Rugby Union Summer tour internationals

[99call]

So.......... the major upshot is.... England WTF? it seems any sniff of complexity in any given game, they produce a collective brain fart and following meltdown.  I have no idea why it is so hard for the management to decipher this?. Simply say A, the players are not very intelligent or B, they struggle to problem solve on the fly..........simple.

One of their main problems is George Ford and Owen Farrell. They are great competitors, but when you hear them speak, they do not overwhelm you with the notion they lay awake reading Tolstoy.     Hey I'm a northern lad,  and even though I do not give a monkeys about England, I'm happy to say this is the problem. As much as I hate to say it, you need someone like Danny Cipriani to mix it up.       George Ford's international career should end today.

Only saw highlights of Ireland Aussie.   Both are on the Up.   Ireland continue to prove they are legitimate No 2's

Scotland..............Iain????? what have you done??? oh dear, big bollock drop stateside.  Great it gives the US a much needed taste of blood, but bad it continues Scotlands longrunning case of self harm.

Wales....Yes Yes Yes.   Well   Argentina looked like a neatly formed pile of dog eggs, but hey, I'm not complaining!........ Seeing the machine which is Ross Moriarty whisper in Sanches's ear. "You touch my back again, I will make you wish a shit kicking average was the least of your troubles".

SAFA,   Go Bokka.   As much as we hate them in their pomp, I hate to see them so weak. Great to see the beast get his 100th cap, and wonderful to see Siya Kolisi to march the troops out. 

NZ,    Continue to get ref love.   I thought Sonny Bills red card in the Lions series was a watershed moment,  but no!,   It's good a ref back the attacking team, as with boxing, but often the AB's way overstep the mark, and a 10min man in the bin, would actually go some way to rectfy the score board

France-    Huge sleeping giant.   If they can get conditioning, and some degree of unity, they will be deadly, that said, who is qualified to emulsify/bring together this team?   nobody is qualified.   Its like asking someone to make a sauce from water and wood chips.     

 

[Ken Gargett]

5 hours ago, 99call said:

So.......... the major upshot is.... England WTF? it seems any sniff of complexity in any given game, they produce a collective brain fart and following meltdown.  I have no idea why it is so hard for the management to decipher this?. Simply say A, the players are not very intelligent or B, they struggle to problem solve on the fly..........simple.

One of their main problems is George Ford and Owen Farrell. They are great competitors, but when you hear them speak, they do not overwhelm you with the notion they lay awake reading Tolstoy.     Hey I'm a northern lad,  and even though I do not give a monkeys about England, I'm happy to say this is the problem. As much as I hate to say it, you need someone like Danny Cipriani to mix it up.       George Ford's international career should end today.

Only saw highlights of Ireland Aussie.   Both are on the Up.   Ireland continue to prove they are legitimate No 2's

Scotland..............Iain????? what have you done??? oh dear, big bollock drop stateside.  Great it gives the US a much needed taste of blood, but bad it continues Scotlands longrunning case of self harm.

Wales....Yes Yes Yes.   Well   Argentina looked like a neatly formed pile of dog eggs, but hey, I'm not complaining!........ Seeing the machine which is Ross Moriarty whisper in Sanches's ear. "You touch my back again, I will make you wish a shit kicking average was the least of your troubles".

SAFA,   Go Bokka.   As much as we hate them in their pomp, I hate to see them so weak. Great to see the beast get his 100th cap, and wonderful to see Siya Kolisi to march the troops out. 

NZ,    Continue to get ref love.   I thought Sonny Bills red card in the Lions series was a watershed moment,  but no!,   It's good a ref back the attacking team, as with boxing, but often the AB's way overstep the mark, and a 10min man in the bin, would actually go some way to rectfy the score board

France-    Huge sleeping giant.   If they can get conditioning, and some degree of unity, they will be deadly, that said, who is qualified to emulsify/bring together this team?   nobody is qualified.   Its like asking someone to make a sauce from water and wood chips.     

