The Rugby Thread

[pharvey]

Jarryd Hayne from the NRL went to the San Francisco 49'ers and did quite well. I was sad to see him leave and return to the NRL, and don't know why it happened. He was used as a punt and kickoff returner and a receiver. He did well in both positions right out of the gate. Pete

Thanks for that Pete - had to look him up though!

WALLABIES AND ALL BLACKS LINEUPS FOR BLEDISLOE III

AUSTRALIA: Haylett-Petty; Naivalu, Folau, Beale, Koroibete; Foley, Genia; Sio, Faingaa, Alaalatoa, Rodda, Simmons, Hanigan, Hooper, Pocock.

Replacements: Latu, Kepu, Tupou, Arnold, Dempsey, Samu, Phipps, Kerevi.

NEW ZEALAND: McKenzie; B Smith, Crotty, SB Williams, Ioane; Barrett, Perenara; Moody, Taylor, Franks, Whitelock, Barrett, Squire, Savea, Read.

Replacements: Harris, Tu’inukuafe, Laulala, Retallick, Todd, A Smith, Mo’unga, Lienert-Brown.

Officially the start of the teams "Northern Tour".

Being played in Yokohama at the World Cup Final 2019 venue, so will be interesting to see that.

Also interesting will be the battle in the Centers - Sonny Bill Williams facing off against Israel Folau, Colossal Centers at 6' 4" and 16 stone + apiece.

Kick Off Saturday 27.11 07:00 BST, 13:00 Thai Time.

[PeteC]

Bledisloe Cup match #3 New Zealand vs Australia live on Setanta TRUE channel 669 at 1230 hours Thai time, from Yokohama, Japan. Pete

[PeteC]

NEW ZEALAND 2019 SUPER RUGBY SQUADS NAMED

Full details at link: https://sanzarrugby.com/superrugby/news ... ads-named/

[PeteC]

Superbru comments below. I've taken off their picks, and the Bookies' picks to be fair. You can find them if you want at Superbru and other sources.


November Internationals: Round One

Japan vs. New Zealand
Referee: Matthew Carley (England) | Weather: Clear sky, 18C, 12 km/h wind

This game is only going one way, so it's all about the margin. It's not a first-choice All Blacks team, which likely accounts for the Insights pick being slightly more conservative than the bookies, but it's still a formidable line-up. You'll need some luck to get the margin right here...


Wales vs. Scotland
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France) | Weather: Light rain, 12C, 35 km/h wind

The bookies are more conservative in this one, but our data-driven Insights are expecting a comfortable home win. In the last four meetings between these teams in Cardiff, Wales has won by an average margin of 23.5 points. The Scots are also missing one or two key players, and everything points to a win for Wales.


England vs. South Africa
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia) | Weather: Clear sky, 11C, 29 km/h wind

The Superbru community is backing the Springboks, but the Insights and bookies are favouring the home team. Since the teams were announced yesterday, the bookies have increased their prediction from England by 2 to England by 3, suggesting growing confidence of a home win. There is not much between the teams, and home advantage is tipping the Insights pick in England's favour, but it really could go either way.


Ireland vs. Italy
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) | Weather: Clear sky, 9C, 5 km/h wind

This is another match where the Insights and bookie picks are remarkably similar. There is no home advantage, with the match being played in Chicago, and it's not a full-strength team for Ireland, but Italy is also missing some key players. Ireland have only lost once to Italy, and over the last six matches, they have won by an average margin of 33.67 points.


USA vs. Maori All Blacks
Referee: Karl Dickson (England) | Weather: Few clouds, 10C, 13 km/h wind

The bookies aren't even offering odds for this game, but it's not an option for Superbru players to just give it a miss. We've crunched the numbers and our algorithm is expecting a fairly comfortable away win. The teams have met twice before with an average winning margin of 28.5 for the Maori All Blacks.

[oakdale160]

Picking your second choice players is not always a negative. They are so anxious to prove their are worth their place that they play like demons.

[PeteC]

November Internationals - Round #1

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[barrys]

What an incredible performance by the Irish beating New Zealand in Dublin for the very first time. Great game of quality rugby by both sides. Wee done lads!!!

[pharvey]

Apologies all, I'm not exactly playing the "Captain's Role" at the moment. I'm currently on secondment in Mauritania where internet access is somewhat hit and miss - unfortunately, this also means I've missed the vast majority of the rugby.....

I have however read the reports, so a BIG, BIG hand to the lads from the Emerald Isle after their outstanding victory against the Blackness!

Obviously happy to see Wales are on for their "November Internationals Grand Slam", but I guess the "telling match" will be against the Boks....... Might just try and download that one from YouTube if some kind soul decides to upload it

HHF League Positions after Round #3: -

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[PeteC]

This tournament is a problem for me every year as apparently Setanta doesn't have the TV rights for matches held in the UK and Ireland. Therefore I have to watch a replay on the internet the next day usually. I don't know about the upcoming NZ in Italy, we'll see Pete

[PeteC]

2019 World Cup groups and teams now set.

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[pharvey]

What a surprise, "Premiership Rugby" taking the p*ss once again.....

"An insurance wrangle between World Rugby and the Premiership is threatening to severely hamper World Cup preparations for nations such as Wales and Scotland who could be deprived of their players in the buildup to the tournament.

If the dispute is not resolved, the Guardian understands Premiership Rugby Limited (PRL) intends to prevent players from nations other than England joining their teams until mid-August, when the official Test window opens, only 35 days before the first match in Japan.

Wales would be without a host of leading internationals including Dan Biggar, Taulupe Faletau and Liam Williams for their planned altitude training camp in July as well as their opening World Cup warm-up match against England at Twickenham on 11 August.

Scotland – who could be denied early access to Stuart Hogg depending on the terms and start date of his Exeter contract – would be hit hard, having included nine Premiership players in their squad this autumn, while Italy and a host of tier two nations would also be disrupted. Samoa and Tonga are due to play each other on 9 August."

Taken from: - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/ ... -insurance

[pharvey]

Well, nothing like getting a head start with the league this time around....... Kicking off on Friday February 1st 2019 is the final Six Nations Championship prior to the RWC!!

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For those interested in joining the league who have not done so previously (or not received details), info. below: -

https://www.superbru.com/sixnations/pool.php?p=11958522

or by downloading the Superbru app and searching for the pool with code: odindeli

[PeteC]

Due to start February 15. Any interest in setting up a pool let me know. Consists of teams from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Japan and Argentina. You should be able to find most matches televised live and repeated on TRUE channel 669, Setanta.

I think this year it's a 15 week regular season with applicable playoffs after that.


https://super.rugby/superrugby/

[pharvey]

Due to start February 15. Any interest in setting up a pool let me know. Consists of teams from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Japan and Argentina. You should be able to find most matches televised live and repeated on TRUE channel 669, Setanta.

I think this year it's a 15 week regular season with applicable playoffs after that.


https://super.rugby/superrugby/

Go for it Pete - highly unlikely I'll manage to see any rugby, but at least the Internet connection is strong enough to place my bets!

[PeteC]

Go for it Pete - highly unlikely I'll manage to see any rugby, but at least the Internet connection is strong enough to place my bets!

You have to be interested in Southern Hemisphere rugby and I'm not sure we have enough interest on here to make a pool worthwhile. Having said that, every All Black, Wallabie and Springbok is on one of these teams so the level of play is very high. The most interesting year in and year out is the competition when the New Zealand teams play each other, really good stuff. I'll open a pool up later today and see if we get enough to make it work. Pete