

Since the departure of Stephen Larkham, the Wallabies have had mixed success on the field, which has reflected the mixed form of Matt Giteau – one day great, the next day, not so great.

To date, Giteau has not made the Wallaby No 10 position his own.

The 2010 Super 14 season promises to be fascinating. Berrick Barnes has moved to the Waratahs and will take over at No 10. Quade Cooper, with his court adjournment, will play 10 for the Reds.

Giteau is No 10 at the Brumbies, and now with season ending injury to Andre Pretorius, will we see James O’Connor move into the No 10 role for the Western Force?

So who, barring injury, will be the Wallaby 10 come June this year?

Will it be Barnes – who brings a solid all round game with great catching, passing, kicking skills coupled with a great defence?

Or will it be the all-round unpredictable but risky skills of Cooper.

Then, of course, Giteau will be looking to combine his talents in attack and defence which are more easily plied in the Super 14. Or, finally, will it be O’Conner that stands tall and delivers on his potential.

Robbie Deans must be sitting back salivating at the prospect of Barnes Vs Cooper Vs Giteau Vs O’Connor. I cannot remember when Australia had four quality No 10s competing for the Wallaby General’s position.

But who will it be?

The gifted playmaker, who is expected to line up at five-eighth, is happy his first encounter with his state of birth will be out of the way straight away.

While he hasn’t been exchanging text messages with old teammates, Barnes knows what to expect this weekend.

“I hear they are taking bets on who is going to smash me first,” Barnes joked at the Waratahs’ season launch at the SCG on Monday.

While Queensland’s passion and desire to beat NSW is legendary, Barnes stressed NSW wouldn’t be trailing the Reds in the motivation stakes.

Reds-Waratah matches are traditionally blood and thunder battles not renowned for producing flair and flowery football, but Barnes believed there would be some good rugby played between the inevitable bone bruising hits.

“I can tell you right now, we want to win just as much and we will doing our best to bring some fire to the table as well,” said Barnes, who admitted he would feel a few more nerves than usual going into the game.

“I’ve no doubt there will be some fiery exchanges early, but both teams I think are hoping to use the ball, so hopefully the fans will see a bit of a spectacle.”

NSW coach Chris Hickey, who will be tasting Super 14 combat in Brisbane for the first time, hasn’t been leaning on Barnes to give up inside information on his former team.

“I think the thing with these games is to keep your focus on yourself rather than worry too much about the opposition, so we’re not seeking out any trade secrets from Berrick,” Hickey told AAP.

The second season Waratahs coach believed his predecessor Ewen McKenzie would adopt a similar attitude, despite having gleaned plenty of knowledge about the Waratahs from his time in charge of that franchise.

“If you look at that time between 2008 (McKenzie’s last season with NSW) and now, it (the NSW roster) has changed a fair bit, there’s probably 50 per cent turnover in playing staff and I think the game has probably also changed a little bit,” Hickey said.

“Ewen will have some insight into some (NSW) players, but I think he’d be more focused on his own players than worrying about what the Waratahs are going to do.”

Barnes got a little insight into how Queenslanders react to seeing one of their former favourites in a Waratahs’ shirt, as he made his Reds debut in 2006 when Wendell Sailor played his first match for the `Tahs.

“I won’t be trying to talk it up as much as big Dell, that’s for sure,” Barnes said.

“It was definitely great to be part of that game, no matter what side you’re on and that’s what we need in rugby, some rivalries.”

Hickey will await hamstring injury reports on Tuesday on lock Will Caldwell, centre Rob Horne and another former Queenslander, outside back Drew Mitchell, before finalising his side for Saturday’s game.

Head coach Rod Macqueen hosted a meeting with former league star Gasnier in Sydney last week to discuss a move from Paris to play for the new Super 15 franchise.

His contract at French rugby side Stade Francais is due to expire in June, with the talented 28-year-old tipped to be looking for a return to Australia to qualify for selection for next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Macqueen said he was impressed by Gasnier and felt he was the type of person and player the Rebels wanted.

“We had a good meeting and I think he’s certainly the sort of player that would be good for Melbourne,” he said.

“He’s obviously got a lot of things to think about because he’s got some offers and contracts in France and he’s got to weigh that up against coming out here and having a go at making the Wallabies squad.”

Macqueen said Gasnier would hold further talks with the ARU, who would also contract the former Dragons skipper and bolster his playing fee.

Gasnier’s manager George Mimis said it was too early to reveal the player’s career intentions.

“It’s way too early to draw any conclusions but we’re going to explore a range of opportunities and once we have we’ll sit down and figure a direction,” Mimis said.

