Rugby - The Game They Play In Heaven II

[kittenOFchaos]

Ah well - far too much beer and too many pies over the last fortnight. Time to get back in training.

Couple of wins for the boys over the holiday period, nicely in contention for the Premiership shake up.

I see Fourie has been forced to retire at Sale? He only played three games for the club in 16 months - not the best signing ever?

Sale got a win, so everything is going to be alright

Perpignan hiring Daniel Carter only for him to get crocked was probably a far more costly signing. Career ending injuries can occur at any time in rugby, just remember Harry Ellis and every team takes a gamble on fitness from time to time as Leicester demonstrated by taking water boy Matthew Tait from us.

Hoping for an excellent year of rugby, Scotland winning the Grand Slam, Sale staying up, the Lions winning 3-0 and me taking home vast amounts of money from Skybet and Paddy Power. Not asking for any miracles

Almost forgot...my wife bought me Richie McCaw's Autobiography which I really enjoyed despite him being so dismissive of Scottish rugby. It is interesting to see what he considers important...personally I'd have had a chapter on why Quade Cooper is a ****, he just deals with him in a caption.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Real-McCaw-Autobiograhy-Richie/dp/1781310335/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357395714&sr=8-1

[Havak]

I thought that was a link to amazon.nz with the blurb - "the most successful captain world rugby has ever seen". Others have achieved more with arguably comparatively lesser raw materials and McCaws tactical nounce is certainly questionable - sticking to plan A as NZ washed out the RWC 2007 for example is quite hard to forget. Great player though - definitely one of the best opensides ever.

Tait took a heck of a blow to the Snout last night - blood, snot and tears stuff. But he had a decent game, if he can stay fit he could become quite a player for us. But you are right he was a real gamble.

The ref gave Tigers two penalty tries at Worcester as thery came from 14-0 down to score 19 unanswered points and take the win - and no warnings were issued for either. Refs seem to have been told to penalise foul play at scrum time this season?

As for you wishes I am with you on the Lions and Sale have a fighting chance. Plus Scotland will definitely....play in the six nations.

More seriously Ryan will bring some grit to their forward play and there is a lot of talent there - I'll happily cheer them against everyone but England.

[kittenOFchaos]

Others have achieved more with arguably comparatively lesser raw materials and McCaws tactical nounce is certainly questionable - sticking to plan A as NZ washed out the RWC 2007 for example is quite hard to forget. Great player though - definitely one of the best opensides ever.

I think you are selling him short...arguably the best player, best forward, in my opinion he is definitely the best open-side. His tackling, support play and work at the breakdown are phenomenal, that he also carries and passes well are great attributes and the fact he is disciplined and a tough, tough cookie.

On the back of the book is a quote from Paul Ackford "Better on one leg during the World Cup than most players on two."

McCaw spends much of the book talking about that game against France and why they didn't attempt the drop goal and how mentally they weren't up to the challenge. He makes out that that experience combined with psychological help prepared him for the close contest in 2011 - they never panicked and he knew from 2007 that the referee wasn't going to make any big calls.

I'd agree that he isn't the best Captain, but I think he is the most successful. An amazing win to loss % against all opposition, Northern Hemisphere teams have an embarrassing record against NZ whilst he has been captain as has Australia...only South Africa have a reasonable win to loss ratio and even then it is only by comparison. Almost forgot, he led them to success at a RWC and then into an impressive winning streak as World Champions something many so-called Champions fail to achieve.

Edit: London Irish winning is not good news for Sale...not good at all.

[Havak]

He is a fine, fine player and I do not mean to take anything away from him. Personally I would be happy to have in my all time XXII as cover for Backy.

Certainly one of the most successful skippers - but the 'best' skippers I have seen have been those who worked without such high quality all around them. Polishing a team containing a few t**** and making it perform is harder than polishing a team full of diamonds.

I certainly did not see that Exiles result coming at Kingsholm. As you say it does not help Sale at all.

*edit* Interesting is it not that whilst it is practically impossibly to deport people who enter the UK illegally because of their 'Human Rights' we can happily deport people who have donned the Red Rose and always paid their dues to HMRC. What a crazy country this is at times.

[finbar]

Happy New Year all. I'd forgotten what a fabulous city Paris is. In a class of its own. Made a last-minute decision to slip over to Dorset for New Year with friends. Very pretty place, very rural, very damp.

Didn't see a scrap of rugby, only followed the results. John Mitchell abandons Sale? Predictable. There was never going to be enough room for two egos the size of Diamond's and Mitchell's. I'm still waiting for Kennedy to wake up and realise Diamond is the constant in all this lunatic coaching merry-go-rounding.

Toby Flood is a lucky fella to escape sanction for that tackle in the light of recent policing of that sort of thing.

The Fourie case is bizarre. Rugby eligibility -v- government eligibility. I expect the publicity will probably see him allowed to stay. I also suspect that he has spoken out in that cause. Yet he really only has himself to blame. He clearly didn't contemplate life after rugby and where he would live it. The eligibility requirements to reside were only changed last year. If he had applied prior to the changes he would have been fine. Now the changes exclude him.

