• Welcome to the forums of Green & Gold Rugby.
    We have recently made some changes to the amount of discussions boards on the forum.
    Over the coming months we will continue to make more changes to make the forum more user friendly for all to use.
    Thanks, Admin.

RWC: AUS v URU (Villa Park, Birmingham): POOL A; 9pm (AEST) Sunday 27 September

Status
Not open for further replies.
Tex

Tex

Greg Davis (50)
Cheika is teflon coated. If Dingo had announced that front row he'd be given the ol' GAGR pitchforks and flaming torches treatment.
 
Brumby Runner

Brumby Runner

Jason Little (69)
Pfitzy said:
Interesting Mr Doug.

IMHO, money assists with their performance, but not necessarily their development. The larger benefit would be funding for facilities and coaching - the latter has certainly helped Fiji.

Ultimately, those nations without enough internal momentum have to gain it through getting their players professional through overseas contracts and then build their internal game based on the success those players can help deliver. This has assisted Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa, none of whom are big enough to develop players internally.

Looking at Uruguay as an example, they have parameters that simply adding foreign players won't overcome for proper long-term growth: the population is just over 3 million, of which nearly half live in Montevideo, and while it is considered an honourable game there, it is third behind soccer and basketball.

Here is the wiki entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Uruguay

The rugby competition (centered around the city) therefore needs to be able to produce good players on a regular basis, and support them at least on a semi-professional level so that the depth can be built, and competitions can attract sponsors and start funding themselves.

That money and experience comes with success for the national team (much like here in Australia), and that means having more than 4 professionals available to them for big shows like RWC.

Still, countries like Ireland have about 4.6 million, and have soccer and hurling and gaelic football as competition.

BUT Ireland have over 150,000 registered players, and Uruguay have not quite 6,000. Throw in the fact that guys like POC, Sexton et al can earn a very healthy living playing in Europe, with their club and international competitions on the doorstep. Meanwhile Uruguay have to rely on a very weak South America for rugby, which is limited to their home countries.

The balance therefore has to be struck between getting good players at the top level to give kids aspiration, while funding the grassroots to make sure they can stay in the game.

I think this RWC so far has shown that the amateurs are accelerating faster than ever before, while the Tier 2 nations are also improving, if at a slightly slower rate.
Click to expand...

Well said Pfitzy.
 
ChargerWA

ChargerWA

Mark Loane (55)
Tex said:
Cheika is teflon coated. If Dingo had announced that front row he'd be given the ol' GAGR pitchforks and flaming torches treatment.
Click to expand...
As with the change to Turnbull,it's not necessarily about the idea, but ones ability to sell it. With Dingo's confuscionism, no one really understood what he was trying to do, so we wondered loudly if he actually did or it was a "kings new clothes" scenario we found ourselves in.

With Cheika, he has eloquted his intentions, and agree or not agree at least we can understand why he is doing it.

As an aside, I feel I may have invented two words in my above post.
 
Tex

Tex

Greg Davis (50)
And in all honesty, if you're going to blood a prop new to international rugby in his unfavoured side, Uruguay is probably a good opposition to give it a burl against.
 
Highlander35

Highlander35

Steve Williams (59)
I'd hope players get grandfathered in to the 3 year residency rule if it changes after the World Cup.

Not so much from a Scottish perspective, although Nasi Manu and Anton Bresler wouldn't be bad depth additions in a few years time, but from a Rebels perspective, Sefa being eligible for the Wobblies sooner rather than later would be nice.
 
KOB1987

KOB1987

John Eales (66)
Sully said:
Yes I'd have to agree but can't think of anyone who'd be better. Including AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)!
Click to expand...

Perhaps AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) over Kuridrani on it's own is only net/net, but it allows bringing Speight or Mitchell on to that wing. So the TK/AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) v AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)/new wing equation could be a net positive.

I'm not trying to make any predictions.
 
Pedrolicus

Pedrolicus

Dick Tooth (41)
TK will come good, I think it's probably just a timing thing. You don't have to be far off to make a lot less impact, coupled with a bit of second year syndrome.

He also is playing in a midfield where he is the obvious crash baller and the dominant defender. He does a LOT of defensive work when he's alongside Gits/Quooper/Foley, compared with To'omua/Lealiifano.
 
swingpass

swingpass

Peter Sullivan (51)
ChargerWA said:
As an aside, I feel I may have invented two words in my above post.
Click to expand...



no i don't think you have two, but i'll give you one "eloquted" a combination of eloquence and elocution

and did you mean confusionism (a new word) or confucianism - the philospher
 
No4918

No4918

John Hipwell (52)
Can much be learnt from this game about where the side is at given it is a 'b' team? The players can put an excellent case forward but with the selection of 2 sides it has somewhat pigeon holed selections for the next two games. About a week off after this now so maybe that really won't be the case that the Fiji side plays England. Cheika loves foxing.
 
Quick Hands

Quick Hands

David Wilson (68)
^^^Anyone who thinks that Cheika has no idea who is starting XV or his match day 23 are is delusional. It's fanciful to suggest that it's a clean slate and these first 2 pool games will decide who plays v England.

As I see it, the first two pool matches are to give everyone a run and to sort out those few spots about which the coach isn't sure. Giving everyone a start is all about unity of purpose within the wider squad - anyone of them could be needed in a final or semi-final because of injuries or the like. It also seems sensible to use these games to make certain in your mind who starts, who is on the match day bench and who isnt'.

This is hardly rocket science.
 
cyclopath

cyclopath

George Smith (75)
Staff member
Quick Hands said:
^^^Anyone who thinks that Cheika has no idea who is starting XV or his match day 23 are is delusional. It's fanciful to suggest that it's a clean slate and these first 2 pool games will decide who plays v England.

As I see it, the first two pool matches are to give everyone a run and to sort out those few spots about which the coach isn't sure. Giving everyone a start is all about unity of purpose within the wider squad - anyone of them could be needed in a final or semi-final because of injuries or the like. It also seems sensible to use these games to make certain in your mind who starts, who is on the match day bench and who isnt'.

This is hardly rocket science.
Click to expand...

Yeah. If we had started with Wales then England, then the teams might not have been so different, apart from some benchies maybe, but he has the luxury of playing different starting XVs with our draw. I have little doubt he pretty much knows who he wants as his best XV, give or take one or two spots.
 
dru

dru

David Wilson (68)
I have 4 slots not 100% nailed right now. Then the rest fight for the pine, which is definitely not nailed and will change with strategy.

Actually 5: 5; 9; 10; 12; 11.
 
KOB1987

KOB1987

John Eales (66)
cyclopath said:
Yeah. If we had started with Wales then England, then the teams might not have been so different, apart from some benchies maybe, but he has the luxury of playing different starting XVs with our draw. I have little doubt he pretty much knows who he wants as his best XV, give or take one or two spots.
Click to expand...
And the selection of Sio at 1 and smith at 3 for this game adds a little element of mystique to this. Given the KO to slipper there was a logical and expected solution. But we are left scratching our heads. As is Lancaster.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top