Rugby - Advantage Over!

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by finbar


Port? In Queensland? Bundy Rum, more likely. Actually, they call suitcases ports as an abbreviation of portmanteau. Heavens knows how anyone up there came across any French.

Funny where french will turn up. They turned up on Banks peninsula unexpectedly, so the british let them stay as long as they remembered who's boss.

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by finbar


Doesn't have quite the same ring to it coming from a North Islander.

I didn't know it was considered a South Island term. Now that I think about it, I don't remember hearing it in Auckland too often.

[finbar]

I've never heard it in the North Island, but it's all over the South Island. Kiwi friends of ours say it's 90% South Island.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar
Yes, it is. I remember it well.

And how much of your Civ Gold fortune are you going to waste on the ABs tomorrow night? There's a 12.5 points start to the Wallabies.

Overconfident AB, humiliated Wallabies needing a victory and playing at home... 10 Gold on the Wallabies.

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by finbar
I've never heard it in the North Island, but it's all over the South Island. Kiwi friends of ours say it's 90% South Island.

Interesting. I bet it dates back to the gold rush they had down there back in the 19th century.

[Frozzy]

The North Islanders merely abbreviate (especially the younger ones) to "Good as".

I suppose the gold is from the gold rushing days...

[LDiCesare]

I'll wager 10 gold on the ABs. The margin seems high, but I was quite impressed by their backline. The centres excelled as far as I saw, and I've been told their fly half had been even better, so here goes.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin


Overconfident AB, humiliated Wallabies needing a victory and playing at home... 10 Gold on the Wallabies.

I can hear you bleeding from here.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Frozzy
The North Islanders merely abbreviate (especially the younger ones) to "Good as".

Sophisticates.

[finbar]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
I'll wager 10 gold on the ABs. The margin seems high, but I was quite impressed by their backline. The centres excelled as far as I saw, and I've been told their fly half had been even better, so here goes.

The margin - apart from reflecting the respective performances against the Boks - is also calculated to make the game a betting proposition for us. If no one backs the Wallabies, we don't have any fun.

[finbar]

Betting on tonight's Wallabies -v- All Blacks match

The agreed margin is 12.5 points to the Wallabies. Interestingly, the local betting agency has the margin at 8.5 points and they are very conservative. So I don't think our margin is all that unreasonable.

Bets recorded

Wallabies

finbar 20
Havak 10
Tamerlin 10

All Blacks

Caligastia 20
Frozzy 20
LDiCesares 10

Pool: 90 Civ Gold

So our Bank A/c, with the bets recorded, stands as follows:

Andydog 286.5
Bearcat 80.5
Caligastia 94.5-20 = 74.5
finbar 34.5-20 = 14.5
Frozzy 88-20 = 68
Havak 98.05-10 = 88.05
Journeyman 122.5
LDiCesares 144.3-10 = 134.3
Mickeyj 143.5
NeoStar 114
ravagon 90.25
redbull 80
Tamerlin 69.3-10 = 59.3

[Frozzy]

Final Score from Telstra Stadium:

Drunkards 22, Mighty All Blacks 50

[Caligastia]

Wow. Another half-century racked up by the All Blacks. Will Havak now admit that NZ were rusty playing England, and have now broken into full stride? Not likely

I think the All Blacks relaxed a bit later in the second half - letting in a couple of soft Wallaby tries. Aside from that the only problem I saw was in the lineouts.

Interesting to see Daniel Carter brought on for most of the second half. Perhaps Mitchell is covering the kicking game by including Carter.

Believe it or not I'd actually like to see Australia win against the Boks next week, that way there will be less of a risk of them threatening to win the Tri-nations if the ABs lose form in the next couple of games.

Well done All Blacks!!!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Caligastia
Wow. Another half-century racked up by the All Blacks. Will Havak now admit that NZ were rusty playing England, and have now broken into full stride? Not likely

No, Havak will again acknowledge a devastating backline, but again point to weaknesses in the forwards. He will obviously point to the lineout problems, conveniently forgetting that the England hooker can't throw either.

