Rugby - Crouch and Hold!

[Havak]

Moi!

Quelle, as they say, surprise

If Carlos Spencer goes off the boil, so might the Blues.

Consistency seems a problem. He failed to impress at Twickers. He seriously should have come to Tigers – Stransky was backs coach at the time the rumour first surfaced and Joel could have helped him be all he could be I suspect.

Much is now explained.

With, but not part of. Respectable consultant type on a package sports tour.

Presumably the England cricketers were singing along and generally farting around too judging by the way they let Australia off the hook.

And you had been so good in not mentioning this before.

Crazy was is not? We had you – we should have buried you. They lost concentration – fatal against you.

By the way – who hands out the free supporters clothing and accessories for Aussie cricket? Vodafone still?

Make sure you do!

You have my word on it.

It was good to see Pat Howard calling shots beautifully in the middle of it all

Good news … and yet not so. We want Pat back where he belongs!

By the way – nouns, verbs et al – what are they exactly?

Is it better?

Much! Have a great weekend all.

[Caligastia]

Ok, I'm posting this without looking at any of your posts because I don't want to know the results of the Brumbies game before watching it....

Halftime - Hurricanes 14 Sharks 17

A bit of a sloppy game. The Sharks were ahead 17-0 till the last 4 minutes of half, then the Hurricanes scored two tries in 30 seconds. The second one was scored by Umaga with a great run on the angle.

[Caligastia]

Hurricanes 35 - Sharks 20

A huge improvement in the second half for the Hurricanes. There was some great communication between Fly-half Holwell and Christian Cullen. On a couple of occasions Holwell kicked into space for Cullen to score - great stuff!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak


Quelle, as they say, surprise

You'll be grin-smileying on the other side of your face when you end up with a balance of 6.5 Civ Gold!

With, but not part of. Respectable consultant type on a package sports tour.

Frankly, I think better of the Barmy Army than I do of most "respectable consultant types" I've come across. The B.A. has matured from a bunch of peripatetic yobs into an entertaining bunch capable of very creative wit who also, along the way, raise an enormous amount of money for charity. Most "respectable consultant types" I've come across raise money for charity and take 99% of what they raise as their consultancy fee. Of course I mean your friend no offence but I shall maintain these broadsides until the bastard settles his debt with me!

And you had been so good in not mentioning this before.

Crazy was is not? We had you ? we should have buried you. They lost concentration ? fatal against you.

The Kiwis had the same problem and they lost from a vastly superior position. It reflects more, I think, on the capacities of the Australian team. They have incredible faith in themselves. They never give up. And they have any number of individuals who can, on any given day, virtually win a match singlehandedly. Most other teams have only a handful.

By the way ? who hands out the free supporters clothing and accessories for Aussie cricket? Vodafone still?

A lot of the dills actually buy them. The queues at the merchandising outlets at the grounds are massive.

You have my word on it.

(See above)

Good news ? and yet not so. We want Pat back where he belongs!

I suppose it depends on what his ambitions are. It might well be that he considers he's had his NH sojourn. I'm not sure what his family situation is, but, at his age, he might also prefer not to uproot again.

By the way ? nouns, verbs et al ? what are they exactly?

You do a perfectly reasonable job of mixing them together in roughly the right order while using them for the purposes they were designed to be used.

[Caligastia]

Still can't look at any posts...I'm only at half time...

Great first half, both sides are playing at a furious pace. How about that knock-on by Mortlock about 8 minutes into it? I thought for sure he was going to score! And there's no way Greef should have been sent off for that tackle - a very poor decision by the touch judge that unfortunately will probably cost the stormers the game. The two tries by Roff were made a lot easier by Greef's absence. I hope the Stormers can come back from this.

I suppose it would take too long to go to the video ref for yellow card decisions...?

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by Havak
Is somebody keeping track of how much of my non-existent gold I’ve wagered. Admittedly I think the bet with Caligasatia is quite safe given that the Crusaders practically are the ABs

Nah mate, the days of the ABs being 90% Crusaders were over after the last Tri-nations! After Auckland's strong NPC win over Waikato there were a lot of players selected from those teams for the AB's. All Blacks being mostly Crusaders is ooold news. Thing of the past.

[Caligastia]

The Brumbies won despite their many handling errors, but the win is tainted by the unfair advantage they gained from Greef being sent off. Good game overall, it's just a shame about that bad call.

Can't wait for Blues v Brumbies!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Caligastia
The Brumbies won despite their many handling errors, but the win is tainted by the unfair advantage they gained from Greef being sent off. Good game overall, it's just a shame about that bad call.

Now you can go back and read my post. Ultimately, the send off wasn't the difference between the teams. Far from it. But it still shouldn't have happened.

