The Roar
The Roar

Adam Longhurst

Roar Rookie

Joined August 2014

4.7k

Views

3

Published

41

Comments

Life long Waratah diehard and Wallaby nut. \'Be good to your wife and hopefully she won\'t mind your rugby expenses\'

Published

Comments

Good article Rob but maybe because the poor old Reds have lost their way in recent times, you have gone searching. I think Rugby is closer to AFL than it is League. What Rugby and AFL have in common is that the possession is constantly changing and that makes it interesting, especially when it is a close game. I grew up playing and watching League and as soon as they removed the biff, contested tackles and contested scrums, it became an linear and boring game. 5 tackles, kick…. 5 tackles, kick… 5 tackles kick until someone makes a mistake. I don’t know why they bother with scrums other than to gather the ‘forwards’ into one area to open the field up for the backs. So, why not have a line out or something else to at least give the opposition a chance to win against the feed.

I think the real issue is that many NRL players are very talented athletes and I would never take that away from them but personally, I cannot stand to watch the game anymore. It is horrible. Rugby is infinitely more interesting to watch and that is coming from someone who grew up loving and playing League. Imagine the possibilities of the strength of the Wallabies if we had the depth that League has. As it is, the Wallabies are #2 in the world and that is in a country plagued for competition from 3 other major football codes.

It will never happen Rob.

When will the rugby codes finally merge?

I agree. Great article. Thank you Soyabi. Jourbert makes mistakes like we all do and according to World Rugby, they think he did. I disagree. With no TMO and what looked like (in real time) offside, the penalty stands. Get over it and move on.

Didn’t know about rule 303. Thanks RIL. Based on that rule, everyone should have already gotten over it. Looking forward to this weekend, I hope that the Wallabies can go back to playing their true game. They are up against familiar opponents so that should help us. Go Wallabies!!!

Rather than hunt down Craig Joubert, remember Ben Hunt

Good article Sheek. My view is simple. We (along with Wales) bundled England out of their own tournament. That has put the Wallabies on the back foot from that point onwards. Now we have an all SH semi final! Could it get any worse for NH Rubgy. It is like the Rugby Championship all over again. Do the AB’s deserve to win. Sure. But the World Cup is a competition and I don’t think for a minute that Joubert was wrong. In real time, I think his call was correct and marginal calls and incorrect calls exist in Rugby. We could always put another ref on the field as they have done with the NRL. But, the NRL still gets calls wrong so what is the point. We need to be disappointed by the outcome of the game like we need to be disappointed in the 3 try’s we gfited Scotland. Lets face it, they were gifts. Australia outplayed Scotland and I have the greatest respect for Scotland but they lost to a better team.

I hope we meet the AB’s in the final and I hope that we beat them with some fantastic rugby. I will be a very proud Australian if Steven Moore lifts the Cup.

Winning the World Cup would be bittersweet for Australians

Good article Max and you pose the most important point here and that is that World Rugby did not support on of their best referees. It is a tough job being a ref and every team has suffered at the point of bad ref calls at one time or another. If that penalty had been in the 30th minute, nobody would be saying anything. In real time (which is all Joubert had to work on), it looks like a penalty. Break it down over the following week and there is a chance that that Martian caused some problems.

Did anyone see that Martian? I have watched the video a hundred times and there is definitely a martian in there or was that just my dog slobbering on my knee?

I really enjoyed watching the game and hats off to Scotland who love sticking it to the WB’s and this time was no different. Lets just hope that line calls don’t come into play in the semis or final. Go wallabies!!

Joubert was right all along

No argument that the AB’s demolished us in Auckland as I was unfortunately there to witness it first hand. AB’s are a great team and absolutely deserve their #1 world ranking but it wasn’t the Sydney test team that was demolished in Auckland and that is my only point. Look at it whichever way you like (and for fear of repeating myself), we demolished the AB’s in Sydney and we demolished England at Twickenham with virtually the same team. I am impressed by the mettle of the current wallaby squad and I wish them all the best to go all the way….GO WALLABIES!!

