Rugby - Tours Tours Everywhere!

[finbar]

Told you so. The fruit loop of a coach is going to destroy the Boks. In his pursuit of run-from-anywhere rugby, he's undermining their ability to play their strong suit - tough, disciplined, uncompromising rugby. Quite a few Boks didn't seem to have a clue what they were supposed to be doing. Topped off by the schoolboy stuff at the end that gifted the ABs a try. Wonderful game from McCaw. At least the ABs knew what they were trying to do, even if hardly ever came off.

[Havak]

You were spot on Finbar. Everything is too quick, too forced or both.

The Carter try showed them how you should build pressure in an opponents 22.

Whilst I thought the ref was a bit flaky I also think Matfield was very lucky to stay on the field in the first half. Pursuing the ref constantly claiming "they are doing it all the time" after being warned for Bok hands on the deck might have been true but you still aren't allowed to do it. Some refs would have taken exception.

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Victor seemed unable to grasp the point that the ABs weren't playing the ball on the ground. They might have been infringing in other ways, but not with their hands. Even the Bok commentators knew it.

The coach's hue might be the only thing that keeps the job for him. He's leading them into an either/or nightmare. Either play to their strength, as they did in the first AB Test, or play erratic toss-it-around stuff. The notion that expansive rugby can and should be played from a strong base hasn't occurred to him.

Problem is, the best alternative Bok coach - and vastly better than the incumbent - is at Leicester.

[Havak]

That is not a problem - for Leicester.

[SlowwHand]

wrong thread.

[finbar]

Oh. Okay.

I cannot believe Leicester are contemplating Rupeni Caucaunibuca. If ever there were a walking attitude problem, it's him. It's being said that he's now married, matured, et al, et al. Ho hum. The day he discovered he couldn't play for the ABs was the day he lost interest. Besides, with D. Hougaard at #10, he would catch pneumonia on the wing.

[finbar]

Wallabies mature, professional, composed. Particularly after losing Barnes and Vickerman. Boks, yet again, confused and all over the place. Shame.

[Havak]

I had no idea Tigers were looking at Caucau.

Still the way the young lad Hurrell is playing in the pre-season games why would we be looking at a winger?

[finbar]

Why sign someone even less creative than Andy Goode at #10? The questions are endless. Though I will concede that Toby Flood seems to have done well in the friendlies. I also suspect that Caucau, looking for a club after the French mob dropped him, is trying to talk himself up.

The SANZAR judiciary system is turning into a joke. After the Bok hooker got only a couple of weeks for an obvious attack on the eyes, their prop gets only three weeks for a blatant flying head butt on Sam Cordingley on the weekend. Yet Rocky Elsom gets one week for "pulling down Victor Matfield in the line out" - which amounted to putting his arm over Matfield's shoulder in the air. Something you see week in, week out. A penalty at best. Bizarre.

As is the fruit loop Bok coach. Whose latest outing, having lost to the Wallabies, is to take the blame for the loss because he's the boss, but blame the players for not being able to dance to his tune. I'm taking bets on how much longer he will last.

[Havak]

Check out Eddie Jones playing to his new fanbase - and having another pop at his old enemy John O'Neil at the same time.

Still it is nice to see one Aussie finally recognise that the game keeps (rather daftly) changing the laws to suit the Aussies.

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Check out Rob Andrew's view of English rugby post-2003:

‘Without naming names, I do want to make the point that the 2003 World Cup coaching team effectively left no legacy to the English game.

‘As a result, the elite end of the sport in this country was in a terrible state.’"

Does anyone take this man seriously? How much more blame-shifting can he manage? That's a rhetorical question.

Regardless of whether Eddie is playing to his new audience, he would have opposed the ELVs anyway on a philosophical basis. They encourage player initiative and creativity. One of Eddie's problems as a coach was (and probably still is) that he was a control freak, structuring to the point of stifling initiative and creativity. That's why he fitted in so well with Jake White and the Boks at the last World Cup. When they were playing to their strength - disciplined, structured rugby. Unlike these days under the fruit loop coach they now have.

[Havak]

Three years in post Elite rugby is very much in the state that Mr Andrew has put it in.

Thankfully someone sane is now in charge of team affairs.

'Fruit Loop' is a nice punchy and accurate name for the man. The last two weekends the Boks have looked clueless.

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Yet another strange result in a strange Tri Nations series. Yet again, as if teams had swapped jerseys from the week before in terms of performance. To the Boks' credit, they reverted to what they do best - fierce, uncompromising, controlling rugby. If the Fruit Loop ever needs proof that he's on the wrong track, yesterday was it. OTOH, while I'm sure the Wallabies wanted to win, there was a distinct lack of intensity. Probably a combination of the effort the week before, the altitude, and knowing they're facing the ABs for the title in a couple of weeks.

[Havak]

And it gets worse for the Aussies too.

The understrength Western Force that Mitchell has brought on tour to the NH were walloped 48-7 by Tigers yesterday.

[finbar]

Leicester were poor, obviously. They should have won 175-0 against that Western Farce development squad.