Rugby Results

[kiwifisho]

Just wondering if anyone caught the results for the rugby in the weekend?:)

[Bluebeard]

............:(

[kiwifisho]

Sorry mate, but the All Blacks had a bit of a run away. Dunnon about the England/Australia game though. Congrates to Cardiff city mate.

[Bluebeard]

And I would be very surprised if they dont smash everything in their way

[Fynn]

To lose to a team as clinical and precise as the all blacks should be seen as a lesson and not anything to be ashamed off.
It pointed out Wales still has a long way to go if were going to have any kind of chance in the world cup and were on a steep learning curve to attempt it.

Still your coaching staff had to come to Wales to learn all their moves ;)

[paid4]

Still your coaching staff had to come to Wales to learn all their moves



You know that could be very true:uhoh:

[PanamaJack]

On a serious note kiwifisho they're undoubtedly the finest team in the world, at the moment. But, like all nations, they seem to be relying on 'foreign imports'.

And wouldn't it be nicer though if they played fairly within the rules? This 'win at all costs' spirit - epitomised by Hayden - particularly through deliberately slowing rucks and attacking players taking out defenders to create gaps just 'ain't cricket'. They're good enough to can win without those tactics.

And then how close did we get to yet another 'spearing'?

I guess it was unfortunate that the Welsh side were missing so many 'first choice' players, and the 9/10 combination(s) just didn't work.

Blimey, that was a bit of a 'sound off' from an Englishman. Back to the fishing?

[jetstream]

Well put Panama,

Lets hope the the other nations and referees learn from the display.

[paid4]

On a serious note kiwifisho they're undoubtedly the finest team in the world, at the moment. But, like all nations, they seem to be relying on 'foreign imports'.

And wouldn't it be nicer though if they played fairly within the rules? This 'win at all costs' spirit - epitomised by Hayden - particularly through deliberately slowing rucks and attacking players taking out defenders to create gaps just 'ain't cricket'. They're good enough to can win without those tactics.

And then how close did we get to yet another 'spearing'?

I guess it was unfortunate that the Welsh side were missing so many 'first choice' players, and the 9/10 combination(s) just didn't work.

Blimey, that was a bit of a 'sound off' from an Englishman. Back to the fishing?


You sure you're an Englishman m8?

[shaggy]

hi the better team won.shaggy:wah:

[PanamaJack]

Hi Paid4


You sure you're an Englishman m8?

Yhup. Although a 'old fashion' rugby fan to boot. I'll politely clap the opposition for a good move or try AND keep quite during their anthem - although have been known to join in with the Marseillaise (well, bits) - and whilst they're taking a spot kick. Unfortunately too many of the nasty supporter traits from soccer are starting to drift into the 15 man game now.

I suppose I grew up in the amateur era with the 'JPRs' and 'JJs'. And, this is embarrassing for an Englishman to have to admit, my brother's Chemistry (and Rugby) teacher was a certain John Dawes. It must have had an effect on the 'impressionable lad' he's now married a Welsh lady and's living in South Wales.

Roll on which should be a good Six Nations, at least there're now four competitive sides in the Championship.

Any rate this forum is meant to be about Antipodean fishing. And any second the 'thought police' are likely to move us on!
Dave

[paid4]

Yep should be a good competition next year and I think we're safe here the thread is about the AllBlacks beating Wales;)

[salmon king]

blacks are awesome at the mo!oz v england tommorow.wales just beat fiji tonight 11-10!!bloody disgusting.six nation champions,how the hell did we win that!!and shane williams is out of his depth.he is a good club player but international....give mw a break!

[Norin Radd]

The reason Wales deservedly won the Six Nations was simple...they played with heart, played for each other and finally worked as a TEAM.

It is also important that they had a Welsh Man in charge ! Ruddock may not be everyones cup of tea and believe me when I say he can be an abrasive character, he dosen't mind calling a spade a spade but he is focussed on the job.

I have lived in Wales for nearly 20 years now and I have grown more and more annoyed at the Medias reaction to the Welsh results...they win a game and its all over the papers..."Wales zoom back to the top"..."Bring on the English" etc. No problem with being proud of a performance but they go too far. They whip up the hysteria and then teams like Western Samoa come along and deflate the baloon.

As a staunch Englishman I have to admit that I genuinely take no pleasure from seeing them tumped by a lesser side, living in the Rhondda and getting the grief I get I should, but I have always classed myself as a rugby fan first and an English fan second. I applaud good rugby whoever it is that does it and to see the game develop into something special is a real joy to me.

Anyway the Welsh have a side that could and should be a great side but the development has to be taken slowly...Ruddock is in my opinion the man to do it.

Oh yeah...26 - 16...god that sounds good :)

[PanamaJack]

You're going to have to forgive me for I've copied this assessment verbatium from Scrum V on the BBC's web site. It's from a fan who deeply understands the game and I think it puts things into perspective.

I really do hope we're going to get an expansive game, one that rugby fans of 'all persuasions' can enjoy.

As a New Zealander I've seen more false dawns before World Cup years than I care to remember. However saying that there is something distinctly different about this squad than previous years - and that simply is depth. In the previous three world cups our starting line up has played crucial men out of position, or players come into those positions late in the piece through injury - Cullen as a centre in '99 in case in point. This touring squad with the addition of men at home (Holah, McAllister etc) have an overflow of talent not seen in the New Zealand game anytime I can recall. This is a new dimension to the to "old peaking between world cups" argument.

