Roar Guru
Joined August 2016
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A sports fanatic. A pommie living Down Under. If it uses a ball then I like watching it. Crystal Palace fan for my sins but don\\\'t make you judgements based on that.
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The final round of matches before teams have some of their international players back. With the league heading into the cold winter months, players…
After a couple of weeks off for the Anglo-Welsh cup and with teams missing their front line international players, the Aviva Premiership returned this…
The Wallabies have just finished their Rugby Championship campaign on a high, beating Argentina away from home, and therefore finishing second on the table,…
This was the final round of Premiership action before clubs head into Europe. A few club's will be heading there brimming with confidence while…
Week 5 is in the bag and while there were surprises at the top, at the bottom it is already starting to take shape.…
Week 4 of the Aviva Premiership is in the bag. There was some superb rugby and questionable refereeing. Here is a wrap of the…
Round 3 of the Aviva Premiership saw the competition go global. All teams have now brought back in their Lions as players start to…
Week 2 of the Aviva Premiership didn’t disappoint. Teams brought back in a couple more of their Lions contingent as a couple of heavyweights…
After a summer Lions tour and many fringe players getting their chance to impress on the International stage the Aviva Premiership is back and…
This week is the final week of Super Rugby action for a while. The Northern Hemisphere teams embark on their Southern Hemisphere tours and…
At the moment, no teams can live with the Kiwis – they are sweeping all in front of them. So the ladder-leading, unbeaten Crusaders…
The premiership season is drawing to a close. Teams are fighting to make it into the playoffs and then a home final. Here is…
The Six Nations returns this coming weekend, so players made their last bids to prove fitness or form, while teams tried to take advantage…
No Six Nations Rugby this week ensured that domestic rugby was once again the main focus, and with key matches affecting both the top…
The start of the Super Rugby season is drawing ever closer. Teams are well into their pre-season preparations as they look to their first…
After a break for European competition and the start of the Six Nations, the Aviva Premiership returned this week. With teams shorn of their…
For the final preview for the upcoming Super Rugby season, I take a look at the New Zealand conference. With the last three winners…
After the disappointment of 2016 when only one team made it through to the quarter-finals, the Australian teams will look for a vast improvement…
This week we will take a look at the Africa 2 Conference, arguably the more competitive of the African conferences. Here is Rob's take…
The 2016 Super Rugby season saw new teams, fantastic rugby and no shortage of surprises. With the 2017 season fast approaching, we all hope…
Foley isn’t a 12. Why Cheika even tried this I have no idea. He doesn’t bring anything to that position. He isn’t big enough to take a crash, he isn’t creative enough to be a second pivot and as mentioned he isn’t a strong defender. There was absolutely no point in this experiment. By playing Foley at 12 he was preventing players such as Kerevi and Hodge gaining valuable experience in a game that would have taught them a lot about International Rugby.
Teams have worked out Folau. They know if they kick to him in space he can punish them. Now they are just putting up bombs on him that as soon as he comes down with the ball he is being met by at least 2 defenders. He still has the broken field running ability as proven by his break from the inside pass from Cooper but to get the best out of him you need to play him at 13. Get the ball in his hands early an let him do his thing. Defensively, why not speak to someone like Stirling Mortlock to do some one-on-one session with him so he can learn the idiosyncrasies of the position both defensively and offensively.
Another week, another thumping. Watching the Wallabies shouldn't be like this...
Hoy, agree totally. Foley did well when he firs came onto the International scene. He has been poor for at least a season both Internationally and in Super Rugby. He certainly isn’t a 12. I have made a couple of reasons above as to why I don’t think he is a 12 but there are many more. By continually picking him you are preventing potential game breakers such as Kerevi and Hodge gaining experience.
The problem with the 10 position is if Cooper goes cold, which we all know will happen, who else is in the wings? The Australian cupboard is fairly bare when it comes to top quality 10s. Look at other top teams who their options are
New Zealand – Barrett, Cruden, Sopoage
South Africa – Lambie, Pollard, Jantjies
England – Ford, Farrell, Cipriani
That is to name but 3 teams. The problem is, with nothing really under Super Rugby there isn’t a proving ground for players to make the step up. The NRC is trying to fill the void but matches are poorly attended and how many of the players that perform well in that comp actually get a real go at Super Rugby level? Not many, coaches don’t trust those players enough yet to throw them in, When that starts happening then Australian Rugby can move forward.
Cheika needs to be brave after Bledisloe II
I don’t think Hart is the best goalkeeper in England but I don’t think Fat Sam really knows what he is doing. I think it will be more of the same more for a while yet at International level.
Premier League Week 2: Winners and losers
Akari – 100% agree with your idea. If you look at other major rugby playing nations, they all have a strong national competition. In the UK you have the Premiership, and the Pro 12, France have the Top 14 NZ have a very competitive ITM Cup even the South African Currie Cup is ok. The fact that the ARU have put so much money into the NRC shows that they have identified they need something on a National scale but unfortunately for my mind the NRC is not good enough, How many either Internationals or firnge International players actually play in the competition? Not many.
The 6 Nations teams all have an ‘A’ Team. They play in a round robin tournament of their own, this means that should players get injured then players on the cusp of a a call up are ready to go and have been in the system. The fact that there is nothing bridging the gap between NRC and Super Rugby is a huge concern and one that needs to be addressed. There needs to be more money pumped into the NRC to entice a better quality of player to come in from abroad for example and play. At the moment it is a smatttering of Super Rugby players with Top Grade club players that simply won;t challenge any of the elite
What is happening with the Wallabies?
