A Rugby Thread

[hscmit]

Don't know how much interest there is, but this could be a place to discuss international, domestic, and even local rugby.

Lots of great games last weekend and even more this coming weekend.

What are your picks and predictions?

Who do you want to see get smashed?

[hscmit]

this weekend I will take

NZ to dominate England and win by at least 10

Ireland to edge out SA by 3

and AUS to edge Wales by 5

[Lumpold]

2 out of 3 ain't bad...

I think England will be slightly better than expected, but NZ to take the match.

Ireland? Pah. Boks by 5 at least.

Australia should easily beat Wales, although of the GB teams, Wales are my favourite.

[hscmit]

SA/ Ire match well up front but without any cover in the centers I dont know. Of course I thought that WP would have a clear advantage on the outside last week and that didnt workout at all

[hscmit]

England should feel the full furry of a pissed off NZ side, on an aside I hope SBW gets a run on off the bench and Moody or Sheridan get a chance to line him up

[hscmit]

Wales are also the least injured of all the GB teams and have a very solid scrum- where Aussie scrum is crap and I dont know that the criminal island can put two good games together in two weeks

[Lumpold]

don't like Sonny?

I think England will have to be brutal to stand a chance of winning, lets hope they can stand up to the challenge and give a good game.

I think the boks will come out and try to stamp dominance over the Irish from the off, and give the centres such a hard hitting game they'll back off... As for our lack of centres/midfield in general... well, it's gonna be time for some young guns to step up and wear the green and gold as if their life depended on it!

[hscmit]

I think he is a good runner with ball in hand and solid on defense but I dont like the showmanship and circus sideshow that come with him, and I dont think he has paid his dues the way others have.

Anyway Donald comes in off the bench again?

[Lumpold]

I think the problem for Donald is that it's not his 'natural' or normal position. He plays well, bit there just seems to be that... instinct (?) in SBW.

[gvarsity]

I miss having Setanta and time to watch Rugby. I'm so out of touch. Getting psyched up for the world cup though. Glad someone started this thread.

[Lumpold]

Also... as to Wales being the least injured GB side... yeah, you've got a point, but they are also most likely to injure their own team.

[hscmit]

if SA dont win on tour will De Villers still get to keep Jake Whites job?

[Lumpold]

I we don't win on tour, people will get shot :r

You know, I'm fairly lenient on coaches for the most part, but our Tri-Nations was pretty appalling, and we should beat any of the teams we're playing this tour on just about any day of the week. Do we need Jake back? Maybe, or maybe we need a whole new start. Or maybe De Villiers is having a lack of form we so often forgive our players for having. Not often though!

[Lumpold]

Half-time and Australia are only just edging out Wales...
NZ seem to have taken the game to England.

[SDmate]

Half-time and Australia are only just edging out Wales...
NZ seem to have taken the game to England.


they showed the tri nations series live here, now for some reason they aren't showing these games even on delay:sad

[hscmit]

the england nz game will be on here later today and the itm final but am having to look online for the wales as and sa ire games

I really want to watch the sa/ire game

[Lumpold]

they showed the tri nations series live here, now for some reason they aren't showing these games even on delay:sad

There are several expletives I'm not allowed to use here, but this one I shall. Assmunchers.

the england nz game will be on here later today and the itm final but am having to look online for the wales as and sa ire games

I really want to watch the sa/ire game

Did you manage to find a feed? Watching it live now (although may have to pop out on work related business, so it's tivo'ing too)... let's just say the first half of the first half hasn't made me unhappy.

[Lumpold]

Argh!

[Lumpold]

Flippin' heck, that was tense.

[hscmit]

what a good second half(finally found a working stream)

my thoughts
peter stringer and o gara should both have their starting jobs back

if o gara had made that conversion might be a different ending

aplon was really exposed as the weak link for the back three

[Lumpold]

Agree 100%!

[hscmit]

If Pienaar keeps playing as well as he did yesterday South Africa/ de villers is going to have a tough choice b/c Fourie Du Preez is going to be healthy for the world cup

and in my opinion their lack of strength in the 9 jersey was the biggest problem in the trinations

so do you go for past form or current form if you had to choose today?

[Lumpold]

If Pienaar keeps playing as well as he did yesterday South Africa/ de villers is going to have a tough choice b/c Fourie Du Preez is going to be healthy for the world cup

and in my opinion their lack of strength in the 9 jersey was the biggest problem in the trinations

so do you go for past form or current form if you had to choose today?

If I had to choose today? Current form. If it ain't broke...

While I understand that Fourie is an immense player, Pienaar is on form at the moment, and more than doing a good job at SH. He's maturing into the international role, and while not better, per se, than Fourie, he's certainly beginning to make the role his own.

[hscmit]

I am glad they finally found a place for him that he is taking to, his runs at fly were not great and made him seem a less quality player than he actually is

[hscmit]

Alright so who you got for wins this weekend

Aus over England by 5

NZ over Scotland by 15+

SA over Wales by by 7

Ireland over Samoa by 15

[Lumpold]

Our defence might have been ****, but I reckon that North kid is gonna be stellar!

