[Closed] STW 2014/15 Rugby Thread

Superunrealgavinhenson

The Wales team v Australia features 'Dan Lydiate (Unattached)'... that's one of Big Gav's favourite former clubs!

The England back line, though not to the ABS potential would be very different with Manu, Burrell and Yarde back in it. If thier were no injuries I'd be playing the combo all the way up to. World Cup to get familiarity. Inside centre remains and issue though. Twelvetrees try's to be what Lancaster wants but isn't good enough, and Farrell isn't good enough to not have a kicker outside him. Roko didn't have an attacking game at all, but was good in defense and I'd put that down to him coping with the new game plan/style, and coping with the higher intensity. SL should continue to play him and let him get confidence as I'd expect after this match or another, he'd start to be a good attacking threat as his confidence builds. The kicks in his corner where deliberate tests.

Roko and Yarde - big enough, know where the line is, quick and not showoffs. Good combo IMO. I'm sorry but May - try aside - is all in the wrong placE's and doesn't gel with/trust Brown and gets in his way.

Oh and someone needs to tell Robshaw - when we are 6 inches from the line - we score, or we are patient them we score. And also,watch the vids. we get ball then a forward trundles 3 metres max. AB's get the ball and make 20 yards in 20 seconds. We need to fix they because other we just don't "feel" dangerous.

"We need to work on the accuracy of our kicking, the pressure we put on ourselves playing in and around our halfway line.

"When the weather turned New Zealand maximised that opportunity well and when the hooker was in the sin bin they managed that well as well.

"We couldn't get the territory to get close to them in the second half."

Lancasters words. It shouldn't be too difficult to read into that...

Call me captain negative but I think my England game prediction was spot on, it was TindallBall all over again. Doom.

PS don't diss the ref, he is excellent, it is impossible to be perfect, but he kept the game flowing. Most importantly it is distinctly un-rugby to diss the ref. His decision is final, that is part of the game. I thought he was on the All Blacks case with their marginal cheating gameplan, ok so lots of their silly stuff slipped through, but I think thats a wider issue than just being Owens fault/responsibility.

Yep Stuey obviously wasn't too chuffed with Farrell.

Was it just me that thought that the AB's were unlucky with the yellow card?

If the AB had punched it would have been ok (maybe not in the rules, but tolerable),but deliberate use of the studs is a bad thing isn't it? Im not going to defend Hartley in general, but all he did was grab a shirt and give a little shove. I thought retaliation was supposed to be worst than the initial offence too?

Did his studs even connect?

Did his studs even connect?

The real question is will Johnny May's autobiography be in the shops in time for Christmas?

Haha.

I'm not sure how these reffinf decisions work for punches/stamps etc. I can't remember if the guys studs did connect either....I'd hate to get to the stage where any contact no matter how gentle, is a card a la wendyball though, and there wasn't too much intent in it I didn't think.

Hook called up to Wales squad. Patchel is injured apparently.

Hook called up to Wales squad.

01.04.15

I was at the game yesterday and while I normally think getting Nigel Owens is a great thing for any game as he's usually an excellent referee, he truly had a shocker with two of the NZ tries. I'm not sure what they showed on TV, but on the repeat viewings of both the big screens in the ground, the ball came up short of the try line. The second one he awarded straight away, then when it was shown on the screens he tried to call for the TMO but it appears once awarded he cannot revert.

The All Blacks were the better team, particularly in the second half when they were tactically much brighter, and managed to keep the ball.

The yellow card was probably lucky that it wasn't worse. Again, the number of replays in the ground showed a deliberate lash out/stamp which missed the intended target and caught Care heavily on the lower leg. Players in the premiership have been sent off for much less.

Captain...you have lost me???

April Fool.

Is cpn saying that it's an April fool?

Superunrealgavinhenson
The Wales team v Australia features 'Dan Lydiate (Unattached)'... that's one of Big Gav's favourite former clubs!

^missed that earlier. Very good 🙂

2 mins in and 6 mins in. First looks like a try. No idea why you object to the second.

Right so the third one looks short but thats a white line bordering the blue of an in goal advert.

