Rugby - not set pieces

[Lee Grant]

Referees

• Eastern Suburbs v Southern Districts A Southerns player reached back and picked up the ball from a ruck in front of a team mate and barged over with the team mate then attached. No try. A penalty was given to Easts by referee James Leckie who said: ”Only the last man can pick up the ball; not the guy in front.” Interesting – the 'last man' wasn't really bound before the pick up.

Commentators

• Wallabies v Boks Mvovo gives a ropey looking pass to Aplon.
Greg Martin: “I've never seen Mvovo kick the ball. I believe he is a non-kicker.”
Phil Kearns: “I'm not sure he's a passer either.” Indeed, the pass had a Sydney Harbour Bridge look about it.

• North Harbour v. Bay Of Plenty. Harbour was having no luck and were 0-20 down to the Bay just before oranges when Ken Laban said: “North Harbour: I don't know what they've done: [maybe] they've pinched money from the church plate or burnt Santa Claus, but they can't just turn a trick.” That would change your luck: burning Santa.

• Sydney Uni v Northern Suburbs. Uni had a maul going near touch and the Norths goal line. Cunning old 7. Phil Waugh, ball in hand, peels from the back of the maul on the blind side and past a despairing high grab at him by Norths 6. Mat Lamont who was on that side of the maul.

Steve Robilliard: “It looked like he tried to grab his hair ...” - No wonder Waugh scored.

ITM Cup

• Matchday teams in the ITMC now include 8 replacements to make room for an extra prop, which avoids uncontested scrums almost entirely. In France in 2007-08 it was tried in the top 3 divisions in France. Over 994 games there were just 2 games with uncontested scrums compared to 145 the season before – an extraordinarily high figure.

Following the trials in France the English Premiership, Magners League and Heineken Cup now use the extra prop and it's even in the Shute Shield, but Super Rugby and test matches still have only 7 reserves. One of the advantages of it is that a team can use two specialist LHPs and 2 specialist THPs.

It's time that it is used for all rugby though dispensation should be given to teams in amateur rugby by their unions in the case where there aren't enough trained players available.

It won't help Oz Super teams, or the national team, but we have to toughen up.
.

 

[Lee Grant]

ITM Cup
• Canterbury v Waikato - At a suburban ground in Christchurch where the voice carries, a wag in the crowd asked Stephen “The Duck” Donald where he would be watching the RWC from on TV. He was quieter after 74 seconds though when the Mooloos scored their 1st try and must have shut up completely when they went in for their 3rd after 11 minutes.

That was before the NZ RWC team was picked. Later on in the year that heckler must have been glad that Donald was on the bench to bring the All Blacks home in the RWC Final

Commentators
• Sydney Uni v Manly - Manly flyhalf, Nick Seymour, who has been dishing the ball out all day takes a run against the Uni inside men who were drifting:
Brett Papworth - “What about the gap Seymour ran through? It's unbelievable.”
Steve Robilliard -”See more room – take it.”

Groan

• Glasgow v Ospreys – There's a break in play and the sideline eye talks to the Ospreys coach about the 56 metre penalty kick that his 73 kgs flyhalf Matthew Morgan slotted after taking two steps in his approach to the ball:
Phil Steele - “What's Matthew Morgan got in his right boot?”
Sean Holley -”Semtex; but at the moment … you've got to make tackles as well.”

Hard marker

Players
• Michael Claassens, who played for the Cheetahs and also had a few games for the Boks, started for Bath against London Irish last weekend. It was his 55th consecutive game. He would have come from the bench in some of them, but still, they earn their pay over there, don't they?

• Toulouse v. Stade Français Toulouse are ahead 18-12 at home; there's a minute to go. SF have the losing bonus point safe, but can they win?. Stade bash ahead near theToulouse goal posts and their backs are spread out ready to attempt the try. The ball is passed out to SF flyhalf Felipe Contepomi. In a Dunning moment he slots the field goal and punches the air.

Felipe, mate, you made the score 18-15; so your team lost by 3 instead of 6. The penny dropped after he had run back. Turns out that he thought SF were 2 points behind before the drop goal. Game over.

Mind you, he had a nasty head knock in the first half.

Laws
• Same game - the ball came loose with SF in possession near the ST 22. Dupuy, the SF scrummie had to run back to save it, but then realised the best bet was to fly kick the ball into touch even though it would have to be kicked backwards. The ball went out on the full; so the touchie put his flag up opposite the spot where the ball was kicked from.

Right? No, wrong. Since Dupuy lost ground for his team when the ball went out closer to his own goal line, the lineout should have formed opposite where the ball was kicked out, not opposite where he kicked it from.

Did referee Christophe Berdos notice the gaffe? You've got to be kidding.

 

[Larno]

I enjoyed watching this try last Friday:

[video=youtube;guWy9p0Whuw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guWy9p0Whuw[/video]

Thought it might be worth bringing this thread back now the northern hemisphere domestic season is well under way.

 

[Bardon]

Commentator on Sky Sports at Dubai 7s Aus v Brazil (women)

Kristy Giteau goes over for a try for Aus. Commentator "Kirsty is from the famous Giteau rugby family and is the older brother of Matt"

I know some women rugby players are a bit butch but...

