Jim Tucker Talks Rugby, Reporting and the Reds

This week’s blog interview will be a real treat for any true Queensland rugby supporter. I had the pleasure of catching up with the great Jim Tucker to talk about his career as a Hall of Fame/award-winning journalist and to discover what inspired him to transition into his current role leading the Reds media team.

Jim could easily have retired to a life of golf and box seats at every fixture, but it’s clear that he still loves the game and the people who make up this great community. Along with myself, he’s genuinely excited about the present and future of rugby in Australia, he is also a firm believer in honouring the game’s rich history, which I appreciate.

I always love talking with Jim about rugby, so this interview was a particularly special one.

First of all, thanks for all your help over the last few years with Reds Rugby Rules. I’ve appreciated the support along the way, especially since you officially joined the Reds crew, back in 2024. I think you’ve done a mighty fine job with the Reds, here at Ballymore!

Thanks Tom. It's been a pleasure, getting to know you a little bit more, having seen you around the Reds teams for a number of years. Finding out more about what makes you tick has been brilliant. 

I know the players really appreciate how genuine your support is, at games and even with you getting on a plane to Christchurch and going over to New Zealand to support. Your support is really well received and the players stop and speak to you because they want to.

You’ve had an incredible career as a sports journalist. You’ve had a long stint with the Courier-Mail and you’ve been in the thick of it for number of Rugby World Cups and many Queensland derbies, including our great 2011 win.

I guess 2011 does stand out a lot for many fans and I guess it's the victory that keeps on giving, when you see people like Carter Gordon and Tate McDermott and Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, who were either at that very game, or supporting the Reds that year and that was a part of the the flame that got their excitement going to be rugby players as kids themselves. And now we see them all as really good Super Rugby players or Wallabies. Fraser McReight, as well, to name another person who was really connected to 2011 as a young guy. So that was a superb season where everything came together. 

If you said today that Halfback Will Genia and Flyhalf Quade Cooper would play 18 games together in one season, people would think you were mad. But in that season, you had an absolutely brilliant partnership, in every single game. 16 regular season game and two finals games. And that was the magic of the season. They were at the heart of it and brought to life so many other players who played exceptionally well and some had the season of their lives. And that was for the Reds, many would say their greatest season.

I’d love to know how you ended up here, with the Queensland Rugby media team. And also, what do you enjoy most about being based here at Ballymore, working on the “other side of the fence”?

That's a good question. I say I've had the longest apprenticeship, of more than 40 years, to get to my current job as Reds media manager. I guess the part that appealed to me, was just still being connected to rugby, right at the coal face.

I didn't realise how different it would be, in many ways. The players, the coaches, the staff, as soon as you're inside the tent, working for the Reds, they're unbelievably welcoming. I'd also say our Reds players are extremely good with outside influencers, with the media, with community events, the time they give to schools… Just the time they give to an under-11 GPS school.

Players are very giving of their time, 'cause… in Australian rugby. You have to be.... You have to sell the game at every level. In New Zealand, it's different. Rugby's a religion. In Australia, there are so many competing interests, and the coach and the players, they have to be the “hot gospelers”, if you like, who are just selling the game, 'cause they're the people that fans want to hear from and see. They want to see Tate McDermott. They want to see Harry Wilson and Fraser McReight. They want to see the Junkyard Dog.

So that's the real selling power of a team like the Queensland Reds. It’s their stars and what they do on the field and how they operate in the community, which they do extremely well. 

So to develop your question, why did I come to the Queensland Reds? I guess it was a moment in time when there was a new Ballymore. I've seen the old Ballymore, I’ve had plenty of drinks in the old Bundy bar under the stand. But to see the new Ballymore come to life after the huge redevelopment, was extremely exciting. The coach changed, a couple of people out of the media department had moved on and there was a new facility. 

So I thought, OK, I'll just throw my hat in the ring, just to be involved with rugby. With Queensland, my connection goes back to about 1982, when I first came here and I've loved the whole community ever since. It was just another way of being involved and enjoying it. Even before joining the team here, I was on the Heritage Committee for Queensland Rugby.

I think it's important, not just the now of Queensland rugby, but those generations that have come before are really significant. For example, you can talk about Fraser McReight being a fantastic flanker, but I think it means more when you also consider David Wilson and David Croft that have come before. 

If it gives you perspective, the same thing with, say, Tim Ryan. If you talk about Tim Ryan the Junkyard Dog and you refer back to Brendan Moon and Ben Tune, two fabulous wingers for Queensland, you get a perspective of how good he is or where he fits, in the list of great Queensland wingers over a long period of time.

