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Joined September 2023
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Here we go again: I’m a voice in the wilderness. The best way to correct this is to make the game more aerobic. That requires that stoppages are policed: if a player goes down, the game goes on; the “injured” player goes off – for an independently verified – injury – and he comes back on later or he doesn’t stop the game. It will transform rugby. No longer will it be dominated, especially recently, by 120kg behemoths who can smash their smaller rivals into submission but it will give way to supremely aerobically fit strong athletes with silky rugby skills. Within a World Cup cycle, the game will be transformed. The Cheslan Kolbes will be freed up; the skilful centres will come back (hallo, Jason Little?) and the game can transfer to the backs because if the forwards don’t have the gas, they will not be able to slow the game down
And while you’re at it, reduce penalties to 2 points, or even one.
Rugby’s descent into cynical play: Why neutral fans should back the All Blacks for the good of the game
No one (certainly not the ENG media or supporters) has noted that their Captain and “inspirational leader” Owen Farrell, cost ENG the game. He scored all 15 of his side’s points – big deal, it’s his job to kick goals – but he stupidly cost them two penalty goals. The first, 20 metres out, was pretty dumb for a seasoned pro but the second, 10 metres marked off for dissent, meant Pollard faced a 40-metre kick not a 50. Result: six points. Absolute idiocy, and Farrell’s got form in dumb arguing with the referee.
Borthwick deserves praise for his game plan but in this respect, he made a mistake keeping Farrell as Captain and allowed to approach the ref. Itoje is a much smarter, more analytical player.
The Wrap: There's a reason Boks and All Blacks are at the big boys' table - the rest have to earn their way onto it
Amidst all the deserved praise for England, Owen Farrell stands out as the true idiot. Yes, he scored all 15 of his side’s points (that’s his job, after all), but he cost them six points and in such a close game it was the difference.
First, ten metres marked off for dissent – a truly epic piece of idiocy – moved Pollard from 50 metres to 40 metres out and he duly kicked the penalty. Then, he gave away another dumb penalty only 20 metres from the try line – 3 more points.
Steve Borthwick deserves huge praise for his game plan but leaving Farrell as Captain and allowed to back chat to the referee was a big mistake. Farrell never knows when to shut up and get on with the game.
UK VIEW: 'Utter heartbreak' for 'brilliant, cunning, courageous' Poms in WC semi 'undeservedly' won by Boks
Geoff, the Wallaroos have already made a good start with the appointment of Jaime Fernandes (affectionately known as “Hamma”) as High Performance Director. Canberra-born, he comes to rugby from rowing where he stroked the men’s eight to a brave silver medal at the Sydney Olympics and then became the HP Development Director, effectively responsible for the pathways from clubs to Junior to U23 to Senior level representation. He is very effective, a good listener, and significantly he “observes the niceties”: it is about respecting the athletes, engaging with others, doing such “small” things as writing thank you notes, and rigour about processes and accountability. If the men’s game can find another Hamma it will be a step in the right direction.
Forget Eddie's Coogee circus, the biggest questions Australian rugby must answer were revealed in Paris
No it’s not. The AFL has a designated zone from which players can enter or leave the game, and it’s policed. Some teams have to learn the hard way and don’t control it so they find themselves with too many players on the ground. Result: free kick from the goal square. Lesson is learned.
The Wrap: Wallabies are on their way home - can they please take the TMOs with them?
Love your comment: “magic water on his socks”! This whole injury stuff is a rort. Unless the downed player is in the way, play on. If he needs more treatment, remove him to the sideline and allow a sub but only for five minutes to stop cynical substitutions – if he can’t come back on within that time, he’s out.
I hate this about rugby almost as much as I hate diving in soccer.
The Wrap: Wallabies are on their way home - can they please take the TMOs with them?
Good idea, Max. The AFL has something like this where the “judiciary” (what a pompous word!) can sanction a player after the game is over. It works, and is feared, though the clubs bring out the QCs to battle in the hearings. But the important thing is that while the player can be rubbed out for the next game, this game is not stopped for an age and the ruined as a contest.
Rugby has lessons it can learn from other codes but for me, it is amazingly insular and smug.
