Rugby - Laissez la balle, Bleus!

[Havak]

Shane Williams. He is a bit nippy.

Good luck with the dinner.

As is my habit I am hiding from the results on Monday - expect rampant exultation or abject despair on tuesday.

[finbar]

Fingers crossed, the latter. No offence.

[finbar]

Herewith a new weekly competition. Spot the most bizarre bit of refereeing. This week's winner is L. Bray, New Zealand ref, who helmed the Waratahs-v-Stormers S14 match this morning. The Stormers scrummy consistently fed the second row of the scrum. Midway through the second half, L. Bray said to him: "I don't want to have to warn you about the feeds. We've got to at least make an effort".

Huh?

The scrummy continued to feed the second row.

Apart from that, the Waratahs are currently playing the worst rugby in their history. They are inexplicably bad.

[LDiCesare]

The joys of rugby... I just bet my team'srecord of points on the head. 11. Stupid player who ran his knee on my skull. As if he could have done something vs a player who was rising from catching a ball...
And now Italy have forgotten how to defend

[finbar]

Erk! Still, unlike Havak, you have all your hair!

Italy did forget how to defend. They lost the defensive plot completely. Strange match. Very competitive first half, blow out in the second half. Still, with Darcy and O'Driscoll and the Irish runners in that sort of mood, who could stop them?

I only saw half of the France-Scotland match. France seemed to come good when they needed to. Typical! I only caught the replay of the incident that led to S. Lamont's card. Why was he carded? Did they get the wrong player?

I watched the entire England-Wales match. What the hell is going on in the England camp?! This campaign has been half a step forward, two steps backwards.

[LDiCesare]

Italy fell back to its old habits of breaking down at half time. At least they got back in shape afterwards and scored two tries. Their backs defense has been severly exposed, as was the case vs. France I believe. But then facing D'Arcy, O'Driscoll and Hickie in a great day didn't help.

S. Lamont's card. Why was he carded? Did they get the wrong player?

Yes, the got the bad Lamont. His brother made a tackle on a French player who had just kicked, likely preventing him from scoring.
The French managed to make a good match in part because Mignoni led his pack well, alternating the game correctly, (including a quick run, magnificent chip and pass for a Jauzion try), whereas Yachvili had been crap against England. In part because the Scottish centers couldn't defend properly against Jauzion. Marty is a good centre too, but he's not that regular. The French scrum also totally crushed the Scots, which didn't help the celts. Betsen made too many mistakes, though. I think he's getting a bit old. Considering how much he fights and tackles, it's surprising he's still in good shape anyway.
Against a strong pack, France struggles. gainst weaker pack, France dominates. That's pretty simple in fact.

As fro England, they met an inspired team. I tend to think that Catt makes a difference in their game. He managed to put them back in play after being led 15-0 but had to go out and then the backs were never dangerous. They need a leader in the backlines who's able to guide the younger players. Catt seems to be able to do that, as does Wilko. But then again, the songs in the Millenium Stadium must have been so huge that the Welsh were not only 15 on the field but a few thousands. It wouldn't help.

[finbar]

M. Catt might be a leader but he also causes some terrible problems. A man of 63 shouldn't be dithering nervously the way he did yesterday. And last week for that matter. He put his team on the back foot from the outset.

Yes, obviously the Welsh crowd played its part, but they didn't push in the scrums or completely overpower the England back row. That's where England's problems started and they never really recovered. And if J. White gets another guernsey, it will be one too many. He's fast becoming a liability. It was also somewhat ironic that J. Hook did to England exactly what J. Wilkinson has done to so many other teams in the past. J. Hook is an exciting talent.

I thought the French halves were the best combination - and performance - of their tournament. I saw some of the old French magic. I think S. Betsen is showing his age. In fact, the French back row was one of the disappointments of the tournament for me. Oh, and the French cause was helped enormously by having a #8 - He Of The Unpronouncable Name - who actually contributed to the team effort by doing his job and doing it well.

France is sharing England's problem. Dominant pack, good performance. Pack under pressure, poor performance. But then that's rugby, isn't it? About the only team with a history of performing with a pack under pressure is the Wallabies. Or at least that used to be the case.

Italy finally seem to have a coach who is taking them forward. In fact, rugby might even be making some strides here. After the match in Rome, the players came by bus to the Piazza del Popolo where a huge crowd - those who couldn't get match tickets - had watched the match on a giant TV screen. Along with a huge crowd of Irish supporters. The Italian players were greeted like heroes. The only problem was that the Italian TV producers were trying to show the scenes in the Piazza at the same time as the closing stages of England-Wales match. The split screen was very annoying!