He added that Gasnier didn’t meet with any other Super franchises during his short visit back to Australia for his wedding.

Meanwhile, Cipriani reportedly told his club London Wasps last week of his intentions to play for Melbourne, however after a warning by England coach Martin Johnson that his chances of playing in the World Cup would end with the move, the 22-year-old appears to have reconsidered.

“My dream is to play in the next World Cup. I want to play for England again. I aim to be in the best possible position to make that happen,” Cipriani told reporters before he played for the second-string Saxons team against Italy A in Treviso.

“If I am 30 years old and I haven’t got 50 caps I will kick myself. I am just going to do the best I can to make sure I am available for selection.

“It is a crucial stage for me to get my development in and make sure I progress as a player and be in that squad for the World Cup.

“Melbourne was interesting to hear about.

“But I am in positive talks with Wasps and they are moving forward.

“If they are positive, it will put a full stop to everything. My first loyalty is to Wasps.”

Just over a month after the Australian Rugby Union handed control of the franchise to the Melbourne Rebels, they are yet to sign a player.

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Nick Mallet is a sophisticated man: he speaks several languages. He is bright: he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has been a very good coach: his Springboks in 1998/199 won 17 straight Tests, a South African winning sequence record. He is, however, a very poor coach of Italy.

He has set his team a goal of losing by no more than 15 points. That margin or preferably fewer points represents, Mallet has told his team, a sort of victory for Italy.

And to consolidate this negative team ambition, Mallett has imposed a style of play on Italy that ensures that his team can’t win Tests but will invariably lose in as ugly a fashion as possible.

This ‘losing ugly’ style makes Italy a difficult team to play expansive and attractive rugby against, as Ireland found on Saturday at Croke Park. They did, though, win 29 – 11 and this score reflected in a curious way a sort of double loss by Italy.

Ireland went past the 15-point mark and were never in any danger of losing the Test. Given the extremely negative nature of Italy’s play and the fact that this was the opening match of the Six Nations tournament, I thought Ireland were quite impressive.

There was nothing in the England-Wales match to suggest that these team will stop Ireland’s unbeaten run which now extends to 12 Tests, a national record for Ireland.

As well as being difficult for oppositions to play attractively against (the All Blacks and the Wallabies have struggled to put Italy away comprehensively in Italy), Italy plays (if such an active verb can be used in this context) the most unwatchable rugby that can ever have been inflicted on spectators by any team.

Every ball is kicked away. We don’t know if the backs can run and pass and make breaks because they never try these rugby basics.

They cheat at virtually every scrum. Against the All Blacks last year Stu Dickinson had a rare off day and let them away with this. On Saturday the French referee Romain Poite did not tolerate the boring-in tactics from the Italian front row and penalised them frequently, and correctly.

The worst aspect of their play, even worse than the never-ending kicking (with no one actually chasing the high balls), is the way the Italian halfbacks allow the ball to sit at the back of the ruck for more than 10 seconds. You feel like screaming out, ‘Use it! Damn you!’.

The sooner referees start applying a use-it or lose-it call, giving teams like Italy (and other ’sitters’ like England and Wales to only a slightly lesser extent) five seconds maximum to play the ball, the better.

Italy, too, like all the European teams play their first five-eighths mainly in the quarter-back position, directly behind the half rather than almost in line with him. The result of this senseless positioning is that most of the European teams, even Ireland and Wales – teams that actually try to run the ball – have to kick away possession quite often from turnovers rather than launching wide attacking raids.

Talking about senseless play, Alun Wyn Jones, the Wales second-rower lost the Test against England at Twickenham when he stuck out a leg to trip the English hooker Dylan Hartley right in front of the referee Alain Rolland. The score was 3-3 at the time just five minutes before half-time with Wales looking like a side that could continue its run of victories at the home of English rugby.

Ten minutes later when Jones came rather shame-facedly back on the field the score was 20 – 3. Even though Wales came back strongly and scored 14 unanswered points, the game was effectively lost by an action that Brian Moore (who is turning into an excellent commentator) called a ‘half-witted’ and ’silly cheap shot.’

England’s lineout was good, with Steve Borthwick doing a Victor Matfield in organising no fewer than six steals against the throw. The scrum was barely adequate, though. Jonny Wilkinson kicked too much and poorly and his positioning was in the European disease mode which made it virtually impossible for England to have any fluency in their backline.

England were an improvement on the side that performed so poorly against the southern hemisphere teams at the end of last year. But this was an improvement from someone on a life-support system to someone who is off it, for the time being.

