Rugby - Pre Binding Edition

[Hereward]

Have it, Convicts.

PS time to leave, Twelvetrees. Don't come back.

[ljkeane]

PS time to leave, Twelvetrees. Don't come back.

He was poor today but he has had a couple of good performances and the alternative's Burrell or Barritt when fit, Barritt probably would have made that tackle but he doesn't offer much else.

Bit of a ropey performance from England but at least they came away with a win this year against what looked to be an improving Australia side. Hopefully it was mainly down to rust and they can kick on.

[The BlackBear]

Ropey yes, but you have to bear in mind the missed kicks from Farrell, that's a worry but if he was kicking as usual then it'd be a much larger score difference. Also very impressed with Mike Brown. I seem to recall them mentioning quite a young average age for England as well?

[The BlackBear]

Hate to double post, but felt the need to share this awful interview O2 did with Marler and Twelvetrees. I can't help but think there should be more practise and less press. I can't see any other team having this circus following them around.

Edit: didn't actually add the link.

[ljkeane]

:lol: That was fairly pointless but I do feel a bit sorry for the guy having to ask the questions.

It's a bit disappointing that Yarde and Wade are both out for England, apparently they were both going to play which would have been good to see. On the plus side it's good Wilson's getting a start as he's in good form and England do need to develop a reliable back up for Cole.

The game I'm looking forward to most this weekend is Wales-South Africa though. South Africa are solidly the second best side in world rugby at the moment and look to be improving although whether Fourie is still the player he was will be a question mark. Wales really need to kick on and start getting results against the Tri Nations sides, they certainly look to have a side to do it on paper although I think Biggar's pretty unlucky to lose out to the decidedly flakey Priestland for me and whether Mike Phillips turns up sober would also be a concern. Shame Eli Walker misses out through injury as well.

France against New Zealand could also be a very good game but it'll really depend on what France side decide to turn up. :dunno:

[ljkeane]

Good game between France and New Zealand tonight and France played well but they'll be kicking themselves given they absolutely gifted the All Blacks 10 points after going into the lead 12-9. First they gave away an easy penalty dicking around trying to set up a ruck in their own 22 and then how nobody bothers to cover fullback in an international match for Piutau's try I've no idea. On the plus side for France I was quite impressed with Tales, he challenged the line well.

Decent performance from England, the pack in particular, in the first half of their match but they did lose their way a bit in the second half. To be fair Argentina did contribute to that by disrupting their rucking game. They'll have to improve again next week but one positive is they are generally rucking well and France did cause New Zealand some problems by attacking the breakdown tonight, which was something of a problem for the All Blacks at stages last year but they largely seemed to have solved so far this year.

Wales played quite well, Warburton and Hibbard in particular, and they were certainly in the game most of the time against South Africa but you do have to think that they're are good enough side that good performances in a losing cause against Southern Hemisphere sides shouldn't be good enough anymore. To be fair they did lose some important players but and South Africa are a very good side but at 15-17 down that was a game that could have been won. Instead Du Preez took control of the game and that was the difference.

[The BlackBear]

Saw the Wales and France game, was at the Scotland game: god it was shaky to start with, Scotland's scramble defence was almost non-existent, and they made holes but did nothing with it, and kept trying to force long passes that went nowhere and were poorly executed. The gap opened up later when Scotland got into their stride, and fitness started to matter, but they won't have that option facing better teams. Heroic effort from the 'Brave Blossoms,' hoping for big things in the future.

I'll be in the East stand picture when that goes live some time tomorrow.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Watching the US v. NZ Maori ABs on the teevee. I'm intensely sad to learn that they're playing this match about 90 miles away. Even though the US are going to get pasted, I'd still like to watch in person.

[Consigliere]

The Springboks put one over Wales yet again. Fourie Du Preez was excellent, tactical kicking in particular, and he and Jaque Fourie combined very well. Deserved win for the Springboks. I am optimistic regarding the 2015 WC. In Heynecke Meyer, the architect behind the revival of the Bulls, we have the right man in charge.

[The BlackBear]

I feel the springbok is an inappropriate symbol for South Africa, a rhino would be more appropriate to their players and play style.

[Consigliere]

I feel the springbok is an inappropriate symbol for South Africa, a rhino would be more appropriate to their players and play style.

:lol:

The Springboks (Die Bokke) is a national treasure down here. There will be rioting in the streets if the Springbok emblem was ever changed.

[Calibandar]

Next week they're showing England vs All-Blacks and Ireland vs Australia.

Nice, will be catching those.

I caught Wales vs South Africa yesterday and I was again amazed by the toughness, tenaciousness and power of the players, as well as the great atmosphere in the stadium. I wonder sometimes why this sport isn't bigger than it currently is, worldwide.

[The Anti-Targ]

Watching the US v. NZ Maori ABs on the teevee. I'm intensely sad to learn that they're playing this match about 90 miles away. Even though the US are going to get pasted, I'd still like to watch in person.

Shoot, I missed seeing that game on TV. A shame you didn't get along to it. Rugby crowds in the USA need all the help they can get to help reduce the echo off all the empty seats.

Impressed with France's play vs the ABs, and a draw would not have been a bad outcome. The difference was a couple of pieces of individual brilliance on the AB side, and a few unforced / semi-unforced errors on rthe part of France when they we close to scoring. Solid defence from the ABs of course held out the French onslaught. Interesting stat that France managed 18 offloads through the game and the AB's only managed 2. A very good hit out first up in the North.