Same with the coaches. You get a perspective of where they fit in and where their strengths are. I think the honouring the history of Queensland rugby is really important.

We have the Queensland Rugby Union Hall of Fame, where annually three or four members of Queensland's great history get inducted and I think that's a really significant thing for us to keep championing. That's an important thing I really enjoy, just pushing to make sure people aren't forgotten, who’ve done as much or more as the current crop of people involved in the game. 

That's a long answer, is that sort of what you're after? 

That’s a great answer! I’d love to take things back to the very beginning. What inspired you to get into rugby union?

Another good question. I guess it was my father. He was a rugby journalist as well. He covered rugby, cricket, the Olympic Games, and the Commonwealth Games, as a swimming writer.

My father, Dick, he was here [at Ballymore] in the 1960s, he covered the test in 1968. The “penalty try test” they call it, where Kev Crowe, the Queensland Referee, awarded a penalty try which gave the All Blacks the chance to win the test match, 19-18, after a long drought for the Wallabies. So it was a fairly pivotal game in history. 

And I remember Dad telling me that they interviewed Kev Crowe after the game, where they were getting changed in the garden shed, the referee changing room were pretty humble in those days. There were some pretty disgruntled fans that day. And getting to know Kev Crowe, throughout his life, he insisted he had made the right decision, which was perfectly fine.

So, I guess I saw my father involved in rugby. I played very humbly at school, as a second XV lock, nothing to write about at all. But I really enjoyed the game through seeing my father involved in it. And I suppose a proud moment was in 1979, the Wallabies playing the All Blacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground. I was just a cub reporter, and I did the first edition story for the newspaper in Sydney.

And then my story got tossed out, and then... the real rugby writer, who was my father, he did the later edition story, the quotes in the full wrap up, and that replaced most of it. So I remember that as a proud day. And it does give me some pride that my son, Nick, is now writing about rugby for the Courier-Mail, doing a lot of the school sports, the GPS school rugby, AIC school rugby and covering some of the Reds matches as well.

What do you think makes Queensland Rugby unique?

You got some good questions Tom. I think, in Australian sport, most people would see Sydney and Melbourne as thinking they're the heart of every sport. So I suppose the basic instinct is that Queensland has always had a wonderful chip on their shoulder when it comes to sport. And they've always wanted to go and knock off the big noters from Sydney. That manifests itself in State of Origin in Rugby League and certainly in Rugby.

The Templeton Cup is a really significant trophy for Queenslanders. You just have to see how much it means to Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson and any number of players in the dressing room after a win over New South Wales. 

And that's a perfectly named trophy, named after the late Bob Templeton, who lived through a period and  coached were appeared in the 1960s and '70s, where New South Wales would routinely win and he was very much a part of helping to turn that around. So they were far more Queensland victories. And started the John Connolly, where things were taken to a new level when Queensland did dominate New South Wales. So I think that chip on the shoulder mentality really comes into play a lot with Queensland sport in general.

Australian rugby is strong when Queenslanders are challenging and not accepting everything that Rugby Australia says, is the way it should go. Queensland Rugby needs to have a strong voice for Australian rugby to be strong.

What’s your favourite memory from the last three years, working with the Reds?

 

That's a good question. I was lucky enough to be in Christchurch in 1999, when a really good Reds team, with Horan, Latham and Kefu beat the Crusaders. And to think it was 25 years later… the win in 2024 in Christchurch, was a huge high for the Reds. That was one of the great achievements.

I think, generally, in the Les Kiss era, his Reds team's won seven times against New Zealand teams, in three seasons and I think that was really significant. That turned things around into believing that, on most occasions, the Queensland Reds could go out and match it with the kiwi sides. That was a real shift, I think, in the last 3 years, that epic win at Suncorp Stadium against the Chiefs was certainly up there and beating the Blues on Anzac Day at Suncorp Stadium.

And I think just that feeling that the team's playing really good rugby, scoring lots of tries, mixing up with some really clinical, rolling maul tries, some pounding defence and combining all those different parts of the game and coming up with some really significant wins.

And that is one thing you never see when you're a journalist. You don't get that rare entree to the side of the field, when you're absorbing it from inside the arena, not as a player, but just as a bystander on the sidelines. You're seeing what it means to fans and you're seeing little kids straight after the game, hunting for autographs, and what it means. They they want an autograph of their heroes and that's where the cycle of rugby is its most powerful, where you're seeing heroes being made in front of your eyes. And then the youngest fans searching out autographs, wanting to get close to the stars, or seeing Fraser McReight going over to the big throng of supporters from Brisbane Grammar School, 200 plus for the Fijian Drua game and just spending time with kids from his school. Same with the BBC Boys, they turned out in force for one game. They had four or five Reds players head over there and they just wanted to be there, because they know what it means, and they've been on the other side of the fence, being kids, watching footy.

