I think I might just pop down the TAB and slip a quiet bet on the Wallabies.

Coaching & Education>Education>"It's OK to be a boy "

Boys love to climb trees, trade cards, have messy bedrooms and fight with swords.
But they are not always allowed…

So you’re saying the NZRU is even more insular than the English FA and the BCCI?

Not at all. I don't know about the BCCI, but the FA is not a fair comparison – they realised that the Premiership has failed to build a pool of English coaches to choose…

The reappointment of the current lot did that anyway. Warren Gatland. That guy coaching the Wallabies.

There will always be NZ coaches going overseas as there's only one top job, it's difficult to get it, and there's lots of good coaches. If we start appointing foreigners than people who are…

everyone staying in NZ and coaching at provincial or super 14 level with an eye on the top job in the future, will be on the next plane out of here to earn more money in Europe.

The reappointment of the current lot did that anyway. Warren Gatland. That guy…

So you’re saying the NZRU is even more insular than the English FA and the BCCI?

I don't think it's insular.

I think it's foolish if the country that has the best (as far as I can tell) body of coaches in the world, goes outside that body for their…

If I was the All Black coach in this position (god help me)

Not that long ago you were saying you'd love the job.

I’ll keep banging the Jake White drum until I see a logical reason why it can’t be him. BTW, look at how the England football team are going at the moment.

Leggie, totally respect your point of view, but even as an iconoclast's view, that is the most ridiculous statement…

The national bodies need to rein in India and set an international window for private cricketing tournaments…

That linked SMH article would be easier to take seriously if it wasn’t so massively riddled with inaccuracies.

The national bodies need to rein in India and set an international window for private cricketing tournaments…

If I was the All Black coach in this position (god help me), I would want to have the last game of the season in New Zealand be a great big win. Save the new selections for the northern tour

But it's entirely consistent with what Henry has done previously…

The Bledisloe Cup is safe, the Tri Nations is gone, this game is a dead rubber. Why not give some players who have been pushing for selection (eg. Thomson, Donnelly) a start?

If I was the All Black coach in this position (god help me), I would want to have…

Rokocoko?! How many chances do you give a guy?

Ross and Franks have not done much wrong. Their replacements are either unproven or underperforming. If lineout calls are a problem get someone else to do the calling.

Are they trying to lose to Australia…

Ross has got umpteen starts all season and has earnt future games in the black jersey. No harm in giving someone else a start given that the tri-nations is gone.

I don't agree with this, not in the context of Hanson's comments about the lineouts being the result of "human…

Ever wondered why successful basketballers are tall?

That's a silly comparison. The guys who throw the ball most accurately, and set up the tall guys in basketball, are the guards, the shortest. They also tend to be great at outside shooting.

No doubt there's many factors which make a hooker…

And yet – again – they hang on to Rokococo. Jesus, what has Rokococo got to do to be dropped?

I'm beginning to suspect that our friend Joseva has photos of Messrs Henry, Smith & Hansen in compromising positions...

The rest looks OK. Ross has got umpteen starts all season and has earnt future games in the black jersey. No harm in giving someone else…

What exactly has Owen Franks done wrong? And Ross?

Hanson's finger pointing at the players and blame shifting last week in the media now makes sense.

It isn't that fat pricks fault, it is the jumper and the lifter to blame.

And yet – again – they hang on to…

So I’d have thought the obvious action would be to give someone else that job.

But they drop him altogether!!!

Nice one Steve; going to give Donnelly that job too now?

And...

WTF????? That dopey fat fucker Hanson right royally screws up for years, and our best young lock pays the price??????????????????

I would point out that John Smit is no dwarf, in fact pretty tall.

Also no longer a hooker, he's switched to prop since 2008.

There's more to it than just money though Kyle.

I think that's precisely what I said.

Otherwise why is the rugby world cup coming to NZ in 2011? Why did fifa give us the boys WC in 99? and girls WC last year or fiba give us the junior basketball this year?

You go to play in…

The thing is that people use the "no money in it" argument for not playing the PI sides but we play one of Tonga, Fiji or Samoa most years in a test so what difference would it make?

There's some money in having a Pacific Islands team play here -…

I'm starting to think the Bay of Plenty model looks pretty attractive.

Ewwwww

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00pzdFGeVZ3PO/610x.jpg

Actually he's been our best attacking weapon all season, leading try-scorer I think.
Given how short in supply tries have been, not something you'd want to throw on the bench.

He's also a very, very good tackler.

