The World of Rugby Thread

[Lewis]

The speed of this is ridiculous.

[Lewis]

It might just be Cameron Smith, but Queensland look like the much better organised side. They just can't do much about New South Wales' forwards.


Hayne can't tackle well enough for the centres.

At least this was right.

[Lewis]

James Tedesco is going to be scary good for the Roosters.

[Disco]

Fit FInlay vs Umaga confirmed for Summerslam.

http://i.imgur.com/sgi37c8.png

[ItalAussie]

It might just be Cameron Smith, but Queensland look like the much better organised side. They just can't do much about New South Wales' forwards.

This was always Queensland's biggest strength. They never lost their composure.

I don't think this series is over, but a win like that is huge.

[Lewis]

I think the only way you turn that sort of twatting around is if Johnathan Thurston comes back and does a 2005 Andrew Johns, and Johns never had to contend with half of his pack being shit (out of form if you're being charitable). The back row is sound, but the props and the interchange are laughably outclassed, to the point where you can easily name five better players that New South Wales never even selected.

[Queenslander]

Missed the whole game. Good one to miss by the sound of it?

[John Arne]

That "haka" was very awkward... proper embarrassing. I still have no idea why the oppo don't just walk around talking to each other, rather than standing there like schoolboys.

[John Arne]

This stadium is pretty awesome - one of the floodlights is just plopped right in the middle of the stand.

[Ian]

Inspiring stuff, this.

[Ian]

Great try but fucking hell, the back line just hasn't dealt with anything today. The forwards have been well up for it and getting shit to happen but the backs need to sort their lives out if what I've seen of this has been anything to go by.

Also I wish somebody would tell Will Greenwood that we know he's seen a game of American football and he can stop fucking talking about running backs and pockets.

[Jimmy Floyd]

From what I've seen of Super Rugby, it's of a better standard than our internationals.

[Queenslander]

New Zealand Super Rugby is on another level. Us and the Saffas are absolutely hopeless.

[phonics]

Wait there's now a third type of Rugby? Can't you lot take a break from drinking each others piss or whatever homoerotic act you've 'dared' each other to do and agree on a ruleset?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Wait there's now a third type of Rugby? Can't you lot take a break from drinking each others piss or whatever homoerotic act you've 'dared' each other to do and agree on a ruleset?

This is all union (as if I'd post about league).

[Lewis]

Warren Gatland had a seethe the other day when someone asked him whether Gatlandball had been cracked.

[Disco]

It doesn't bode well for the weekend if they couldn't turn over the Blues, Crusaders are a different level to this lot, it's almost as if lumping a load of crap Welshmen into the side is somehow not the best approach.

[Pleb]

I've seen the Blues live in Eden Park last year and they are not a side to fuck around with so beating the lions is what they probably deserve.

[Queenslander]

The Kiwis are seething. :drool:

[Disco]

I didn't see it, what are they whinging about now? Did another team have the temerity to cheat too.

[Queenslander]

Can't win games with penalties apparently and Northern Hemisphere officials don't know the rules. Standard kiwi whinge.

[Disco]

Perfect, I hope the Lions win the first test 0-3

[Queenslander]

I would use a 0-3 win over the All Blacks as foreplay with the missus.

[niko_cee]

From what I saw of it they absolutely battered them, without ever being able to not throw the crucial pass into the runner's face.

The Crusaders played poorly, but were made to do so.

[Disco]

Disappointed Cokanasiga isn't involved in this Argie match, he looks like a monster.

[Disco]

Denny Lolomona has come on and given away two tries in about 3 minutes. Great game though.

[Disco]

And then scores the winning points by running 40 yards with his first touch. What a game. :D

[Lewis]

Provided they actually get a decent settlement, Castleford are still lolling at him leaving. A wheelie bin could have scored forty tries on their left edge, as evidenced by Greg fucking Eden being well on his way to doing just that.

[Disco]

He looks like he can score a try or two but was he always so suspect in defence?

[Lewis]

He was alright on the wing because he can whack people and he had clever centre partners telling him where to go, but when they tried him at full-back he might as well have not been there.

[Queenslander]

The land of the precious are now obsessing about your scrum.

[Ian]

What are we supposed to have done, then?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Rugby is literally all they have over there.

[Queenslander]

Complaining about the pre-loading tactics used in the scrum. Ian

[Disco]

Something they think only the ABs should be allowed to do.

[Pleb]

The land of the precious are now obsessing about your scrum.
Get the banter juices flowing then.

We'll probably get a 3-0 whitewash from the Kiwis from the sound of it.

[GS]

The key is to be genuinely competitive, at least. We can't have another Woodward-style shitfest. I read an article before this Tour about 2005, where Woodward was basically giving it large about how it didn't matter and he didn't really care anyway etc. etc.

Wanker.

