The Super Duper Rugby Union Thread

[neil]

Really enjoyable game between Ireland and France. Lot of penalties given away by the Irish, but they're playing pretty well. Makes me feel like England will have a pretty good chance against the French.

[MinceMcMahon]

John Inverdale is such a cunt.

[matbro1984]

MinceMcMahon said:

John Inverdale is such a cunt.

Seconded

Edited June 16, 2018 by matbro1984
Brevity

[matbro1984]

Another unconvincing win from Wales. Italy were looking dangerous in that second half but inconsistencies from Italy got Wales off the hook too many times. Man of the Match should have been the ref. Wales's second try was a thing of beauty though.

 

England v France next - this is the match that'll decide the tournament IMO. Can't see anything other than an England win for this, leading to an English Grand Slam. I'd be deliriously happy to be proved wrong though, if only because it would lead to even more Anglocentric coverage of the remainder of the tournament and indeed the World Cup. It's bad enough as it is.

[Heatseeker]

Really enjoyed the Italy/Wales game particularly the first half. Not so impressed with England/France thus far.

[mikey]

One of the scrappiest games between two good sides you'll ever see.

[PowerButchi]

Another unconvincing win from Wales. Italy were looking dangerous in that second half but inconsistencies from Italy got Wales off the hook too many times. Man of the Match should have been the ref. Wales's second try was a thing of beauty though.

 

I would say that the mark of a good team is winning when you play badly. But we aren't a good team. The second half was testament to that. I half fancy us against Ireland who are going through a similar phase as us, but the French will muller us.

[matbro1984]

Another unconvincing win from Wales. Italy were looking dangerous in that second half but inconsistencies from Italy got Wales off the hook too many times. Man of the Match should have been the ref. Wales's second try was a thing of beauty though.

 

I would say that the mark of a good team is winning when you play badly. But we aren't a good team. The second half was testament to that. I half fancy us against Ireland who are going through a similar phase as us, but the French will muller us.

 

Ah yes but which France will show up? (To use a cliche)

[mikey]

BTW, did anybody see that during England/France, there was one proper contested scrum? Amazing.

[Up Chuck]

Six Nations week off this week, so I thought it was an appropriate time to take a look at the domestic run-in.

 

Having looked at the games the top few teams have left, I get the feeling the top four will end up being Tigers, Saracens, Northampton and Gloucester. I think Bath are heading into some tough games but they should be taking 5th, leaving Irish and Quins to battle it out for the last Heineken Cup spot (that, however, depends on the LV Cup result, and whether Wasps can mount a late surge). Tigers should be winning all the matches we've got left, but it looks to me like there's room for us to slip up once and still take 1st. Sarries and Saints, I think, will each be fighting it out for a home semi-final against the other, but with Saints 12 points behind, I'm not sure they can catch up. Gloucester, if they can get results at home, should be taking 4th now, but if Bath beat them tomorrow then who knows?

 

If it pans out how I'm envisioning it, then it'll be Tigers vs Gloucester and Saracens vs Northampton in the semis. Very similar to last year, in that Tigers have a not-necessarily-easy-but-very-winnable home semi, and the other one is the same match with the venue reversed. Sarries/Saints is a pick'em, and either would make for a tough, tough final for Tigers. I think from a neutral perspective, the East Midlands derby is the most exciting option for the final, especially if England end up winning the 6 Nations - England's two key back pairings (Youngs/Flood and Ashton/Foden) facing off for their clubs, on the site of much of their International success, for the English title. How great would that be?

Edited March 4, 2011 by opcws

[Up Chuck]

Spoke too soon... we're still top though! Rotten game, harsh as hell for Billy Twelvetrees to miss the last penalty. Hopefully it won't knock his confidence, because he was excellent covering for Flood and Staunton earlier in the season. We wouldn't be top of the table if he hadn't been. Losing to Saracens at home for the second consecutive season has left a real bitter taste in my mouth too. Not happy. We'd better make sure we win fucking EVERYTHING when we've got the internationals back.

[Up Chuck]

What? Wales won and Butch hasn't been in here crowing about it? I feel like there's nothing I can believe in any more

 

Anyway, yeah, amazing win for Italy, didn't see Wales vs Ireland but it's a great result for Wales. As for England, big fat meh. Performances like that will not hold up come World Cup time. As far as positives go, Croft took his try well, Ashton was running good angles now and then, Foden looked dangerous going forwards at times, but I can't think of much else. The binding in the scrum from both sides was frustratingly bad. Youngs' usual good ideas didn't have any impact at all, and I think our attack actually sharpened up a bit when Care came on. He was picking his passes more patiently.

 

I don't know. We've shown we're capable of beating very good sides, we've shown we're capable of playing very well. We're definitely capable of winning most games. But I just can't feel it after performances like that. Looking at the World Cup brackets, I was fancying us to take 1st place in our pool, then get France in the quarter-finals and grind out a result, then if it's our day sneak past Australia in the semis and lose to New Zealand in the final. Now, I'm kind of nervous about playing Argentina.

