Lions Tour Thread

[cyclopath]

Is Burger the dumbest man in international rugby?

Well, he's on the podium for sure.
Wait to see if he is defended as " a really top bloke off the field". Total knob, deserves a big ban, not to be part of a Lions winning series by the Bokke.
By the way, well done to the Bokke, and a bit of hard luck to the Lions.
Very intense game, great to watch.

 

[Spook]

Is Burger the dumbest man in international rugby?

Possibly but he is closely followed by O'Gara who is an embarassment.

 

[Hugonaut]

O' Gara: dumb

Burger: eye-gouging cheat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NYONDg4J_E

Gutting way to lose a match. Both Burger and Botha have been cited, although I don't really think that Bakkies has a charge to answer. Burger most definitely does, as do the officials. He was yellow-carded. First minute of play. Touch judge saw it and told the ref that he should give "at least a yellow": absolute cop-out. What do you have to do to get sent off the field of play these days? Rape somebody?

Boks scored three excellent tries and finished their chances brilliantly [apart from Ruan Pienaar's kicking]. Morne Steyn showed balls of brass and a heart of stone to get the conversion from the touch line and the winning kick [the last action of the game] from inside his own half. Both Lions props were seriously injured in separate incidents around the 50 minute mark, and both centres also departed with bad knocks, as did Danie Roussouw with a serious concussion.

Unbelievably physical game and a great test match. Congrats to SA on their series win, but the Burger incident leaves a very sour taste in the mouth.

 

[Spook]

Bad luck Hugo. Surely Sexton will be the man for Ireland from now on?

 

[Pfitzy]

Burger most definitely does, as do the officials. He was yellow-carded. First minute of play. Touch judge saw it and told the ref that he should give "at least a yellow": absolute cop-out. What do you have to do to get sent off the field of play these days? Rape somebody?

Pretty much. I think the last red card I saw in an International was Shaw "kneeing" Robinson in 2003. Refs have forgotten what each colour actually represents:

Red Card - used for dangerous acts, including almost everything that comes under foul play. A ref is well within his rights to use a red card for any form of punching, kicking, kneeing, elbowing, stomping, gouging, squirrel gripping etc. Certain exceptions prevail e.g. two blokes going toe-to-toe might be considered for yellow just to cool off. A bloke who punches someone else from behind, however, is red card material.

Yellow Card - used for professional fouls, which in my book is anything that would otherwise be legal in the game bar the timing e.g. taking a player out without the ball in the "red zone", repeated infringing, etc.

 

[Jatz]

Possibly but he is closely followed by O'Gara who is an embarassment.

Very true. First a terrible mossed tackle for the Bok try then hitting that guy in the air was just totally careless. 14 year olds know not to do that.

 

[Hugonaut]

Bad luck Hugo. Surely Sexton will be the man for Ireland from now on?

Difficult to say.

Everyone has to be dropped some time, but it'll be odd to see anybody but ROG in the Irish 10 jersey. He's been there for the guts of a decade [the most successful decade in Irish rugby history] and is one of the holy trinity of O's with O'Driscoll and O'Connell that has brought the team – and the country – a lot of wins, a lot of success, and a lot of great times.

However, he wasn't at his best during the 6 Nations, and a lot of objective criticism was overtaken by his drop-goal heroics against Wales. In fairness to him, he was able to do it when it counted then, and we wouldn't have won it without him. He has lost us some tight matches with his woeful defense [thinking specifically of a loss to the ABs in summer 2006], but has won us many, many more with astute tactical kicking and goal kicking.

He's a fairly divisive character: just as many see him as a chippy pr¡ck, others see him as brutally honest and outspoken. As you can imagine, much of that divide is along the provincial lines ...

I'm not necessarily a fan of how he carries himself, what he says in interviews or after matches [for example, he made some comment about not being able to get himself up for games unless it's a test match intensity just a couple of weeks ago, maybe after the SKC or Western Province match] and a number of mates of mine from Cork – where he's from, for those in the SH who aren't necessarily O'Gara fanatics or students of Irish geography – and were in the same school or know him say that he's a big timing pr¡ck, but I've a bit of admiration that he doesn't just trot out the usual platitudes all the time, and he obviously cares a hell of a lot about winning.