To dispel some non-facts about the All Black haka trotted out above - it is not just a Maori tradition, it is a New Zealand tradition, and an important part of kiwi culture. I went to a very conservative girls school and we had our own haka, but it was more of a welcome than a war dance.

I miss the ka mate haka, (written by Te Rauparaha, a powerful chief from near where I was brought up) the new one isn't nearly as good.

New one is shit isnt it. Haka's are slightly Maori though.. I was slightly perturbed by the idea of some sort of racial purity test for it hinted at above though.

I typed a long post about Captain Flasheart's amateur eugenics but kind of decided life is too short and scrubbed it. I don't think anybody in NZ has referred to anybody else in those terms since Queen Victoria was on the throne. All 100% kiwis !

I think they still do the ka mate haka for home games.

Whereabouts you from?

No complaints about Owens from me. Even IF any of the tries were a bit dodgy, we can't really complain at the scoreline. The ABs deserved the win, we don't look anything like a RWC (or even Grand Slam) winning team.
The pack can rival anyones, that is a fact, but we have no inside centre and without Manu, we lank penetration. Brown is out of form. Good try by May but that's 10 seconds of good rugby we've had from him in an england shirt. Care didn't have his best game but his saving grace might be that Youngs was crap.

and Farrell isn't good enough to not have a kicker outside him

A haka (plural is the same as singular: haka) is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the M?ori people of New Zealand.

Cips at 10, Farrell at 12, Manu/Burrell at 13? Could be interesting.

A haka (plural is the same as singular: haka) is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the M?ori people of New Zealand.

Quite.

And why should it be deemed more important than the Sivi Tau, the Cibi, the Sipi Tau, or a horde of beered up Scots/Welsh/English/French/whatever singing? It's a marketing piece now, with the IRB simpering pathetically to the brand.

By all means have your silly dance, but expect a response. It asks for one. If that response is Campo kicking a ball around in the dead ball area, accept it. If that response is the opposition getting in your face, accept it. Don't have the IRB give you some pathetic rule about keeping ten yards back or whatever. If you give the challenge, accept the riposte. It's what the Haka is about.

What makes you say people think its more important than the others?

AA, NZ seem to think that they are allowed theirs without the right of reply. If they ever bothered to play in the Pacific Islands, they should, I believe, do theirs first and accept their hosts response. They also whined about Wales singing after their dance, and sulked in the dressing room instead.

And as for their treatment of Launceston RFC... 😉

I just wish it was more about the rugby, at which they are truly brilliant, than about the brand and the nasty, cheap shots.

I really enjoy the haka as a spectacle. It's a fantastic part of rugby, as are the sipi tau, cibi etc. Cockers approached it best IMHO.

Did get him knocked out

Wrecker, I tend to agree. I just think it is given preference over others.

If New Zealanders want to do a Maori dance, that's ace. Just accept that the Welsh may want to respond with Cwm Rhondda, England with a slave spiritual*, etc.

*Had a very amusing conversation with an American colleague the other day, asking why English fans were being racist. I replied, "Eh?". He thought they were singing Swing Low as some sort of racist insult at non-white players in the team. I was dumbfounded for a moment, before regaining speech and explaining!

Did get him knocked out

I just think it is given preference over others.

More of this needed: screw them and their sponsored superiority.

Ballsack 😆

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/wales-v-australia-bbc-make-8073316

Tom, excellent link 😀

Black eye 😆

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/scandals-that-rocked-rugby-892342.html

There's been a few Haka responces from the Aussies, one where they got into a circle behind their own goal posts and just ignored it (I think others may have done the same thing) and one where they pulled funny faces and blew kisses. IIRC the IRB then insisted that all sides face the Haka and treat it with respect.

Crowd now sing over the top of it so you cannot hear it, post the O'Driscoll spear tackle the Haka was loudly boo-ed from start to finish and was Umaga everytime he touched the ball throughout the match.

Cockrell is Cockrell, he got reprimanded as you are not supposed to cross half way but good on him, the "rules" about what you can/cannot do in responce are ridiculous.

