Rugby - The Game They Play In Heaven II

[finbar]

I know not of that which you speak. I had no life prior to 7 years ago.

[Havak]

Quando il bello della vita è iniziata?

[finbar]

Close .................. ish.

Quando ha iniziato la bella vita or Quando la bella vita ha iniziatio.

[Havak]

I tried.

The underlying sentiment was accurate however?

Which way is kOc betting tonight I wonder?

[finbar]

It was spot on.

I can't see him wasting his hard-earned on his own team.

For the record, my attempt at humiliation:

Leicester
Glaws
Quins
Saints
Sarries
Wasps

And in the Rabies:

Scarlets
Ulster
Ospreys
Edinburgh
Glasgow
And I'm waiting to see the teams before I opt between Leinster and Munster. They're both injury-stricken. EDIT. Gone for Leinster only on the basis of home advantage. Very ordinary bench they have.

Nothing like the Wallabies though. Harris, a 10 or 12 who wouldn't be near the team bar for the injuries, to 15. The fifth 15 selected this season. A giant lock, Timani, at 6 supposedly to counter the Argie forward muscle. Debutant Cummins on the wing, Tapuai for his second start at 13. Apparently 19 different backs have played this Test season, a total of 38 different players selected. Talk about testing Oz rugby depth. I'd actually like to see a few other national teams try to take on the ABs, Boks and Argies with as many first choices missing.

And glad to see the disgusting John Terry finally get his due, even if let off lightly.

[finbar]

Well, Sale finished closer than I thought they would, but that was mainly down to an odd Leicester second half which seemed to consist of defence practice - give the ball to the Sale back three to run back at them and try to stop them. They did. Leicester's defence won the night but with their forward superiority they should have achieved more.

It was interesting to see Sale again. At their best last season they were capable of youthful adventure, playing some very exciting rugby, but without the guile or hard-headedness to capitalise on it. Much as last night. So much possession and territory in the first half for not enough result. Miller, as last season, is a stunning broken-field runner. Richie Gray is getting his act together in the loose. It's just a tragedy that Diamond's big spending included buying rubbish props. Give that talented backline a solid platform and the team could go places.

Who is at the helm at Sale? Watching the sideline activity last night, Diamond is running the show, Redpath a mute passenger.

[Havak]

Redpath will be gone before Xmas. And Diamond must act, maybe get those props Finbar, or relegation is a real probability.

[finbar]

It's beyond me - and a lot of people who know more about rugby than I do - why he bought the Irish prop in the first place. One thing he was never known for was scrummaging.

Jeebers, I just saw the London Irish score. Only half-time, but still ...

[Havak]

Exeter and Irish both scored fantastic wins. It's an interesting season!

[finbar]

Screw interesting, I'd rather have the tipping points.

Gutsy Wallaby effort to overcome the Argies at home under all the ridiculous injury circumstances. Seven of the starting team had fewer than 10 caps. The Argies helped along the way by reverting to their headless-chook ways of old, but there was very serious Wallaby commitment, and, thankfully, a huge effort through the forwards. The Argie pack tired in the second half and the Wallabies actually shunted them giving them a strong platform to work from. One such time leading to a beautifully worked try via Beale at 10 and Digby Ioane. A set-piece effort that was once commonplace but not seen for a while. Kurtley, one of those freakish natural talents, is doing everything right at 10. He has turned his form around hugely, mainly, I suspect, because he has turned his attitude around. Heavy responsibility has been thrust upon him and he has responded. Pity there were idiots in the crowd shining lasers at Harris and Beale when kicking for goal. Apparently they were at it last weekend against the ABs, too.

A lovely moment late in the match when retiring Argie prop Roncero left the field for the last time. Ref Joubert shook his hand on the way past and said, "Great career, mate".

The ABs saw off the Bokkies after the Bokkies dominated the match and the scoreboard for much of the first half. It was Bokkie at their best - fierce, fast, with good continuity and skills. The ABs stayed in touch against the run of play with two tries from stunning counter-attacks. But Bokkie couldn't keep it up. Handling errors crept in and the ABs blossomed. A comfortable win reflecting the power balance of the second half. And, courtesy of Rolland, one of the worst reffing performances you'd ever see. Binding in the scrums was entirely optional, hands in the ruck, players playing the ball off their feet, et al. Just disgraceful.

[kittenOFchaos]

I can't see him wasting his hard-earned on his own team.

Well, not without a decent sized handicap. I gave Sale a 14 point lead for 4/9 which worked out fine.

In my big accumulator (all of £4), I got 10 out of 13 results correct. Giving Connacht, Zebre and South Africa head-starts of +22, +17 and +11 proved insufficient (boo!) and I missed out on making £650 or there about from my £4.

Looking forward to next weekend as finally there is a decent amount of quality rugby on Sky. I loath the fact we can't just subscribe to a rugby channel and be done with it for a reasonable sum.

Talking about Sky showing rugby...Sale were playing Leicester and Sky Sports had come along with their cameras. My wife had invited some friends around to help me lift the cross-trainer I had got from her out of the car and to the top of our flat (2nd storey of a 3rd floor flat). After the machine breaking everyone and scratching the bumper helpers were furnished with wine and pizza. I only got to see the start of the match before people arrived and mere glimpses later on. The parts I saw showed Sale in a good light...it was when I wasn't watching that things must have gone wrong. When I watched Sale got 3 penalties at scrum time and at least 2 from line-outs. We also managed to score a decent try through Miller. As a result I am left ill-informed as to why we lost

This weekend was mainly about me carrying things up and down stairs as I helped clear out my grandfather's house. Muscles I didn't know I had are complaining about the abuse.

[kittenOFchaos]

Jeez, Sale Vs Cardiff blues next week. Can I bet on both of them losing?

[finbar]

This weekend was mainly about me carrying things up and down stairs as I helped clear out my grandfather's house. Muscles I didn't know I had are complaining about the abuse.

I know the feeling well. Give Sale a couple of props who can scrummage strongly and a backs coach and a 10 who can harness a very talented backline and they'll be a good team. I also think Havak's right about Redpath. He looked redundant on the weekend. Diamond is running the show.

[Havak]

What you saw was probably accurate kOc - Sale had far the better of the first half - and far the worse of the second as Tigers defence got right on top. As Finbar said Tigers let Sale throw the kitchen sink at them, but stopped it all.

Yes Redpath is just a question of when not 'if' for me.

Sunday also tarnished my weekend a little with Wasps and Sarries both winning.

[finbar]

Leicester's defence was excellent throughout. For all their first-half possession, Sale got past them only once and didn't look like doing so again. It should be noted, too, that Sale's first-half possession stats had a bit to do with Tigers kicking the ball back to them.