The Rugby Thread

[PeteC]

You watch Wales/Reds? Go watch or replay.

[pharvey]

You watch Wales/Reds? Go watch or replay.

Oh, I watched it.....

[EDIT] Did you - are you planning on it?

[dtaai-maai]

You watch Wales/Reds? Go watch or replay.

Oh, I watched it.....

Post deleted - it's too beautiful a day to be beastly...

[pharvey]

Post deleted - it's too beautiful a day to be beastly...

Now when's that ever bothered you.....

[dtaai-maai]

Well, since you insist, I saw the result and I just wanted to ask if you enjoyed the match and whether you had any issues with the referee?

EDIT: Are you watching our lads in the u20 World Cup final? 15-6 at the moment, and we've missed a few kicks. I'm quietly optimistic.


EDIT no. 2: The Japanese ref is pretty good, but he seems to having difficulty with the word "retreat"...

[404cameljockey]

The Japanese ref is pretty good, but he seems to having difficulty with the word "retreat"...

Two slightly racist (not bothered) jokes for the price of one!

Mine during the Euros was 'Don't mention the VAR'.

[pharvey]

Well, since you insist, I saw the result and I just wanted to ask if you enjoyed the match and whether you had any issues with the referee?

EDIT: Are you watching our lads in the u20 World Cup final? 15-6 at the moment, and we've missed a few kicks. I'm quietly optimistic.


EDIT no. 2: The Japanese ref is pretty good, but he seems to having difficulty with the word "retreat"...

Did I have any issues with the referee (Reds vs Wales)?! Seriously you are quite proficient at extracting the urine... But "since you insist" - He missed (or ignored) a shitload, dropping the "Rolling Maul", forward passes, dangerous tackles.

That said , there were a couple of clear forward passes leading to tries for the Reds, but the Welsh defence was already beaten and we supporters would be clutching at straws. I was a bit pissed off with our Maul being dropped illegally (twice, legally once), but the Reds played to the Ref and were far more "Streetwise".. Their defence was also outstanding!

As for enjoying the match? As a Welshman... A resounding NO, though at least we won - albeit very narrowly and quite frankly luckily against an under-strength club side FFS!! For the Red's supporters and non-Welsh it will have been a hell of an exciting game - I was more concerned about the continual errors, lack of strength, lack of ability etc. that is Welsh Rugby currently. Still too pi$$ed off to go through in depth, but just to say my previously great support for Gatland is now very much stretched and what the feck was Howley doing there unless he was betting on a Welsh Whitewash and wanted to witness his win?!

Missed the England U20's win yesterday - I had all intensions of watching the match, but these new drugs I was given knocked me for 6... Maybe the IT Breakdown doubled my dose!!

I've seen extended highlights and to be honest I'm not surprised, pleased at the result (Les Bleus have dominated), - BUT the English Pack is monstrous at scrum time and have destroyed pretty much all in their path recently. It's the style of play that is wanted by England, destroy the forwards - ball out. Unfortunately not wonderful for the spectator - France looked exiting in the backs, but with so little (decent) ball, it was never going to happen.

The English Front-Row were key, but there's a huge difference from this to Senior Level - whilst the props have dominated, it's been far more down to power and size than technique where age and experience will always tell later on.

The 3 standout players in the pack were Junior Kpoku (2nd Row), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Prop ) and Afolabi Fasogbon (Prop)... It tells a story (hey DM). All three are absolute monsters though - Kpoku is the one that I believe will go furthest in Rugby.

[dtaai-maai]

... these new drugs I was given knocked me for 6... Maybe the IT Breakdown doubled my dose!!

You should have a word with your dealer and threaten to take your custom elsewhere!

[pharvey]

... these new drugs I was given knocked me for 6... Maybe the IT Breakdown doubled my dose!!

You should have a word with your dealer and threaten to take your custom elsewhere!

I did try that, but apparently I gave your name and address in the past and now they refuse to deal with me - what have you done?!

[pharvey]

Not the Tournament or fun it should have been.... England though did extremely well in NZ as did Ireland in SA. Wales yet again have many questions to be answered and I'm at a loss as to how Scotland's tour benefits them - hey ho tho!!

