[Closed] 2013/14 Rugby Thread

However, have you seen Mrs Dimitri Szarzewski?

He's got no time for shagging, though. He has to contend with Skeletor for Christ's sake!

When was the last time you saw a Welsh player cramp up? Ok, a_a will return to his usual log in soon

Well at least today, they didn't warrant the effort to do so.

Saucer of milk for Kryton 😉

I'll take a (s)crappy win over a gallant loss anytime.

Well indeed. England worked very hard - to lose. World class team s like the all blacks would have put the score away. Seems a lot of effort to lose to not such a great team. Max points for effort & commitment, the usual meh for a strike percentage. A gritty performance.

As said above, find an English Conrad smith, Nonu, bod, and some rampant wingers and we'd be a real tough team to beat.

Szarzewski....sorry a hooker with looks and soft hands but not a patch on Kayser or several other class hookers

no as England supporter want to win everything especially beating Wales and the Scots......I really admire Lancaster great ethos philosophy and not afraid to make big calls, reality is the drive to world cup.....forwards sorted as there are two players per position at the moment laws and launchbury are looking outstanding massive improvement in laws.....Cole way off the mark in the scrum......robshaw unsung and underestimated ..... Billy or Morgan? backs are still in flux Brown a shoe in and after that question marks. The team stayed calmed when down but big failure not closing game out...this will be experience based Farrell better after the Lions tour

Wales look good for the next 18 months a dear lord that pains me to say it

Ireland really want to see how they go on after All blacks and BODs final season ...?????

Scots I fancy to be harder to beat than expected,

Great start to six nations

^^Freeform poetry^^

Capt is that good or bad ❓

If I am a poet I did not know it............ 😀

We can talk about the bigger picture, but lets not belittle one grand slam in 20 years - really not acceptable for England.

Thought Care was excellent today and really unlucky to be subbed, Farrell actually looked like an out half rather than a converted centre. Brown apart the rest of the backs were average enough, Goode put in a very lame tackle for 2nd try, I would still have Strettle on the wing ahead of any of England's 3 wingers today. England forwards pretty good, wood at 6 is a beast.

Wales start slowly again but I have no doubt they will improve, if Edwards is to be believed most of them turn up in dreadful condition and it takes 3 weeks of beasting them to get them fit.

Who knows what green machine will turn up tomorrow, the one that played ABs or the one that played Australia. I hate playing Scotland it is lose lose for us recently.

Farrell played flatter than normal and thought that helped us get over the gain line more often.
Too many mistakes and poor choices at crucial moments coupled with some critical missed tackles. Care was good but his box kicking is awful.
Wales did enough but thought Italy deserve real credit for the way they played for 80 minutes. Looks really good for the future for a genuine 6 nations.
Jamie Roberts is a real game changer along with North, but hey have to be given the ball by a good group of forwards. The argument will go on about the Welsh back row apart from Faletau. Week in week out he is good, sometimes he is great but very rarely bad. In my mind that makes him the best back row forward for Wales.

So England lose and suddenly the 6n doesn't matter as it is all about the WC? 😆

Scamper - Member
We can talk about the bigger picture, but lets not belittle one grand slam in 20 years - really not acceptable for England.
POSTED 11 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

As for England backs, throw Tuilagi back in, some experience on the wings (one cap between them) and leave brown at full back, I reckon there something there. Wade and Yarde coming back will help as well, however it doesn't exactly add to the experience count! I actually thought Farrell looked reasonable as well, but he's got to kick better from the peg, his % just isn't good enough. I have no great ideas for inside centre though....

.CaptainFlashheart - Member
However, have you seen Mrs Dimitri Szarzewski?
POSTED 12 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Maybe we should have a stw version!

