Roar Guru
Joined February 2012
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Ready to talk any sport, anytime, anywhere.
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Even though we were expecting little heading into their final match of the season against old foes England, the Wallabies served up another offering…
In the movie Predator, Arnold Schwarzenegger's character roams the jungle opposed to an enemy hell bent on his destruction. He is faced with an…
​In the world of tennis, the serve and volleyers were once kings of the game. They showed an instinct and freedom for the game…
On the biggest stage of all, Richmond broke a 37-year-old VFL/AFL drought to win the premiership, defeating a disappointing Adelaide by 48 points. After…
The Wallabies forwards have been consistently inconsistent for a long time now. A miserable showing against the All Blacks in Bledisloe 1 was quickly…
​The Wallabies put in a gutsy performance on Saturday and I was genuinely proud of the effort they displayed. Most pleasing though was the…
It was a brilliant weekend of Premier League action, with great goals, red cards, late drama, and shambolic defending. Manchester United have made early…
The English Premier League was back again which meant lazy weekends spent missing football were over. In the topsy turvy world that is the…
​As a big believer in equalisation I will admit that I welcomed the introduction of UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations with open arms.…
​There is no quick solution to rugby's umpiring problems, but one simple change that could make things a lot better is having a second…
​'All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.' Substitute teams for animals and one feels that this has been the mantra…
On a humid Sunday afternoon, Roger Federer strolled to the easiest of victories over Marin Cilic, in the process sealing his eighth Wimbledon title…
It was a gripping and brutal series and ultimately neither side could be separated. In a tight series, errors are magnified and the obvious…
In the pouring rain under the bright lights of the cake tin the All Blacks and the British and Irish Lions played out a…
After seeing the All Blacks sweep all before them over the last few years, I was eagerly anticipating the series against the British and…
It took 58 minutes of the north London derby – and being 2-0 down – for Arsenal supporters to launch into, "We're going to…
It was billed as the greatest collection of managers to have ever been assembled in Premier League history. Household names like Tony Pulis, Alan…
This season's Sydney FC team will long be celebrated as one of the most successful sides in A-League history. But spare a thought for…
A sleepy Saturday just as quickly morphed into super Sunday as the Barclays Premier League roared back into life. On Saturday, there was a…
Melbourne borne and bred, I recently arrived in London for a brief sojourn. Living in Arsenal heartland, keeping my support of Spurs under wraps…
Brilliant as always Nick. Thank you for your outstanding contributions during the series. And just found ‘the rugby site’ a few days ago – loads of great analysis pieces on there
Lions series reflections: The day of the Faz
Great read Kurt. Good balanced article and nice to read an article that actually analyses the play
Origin observations for 2017
nice write up Christian. not sure which way this will pan out. I think ultimately he will be a good player for united. I agree his first touch is poor and hold up play could be better. At united, he wont have to hold the play as much as did when he played for everton. They will control plenty of games from midfield and so it will be interesting to see how he goes when he gets lots of good service and can play in an around the box, leading a line that will control midfield in most matches. His record against the top sides is poor but perhaps this will change playing for united.
At his best he is frightening and if he can bring that passion and quality to every game then he will be a success.
Why Romelu Lukaku will fail at Manchester United
great read Jay. havent seen much of us this year but listened to last quarter on MMM from london this morning. Honourable losses are great for us. Continue the rebuild and hopefully get a top 3 draft pick. cant get too carried away until we start winning consistently but the defensive structures and pressure/effort are great and keep that up we will always be a chance.
Cannot remember a season where we have had so many rising star nominations. Hoping charlie curnow gets another one this weekend.
The Blues have mastered the honourable loss
Thanks for the comment Vince. fair call with your points. as i mentioned to Fionn and also in the article, dropped balls by Savea etc were important as were many other moments. But still think goal-kicking accuracy had a major say in the final result.
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks for the comment Ernesr. Not even sure you read the article/comments besides the heading. Barrett was brilliant throughout the last match and I highlighted several examples but I still think goal-kicking was the difference. THis isnt a question of trying his best – which is not in question. Not sure about your last point – perhaps most of the commenters have played rugby. None the less, even if we havent played does that not give us the right to an opinion. There is no need to be rude on these threads. If you dont like what is said, or dont want to politely give a constructive opinion as the other commenters have then read and comment on something else.
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks for the comment Dingo. I can understand your frustrations. rugby refereeing is a difficult job. Cant think of a more difficult game to umpire besides maybe aussie rules
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks for the comment Tooly. Im not sure things are that dire. The All blacks are still the best team in the world by some way and it took an amalgamation of the greatest players from Britain and Ireland to match them. SA might be a good contest in SA but other than that NZ will continue to steam roll their southern hemisphere counterparts.
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks for the comment Hein. Great tour – been a fantastic 5 or 6 weeks following it. Normal transmission resumes…
Hopefully the Lions can keep a good window open for future tours. As Gatland mentioned in his press conference it is all about ‘preparation, preparation, preparation.’
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks for the comment Tim. Agree that The rush defence was good and altered the All blacks line of attack on several occasions forcing them back inside.
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks Diggercane!
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Great comment good game. Brilliant series and I have enjoyed every match on tour. memory bias here of course but would agree that it was the best 3 match series I can remember watch in a long time. Last series that got me this excited was the Lions v Wallabies in 2001 (but im sure they have been some great series in between).
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks for the comment ohtani;s jacket. WOuld humbly disagree on that one. 4 mintues to go, a chance to level with a penalty kick and get the ball back off a drop kick if you miss – i was personally happy with that decision. Kick the goal, regather the restart (which they failed to do) and you may have another chance to score.