Whether Saturday’s performance reflects an actual improvement or that Wales seems to be on another slippery slope to rugby mediocrity remains to be seen.

By far the best thing about England was their playing strip which reflected the strip used back in 1910 when Twickenham hosted its first Test. The off-white of the jerseys, with real collars, the band of blue around the waist of the white shorts and the blue socks looked terrific. The current jersey, with its red slash on the white, looks as if the England players have had their throats slit and blood is streaming out of the wound on to their jersey.

What a pity that Wales didn’t wear their 1910 playing kit, the famous scarlet jersey, the black shorts and the scarlet socks. The current outfit, a sort of Miami Vice red, with no collar, white shorts and green socks with a curious white pattern on them, looks like a dog breakfast.

Is it a coincidence that Wales played in a similar dogs breakfast fashion?

Firstly, refereeing rugby is hard. There are so many things going on, and so quickly, that a referee simply can’t observe everything.

Unfortunately because of this, it’s a primordial soup for cheating. Players are encouraged to find the line of the referee and play a little past that. Of course players would try to do this, and typically chances are you won’t get caught.

Now, I’ve seen some bad refereeing, as everyone has, even at the international level. Some referees simply don’t seem to understand the flow of the game or understand scrums, or they entirely miss offsides.

But I don’t blame referees entirely for this, given the reasons previously stated.

I propose a system of suspension for cheating players. Obviously, it would need a trial and something like Super 14/15 would be ideal (international standard players in a league format).

The system is as follows:

a. games to be video reviewed afterwards by another referee than the one who reffed the match
b. at a ruck or other formation, the assessor is looking for the first infringement to take place (target on the tackler rolling away first, then the ball released, then arriving players staying on their feet)
c. ignore the infringement if the refereeing had spotted it and awarded a penalty, then:
d. 1 point is issued for each infringement, and maybe 3 in the red zone; if a player reaches 10 points for a game they are suspended for one match (I would probably grace them with a warning when this system is first introduced)
e. The assessor publicly expresses what is wrong with a player’s practice so that everyone can learn what is required.

This is just a thought, as maybe we can clean up the breakdown and scrums with a system like this. I would love to hear what you think.

It is fair to assume that the majority of Rugby fans in Australia have actually never seen Gasnier play a full game in either League or Union.

Well, if so, you are in for a thrill if the Melbourne Rebels is successful in negotiations and can lure him back home from Stade Francais.

Gasnier earned his stripes in the NRL playing for his famous club St George Illawarra where he scored 81 tries from only 141 games, an amazing effort considering he played right centre and did not have the luxury of a noted distributor on his left. His tries were largely individual efforts emanating from sheer brilliance.

He was just as imposing at rep level:
City Origin: 1 try from 2 games
NSW State Of Origin: 4 tries from 9 games
Australia: 11 tries from 15 Tests

Gasnier, like his immortal uncle Reg, possesses blinding speed off the mark and an excellent fend followed by a deceptive swerve and a massive side step that makes him unstoppable when he is eye-balling any fullback in the clear.

Despite his tries to games ratio stat, the criticism when he played for St George was that he often would hardly touch the ball which often happens in the “robotic” centre position.

To give him more ball, his coach Nathan Brown experimented at pivot playing second receiver, which had mixed results similar to Greg Inglis, who like Gasnier is a brilliant ball runner and not a visionary.

I would have loved to have seen him play at fullback where he would have plenty of space. It would have caused opposition coaches nightmares.

It seems the norm that when a brilliant NRL player ‘crosses over’ that he starts on the wing to learn his new trade in the 15 man game. Gasnier is too good to waste on the wing.

Let’s hope that he has passed the test and we get to examine this rare talent close up again for the Rebels and as a Wallaby.

Bastareaud touched down twice in the first half at Murrayfield and the french were only denied another two tries before halftime by some last-ditch Scottish defending.

Flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc orchestrated the French attacks and an efficient defence restricted Scotland to just three penalties by Chris Paterson.

“Scotland is a team with a big heart and it is hard to play against them,” man of the match Imanol Harinordoquy said. “When we want to win, we know we have to give a big performance.

“We won the match in the scrum and in the fight.”

France joined defending champions Ireland and England on two points in the standings.

France host Ireland next weekend, when England go to Italy and Scotland play Wales.

France effectively clinched victory in the first half when possession was shared but the visitors enjoyed 73 per cent of the territory.

Bastareaud was playing his first Test since lying to local police that he had been assaulted during last June’s tour of New Zealand, when he actually suffered the injuries while alone in his Wellington hotel room.