Bah, usual England malaise, Wales and Ireland are giggling into their cuffs right now. Utter shite. Had high hope for our Exeter boy, but he was woeful.

no as England supporter want to win everything especially beating Wales and the Scots......I really admire Lancaster great ethos philosophy and not afraid to make big calls, reality is the drive to world cup.....forwards sorted as there are two players per position at the moment laws and launchbury are looking outstanding massive improvement in laws.....Cole way off the mark in the scrum......robshaw unsung and underestimated ..... Billy or Morgan? backs are still in flux Brown a shoe in and after that question marks. The team stayed calmed when down but big failure not closing game out...this will be experience based Farrell better after the Lions tour

reality is ALL teams are working to the World Cup especially the All Blacks

6 nations is vital but Coaches will be looking to find the style to beat the Southern Hem teams

Italy are seeking to be competitive away from home and develop a more expansive game

Scotland are trying to get beyond the gain line this is where they struggle, they have some excellent players but are not a cohesive unit

Ireland new coach and transition saw that in the autumn...again trying to find the team and rhythm

France....going for big forwards and power plays, they were huge yesterday and failing to release one of the best centre in the world Forfana. If there try scores had gone closer to the posts the score would have made England task harder. French Front Row excellent yesterday. No 10 is where they are stuggling and this is well documented>Trinh Duc should be 10

England.......looking for expanse forwards up there as a potential world class pack, front Row miss corbesario...AA will along to highlight the failings of all our props compared to the Welsh ( and techinically our props in the scrum are struggling)

Welsh....know the game plan.....have the players and introducing younger players....injuries will be the key worry

Yesterday great day and better scrums, hookers missing the ball, squiffy feeds being penalised, tries scored...good start

Vondally.

I agree with your last sentence.

The scrum had become a test of courage/stupidity, then strength with technique a poor third.

Now you can have 'technical' scrummagers again, and hooker can't just be a third prop who doesn't have to strike for the ball.

It should pave the way for more lost scrims and quick attacks with any luck.

Scrum is a big worry for England IMO. Dan Cole looks far from solid but with Henry Thomas on the bench he's going to be playing the full game! Mako is also very weak in the scrum. I still don't get all the hype about 36 either.

TBh I thought 36 was really good, as a 7.

I still like Twelvetrees, I like his ambition and the fact that he doesn't just going looking for contact (you need a balance of people who do, and commit defenders, and those who try to create and exploit space).

He could be the heir to Greenwood (who England have never replaced). For someone with virtually no pace, if you watch Greenwood on form it looks like he's a real speedster, this is because he really hit the pass at pace and his running lines were superb. He had real 'craft'. I don't like teams whose centres just look and play like nightclub bouncers.

He is not the finished article, but he is worth persisting with.

I still don't get all the hype about 36 either.

36 didn't look too bad and seems to be improving every time he plays for England. He might not set the international scene on fire but with the right centre partnership could be exactly what England need. Also a handy person to have around should Daddy's Boy get injured and probably not any worse than the other 10's waiting in line

I guess the way to sum 36 up as a centre and potentially cover at 10 is the best of a lack of options... more a worry for England long term and should injuries hit than a criticism of a solid player with potential

I rate 12 trees, but having been watching Tigers recently without a good inside centre (they were playing Flood there) and then when AnthoneynAllen came back from injury, the performance difference was astonishing. I'm not sure that Allen is the right person, but there must be a decent inside centre out there?

Edit: ah yes, in age group rugby it was Farrell, with the Bath flyhalf (can't remember his name) keeping out of the 10 birth. Possibility there maybe, but will never happen under Lancaster as shown by putting flood an inside centre during the AI's

Missed all the matches yesterday and only seen the very potted highlights ( 🙁 )

I hope today makes up for it.

Duckers, I guess high expectations are things only a few can dream about!!!

Not sure if it is the way the interview was edited or if I am reading too much in to it but Sexton didn't sound over the moon about his move to France

Kearney wins it BTW!!!

What was the 1309 message all about?

Just figured out who 36 is 🙂

It never fails to amaze me how weak Heaslip often is against smaller men. not the first time this type of thing happens. Great break by Sexton though!

Pish,going as expected.

Big Jim Hamilton "I'm just trying to stick up for myself" 😆

Blokes a legend!

Poor quality now. At least there was a patch of decent Ire play.

