Hawko
Tony Shaw (54)
And what skills would those be....?
Rugby - not set pieces
- Thread starter Lee Grant
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And what skills would those be....?
The_Brown_Hornet
John Eales (66)
That ref banter was priceless!
46 sounds low for a league team, Jono Jenkins made 30 in 59 minutes for the Force in round 8 v. the Tahs.
Edit: Just read your comment again, 46 per player! Sounds a lot, but when it's all you do..
Bowside
Peter Johnson (47)
Not when you only go for a year.
Lee Grant
John Eales (66)
IMO he is the best ref on the planet.
Nusadan
Chilla Wilson (44)
Could be also from being tackled, falling over whilst in rucks...
Good stuff though LG...keep it up!
#1 Tah
Chilla Wilson (44)
Him and Mark Lawrence. I hated losing to the blues because I couldnt blame him.
Larno
Ward Prentice (10)
Was reading the Yahoo sports article about Joost Van der Westhuizen being diagnosed with MND posted in another thread on this site and couldn't help but notice this in the player profile box:
http://au.sports.yahoo.com/rugby/player/3566/2/rob-horne/
I'm sure Horne would be flattered.
http://au.sports.yahoo.com/rugby/player/3566/2/rob-horne/
I'm sure Horne would be flattered.
Lee Grant
John Eales (66)
Commentators
• Matt Williams on the Rugby Breakdown show talking about a fine looking catch of a cross kick for a try by Leinster winger, Shane Horgan, in the Leinster v Glasgow game, during the last weekend of the regular season. “Shane Horgan is to cross-field kicks what Kylie Minogue is to backsides: simply the best – and the most beautiful.” A fine sight indeed and the catch looked reasonable also.
• Commentators usually like to talk up a dog of a game they are commentating on but Robbie Nock of Eurosports doesn't pull any punches. Nor did his guest co-commentator, sports journalist, Gavin Mortimer who said after the Castres v Montpellier play-off match: “It was a very, very poor game of rugby, not helped by the referee, Countless errors by two very nervous sides. It was 78 minutes of poor rugby and two minutes of quite intense excitement.”
It was the worst game of professional rugby I have seen since the 5-6 Sharks v Reds Super12 thriller in 2004 in Durban: truly horrible, and included many collapsed scrums which prompted Nock to comment after one was completed: “A scrum that stayed up more than 10 seconds – I like it!”. Fat referee Franck Marcello, the worst in France, which is saying something, was groaningly poor though in fairness the players were just as inept.
But indeed, the end of the game was enthralling, in a Keystone Cops way. The best goal-kicker in France “RoboCop” Teulet missed three penalties in one game. Unbelievable – and one was to win the match with 2 minutes to go.
Well done to battlers Montpellier and coach Fabien Galthié for their season. Against the odds, and without galacitcos, they led the comp for a while and were always in the top 6 except for a week or two later in the season. They play Racing Métro in the semi-final in Marsellie, as the French spell it, far from Paris where Racing plays, but only a 90 minute drive from Montpellier.
Its interesting that both of the Top14 semi finals will be played in Marseille: at the Stade Vélodrome
Referees
• Nigel Owens talking to stroppy front rowers after several scrum collapses in the Munster v Ospreys Magners League semi-final: “The last four games I refereed the scrums haven't been a problem. It's got nothing to do with my refereeing. I suggest we start scrummaging within the law because if you don't you're going to go to the bin. It's as simple as that lads; is that clear?”
It was clear but the Ospreys' LHP went down in the reset scrum all the same and got pinged. Just before oranges Owens got pissed off again. He warned the front row that if one from each side went down then he would send them both off. The ball got out of the scrum that time.
Trivia
• Pack weights Sometimes we rabbit on about who weighs what but did anybody notice that the poor old Crusaders were disadvantaged in Round 12 by having the lightest pack of any round in the comp at 860 kgs (according to the TV captions) when playing the Stormers who had the heaviest of the season at 925 kgs – a difference of 65 kgs? No, I didn't notice either. The Saders were 11kgs lighter in the front row, 25 kgs in the 2nd row, and 29 kgs in the backrow.
Maybe technique played a part. Just guessing.
And talking about the Stormers pack: in R13, against the Chiefs, their backrow weighed more than their front row.
• According to Sereli Bobo there are 400 Fijians playing in Europe. They get paid quite well down to 3rd Division in France and there is boot money in 4th Division also.
• Stats and damn lies. We take too much notice of stats, You'd think that have 49% possessions would be OK at half time but the trouble was that the visitors were 40 points behind in the Bulls v Rebels R12 match. Those rampaging Bulls scored 6 tries: 1 for about every 4 possessions.
• Toulouse headed the Top14 table at the end of the regular season of 26 games. They got last weekend off, as did Racing, whilst the 3rd to 6th placed teams played each other to qualify for the semi-finals. But, being the leaders, Toulouse got to chose if they wanted to play next Friday or on Saturday. They chose Friday. Makes sense: gives their opponents one day less to recover from last weekend and, if they beat Clermont, they have an extra day's rest for the final.
