Rugby - Who? Me, Sir? Offside?

[finbar]

Good grief! You're in early! And posting before your wake-up coffee. We're impressed.

now their latest academy graduates have all been back line

Well, the English team's crying out for some decent backs.

Any reports on how Mark Connors is going at Saints? And has Graham Bond started yet?

Nicely done. The Wallabies being whiter than white on that score?

Toti Kefu undergoes Michael Jackson skin peels daily. I only hope he leaves his nose alone.

Bristol away on Saturday as as your sig notes they are currently playing very badly. However away they are one of our bogie teams so who knows? I'm sure you also noted that the team we destroyed Saturday came within a last minute kick of beating the 'mighty' Gloucester the week before?

We like to encourage the oppo occasionally. Gloucester -v- Bath. I like our chances there.

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by finbar


So the heavily-depleted Pacific Island nations keep telling me.

Dont worry, Im sure Australia will learn to find good rugby players eventually...

[Havak]

Good grief! You're in early! And posting before your wake-up coffee. We're impressed

During the coffee actually – and I’m always in early.

Well, the English team's crying out for some decent backs.

Sure is – but unfair of them to make Tigers provide all the forwards don’t you think?

I caught about ten minutes of Connors playing for Saints so far. Not enough to judge properly – the snap judgement is ‘fairly average’. I didn’t think Bond had arrived yet – I’ll check.

Gloucester -v- Bath. I like our chances there.

Indeed. Which is a little surreal to me. Before last season Bath regularly destroyed, even humiliated Gloucester. I can’t remember Bath losing to them at home before then, and it seldom happened away. How the cycles of rugger turn eh?

By the way I suspect your sig isn’t a genuine quote?

Cal they already have that sussed – they import. They frequently field a greater number of ‘nations of birth’ players than the ABs as it stands. Though Scotland still beat them with the "I had a whisky once" qualification policy.

[finbar]

Wallaby touring squad

Some new young faces and one interesting omissions:

Matthew Burke, Matt Cockbain, David Croft, Ben Darwin, Owen Finegan, Elton Flatley, Adam Freier, David Giffin, Matt Giteau, George Gregan (c), Justin Harrison, Daniel Herbert, Toutai Kefu, Chris Latham, Stephen Larkham, David Lyons, Stirling Mortlock, Patricio Noriega, Jeremy Paul, Mat Rogers, Wendell Sailor, George Smith, Nick Stiles, Ben Tune, Daniel Vickerman, Chris Whitaker, Bill Young.

Phil Waugh is probably the surprise omission. Problem is, he's had only a handful of club matches back from injury and is likely to play only one more before the end of the SH season. They're leaving him behind to work on fitness.

Matt Giteau is a very young face and a back-up half back. Hasn't yet played S12, but good judges say he has terrific potential. This is long-term planning. George Gregan will be returning home at some point during the tour for the birth of a child, so Giteau will get his opporunity.

Adam Frier is the back-up hooker to Jeremy Paul. Brendan Cannen, the Waratah hooker and incumbent back-up, is grizzling about his omission. Unfortunately for Brendan, he became the incumbent via default - there was no one else around. Frier is yet another piece of long-term thinking.

The truly nice thing is that both Giteau and Frier are sons of former L***** champions.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
During the coffee actually

M-hm. Thus the one-finger typing.

and I’m always in early.

Me too. One of the advantages of working from home.

I caught about ten minutes of Connors playing for Saints so far. Not enough to judge properly – the snap judgement is ‘fairly average’. I didn’t think Bond had arrived yet – I’ll check.

Of the two, I'd take Bond. Quick, strong, skilled, committed. I've got a lot of time for him as a player. His is one of those unfortunate careers - often in the wrong place at the wrong time in terms of locking down a possie with a team.

By the way I suspect your sig isn’t a genuine quote?

I've emailed it to the lad. You can expect to hear it from him soon enough. If he can read.

Cal they already have that sussed – they import. They frequently field a greater number of ‘nations of birth’ players than the ABs as it stands.

I'm still waiting for the stats on this one, but let's not allow facts to interfere with a nice line.

[Havak]

You want proof rather than unsubstantiated allegations? Thats a Red card in this thread!!

[Caligastia]

[Havak]

I think Bond is actually touring with the Wallabies from what I can gather, and then staying on when they go home. You know he was born in Papua NG right Finbar?
And Jeremy Paul was born Kiwi (a traitor Cal?).

How about I toss names at you Finbar and you say "born Ozzie" or "tourist"? I know your country has a rich and varied immigrant history just like NZ who have turned out a ref called O'Brien after all!

How about Stcherbina? Tavake? (sic?) Panaho?

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by Havak
And Jeremy Paul was born Kiwi (a traitor Cal?)