ABs have a chance of going unbeaten this year, which would be a first for any side in professional era. England is the main hurdle out of the last 2 games for the 2013 season. Creates even more tension for the game than is usual for the AB/England match ups.

[Hereward]

I can't see England being much of a challenge. We're depressingly poor at the moment.

[The Anti-Targ]

I can't see England being much of a challenge. We're depressingly poor at the moment.

France finished last in the 6 nations I hear (how Italy didn't come last is a head scratcher for me, as Italy is still viewed here as the most easy beat nation in that group; by some margin to boot). So if they can get up for it and come close to winning (or at least drawing) in Paris, where apparently the ABs haven't lost since 1973, then England could step up too. Seems to me playing the ABs often stiffens the spine a bit. They are the team everyone wants to beat, because it's such a rare thing to achieve. Once in a career for some people.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Shoot, I missed seeing that game on TV. A shame you didn't get along to it. Rugby crowds in the USA need all the help they can get to help reduce the echo off all the empty seats.

According to the reports, the event was sold out (it was held at the local footy stadium, rather than at the helmetball stadium, so there were only 15,000 seats or so -- still, selling 15,000 seats for a rugby match is pretty good in the US). So, even if I had known early enough in the day, I might not have gotten a seat.

[The Marquis de Leech]

ABs have a chance of going unbeaten this year, which would be a first for any side in professional era.

Not quite true. It'd be the first time in the professional era that a major nation won all their games in a season, but unbeaten seasons were achieved (with one draw) by the All Blacks in 1997 and Ireland in 2009, and the likes of Fiji managed 100% wins in 2004.

I looked up the stats. The last perfect seasons for each major country:

South Africa: 1995

Australia: 1994

England: 1992

New Zealand: 1989

Argentina: 1980

Wales: 1976

Ireland: 1972 (yes, the last match was called off. But they won everything they did play).

Italy: 1968

Scotland: 1938

France: 1937

France have lost at least one match a season since 1938.

[The Marquis de Leech]

. I wonder sometimes why this sport isn't bigger than it currently is, worldwide.

I'd say it's simply history: outside Wales and New Zealand, rugby union was traditionally the sport of the upper classes (in the case of France, regionalised, and in the case of apartheid South Africa, afrikaner-dominated), so it lacked mass appeal for a long time (it's worth remembering that union is still the minor form of the game in Australia, where more people prefer league), and there is a complexity of rules that makes it tougher to spread to new countries. Association Football may have the offside rule, but rugby union has a plethora of such things: kicking into touch on the full, the fair catch, and so on.

[The Anti-Targ]

According to the reports, the event was sold out (it was held at the local footy stadium, rather than at the helmetball stadium, so there were only 15,000 seats or so -- still, selling 15,000 seats for a rugby match is pretty good in the US). So, even if I had known early enough in the day, I might not have gotten a seat.

A 15,000 crowd for what is essentially the number 3 NZ side is impressive (I'm picking New Zealand A (which if course is actually New Zealand B, but you can hardly call the AB's "New Zealand A" it just doesn't sound right) is rated higher than NZ Maori).

I wonder sometimes why this sport isn't bigger than it currently is, worldwide.

I wonder myself what all the big beefy blokes play in countries where Soccer is the main thing. I suppose in the colder climes it's Ice hockey, but what is it in the more temperate and sub-tropical regions? The great thing about the oval ball codes is that there's a position on the field for nearly every body type.

[Which Tyler]

Oh FFS

15 Mike Brown (Harlequins, 20 caps)
14 Chris Ashton (Saracens, 36 caps)
13 Joel Tomkins (Saracens, 2 caps)
12 Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby, 7 caps)
11 Ben Foden (Northampton Saints, 33 caps)
10 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 18 caps)
9 Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints, 11 caps)
1 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 14 caps)
2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints, 49 caps)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 42 caps)
4 Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 13 caps)
5 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 24 caps)
6 Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 22 caps)
7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt, 19 caps)
8 Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 4 caps)

Replacements
16 Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 11 caps)
17 Matt Mullan (London Wasps, 1 cap)
18 David Wilson (Bath Rugby, 30 caps)
19 Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers, 18 caps)
20 Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby, 14 caps)
21 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 34 caps)
22 Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers, 59 caps)
23 Alex Goode (Saracens, 12 caps)

Up against

1. Tony Woodcock
2. Keven Mealamu
3. Owen Franks
4. Brodie Retallick
5. Samuel Whitelock
6. Liam Messam
7. Richie McCaw ©
8. Kieran Read
9. Aaron Smith
10. Daniel Carter
11. Julian Savea
12. Ma'a Nonu
13. Ben Smith
14. Charles Piutau
15. Israel Dagg

16. Dane Coles
17. Wyatt Crockett
18. Charlie Faumuina
19. Luke Romano
20. Steven Luatua
21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
22. Aaron Cruden
23. Ryan Crotty

Hansen:- "This is a Test match we are very much looking forward to. We were completely outplayed by them last year but this is an opportunity for us to see if we have improved our game to the point where we can be competitive."

I wonder how long before he burst out laughing - not sure I could have completed the 2nd sentence

I have nostalgia for Barritt, Tuilagi, Cueto, Strettle.... It feels weird; really weird