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As suggested by Flash;
Our annual opportunity to indulge in baiting one another along regional/national AND international lines.
Rules;
1)I have tickets for Munster v Embra;you don't 😛
2)PLEASE no individual arguments lasting more than a page;it gets tedious.
3)Ashton is,and always will be a Merchant Banker.
4) A-A is,for the sake of this thread,allowed to pick fault with his home nations players and coaches even after they have won the slam without losing a try.
5)It is ok to be a patriotic Irishman or Englishman even if you live in Bristol or OZ... 😉
6) See 1 above.
So Prem; Sarries
Rabo; Ulster
Hiney; Leinster
6N; Wales
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Oh and for the record I expect Wales to be shit this season as Howlers is in charge as Gatland is off on some Lions jolly.
Can't wait for the season to get going. I have even splashed out some precious bike funds on a season ticket for Edinburgh...will see if that is wise or not. Would like to see them top 4 rabo and out the heine group and still playing the offloading game of last season.
Munster for the rabo
Sarries for prem
Am thinking a French team for Heineken
I'm quite looking forward to the new season. Sale were a suprise last year after being dire for the last 6 seasons so i'm expecting/hoping they can build on that. Good new signings, a great new coach care of those farmers in Glaws 😛 and a new stadium thanks to the financial cock up of Salford City Reds.
Pre season games quite encouraging with a good defeat of Glasgow and a draw with Leinster so lets see how they do today down in Exeter.
Can't see past Sarries for the Prem at the moment but things change rapidly by November.
Exeter for the prem, Bristol for the champ, glaws for the heine. It's all about the SW this year. 😀
Wales or eng for the 6n. Dunno.
So Prem; Sarries
Rabo; Ulster
Hiney; Leinster
6N; Wales
All but the last one. Ireland to edge the 6N in a thriller
Oh, and Embra are OSSUM! 🙂 (it won't be the same without TJ's eternal optimism! If only there was a way to let him back to this thread only 🙂 )
Cant see Ulster or Embra winning the Rabble Bank they dont take it seriously enough as they will focus on the Larger Cup. The welsh teams will all be out of the Larger cup after the group stages so I expect one of them to win it. as usual the six nations will be between England and France © Dilly Dally, Brain Moore and Ian Robertson.
I've been persuaded to buy an Ospreys season ticket for the first time in a few years. They were doing a BOGOF offer, with free child seats as well, so my ticket cost me £82.50 for the Rabo, EC and LV games. But between myself and the 'primary' ticket holder we can take 4 kids as well. It works out at less than £2 per seat per game if we were to use every seat....
BUT, can the Ospreys produce rugby worth watching at less than £2 per game? Based on the pre-season game against Bath, and last nights performance against Treviso, I may have wasted my money! 😆
Based on the above post I have reported A-A for having 2 log ins.
Ospreys were shit. Did Tom Isaacs catch a ball all night?
I have a problem here.
I do not know which Welsh club side to support!
anagallis_arvensis - Member
Ospreys were shit. Did Tom Isaacs catch a ball all night?
They really should try and find somewhere to train in heavy rain. I know it's difficult to find somewhere like that in Wales......
duckman - Member
Based on the above post I have reported A-A for having 2 log ins.
😛 I've got a very love-hate relationship with the Ospreys, probably best described as hate-hate-but-they-are-the-nearest-thing-to-to-a-1st-class-team-locally. And they are only 5 minutes walk away. And the season ticket was cheap.
I know its wrong, i know it reflects badly on me but i really dislike the Ospreys 🙁 I've met fans from Blues/Scarlets/Dragons and had a great time with all of them, but being spat at by Ospreys fans kinda puts a damper on wanting to have a drink with them. Now i always want them to do badly.
Exeter for the prem
Wont be sale!
No, we're getting absolutely thumped down there 🙁
Mind you, the Wasps/Quins game looks like a classic (avoiding spoilers)
Sob! 😥
Saracens at home next week, Gulp.... 😯
Ooooh, Exeter! 🙂
Quins v Pests sounds a cracker!
Sheesh; how much is an espn monthly going to add to my already HUGE Sky bill?
Good new signings, a great new coach care of those farmers in Glaws
Best put muddydwarf on suicide watch!! That result give me hope that Welsh could avoid the drop.... till tomorrow when I'll be back to mu pessimistic best!
