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duckman
Full Member
Telt yous!
Ya did.
England are trying but not sure anyone could live with this french side.
Tale of 2 scrum halves here.
Dupont is superb, so complete.
All in all a good day of rugby
Congratulations France, deserved Grand Slam. Whilst they have strength across their team, they still have quite a bit they can improve upon. Frightening how good they could be next year.
Similar could be said for Ireland too I guess.
Italy on the up. Hopefully they’ll get a few more of the promising young players into the team next year, to give them strength throughout their team.
I’m not sure what to make of England, Scotland and Wales. I guess none are quite as bad as it may first appear, and each have their own issues - but, they all need something drastic to be done soon imho.
France deserved that win, great all round game.
I thought England looked superb at times, and woeful at other times,
The turnover from when Slade went in to contact was zero to do with French jackaling and 100% about the support players being asleep, there was not only nobody there, there was never going to be anyone there, it was not even like the support was late, there just was not anyone to defend the ruck.
Smith I am not sure about, either he is incomplete, or juzt not as good as everyone thinks. So many of his kicks were off target, cross field kicks that were just unreachable, or straight in to French hands, we saw the same vs Ireland and Scotland.
England looked at their best when the backs ran the ball. And when the forwards ran the ball...
To be honest I thought Smith had an ok game. A lot of the time the England ball was being slowed down or majorly disrupted, so it would get to Smith when he was under pressure.
Lawes is immense, but do think he’s a second row not a flanker.
As an Ireland fan all I can say is that England were pretty good but they played a much much better team today. The result was deserved.
Smith is better with quick ball, Youngs slows down play far too much which stifles the whole back line, not to mention his fondness for box kicks which seem to always pass possession back to the other team with little territorial gain.
I don't know what the question is but if the answer is Firbank it's the wrong question. That moment he caught the with one foot, waaaaay in touch, sums him up.
Anyway end of term report, Wales have a fancy attacking game plan but don't have the players to execute it. Coach needs a long hard look in the mirror, preferably after being given a service revolver.
Only just seen this, watch Russell, he is the guy with the back base layer over his arms...if he were Welsh I'd want him to never play another international match.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1497580034420215813
Scotland's problem with Russell is you need to be good enough to understand what he might do. Racing play and train with him a lot Scottish backs don't. He's also a bit lazy/plays a 10 that is more about being ready for the next impressive move than defending the line. Even when forced to tackle he rolls out of the line quite quickly.
At least he's not got hands of glue like Hogg.
Yeah this is what I was talking about vs Italy, pretty strange behaviour from a 10 who should be right there in defence. Something very wierd going on. All 15 need to be able to defend.
That Hogg thing was a Tindall-esque opportunity squander. I think maybe the queen was watching and Hogg thought his OBE was due? Compared to the little Italian guy who made the most brilliant try yesterday.
Scotland’s problem with Russell is you need to be good enough to understand what he might do.
What amble back in defence and then purposely hide in the wrong place.....
Yeah that is definitely the rest of the teams misunderstanding of Russell where he doesn't place himself between the attackers and his own try line.
AA; you seem to be developing a weird obsession with Russell, are you trying to deflect from anything? How DID the obviously much superior Biggar do yesterday? ( Apart from tell the media some of his team shouldn't be playing for Wales again.)
At racing, he's got big tacklers to help him out. Being a 10 isn't all about defending the line. Modern rugby has many more chips and kicks that's his defensive role.
Jonny Wilkinson was a defensive 10 in the line and got pretty broken by it. Most 10s don't defend the line if they can get away with it, sometimes they're hidden on the outside sometimes they drift around waiting for the ball over the top.
The misunderstanding is not seeing that he's eyeing up what he could do and not being able to be on the same page. Is he good? yes, is he great? At times. Does he believe the hype? Definitely.
Question;
I'm only just watched last night's FRA vs ENG game. And the commentators kept going on about how much heavier the French pack was.
What difference does it make?
I know in a collision, assuming a 23 stone human can still run at decent speed that's a lot of kinetic energy/momentum to try to stop, but in a scrum scenario there is no or movement in comparison. Is it assumed that as they're all elite athletes power is proportional to weight basically?
