Roar Guru
Joined February 2019
73.5k
Views
53
Published
1.3k
Comments
Former New Zealand journalist teaching in Istanbul. Fave teams - Canes and Jags. Can be found chatting live on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IstanbulWingman
Published
Comments
Last weekend, China booked their place at the Olympics. Hosting the Asian qualifying tournament in the southern city of Guangzhou, the Chinese women amassed…
The Six Nations begin to resemble Wile E. Coyote with their collective failures at the Rugby World Cup. Just as the Looney Tunes character…
I have to confess I did not watch the World Cup final live. That would have required time off work and a trip to…
The international rugby community's attention will be fixed on the World Cup semi-finals this weekend, with many wondering if the Brits can defy the…
South Africa's Bitzbok top the bill as the Safari Sevens return to Nairobi this weekend, thanks to a lucrative sponsorship deal with Kenya Breweries…
In reaching the quarter-finals for the first time, Japan have single-handedly hauled this World Cup out of the flames of disaster. The typhoon-induced cancellations,…
Japan stands on the brink of qualification for the World Cup quarter-finals after victories over Russia, Ireland and Samoa, but still needs to get…
It has been said that the 'real' World Cup begins with the quarter-finals. That is because the tournament is invariably confined by this stage…
The Rugby World Cup's expansion from sixteen teams to twenty after just three tournaments appeared premature, to say the least, but it also gave…
Nothing livens up a World Cup tournament like upsets, and while Fiji were one of the main hopes to produce a surprise in Japan…
Back in the day, it was fashionable for teams to include stop-off Tests in minor rugby-playing nations during overseas tours, and this undoubtedly helped…
Zimbabwe won the Victoria Cup on Saturday with a 41-5 defeat of Zambia in Lusaka. The four-nation tournament was revived this year after the…
World Cup-winning All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has blamed World Rugby for failing to stand up to the Six Nations and force through its…
One question that has certainly been settled in the World Cup era is that of hemispheric dominance. Those of us of sufficient vintage will…
The tiny island of Nauru made its international debut with an 89-5 loss to hosts Papua New Guinea in the Oceania Championships last weekend,…
Tiny Nauru made its Test debut in an 89-5 loss to Papua New Guinea on Friday, Zimbabwe got one hand on Africa's Victoria Cup…
Russia were beaten by Italy in their World Cup warm-up fixture at San Benedetto del Tronto last weekend, predictably enough, though it appears there…
Rugby is the ninth most popular sport in the world but its global appeal is restricted by too many players, complex rules, the widening…
If player numbers per capita are an accurate gauge, the most rugby-mad nation in the world is not three-time World Cup winner New Zealand,…
May the best team win at the Rugby World Cup in Japan this year, but preferably that won't be the All Blacks. Now, firstly,…
Not the best by a long shot, but it certainly is the most popular
This is the greatest Springboks team of all time
Did my post just get deleted because I mentioned the name of a Springbok flanker whose last name is a swear word in English?? 🤢
This is the greatest Springboks team of all time
Great pack too, with players like Boy Louw, Phil, Nel & Ebbo Bastard 👍
This is the greatest Springboks team of all time
Great team. Danie Craven surprised everyone with his dive-passing technique because in those days nobody had TV. I think they scored 4 tries to none in the 4th test to win the series 3-1 (in NZ). The All Blacks were not to win a series in SA until the pro era.
This is the greatest Springboks team of all time
Gerber destroyed Sella in the 86 Centerary match. I do remember that. In the company of players such as Sella, Blanco, Kirwan and Underwood, Gerber was in a class of his own.
This is the greatest Springboks team of all time
Still on 66.8K views. That’s where I was before I wrote the article before this one. 😱
Collective failure of the Six Nations
That’s why I enjoy taking the P out of the old gap-is-closing arguments. There are a multitude of gaps to analyse, some are opening and some are closing. Wales is as far behind the Kiwis as ever, and certainly nowhere near as close as it was in days of yore. Same can be said of Scotland and even France these days. England and Ireland, on the other hand, are certainly getting better at beating the ABs, while Italy are not conceding tons against them lately. & so it goes. You’ve got to analyse it on a team-by-team basis, and if you do, the overall impression cannot possible be that THE gap is closing.
Collective failure of the Six Nations
Yes, fully expecting Italy to smash All Blacks next time they meet 😂
Collective failure of the Six Nations
What part of 8 World Cups to 1 leads you to the conclusion there is very little between the hemispheres, Faith?
