Rugby - Tours Tours Everywhere!

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He will need a sense of humor. Took them a very long time to nail Saints and Saints are immensely average.

[Havak]

True enough. But there are no outstanding sides in the Premiership yet that I can see. So we are in the mix - and that will do for me until Meyer really starts placing his stamp on the side (and we start winning heavily?).

More importantly Wasps lost - and look like they have a few more losses in them. Marvelous.

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Whatever the Afrikaans coach's stamp might be. At the Bulls, it was forward power with the backline left to look after itself. But I'd offer him this advice: Martin Corry is playing one season too many, and Julian White, as suggested the other day, is a total liability.

Now who would be a Quins supporter? Ulcers are guaranteed. They can play some flashy, extravagant rugby, racking up heaps of tries. But they have no bottom. It's all or nothing. If a couple of Worcester passes had stuck last night, Quins could have been severely embarrassed yet again after building a significant lead. I never saw Dean Richards play, but I find it hard to believe he's coaching this style of rugby. I'm sure he wants his team to be able to shut down an opposition but the mindset and possibly even the talent just aren't there.

Worcester are going to frighten a few teams this season. As Leicester discovered. It's a very young team - they seem to have a productive Academy - and it's fascinating to watch Chris Latham coaching the kids from the back without it interfering with his own fine game. They can do without Greg Rawlinson, an under-achiever in New Zealand, still under-achieving, trading on his couple of AB caps, setting poor examples in self-discipline. They also can't afford two bash-and-crash centres. They need at least one with distribution skills. Their Welsh #10 undermines generally serviceable rugby with some amazing hamfistedness. If the kids can develop, if Latham stays fit and healthy, they could develop into a threatening outfit in the next couple of seasons.

[Havak]

Their first objective needs to be to stay up I think. They can't rely on Bristol staying below them.

Sadly I agree about Cozza - and it's painful to say it. Great servant of the club but one season too far, Crane was ready to replace him last season. White is a formidable scrummager - but it is probably two seasons too long for him now. As you say he has a nasty tendency to be a liability - and always did (he was even red carded in his last game for Brizzle against us).

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To me, Corry looked like he'd had enough last season. Though that might have been partly the off-field problems.

I think Worcester will win a couple more this season. More than Bristol will.

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Shame Leicester -v- Bath wasn't covered here yesterday. I'd like to see some of the younger generation players. Three matches in seven days. It's ludicrous. A ridiculously cluttered calendar and with the HC still to come.

I notice also that the Queensland Reds have been the first Australian S14 outfit to make use of the ARU's relaxation of its Wallaby-eligible-players-only policy. The Reds have signed Daniel Braid from the Blues. Good signing for them, they have lost David Croft and John Roe from their back row in the space of half a season. The two most experienced caps in a very young squad.

Teams can sign two foreign players. One, termed the "marquee player", can be ineligible for the Wallabies on the basis that he has represented another country. The second can be a foreign player technically eligible for the Wallabies if he satisfies the usual residential qualifications. Braid obviously fits into the former category.

Bottom line: the ARU has finally conceded that Australian rugby doesn't have the depth it always claimed.

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Cripes, Ospreys burgled a win today. Missed the first half, but Ospreys were apparently okay and Quins only average. Ospreys had a terrible second half and Quins found some of the bottom they weren't showing during the week. Maybe Deano should put his B team out in premiership matches. They showed G&D on top of some good skills. Ospreys started their A team and should be ashamed of themselves. Gav had two touches in the second half. Good one, Gav.

[Havak]

The try scorer for Tigers was Ben Youngs the scrummy – brother of Tom Youngs the centre who caught your eye a few games back. Both have real potential to become not just Tigers first teamers but also to be England players.

It’s good to see the ARU relaxing things – but don’t let them take it too far. Kolpak and EU ancestry has made a mockery of PRL restrictions on foreign players.

So you are saying that SuperGav didn’t make the difference that welsh pundits always claims he does for Wales and Ospreys? Quelle Surprise.

It only takes a few minutes watching Gav to realise he is contact shy – not a great quality for a centre….

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Well, yes, Gav was noticed by this observer to be *cough* carefully positioning himself to avoid having his hair messed up.

[Andydog]

My 6 year old played his first game of rugby on Saturday. He plays for Kilburn Cosmos, who played against Hammersmith & Fulham. He did well, even managed to score a try. I'm going to take him and his younger brother to see NZ vs England on 29th November. Looking forward to that one!

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Congrats to Andypup! You might as well offer him to one of the GP clubs now rather than going the long route of NPC>S14>ABs>GP.

[Havak]

Wasps and Sarries play in black - he should feel right at home.

I get the feeling you will be rather surprised if you watch NZ lose on your day trip to twickers? I will be too.

[Andydog]

I would be surprised. I was fairly satisfied with how the AB's finished the Tri-Nations, even though we got off to a shaky start. On paper, our first team outclasses England in most positions.

But, as we all know, rugby is not played on paper.

I read somewhere that the Cartel are taking 35 players on the tour. Expect more rotation.

[Havak]

Yes the main red marks on that paper would be shirts 4 and 5 I suspect.

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Originally posted by Andydog
I read somewhere that the Cartel are taking 35 players on the tour. Expect more rotation.

Wallabies are taking 34. They raided the pubs and couldn't find a 35th. With the number of matches, there would have to be rotation. Unlike the rotation for rotation's sake last time.