• Well done to the lad in the Kings v Joeys trials last Saturday for trying something different. He fielded a kick cleanly in his 22 and called “Mark”, but he was not awarded a free kick. Trouble was: it was a kick-off.
• Anybody else notice that the TV broadcasters put up the score 47-10 before Steyn added the 47th point with the conversion for the Bulls v Rebels? Trivial? Exactly.
• Matt Williams on the Rugby Breakdown show talking about a fine looking catch of a cross kick for a try by Leinster winger, Shane Horgan, in the Leinster v Glasgow game, during the last weekend of the regular season. “Shane Horgan is to cross-field kicks what Kylie Minogue is to backsides: simply the best – and the most beautiful.” A fine sight indeed and the catch looked reasonable also.
• Commentators usually like to talk up a dog of a game they are commentating on but Robbie Nock of Eurosports doesn't pull any punches. Nor did his guest co-commentator, sports journalist, Gavin Mortimer who said after the Castres v Montpellier play-off match: “It was a very, very poor game of rugby, not helped by the referee, Countless errors by two very nervous sides. It was 78 minutes of poor rugby and two minutes of quite intense excitement.”
It was the worst game of professional rugby I have seen since the 5-6 Sharks v Reds Super12 thriller in 2004 in Durban: truly horrible, and included many collapsed scrums which prompted Nock to comment after one was completed: “A scrum that stayed up more than 10 seconds – I like it!”. Fat referee Franck Marcello, the worst in France, which is saying something, was groaningly poor though in fairness the players were just as inept.
But indeed, the end of the game was enthralling, in a Keystone Cops way. The best goal-kicker in France “RoboCop” Teulet missed three penalties in one game. Unbelievable – and one was to win the match with 2 minutes to go.
Well done to battlers Montpellier and coach Fabien Galthié for their season. Against the odds, and without galacitcos, they led the comp for a while and were always in the top 6 except for a week or two later in the season. They play Racing Métro in the semi-final in Marsellie, as the French spell it, far from Paris where Racing plays, but only a 90 minute drive from Montpellier.
Its interesting that both of the Top14 semi finals will be played in Marseille: at the Stade Vélodrome
Referees
• Nigel Owens talking to stroppy front rowers after several scrum collapses in the Munster v Ospreys Magners League semi-final: “The last four games I refereed the scrums haven't been a problem. It's got nothing to do with my refereeing. I suggest we start scrummaging within the law because if you don't you're going to go to the bin. It's as simple as that lads; is that clear?”
It was clear but the Ospreys' LHP went down in the reset scrum all the same and got pinged. Just before oranges Owens got pissed off again. He warned the front row that if one from each side went down then he would send them both off. The ball got out of the scrum that time.
Trivia
• Pack weights Sometimes we rabbit on about who weighs what but did anybody notice that the poor old Crusaders were disadvantaged in Round 12 by having the lightest pack of any round in the comp at 860 kgs (according to the TV captions) when playing the Stormers who had the heaviest of the season at 925 kgs – a difference of 65 kgs? No, I didn't notice either. The Saders were 11kgs lighter in the front row, 25 kgs in the 2nd row, and 29 kgs in the backrow.
Maybe technique played a part. Just guessing.
And talking about the Stormers pack: in R13, against the Chiefs, their backrow weighed more than their front row.
• According to Sereli Bobo there are 400 Fijians playing in Europe. They get paid quite well down to 3rd Division in France and there is boot money in 4th Division also.
• Stats and damn lies. We take too much notice of stats, You'd think that have 49% possessions would be OK at half time but the trouble was that the visitors were 40 points behind in the Bulls v Rebels R12 match. Those rampaging Bulls scored 6 tries: 1 for about every 4 possessions.
• Toulouse headed the Top14 table at the end of the regular season of 26 games. They got last weekend off, as did Racing, whilst the 3rd to 6th placed teams played each other to qualify for the semi-finals. But, being the leaders, Toulouse got to chose if they wanted to play next Friday or on Saturday. They chose Friday. Makes sense: gives their opponents one day less to recover from last weekend and, if they beat Clermont, they have an extra day's rest for the final.
• Well done to the lad in the Kings v Joeys trials last Saturday for trying something different. He fielded a kick cleanly in his 22 and called “Mark”, but he was not awarded a free kick. Trouble was: it was a kick-off.
• Anybody else notice that the TV broadcasters put up the score 47-10 before Steyn added the 47th point with the conversion for the Bulls v Rebels? Trivial? Exactly.
Lee Grant
John Eales (66)
Referees
• Keith Brown Blues v Stormers called it right when he judged that Habana took the ball over his own goal-line but he was constrained from asking the TMO for advice on the matter.
But a French referee in the Top14 could have asked for help. The French have dispensation from the IRB to use the TMO more liberally in their domestic rugby. Two examples after tries have been scored have been: was there a knock on near the 22?; was there obstruction of a defender 30 metres out? It is not invoked a lot; so it makes sense to give it wider acceptance. They don't judge on forward passes.
