Summer rugby thread

League isn’t good to watch. It has more in common with American football than proper rugby. Shite game.

TJ are you really accusing anyone of being one eyed GUFFAW 😆 😆

Run and wriggle is ok but is one dimensional so appeals to the hard of thinking.

Unions a boring, out of date, winter sport played by toffs.

and lots of ex groundshaggers

sport played by toffs.

Ahem….Are you calling moi a toff?

Unions a boring, out of date, winter sport played by toffs

The above is a boring out of date opinion held by people with a chip on their shoulder.

Unions a boring, out of date, winter sport played by toffs

Go to any Rugby club in any village in Wales and find a Toff…. may take you a while… and you’ll need to park the whippets up outside 😉

Now now chaps – no bickering please. We are not wendyball fans 🙂 I have been attempting to be mildly amusing

Predictions for the next round of games? Can England / Ireland / Wales do it?

Ireland
My suspicion is Ireland shot their bolt last week – that was their chance to win and they will find it hard to hit the heights again.

Wales
– might just do it – they know what they have to do and they have the players to do it – or is Preistlands confidence shattered and will that cost them? The back row for Wales needs to really step up – they are the guys to do it – now its time to live up to the reputation

England
– still lacking the firepower I think and the intensity. Has learning to behave cost Hartley his edge? They should be hurting from being blown away in the first 20 and should have some confidence from the comeback. Time to stand up and be counted. Can they find the creativity in the backs? Some good signs in the secondhalf last week with Foden an Ashton looking to show a bit more and I like the look of Joseph. They so need to get the ball to their best backs. Farell at 12 Joseph at 13?

Scotland –
I suspect this is the banana skin. As a Scotland fan I veer between hopeless optimism and deepest pessimism as always. Never a comfortable ride. I think the physicality will be too much and that Samoa will force too many turnovers. There is this difficult question over style – Scotland have the players to play fast and loose and it suits them to do so – but that could play into the hands of Samoa – we saw this last week and Samoa could punish them in the was Fiji could not. Robinson I believe finds it hard to set the tactics to play like Edinburgh with pace, offloads, Blair and Laidlaw swapping positions and every ruck ball having 3 options of runners to pass to with a lot of off the cuff plays. Should Scotland play a structured set piece game?

Visser looked very muted that game – patrolling his wing mainly not appearing all over the place. Will he and Robinson have the courage to give him the free role he enjoys for Edinburgh? They guys around him know how he plays and are used to it

Will Weir get some significant game time?

Not sure I agree with your view that the welsh backrow need to step up Warburton has been quiet, I’d favour Tipuric, but but Ryan was awesome +1 last week and Lydiate was good too. Dealing with Pocock is everyones job especially the front five who need to blast him out of the tackle area, the first man must get him gone. What Wales need is a lineout, with Owens at Hooker and Ian Evans in the middle, all the other welsh locks are front jumpers so only one of Girafferis, Davis and AW Jones can play or the balance goes to cock. Jones and Evans for me. Gethin, AW Jones and Evans need to clatter Pocock out of the way at every available opportunity.

Do we know what the Samoa team is likely to be and how long have they had to prepare? These factors will be key. Scotland will need to keep it tight and play for territory and posession and only open up at the right times. Could be a good test to see how Wee Jock McVisser steps up.

AA fairy snuff

Samoa have been playing together in the pacific nations cup and won it but are in a bit of disarray with senior players including their captain falling out with the board

It really should be a cracker of a game

http://tvnz.co.nz/rugby-news/samoa-axe-outspoken-skipper-4892131

Remind me A-A how Samoa first made their name on the world stage… 🙂

You cruel man duckman 🙂 Its a good job that wasn’t the whole of Samoa

Any word on whether the Samoa game will be on TV?

Don’t know. Maybe ESPN?

Its a good job that wasn’t the whole of Samoa

😆

Samoa are still above Scotland in the IRB rankings it would appear

1(1) LNEW ZEALAND 91.43
2(2) AUSTRALIA 86.77
3(3) SOUTH AFRICA 85.47
4(5) WALES 82.54
5(4) ENGLAND 82.49
6(7) ARGENTINA 81.22
7(6) FRANCE 81.06
8(8) IRELAND 79.85
9(9) SAMOA 77.64
10(11) SCOTLAND 76.56
11(10) TONGA 76.19
12(12) ITALY 75.26

ESPN are showing UFC when the Scotland game is supposed to be on. 🙁

Even wiziwig doesn’t have it listed. Still, I could always watch USA vs Chile instead 😕

Samoa would be even higher if they hadn’t been cheated by the ref in that WC game against SA.
Same ref that cheated Saturday morning with the scrum penalty.
He does like his favourites.

Anyone watching England v Sa Barbars?
Apparently a blatant elbow in the neck isn’t a yellow card offence! That was the most dangerous bit of play I’ve seen in a long time and it went completely unpunished!

Not watching, Dez. Who on who?

Yep v naughty and deliberate.

Worried about Monye though. I hate out cold moments, and it looked ‘necky’..

Who on who

SA no.11 on Christian Wade. Amazed how Wade just walked off just flexing his neck a bit!

Yeah, Monye one looked nasty – I thought he didn’t look out cold (breathing too heavily), so it could be a bad neck injury.

England making it look good, in attack at least. Are these barbarians crap then?

Oh look crap defence from England. Expecting a Barbarian try any min.

Watching now.

What’s up with that pitch? Looks v odd!

Nicknames for the players – I find the rugby fans often come up with good one.

Of the scots

Big Al Kelloch is know as “the ruck inspector” for not working as hard as he might at them – really amuses me that

Sean Lamont is known as Shlong

Hugo Southwell was of course Shug

Surely the welsh guys have some? The hair bear bunch were great

Surely the wWelsh guys have some?

FTFY……

Well, apart from Cap’n Hovis, there’s obviously Girafferis.

Flashy, hard grow grass in dust.

Girafferis.

🙂 – I had forgotton

Who is cap’n hovis? pardon me for being a bit slow

This is like watching a schoolboy team.

Have been forced to turn over to the football now. Will watch the 2nd half later

Glitcheroo!

Glitchbump

Dezb eng gone crap now. Well crapper than they were.

Dezb eng gone crap now. Well crapper than they were.

Tryola! Long arms are a useful trait in Mr May.

Edit: and long legs, what a run. Jeepers.

Jonny May;

Nicely done!

Two tries by gloucester’s finest?

Mr Tickle for sure, that 2nd try he could have reached over about 10 men. Go go gadget arms?

Reacharound? What are you suggesting?

😉