Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Wild is the Weekend

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  • Paul Williams,

    I am feeling strong sensations of revulsion.

    Will someone please ask National whether they'd do a deal with this bunch of neanderthals (or have they already for Stephen Franks?).

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Let's talk about the Jaquie Brown diaries (and, maybe spell her name right...).

    D'oh ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Yamis,

    Boy I've got to jump into this one.

    Tom, I've never heard such a load since, well, probably listening to one of Deakers shows or something.

    One dimensional players like Sivivatu? He's there to score tries and he made several breaks in the weekend and has scored 23 tries in 27 tests. Rokocoko has 43 tries in 48 tests. Maybe he isn't a great kicker like say John Kirwan muhahahahaha... who was incidentally regarded as one of the all time great AB wingers because of his try scoring ability (35 in 63), but shucks, our first five, second (preferably) and fullback are the only ones that need to be able to kick.

    And if it's our big PI players that are getting through our system without basic skills needed for their position perhaps you could explain how a procession of European hookers and locks (with Mealamu the exception) have been DIAFUCKINGBOLICAL in something called the lineout for the best part of a DECADE?

    We lost because we had a shit loose-forward combination, because our midfield defence was hopeless and because of our tactics (blame the coaches for this). Time after time we insist on running it inside our 22. Carter for all his brilliance does this way too much and he has to accept a lot of that blame. How many tries do we score from our own 22 from how many efforts? One in 20? One in 30? Carter can kick the ball 50 metres with total ease and therefore should do it all night from that position.

    And Yeah Lauaki got smoked cos he's 10kgs over weight and not the sharpest knife in the drawer but that was THE MIDDLE of the park and there was nobody ten metres either side of him. He saw Elsom run to the right and you could tell that he gave up assuming somebody would actually be, y'know, like within 10 metres of him. Last time I looked there were 15 players in a rugby side. Where the fuck were the rest of them?

    But I wonder why would somebody like Lauaki be over weight and looking underdone on the field?

    perhaps it's because the Super 14 ended for the Chiefs at the end of the round robin. Lauaki gets the semi week off, the final week off, then as I recall there was an empty weekend? then he wasn't picked for the test v Ireland, played 32 minutes against England, 53 against England, 19 against South Africa, and 27 against them again before 31 against Aussie.

    The guy cannot get near any kind of form in BS systems like the one brought about by the NZRU.

    In TEN weeks in the middle of the rugby season he (a professional rugby player) has started in the grand total of ZERO games. He has managed to get 162 minutes of football in that time. That's barely two games.

    I'm sorry but that is gross mismanagement of a guy who needs as much time on the field as he can get. He used to be a devastating runner and now he looks like a fat oaf with concrete blocks for hands.

    Bloody nice individual try he scored against South Africa the weekend before though. Probably nobody cursing his name when he did that. ;)

    Ah, well, wait to this weekend everyone. Remember when we beat England 64-22 and 40-10 in 1998, and then lost 5 in a row?

    It ain't all doom and gloom either Tom. All time the ABs have a 74.02% win record and since we went professional it's 80%. The all time record has been dragged up a touch by our record in the last 15 or so years.

    But who cares, the Warriors are going great guns!!!!!

    Since Nov 2006 • 903 posts Report Reply

  • Yamis,

    Can we pick a trio of loose forwards that do not all want to be N08's. Back rows are about balance and we have lost sight of that.

    You've got that right. Even for the other games this season they were playing a left and right combination at the scrums rather than an open/blind combo.

    What kind of wankery is that? They may as well say, when the ball is in our half I'm captain and when it's in their half you're captain. It makes about as much sense.

    So'oialo committed a terrible sin v SA when he was playing blind side on a 10 metres defensive scrum. He actually bound properly and was staring at the ground, when the SA number 8 strolled past him and they got a virtually uncontested try. It's no wonder when he would be packing open side one minute, blind the next and then playing number 8 the week after.

    Maybe if the poor buggars actually were told "you are a number 8, or you are a number 6" and got to play there week after week they would be a touch better. But it's all part of our rotation I guess. We don't just rotate teams we rotate positions as well. Soon we will have a spinning wheel and Carter will be locking the scrum and Tialata will be taking the goal kicks, with Wayne Smith coming on for Woodcock.

    Since Nov 2006 • 903 posts Report Reply

  • Don Christie,

    I've long admired Nelson.

    She had a flaky "Reuben Thorne" spell but seems to be over that now, thankfully.

    I think the long term problem with the ABs has been the tendency of coaches to pick South Island skippers. This started with Tane Randell and we have never had a decent team play under an SI skipper. Particularly true when you look at WC campaigns.

    That being said, Brad Thorn gets my vote.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    But it's all part of our rotation I guess.

