Rugby - Running Out of Titles

[finbar]

It's not looking overly t'riffic over there, is it? Most of the worthwhile players who were off-contract with the other franchises, who were seen as possible recruits, have re-signed with their franchises. The delayed search for (a) a CEO and (b) a coach seems to have cost them valuable recruiting time.

[Havak]

I would have liked to have seen Finbar’s face if the package came back to him.

Especially as a children's writer. They love number ones and number twos material.

Does it pay well?

They devoted a whole 2 episodes to English rugby?

Wait until you get to the episode about Rugby moving south across the globe and becoming League in all but name. And then there is the episode devoted entirely to the different offside laws that apply to black shirts.

Do I have any sympathy for the plight of the new Aussie franchise? About as much as the average Aussie has for England right now.

It seems pretty obvious – even with their playing depth NZ have at least two lame duck franchises making up the numbers – so why would Australia think they can do any better?

Would you like some more proof Robinson is out his depth? Moody is a slight doubt for Sunday with an infected finger – so CHRIS JONES has been drafted in as cover.

[LDiCesare]

Havak,
It could be worse:
A proposal for the English 15 with a rationale for each player:
15 Lewsey - see #10 for explanation
14 Cueto - honeslty I don't know the English wingers a lot
13 O Barkley - Bath
12 Tait - that young talent
11 Daniel - a Bath winger who hasn't been playing for long due to a back injury looks like a promising player.
10 J Robinson (capt) he's too far to be captain as a 15 so here, nearer to the pack, he'll weight more on the game
9 M Dawson - the most experienced player
8 Kay - he's not a #8 and Havak can't say there's no Leicester player in the team.
7 Worsley - Bath
6 Sanderson - Sale
5 Grewcock - clearly the better lock
4 Borthwick - for his previous performances, Bath
3 Stevens - Bath
2 Thompson - for his throws
1 Bell - Bath, better to have props used to play together
Replacements: Pick 1 forward from Bath and 1 back from Bath, the rest from Leicester. Don't coach. If a forward is hurt, the Bath player comes in. If a back is hurt, send in the Bath back.

Now ponder this, Havak, and rejoice.

(I had to research a bit the Bath players and put one more from Sale for good measure)

[finbar]

Zapped him better than I ever could!

[Havak]

Thats so good I'm not even going to correct the club errors within it.

*edit* Look up the news on how Matt Williams has had the video ref canned from his next game - top class whiny stuff from the Scotland coach! What nationality is Williams again?

[LDiCesare]

Matt Williams, Scotland coach, you mean the guy who let one of his coaching team catch the ball when it went into the lineout, preventing Valbon from playing it during the match against France? That is the same whiner?

[Havak]

That's the man.

He has a lot to say about the game with France as well - you know that decision where they scored a try but got called back for a foot in touch? Guess if he thinks that player was in touch?

[finbar]

Oh well, I suppose Havak has to keep himself amused while his team plays like crap and loses. And LDiCesares, too, except his team plays like crap and wins.

[ravagon]

Care to have a go at picking a British Lions team as well?

[finbar]

On exposed form - 80% Irish, 20% Welsh.

S12 gets underway here in Sydney tonight. Waratahs -v- Chiefs. Today, it's 29 C and about 85% humidity. I wouldn't want to be playing rugby tonight.

[Havak]

But my team isn't playing like crap and losing - my team is Tigers and they are 12 points clear at the top of the league (you might remember leagues - it is what rugby had before Murdoch bought the SH and started that pseudo compo you start playing today).

My national side are World Champions - what does it matter that they are being led by a hairless chimp (and imitiating him on the field) right now?

The sad thing is as bad as they might be playing the Lions will still be 50% English. Too many positions where the Celts are really not good enough - front row, loose forwards and scrummie for starters.

[Havak]

Recall my point about the franchises just making up the numbers? Nice to see both Highlanders and Chiefs proving my point early on.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
But my team isn't playing like crap and losing - my team is Tigers and they are 12 points clear at the top of the league

I'd suggest putting them up against Ireland - because they couldn't do any worse than the mob who will play Ireland - but you'd get a thrill out of the suggestion.

My national side are World Champions -

Yes, so we were while we were being beaten, too. Shows the meaningless of titles.

Waratahs 25 -d- Chiefs 7

Chiefs largely incompetent, Waratahs very, very good in patches. If Matt Rogers stays fit, the team will go a long way in the comp. He was quite stunning tonight. He inspires them. Interesting to see Lachie McKay, the former Australian U21 skipper, in his debut. The biggest fly half in history - 6' 2" and 16 stone. Fumbled a few, but he has a future. And it's amazing no one died tonight. It was still 25C and 81% humidity at halftime.

EDIT. And you're going to have to stop bagging the Taffys. I just heard on the World Service that a Welsh mathematician invented the equals sign - this thing = - in 1553.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
Recall my point about the franchises just making up the numbers? Nice to see both Highlanders and Chiefs proving my point early on.

Gee, I missed this post. The Highlanders didn't play too badly. They've lost a heap of their better players from last year. The Blues didn't have it easy. Possession was just about shared and the Blues won because they were more effective when they made it into the Highlanders' 22.

[Havak]

The mob playing Ireland has a decent core of Tigers - but it probably won't be enough.

Titles are meaningless - but more so to those who don't have them.

I was listening to Jonno on TV again the other day - and he was being hit with all the questions about how much England miss the 'invincible' Martin Johnson and he just replied in his quiet way that people seemed to forget we lost games before 2003 too - the chap is pure class in the way he fields journalists.

He also said he was talking to John (Eales) last year and Ealesy said of the media "I've become a better player every day since I retired". A clever line.

NSW - isn't that where Eddie's lad who toured got canned from the 22? Okay this is lazy as I could look back at that but it is a Friday after a business lunch so I'm cutting myself some slack.

Now why would a Welshman invent the equals sign? I know, Paris = Huge disappointment.

*edit* I see the French finance Minister, a very wealthy man, has offered his resignation when it was discovered he, his wife and their eight kiddies have been living in a luxury Paris flat at a cost to the tax payer of £9000 a month. Nice to see Politicians are the same the world over.