McMahon in, Simmons out in Wallabies lineup to meet Wales

Quade Cooper is 3 yellows from 4 starts. Thats a liablility. 5 yellows from 46 matches is not a liability, especially considering that in the last 10 tests Richie McCaw gives away on average 2 penalties, to Hoopers 1 (per Andy Fryers of Rugby Heaven). Richie McCaw will go down as probably the greatest player of all time and given that Hooper and McCaw both play in the 7 jersey, clean outs, yellow cards and penalties come with the jersey.

McMahon in, Simmons out in Wallabies lineup to meet Wales

Sorry David but I have to agree with The Curl. The decision by Hooper to clean out Brown was made in a split second and it is arguable that had the camera angle been different, you could have interpreted him using his arms. It was wrong but it wasn’t stupid. However, I think that the punishment was just. The thing the WC judiciary lacks is consistency. How Sam Burgess was not cited for his head high tackle is beyond me but life moves on. The Curl has a great point. It doesn’t matter that Cheika smashed a door (I am sure that was labelled as stupid) in Canberra on his path to Glory with the Waratahs. What matters is the enthusiasm, commitment and hard edge he bought to that team and their no nonsense approach to the game. Hard, uncompromising and fast. The Wallabies are bringing this back into their ethos and along the way, mistakes will be made. But, what a pleasure to watch. We have the mettle now to go all the way. The Sydney test team that demolished the AB’s also demolished England and if that isn’t enough to get us all behind the Wallabies, then maybe some of us need to go find another sport to watch.

McMahon in, Simmons out in Wallabies lineup to meet Wales

Bonus points are designed to encourage try’s so I agree with the theory. It doesn’t always work that way but generally the games I have watched have been interesting. Absolutely no comparison to low scoring boring games which we tend to see once we get to the finals. In all reality, I don’t know who will win the Pool of death and games played cannot lay a platform for future games as we often see violent swings in performance from one week to the next. You watch SA play Samoa and it was also present with Scotland v Japan. Japan were ordinary at best. The roar posts help me get through my morning coffee. 🙂

Wallabies beat Fiji but don't get bonus point in World Cup opener

Unfortunately, you cant do anything about commentary bias. I am listening to English, Irish and Australian World cup podcasts and the biased towards the home nations conducting the podcasts is obvious in all 3 cases. The Irish just crack more jokes. The Foxtel commentary team is biased towards the Wallabies so in the end, just hit the mute button. Silence is beauty.

Wallabies beat Fiji but don't get bonus point in World Cup opener

Thanks Alex. Great read. Especially the bit about the Wallaby head in your bed! I am still laughing about that one! Fiji are a nation to be respected so we need to bring our best game and judging by the team line up, we will have done just that. Go Wallabies. 🙂

Fiji's form forces Cheika to show his hand

I think that we will put 40 on them with the team selected. We are match hardened and have played them a lot more than England has. Fiji are a great side, but we are not ranked 2nd for nothing considering where we were a little over 12 months ago. They will run out of puff at the 60min mark and we will go into overdrive.

Are Foley and Giteau big enough to stop Nadolo?

It would be suicide to give QC the 10 spot for Eden Park. For that game, he should not even be in the team. He will be booed off the pitch and given that he is a kiwi himself, I don’t believe it sits well within him to play against the AB’s. They well and truly have his measure. If Cheika doesn’t play Foley at ten, then he needs to give Toomua a go. I believe also that Toomua is the form 10 for us so far. I also feel that he will deal with the intense pressure at Eden Park better than Foley.

The Rugby Championship, now the Bledisloe

Agree Daveski. Worst game I have ever seen Carter play live. He was appalling. Too early to dismiss either Foley or Phipps but yes they both played very poorly. They both have heaps more to offer.

It was the best Bledisloe game I have ever seen live. Not so much for the action because Hong Kong was probably better with a real nail biting finish but the energy in the stadium on Saturday night was just electric. You had to be there. Everytime the AB chant started, it was immediately shut down by Wallaby fans. First time I have ever felt that. Normally at games in Australia, the AB crowd drown everyone out and this is true credit to the loyal AB fan. It is great to see fans get behind their team and the AB fans are first class at it.