Still, the TV commentary on all the matches was in Italian, which was very good for my Italian. Seconda linea = second row. Unfortunately, calcio = kick, but calcio is also the generic name for s*****. I winced every time I heard the word. It was amusing listening to the England-Wales commentary yesterday. One of the co-commentators was someone called Rick Greenwood, obviously not an Italian, though he was fluent in the language. He was coaching his fellow commentators in the use of words like "offload", helping them find equivalents in Italian.

[LDiCesare]

Which number 8 are you talking about? Imanol Harinordoqui? Or Elvis Vermeulen who entered later and scored the last try (apparently, I personnally have no idea what really happened under that heap).
As for the halves, they've been good indeed. Mignoni has been barred for too long because he is not a kicker and Michalak isn't really either, but his speed, pass, dynamism and vision are very good. As for the stand off, Beauxis is still young (22 if I'm correct). Won the U21 world cup last year. It's his first season in a good club (Stade Francais, before that he played at Pau), so I believe he will become a very good number 10 for France. He's still a bit young and likely to be blocked by a few others (Michalak, Skrela, and maybe those other ones who are hurt like Boyet or even Traille).

[finbar]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
Which number 8 are you talking about? Imanol Harinordoqui? Or Elvis Vermeulen who entered later and scored the last try (apparently, I personnally have no idea what really happened under that heap).

I meant the former. I can pronounce Vermeulen.

As for the halves, they've been good indeed. Mignoni has been barred for too long because he is not a kicker and Michalak isn't really either, but his speed, pass, dynamism and vision are very good. As for the stand off, Beauxis is still young (22 if I'm correct). Won the U21 world cup last year. It's his first season in a good club (Stade Francais, before that he played at Pau), so I believe he will become a very good number 10 for France. He's still a bit young and likely to be blocked by a few others (Michalak, Skrela, and maybe those other ones who are hurt like Boyet or even Traille).

Yes, I like the look of Beauxis.

[finbar]

Turned on Sky Sport this arvo just in time to see this week's Goose Of The Week claim his award - the London Irish lad who decided to execute one of those stupid swan dives over the try line instead of just dotting down the ball. End result - he lost the ball in mid-air. Serves the goose right.

Furthermore. Now that lineouts are totally no-contact, it's time the ankle tap was outlawed. It is dangerous. It can break a leg.

EDIT. I was premature in awarding Goose Of The Week to the London Irish lad. A. Flintoff has toppled overboard and into the running.

Vale R. Woolmer. Boring batsman, good coach, nice chap.

[Havak]

Feeling the pain there LDiCesare.

As it happens I have hair – just not concentrated near the forehead these days.

As for the weekends rugby abject despair it is.

Losing to Wales just isn’t acceptable to (even if they did outplay England on the day – being outplayed by a team that poor is scary indeed). Conceding one try to a stupid charge down and the other to an idiot of an Englishman pretending to be Welsh just rubbed salt in the damn wound.

There is no point in changing Ashton now – run him through to the RWC failure than get Deano in. He is already worryingly like his predecessor – having said he will pick players in their club positions he has now caught turnip disease. Unfair as it may be to single out one player it was patently obvious to me that Cueto was clueless at fullback.

Yes Hook had a good game – he is a talent. Shame he is welsh. On the plus side there is no longer any room for Henson in the welsh midfield. Barring injury the orange self promoter will not figure in the world cup.

The game was lost up front by England however – and that is quite disgraceful. I would agree with Finbar that White’s days are over. Stevens and Vickery will always get the nod over him when fully fit – and both are just about there now.

The only amusement of the day was the Welsh fans interviewed on the Radio after the game who now think they are RWC contenders again. Idiots.

I only caught the replay of the incident that led to S. Lamont's card. Why was he carded? Did they get the wrong player?

His younger brother Rory, wearing 22, tackled a player with very little effort of using the arms. The touch judge called the ref over and explained this recommending a yellow card for number 22. The ref then carded Sean (wearing 14). Sean took it rather well I thought? And it does perhaps show that refs are fallible (just like the French Irishman that helmed Wales v England).

The Exiles actually downed Wasps despite that goose chap – and Bristol seem to have run out of steam – Saracens thrashed them soundly. Interestingly (for me) Saracens win knocks Wasps out of the play off places for now.

And Tigers beat the old enemy Bath.

[Joe Kick Ass]

FEED ME NOW AND EVER MORE!!

What a great day's rugby

Italy - Ireland started off a great game, but the second half collapse was embarrassing, and a shame for any extra attention given to the rugby over there. The best part of the Irish was their whinging about De Marigny's try; though they seem to be happy enough with the forward pass...

The best though was Elvis's try. You just knew that, sitting in a crowded bar in Rome (or anywhere Ireland), the Irish fans would be looking at the screen thinking "he can't see the grounding! he can't give it! we're champions!!!..."

The look on Craig Doyle's face...

