The Rogues Rant #276

Welcome to The Rogues Rant, an occasional look at all things Rugby.

By Ron Wood

The Dexter Porter Cup gets underway again from July 1st running through to the 31st August. The Blood Cup is a huge achievement for Illawarra Rugby as the only sporting organization in the district involved in this great cause in such a way. Blood is urgently needed and with the demand at this time of year overwhelming now is the time for your club to get behind this worthy cause. Shamrocks and Vikings have dominated in the Cup over the years but with a little organization and promotion all you other clubs can give the Rocks and the Blueys a run for their blood. So come on get in touch with the Blood Bank and get your Club involved in 2021. It’s easy, donate blood and nominate your club to score points in the Dexter Porter Cup points tally. To get your club involved contact the Australian Red Cross Blood Service on 131495 or online www.donateblood.com.au.

The Wallabies have gathered to prepare for the series against the French who have also landed on Aussie soil and are undergoing the isolation protocols leading up to next months’ three test series. Nic White is out of the series with injury and the experienced duo of James O’Connor and Matt To’omua are very much in doubt as well because of ongoing injuries. The loss of these three will put added pressure on Coach Dave Rennie who however remains very confident that his squad can perform well against the unpredictable but talented Frenchmen. Time will tell.

It’s interesting to have a look at how the Shute shield stands at the moment after ten Rounds, virtually the halfway mark of the season. The usual suspects are sitting at the top with Sydney Uni, Norths and East running top three. Having a look at how the Hunter Wildfires are going makes for interesting reading. They are sitting ninth on the ladder with West Harbour, Manly, Penrith and the Two Blues sitting behind them. They are performing in a similar fashion to the Illawarriors back in 2007. Like back then the same sides are at the top and the same sides are struggling at the bottom with the new guys. It all only supports my theory that the whole structure needs to be re vamped and quickly before it all disappears completely down the drain.

Make sure you follow all your Covid precautions as required by NSW Health for what is going to be a very interesting Round 12 of matches in the IDRU Comp. I reckon four of the five matches could go either way so the likelihood of the Rogue getting five from five this week is remote. Avondale are traveling to Camden this week and should have no trouble taking maximum points here. Avondale to Win. Bowral and Vikings meet at Eridge Park in what is a very difficult one to get a line on. Bowral are very under strength at the moment while Vikings have been in good form before last weeks big loss to Avondale. Bowral always get a lift up in the highlands weather at this time of year but on form alone Vikings should start favorites. So who to go for? In a game that will not have much more than a couple of points between the winner and the loser, I’ll go with the visitors. Vikings to Win. Tech Waratahs have the competition leading Shoalhaven at Saunders Oval in another interesting contest. Shoalhaven have had a couple of close ones recently and will need to be right on the job here or could get caught. In another close one I’ll stick with the competition leaders. Shoalhaven to Win. University have welcomed back some of their more experienced players over the last couple of weeks and have put in a couple of good performances. I understand that Shamrocks will be without star No. 8 Jesse Parahi for a couple of weeks due to injury which will have a big impact on the side but I think they can still get the points here. Shamrocks to Win. I’m heading down to Kiama to watch Campbelltown take on the Cows in what should be another tight one. Kiama are well down the table but with an ounce of luck in a couple of games could have been in a much better position than they currently are. I’m going to go for an upset in this one. Kiama to Win. Don’t forget all First Grade matches start at 3.00PM.                  

RUGBY DIARY

26th June      IDRU Round 12

                       Camden V Avondale, Camden Rugby Park.

                       Kiama V Campbelltown, Kiama Showground.

Tech Waratahs V Shoalhaven, Saunders Oval

University V Shamrocks, Wollongong University Oval

Bowral V Vikings, Eridge Park.

3rd-4th July        U10/U11 NSW Junior State Championships. Tuggerah Sports                        Complex.

18th July             IDRU Women’s Gala Day.

4th September    IDRU Grand Final.      

All opinions offered in this column are the opinion of the author. They should not be considered to represent the views of the IDRU.