Well I guess that depends on how long hes been living in aussie...

I wouldnt hold it against him if his parents were boarding the plane when he was 10 minutes old, as we usually wait a couple of days before branding them with the silver fern...

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by Havak
Tamerlin I would hope that Collazo helps to improve the scrum at least? It sure does not sound like the Stade I have seen right now. As you say five years ago they were one of the most respected teams in Europe.

Yep ! I don't like the word "were"...

You are also right about Collazo though I suspect the problem is deeper than a mere lack of experience from the forwards.

Fingers crossed it was just a “bad day”.

Fingers crossed with both hands and both feet.

You might also like to know Tournaire was yellow carded Saturday for cynically killing ball. Definitely going to fit in well at Tigers.

This man can be trusted, he is a solid value.
But contrary to the other hypocrites I have no qualms about saying I told it to you before.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
I think Bond is actually touring with the Wallabies from what I can gather, and then staying on when they go home.

No, he's not touring. I'll check it out from this end.

You know he was born in Papua NG right Finbar?

I suppose that's our equivalent of one of Cal's Pacific Island nations.

And Jeremy Paul was born Kiwi (a traitor Cal?).

Yes, he saw the light.

How about Stcherbina?

Born here. **You could be in trouble simply targeting non-Anglo Saxon surnames because there are fewer and fewer as the years roll by. On the same basis that I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised to discover that Sachin Tendulkar came from Bradford.

Tavake? (sic?)

Well you might quote [sic]. Who on earth do you mean?

Panaho?

See ** above.

I told you not to try to back it up with stats.

Edit. Oh! And just to save you spilling your coffee putting it down quickly in your haste to post - Georgie Gregan was born of Australian-Zambian parents over there, came here when he was one year old.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Caligastia
Well I guess that depends on how long hes been living in aussie...

Came here when he was a kid. So I suppose it was a case of his parents seeing the light.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin
But contrary to the other hypocrites I have no qualms about saying I told it to you before.

We don't say it loud, we just think it behind his back. Much more offensive!

[Havak]

as we usually wait a couple of days before branding them with the silver fern...

He was a toddler – and therefore a thorough traitor.

I suspect the problem is deeper than a mere lack of experience from the forwards.

Perhaps a breakdown in trust between players and coaching staff Tamerlin? It’s hard to recover from such things without radical changes.

Fingers crossed with both hands and both feet.

You are too big a club to stay down for long. Things will get better, trust me.

You did indeed tell me Tournaire was good value – you also told me of his Achilles heal of poor discipline at times. Spot on with both.

No, he's not touring. I'll check it out from this end.

Seems you are right – didn’t make the final 27. Snubbed by the ARU due to their facist “you leave you are dropped immediately” policy? Unless you are Roff and they want you back at all costs of course.

You could be in trouble simply targeting non-Anglo Saxon surnames because there are fewer and fewer as the years roll by

It isn’t lost on me you used this to avoid the question you know.

A nice try at deflection but Australia’s open passport policy for sports folk can hardly be denied – so by targeting non AS names one is likely to find an import sooner rather than later.

Bizarrely of course Smith is the AS surname.

The asian community here is a rich component of our multi-cultural society and I would love to see an Asian Brit break into big time rugby. I would also love to see Tendulkar being from Bradford as he would be an English player then.

Who on earth do you mean?

My bad - Jone Tawake, young blindside flanker from your backyard in NSW. Glen Panaho – prop. From Qland so I can understand you not knowing the name. Both were mooted for the tour but didn’t make the 27.

These are the lads who should be breaking through when your veterans take the kings shilling?

Harrison and the untested Giffen look like the test second row with Sharpe sidelined? I hope David is fit because you cannot throw him in against us unless he is fully fit – particularly as Grewcock’s ban strangely ends just before the internationals (if his name was Johnson it might end juts before RWC!).

And where is the cover for the back row – Smith, Kefu, Finegan is an okay unit but who steps in when they go off?

Whilst surfing yesterday I found a page authored by a much more stereotypical Aussie than yourself who was really awfully rude (old boy) about the English - I'll see if I can drag it up as it made me laugh out loud.

[Havak]

Here it is! Check out the 'country with the most players' part.

An Aussie spouts

Now several things are evident here - this guy has no clue whatsoever about the rich cultural heritage surrounding English local rugby and the long association with rugby being a fun social (yes, even drinking) event.

He is also an idiot if he thinks even local players don't want to win when they play and if he believes the amateur leagues here are not competitive.

I can tell you from my own observation that the quality of rugby in the local leagues has gone through the roof since the top of the game went professional seven years ago, and whilst this chump made me laugh I'm guessing it will come as a real shock to him when that player roster starts to churn out a stream of top class players in five to ten years time.