2016 Under-20 Rugby World Championships - Manchester UK

[Pfitzy]

He's fucked for the pool games I'd say. Neck roll very dimly looked upon, they'll want to send a message.

 

[RugbyReg]

highlights here:

Both yellows looked fair to me and just dumb. Both acts are well known no-nos.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Whirled Rugby view the U20 World Champs as a game showpiece and use the occasion to reinforce the current focus points and messages that they are trying to get across to the Rugby Communuty.

Last year it was lifting tackles, and the inability to adopt to the new rulings probably cost the Saffers the World Cup as the were on the receiving end of quite a few YC for those including losing their Captain and one other within the space of a couple of minutes in a key knockout game.

This year, it is no secret that player safety around players in the air and neck rolls are a key area for referee focus. Any Coach that is teaching any practice that resembles a neck roll at training and hasn't adapted the clean out techniques they teach or condone from their players deserves the reward they will receive from the match officials and judiciary.

These young men are either professional athletes or aspiring professional athletes. It ain't schoolboy footy anymore.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

He's fucked for the pool games I'd say. Neck roll very dimly looked upon, they'll want to send a message.

If Tuipolotu is actually in Team Rehab, then we may have a real problem on our hands regarding our centers for the next two games.

Usually Judiciary hand out sentences based on X weeks suspension on the basis that a player usually plays one game per week.

If the usual two weeks deterrent factor is added to any suspension that Big Red gets then Coach Thommo may need to get on the phone to a Shadow player, because all the Big Red will be doing is holding tackling bags at training for the rest of Jnr RWC.

Shades of JJH's red card in the opening minutes of the 2014 Schoolboy "Test" against NZL. The poor buggers tour was over almost as soon as it begun.

 

[RedsHappy]

How many years has A Thompson been in charge of the U20s and what have been the results over that period?

 

[Highlander35]

What's the alternative for you boys? Ours get shuffled round based on availability. Sean Lineen went from U20s to Academy Chief to London Scottish Coach to undefined, all under the SRU contract, as competent options emerge and other positions are created.

 

[Braveheart81]

How many years has A Thompson been in charge of the U20s and what have been the results over that period?

I believe he started in 2013 and we've finished 7th, 5th, and 5th since then.

In 2012 we were 8th, 2011 3rd and 2010 2nd.

Since we dropped out of the semi finals in 2012, we haven't made it back.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Looks like we are once again heading for yet another 5th -8th placing.

In its current format, even the pool games are knockout games.

 

[The sage]

Watched the game last night, and sadly yes more of the same; Poor discipline, a back row that gets beaten time and time again at the break-down, poor hands shown by some. Lack of direction for stages of the game.

I think Hugh you right can't see a better result than 5th at this stage. The last 5-8 minutes, when we had a good spate of possession, we seemed for some stage reason to want a "scrum-a-thon" or prove that we were superior scrummager's than Scotland. I would have thought it may be useful to actually score a try or convert a penalty........is this a new strategy?? (Mine was just a thought).

For Scotland, well they tried their guts out and forged a credible win. Good win for them. Now they face England whom they beat earlier in the year.

 

[Braveheart81]

a back row that gets beaten time and time again at the break-down,

I would have thought our backrow won more breakdown penalties than Scotland's. There certainly weren't a lot for either side during the game. The referee gave both sides a long time to clean the defender out and secure the ball.

 

[Highlander35]

There's no shame in being beaten by our back row.

Mack Mason needs a kick up the arse IMO. Lots of shoveling, as if he was still the number 2 playmaker in a league side, no missed tackles, but a couple where he released the pressure valve by being less than thorough.

Still plenty of quality though. Both locks played well, as did Uelese, Tuttle and the two wingers. Scrum was good, even with Fifita's best impression of Marler.

Just need a good showing against Italy. You guys could probably get a better balance of fitness into your players with the schedule.

 

[Blackers13]

Proof again the pathways aren't working

 

[The sage]

I would have thought our backrow won more breakdown penalties than Scotland's. There certainly weren't a lot for either side during the game. The referee gave both sides a long time to clean the defender out and secure the ball.