I think in the future the "Autumn Internationals" is the game to play!!

FYI Ruku Moke is a member of many Pools, Pooley is a friend and colleague who I worked with for several years worldwide....

The HHF/Superbru table ends up as: -
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As per the Forum, I can't believe I got the Yellow Cap when I always bet on Wales!!

[pharvey]

Well, aside from a couple of great matches, the Rugby Internationals were somewhat disappointing .... There is however some good news with the up and coming Rugby Championship beginning August 10th and running to the end of September. As such, the HHF/Superbru Prediction League has again been set up (many thanks to PeteC for taking things over last season whilst I was away from the fold). Those who have taken part in the past will have been invited automatically, for those who are interested but have not received an invitation, details are below: -

"HHF Rugby Championship 2024"

https://www.superbru.com/rugbychampions ... p=12835869

or by downloading the Superbru Rugby app from https://www.superbru.com/get-superbru-rugby and searching for the league with code:

togsquay



[EDIT] It seems the Email Invitations may have said the Prediction League was named HHF Six Nations 2024 - this is obviously not the case...

[pharvey]

The full Fixture List for the Gallagher Premiership has just been announced with the season opening on Friday September 20th. One match comes no bigger than a repeat of last season's Premiership Final with Bath taking on Northampton Saints - looking forward to that one!!

Full List here: - https://www.premiershiprugby.com/fixtur ... ts?round=1

[pharvey]

Also, a little earlier than I thought!! The Olympic Rugby 7's kicks off tomorrow afternoon (UK/BST)

Team GB didn't even qualify which is sad in itself, but there's certainly some class 7's Teams out there!! Fiji, NZ, Argentina.. Ireland and SA not to be messed with and of course the hosts France who will be favourites!! Not sure what happened with the US (sorry PeteC), as they did have some class 7's players in years past - though of course they have qualified (unlike GB ). This tournament though could be very interesting.....
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Quite looking forward to it myself..

[pharvey]

The Olympic Rugby 7's have been excellent in parts with the odd shock - SA beating NZ to a Semi-Final Place for one!! The French have been a mixed bag, though have made it through to the Semi's themselves with their talisman Dupont making the headlines with flashes of brilliance.

The Final Day is Saturday with the Semi Finals, Final and "Placement" matches taking place. Events begin @ 13:30 UK/BST, 19:30 HH/Thai.

Games seem to be televised on Eurosport, Discovery+, and I believe YouTube - and of course the usual Sports Streaming Sites

The Semi-Finals will be: -

France vs South Africa (14:30 BST, 20:30 HH/Thai) & Fiji vs Australia (15:00 BST, 21:00 HH/Thai)

Grand Final to KO at 18:45 BST, 00:45 HH/Thai

[dtaai-maai]

Twickenham is being renamed the Allianz Stadium. That'll go down well with the green welly brigade!

The Rugby Football Union has not "sold out" by renaming Twickenham the Allianz Stadium in a sponsorship deal worth more than £100m, says the organisation's chief executive Bill Sweeney.
Twickenham has hosted England men's games since 1909 and the name change to that of the insurance company will take place from September.
The 82,000-seater stadium also hosts international women's matches, key domestic games, community events and music concerts.
Former England coach Sir Clive Woodward said the RFU has "sold its soul" and it was a "very sad day" for English rugby.
"Some say a name means nothing, but Twickenham represents 100 plus years of heritage. Money is needed, but this naming rights deal is no silver bullet," Woodward said.
However, Sweeney said the investment from Allianz will "enable us to make Twickenham an even better experience for fans and players".
He said: "I really don't believe we've sold out. It's an iconic stadium, it's the home of rugby, experiences here are incredible, people love coming here.
"But we believe this will help us build on the legacy of the stadium, this will take us into the future, into decades from here.
"We believe this is an investment into the future with the sort of partner we need to go on that journey."

Well, I suppose that's sporting life these days, and let's face it, the RFU could probably put £100 million to good use, but I doubt you'll hear many people say they're off to watch England at the Allianz stadium...