[Lewis]

It's a bold prediction, but I reckon we're going to get murdered in all three tests.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It would be better if they treated and selected it like a Barbarians tour but with the best players, rather than an actual deadly fucking serious attempt to grind out wins at any cost, which apparently it is.

[Disco]

This lot are good enough to win a couple but I'm not sure the coach is. Imagine this shit with Lord Edward in charge.

[Queenslander]

Get the banter juices flowing then.

We'll probably get a 3-0 whitewash from the Kiwis from the sound of it.

I'll throw the odd comment about but Australian is so rubbish at the moment it's better to just chip in occasionally from the cheap seats.

[Queenslander]

This lot are good enough to win a couple but I'm not sure the coach is. Imagine this shit with Lord Edward in charge.

Eddie would troll the country into such a state that spitting on Australians would be socially acceptable again like it was back in 2011.

[Ian]

Forgot this was on so I've got up and turned on just in time for it to be really close. :uhoh:

[Disco]

Can't win a game on pens mate. :harold:

[Queenslander]

I'm smelling an ambush in the first Test.

[niko_cee]

Were they playing today so as not to clash with State of Origin?

Playing so many games in such short order is idiotic. What's the point? None of these are actual lions teams. If you have to have a midweek schedule, then it needs to be against suitable opposition. Leave the test team to play the weekends.

[Queenslander]

Notice the boring in on that match winning scrum? :harold:

[Disco]

The problem with having a seperate side for the tests is, well, 2005 basically.

[niko_cee]

As shambolic as that tour was they were always going to get murdered, so I don't know what input the schedule/set-up had. I have fond memories of Austin Healy's midweek trolling extravaganza back in 2001.

[Disco]

Splitting the teams kills motivation, if the midweek guys can't play themselves into a test spot (and vice versa) then what's the point?

[niko_cee]

Isn't the side largely picked anyway, and how many players are actually involved across the three test squads generally? I bet it's generally the same 19/20 players with a few that come in due to injury etc.

[The Merse]

After being a bit disappointed at the players missing or not picked for this game, Scotland are equipping themselves fairly well against the Wallabies. So that'll be an Australian victory by a point late on.

[Queenslander]

I'm annoyed a Scottish tour didn't happen. We are dog shit so win or loss doesn't change the state we are in.

[The Merse]

For fucks sake. Pyrgos has come on and heaped the pressure on us with shit box kicking. Still 24-19, but it's all Australia now. Fortunately, they appear pretty awful at dealing with a competent rush defence and their basic skills have been atrocious.

[Queenslander]

For fucks sake. Pyrgos has come on and heaped the pressure on us with shit box kicking. Still 24-19, but it's all Australia now. Fortunately, they appear pretty awful at dealing with a competent rush defence and their basic skills have been atrocious.

We are fucked for the next generation or so.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Give up, Australia.

[The Merse]

We are fucked for the next generation or so.

There are good athletes there and Hooper and Foley remain imperious at times (never mind Coopers class off the bench) but what is with that handling? It's like Scotland 2-3 years ago where we had the imagination but no execution.

I've heard that funding for grass roots Union has disappeared, with all of it going into NRL/ARL, which I guess is why so many recruits are from ARL and so many Fijians are turning out for the Aussies these days.

Sad state of affairs, we turned up without our three big try scorers and a couple of experiments elsewhere on the pitch and would expect to be plucky losers at best with our strongest XV in days gone by. What's opinion on Cheika like at the moment?

[Ian]

So Gatland's due to call up more players to the Lions squad? Here's hoping he plays it safe and calls up a load more fucking Welshmen.

[John Arne]

Nice dancing, lads.

[ItalAussie]

Give up, Australia.

Hard to argue.

[Ian]

Jesus wept, that's a shambles.

[John Arne]

North :face:

[John Arne]

https://media.giphy.com/media/G4MZxwpBQ5IQ0/giphy.gif

[Ian]

We're just dreadful when we get near the line and today, at least, any sort of kick through the backs seems to have us shitting our pants.

[Queenslander]

There are good athletes there and Hooper and Foley remain imperious at times (never mind Coopers class off the bench) but what is with that handling? It's like Scotland 2-3 years ago where we had the imagination but no execution.

I've heard that funding for grass roots Union has disappeared, with all of it going into NRL/ARL, which I guess is why so many recruits are from ARL and so many Fijians are turning out for the Aussies these days.

Sad state of affairs, we turned up without our three big try scorers and a couple of experiments elsewhere on the pitch and would expect to be plucky losers at best with our strongest XV in days gone by. What's opinion on Cheika like at the moment?

