Aussie Storer set for epic duel to win Tour of the Alps
Michael Storer has cut a despondent and exhausted figure after seeing his lead in the Tour of the Alps disappear on the penultimate stage in Austria -- but the valiant Australian is still in prime position to achieve the biggest triumph of his career.
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Perth Now
40 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Brumbies into Super Rugby semi-final with 'Canes win
The ACT Brumbies have booked a Super Rugby Pacific semi-final berth with a gutsy 35-28 playoffs win over the Hurricanes at GIO Stadium. The home side's forward pack were prolific, with hooker Billy Pollard scoring a double, in the Brumbies' five-tries-to-four victory over the Wellingtonians on Saturday night. The Brumbies will now need to make history by beating the ladder-topping Chiefs in Hamilton next weekend to avoid a fourth straight semi-final exit against a New Zealand club. No Australian side has won a knock-out game in New Zealand in the almost 30-year history of the competition. The tried-and-tested methods of rolling mauls and pick-and-drives paid dividends for the Brumbies. After the Hurricanes opened the scoring through fullback Ruben Love, a Brumbies maul from a lineout in opposition territory slowly but surely rolled over the tryline, with Pollard the man to dot down through a sea of bodies. Fatafehi Fineanganofo hit back for the visitors before Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa burrowed over after a succession of pick-and-drives on the Hurricanes' line. With three minutes left in the first half, the Brumbies opted not to take a penalty goal from right in front, instead chancing their arms again with another lineout. Their gamble paid off with Pollard managing to break off the blindside and dive onto the tryline to give the Brumbies a seven-point lead at the break. The sides traded seven-pointers in the second half, with a try to Brumbies fullback Tom Wright cancelled out by one from Bailyn Sullivan. Veteran Brumbies prop James Slipper scored with another pick-and-drive before Hurricanes substitute Pasilio Tosi narrowed the gap to one try to ramp up the tension in the dying minutes. The Hurricanes burst into the Brumbies half through a Callum Harkin linebreak in the final minute but Luke Reimer stepped up for the home side to steal the pill and settle the victory. The defending champion Blues' last-gasp win over the Chiefs earlier in the night heaped the pressure on the third-placed Brumbies, who knew a loss would consign them to bowing out before the semi-finals for the first time since 2018. Instead it was the fourth-placed Hurricanes who reached the end of the road in their season.
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
The one thing I really want is the one thing I can't give myself
Two weeks ago, I caught up with a friend of mine who is an adult man with a very serious job as a corporate lawyer for a global bank, where he deals with millions of dollars each day, and when I saw him, the first thing I said was: 'Banus! How are you?' His actual name is Chris but unfortunately, on the first day of high school, he sat in a chair on the back of which someone had scrawled the nonsensical word 'banus', and the damage was done. Twenty-four years later, the nickname remains despite his constant requests for everyone to let it go and call him by his legal name. 'Sure thing, Banus.' Therein lies the beauty of the nickname, the best ones being thrust upon the owner through no fault of their own. One day your name is Chris, and the next you've been rebranded simply because you sat in a chair. No one does this better than sports teams. A group environment fuelled by ruthless ribbing proves the ideal nickname generator. Some are based purely on physical attributes, like how former NRL player Anthony Minichiello earned the nickname 'The Count' because he looks exactly like Count von Count from Sesame Street, or basketball fans call Kevin Durant 'The Slim Reaper' due to his slender frame. For a long time, Durant shunned the nickname and asked to be called KD. Sadly for Durant, due to the unofficial rules of nicknames, initials don't count, nor does being referred to by your surname. However, surnames can have a role to play in the origins of your nickname. For instance, Australian cricketer Brett Lee is known as Binga, a reference to Bing Lee, the chain of electronics stores. And before Binga, he was nicknamed Oswald because, for a short time, Brett batted behind his brother Shane Lee and Ian Harvey in the Australian one-day team. During this period, whenever captain Steve Waugh read out the players' surnames for the batting line-up before a game, it would go: Lee, Harvey … [insert new nickname]. I mention all this only because I have long been fascinated by nicknames, a direct result of never having had one. During my formative years at school, when Chris became Banus, it seemed nicknames were being dished out every day. A kid named Ryan was renamed Windy because he was so small he'd blow away in a gale, and Shane became Shooter after a rumour spread that his dad's job was to shoot seagulls at the airport.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The one thing I really want is the one thing I can't give myself
Two weeks ago, I caught up with a friend of mine who is an adult man with a very serious job as a corporate lawyer for a global bank, where he deals with millions of dollars each day, and when I saw him, the first thing I said was: 'Banus! How are you?' His actual name is Chris but unfortunately, on the first day of high school, he sat in a chair on the back of which someone had scrawled the nonsensical word 'banus', and the damage was done. Twenty-four years later, the nickname remains despite his constant requests for everyone to let it go and call him by his legal name. 'Sure thing, Banus.' Therein lies the beauty of the nickname, the best ones being thrust upon the owner through no fault of their own. One day your name is Chris, and the next you've been rebranded simply because you sat in a chair. No one does this better than sports teams. A group environment fuelled by ruthless ribbing proves the ideal nickname generator. Some are based purely on physical attributes, like how former NRL player Anthony Minichiello earned the nickname 'The Count' because he looks exactly like Count von Count from Sesame Street, or basketball fans call Kevin Durant 'The Slim Reaper' due to his slender frame. For a long time, Durant shunned the nickname and asked to be called KD. Sadly for Durant, due to the unofficial rules of nicknames, initials don't count, nor does being referred to by your surname. However, surnames can have a role to play in the origins of your nickname. For instance, Australian cricketer Brett Lee is known as Binga, a reference to Bing Lee, the chain of electronics stores. And before Binga, he was nicknamed Oswald because, for a short time, Brett batted behind his brother Shane Lee and Ian Harvey in the Australian one-day team. During this period, whenever captain Steve Waugh read out the players' surnames for the batting line-up before a game, it would go: Lee, Harvey … [insert new nickname]. I mention all this only because I have long been fascinated by nicknames, a direct result of never having had one. During my formative years at school, when Chris became Banus, it seemed nicknames were being dished out every day. A kid named Ryan was renamed Windy because he was so small he'd blow away in a gale, and Shane became Shooter after a rumour spread that his dad's job was to shoot seagulls at the airport.
