Roar Pro
Joined November 2012
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With the start of the rugby season just days away, here is an alternate format of Super rugby which will hopefully end most of…
There are certain qualities that separate rugby from most other sports, and of these qualities respect stands above all. We often hear of players…
There is little to gain in continuing the cynicism currently surrounding Australian rugby. Confidence at all levels seems to be at an all-time low;…
I read something somewhere that went something like this: "It isn't violence that scares people, but the degree of violence. How far are you…
For the Wallabies to know how to win tonight, they have to look at how they lost last week in Sydney and, similar to…
The All Blacks opened their Rugby Championship campaign with a dominant 47-29 win over the Wallabies at ANZ Stadium. Here are my player ratings:…
The Springboks kick off their Rugby Championship campaign in Soweto on Sunday morning against Argentina, hours after the Bledisloe Cup opener in Sydney. Preparing…
Wheels are turning my friend, wheels are turning! Quit my job and getting ready to travel a bit for 6 months 🙂
Can anybody catch the All Blacks?
Well then France should have had no chance in the final then but they did. Rugby is all about what you can produce on the day, past results and to a certain extent form does not matter. It is all about the now, and nothing fires up the Boks like a match against the ABs. It would have been close and it would have been epic I reckon.
Can anybody catch the All Blacks?
Because Harry Hippos are very thorough and professional. They wipe down all surfaces they touch to not leave any hoofprints behind, they dress in plastic overalls to not leave any DNA traces and they make sure they destroy any remaining evidence such as cameras etc. This is all true because I heard it from someone who knows someone who once met a croc in the witness protection program who was ready to testify against the Hippo mafia. The croc was never heard from again.
Can anybody catch the All Blacks?
I would love to see an actual statement from the SARFU stating that they are exploring the possibility of leaving SANZAR and joining whatever competition that eventuates in the NH. So far all i’ve seen is speculation and rumours from someone who knows someone who has an aunt who sat five seats down from a SARFU community officer on the afternoon train 😀
New Northern Hemisphere Rugby Champions Cup announced
Well since this is a rugby forum and we are rugby fans the only subject that matters is rugby. If we cared about football and science then we would find an appropriate forum and comment.
Plastic competition? Super rugby has been around since arguably 1986. How long as the Heineken Cup been around for? Or the Celtic League? I’m sorry it’s the Magners League now isn’t it?…oh hang on! Regardless, they are fine elastic competitions with at least 654 years of fine NH tradition eh? Some wonderful clubs take part in the best competitions the NH, no, the world, has to offer too. Clubs such as Pontypridd, Bridgend, Llanelli (one of a handful of ALL NH teams to have beaten the All Blacks), Borders rugby etc…or do they? How are these fine clubs represented in those fine, traditional competitions? I’m pretty sure the Ospreys, Cardiff Blues, Edinburgy Rugby etc aren’t fake franchises at all so it can’t be by them. Very, very elastic and very, very traditional.
Speaking of Borders rugby, I’m sure alot of people will be interested to know that the Borders league was the very first league to be set up anywhere in the world (as per our trusty source Wikipedia). A wonderfully traditional league and clubs which still thrives today unlike the hundreds of clubs that had to be disbanded to set up the Crusdaders. Right. (bonus points to anyone who can name one club, region, state or province that has been ‘killed’ to support any Super franchise!)
We had to implement a stay-at-home selection policy because we are selfish and only want the best for ourselves. This is of course as opposed to the completely unselfish threats that the English and Welsh RFUs have in place.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international/england-coach-stuart-lancaster-reiterates-francebased-player-policy-8216101.html
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/cardiff-blues-boss-peter-thomas-2525075
The fact that the only the reason these Unions do not have a similar selection policy is because it would break European Law is completely beside the point.
I’ll tell you what nickoldschool, you can keep your traditions and we’ll keep our wins. In a hundred years, we’ll have both.
Why the ARU should be concerned about the future of the Heineken Cup
Very interesting read. How do you think it’s gonna turn out?