Bill Pulvar and his grubby Eastern Sydney mates are responsible for the cluster fuck that's​ Super Rugby. He hasn't​ done a thing to promote coaching pathways and he has ignored sponsors concerns in recent years which has resulted in the loss of 3 major sponsors with more to follow. His plan is a successful Waratahs means a successful Wallabies. By the end of his term Rugby schools will have turned in to League feeder schools where they will pluck who ever they want because kids can walk into full-time job as a League player. Eg Kaylin Ponga

Michael Cheika is just a fucking pig headed cunt. With out David Pocock he doesn't have a game plan. But it's not all his fault because the playing group are the most delusional bunch of blokes going around. This will all be forgotten they will be talking up the Italian game next week.

Not the most helpful rant.

[Ian]

That strikes me as a daft yellow card to pick up.

Love the power from Te'o there running through the defender.

[Queenslander]

Te'o would have been a great Wallaby. :(

[Ian]

Bloody love Itoje.

[Baz]

So Gatland's due to call up more players to the Lions squad? Here's hoping he plays it safe and calls up a load more fucking Welshmen.

Could have been me, if only I was on holiday in New Zealand.

'err well there's a lad staying in my hotel who uses a St Helens towel on his sunbed, O. He'll be here a lot quicker than Mike Brown.'
'Call him up!'

So close.

[Disco]

I now Brian Moore had a heart attack but he could have worn a clean jacket.

[Lewis]

I never realised this was an actual series. I wonder how seriously Argentina take these things. Presumably once upon a time these were their cup final (so to speak), but they're a proper rugby nation now, so do they even care?

[Disco]

I don't think it's quite a full squad but they've given it a decent go in both games. You can see the tri-nations influence in that they actually give it to their backs these days.

[Ian]

In what I saw of the two games it certainly didn't look like the Argies were in "I suppose we might as well"-mode. How do they do in the not-tri-nations? Are they Italy or have Australia gone to shit enough that they give second a go?

[Disco]

They're basically Italy, they've won maybe 3 or 4 tests since they joined.

[Queenslander]

They are better than Italy because they have beaten both Wobblies and South Africa. They will be the second best Team when the Japan World Cup rolls around.

Take out the Kiwis and the Southern Hemisphere isnt that impressive anymore both us and the Saffers have dropped while the Kiwis could run two Test teams.

[Disco]

Oh yeah, they're better than Italy, I just meant they were the 'Italy' of the SH.

[Queenslander]

Sorry my mistake that's fair but I reckon the Wobs are trying their hardest to take that from them. I reckon we won't win away from home untill the spring tour.

Edit: More Cheika coolaide this morning from the players with the standard nothing to worry about bring on next week.

[Queenslander]

With our rancid poaching of Fijiians there are 2 who are fair dinkum caps.

Sami Kerevi moved to Brisbane when he was 7 and played all of his Rugby here.

Tevita Kurindrani was poach by the Broncos who then cut him. He started his Rugby career off here playing amateur club Rugby before the Reds signed him out of Brisbane Park Rugby.

[Queenslander]

Picture says a thousand words and all that...

http://i67.tinypic.com/nqtoc0.png

[Queenslander]

Im not the sharpest tool in the shed but these photos indicate a serious lack of giving a fuck about how Corporate Rugby feels about a loss to an understrengh opposition in Sydney.

Seething
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155230020915731&id=20262130730

[Ian]

I love some of the tweets and forum comments the BBC decide are going to add something to the live text.


James Kelly: you little beaut! 2 tries in a Lions match for an @ExeterChiefs player, you couldn't make it up

You're right, you truly could not make it up.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Didn't they win the title this year? You couldn't make it up.

[Disco]

Cut us some slack guys, we aren't used to this kind of thing down here.

[Lewis]

This is a bit too easy again. Queensland could be in for a few lean years.

[Lewis]

Mitchell Pearce is still not up to it though. That try is going to delude people for about five series.

[Lewis]

Hayne missing the tackle like a pudding. We're still in this.

[Lewis]

BOTTLED IT, lads. If only they were as consistent as my bollocks tipping.

[Queenslander]

Hayne can't tackle well enough for the centres.

Mitch Pearce lol

2 games in Brisbane

:huhu:

[Lewis]

Hayne seems to be getting the blame. Jarrod Croker would have passed before half-time. Jarrod Croker would have made that tackle. :cool:

[ItalAussie]

NSW really had to work to throw that game away in the second half.

[GS]

It's odds on that AWJ and Liam Williams aren't even in the squad for the second test.

Beyond those two, it's hard to argue with the selection.

[niko_cee]

Hayne seems to be getting the blame. Jarrod Croker would have passed before half-time. Jarrod Croker would have made that tackle. :cool:

I blamed him having only really watched the five minutes before half time. Why on earth didn't he just pass it out to Morris (was it)? What a twat.

[Lewis]

England's Brett Morris, yes. He saw HAYNE SEALS SERIES and shat himself because he's a gimp.