[Havak]

"Whilst we found that the elements of a dangerous tackle were made out, after very careful analysis we could not be satisfied, to that standard required, that the dynamics of the incident had not been caused, or contributed to, significantly by the involvement of other players from both teams."

Or in other words it was a right shambles. I expected a ban - not malicious but still dangerous.

As for Fourie -well as a generral rule his position does not tend to attract the brain trusts of the squad? There are exceptions - Mr McCaw amongst them.

I love Paris myself - must get back there soon.

[finbar]

There have been cards and suspensions for exactly what Flood did. Inconsistency rears its head again. That said, I think there's official paranoia about tackles where players are lifted off their feet.

We were staying with a friend in their apartment on ÃŽle Saint Louis in the Seine. Right in the very heart. Every time we went out we had to cross the Seine. Perfect spot.

I read now that Fourie was never threatened with deportation and there are - and always were - various options open to him. Sounds like he realised he'd stuffed up and went public for sympathy. Twayt. Deport him.

[Havak]

You sussed Fourie straight away - public grandstanding.

I didn't even realise that the Kolpak ruling only covered people with employment contracts.

Inconsistency remains a problem with disciplinaries - I saw the game live on ESPN and I though Floody would get a few weeks rest. But it does save England from the Owen Farrell option in the 6N I suppose.

Definitely the perfect spot - I am envious.

[finbar]

I suspect Lancaster will start Farrell anyway. Good to see 36 - that's Twelvetrees in an Irish accent, remember? - given a chance. Still a very rough diamond, and I have to wonder whether he will ever be polished. He strikes me as the sort of player who is what he is. You'll always get passes fired into touch and those other hamfisted things he can produce. Anyway, if it's one step closer to ditching Barritt, good thing. Not sure why Callum Clark has been called up. Apart from being a psychopath, he strikes me as another Dowson. Good club player without Test qualities.

[kittenOFchaos]

Toby Flood is a lucky fella to escape sanction for that tackle in the light of recent policing of that sort of thing.

Agreed, but it was the right decision. It wasn't a spear tackle, it just ended badly due to the other players coming in. Some fool on rugby dump claimed it was worse than Warburton's...jeez.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aI89HHfNncE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b3ZKs-ycC8

More Heineken Cup action this weekend, predictions please...

Friday, 11 January 2013
Northampton v Castres, Pl4, 20:00
Sale v Montpellier, Pl6, 20:00
Ulster v Glasgow, Pl4, 20:00

Saturday, 12 January 2013
Clermont Auvergne v Exeter, Pl5, 18:00
Harlequins v Connacht, Pl3, 13:35
Leinster v Scarlets, Pl5, 18:00
Racing Metro 92 v Saracens, Pl1, 15:40
Toulon v Cardiff Blues, Pl6, 13:35
Zebre v Biarritz, Pl3, 13:35

Sunday, 13 January 2013
Edinburgh v Munster, Pl1, 12:45
Ospreys v Leicester, Pl2, 15:00
Toulouse v Treviso, Pl2, 15:00

[finbar]

I've gone Castres with no confidence. Probably Saints. No help, sorry.
Montpellier
Ulster
Clermont
Quins
Leinster
Sarries
Toulon
Biarritz, though Zebre could surprise at home
Munster
Tigers
Toulouse

[finbar]

Ah well, I was right to be doubtful about Saints and Castres. Pity. Dire old game it was, too, with forwards running into each other in the fog and plenty of poor handling. Questions need to be asked about Mallinder as a coach. Saints are still trying to play the same power/bosh game they were two years ago with a lot less success. Saints are being regularly found out but nothing changes. Recruiting Dom Waldouck is a case in point. Waldouck is a skilled player. Mallinder has just given him Jon Clarke's old role - bosh it up, break the line. Waldouck isn't big or strong enough, and, what's more, it's a criminal waste of his talents.

[finbar]

Big Sarries comeback yesterday, though, it has to be said, Racing fell in a heap. Hernandez at 10 spectacularly so. I had the best of both worlds - watching Sarries embarrassed in the first half, but I'd tipped them to win.

Quins getting back into form too. Connacht weren't pushovers either.

[kittenOFchaos]

Big Sarries comeback yesterday, though, it has to be said, Racing fell in a heap. Hernandez at 10 spectacularly so. I had the best of both worlds - watching Sarries embarrassed in the first half, but I'd tipped them to win.

Quins getting back into form too. Connacht weren't pushovers either.

Well, that was disappointing. Had a nice accumulator building up and then Munster give up 14 points in the last 10 minutes. Result, I lose as I had Munster on -13. Munster looked knackered by the last 10 minutes and more than a bit disinterested. They had stopped trying for a bonus point victory and they certainly don't deserve to go any further in this competition.

Edinburgh 17 - Munster 26

Grr!

[finbar]

Dan Biggar left 15 points on the paddock against Tigers who took an awfully long time to make much impression. That O's back row played havoc. Tigers aren't the force they were.