Rugby - Hands Off White!

[ravagon]

Originally posted by Havak

Four defeats in a row matches the record of consecutive losses England set after the third game in the 6N. Lose to the ABs next time out and you take the record a step further than we have been able to. Five defeats in a row? If the rankings are based on the same logic that saw England tumble then the Wallabies should say hello to us as they pass us on their way down.

In their defense though (and I don't defend the Waballies very often) two of those losses were to the Boks on Bok soil and a third was to a very in-form AB side (Not ranked #1 in the world atm for nothing? ).
Granted they probably should've defeated the Boks in Perth (I missed the game, of course ) but expecting them to win in Auckland is probably a bit much unless both teams have huge form reversals.
I think a fair bit of their recent 'poor' form is probably more of an unlucky draw than anything else.

[Havak]

And would you allow the English side the same caveat I wonder? It is equally true for them.

Insanely busy at work and not in next week. By the time I return I expect the ABs to be the champs (though they missed the Slam again!!) and perhaps England to have nearly won the ashes?

[finbar]

[Havak]

And it seems once again the bowling attack is just not very 'Australian' at the moment. Surely they must click in a session soon?

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by Havak
Insanely busy at work and not in next week. By the time I return I expect the ABs to be the champs

I hope you're right, but I'm not taking anything for granted at this point. The game this weekend will probably be the most difficult hurdle.

[Havak]

You may be right - but the opponents need to step up a huge gear to threaten the ABs in their own backyard I think.

[Havak]

Crucial time in Nottingham - Flintoff and Jones at the crease facing the new ball (against Tait and Lee).

[Havak]

Survived it.

Kaprowicz just had two nightmare overs on the trot - Lee is bowling a little better at the other end.

384/5

[Havak]

This little opinion piece sums up why a lot of people in England dislike some Wallaby fans Finbar.

stuff and nonsense

The casual arrogance that despite how badly they are playing they would still make an RWC semi? That is by no means guaranteed.

Came within seconds of winning the 2003 RWC? Um - they didn't lead on the scoreboard for the last 90 mins of play that I recall watching!

Will make the RWC semi in 2007 because "there are only four quality sides in the world". So which of France, England, Wales and Ireland is he insulting there do you think?

Bad news about Flatley btw - vision problems are never a good sign.

[finbar]

Any more outrageous than you lumping England into the top four or five teams come next World Cup time?

He makes some legitimate points elsewhere in the piece, although he overlooks the fact that G. Henry resurrected several of J. Mitchell's discards and they're featuring prominently for the ABs now.

How good are the Boks? Away from home? Who knows? A seriously undermanned Wallaby team went down very narrowly last week thanks to a couple of opportunist tries from handling errors.

How good are the ABs? Who knows? Beat the Lions comfortably, but, for a whole lot of reasons, it wasn't top class opposition. Lost to the Boks in SA, beat us. I imagine they will beat the Boks on home territory. So what will have been proved? Not a lot.

He also overlooks the basic fact that rugby, like everything, is cyclical. Australia have been the best team in the world, as have England. Time is the great equaliser.

[LDiCesare]

Now that finbar has used British military blunders to hide the pitiful Wallaby performance, I will resort to French military blunders next time France loses. Beware, I probably have more material than you here
So it looks like the Boks are in best shape to win?
To me the interesting news is I will have my first training session of the season next Tuesday. This means I must definitely buy new boots. The current ones sport more holes than studs.

[finbar]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
Now that finbar has used British military blunders to hide the pitiful Wallaby performance, I will resort to French military blunders next time France loses. Beware, I probably have more material than you here

You reckon? Remember we're dealing in quality, not quantity. I've just been reading about the Indian Mutiny of 1857. That's a British blunder worth any three French blunders.

So it looks like the Boks are in best shape to win?

They didn't. I actually listed to some of the match online via a Kiwi radio station. Sounded like a good game, with the ABs just a bit too steady. But the Boks did well away from home, probably better than they did against the Wallabies in Perth recently.

To me the interesting news is I will have my first training session of the season next Tuesday. This means I must definitely buy new boots. The current ones sport more holes than studs.

Yesterday was Tuesday. Can you still walk? Do you have a hangover? And why bother with studs? They only end up stuck in opposition players' flesh.

The Wallaby outfit to tackle the ABs this week has been named. Never has a reserves bench been so loaded with debutants, players who, only a month or so ago, would never have dreamed they'd be where they are.

Matt Rogers to start at #10. With Larkham, Giteau and Flatley all unavailable through injury, Rogers becomes the official fourth choice for the position. If Rogers is replaced during the match by Lachie Mackay from the bench, Mackay will become the official fifth choice #10. It has to be some sort of record. I think there are now 12 players unavailable for selection thanks to injury.

[ravagon]

Actually I think I read somewhere that there were 17 players out through injury. The most serious of which being Flatley who may never play again.
While I seriously doubt that the newbies could win at Eden Park it might make for rather interesting times later on if they perform much better than expected?

The AB's have a few injury worries of their own now too but nothing comparable to the 'decimation' suffered by the Wallabies.

[finbar]

Well, the newbies have a chance to show their worth, don't they. But there will still be interesting things to observe amongst the oldies - Rogers at #10, for starters. He has only ever played half a game of senior rugby at #10, in a Waratahs pre-season trial match a couple of years ago. It was an experiment at a time when the Waratahs were looking for a #10. But then when aren't they?

I'd be interested to hear from Havak - when he gets back - who the fourth and fifth choices for the England #10 spot would be.

Even more interesting will be George Smith standing in for David Lyons at #8. He doesn't have the size or brute strength but he certainly has the speed. And it frees up the other flank for Rocky Elsom, who can jump in lineouts.

[LDiCesare]

Yesterday was Tuesday. Can you still walk? Do you have a hangover? And why bother with studs? They only end up stuck in opposition players' flesh.

I can still walk. Everything's fine. In fact, we're beginning our matches earlier this season than we used to (first matches the 15th and 24th), which means we'll have less "physical" training sessions so we'll do more rugby than running for the next two weeks.
And the point with studs is simply to damage the opponent instead of the opponent damageing your shoes.