Welsh might be safe me thinks ...Too many changes @ Irish, gonna take a while to gel.
What about all this extra TMO referal, seems like the ref is seeing the replay himself on the big screen b4 the tmo has decided.
People of the "All inclusive rugby thread", I have a proposal to make.
Re-instate the Embra One, allowing him access to this thread only. Think of it as a Rehabilitation of Offenders Act for STW (Not sure if the hamsters would even allow single thread access, though!)
All those in favour, say "Aye".
AYE!
🙂
och aye
scarlets scoring some great tries tonight on s4c
Aye.
Free the Embra One.
Make this thread truly "All Inclusive".
Egg chasing.. the most boring sport. In the World.
Big man hug to Manitou 😆 don't worry your pretty little head about it.
Dwarf are you ok? Deep breath or maybe some sweet tea, thats meant to be good for shock 😆
Yes bring back TJ he is part of the rugby family.
Scrum question! Haven't seen any Premiership action, but on the NZ match this morning, the ref was doing: Crouch-Touch-Set.
Is that the new method? Seemed to work. "pause.... Engage" was always crap anyway!
Some good games today. LI were truly, truly terrible. Saracens looked quite poor and thrashed them. Does not look good!
Exeter, fair play. Sale, shocking (literally) Hairyquims and Wasps, very good match. Looked like a SH super 14 match. Bath / Worc, nothing really in it. Tomorrow Welsh look likly to take a stuffing, but no one is expecting anything better so perhaps with pressure off... (although I hope not, Tigers for some silverware this year please!)
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You'll all be pleased to hear that George North is still very big and very fast!!
😆 Gogzilla 😆
Aye to the Embra 1 returning for this thread. Was thinking on trying to get along to a few Sale games this year as a colleague often goes but not so sure now!
Moving house soon and already has a satellite dish so may finally get round to getting Sky/espn. Who gives best coverage?
My son is 1 in two weeks and yet to see glaws win at home- he went to I think 4 matches last season and now today 😕
Bruk, the thing is that it's a bit of a lose/lose situation. Both sky and ESPN do decent coverage of the rugby but the commentary...
With ESPN you get Austin who can be insightful and in occasion bounces well off Ben Kay, but sometimes he's plain awful and really really irritates me.
With sky though, you get Stuart Barnes who quite simply is a cock.
Of course, neither is as bad as the Itv combination of that tosser Craig Doyle and Martin bayfield. How anyone could land that job and know as little as Craig d is beyond me.
I think only sky have the lager cup mind. New scrum rule is designed to improve a un-reffable situation....It hasn't....
Bring back the Edinburgh one! (Aye)
The scrums at the Edinburgh match were worse than ever, first two did not even engage before free kicks were given. Ref got no help from his linesman when the stands could see the bind go and shoulder tuck under. Scrums are ruining the game at present.
Edinburgh should have won but too many mistakes, poor decisions at crucial times. Well done to Munster for being Munster and grinding out the win
Predictions:
prem : Leicester
rabo : Leinster
HC : Leinster
6N : Ireland
Aye
Leinster better hope they get some players back from injury soon. If the scarlets had a front five worthy of the name they would have humiliated them as it was they just gave them a good kicking.
As for the scrums the issue is the hit not the calls. Remove the hit and ping crooked feeds simples.
Pong crooked feeds 😆 oafs like Hartley would be looking for a new job 😉
ping crooked feeds
^^This^^
I know its wrong, i know it reflects badly on me but i really dislike the Ospreys I've met fans from Blues/Scarlets/Dragons and had a great time with all of them, but being spat at by Ospreys fans kinda puts a damper on wanting to have a drink with them. Now i always want them to do badly.
I'm sorry to hear that, Muddydwarf. The attitude of a certain set of the fans was one reason I couldn't be bothered with the Ospreys for the last few years. (losing my temper with a fellow fan who insisted on putting his feet on the back of my seat was one thing that I remember...)
The Scarlets scored some lovely tries against Leinster.
The Sarries LI game was dreadful. Two sets of backs without a clue how to beat an opponent, and a ref who might as well have rewound the whole game looking for offences. The 'anytime' TMO won't be a success if it is used that much every game.
+1 for Embra One. What did he do to get banned?
Still sulking after yesterday's shocking attempt from Sale - how long are the excuses going to continue from the club i wonder.. 🙁
Free the Embra gobshite!
