The Rugby Thread

[dtaai-maai]

Even without the crowd, there's tension in the build-up to Wales-England. Really looking forward to this one!
COME ON ENGLAND!!

[lindosfan1]

I see England are playing Wales and the referee.

[lindosfan1]

England gave away far to many penalties, interesting comment near the end of the match, they nearly gave the referee man of he match. Perhaps he should play for Wales. However overall Wales were the better team.

[pharvey]

I see England are playing Wales and the referee.

Can certainly understand that you are somewhat peeved but..... Guaranteed opinion from any English supporter and (God forbid) if I had the poor fortune of being a Lillywhite supporter myself I would likely feel the same.

I would certainly be pi$$ed off about the first try, but I also believe England were not aware enough - harsh but true.

The second try was not a knock on as the ball did not hit the ground - it was knocked backwards by LRZ's leg and then again by England (towards the try line). The ref/TMO et al all reviewed and agreed. Comments RE: LRZ not being in control of the ball are completely irrelevant as he was not the try scorer.

England gave away far to many penalties, interesting comment near the end of the match, they nearly gave the referee man of he match. Perhaps he should play for Wales. However overall Wales were the better team.

England gave away way, way, way too many penalties - 24 v 24 going into the last quarter... 40 v 24 come the end due to England's complete indiscipline. Itoje quite frankly was lucky not to have been yellow carded for continued infringements - 5 penalties against him, ridiculous.

Ultimately the two tries will be a bone of contention for those upset with a Welsh win, but at the end of the day.... We won by 16 points!!

Even without the crowd, there's tension in the build-up to Wales-England. Really looking forward to this one!
COME ON ENGLAND!!

[EDIT] Oh, did I point out that Wales come away with a Bonus Point Win...... Hey, don't shoot the messenger!

[dtaai-maai]

I'd have responded earlier, but I've been too busy looking for YouTube videos on how to tie a noose...

I would certainly be pi$$ed off about the first try, but I also believe England were not aware enough - harsh but true.

Harsh and nonsense. England were perfectly aware that the ref had told Farrell to talk to his team, so they were all huddled under the posts being talked to - then bang, time on, 7 points for Wales thank you very much!

The second try was not a knock on

When is a knock-on not a knock-on? In this game apparently. It was so obvious it became a running joke for the rest of the game. Well, Jonathan Davies, Sam Warburton and Eddie Butler (love his commentary) all thought it was a knock-on, as clearly did LRZ, but I'll bow to your more objective opinion...

In spite of everything, England went in at half-time just 3 points down, which in the circumstances they'd have been pretty happy with. Momentum with England, and they looked pretty good with the ball in hand (which I'll come back to... ).

A good opportunistic try by Harvey early in the 2nd half (he gets a lot of praise, but apart from that try, I have to say I'm not convinced). But he got the chance because of a remarkably stupid penalty given away by Hill (who was the first England player to be replaced...).

Brilliant try by Youngs, and England pull it back to 24-24. From then on it was a complete fecking nightmare.

I have no idea what the final penalty count was, but it was obviously way too high. Quite a few of them were by very fine margins, but quite a few of them were just plain feckin' STUPID!

For most of the game England looked the better team with the ball in hand, though too often a good period of attacking play ended with a silly penalty or Daly losing the ball. Of course, that didn't stop them from reverting to the standard pattern of kicking the ball away rather than RUNNING WITH IT!!!

Silly errors, no discipline, no intelligence, poor leadership on the pitch. Wales ran away with it in the final 15 without having to play particularly well (and that's not sour grapes).

I hope I'll hear no more talk about England aiming to be the best team in the world.

And in case you haven't noticed I am totally, thoroughly, completely hacked off. And working my way slowly through a bottle of scotch. I can't even bring myself to put a or a

[pharvey]

I would certainly be pi$$ed off about the first try, but I also believe England were not aware enough - harsh but true.

Harsh and nonsense. England were perfectly aware that the ref had told Farrell to talk to his team, so they were all huddled under the posts being talked to - then bang, time on, 7 points for Wales thank you very much!

As I said, harsh - but England were given time, the ref put time on, Biggar took advantage. Would Farrell or Ford done any differently in the same position?

The second try was not a knock on

When is a knock-on not a knock-on? In this game apparently. It was so obvious it became a running joke for the rest of the game. Well, Jonathan Davies, Sam Warburton and Eddie Butler (love his commentary) all thought it was a knock-on, as clearly did LRZ, but I'll bow to your more objective opinion...

Well, "Jiffy" Davies tends to go with the flow, Warburton believed it wasn't a knock-on and Eddie.... Well, Eddie

Look at it this way - a player loses control, spills it but dives to regain the ball before it hits the floor - is that a knock-on? LRZ lost control, BUT it hit the back of his leg before hitting the floor (or importantly another player) ultimately going backwards - no knock-on.