Avira Premiership
• Manu Tuilagi, one of many brothers playing in Europe got the England young player of the year award , but he would have got the best punch in the Premiership gong too, if there was one. He whacked the finger raising, dive merchant, Chris Ashton in the Leicester v Northampton semi-final, right on the temple. He got a yellow card, but so did poor old Ashton, who did nothing more than try to push Tuilagi away. Worth a look if it's on UTube.
Manu got 5 weeks for his trouble and will miss the final, vouchsafed for Leicester by brother Alesana Tuilagi's trademark try. Maybe that's on UTube too.
It raises a question: what do you call a lot of Tuilagi's (or Tuilagii)? No, not a family – too boring. A smash? Maybe after Manu's antics – a thump?
Coaches
• Guy Noves is the iconic coach of Toulouse and perhaps rugby's version of Alex Ferguson of Man U. He's been the ST coach since 1993 and is a very crafty operator.
At home games he keeps all the match balls around him on the sideline. During the 1st half of the last pool match of the Top14, Toulouse v Clermont, he kept delaying the delivery of the ball on restarts. The clock was running; why make the ball available when his team was playing into the wind yet 7-3 ahead in the 1st half? Finally referee Patrick Pechambert trotted over to him and gave him a rocket. Noves' shrug was Gallic.
Mind you: when Toulouse needs the ball delivered quickly on restarts: no problemo.
It's not the first time that he's been in trouble with officialdom. After the bell when Toulouse won the Heineken Cup final at Murrayfield in 2005 he was trying to get a leading Toulouse official, who was in the public area, into the players area, to enjoy the prize winning ceremony. That's one version of it, anyway. Security wouldn't allow it and Noves threw the toys. The Scottish cops didn't know who he was - just saw a guy causing a ruckus, and frog-marched Noves away to the clink.
• Keith Brown Blues v Stormers called it right when he judged that Habana took the ball over his own goal-line but he was constrained from asking the TMO for advice on the matter.
But a French referee in the Top14 could have asked for help. The French have dispensation from the IRB to use the TMO more liberally in their domestic rugby. Two examples after tries have been scored have been: was there a knock on near the 22?; was there obstruction of a defender 30 metres out? It is not invoked a lot; so it makes sense to give it wider acceptance. They don't judge on forward passes.
Avira Premiership
• Manu Tuilagi, one of many brothers playing in Europe got the England young player of the year award , but he would have got the best punch in the Premiership gong too, if there was one. He whacked the finger raising, dive merchant, Chris Ashton in the Leicester v Northampton semi-final, right on the temple. He got a yellow card, but so did poor old Ashton, who did nothing more than try to push Tuilagi away. Worth a look if it's on UTube.
Manu got 5 weeks for his trouble and will miss the final, vouchsafed for Leicester by brother Alesana Tuilagi's trademark try. Maybe that's on UTube too.
It raises a question: what do you call a lot of Tuilagi's (or Tuilagii)? No, not a family – too boring. A smash? Maybe after Manu's antics – a thump?
Coaches
• Guy Noves is the iconic coach of Toulouse and perhaps rugby's version of Alex Ferguson of Man U. He's been the ST coach since 1993 and is a very crafty operator.
At home games he keeps all the match balls around him on the sideline. During the 1st half of the last pool match of the Top14, Toulouse v Clermont, he kept delaying the delivery of the ball on restarts. The clock was running; why make the ball available when his team was playing into the wind yet 7-3 ahead in the 1st half? Finally referee Patrick Pechambert trotted over to him and gave him a rocket. Noves' shrug was Gallic.
Mind you: when Toulouse needs the ball delivered quickly on restarts: no problemo.
It's not the first time that he's been in trouble with officialdom. After the bell when Toulouse won the Heineken Cup final at Murrayfield in 2005 he was trying to get a leading Toulouse official, who was in the public area, into the players area, to enjoy the prize winning ceremony. That's one version of it, anyway. Security wouldn't allow it and Noves threw the toys. The Scottish cops didn't know who he was - just saw a guy causing a ruckus, and frog-marched Noves away to the clink.
DPK
Peter Sullivan (51)
I like to watch
David Codey (61)
Ouch!!!!!
I like to watch
David Codey (61)
He is the son of the Mungo who debuted as a16 yo yeah?
canowindra
Frank Nicholson (4)
Could it be a 'crush' of Tuilagis ?
rugbysmartarse
Alan Cameron (40)
I know halfbacks think they are gods, bit what is with them adopting the Rio Jesus pose now at every ruck? Are they questioning the refs authority, or adjusting their shoulder pads?
Jnor
Peter Fenwicke (45)
Very Droll
Did you see Pieboy Januarie tapping his imaginary wristwatch last night for the end of the game - I would have laughed if the ball popped out while he was fart-arsing around looking at the ref!
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