Rugby - The Lull After The Storm

[ravagon]

All of which would, no doubt, hold up under the most rigorous scrutiny known to man.
ie: With the intensity of a, currently absent, Englishman gazing sorrowfully at the bottom of his glass and wondering where it all went.


Its that time when the most fondly remembered rugby quotes of the past year come back to haunt those who made them.

http://www.planetrugby.com/LATEST_NEWS/story_33414.shtml

Some of my favourites

"We will be calling for rugby players to volunteer for this difficult task of drinking free beer to gauge what tastes the best. I imagine this might need to be done in front of a big-screen watching rugby to ensure the conditions were ideal for a rugby fan."- Fiji Rugby Union Chief Executive PIO BOSCO TIKOISUVA heralds a new sponsorship deal with a brewery, which will see a new rugby-branded beer developed after rigorous taste testing.

"They're all young players who have a future with the England squad and I hope that they have benefited from the experience they have gained in the last few weeks." - England coach CLIVE WOODWARD speaks after axing eight players from his pre-World Cup training squad.

"I will wear the Welsh Lovespoon with pride wherever we go, and it is a great honour to be asked to carry something which depicts our national culture." - Wales hooker HUW BENNETT speaking after being the inaugural wearer of the new Welsh rugby symbol, a two-foot-long carved wooden spoon, given to the youngest player on Welsh Test tours from now on.

"I said sorry to the people I needed to. Anyway, Martin Johnson is one of the dirtiest captains in World rugby. Why should I have to say anything?" - Springbok skipper CORNÉ KRIGE, in an interview with the Cape Times, has a go at England's captain ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

"The lads seem to be happy with them, although hopefully I won't show off any love handles on Saturday!" - England prop TREVOR WOODMAN tells Planet Rugby of his team's new skin-tight Nike shirts, which had some rugby fans incandescent with rage.

[finbar]

You overlooked this doozy:

"I would prefer the French squad to crush a full strength English team", said Tamerlin.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by flipside
My God.
I am defending the English.

This will be remembered and recalled at the appropriate time.

Yes the French made the game easier.
IMVHO the key was the way the English forwards gained control, played on Michalaks nerves, kicked it long and then reset from there.

Frédéric Michalack is not the sole player responsible for the loss against England. Though its performance was abysmal we should not forget it was a team failure. We can speak about the weather but it should only be considered as a bad luck and certainly not as the reason of the loss. The French players never rose their head out of the water and the English players can be credited for not having let any chance to do so.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar
You overlooked this doozy:

[finbar]

Gee, the quality of the posting has dropped since Havak went on hols.

[finbar]

Hey Tamerlin. Got any gardening problems you want to solve?

[LDiCesare]

Personally I felt that the last game between the sides was determined by the greater control of the English forwards, the nerves of Michalak, and the superior kicking of the English.

What I said was that 2 players (Jonna nad Wilko) didn't make the difference. Indeed it was the whole English pack which made a difference, not just Jonno. I don't think his being replaced by someone else would have changed anything. As for Wilko, his game was good, but he didn't kick that much in this game. The French kicked a lot, very badly, and gave the English all the opportunities they needed to stay in the French side.
YEs, the game was won by a better English pack, but I think it would have been superior even without Jonno. Moody was more important in that game than Jonno, who even gave a penalty to the French. Although Jonno's role as captain is hard to figure. Would another captain have been as good at captainship (?), this is not sure.
Anyway, the point is the French were not strong enough and it's not likely we will beat them next time. The English team is still very solid without Wilko or the Leicester lock, while French team will have to find a scrum half in the meantime.

[finbar]

Scot Gregor Townsend, now retired from international rugby, has signed on with South Africa's Sharks S12 franchise. I can't imagine why.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar
I can't imagine why.

Money...

[LDiCesare]

Townsend doesn't seem to enjoy playing in Scotland. He spent a lot of time in France, usually in clubs which didn't come out very good (I think he played at Brive when they wer good, though). There is probably much more money to do in the S12 than in Scotland. I am afraid Scottish rugby is in bad shape, on both sports and money sides, because their teams don't seem to carry much identity, the way Irish provinces or Welsh/French/English clubs do.

[LDiCesare]

Tamerlin, shouldn't you be sleeping at this time of day?

[finbar]

Yes, I imagined money was probably the major motivation. I think I read somewhere recently that the Scottish Union wanted its players playing in Scotland rather than elsewhere. That wouldn't have affected Townsend, though, because he was always retiring after the WRC anyway.

It's interesting that the South African Union has a different policy on foreign S12 players to the Australian policy. Here, you can only play S12 if you're available to play for the Wallabies. The South Africans are less choosy. The Kiwis allow foreign S12 players too, I think.

[finbar]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
Tamerlin, shouldn't you be sleeping at this time of day?

He's pacing the floor worrying about his garden. That's why I posted the link to the French Garden Forum for him.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar
Hey Tamerlin. Got any gardening problems you want to solve?

Unfortunately I don't have a garden so I can't have gardening problems... but one day... when I will be rich... in another life I think.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
Tamerlin, shouldn't you be sleeping at this time of day?

I should...

But what are you doing here at this time of the night?