But, on Saturday night, they didn’t stand a chance against the Wallaby fans. The atmosphere was incredible and it was worth every cent. Never thought I would say that about ANZ stadium. Looking forward to Eden Park where the AB’s will lift another 3 notches and I only hope we can do the same. I am not expecting the win which will make the victory even more sweet should by some miracle, we can pull it off.

With the depth and class that Cheika is creating as coach, I am starting to believe that this will become a team that will be very hard to beat. A win this weekend will put everyone on noitce

The Rugby Championship, now the Bledisloe

Great read Elisha. To Harry and all the other regular Roar bloggers, can you please clarify something for me. All the readings of this week have the SA coach making a big error in subbing at the time he did. I understand the frustration of the boks fans because they went on to lose the game. But, it was only by a whisker. Isn’t the point that if the Boks cleared their bench and the bench wasn’t up to it, then there is a problem with depth in the Boks team? Wallabies also subbed and what a difference it made to the momentum.

Six Wallaby lessons after their blades of glory

It doesn’t matter what I think. Last year I was happy to start Foley at 10. I hope we don’t have another year of constantly playing players out of position and more than one Wallaby team can work. I have great faith in Cheika.

SPIRO: Brumbies and Waratahs fighting for the Conference

Hey Alex. I am a mad Waratah fan, a big Hooper fan but in the end, I have to agree with you. Pocock is the right person to captain the Wallabies. Not only is he arguably the best 7 going around but he has a maturity that is above Hooper as Hooper is still green. The Wallabies around 2000 to 2003 were good enough to own the Bledisloe and almost win back to back World Cups. I think you under estimate the sublime talent of Johnny Wilkinson at the time (I wanted to cut his legs off) so it was not just about the fowards doing all the work that helped England to victory. Playing Smith and Waugh was a good combination and I agree with your analogies between the four players. Fast forward to today however, I believe that Hooper is a better player than Waugh ever was (big fan of Waugh also) so I would definitely like to see the 2 play together. They would create such diverstiy and havoc, I think that it would genuinely confuse the opposition and open up play like we haven’t seen for some time. We have a good scrum developing now so it can’t do the team any harm. It can’t be worse than dropping Foley from the Wallaby 10 last year. What idiot came up with that screamer?

The curious case of the Wallaby number 7

My mother-in-law (at 80) constantly chilps everyone in the family for double superlatives (such as ‘the very last’) and absolutely insists that Shiraz is pronounced Syrah. I love to call it Shiraz with extra pronunciation on the last two letters but winding up a mother-in-law is the prerogative (not perogative) of a son-in-law. If language and communication didn’t evolve, we would still be grunting like cavemen or talking in Olde English like Shakespeare.

Lindsay, think of it as constant ‘iterations’ to ulitmately achieve perfection. This is what we are taught in business and design school, so why not apply it to language. I agree that it is courtesy to get someones name right, but I am constantly being called ‘Alan’ instead of ‘Adam’ and this is only four letters and two syllables. So, what chance does poor Christian Lealiifano have?

Good luck trying to change it…I enjoyed the read.

The real 'commentator’s curse' is in your ear every weekend

Yes, I am a Waratahs fan. I am very happy that they won. It was much needed. The Hurricanes always play exciting rugby and it was a fantastic game to watch. Both teams deserved to win. Both teams made mistakes. I wish all Rugby games were as interesting as that one.

SPIRO: Waratahs start their run, but is it too late?

Good article Dan. Who cares? The authorities and the law does and society needs boundaries and when those boundaries are broken, then an appropriate punishment should be issued and should be consistent. Thats why the yellow and red card system exists and so on.

