Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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#2301214 18-Aug-2019 14:41

Batman:

Australia can't copy Australia, they don't have enough flair. So they're stuffed because of NRL and AFL snapping up anyone who is world class. They don't even have 15 players who are world class today. That's why I rule them out.

I assume you mean Australia cannot copy NZ? They did last week, played the running game. But yeah, over there Rugby Union is a very very minority sport

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#2301226 18-Aug-2019 15:24

Traditionally when Australia was successful they played with trickery and magic using lighter weight players. But I guess you can't do that in the modern game, everyone is a man mountain.

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#2301296 18-Aug-2019 16:25

throwback: my 3 favourite group stage matches of the prev RWC were

1. england - wales

2. rsa - japan

3. aus - scotland

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#2301332 18-Aug-2019 18:06

Batman: Traditionally when Australia was successful they played with trickery and magic using lighter weight players. But I guess you can't do that in the modern game, everyone is a man mountain.

Maybe.

I maintain, as I have from the last RWC, that all teams are weaker. I put that down to rugger not being THE big sport in all countries, and the big names that served us so well have gone to Jappers for the money, which I cannot argue against.

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#2301350 18-Aug-2019 19:16

tdgeek:

Batman: Traditionally when Australia was successful they played with trickery and magic using lighter weight players. But I guess you can't do that in the modern game, everyone is a man mountain.

Maybe.

I maintain, as I have from the last RWC, that all teams are weaker. I put that down to rugger not being THE big sport in all countries, and the big names that served us so well have gone to Jappers for the money, which I cannot argue against.

I think the way that teams prepare for a world cup has changed considerably in the last 8 years. The focus for all countries far less about winning week to week and far more about developing a team that is ready for the last 3 weeks of the world cup.

After the 2011 World Cup Hansen moved the bar by building such a strong unit that they were able to leave out players like Dagg and Jane. That team was so strong and so deep that it made them almost unbeatable.

Ireland, Wales and England have followed this type of formula and it's served them well. Australia has as well, to some extent. You could see the sorts of things they were doing by putting Folau on the wing late last year and running Hodge at fullback, to build experience.

The 1014 rugby guys have done some brilliant videos showing how teams have prepared to have depth for the world cup, and a large pool of players who have played a number of tests. When the injuries come it gives you guys who have gone through the wars and are able to handle pressure.

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#2301371 18-Aug-2019 21:12

One thing that really annoyed me from the game yesterday was Peyper making his own rules up. The kickoff when he ruled that the ball hadn’t reached the 10m on the full was farcical. The laws make no mention of the ball needing to go 10m on the full, only that the ball should go 10m. Australia chose to receive the ball.

It reminded me of last year when Angus Gardiner refused to give Aaron Smith a penalty for passing the ball into a player in an offside position because he said Smith did it deliberately. The laws don’t mention that scenario either and it’s up to the offside player to stay out of the way.

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#2301439 19-Aug-2019 07:53

tdgeek:I maintain, as I have from the last RWC, that all teams are weaker. I put that down to rugger not being THE big sport in all countries, and the big names that served us so well have gone to Jappers for the money, which I cannot argue against.

In Australia, the Rugby on Saturday night was only the ninth most popular on TV, beaten by Agatha Christie mystery series and some unpopular news show to mention a few. The Rugby was watched only by a round 350,000 people, they aren't really interested in it.

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#2301443 19-Aug-2019 08:02

clevedon:

tdgeek:I maintain, as I have from the last RWC, that all teams are weaker. I put that down to rugger not being THE big sport in all countries, and the big names that served us so well have gone to Jappers for the money, which I cannot argue against.

In Australia, the Rugby on Saturday night was only the ninth most popular on TV, beaten by Agatha Christie mystery series and some unpopular news show to mention a few. The Rugby was watched only by a round 350,000 people, they aren't really interested in it.

Exactly, that was my point re AUS. Was it always like that as in the not that distant past AUS was always a huge game, as was RSA back in those days

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#2301459 19-Aug-2019 08:51

I will say that this was Jordie Barretts best game in black. Despite being on the field for a modest amount of time, he made some great tackles and managed to pull that ball down under quite a lot of pressure and present it effectively to give the AB's fast ball. I would like to see him start at full back against Tonga and have an active and error free game before I'd put him on the plane to Japan myself, but it's pretty likely he's going anyways. Unless SBW injures himself, he is likely going.

