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yeah Squidge said this about Youngs once too, I dunno if I agree in either case...
I have only just seen the draws for the 2023 World Cup. These Autumn Internationals are even more interesting with that in mind. It’s a shame Ireland are not playing SA next week.
Ireland looked really physical yesterday, but also well drilled and made few mistakes. They will be hard to beat in 2023. Scotland ‘can beat anyone on their day’ and are improving all the time. SA are World champions, but both Ireland and Scotland could beat them. I’m getting excited already 😀
Indeed. After last years 6N and the performance so far I think England will find it tough in 22 6N. We will struggle like hell to get 4th Max. Scotland will be so much better against us than they were agaisnt Aus and SA.
I'm settling in to be the sick man of Europe again.
Ireland if they play like yesterday will be the team. That was a consumate performance, not a huge amount to complain about, lets hope they can build.
Both Scotland and England need a lot of work.
Indeed. After last years 6N and the performance so far I think England will find it tough in 22 6N.
Hmm, I’m not sure about that. England have the ‘problem’ that they have so much strength in depth, that they can field teams unfamiliar with each other and playing out of position and still beat most other teams relatively comfortably. England were rusty last 6Nations, and perhaps a touch overconfident - but they should be in a better position to do well. Especially if Jones was to focus on the 6Nations and not the next World Cup.
I'll take your optmism Gauss1777. To me Scotland have a lot to cheer about after yesterday. They held the WC winners close and defence was excellent. The attacking forwards were always going to be in trouble against SA, anyone is going find them a handful. The rest of Scotlands game was good.
5plus8
Scotland scrum is a real worry and all those scrum and breakdown penalties cost us dear - compounding the error again. Ritchie was bad on the penalty front for one. Missed critical linouts - partly good SA play
Some good attacking moves and breaks but didn't take enough of the chances we made. Good goaline defense - we were under the cosh so much in that first half hour. Russell coped well with the onslaught and still continued to lie flat. Duhan got into the game a fair bit and looked dangerous. McLean on the other wing will have better days in a Scotland shirt. Subs in the backs added nothing
Bounce of the ball and refs decisions did not go our way but you get those days
A "B" at best
TBF to Ritchie, I think he was struggling with the ref's inconsistencies (as were both teams).
I saw him win a penalty where his hands were clearly beyond the ball and then concede a penalty for doing the exact same thing minutes later.
The boks got away with sealing off the ball at almost every ruck in the first half and then (sometimes) got pinged for it in the 2nd half.
I think it was a pretty frustrating game for the back row players in both teams.
Duhan got into the game a fair bit and looked dangerous.
Do you think he may get moved to centre?
Nah. to dangerous on the wing. townsend likes at least one of his wingers to go looking for work and popping up where they are not expected
Scotland scrum is a real worry and all those scrum and breakdown penalties cost us dear – compounding the error again. Ritchie was bad on the penalty front for one. Missed critical linouts – partly good SA play
Err no; the Scotland scrum is as good as any in the 6n and proved it. The saffers out scrummaged the Lions in the Summer, It's what they do better than any other country.
In other news, did the Welsh get those shorts from a 1950's scouts catalogue?
Oh-oh!
Lovely try! ☹️
pray for AA!
Picking 3 midgets in the backrow isn't working so far!
Game ruined ☹️
why when these sending offs ruin the game do the crowds cheer for them?
I'd guess cos more of them care about a Wales win than the purity of the game
Yeah; Wales by 20 now.
Shame that was chalked off, was a lovely try.
Hilarious stuff from Wales so far!!
Comedy gold!
Game ruined 😂
Pivacs luck with red cards continues... Shame if Fiji had 15 they'd have destroyed us.
I've just got in - was that as much fun as the score suggested?
I’ve just got in – was that as much fun as the score suggested?
For a neutral yes I think so.
So TJ, still think the big Saffa who plays for Scotland is as quick as Zammit?
Serious gas…..
Another weekend of rugby where the officials were the stars!
I've just watched an NFL game. Sure, it was 3hrs but it was a perfectly choreographed 3hrs. Superbly presented and analysed and, you know what? Nobody mentioned the officiating. They very rarely do.