Bastareaud had to do community service work as punishment and was excluded from France’s matches against South Africa, Samoa and New Zealand in November.

His first try on Sunday came when he crashed over from close range following a missed pass by Trinh-Duc and the flyhalf was only prevented from touching down himself by a tackle in the corner from Sean Lamont.

Thom Evans had already denied Vincent Clerc a try when he turned the winger over to stop him grounding the ball, but his positioning contributed to Bastareaud’s second score in the 33rd minute.

Trinh-Duc spread the play from a throw on France’s right all the way to the other side of the field and the Scottish backs were drawn in, leaving Bastareaud with space to charge into and outpace forward Kelly Brown before dummying the last man and touching down.

“We conceded two soft scores, really,” Scotland coach Andy Robinson said. “They’ve one of the best scrummages in the world.

“The French were very canny in what they did. It’s a very good French side that controlled the game.”

Ireland and England each opened the Six Nations on Saturday with an unconvincing victory.

Ireland showed only flashes of their best in a 29-11 win over Italy, while England took advantage of Welsh indiscipline and survived a late scare before winning 30-17 at Twickenham.

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England again gave away a string of needless penalties but the match hinged on a cynical trip by Wales lock Alun-Wyn Jones.

He lock stuck out a leg in the 36th minute to trip the charging Dylan Hartley and was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes, during which England touched down twice.

Flanker James Haskell and scrumhalf Danny Care scored tries before Adam Jones and James Hook brought Wales back to within three points.

England looked to be faltering but Haskell rounded off a counterattack following an interception and Jonny Wilkinson struck another conversion and penalty to finish the match with 15 points.

Veteran fly-half Ronan O’Gara, under pressure for his place from the emerging Jonathan Sexton, put in a peerless performance kicking 16 points before injury forced him off in the last quarter, while Italy’s defence was stout but their lineout shaky.

The hosts, though, did grab two first-half tries through Jamie Heaslip and scrum-half Tomas O’Leary, his first in the green shirt.

The Azzuri were expecting the set piece to prove their best platform, especially in the scrum, with the inexperienced Cian Healy packing down against the mighty Martin Castrogiovanni.

But the 22-year-old laid down a marker at the first scrum earning Ireland their first scoring chance when referee Romain Poite penalised the Leicester prop for collapsing.

O’Gara took the three points and the Irish scrum held up well throughout.

Ireland’s next score came from a technically superb passing movement set up by O’Gara, created by Andrew Trimble and Brian O’Driscoll, and finished by Jamie Heaslip giving the No.8 his fourth Test try.

Italy had missed a golden chance when Luke McClean failed to spot Kaine Robertson in position to score with a virtually certain try in the sixth minute.

Eventually the visitors got on the scoreboard with a Craig Gower penalty after Ireland engaged too early at the scrum. But they then had the misfortune of seeing Gonzalo Garcia binned under the stricter rules on spear tackling.

It was one of the softest yellow cards imaginable. And the Italians had reason for grievance when the same level of enforcement was not applied to Leo Cullen for tackling in the air at the lineout early in the second half.

It got worse for the Azzuri after fine running from the Irish led to an Italian lineout five metres from their line.

The throw to the shortened line went straight into the arms of Leo Cullen who drove to within a metre of a try.

The cover was slow to arrive allowing O’Leary to flop over for five points. O’Gara added the extra two.

The Italians concluded the half with a try by Kaine Robertson who blocked a poor clearance kick by Rob Kearney and collected over the try line to score. Mirco Bergamasco tried the conversion from the corner but missed.

The Italian winger was more accurate early in the second half with a penalty but O’Gara replied almost straight from the restart after another penalty for collapsing the scrum restored the 15-point margin.

Both teams resorted to a safety-first aerial game which suited the Italians who began to get their lineout together after Carlo Del Fava was replaced by Marco Bortolami at lock.

Pretorius’ one-year stint as the Force’s international marquee signing was cruelly ended before it even really begun when the 31-year-old ripped his hamstring off the bone at training on Wednesday.

While Mitchell is yet to decide who will replace Pretorius in the No.10 jersey, the coach threw up plenty of options, with O’Connor among the names put forward.

O’Connor started his career at inside centre for the Force but in more recent times has blossomed at fullback in the Wallabies’ set-up.

While it was always thought O’Connor would eventually take over as the Force’s No.1 five-eighth, the 19-year-old may be forced to take on the responsibility sooner than expected following Pretorius’ misfortune and Matt Giteau’s departure.