    I thought we had been assured that "strategy" was consigned to the past. It worked so well last time, after all.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Daniel Ambler,

    "He has alleged that the government has ordered the police to police the law loosely until the election.

    He has implied that because 1000 primary school kids were excluded last year, the answer is to bring back corporal punishment at primary level."

    Yes, I heard he and Wishart making some extraordinary statements on air and going unchallenged. Jim Mora's an intelligent man, but I wish he'd drop the diplomatic/nice guy thing and call these two (and any other panelists) on the bullshit they spout.

    Manukau • Since Jul 2008 • 7 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    In TEN weeks in the middle of the rugby season he (a professional rugby player) has started in the grand total of ZERO games. He has managed to get 162 minutes of football in that time. That's barely two games.

    You don't get fit playing games. A rugby game, which is at most 80 minutes of exercise (and in reality, with stopages etc, only 30 - 40 minutes), takes up at least three days with no fitness work the day before, the game day, and then a recovery day. Most likely it takes a week out, as they wouldn't do fitness work in the week building up to a test.

    If Lauaki had ten weeks of not much rugby, while on a contract requiring him to be a professional rugby player, required or not, it's not the ABs fault. Couple of hours exercise a day and he could do whatever he wanted every afternoon.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Geoff Lealand,

    So, should we rename them "Whack Your Family First (Before the Teachers Have a Go)?"

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    The Jaquie Brown Diaries works -- it really works!

    Yeah! I found myself laughing in the right places, and enjoying it when I wasn't laughing. (But I'm kind of media/telly, so is that why I'm laughing?)

    Bizzy Trickle was surely the best portrayal of an American rapper in a comedy programme - most attempts are awful and never get the vocab, accent or rapping right. Word to your mum.

    And how interesting that the SST's Sunday magazine ran an article highlighting the awful history of NZ television comedy (with only a paragraph at the end acknowledging the hits).

    I know a few of the guys behind the JBD and they're funny and talented and I'm glad they've had a chance to make a good comedy series. More, please!

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Graeme Edgeler,

    Will someone please ask National whether they'd do a deal with this bunch of neanderthals...

    They're not running for election as far as I know.

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    Yeah! I found myself laughing in the right places, and enjoying it when I wasn't laughing.

    I thought it was brilliant. Lots of LOL moments for me.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Yamis,

    You don't get fit playing games. A rugby game, which is at most 80 minutes of exercise (and in reality, with stopages etc, only 30 - 40 minutes), takes up at least three days with no fitness work the day before, the game day, and then a recovery day. Most likely it takes a week out, as they wouldn't do fitness work in the week building up to a test.

    If Lauaki had ten weeks of not much rugby, while on a contract requiring him to be a professional rugby player, required or not, it's not the ABs fault. Couple of hours exercise a day and he could do whatever he wanted every afternoon.

    I'm talking about match fitness (although generally he looks unfit as well). I have seen Lauaki play for years and he looks in the worst shape I've ever seen. He scored a try v the ABs, the Wallabies and the Springboks in the space of 15 days in about 2003? when playing for the Pacific Island side. He was devastating. They have wrecked him by letting him turn into a giant tub with his pace and agility disappearing and his ball handling to boot.

    You body gets conditioned to knocks, to the constant running up and down the field chasing aimless kicks where your lungs are bursting and then you have to make 3 tackles on your goalline and then chase another bloody kick down field. Teams can train for hours but they rarely leave the training field anywhere near as stuffed as when they will walk off a field in a big game. There's nothing that can prepare you for playing a game of rugby as.... playing a game of rugby.

    The ABs trained their arses off last year (for months) and look where it got them. They played mediocre rubbish when they came back to the Super 14 and several weren't even getting picked to start and then the WC was what it was. The coaches have said themselves that they didn't give the players enough rugby and have learnt from their mistakes. Their exact words. And here they are doing it with a guy that needs a lot of rugby to stay fit. Every week that he is not playing for the ABs he should be playing NPC, or whatever else they can find for him and the same goes for all of them. They have started to do a bit of that but there is still a fair bit of cotton wool floating around.

    Smith is another one. In and out of the side and misses 4 tackles in 19 minutes in the game, worse than Lauaki I might add ;)

    I can't help but think we were better off under the old system where we would have a 3 or 4 home test season. Guys came into the side having played a lot, they played 3 weeks out of 4 and that was it until the end of year tour. Now we have about a 12 week international window in the middle of the year and very few of the players get to string matches together.

    There's that plus the other 47 obvious problems.

    Just as well I'm not interested in rugby.

    teehee

    Since Nov 2006 • 903 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Withers,

    I can see the aftermath of the drinks and late night reflected in the messy sentence about BSing out on the deck. LOL! I shouldn't say anything....I write sentences like that when stone cold sober....and don't see them until the 3rd re-read.

