Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

Forums › Sports › Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

1 | ... | 627 | 628 | 629 | 630 | 631 | 632 | 633 | 634 | 635 | 636 | 637 | ... | 640

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3330999 13-Jan-2025 16:50

I am sure this will raise a few eyebrows.

David Havili has been named captain of the Crusaders in 2025. They clearly expect him to play a major part.

I'll be interested to see how much time he spends at 10.

I'll also be interested to see how much field time James O'Connor gets.

GoodSync

GoodSync. Easily back up and sync your files with GoodSync. Simple and secure file backup and synchronisation software will ensure that your files are never lost (affiliate link).

networkn

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3331823 15-Jan-2025 15:22

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/super-rugby-jackson-garden-bachop-opens-up-on-younger-brother-connors-death-as-new-chapter-at-moana-pasifika-begins/SAYTCF2NI5BUPOI3XNOQDMIBKI/

Such a tragic situation. Jackson sounds like a guy with his head screwed on his reaction to the interview was top shelf.

JPNZ

1519 posts

Uber Geek

#3332187 16-Jan-2025 10:42

networkn:

I am sure this will raise a few eyebrows.

David Havili has been named captain of the Crusaders in 2025. They clearly expect him to play a major part.

I'll be interested to see how much time he spends at 10.

I'll also be interested to see how much field time James O'Connor gets.

I think JOC is the best option the Crusaders have at 10. I expect him to start most games if fit unless his form has fallen off a cliff. If last year taught us anything its that Reihana and Kemara need a lot more time to be super rugby standard.

In more bad news for the Chiefs on the back of Stevensons news..

"Breakout All Blacks loose forward Wallace Sititi is set to miss a chunk, if not all, of the Chiefs’ Super Rugby Pacific campaign.

World Rugby’s breakthrough player of 2024, and the All Blacks player of the year, is carrying a knee injury, sustained on last year’s northern tour.

The Waikato Times reported the 22-year-old requires surgery, which will at least sideline him for a chunk of the season, which kicks off February 14.

Worst case, Sititi, who exploded on to the scene last year, will miss the entire campaign."

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

networkn

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3338044 1-Feb-2025 14:31

The Red Card by Ntamack in the toweling of Wales was absolutely the right decision. Ntamack should be ashamed of himself for that.

networkn

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3338489 3-Feb-2025 09:40

The England Ireland game was pretty great to watch for about 60 minutes.

England showed some excellent defence and attack, though the theme of not quite making that last pass or the last decision maker being not right has continued.

England could have won that game, they had Ireland at 6's and 7's for reasonably long periods. In the end though, 60 minutes was all England could muster. The scoreline probably flattered England in the end.

TwoSeven

1615 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3338699 3-Feb-2025 17:02

Not sure if it has been mentioned, but this year the US WER (Woman’s Elite Rugby) competition kicks off in the US - recognising that the 2028 Rugby Sevens and 2033 World cup tournaments will be held in that country.

Team logos have been finalised with the six initial teams being:

Bay Breakers (CA)
Boston Banshees (MA)
Chicago Tempest (IL)
Denver Onyx (CO)
New York Exiles (NY)
Twin Cities Gemini (MN)

Not sure when the competition start - perhaps March.

Software Engineer
(the practice of real science, engineering and management)

Gender Neutral
(a person who believes in equality and who does not believe in/use stereotypes. Examples such as gender, binary, nonbinary, male/female etc.)

...they/their/them...

networkn

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3339585 5-Feb-2025 13:37

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/all-blacks-lock-sam-darry-to-miss-super-rugby-pacific-season-due-to-injury/KWCJECCKJFHUXNSC2NERWBGWOE/

That's really unfortunate. Here's hoping for a faster than expected recovery.

networkn

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3340068 7-Feb-2025 08:58

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby/wallabies-coach-joe-schmidt-to-step-down-at-end-of-rugby-championship/ZJMUSYV4K5DE5IPBZAX4BS7GDU/

Leaves after the Rugby Championship. Negotiations took quite a long time. I wonder what the issue was?

networkn

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3340073 7-Feb-2025 09:11

The Preseason match between the Crusaders and Highlanders was a fun game to watch, with lots of line breaks and some heroic defence.