Now, the issue is one of timing and combinations.

And, once again, guess where the finger points there?

I'm starting to think the Bay of Plenty model…

And as for the centres...

European Nations' Cup, I think you mean, no?

The European Cup of blessed memory is a club competition forever and ever amen.

Ah yes the European Nations' Cup also known as the Six Nations B. I think you might mean the UEFA European Football Championship. Still it's gotta be hard…

Serious question BTW,…

The European Cup, now the Champions League, loosely equates to the Super 12 / 14/ 15.

Except for the Franchise aspect.

I'm still pushing for a Southern Hemisphere "World Cup" like the European Cup for football

European Nations' Cup, I think you mean, no?

The European Cup of blessed memory is a club competition forever and ever amen.

(Differences: run yearly vs quadrennially, home and way vs neutral, etc.)

Forget tests in Christchurch between the ABs and Italy.

Give me the…

Once we do that we could make it one match per team ala the 6 Nations which would alleviate some of the repetition we get now.

Amen.

I'm still pushing for a Southern Hemisphere "World Cup" like the European Cup for football

Argentina securing the participation of their best players to play in the Four Nations.

Does that rule apply to the other countries too?

2007 and all that....

But it won't be "a truly Southern Hemisphere Championship" until…

Instead we watch Donald who only plays well in about 50% of domestic games and poorly more times than not for the ABs make a goose of himself.

Not to imply that he's any good, but Donald would do himself a BIG favour by kicking the ball down field instead…

SANZAR Media Release

SANZAR invites Argentina to join the Tri Nations from 2012

SANZAR has extended a conditional invitation to Argentina to join the Tri Nations from 2012 to create a new “Four Nations” Championship.

Andy Marinos, Acting Managing Director of…

They followed that up with some brutal Lions tests and have now wiped the floor with Aussie and NZ.

Our ABs do…

Starting Nonu is liability at the moment with the amount of kicking and the flat defensive screens that is going on.

Actually he's been our best attacking weapon all season, leading try-scorer I think.

Given how short in supply tries have been, not something you'd want to throw on the…

But, the thing which disappoints me is that now and then our lineout goes quite well for half a game…

We treat burn out as if it is something that a quiet fortnight in Raro…

But I’m wondering if he thinks that’s the way to behave, and might accidentally be onto something. The winding up the opposition, the refs, the media, Hamilton, the IRB etc... No doubt McCaw will get it at some stage.

All good theatre.

And it takes…

No; clearly PDV is best used as a stand-up comic.

Agreed. Did you see during the game, before Richie's try, PdV was shown laughing and mucking about int eh box while the others were watching the game. The coach next to him grabbed him arm and pulled him back in…

Let me ask this though. Would anyone swap Henry for de Viliers right now?

No; clearly PDV is best used as a stand-up comic.

But if you asked “Would anyone swap the NZ coaching team for the South African coaching team right now?” I’d say you bet.

If we do nothing we will not win the World Cup.

To be honest, I think "what is the best thing to do to win the world cup" is a bit beyond armchair critics.

Most people could see that Donald needed to be replaced at some stage during that game.…

If we do something we might win the World Cup.

I probably got ya on that one too :) But I see your point.

My point is this. Appointing White (or anyone else) might pay off or it might not. Keeping Henry might pay off or it might not. It…

If we do something we might win the World Cup.

Change the rules so only teams wearing black are allowed to win?

If we do something we might win the World Cup.

Start preparing the dodgy shellfish and undercooked chicken for distribution to the 'caterers'?

If we do nothing we will not win the World Cup.

Ah yes, but, if we do something we will not win the World Cup. It's this horrible dilemma that New Zealand rugby fans put themselves into.

I recently joked to someone (though I forget who) that at the start…

But there are still 2 years to go, and the talent is there. And he would have personal motivation (always the biggest issue when appointing a coach from off-shore)

And most of all, it is worth a try.

If we do nothing we will not win…

He appointed his captain (best in the world) and built from there.

Cool and not to take away from what he's done, but do you think that we want a "building coach"? If White got the All Black job and then followed the same path with them that he did…

This quote from Straeuli's wiki entry is sadly familiar:

Through all the failures Straeuli kept telling the public that he was still building his team and that…

He appointed his captain (best in the world) and built from there. He also brought back Percy because he realised the importance of goal-kicking. What I’m saying is he made the tough…

I think he may have realised the err of his ways when 11 seconds after the opening kickoff 'they've been doing it all day ref!' was shouted in his direction...