Where is the best place to get game stats re who made the most number of tackles and what their percentages were?

I have watched the video of Dane Coles throwing Nic White a few times now. It's a little amusing he managed to toss an entire test level human being like a bag of beans. If he hadn't of got him around the neck initially I wonder if Peyper would have given yellow? It feels like he was primed for it and would have given it anyways in some regards. DC made some fantastic flying tackles too. The forces of having someone like DC superman tackle you must be immense.

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#2301514 19-Aug-2019 09:50

Half backs are used to being thrown around. They are pretty light normally :)

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#2301516 19-Aug-2019 09:54

Batman: Half backs are used to being thrown around. They are pretty light normally :)

Could you toss 83KG Nic White? I couldn't. No matter how you slice it, it's impressive in my opinion.

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#2301629 19-Aug-2019 12:12

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/115097021/bledisloe-cup-all-blacks-sonny-bill-williams-hailed-by-wallabies-rival-samu-kerevi

I feel this is a great piece on SBW. People have hated on him for the longest time, and initially when they were talking about the switch to Union I was dubious too, and initially I thought they had brought him over for bums on seats (which isn't completely invalid either). But he has proven himself over and over and over and I share the view with this opinion he deserves better respect than he gets.

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#2301692 19-Aug-2019 13:13

Handle9: One thing that really annoyed me from the game yesterday was Peyper making his own rules up. The kickoff when he ruled that the ball hadn’t reached the 10m on the full was farcical. The laws make no mention of the ball needing to go 10m on the full, only that the ball should go 10m. Australia chose to receive the ball.

It reminded me of last year when Angus Gardiner refused to give Aaron Smith a penalty for passing the ball into a player in an offside position because he said Smith did it deliberately. The laws don’t mention that scenario either and it’s up to the offside player to stay out of the way.

I must say I found it strange at the time, but thought “international referee, that must be the rule”. But, as you say, the rules say “travel” not “travel in the air”. I guess everyone is human and it was one of those ‘brain fart’ moments, but I would have thought the rest of his team of officials might have spoken up. They seem pretty quick to put their oar in at other times.

When I look at Coles’ yellow card I am also a bit bemused. He had been warned at the previous stoppage about clean outs beyond the ruck, but White was part of the ruck when Coles grabbed and tossed him. So not the same offence. So let’s go looking for an offence. Take your pick, grabbing the opponent’s jersey near his collarbone, grabbing his groin, or flinging him through the air and not ensuring he landed safely. If player safety was the main concern then this tackle was no worse than the one that injured Mo’unga. If White wasn’t part of the ruck, I saw Smith get cleaned out while further away from the ruck on several occasions and no penalty offence was adjudged to have occurred. Coles’ actions were a ‘boofhead’ moment though and he will need to keep that in check in Japan.

In the women’s game the ref was told she was standing in the road. Her reply was (paraphrasing) “I always stand here, get used to it”.

All in all, a good night of footy. So much better when you win!

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

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#2301694 19-Aug-2019 13:16

The Ferns were excellent, they are quite some way ahead of their closest competitors in the form they are in now.

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#2301972 19-Aug-2019 21:00

Dingbatt:

When I look at Coles’ yellow card I am also a bit bemused. He had been warned at the previous stoppage about clean outs beyond the ruck, but White was part of the ruck when Coles grabbed and tossed him. So not the same offence. So let’s go looking for an offence. Take your pick, grabbing the opponent’s jersey near his collarbone, grabbing his groin, or flinging him through the air and not ensuring he landed safely. If player safety was the main concern then this tackle was no worse than the one that injured Mo’unga. If White wasn’t part of the ruck, I saw Smith get cleaned out while further away from the ruck on several occasions and no penalty offence was adjudged to have occurred. Coles’ actions were a ‘boofhead’ moment though and he will need to keep that in check in Japan.

Coles got what he deserved, if only for gross stupidity. It wasn't exactly subtle...

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