As for last weekend I think England got carried away with their forward dominance - as impressive as it was. As the game progressed they did not take opportunities presented to them in the Australian 22 - and only put the game away far too late. They need a far more rounded game to beat New Zealand. I also think that the comments of inferior forward play in the Southern Hemisphere cannot be levelled against New Zealand. Yes, 3 or 4 years ago certainly however on the basis of New Zealand's comprehensive defeat of France formed on the back of very dominant forward play last season and the displays against Wales and Ireland in the last fortnight then this charge cannot be levelled. This will be tested against a very good yardstick this weekend!

But... Will Sheridan out scrum Hayman? Probably. Will this have a significant impact on the game? No. Will this contest become a distraction to England and an almost overblown focus as it was against the Australians? Possibly. Can England afford to not capitalise on time in the All Black 22. No!

I think the current English side has strength but not near the level of 2002/03 and lacks the attacking abilities of that era also. The midfield looks predictable, the back row is competent but not overly threatening. The defensive structure of the All Black backline is looking very strong and on the basis of the Irish display they are able to penetrate at depth and with extreme pace that will worry the English defence. The Irish tried a rush defence for 15 or 20 minutes but were hurt badly by the holes this creates if not executed properly. Dan Carter provides the in field kicking option to unlock a slide defence with the pace from the wings to capitalise, so there's multiple threats. I think it will be an expansive and fast game and as always a well contested one.

And another thing - I'd be the first to admit the English game of 2002/03 was fantastic and that side were deserved world champions. Idiots that degrade that side and their performance during that period by carrying on about world rankings are just that, idiots. They are world champions are rightly can claim that any old time they like - just as we could from 87-91.
Bruce Bayless

Just as a post script there's an intriguing thread on the prop's, Dunning, injury on Saturday. I'm not into what goes on in front rows but there're clearly some experts doubting the scale, and timing(?) of that injury.
Dave

[Jon Law]

Anyone know many Samoans, Tongans, other south sea islanders New Zealand have in their team ???

They are undoubtedly a great team and fantastic to watch but cherry picking the best players around them, is not really on, or is it ?

[PanamaJack]

Hi Jon
The ABs are a tremendous team, certainly the best of the bunch at the moment. And they now seem to have developed strength in depth, being able to play 2 completely different 15s against Wales and Ireland. I think there's likely to be a 'mix and match' (from those teams) on Saturday as well.

To start to answer your question though there's obviously a range of economic reasons why the islanders gravitate to NZ. But many of the team despite their ethnic backgrounds are likely to be 2nd or 3rd generation Kiwis. However, I suspect, that these might have 'slid in' under the IRB residency rules - Nonu - Samoa, Sivivatu - Fiji, Taumoepeau - Samoa, Mealamu - Samoa, Lauaki - Tonga, So'oiaio - Samoa, Tuiali'i - Tonga.

Can you really blame them though looking at the parlous state of the islands' rugby boards and their development programs? Money's always going to be a factor, but balanced against that there's the fame and prestige of playing for a hugely successful team.
Dave

[kiwifisho]

As Panamajack has pointed out, most of the islanders playing in the AB's are from 2nd or 3rd generation families. As with any sport, citizenship is the only way for player to qualify to play for a country. Look at Kevin Peterson in the England cricket squad, prime example.
:preachon:

[Jon Law]

The AB's have a frightening strength in depth, their only real problem is picking their best 15 !

I just think its a shame, because you look at some of the Island teams and you think .... just a couple of players short of really doing something. Of course those players could be in the NZ squad !

Yes your right England/Wales cricket has had plenty of African, Australian, etc players for as long as I can remember ......................
............... And no you won't hear me complaining about that ;)

[PanamaJack]

Well Kiwifisho here's the eating of the proverbial pie.

The ABs were awesome at Twickenham and thoroughly deserved their win. They are the 'polished article'.

But, that said, I'd like to think that England are capable of improvement in a range of positions, particularly our backs. They seemed to lack, certainly in the recorded highlights I saw on the Beeb, any penetration and consequently just got tackled or 'marshalled' out of the game by the ABs drift defence. It's wrong to single anyone out but, as an example, what was Cohen doing in that final play? Shouldn't that have been back to the forwards to keep it tight and attempt to force another penalty against a weakened pack? Perhaps this does call into question the coaching of our backs?

Alright the referee didn't have the best of days. But the minutia revealed by constant video playbacks is becoming a bore and certainly detracts from my enjoyment of the game. OK, the final passes on both ABs tries were forward, the second albeit only marginally. (But the ABs number 10's vision in seeing the defensive weaknesses was incredible.) On the other side of the coin it looked to me as if Dawson was marginally offside when he forced the penalty that led to the England try.

As well, I mentioned it in an earlier posting on this thread - the cynical professional foul. Is 10 minutes in the 'sin bin' really fair punishment? I know refs can start awarding penalty tries for everything, but two of those were certainly developing into very dangerous attacking situations.

I've had my 'sound-off'. What I wanted to conclude by saying though was that the true winner was undoubtedly rugby. What a tremendous game!
Dave