Official Rugby Thread

[Smudge]

Yep, has been an excellent response thus far from supporters and the press alike. **** knows what forums Francis is reading, but then his knowledge base is equitable to **** all.

 

[Francis]

Um yeah stop trolling me Voltman. If you don't like what I say, you don't have to reply and be insulting. If you got something to say to me, my e-mail is francis_okeeffe@hotmail.com. I'd rather you say something negative about me away from these forums.

 

[ripper868]

Great wn for the Boks, though i do think that both the boks and AB's packs will be too much for th aussies to handle..i mean deadeset both those packs are just kamikaze madmen...

Was in brisbane for the Aussie v France game last week...atmosphere was the worst i have ever experienced for a wallabies game...the crowd was just silent and if you yelled out some sort of support people would look at you like you'd just asked them if you could bone their daughter while they watched.

 

[_Ed_]

Haha, great simile.

 

[Smudge]

Um yeah stop trolling me Voltman. If you don't like what I say, you don't have to reply and be insulting. If you got something to say to me, my e-mail is francis_okeeffe@hotmail.com. I'd rather you say something negative about me away from these forums.

I wouldn't waste my time emailing you, Francis. So don't wait by your inbox.

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Knowing how the NZ rugby public responds to defeat, are we going to see calls for Henry's head soon?

I guess the other issue that might come up is the selection of players who ply their trades elsewhere. I can absolutely see the arguments why the NZ union won't consider it, but what is undeniable is that it weakens the ABs. Kelleher or even Marshall would surely have done better today?

I thought Henry's subsitutions were very good -- Lauaki for Kaino and playing MacDonald and Muiliana together in the second half, after South Africa had been targeting Sivivatu's wing on the restarts.

New Zealand played some great attacking rugby, but perhaps they were a little guilty of trying to bash their way up the middle. We needed better passing.

South Africa deserved to win, so I was happy for de Villiers and the Boks. Every winning streak has a bit of luck and ours ran out.

Henry will no doubt dump Thompson when McCaw returns and play his best front row against the Aussies.

 

[TT Boy]

Knows his union, the big fella. 30-28 to the Boks; fully merited but the citing commissioner will be a busy boy after that. Saw a definite eye-gouge, which will be a long, long holiday for the owner of whichever green-shirted hand it was.

Hooker, Bismarck du Plessis was the offender and he got a three week ban for his troubles.
Not sure how du Plessis gets hit with a three week ban whilst Brad Thorn spear tackles captain Smit out of the Tri-Nations, cheap shots Conrad Jantjes (which seemingly has gone unnoticed) and gets a token one game ban for his troubles.

Although, it’s an indication of South Africa’s strength with their hookers that they can loose Smit and du Plessis and still be quietly content with Schalk (not Scott Nesbo!) Brits coming in.

 

[TT Boy]

Great wn for the Boks, though i do think that both the boks and AB's packs will be too much for th aussies to handle..i mean deadeset both those packs are just kamikaze madmen...

Was in brisbane for the Aussie v France game last week...atmosphere was the worst i have ever experienced for a wallabies game...the crowd was just silent and if you yelled out some sort of support people would look at you like you'd just asked them if you could bone their daughter while they watched.

I fancy the Aussie backline and setpiece, scrum aside, the Bok were not that impressive. Butch James had a stinker for the second game running and he seems to be killing Habana, who is now reduced to feeding of scraps and I still don’t see why Big Joe van Niekerk is around. Get Spies, Kanko or Steyn in the team.

 

[TT Boy]

I thought Henry's subsitutions were very good -- Lauaki for Kaino and playing MacDonald and Muiliana together in the second half, after South Africa had been targeting Sivivatu's wing on the restarts.

New Zealand played some great attacking rugby, but perhaps they were a little guilty of trying to bash their way up the middle. We needed better passing.

South Africa deserved to win, so I was happy for de Villiers and the Boks. Every winning streak has a bit of luck and ours ran out.

Henry will no doubt dump Thompson when McCaw returns and play his best front row against the Aussies.

Yeah, good win for de Villiers (loved his reaction to Januarie's try). I thought last week South Africa may have another Rudolf Straeuli in charge i.e. a big mouth that talked **** but de Villiers unlike Straeuli talked crap (for the most part) but got a result and at least the win seems to have quietened the ‘bigots’ over at SuperSport.

 

[Smudge]

Hooker, Bismarck du Plessis was the offender and he got a three week ban for his troubles.
Not sure how du Plessis gets hit with a three week ban whilst Brad Thorn spear tackles captain Smit out of the Tri-Nations, cheap shots Conrad Jantjes (which seemingly has gone unnoticed) and gets a token one game ban for his troubles.