[Ian]

That Lions team for Saturday needs more Welshmen.

[niko_cee]

Genuinely shocked he hasn't gone with Halfpenny and, to a lesser extent, North.

[GS]

I'm not overly surprised by North, but I really can't see an argument for Williams.

[Ian]

It didn't occur to me at any point that Halfpenny wouldn't start.

I hope Daly does well and nails down a place. I really like him.

[Disco]

I couldn't make a case for Williams being on the tour let alone in the test side. Also not at all sure about AWJ over Itoje, I'd have him over anyone else.

[Ian]

Here we go. :uhoh:

EDIT: And I see Scotland followed up the win over Oz by losing to Fiji. How very, very Scottish.

[hfswjyr]

Gutted I can't watch this live!

Should be a great game.

[Ian]

No try but it's promising that we even put that move together given we've looked so uninspired running with the ball at times.

[Ian]

Really lively start though we're getting properly pushed by these endless offloads.

[Ian]

Aaaaand this could be about to start getting ugly.

[niko_cee]

Only 5 yards forward.

Flat mate, flat.

:rolleyes:

[Ian]

Fucking yes, get in. Great play from all involved there.

[Jimmy Floyd]

That was a classic try. One of the best.

NZ lines have been surprisingly easy to break at times, but their skills are so far superior down the other end that they'll still piss it.

[Ian]

Great start to the half and we should have had a try on that first drive.

Need to make way less mistakes when we're inside their 22 though because we're not getting the penalties here to kick our way clear.

[Ian]

Big deficit, need something spectacular.... BRING ON THE WELSHMEN.

EDIT: The state of that.

[ItalAussie]

I'm surprised that Farrell is in the team. He always struck me as solid and unspectacular - won't cost you games, but won't win them either.

[Disco]

Well that was entirely predictable.

[GS]

It went as predicted - tight enough for the first half and a bit, then NZ cut through given the clear difference in class.

Plenty of positives to take, but a 3-0 series loss is always going to be par down there. We always have a shout against Australia and the South Africans.

Where do we see changes for next week? I think Kruis is the only one who you'd 'definitely' drop given his performance in the loose, but then he does bring something to the line-outs. Williams I remain unsure - it was a great break for the try, but then he contrived to fuck up the high ball (again) for their third try.

[Ian]

I think Williams started well and was great for the try but the numbers they were flashing up (carries, yards, etc.) surely flattered him a bit because of the positions he was often getting the ball in?

I'd be getting Halfpenny back in and finding room for Itoje for a kick-off.

[Queenslander]

I guess a positive to take from the Australian Rugby's rancid form and fitness levels is that we are running a completey PEDs free program.

[Haystacks Horace]

I think Gatcunt should have picked more forwards with farm strength in his squad as we look a touch weak. I prefer my props ponderous, my hooker heavy, locks lumbering and my back row big as boulders.

[Queenslander]

Lewis mate what's this Andre Savelio bloke like? Fox Sports are saying he is the next SBW.

[Lewis]

When he first came through that wouldn't have been that mental a comparison, but his development stalled being coached by plebs and now it is. At the moment he is nowhere near the England side, but if somebody could get him back on track with a massive kick up the arse (six months at the Redcliffe Dolphins) he could be.

[Ian]

That little dummy from Sexton was a thing of beauty.

[Ian]

Oh, hello....

[Lewis]

'SBW' special that.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I bet New Zealand TV is crying about it.

Lussen. Thet was nivver...

[Disco]

Hello then, what's going on here?

[Disco]

I bet New Zealand TV is crying about it.

My exact thought when I switched on and saw the little red mark.

[Ian]

I take it the way the rules are now the ref basically had no choice but to send him off? I just assumed he'd get away with a yellow at most.

At least for the ABs we're currently doing absolutely nothing with the advantage.

[Lewis]

'New Zealand Fan TV. We have Keith here. Keith, what happened cuz?'
'Steve Hansen fam. He is done blood. He is past it fam.'

[Disco]

I take it the way the rules are now the ref basically had no choice but to send him off? I just assumed he'd get away with a yellow at most.

At least for the ABs we're currently doing absolutely nothing with the advantage.

I've just seen it, no attempt to use arms in the tackle and a direct shot to the head. I bet the ref will be called 'brave' for sending off an All Black (lol) but that's a red no matter the colour of your shirt.

[Lewis]

We look like the team with fourteen, and they should just fly home tonight if they lose.

[Ian]

Loved that from Murray.


We look like the team with fourteen, and they should just fly home tonight if they lose.

Indeed. Commentators giving it "We're in New Zealand so now it's really just 50/50."

No.

[Ian]

This is fucking dire. Fortunately Barrett's kicking is too.

[Giggles]

I just scrolled my Twitter. I think THINK maybe someone got sent off.