“We’ve had good versatility in our group,” Mitchell said when asked how the team would replace Pretorius.

“If you look at the mix (at five-eighth) there was Andre, Sammy Harris, Mark Bartholomeusz, James O’Connor, you’ve also got Stefano Hunt.

“So we’ve got a number of permutations there within the group and that’s always been the way we’ve built it.”

One-Test Wallaby Bartholomeusz impressed at No.10 in the Force’s 31-12 trial win over the Reds on Friday night to show he is a viable option for the role.

Pretorius has already signed a multi-year deal to play in Japan after the season concludes, meaning he will never play a Super 14 game for the Force.

“We were really gutted for him,” Mitchell said.

“It’s really hard for a player to experience what he’s going through. He’s taking it pretty hard but we’ve got to move on.

“There’s going to be more hurdles as the competition moves on, it’s just a pretty tough one we’ve got to get over right now.”

Meanwhile, Reds coach Ewen McKenzie said his team’s big loss to the Force was a mere hiccup ahead of next Saturday’s season opener against NSW in Brisbane.

Queensland were never in the game after the Force raced out to a 20-0 lead inside 20 minutes.

“Both teams have one eye on next week so the analysis that went into this game was limited,” McKenzie said.

“I think we learned today that if we kick the ball away and give away silly penalties it’s hard work.

“There’s a couple of lessons there but nothing mind shattering, it’s pretty much the basics of the game that we didn’t get right.”

Reds five-eighth Quade Cooper put in a solid performance in his first match since being charged with burglary last year, setting up Queensland’s first try of the match in the 29th minute with a surging run and perfectly-weighted grubber kick, which winger Rod Davies pounced on.

But it wasn’t enough to inspire a comeback as the Force’s dominant forward pack and clinical backline ensured the visitors endured a miserable night.

In hot, hard conditions, Lowe’s 70m try made the difference after the Chiefs had turned around a 10-7 halftime deficit through a try to stand-in captain Sione Lauaki.

The Hurricanes’ first-half lead was built around unconverted tries to outside back Tamati Ellison and flanker Scott Waldrom while flanker Tanerau Latimer snared the Chiefs’ lone first-half score.

Neither team appeared to suffer any serious injury concerns.

The result completed a perfect pre-season for the Hurricanes, who have also beaten the Blues and ACT Brumbies in trial matches and now open the Super 14 next Friday against the Blues in Auckland.

Conversely, the Chiefs are win-less, having also suffered narrow losses to the Highlanders and Blues.

They leave on Sunday ahead of their opening match against the Sharks in Durban.

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Cipriani has been approached by the Rebels about joining them once his current contract with Wasps ends in May.

A move to Australia would rule the flyhalf out of the 2011 Six Nations and therefore almost certainly out of Johnson’s plans for the World Cup in New Zealand later in the year.

Asked on Friday whether it was possible Cipriani could remain part of the elite squad when based in Melbourne, Johnson responded: “No of course it’s not.

“The seasons are the same. They are playing through February and March so he wouldn’t be available for England during the Six Nations.

“It is his choice. If he wants to do that, it is up to him. It is impossible for him to play for England in the Six Nations if he is over there. I am sure he understands that.”

Cipriani, 22, appears to be seriously considering moving Down Under having grown disillusioned about his chances of establishing himself as an England regular under Johnson, who admitted he had made no effort to persuade him to stay.

Once considered the heir apparent to Jonny Wilkinson, Cipriani’s international career stalled in the wake of a serious ankle injury in 2008 and he is currently part of the second-string Saxons squad, for whom he is due to play against Italy A on Sunday.

Well placed to judge, Wilson was the most-capped back-rower before Smith came along as a dreadlocked ball-scavenger a decade ago to make a seamless transition.

The remarkably durable and multi-talented 110-Test veteran then spent 10 years as one of Australia’s few world-class players before stunning all and sundry on Friday by announcing his international retirement.

Smith won two John Eales Medals, eight Brumbies player of the season awards, played in two World Cups, won two Super rugby titles and was a stand-out in the Wallabies’ first triumph over the British Lions in 2001 at just 20.

But more than that, according to Wilson, Smith took open-side flanker play to a whole new level in his time under national coaches Rod Macqueen, Eddie Jones, John Connolly and Robbie Deans.

“To play 10 years at that level in that position for 110 Tests is an amazing feat,” said the Queenslander, who retired in 2000 just months before Smith made his Test debut.

“There’s no doubt he’s one of the best Wallabies we’ve ever had.”

