The Rugby Thread

[pharvey]

Love this comment left by a guy regarding an article in The Guardian newspaper on the Aus vs NZ match: -

"It got so bad in the end for the lineout, that the Aussies had to try and steal their own throw..."

[pharvey]

Boks vs Pumas: -

Well, that was a mixed game! Scrappy at times, several errors by both teams, moments of brilliance by both teams....

I for one thoroughly enjoyed it

[PeteC]

An award winning photo by the British & Irish Lions official photographer. Obviously after a match, but the source doesn't say which match. The main point is that it really hits home regarding the toughness of the game, and the degree of toughness each player must possess to play it. Quite thought provoking. Pete

[PeteC]

^ Click on the photo for a larger image and closer to the original photo.

[pharvey]

^ Yes, thought provoking indeed.

Obviously after a match, but the source doesn't say which match.

It was also in today's newspaper in the UK: -

"This remarkable picture is a brutal insight into modern elite rugby - and this was just the start of the tour.
Five days after arriving in New Zealand last summer, the British and Irish Lions defeated the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians 13-7."

[EDIT] Also from this particular article: -

"This powerful competition entry, titled After the Battle, shows Alun Wyn Jones, Iain Henderson, Ross Moriarty and Sam Warburton slumped in the dressing room after the final whistle.
Lions captain Warburton later led his team to a historic 1-1 series draw, but then missed the whole of last season because of neck and knee injuries. He announced his retirement from the game last month at the age of 29.
'Unfortunately after a long period of rest and rehabilitation, the decision to retire from rugby has been made with my health and well-being as a priority,' he said at the time. Moriarty was out for six months after this game.
He said recently: 'There were two instances in the game when I felt something pop in my back. I thought it was my hip cracking, but it was obviously my disc popping out of place.' He missed the rest of the tour having played on for the entire game."

[PeteC]

Round 2 (all times local)

Saturday 25 August: New Zealand v Australia @ Eden Park, Auckland (19:35) (1435 hours Thai)
Saturday 25 August: Argentina v South Africa @ Estadio Malvinas, Mendoza (17:05) (0305 hours Sunday Thai)

Televised on Setanta channel 669 TRUE

[pharvey]

Round 2 (all times local)

Saturday 25 August: New Zealand v Australia @ Eden Park, Auckland (19:35) (1435 hours Thai)
Saturday 25 August: Argentina v South Africa @ Estadio Malvinas, Mendoza (17:05) (0305 hours Sunday Thai)

Televised on Setanta channel 669 TRUE

Quite looking forward to the Pumas vs the Boks, but Australia at Eden Park........ uh oh.....

[pharvey]

"The Blackness" - Dear God, an embarrassment of riches..... Simply untouchable at the moment.
Beauden Barrett - What can you say, 4 tries, 30 points. The man is a machine. Just as an aside, he's overtaken Dan Carter's try scoring record in half as many tests (still has a long way to go on points though)!
Brodie Retallick Dear God, is there anything this man can't do? Turnovers, line-out steals, dummies, try scoring (last week)..... I'm now searching to see if he has Welsh Grandparents!!

As for the match, a big improvement in Australia's set-piece and indeed their commitment in the latter stages, but questions still have to be asked over fitness. It truly is frightening how far NZ seem to be ahead of everybody else.

[PeteC]

Barrett really scored 5 counting the one that was called back. The effort was still there regardless. There was another called back put in by Naholo I think. A lesser officiating crew probably would have missed both. Pete

[pharvey]

Congrats to BB on the "Yellow Cap" and the Pumas on a deserved victory over SA

League positions after Round 2: -

R2.JPG (42.44 KiB) Viewed 522 times

[PeteC]

To me the SAF - Argentina game was sloppy on both sides. If they play like that against NZ it's going to be a romp.

Another thing I don't understand and Argentina seemed to do it a lot, as do some other teams I watch throughout the year. They are somewhere between their 10 and 22, usually closer to their 10, no defenders within 5-8 yards in front of them and they kick a high ball that goes at most 15-20 yards. The odds of them fielding their own kick I would say are less than 4 out of 10, whereas if they just kept it and run-passed they would still have possession and probably as far down the field as their kick went. The result however is that the ball is in the opponents possession in good field position. I just don't understand tactics like that. Pete

[pharvey]

To me the SAF - Argentina game was sloppy on both sides. If they play like that against NZ it's going to be a romp.

