The Kiwis miraculously became world beaters when he assisted Steven Kearney, so no doubt the English are now the side to beat.
The Kiwis miraculously became world beaters when he assisted Steven Kearney, so no doubt the English are now the side to beat.
League is back.
It's going to be a long season for Rovers (I was going to go to the opener on Sunday, but Andy Bell put me off), and I'm also going back on my Wigan prediction. I had forgotten how good Leeds' forwards look now we don't all have to pretend Jamie Peacock was still good.
Why do teams announce their line-ups several days in advance of a match? In this modern era of professionalism and all it always strikes me as a bit anachronistic.
I don't think Leeds have realised the season's started.
I'm a twit
Sir Kevin Sinfield wouldn't have passed up those points in the first half. Zak Hardaker kicking all season.![]()
The usual feelings of confidence when you're hanging around murrayfield on opening day have kicked in. Reserved confidence, but confidence nonetheless. Hard to say it's backed up by greater pragmatism this time around, but I'd venture the XV today is the strongest in around 8 or 9 years. Set piece will decide a lot. Ford has to hit his throws and Johnny needs to get his calls right. Scrum should be solid enough with the Embra trio in fine form - I'd be concerned were Vunipola starting, will take an out of form Marler against Nel anytime.
Queenslander will be happy to know that Dave Taylor looked bigger than ever in his specially-made XXXXL Catalan shirt (the slimming black away version), but he'll still have a right laugh against most teams in better conditions.
Fucking hell, Italy.
The Lions are going to get absolutely molested in NZ. 3-0 and no survivors.
I've no idea whether Jones will be any good for England, but whenever I've seen him speaking (as just now) you can at least tell he's talking about rugby and not increasing productivity with new office furniture.
I wish I'd been organised enough to watch this now, seeing France lose is the next best thing to beating them yourself.
I watched a couple of their Tuuhp 14 games recently and the standard is really high, pissing on anything in the British/Irish club game. Why are they so shit? 'Because they're French' explains 99% of it I suppose.
Their gameplan consists of 'being French' too, which is your other 1%.
High tackle by Scotland there, get him binned.
Terrible game, this, between two terrible teams.
Is the BBC studio outside? In the middle of February? In Scotland?
Hasn't French rugby (like English football) shit itself by allowing their better teams to pack their key positions with expensive foreigners?
If Scotland can't beat us today they won't ever do so again.
Essentially yes, although it's not quite so chronic because (until recently) international sides wouldn't pick players from foreign clubs.
Will the Irish be able to resist losing their players (I expect England can hold out), or will they fold like Wales?
That kick. Fucking hell. Your old man would still sink that with his eyes closed.
And Australia don't forget. I suspect everyone with the possible exception of New Zealand will fold eventually.
Give up, Scotland. Just... No more.
Wee Jimmy Krankie wasn't happy.
I turned it off before he started speaking.
I've just seen that our last game is in Paris, I'd gladly lose the next three in exchange for battering the French. ISIS better not ruin it.
Fucks sake.
Russell not putting Hoggy in was a 7 point moment for a start...
England defense was impressive but yet again we rue handling errors in key positions.
Massive shame too that Barclay, a man most of the support has been calling for a recall for3 years for (I've been massively vocal on it myself) looked lost, and Cowan immediately improved the blindside.
The commentators billed him at 135kg, which can't be right because this old article about his weight problems had him struggling at 120.![]()
I've seen him reported at 140kg so good luck getting a full season out of him Catalans.
He is a lazy mess who will disappear in big games. His one trick is popping up in the centres to run over the smallest blokes on the field.
Any other antipodeans playing this season?
Glenn Stewart and Justin Horo have joined Catalans, so their pack should be reasonably handy, Frank Pritchard is already a cult figure at Hull, and Keith Galloway is at Leeds until they realise he's the slowest man on Earth. In the backs, Kurt Gidley is at Warrington, and Robert Lui somehow got a work permit to join Salford.
Your currency picking up really did wonders for our game. Every team used to have half about eight shit Australians (especially after the Super League War sucked the money out of the NRL). Now they're used sparingly.
All the best to all the women of Salford.
Glenn Stewart is a great pick up I reckon.
I haven't followed it closely enough are there any new English players down here this season?
Elliot Whitehead has gone to Canberra, and Joe Burgess (no relation to the others) has gone to the Roosters. Whitehead will be one of the best second-rows in the competition by the end of the year, and Burgess should do well if he doesn't get homesick like Sam Tomkins did.
We should have some Four Nations side once Darius Boyd gets his passport.
Hopefully Bennett can get some English forwards for the Broncos.
Let's see if ITV contrive to ruin the rugby as much as they do the football.
They have had the World Cup since the beginning of time, in fairness.
They had me at 'no Jonathan Davies'.
The Six Nations is opening up nicely for England. Grand Slam decider against France, and confirmation of whether or not the BOTTLER mentality has gone.
Can't believe France are topping the table at the moment. Watched both their games, and they were crap both times.
Made it up to Murrayfield for the opener, which was a great atmosphere. Just watched both games on today also, and gotta say the Scots keep losing, but there's very little in it.
These 'shoulder to shoulder' Facebook profile pictures are the stuff of wankers.
Happily France are unlikely to be top tomorrow afternoon.
Danny Cipriani back to Wasps, and they are trying to get Pocock.
Wasps have made an audacious attempt to bring David Pocock to the English Premiership, in a potential deal that would make the Australia flanker the highest-paid rugby player in the world.
The feelgood factor has only been enhanced by the capture of Danny Cipriani, their prodigal son, on Tuesday (NZ time). Despite interest from Harlequins and Toulon, Cipriani returned to his boyhood club on a three-year deal worth an estimated £400,000 (NZ$870,000) a year, after activating a break clause in his Sale contract.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/i...estpaid-player
Sabbatical with a bit of study on the side then he will be back for the next world cup.
We will lose a few players for a bit them they will come back 2 years out.
How would they get that under their salary cap? Do they do the league thing of paying wives lol salaries to do an afternoon in the club shop?
It's the World Club Challenge this weekend. 3-0 Australia again. Shit. Keep an eye out for John Bateman if you watch the Broncos' match, Queens. He'll be donning the NRL before long.
I do like them wide running forwards.
Hopefully My Bennett directs him to the Broncos.
Do you know much about this bloke http://www.broncos.com.au/team/profiles/greg_eden.html? @Lewis
He looked like a bit of a natural when he first came through, but eventually he was such an inconsistent waste of a shirt that everybody was completely mystified by the Broncos being interested. Nathan Brown calling him 'England's Billy Slater' at Huddersfield didn't do him any favours, but if he was that shit he would surely have been cut by now (he isn't exactly young), so somebody obviously likes him.
Well in, Saints. Ten minutes is a definite improvement on last year.
Baz, this is the worst Saints team I've ever seen. The entire squad has four decent players (RIP Jonny Lomax), and two of them are James Roby.
One out, one dropped, and both Lewis Tierney's fault. He's Jason Robinson's son! He's also crap.
That was good, as is the TTH-style post-defeat hand-wringing. Big pitches. Small pitches. Not enough pitches. Too many pitches.
Coming over here with your slaps. Aussie Twitter is seething.
In other news, Leeds were good for a half, and then their kids shit themselves. Not that the result matters when somebody gets GUBBED.![]()
What a punch. Why offer a little slap like the Aussie guy did? You just know you're getting gubbed.
Girlfriend is a Rhinos fan and went tonight, so might follow the rugger a little more again. I 'ope Sentelens are still decent.