With that said, he's probably talked himself up more than any other Irish player of the professional era [or any era] and the truth is that at the highest level he hasn't performed. He's gone on three Lions tours now and never started a test and he bottled the 2007 RWC spectacularly [not alone amongst Irish players in that tournament, but the worst offender]. He'll be haunted by his efforts in this test though, the poor b*stard.

 

[Jatz]

absolute cop-out. What do you have to do to get sent off the field of play these days? Rape somebody?

Agree... Should have been a red card. Burger was lucky it was in the first 30 seconds. However he will miss the 3rd test and the tri-nations which I am happy about. 6 to 12 weeks I reckon he will get. Probably 6 though.

I also wonder if the language barrier was an issue in him not getting a red. Berdos communication has been bloody terrible. First it took him an hour to explain the try in the first test as video ref then in this test he could barely explain a thing to the captains. He also had a lot of trouble understanding the video ref. Stupid choice for a ref in my view... Mind you the language barrier aside I thought he did a decent job.

 

[Hugonaut]

6 to 12 weeks I reckon he will get. Probably 6 though.

Don't know about that. Alan Quinlan got 12 weeks and missed the Lions tour for this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg28...35CB69D2&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=11

I'd consider Burger's gouge worse, and there's f*ck all mitigating circumstances: it was in the first minute, at the first breakdown, so no niggle or retribution involved. No foul play from Fitzgerald's side, not even lying on the wrong side. Just set out to gouge someone him to intimidate him, pure and simple. In the first minute? Pre-meditated, in my opinion.

Absolutely disgraced himself on his fiftieth cap. There's no room for gouging in the game, and if players are going to get away with 6 week bans, you're going to see a lot more of it rather than less. It'll never disappear, but it'll be rarer if they give out sizeable bans. Should get 18-26 weeks.

Couldn't give a f*ck if people think I'm a sore loser: that sort of sh¡t is brutal, sneaky and vicious, and a genuine effort should be made to get it out of the game as much as possible and penalise those who indulge in it very severely.

Boks were the better team because they won. Close old game though.

 

[rustycruiser]

I am thinking Schalk will get 12 - 16 weeks. Interesting that Parrisse also got cited for a gouge in the All Blacks game. I am wondering how the bans will match up time wise for two similar offenses on the same day. Be a good test of the judiciary system and how far it is depending on the panel/player/reputation etc.

This game really shouldn't have been so close. Ruan left his kicking boots in Durban and left 12 relatively easy points on the park. Thankfully the subs this week saved the day. Beers to Morne Steyn, Heinrich Brussow, and Jaque Fourie. Schalkie getting banned might actually be a blessing in disguise as Brussow will get a nice run in the Tri Nations and the last Lions game. Hopefully Puppet will put out the call to Dewald Potgieter to replace Schalk for the 3N.

Bloody good game though. Both teams gave their all. Pity the Burger incident put a damper on it.

 

[rustycruiser]

Just in, Parrisse got 8 weeks for his eye gouge effort. No way Schalk will get off that easy.

 

[cyclopath]

Well, Burger has more form in the past, I would say.

 

[Biffo]

Any international player's greatest dream must be to have the ball 15 metres from the line with only O'Gara in the way.

 

[Pfitzy]

I'd consider Burger's gouge worse, and there's f*ck all mitigating circumstances:

Are you saying that Quinlan's effort was too harsh because of some mitigating circumstance? Because the bloke was being an utter plonker all game.

 

[Blue]

Is Burger the dumbest man in international rugby?

Well, he's on the podium for sure.
Wait to see if he is defended as " a really top bloke off the field". Total knob, deserves a big ban, not to be part of a Lions winning series by the Bokke.
By the way, well done to the Bokke, and a bit of hard luck to the Lions.
Very intense game, great to watch.