Feel for you Duckman. You weren't bad for 40mins but dire stuff now. If the highlight is big jim being in every scrap then it can't be much. You need someone who is going to score a try. Only hodge is showing any promise. Why is S Lamont trying to push folk over instead of driving forward (at his size)

I can't remember the last time I saw an international side cough up as turnover ball as Scotland in that match

Autumn,us against Aus,SA.

Be nice to me I have torn my knee ligaments at bike park wales today. Cant walk, tried putting weight on it and it collapsed. At my mums getting tea and sympathy now.
Wales were ok, started well then went off the boil and then Priestland started the brain fart show in an attempt to lose.
England were great up front loads of ball carries gave Care the space to show how good he is. They just looked shapeless behind. Brown is a very tidy neat player but they need some strike runners off him Goode is tidy too but not what they need. Burrel has potential as does Nowell but they were too raw. Frances try at the end was breath taking. Despite all my bullshit here that game left me a bit deflated. Think england should have kept it tight and ground it out rather than trying to take on france at the running game. Apart from Nyanga who was brilliant england scrum aside had the upper hand up front by some margin.

I think you have to give the Irish back row credit for the number of turnovers they were very quick at the breakdown. I'm very pleased with most areas of Ireland's game especially the second half. Our set piece was very good, breakdown work was good and some of the attacking was excellent. The only thing we were missing was a bit more driving from the pack but still a good first outing. Really looking forward to next week.

a_a has clearly had his login hacked! 😯

Healing vibes to you!

Autumn,us against Aus,SA

Fair enough - I missed all those.

aa wish I had your optimism, I see Wales and France fighting out for the title. Would not be surprised to Eng get beaten by scotland or italy, or both, v depressed about it. One year Italy are going to do something awesome, in fact this might be the year.

You just outplayed France in Paris but got unlucky at the end. Chin up.

An embarrassingly bad display from Scotland especially the second half.

In his pre-match interview Scott Johnson said the key to the game was securing your set piece, making first up tackles, securing the breakdown and still being in the game at 60 mins perhaps he should have told the team that and not just the media. Jiffy etc can bang on about Scotlands inability to score tries but there is so much going wrong before we even get to a try scoring chance it is almost irrelevant. If the team performs well but lose to a better team it is a bit easier to swallow than just being p1sh.

An embarrassingly bad display from Scotland especially the second half.

Agreed. Ireland were good, but the scoreline flattered as a result of the Scottish (lack of) performance, IMO.

So, week one over?
England - Very good indeed, but just pipped. Lots to be happy with, though.
France - Typical France. Brilliant, awful, brilliant. But, stuck it out.
Ireland - Solid, dependable stuff. A decent bet for a championship, I'd say.
Wales - Average at best. Enough to win, but not enough to set hearts aflutter. Will need a big improvement for next weekend.
Italy - Excellent. As said in the paper today, they'll cause a problem for any team if they can keep playing like that.

Scott Johnson is a numpty head coach.

Thankfully we have had Matt Williams as head coach,so Jonstoned isn't that bad.

Solid performance from the green machine minus SOB and POC. The Irish back row were good. The line out didn't struggle as much as I thought it might.

Both Kearneys had good games. Rob is like a man reborn this last year. His try was more down to missed tackles than his strength though. Good performances from the back row. Healey's run was great to see. Nothing like seeing a prop with a bit of fresh air ahead of him. I was impressed with his short turn of speed. 😀 So, nothing stellar - both Wales and Ireland had plenty left in the tank for next week's game. I'm glad it'll be over and done with early - sick of the media going on NAND on and on and on and on and on about it.

Scotland need players to break lines like North and Desperate Dan. They're having to offload everything, a high risk gamble that isn't paying off for them against strong defences.

Joubert's brief chat with Hamilton was about the most entertaining thing in the game. 😆

Joubert's brief chat with Hamilton was about the most entertaining thing in the game.

That certainly had us chuckling!