A 1999 World Cup champion who played 79 Tests, Wilson stands with Grand Slam and World Cup-winner Simon Poidevin and post-WWII great Col Windon as the Wallabies’ best flankers of the 20th century.

But he has no hesitation in putting the 29-year-old on the highest pedestal.

“Absolutely,” Wilson told AAP. “He’s a lot better player than I was.

“He’s taken the level of open-side play to another level and set a new benchmark.

“Rather than just being a link player and being really fit to get around the paddock and be strong on the ball at the breakdown, he added another dimension.

“He had skills like a back. He had great hands and great vision and could create things with ball in hand.”

But Smith, described by ARU boss John O’Neill as one of the most unique players in Australian history, had to make his mark the hard way.

A Manly junior, he had to leave Sydney, and the shadow of preferred Australian Under-19 teammate Phil Waugh, for Canberra to get his chance.

Smith and Waugh, both Test captains, battled throughout their distinguished careers for the same jersey.

At times under Jones they were chosen to play in tandem, a ploy which helped reap one of the biggest upsets of the decade when the Wallabies stung New Zealand in the 2003 World Cup semi-final.

Connolly finds it hard to separate Smith, Waugh and All Black Richie McCaw as the best Test flankers in world rugby this decade.

“You would have to say he’s one of the best of all-time,” he said.

“Australia has been blessed, we had Wilson for 70-80 Tests and then we’ve had Smith and Waugh, so for the last 15 years we’ve been blessed.

“The best thing is that they improved each other – Smith is as good as he is because of Waugh and vice-versa, they really played off each other.”

Smith was never a brilliant athlete and, despite his non-stop efforts on the field, rated modestly in beep tests.

But he stunned coaches, teammates and rivals alike with his toughness, tenacity and ability to play hurt under heavy fire at the breakdown.

“Smith’s durability during his career was astonishing,” Connolly said.

“I can remember him getting cut, going off injured and getting needled (to go back on) and at the finish of the game he looked as fresh as when he started.

“It was an amazing performance.

“He never complained about anything. He always aimed up. He was always there to train and always aimed up.”

While Deans has shown his hand by grooming young gun David Pocock to start at the 2011 World Cup, Smith’s stand-out display against Wales two months ago showed he was still at the top of his game.

“No doubt, anyone who watched his last involvement in the Wallaby jersey, it was a remarkable performance,” Deans said.

GEORGE SMITH
Born: July 14, 1980
Height: 180cm
Weight: 104kg
Position: Flanker

Test debut: vs France, 2000
Test caps: 110 (45 points, 9 tries)
Super 14 debut: vs Sharks, 2000
Super 14 caps: 120 (75 pts, 15 tries)

* 2003 and 2007 Wallabies World Cup member
* Won two John Eales medals
* Won eight Brett Robinson Awards as the player’s player of the year at the Brumbies
* Is the most capped forward in Australian history and second most capped player in Wallabies history behind George Gregan (139)
* Is the most capped openside forward in the history of rugby union
* Was the youngest player to win 100 Test caps at 29 years, four days against New Zealand in Auckland in 2009
* Became Australia’s 75th Test captain by leading his country against Canada in the 2007 World Cup
* Won the 2004 Super 14 title with the Brumbies

Pretorius, who notched 31 Tests for South Africa but was lured to the Force as a replacement for flyhalf Matt Giteau, suffered a season-ending hamstring injury at training on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old only signed a one-year deal with the Force, meaning he may never play a Super 14 game for the Perth-based franchise.

“I’ve gone to work with the boys for so long now and it has been my best pre-season in many years,” Pretorius said in a statement.

“I’m really disappointed that I won’t be able to have the opportunity to represent the Western Force and play rugby with the new mates that I have made here.

“My body was in the best condition it has been in a long time and after watching the video footage of the training session and seeing when the injury occurred it didn’t look like much at all.

“The physios at the club said it was just a freakish type of injury.

“I guess the only good thing from a personal point of view is that the Force has the best hamstring rehab program that I have ever worked with.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow after putting in all the hard yards and committing myself to a great bunch of guys at the club.

“I still want to remain involved and offer any assistance I can to help make this a successful season for the Force.”

The Force are in talks with the ARU to see if they can replace Pretorius, who was the Force’s marquee international player.

Clubs are only allowed to sign one international marquee player but the Force may ask for a special allowance given Pretorius won’t be able to play at all.

“It is really unlucky for Andre, I feel gutted for him,” coach John Mitchell said.

“From a playing perspective we now have to look at what we’ve got and move forward without him, that’s just part of rugby.”

One-Test Wallaby Mark Bartholomuesz is likely to take up the vital No.10 jersey in place of Pretorius while the Force explore their options.