Another thing I don't understand and Argentina seemed to do it a lot, as do some other teams I watch throughout the year. They are somewhere between their 10 and 22, usually closer to their 10, no defenders within 5-8 yards in front of them and they kick a high ball that goes at most 15-20 yards. The odds of them fielding their own kick I would say are less than 4 out of 10, whereas if they just kept it and run-passed they would still have possession and probably as far down the field as their kick went. The result however is that the ball is in the opponents possession in good field position. I just don't understand tactics like that. Pete

It was somewhat "sloppy" and to be fair - who's going to touch the "Blackness"? The only thing of any interest really is to see how Aus fair against SA and the Pumas - the Rugby Championship title is done and dusted.

As to tactics, well I tend to agree, however they are looking for the knock-on rather than a lineout or possible turnover. SA have been strong in the latter 2, whilst the Pumas do rely on their scrummaging which has been historically strong (though not so much these days).

[PeteC]

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/a ... d=12091832


Of all the crazy rumours that have been spun about possible player movement over the years, Ma'a Nonu returning to the Blues next year at nearly 37 is paradoxically the most ridiculous and yet believable.

When it comes to Nonu, it is best to never rule anything out and work on the theory that the more unlikely something sounds, the more likely it is that it could happen.

No player in New Zealand has a Super Rugby history quite like Nonu's and for him to end up back at the Blues for a third stint with the club, five years after he left, would be entirely in keeping with a career that has never been short of plot twists.

The prospect of him going to the Chiefs appears to be equally alive and that too would be a remarkable business because should it happen, it would be his fourth Super Rugby club, making him one of the few men in New Zealand to have worked his way through that many.

So could it really be possible that Nonu, whose last rugby act on New Zealand soil was to score two blistering tries at Eden Park in a crushing defeat of the Wallabies in 2015, is heading back to New Zealand for one last crack at Super Rugby?

The answer would have to be yes.

Mystery still surrounds his seemingly sudden and unexpected announcement in May that he would not be extending his stay with Toulon, the French club he joined after the 2015 World Cup.

He cited family reasons which could mean his family are homesick, or it could just as easily mean he was stiffed by the club but either way, he's not yet with a contract and despite his pedigree, there may not be a long queue of clubs looking to invest in a 36-year-old midfielder with a bit of a chequered history.

If Nonu really is leaving Toulon for family reasons then New Zealand is presumably the most likely destination for him to resume his playing career, but given he's not prone to orthodoxy, he could just as easily wash up in Romania or Georgia or the Faroe Islands.

But if any club would be willing to take the risk, it could be the Blues whose own coach, Tana Umaga, spent a lifetime with the Hurricanes, joined Toulon in 2007 as a player, became coach in 2008, came out of retirement in late 2009 to become player-coach and then returned to fulfil that same dual role at Counties-Manukau in 2010 where he was still good enough, at 38, to win a contract with the Chiefs in 2011.

[PeteC]

The Rugby Championship Round 3

Saturday 8 September: New Zealand v Argentina @ Trafalgar Park, Nelson (19:35) (14:35 Thai time)

Saturday 8 September: Australia v South Africa @ Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (20:00) (17:00 Thai time)

Both matches on Setanta TRUE channel 669 as usual. Pete

Edit: Just as fyi, Setanta is now part of the Discovery Channel group. I would hope that means higher bids and more coverage of bigger tournaments that they couldn't televise up until now.

[PeteC]

Here's the line-up for New Zealand tomorrow against Argentina. Not their usual first team but will be interesting. Some big names not even dressing it appears like Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith, Jordie Barrett, and both Whitelocks on the bench to come in at 60 minutes if at all I would guess.

1. Karl Tu’inukuafe (5)
2. Codie Taylor (34)
3. Owen Franks (100)
4. Brodie Retallick (70)
5. Scott Barrett (21)
6. Shannon Frizell (1)
7. Ardie Savea (27)
8. Kieran Read – captain (111)
9. TJ Perenara (47)
10. Richie Mo’unga (1)
11. Waisake Naholo (21)
12. Ngani Laumape (7)
13. Jack Goodhue (3)
14. Nehe Milner-Skudder (11)
15. Ben Smith (70)

16. Nathan Harris (15)
17. Tim Perry (1)
18. Ofa Tuungafasi (17)
19. Samuel Whitelock (101)
20. Luke Whitelock (5)
21. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi *
22. Damian McKenzie (17)
23. Anton Lienert-Brown (26)