Welsh would have won if Gavin was playing!!
anagallis_arvensis - Member
Welsh would have won if Gavin was playing!!
Arf! although Tigers were slow out of the box it has to be said.Few dropped passes,hasty play cost Welsh as well.They wouldn't have won,but showed that they will learn;the way they cancelled out the rolling maul in the second half being an example. I also knew Ross was a journeyman, but did a fair job for them today.
Welsh did a lot better than I expected. Will be interesting to see the Bronzed God playing at 10. Lyn Jones is a bit off the wall but he is no mug. Actually I am a bit of a Lyn Jones fan.
I'll be suprised if Henson will replace Ross. If Henson plays it should be at 12 and maybe the odd switch to 10 later in the game if it opens up. All ifs and buts though. Chucking him in at ten in friendlies made sense though get the ball in his hands and force him to be involved.
Ross brings players in the game, I think Sonny Parker will find his old bones getting more of a rest.I think it could be just what Henson needs tbh....As A-A will tell us if he does ok, there is a lions tour coming up 😀
ooohhhh....
Lions predictions on this thread too? 🙂
Ioums Lions Team
Karney
Bowe
O'Driscol
er... that fella who got knocked into next week by Gogzilla, or failing that Darcy
Fitzgerald
Sexton
Murray
Heaslip
Obrian
That ugly bloke edit ferris thats the fella
D Ryan
Oconnel
and three irish fat lads
Keet Earls on the bench
Ah, that is an interesting quandary, Heineken cup coverage but have to listen to Stuart Barnes or no Heineken cup and listen to motormouth Austin. Will have to ponder that one.
Believe the Embra one got banned for excessive arguing. This kind of thread is a safe way of reintroducing him as unless it gets invaded by followers of the round ball it is usually a harmonious place with gentle rib pulling and mickey taking guaranteed and expected!
Actually I am a bit of a Lyn Jones fan.
I never really liked him at the Ospreys but he amuses me no end now Lyn the Lip is annoying the english. The other week he said Henson was as good a 10 as Wilkinson 😆
Is it only me who thinks of Game of Thrones when looking at the title of this thread?
The sooner that Orange looking fella leaves rugby the better. An utter embarrassment to the game.
Cheers a-a. Saved me a bit of typing 😉
You forgot George North. He'll be worth a place if he keeps improving.
Lol at those who claim prem rugby is dull 😆
Some proper crackers this weekend.
In all fairness Nora, he hasn't really played much for a wee while, and when he did devote himself to the rugby he was far from an embarrassment. I hope he has a second wind, just as I would love to see Cipriani do well at the Manchester Galacticos. Game is far too full of pumped up gym monkeys running coached lines,players like Henson and Cipriani and Papa O'Driscoll can play what is in front of them.
Therell always be places for the beasts of the game like Manu, it's when they're huge and bloody good like north that things get interesting (IMHO obviously)
The sooner that Orange looking fella leaves rugby the better. An utter embarrassment to the game.
House!!
beasts of the game like Manu
Deacon Manu aint that big!!
Lol. I just have trouble spelling tuil......tuala.......touila........the effing great big [s]Samoan[/s] English Leicester player.
Note for idlejohn, if you're not doing anything Wednesday evening the ospreys and scarlets u16s are playing. I reckon it could be a good game, I think it's the first in a u16 league. I only know as my nephew is playing, I wish I could get to watch but Swansea is a bit of a drive from Sheffield.
Not sure if your season tickets will get you in?
Not sure I'd put Henson in the same boat as BoD or the like, my (admittedly limited) viewings of him is that he ran excessively sideways cutting out all space for those outside of him when playing at 10/12. better at full back as he had to use his size (see what I did there) or boot as well.
As for Cipriani, it's well and good to be a genius in attack, but before you tell everyone, make sure you can do it at an international level. Also being able to tackle is a good thing!
When Welsh meet sale, having those two on the same pitch will make Barnsey cream himself with excitement.
Ok people look out for a youg prop at the Scarletts called Samson Lee/Leigh 100% lunatic. Comes from a travellers background and to say he relishes the biff is an understatement. He is 18/19 and already a legend around Scabtown.
nickhart - Member
Note for idlejohn, if you're not doing anything Wednesday evening the ospreys and scarlets u16s are playing. .............
Not sure if your season tickets will get you in?
