Whining about the cold

[Biffo]

Man the fuck up, you whinging soft-cock! You're coming to Dublin in November this year - what the fuck do think it's going to be like then?

The Irish are putting on a night game for the Wallabies in November?

 

[the gambler]

Yeah, kick off is at 3.30pm.

 

[the gambler]

Sorry :-[

Was implying that it would be night time by 3.30 in November.

 

[Ash]

Anyone thinking Shaun Berne?

(And no, I couldn't find that photo. )

Managed to track it down, what a mission!

....

Now it's attached to this post for posterity

Quality stuff. Love the bear!

 

[Thomond78]

Sorry :-[

Was implying that it would be night time by 3.30 in November.

Near as damn it will be. Will definitely be dark by the end of it, and the floodlights will be on long before that.

 

[Thomond78]

Direct comparison made by "All-Man Al", the Iron Man of world rugby, that the nice, dry, warm conditions were better.

Dry and warm (like about 15oC IMHO) is much better than pissing rain and sub-zero in my opinion. I don't mind a wet track, but I prefer my opposition prop to be able to keep his feet so I can smash him good and proper. Refs get nervous when the pitch is slippery and it pisses me off.

That's bloody summer, here!

Wet is gooooood. Windy is goooooood. It means you can stay warm, and have fun, while the skinny runts freeze to death.

For all that I'm calling you a load of whinging soft-cocks (presumably because you're not Victorians, if you believe Bill, or because you are, if you believe Alan Border), there is a serious point here. Teams from here are used to wet, wind and rain, fair enough (and if you want examples, look up the Munster-Wasps and Llanelli-Munster games from the 2007-08 season). My own club's pitch is 150m up, 0.5 km from the open Atlantic, and one of the windiest and wettest places I've ever been - nice drainage, because everywhere is down from there. Training in that in the middle of December, you get used to it. Now, our touring teams still have to go to hot, dry tracks, like our guys are playing on in SA at the moment. Even in SA, the Highvelders have to go to the Cape, which is much more like here.

Yet, by and large, they don't complain about the changes in conditions; they just get on with it.

It's a state of mind. For some reason, Australian teams, above all others, seem spooked by wet, wind and rain. Well, sorry, lads, but that's the default state of the NH rugby world for most of the NH rugby season. It's not the end of the world; the contrary. If you can play decent attacking rugby in those conditions, it's a piece of piss on hard, dry ground (which, by the bye, I hate, as it's fucking hard on the feet). So, get the mental attitude right, you'll play well in the ghastly shit and still play well in the nice stuff.

And that's not what All-Man Al is doing here. His head's just not right for it, and that's why I suspect he's not going to do that well in horrible conditions.

 

[cyclopath]

And that's not what All-Man Al is doing here. His head's just not right for it, and that's why I suspect he's not going to do that well in horrible conditions.

He'll do allright. If there is one thing Al is, it's resilient. Given the amount of shit poured on him over his career, he has stayed pretty even-headed and lets it wash over him. More power to him. He seems a nice bloke - maybe that's his problem.
As I said, I don't think he was complaining about the wet and cold, just making the observation that the drier and warmer is nice, and afternoon tests are cool!
Personally I used to love the sloshy stuff - and I was a back! Nothing like sliding for a try or a ball from 10-15 m away. Having said that, almost drowning in 6" deep watery mud once at the bottom of a ruck was no fun! I seem to remember spending a lot of time in rucks and mauls back in the day - must have been a frustrated back rower.

 

[Cutter]

It's a state of mind. For some reason, Australian teams, above all others, seem spooked by wet, wind and rain. Well, sorry, lads, but that's the default state of the NH rugby world for most of the NH rugby season. It's not the end of the world; the contrary. If you can play decent attacking rugby in those conditions, it's a piece of piss on hard, dry ground (which, by the bye, I hate, as it's fucking hard on the feet). So, get the mental attitude right, you'll play well in the ghastly shit and still play well in the nice stuff.

And that's not what All-Man Al is doing here. His head's just not right for it, and that's why I suspect he's not going to do that well in horrible conditions.

Thomo do you reckon all the Australian players playing in the NH have been told by their wet weather shrinks that they need to confront their fears and that is why they are over there? I mean, there must be over a hundred playing at a professional level up there.

I agree with Cyclo. Baxter was just saying he'd rather do [insert activity] during nice weather than rubbish weather. Hardly worth a thread.

 

[Thomond78]

And that's not what All-Man Al is doing here. His head's just not right for it, and that's why I suspect he's not going to do that well in horrible conditions.

He'll do allright. If there is one thing Al is, it's resilient. Given the amount of shit poured on him over his career, he has stayed pretty even-headed and lets it wash over him. More power to him. He seems a nice bloke - maybe that's his problem.
As I said, I don't think he was complaining about the wet and cold, just making the observation that the drier and warmer is nice, and afternoon tests are cool!
Personally I used to love the sloshy stuff - and I was a back! Nothing like sliding for a try or a ball from 10-15 m away. Having said that, almost drowning in 6" deep watery mud once at the bottom of a ruck was no fun! I seem to remember spending a lot of time in rucks and mauls back in the day - must have been a frustrated back rower.

Now, that's one I will give you. Standing water on the pitch is a no-no, and one refs aren't paying attention to anymore. The Bath-Toulouse game in this year's HEC was played on a Rec that was half-underwater, with sheets of water everywhere, but Rolland didn't have the stones to tell them the pitch was unplayable. I don't care what it is, standing water is dangerous and must be cleared before a game goes ahead.

 

[Thomond78]

It's a state of mind. For some reason, Australian teams, above all others, seem spooked by wet, wind and rain. Well, sorry, lads, but that's the default state of the NH rugby world for most of the NH rugby season. It's not the end of the world; the contrary. If you can play decent attacking rugby in those conditions, it's a piece of piss on hard, dry ground (which, by the bye, I hate, as it's fucking hard on the feet). So, get the mental attitude right, you'll play well in the ghastly shit and still play well in the nice stuff.

And that's not what All-Man Al is doing here. His head's just not right for it, and that's why I suspect he's not going to do that well in horrible conditions.

Thomo do you reckon all the Australian players playing in the NH have been told by their wet weather shrinks that they need to confront their fears and that is why they are over there? I mean, there must be over a hundred playing at a professional level up there.

I agree with Cyclo. Baxter was just saying he'd rather do [insert activity] during nice weather than rubbish weather. Hardly worth a thread.

Well, that and ridiculous amounts of cash from the GP/T14.

Or, in Plank's case, one can only presume it's what's known these days as reverse transportation.

 

[Pfitzy]

There are a fair few Kiwis in my club who don't like the wet - but they're from Gisborne which isn't exactly damp.

 

[Spook]

Things is, Australia can't expect good weather in Britain, Ireland or NZ so they need to take the opportunity to play in crap weather at every opportunity.

Furthermore, Australia can't play afternoon tests in Sydney because the GPS enjoy scheduling matches at the same time and these attract large crowds. Deliberate? Probably

 

[Spook]

And that's not what All-Man Al is doing here. His head's just not right for it, and that's why I suspect he's not going to do that well in horrible conditions.

Thomo, Al has done a Hayes and gotten a lot better with age.