Rugby - The beautiful game

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by Havak
By the elimination stages the clubs are as strong as a whole as the S12.

You're probably right but it will be difficult to find out as you said it later in your post.

We need to consider only the top six S12 sides are of truly high quality – the rest make up the roster just like the bottom half of the French and English tables do.

Oh so True !

Mind you the SH guys will be happy they have a wedge to drive between us now.

No, united we stand !

Don't we ?

Look out Leicestershire, Havak is back!

Have a nice week-end.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin
About Saturday's game : if we are right Finbar my pockets are too small for all the gold we are about to earn. With all this money, what about a trip to Apolytonia ?

Well, I'll be off to Italy. But that's just across the road from you, so maybe you'd be better off heading to a distant shore like Apolytonia.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Andydog


I think that Finbar was moaning again about 12 pts being too slim a margin - he wants more (a common Aussie trait )

Absolutely right, Andy! I'm not sure what Caligastia thought I was saying. If the conditions are reasonable, the ABs - well, the Crusaders and a couple of mates - should stroll in.

I'm looking forward to the Wallaby Spring Bok game - where I shall be backing the Boks. I would give my left bollock for SA to beat Australia.

Now this is the sort of bet I like to encourage from a Kiwi. I would also encourage you to bet the other bollock on the following game with the same lack of success.

No where near. But let me tell you about Mickeyj's current job... ... he's a private dancer in Candy's House of Fun! (sorry mate it slipped out)

A pooper scooper in the Royal Corgi Household?

[finbar]

Originally posted by Caligastia


That would be soooo sweet!! I will be supporting the Boks in that game for sure! I support two teams, the All Blacks and anyone playing Australia.

Care to put your bollocks on the line with your Kiwi comrade? I'd dearly love a clean sweep!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
I had thought locks are something Australia are quite weak on – it’s well documented that I think Harrison was a one catch wonder and is otherwise pretty average. You still sit Cockbain on the bench right? No strength in depth there? Are there promising youngsters around?

Cockbain has been used more and more as an impact player. Yes, there are a number of promising young locks coming through. The young Queenslander I mentioned - the Eales protegee - who had a run with the A team. There's a young South African-born lad who went with the squad to NZ. High hopes are held for both. And you know I think you underestimate JH. He's still very inexperienced.

Signing League converts doesn’t strike me as that sensible a forward planning exercise – it’s the junior infrastructure of the sport that provides the long term production line. Fund the junior game and tempt the kids away from Aussie Rules (I know, I know, it will not happen!)

I would agree with you if the signing of RL players were the only strategy. It's not. There's plenty of development going on.

Can I just say I don’t think he has achieved, or perhaps proved, anything that suggests to me he is the real article?

I'd go as far as to say that he's lacking a couple of brain cells.

I’m off soon guys so heres to a good game Saturday. I won’t post until Monday as I have an urgent appointment with some bitter this weekend . Look out Leicestershire, Havak is back!

*Andydog stocks up on air freshener*

(tea total for two weeks thanks to the back)

A back injury prevented you bending your elbow? Don't they have straws over there? For crying out loud, bedridden and crippled Australians have been known to dangle their finger in a glass to imbibe by absorption!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Andydog

btw, when do we find out if Tuqiri joined the Reds?

At this point, he's still negotiating with all three teams. The Reds are probably the least favoured. They already have Ben Tune and Wendell Sailor in place. The media seems to have NSW as favourites to sign him, but who knows?

[Andydog]

Good morning all, its match day!

Finbar - cheers for the update on Tuqiri. It will be interesting to see how long these negotiations will go on for.

I would also encourage you to bet the other bollock on the following game with the same lack of success.

Mate I'll put my bollocks on the line if you do, that's provided they're not knackered from all the times you've pissed all over your computer cables!

Check this out:

"Physical and psychological demands of international rugby players would be discussed by the sport's governing body for the first time, it said on Friday.


International Rugby Board (IRB) chairman Vernon Pugh said it would discuss the number of matches played, their quality, the length of seasons, injury recovery times and pre-season preparation."

