The Roar
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The Roar

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Joined August 2011

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Nice read
The inability to identify and keep quality players from the high number produced is similar to the issues the Auckland Blues have suffered from for the last decade,

Will the Waratahs taste Super Rugby success in 2021?

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Rugby
 
1d

Its not a good picture is it
Just re the RFU jobs cuts, including the redundancies they did just before Covid hit, they have now had three waves of sackings and the number is over 300 people – it has a big impact

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

I remember watching Clint Hill’s Waratahs ( was that his name) – that was really hard work, kicked everything away, even playing at home – crowds had abandoned the by then.

Good spot on the PE impact, for those that sold out headline equity in their comps – PRO14, Premiership – you are going to have the PE guys sitting around the board table every meeting, they are in for a shock.
Those that have leased portions of their future cash flow – 6N and ABs, not so much direct influence.

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

We cant have misbehaving props impacting the playing time of the royalty in the back row Harry, just not right.
I cant remember how many times I have heard Wayne Barnes give the, if you cant scrum we will get on some props who can, speech. So good to see the ref pull the trigger on this one.

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

Thanks Nick
Long time subscriber to the Times, but literally just cancelled it now all is post Brexit.
For rugby,Alex Lowe and Owen Slot always came across as better writers
Can’t praise the English game without a cheap shot at Mr Jones though, wouldn’t seem right.

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

We can only hope jez, that given the Super crossover games were confirmed early, that the refereeing has been discussed between the two unions.
They must have learnt from the Tri-nations debacle – surely

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

I find one thing about watching the game in French or with no sound is you get a far purer view of the game rather than having to sieve what the commentators are telling you first.

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

Its worth the effort to watch a few now KP
Bristol, Wasps, Bath have got the message best to date

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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Rugby
 
3d

Spot on Jacko – If the refereeing advances die at the club level we will have achieved nothing because the club game will slide back into old ways if the top tier doesn’t change.

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

Hi Mz, missed your scrum piece until now – you were right on the money.
And yes, isn’t it odd that Aussie rugby was one that took a conservative position when it needed to be adventurous.
Heres hoping they are getting the message for 2021.

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

I didnt use the Wasps v Bath game as a shining example because despite the points the skill levels were actually pretty poor.
But this is part of the phase we need to go through and what we need to see
Halving to rush passes, misplaced box kicks, offences and defenses that don’t have forever to get set.
Its part of the jeopardy that has been lost from the game under the slowness of the last 5 years.
The London Irish game last week had guys visibly struggling with the pace – this is what we want back

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

The trick now NV is getting this same style of refereeing up into the international game.
I am not confident, but really hope to be proven wrong.

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

I will find that clip
What happened to Cooney by the way, was looking the next big thing for a while there

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

The difference in officiating is a huge issue NB
In my open letter to World Rugby it proposes that those on the international panel be centrally contracted to WR and all evaluated the same way, no matter what level they are refereeing. Cant see any other way forward.

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

Thank for that Derm, I have watched a few PRO14 games, to be honest not sure I have seen a lot of change yet.

English rugby is leading us back to the light (no, really)

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3d

I am having a dig around the deals the 6N have just done, and the deal the ABs are about to do.
Both look far better structures for the sellers than the PE deals done by Pro 16/14/12 and the Premiership
Will report back
First glance they look quite clever transactions

Will the Lions actually tour South Africa in 2021?

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4d

Mustn’t grumble – an english favorite I found

Will the Lions actually tour South Africa in 2021?

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4d

You’re right NV

Will the Lions actually tour South Africa in 2021?

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4d

It’s a lease for a fixed term, cash up front for NZR
Better than selling headline equity positions

Will the Lions actually tour South Africa in 2021?

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Rugby
 
4d

ABs just valued prior to the upcoming sale of 15% of their commercial rights
USD2B
Pretty damn good

Will the Lions actually tour South Africa in 2021?

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4d

Wonderfully put, get that into Mr Schmidt

Why the ruck must go hands-free in 2021

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2w

HNY Nick, and excellent piece, timely and topical.
It has taken us a full five years of moving away from the laws to get us to where we are now so I think the only remedy will be a series of small clear non negotiable steps to get us back.
While many in my part of the world would readily accept your suggestion of no hands at ruck time I cant see a silver bullet solution to our current woes.
Your early clips in this piece being so on point, they should all be penalties against those without the ball, but we are stuck in a phase where we are rewarding defenders under the old interpretations and penalising the offensive side under the new directives.
We saw in Super Ao how the ruck retention rates were back to 95/96% (usual levels) after about 3 weeks if you apply the laws correctly.
Could not agree more on your observations on the placement of the ball, this is the single biggest key to fixing the breakdown – you cant get at the ball and support your weight as a defender if the ball is over a metre away – so counter-ruck becomes your only option. Perhaps we should penalise those that place the ball back under their body too.
Interesting interview with Ben OKeefe of Aoteroa Rugby podcast recently, the referees went to the coaches concerned they were going too hard, coaches told them to stay the same and the players would adjust, and fair to say we ended up with a good product.

WR have to stay the course now and enforce the laws/directives to get us through this phase.

One interesting outcome of 5 sec law enforcement in the UK is the number of late and dangerous cleanouts, a function of offensive players not being able to get to rucks quick enough. Players will need to get quicker, have to cover more distance to get to rucks – thus we will end up with more mobile smaller players. Its a tough phase to go through but it will be worth it. We are already seeing a change in the positions that are arriving at offensive rucks first.

Excuse length of post – could do a 1000 on this easy.

Why the ruck must go hands-free in 2021

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2w

Your lawn comment made me laugh out loud
Alcohol outlets closed……thats really serious!!!
Stay safe eh.

Six Nations set to go ahead as planned

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2w

GDay JN. HN Year

Re Postponement – no way the home nations are going to give up control of their players for a Lions tour a year out from the next RWC so putting it off until 2022 is already unlikely, Media in the UK is already reporting this.

The Lions board have said they will make a call on the tour by February, too soon a date for a positive outcome.
It getting ugly all round.

Six Nations set to go ahead as planned

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2w

Replacement tour to Aus/NZ?
2 Games against Super sides and 1 test per country (6 games vs the 8 scheduled for SA)

Six Nations set to go ahead as planned

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2w
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