Anyway, it may have been an evening start, but it still wasn't too late to give the English a wake up call, following the self delusion of the past week...

They are rubbish.

For Wales, it beggars belief that it took a broken wrist from Stephen Jones for our coach to finally realise Hook is not a 12 , but at least that should be sorted now...

Originally posted by Havak
On the plus side there is no longer any room for Henson in the welsh midfield. Barring injury the orange self promoter will not figure in the world cup.

Can't believe that...who are you saying has taken his place? Alfie? Henson is still our first choice 12 if he's actually playing rugby and has some semblance of form - and rightly so, IMO. If Alfie's to play he has to find a place in the back three I reckon. I'd have Robinson in midfield before Alfie...

[finbar]

Originally posted by Joe Kick Ass
Italy - Ireland started off a great game, but the second half collapse was embarrassing, and a shame for any extra attention given to the rugby over there. The best part of the Irish was their whinging about De Marigny's try; though they seem to be happy enough with the forward pass...

Which of the many? I counted at least two in one of the Irish tries. Yes, the locals here are embarrassed about the second half, but they're chuffed with the bigger picture. Big steps forward in the tournament overall.

Though I watched the final of the Italian club comp on Sunday. Pretty dire stuff between two teams consisting mainly of Kiwis and North Aucklanders obviously not good enough to make it into provincial teams at home. It was no better than Sydney 2nd grade club rugby. Certainly, both teams had lost players to the national team, but the lack of depth was surprising.

This just in from a Sydney L***** player:

"I like being competitive and I like to have the ball in my hands. That would probably be the most stressful thing - the game's close and you want to do something and you can't even get the ball because they're very structured.

Being a centre or winger, you touch the ball two times in a game [of rugby union] and I don't really want to be doing that."

One month later, he signs with the Waratahs for next season. Presumably someone woke him up to some facts. His name is Timana Tahu. I've never heard of him.

The Waratahs are going so badly at the moment that they'd probably welcome J. White into their ranks.

[Havak]

I'd even play the Kiwi Parker instead of Henson - such is the contempt I have for the latter.

What self delusion? Only the odd Prawn sandwich nutter and they are no worse for that than the more rabid of the valley boys. Losing to Wales in Cardiff at this stage is not exactly a huge suprise much as it might be disappointing.

Yeah England were rubbish - and Wales very little better however one eyed their fans might be. The match should have been over by half time but they just couldn't close it out. The difference is Wales had to play out of their skins to reach such 'heights' whereas no one could accuse England of playing out of their skins in the same match.

Of the two sides only one is capable of performing considerably better next time out - the other might be as dire as they were against Scotland.

Talking of self delusion have you checked out any welsh message boards?

[Joe Kick Ass]

Originally posted by finbar
Which of the many? I counted at least two in one of the Irish tries. Yes, the locals here are embarrassed about the second half, but they're chuffed with the bigger picture. Big steps forward in the tournament overall.

Well, yeah, at least 2...amongst other offences during the 6N. Doesn't stop them claiming they were robbed though...

As for the coverage over there, how is it? Is it just big relative to normal, or is breaking into the mainstream?

As the whistle was blowing in the Italy-Wales match, aside from my incredulity at White's ****ery, and my hope that the defeat would further condemn our man Gyppo, I was also thinking it'd probably be a good thing for European rugby...

Originally posted by Havak
I'd even play the Kiwi Parker instead of Henson - such is the contempt I have for the latter.

I wouldn't.

Originally posted by Havak
What self delusion?

Only the odd Prawn sandwich nutter and they are no worse for that than the more rabid of the valley boys. Losing to Wales in Cardiff at this stage is not exactly a huge suprise much as it might be disappointing.

I think the fallout from the France result at the very least negates any advancing Welsh optimism. Regardless of what your radio may have told you, I don't think many people here are counting down the days till the world cup...

And leave us valley boys alone.

Originally posted by Havak
Yeah England were rubbish - and Wales very little better however one eyed their fans might be. The match should have been over by half time but they just couldn't close it out. The difference is Wales had to play out of their skins to reach such 'heights' whereas no one could accuse England of playing out of their skins in the same match.

Erm, lest you forget, we were 0 for 4 going into this match...

You were beaten by a bad Wales side. And comfortably.

Originally posted by Havak
Of the two sides only one is capable of performing considerably better next time out - the other might be as dire as they were against Scotland.

No.

Originally posted by Havak
Talking of self delusion have you checked out any welsh message boards?

None touting us for the WC. Though I guess, regarding Wales, your idea of self delusion is probably us thinking we'll beat Canada...


And I see you're a Leicester fan? I guess you're hoping for a win this weekend then, and a chance to inform even more Welsh fans of their delusional tendencies?

Saturday
EDF Cup