Rugby - Tours Tours Everywhere!

[Andydog]

Part of me actually wants the shackle draggers to do well, now that Robbie Deans is running the shop.

Never thought I'd hear myself say that.

[finbar]

Shame on you. I always want the ABs to do well. Except against Italy.

One thing's for sure, the Wallabies are a much happier unit under Robbie Deans, playing much better rugby. His great talent, first and foremost, seems to be man-management. And then there are his other skills.

[Havak]

It's fascinating that Johnson starts his tenure with this program.

I don't except the premise there is a huge gulf in class between England players and antipodean ones and think the malaise of our national side has been down to other factors. These games will start to tell me if I am barking or not.

Not that I am about to bite more fully on the "better on paper" statement.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
These games will start to tell me if I am barking or not.

Woof.

A lot of it will boil down to selection. Factor in things like Sheridan only plays well against Australia and is shown up against other teams; the tubby Bok-born prop has been exposed as just a fine club player; there is no quality hooker to speak of; the tried locks - Borthwick, et al - aren't up to it and fresh blood is needed; the back row is extremely promising - though Haskell is out of form - but the set-up can be easily got wrong; there seems to be no match-fit quality #9; nor #10, while Cipriani (of the busted lip courtesy of his teammate) remains an unknown quantity at top level; #12 and #13 will be the usual raffle between the inappropriate, unqualified and incompetent; #11 and #14 will undoubtedly be fine finishers when more is needed from a winger these days; and #15 is yet another raffle between the enthusiastic but ill-fitted, the modestly talented, and Ian Balshaw, who defies adjectives.

Woof!

[Havak]

Well some of that is certainly right.

World class hookers? Wow that was stinky. With Ibanez retired I am struggling to name one still playing.

Maybe the new Wallaby boy is one?

Meow.

[finbar]

Keith Wood was the end of the truly great hookers.

The embarrassing young Wallaby hooker is, unfortunately, promising for all sorts of skills except throwing into a lineout. Pity.

[Joe Kick Ass]

Told you Lewsey should be in the England team.

[finbar]

Yes, and if Cipriani's in the England team with him, that leaves only thirteen other blokes for him to punch. Well, twenty, including the bench.

What on earth did Gav do? Anything to avoid fronting Leicester, I expect. Pity. I was looking forward to watching it.

[LDiCesare]

Did anyone miss that great video on http://www.ceskeragby.cz/ ?
I've got the English version, so the translation is 'Football's for girls, try rugby'.

[finbar]

Trust the Czech to get it right!

But Perpignan played like a bunch of girls last night. I don't know whether it was their A team, but they're going to need more than Dan Carter to get anywhere in the HC. Their full back, Porical, also produced the VFM - Very French Moment - of the season thus far. With attackers swarming towards him, he, for some bizarre reason, tried to trap the ball with his boot. And missed. Scurrying back to try to recover the ball, he knocked on. The resultant scrum led to a Treviso try. Treviso have picked up a couple of decent players - Fraser Waters included - and will trouble a few more teams than they did last time around.

[finbar]

A win's a win, but gee, Gloucester are a frustrating mob. Tons of possession, looking a million dollars tossing the ball around and setting up overlaps - only to kick the ball away. Most odd. Biarritz committed penalty suicide. Very French. But yet another VFM - Very French Moment - from yet another French full back. What is it about French full backs?

[Havak]

And did you see todays games?

Lucky Toulouse - both sides produced a high error count but Bath played all the rugby and scored all the tries. Nice to see Plank is still his old mild mannered self too.

Tigers would have had only themselves to blame if the taffs had converted that late scrum into a try. The game should have been over at half time but Tigers were very like Glaws - only instead of kicking the ball away the final execution was botched every time (individual errors).

Letting Ospreys get a bonus point may cost us dearly at the end of the pool stage.

I'm somewhat guessing here but I think Tigers had 90% of the pill in the first half. We were murdering the much vaunted welsh pack at the breadown. They improved in the second half but I still think it should have been a half century victory.

And more plaudits for Croft - already a super player I think he is rapidly becoming an exceptional one. His mix of strength, pace, super hands and his reading of the game make him one of the best blindsides I have ever seen (in any coloured shirt).

Oh yes - Allain Rolland had a shocking game as usual. The Celtic fraternity is alive and well?

[finbar]

I saw both matches, going through hell to watch Leicester without knowing the result. It wasn't shown live but delayed till 8.30pm. I had to avoid the internet and any sports news.

And what a disappointment. They looked so powerful and well organised in the first half. Best I've seen for a long time. Made the Ospreys scrum look like a kindergarden playgroup. If only Murphy had thought to pass to his teammates instead of to knobs in the crowd. But Gloucester were never in control the way Leicester were and Gloucester's problem was indecision. Leicester's real problem was the second half where they just lost their way. Yet again. The first-half errors were infuriating. The second half malaise was the real concern and, unbelievably, could have cost them the match. And it wasn't as if the problem started with Flood's injury (and why he was left hobbling on the field for so long I'll never know). It also wasn't as if Ospreys lifted dramatically.

Best I've seen Toby Flood play ever. I just wish he wouldn't take it into the defence so often. He unveiled a couple of wonderful bullet passes. More of that, please. That's what unlocks defences. Too often they were just trying to crash through. Tom Croft only underlined what I always thought. He's a star. Now he's consistently proving it. He'll start for England.

I was looking forward - as one looks forward to a trip to the dentist for root canal surgery - to seeing Derek Hougaard in action. I wasn't disappointed. Kick, kick, kick. Only one of them to real advantage. He can only play one game. He's not the answer as a back-up for Flood. But too late now.

I thought Bath were stiff, even if they, ultimately, probably sank themselves. Some more pragmatic decision-making on the day would have won them the match because Toulouse were never doing enough to win it on their own behalf. But at least, to their credit, Bath committed themselves. Which is the great contrast with Gloucester, who won't commit themselves. Gloucester can look just as good and fluent as Bath, but that's where they stop. The much maligned Simpson-Daniel aside. He does commit himself. He's playing himself into an England jersey.

EDIT. Forgot to add. Obviously, with Petulant Gav in the line up, Ospreys would have won by the length of the straight.

Oh, and I wish the refs would achieve some consistency in applying the IRB edict about punishing going off your feet at the breakdown. Some refs are dynamite, some simply inconsistent, some just ignore it completely.

[LDiCesare]

Toulouse was indeed quite lucky. Bath produced more rugby and missed too many kicks.

The Stade Français, despite their so ugly shirt, did well. I finally saw Beaucis at full back and he fits there well enough. You don't want to kick at him lest he kick a drop-goal back

[finbar]

Ugly shirt, Australian coach. That's a sort of symmetry.