The Force forward pack was dominant and the backline clinical as the home side ran in three tries to two in front of 6,086 fans at their new home base of ME Bank Stadium.

Cooper made a few errors but also set up the Reds’ first try with a break and perfectly-weighted grubber kick in his first match since being charged with burglary last year.

The Force entered the game with many pundits predicting a season of doom and gloom after it was revealed star recruit Andre Pretorius would miss the entire campaign with a torn hamstring.

But they produced a barnstorming start, dominating possession and territory to race out to a 17-0 lead inside 13 minutes, with Pretorius’s flyhalf replacement Mark Bartholomeusz impressive.

Force fullback James O’Connor, who nailed three penalties and two conversions for the night, kicked off proceedings in the the fourth minute with a penalty before Matt Hodgson made the most of a wayward Reds line-out by driving over the line just two minutes later.

O’Connor played a major part in the Force’s second try of the match, with his deft chip helping Sam Harris cross in the 13th minute.

The scoreline read 20-0 when Shepherd nailed a penalty in the 21st minute but the Reds didn’t give up the fight, with winger Rod Davies making the most of a Cooper break and grubber kick to dive over in the 29th minute.

But the Force went into the break with a commanding 25-5 lead when a series of quick passes made its way to a surging No.8 Richard Brown six minutes before the break.

The Reds started the second half full of run and a scintillating 40m run by fullback Peter Hynes gave the visitors great field position early.

A Force knock-on on their defensive line-out then gifted Reds scrumhalf a try in the 42nd minute.

Cooper nailed the sideline conversion to make it 25-12 in the 42nd minute but two penalties from O’Connor put the result beyond doubt.

“I think we learned today that if we kick the ball away and give away silly penalties it’s hard work,” Reds coach Ewen McKenzie said.

“There’s a couple of lessons there but nothing mind shattering, it’s pretty much the basics of the game that we didn’t get right.

“It gives us something to work on this week.”

Force coach John Mitchell praised his forward pack.

“Really pleasing the way the forwards went about their work in the first 30 minutes,” Mitchell said.

“Even when we didn’t have momentum they were very constructive and created momentum for us as a team.”

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Australian rugby has been rocked with the news that George Smith, the Wallabies most capped forward, has retired from international rugby and has been formally granted a release from the Brumbies to play overseas at the end of the coming Super 14 season.

The 29-year-old announced he is stepping down from international rugby immediately and will leave the Brumbies at the end of this year’s Super 14 campaign.

Smith, who has three children under the age of five with wife Louise, says he is aiming to secure a move overseas after the Super 14 season but has no concrete plans in place.

“The decision to retire is a very difficult one for me,” Smith told reporters at the Australian Rugby Union’s Sydney headquarters.

“I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching for the past few months and I do feel I can still play top level rugby for years to come.

“But this decision is largely based about the most important people in my life – my family.

“They’ve made a lot of sacrifices during my career and now is the time to give back to my family, spend more quality time with them and have the chance to experience a different culture and experience it together as a family.”

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans paid Smith the ultimate compliment, saying he was the greatest No.7 in Australia’s rugby history.

“He’s right up there,” Deans said when asked how Smith compared to the other flankers he’d coached.

“He’s the best to have ever pulled a Wallabies jersey on, simply by the weight of numbers.

“You look at the number of games he’s played in a tough position. No-one has gone as long and as consistently.”

Smith, who twice won the John Eales Medal and collected the Brumbies Players’ Player award on eight occasions, says he’s keen to end his time in Australia with a Super 14 crown.

“I’ll be making sure all the players at the Brumbies are keen to win the title,” he said.

“It’s my last year and it would be a great way to go out.”

Smith has been under increasing pressure to hold onto a starting spot in the Wallabies lineup following the emergence of young gun David Pocock.

The Western Force backrower was preferred to Smith for the bigger matches during last year’s Spring tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Smith, who played in the 2003 and 2007 World Cups for Australia, made his international debut in 2000.

The Crusaders led 21-5 at halftime following tries from Andy Ellis, Kieran Read and Carter.

The Blues rallied in the second half, scoring a try through wing Rene Ranger and keeping the Crusaders scoreless.

Former Crusaders five-eighth Stephen Brett came off the bench in the second half and set up the Blues’ second try with an inside pass which put Ranger across under the crossbar.

Genia and five eighth Cooper promise to form an exiting scrumbase partnership for the underdog Reds in the Super 14 season starting next week with the big match against fierce rivals the NSW Waratahs.