I would like to see Cheika be brave with his selections this week. This is a game the Wallabies won’t win, they can’t make such a huge turnaround in 7 days especially if it is on NZ soil. Bring in Sean McMahon, he is aggressive with ball in band and in defence. With Pocock and Hooper you already have 2 players that like to get on the ball at the breakdown so bringing in a 3rd in Fardy is don’t think is going to benefit. They need to start looking ot the future not living in the now. Also Folau has to play 13, get the ball in his hands and let him do what he does.
I 100% agree with the lineout. It was torn to shreds on Saturday, Rettalick and Whitelock did what they wanted on the Australian ball. The dummy ot the back and give to the front man is an option I would certainly look to utilise here, get the All Blacks thinking, something that didn’t happen much on Saturday,
Finally the support has to be there. WHen Phipps made the break in the 2nd half there was no one anywhere near him. He went looking for support and ultimately the Wallabies conceded a turnover. Whenever the All Blacks broke the line there was options all over the place ala the Naholo try. They really need to back themselves with the ball and go away from this one out runners that is happening more and more.
Not quite 99 problems, but the Wallabies only have time to fix three
Chris, I think you hit the nail on the head. After the World Cup Cheika should stick to his guns and build towards Japan 2019. He started to get it right with Kerevi/Arnold and Frisby coming in. I would have liked to see Stirzaker in there too as he is always looking to attack the line and get the backs going forward. I don’t see anyone at the moment that can step into the 10 jersey other than Foley, that is the big problem, he knows that he is barely challenged to hold onto his shirt.
The Rebels point is a good one, Reece Hodge was superb, scoring tries for fun in Super Rugby yet Kuiridrani, who has had a very poor year for the Brumbies strolls into the team. If Cheika wants to play this expansive style of running rugby then he has to pick that players that can do it, if he sticks with the old guard then he has to revert back to what was working, which isn’t as pretty but it is effective.
What is happening with the Wallabies?
Middlesbrough have done good business in the window, they won’t be going down.
Engish Premier League 2016-17 table predicted
Jumbo, with regards to lower down the food chain I was talking about teams outside them Prem. How are they able to keep any talented 18 year olds that could maybe help push them to the next level and maybe get into the Prem? Spain hoarding players? Apart from Barca and Real having good squads, which were mainly made up of top Spanish players and the odd Brazilian. Chelsea have been hoarding for at least 5 years and City have been doing it for some time too.
If the money continues to flood into England the balance of power may well shift for good with huge detriment to the English national team.
Why the Pogba transfer should ring alarm bells
Mourinho had to make a statement. He wanted Pogba and Juventus knew that so they made a price out of thin air. Man Utd, as pointed out, have the money so are happy to pay it and Mourinho would have made them pay it for sure. Is he worth it? Nope, He is world class but I don’t think he will ever be the best player in the world to be honest. He doesn’t grab a match by the balls and own it like a Scholes did or Pirlo. End of the day there is too much money in the Premier League so teams can pay what they want.
Pogba's record transfer? It's the economy, stupid
You make a good point Akari but as Tman says the Lions came from absolutely no where. Not only have they not qualified for the finals before, they were fighting for their Super Rugby lives not 4 seasons ago. They did it not by bullying teams into giving them penalties to win games like the Bulls did in their heyday, the ran teams ragged, played ‘New Zealand’ brand rugby that no one was expecting and most couldn’t live with. I would have loved to have seen a dry track on the weekend and seen how it panned out.
Yes the Canes did superbly after losing their first couple of games in turning it around, and yes they certainly did have the Lions number home and away but they had a home final last season. They have players that have been there and done it before. I am pretty certain they were up there as favorites at the start of the season. I know that makes it impressive to then fulfill that potential but still they were fancied.
Super Rugby season review
Can you name me a player out of the poor South African teams I mentioned that did well? The reason Folau is in there is he looked a threat every time he got hte ball, made breaks in every game and topped the try scoring charts. Without him the Waratah’s wouldn’t even had had a sniff at the finals, he was pivotal. There was no player, in my view, from any other South African franchise that carried a team like he did.
Super Rugby season review
With regards to South African players. The Bulls and Sharks I thought were poor, they benefited from a favorable draw, the Kings are just starting off and you could maybe make a claim for a couple of Stomers (Etzebeth, Huw Jones) but the only stand out team was the Lions. There were a number of performances that could have made that list, I just didn’t want to write a list of about 15 players and I had mentioned the Lions in pretty much everything else.
With regards to Moore, the difference when he was and wasn’t there was marked from the Brumbies and to score 7 tries from Hooker is no mean feat.
Super Rugby season review
That will be the only thing that would stop it happening and would be a travesty if it does. The job he has done with the Lions is nothing short of incredible. If they don’t pick him up another International team will!
Super Rugby season review
Both are quality players don’t get me wrong. Kriel is certainly no slouch, far from it but Savea, with that 7s background when in a one-on-one situation can offer a bit more footwork than Kriel. That is definitely not bagging Kriel, it’s just what I have seen. I may well be proven wrong and see him hot stepping all over the shop tomorrow, but I feel in that regards they have a different skill set.
Where the Super Rugby final will be won
Deano, a lot of people a hell of a lot more qualified than myself have all said they were impressed with Coleman. Yes the yellow card was foolish and there is no defending what he did but he wasn’t there to overawed. Had he just sat back and taken what Whitelock and Retallick were dishing out he would have crumbled probably never to be seen again but he didn’t. If he can channel the aggression then the signs are there he could have a decent international future.
Cheika needs to be brave after Bledisloe II