A much lighter loose-head has to hold that weight difference up all game. Plus you have to shove that extra heft backwards. Even at championship level it was not unusual if playing second row to have purple spots dancing in your eyes after a scrum. 1400nm of pressure going through a prop and second rows back every scrum, and that was in the early 90's when guys were much smaller.
Happy for the french it's well deserved. World cup at home and playing like that is ominous for the other nations.
How DID the obviously much superior Biggar do yesterday?
Tackled like a mad bastard as he always does and put his body on the line. Being supremely talented doesn't give you a free pass to amble back in defence and not at least try to number up.
Not trying to deflect from anything Wales are a poorly coached rabble, been saying that all season, I'm sure if anyone looks back they could find me saying I was worried about playing Italy right from the start.
Most 10s don’t defend the line if they can get away with it, sometimes they’re hidden on the outside sometimes they drift around waiting for the ball over the top.
Yes but when the opposition are deep in your 22 at least trying to get back, stand in the line and usher a fat lad towards the fringes of the ruck would help. There's two rucks and he still hasn't ambled back onside.
I know in a collision, assuming a 23 stone human can still run at decent speed that’s a lot of kinetic energy/momentum to try to stop, but in a scrum scenario there is no or movement in comparison. Is it assumed that as they’re all elite athletes power is proportional to weight basically?
Adding to what Ducky said, note that Genge held up his end pretty well agaisnt the big lad, after the first two scrums anyway.
Yes but when the opposition are deep in your 22 at least trying to get back, stand in the line and usher a fat lad towards the fringes of the ruck would help. There’s two rucks and he still hasn’t ambled back onside.
Also how many world class 10s don't defend??? WTF.
Carter, Ntamack, Garbisi, Sexton, Biggar, Barrett, Pollard, J.Davies, Farrell all have huge tackles.
all have huge tackles
Sometimes my imagination gets the better of me...
Grand Slam for Ireland U20s. Cracking performances away against France and England. Will be nice to see some of these guys coming through.
When I saw the end of the Wales game yesterday and Adams being MOM my first thought was that a car crash interview like the Mike Brown one was coming up. Both strike me as similar sorts of spikey characters who have massive desire to win.
Just saw this, he did alright to be fair!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tvSrmbrLE-4
Tackled like a mad bastard as he always does and put his body on the line. Being supremely talented doesn’t give you a free pass to amble back in defence and not at least try to number up.
Isn't it a bit early to start campaigning for Lions selections?
I reckon the Scottish Lions didn't have a good 6 Nations for whatever reason. That's a problem because it seems like if Russell and Hogg are having a 6/10 game rather than a 8/10 game then Scotland really struggles.
Still, it could have been a worse competition, overall.
I thought this years 6N was one of the best, its great to see so much competition. When two closely matched teams come together, its either spectacular, or they just dull each others games, in the NH we tend to do the latter. However if you like the nuances of forward play then it's great (I do) but I can see that people get bored when you don't get amazing tries, which is understandable.
Speaking of Lions, the last Lions series was not that really that good, we lost 2-1.
Not tryign to cause any trouble, but note that in previous lions squads where the lions won there have been more leek munchers and no Scottish players at all.
I was just about to post the same vid. A particularly good one I thought. I, still can’t help but be pleased for Italy - despite the ribbing I’ve taken at work! 🙂
I, still can’t help but be pleased for Italy
Me too, I am also giddy with excitement everytime I check the sports pages in the hope that Pivac has been sacked!
Me too, I am also giddy with excitement everytime I check the sports pages in the hope that Pivac has been sacked!
Who would you want instead?
Who would you want instead?
Long list......I'll start with my nan and then move up
Trade you Townsend for your nan?
No thanks, I'll stick with my nan, she's been dead 20 years but I reckon she could at least stop the captain going out on the piss!
I think you are being harsh on Townsend. If we believe the gossip and make a few leaps, then it looks like Finn and Hogg think they are better than him and love to undermine him, which means he is doing an even better job under the circumstances..
He should be the next lions head coach.
Great input on the last tour.
Pivac , Eddie, and aa's nan as his attack, forwards and defense coaches.
Maybe he's been over promoted but his Scarlets side were pretty decent, great to watch and one of the few sides to break the Irish Hegemony in PRO rugby. Looking from the outside at how Welsh regions and WRU are organized, Gatland was a magician to achieve what he did.