[Bearcat]

Eastside vs McMinnville Post-Game

A very wet day in our neck of the woods today. Several games had been played on the pitch beforehand so the turf was already somewhat messed up. Lots of mud patches and the pitch smelled like a farm field. Started raining right before we kicked off and thundered as well, the ref delayed the game for several minutes due to reports of possible lightning. We kicked off and I had the honor of the first tackle We rucked well and kept getting the ball to our backs. We scored the first try by a run from our fullback, IIRC and converted as well to put us up 7-0. We attacked again hard, putting another try on the board not too long after that, making it 12-0. We finished the first half as a complete domination being up 17-0 and putting paid to my doubts about our ability to play McMinnville.

The second half slowed down though, after our stand-ins came on to the field. Our main problem was a delay in getting to the rucks, so our backs would place the ball while the forwards were still several paces behind and the opposition would pick it up and go. We managed to hold them off the board until their openside flanker scooped the ball and ran it in to get a try and than converted it himself to make it 17-7. We played on though and almost put another try on the board when one of our wings chipped through into open field, but it got called back for him playing the player instead of the ball, so the score remained 17-7 by the end of the game.

A nice win for us, to make up for the last game's tie, especially considering this was a friendly. The only major problems were support, and the muddy condition of the pitch (it was a mud-bog by the game's end). McMinnville also had several talkative players too, and their hooker seemed like he was out for a scrap (but than again maybe that's just a part of being a hooker). All in all, it was a nice friendly game to make-up for the lack of a league opponent and a deserved W for us, but we really need to work on getting in shape to keep from collapsing in the second half as it seems we keep on doing.

I think that we most match finbar's England description,

England - Establish a lead, kid your supporters you're the goods, then fall in the nearest gaping hole

We've come out roaring two games now and than fall away in the second half. That's our most glaring flaw along with being tardy to rucks. Some of our high points were excellent running from the backs, and winning a lot of scrums and line-outs. Our hooker won us two scrums against the head, which was neat.

P.S. - I'm sparing you, my injury catalogue

[finbar]

Originally posted by Bearcat
Eastside vs McMinnville Post-Game

Our main problem was a delay in getting to the rucks, so our backs would place the ball while the forwards were still several paces behind and the opposition would pick it up and go.

Bearcat - I'd suggest you contact Havak for some tips on getting your forwards a bit more mobile. He boasts that his nickname was White Lightning.

Great match report, though. We bang on endlessly about S12 and 6 Nations and Test rugby but it's great to get some first-hand grassroots stuff. LDiCesares occasionally reports on some of his matches, even if it's only to tell us that he's in the sh*t because he didn't pass the ball to the Club President.

[Havak]

Well Tigers-Falcons are about to kick off giving me the chance of hearing (it’s only on radio) the clash between Mark Andrews and Jonno.

But big surprise for me was that Craig McMullen is starting at Stand off for us – he has been the invisible man since we signed him in December.

I shall give you my feedback tomorrow.

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by finbar


Now you can go back and read my post. Ultimately, the send off wasn't the difference between the teams. Far from it. But it still shouldn't have happened.

Yes, the Brumbies were the better team on the night, it just would have been nice to see them win without the extra 'help'.

Overall I guess I'm happy with what I saw in that game because the Brumbies made so many errors that it looks like the Blues should take them when they play in 2 weeks.

Who knows though, they might improve in their game against the Bulls next weekend.

[Caligastia]

Just looked at the schedule on FSW. Unfortunately I won't get to see the next Brumbies game. They're showing Blues v Reds and Sharks v Highlanders.

Blues v Reds should be good. The Reds will no doubt be continuing their experimental strategy, but I don't think it'll be enough to beat the Blues.

[LDiCesare]

To all, please spare Tamerlin comments on Yachvili. Biarritz scrum half just scored the 22 points of his team's victory against Toulouse. I am sure our friend will be in a bad mood because of that.

their hooker seemed like he was out for a scrap (but than again maybe that's just a part of being a hooker)

No? I am not that agressive when I play hooker (which is almost all of the time now). Nice report. Bearcat, was there any bit of your shirt not covered with mud at the end of the match?
Finbar, it is hard making a report of my matches, but here are the last two ones, very shortly:
Muddy. Very muddy. Scrums, silly players kicking people lying on the mud. We won. I mostly saw the mud, and once touched the ball to pass it to someone who gave it to a center who happened to play prop but was positionned as a winger, and who scored a try.
As you can see, describing a single action is quite hard and confusing. Hopefully, playing in the scrum prevents me from seeing too much of the game, hence making it easier for me to stay focused.
The following match was won by 3 tries to nothing, all the tries by our fullback. Again, I managed to touch the ball at least once during open play, but an offside opponent between me and my winger forced me to pass the ball slightly in front of the winger, who made a knock-on. The offside player was not penalised, so we got a scrum (one among many). Referees should whistle when a back prevents a forward from playing the ball correctly. I don't understand there is no law for that.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Caligastia
Blues v Reds should be good. The Reds will no doubt be continuing their experimental strategy, but I don't think it'll be enough to beat the Blues.

Blues will cream Reds. If you'll pardon three colours in a four word sentence.