The Wrap: Wallabies are on their way home - can they please take the TMOs with them?
Geoff, I’m loving your insights.
Yes on over-use of the TMO. Still, it difficult: the IRB is scared of litigation by retired players claiming traumatic damage from head knocks and is in a no-win position. It HAS to be tough on this. In the Fiji vs Portugal game, thankfully they deemed it a mere yellow not a red, just as they did in the Japan vs Argentina game. So far, so sensible, but there’s time for caution here: too many red cards are handed out and if rugby, a game of possession and overlaps, unlike soccer, being down a man is effectively game over if the other side is smart. It ruins matches.
As for the TMO elsewhere, you are right: limit involvement only to where there is doubt about a try but otherwise, let the referee run the game.
And whether it’s a conspiracy or not, it is undeniable that the minnows get the short stick of ref decisions!
The Wrap: Wallabies are on their way home - can they please take the TMOs with them?
I’m agnostic about Twiggy – I accept Geoff’s point about allowing a single individual to take control; the yearning for the “saviour” is as old as history and the results are usually disastrous (see: Donald Trump) – but here’s my main comment: the RA Board and especially McLennan should be condemned for panicking and dumping Dave Rennie, in the hope that Eddie Jones would be that saviour.
The Wallabies B team were ambushed by Italy a week after the A team led France until the last minute in a superb game in Paris. The boys were happy, you could see they were enjoying their rugby, and the team was building. They trusted their coach and each other. So what did RA do? It dumped Rennie and replaced him with a coach whose methods induce anxiety and insecurity in the players (with consequent mistakes); a new game plan; wholesale dumping of experienced players; and mystifying selections (Donaldson wasn’t solely to blame for the Wales loss, but he was so embarrassingly out of position that the hole before Wales’ first try beckoned to a blind man). This was a team playing with no confidence.
We (all Australian rugby supporters) should be clinical, careful, and considered before we throw the baby out of the bath. No clutching at “saviours”; replace the Board, starting with the Chairman (there has to be accountability for DR and EJ); let Eddie go (Spiro Zavos is right – Eddie’s vision of the game as like rugby league is flat wrong, and a dead end); start the reforms at the bottom with a “national skills program”, where every school and club in the country is encouraged – even required – to coach the core skills so that by the time the players get to professional or semi-professional levels, the skills are ingrained; same with fitness: introduce a national strength & conditioning regime so every school kid knows what the required standard is at every age and every level. Rugby players are not fit enough – learn from the AFL, where out-of-season aerobic training is mandatory. Rugby players wouldn’t last ten minutes in an AFL game with its non-stop maximum running and contest. “But rugby is different”, you say. Really? What if Australian rugby players WERE as aerobically fit and strong as AFL players and they could play their game at the same non-stop high tempo? Well, it’s clear: the field would be littered with “injured” opposition players down on the turf having those ridiculous ice packs and sprays applied while they catch their breath. I’d love to see it!
Time for revolution: A hostile takeover of Australian rugby, led by Twiggy, is the only thing that will save it
Can someone please give us the points required for Wales, Fiji and Australia to get out of the pool?
Assuming Australia beats Wales and gets a bonus point as does Wales, does Fiji go through? What if Wales loses but with a bonus point? What if Australia wins with no bonus point?
Is there a scenario where Fiji controls its own destiny?
Of course, all this assumes all three beat the minnows with a bonus point!
Five Things: Eddie's mad scientist coaching group exposed - but Wallabies won't fear Wales like Fiji
Owen Farrell is an idiot. Undisciplined tackles, dissent with the referee that give away penalties. Look only at the RWC: he gave away a stupid penalty 15m from the line – 3 points – then, even worse, argued with the ref over a clear infraction, got marched 15m towards goal, and ARG duly nailed the penalty from 45m instead of 55m. Cost ENG the game, yet no one in England calls this out. If they keep him, he should not be Captain Allowed to talk to the ref, and told overall to just shut up…and to cease shoulder charges.
'Irish d--khead': Gatland reveals 'sinister' trolling as rugby reacts to 'shameful' and 'shocking' Farrell abuse