Stuart Barnes is trolling once again...

[RedsHappy]

....With our hard pitches we get more of a premium from running with the ball in hand and less from scrummaging; so we are better at running with the ball and not so good in the scrums. When our blokes have to scrummage on wet soil they can get a bit lost as studs swim around, whereas Pom scrums are trained to get everything steady as if a bomb would go off after their ball has been fed. On your ball they will try a bit of havoc but they know how to do it in the environment - like a good clay court tennis player hitting a winner with his feet still sliding.....

Lee: just apropos the above and the whole subject of 'Test/RWC selections for varying physical conditions' (a parameter not often referenced here, certainly in the last month or so), this comment from Toby Robson from NZ is a poignant reminder of certain key possibilities we may be faced with:

...."It's been fascinating to watch the rise and rise of the Queensland Reds this season, and it was notable that they ran the Blues, then the Crusaders, off their feet at Suncorp.

But Graham Henry will not be hitting the panic button just yet.

The Rugby World Cup won't be played on a hard, fast Brisbane pitch (thankfully, considering the depth of talent in the Australian backs).

It'll play out in the conditions we'll see during the NPC – cold, wet New Zealand winter nights where workrate, tenacity and an ability to sniff out opportunities will be the difference."....

See: '(NZ) Selectors give cold shoulder to excitement'

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/5264381/Selectors-give-cold-shoulder-to-excitement

 

[TheNextBigThing]

Stuart Barnes on the Sharks Crusaders game at Twickenham...

'These teams produced a game of rugby so far in excess of anything in the recent Six Nations that the implications are frightening,"

How the mighty have fallen.

 

[Lee Grant]

He's right - it was a great game and there was some seriously crap rugby in 6N, even taking into account the time of year the games were played.

 

[Lee Grant]

RedsHappy

Thanks for providing that link. This bit surprised me.

Sivivatu is unacceptably unfit. As good a linebreaker as he is, he was woefully off the pace (well behind Piri Weepu) when New Zealand sevens coach Gordon Tietjens put him through his paces in Wellington last week.

Behind Piri would not be a good look but geez - I would hate to be tested by Titch - or Billy Johnstone.

 

[RedsHappy]

Be careful what you wish for...

.... think that Leinster would have beaten the Reds too on the performance on Saturday - at a neutral venue - and hammered them on a wet day, but we are never going to know. They would have beaten the Saders too on the night, they made too many errors.....

The ARU may actually be working on just such a battle royal:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...from-rugby-world/story-e6frep5o-1226092638286

 

[TOCC]

No doubt the ARU will push this, they need the QRU to turn a surplus to pay off the loans..
Such a game could demand a $1million return for each team if played in Europe

 

[DPK]

Scrap a Barbarians game for this? It might generate more interest.

 

[Larno]

target audience is UK papers - they sell a lot more over there than here!

Important to keep in mind when reading most articles in UK papers. Such is the nature of current UK journalisim that they are not aiming to present a reasoned, thoughtful analysis but rather they are trying to sell sell sell and therefore will print what they think will please their section of the market.

It is also worth keeping in mind that most of the NH rugby media, unions and (sadly) fans still labour under the delusion that the Tri-nations sides play a brand of glorified touch similar to league and therefore wouldn't be able to compete were it not for the supposed bias of those incompetent referees towards the SH.

But as others have already said in this thread, you do your talking on the field and it shows in the world rankings.

It is also made abundantly clear every time a clueless NH side is left bamboozled by a Wallaby backline or torn a new arsehole by a Springbok pack.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Yes, our rugby is so inferior down here that the 3N teams somehow manage to not lose to NH teams home and away, year after year. Puzzling.