Roar Rookie
Joined September 2016
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Vale champion jockey Bill Skelton, who has passed away in his native New Zealand aged 85. The New Zealand jockey won 2179 races across…
According to the experts, 27 metres is the ideal distance for high bombs. I reckon half the players take 27 milliseconds to make up…
Siya Kolisi was asked how the Springboks would turn around their loss to the Wallabies and what he said staggered me …. they would work on their driving maul!
Now the one area of the game where the Boks ruled supreme was in the driving mauls which gave them three tries. It is reflective of the limited mind set South Africa has and why we see the tirgid rubbish they are serving up. Perhaps they have more to offer rather than kicking the ball away.
I never thought Steve Hansen would criticise them for the boring one dimensional style of play they offer. They seem to lack courage and belief to chance their arms and use 15 men to play a more rounded game.
I liken them to England who even when they try to play expansive rugby look stiff in their actions and lack fluencey 👍 as though they are scared of making mistakes.
I saw the Springboks in 1965 and they possessed wonderful athletic backs so to look at the current crop of players is disappointing in the way they play. They could be so much more.
From memory Handre Pollard kicked the ball away six times in the opening minutes and Faf de Klerk continually booted possession away as well.
Okay I get it that winning rugby is most important to the Boks and they can and do have their own style but how much better could they become if they expanded their mind set.
They are like an old V8 which coughs and splutters without ever fully reaching its full potential by fine tuning.
I am disappointed by the Boks and hope for better going forward.
Why I don't understand the Springboks hate
A point seemingly missed is that the All Blacks are using sneaky grubber kicks in behind the opposition to combat rush defence.
It is a work in progress but it does cause consequences for banana shaped rush defences.
The Sprngboks are entitled to play in whatever manner they wish but what happens to their grinding style of play if they get behind and need to chase points?
The Wallabies have tried the tactic of passing directly behind the ball carrier on a couple of occasions but the receiver has been too far back. If and when they perfect two using the same attacking line out wide they will strike gold.
It was tried many years ago by Wayne Smith in New Zealand and is potentially a devastating and potent attacking weapon
Dog pee and champagne: The odd imagery served up by coach in defence of the Boks
Lets put it this way, the comment was how many Wallabies would make any rugby league team.
But to answer your question Michael Hooper would be sensational in rugby league if he downskilled.
To turn it around how many leaguies would make the Wallaby tight five?
And then, how many league greats made it in rugby? Sonny Bill Williams could never get in front of Ma’a Nonu and he was a league great.
How many league players would get into the All Blacks or the Springboks?
MATCH REPORT: Rennie called for a foot on the throat, but All Blacks' response was 'ruthless'
Don’t see many big hits in AFL as in contact rugby players have. Perhaps AFL could benefit in learning how to control a bouncing ball.
Amazing how tiring a solid tackle can have on a player and it is the recovery time that is important.
I would like to see the respective strength and fitness levels of the codes after heavy contact so don’t judge the fitness of the Wallabies from an armchair.
Get into a scrum and see how much that takes out of a player.
The Wrap: Rinse and repeat as sharply focused All Blacks sweep the Wallabies
You are correct … they would win the NRL championship. This nonsense about Rugby League having the best athletes is trolling.
The worst thing for the Wallabies would be for them to be indoctrinated with the NRL and rugby league arrogance and culture.
Gordon Tallis was put in his place many years when he criticised rugby union forwards. As the commentator said, he would have a relativity check when he went into a scrum and found his face looking at his own backside.
MATCH REPORT: Rennie called for a foot on the throat, but All Blacks' response was 'ruthless'
Ok I will bite. What is dope a rope?
Heard of rope a dope but dope a rope?????
The Wrap: Rinse and repeat as sharply focused All Blacks sweep the Wallabies
I can’t help but be disturbed by the “injury breaks” that will influence the pace of the games.
It destroys momentum and of course allows recovery time for teams under the pump.
What are the answers?
Coach’s Corner Issue 24: When the whingeing stops, these Boks can really play!
Uh? Very smart, surely you jest! The Wallabies lost the series so he should have used Cooper then.
Can Quade and Samu wind back the clock for the Wallabies?
Great idea if you wish to have two big fish in a tiny pool as Rugby League and AFL are essentially domestic competitions with little hope of expanding globally.
Therein lies the rub … the structure of Rugby Union is evolving and the money men will soon change the format with private equity investors monetising the game internationally.
Streaming services will grow and global competitions such as a world club championship will happen when the calendar is settled to sit next to the international windows.
Money speaks all languages and the incompetence of RA will not stop the inevitable expansion of the code when the “business suits” take over.
They will drive changes to make the game simpler and more entertaining thereby growing player participation and supporters.
Both the AFL and NRL heirarchy know this and the clock is ticking.
Rugby Union toffs are holding the game back but the game will grow in the next decade driven by the $$$ on offer.
Hold on for the ride.
The out-of-the-box strategy to boost rugby depth in Australia
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I don’t share the view that rugby league is the greatest game of all. Stereotyped to boredom with the kick on the last tackle …. zzzzz.
The trouble with changing rules is you change the dynamic of the game and the character as well.
I would like to see the reintroduction of scrums to bring some contest for the ball once again.
If we continue to place an emphasis on speeding up the game we lose the gladiatorial aspect of the game which made league interesting.
Your rule change proposal has some merit but if it is already the greatest game of all, why tinker? Sometimes you can throw the baby out with the bath water.
Rugby league: Rule changes to make the greatest game even greater
Sorry Harry but the boyos from Wales won consecutively in 1935 and 1953. So they need to be added to the list.
Will a rivalry resume, or the Wee Boklings revert?
The bindings of the looseheads look peculiar to me unless they are required by law to bind at full arm’s length. They now reach across to a jersey grip near the midriff of the opposing tighthead prop. This give them no ability to leverage and lift the opposition shoulder.
Neither are they able to use a bent elbow to hold the openside up for their hooker to see the feed of the ball.
A lot of the dark arts of scrummaging involve subtle changes of pressure which are best controlled by engaging the opposition front row. Perhaps other more keenly aware of scrummaging may wish to comment.
I see lots of problems against the English coming up in the scrums.
The Wallabies were beaten by a gutsy Ireland, not by the referee
Well no they weren’t right … they lost. It was the comments of the captain that drew my response.
How many more points could they have had by running at the opposition? Pollard kicked the ball away when they had a try scoring overlap.
My disappointment is that they do have a one dimensional mindset at the present time. I know they can be lethal in the backs as well and they could be a much more rounded team like some of the great Springbok teams from the past.
They can play the way they want but even you would agree they are one dimensional at the present time… surely?
Just ask Siya Kolisi.
Why I don't understand the Springboks hate