Rugby - The Game They Play In Heaven II

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Sale are going well. And I tipped Zebre!

[kittenOFchaos]

Oh to have a crystal ball...

Had Saracens at +2 (2 point headstart) for even odds which is abit wasteful given they won 46 to 6.

Sarries had a bit of luck to get them underway (a penalty try should not have been awarded IMO), but they thoroughly deserved their victory. I didn't fancy Saracens as they barely beat Ulster despite the man advantage. That said, Clermont haven't travelled well in the Top 14 and so I expected it to be close...

I think Toulon will have too much for Munster, but upsets seem to be a regular occurance. Point in case was the Highlanders beating the Sharks...it was only by accident that I didn't bet on that.

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I didn't see the match. Reads like Sarries were as good as Clermont were poor. I've tipped Toulon, but who knows?

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Toulon too good, Munster typically gutsy. Poor discipline cost them, particularly in the first half, and wasteful lateral play with ball in hand hurt them in the second half. At one point they crossed the width of the field twice without making an inch of territory. Barnes trusted his assistant's call on the Munster try. I'd've been mighty ticked off if a Toulon supporter, and if the try had cost Toulon the game. Video evidence suggested Zebo only grounded the ball after a lot of wriggling and twisting.

[kittenOFchaos]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/27260546

Sale are signing Luke McLean which is fantastic news - a smart signing in my opinion

Debating whether to splash out on tickets for Sale Vs Leicester - must hurry up, it may even sell out.

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McLean is a great signing. Not the most gifted at Test level but makes the absolute most of his ability. One thing to be said for Diamond, he's made some very good signings - Braid, in particular - after some dodgy ones earlier on.

[kittenOFchaos]

McLean is a great signing. Not the most gifted at Test level but makes the absolute most of his ability. One thing to be said for Diamond, he's made some very good signings - Braid, in particular - after some dodgy ones earlier on.

We needed McLean on Saturday, Arscott was appalling - ended his shift with a pointless yellow card for emphasis.

Maybe I'm being unfair, but I've yet to see Matthew Tait perform particularly well either. He isn't great under the high ball and very rarely if ever scores from 15. Brown, Foden and Armitage (to name a few, there are plenty more I could think of) are not only secure under the high ball, but regularly score tries from 15. I'm just surprised that Leicester persist with him...particularly as his defense is pretty suspect too.

At least he isn't Armitage.

Sale should have lost to Leicester by as much as they did, that was ridiculous.

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I haven't seen a lot of Leicester but Tait has always been very good when I have seen them. The high ball mightn't be his forte but he's an excellent counter-attacker. His real problem remains ongoing injuries.

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Damn Leicester! Serves me right for picking Sarries without having seen the selections. I'd've gone with the East Midlands lot if I had.

[kittenOFchaos]

Damn Leicester! Serves me right for picking Sarries without having seen the selections. I'd've gone with the East Midlands lot if I had.

I always check out the match previews on http://www.planetrugby.co.uk/ to see if the team lineup is unusual.

Having read that Saracens were resting most of their key players I gave Leicester a big handicap - so I lost as Leicester struggled badly

I watched Northampton Vs Leicester last night and it was epic. Following our previous postings about Matthew Tait I kept a close eye on him. Very good tackling, at least one clean break, but not great aerially (but no Balshaw). Not in the same league as Brown. Neither is Foden for that matter and I rate him extremely highly.

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Didn't see any rugby at all. Sounds like a couple of decent comebacks in the Prem. At least Cockers had the grace not to blame others.

No, Tait isn't an aerial maestro. Great from the back, though. Brown is a class above the other FBs at the moment.

[kittenOFchaos]

A very entertaining first test in New Zealand.

Couldn't believe that England were +21 (given a 21 point headstart) on the handicap given the number of quality players we had playing. Easy money except I tried an accumulator which was ruined Tonga drawing with Samoa (didn't even look closely at the selections).

Last night I had watch highlights of the last English victory over the All Blacks and Freddy played for about 15-20 minutes and played well. We got that Freddy today (and Cipriani did himself no disservice when he got on either). I think Leicester have made a fantastic signing given they bought him when he didn't look the business with Gloucester.

It really wouldn't have taken much for England to have won and lots didn't go our way. Two debatable knock on calls, two potential NZ yellow cards ignored and a few dropped balls that normally stick (though the NZers had a few of those too). Our pack was superior...Robshaw was far, far, far more effective that McCaw and Morgan and Parling were particularly good. Out wide they were superior (particularly once the replacements came on) but obviously Tuigali was terrific, Yarde looked the business and Eastmond did what was required. Jonny May just worries me, particularly when he chases the loose ball and he didn't work well with Brown (who wasn't at his best).

The New Zealand replacements helped them considerably (Vito and Mealamu particularly) and combined with Youngs losing possession to Retallick who stormed through forcing Yarde to hold on after the tackle put England on the back foot during critical time. Little was said about that on Sky or on the biased NZ Herald blog, but England weathered that period exceptionally well.

I know New Zealand won't drop the ball as much next week, but I think England pack can provide the platform for victory. Lets see what the handicap is next week

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I'm in Sydney for a month for my sins. Didn't see England-ABs. Sounds like ABs were very rusty and England flubbed some chances. The pre-match margins were silly. Saw most of Wallabies-France. Wallabies very strong, quick and skilled. France terrible after the first five minutes. PSA continues the Lievremont madness of either picking players out of position or not selecting the best players in a position at all. Why Trahn-Duc can't get a start is beyond most people. Can't see things changing over the next fortnight.

[kittenOFchaos]

England drubbed by 1 point...yes they pulled back, but the result was never in doubt and England were shell-shocked for a good 25 minutes in the second half. Simply too many errors and woeful kicking from hand. England do need to stick it up the jumper more often, particularly when things were going to hell.

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Still stuck in Sydney, didn't get to see England match but listened to a lot of it. Sounds like England couldn't keep up when the ABs accelerated in the second half. Did see a replay of the Brown non-try. Farcical. The TMO agreed there was an arm under the ball but it was English so that didn't matter. Suspect the end result flattered England.

Had to go out so missed Aus-France. Probably a good thing. Sounds like a dire game.