And Adele has cancelled a concert.


.

[John Arne]

This constant stop and starting with the video ref is almost as bad as the NFL.

[Lewis]

Wales should sack him as well if this isn't turned around.

[Ian]

Fuck off, Vunipola. What a moron.

[John Arne]

This is awful.

[Disco]

Struggle with a man advantage then score a try with a man in the bin.

YOU COULDN'T WRITE THIS.

[Ian]

You could've had another set of posts on the far end there and that still would've been wide.

At least we've fucking done something, though. Now watch the All Blacks get a try before the end of the sin bin.

[John Arne]

It would be nice if we actually saw a replay of some of these offsides. The game stops for about 1-2 minutes for each penalty and we see fuck all during that time.

[Ian]

We're 12-0 up now, right? Because you can't win with just penalties?

[Disco]

Ian you know full well none of your points count unless you've scored a try, so we're 21-0 up.

[Ian]

I really hope that if we see this out it doesn't get played up as some massive, heroic effort and conveniently ignore the fact that they were a man down for however long.

[Disco]

I was readying an inb4 heroic comeback narrative post when in reality we should have been 10 or 15 points clear. 2-1 is better than a whitewash I suppose.

[Lewis]

Still shit, lads.

[Ian]

They're going to absolutely muller us in response to this next week, aren't they?

[Disco]

A ref dared to penalise them, we'll be lucky to get out of the country.

[Giggles]

Jesus Sky really build up this farce. COME ON, YOU'VE JUST BEATEN NEW ZEALAND!.

Well yeah, against 14 of them in a friendly with a side made up of 4 international teams.

[Ian]

"Two fantastic interviews!"

Alright mate, dry yourself off and calm the fuck down.

[Queenslander]

Tomorrow is going to be a great day.

[Lewis]

Yeah, we're looking a bit smalltime now.

[Waffdon]

Why is the Lions tour such a big thing? If a not full strength Scotland team can beat Australia for example, what's the fun of getting the best players from four nations and facing them?

[Ian]

Well normally the Southern Hemisphere teams who aren't New Zealand are good too.

[Kikó]

New Zealand is basically the Borg (Star Trek not Bjorn) of Rugby so any win is a great achievement.

[GS]

They've won 47 consecutive matches at home, so any win down there is a huge, huge result.

[Lewis]

They had fourteen men for an hour, and the Lions are meant to be the best that the combined strength of three leading test nations and Scotland can offer. If you lose the series you lose the series, even if you lose every game; but losing today would have been embarrassing for the sport as a whole.

[niko_cee]

I've just seen it, no attempt to use arms in the tackle and a direct shot to the head. I bet the ref will be called 'brave' for sending off an All Black (lol) but that's a red no matter the colour of your shirt.

It was though. You could see the touch judge's arse fall out when the ref said it was a red. The rest of them just stood there and you could see they were thinking "is he really going to do this".

Fairly sure the TMO wanted Vunipola off in the second half to even it up but Monsieur Le Frog wasn't having any of it.

:cool:

[niko_cee]

They had fourteen men for an hour, and the Lions are meant to be the best that the combined strength of three leading test nations and Scotland can offer. If you lose the series you lose the series, even if you lose every game; but losing today would have been embarrassing for the sport as a whole.

In fairness though, if you were picking a Southern Hemisphere combined XV, you'd probably just go with the All Blacks, wouldn't you?

The ruthless efficiency of modern professional sides has scuppered the concept of the Lions to a large extent (as it has even more markedly to the Barbarians). Put England against New Zealand today and they (England) would have won comfortably with the man advantage for so long.

[Lewis]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/opinion/94049674/mark-reason-a-red-day-for-sonny-bill-williams-and-new-zealand


There were no arms and there was no concern for the opponent's safety. He caught Watson flush on the jaw and the winger went down. It was the tackle of a man who still hasn't got the violent stupidity of rugby league out of his system.

:cool:

[niko_cee]

Incidentally, what's the rule when you knock the ball forward, but before it hits the ground it hits another player's foot? I know when it's you own foot it's not a knock on, but does that hold for another foot as well? I'd always thought not, but Smith did it at the back of a scrum (lost if forward and recovered it off his own player's foot) and no one seemed to bat an eyelid. Is that legit?

[GS]

They had fourteen men for an hour, and the Lions are meant to be the best that the combined strength of three leading test nations and Scotland can offer. If you lose the series you lose the series, even if you lose every game; but losing today would have been embarrassing for the sport as a whole.

I don't disagree that they 'needed' to win today after the sending off, but you can't overstate the achievement of beating New Zealand away in any match. Since 1994, only England (once, at the peak of SIR CLIVE) and the French (once) have actually won in New Zealand coming from the northern hemisphere.

