Japanese rugby is a wolf in sheep’s clothing - Australia and NZ must align their strategy or they'll both be eaten
It is easy to hate Europe. It has the Six Nations that does what it wants when it wants. It has clubs who take…
Roar Rookie
Joined July 2022
102k
Views
16
Published
5.5k
Comments
Published
Comments
It is easy to hate Europe. It has the Six Nations that does what it wants when it wants. It has clubs who take…
Over this last under 20s Championship much has been made of the approach taken by the European and non-European sides. Things such as France…
In my last article, we discussed why the French system helps bring through more underage players than anywhere else. We discussed how players like…
In 2011 New Zealand became the first team to win the World Rugby Under 20 Championship (also known as the Junior World Cup) and…
With recent calls for changes to Test selections in both Australia and New Zealand, some hard decisions need to be made if things are…
With nearly a month gone and the recent internationals just a memory I have calculated some stats that hopefully will give a better view…
This time 30 years ago, South Africans were getting ready to be included in Super 10. Having only the Currie Cup for so long,…
With the end of year tour upon us, I will be gathering stats to build a picture of the nations, with a focus on…
Part 1 looked at how transfers can be introduced. Part 2 was about all the positives the plan had for Super Rugby. This third…
We are currently enjoying the biggest Women’s Rugby World Cup to date.
Part 1 dealt with how Super Rugby can bring in transfer fees, by doing certain things with player contracts. With the reduction of the…
This year, the English Premier League spent a record £2.2b on transfers of players. Because they are the biggest commercial league, they are able…
In the heat of the moment, it is easy to feel everything is lost. Injustices taken personally as though we had been Bernard Foley,…
January 2016, possibly the last time the SANZAAR nations felt things were going well. The 2015 World Cup had just finished, with all four…
In 2015 New Zealand had possibly the best rugby squad ever assembled for a World Cup, but the slow decline of internal standards since…
In 1995 the game turned professional and the different regions adjusted to different degrees. In the South SANZAR was formed along with the expansion…
you mean like a #7 who was 37 but played in a WC final for nearly 80 mins as a hooker and did fine. Or PSDT who hit harder and more than anyone else on the field and was on for 80 mins. Fatigue will just mean that the attacker will get hit more and they will drop the ball more not that the defense will be any weaker. Players down a man concede because of the overlap rarely because they are tired.
WR's mooted law changes are great - but show there's a hell of a lot wrong with rugby in 2024, and that sucks
Here is the only rule that needs to be enforced that will fix all the problems, enforce existing laws. Clubs and Unions are paying people to think 24/7 about their area of the game and with most of the top 150-300 minds already thinking of ways to get around these rules means in 2 years we will be back here again with new rules to fix it. Red cards don’t lose games and plenty teams are winning with red cards. You can’t collapse a ruck. If balls were fed in straight then teams might focus on getting the ball by hooking than feel the only way to defend a scrum is to win a penalty. In the 6Ns if the ball was at the back of the scrum it was viewed as playable so no penalty. Scrumhalves just need to use the ball the ball in the 5 seconds. We can get rid of penalties and players fixing laces and nothing is going to fix it.
WR's mooted law changes are great - but show there's a hell of a lot wrong with rugby in 2024, and that sucks
It’s not two players and it seems the rules are unclear if a person can be picked for the ABs if their OS contract is finished but their NZR one does not start until next year. RM, AS, BR and NP are all finalists who can’t be picked. SW, SF, BB aren’t employed by NZR. SC and CT are possibly touch and go for 2027. So that’s alot of New players who are not as good as the players mentions so yes rubbish in Razors eyes. He knows the players because he beat them all regularly in SR. He also coached most of these new players in 2022 after which he started raising questions about OS players.
Razor's pursuit of 'hard bastard' Sam Whitelock reveals the ugly truth about the modern All Blacks
He used the media get the role so no surprise he is using it try get his way now. Agree he is trying to change the rules but maybe he knows that more are leaving than we currently know or he knows how rubbish the current crop are.
