Roar Rookie
Joined September 2015
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Proud NZ rugby supporter that tries very hard not to be one eyed.I appreciate rugby played well no matter who plays it.
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Okay, that was incredibly stressful. With ten minutes to go my nephew allegedly knocked out the modem and I couldn't reset it so we…
There is a rich rivalry between the rugby giants of New Zealand and South Africa and invariably the encounters have been a cut above…
Thanks for these breezy strolls down memory lane.
Great stuff
Has there been a feistier All Black than Grant Batty?
The All Blacks had to wait from 87 to 2011 to win Bill back…we had to wear the chokers tag, year after year after year. But when it came and it was by a whisker, I let out a primal scream that my ancestors would have heard. It’ll come for you guys and how sweet it will be… I won’t like it but I will remember what I felt and applaud it.
MATCH REPORT: Rennie's Wallabies sent out to go big or die trying - it was the latter
Agreed but I miss tours in general.
Springboks triumph in third Test, take series over Lions
Inexplicable call.
NZ View: All Blacks' 'one man show,' Wallabies 'not a million miles away'
Panic? 33-8 inside the final quarter, bench on but no panic whatsoever there, just no pressure and a slight loss in mindset, however, Test in the bag.
NZ View: All Blacks' 'one man show,' Wallabies 'not a million miles away'
I didn’t realise it was written by Will Genia until I had to scroll up to see who was writing this superb analysis.
Just one thing, from my layman’s point of view it was Joost van der Westhuizen that I admired the most and, well, despised ( All Black supporter here) watching him craft his way around the base.
WILL GENIA: We have to back ourselves when the game is still there to be won
I mean the Boks sure schooled the All Blacks the previous time they met…oh wait
The Springboks handle the British and Irish Lions 27-9 to level the series
I get that you enjoy League but although I have really tried to like it, it leaves me cold. I liken league to draughts and Union to chess. Why are many league matches close contests…because they get almost an equal amount of possession and it’s the inevitable 5 tackle kick and hope, from almost every play…maybe a couple of wraparounds but completely lacking in adventure and complexity.
Rinse and repeat. Some excellent athletes though. I did enjoy the Manly and Warriors early days when they would mi it up early in their sets but alas those days are long gone. I believe it was a point of difference for the Warriors until they decided to play an Oz style of League of which they were never going to succeed at playing consistently when Oz were leaps and bounds better at it.
The Springboks handle the British and Irish Lions 27-9 to level the series
Boring? it may not transfer to Test match rugby but to me it is certainly not boring and is a highly skilled product that is enthralling to watch, more so when both teams are willing to play that style and are evenly matched, which were most of the matches between the kiwi teams.
The Springboks handle the British and Irish Lions 27-9 to level the series
Thanks for this article, great memories, those were the days. Wish someone could have told us we were living in them then…
Why Bryan Williams is my rugby hero
Oh okay, cheers Wal : )
Phil Waugh believes the All Blacks are a shadow of their former selves
Really? Of course, his name is Kieran Read. My reply was to Suzy Poison…he had said that “REID was at 7” Wrong on two counts.
I sent him to the back of the class for such egregious errors Wal.
Oh, dear…keep up.
Phil Waugh believes the All Blacks are a shadow of their former selves
Indeed it is Mr White ; )
Phil Waugh believes the All Blacks are a shadow of their former selves
A team that hasn’t beaten the All Blacks since 1953 could potentially knock them off top spot without beating them in the current era?
The vagaries and inefficiency of the ranking system laid bare…
Phil Waugh believes the All Blacks are a shadow of their former selves
Reid at 7?lol…Go to the back of the class.
Also, we don’t care for the word cup. It’s World cups we’re after…three aaaaaand counting.
Phil Waugh believes the All Blacks are a shadow of their former selves
Dream?
If they even dream it they should wake up and apologise… ; )
Phil Waugh believes the All Blacks are a shadow of their former selves
Superb analysis.SBW get’s a lot of flak online over here(NZ) but your breakdown of ‘Javelin’ is a stark lesson on why he continues to feature in Hansen and Foster’s plans.When they get the timing right…it is devastating.
The All Black javelin - the 'Sonny Bill' attack
I am a kiwi and rugby is growing around the world but i wouldn’t care less if it was just played in my back yard….i love the game and there are plenty of kiwis that love the game too…we have a culture of excellence and a winning mentality is expected.I realize it must be difficult for Aussies to back teams that invariably fail.We have been through difficult periods but it did not distract from my love for the game.Perseverance and to keep getting back up from the ground when you have been knocked down is essential to success.Every great company or person has experienced failure and defeat…the difference is they do not give up until they have achieved what they set out to do.The All Blacks were called chockers for years as they just could not replicate the success of the WC of1987 until 2011…. 24 looooong years.Now they are back to back World Champions.I always applaud good play from an opposing team and if i see The Wallabies beat us there are no sour grapes from me and that includes if i think there was poor refereeing as i see rugby as a metaphor for life.Life is not fair and never promised to be.
You’re the last of a dying breed Damian Martin and why people stop watching rugby?Really?Hahaha ok,did that make you feel better?Don’t watch it then.Watch the simple game instead…along with millions of others.I’ll continue to watch the game they play in Heaven…
Hard truths: When I woke up and realised I was a casual fan
What are you talking about…
To say that the skill level on display is light years ahead of SR pros is ludicrous.
