The Sydney Telegraph reported last Friday that former

[seonajmulislam00]

Kiama Junior Dan Palmer has decided to hang up the boots at the end of the season at his current club, Grenoble in France. The Tele reports that Dan intends to take up fulltime study either in the USA or at Oxford in the UK. After a long well planned rugby apprenticeship Dan made his debut for the Wallabies against Scotland a couple of years ago in Newcastle, whilst playing at the Brumbies. He was probably the form Australian prop in Super Rugby last year until injury shortened his season. Australian Rugby can ill afford to lose a front rower of Dan’s quality. I somehow feel though it won’t be the last we see of Dan Palmer. There will be plenty of people around here who would like to wish Dan the best for the future.

It was a pleasant drive to Camden on Saturday but I couldn’t help but notice the huge dark cloud hanging over the Macarthur district. Thankfully the rain didn’t come and we had our first taste of Rugby for the year. It was a dour first half between Camden and Shamrocks which saw no points scored. Both sides were intent on nullifying their opponents attack phone number library and did so with precision. Thankfully the Rams came out in the second half and lifted the tempo running in 6 tries to take the match 38 – 0. In the middle of the 6 tries we saw 30 seconds of mayhem in which head butts and punches were aplenty. A disturbing aspect of the mayhem for me was the reaction of a significant number of spectators to the whole thing. It would seem that the 30 seconds of mayhem gave them more joy and excitement than the 6 tries the Rams put on. I think they would have been better placed at some other event to get their enjoyment.

The withdrawal of Israel Folau from the Waratahs last week has certainly caused a stir in the Rugby world. Former team mates Phill Kearns and Ewan McKenzie didn’t see eye to eye with the decision on Fox Sports the other night. Was it a case of the ARU exercising their duty of care towards one of their players? Or was it more a case of the ARU protecting their investment in one of the key components of the upcoming International season? One thing for sure, I reckon given the indecision in the Waratahs camp over the last three weeks wether Izy should play or not would have left a few Waratahs staff members relieved that the responsibility for the decision was taken out of their hands. The whole event is further proof that Rugby at this level is no longer a game. It’s big business.

The Sharks with their win over the Lions maintain their lead at the top of the Super Rugby ladder. The Brumbies close win over the Reds and the Chiefs win against the Rebels at home, keeps the Brumbies and Chiefs in touch with the Sharks at the top. After the Force’s very strong win over a tired Waratahs, they leap over the Tahs to sit fourth. The Reds and the Rebels sit way down in position 12 and 13 and are running the risk of losing touch with the mob. The only one I got wrong last week was the Waratahs loss to the Force which will go down as one of the Force’s best wins in their history. The Rebels at home to the Force this week will be an interesting one. If the Force can win they will go to the top of the Australian conference with the Brumbies having a Bye. I’m going for all the home sides this week, Hurricanes, Rebels, Chiefs, Waratahs, Sharks and Stormers.