Rugby 2021-2022 Season

Plus the Womens rugby is blossoming with talk of a womens Lions tour.

I find the Saracen's thing strange. Are all those farmed out players going back? Who paid their wages this past year? Surely they've now got good knowledge of lots of other teams moves.
Are the new law changes coming in?

New lawz????

New lawz???

Nigel Owens said the ball held up in the act of scoring will now be a defensive scrum. Christ knows how that improves anything! WRONG! I mean it's a goal line dropout. 😀 (Fewer scrums = good)

He said it was a goalline drop out didn't he?

Yeah, corrected myself. 🙂

(Fewer scrums = good)

NRL has been stellar all season, any interest in a League thread?

In case anyone interested - Joe Marler's autobiography is 99p on Kindle at the mo

I"m a Marler fan but..

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/welsh-rugby-club-players-stunned-21264337

2 times world cup winning former all black turns out for Hendy against local rivals Pontarddulais.

But one of the boys did let him know that although he had played in two World Cups he’d never played in a Hendy-Bont derby and just to try his best!

Ha ha thats good.

"If he wanted to play 10, I wouldn’t tell him no! He can play wherever he wants."

Cracking AA.

Something about the Kiwis; they seem to genuinely like playing rugby, no matter what level they have reached in the game. I remember having a beer at a club house on a Sunday and the vets tournament going on had guys well into their 60's and 70's playing. They got a band to wear that (I think) meant you weren't allowed to tackle them below/for several metres. Still; I think I would prefer playing against Franks to Jerry Collins.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/33025064

NZ V OZ on sky now for those who took the now TV month.
More fun than the lions already

They scored tries n stuff! It was bizarre! 😂

England watchers : Farell vs Smith. Whats the consensus?

https://www.ultimaterugby.com/news/barnes-calls-for-on-eddie-jones-to-drop-owen-farrell/641262

Smith much more creative, out and out 10. Not weak defensively.
He's got that Mike Brown angry man face which is hysterical

Eddie would keep Farrell and drop Ford for Smith I think. Really looking forward to the new season, after a disappointing Lions, autumn internationals look good. Also reffed my first game of the new season yesterday, so good to be playing proper rugby again, the law trials are going to take a little getting used to mind.

See Bristol beat Exeter decently yesterday.

In the women’s league.

Farrell was a decent captain and good at Eddie’s prescription Rugby and a second rate centre, Ford more instinctive, flatter but terrible on the back foot. Smith with a decent pair of centres would be a much better option and proved that being brown onto the big stage didn’t throw him. And, Itoje come of age, he should be captain by now and indeed he needs that exposure as captain 2 years out of the RWC.

So for me, Farrells time is over.

Some chatter about World Rugby considering WC's every 2 years. Seems bonkers to me, but is there a good reason?

Some chatter about World Rugby considering WC’s every 2 years. Seems bonkers to me, but is there a good reason?

Apparently just copying the other World Cup. I'm pretty sure there'll be money involved. I actually think it's a good idea, it'll give the Tier 2 teams a lot more opportunities to play the big boys. Japan has improved from being a joke to being a team that has to be taken seriously. Would be great to see the U.S., Canada, etc. improve to that level too.

Oh footy is going 2 years is it?

Just read Gerard Meaghers Breakdown in the Grauniad. I don't often really dislike what journo's say about rugby but this one was twaddle for the sake of it.
Basically, some old guys are still really good, and some young guys may take their places.
It's like he went to Kitson and said,
GM " Damn I'm stuck for ideas. "
RK " At this time of year I use this article, just change the names for the top 10 oldest and youngest players and we have instant clickbait"

Well I say don't click, I've read it and will save you the bother.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/14/absent-lions-give-england-young-hopefuls-their-premiership-chance-rugby-union-the-breakdown

https://www.90min.com/posts/fifa-world-cup-2-year-plan-explained

https://www.news24.com/sport/rugby/rugbychampionship/world-rugby-considers-staging-world-cup-every-2-years-orange-cards-report-20210914

Thanks thols2.