Razor's pursuit of 'hard bastard' Sam Whitelock reveals the ugly truth about the modern All Blacks
I think it is for most countries. Finding athletic giants is hard for anyone
Razor's pursuit of 'hard bastard' Sam Whitelock reveals the ugly truth about the modern All Blacks
Again, no one is debating the test qualities of McCaw and Carter but I think most agree that their team was much better than what RM had to work with. RM won so many SR titles did he even lose as many years as the other two won it. Again the discussion was Saders legends not legends who happened to play in Christchurch.
Rugby News: SBW's verdict on crashing Crusaders as 'beast' suffers blow, Sam Cane ABs replacement emerges
So your solution is to pick the locks in NZ who are currently worse than a 36 year old. What does that say about those locks if the debate is should SW come back and play.
Razor's pursuit of 'hard bastard' Sam Whitelock reveals the ugly truth about the modern All Blacks
Did Whitelock just get the jersey or did he have to take it off someone. Seems alot of NZ jerseys are being given out for free but previously they had to rip it off their backs.
Razor's pursuit of 'hard bastard' Sam Whitelock reveals the ugly truth about the modern All Blacks
But what are they rebuilding. Does DMac need to improve to get to RM or BB level or does he just need to be better than lesser players.
Razor's pursuit of 'hard bastard' Sam Whitelock reveals the ugly truth about the modern All Blacks
That’s what they said for the last 4 years when SW got injured but all the others showed to be so far behind he and BR were straight back into the team as soon as they were fit.
Razor's pursuit of 'hard bastard' Sam Whitelock reveals the ugly truth about the modern All Blacks
Henry started the ball rolling and someone like Rassie has taken it to a different level of its about the WC. In 2008 Howlet the then AB starting winger and record try scorer was moved on to make way for the next generation who get games to get upto his level. Luckily for Henry they had generational players come through, the next bunch didn’t do as well. Christie was picked as the potential 9 for the 2023 WC but no 9 had proved good enough to replace the people there. Even the Saders 9 was never given a go because he was too old. SA can do it as they have about 3 test players for every position to choose from which most don’t. I think Razor knows that even against Eng he can’t have players starting just because they are what’s left rather than they are better than the player they are replacing. A test team built for 2027 may never make it but a team picked in 2024 that is as good or better than 2023 will arrive well prepared for the WC. Wales 2011 was a good example where players pasted the older player 1-2 years before the WC but were good enough because they had passed the incumbent.
Razor's pursuit of 'hard bastard' Sam Whitelock reveals the ugly truth about the modern All Blacks
NZ struggled when SW and BR were out compatex to when both were in. No one has shown over the last 4 years to be on the same level apart from Barrett. It’s one thing bringing back someone who has been missing from the ABs for two years but he played the last games and is still the top 2 locks available to NZ if he comes back.
Razor's pursuit of 'hard bastard' Sam Whitelock reveals the ugly truth about the modern All Blacks
Let’s the games begin
Exclusive: Rebels threaten Civil War as peace talks with RA end in another blow for Super Rugby
Yet again the golden point is a pointless thing that sould only be for the knockouts.
Deja vu for Tane as Drua deliver another heart-breaker to under fire Coleman
Dura while they have unearth a few gems yet again I think are showing the challenges of turnover. Bringing back players will atleast help drive standards in training and hand the knowledge onto the next generation. Nic White at the Force is a good example.
Reds' 'unbelievable, unfathomable' double disaster sums up shocker as Force spring stunning upset
Better now than in Round 11 or 12. Helps refocus the players and acts as a stick to beat themselves with when they get cocky.
Reds' 'unbelievable, unfathomable' double disaster sums up shocker as Force spring stunning upset
Have to say I was expecting the result to be the opposite. Force though slowly have been improving and looking better in attack. Its good for Oz rugby that the weakest team is able to do this against the inform team. Is there depth for 5 teams, this says there is.