As an aside anyone going to Twickenham needs to allow a lot of time to get into the ground, they've introduced ticket bar-code readers at the gates and people have no idea how to use them. We tried to get into the ground 30 mins before kick-off and it was barely enough time. Ordinarily we can get from gate to seat in less than 10

Black eye

Blows were traded both inside and outside a taxi

The original report I read at the time from a journo who witnessed said Norm threw the best 3 punch combination he had ever seen that left Cockerill lying on the pavement but I have never managed to find it. Most probably some wish projection from a Welshy 😆

Most probably some wish projection from a Welshy

Lol that was funny, I am just enjoying Leicester struggling 😆

I am just enjoying Leicester struggling

Cockerels response was pretty much just a copy of the irish one in the late 80's.
I love the Haka and the perennial discussion of how the welsh should respond to it is great. How about winning a match though eh lads?

@aa - if you decide to sing over it you need a decent length song as the new Haka goes on and on ... it's 3 if not 4 versus of Swing Low

The original

@jambalaya that's why we have two anthems and a president's salute or whatever it's called 😀

I think most people would love to see a less rude response to the All Black haka than droning over it - I personally would welcome a nice Morris Dance in reply, it would be a lot more respectful, not to mention entertaining.

But I think most of the world would be content with the hosts remembering what their own national anthem is.

(with the qualification that I may have to climb down on that one, I only have council tele so just saw the highlights - did they play the British or the English national anthem ?)

@hels, there is no such thing as the British vs English National Anthem, there is only one National Anthem - God Save the Queen. The Scots play Flower of Scotland which is just a song , the Irish have a recently penned song due to the complexities of playing as a mix of North Ireland and Ireland. The Welsh sing their hymn.

The only problem is one Wales got a fat bloke to sing bread of heaven after the haka and before kick off and they All Blacks got so offended by this they refused to do the Haka next time when Wales wanted to do it again they did the Haka in the changing room. They dont like it up em captain Mannering!

Jambalaya you are spectacularly ignorant. 😯

I thiought French "riposte" in WC final was great - forming the arrow formation and walking forward

Have we mentioned [url= http://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2014/nov/10/bbc-says-sorry-for-calling-welsh-rugby-player-jake-ballsack ]THIS[/url]

BBC Sport has apologised after an embarrassing teamsheet gaffe involving the Welsh rugby union player Jake Ball.

On their online team list, Scarlets lock Ball was listed as ‘Jake Ballsack’, causing scarlet faces at the BBC Sport website.

Will Lawes and the Kiwi make it through the concussion test, I guess we will see how seriously they are going to take the head injury rules.

[img] [/img]

OK so how come this crops up every few years and is sometimes pinged and sometimes not? Duckman? Anyone?

I think its because no Irish players were bound - so it's not a maul. Open play so he's allowed to tackle the man with the ball.

Yeah I get that but it seems like some refs allow it and others dont. If its that simple why doesnt every team do it?

If its that simple why doesnt every team do it?

I typed a long post about Captain Flasheart's amateur eugenics but kind of decided life is too short and scrubbed it. I don't think anybody in NZ has referred to anybody else in those terms since Queen Victoria was on the throne. All 100% kiwis !

I think they still do the ka mate haka for home games.

BINGO! Oh, and 😉

Cause most teams aren't as smart as Ireland 😉

By the way Jack Mc Grath the prop making one of those tackles was our top tackler with 17, some going that.

clarification:

The following clarification has been issued by the IRB for immediate application.

Line out

IRB clarification for teams choosing not to engage at the lineout

. if the defenders in the line out choose to not engage the line out drive by "leaving the line out as a group", 
PK to attacking team; 
if the defenders in the line out choose to not engage the line out drive by simply opening up a gap & "creating space" & not leaving the line out, the following process would be followed:

attackers would need to keep the ball with the front player, if they were to drive down-field (therefore play on, general play - defenders could either engage to form a maul, or tackle the ball carrier only);
if they had immediately passed it back to the player at the rear of the "group", the referee would tell them to "use it" which they must do immediately...

Clear as mud from the irrational rugby board.

Mauls are a mess at the moment how its legal to have someone at the back of a maul trundling forward with defenders having no chance to stop it is not rugby imo. Ball is shipped to the back almost before the lineout catcher has landed.

@aa you can stop the maul by pushing against it, just like you always used to.

