old mate isn't going to give rugby a go
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/09/rugby_no_thanks_says_tim_tebow.html
dont think they'll ever convince an nfl to switch considering the pay gap
Rugby News from unexpected places
- Thread starter p.Tah
- Start date
old mate isn't going to give rugby a go
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/09/rugby_no_thanks_says_tim_tebow.html
dont think they'll ever convince an nfl to switch considering the pay gap
the sabanator
Ron Walden (29)
You gotta admire his determination, but it's reached ridiculous levels of stubbornness. He basically refuses every offer that isn't an NFL Quarterback.
Inside Shoulder
Nathan Sharpe (72)
Perhaos not entirely unexpected
USARugger
John Thornett (49)
the sabanator
Converting NFL rejects has been a fucking disaster 99% of the times USA Rugby has tried it. Carlin Isles has more or less been the singular exception to the rule, and he was a Track and Field athlete..not a gridiron star.
Rugby Union is one of the most skill-intensive codes of football on the planet and it takes upwards of a decade for the vast majority of athletes to get anywhere near international standard in the skills department.
Sorry but we have a large (and growing) Men's Club league here with hundreds of athletes capable of making the step up to professional rugby..who have actually been playing the game in the meanwhile.
Sorry but I am just biometrically opposed to attempting to convert former gridiron players to rugby union. Soccer and basketball players learn skills much more in line with what rugby asks for as well as coming in with a much higher fitness level in regards to the demands of rugby union. I have seen too many idiots with money try to make this work in the USA and the bottom line is that it just doesn't. We can't even get these guys to perform playing 7's, much less 15's.
This is not 'the answer' for the USA or anywhere near it. It is a farce and a fucking wholly unnecessary distraction from the things USAR actually needs to focus on.
Seriously, Tebow can take his Evangelical circus and shove it up his ass. He's been trying his entire life to learn how to throw a football and he still can't even do that well. No thanks.
Converting NFL rejects has been a fucking disaster 99% of the times USA Rugby has tried it. Carlin Isles has more or less been the singular exception to the rule, and he was a Track and Field athlete..not a gridiron star.
Rugby Union is one of the most skill-intensive codes of football on the planet and it takes upwards of a decade for the vast majority of athletes to get anywhere near international standard in the skills department.
Sorry but we have a large (and growing) Men's Club league here with hundreds of athletes capable of making the step up to professional rugby..who have actually been playing the game in the meanwhile.
Sorry but I am just biometrically opposed to attempting to convert former gridiron players to rugby union. Soccer and basketball players learn skills much more in line with what rugby asks for as well as coming in with a much higher fitness level in regards to the demands of rugby union. I have seen too many idiots with money try to make this work in the USA and the bottom line is that it just doesn't. We can't even get these guys to perform playing 7's, much less 15's.
This is not 'the answer' for the USA or anywhere near it. It is a farce and a fucking wholly unnecessary distraction from the things USAR actually needs to focus on.
Seriously, Tebow can take his Evangelical circus and shove it up his ass. He's been trying his entire life to learn how to throw a football and he still can't even do that well. No thanks.
Hugh Jarse
Rocky Elsom (76)
Now that Austrian Rugby Jumper is one for the collectors.
Brumbieman
Dick Tooth (41)
In certain positions it would be impossible, but realistically, how hard could it be to convert one of those big bastards into a backrower or 2nd row, assuming you got their fitness up to speed?
Some positions obviously need years of playing rugby to understand, but for something like blindside flanker, inside centre or 2nd row, you really could narrow things down for them and tell them to go out and do just that:
2nd row: teach them scrummaging and basic ruck techniques like cleaning out, and tell them to go out and hit every third ruck using their new found cleanout techniques. Once they've gotten that nailed down, you expand a bit.
Blindside flanker: Once they know the rules, tell them that their only job is to smash any opposition player who gets the ball, and clean out like a 2nd row. If someone accidentally throws them the ball, give it to someone who isn't standing still, and then follow them and smash anyone who tries to get over the ball.
If you narrowed their objectives down enough in a few positions, training an NFL monster to smash people and hit rucs couldn't be THAT hard, surely? If you selected a player with an IQ higher than room temperature (granted, that might be the really difficult part)
I like to watch
David Codey (61)
The only thing left for a 2nd row to learn,is to buy the pretty boys drinks at the nightclub and hope like hell the girls outnumber the backs.