So to give back to their schools, I think that's really significant. There’s a couple of highlights, I guess. And you love seeing someone really produce a game from the clouds, so, Tim Ryan scoring his hat trick against the Blues at Suncorp in a high scoring game, that was superb. That was an individual performance that probably no one saw coming, but that was just out of a box stuff.

What are some insights you could share with fans about the Reds squad going into next years Super Rugby campaign?

I think... the absolutely most important thing is that... when you change a coach, you don't start at the bottom again, you don't start with nothing and have to build up. Les Kiss was very gracious when he came on board late in 2023 and said that Brad Thorn had left him with a fantastic foundation and he would just add to that. And Les now has left a fantastic foundation for Vern Cotter to come on board and give his particular spin.

So I think, the best thing is that the Reds don't go backwards to go forwards again. They will have a really strong base, there's a lot of consistency with the staff, the facilities and with the players. The signing of players on longer term, contracts has been really intelligent. So there's a lot of guys who are gonna be around, and their contrast would say, New South Wales Waratahs, they've had a lot of volatility, you know, in terms of players moving on, players coming in and that's all happening without a new coach being announced. So who knows what the results of the two teams will be in 2027. But you give yourself much better chance if it's more stable, more organised. And I think it's fairly unglamorous, but the front office, like the administration, and the retention, resigning, coaching side of the operation is stable and well planned, you've got a much better chance of being successful on the field. Because a team always reflects sometimes without knowing it, just how smooth everything is running off the field. So I think the Reds have gotten better as a head start.

I'm really excited to see Treyvon Pritchard, take the next step in his career in 2027. He had some good time on the wing, a little bit at fullback in 2026, I think you'll see a lot more of him at fullback in 2027. 

Hopefully we get to see Carter Gordon and Tom Lynagh both competing for that number 10 spot in 2027, that will be good for Australian rugby, not just the Reds. You've got guys coming through too, Massimo De Lutiis, Joe Brial, they’re on the cusp of being ready to play for the Wallabies, so I think that's exciting for the Reds.

And being World Cup year, I think there's a natural ambition to do really well to put your case for the Wallabies. That's a really good motivator for any game. That's not just exclusive to Queensland, every other State and every other team in New Zealand and Fiji, will be thinking the same way, but it is a good to know that players know the juicy carrot is a Rugby World Cup spot, if they play really well next year. 

So, yeah, high hopes for the Reds in 2027. 

I couldn’t me more proud of Les. I think he’s the right man for the Wallabies job. What do you think supporters can expect from Les as the coach of the Wallabies?

I think one of Les’s great strengths is that he does connect with the players so well. There's genuine care for the players. I think it'll be a happy, ambitious team together. I think he'll have his own style, it won't just be the same as Joe Schmidt.

I think he does feel that Australia generally has players who can attack, they can run the ball, they can play an attractive brand of football. But he will also see that it needs to be balanced with that fairly ferocious mentality in the forwards, 'cause that, above all, you need that ferocious part of the forward pack to get you going forward, and then all the stuff in the backs is possible. 

So yeah, I think it's a good move. An Australian coaching Australia. I like it.

Out of all of the sporting events you’ve reported on, what has been the most memorable?

That's a hard question. I would say... I'll give you a top five. Being lucky enough to be a journalist covering the 1991 World Cup victory and then again, in 1999, they were two definite highlights… Australia's first half, the first 40 minutes, when they beat the All Blacks in the World Cup semi-final of 1991 at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, to many, that was the best 40 minutes of rugby that the Wallabies had ever played in history at that point. 

And it was the first defeat in World Cup history inflicted on the All Blacks, and they won it quite well, with Campese throwing his no look pass over the shoulder to Tim Horan who scores the try, we’ve all seen that on the highlight reels… That was a memorable moment amongst a memorable tournament

Then probably Duncan Armstrong winning his Olympic gold medal in the 200 meter freestyle in the Seoul Olympics in 1988. No one saw that coming. And it was just an absolutely crazy event on the sidelines, Korean TV reporters interviewing anyone they could find, trying to find out who this Australian swimmer was who had just won an Olympic gold medal and taken down the world record holder. 

And one from cricket... Definitely being there to see Shane Warne bowl the ball of the century at Old Trafford in 1993, when he bowled Mike Gatting. And to see that and see the legend of Shane Warne grow was quite remarkable. You think now it's over 30 years since that ball's been bowled and it’s still resonant in people's minds.

