Rugby - Swinging Handbags!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
That's it from me until Tuesday -

Mmmmm. I suspect you're posting this from California anyway. I heard on the wireless this morning that paedophile Michael Jackson's court appearance attracted hundreds of his fans outside the courthouse supporting him. I kid you not - one of them had travelled all the way from Leicester!

keep the Pom bashing flowing in my absence chaps.

Nuh. More fun to your face.

To assist the cause the Premiership clubs are now in dispute with the Lions - the Lions fly out next year three days before the Premiership finals/play offs and the clubs have said "our selected players will join you later then".

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin
Have a nice long week-end Havak, I will keep an eye on the writings of the two posters from the other sides of the world but you know that it will be difficult to prevent at least one of them to get wild...

How's that for a wild dance?

[finbar]

Chiefs 24 -d- Bulls 22

Chiefs keep their finals hopes alive, but it's a game the Bulls shouldn't have let slip. They murdered the Chiefs in the first half hour, exploiting appalling Chiefs' defence with strong, quick, skilled play to lead 19-3. When the Bulls get it together - connecting their massive pack with some great skill outside - they're very, very good. The key was probably their 5/8, de Waal, who replaced Hougaard in the line up. He took the ball to the line, setting up the massive forwards who were brushing the Chiefs aside. Credit to the Chiefs for fighting back - a gutsy effort - but the Bulls, for whatever reason, abandoned their hard running game. Hougaard replaced de Waal - who went to full back and was much less effective - and Hougaard reverted to the more one-dimensional tactics that can characterise the Bulls. Pity. Anyway, the Chiefs are still in there, but they're going to have to improve to stay there.

And the Blues beat the Sharks 37-26 in SA, loosening the Boks' hold on a finals spot.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar

... And they had black roots in their hair.

That explains everything.

How's that for a wild dance?

I am coming...

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin

Goodness me! A guest appearance by Grand Funk Railroad!

[finbar]

Highlanders 29 -d- Waratahs 28

Outstanding, gutsy win by the Highlanders, coming from 14 points down and one man down for most of the second half. Old habits die hard for the Waratahs. From a position of superiority, they succumbed to their opponents' intensity, much as they did last season when the Stormers came from 20+ down to beat them. An easy penalty kick by Matt Burke in the dying seconds could have won the Waratahs the game but he hit the post. Poetic justice - the Highlanders deserved to win, the Waratahs, after their second half performance, didn't.

Some truly abysmal officiating in this match. The ref, a young South African in his first season, missed blatant forward passes, missed obvious off side, oversaw rucks that were jungles, and was inconsistent in his interpretation of advantage. The red card to the Highlanders lock for an elbow was dubious, based on the report of the touch judge who was the width of the field away.

Brumbies 46 -d- Hurricanes 25

Brumbies just too classy. Hurricanes jumped them early, getting out to an 11 point lead. Early Brumbie defence was ordinary. But the further the game went, the better the Brumbies looked with some superbly worked team tries.

Crusaders 24 -d- Stormers 9

Crusaders just too classy, even with their #8 red carded in the 30th minute.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar
Some truly abysmal officiating in this match. The ref, a young South African in his first season, missed blatant forward passes, missed obvious off side, oversaw rucks that were jungles, and was inconsistent in his interpretation of advantage. The red card to the Highlanders lock for an elbow was dubious, based on the report of the touch judge who was the width of the field away.

Nothing unusual for a SH referee.

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by finbar
Crusaders 24 -d- Stormers 9

Crusaders just too classy, even with their #8 red carded in the 30th minute.

I thought that red card was a bit of an overreaction. The "head butt" was barely a nudge. A yellow card would have been sufficient IMO.

[Caligastia]

I see Tamerlin still has his broken record on heavy rotation.

[finbar]

Yep. Tamerlin seems able to achieve the impossible - pithiness and irrelevance in the one post.

[Caligastia]

What did you think about the red card then?

[finbar]

There's no argument about it being a head butt. A very stupid thing to do. He knew he'd done it. A head butt is a red card. The only mystery recently has been how the officials managed to miss the two Boks' head butts that resulted in 8 weeks suspension each. If they'd been spotted, they'd've been red cards too.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar
Yep. Tamerlin seems able to achieve the impossible - pithiness and irrelevance in the one post.

Last date of the qualification phases in France:

Stade Toulousain 36 - Biarritz Olympique 30

Colomiers Rugby 15 - Stade Français 22

Sporting Union Agenais 27 - Section Paloise 10

Thanks to its victory against Colomiers and Pau's defeat in Agen the Stade Français is miraculously saved and is qualified for the Play-Off. The Stade Français, the Stade Toulousain and the Biarritz Olympique will be opposed in the same pool.

[finbar]

There's that irrelevance again.

When do you get stung to death by Wasps?

[ravagon]

Originally posted by finbar

At least you got the "Bledisloe Cup winning" bit right.

Somebody's counting his tomatoes before they're ripe again.

And the Blues beat the Sharks 37-26 in SA

Highlanders 29 -d- Waratahs 28

Heard about this one. Would have loved to have seen it.
Didn't, sadly.


The possible permutations for the final four are pretty interesting - from the Brumbies and the Crusaders who're shoe-ins down to the the Highlanders and the Sharks who, well, this says it all really :-

HIGHLANDERS (Seventh place - 26, -20):
Remaining fixture: Saturday, May 8: v Blues, Auckland
What they need to do: They need a lot of luck and a lot of help. They need to beat the Blues (which would put them ahead of the defending champions on the standings) and get a bonus point. But then they need both the Stormers and the Waratahs to lose. Of course, should the Sharks win in Durban and get the bonus point, the Highlanders need to ensure their victory margin is bigger than that of the Sharks'. They have an 11-point cushion.

SHARKS (Eighth place - 26, -31):
Remaining fixture: Saturday, May 8: v Stormers, Durban
What they need to do: They will advance if they beat the Stormers and pick up a bonus point, and if the Blues and the Waratahs both go down. They would then have to hope that the Highlanders do not get a bonus point against the Blues, or they must beat the Stormers by 12 points more than what the Highlanders beat the Blues by.