Rugby - 6 Nations, Heineken Cup, You Can't Beat A Northern Hemisphere Winter!

[Havak]

Ah I forgot your position on ladies rugby.

No bone for Havak then - and probably rightly so.

[Andydog]

Right. Time to get stuck into this joke of an English rugby team.

Firstly, how the hell can professional sportsmen be allowed to have beer guts? Friggin heck, they were rippling about the pitch all day, and I seriously laughed when they wheeled the pie cart Thompson onto the pitch. Havak, I would suggest that having props whose bellies touch the ground at scrum time is a tactic that the English might not want to try again.

Secondly, Hartley and his fellow fat thugs in the front row 'bringing back the biff'. Can I just say that trying to be tough is a lot different to actually being tough. Tony Woodcock is tough, Brad Thorn is tough, Victor Matfield and Bakkes Botha are tough. Hartley, Payne and Bell are WANNABES. The All Blacks took their medicine, didn't react too badly, and won the battle that counted - on the scoreboard.

Thirdly, that big tall goofy winger with the skill set of a retarded paraplegic giraffe. Sure Banahan is 6'7", bigger than most international locks, and he may be able to run, but a few basics, like catching the ball, passing the ball, and indeed picking the ball up, would bring him much closer to an international footballer than he is now. And then that big second five - the one who I noticed for the first time when he was walking off getting replaced - bigger is better? Certainly not when you look and see the impact his replacement made in his short time on the field. Add in the fat props, and what the hell have you got? The English rugby team. It must be hell right about now to be an English rugby supporter.

I suppose it would be fair to mention Moody - he had a good game at 7 being everywhere all day. Cueto at fullback looked competent. Other than that though, all I could see was props with fat guts.

As for the All Blacks, at last they are creating tries, but they still haven't clicked, and they know it. Did anyone notice the All Blacks ability to change their game plan within a test match? Against the Pom fatties they did it several times. The attack was widened after an early assault round the fringes failed, and in the second half they went to the pick and go when England fanned their defense against their width.

So there you are. Although England fronted physically to the challenge, and heck - they even attempted to play some rugby in the first half - they are still a laughing stock that will have no chance of winning the six nations. No creativity whatsoever. I'd put the Frogs, Paddies, and the Taffys in front of the Poms on Saturday's showing.

[finbar]

Did anyone notice the All Blacks ability to change their game plan within a test match?

Precisely what they did against the Taffys. It's long been one of their strengths. Though if the French turn up to play, the problem areas - locks, two-thirds of a back row, half-back to a lesser extent - are going to be seriously exposed.

[Havak]

It is hell being and England rugby supporter.

Our front row tried the biff? I must have missed that for all the times that psychotic little half back of the ABs was doing exactly the same.

Payne and Bell are definitely wannabes - should not be near an England shirt. And Hartley's heritage pre-disposes me to dislike him too - being a Kiwi in reality as you well know.

Fascinating that you missed Croft for the beer guts - he would walk into that AB team any time. And would even be used properly for once.

Spot on about Erinle though - but then if you read back through the thread you wil have known that mystified me too.

It's great McCaw has finally learnt to adapt gameplan on the field - after his famous FUBAR in the last world cup. But right now if the ABs met France again the latter are the better side (should they turn up). The ABs are a bit, well, average right now by their own standards - and tidily beating a woeful England side does nothing to disguise that.

[finbar]

You missed Payne's tattoo on the hooker's jaw?

[Havak]

I don't watch Wasps players on principle.

I actually wasn't paying close attention much of the game - the result was a completely foregone conclusion and the ABs disappointed me so much in the first 30 minutes that I largely switched off from the game - needless to say I'd seen nothing from England to keep my attention.

Sadly the prediction about the 6N is probably wrong. It wouldn't suprise me at all for a completely unchanged England to slam the tournament by boring all the other sides to tears. Certainly we are France's bogie team right now and will ambush them with our clever utter refusal to actually play any rugby.

That'll throw em I tell you.

[Havak]

And yes our coach has been banned for swearing at a referee. During a game we won. I guess you never entirely stop being a Hooker?