I think the All Blacks relaxed a bit later in the second half - letting in a couple of soft Wallaby tries.

I think it was more that they missed Carlos' driving skills after he went off. They were suddenly much less potent, something that I'm sure wasn't lost on John Mitchell.

Aside from that the only problem I saw was in the lineouts.

Justin Marshall also struggled in a context in which he should have prospered. He's always been prone to errors and wrong options and they were all there last night. Mitchell might give him another chance against the Boks, but Devine is obviously the first choice.

The AB pack also took much too long to get on top of the Wallaby pack. The current Wallaby front row would have to be one of the weakest in top-flight world rugby and it was only late in the second half that the ABs finally managed to split them.

Waugh and Smith were also, I thought, much more effective than the AB flankers. OTOH, Waugh and Smith had to be. With the approach the ABs took last night, their flankers almost became passengers.

Interesting to see Daniel Carter brought on for most of the second half. Perhaps Mitchell is covering the kicking game by including Carter.

Carlos has a dodgy hammy and was replaced to rest it. Carter was the obvious replacement.

Believe it or not I'd actually like to see Australia win against the Boks next week, that way there will be less of a risk of them threatening to win the Tri-nations if the ABs lose form in the next couple of games.

They're not going to lose form. They're the class team of the SH, with daylight second. That they can put 50 points on the board against both opponents proves it. That they can do it without being the complete rugby team underlines it.

The Wallabies? I'm not sure where they go from here. Sure, it didn't help that Wendell stupidly got himself carded, resulting in two AB tries while he was missing from the field. Brendan Cannon, BTW, should have gone for the same offence. But Wendell's defensive weaknesses had already been exploited by Rokococo, so it's highly likely the AB tries would have happened regardless with Wendell still on the field. At least Cannon redeemed himself after last week's effort with good lineout throwing and a very strong game around the ground.

The ABs were simply two classes above the Wallabies, out-thinking and out-playing them. The ABs always committed only the minimum required number of players at the breakdown, with the rest spread, ready and waiting to strike. It's a very intelligently coached, very disciplined team, but, must importantly, the players are intelligent. They know exactly what to do and when to do it. Even more importantly, they have the skills to do it. The only proviso is that they're currently doing it against impotent opposition.

The Wallabies, OTOH, played exactly the same stupid game they've been playing for 12 months. What on earth is the point of having quick, talented, running players on the outside when they never see the ball? Why was Larkham kicking the ball away so often? And straight to the AB backline who promptly returned it with a vengeance? Why is Gregan still going backwards before he passes the ball? Even when not under pressure? Is it a habit he's developed from being under pressure? Our first try came from Gregan not running backwards. We were going forward and he went forward. It was the first and about the last time. In the second half, when we developed some momentum after Carlos went off and the ABs lost their momentum, what did we do? Hammer the ball up the middle, straight into a wall of AB defenders. Phase after phase, straight into an immovable black wall. One of the commentators suggested the Wallabies were scared to spread the ball wide in case an error led to an AB backline breakout. Nuh. It was just yet more of the mindless, uncoordinated, one-dimensional rugby that we've seen for 12 months.

Post-match, Eddie said he saw some positive signs in the first half. Yes, there were some. But what happened after that? Exactly what has happened for the last 12 months. That's the problem, Eddie. That's what has to be addressed. Instead, Eddie says that a game can be won or lost in 10 minutes - referring to Wendell's time in the bin - and the Wallabies will win the crucial 10 minutes next time. No, Eddie, not playing the mindless, one-out style of rugby the team is playing when they actually get the ball. I despair. I honestly despair.

Edit. I forgot to mention the ref. One of the more intelligent reffing efforts I've seen recently. Kept up with the play, communicated very well with the players, and was consistent. He should have carded Brendan Cannon for tackling the man in the air and he also missed several instances of players offside when the ball was kicked. The latter, though, is probably more the responsibility of his linesmen.

[Alexander's Horse]

I have only one word to say:

Wendell