Catching up with QLD Red and Country Lock Angus Blyth

The NRC season is full swing!

Last Sunday last week was an awesome day of rugby. I travelled down to Bond Uni to watch two games in a row. Brisbane City took out Sydney and right after that, our Queensland Country team beat the Canberra Vikings! It’s the first time I’ve ever witnessed two back to back NRC games live and to watch both of our teams win was even more special.

While preparing for next weekends game against Sydney, I caught up with Angus Blyth, a QLD Red and Country lock.

I’m also bringing back a new segment this week - see below for my “Rugby Rules” section that Angus helped me out with. This is for rugby fans who are still learning the finer points of the game.

Enjoy!

Hey Angus, thanks for taking the time to catch up.

[Angus:] No worries!

Congrats to you and the Country boys for a great win last weekend! I loved being there to watch it.

Yeah thanks. It’s pretty awesome, having our first win! Bit of a shaky start against Perth the week before, so we were happy to beat Canberra. 

Are you looking forward to playing in Sydney this coming weekend? (Sorry I can’t make it to that one…)

(Laughs.) That’s alright. I am looking forward to playing another away game! I think as a Country team, we almost play better away. We have a better schedule, everything timed for us, that sort of thing. We need to watch them and take them seriously… Hopefully we’ll be fine-tuning our defence and our attacking structures, it’ll be a good challenge.

One of the things I love asking people about is their rugby journey. How did you start playing the game?

So I grew up in a place called Kingscliff, which is in Northern New South Wales. That’s where I went to school up until year 10. I just played in a local rugby competition, pretty much lost every game through out the season. Luckily enough, I got offered a place at TSS, a Southport school in the Gold Coast. It’s a big rugby school down there. I went there after year 10 and played in the First XV for two years.

After that, I was lucky to get a development contract after school and came through the 20s program.. then NRC.. then I was lucky to get my first game with the Reds last year and I played another eight games this year.

What do you love most about being based here at Ballymore and playing for Queensland?

Admiring a painting in the hallway, a tribute to the 2011
Championship winning Reds

Being here at Ballymore, it’s such an old place, there’s a lot of history here, looking at the paintings and cool photos and stuff of the winning teams, the greats… And it’s close to home, only an hour and a half away. I’m also studying down at Bond, I got the rugby scholarship down there, it’s easy to drive down when I’m free and do my one class a week for that semester.

I just love the Queensland whether, it’s nice and warm, it’s never really rainy or cold like Canberra - it’s only an hour or so down to the beach, you can go there for a swim or a surf… I love Queensland, it’s home.

How good is it having your brother Wilson around, as a part of the Reds development squad?

Yeah I’m pretty excited about that, he’s pretty excited as well. Me and my brother are really close, we get along really well. He always tries to one up me, everything he does (laughs), so he’s always trying to beat me in something. So once he gets here and starts training and eventually training full-time with me up in the main squad, he’ll be really competitive. It’ll be good to have him here, we can always move in together and do the same thing as the Smith brothers. I’m really looking forward to him coming along.

What are your thoughts on next years Reds season and with that, what would your message be to Reds supporters coming into next year?

Could the current Reds players be future champions?

I’m really looking forward to next season. A lot of the young guys coming through the main squad, like Isaac Lucas, Harry Wilson and Fraser, they’re all playing well. It’s gonna be another big year. We’ve been saying we’re a young side for a few years now so now that everyones come through the ageing process.. the bleeding process, to Super Rugby, we should get some results. This year, we fell short by one try for a one try or something for a few games, you know, that Chiefs game where we were edging within seconds and meters… we could have won that game. I think that added experience of an extra year will help us get over that winning line. And for the supporters, keep hanging around, I’m sure there’s good things coming in the future here at Ballymore.

Angus, thank you very much for your time, all the best for the rest of the NRC season, I’m supporting you all the way.

Awesome. Not a problem Tommy. Thanks for interviewing me, it’s been awesome.

Rugby Rules

This is a new segment, where I ask a player to explain a rule, or an aspect of the game. Today, I asked Angus to explain scrums to fans, like my mum, who don’t understand all of the rules of the game. Enjoy…

Angus Blythe on Scrums

A scrum happens when a person drops the ball forward… Instead of just handing it over, they pack a scrum to contest the possession change. Whoever knocks it on, the other person has the feed and they put the ball in to the middle of the scrum. So it’s 8 players, or the forwards, (numbers 1-8). The front row are the fat guys, or another word would be strong (laughs) or massive. But the short, strong guys (numbers 1-3), they’re the wall at the front, they cop all the force. The second row is the tallest players on the field (4-5), almost all of the time. They provide most of the power. And then you have the back row, which is 6, 7 and 8, also called the flankers. Their job is to stabilise the scrum and release the ball out the back and make the first tackle in defence.

Basically, 8 guys push alongside the other 8 guys, if you have the “feed” you have the advantage. There’s a lot of different rules about collapsing, and binding early, which is a whole other episode (laughs). But basically, whoever has the dominance in the scrum gets a penalty if it collapses.

A while ago, it used to be pretty messy and 8 guys would almost run into each other… but now it’s a lot safer, to stop people getting injured in their necks and backs and stuff… the ref calls “crouch, bind, set” and it’s a lot safer now. Basically, the scrum gives the backs more space to do their thing. There’s less defenders and gaps to play into.

I enjoy scrums - it’s a hard position being a second rower, having your head between two front rowers… It’s a lot of hard work, but it pays off when you get a dominant scrum.

Do you expect to have the dominant scrum this weekend?

[Angus:] We should do.

Tune in to watch Queensland Country play Sydney on Saturday at 12pm.

After that, Brisbane City play Canberra (also away) at 2pm! Free to watch at www.rugby.com.au!!