[hscmit]

A couple of great games this weekend
I will be watching NZ/ Ireland and hope that Ireland can make it a match. The battle for their 10 spot should have Sexton playing better or terribly on Saturday
and
Argentina/ France, which a few months ago I wouldnt have been on my list to watch but having lost France should come out looking for revenge. Argentina are a very scrappy side and I hope for a lot of big hits and there should be a good bit of "the business" in the rucks and off the ball. The player to watch in this match is also not Chabal but the Arg 10 Contepomi he has been ripping through defenses and is a good bit faster than he appears

[Lumpold]

*sigh*

[hscmit]

wow,
never would have bet on that. Dan Parks singlehandedly won the game

[Lumpold]

wow,
never would have bet on that. Dan Parks singlehandedly won the game

I don't know about singlehandedly... I think the South African 'team' helped him!:hn

[hscmit]

-Dave Attwood-
is he the new face of England scum-baggerery? I am all for forwards using their boots to keep rucks clean, but boots are backs and thighs not the face.

[Lumpold]

I don't like it, but I understand it happens. You'll always get the brutes, and there will always be stamping. Just need to get the refs to clamp down on it. My boys will be screwed though :r

[hscmit]

I am not advocating liberal use of boots when the situation calls for it. But I would say that the face of the opposition is not the place for those boots to land

[Lumpold]

No, entirely, I agree. My point is that it will, unfortunately, always happen. We need refs to be on the case. We also need linesmen to be more alert. I know it won't always be caught, but it needs to be looked for.

[shvictor]

I like the Cowboys to beat the Cardinals on Christmas day :D

[hscmit]

Jake White is applying for the new english performance director position

I cant believe RSA doesnt want to give this man a job, no reason de villers should still have his job

[rebelknight]

I love rugby. Played it for 4 years and would like to get back into it if I had the time. Where can I catch games in the states? also where on the internet is best for rugby news/scores?

[hscmit]

new rugbyrugby,com
i usually google the game I am looking to watch at kickoff time and go through the live links as they come up, its a bit hit or miss. on tv setana which is now fsn shows almost all of the rugby shown in the US

[Lumpold]

Jake White is applying for the new english performance director position

I cant believe RSA doesnt want to give this man a job, no reason de villers should still have his job

Man. I dunno. We're being loyal where we've no need too. We've suffered some terrible loses recently, and played some awful rugby.

[hscmit]

if they asked for my opinion they should fire pete de villers and give jake his job back

how made other times in history has a nation released a head coach directly after winning a world cup? and the man they hand the reigns to slowly dismantles all his work and runs an amazing team into the ground by failure to act, recruit, lead and develop anything. He sits in an office and makes an ass of himself on occasion whilst making excuses for poor performance

I have nothing but respect for white, where ever he ends up he will be an asset to a team and have a direct impact of tactics and performance

[hscmit]

any interest in a fantasy rugby league for 6 nations and or super 15
I am happy to set it up and admin it. We can play for pride or for stakes

what say you?

[Lumpold]

Well, depending on the stakes, I'm in for either!

[Lumpold]

Gavin Henson to Toulon? Discuss...

[hscmit]

lumpy, since there was interest I didnt create a whole division, but playing at testrugby.com and I just registered and in in the open500 still got 40 hrs. to register before first round lock

[Lumpold]

lumpy, since there was interest I didnt create a whole division, but playing at testrugby.com and I just registered and in in the open500 still got 40 hrs. to register before first round lock

:tu couldn't join open500 though :td

[Lumpold]

What did you make of the game Eng-Wal match, James? I enjoyed it, showed a lot of promise from youngsters!

[hscmit]

wales are out so many starters, I dont think you can get an accurate idea about englands squad until they play france and ireland, who are the more complete squads right now

but it was a fun game to watch, surprised to see wilko playing

[rebelknight]

It was great to see 7's on TV on Saturday. However it was really annoying hearing the commentators say touchdown every time a try was scored.

[hscmit]

I was really disappointed with the nbc coverage of LV 7's
they only showed 40 minutes of actually rugby in a 2 hr broadcast
the play by play guys were so bad I turned the sound off and listened to music instead of them

but it is good to get some major network exposure for rugby, even 7's, in the US

[rebelknight]

I managed to catch more 7's today on VS. I see what you mean. It was an hour long broadcast for one match. Still enjoy seeing rugby though. I have the most basic plan you can pay for so no special channels here to watch the games.

[Lumpold]

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/5340/31111115853965123461100.jpg

[hscmit]

that made me spit water on my screen
thanks


england france should be a great game this weekend

really looking forward to it

[Lumpold]

that made me spit water on my screen
thanks


england france should be a great game this weekend

really looking forward to it

I did see it on facebook and think of you, fella!

Yes. Allez les bleus, toujours ABE ;) England - France will be a stormer... I'm expecting nothing but all out attack!

[Lumpold]

Excellent performance by the England squad, on the whole. A couple of errors, and a few... debatable calls.

[hscmit]

watching it now

[hscmit]

so england france
came down to discipline and england came out on top. they always seem to find some form in a world cup year, damn them.

italy looked like they could have won if their backs could finish

[hscmit]

stephen donald officially luckiest flyhalf ever
he comes back into a squad that hasnt won yet this season and has one of the greatest centers of all time, umaga, as his first option and has sivivatu on the weak side. also look out for muliaina to break through and find the form that saw him scoring all those tries during the tri-nations.
I have never know what the all black selectors have seen in donald but the chiefs have surrounded him with talent and they should get their first win this weekend.

[hscmit]

what is owen franks head made of?

[Remo]

I don't really follow the sport but we have one of the best teams in the country here in Utah, Highland Rugby has won like 19 national championships.

[hscmit]

anyone see manu tuilagi's right hand connect with chris ashtons face?

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xiplk1_tuilagi-punch-on-ashton_shortfilmsiframe