Huge result regardless of circumstance.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It was though. You could see the touch judge's arse fall out when the ref said it was a red. The rest of them just stood there and you could see they were thinking "is he really going to do this".

Fairly sure the TMO wanted Vunipola off in the second half to even it up but Monsieur Le Frog wasn't having any of it.

:cool:

I'm sure the TMO was shitting himself as well, kept trying to catch his attention and get it downgraded to yellow, but good old Jerome wasn't having any of it.

[Ian]

Garces said he thought it was a red pretty much straight off, didn't he?

I thought it sounded like one of the times the TMO mentioned 'red' during the Vunipola one he was talking about his recommendation for a card rather than a shirt colour as well but that might have been my imagination.

[Queenslander]

Every sensible Kiwi I know have said straight red.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It really is stupid just how much that country depends on rugby in its national psyche. They're probably worse than Indians/cricket, all things considered.

[Queenslander]

They really are the worst at this stage especially the ones who aren't old enough to remember the late nineties and early 2000's. That lot are so aggressive in their opinions. Kinda like Australians were before 2005.

[Queenslander]

Hey Lewis Jamie Acton will now have his own statue outside Lang Park.

[Lewis]

His story is that he was checking on him, got told to 'Fuck off', so left him alone. I would consider that believable. And speaking of Lang Park, it was good of the power brokers there to get Ben Hunt a Queensland call-up as some sort of joke/freebie for New South Wales.

[Queenslander]

Makes no sense at all.

[Queenslander]

Makes no sense at all.

[Lewis]

I like the idea that 'DCE' has been blackballed for what he did to the Gold Coast by a leadership group consisting mostly of salary cap cheats. Grow up, lads. He's the form player in the competition. We should make another England approach.

[ItalAussie]

Utter insanity. The QLD players must absolutely hate him.

Apparently Cooper Cronk and James Maloney really don't like each other. Which could be funny when they're paired in the halves for Australia at the end of the season.

[Lewis]

Most accounts seem to paint him as being a bit of a cold fish, which apparently rubs everyone in the game up the wrong way (that and forcing a couple of has-beens out at Manly when he first wanted more money); but that just sounds like code for him being a bit too middle class and/or nice to fit in properly. Feuding with James Maloney though. He seems like the least dislikeable person in the sport. He doesn't even tackle. That's how inoffensive he is.

[Queenslander]

I reckon DCE will be starting next year.

[Ian]

Cooper Cronk

A man with that name sounds like he should be the village loony, shouting at kangaroos and licking redbacks for larks.

[ItalAussie]

Weirdly, he's probably the most boring man in Australia. You get the feeling he collects paperclips.

And let's be honest, Australia has its share of redback lickers.

[Lewis]

I reckon DCE will be starting next year.

If Queensland are losing both of their halves for next year (depending on what Cooper Cronk ends up doing) they might as well jump to Anthony Milford and Ash Taylor and suck up a couple of transition series. In fact, I reckon 'DCE' would actually be worth a go at thirteen whilst their forwards are crap.

[Ian]

All the effort hyping up the third test on Saturday will definitely be worth it once the ABs beat us 42-3.

[Queenslander]

If Queensland are losing both of their halves for next year (depending on what Cooper Cronk ends up doing) they might as well jump to Anthony Milford and Ash Taylor and suck up a couple of transition series. In fact, I reckon 'DCE' would actually be worth a go at thirteen whilst their forwards are crap.

He has to be there somewhere but don't you reckon his tackling will leave us exposed if packs down at 13? I completely forgot about Ash Taylor which to makes Mitch Pearce's existence even more lol.

[Queenslander]

All the effort hyping up the third test on Saturday will definitely be worth it once the ABs beat us 42-3.

They don't have Richie sweeping the sheds keeping them all humble. This is brand knew territory for this New Zealand team.

[Lewis]

He's a great defender (twenty-four tackles a game from seven in a team near the top of the league is pretty remarkable), and it would free up Josh McGuire to play prop and get Tim Glasby off the interchange. Imagine him coming round the back on both sides of the ruck against New South Wales' defensively crap centres. Chaos.

[Queenslander]

That's a great point. I'll be using that next league chat at the dog park.

[Lewis]

It's Cameron Munster at six (good idea), Ben Hunt on the bench, and Michael Morgan at centre. That is a bit you wot mate on its own terms, but I'm struggling to think of an obvious replacement. There really isn't much depth in the outside backs there at the moment. You need more islanders.

[Queenslander]

It's Ben Hunt on the bench that has me fucked. And you are right it's down to us not having a good enough centre which is strange for Queensland.

[ItalAussie]

Cameron Munster was sensational on the weekend. Of course he'd be a Queenslander.

[GS]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40497672

This is seriously small time behaviour. Perhaps you should be less shit at the sport, then, lads.