Joseph clearly put the hard work on at Half time, the Highlanders were possessed! They kept the Crusaders scoreless in the second half until the last few minutes.

Scoreline probably flattered the Crusaders in the end.

It was nice to see a good number of AB's present. Jordan looked sharp and James O'Conner looked right at home, except for a mistake that led to a try.

networkn

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3340910 10-Feb-2025 09:34

England v France in the weekend was a great game to watch. The French and in particular the supposed GOAT, made a lot of mistakes, they blew 3 tries cold.

Having said that, by the 65th minute, it felt inevitable that France would do France things and prevail. It was some end of the match.

Wales look utterly hapless. I can't understand what's going on there. They don't have the cattle from the golden period of Welsh Rugby, but there are a lot of decent players in that squad doing really weird and odd things, and making almost inexplicable decisions.

Italy look good, but they really shouldn't trouble Wales. I never really rated Gatland, but he's a better coach than his team are playing right now. I'm surprised there isn't a non-performance clause in Gatlands contract that would allow them to discharge him if that was their desire.

JPNZ

1519 posts

Uber Geek

#3341384 11-Feb-2025 09:40

I say this every year, but it feel way too early for Super Rugby to be starting this Friday

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

networkn

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3341386 11-Feb-2025 09:43

JPNZ:

I say this every year, but it feel way too early for Super Rugby to be starting this Friday

Really? I have been hanging out for some Rugby.

6N has been OK.

networkn

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3342331 13-Feb-2025 09:50

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby/rugby-world-cup/warren-gatland-waived-six-figure-settlement-after-shock-decision-to-quit-wales/C5K35XZKDFBEXDHX75SIPJZEUQ/

It took too long in my opinion for him to waive his settlement, which was probably the reason he wasn't gone at the end of last year or even before. Better late than never.

I get that he had hoped to be able to turn it around, though the WRU wasn't in a financial position (Through their own mismanagement) to pay him out AND have a new coach appointed.

Gatland didn't suddenly become a bad coach, though in my opinion, his earlier successes were definitely helped by having some of the best Welsh players available for selection, in their best form. His stint at the Chiefs showed some serious chinks in his aura.

networkn

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3343771 17-Feb-2025 15:50

Wow that was some weekend of Rugby. Nice to have it back.

Did anyone else have that Australian teams would be undefeated in round 1 on their Bingo Card?

I am not going to lie, I was apphrehensive for the Crusaders this year, and feeling pretty dispondent at 19-0 down and with a guy in the bin already. What a turn around though. There are definite ominious signs of the Crusaders of old and Havilli seems to be leading from the front. Kyle Preston was a revelation and his pass is unbelievably quick and accurate. Not very often you'd expect to see a new half-back get a triple on Debut for a franchise. If he keeps that up, I can see a very bright future for him.

I have scolded other coaches where I've felt that training has been unbalanced leading to high injury counts and so only fair to say that I am concerned about the way the Crusaders are being trained and injured. We are already 16 players injured this season and most before the season started. It may not be Penney himself, but he isn't addressing a clear pattern (unless it's really just incredibly bad luck, but two seasons in a row should set the bells ringing).

The Chiefs had a point to make after the final last year where they barely showed up. It took them a while to get powered up, but the Blues looked pretty lost in the second half. Cotter didn't hold back on his analysis. It will be interesting to see what happens next week. I suspect they will have a point to prove.

If not for the Highlanders lack of discipline they would have won their game. Same with the Drua. The Brumbies shouldn't really have been in the game in the final 20.

JPNZ

1519 posts

Uber Geek

#3345278 21-Feb-2025 13:20

I see all SRP NZ teams, posted criptic clues on the upcoming Marvel x SRP jerseys...

Going to be quite funny, I think they'll debut at Kids super round (5) possibly?

Blues = Spiderman
Chiefs = Black Panther
Hurricanes = Captain America
Crusaders = Iron Man
Highlanders = Hulk

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

1 | ... | 627 | 628 | 629 | 630 | 631 | 632 | 633 | 634 | 635 | 636 | 637 | ... | 640