Hard News: Wild is the Weekend
117 Responses
First ←Older Page 1 2 3 4 5 Newer→ Last
-
A weekend for turnaround and turn-overs!
Sione brother does the same mistakes for the warriors.
-
Here's a question that I've pondered for a long time - why is Sione Lauaki an All Black and Mose Tuiali'i not? Lauaki has always been a bit of a show-pony, Tuiali'i [i]was[/i] but got turned in to a bloody good number 8 by (surprise, surprise) Robbie Deans.
And if anyone is feeling ever-so-slightly bitter and twisted about the Saturday result, they have nothing on Chris Rattue.
-
And if anyone is feeling ever-so-slightly bitter and twisted about the Saturday result, they have nothing on Chris Rattue.
God he's a dick. Sayeth the Rat...
Sydney was such an Aussie triumph and All Black disaster that it has proved already that the Deans supporters were absolutely right, no matter what happens from here on in.
So, even if we go on to retain the Bledisloe Cup, and win the Tri-Nations, he'll still be right!
-
Sonny Bill is off to get what he deserves and it's about time the real rich in sport start to pay their talent.
This goes back to 'Boot Money' paid to the amateur league players. Many & any good players took a pay cut in the days League went from amateur to proffessional.
The artificial constraint the Ozzie league place on players pay needs to end. The reason they don't is to keep cash in their own pockets not the playes. It's about fair remuneration, an industrial dispute if you will.
Didn't Robbie do well & while we have the current Board we will have these results.
-
Had that penalty try been awarded, and we somehow managed to win the match, do you think that bs 'blood bin' substitution of Cowan/Ellis would have led to our points being docked?
-
The best comment is usually from Drake lately we've had the sober views from Drake Peter Bills.
What pisses me off is we still find it acceptable that a highly paid professional player selected as a back that can't kick. The Super 14 showed us the ELV's encourage a kick and chase game.
For that reason, I would say ALL our big Islander origin players are now obsolete in professional rugby. They are big and one dimensional, and everyone is their size at international level - only the other guys are mentally tougher and have a greater skill set. The trouble is, New Zealand rugby is fixated on the big, naturally athletic and hugely physical Islanders.
I think this is because our top down game is organised on the principle the All Blacks are everything, and everything is subservient to them. The NZRFU has abandoned the provinces and has abandoned the idea of players serving an apprenticeship in their provinces in favour of talent identification at an early age and use of age group representative rugby to provide enough talent to the Super 14.
Our system favours the big Islanders who stand out early on, and it means ALL the players picked for NZ teams have spent their whole playing career walking along the red carpet rolled out in front of them. The first time they experience something going wrong, something to sort the ferral and the cunning from the naive and the lazy, it's in the big time - when it is to late.
Oh and Chris Rattue should be doing the political coverage in the Herald, where his balanced views will be much appreciated. How long can you keep writing when you've so boxed yourself into a corner?
-
So, even if we go on to retain the Bledisloe Cup, and win the Tri-Nations, he'll still be right!
Yup.
Personally I think Deans coaching Australia is a good thing. Now he gets to prove to the NZRU just how good he really is and just how useless they are. Maybe in two years when Henry's contract is up, they may make a decent decision.
Don't get me wrong, I would never support another team over NZ. When a player gets transferred or the coach changes you don't change your support to another team. (People that we saying they will were just mouthing off about NZRU's decision.)
I had to turn the horror show off with ten minutes to go, it was just too awful. Had to load up Battlefield and kill someone on the xbox. -
Here's a question that I've pondered for a long time - why is Sione Lauaki an All Black and Mose Tuiali'i not?
Ahh, come in Christchurch… (although you have a point.)
It’s hard to see how they can add any non-Maori to the squad at the moment though. Another muck-up by the NZRU.
BTW, it shouldn’t have been a penalty try; Tuqiri had it pretty much covered. It should have been a penalty and at least a yellow card through.
-
Oh and Chris Rattue should be doing the political coverage in the Herald, where his balanced views will be much appreciated.
I dunno, he's got some pretty stiff competition in that field.
-
I wonder if the overseas selection rule needs to be debated by the NZ rugby board.If there is a rule change then how do you get the UK/French clubs to release them when clearly the IRB is about as weak as the UN.
-
Although describing Andy Ellis and Jimmy Cowan as 'desperadoes' and then saying the All Blacks lack desperation was a classic.
-
I think Jacquie Brown might be funny if you are "in" the media circle but for the rest of NZ, I think it is just mildly amusing and another case of our struggle to find any comedy in NZ that works on TV. I got one small chuckle during her interview with Bizzy (or Dizzy or whatever) and that was about it. Mind you, I only find Bro Town vaguely funny so maybe I'm in a world of my own. Loved Flight of the Conchords and can't resist Green Wing, just to place me on the funny map.
-
It was almost comical how bad Lauaki was.