[Disco]

Hogg would probably have made the test squad had he not got injured, who else does he think should be there on merit?

[GS]

Hogg would probably have started. You could make a somewhat strained argument for one of the Scottish wingers to be in the test squad, but then are they materially better than Daly or Watson that it makes their exclusion an outrage? Hardly.

[Ian]

I don't pay full attention to non-England games unless they promise to actually be really good. But Scotland did come above Wales. Once you get past the few obvious Welshmen are they individually better than the Scots / were the Scots just a better 'unit'?

I don't see that after Hogg you'd have argued for any of them starting but surely you'd have a few more in the squad if Gatland didn't just prefer to pick the players he personally knows where possible?

[Queenslander]

Is the Pro 12 ready for the Kings and Cheetahs?

[Jimmy Floyd]

There should have been more Scots in the party. They're just out on a limb a bit these days as a rugby nation having been so shit for so long. Plus they only have two teams in the Pro12 or whatever it's called which hampers them.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Is the Pro 12 ready for the Kings and Cheetahs?

No, they'll absolutely demolish all of them.

[Queenslander]

I think the Cheetahs could be top two but the Kings are absolutely dogshit being a race/political sports team.

[Ian]

The state of this kicker.

[Ian]

That was a deeply irritating try to concede. We've been hopeless near the line far too often.

[Lewis]

Fortunately so have they. Is it 33-13 without crap execution?

[Haystacks Horace]

Farm strength on display.

[Lewis]

That was the least forward pass today.

[Disco]

Winning with just pens is the dream here.

[John Arne]

I swear NZ are offside for everyone of their kick offs.

[Disco]

There is no offside line in Eden Park, they took it out.

[Lewis]

Winning with just pens is the dream here.

Will they break off diplomatic relations with France straight away, or try to pin it on something else?

[Ian]

Getting a bit fucking tense now. And Disco has it. All the kicks, please.


Fortunately so have they. Is it 33-13 without crap execution?

You're right. I meant more in the series as a whole but yeah, they'd have fucked us today if they hadn't fluffed their lines where they don't usually.

[Ian]

Er, might have to be careful what I've wished for there....

[Lewis]

Just lay somebody out and take the trolling draw.

[Queenslander]

Remember they don't have Rutchie.

[Ian]

Great game but that's a bit of an anti-climax.

[Lewis]

I bet they're (not unfairly) SEETHING about that offside. :harold:

[Lewis]

Yeah they are.

[Lewis]

What is this? Even football does this stuff quietly before the game. It's almost as if they expected a double celebration.

[Disco]

The offside thing is interpretation, instinctive rather than intentional and no advantage gained.

[Queenslander]

Dick in hand, I'm so happy right now. My phone is lit up with seething Kiwis!

[GS]

That's a top, top result for us - especially after losing the first test.

[Queenslander]

I had a feeling this team would choke.

[niko_cee]

One of the great games, and it would have been bizarrely fitting (of the sport itself) for it to have been decided by a stupid technical penalty, but the ref saved us from that fate.

Why didn't Webb just pass it to Daly when they broke off the back of the NZ scrum in the last minute? He was gone.

[hfswjyr]

Fantastic result for the Lions. I suspect not very many people would have had them drawing (or winning) the series at the start, especially after the start they had to the tour.

[Disco]

I certainly didn't, seriously doubted Gatland was the right person to be in charge. The first test was about how I thought all three would go. We were very lucky in the second test, not so much lucky that SBW was sent off but lucky that we scraped a win despite not playing very well. This morning was just brilliant, that picture of both teams getting the trophy is great.

[Lewis]

That kick. Jesus. New South Wales look so badly organised.

[Queenslander]

Cheers Melbourne Storm. I'll say again Mitchell Pearce lol.

[Lewis]

He really is useless at this level. Watch them win now by marginalising him, and then the heavily-invested media will give him all the credit.

[Lewis]

He's also lost Cameron Munster for these last two tries. Laurie Daley is stealing a living.

[niko_cee]

I know it's a bit of a repeated theme, but what is the deal with forward passes in all types of rugger these days? That Castleford try was just a straight chest pass forward, and yet you have gruff 'rugby league man' commentator saying he's not prepared to say that's forward, applaud the skill. Is there ever going to be a breaking point? If anything, it just makes actual enforcement of the rule all the more galling, which seems a bit upside down.

[Lewis]

It's not that big a problem is it? I would extend the video referee to judge them in tries, but in general play it is what it is.

What does a non-heartlands ponce like yourself make of the Sky commentary? I think it is a bit over-manned, but a lot of the more self-conscious league people go so far as to consider it an embarrassment and a slight against the sport.

[niko_cee]

I only dip in and out of it so I can't really comment on the, erm, commentary too much. I think the interval stuff is a bit overdone when they've got them on screen.