Collective failure of the Six Nations
Fox news reporting Eddie wants a crack at coaching NRL 😂
It's time to go all out for Eddie as Wallabies coach
That’s it in a nutshell, Jak. 👍 & don’t forget the superior quality of the water in the Southern Hemisphere. Makes all the difference. 😁
Collective failure of the Six Nations
The 2003 World Cup came just in time for England. They were definitely right at the end of their greatest era. I did the stats a while back and seem to recall that, while every other champion has gone on to record an 70 or 80% win record the following season, England dropped to 44% in 2004 – an anomaly their own press attributed to a World Cup hangover 😂 But in the years leading up to the World Cup England beat the Southern powers in their own back yards – including NZ for just the second time in their history. So while that England team may not have been great by Southern Hemisphere standards, it certainly was by Northern – arguably the greatest.
All Blacks, 21 June 1987 – 2 November 1991: Played 30, won 26, 3 losses, 1 draw. 88.3% success rate.
All the losses and the draw were v Australia.
Wallabies, 3 November 1991 – 24 June 1995: Played 28, won 22, lost 6. 78.6% success.
Losses to NZ, SA, France & England. 1995 was the last SH tournament played in Winter rather than Spring.
South Africa, 25 June 1995 – 6 November 1999: Played 54, won 38, lost 16. 70.4% success.
The birth of the pro era saw a leap in the number of tests played. SA became the first RWC holders to play (and lose to) the Lions.
Australia, 7 November 1999 – 22 November 2003: Played 45, won 29, lost 15, drew 1. 65.6% success.
Aussie became the first defending champions to play in (and to lose) a RWC final. They were also the first champions to record a 0% win rate against another team, going 0 – 5 v England.
England, 23 November 2003 – 20 Oct 2007: Played 47, won 21, lost 26. 44.7% success.
Worst. Champs. Ever. Failed to beat NZ, Ireland or Argentina at all. Had losing records v France, SA and Aust. The only so-called Tier 1 team they played that did win at least once was Italy.
South Africa, 21 Oct 2007 – 23 Oct 2011: Played 49, won 31, lost 18. 63.3% success.
Had losing records against only NZ and Aust, but went 50:50 v France, Ireland, and Scotland. Win rate declined year by year.
New Zealand, 24 Oct 2011 – 2 November 2019: (2011-15 / 2015-19 splits in brackets) Played 107 (54/53), won 93 (49/44), lost 10 (3/7), drew 4 (2/2). 88.78% (92.6%/84.9%) success. Marginally beats out 1987 All Blacks as best champs ever over all. Easily the best in the pro era. Even the weaker 2015-19 side has the 3rd best record after their 2015 and 1987 brethren. Winning record against every team played, except for the drawn Lions series. Losses to SA, Aus, Eng, Ire as well. Declined steadily from 100% in 2013 to only 77.3% this year.
Collective failure of the Six Nations
Of course I was being lighthearted, Derm. Of course not every British person starts talking about the Premiership as soon as their rugby team gets knocked out of the World Cup.
Collective failure of the Six Nations
I’m certainly not suggesting it. That would be crazy. Just hypothesizing.
Collective failure of the Six Nations
Confused, yes. Your chippy assumption regarding my long experience with Brits. It was only a lighthearted comment anyway. Your over-sensitivity on this issue speaks volumes.
Collective failure of the Six Nations
It’s an interesting idea though, hypothetically – the Lions in the RWC. They have a better record against Australia, 17 – 6, and trail SA 17-23.
Collective failure of the Six Nations
Means nothing to me, Derm. You couldn’t possibly know these things, so your assumption is based entirely on your own ego.
Collective failure of the Six Nations
Chinese women just qualified for the Olympics. I suspected that was their focus. This could be a huge development for rugby, as it will certainly put the game on the map in the world’s most populous nation.
Collective failure of the Six Nations
Only 1398 days to the next World Cup. Can’t wait!
Collective failure of the Six Nations
It was a rough comparison to the hypothetical proposal. So a UK team probably wouldn’t do quite as well as the Lions then.
Collective failure of the Six Nations
The point, Derm – and also the conclusion of the article – was that the Southern nations are playing multiple games at the very highest level in meaningful competition every season. Le Crunch is the solitary fixture in the 6 Nations that compares to an All Blacks vs Boks or Wallabies test in the Rugby Championship.
Collective failure of the Six Nations
I think you are far too interested in me, Derm. That’s called ad hominems. You can’t take a little lighthearted criticism and revert to a shoot-the-messenger approach.
Collective failure of the Six Nations
Also, not good enough 😔
Collective failure of the Six Nations