That was one of my finer moments.

As for the coaches. Was Jake White actually any good? I know he…

White is currently unemployed I think. Not sure about his side-kick Jones.

I have come to the realisation that Stephen Donald's suckiness is a bit like climate change. While most people agree with it and there is huge amounts of data to prove it, there are still some pockets of deniers who still think he's actually alright.

The bloke did manage to…

I think he may have realised the err of his ways when 11 seconds after the opening kickoff 'they've been doing it all day ref!' was shouted in his direction...

lol.

I think the lineout problems are long running enough given that I remember having discussions about how Anton Oliver…

1. I’ll keep banging the Jake White drum until I see a logical reason why it can’t be him. BTW, look at how the England football team are going at the moment.

Or if we want an outsider with World Cup winning credentials, Sir Clive Woodward? Okay, just kidding.

Is…

1. who else is there to take their place?

2. why assume it's always the fault of the coaches? Couldn't it be because we don't seem in this country to produce good lineout forwards? The ABs coaches can't be blamed for the dearth of lineout talent coming through the ranks.…

I wonder why Thorne hasn't been tried at #6 or #8. Given that he's a converted league player, why wasn't he converted to a position that suited his height and bulk?

How can you have those two statements in the same post?

Because:

1. who else is there to take their place?

2. why assume it's always the fault of the coaches? Couldn't it be because we don't seem in this country to produce good lineout forwards? The ABs coaches can't…

We will continue to lose big games until we fix our lineout.

Follwed by

There's really no point calling for Henry and Co to be sacked

How can you have those two statements in the same post?

But be fair to Donald: he was out of position, playing against the best team in the world.

Thorne is a good player, but a lineout jumper he is not. If I were Henry I'd pick some young locks for the NH tour, and leave the old guy at home

The depressing thing about Saturday is…

I have come to the realisation that Stephen Donald's suckiness is a bit like climate change. While most people agree with it and there is huge amounts of data to prove it, there are still some pockets of deniers who still think he's actually alright.

I think that analogy could…

I have come to the realisation that Stephen Donald's suckiness is a bit like climate change. While most people agree with it and there is huge amounts of data to prove it, there are still some pockets of deniers who still think he's actually alright.

I don't know if there…

Can I just ask, before anyone gets their bitch on and calls for the coaches to be sacked,

My taxi driver on Saturday says Todd Blackadder. I'm sure Tracy Nelson has the stats to back him up.

Watching "live" I thought Read did nothing wrong – "hey, if Habana wants to run straight into ~100kg of brick shithouse that's his beef"
But on the replay, Barnes was r...rrrrr... he was r... right (excuse me, I have to go cut myself)

Possibly but it was after the whistle…

Yes, but the problem is also in how they are carrying the ball.

I wasn't paying close enough attention to see how the Boks were tackling other players, but I did wonder if this was a specific thing they'd decided to do with Nonu this test. When he breaks through,…

I started by pointing out to my partner how the South Africans were tackling around his arms and helping him lose the ball by tying them up.

Yes, but the problem is also in how they are carrying the ball.

This is why I'm not entirely willing to blame the…

And if Nonu would just stop ruining all that great running, busting, line-breaking work by not handing over the ball at the end of it then that would be great, ta.

I started by pointing out to my partner how the South Africans were tackling around his arms and helping…

Can you imagine the frothing if the NZRU even looked once at bringing in a non-NZ coach to coach the ABs? There'd be blood everywhere.

Surely we've come on from those days?

Especially with the obvious staring us in the face like this.

The gulf between Carter and Donald was…

Can you imagine the frothing if the NZRU even looked once at bringing in a non-NZ coach to coach the ABs? There'd be blood everywhere.

Can I just ask, before anyone gets their bitch on and calls for the coaches to be sacked, that you have one good person to replace them with

Jake White

It was a performance as predictable as it was depressing. Is there anyone left out there who disputes this side has been going backwards for long enough to be classed as officially in decline?

Yes, that game was awful, and yes, this season has mostly been horrible. But the last…

Interesting take on the Read thing; I thought he was a bit lucky not to get binned.

I think the reason for the non-binning was that it was after the whistle, hence it had no effect on the game (delaying ball, deliberate offside etc). It was simply a cheap shot.

Otherwise, the point, it is moot.

It was a performance as predictable as it was depressing. Is there anyone left out there who disputes this side has been going backwards for long enough to be classed as officially in…