Modern test rugby is a mess to watch. It can still be exciting but it can be very frustrating viewing and pretty hard to figure out what rules are being interpreted - even for people who know the game. Did the Lions series bring in any new fans?
So TJ, still think the big Saffa who plays for Scotland is as quick as Zammit?
Don't be daft, even the Scotland hooker is quicker than LRZ.
Modern test rugby is a mess to watch. It can still be exciting but it can be very frustrating viewing and pretty hard to figure out what rules are being interpreted
...this week
Don’t be daft, even the Scotland hooker is quicker than LRZ
He didn't say that; he said he was quicker than Farrell...Which he was.
He did also try to tell me Van Der Merwe was as quick as LRZ and it was simply an angles issue when LRZ left him for dead in the last six Nations.
As an aside I think Cotter has an even bigger crush on Merwe than TJ.
If explaining the rules to you is having a thing for you, then you are obviously desperate for attention. Doing it was an attempt on my part to get away from bickering with you. Using jokes about Homosexuality (again) to try and insult somebody isn’t a good look on your part either.
If explaining the rules
Laws!
laws!
In all fairness he isn't in a position to argue semantics.
https://www.rugby.com.au/news/james-slipper-to-captain-wallabies-against-wales-20211116
Hooper out. Slipper to captain. I dunno if this helps Wales..
Ducky, insults, a sure sign you've got nothing else.
Using jokes about Homosexuality (again) to try and insult somebody isn’t a good look on your part either.
If you are insulted by any implication about your sexuality then you are a homophobe.
Its 2021, I make no assumptions about who you wanna be with, you also know nothing about my prefs. You do pay me a lot of attention. Its nice, you seem sweet, but no, I'm not available.
You may have been away they did speed at school, but its distance over time. Farrel started further back and caught him on the try line
Having covered less distance and McInally had to dodge two attempted tackles and McInally ran out of puff! McInally is as quick as Farrell - the video proved it
He did also try to tell me Van Der Merwe was as quick as LRZ and it was simply an angles issue when LRZ left him for dead in the last six Nations.
Duhan is lightning fast and LRZ did not leave him for dead! Duhan was under 18s SA champ at 100m - he is properly quick.
What I actually said IIRC was if you are selecting on pace Duhan is as fast as any of the candidates. anyway Gatland agreed with me:-)
Hooper out helps us as he's been and remains one of the best 7's on the planet. This is not so encouraging though
The Brumbies prop will likely move back to his preferred side of loosehead when the Wallabies confirm their side late Thursday with Taniela Tupou and Allan Alaalatoa expected to recover from concussions.
England got a free ride in the scrums, we won't.
Duhan is lightning fast
Nah, he's quick but he did get caught from behind by the SA winger last week. He's not lightening fast for an international winger. LRZ rinsed him last six Nations when he scored his try, only you can't see it!!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xo9AhGLX-xQ
England got a free ride in the scrums, we won’t.
Thats not the only place they got a free ride. Oz ball retention and general attack performance was crap.
Anyway, here's hoping you send them home with their tails between their legs.
5plus8; I am going to talk about the rugby, if there is anything you don't understand just ask.
TJ, sorry but Zammit is faster.
AA, sorry but Duham is better.
Rugby, Scotland to win, we owe them one!
Welsh team,play like they did against SA then they win. Play like they did against Fiji,they lose.
England, too tight to call. England will want revenge but I am not sure they can beat SA in a wrestle.
TJ, sorry but Zammit is faster.
AA, sorry but Durham is better.
I would tend to agree, although Van Der Merwe does have the advantage of getting more than a few decent passes every game. LRZ just gets the ball lobed in his general direction once or twice a game.
Gloucester are my English team, he doesn't seem that much of the ball there either, certainly not as much as May.
Tends to play right wing for Gloucester doesn't he? I think, long term he might be a 15. He's quite a good footballer and can boot the miles. Needs to improve under the high ball though.
Let's not forget DVdM is about 30 years older than LRZ too.
TJ, sorry but Zammit is faster.
AA, sorry but Durham is better.I would tend to agree, although Van Der Merwe does have the advantage of getting more than a few decent passes every game. LRZ just gets the ball lobed in his general direction once or twice a game.
