SBW back for Bledisloe opener after appeal

Piru, I thought you were smarter than this. Disagreeing with calling a 3-way selection trial a 'meaningful' match does not necessarily equate to 'hate' of the ABs.

World rugby screwed up by banning sbw for four weeks not four matches and the matches banned should be at the level he was banned from or above. Test level being the highest, it should be 4 tests.

Plus theres something wrong with a banned player being able to play against lower level players then continuing the ban afterwards. Its supposed to be a cool off period for retrospection but by not including the match as part of the ban theyre more or less saying we'll let you off the naugthy chair to play the little fullas but then you get back on it for the big fullas after that!

Cool?

Bet theyre worth more than the car.

Thats what I thought initially but There is a potential risk with that one Highlander. That rule makes it more ideal to deliberately foul at certain points in the season. Not saying they would but lets say the Lions or Saders pick a player or two not likely to be picked for a test to deliberately target the flyhalf. Loses maybe no matches or at worst a mitre 10 or currie cup round match. Or end of season tours, no SH players going to miss much between november and jan so they target it, and if several are doing it it could ne a real mess.

This is already done....i.e. player suspended from all rugby until such a date. Whatever the defined period is it would still need to be on account of the matches/weeks handed down in the suspension.

I question if the ban is long enough to get SBW to reconsider his tackling technique and to make lawful tackles in the future. I doubt it is.

Something about glass houses?

To think it was an Aussie who set the precedent eh Bunfus. Your new Captain no less

It certainly is in Auckland Puff. I must admit I was actually surprised at the Asian/NZ population knowing their rugby when I went to the 2011 WC but thats the multi-cultural society NZ, and particularly Auckland, is becoming. Auckland has always been culturally diverse and is becoming more so each decade. I travelled by bus up to Whangarei to see Japan play Tonga ( I think) and the bus was chocha with NZ resident Japanese fans who knew there rugby quite well and were rather passionate about the match. Another enjoyable rugby experience

yess.... yesss..... let the hate flow through you

Jacko, I also have some AB memorabilia, purchased in Auckland and the young Chinese lass who served me couldn’t even speak English. To some degree these are iconic NZ sport collectables and I doubt she even knew who the AB’s were. Is this a sign of the times?

Beyond parody. Looking on the bright side for all other international teams, though, it now looks like every ban can be got around simply by scheduling a daily training run against the local pub team. Don't see why a 5 'week' ban on the Saturday necessarily rules a player out for the following week if they can schedule enough games. It, obviously, shouldn't even be a debate whether an 80 minute training run involving 3 different teams constitues the spirit of the concept of a meaningful match, but the ABs have whined, stamped their feet and thrown a tantrum so that's the end of the matter. It reminds of the 'Mealamu' defence after he launched a flying headbutt at Moody at Twickenham. The ABs solemnly announced that 'if Kevvy said he didn't do it, he didn't do it'. He got his sentence reduced on the back of this unanswerable argument. Now, apparently, if 'the ABs say it's a meaningful match it's a meaningful match.' World Rugby have expressed 'surprise' - don't know why...none of the rest of us are.

Exactly Piru. it;s international sport, all teams do it. the Wallabies did it with Hooper a couple of years ago so it's a bit of a joke when Aussies are complaining about it and insinuating that the ABs get away with things that no one else does. If an AB receives a red card from this game, he has to face the judiciary so this idea that it's a meaningless game is ridiculous.

Meanwhile SOB is on hols by the beach somewhere with no suspension and no explanation from the 3 Aussie wise men. But SBW and the ABs are somehow receiving special treatment eh.

Awesome to see your hard earned cash going to support the ABs Marto

As much as I love the Darkness, SBW's suspension should have been longer. Hansen said he was hurting a few days after event, good!!! I hope it did!!! There is no doubt about SBW's talent and athleticism but I have always had my doubts about his discipline. If he has another brain snap during a big match then he should be dropped all together. Sorry if that offends anyone that has a man crush on the big lug but that's just the way I feel.

If that's how you want to characterize an appeal being upheld, then yes I suppose they did.

I also have an AB`S cap and scarf ..I use them to clean my hubcaps and shammy the paintwork..