But the sifting of the ball to the back before moving forward makes it a farce that can only end in a pen.

you can stop the maul by pushing against it

Or by not pushing against it. It makes for a very, very dull game when a team has a superior driving maul and decides to push everywhere. I'm glad that there are options to level the field by playing smart.

I can't see what's changed? surely that's what the forward orientated teams have been doing for years? - Neil back for Leicester and England being a prime example

@aa, if I where going to change anything I'd make most maul infringement's a free kick. Only deliberate dangerous play/fulling it down would be a pen. TBH I don't see the maul having a massive impact on the game, I thought England used it quite badly and in irrelevant areas of the field. Seems a bit of anon issue to me,

The change has been the way they are formed the ball is shipped to the back before any chance of the defence engaging and it makes it almost impossible to defend against. Week in week out we see teams taking it in turns to march the maul 20 yards forward and gain a pen. Like scrums they just seemed to have become a too to extract pens rather than a platform to launch attacking plays.

@aa well that didn't happen on Saturday. As an aside I was offering my comments from the stands along the lines of "stop f 'king around, you'll give away a penalty" each time England tried it in their own half

It did in Cardiff.

FIJI TEAM TO FACE WALES

Metuisela Talebula, Waisea Nayacalevu, Vereniki Goneva, Nemani Nadolo, Asaeli Tikoirotuma; Joshua Matavesi, Nikola Matawalu; Campese Ma'afu, Sunia Koto, Manasa Saulo, Leone Nakarawa, Api Ratuniyarawa, Dominiko Waqaniburotu, Masi Matadigo, Akapusi Qera (capt).

Replacements: Tuapati Talemaitoga, Jerry Yanuyanutawa, Isei Colati, Tevita Cavubati, Malakai Ravulo, Henry Seniloli, Jonetani Ralulu, Timoci Nagusa.

Nemai Nadolo, cousin of Kuridrani and Nephew of the great Noa Nadruku. Big lad 6ft5 and best part of 20 stone apparently.

Arg 20 Italy 18

Guess you englishers are all busy thinking up racist and homophobic abuse for tomorrow 😉

Shut it you gay welsh ****!!! 😀

So it was you at twickers, I thought it was Jambo. Now hold still so I can give you a kiss xxx

So, either the 'Spreys really don't care a damn about the Anglo-Welsh Cup, or the Dregs have suddenly become teh orsumz.

My stalker book is filling up with England propaganda.

I guess the players have to "believe" but I think some humility is in ordered. Not sure if they are being scripted but Garrell and May in particular seem to act like they are they greatest world class players on earth. Calm down dear...

Or maybe I'm grumpy because I have a hangover.

I'm going with a with a win this afternoon, I think this is last chance saloon for certain players before changes happen, so I'm expecting a winning test match.

New zealand v austrailia rugby league on bbc2 now if anyone is interested,good game so far.

Or maybe I'm grumpy because I have a hangover.

Seems more likely. The other nations play this easy arrogant card against the English. Works well despite being false, so not a bad bit of gamesmanship. Seems to be deployed in inverse relationship with the depth of the chip.

Anyway why are the Scots up in arms about playing the AB 2XV? Isn't that bad enough for them? The score will tell.

Bloody parents evening clashing with tickets to Twickers which is annoying. Should be a peaky!!

I expect that the Dregs were almist at full strength whereas the ospreys were decimated by international call ups.

I was wondering last night who has the most annoying kicking build up. Twitchy Biggar or laser eyed Farrel with his pouty face.

It's become all a bit contrived hasn't it AA. Not JWs finest legacy for the sport!!!

Off to watch Sale V Irish - 12pm kick off so we can watch the England/South Africa game in the stadium afterwards, think I'm going to have a hangover tomorrow...

Has kicking ever been to the standard that it is now?
I may be wrong but I thought the top guys can accurately hit distances that were not considered possible 20 years ago. To be honest if they did the chicken song dance before slotting a touch line kick from their own 10m line, it wouldn't detract from the sheer skill that guys like 1/2p, Farrell, sexton, carter etc possess.

This post is begging for the genius of Jamie to put a chicken song dance penalty together!