 

first, what the hell is a medic doing getting involved in a scrap on field? should be an immediate ban for life from any involvement in rugby. 

we were not as good this time as the first test but ireland also went up a gear. be interested to see if any citing for a cheap shot breaking genia's arm. that will kill us for the decider. lord, phibbs and foley. has there ever been a more dismal combo for us at half/flyhalf? i thought foley played his best game for us first test. and what happened to folau 2nd test. invisible. perhaps someone told him all the irish were gay so he would not go near them. awful game by him. 

saw the send off. my thoughts on that vile heap of incompetence ref'ing the game, angus gardner - the world's worst - are well documented elsewhere. as i have said, he is the only reason to read an obituary column. all about him. qld have never won a game with him. whoever gave him an international test of that standing should also be sacked. french player's eyes never left the ball. they both leapt. barrett got higher but i really did not think it even a penalty, let alone a yellow card. but scumbag wanted the spotlight so a red. and another game stuffed by him. he is a disgrace.

the shining light is watching england crumble. not that i get much right but there are posts from a few years ago charting exactly this. put the toxic hobbit in charge and an initial explosion of wins and promise. but with time comes tears. and blame. and meltdowns. and eddie assuring everyone that he can coach but he is getting no support. long may it continue. 

[ayepatz]

10 hours ago, 99call said:

Scotland..............Iain?????

I.... just can’t.?

[99call]

11 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

perhaps someone told him all the irish were gay so he would not go near them

I think Cheika may have told him the Irish backs "were looking to go up his channel" and wanted to "do him on the inside".   After that he wasn't interested. 

I would say Phipps is a bigger concern that Foley.   At least Foley shows moments of class,  Phipps looks beyond bang average, to the point where you even wonder if he's club class, let alone international quality. 

From where you guys were in that series with England, I think Aussie have come a long way, and could hit form when it counts in the RWC

[Ken Gargett]

i think this is a nice way of saying that, as expected/predicted/inevitable, england is collapsing under jones. but please, keep him. do not let him return to australia. 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jun/17/england-eddie-jones-indecision-spats-world-cup

[JohnS]

I still think Australia have more improving to do, especially in their discipline and general kicking in play and penalty/conversion kicking.

I agree Ken, it would be great for Eddie Jones to continue a little while longer with England.

[Ken Gargett]

Just now, JohnS said:

I still think Australia have more improving to do, especially in their discipline and general kicking in play and penalty/conversion kicking.

I agree Ken, it would be great for Eddie Jones to continue a little while longer with England.

fully agree re improving. if this is as good as we get then, and i know we are in the top four of the world - fourth, but that top four does not include england, france and south africa (or scotland who have thumped us the last couple of times we played) and if we lose this weekend then i think we drop to fifth or possibly lower - but i'd suggest we'd need an extremely favourable draw to make it past quarter finals in a world cup. 

our general kicking was dismal. foley and beale are responsible for that. for all the nonsense sprouted about that pair, they would never make a competent wallaby team. folau was not in the game. all very well to bitch about him being obstructed but what we are saying is that it took the irish one game to work out how to blunt him and we can't work out how to overcome that. what the hell are the coaches paid for? our lineout is very ordinary. simply not up to top international level. the argument is that we have a small backrow for mobility and turnovers and so we concede a lineout jumper. not good enough at this level. work it out. 

meanwhile, love to see england offer the hobbit an extension. won't happen though. 

[99call]

4 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

meanwhile, love to see england offer the hobbit an extension. won't happen though. 

???? it already did...or are you joking?.    Right after his purple patch (which was actually just the hard work of Stuart Lancaster filtering through), they gave him a three year extension, despite all those who had been previously bitten by the poison dwarf saying "Don't do it! you'll be sorry".... English sport doesn't care about losing money, with unfullfilled contracts, football had proved that for decades.   Big money going in, big money going out.  A bit like a trophy wife

[Ken Gargett]

54 minutes ago, 99call said:

???? it already did...or are you joking?.    Right after his purple patch (which was actually just the hard work of Stuart Lancaster filtering through), they gave him a three year extension, despite all those who had been previously bitten by the poison dwarf saying "Don't do it! you'll be sorry".... English sport doesn't care about losing money, with unfullfilled contracts, football had proved that for decades.   Big money going in, big money going out.  A bit like a trophy wife

not joking. love to see the toxic hobbit in charge of england for years. we have enough problems. why shouldn't they have some. 

but i did know about the earlier extension. i was meaning another. seems unlikely. 

[ayepatz]

33 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

love to see the toxic hobbit in charge of england for years

He will be. They can’t afford to sack him. Not enough money in the kitty to buy out his contract, apparently.

[Ken Gargett]

5 minutes ago, ayepatz said:

He will be. They can’t afford to sack him. Not enough money in the kitty to buy out his contract, apparently.

some days are diamonds. 

[99call]

7 minutes ago, ayepatz said:

He will be. They can’t afford to sack him. Not enough money in the kitty to buy out his contract, apparently.