Thanks for the heads up, Nick. I will probably be riding in this lovely weather but we'll see!
anagallis_arvensis - MemberIs it only me who thinks of Game of Thrones when looking at the title of this thread?
Tyrion at hooker, Cersei at 10..... 😆
😆 be afraid be very afraid
Not sure I'd put Henson in the same boat as BoD or the like, my (admittedly limited) viewings of him is that he ran excessively sideways cutting out all space for those outside of him when playing at 10/12. better at full back as he had to use his size (see what I did there) or boot as well.
go watch the 2005 and 2008 grandslams, you couldnt be more wrong if you tried. Are you sure your not thinking of Iestyn Harris or James Hook. Hensons strengths as a player, when he was one, was running straight drawing players and putting others into space. He's a shit fullback lacks pace for the position and his defence in open spaces is shit.
On the game of thrones theme;The Mountain that Rides at second row, actually at 8 feet and 30 stone, anywhere he wants really.
And Henson was a player; will he be again? I hope so,both him and Cipriani.As to the not tackling accusation, Cipriani plays best at 10; isn't that what he keeps a back row for? Least that's what my 10 used to explain to me!
Greeting from the Edinburgh one. Thanks for the nice words.
Well Edinburgh are off to their usual crap start. Looks like they could and should have won but its a heroic failure again 🙁 Three tries from Visser tho - he really is good that boy. What odds for top scorer in the Rabo for the forth year running - can't wait to see him in a Scotland shirt. A try scorer in a scots shirt? Shurely shome mishtake
Edinburgh ( and Glasgow) have both recruited heavily using the extra money they got for doing well last year - Edinburghs cup run was worth a million or so - significant funds for them and they stil remain amogst the minnows for funding.
I shall be trying to get to a few games - especially home heio games. maybe even catch up with some of you there.
Gonna be a good season. (but be better without numptybaws the bath veggie in charge
Jeremy
Pigface, thanks for passing that on! Please send my regards!
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😉
he's back!
Oh, and AA, no I was referring to watching him post 2008, however I bow to your superior knowledge, I'm basing my comments on a couple of games total.
Leicester a little disappointing, however and incredibly fired up LW team still got turned over. More worrying was there lack of fans at 'home' in Oxford. They are not going to make much money that way!
I was referring to watching him post 2008
he's played? Actually he has looked shy of contact since coming backso you might be right, he played one game at 12 for Blues just before he was sacked v Ulster I think where he started to look something like his old self. Then the dull witted ****s that were the coaches at the time decided to put him back to 15 and the bench with an appearance on the wing which led to them getting ice cubes thrown at them on a plane, the rest is history....
Superb; waves at TJ through pigface 😀
Shock news is that he is only 48, living in Wales can't be good for you. 😈
Good to see Gats finally appointed for the Welsh and Irish Lions tour 😀
As an Ulster fan I'm really looking forward to this season. We have had a good preseason and a solid start to the league against A strong Glasgow side. Considering we have Court, Best, Tuohy, Henry, Ferris and Wilson to return to the pack then I believe we will really dominate teams up front. Nick Williams also is a bit of a beast at 8.
In the girls we have Pienar, Wallace, Trimble and Bowe to return along with a good mix of young guys coming through. My only worry is at 10 as Jackson and O'Connor are quite young and don't have a huge amount of experience.
However I think we will reach the last 4 in both the league and Europe. As for Prem I think Sarries will be hard to beat however I'd like to see Exeter do well as young Ian Whitten from Ulster has moved over there.
From an international pov Ireland have Eng and Fra in Dublin which we can win. We have Wales in Cardiff as the first match so if we can win that and get a bit of momentum then we could lift the 6 nations.
Just noticed Ferris and Trimble are in the Ulster squad for the Ospreys game on sat. Should be a cracker.
If any STW'ers are visiting Ravenhill let me know and we will have a few pints of the black stuff!!
SUFTUM
Just noticed Ferris and Trimble are in the Ulster squad for the Ospreys game on sat. Should be a cracker.
I'm looking forward to it - 1st decent live game in a few games. You aren't coming down to Swansea, BlindMelon?
Unfortunately not Jon. However I'll be tuning in on BBC to watch. I think it will be a really close game, Ulster will be looking to build from last week and start integrating the Ireland boys while the O's will want to get a win under their belts.
Just a pity Tommy Bowe isn't fit!!