I think we're in the sh*t in a big way though with our loose forwards.
Rodney and Richie are stand-out but Jerry's departure is a bigger deal than I had imagined. Who's the 3rd member?!
Halfback is also a worry, Piri has to come in this weekend, neither of our two current options are up to it, who's the backup though? Hurry up and fix yourself Brendan Leonard!
And what is up with Brad Thorn? Brad...mate...you are a great player, you don't need to act like a complete thug.
I know Brad is a good player because on a particularly fierce Wellington day he was walking down Lambton Quay wearing shorts.
I still think Ma'a is alright, he just needs Conrad outside him to steady the ship and it was bloody good to see Sivivatu actually pull finger and do some work.
-
Tom, there's alot of racial essentilism in your comment.
To paraphrase, are you really calling "All islanders big, lazy and lacking mental toughness and cunning"?
That doesn't sound like Tana Umanga, or does being born in NZ suddenly change things?
-
Bring Back Jerry!.
But seriously, poor old Sione, that performance is destined for folklore.
It was just like watching the Crusaders playing the Hurricanes.
I’m glad I didn’t hear it, but apparently Phil Kearns spent the whole game proclaiming that the AB’s were offside (as if Nathan Sharpe wasn’t spending all his time standing next to Ellis) and that the Wobbly scrum was starting to dominate (rather than Baxter just kneeling down every time the ball was put in).
-
"...I wonder if the overseas selection rule needs to be debated by the NZ rugby board...."
According to Peter Fitzsimons on NatRad he was the first foreign player to ever play for his old French club team. This season, 36 out of the 40 players in that team are not Frenchmen. Apparently, a rugby club is the fashion accessory de jour for the Francophone millionaire set, hence the departure of Gaisnier and Sonny Bill-Williams.
Anyone else feel a soupçon of schadenfreude watching an Aussie club owner whining about losing players to another country and code with more money?
-
Shep: No, I am not. Nor would I say that of Michael Jones. Significantly, neither of those players were products of our stratified, top down, professional structure.
What I am saying is our system favours a type of player that is no good at the very top, and it just so happens genetics mean that most of those favoured players come from Island backgrounds.
-
I could only listen to Radio Sport's Commentary (as I suspect 1/2 the north island was due to power cuts and rain fade), and by God, couldn't those Aussie commentators at least spend a few minutes pre-match learning how to pronounce the All Black's names?
It was painful.
-
Tom, cheers -I'm still a little perplexed, but do agree the structure of the NZRFU is wrong.
-
Later on, after lamb and lentil stew, we watched an Alastair Cooke documentary I'd downloaded -- I hadn't appreciated what a rake he'd been as a younger man
Not quite the impression you get watching Alistair Cooke's America ... which provides me an excellent opportunity to recommend that you all watch it (purchased legitimately, of course).
-
I was surprised after that complete cock-up at the back of the scrum, and evidence that Lauaki couldn't pick up the ball all night, someone (coach, captain) didn't make the decision to move him to number 6 and put Kaino back to 8. Or Rodney.
Though to be honest, my question was more about the post-match comments about taking Braid off. "Had only played a few games of rugby in the past few months and his fitness wasn't up to it." So why the hell was he selected in the first place? Didn't this become obvious at some stage during the week you had him in camp leading up to the game?
Playing the whole second half with no real open-side flanker, no wonder we got hammered at the breakdown.
For that reason, I would say ALL our big Islander origin players are now obsolete in professional rugby.
That's a silly statement Tom - about as accurate as "white men can't jump". Pacific Island players can kick, though not all of them are good at it, in much the same way that not every European player is good at it.
-
and that the Wobbly scrum was starting to dominate (rather than Baxter just kneeling down every time the ball was put in).
Now that did annoy me. There were repeated scrums where they went down, effectively foiling any push from the ABs, and play was allowed to continue.
-
I'm wondering why they bother with the the game at all. Just get the coaches to strip off, throw 'em in a swimming pool full of chocolate pudding and do something like this:
Two coaches enter! One coach leaves!
-
I’m glad I didn’t hear it, but apparently Phil Kearns spent the whole game proclaiming that the AB’s were offside
He did. Other than that though, the Aussie commentators are lightyears ahead of the Kiwi mob.
Alluded to above somewhere, was the advantage the left-foot, right-foot kicking options the Aussies had at first and second five. Since the departure of Mauger and Mcallister, we don't have another decent kicking option down the entire backline until you get to Mils (or Leon, depending on the day). The Nonu/Smith combination is shaping up well, but surely we need a decent kicking 2nd five (a la Mauger), leave Smith at centre, and have Nonu as the 2nd-five -> wing cover (and late impact player, depending on how things are shaping up)?
But, is there a decent 2nd five in NZ who can kick?
-
But, is there a decent 2nd five in NZ who can kick?
Only one.
Dan Carter.
Post your response…
This topic is closed.