Rugby...what rugby?

[Hitcher]

start watching League

I was forced to get a fix last night after the ABs wimped out. The best game of the weekend was the Storm taking Manly to bits. Ouch.

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I was forced to get a fix last night after the ABs wimped out. The best game of the weekend was the Storm taking Manly to bits. Ouch.

Brilliant performance by the Storm. I'm hoping for an Eels upset tonight - when they click they are dazzling

[Headbanger]

So how are the AB's going to beat superior teams?

By scoring more points

[Grahameeboy]

By scoring more points

I thought it was "Trys"

[Headbanger]

I thought it was "Trys"

Nope, definitely points, There are a number of ways of scoring points. the idea is to simply have more of them then the opposing team at the final whistle (or siren).

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I thought it was "Trys"

No your thinking of Rugby League. Not the infringement and kick fest that is Rugby Union

[MisterD]

...it's only because of this that New Zealanders continue to tune in to such shit

Have you checked the figures for the crowds and viewers at for the NPC this season? The AB's have been serving up tripe, but Auckland V Manawatu this arvo was a belter...

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Have you checked the figures for the crowds and viewers at for the NPC this season? The AB's have been serving up tripe, but Auckland V Manawatu this arvo was a belter...

Blind, dyed in the wool, indoctrinated sheep....

Religion: The Opiate of the Masses

[Swoop]

I do already, Hell, I'd watch just about anything that consisted of a bunch of fit ladies in tiny skirts. Pity the cameras don't go for the under wear shots any more.

And I think there is room to introduce a little kissing and rubbing into the game.

Do they swap shirts at the end of a final? Might have to tune in for that if they do...

[Winston001]

Repeating yourself endlessly like this is not going to make this come true...a game that is big in about four cities worldwide...

Here's how every team in this hemisphere plays:

Tackles 1-3: Big forward trundles up, gets tackled, falls over tries to make it look like the tacklers are stopping him getting up.

Tackle 4&5: Ball gets passed a couple wider to a "back" who may attempt to actually beat a tackler.

Tackle 6: Kick & chase.

How anyone watches 80 minutes of that is a mystery to me.

I agree although I'm prepared to watch a few games and be proven wrong. Used to watch league a bit in the days when union was basically rucking and not much running. However rugby union today is a much more complex and varied game than league and IMHO is better entertainment.

Went to a Warriors match once and was genuinely surprised. Most of the players stood around doing nothing for much of the game. You don't see that on TV because the camera focuses on the 5/6 guys in action. The lack of activity made a very odd spectacle.

Having said that, league has it fans and thats fine.

[oldrider]

All Blacks: Hammered once again, and comprehensively so. Don’t be fooled the scoreline – the Boks took the foot off their throats for long periods of the game.

Face it, they've been a team with no composure for more than 3 seasons now. No international sides (beyond the minnows) fear them. Making their Haka all the more excruciating.

Last night they looked like the Warriors on a bad day.

Danielle Carter ain't looking to me like the cure for all the All Black's problems. He had a shocker overall last night: Gifting a try to S.A with a lovely intercept pass. Single-handedly bombing a try with a terrible pass over the sideline to Rokocoko on the break with only one to beat. They were many other instances were he was pressurised and he looked like it was getting to him (maybe he believed the NZ media wish that he would make the difference)…. Sorry, the gap is in reality quite a bit wider than that.


Doesn't help that the “brains trust” of Henry, Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dee are unable to learn from their portfolio of past mistakes. Even when they eventually do, they just make new ones anyway. The Steven Donald experiment worked well eh? He had his arse felt yet again. And what was all this bullshit about switching 1st and 2nd Five positions all about? Like that was gonna make a difference.

Beyond Nonu (who's hands were like feet), the backline didn't have a shit show of troubling the defence until Toeava was introduced after 50 mins.

The forward pack appears to be nigh on retarded at line-out time. However I’m not convinced that it’s just an absence on quality ball that makes the All Blacks shit – they either make mistakes through lack of skill when they do have it, or they are indecisive, purposeless or clueless when they have it

General decision-making is terrible: Cowan is thick and one-dimensional. Their kicking is mostly aimless. Most are guilty of trying to run on occasions that seem completely incomprehensible. What about McCaw opting for a scrum rather than taking points in front when behind by 10 late in the second half? Yes Captain Fantastic(ally overrated)

Ask the NZ Warriors how successful relying on aerial cross kicks out wide to score tries is. But then, I guess you have few other options when you don't have the skills to play a running/passing game - as most rugby (union) teams clearly don't.



All and all...most enjoyable watching them (once again) get taken apart. And lets not pretend (like the media are) that it was just a superior kicking game that made the difference.

Really looking forward to another momentous World Cup choke, but not as much as I'm enjoying the constant excitement and quality of games on offer throughout the NRL competition in the superior code - Rugby League. Great defences (huge hits), well constructed tries (which decide games as opposed to shots at goal for infringements all the time).
The Great Game – a fast paced free flowing contest that retains shape and continuity through the skills and speed of quality athletes (from halves through to 120kg props).


RIP Rugby Union.

"All of this" from some one who isn't interested in Rugby Union? Face it S-C, you are obviously wild about the game!

Did you get rejected by a petty official or something way back?

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brilliant performance by the storm. I'm hoping for an eels upset tonight - when they click they are dazzling

electric eels - game of the round!!!

[MisterD]

Blind, dyed in the wool, indoctrinated sheep....

Religion: The Opiate of the Masses

You don't get it do you? As I've pointed out in these inter-code arguments before, the vital ingredients to a good comp are local rivalries and competitive games...that's what this year's NPC has in common with the ARL and NRL.

[MisterD]

I agree although I'm prepared to watch a few games and be proven wrong.

I quite often watch the Superleague when sky puts it on of a morning if Warrington or either of the Hull teams are playing (shall I repeat myself on the local rivalries argument?).

Fundamentally they are different games, rugby is about a contest for possession, league is about taking turns to try to score...

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league is about taking turns to try to score...

Anyone that understands the game knows that the defences in the game are about creating pressure and turning over possession as well. Last night's game saw Saint George with 14 completed sets to Paramatta's 1 in the first 25 minutes. Saint George played conservatively but Para's defense was brilliant and soaked it up.

St. George's game plan was about posession and field position and waiting for errors (a negative style) and it didn't work.

A negative, boring, spoiling approach is often successful in Rugby Union - again, another reason why the sport is truly shit