With Townsend, it's worth remembering how he came into the Scotland job (if the rumours are to be believed).
The typical trajectory of a Scotland coach is that they take over after after the previous coach has seen the performance of the side drop significantly. There is normally a period of a year or two where the results improve before a dip in form turns into a terminal decline and the coach quits/is sacked before a new coach is brought in heralding an upturn in results for a year or two until a dip in form turns into a terminal decline and...
The exception to this was Vern Cotter (and Matt Williams who managed to turn what we thought was a low point into an even lower point) who was removed while the win percentage was definitely still on the way up. The story was that Townsend said, 'Give us the Scotland job or I'm off to France' to which the SRU said, 'Oh my God, of course, of course. Vern! Come and get your P45.'
Scottish rugby was in a very good state at that point. Townsend was the best Glasgow coach providing a steady stream of exceptional players to Cotter who was shaping up to be the best Scotland coach of all time.
The way Townsend got the Scottish job was not the act of a team player or someone who was prepared to put their own interests on the backburner for the sake of the greater good. Are we really surprised that the players in this squad are exhibiting some of the same behaviour?
I don't know what the solution is. I can't imagine there is a glut of world class coaches standing in the dole queue at the moment.
Maybe we just have to accept we had the chance to have an exceptional team but instead we have to settle for mid-table finishes until the end of time.
RIP Tom Smith, a guy I loved playing beside at Dundee because training with him during the week was horrific. A 60 cap international and a Lion at 5"8" and 16 stone at the most. He as freakishly quick as well; in fact rapid enough to play sevens at Melrose. Despite being the best in the UK at one point he was humble enough to credit a guy called Danny Herrington who "had shoved his head up his backside every Tuesday and Thursday." as a major part of his development( along with a boarding school on Rannoch Moor.) Leaves two young boys and his wife. And memories of watching him tying knots in 20 stone Os Du Randt and feeling so proud of him. 50 years old and by the way; screw cancer.
Well that's shit isn't it. He was a great player
Really sad to read, classy guy all round.
World animal xv
15 Kangaroo
14 Cheetah
13 Racehorse
12 Grizzly Bear
11 Greyhound
10 Lioness
9 Jack Russell
8 Polar Bear
7 Tasmanian Devil
6 Silverback
5 Giraffe
4 Elephant
3 Rhino
2 Warthog
1 Hippo
Great game for the Ospreys, always nice to do the Turks.
What on earth has happened to Bath? Gloucester absolutely humped them.
Watched Cardiff v Munster last night. Hallam Amos is retiring to focus on medicine at the end of the season was completely unplayable for 25 mins then did his hamstrings, looks like that's his career over. Always a player I rated very highly but never quite made it at international level. Shame to see him go so early.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=znkFlliJ_kY
Grand Slam for England ladies, nice!
Fantastic to see the ladies game getting more and more coverage with the possibility of breaking free of the mens’ fixture calendar in the near future. The competition has a way to go to become a more level playing field though. The fully professional England side haven’t lost since, when, 1975 or something?
Feel a bit sorry for england ladies, can’t be that great being fully pro and having to beat amateurs. Not their fault but it is a bit pointless. Wales have some pro players but it will take a while to catch up. But kryton has something to get frothed about.
Finn and Hoggy out of Scotland squad? what is going on here? Are they just injured and this is all gossip?
https://www.ruck.co.uk/mystery-finn-russell-and-stuart-hogg-left-out-of-scotland-squad/
Townsend said they needed a break didn't he? They do have the easiest assignment this summer......Wales are going to be destroyed by SA 🤕🥴😱
Finn himself has said he is burned out not having had an off season for 2 years. Amongst the fans this will be no suprise at all. these guys need time off to recharge. We all expected many of our big names not to tour
Russell has had a huge number of games. Just about all players in the modern era end the season with injury. I'll
interview with Toonie explaining the selections
https://www.theoffsideline.com/10-takeaways-from-scotlands-summer-tour-squad-announcement/
OK, thanks for the sense. Irritating how that website have hyped this as some kind of shock/snub when in fact there are sensible reasons.
South Africa: Damian Willemse; Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi; Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk; Ox Nché, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Siya Kolisi (capt), Franco Mostert, Jasper Wiese.