Otherwise they will never procreate.
USARugger
John Thornett (49)
Brumbieman
Anything can be made to sound that simple when it is broken down that way.
The reality is that playing those positions even in the 2nd/3rd tier of test rugby is much, much, much more complex than that.
USAR simply does not have the resources right now to spend 2+ years getting these guys reconditioned and then even understanding the game at the most basic level.
Anything can be made to sound that simple when it is broken down that way.
The reality is that playing those positions even in the 2nd/3rd tier of test rugby is much, much, much more complex than that.
USAR simply does not have the resources right now to spend 2+ years getting these guys reconditioned and then even understanding the game at the most basic level.
Hugh Jarse
Rocky Elsom (76)
http://stats.espnscrum.com/statsgur...eam=139;template=results;type=team;view=match
Cyprus unbeaten record is now 19 consecutive victories in a row without losing any (thanks to Rex Mossop for that one).
Their last loss was in 2008 against Israel.
p.Tah
John Thornett (49)
Seems that a couple did get in contact with them
http://neoskosmos.com/news/en/two-greek-australians-hellenic-rugby-team
Good luck guys!
Hugh Jarse
Rocky Elsom (76)
Olympic Solidarity for rugby touches down in Bosnia
September 20 - Rugby has started to get funding from Olympic Solidarity, even though the sport does not make its Olympic comeback for another three years.
Bosnia and Herzegovina had the distinction of being the first International Rugby Board (IRB) member to benefit from assistance for a coaching programme held in the northwestern town of Bihać.
Other countries, including Denmark and possibly Romania, are understood to be in the process of trying to secure Olympic Solidarity support for rugby sevens-related initiatives.
Bihać, near the border with Croatia, suffered greatly in the Balkan conflict of the 1990s, with inhabitants subjected to a protracted siege.
Bernard Lapasset, IRB chairman, said it was "fantastic that in the first year of the new 2013-2016 Olympic Solidarity quadrennial, IRB member unions are further engaging with, and strengthening, the relationships with their National Olympic Committees (NOCs), who have also begun to apply for OS support on behalf of the national rugby federations.
More from David Owen's article here: http://insidethegames.biz/sports/su...c-solidarity-for-rugby-touches-down-in-bosnia
September 20 - Rugby has started to get funding from Olympic Solidarity, even though the sport does not make its Olympic comeback for another three years.
Bosnia and Herzegovina had the distinction of being the first International Rugby Board (IRB) member to benefit from assistance for a coaching programme held in the northwestern town of Bihać.
Other countries, including Denmark and possibly Romania, are understood to be in the process of trying to secure Olympic Solidarity support for rugby sevens-related initiatives.
Bihać, near the border with Croatia, suffered greatly in the Balkan conflict of the 1990s, with inhabitants subjected to a protracted siege.
Bernard Lapasset, IRB chairman, said it was "fantastic that in the first year of the new 2013-2016 Olympic Solidarity quadrennial, IRB member unions are further engaging with, and strengthening, the relationships with their National Olympic Committees (NOCs), who have also begun to apply for OS support on behalf of the national rugby federations.
More from David Owen's article here: http://insidethegames.biz/sports/su...c-solidarity-for-rugby-touches-down-in-bosnia
the sabanator
Ron Walden (29)
USARugger thanks for the insight. Obviously being here I don't see anything to do with it, all I see is some of the insane athleticism on the gridiron in college and the pros. What Brumbieman said is mostly my point: you're obviously not going to shove a league convert into flyhalf, but a RB type at 8 or a TE type in the second row would seem to have upside
USARugger
John Thornett (49)
the sabanator
TE in the second row, maybe..but most RBs are under 6'0" so I think 8 is out of the question
Historically though these conversion attempts have simply not panned out. It takes 8mos-1yr just to get these guys match fit because you literally have to tear them down and build them from the ground up even from an S&C standpoint.
It is also pretty hilarious seeing how these guys suddenly look far less 'athletic' when they're playing a game they can't read and can't execute the basic skills (catch, pass, ruck, tackle) at pace in.