I don’t care what anybody does in their spare time so long as they conform to the rules and not hurt anyone(including themselves). We ALL BEND THE RULES from time to time (presidents, judges, atheletes and the public) and some of us set out to smash the rules to pieces. Some get away with it and some don’t. The issue in my eyes is the chemical inbalance cause by the intake of any drug, whether it be legal or otherwise.

I think the conjecture over professional athletes with drug taking is that the playing field is not balanced. But, is it ever balanced anyway? So, if these idiots put themselves into the spotlight, it is a bit like having a large bet at the casino and then being disappointed that you didn’t win. It certainly makes for interesting reading.

Be honest: How outraged would you be if footballers took drugs?

Modern day businesses are all now starting to adopt a ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ policy for finding a balance in getting it right in business and protecting the environment in which it operates. Professional sports people are paid to perform a task like any full time employee. Importantly, they are paid very well but really only operate on a part time or 3/4 time basis. So why not make them work full time for the same money. When out of season, why can’t they still be working for the club they represent. Not just making appearances, but working everyday to find a balance in their full year.

Young, overpaid and plenty of time on their hands. I appreciate the hard work they do for the entertainment of others but for their sake, balance is needed and perhaps the players of professional sport all need their own ‘CSR’ policy.

When four cocaine charges become a basis for broader discussion

Can we redcard the ref? From the kick off you know how a lot of games will go just by the wrong ref on the field. For eg: Every time Jonathon Kaplin reffed the Tahs or the Wallabies v AB’s, it was a nightmare from the kick off. It happens that refs can completely ruin a game at the kick off, so we should red card them. 🙂

It's time to revamp the rugby red card ruling

It will probably never happen but I would love to see Pocock and Hooper running amuck together in the Wallaby squad. Technically, it is not right but what is right about our scrum, technically or otherwise. And what have we got to lose, well…..let me think…..nothing!!

Put Fardy and Gill on the bench and let the scavenegers do the work. We don’t need to scrum if we have the ball

From skipper to subbie: Hooper to be hooked

Ben, congratulations on being a professional athlete and managing to keep yourself grounded. A great many of you do it like this and you are testiment to that movement. Unfortunately, the boofheads seem to make the press. I hope you are very successful with your campaign and that it catches on. Why don’t you wear the ? head gear for the first game and pre warn the commentary box to ensure sure you get them talking about it. Oh, and score a hat trick under the posts to really get their attention. Maybe even a drop goal from 48m. Cheers

BEN DALEY: 'Be great, Do good' - Bringing positivity back to rugby

Start-ups always need time and ironically that is usually the thing that stops them as it did when the NRC was the ARC. Anyway, the #1 team in the world is a southern hemisphere team, right next door to us and they play a lot of running rugby. I saw the Tahs v Chiefs at Campbelltown stadium last Friday night and it was fantastic to watch. Both teams with a bit of mongrel and lots of attacking styled play. Give me that anyday over the NH grind. The history of teams winning the World Cup will surely lead to one conlcusion – southern hemisphere rugby is clearly superior in terms of overall results and as a viewing spectacle.

If the Rams moved their home ground from Parramatta to Campbelltown, they would attract a lot of spectactors up from the Southern Highlands – a rugby craving haven. I would even be happier if they moved the home ground to Eridge Park. They would get a packed house every time they played there. 🙂

The knock-on effect of the National Rugby Championship

Johnno, the point Chris is trying to makeis humility. Perhaps the greatest rugby player of all time is Richie McCaw yet he chooses to reside in Canterbury, NZ. Christchurch was devastated by the earthquake and I visited this once city in March 2014. What I learnt from the peole over there is humility. Wow, it still sends a shiver down my spine. Christchurch might never recover or it might take another 30 x years but the people who still live there are strong and determined to make it a city once more.

Take a look at Brazil a the last soccer World Cup. A team of champions that got belted probably because all the players are more interested in the new contracts or what coloured Porsche they might be driving next.

John Eales – Humility
Bob Dwyer – Humility
David Pocock – Humility

A few examples of how we should be. If the Wallabies learn the art of Humility, then we can become great again

CHRIS ROCHE: No Wallaby is indispensable

close