The Rules: -

"The law defines a knock forward as occurring “when the ball touched the ground or another player before the original player can catch it”"

A good opportunistic try by Harvey early in the 2nd half (he gets a lot of praise, but apart from that try, I have to say I'm not convinced). But he got the chance because of a remarkably stupid penalty given away by Hill (who was the first England player to be replaced...).

I'm assuming you are referring to "HARDY" rather than my incredible self - it's this Long-Covid cr@p that put me out of contention I fully agree with your comments regarding Hardy though - his "box kicking" is a 'mare and he takes way too much time on the ball IMHO.

Brilliant try by Youngs, and England pull it back to 24-24. From then on it was a complete fecking nightmare.

Pi$$ed off with defence, but you certainly can't take it away from Youngs - I'd prefer him playing in RED, that's for sure!! At 24-24, I was worried TBH, England were looking more dangerous in attack and I believed had the stronger bench. That said, the Welsh bench did extremely well and England simply gave away far to many penalties - sorry, but you cannot blame the ref for that.
[/quote]

I have no idea what the final penalty count was, but it was obviously way too high. Quite a few of them were by very fine margins, but quite a few of them were just plain feckin' STUPID!

For most of the game England looked the better team with the ball in hand, though too often a good period of attacking play ended with a silly penalty or Daly losing the ball. Of course, that didn't stop them from reverting to the standard pattern of kicking the ball away rather than RUNNING WITH IT!!!

Silly errors, no discipline, no intelligence, poor leadership on the pitch. Wales ran away with it in the final 15 without having to play particularly well (and that's not sour grapes).

I hope I'll hear no more talk about England aiming to be the best team in the world.

I can't honestly say what the penalty count was, but I'm sure I heard 16-9 against England, 5 alone coming from Itoje hence my comment RE: Yellow Card! Itoje is a great player, but seriously needs to sort out discipline. Some ridiculous penalties also given away by England - the block by Robson summed it up for me.

Agree England looked more dangerous for long periods which is why I am still hugely frustrated with Wales under Pivac.

Wales won not due to poor refereeing, but to English indiscipline/poor decision making, Sheedy actually kicking well, the Welsh backrow (Faletau in particular) and determination.

And in case you haven't noticed I am totally, thoroughly, completely hacked off. And working my way slowly through a bottle of scotch. I can't even bring myself to put a or a

I feel for you....... And would help you with the scotch if not for the lockdown and fear of you lamping me over the disappointment of Wales winning the "Triple Crown"...... Oh, I'd forgotten to mention that!

[arcadianagain]

Pharvey, never, ever complain about Wayne Barnes again. lol

[lindosfan1]

Matt Dawsons comment on the BBC site are interesting

England were stitched up by the officials'
Like I said, England did brilliantly to get back in the game after Wales' first two tries.

The final 40-24 scoreline looks like a bit of a thumping - but that is the result of what happened in the first half.

England were royally stitched up by the officials. Many teams would have disappeared after that. Your head would be gone.

Before Wales' first try, referee Pascal Gauzere had asked Owen Farrell to talk to his players about discipline.

Usually the captain says they will and does not talk to the players, but Farrell brought all the players into a huddle to tell them to sort the discipline out.

As they turned around, the players were barely past the width of the posts and the referee said to play on, allowing Dan Biggar to kick wide for Josh Adams to score.


Adams catches England out to score controversial try
I found that disrespectful to Farrell and the fact he did not lose his mind there is a credit to him. It was an utter nonsense.

Then, Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit gathered a kick and, in my opinion, knocked the ball on before Liam Williams scored a try.

There is not one Wales player - including Rees-Zammit - who would have given that try. I do not even think any of the fans would have.

The officials had the chance to look at multiple angles and they gave a try. What on earth happened? It was a total and utter shambles.

It was not only the fact that 14 points were unnecessarily handed to Wales. It is the ripple effect that that has.

When England got back to 17-14 before half-time, I was convinced they were going to go on and win the game.

[pharvey]

Pharvey, never, ever complain about Wayne Barnes again. lol

Oh that's BIG ask.......

Matt Dawsons comment on the BBC site are interesting

England were stitched up by the officials'
Like I said, England did brilliantly to get back in the game after Wales' first two tries.

The final 40-24 scoreline looks like a bit of a thumping - but that is the result of what happened in the first half.

England were royally stitched up by the officials. Many teams would have disappeared after that. Your head would be gone.

Before Wales' first try, referee Pascal Gauzere had asked Owen Farrell to talk to his players about discipline.

Usually the captain says they will and does not talk to the players, but Farrell brought all the players into a huddle to tell them to sort the discipline out.

As they turned around, the players were barely past the width of the posts and the referee said to play on, allowing Dan Biggar to kick wide for Josh Adams to score.


Adams catches England out to score controversial try
I found that disrespectful to Farrell and the fact he did not lose his mind there is a credit to him. It was an utter nonsense.

Then, Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit gathered a kick and, in my opinion, knocked the ball on before Liam Williams scored a try.