 

EDIT: Forgot, massive kudos to Max Evans for that excellent try. That'll be a highlight reel piece for years.

Edited March 14, 2011 by opcws

[PowerButchi]

I've been so deliriously happy I forgot to brag about it.

 

Man of the Match was the ball boy, second was Sam Warburton for me. I don't think Hooky had the great game everyone is raying he did, but he showed he can control a game calmly from Outside Half, which is what I was really concerned about. Our back row is clicking brilliantly, and our lineout isn't a total farce anymore, which is good. Good to see Mike Phillips have his best match in a Wales shirt in eons as well. He's really been poor as of late, and I'm happy to see that he's still capable of playing like he did in 2009.

 

I don't want to make any predictions for the France game, because I expect France to be SUPERFRANCE as they haven't been so far this Six Nations, and seeing as we've finally had some luck going our way it's going to all come crashing down next week. The Italians did brilliantly on Saturday, and while Bergamasco is still no Diego Dominguez with the boot, at least he's now kicking better than Mike Catt did in his short tenure as England's place kicker.

[PowerButchi]

France are imploding. From the BBC.

 

France make six changes for Six Nations game with Wales

 

 

Lievremont took over from Bernard Laporte in 2007

 

France coach Marc Lievremont has made six big-name changes to his Six Nations squad to face Wales on Saturday.

Sebastien Chabal, Yannick Jauzion, Sylvain Marconnet, Clement Poitrenaud and Jerome Thion have been dropped.

Centre Aurelien Rougerie is also axed because of an imminent French League disciplinary committee appearance.

The changes come in the wake of France's shock 22-21 Six Nations loss to Italy, after which Lievremont launched a scathing attack on his team.

Italy came from behind to secure only their second win in 32 games against France and their first on home soil.

Afterwards, Lievremont claimed his players "lacked courage" and said some of them would not play for the national side again.

"There is a certain form of cowardice - when I speak with them, nothing happens, as usual," he said.

"I feel like I'm responsible for this but the players are lacking courage. Some of the players maybe wore the France jersey for the last time."

Coming into the team for the upcoming Six Nations clash at the Stade de France are flanker Alexandre Lapandry, prop Jerome Schuster, full-back Alexis Palisson, utility back Fabrice Estebanez, centre David Marty and lock Pascal Pape.

Former France flanker Lievremont, 42, took over as head coach of his country in 2007, replacing Bernard Laporte, after a spell in charge of Dax.

He led France to the Grand Slam title in March 2010 but also saw his side suffer a 59-16 defeat by Australia in November.

 

This match was an hallucination. I do not want to clear myself from the blame but they invented things on the pitch

France coach Marc Lievremont

Despite that humiliating loss on home soil, Lievremont was hoping his players could successfully defend their Six Nations title ahead of the upcoming World Cup in New Zealand later this year.

But France have come up short in the tournament, losing to England in February and now suffering defeat by underdogs Italy despite having led 18-6 in the second half.

The setback in Rome has now ended any slim hopes of a title defence and Lievremont's critics have questioned his leadership skills.

Lievremont has used a total of 81 players since taking charge and has been criticised for frequently changing his starting line-up.

The coach apparently spent 15 minutes with his players after the defeat by Italy and while he said he had to bear some responsibility for the loss, he was not prepared to shoulder the entire burden.

"This match was an hallucination. I do not want to clear myself from the blame but they invented things on the pitch," he said.

Lievremont said captain Thierry Dusautoir, whom he singled out for praise along with wing Vincent Clerc, felt betrayed by some of his team-mates.

Lievremont added: "Do you really think that I told them to play as they did against Italy? I was ashamed.

"I do not have the impression we asked them to walk on the moon. I do not ask for complicated things."

[Yoghurt]

What? Wales won and Butch hasn't been in here crowing about it? I feel like there's nothing I can believe in any more

 

Anyway, yeah, amazing win for Italy, didn't see Wales vs Ireland but it's a great result for Wales. As for England, big fat meh. Performances like that will not hold up come World Cup time. As far as positives go, Croft took his try well, Ashton was running good angles now and then, Foden looked dangerous going forwards at times, but I can't think of much else. The binding in the scrum from both sides was frustratingly bad. Youngs' usual good ideas didn't have any impact at all, and I think our attack actually sharpened up a bit when Care came on. He was picking his passes more patiently.

 

I don't know. We've shown we're capable of beating very good sides, we've shown we're capable of playing very well. We're definitely capable of winning most games. But I just can't feel it after performances like that. Looking at the World Cup brackets, I was fancying us to take 1st place in our pool, then get France in the quarter-finals and grind out a result, then if it's our day sneak past Australia in the semis and lose to New Zealand in the final. Now, I'm kind of nervous about playing Argentina.

 

EDIT: Forgot, massive kudos to Max Evans for that excellent try. That'll be a highlight reel piece for years.

 

There's something to be said about a team that has consistently misfired yet is still easily the best in a six side tournament. I think playing badly and grinding out results while doing so is the mark of a good side, once they get into some form they'll be a real force.