The alternative is kicking for corner and going for glory. The lineout was not functioning as well as in other games and they struggled at times for cohesion on the backline play. If they had done this and messed up, the entire world would have been on their back (not too mentioned they would have lost). To be honest, i am a risk averse kind of person – safety and percentage first, glory later. but the alternate perspective is also a valid one
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks for the comment CP. Barretts short restarts provide a template for every nation in the world. THe frequency with which they win the restarts is amazing. Helps having KR who has this ability to jump and knock the ball back to his side.
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks for the comment Fionn. Agree can never pin it one bloke – in a series there a many moments and missed and taken opportunities both ways that contribute to the ultimate result. I highlighted several of them above. As you rightly said, Lions rode their luck to some degree. defended well and got a good result.
But at the end of the day, points are hard to come by and direct shots at goal (either conversion or penalty) are clearcut scoring chances. Things like yellow and red cards, choice of kicking duties, commiting penalties are all multiple variables that may or may not lead to scoring chance s ie. plenty of work still has to be done to score even when a man up. That Barrett missed several clearcut kicks for goals is highly significant in the series result
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks for the comments Pine tree. Many intelligent points. Not sure I agree that the backline was that inexperienced – you had Dagg on a wing, savea on the other (46 tests or so) and the debutant in Barrett was brilliant and barely put a foot wrong (which in such a high stakes match is remarkable). Losing Ben smith and crotty were big blows but not many sides in the world could have reshuffled so well.
I thought they would put BB and FB and put Kruden in at 10 but Hansen chose this formation and I thought for the most part BB was excellent at no 10 both with his running and field kicking.
As for the decision to take of Kaino in a wet and windy Wellington, hard to know what was right and wrong – keep the backline full and maintain width/lose an experienced forward vs be 1 short in the backline: easy in hindsight and had NZ won we would all be applauding the coaching team but alas the margins and small and fickle in games of such magnitude.
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks for the comment Pete. Yes could have said it that, semantics really and of course multiple duffed opportunites but kicking for goal is a direct chance to score 3 points and some of the shots he missed were very gettable. The Lions should be incredibly proud of their efforts – personally felt like a win for the Lions (at least it did when I was at the pub). no one has come that close in a series against NZ in a long time
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Thanks for the comment Noodles. Cant argue with any of that. yes and agree we (wallabies) are going to be in for some real hurt come rugby championship. The production line of good NZ players is endless really
In a game of fine margins, Barrett cost the All Blacks a series victory
Great read Digger. You put in the hard yards today with the blog and 2 articles. well done mate!
The High Five: All Blacks vs British and Irish Lions, third Test
Fantastic read Robert and great work in promoting sport in other areas of the globe.
Not much to add. I am too short and weak to play either forms of the game and so have enjoyed it from my armchair over the last 25 years of my life. As a lover of all sports, code wars infuriate more me than anything and so it is great to read an article that seeks to break this barrier down or at least give a refreshing perspective on it.
League versus union: Letting go of the code war bitterness
Nice read Josh.
Would humbly disagree with the offence v defence argument though. Good defence is the bedrock of all the great teams e.g. West coast 1992-94, brisbane treble, sydney 2006 etc. Have a strong defence and you will always be in matches, and gives you a chance even when you are struggling to kick goals. finals matches are more often lower scoring defensive struggles rather than shoot-outs. Of course, offence and defence need to be taught in tandem but instilling a strong defensive structures and mentality early in a players and squads development is vital.
I can think of several instances where the offence first then defence approach has failed miserably – Essendon under Knights, Melbourne under Bailey all tried this and got beaten by cricket scores and the coaches ultimately lost their job
Evolve or die: North Melbourne needs a born-again Brad Scott
great read Nick. Love the analysis – i think i learn more about rugby tactics from your articles than anywhere else.
like all rugby games- it is won and lost in forwards. in defence, get the first contact right and you can win the gainline, slow the ball which in turn helps the defence get set.
from an attacking perspective, what did u think the lions forwards did better to get more yards per carry?
The centres of conundrum at Eden Park
great read as always Ryan.
happy i caught a bit of the action from London. JD- agree with most of what you say except the comment about quality of football.
Im not really sure what quality football looks like as I think it is quite subjective depending on the preference of the supporter. I think the skills and fitness embodied by the players is truly amazing. The pressure, defensive structures, skill by hand and foot is just outstanding especially when compared to previous decades. The conversion and kicking for goal could be better but the pressure is red hot and forcing a lot of errors.
I dont have stats like efficiency (by hand and foot) to back me up but that would be interesting to look at to see if efficiency has dropped on other seasons but of course efficiency is a influenced by pressure. But I doubt there is a statistic that looks at efficiency when adjusted for pressure?
AFL Round 15: The more things stay the same, the more they change
Nice read declan.
Interested to see AJW left in starting lineup which makes me think he is the primary lineout caller and perhaps better served using him as a starter (as he is less of an ‘impact player). I called for (as many before me have) lawes to partner itoje but perhaps that would upset the combinations too much.
Sam warBurton is a great choice- lions must slow the ball at the breakdown and I doubt fitness is an issue.
It is always useful IMO to have an additional playmaker at 12 which Farrell gives. I wouldn’t write Farrell off completely- no 5/8 looks any good when your forward pack is always getting caught behind the gainline.
Glad to see CJ stander included too- strong defence and a good ball runner to come on for faletau
Warburton returns in do or die Test for the Lions
What do u think about adding in a 2nd on field referee? It is hard enough for the 1 Ref to watch the breakdown and the offside line. Perhaps a second ref would help police the offside line. another example of its use would be for one ref to watch 1 side of scrum. No question the rules need to be simplified and I am loathe to launch into the refs when it is so tough for them. Many other sports have added on the second on field ref eg. League and AFL (4 refs) – and I would say mostly successfully
Lions series reflections: The day of the Faz