Cowboys in Salary Cap Scandal (Averted)

UPDATE: The NRL has released a statement regarding investigations into reports that the North Queensland Cowboys bought land and built houses for 10 of its players over the last 10 years. 

This means that for now the NRL had avoided its largest salary cap scandal since the Melbourne Storm debacle in 2010 which saw the club lose its 3 Minor Premiership titles won in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and its Premiership titles in 2007 and 2009, as well as given the automatic wooden spoon in 2010.

Earlier, a tweet revealed the following text and triggered a fury of attention and intrigue. 

Fairfax subsequently released a report on its website about investigations into the connections between properties owned by the Cowboys CEO and players, and whether the salary cap had been breached as a result of the homes of the likes of Johnathan Thurston, James Tamou, etc. being deliberately excluded as part of player remuneration. 

Matthew Bowen and Luke O'Donnell are of course no longer with the Cowboys with Bowen now at Wigan and O'Donnell retiring at the end of the 2013 season after winning the Grand Final with the Sydney Roosters. 

All Blacks Rugby World Cup Squad - 2 Months Out?

The last 8 days have left All Blacks fans in a bit of a quandry - a good one nevertheless as many questions about the potential Rugby World Cup squad might have been answered after the performances on display in Wellington, Apia and even Suva.

We probably have an idea of what the final Rugby World Cup squad will look like - at 31, it will definitely be much abbreviated from the massive 41 plus Brad Weber, George Moala, etc. All Blacks squad. Nevertheless, one's place in the All Blacks is never guaranteed unless you're Richie McCaw or Dan Carter, and the form of several Highlanders and Hurricanes has asked more questions of some of the security of the so-called incumbents.

Questions in the outside backs remain - Ben Smith and Julian Savea are the only two guarantees for the World Cup on form and experience, and Israel Dagg is pretty close to joining them but Nehe Milner-Skudder and Waisake Naholo's form have definitely warranted serious consideration of them for this World Cup campaign. And there's still Charles Piutau even if he is now considered a pariah of New Zealand rugby due to his impending departure to Ulster in his early 20s.

Steve Hansen and co have spent the last few seasons building depth and if their record is anything to go by, there will be some heartbreak stories and surprises to come.

But here's my World Cup squad 2 months out from the tournament - barring injuries of course.

Hookers - Keven Mealamu, Dane Coles, Hika Elliot
Props - Tony Woodcock, Wyatt Crockett, Ben Franks, Owen Franks
Locks - Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Jeremy Thrush, James Broadhurst
Loose Forwards - Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw, Kieran Read, Liam Messam, Sam Cane, Victor Vito
Halfbacks - Aaron Smith, TJ Perenara, Andy Ellis
First Fives - Dan Carter, Beauden Barrett, Colin Slade
Centres - Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Sonny Bill Williams, Malakai Fekitoa
Outside Backs - Ben Smith, Julian Savea, Waisake Naholo, Israel Dagg

Highlanders are 2015 Super Rugby Champions!

New Zealand once again clearly showed that it pretty much owns the game of rugby.

Super Rugby Finals featuring New Zealand sides have often been memorable epic encounters but the Final of 4 July 2015 must surely go down as the best Super Rugby Final in history.

While the Hurricanes v Highlanders game didn’t quite turn into the try-fest that many tipped based on both sides’ form, it was still highly energetic, brutal and courageous at times. Both sides didn’t deserve to lose but unfortunately, it was the home side, the Hurricanes who would be at the wrong end of the biggest upset in any Final.

The Hurricanes had billed this game as their long awaited arrival as champions and the perfect send-off for their stalwarts, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith. Their record in Wellington in 2015 had been incredible – losing only once, scoring plenty of tries in the other games.

The Highlanders had had to travel from South Africa, then Invercargill, Napier, Auckland, Dunedin, Sydney and Wellington in the last two months so were a well travelled side – the Hurricanes had gotten their South Africa tour done at the start of the season and bar a trip to Brisbane, had been based in New Zealand since March.

Alas, having followed the Highlanders for 12 years as my team since emigrating to New Zealand – Dunedin was my first port of call, hence is my New Zealand hometown – I always knew that the Highlanders played their best footie when they were the underdogs. The Final this weekend, and the Semifinal last weekend in Sydney – and that Final back in 1999 - exemplified that perfectly.

The Highlanders are a much better team than people make them out to be – they do have that much heralded All Black laden backline and not long ago, Liam Coltman was being hailed as a potential All Black hooker. After his man-of-the-match performance, Elliot Dixon might still very well be in All Blacks contention this season – his utility could be handy in a compressed Rugby World Cup side particularly with Steven Luatua out for the season.

The fact is, the Highlanders are a start team with a star coach who has sucked the best out of all his players this season – and has done for the last 4 years since moving down from Wellington. Steve Hansen and the All Blacks need to thank Jamie Joseph for developing Aaron Smith, Ben Smith, Malakai Fekitoa and Waisake Naholo from unknowns into stars – and they probably do.

For so long, Dunedin had been slowly declining from its heyday as New Zealand’s richest city into a quiet backwater city in the South Island – the likes of Hamilton, Tauranga, Napier/Hastings and Palmerston North had overtaken it in the population rankings as more jobs and warmer weather drew more people to those places.

Dunedin’s university and place in the South Island kept its relevance going but a recent revival led by the construction of the new covered stadium, the revival of the long forgotten Vogel Street precinct, and the winning of Gigatown, has meant Dunedin is starting to come into the national attention – this win in the rugby will earn this great Southern city even more attention and there is no other team that fits the heritage, character and heart of Dunedin than this year’s Highlanders.

Written off, too small, limited. Now Super Rugby champions.

After 12 forgettable seasons, witnessing history in Wellington will be a sweet moment that will never be forgotten.

Go the Highlanders!