Completely different skills required…obviously.
Rugby players would destroy and run rings around and straight through the fragile physiques and egos on display at the football WC.
Imagine Neymar being subjected to a rugby tackle…the histrionics would be Oscar like not that they already aren’t as can be seen by his cringe inducing blatant cheating.
The same can be said for football players running rings around rugby players in football skills.
Comparison is absurd.
You only need one commentator because football is a simple game.
Rugby requires various commentators because it is a complicated game that has compartmentalized skills.
This means meta analysis.
I like to engage my brain when i watch sport.
The only way i can compare the two codes is to liken football and rugby league for that matter to draughts and rugby union to chess.
I don’t care how many people around the world choose football…it requires a completely different mentality to play it and when i see players writhing around on the ground in agony imploring the referee to give them a false advantage…it makes me sick and yes,from time to time you see a rugby player seeking advantage by exaggerating the effects of a tackle but the difference is fans and spectators don’t accept it and referees more than not see right through it….it is unacceptable and therefore very rare.
I am a rugby union lover…i absolutely love analyzing lineouts,scrums,rucks,backline alignment and all the other mini contests that make up a rugby match.
You’ll get back to being a permanent rugby fan?You do understand what permanent means don’t you?
Therefore it’s too late for you.
I suggest you keep watching the ‘simple’ game.
This article was written for casuals by a casual.
It should have been titled as such…
Hard truths: When I woke up and realised I was a casual fan
I very rarely post a comment on here Taylorman but i like to look though the comments to see who is paying attention.I did make a mistake in my post about Ireland being kept scoreless when what i meant to say was tryless.
I might enter the fray more often in the future.I am excited by the series and look forward to reading the comments by those that make sense…like you.Cheers
Gatland's selections tarnish dominant win
Initially my thoughts were the Lions are a composite team
and combinations require time to gel whereas the All Blacks have tried and true combinations.
However now that their game plan has been laid out for all to see,
we can see they do have the players to execute it efficiently against most sides.
This will not be the case against the All Blacks and here’s why…
The Lions would need to dominate the All Blacks in the forwards to have any chance.
The Lions will not dominate in that aspect and parity will not be enough because our backs have a higher level of skill than their backs.
That’s it in a nut shell folks.
The Maoris were awful and the Lions were ruthlessly efficient but almost 75 percent territory and possession advantage and can only muster 2 tries…
Purlease!
Not that tries are the be all and end all.The only requirement to win a game is to score more points than the opposition and the Lions will be trying to accumulate in threes.
Solid set piece,make your tackles,win the aerial game,patient accumulation of recycled ball and kick your goals.
Win the big moments…
They will also look to compete against the All Blacks lineout now that Coles is out.
Did you notice Itoje screaming in order to muffle the lineout calls being made by the opposition?
It wasnt’t particularly effective but it was indicative that the Lions have been exhaustive in looking to gain an edge in every department so no stone has been left unturned.
The Lions Test team is now under a false belief of having the game plan to beat the All Blacks because of the Crusaders and Maori matches.
To be fair they really had no other way they could be successful except to play to their strengths.
However,the All Blacks also have a very good set piece and an exit game to match any team.
No disrespect to Ireland but there will be no complacency or surprises come Saturday as there were in Chicago.
The All Blacks were on high alert the following week and Ireland were kept scoreless.
The All Blacks are on full alert now and know exactly what is required to defeat a percentage game.
The variables are a rush of blood to the head and for a player to end up in the bin would be extremely damaging to the cause.
Referee interpretations and the weather.
The aerial assault was tried by Oz in the ’11 WC semi and was found wanting.
It is the reason Dagg kept Naholo out of the side for Saturday.
There is zero evidence the Lions can defeat the All Blacks based on what i have seen to date.
Once again parity will not be enough for the lions in the set piece as we have better backs and the key difference is the ability of the All Blacks to perform with a high level of skill at pace and under fatigue which has been the hallmark of their success.
Gatland's selections tarnish dominant win
The bottom line is the Lions are a composite side and combinations require time to gel.The All Blacks have tried and true combinations.The only way the Lions will make it a contest is to dominate the All Black forwards as parity will not be enough.The Lions will not dominate in that area therefore they will struggle.Kiwi players execute a high level of skill at pace and under fatigue better than UK players and that will also be a key difference.I watched the six nations and did not see anything to cause me concern as a kiwi supporter.With respect to Ireland there will be no Chicago complacency for the All Blacks in this neck of the woods.
The numbers behind the 2017 Lions tour
“But then gone over and struggled against more physical teams” LOL
They have been beaten by Argentina once…ever and the All Blacks response in the next Test was to pants them.
They played Ireland in the 1/4 final of the 2019 WC and destroyed them.
Pretty significant match wouldn’t you say?
They have beaten England 15 out of their previous 17 encounters.
The Argentina loss last year and the English loss at the WC in 2019 are statistical anomalies.
It happens from time to time but they are rare but that is the nature of, well, anything really.
Every now and then there are statistical outliers, they are not trends.
For you to say they struggle against more physical teams “Over there” is nonsense.
'Tough for the relationship': Turinui says Aus-NZ relations worst since 2003, spins Ian Foster theory