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Rugby thread (6 Nations, Heineken Cup etc)

Rex Grossman

By Rex Grossman,
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g wings

g wings

Posted
Posted

Pretty gutted about the Wales result. In the lead up I really thought it was a close call but Wales just let themselves be bullied in the first half and only a pretty toothless England attack stopped the score running away further. Better second half though and done really promising displays. Great to see Cuthbert getting busy and making himself unplayable at times.

That England try though. Total bullshit. I cannot understand how Wales weren’t awarded a penalty after Beard was taken out.

 

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phresh

phresh

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That shove is a belter, just subtle enough to make an impact without being immediately obvious. I bet most people didn't even see it when it happened. Should have been a penalty still. I'm still not sure why Lawes wasn't yellow carded at the end either, can only assume it was because of the position on the pitch but no idea.

 

Cuthbert was arguably the MoM, I know he is back playing in Wales now but Exeter did a really great job with him. It's just a shame he'll mostly be remembered for getting burnt by Daly on the outside for that try. Not really a fair reflection of how good a player he has been at times.

 

A bit like the Italy game England should have had at least 1, maybe 2 tries in that first half, getting held up over the line when you have a significant overlap is just infuriating. Wales were significantly better in the second half and while England will take some positives from the first half it's difficult to look at the game as a whole and take too much from it. I think it's fair to look at the lack of international experience at 8, 9, 10 (even 12 really when Daly has got most of his caps elsewhere) and see that it needs time to really gel. 

 

I do get constantly annoyed at Jones banging on about leadership though when it's always seems like an area that England really seem to lack in, once you can get them on the back foot they seem incapable of retaking any initiative. While I think Jones is picking the right team (or close enough at least) I do think there is a question over whether he is the right coach for it, someone made a point on the Rugby Union Weekly podcast that it feels like they are stuck between the 'old' and 'new' which I think is fair. If England lose their next two games, and I think that is entirely likely, then I don't really see how Jones stays on considering last years performance as well.

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lolly

lolly

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Saw the red card for Italy at the weekend and by the letter of the law it's probably correct but jesus it was harsh.  The refs missed one  for Ireland later in the game as well but, y'know...

 

Also saw a fair few Ireland fans bemoaning the Italian red saying that it ruined the match as a competitive game , I bet if it was against France there would have been fuck all complaints.

 

 

Also ,Andrew Mehrtens is a commentator on  Super Rugby Pacific and  is excellent,unsurprisingly.

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Fry Crayola

Fry Crayola

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11 hours ago, lolly said:

Also saw a fair few Ireland fans bemoaning the Italian red saying that it ruined the match as a competitive game , I bet if it was against France there would have been fuck all complaints.

 

I think you'd be right on that one. A small minority would probably still be aggrieved but there's a line where the result takes priority over the manner, and it'll be different for every game. With the Italy match being an expected victory anyway, the complaint is largely just about how watchable the match was.

 

My lack of rugby knowledge shows up in situations like this. From what I've gathered, Italy could no longer contest scrums because they didn't have any declared hookers left available to play. Why can't another player simply assume the position, rather than need to be named as such in the team sheet? Is there a safety issue I'm not aware of?

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Rattlehead.ie

Rattlehead.ie

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Interestingly....the player who went into the position of hooker had previously played as hooker just not at internetional level. Further to that if Italy had been clever at the time could have told the ref that and then no uncontested scrums. However it was only later at half time they asked the question and weren't allowed change at that point. 

 

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g wings

g wings

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I've always been generally supportive of Pivac and aprehensively positive about Wales but I just don't get what's going on right now. Last week he dropped Rees Zammit, I was broadly supportive of that but would have kept him in the match day 23. This week Pivac he has dropped Wyn Jones to the bench but very controversially kept Francis in the team. He's dropped Basham, not just to the bench but of the match day squad entirely. He's been one of our stand out young players and consistently strong. Stupid and potentially damaging decision IMO.

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Headache

Headache

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Posted
6 hours ago, g wings said:

I've always been generally supportive of Pivac and aprehensively positive about Wales but I just don't get what's going on right now. Last week he dropped Rees Zammit, I was broadly supportive of that but would have kept him in the match day 23. This week Pivac he has dropped Wyn Jones to the bench but very controversially kept Francis in the team. He's dropped Basham, not just to the bench but of the match day squad entirely. He's been one of our stand out young players and consistently strong. Stupid and potentially damaging decision IMO.

 

Maybe Pivac watched Squidge's new video last night and decided Basham's work in the breakdown wasn't good enough.

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g wings

g wings

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Headache said:

 

Maybe Pivac watched Squidge's new video last night and decided Basham's work in the breakdown wasn't good enough.


Lol. He’s performed well across the board but wasn’t at his best last week. I’m a big Navidi fan but this isn’t how you handle young talent, just chucking young players in and out. 

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g wings

g wings

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11 hours ago, Matt Defis said:

Oops, I did say he should probably start watching Squide.

I don't know what I'm getting so frustrated with the Wales set-up, But I am...

 

Also, I should say I've nothing against Seb Davies. Wales need an abrasive back rower and he could be great. He loves to get in teams faces, has a great work ethic and runs great lines and has great handling skills. 

 

But I still don't like the way Pivac handles players. Ellis Jenkins, Halaholo, Wainwright, McNicholl and more. All players we are told have huge potential. All bought in pissed about with and then dumped. 

 

Again, I actually think I'm more consistent and positive than the average Welsh fan but this coaching set-up is not world class but could be...

 

Edwards was let go, HUGE mistake. Warburton walked away, why? Stephen Jones as attack coach? Lol. 

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merman

merman

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Posted
19 hours ago, merman said:

Tasty looking back row from England - Lawes, Curry and Simmonds at number eight. Good that Eddie is starting with Randall again too, as game time at this level is what he needs.

 

Porter out for Ireland - that could change the balance of power at the scrum.

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Starbreaker

Starbreaker

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Listening to Jonathan Davies does periodically remind me how much everyone else must get pissed off when Austin Healy commentates. 

 

Wales look up for this. By far the best half of rugby they've had so far. Cracking match for the neutral and God help me I might be edging towards wanting a Wales win. 

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phresh

phresh

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Such a weird game in some ways as you’d think both teams would be ‘happy’ with that, in some respects. Why was the Welsh scrum half so glacial though, I didn’t care who won and even I was shouting at the TV at him :lol:.

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