Surely the Prawn Sandwich brigade can host Samoa again at 'Twickers' (said with blue blood lisp),  Pocket the entire attendance fee, not even offer to pay the bill of the Samoan overnight in the Ibis etc.  Surely this will scrape enough cash together to get rid of evil Eddie? 

The funniest thing is the diehard English fans all still love him.   He fits perfectly into the "everybody hates us, just because their jealous, mindset".    I think he'll be there for years, just because they are too proud to admit the error

[ayepatz]

Now that’s a bit more like it!???????

[Ken Gargett]

great test against the irish. 

i think they will regret that the world cup is not this year. they'd have been a serious threat (yes, i'm sure they'll be good next year). 

they defend really well, although we might not be the best yardstick to judge as an opposing attack. and their flat attack with sharp hands looks good. good set pieces. i gather that their quarter final next year will be v south africa or the kiwis. tough group! 

we were at least better than the 2nd test. pocock is truly awesome. thought rodda had his best game. why the hell tupou was kept off till 20 to go is beyond comprehension. and why take off koribeta instead of H-Packard? 

i'm just waiting till we have all the usual foley-loving sycophants start up with their ice-man nonsense. another shocker. three knock-ons? average field kicking. dodgy positioning, missing the crucial penalty and that final pass (didn't look touched to me and even if it was, throw a better pass so they can't do that) when it came down to it. spare me. and that is the best we can do? we'd be better off with a one-handed prop. granted a good game in the first test - law of averages suggests that even he must get one every couple of seasons - but had foley been playing for ireland, we'd have won this series 3-0. 

[gweilgi]

23 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

great test against the irish. 

i think they will regret that the world cup is not this year. they'd have been a serious threat (yes, i'm sure they'll be good next year). 

they defend really well, although we might not be the best yardstick to judge as an opposing attack. and their flat attack with sharp hands looks good. good set pieces. i gather that their quarter final next year will be v south africa or the kiwis. tough group! 

we were at least better than the 2nd test. pocock is truly awesome. thought rodda had his best game. why the hell tupou was kept off till 20 to go is beyond comprehension. and why take off koribeta instead of H-Packard? 

i'm just waiting till we have all the usual foley-loving sycophants start up with their ice-man nonsense. another shocker. three knock-ons? average field kicking. dodgy positioning, missing the crucial penalty and that final pass (didn't look touched to me and even if it was, throw a better pass so they can't do that) when it came down to it. spare me. and that is the best we can do? we'd be better off with a one-handed prop. granted a good game in the first test - law of averages suggests that even he must get one every couple of seasons - but had foley been playing for ireland, we'd have won this series 3-0. 

Agree, great test.  Shame we were robbed by that part-time Kiwi TMO judge who seems to suffer from massive delusions that he calls the game, not the ref.  

Powell was very decent, too -- always ready to muck in, quick with his hands.  

As for Foley: give me a credible alternative.  Who else is out there?  

[Ken Gargett]

4 hours ago, gweilgi said:

Agree, great test.  Shame we were robbed by that part-time Kiwi TMO judge who seems to suffer from massive delusions that he calls the game, not the ref.  

Powell was very decent, too -- always ready to muck in, quick with his hands.  

As for Foley: give me a credible alternative.  Who else is out there?  

i must say i was not so bothered by the ref'ing. i could not see a hand on the ball at the end. both cards were farces, but that is more the fault of the administrators than the refs on field. it has diminished the game. some dodgy decisions but overall, given the lunacy of far too many of the rules, i thought he was okay. way better than that vile heap of crap, gardner. 

agree - powell looked sharp. good backup for genia. that is a positive step.

sure, no one else for fly half but no one is looking. we have huge squad selected and just one fly half? probably the first time in the history of rugby that many selected and only one fly half. especially such a bog average one. i like cheika as a coach but he makes some dumb calls. and like another overrated coach before him, he has a blind spot for anything nsw (and randwick). foley averages a good test every 18 months, i'd guess. the rest are hit/miss/crap/a good moment or two. hopeless if you are building a team. and the 'no one else' argument has run its course. we are not even looking. find someone else. this is surely what the coaches and selectors are paid for. get into super rugby and search high and low. try a promising kid. give them a chance. can't do worse. picking foley test after test gives us crap. he was awful in that last test. don't blame the refs, blame foley and cheika for shoehorning him in time after time and expecting something different. 

here is a question, for someone who is supposedly our great test 5/8, would he start at any nz super rugby side? or even any south african side. 