    Re "The Jackie Brown Diaries", I found I had wandered off well before the end and didn't really care what happened. To put that in context, I don't watch much TV and failure to engage my attention doesn't necessarily mean a show is bad. It just means I had something better to do with my time. That happens a lot.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 312 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Withers,

    Jim Mora may well be one them.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 312 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    They're not running for election as far as I know.

    Graeme, I might've been clearer; are National collaborating with Family First in any way; policy, funding or candidate selection? Is Stephen Franks, who has links to Family First and Sensible Sentencing, receiving any support from Familiy First?

    I don't know when the writs open, and they may not field candidates, however neither did the Exclusive Brethren.

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Graeme, I might've been clearer; are National collaborating with Family First in any way; policy, funding or candidate selection? Is Stephen Franks, who has links to Family First and Sensible Sentencing, receiving any support from Familiy First?

    Buddha, Allah, Jesus and Jehovah... Have you stopped beating your wife yet, Paul? Sorry, but that's about as seriously as I'm going to take that.

    For the record, National's candidates are selected by members who have to be selected as voting delegates at selection meetings. It's all laid out in the party constitution, and no third party gets to vet candidates or delegates.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Blake Monkley,

    All you have to do is fill a hall full of individuals that belong to a group i.e Union members or religious leaning groups etc, presto you have a good chance of being selected, so as far as I am concerned groups do have a part to play in selections.

    Auckland • Since Jul 2008 • 215 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    All you have to do is fill a hall full of individuals that belong to a group i.e Union members or religious leaning groups etc, presto you have a good chance of being selected, so as far as I am concerned groups do have a part to play in selections.

    Not quite that simple, Blake. You try to stack a selection meeting, the only thing you're guaranteeing is a bloody awful fight. And perhaps you'd like to tell me, for future reference, exactly what "groups" require a McCarthyite "are you now, or have you ever been..." interrogation?

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Blake Monkley,

    Craig good to see you do your homework,yes I used to worked for the EPMU. Never been a fan of far left off the wall politics.

    You are right I have witnessed awful fights and I am sure there have been much debates on the right with selections by individuals and groups.

    Auckland • Since Jul 2008 • 215 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Craig good to see you do your homework,yes I used to worked for the EPMU. Never been a fan of far left off the wall politics.

    Well, I've never been a fan of the off the wall crap on the other side of the aisle either. Stacking a meeting, or Jesuitical parsing of the rule book, is easy enough if you've got a high tolerance for blood and bullshit. Much more impressed by candidate who (to use a dreadful cliché), do the hard yards -- which involves the kind of uber-schmoozing of a pack of politics nerds I couldn't manage without serious drugs. :)

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Blake Monkley,

    I guess the left have a hard time using the word individual and the right groups!
    It's sad to see good selection candidates passed over sometimes for the good of toeing the party line.

    Auckland • Since Jul 2008 • 215 posts Report Reply

  • Peter Darlington,

    You body gets conditioned to knocks, to the constant running up and down the field chasing aimless kicks where your lungs are bursting and then you have to make 3 tackles on your goalline and then chase another bloody kick down field. Teams can train for hours but they rarely leave the training field anywhere near as stuffed as when they will walk off a field in a big game. There's nothing that can prepare you for playing a game of rugby as.... playing a game of rugby.

    A case in point is Jerry Collins. Now I was away overseas when Jerry called it quits so I don't know the ins and outs but I couldn't believe it when I heard the news. He was a classic player that needed to play all the time and was usually pants when he returned if he'd been forced to have a week or two off. But it didn't stop the rotation system bringing in Reuben Thorne every 2nd or 3rd week or the 7 or 8 positions changing.

    With Jerry, Richie and Rodders at 6,7,8 we had the best loose forward combination in rugby in 2005-7 and it almost made me weep looking at what we turned out on Saturday night.

    Nelson • Since Nov 2006 • 949 posts Report Reply

  • Blake Monkley,

    Paul and I and others from our little rugby mailing list will be attending the return match together this weekend at Eden Park. It had better be a bloody improvement.

    How much does one pay to go to a game at Eden Park? Suncorp test match Sept 13th is $85 for the cheap seats.

    Auckland • Since Jul 2008 • 215 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    Buddha, Allah, Jesus and Jehovah... Have you stopped beating your wife yet, Paul? Sorry, but that's about as seriously as I'm going to take that.

    I kinda anticipated that response Craig. I have checked and I'm wrong about Family First - it's Sensible Sentencing that Franks so regularly and fondly quotes. I inadvertently equated his support for that bunch of neanderthals for the other bunch.

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

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