 

[BRIX]

Another reason why Chris Ashton is the most despised player in World Rugby. The incident below happened at the weekend.

[video]http://dai.ly/t1g5y5[/video]

 

[Slim 293]

Hair pulling like that needs to be stamped out like eye gouging...

Never had much respect for some of the dirty Bok players, or Jerry Collins who used to try and rip George Smith's hair out...

 

[qwerty51]

I still don't understand why Tom Wood was sent off and not Murphy. Ashton should've gone too.

 

[BRIX]

I still don't understand why Tom Wood was sent off and not Murphy. Ashton should've gone too.

Right on the money there Qwert. I thought young Courtney Lawes should have taken a 10 minute breather too.

 

[Bardon]

Ashton has been charged with an act contrary to good sportmanship in connection with this.

 

[BRIX]

Any idea what the sanctions are like for those type of offenses, Bardon? can't think of any recent situations similar to this one where a player was actually charged.

 

[Bardon]

I could be wrong but I believe it falls under law 10.4(m) which would put it in the same ball park as eye gouging. I think minimum is 4 weeks and mid range is 7 weeks according to some UK press. The recent trend though seems to be to give the minimum ban and then reduce it due to the players good disciplinary record (whether they have a good record or not).

 

[qwerty51]

Is Tom Wood free to play this weekend? Big game against Castres

 

[Bardon]

Both Tuilagi and Wood have been charged with striking an opponent. Recently this offence has resulted in 2-3 week bans for players. The RFU hearing is set for tomorrow (Tuesday) so should know more then. Northampton also have Phil Dowson up in front of a hearing for a dangerous tackle the previous weekend. I'm not sure how Geordan Murphy got away without being cited but I certainly haven't seen any reports of him being charged.

 

[Sully]

Ashton deserve a heap for that shit. Tuilagi should be complimented for showing restraint.

 

[boyo]

I would like to see a hooker actually hook the ball, and a scrum-half feed the ball straight, in a scrum: that would be a Mastercard moment.

 

[DPK]

Tuilagi should be complimented for showing restraint.

I think if his enormous frame had had room he would've finished what his younger brother started (sending Ashton's face to the stone age) last year.

 

[Bardon]

Dowson got 2 weeks, waiting for the result of the hearing for those involved in the hair pulling and insuing punch up.

Edit: Ashton got 4 weeks, so the minimum punishment. The red cards for Wood and Tuilagi were deemed sufficient punishment so no ban for them and both will be available for the upcoming HEC games.

 

[Lee Grant]

A bit dated some of these, but never mind:

Trivia

• Castres v Munster Heineken Cup match. Castres decided to have their home game at the Toulouse home ground about 1 hour away. They should have stayed at home because, for the 2nd match in a row ROG slotted a winning droppie after 80 minutes. They made more money by moving the game? As you were then.

Commentators

• David McIntyre Glasgow v Ulster Ian Humphreys has missed 3 kickable penalty goals for Ulster and McIntyre says there are no alternative kickers in the team. Why about fullback Adam D'Arcy, David? Kicked a heap of them in the Shute Shield for Manly – and one more time mate: that's the Manly Rugby Union team not the league team as you mentioned again.

• Trevor Brennan was guest commentator with Robbie Nock in the Toulouse v Toulon game last week. Trevor is the fellow that chased the 2nd half kick off for Ireland v Oz in the 1999 pool game, raised his elbow and used Jeremy Paul's jaw to stop his momentum. Later Toutai Kefu punched his lights out and got suspended.

He also played at Toulouse for a while after leaving Leinster, but had to retire after he jumped into the crowd at a home game and whacked a visiting Ulster fan. He's as mad as a maggot; but I digress.

Matt Giteau of Toulon was having his first starting game for the club and getting hammered every time. Nock said it was just a welcome to France.

Brennan: “I remember my first welcome to French rugby and my head was sticking out of a ruck and I got two punches off big Olivier Roumat. It hurt me. Eventually, when I came around, I said to the referee: 'Whatever you do don't send that fellow off'. I spent the next 60 minutes chasing him around the pitch”

Nock: “Your reputation is very much: a hard man on the field”

Brennan: “But I found God when I came to Toulouse – meeting Guy Noves.”

Noves is the iconic Toulouse coach - but he couldn't stop Brennan jumping the fence. Mind you Noves got frog marched out of a stadium by police once himself.
.

 

[Larno]

He also played at Toulouse for a while after leaving Leinster, but had to retire after he jumped into the crowd at a home game and whacked a visiting Ulster fan. He's as mad as a maggot; but I digress.

Remember that well, made headline news back home at the time. Trev tried to claim sectarian taunts by the fan as a reason for the attack, the European Rugby investigation into the matter found there had not been any such abuse. It turned out that the quality of the bar Trev runs in Toulouse had been called into question, causing him to jump the fence and have at it.

Must be a touchy subject around Chez Brennan.

 

[the plastic paddy]

Any idea what the sanctions are like for those type of offenses, Bardon? can't think of any recent situations similar to this one where a player was actually charged.

Offence was treated the same as spitting. Ashton denied charge and might be appealing, hope he does because with the mood at the RFU at the moment he will wind up with longer although probably not long enough to miss the Munster game; still believe he will have been dropped by England by the end of the next 6 nations and will be back playing league within 18 months.