So history does... a number of things, some things quickly fade, and then the most priceless moments are just stored in memories forever. And that definitely was one of those. And probably… Warney's involvement in the Australian cricket team winning in the Caribbean in 1995, winning there for the first time in 22 years, that was one of those epic tours, one of those epic series where there were so many wonderful moments... So I've been very, very lucky. 

My Dad wanted me to pass on this question: Have you ever had to break any controversial stories in the sporting world?

Um... controversial stories, let's have a think. It’s a good question. [Long pause, for Jim.]

I suppose... Yeah, there's a fine line between breaking a controversial story, like a newsworthy story that has to be written and then being able to keep the trust of sportsmen, women, coaches… You build trust sometimes, by not writing the story that can inflict a bit of hurt and pain. But some stories just have to be written. It's a hard one to describe. 

I can't remember specific things now. At various times, I was writing about the fixing in cricket and things like that. But I didn't break the first story.

You’ve gotta keep the balance between rushing into a hurtful story. But balancing that with... the public has a right to know certain things.

And then... keeping the trust by going, ok, I'm not gonna write that story.  That’s the balance you hope you get right over your career.

If I remember a controversial one, I'll let your dad know. 

Thanks, Jim, for your time today. I'd also like to say thank you for all of your service towards Queensland Rugby over many years. I hope you stick around with the Reds for at least another couple of decades.

[Laughs] I’ll try my best, Tom. I’ll try my best.

That's very kind, Tom. I’m happy to jump in and have a chat, always.

Tom Hamilton's Team Talk with Tiarah

Tackling the Tough Topics with Queensland Red and Wallaroo Lock Tiarah Minns 

Last week, I had an opportunity to catch up with one of the Reds super-star players, who is a member of the Wallaroos. Tiarah Minns came to Queensland at the start of last season, after the Melbourne Rebels finished up as a franchise.

We talked about a lot of things, including what the Reds have been focusing on ahead of this weekends semi-final against Fiji, what she loves most about being based at Ballymore, living in Brisbane and much, much more!

I hope you enjoy reading our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it!

Make sure you tune in this weekend, as the Reds take on Fiji in the Super W semi-final! I’ll be watching Stan Sport at 11am on Saturday. I hope you’ll be joining me! (I actually can't wait....)

Hey Tiarah, thanks for making time to catch up, during a busy training schedule! What's been the team's focus ahead of playing Fiji next week in the semi-final?

The team's focus is continued belief, in the team. The really big thing that Frase [Reds coach Andrew Fraser] has been emphasising is, believe it, equals, achieve it.

We’ve been celebrating the win from the weekend, emphasising the good moments, celebrating the little wins, but also another big focus from today was, “how can we get better”? What happened on the weekend was awesome, but there was obviously little things we can still improve on, so we can get better.

I’m excited that we’re in the semi-final! Fiji is a top team, but we can beat them. What's your favourite thing about being based here at Ballymore? And what's your favourite thing about living in Brisbane?

Wow, these are great questions Tom. My favourite thing about Ballymore, a few things really… I love the whole club environment, so not just the women's, but, the men's and women's alike, and the Academy, having everyone all here together, that's a really big thing for me. So yeah, having that community around you, the staff around as well, the media staff down the other end, and everyone saying hi as they come through. I think for me, coming from Melbourne, we had a really good culture down there, that was really important for me, coming up here. 

And the facilities, having our own locker room, having our own training facilities… that would be my favourite things about being at Ballymore. 

And my favourite thing about being in Queensland… I mean, who doesn't love the weather?

For me, to be in winter, and this is a “cold” night for us, is pretty good. I think in Melbourne, if it was a cold night, it would be raining and you’d be freezing. So, this is a very big luxury that we have such nice weather up here.

When you're not playing rugby, what do you love doing?

Well, I’d probably start by saying my studies. I'm studying my master's of physiotherapy at UQ, which is very full on, but I do love it. 

Besides that, I'm very well known for doing a lot of warm ups. I'm usually here quite a few hours early doing my prep. And then outside of the footy scene, catching up with friends, I go to church on Sunday, I have a life group in church, which I love. 

Um, yeah, and besides that, drinking coffee, reading my Bible, I love going to the movies, I love going out in nature as well.

What's the number one thing you'd learned this season in your rugby journey?

This one's been a tough journey for me because I'm out with injury at the moment. That's a really good question. 