Why the ARU should be concerned about the future of the Heineken Cup
No it wouldn’t. Any SH competition without South Africa is just boring and meaningless. We need to find a solution that keeps the SH together.
Why the ARU should be concerned about the future of the Heineken Cup
Ahhh bromances…all of the love none of the drama! Love it 😀
Sinbins, red cards, foul play, repeated infringing and the like
I remember that try. What a game that was! Didn’t van Niekerk burn a trail down the left touchline off a pass from Skinstaad in the same game?
It's not the injustice that beats us, its the way we respond
Great article Colin, superb.
It's not the injustice that beats us, its the way we respond
I’d hate to think that is true because it has some pretty serious implications for me. It may have been true however in days gone but I think perhaps refs are a little more relaxed these days because they have the TMO as a safety net.
Rugby: Refs, elbows and cards
Thanks mace. Kudos to you too for standing up, not many would do that.
Rugby: Refs, elbows and cards
One of the keys to continued All Black success is their work off the ball. They do support running better than any other team and why the others haven’t caught up is just plain wierd.
Improvement? I think I saw something
What has really got me scratching my head about Poite is when he referred several incidents to the TMO later in the game, he was happy to make a decision based on what he saw on the big screen, before the TMO gave his opinion. If he was happy to be convinced by the big screen for those decisions, then why didn’t he use it for Bismark’s hit? Makes no sense.
Beautiful rugby from All Blacks and Boks
You don’t have to respond to trolls like this Harry. I admire your writing and applaud your convictions (even though I don’t agree with some of them! :P). Your sincerity is apparent to all but a few I reckon.
Beautiful rugby from All Blacks and Boks
A potential classic runied by a NH ref. Again.
Beautiful rugby from All Blacks and Boks
It was general play mate, Bismark was perfectly legal.
Carter out of Rugby Championship
That’s a shame BB, hope you reconsider.
All Blacks vs Springboks, the disappointment, frustration and anger
If they were to have a UFC event in Melbourne, where would they stage it?
It's not a cage, it's The Octagon!
Thanks for your viewpoint JimmyB but I would disagree. European club rugby maybe close to NH test rugby but would fall short of SH test rugby. I would suggest the physicality of European rugby is only due to less dynamic open field play. Ruck ball is so slow players have more than enough time to recover for the next phase. Besides physicality is only one aspect of a game. What about skills, fitness, and creativity to name but a few other aspects for example? All areas in which European club rugby falls far short. Implying that scrums are only considered a restart opportunity in the whole of the SH shows your naivety too. That is only true to a certain degree in Australia rugby (ask the Lions about the Brumby scrum). To NZ, SA and Argentina, it is a treasured part of the game. Even if the Australians were to be ‘marmalised’ at the 10-15 scrums in the game, even they would dominate the 180 odd breakdowns. Guess which has more of an impact on the game?
Hayman was already the best TH in world rugby when he left for the $$, anything he learnt only made him better. It is a fact that players take far longer to readjust back to NZ rugby. That it is offensive is unfortunate but it doesn’t change the fact. Ask James Haskell how he went at the Highlanders and then ask Sean Maitland how he managed to go from warming the bench at the Crusaders to playing for the mighty British and Irish Lions.
Should the Wallabies pick overseas talent?
I’ve been seeing ‘rocket surgery’ popping up here and there. Is it too late to switch? 😛
Should the Wallabies pick overseas talent?
It’ll never happen. The main reason driving this talk of South Africa going north is the 6th team and that will not be enough to abandon Super Rugby. Why abandon a superior competition for a lesser one with no discernible return on risk? SA will only want to play in the Heineken Cup (or whatever new thing they come up with) and the Eng/Fra clubs are determined to run that show. SA be a minor player? I think not.
Even if they do want to, I seriously doubt SARFU will subject themselves to European labour laws. It’ll never happen.
My brilliant Super Rugby solution