There is not one Wales player - including Rees-Zammit - who would have given that try. I do not even think any of the fans would have.

The officials had the chance to look at multiple angles and they gave a try. What on earth happened? It was a total and utter shambles.

It was not only the fact that 14 points were unnecessarily handed to Wales. It is the ripple effect that that has.

When England got back to 17-14 before half-time, I was convinced they were going to go on and win the game.

Controversial decisions over the two tries no doubt - Wales vs England will always raise passions and there will always be theories and complaints galore not withstanding the referee.

Quite frankly, despite the furore over refereeing decisions, Wales at the end of the day deserved the win as many have said so. Despite my own concerns and other's beliefs England were well and truly outplayed in the last 20 minutes - the "telling time" of a game.

Huge complaints over the refereeing of the two Welsh tries, but virtually nothing said over England's continual foul play (i.e living off-side, obstructions etc.) - or Itoje's penalty count and why in God's name he wasn't given a yellow card.... The latter I'm sure would also be relevant(?), although no doubt Wales would have been accused of winning against 14 men - rather than winning with 16 as the English press and supporters are now accusing...

Wales won and deservedly so, and to say otherwise is an insult against a team who on the day proved doubters (including myself) wrong. Yes, I am very biased, but I'm sticking to the fact that we were worthy winners

Honestly, England have themselves to blame with poor tactics and complete lack of disciple - Itoje or Farrell for captain of the British & Irish Lions? You must be joking - the former would be lucky to get in the squad, the latter could well lose the tour on current play!! I actually think Farrell pi$$ed off the referee from the start and reaped the "rewards" - not the best thing to do (as AWJ has learnt himself in the past). I have been berated for this comment previously, but you have to "play to the ref" - there were some poor decisions, some close calls and the referee certainly made decisions strictly to the law (but correctly)... English players didn't learn and gave away ridiculous penalties. Who do you blame, coaches, captain or players in general? Whichever it is, the English camp needs to sort itself out - the players they have to pick from (and ignore) is incredible (good God, why isn't Sam Simmonds there or Joe Simmonds for that matter)...... A difficult thing to say for a Welshman.

Farrell needs to go, Itoje and others need a kick up the @rse and tactics (not to mention team selection) need to change.

Yes, I'm very much a proud Welshman who hates to lose - especially against the Lillywhites. BUT, I love my rugby and love to see great play and players. England have buckets full, I just wish they would use them (obviously not against Wales though).

[pharvey]

Round 3 Positions for the Prediction League..... Dai the Barsteward in running away with it and I'm losing our annual bet .....
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Obviously the France vs Scotland game has been postponed. Worryingly, there are major concerns over future matches involving France - due once more to arrogant twunts ignoring Covid-19 rules.

[dtaai-maai]

Round 3 Positions for the Prediction League..... Dai the Barsteward in running away with it and I'm losing our annual bet .....

We demand to know the stakes. A kg of Caerphilly? A hundredweight of leeks? A dozen bunches of daffs? You running naked through the village?*

(*I lost a similar bet many years ago... )

[pharvey]

Round 3 Positions for the Prediction League..... Dai the Barsteward in running away with it and I'm losing our annual bet .....

We demand to know the stakes. A kg of Caerphilly? A hundredweight of leeks? A dozen bunches of daffs? You running naked through the village?*

(*I lost a similar bet many years ago... )

Oh, the bet has varied in "severity" over the years. Whilst we will always have an annual bet, Caerphilly, leeks or daffs have yet to be involved - that said, Dai was arrested for a streak across a tennis court in Tonypandy of all things years ago after being on the losing side...... Not quite the village - he was neither fit enough or fast enough for that!

[pharvey]

Cracking match this afternoon with Northampton hosting Bath. Bath looked dead and buried at 19-3 down in the late stages of the first half, but with great use of the bench and a vastly improved second half took the game 22-23. Edge of the seat stuff.... Still in bloody 10th place though

[pharvey]

Bath vs Exeter ........

An enjoyable first half for Bath supporters, not so much the second despite some great "moments"..... A cracking match for the neutral though, that's for sure.

Bath were 13 v 0 after +/- 20mins and were ell worth he scoreline... 13 v 12 at halftime Exeter really starting to put pressure on. Despite some great play by Bath in the early stages, it reverted to one-way traffic in Exeter's favour - final score 16 v 38

Bath have some incredible talent and a force to be reckoned with in attack - their defence however is quite frankly abysmal at times. I honestly despair.......

Not taking away anything from Exeter though - why in God's name Joe and Sam (especially) Simmonds are not in the England camp is a mystery to me.

As an aside, Rhys Priestland extended the record he now holds (in the Premiership at least) for (successful) consecutive kicks at goal to 36 - Johnny "one kick" Wilkinson was the previous holder with 28. It's one hell of a record, it has to be said..

[pharvey]

To quote DM: -

"My moment of the match - Faletau's cameo run and kick on the left wing, pure class!"

No doubt, he is a class act - and should without question be part of the Lions....