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Salmaan Moerat, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith, Herschel Jantjies, Willie le Roux
Looks weak Wales by 250 000 😂😂😂😱😱😱😳😳😳😳
If Wales lose by less than 30 then I’d call it a victory. I’ll be avoiding it thanks to night shift.
Luckily I'm on a bike packing trip so can easily avoid it!!
Damn, bike packing off due to me having COVID, how am I going to avoid the rugby now!!!
In other news Ireland spanked in Hamilton ( always makes me a bit sad seeing a game in Hamilton without looking out for my brother in the crowed any more 😟)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RoVWFppGSUo
Damn, bike packing off due to me having COVID, how am I going to avoid the rugby now!!!
No racing for me for the same reason so it’s a weekend of Rugby and F1 for me.
Jones has put out a strong looking side for England, if they lose which I feel they might it’s going to be all downhill from here. Already the calls for EJ to resign from a bad tour are coming, but I guess it’s too close to the RWC to change things. Oh well.
And, Farrells openly moaning about not being Captain, so perhaps we don’t have a cohesive squad behind the scenes either. Ffs.
From what I saw of the SuperRugby, the Ossies are coming on strong this year. More victories over the NZ teams than previous years... I don't give England much of a chance really. Hope I'm wrong.
Wales team to face South Africa: L Williams; Rees-Zammit, North, Tompkins, Adams; Biggar (capt), Hardy; G Thomas, Elias, D Lewis, Rowlands, Beard, Lydiate, Reffell, Faletau.
Replacements: Lake, Carre, Francis, Alun Wyn Jones, Navidi, T Williams, Anscombe, Watkin
😱😱😱😱😱🤞
England team to face Australia: Steward; Nowell, Marchant, Farrell, Cokanasiga; Smith, Care; Genge, George, Stuart, Itoje, Hill, Lawes (capt), Curry, B Vunipola.
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, M Vunipola, Heyes, Chessum, Ludlam, Van Poortlviet, Porter, Arundell.
I thought the Vunipokas were surplus now and who is Vn Poortliviet.
Wales u20 game here, they smashed Scotland last week:
I thought the Vunipokas were surplus now
Desperate times etc…
I don’t give England much of a chance really
I’m with you on that, I think Eddie Jones methods have worn thin, a lot of people don’t believe in the Team playing as they do and it’s rubbing off. Under him they’ve always played like a team with a plan, until that plan goes awry then nothing.
Against Barbarians there was no apparent plan. Of course, it could be that it’s a double bluff and they are hiding the plan from Australia, only to reveal a masterclass in dominant highly skilled rugby*
*Well, we can all dream…
Ugh, getting a bit of a tonking here.
Good game. If Ireland can improve their lineouts they will be in with. chance next time. Not seem their lineout struggle for years
There was a deliberate knock on by barret before the 2nd all blacks try that was ignored. Why was he not carded. Dickson was rubbish.
England looking up for it so far. Getting a fair bit more ball than Wallabies. Curry is really pumped, so hope he can keep it clean!
Ooh, Curry just made a great break!
Dickson was rubbish.
Didn’t see the game, but I’ve thought that for a while. Loves to be seen and heard, but yeah, just not very good!
Eurgh, Tom Banks arm folding the wrong way 🤢
I think the TV were not sure and showed it 7 times. Made me feel sick too, and why wasn't he given morphine pronto.
Quick law question. Cooper was injured in warm up before KO, does that use up a sub or can they add a player?
Should have nutted the dirty **** properly really!!!
Agreed, sympathy for Swain here.
Pretty shitty move by Hill there. I know it's all letter of the law stuff a yellow - but given the circumstances I would have red carded both of them
Commentary is a bit one sided. Lots of talk about how dominant England are, but they arnt turning it into points. For any SH side that Curry break would have been a certain score, but for us there’s very little support for the break as usual.
The second half is their chance to correct that. At least it’s not the bit of a mess of the Baa Baa’s game. But lose against 14 Aussies with all those replacements and the next two games seem tough.
I enjoyed the NZ Ireland game. Pretty much 15 minutes loss of concentration and control by Ireland and the game was list. Such is the attacking power of the AB.
Also need to sort out line-out, can't give away set price like that