But Cooper will be taking the field on Friday for his first match since being charged with burglary on the Gold Coast late last year.

The Wallabies pivot was only cleared to play on Wednesday after completing the first stage of a counselling and personal development program.

“It’s good to have him back. He brings in a lot of experience and a lot of flair,” Genia said.

“All the boys are here for him. It’s good he’s back playing.

“If we can help him get through what he’s going through we will.

“We are a pretty tight playing group so we will be there for him.”

The Reds won just three games last season on the way to 13th place on the table but have recorded an impressive pre-season campaign under new coach Ewen McKenzie, recording a 26-24 win over NSW before beating an understrength Crusaders outfit 20-12.

While Genia admitted pre-season wins counted for little, he said the confidence gained from them could prove invaluable.

“It’s the first time we’ve been back to back in a while so it’s an exciting feeling and definitely a good feeling,” he said.

“The result does matter, you don’t want to lose any games, but I think it’s more important to get our processes right and get what we want out of the game.

“We’ve done a lot of work (defensively).

“We are trusting our systems.

“If you do that you go a long way to beating a lot of sides.”

In a hotly-contested and sometimes heated hit-out played in front of almost 4,500 fans, the `Tahs overcame plenty of pressure from the home side to get a solid hitout and make it two wins from three trials heading into next weekend’s opening round.

Waratahs captain Phil Waugh played down the importance of the win, but said the tough contest was the perfect preparation for next Saturday’s season-opener against Queensland.

“I think everyone’s just trying to get a blow out, get the air in the lungs and we’re all focused on next week,” Waugh said.

“I think both teams are in pretty good condition now to head into the competition.”

Brumbies number eight Stephan Hoiles was also keen to play down ACT’s second straight trial loss.

“The boys will be sore tomorrow but we’re not going to get an easy game against the Force (in round one),” he said.

“I think that was as close to Super 14 match conditions as you’re going to get.”

Waugh opened the scoring, crashing over in the seventh minute after NSW’s all-star forward pack forced their way over the line from the scrum.

But the Brumbies hit back only four minutes later, with winger Francis Fainifo breaking the line with a dangerous run and setting up fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper.

Berrick Barnes, who impressed again at flyhalf, gave the visitors the lead in the 26th minute, opting to take a shot at goal when awarded a penalty 35m out, the decision earning boos from the vocal home crowd.

ACT survived a stack of late pressure from the Waratahs to head into the break trailing by just one but couldn’t capitalise on several chances in the second half.

Instead it was NSW who added to the scoreboard again, with the injection of speedy winger Peter Betham proving the gamebreaker.

He made a stunning run from well inside his own half, stepping and slicing though the Brumbies defence and turning the ball inside for Josh Holmes to score.

Brumbies coach Andy Friend opted not to risk his two highest-profile signings, Wallabies duo Rocky Elsom (hamstring) and Matt Giteau (quad) due to minor problems, while NSW coach Chris Hickey also erred on the side of caution with prize recruit Drew Mitchell (hamstring).

Kurtley Beale came on in the second half for NSW after a last-minute flight to Canberra due to his assault court case being adjourned to June.

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This was unthinkable back in 2003 after the success of the World Cup.

2009 was terrible for John O’Neil and his team. Only the Wellington Phoenix is below the Super 14 clubs in terms of TV ratings as the boring kicking game in Test matches affected crowds in a year where the Wallabies were woeful and not winning.

Ironically, Super 14 rugby is played under the ELVs.

Off the field, problems also arose.

The ARU’s financial position went south as the squandering of the already shrinking revenues from the 2003 World Cup continued due to tribalism and poor management. Australia won a fifth Super 14 franchise, despite comical antics from the ARU and the Melbourne Rebels that made the dealings in the TV show The Office look more professional.

The ARU also had no luck in pressuring the Northern Unions to adopt ELVs for Test rugby, causing an impasse between SANZAR and the Home Unions.

While 2010 looks bleak, there are some positive signs.

The ARU is forcing referees (the cause of most of the ugly play) to allowing attacking play or face sacking. Despite a bleak home season, the Young Wallabies’ Grand Slam tour showed promise and hope for 2011.

More importantly, the ARU’s loveless deal with Channel Seven expires, allowing them to force Seven to show more coverage or negotiate a better deal with another network.

Still the jury is out on rugby and the Super 14 season will be an indication of the health of the game.

The ACT and NSW should make the finals or be competitive, but the crowds and TV ratings will be a true indication.

Rugby enters a new, exciting decade with fear and trepidation, something a sport cannot afford in modern times