Roar Guru
Joined October 2016
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All the way into the tile!
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Alrighty, it is time for Coach Neutral to show his hand. My selection criteria are pretty simple, I have picked what I consider to…
Write it down before the first kick-off: the All Blacks win, Los Pumas get the wooden spoon, and the Wallabies and the Springboks battle…
With the Lions Test coming up, there are many talking points surrounding the All Blacks. Dan Coles' fitness is up in the air, Sonny…
When the Springboks lost against Japan last year, they actually lost to a side that played the Test of their lifetime. Springboks was not…
Lately the eyes of the sporting world have been on Irish sportsmen creating history in USA. As if Ireland's maiden win over the All…
Hello mates! There is only one place to start and that is at Soldier Field. The Irish finally got a win. I had a…
Hello mates. Good times are ahead. At least for Test rugby junkies. All the power houses from the south will be in action this…
Alrighty mates, take a deep breath or two before starting to read this, because on the menu today is refereeing, Michael Mourinho - sorry…
Here's some banter and reflection about rugby and beyond from a neutral perspective. Let us kick off on a positive note: the inclusion of…
The B team?
LOL!
So the A team is the team that got silly lucky wins against OZ and Scotland and drew against a poor poor England team?
Is 2023 the year Ireland break the chokehold and become World Cup champions?
Against NZ at the moment, it is 70-30 in Irelands favor.
Is 2023 the year Ireland break the chokehold and become World Cup champions?
So, with your über-critical approach to everything, what team has a chance in the WC?
Or is everyone pretty much useless? (that would be a pretty fresh approach).
Is 2023 the year Ireland break the chokehold and become World Cup champions?
Plus
Ireland has a better team (and squad) than they ever had before.
Several proper world class players (more than any other nation at the moment).
Great head coach with great assistants. Knows how to motivate, select, and analyze opponents.
They have beaten every top team recently (home, away, and well). No team has a mental edge on them right now.
Big buzz around Irish rugby. Confidence is deep and well-earned.
Minus
They have the worst draw by far; tough group and have less rest days between big games than any other team.
One brain slip, from a player or from a ref, and it could all be over before it have even started.
Summa summarum:
If they win, it will most likely rank as the greatest World Cup win ever, playing more tough teams than anyone has ever done before. Probably too hard for them to go all the way, but if they “slip” in the final or in the group stage already is impossible to call right now (but it is more likely they will “slip” deep into business end, when injuries and mental fatigue becomes major factors).
Is 2023 the year Ireland break the chokehold and become World Cup champions?
You just never learn, Jacko.
Before last years tour you barked non-stop that Ireland could not win in NZ because they never had done it before… and well well well, look at them eggs on your face.
'They said we couldn't do it': Skelton and La Rochelle defy odds in epic comeback to seal Champions Cup title
Don’t you know about the superior Aussie fitness regime, FunBus?
'They said we couldn't do it': Skelton and La Rochelle defy odds in epic comeback to seal Champions Cup title
Last year Leinster won mo titles either.
So what happened?
The Irish Test team beat the ABs away in a Test series and is on double digit win run (including beating the Boks and winning the Grand Slam).
'They said we couldn't do it': Skelton and La Rochelle defy odds in epic comeback to seal Champions Cup title
Nah, this is probably a gift for the Irish setup. Players coming into the WC prep hungry and with a point to prove.
Look at last year, no titles for Leinster, still they went to a cold, rainy, and boring NZ and beat the ABs fair and square in a Test series (your rather silly claim that the ABs were robbed by the refs just goes to show that you are one-eyed Kiwi with very little knowledge about the game and the Laws).
Ireland also beat the Saffas and won the Grand Slam in the last couple of months.
'They said we couldn't do it': Skelton and La Rochelle defy odds in epic comeback to seal Champions Cup title
Please be a bit more specific about the location. And feel free to contact me via email: hermann.dill@gmail.com
I am not far away from Queensland. Just send me a legit address and I will come and see you.
CONFIRMED: 'I can't wait' - Razor named All Blacks coach from 2024 as NZR delivers another brutal slight to Foster
It was pretty close back in the day when Eddie Jesus Jones almost coached the Stormers.
'Fewer nonsensical cliches, less platitude soup' - Eddie's first squad fails to tackle biggest concern
So, Mr fake plastic mana, where can I meet you face to face to see if you are a real man who can back up your big mouth?
Or will you as usual just rant and cry behind your keyboard?
And yes, I am in Australia right now.
Let’s have it!
CONFIRMED: 'I can't wait' - Razor named All Blacks coach from 2024 as NZR delivers another brutal slight to Foster
Watched a fair few “behind-the-scenes” and “normal” clips with Rassie praising Mapimpi in different ways. The clip with Rassie tearing up while talking about Mapimpi is pretty special.
'Fewer nonsensical cliches, less platitude soup' - Eddie's first squad fails to tackle biggest concern
Excellent writing, Harry.
And this one was important. It was about time someone – with panache and a sharp eye – asked a few questions about Eddie Jesus Jones’s gospel.
'Fewer nonsensical cliches, less platitude soup' - Eddie's first squad fails to tackle biggest concern
Not that raw when Nienaber took over as head coach?
When did Mapimpi nail his place in the Boks XV?
'Fewer nonsensical cliches, less platitude soup' - Eddie's first squad fails to tackle biggest concern
Brilliant writing, Harry.
