It's been another interesting week on and off the pitch.
What did you miss in the week of rugby?
Race for Stannard's spot heats up
While James Stannard recovers from the horror coward punch ordeal which has ruled him out of the Aussie Sevens' Commonwealth Games campaign, coach Andy Friend is set to name a replacement for his stand in skipper early this week.
RUGBY.com.au understands Nicky Price was set to be called into the squad had his World Series debut in Hong Kong gone smoothly but he suffered a head knock on Saturday against Canada and is still suffering from concussion symptoms, putting his availability in doubt.
That leaves the door open for another late bolter and there are a few contenders to fill the sizeable hole left by Stannard.
Dylan Pietsch would be a like-for-like replacement for Price, while Jeral Skelton has impressed since making his World Series debut in Cape Town.
Lachlan Miller has also featured prominently in his debut tournament this weekend, creating a selection headache for Friend with Australia's Comm Games opener less than a week away.
SRU keeping open mind under new Rugby AU reign
It's no secret grassroots rugby held some tension towards former Rugby AU CEO Bill Pulver, but SRU president David Begg says they are open to working with a clean slate.
A representative on the board in the form of Hayden Rorke, who has been put forward for nomination in Monday's AGM, doesn't hurt and Begg said while they were yet to meet with new CEO Raelene Castle, they were open-minded about the new era.
"We're obviously happy to speak with her and give her my thoughts. We're only a small cog in the wheel, but we're a pretty important one," he said.
"Sydney club rugby's still the bread basket of Australian rugby.
"The game no doubt at a national level was stronger five years ago than what it is now.
"We can't shy away from that.
"So, everyone that's involved in the game needs to be part of the solution and we think club rugby plays a really strong part in that."
Women's focus sharpens in Sydney club competition
The Shute Shield launch on Wednesday night had a very different feel to that of the year before, with the presence of women's captains and a renewed focus on growing the women's game.
While a handful of Sydney clubs have a strong women's program, often it has been left to play second fiddle on a separate day or venue to men's fixtures.
SRU President David Begg talked the talk about making women's rugby a more valuable part of every club, with a new regular Sevens competition on top of the XVs sides.
"Clubs have got used to 100 years of scheduling on a Saturday, so you've got to try to break through that glass ceiling, but we're not trying to do it with a big stick, we're just encouraging the clubs to find a way in which they can increase their women's program," he said.
"Every club's different so their women's profile's going to be different as well."
The Warringah Rattetes were the winners of last year's Jack Scott Cup and player Anne Rutledge said it was great to see women's rugby being embraced by the Shute Shield clubs, and grassroots clubs across the country.
"I certainly think there's more opportunities and the Sevens comp this year is another example of that," she said.
"It's really exciting for us to get some of our fresh blood out there and give them a taste.
"Obviously if you've grown up and been watching rugby, you've seen all those teams going into battle week in, week out, and for the women, it's our time and it's our opportunity to do that as well and hopefully just draw more and more girls into the game."
Randwick honours passed legends
There was a very big project happening on the turf at Coogee Oval this week, to honour three Randwick and Wallabies legends who passed away in the past year.
The club had jerseys bearing the names of Nick Shehadie, Ken Catchpole and Peter Johnson on their field for a pre-match tribute to the trio.
A nice nod to the history and the significance of those men.
Baby Higgers joins the family
Mumm on track for trek
On the subject of babies, former Wallabies lock Dean Mumm is off on his Arctic trek next week to raise money for research into premature births.
Mumm has been training for the arduous journey for months, dragging tyres along the beach and through Centennial Park, to prepare for the effort he'll need on his way to the North Pole.
The 34-year-old is doing all this to raise money for Borne, a UK foundation that does research into the prevention of premature births.
You can contribute to the cause here.
Cheika heading to TAS
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is a vocal advocate of grassroots rugby and he'll be heading down to Armidale next week, for The Armidale School's annual rugby carnival.
Cheika will be on hand to present the trophy at the long-running competition, the largest U12s carnival in the country, with teams from as far away as Perth a part of the tournament this year.