I still have nightmares about when they brought Miles Craigwell into the USA 7s team. He has improved leaps and bounds today but that's because he has been playing club rugby for a top-tier club for years now. He looked like an absolute clown when they tried to rush him from the Miami Dolphins training squad to International 7s though, just got absolutely exposed by every team. If these guys want to settle in with clubs or try to hunt for a contract overseas, play for a few years and then come back that's completely fine because at that point they are actually proper rugby players.
TE in the second row, maybe..but most RBs are under 6'0" so I think 8 is out of the question
Historically though these conversion attempts have simply not panned out. It takes 8mos-1yr just to get these guys match fit because you literally have to tear them down and build them from the ground up even from an S&C standpoint.
It is also pretty hilarious seeing how these guys suddenly look far less 'athletic' when they're playing a game they can't read and can't execute the basic skills (catch, pass, ruck, tackle) at pace in.
I still have nightmares about when they brought Miles Craigwell into the USA 7s team. He has improved leaps and bounds today but that's because he has been playing club rugby for a top-tier club for years now. He looked like an absolute clown when they tried to rush him from the Miami Dolphins training squad to International 7s though, just got absolutely exposed by every team. If these guys want to settle in with clubs or try to hunt for a contract overseas, play for a few years and then come back that's completely fine because at that point they are actually proper rugby players.
Pretty interesting, Pakistan U/19's v Indian U/19's got a far bit of media exposure in both countries and they got 10,000 to the game
http://www.espnscrum.com/other/rugby/story/202115.html
Pakistani team were even sponsored by Coca-Cola
http://www.espnscrum.com/other/rugby/story/202115.html
Pakistani team were even sponsored by Coca-Cola
Hugh Jarse
Rocky Elsom (76)
On the eve of the Fivekick "World Cup"
Trio on the rise in rankings after wins
Three of the four European Nations Cup matches over the weekend resulted in changes to the IRB World Rankings with Latvia, Greece and Norway all climbing on the back of away victories over Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Finland respectively.
The honour of being the biggest climbers of the last seven days goes to Greece, who had occupied the 100th and bottom spot until a 20-17 victory over the higher ranked Bosnia & Herzegovina in Division 2C lifted them four places to 96th.
Bosnia & Herzegovina had occupied their highest position since the rankings began in October 2003, but have now dropped eight places to 94th with Guam, Bahamas, Swaziland, Tahiti, Monaco, Luxembourg, Austria and the victorious Norway.
Norway climbed two places to 93rd after beating Finland 24-12 in the other Division 2C match, a result which, in tandem with Greece's victory, means that their hosts have dropped back to the foot of the rankings once more. American Samoa, United Arab Emirates and Mauritius also fall as a result of Greece's climb.
Latvia have also risen two places to 63rd after overcoming Serbia 25-14 in Division 2B. The win in Valmiera sees their hosts fall three places to 79th with Botswana, Pakistan and Cameroon the beneficiaries.
The weekend's other match saw Poland beat the Czech Republic 30-10 in Warsaw to move to the top of the Division 1B standings, a tier of the European Nations Cup which is still part of the Rugby World Cup 2015 qualifying process in 2013/14.
The win, though, had no impact on the ratings of either side with Poland remaining 28th, some 24 places and 9.53 points above the Czech Republic.
source:http://www.irb.com/rankings/sportid=1/news/newsid=2069198.html#trio+rise+rankings+after+wins
USARugger
John Thornett (49)
http://www.jensinkler.com/how-to-wi...tent=How+to+WIN+(plus+a+few+training+secrets)
Really great interview with Jack Clark, head coach of CAL-Berkeley.
The CAL Golden Bears are one of, if not the the most dominant sports franchise in the history of the United States (I think only the Los Angeles Lakers challenge them for # of championship titles won in a comparable time frame) and have been around about as long as most Australian rugby clubs (1882).
Really great interview with Jack Clark, head coach of CAL-Berkeley.
The CAL Golden Bears are one of, if not the the most dominant sports franchise in the history of the United States (I think only the Los Angeles Lakers challenge them for # of championship titles won in a comparable time frame) and have been around about as long as most Australian rugby clubs (1882).
Inside Shoulder
Nathan Sharpe (72)
flat_eric
Alfred Walker (16)
Holy shit 57-54 in over time. And watching the Moroccan goal kicker miss right in front to win the game, twice, was hilarious.