I am in awe.
Never stop, brother. Never stop.
'Ireland is the new New Zealand': Top dogs and proud of it, the emerald isle is locked in passionate embrace of rugby
Kind of yeah…
1991: Not a vintage AB team
1995: Maybe I got that one wrong, but France was probably the best team at that time (really unlucky with both the weather and the ref in the semi against SA).
1999: Wallabies
2003: England…
2019: No clear favorite
The Wrap: Unfair triple-jeopardy law cruels the Blues, Brumbies building, Reds relief
Yeah, all of us fake neutrals (with an anti-NZ agenda) gonna have at least 40 dry years in the desert. contemplating our bad luck (not being born and raised in NZ) and our poor choices (denying the holy gospel of NZ’s God-given right to rule the rugby universe).
😛
CONFIRMED: 'I can't wait' - Razor named All Blacks coach from 2024 as NZR delivers another brutal slight to Foster
At the end of the day, it was a no-brainer to appoint Razor. He thoroughly deserves to sit in the big chair. Gonna be really interesting to see if he reinstates the ABs as the leading team in the rugby world (as predicted by many of his fans).
Pretty sure that Razor will get a cushy and long honeymoon to bed in (any losses will be blamed on the ref, World Rugby, the ref, unlucky with injuries, the ref, the evil rugby people in Japan and Europe luring NZ players away, the ref, and yada yada yada).
Does anyone know against what team Razor will have his debut? I guess it must be against an NH team touring NZ in 2024.
CONFIRMED: 'I can't wait' - Razor named All Blacks coach from 2024 as NZR delivers another brutal slight to Foster
And finally, NZ has a coach that will unearth all those hidden gems (in the deep south) Muzzo tells everyone about (but refuses to name).
CONFIRMED: 'I can't wait' - Razor named All Blacks coach from 2024 as NZR delivers another brutal slight to Foster
There will be some curveballs in the WC for sure. With the top five nations (according to the world ranking) on the same half of the draw, there is a nice chance for teams like Australia, England, and Argentina to have a very special WC.
Apart from 2007, the ABs have not entered the WC as clear favorites and missed out on the trophy.
And as said, comparing this Ireland team to any other Ireland team is futile, they have never entered a WC with this kind of quality and confidence.
The Wrap: Unfair triple-jeopardy law cruels the Blues, Brumbies building, Reds relief
Hush-hush, Paulo.
Muzzo has for years claimed that there are dozens of top-quality players hidden in the deep south (overlooked by those useless AB selectors who apparently don’t understand rugby as well as Muzzo does).
Let’s not hurt his feeling (he is sensitive) by stating the obvious with a cheeky joke… 😛
The Wrap: Unfair triple-jeopardy law cruels the Blues, Brumbies building, Reds relief
Nice wrap, GP.
Offering your shoulder – with insight and great analysis – for the Blues fans to cry against shows what a fair rugby pundit you are.
Apart from a few games (when the top 3-4 teams meet each other and games that are played in Fiji), I find it hard to watch SR now. The sense of occasion (this is must-see TV) is long gone. And that makes me really sad. For years, Friday and Saturday mornings and afternoons have been dedicated to watching Super Rugby (and I knew it was hardly ever a waste of time).
Now I am starting to think that less is more is the way forward hence there are not enough good players and teams to sustain a twelve-team competition.
And I doubt it helps the All Blacks and the Wallabies that so many games are a forgone conclusion and pretty low on quality.
Six Nations is done and dusted and it is fascinating to see Ireland cementing itself as the world’s number one side. Lots of wishful whispers among some Roarers that Ireland somehow will crash out in the QFs (because that is what Ireland does in WCs) while ignoring that Ireland has never had a better team (several world-class players plus good depth) and a better body of work in a world cup-cycle. Still, they could indeed get knocked out in the QF, hence they have a nasty draw (playing Scotland in the last round-robin game and have fewer days to rest before the QF against France or the ABs – who also have far easier games in the last round robin).
The Wrap: Unfair triple-jeopardy law cruels the Blues, Brumbies building, Reds relief
Funny thing is that a rather different “standard” is used when you asses the form on the Boks (and sometimes the ABs), no matter what the results are, or how they performed, everything looks dandy and according to plan.
No questions asked…
Lions tamers: 16 All Blacks and 7 Wallabies in our projected ANZAC team to tackle the mighty reds in 2025
I totally understand you. Watching a game of rugby without “hearing” the commentators (especially their constant ref-bashing) and only getting the “surround sound”, is like finding a couple of drops of Coco Chanel in an ocean of diarrhea.
The Wrap: Rebels critics should know better, thrills and spills in Fiji, and string of close finishes leads to ladder logjam
“winning the final is something that the pressure does not harmonise with the that French volatile temperament.”
Really? Is that volatile temperament exclusive to French rugby players? France as a sporting nation has won A LOT of big finals (certainly more than NZ).
And that last hurdle… well… outside NZ most rugby fans know well which team was the best in the final 2011.
And good to see that this young French team has peaked too early. Anyone who has watched them knows their peak is ahead of them.
And some fact-checking: ABs, Boks, Ire, and France could all face each other in the final. Have a look at the draw again. The winners of QFs play winners from the other half of the draw in the semis.
The Wrap: A dozen reasons why the Wallabies can’t win the World Cup - and a couple why they might