[gweilgi]

1 hour ago, Ken Gargett said:

i must say i was not so bothered by the ref'ing. i could not see a hand on the ball at the end. both cards were farces, but that is more the fault of the administrators than the refs on field. it has diminished the game. some dodgy decisions but overall, given the lunacy of far too many of the rules, i thought he was okay. way better than that vile heap of crap, gardner. 

The hand on the ball decision could have gone either way, but it was a clear overreach by the TMO judge to tell the ref that time was up and he *must* whistle off the game.  And yes, those cards ... if Folau deserved a yellow, then so did the blithering ox who lifted the Irish captain and then let him drop.  

 

1 hour ago, Ken Gargett said:

agree - powell looked sharp. good backup for genia. that is a positive step.

Although someone needs to tell him about forward passes!  The Wallabies are not a NZ side, after all...

 

1 hour ago, Ken Gargett said:

sure, no one else for fly half but no one is looking. we have huge squad selected and just one fly half? probably the first time in the history of rugby that many selected and only one fly half. especially such a bog average one. i like cheika as a coach but he makes some dumb calls. and like another overrated coach before him, he has a blind spot for anything nsw (and randwick). foley averages a good test every 18 months, i'd guess. the rest are hit/miss/crap/a good moment or two. hopeless if you are building a team. and the 'no one else' argument has run its course. we are not even looking. find someone else. this is surely what the coaches and selectors are paid for. get into super rugby and search high and low. try a promising kid. give them a chance. can't do worse. picking foley test after test gives us crap. he was awful in that last test. don't blame the refs, blame foley and cheika for shoehorning him in time after time and expecting something different. 

I wouldn't know whether Cheika has or has not been looking.  Has he simply not found anyone?  Or are all the decent prospects playing in the other codes?

As for having a blind spot for "anything NSW", that's funny -- there seems to be a fairly general consensus down here that there is a secret fifth amendment to the Queensland constitution requiring all Rugby fans to hate any player or coach from NSW...

 

1 hour ago, Ken Gargett said:

here is a question, for someone who is supposedly our great test 5/8, would he start at any nz super rugby side? or even any south african side. 

Kiwis?  Not sure.  

Safe side ... yes, possibly.  The Bulls or maybe the Stormers...

[Ken Gargett]

4 minutes ago, gweilgi said:

The hand on the ball decision could have gone either way, but it was a clear overreach by the TMO judge to tell the ref that time was up and he *must* whistle off the game.  And yes, those cards ... if Folau deserved a yellow, then so did the blithering ox who lifted the Irish captain and then let him drop.  

 

Although someone needs to tell him about forward passes!  The Wallabies are not a NZ side, after all...

 

I wouldn't know whether Cheika has or has not been looking.  Has he simply not found anyone?  Or are all the decent prospects playing in the other codes?

As for having a blind spot for "anything NSW", that's funny -- there seems to be a fairly general consensus down here that there is a secret fifth amendment to the Queensland constitution requiring all Rugby fans to hate any player or coach from NSW...

 

Kiwis?  Not sure.  

Safe side ... yes, possibly.  The Bulls or maybe the Stormers...

not sure about spliting up bits to respond so forgive the overall nature of this.

the cards were silly. can't believe they have cited folau and suggest he should have had a red. that is as absurd as that red in the first nz v france test.

the irish are very bad at that lifting. you lift with one player only, you put that player at risk. not sure it should be card but it most definitely should not be one against folou. undoubtedly league is bursting at the seams with top halves. rugby has bugger all. but does anyone really see foley guiding us to a world cup? may be there is no one but lord spare me, get out there and search. perhaps had they got ponga earlier they could have convinced him. there simply must be others. get a star schoolboy and have him at least on the bench. don't care if he has not played super rugby. lynagh came into that great reds team from school. not a club game. mclean would have had a handful at best. suspect ella ditto. 

in general, correct. our DNA is such that all nsw players, coaches, referees (epecially), blades of grass are not to be trusted at best.

but in truth, look to something like the origin. i'm a big fan of much of that nsw team. a-carr, tedesco, mitchell (as a player but he is a grub), cleary, klemmer, cordner. others. plenty in the past - lazarus, daley. many others. not so much for rugby but someone like mcqueen was hugely respected up here. as was farr-jones, kearns, blades, many others. an origin selector, - he played one origin (the very first one) told me only a few years ago that nsw just didn't understand origin. even with yesterday, not sure they still get it in the same way we do. 

as for foley making other super rugby teams, it seems we are not far off in our thoughts. and that alone should make us both despair.