There were a few painful moments when Joubert attempted talking to the players like Nigel Owens, especially at scrum time, and ended up sounding more like David Cameron and his "call me Dave, I'm just a normal person" routine. Very, very painful to listen to 😀

A few more from Joubert here:

“Jamie I want to explain that to you. It’s a collapsed maul, blue has no obligation to roll away.” – Joubert to Ireland captain Jamie Heaslip after Ireland had an early attempt on the Scottish line foiled.

“Keep an eye on seven, he’s going down and we’re not getting a chance to go at the ball.” – Heaslip pleads for some closer policing on Kelly Brown.

“There’s quite a lot of talk coming from the rest of the boys. I’m quite happy to leave it between you and me.” – Joubert warns Ireland.

“You are not going to buy a free kick by moving your head, once you are down stay there.” – Joubert to Scotland prop Moray Low at scrum time. 😯

“I realise it’s tough but I’m setting a high standard.” – Joubert to Devin Toner after Ireland concede a first half penalty.

“Entire backline coming up before the ball is off the top of the line out, off side.” – Joubert awards the penalty that puts Ireland 6-3 up.

“Stop yelling at me.” – The South African referee calls for calm.

“Is he coming on now? You’re welcome.” – An impossibly polite Joubert welcomes Max Evans to the game.

“Mike you are going to monitor this side.” – After another problem at scrum-time, the ref enlists the help of touch judge Mike Fraser for scrum.

“Are you happy with what happened to 15 there?” – Joubert asks the question of his touch judge after Rob Kearney is hit in the build-up to Andrew Trimble’s try.

“We’re getting some really good engagements so let’s make every one a good one. We can do that? Of course we can.” – More set-piece problems after the restart.

“The fact of the matter is that every time there is something, you are involved.” – Joubert scolds Jim Hamilton after Scotland concede another penalty.

“Who will be your new captain? Kelly is gone?” – Joubert to Duncan Weir after Kelly Brown’s withdrawal.

“I have shouted as loud as I can.” – Joubert explains a decision to a frustrated Sexton.

What about Nigel Owens, he was awesomely funny "You are both being very immature" was a classic line to be broadcast on national TV. Does any body have a link to a clip of that?
BTW He is a good ref, the best I think.

“Is he coming on now? You’re welcome.” – An impossibly polite Joubert welcomes Max Evans to the game.

🙂 I missed that one.

Missed that one, Toys!

I still love this, though;

Missed that one, Toys!

That vid is good, seen it before. "This is not Soccer" Quality words.

"You are both being very immature"

Aye, that was a class.

Thought Scotland did OKish in the first half, lack of cutting edge as usual, but we at least played with a bit of pace and urgency.

2nd half was awful. And the line out, scrum and attacking movement were pish throughout.

Going to need a lot of work to avoid the wooden spoon this year going by that performance.

Aye Scotland were poor, did nothing with 2/3rds of the ball in the first half and then were just very poor in the second, far too many turnovers.

I did enjoy the referee and big Jim Hamilton's exchange though, nice to see he was polite enough to call the ref "sir"

Did anyone else hear Owens ask an England player 36 I think. "You didn't know that, how long have you been playing for?" Haha

Yep, caught that Tom 😀 Very funny stuff but entirely appropriate and not at all pretentious or patronising like it might sound coming from other refs

Has anyone seen that a Crosskeys RFC player has been jailed for 12 months for a on pitch fight. Seems strange that this happened but when young Quinnell lost an eye playing against Crosskeys nothing was done.

Players name is Rhys Peebles

Bearing in mind you would be looking at 3 years for costing somebody their sight,l am quite glad police didn't make an arrest without clear proof. I played my last season at 39 when my school club was reformed,there were a couple of us older lads l had played beside for 30 odd years. Any of them did that on a pitch,teammate or not I would sing like a canary. There is something not quite right about people who gouge eyes or twist limbs to break them.

Scotland were desperate. When clean ball was there the backs were clueless. I despair watching this lot. Not holding much hope but a vast improvement is required next week

WALES (v Ireland) Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Jamie Roberts (Racing Metro), George North (Northampton Saints), Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Mike Phillips (Racing Metro), Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Richard Hibbard (Ospreys), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Andrew Coombs (Newport Gwent Dragons), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Racing Metro), Sam Warburton (capt - Cardiff Blues), Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons).