The full article can be found here

The outcome of this should be very interesting. It could make the possibility of a S14 even more unlikely. And with league players defecting to union, John O'Neil will be under more pressure to get a domestic competition going. I see the discussion was recommended by the IRB's medical commission. I wonder how many kiwis are in that?

A pooper scooper in the Royal Corgi Household?

Nope, but I bet a job like that would pay more! Actually I manage civil construction projects - which also involves picking up a lot of sh!t.

[MrWhereItsAt]

For anyone reading this that hasn't heard from the live event,

SA 7 NZ 3 after 10 mins (I'm watching the delayed, free-to-air coverage here in NZ).

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by MrWhereItsAt
For anyone reading this that hasn't heard from the live event,

SA 7 NZ 3 after 10 mins (I'm watching the delayed, free-to-air coverage here in NZ).

I'am back at home for a few minutes, is someone here online that could gave us the final score. It sounds promising, Finbar and I are about to earn many golds.

[finbar]

Sorry, Tamerlin.

ABs 41
Springboks 20

We were in with a chance for a while, though.

[Mickeyj]

But let me tell you about Mickeyj's current job... ... he's a private dancer in Candy's House of Fun!

I do it for the tips, which the gimps don't get eh? Andydog!


Not a bad game this morning, the bokke did play badly at time but look very at others.

No complaints from me, but I was on the SA websites and the press are not happy with Stuart Dickenson at all.

[Tamerlin]

Thanks for the information Finbar, it seems the AB and the Boks have broken a long tradition of tight scores.

I should have been more careful, Havak and I know well the unfaithful people of the SH are ready to throw tradition away at the first opportunity.

By the way, I don't forget you Finbar but I didn't had the time to read the articles again this week and even less to think about a translation.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Mickeyj

No complaints from me, but I was on the SA websites and the press are not happy with Stuart Dickenson at all.

One day I'll hear of a losing team praising a ref. (And I say that having backed the Bocks!)

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin
Thanks for the information Finbar, it seems the AB and the Boks have broken a long tradition of tight scores.

The ABs created the margin in about 20 minutes. I thought the Boks did pretty well under all the circumstances.

I just discovered that Planet Rugby - or their Zurich Computer, or somesuch - had calculated a 21 points start for the Boks. I probably wouldn't have gone that high, but I think our 12 points margin was pretty slim.

I should have been more careful, Havak and I know well the unfaithful people of the SH are ready to throw tradition away at the first opportunity.

Damn! Tamerlin's worked out our conspiracy!

By the way, I don't forget you Finbar but I didn't had the time to read the articles again this week and even less to think about a translation.

No problems, Tamerlin.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Andydog

Mate I'll put my bollocks on the line if you do, that's provided they're not knackered from all the times you've pissed all over your computer cables!

No probs. But who calculates the differential factor for out differing sizes?

Check this out:

"Physical and psychological demands of international rugby players would be discussed by the sport's governing body for the first time, it said on Friday.

International Rugby Board (IRB) chairman Vernon Pugh said it would discuss the number of matches played, their quality, the length of seasons, injury recovery times and pre-season preparation."

Interesting that the world's leading cricketers are saying much the same thing. Maybe it boils down to a test of strength between the practitioners and the administrators who are determined to milk the cash cow for all it's worth.

The outcome of this should be very interesting. It could make the possibility of a S14 even more unlikely. And with league players defecting to union, John O'Neil will be under more pressure to get a domestic competition going.

As I've said before, I can't see there ever being a S14. If only for the fact that there's no 14th team anywhere on the horizon. And, here, it's not so much that RL players are defecting, it's more that rugby has been very selectively targeting particular RL players. It hasn't been a flood and won't be. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Lote Tuquiri were the last for quite a while. And, as I've said before, our domestic competition is what it is. It can't expand any more - except in terms of having NSW clubs playing Queensland clubs and calling it, technically, a national comp - because there simply isn't the financial base because there aren't the numbers. Jeez, a couple of Sydney's biggest and best clubs - providing players to the S12 teams and the Wallabies - remain essentially amateur.