I think... I think my biggest thing would be… I've enjoyed this journey, and I think I've been able to, you know, go the furthest I've gone in Wallaroos, and just starting all that, but what I've learned in this journey is probably to trust God. 

I think, honestly, just to trust God and trust his process, and trust that it’s all gonna work out in the end. And I think, yeah, I think that'd be probably my number …one thing. Yeah. And trust the staff here, that I'm gonna get back to full health.

You were 19 when you started playing rugby, what was it that originally drew you to the game?

You did your did your research Tom!

 

I won't go too much in detail about my whole rugby origin, but I got into rugby through netball, and I was doing them both for a while, then I didn't drop netball until end of 2019, which was a lot, especially in year 12.

But I think what drew me to staying with rugby, would have to be, I think the family environment. I know that sounds a bit cheesy, but I think the community around rugby is just something that you don't experience anywhere else.

Like, you genuinely have to be there for your sister around the field, otherwise, they're gonna get smashed, or you’re gonna get smashed. 

So I think it's the, the team aspect of it, and the community off the field, as well as just, the grit and physicality you need in rugby, and to be able to push yourself to the limits, I think I've always loved that aspect.

Before netball, I did surf life-saving, where you're just pushing to limit, body to the limits.

I’d love to hear about your Wallaroos experience. What have you loved most about representing your country?

Wow, these are such a good question, Tom. 

What have I enjoyed most? I think, being on away on tour, and I think this last tour I enjoyed the most, …for a couple of reasons, but I think mostly feeling more comfortable in myself.

So, I think the difference for me, playing before to the start of this year was kind of a mental shift… I think I've always been very hard on myself, and this year, my attitude has been “there's nothing to lose”, I'm just gonna enjoy it and go out there and give everything. So, I think that's probably, what I've enjoyed the most with Wallaroo’s, representing and like, backing myself. Enjoying it, is what I've enjoyed most, if that makes sense. 

I think it can be so easy at the top level to put so much pressure on yourself and then that pressure just takes away joy. Pressure to a certain degree is awesome. But when you put too much weight on yourself, then it just takes away from that joy. I think I’ve been finding that balance a little bit more.

And then, obviously, seeing America was pretty cool, as well. Being able to travel with Wallaroos has been amazing. I’ve gone to some amazing places like America, where else… to Fiji, to Ireland, Wales, South Africa... So, yeah, I've been very blessed to travel around.

What would your advice be for young up and coming players?

Ooh. My biggest advice would be two things: One would be to enjoy the journey. That's something that my dad said to me when I was very young and it sounds simple, but like I said, it's very easy to forget that, when you have that pressure on you and you’re in high stakes environments. 

It can be a bumpy ride, it comes with ups and downs, and I've had plenty of setbacks and injuries and missed selections and missing World Cups, but I think you've got to enjoy the ups and downs of it too. I've had so many good moments when I have missed out as well in life, and in footy... I think enjoying the journey, that'd be my biggest one.

And I think, also, to not be afraid to work hard for it as well, doing the one percenters, and really working harder than everyone next to you. If you put in the effort, then you'll get there eventually, no matter how long it takes, like, you will get there.

What’s a fun fact about you that most fans wouldn’t know?

Ooh. Before I answer this, genuinely, this is one of the best interviews I've ever had. These are very good questions Tom. I have to really think about these. Wow. What's a fun fact, no one knows about me... 

Most people know that I come from a big family, I’m one of five kids, I'm the fourth. Um, I grew up doing surf life-saving… Can I circle back to that one?

What's your favourite post game meal?

Ooh, that's a good one. Um, this sounds like I'd just be saying this, but genuinely, something, like, a high carb, high protein meal with a bunch of veggies. 

I grew up on a lot of veggies, so I genuinely do like a lot of veggies. But I would also add to that, I do feel like something a little bit fried in there is good. Like a few chips, or something like that. It does, I feel like after you've like just exerted yourself, something like salty and with a bit of oil in it, is good, but I genuinely love, maybe, one of my mum's homemade meals, like a spag bowl. 

And she makes amazing spag bowl with lots of veggies in it, lots of meat, and pasta... or gluten-free pasta, because I'm gluten intolerant. Maybe that’s something not a lot of people outside of rugby would know… I don't know if that's a fun fact! But yeah, that's me.

Thanks Tiarah, for your time. Glad we finally got to do this! I really enjoyed this conversation. All the best to the whole squad against Fiji!

Yes! Thank you so much. This has been awesome, genuinely. An amazing interview.

***Tune in to Stan Sport this Saturday at 11am to watch the Reds take on Fiji, in Suva. (Again, I literally can't wait!)***