Ok read those. I think there should be one important rules change. A limit to player minutes played each year. It will mean bigger squads, more opportunities, less knackered and hence less injured players.

Who is your favourite player from another country?

I think my new man crush is Faff deKlerk. We often hear pundits saying that teams need "players with a bit of the dog". I am not sure they meant badly trained jack russells! If he was a dog he wold be chewing your furniture and peeing in corners ( he probably does do this)

He is such a good player, must be the most irritating SH around like now and he is totally fearless ( but does overstep into shithousery to often)

But rugby is an entertainment business and he is entertaining to watch.

Do you mean outside the 6N? As an Englander I am a huge fan of Dupont, for me he is probs the best NH player in 2021. Outside that Ardie Savea is brilliant to watch, typical AB's complete player, he stops anyone, skins wingers for fun and always got a bit of magic up his sleeve. De Klerk is a dirty little cheat, hard to like. People say that I don't like him cos he beats us, but I used to be a massive Shane Williams fan and he scored a billion awesome tries vs England, But he wasn't a snakey little ****er, he was just sheer brilliance.

Was all for kolbe but he as with faf not a fan of his antics.
And given I played 9 in the borders in the late 80s that's saying something.

I once got a stern warning from a ref in Hampshire when I played down there "I don't know what you're doing but get punched again and I'm carding you" to be fair everytime the opposition 9 went to feed the scrum I raked his ankle.

What is it with scrum halves? Buggers the lot of them

Who is your favourite player from another country?

Not entirely sure, but the first player to come to mind is Charles Piutau.

Charles Piutau.

Was my 2nd choice after Savea. Incredible player. Doing good things at Bristol.

Ford, both Vunipolas and Jamie Gorge dropped from Englandahire squad, Lynagh's boy in

Vunipolas needed to go but ford and George? Seems a bit harsh

I take it Farrell is still in?

Ouch

Ford, both Vunipolas and Jamie Gorge dropped from Englandahire squad, Lynagh’s boy in

Eddie likes to make poeple worry about their positions. I bet we see all of them back by 6N

If Lucu hadn't been in the air he'd have taken his head off. That's a proper dangerous tackle.

England training squads often aren't a reflection of full squads.

Dupont is probably my favourite non-english player. Faf de Klerk has all the skills, but too often choses the dirty option to be likeable.

Farrell is in yes. Not a surprise, this is the Jones / Farrell era after all.

If itoje has to wait another 2.5yrs for a Captaincy i reckon thats holding him back, i only think Jones will allow that if Farrell is off the field and Itoje proves its not a distraction to his game.

Best “other” player for me is o’Driscoll. Probably the best centre of the recent era, we havent really seen much better although SA are on the verge with a couple.

Favourite non-Scottish player is Itoje, despite playing in the Championship he was fantastic against the Saffers.He has also cut out the bell-endery that got him a broken nose against Glasgow. By the way; good luck to all the Englandshire supporters with Cockers in situ. The story is that he would invite senior players at Edinburgh who attempted to give input out to the car park. With apologies to TJ, Embra needed a bit of steel when he took over but maybe not THAT strong an approach!

I think thats a fair enough summary on cockers - he was what we needed at the time but seemed to have taken the team as far as he could

I would have given him another year tho as last year was just a disaster for the scots teams with more than half the season played with less than half a squad

So I knocked BT Sport off at the end of last season. It was fantastic coverage of the Premiership, they showed every single game, every weekend which was especially good considering we couldn't go and watch.

They've now gone back to business as usual and are just showing selected games. No problem thought I, I'll save my £25 a month and watch the excellent CH5 weekly roundup. Which has disappeared!

It's now on https://www.premiershiprugby.com/prtv/ . Flatman's still on it and they do show games after transmission free to air too. It's quite smooth to watch via XBox on yer big telly too just in case anyone else was missing out and doesn't want to watch on your laptop......

Try of the week is worth a watch too, there were some crackers in the first round.

Oh no

the Mish has cut off his mullet!

Will he ever be the same player again?