The following quote is from Lwis Moody:

"New Zealand are the best side in the world but going into the last 20 minutes we could have won it.

Now if the players can't see the fundamental truths of what is going wrong what hope is there for us?

We were never in a position to win it becuase we never created anything in terms of attacking opportunities. Perhaps he bases this on the fact Tom nearly scored?

[finbar]

Still, given his heritage, he was restricted to abuse in words of one syllable. Come to think of it, they're probably the most effective ones.

[Havak]

They do get one's view across concisely.

Hard to call at the weekend - France for me in that game.

And in Cardiff - one of my hardest decisions in rugby. Taffs or Wallabies. I'm on the fence.

[finbar]

Who knows with the French? If they turn up, they could do it comfortably. The ABs are a long way from their best. At least they've brought back Jane on the wing. He's defensively strong - he's going to have to be - and quick and nicely elusive. I can see the French making a nice old mess of the AB back row, too.

I wonder whether LdiC blows as chaud and froid on the field as his national team?

Who knows with the Wallabies? I see that Genia, Palu and Robinson have been passed fit. I hope to hell they are. Without them, they're stuffed. You only had to see Giteau leaping and jumping around to field Burgess' passes after Genia went off last week to appreciate the difference. Mumm for Chisholm is sensible, too. For all the chances Chisholm's had, he's never been up to it. And Pocock had to come back. Kurtley Beale gets a gig on the bench, too. He's the kid who went straight from school to the Waratahs, and one of the trio of exceedingly talented young halves along with Cooper and Barnes. He's lightning quick and full of tricks but hasn't made the progress the other two have. He'll make an impact off the bench.

I also have a sneaking suspicion the match isn't going to be shown here. I might have to brush up on my Welsh and listen to it on Welsh radio.

[Andydog]

It is hell being and England rugby supporter.

Fascinating that you missed Croft for the beer guts - he would walk into that AB team any time. And would even be used properly for once.

Nope. Croft, although being more than just a speed merchant, would be too lightweight for the AB team.

Interesting implications about the ABs selected to face the Frogs. I think they've looked at the French tight five and decided our only hope is to play very fast and very wide. It seems we have to have an out and out 7 on the pitch at all times - they've picked one (Richie) and another on the bench (Lats) so no matter what happens they can play their preferred game plan for the full 80.

The idea that we are going to go wide from everywhere from minute 1 worries me.

[finbar]

Mmmm. I suspect there isn't an AB blindside in this squad, or even remotely on the horizon, who would keep Young Master Croft out of the team. Heck, he would even solve a lot of the ABs' ongoing embarrassing lineout problems.

I also suspect that the ABs are going to have enough trouble getting their mitts on the ball let alone playing wide and fast.*

*Predicated on the assumption that the French turn up to play, always a dangerous contemplation.

[Mablir Dorlig]

And in Cardiff - one of my hardest decisions in rugby. Taffs or Wallabies. I'm on the fence.

After the way the jocks and the paddies played against the convicts it can only be the Welsh for this one!

Os yw rygbi yn grefft, rwy'n grefftwr!

[Havak]

What Finbar said ad - he might look lightweight but he is extremely strong. Not my opinion - that is actually a paraphrased quote from Corry last year.

Will the French turn up? Much rests on it.

Any chance of a translation by the way?

The Wallabies are generally at their most dangerous when you think you have them covered.

[LDiCesare]

The All Blacks played magnificent rugby this evening. They played indeed fast and wide. The most annoying thing is that try on a French scrum. Apart from that and the two missed penalties, I think the French played about as best they could. They just weren't fast enough replacing themselves, both in attack and defense.
Carter and Mc Caw made a lot of a difference. The former with his vista, nice distribution of play, alternating kicks and passes judiciously, the latter slowign down all the balls the French could get. It was quite pleasant to see Jauzion back in form in attack, but Marty still doesn't cut it in my opinion, and Traille was not the full back we needed for that game, considering the ease with which Carter, Jane, Muliaina counterattacked, we needed a more attacking full back. We still haven't found one since Sadourny.