I don't care what he is like off the field. He has serious issues and I really hope we don't see him in Green and Gold again. He is a disgrace to the jersey and has cost us too many games with his brain explosions.

Enough already.

 

[naza]

Couldn't give a f*ck if people think I'm a sore loser: that sort of sh¡t is brutal, sneaky and vicious, and a genuine effort should be made to get it out of the game as much as possible and penalise those who indulge in it very severely.

Far from it. I have no time for that at all - it simply does not belong in the game. End of.

Other than that incident it was an epic match. Had everything. The Lions have played the best rugby I've seen this year. But for a horror run of injuries this series could have gone their way. The South Africans have terrific depth, toughness and a knack for hanging in games that'll make them very hard to knock over in the Tri-Nations. Wallabies really will have to step up their intensity to match them.

 

[Hugonaut]

Are you saying that Quinlan's effort was too harsh because of some mitigating circumstance? Because the bloke was being an utter plonker all game.

No, don't think it was too harsh at all. There's no room in the game for eye-gouging.

Just like any 'crime' though, there are levels of severity, and I think that Burger's gouge was worse than Quinlan's. That's just my opinion – you can judge for yourself, the two videos are up on the thread. The fact that Burger's was in the first minute, at the first breakdown and further off the ball smacks of premeditation and intent though [something you can't really prove].

There was a bit of a paddy cover-up [I reckon I'm allowed to say that, being Irish ] about all the obfuscation surrounding Quinlan's citing: loads of ex-players saying that he's a great lad, Leo Cullen – the gougee – appearing on his behalf in the hearing, coaches from both sides saying that they hadn't seen the incident or couldn't comment on it which didn't reflect well on our domestic set-up. Quinlan is/was a well-liked player, and there are huge similarities with Burger in regards to the way he plays the game [recklessly] and how he carries himself off the pitch [well, and with good humour, generally].

Maybe I'm being a big sensitive blouse here [a sook?] but the Burger incident seems worse. Leo Cullen is a big ugly b*stard of a second row [I know him a bit, as he's a mate of my brother, and he genuinely isn't a looker], in his thirties and was hanging on to Paul O'Connell's head. Match had been going on for about an hour and had been very physical. There's still no excuse for eye-gouging.

Luke Fitz is a 21 year old winger, making his Lions debut. Within the laws of the game, anyone is fair play once they step on the pitch: you wouldn't hear me b¡tching and moaning if Burger had cut him in two with a tackle and injured him, much as you won't hear me complain about Bakkies ending Adam Jones' game with a huge hit in a ruck [he was cited, incidentally, but I can't see a f*cking thing wrong with it]. Once you step outside the laws of the game though, there's a bit of a moral compass involved. Pick on someone your own size, etc. Just sticks in my craw.

Still an epic match. Boks are winners, got themselves back in the game and took their chances. Lions stood up much better to them physically, did a number on their scrum and competed better at the breakdown. Just a pity that the third match will be a dead rubber.

 

[Pfitzy]

I agree - was just wondering if there was something I'd missed from the HC semi.

There was a bit of a paddy cover-up [I reckon I'm allowed to say that, being Irish ]

Feel free to trot out "that dirty Leinster/Munster bastard got everything he deserved"

 

[Hugonaut]

Feel free to trot out "that dirty Leinster/Munster bastard got everything he deserved"

Ah, we're all dirty bastards. Leinster are dirty in the Mugatu/Zoolander 'Derelicte' urban decay sense and Munster are dirty in the cowsh¡t on the wellies, tipping silage in the stream sense. We're just a dirty bunch of bastards altogether. ;D

 

[Blue]

Feel free to trot out "that dirty Leinster/Munster bastard got everything he deserved"

Ah, we're all dirty bastards. Leinster are dirty in the Mugatu/Zoolander 'Derelicte' urban decay sense and Munster are dirty in the cowsh¡t on the wellies, tipping silage in the stream sense. We're just a dirty bunch of bastards altogether. ;D

You should put some effort into hardening the Welsh the fuck up and shut them up the rest of the time. They whine like girlies when they lose, which is most of the time.