With forward passes, I dunno. Maybe it's because I have no actual experience of the game, but to me it always seems as if in football the attitude was 'well, he was only a little bit offside'.

[Lewis]

To link the two points, the rules of the game account for forward momentum ('The direction of a pass is relative to the player making it and not to the actual path relative to the ground'), but twenty years ago Stevo decided to name the 'Momentum Rule' after himself and an entire generation of fans has since grown up thinking it was all just him talking shit.

[niko_cee]

Forward momentum, at the kind of speeds they are travelling at, is a bit of a misnomer really though, particularly over the short distances usually at play. I understand it as a concept, but it can't be rolled out to justify the ball obviously just going forward out of the hands. 90% of the worst cases are where the player making the pass is relatively stationery and you can just track it by looking at the pitch (the actual path of the ball relative to the ground) - see New Zealand's first try against the Lions in the first test. The flat pass was invented (coined?) to justify the marginal ones and it just seems that now officials aren't really prepared to call them (to the point where you feel aggreived when they are). Just seems odd.

Elsewhere I see Manly are riding high in the comp. I really wish Premier Sports didn't have the rights. I'd happily watch a few games a week but I can't be fucked with streaming it. I don't know why but I just can't get into Super League in the same way.

[Lewis]

You should pick a team. Become the first glory supporter in Castleford history.

[Lewis]

That was a classic forward pass. He had to turn around to get it.

[Baz]

You should pick a team. Become the first glory supporter in Castleford history.:D

[ItalAussie]

All-Blacks put on 40 before half-time.

It's not that we've been diabolical when we've had the ball, but they can just cut us apart at will when they attack.

[Disco]

Wow that was pretty brutal, if you'd said a twenty point loss before the game I'd think it wasn't too bad but not like that.

[hfswjyr]

All that game has confirmed is that Wayne Barnes is the worst.

[ItalAussie]

If there was a mercy rule, it'd have been called off at half-time.

[ItalAussie]

Although in an enjoyable irony, it was only one point short of being the most points we've ever scored against the All Blacks.

In a game we also lost, for what it's worth.

[Lewis]

They will still be SEETHING from the Lions tour, so whoever got them first was always in for a battering.

[Queenslander]

We are horrendous though. Not one victory over a NZ Super side this season and Cheika refuses to invite any outsiders in to his Eastern Sydney Mafia brains trust.

[Lewis]

If only Jarryd Hayne was eligible.

[ItalAussie]

Managing to go an entire season without winning a game against NZ opposition is a bit special.

Also special was the Brumbies qualifying as seeds for the finals as conference winners with 34 points, ahead of the Hurricanes (58), Chiefs (57), Highlanders (51), Sharks (42), and Blues (37). The Blues didn't even make the finals at all. :D

[Queenslander]

South Africa wanted every conference winner getting an automatic finals place.

[Disco]

You needed about 20 more guys to be having affairs, you'd have been ok then. Maybe.

[Queenslander]

Nah their 3rd side would beat the Wobbles.

[Queenslander]

I wonder how years we have to go back where we led within the first 5 minutes?

[Queenslander]

Is this real life?

[hfswjyr]

One of the best games I've seen in a long long time. Neither team deserved to win/lose.

What a change from last week.

[Queenslander]

We were very lucky that the All Blacks made the mistakes they did. How Foley continues to be the kicker is beyond me. The bastard is stealing a living leaving 9 points on the field.

[ItalAussie]

God, who saw that coming?

Came within two minutes from a win in Kiwiland. What a boilover that would have been.

[Lewis]

I see Laurie Daley has been chucked. The Hayne Drain strikes again. I'm not entirely sure how Brad Fittler has come to be seen as anything other than a braindead, but Geoff Toovey isn't doing anything (not really), so if nobody has the required sense of humour to give it to the Johns brothers then he is the man.

[Lewis]

I might be the only person in East [of] Hull happy to see Hull win this, but there are too many knobheads in this Wigan squad and Lee Radford is a geezer.

[Baz]

I'm over the moon fwiw

[Lewis]

I'm going Canberra this year, because I saw a picture of Dave Taylor looking lean the other day, so Ricky Stuart is obviously a genius.

Tenth. Well in, lads. I really hope somebody robs Melbourne, and Brisbane are probably the best bet.

[niko_cee]

Sneaking in the 8, we'll have the bastards!

I randomly bumped into someone I used to go to Brookvale with, who still lives in Manly, at a random farm in Sussex yesterday.

:cab:

[Queenslander]

Im not sure how much of the Western Force v ARU shambles has made it out of Australia but we are at the point where a flood of players will be heading to Europe soon.

RiP Corporate Rugby Union

[Lewis]

The NRL should buy it and make them the Western Tigers.

[Queenslander]

I dont think League has much of a following in Perth.