I think (Duhan) Van Der Merwe has progressed further in the past year or so than LRZ, but LRZ is quite a bit younger. Of the two, my gut feeling is that LRZ is more likely to become World class.
Edit: what a_a said.
Could go either way tbh, if LRZ gets a few injuries which make him slower he's screwed. If DVdM loses a bit of pace, he's still a unit.
I don't think duhan has the subtlety to be truely world class. He only leaves people on their arse when he runs over them. Maybe he will develop it.
Considering the dross I have seen on the wing for Edinburgh and Scotland to have some decent wingers is a nice change
Shit a brick, scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Lions loosehead prop Wyn Jones may have to cover tighthead against Australia as Wales face up to a front row injury crisis.
WillGriff John is set to miss out after taking a bang to the head against Fiji, while Tomas Francis is also a doubt after suffering concussion ahead of the game.
Both Samson Lee and Leon Brown are also injured so Dillon Lewis is the only fit 3. If Carre starts at loose head and Wyn Jones is bench 3 who is bench 1? Just googled and it's Rhodri Jones
I can't seem to link to the video but this reddit thread showcases 1/2p try saving tackles. If you liked Courtneys Laws one the other week then these will blow your mind.
He's like a bloody land mine. Mentioned in the thread is the one on Etzebeth. He lifted him off the ground. Jeepers.
https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/qvaf3h/leigh_halfpenny_trysaving_tackles/
Considering the dross I have seen on the wing for Edinburgh and Scotland to have some decent wingers is a nice change
Backs at all to be honest. I remember watching Heathcoate warming up at Murrayfield and contemplating the value for money I was getting for my vastly reduced refs ticket. And gawd; Simon Danelli...the horror!
That Halfpenny tackle on Etzebeth; lifting him off his feet and causing him to spill the ball from the contact, is a thing of beauty.
Unfortunately 1/2p can only execute a tackle if he uses his head as a battering ram. He has no self preservation at all. His concussion record isn’t pleasant reading.
George Ford to leave Tigers and join Sale next season 😳
Unfortunately 1/2p can only execute a tackle if he uses his head as a battering ram. He has no self preservation at all. His concussion record isn’t pleasant reading.
Yeah I think I remember AA talking about this last year.
Unfortunately 1/2p can only execute a tackle if he uses his head as a battering ram.
That is clearly not the case if you watch the video. He has excellent tackle technique, until it gets to the point where you just have to throw yourself in and hope for the best. He is stupidly brave in that respect. Disappointed that video doesn't have the one v England where he tracked across the entire pitch and then put that angry Phil Mitchel wannabe in touch!!
His concussion record isn’t pleasant reading.
In my defence I was talking about this. I can see how incredibly brave he is. Much admiration from the 5plusn8 household.
One of the tackles in that vid his is left lying on the touchline after saving his team.
Wait, he did what? I missed this part.
The first charge said that Erasmus threatened a match official that unless a requested meeting took place, he would publish footage containing clips criticising the match official’s performance and then made good on that threat.
Cassie should have been banned for life!
Unfortunately 100th, that happens at all levels of the game. Up here you aren't allowed to approach the ref till 30 mins after the end of the game. Certain border club with certain ex lion as a coach probably never saw a ref in their clubhouse from one season to another because you would just get crap. Prem clubs get refs as touch judges as well and the above melt told a colleague in front of me that "he had better not fkn leave before 30 mins as he wanted a word." But if a WC winning coach does it, why shouldn't a club coach?
The saffer reply and attitude to the whole process has made me want England to absolutely pump them.
Bloody auto correct! that's Rassie not Cassie!
The saffer reply and attitude to the whole process has made me want England to absolutely pump them.
Come on, that's a step too far surely. I'd be happy with a nail biting 0:0 draw!!!
The saffer reply and attitude to the whole process has made me want England to absolutely pump them.
Prepare to be disapointed.
Come on, that’s a step too far surely. I’d be happy with a nail biting 0:0 draw!!!
very good, but maybe 30 all so it is at least worth watching?