Reds' 'unbelievable, unfathomable' double disaster sums up shocker as Force spring stunning upset
Barnes even said he was out with the lads and saw it in the pub (he didnt know it was the pub), but just if he’s kid was there he said it would have been alot Hardy mentally It’s sad that is some places the most cap ref will be remembers for two games. That pub was national news for a while because of it which should never happen. Imagine having to explain that to your kid cause they googled you
'Grow up': France coach still crying salty tears over RWC exit, makes 'disgusting' claim about Kiwi ref
The big difference is these players broke through into SR and set the place on fire. Vaii looked like he would be like BR in 2020 when he was pick the year after his u20s season but will only get his shot now the others have left. RM – u20s 2014, Saders 2016, ABs 2017 (he did have DC in the way) he also had WC winning 10s ahead of him. Last years NZ u20 10 was drooped because he was so poor. Starting 10s last round, Perofeta 27, DMac 28, Miller 21 (only in due to 30 year old Patchel being out), Lealifano 36, Hohepa. This is replicated most positions. Kemara dropped for the second week running won’t be great for him either.
'It's time we grew up': The jarring hypocrisy that proves All Blacks are getting key call all wrong
So you see no issue where a NPC winning 10 isn’t picked up by any SR side and only gets a shot due to injury but are happy to bring in OS 10s who start for the team. As I said to Jacko. Average age of u20s is about 2 WC cycles behind the senior side. DuPont played in the u20s in 2016 along with Jordie Barrett and Strange (only now is the running for a call up). Shaun Stevenson another from that group. Everything is great I guess until its not. Of the 23 for the WC final that starting 15 were u20 around 2013/14 and the replacements 2014/2015. 9/23 had been under 20 10+ years ago with only 2 players making the 23 who played u20s since they last won in 2017 which were Williams and DeGroot. Lomax (2016) played u20s for Oz and Frizel (2014) played for Tonga. Smith and Whitelock were at the first u20s in 2008. In 2023 Williams was the only one to have played u20s in the previous 5 years but in 2015 with a much stronger squad Brodie, Beauden and Cane had all played u20s in the previous 5 years, in 2011 it was 4. Maybe Foster just wasn’t pick young players or they just aren’t there.
'It's time we grew up': The jarring hypocrisy that proves All Blacks are getting key call all wrong
Carter and McCaw won 2 WC that was with NZ and had no baring on the Saders. Carter started playing in 2003 when the Saders had made the final 4 of the last 5 SR seasons so hardly coming into a struggling team. RM on the other hand entered a SR team that had only made 3 grand finals since 2006. What they do for their club determines how they are viewed at club level and what they do at test determines how they are viewed at test level. Under Carter and McCaw they won in 05, 06 & 08, next win was Richie and Co in 2017. Merthens won in 98, 99, 00 and 02. I don’t know if Merthens came on for Carter in 03 or if he was relieved of kicking but Carter missed his conversation and got no penalties even though they outscored the Blues 3 tries to 2. Not sure why it’s hard to separate club and country but that’s SR problem for the last 30 years.
Rugby News: SBW's verdict on crashing Crusaders as 'beast' suffers blow, Sam Cane ABs replacement emerges
I doubt BOK or his team will get the abuse the team in the final took.
'Grow up': France coach still crying salty tears over RWC exit, makes 'disgusting' claim about Kiwi ref
You mean like Foster who said he was putting in a complaint and then magically it appeared in NZ media what the results were.
'Grow up': France coach still crying salty tears over RWC exit, makes 'disgusting' claim about Kiwi ref
It is no different to how Foster and Co leaked their WR review
'Grow up': France coach still crying salty tears over RWC exit, makes 'disgusting' claim about Kiwi ref
Agree. big ball in time play in 2023 was Ireland v France who both took quick throw ins to tire out the opposition and both just kept going. NZ and OZ are just has happy to slow the game down when they wanted (Saders being a prime example under Razor).
WR's mooted law changes are great - but show there's a hell of a lot wrong with rugby in 2024, and that sucks