Rugby - Tours Tours Everywhere!

[finbar]

I first saw Kennedy for Irish quite a while ago. I think I mentioned him quite a while ago. Paired with Borthwick, though, two peas in a pod. Trouble is, he's streets ahead of Borthwick at what they do best. J**** dropped the wrong man. Further trouble is, J**** has nailed his colours to the Borthwick mast. I don't know how J**** gets out of the hole he's dug for himself because Borthwick is symptomatic of the whole selection problem.

Fitness is one thing, the capacity to produce skills under pressure and at a tempo is another. I watch a lot of Premiership matches. I don't often see anything like the sort of rugby that is going to prepare players for what they come up against in modern Test rugby.

[Havak]

I hope you are wrong - whilst also fearing that you are right.

Because the Premiership isn't going to change radically any time soon.

All in all not a great time to be an England fan.

[finbar]

Five years ago must feel like an eternity, hm?

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Rob Andrew is lodging - or thinking about lodging - a complaint against the ref. Goose. Get your own house in order first.

[Havak]

Well Finbar I cut my rugby teeth in the early days of English League rugby when Tigers were nearly always bridesmaids to Bath.

And I think I'm well on record about Mr Andrew - a man who claimed to have all the answers and yet three years later here we are worse off than ever. I'm not a huge fan of Allain Rolland but he didn't cost us the game - poor discipline and , um, not actually being in the same class as our opposition did that I think.

I'm no glory hound (as many HQ come lately regulars are) - but I feel such frustration that the success of 2003 was no built upon. Not just not properly built upon - but not built upon at all. A succession of nero's fiddled whilst Rome burnt in the expectation that good times can continue without planning and hard work. They cannot of course.

And now we have experienced players who aren't good enough - and young players that are good enough not getting a look in. And other young ones that could be good enough in time getting game time but doing so in a side that isn't competitive because the experienced players simply are not good enough.

I think the fact I couldn't name an experinced alternative to Borthwick as skipper was in hind sight massively damning of the state we have ended up in.

Agonising stuff - and the light at the end of the tunnel simply is not visible yet. Time for radical stuff - tri-nations coaches and much more youth would be a good start.

I just had to remind some friends of mine who were delighted at the RWC draw that the Pumas are ranked higher than England - and very deservedly so.

[LDiCesare]

The English draw is definitely an easy one: Argentina, England, and then who? Scotland? Come on. They'd need to improve a lot to be able to beat Argentina and England in the World Cup.
Now Tonga and New Zaeland for France will be interesting.
Italy has a rather good draw. They might beat both Ireland and Australia if they improve and find at least one good back in the years to come.

[finbar]

I ask you, where are Italy going to find a good back this century or any other? As it is, they've robbed Piero to pay Paolo by shifting Mercato to #10 and moving Masi - a competent (at best) centre - to full back. Where his lack of kicking ability is even more exposed.

The Australians are happy with the draw. The only way they can meet either the Boks or the ABs is in the final.

Havak, J****'s dour, phlegmatic, pragmatic approach to both life and rugby has, unfortunately, followed him into management, manifesting as screaming conservatism.

Did your friends reply to you that the Pumas' ranking is vastly, outrageously inflated? They're a shadow of the successful World Cup outfit. England, in their current plight, would beat them at the moment.

Oh, and I'm mightily p*ssed off. Sky Italy isn't showing the Wallabies -v- Barbs! It's an outstanding Barbs team, they should cream the Wallabies - who are playing an utter baby at full back - but it should be a great game to watch, regardless.

[LDiCesare]

Originally posted by finbar
I ask you, where are Italy going to find a good back this century or any other?

Hah, bait taken!
Yes, indeed. Now that Argentinans are allowed to be paid for playing rugby, there's no longer Argie fly halves ready to play for the Azzuri. I think annexing Fiji is Italy's best bet.

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Italy annexed Ethiopia - with France's connivance! - in 1935 looking for rugby players. Zilch result. I think that put them off conquest in search of rugby talent.

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Mmmm. The Wallabies saw off the Baa-Baas. Sky Italy didn't cover it, but I found it streamed live on Justin.tv. Almost too late. With three minutes to go. Just in time to see Drew Mitchell befuddle the Baa-Baas' defence with some lovely lines and off load to Lachie Turner for the try. Sounds like it was a bit more vigorous than the typical Baa-Baas encounter. Also sounds like young Master James O'Connor acquitted himself well - apart from a poor kick - for an 18 year old on debut at full back. He's actually a centre. I've seen him a couple of times with the Western Force. A serious talent.

[finbar]

Quins -v- Stade was an interesting, sometimes violent, error-strewn outing. I suppose, leaving aside the ref's contribution, Quins deserved to win. Their good rugby - mainly in the first half - was better than Stade's, or at least there was more of it. But Alan Lewis had a shocker. Quins' second try came from a turnover after a Stade player was tackled before he took the ball inside his 22. Very late in the game, with the Stade forwards pounding at the line, Lewis pinged Stade for (I think) going off their feet when Nick Easter was always a couple of yards offside during the movement. That, and letting players dive into the ruck like missiles, ignoring numerous other offsides, and so on. That said, State probably had their chances very late in the game. They lacked composure.

[LDiCesare]

The Stade Français never policed the ruck and let the Quins kick the ball and generally make a pain of themselves at the breakdown far too often. They also made the same blunder on both tries, with Hernandez needing help and Camara unable to support him properly. Aside from the ref's poor performance, I guess whoever Quin was penalised in the last seconds of the match, effectively giving Paris a chance to win the game, should be beheaded by his coach and then hung. How can one be so stupid?
I thought Care had a very good game, apart from a yellow card which may not have been warranted.

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I thought Care's yellow was warranted under the circumstances. Utterly cynical act when Stade were in a strong attacking position. That aside, I also thought he had a very good game. He does that in club rugby. For some reason, when it comes to the Test arena, he's not as bold. The Quins player penalised in the last seconds was skipper Will Skinner. He gave the ref a gobful. That aside, he also had a very strong game, both as skipper and scavenging #7. As Havak has previously noted, it's a mystery why he has dropped off the England selectors' radar.

Clermont were very good against Munster. Could and should have won by more. They gave more than they got in the forwards, defended strongly, and always looked more threatening in attack. But for episodes of butter-fingers, they could have added a few more tries.

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Good grief. Graham Rowntree appointed Lions scrum coach. Presumably to coach them in the cultivation of cauliflower ears because there's no recent evidence to suggest he can coach scrummaging. What next? Dan Luger as defence coach?

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Jeez, when Leinster are poor they're dreadful. Castres aren't all that flash - propping up the French comp and the coaching team have all been sacked - but at least they showed some passion. First five minutes aside, Leinster were garbage.