England v SA is the one where I’d like the laws changed so that it’s possible for both teams to lose. However, after the Rassie shenanigans, I’ll settle for England shading it, preferably in the final minutes, just for added ‘bitter aftertaste’ 😂
very good, but maybe 30 all so it is at least worth watching?
No, I want to watch a four hour game of repeatedly dropped box kicks and reset scrums, followed by both teams having maul tries disallowed by video refs for obstruction in the last minute.
Lolz
I’d like to see the England team click without Farrell in the team. Beat SA by 30+ points, with a game of flair and pace. There are enough likeable players in the England team at the moment, that I’d happily see them do well.
I quite like Farrel, knobber on the pitch but seems honest enough off it.
I really don't want Jones to coach a team to victory over SA. (Edited to add...again)
I quite like Farrel, knobber on the pitch but seems honest enough off it.
This. ^^
Although on the pitch he has got better, remember that shameful stage he went through of blatant off the ball stuff, that was normally cowardly back pushes etc.
I’ve got nothing against Farrell, but I’d like to see how England would play with Smith at 10 and two centres at 12 and 13. Use Farrell, to replace Smith later in the game.
Wales: Liam Williams; Louis Rees-Zammit, Nick Tompkins, Uilisi Halaholo, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Seb Davies, Ellis Jenkins (captain), Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: Elliot Dee, Gareth Thomas, Dillon Lewis, Ben Carter, Christ Tshiunza, Gareth Davies, Rhys Priestland, Johnny McNicholl.
Maybe Christ will be our saviour off the bench!
I’ve got nothing against Farrell, but I’d like to see how England would play with Smith at 10 and two centres at 12 and 13. Use Farrell, to replace Smith later in the game.
Me too, but the best thing about last weekend was the change in style due to the newer players.
I read something on here from ages ago "trundlemuppets"? So boring smashing into contact and not passing. I am always worried that we will revert type.
The dawn of the age of the Orc has been postponed indefinitely as it emerged that if you just stand in front of them and pull them to the floor all day then they don’t really have that much more to offer. Orc forces arrived in Cardiff on Saturday including scrum-mammoths, line-out trolls, siege-ram mutants and wide-out nazgul wing-beasts. The strategy was to find hobbits and run at them really hard on the strict understanding from the Generals that the hobbits would grow weary of this and eventually step aside, enabling crushing victory and celebratory drinking from captive skulls. Curiously, when Orctactic met with determined heroic hobbit defence, the thinking from the Orcmaster General seemed to conclude that the running head-down at the enemy was only failing because there wasn’t enough of it. And so it went on. And a bit more, increasingly coupled with dropping the ball and allowing it to be stolen.
The Orcmaster General seemed to suggest that Orctactic didn’t work for unspecified reasons but would work on all other days for another set of unspecified reasons, giving hope to many people around the world that despite the retirement of George Bush Jnr, the chances of future moments of blundering unintentional comedy were looking strong. He also seemed to suggest that the sado-masochistic torture bridles worn by two of his scrum-mammoths that forced them to veer off sideways instead of forwards somehow warranted penalty tries and yellow cards because the good-guys didn’t have anywhere to put their heads. Everyone invited him to stand in a dark corner and think about it.
Meanwhile, hobbits were clearly delighted despite not being entirely sure how the hell that happened exactly. What was certain though was that they are in the kind of shape that mountains are made of, if said mountains could also run a marathon backwards whilst carrying another mountain, they also care to the extent that all the ale and cowgirls in Cardiff couldn’t tempt them out on the lash, and that committed traffic calming measures are sufficient to persuade Orcball to erupt at high velocity from its own rectum.
and I thought Tolkien long winded!
😂
I read that twice and all I understood was Cardiff.
Some good games on offer this weekend. Anyone got any predictions?
I didn't write it 🙂
Made me laugh then and still now
Italy v Uruguay
Scotland v Japan
England v SA
Wales v Australia
France v New Zealand
Ireland v Argentina
All home wins would see me pretty happy, although I would not be upset to see underdogs Uruguay beat Italy.
Scotland for the most comfortable win.
The England, Wales and France games could go either way - although NZ losing two consecutive games seems improbable.
Personally, can’t wait to see a wounded New Zealand against France in the Stade. Game of the weekend for me. Anything could happen.