The Rugby Thread

[pharvey]

No offence, but it's actually nice to see England Women lose - things were getting a tad boring!! I think 30 plus games since they lost over 3 plus years...

Can't say I'm a huge fan, but the women's game has certainly come on and they are getting bigger and bigger crowds. Fair play to them.

[pharvey]

Talking about crowds, I'm watching the Italy vs Australia game and am amazed at the number of empty seats!!

The match itself isn't great (though looking like a great result) - missed kicks galore by the Italians and the ref simply has no clue when it comes to scrum time..... The feeding is incredible - goes straight to the Number 8 at times!!

Ho hum.....

[pharvey]

Italy vs Australia. The 2nd Half was certainly an improvement on the first 40 minutes, and an exciting end to the match. Crap and confusing officiating but there was a worthy winner at the end of the day - I wont post the result as it's worth a watch highlights or full......

[pharvey]

I very rarely bet - and and at most it's £5 when I do. Happy days though - Bath beat Leicester (champions) and Wales did the Argies......... I might be able to afford a pint at the local for once!!

[dtaai-maai]

I love to see the smaller 2nd and 3rd tier nations improving. So it warms my heart to see Wales doing so well to hang on to a narrow lead against mighty Georgia...

[dtaai-maai]

... Oops!

[pharvey]

... Oops!

Don't extract the urine too much DM - it will come back to haunt you...

Honestly, I thought Georgia were superb - they had great defence, they wanted to attack and as is the norm, some rather good forwards. Wales on the other hand were shite.

Wales certainly had players to do the job - unfortunately a coaching team who can't.... CHRIST!!!!! Zero tactics, idiotic substitutions and let's not mention selections (LRZ is no Full Back FFS!!).

BIG HAND TO GEORGIA - GREAT WIN AND WELL DESERVED!!

With some luck, the end of Pivac & co is Nigh.......

[lindosfan1]

England and New Zealand draw, great comeback by the English, bodes well for 2023.
Disappointed in Wales had them down for a win, Georgia are becoming a team to watch.

[pharvey]

England and New Zealand draw, great comeback by the English, bodes well for 2023.
Disappointed in Wales had them down for a win, Georgia are becoming a team to watch.

Total change from England - could have been 21-0 down quite frankly..... Cracking comeback and fair play to them..

Georgia have been a decent team for years - known more for their forward power, but these days have some great backs...... and ufortunately for Wales in this instance, some great coaching!! It's great to see quite frankly and it's high time we have 2 (6 Nation/European) Divisions with promotion and religation - albeit Wales would likely be relegated these days!!

Still, I'm all for it!

[dtaai-maai]

Total change from England - could have been 21-0 down quite frankly..... Cracking comeback and fair play to them..

Yep, an astonishing comeback.

The first NZ try was an absolute gift in the 3rd minute, and my heart sank. The second was the result of a refereeing error, as was the disallowed 3rd. Having said that, the All Blacks were so dominant, and England so poor, that 21-0 would have been a fair reflection. I don't think the French ref had the best of games - he seemed to have no idea what was happening in the scrum, making it up as he went along. Van Portfleet had a nightmare game at no. 9. but collectively the entire team seemed to have forgotten how to play coordinated passing/offloading rugby, it was just get the ball and go, head own and eyes shut. Way too many basic errors and a lack of discipline. After an hour I was expecting to write a scathing pharvey-style report suggesting it was time for some major changes.

And then, all of a sudden, with 10-15 minutes left, everything suddenly clicked. With the mounting pressure, the AB defence, which had been outstanding all game, suddenly crumbled in a most un-AB-like manner and all the momentum was with England. The stadium had been silenced for over an hour, but now Swing Low was rolling round Twickenham for the first time since the haka.

Marcus Smith was probably the only person in the stadium who thought kicking the ball into touch to end the game was a good idea. The camera caught some of his teammates looking astonished, and there was quite a bit of booing, which must have upset the lad. I'd have liked to see them go for the win, but they were deep in their own half and it could have gone terribly wrong. I'll take the draw!!

[dtaai-maai]

That first NZ try, honestly, I nearly died! A sweet-looking England move from a lineout, IIRC, but then you could clearly see the intercept coming. DON'T PASS IT!! I was yelling (voicelessly) at the screen. It was as if time had slowed right down, just for a couple of seconds... Nightmare!

[pharvey]

After |Round 4, the HHF Prediction League Table (my skill seems to match that of the Welsh team at the moment): -
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HHF-Rugby.jpg (88.73 KiB) Viewed 179 times

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Congrats to JJBones on the Yellow Cap.....
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[pharvey]

With some luck, the end of Pivac & co is Nigh.......

Strangely enough, the fallout in Wales after "that result" is massive. The only way Pivac and co will survive this is that no "international level" coaches are available until after the RWC (when Pivac's contract ends anyway)..... That said, who knows with the cretins in charge of the WRU

Pivac has not only lost the plot (did he ever have it ) but the dressing room also IMHO.

I'd seriously bring in a "Caretaker" coaching team in for the 6N and RWC if there is no other alternative. Wales certainly need to look at persuading Scott Robertson to take the job (as they should have done long ago). Robertson has done wonders at the Crusaders and is one of the best in the world no doubt.....

Sad state of affairs.... Again for Welsh rugby

[pharvey]

Very sad news indeed....

Great player, great character R.I.P. Doddie.

Doddie Weir: Former Scotland Lock Dies at 52 After Suffering From Motor Neurone Disease

"Former Scotland international Doddie Weir has died at the age of 52, six years after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

Weir, capped 61 times between 1990 and 2000, went on to raise millions through his My Name'5 Doddie foundation following his diagnosis in 2016.

The lock was given an OBE in 2019 for services to rugby, to MND research and to the Borders community.

He is survived by his wife Kathy and sons Hamish, Angus and Ben.

"Doddie was an inspirational force of nature," said the Weir family."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63768331

[Thistle]

Some wonderful tributes appearing on the BBC rugby website to Doddie Weir,a Braveheart both on and off the field,
RIP.