I must admit that I only saw the last 10 min (1st half) and all the second. However, it seemed like our ball was not as clean as theirs, their clean-out seemed better than ours. I wasn't necessarily watching the the penalties; mainly looking at the speed of delivery to the 10.

Thought the tight 5 did well and liked the 9 (mom for Australia I thought), didn't mind the #10 and the wingers. But as a unit it didn't work so well and the options taken did not pay dividends.

 

[The sage]

Proof again the pathways aren't working

I think maybe proof again that the individual best players ARE NOT the best team necessarily.

For instance why did Jones (usually plays #6) and Scott-Young (usually plays lock), play OUT OF THEIR POSITIONS?? It shows up like fish out of water. Just watch Scott-Young on the side of the scrum, it looked awkward for him. Nothing against those two individuals, as I think they are fine players;

But when is Australian Rugby going to stop this type of selection? It simply doesn't work. Didn't work for the Australian Schoolboys over the last couple of years and certainly hasn't worked in this competition for a while it seems. (Definition of Madness!!).

 

[Braveheart81]

Proof again the pathways aren't working

How so?

They were beaten in an upset after playing the match a player down for 45 minutes.

If you take one result as evidence you could have used the second game against NZ that was our first win against them for a number of years at this level and say that the pathways are working brilliantly.

 

[Pfitzy]

Until we open up the competitions that get our squads picked, and ensure we expose the maximum amount of talent at each level, we will continue to get these results

 

[Braveheart81]

That's like saying we should have open trials for each Super Rugby squad.

It's not a reality.

The situation now with the franchise based squads playing a tournament over a month or so is a better situation than we have ever had before.

Talent identification seems to be better overall at each level than it has been in the past. It is not like there are a whole bunch of players that those in the know have never heard of emerging from nowhere.

 

[Bobby Sands]

There's no shame in being beaten by our back row.

Mack Mason needs a kick up the arse IMO. Lots of shoveling, as if he was still the number 2 playmaker in a league side, no missed tackles, but a couple where he released the pressure valve by being less than thorough.

Still plenty of quality though. Both locks played well, as did Uelese, Tuttle and the two wingers. Scrum was good, even with Fifita's best impression of Marler.

Just need a good showing against Italy. You guys could probably get a better balance of fitness into your players with the schedule.

Being beaten by Scotland is always shameful.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

^^^^ We are getting good at it.

I am fairly sure that the average Jock and the Jock media act with a lot more grace in their far too common victories over us than those of "Proud Edwards Army".

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Until we open up the competitions that get our squads picked, and ensure we expose the maximum amount of talent at each level, we will continue to get these results

The NSW Gen Blue selection process started back in October 2015 with about 60-70 players from across the Class of 2015 and "born in 1996" players from All the Sydney Colts Clubs. There were plenty of players in that later group that were not decorated schoolboy players with all the right boxes ticked in their scrapbook.

Quite a few of those lads survived the various culls that were made to the squad as it came closer to the Curtain Raiser Cup.

I am sure that the selectors and coaches associated with Gen Blue have objective reasons supporting the decisions to cull or retain the players. The young men were at training about 4 days a week for much of the summer. They would have seen a lot more of the boys, their skills, and their attitudes than most of the keyboard warriors on here.

Who from NSW missed out on being considered for Gen Blue U20? Is there a young bloke hidden away in Subbies Colts that has missed out? Should lads contracted to Mungoland with a rugby background have thrown their hat in the ring? Is there a young superstar who is playing for a NSW Country club that was dealt a raw prawn because they couldn't attend the preseason selection process?

The process and the pathway are in a far better shape now than they have ever been.

Why are there so few NSW Players in the Team?
Put simply, the survivors from Team Rehab, didn't play well enough in the Curtain Raiser Cup to warrant promotion to the National Team. Additionally 3 of those initially in the National Squad couldn't make Manchester because they were also tapped on the shoulder by the selectors from Team Rehab.