Rugby - The Game They Play In Heaven II

[finbar]

Farrell Jnr nominated as an IRB player of the year. The award's credibility has been creaking for a new years. It has now collapsed. Just bizarre. Nominated in front of Kieran Read? Lobbe? And so many others. Freddie Michalek's nomination is equally bizarre. He's played well in these internationals after years away from the team.

[Havak]

You mean he isn't the best player in the world? Has anyone told Lancaster?

I see the attempt to poison the ABs, possibly England's best hope of victory, utlimately failed as it was too early in the week.

[finbar]

It's just terrifying how Lancaster is morphing into Johnno. Or maybe he's not, maybe he was always Johnno writ smaller.

[kittenOFchaos]

It's just terrifying how Lancaster is morphing into Johnno. Or maybe he's not, maybe he was always Johnno writ smaller.

Johnson's record in charge of England wasn't bad, certainly a million times better than Andy Robinson's and he wasn't a complete disaster like Ashton. When they appointed Martin Johnson he had no experience, but they then remove him after he has had a chance to gain some experience and had led England to a 6 Nations title. All along the RFU have shown a complete lack of judgement.

It is hard to judge Lancaster...his team does work hard for him and they've been beaten by tight margins. If they had beaten Australia or South Africa I think people would be very happy with how things are going. As it is, England really need to give these All Blacks some headaches or they're going to be judged harshly.

[finbar]

What Johnno and Lancaster have in common is innate conservatism and it's an eerie coincidence that their mutual blindness is in the midfield. Johnno's Hape/Flutey-Tindall is the equivalent of Barritt/Manu. Under neither set up can the ball get to an outside channel. The prerequisite is defence/tackling. Robbie Deans had the same approach with McCabe at 12 for the Wallabies.

[Havak]

Good grief. I did NOT see that coming today.

[finbar]

They played very very well. Out of their boots. Carter pretty obviously wasn't fit so shouldn't have started. I don't know how the ABs' general health was after the virus thing but they were very un-ABish for the first half. That said, England took it to them. Similar to what they did to the Wallabies at Twickers a few years ago. They couldn't repeat that effort. Let's see if they can do it again this time.

Wales -v- Oz was the direst match. Wallabies stuffed after a 17-Test season, offering nothing except endeavour. Wales yet again sinking themselves. They lost at least 7 lineout throws, lost the breakdowns. But at least they showed some creative endeavour. The Wallabies showed nothing of the kind. Both teams persisted in kicking the ball back to the oppo's back three and that's what cost Wales the try that sank them.

[kittenOFchaos]

England versus NZ this weekend...I don't know why, but I'm feeling that England have a chance.

I did see it coming

That said London Welsh and Wasps stopped me getting my £4 to £34000. My wife says it is 'gambler talk' but it is only a matter of time

I know the New Zealanders said that they had recovered from the noro-virus earlier in the week and Dan Carter aside they looked fit enough, but they lacked a certain degree of physicality and missed plenty of tackles that perhaps would have otherwise been made. That said, England were pumped and just took the game to New Zealand right from the start. It was a terrific victory and has helped lift the gloom of the Autumn Internationals.

On the BBC website one person comments that no-one can make any negative comments - well, I'll echo Dayglo by saying it is time that Ashton learns to tackle.

But at Twickenham on Saturday New Zealand captain Richie McCaw made no excuses.
"No, I don't think [it had an affect]," he said. "If we had fallen away at the end you might have said that, but we felt fine in that department.
"We just struggled to get into the game. We were on the back foot and put under pressure. Even when we got back in the game they didn't panic. I was impressed with the way they played."

The NZer's are being very gracious in defeat...but Ashton couldn't help but be a dick when he scored his try and I think Tuilagli gave the 'loser' sign that Clarkson loves to give.

I felt Clancy messed up abit. Farrell wasn't off his feet and so NZ wouldn't have got that first try as early on. Later Clancy should have put a NZer into the bin after one attack where there was multiple repeated infringements. Instead he settled on yellow carding an English idiot for just making the game look messy.

Why BBC 1 was showing Wales managing to lose once again to Australia, I don't know. Perhaps they're wanting a messy Jonathan Davies suicide live on TV.

[kittenOFchaos]

Not really a good day for NZ rugby...

http://www.irbsevens.com/destination/edition=1/news/newsid=2064400.html#samoa+defeat+new+zealand+dubai+sevens

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/20570304

[finbar]

Ashton truly is a d1ck. A complete and utter prat. And his tackling is ordinary. Manu's "L" gesture is apparently religion-based. Havak might know more. Not necessarily about religion but about the gesture's significance.

I think there's no doubt the ABs were off the pace. They haven't been firing on all 24 cylinders all tour except in fits and starts. But I haven't seen them so flat-footed and miss so many tackles for a long time. Carter's miss, especially, was telling.

My wife says it is 'gambler talk' but it is only a matter of time

I'm with your missus.

[Havak]

Indeed you did see it coming kOc, my hat is off to you.

Fingers crossed your accumulators come off one day.

Finbar makes a good point, one swallow does not make a summer. England today are the same group of players that they were last Sunday. They need to think on that and not get carried away in any way, shape or form. The lack of creativity and the poor decisions making in earlier games is not wiped out by one disciplined and focused run out.

It would be disasterous if they now lost to Scotland next game out at HQ. For me rather than for kOc.

As for Manu - other than that I believe you are right, in that the gesture is a personal one and not aimed at the opposition with offensive intent, I do not actually know the full reason behind it. The lad had his best game in an England shirt so I would not like to think it tainted.

Ashton? Well the swallow dive is getting tedious and it is disrespectful isn’t it? I kind of liked it when he first did it but the more I think on it the more I can see just how disrespectful it is. Just get the ball on the deck. The way he falls off tackles is also surprising for a lad who came from the other code?

[kittenOFchaos]

Let's be realistic, they'd have to be suffering from Eubola to lose to Scotland in the 6 Nations

[Havak]

Logic suggests that certainly.

But yesterday proved why we love this sport - logic can go out the window totally.

[finbar]

It's going to take Ashton dropping the pill with those classless swallow dives for him to stop. He will look an even bigger prat than he does currently. Roll on the day.

Scotland just needs the right coach to marshal a squad with a lot of young talent in it. I just hope to Rugby God that opportunist and pretender Scott Johnson doesn't slip into the chair by default. Wales need an entirely new coaching set up. Hard to blame Howley completely now that Fatland has turned them out twice in a row with exactly the same deficiencies.

As for England, let's wait and see. There have been two false dawns in relatively recent times.

[finbar]

A fond farewell, too, to Nathan Sharpe. The Wallabies, misfiring as ever, did him proud with the win in his final Test. Sharpie got better as he got older. He'll never be ranked amongst the great locks but his heart and commitment carried him a long way. Unretired himself twice this season to come to his country's rescue amidst the injury crises. And his captaincy - leadership - went a long way towards dragging the patched-up team through a draining season. Of all the stand-in skippers, he was the best. Pocock and Genia, fine players that they are, didn't motivate the way Sharpie did.