Although, it’s an indication of South Africa’s strength with their hookers that they can loose Smit and du Plessis and still be quietly content with Schalk (not Scott Nesbo!) Brits coming in.

You do realise du Plessis's ban is basically a "token one-game ban" as well? After this week, the Saffas take a break while Aus and NZ play.

And it's Nisbo.

 

[TT Boy]

You do realise du Plessis's ban is basically a "token one-game ban" as well? After this week, the Saffas take a break while Aus and NZ play.

And it's Nisbo.

Yes, so they should have just given him a one game (or one week) ban.

 

[Smudge]

Yes, something of an inconsistency in the Sanzar judicial formats - we could take a leaf out of the NRL's approach.

 

[Somerset]

Just watched Auckland's first defence of the Ranfurly Shield against Poverty Bay - to be honest, a pretty ordinary effort from Auckland with far too many handling errors and basic mistakes in fantastic conditions in Gisborne. Credit to Poverty Bay for a determined effort, it was a shame that they couldn't score a try for the home fans.

 

[Somerset]

ELVs to cut down on penalties, eh? Hmm.

I'd put it down to the refereeing more than anything. I found it unusual that after so many penalties in the first 25 minutes or so, so few were awarded in the remainder of the match.

 

[Somerset]

Golly goodness the Kiwi's public are terrible when their team loses. It's worse than the Aussie cricket team. Yes Wayne Barnes did a bad job, but New Zealand had 13 minutes to win that game when they were deep in France's half. The fact that Henry called for a drop-goal while McCaw refused to obey shows how well they handled the pressure. Then there was last year's Bledisloe Cup, where three tackles were missed on Ashley-Cooper (was it Ashley-Cooper or someone else) before he scored a try. Mortlock made one of his vintage breaks as well. What was discussed after the game? The refereeing of the scrums! Yes it was poor and Gregan got away with murder (he usually did) but New Zealand made crucial mistakes and didn't hold themselves accountable for those mistakes.

Already there have been posts on rugby boards discussing how poor the management was last night and how New Zealand should have won it. It was a close game and every close game has little mistakes which are accentuated by such a narrow loss. New Zealand could have played better, but so could South Africa.

It was a close game but the superior team won.

From the articles I've read and talkback I've heard regarding the match over the last few days, the majority of the media as well as the public have taken the stance that South Africa were just a bit better on the day...personally I haven't heard any overwhelming discussion in the contrary. The unbeaten home record couldn't last forever, and hey, I'd rather see the side lose a few games en route to the 2011 World Cup if there are lessons to be learnt.

 

[Smudge]

Just watched Auckland's first defence of the Ranfurly Shield against Poverty Bay - to be honest, a pretty ordinary effort from Auckland with far too many handling errors and basic mistakes in fantastic conditions in Gisborne. Credit to Poverty Bay for a determined effort, it was a shame that they couldn't score a try for the home fans.

North Otago to own Auckland next week...

 

[Perm]

North Otago to own Auckland next week...

Here's hoping!

 

[BoyBrumby]

Hooker, Bismarck du Plessis was the offender and he got a three week ban for his troubles.
Not sure how du Plessis gets hit with a three week ban whilst Brad Thorn spear tackles captain Smit out of the Tri-Nations, cheap shots Conrad Jantjes (which seemingly has gone unnoticed) and gets a token one game ban for his troubles.

Although, it’s an indication of South Africa’s strength with their hookers that they can loose Smit and du Plessis and still be quietly content with Schalk (not Scott Nesbo!) Brits coming in.

I could be wrong, but I think gouges carry a higher max penalty than spears. Dylan Hartley (Saints & soon-to-be England hooker) got six months for one. The citing bod's decided that du Plessis didn't actually gouge Thomson but rather had "contact with the eyes or eye area" which seems a case of a rose by any other name to me.

Lucky boy IMHO. TV made it look pretty ordinary.

 

[TT Boy]

I could be wrong, but I think gouges carry a higher max penalty than spears. Dylan Hartley (Saints & soon-to-be England hooker) got six months for one. The citing bod's decided that du Plessis didn't actually gouge Thomson but rather had "contact with the eyes or eye area" which seems a case of a rose by any other name to me.

Lucky boy IMHO. TV made it look pretty ordinary.

Wasn't Hartley up for three counts for making contact with the eye in one game? Pleaded not guilty to all three, and was found guilty for two of them, hence the six month ban?

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

First time I've looked forward to Rugby in a long time. Not sure why but I'm getting to enjoy rugby again.