Replacements: Ken Owens (Scarlets), Paul James (Bath Rugby), Rhodri Jones (Scarlets), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), James Hook (Perpignan), Liam Williams (Scarlets)

Wales by 10.

Is Biggar broken? Priestland is a liability 🙁

DD, I wish I could share that optimistic prediction.
I fear another drubbing for Wales, sadly.

Ireland will win but not by much.

Interesting article looking at the domestic/international fortunes in Ire/wales

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/wales-operation-transformation-spells-trouble-for-ireland-29976336.html

The loss of Girafferis is a blow, makes the pack look a bit lightweight.

Andy Hazell Gloucester Legend, forced to retire today. 17 odd seasons at one club and on record saying he'd swap his England caps for a Gloucester Premiership title. At one time arguably the best 7 in the country - should have really played more for England. Vickery got a good send off on match day a season or two ago when Wasps visited, but this will be massive.

The loss of Girafferis is a blow, makes the pack look a bit lightweight.

Ireland should be able to strangle Wales upfront.

Ireland should be able to strangle Wales upfront.

We live in hope..

More classic Owen's 😀

So Tomas O'Leary is trying to sue the IRFU over an eye injury sustained when a bungee cord snapped and hit him in the eye

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/ireland/article1370954.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2014_02_01

The IRFU should counter claim for him impersonating a scrum half.

Ire team for sat:

R Kearney; A Trimble, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, D Kearney; J Sexton, C Murray; C Healy, R Best, M Ross; D Toner, P O'Connell; P O'Mahony, C Henry, J Heaslip.

Replacements: S Cronin, J McGrath, M Moore, D Tuohy, T O'Donnell, I Boss, P Jackson, F McFadden.

Can't wait, should be a great game.

Scott Williams turns down a central contract and commits to scarlets for two more years. Makes you wonder if thw wru's plan is to try and keep talent in wales why are they bidding against scarlets. In other news the erc are witholding payments to clubs for the european cup... are they getting ready for going bust?

Oh and rugby yes. Er think that team will be too strong up front and in what is likely to be a mud fest should win.

Kelly Brown dropped from match day squad...seems very harsh as he didn't seem to have too bad a game? He's not a 7 though...

[img] [/img]

Brown situation is bizarre was only going to be picked at 7 and only if he was best 7, which he is not, so why make him captain.

Glad fusaro and Scott are in would have liked Cusiter and Beattie in for Laidlaw and Denton as well. Few others I am sure would have been chopped if we had any depth in the Scottish game.

Why is Cusiter warming the bench? Laidlaw brings nothing to the game.

My prediction is it'll be an appalling game played on an awful pitch in terrible weather.......

On a different note - Sam Burgess, any good? I've not watched much League over the last few years.

I read on the Daily Mail Website (yeah, I know 😳 ) that he's signed for Bath, partially funded by the RFU.

I realise he's a star in RL but then so were Andy Farrell and Henry Paul. It seems that great League players who aren't quick enough to play wing/fullback and can't learn the technical aspects of playing in the pack get stuck at inside centre when "fast tracked" into the England side. Barrie Jon Mather anyone?

Is the Burgess move confirmed? Big surprise to hear - he's an elite NRL player in Sydney and I thought his whole family had emigrated there. Seems a desperate move by England - are they that limited in these positions? It's doubtful if Burgess has ever played a game of union in his life. He is 25, though, so right at the peak of his game.

If you were building a cyborg rugby league forward it would pretty much look like Sam Burgess - phenomenal player. How this translates to playing centre in RU I have no idea - suspect badly as I would have thought you need to be more agile to defend SH centres running around you. Obv no one is running over Sam Burgess.

Could he not play flanker?

Never mind. England will thrash the Scots, that is all. Its a forgone conclusion so I'm not too excited about it.

However, Wales/Ireland - I'll be cheering Ireland who in my mind should win. I have a feeling Ireland/England and Wales/France are the deciders this year.

Flanker would require the learning of far too many new skills.