The Rugby Thread

[talkshowhost86]

Anyone watch that Lions v Canes game? Crazy. The Chiefs were outclassed by the Crusaders in the other semi but they were right up there with a chance around the hour but the Crusaders were just to good, should be a good 10-15 point win for them against the lions in the final.

Damian McKenzie is an immense player, he's got Ben Smith ahead of him for the AB jersey but DM is only 20 I think and I can't see him not being NZ first choice 15 in the next 4 or 5 years.

I saw the highlights of the Lions v Canes. Looked awesome, and fair play to the Lions. I think home advantage (not sure how they've secured that) might help them in the final as well.

 

[E17yid]

I saw the highlights of the Lions v Canes. Looked awesome, and fair play to the Lions. I think home advantage (not sure how they've secured that) might help them in the final as well.

They only scrapped through against the Sharks in the quarters as well so they can count themselves a bit lucky. Crusaders will do em in the final, though.

By the time that finishes the football season will start so it's been a good summer with the lions on and everything. Won't have to wait long til the Autumn internationals either.

 

[talkshowhost86]

http://www.pro12rugby.com/2017/08/01/statement-expansion-guinness-pro14-championship/

Celtic Rugby and the South African Rugby Union have today confirmed that the Toyota Cheetahs and the Southern Kings will join an expanded Guinness PRO14 tournament in time for the upcoming 2017/18 season.

A long-term strategic agreement has been signed by both parties which will allow the participation of two South African franchises in the renamed Guinness PRO14 Championship.

The agreement means that the Championship will take place across the northern and southern hemispheres and marks the first phase of expansion as the Guinness PRO14 becomes a truly global tournament.

This move will contribute to the drive for ever higher standards that we demand across the tournament and provide greater resources to our clubs who will compete in the most testing environment the Championship has ever created.

We can also reassure supporters across the Championship that all current home and away Derby games have been protected – these fixtures are sacrosanct to the tournament and those tribal rivalries are just one element of what makes the Guinness PRO14 so special.

With a new format, new teams and new audiences the Guinness PRO14 – which leads World Rugby statistics for Positive Play – will hit even greater heights in 2017/18.

NEW FORMAT

The addition of the Toyota Cheetahs and the Southern Kings will require the Championship to introduce a new Conference format as a league format is not suited to a 14-team cross-border tournament.

The Guinness PRO14 will adopt a two-conference model which will allows for the new clubs to be added into the Championship without need to add extra rounds in 2017/18.

Conference A

• Munster (IRFU)
• Ospreys (WRU)
• Glasgow Warriors (SRU)
• Cardiff Blues (WRU)
• Connacht (IRFU)
• Zebre Rugby Club (FIR)
• Toyota Cheetahs (SA Rugby)

Conference B

• Scarlets (WRU)
• Leinster (IRFU)
• Ulster (IRFU)
• Edinburgh (SRU)
• Benetton Rugby (FIR)
• Dragons (WRU)
• Southern Kings (SA Rugby)

• Each conference will contain 7 teams with an equal split of teams from each union
• Every team plays 21 regular season games
• Every team to play each other at least once
• All Home & Away Derby fixtures will remain in place
• Italian, Scottish and South African teams will play an additional Derby fixture to even out the schedule (e.g. Edinburgh will play Glasgow Warriors three times)
• The Guinness PRO14 Final Series will now include Quarter-Finals allowing six clubs to reach the knock-out stages (teams 1-3 from each Conference)
• The top 3 clubs from each conference will qualify for the Champions Cup while the team with the highest points total outside of those six teams across both conferences will claim the final Champions Cup place

South African clubs will not be eligible to qualify for EPCR tournaments at present

The Conferences need to fulfil two criteria. First, there must be an equal number of teams from each union in both conferences. Secondly, there must be a competitive balance based upon the previous season’s final placings that feed into union rankings.

To create an equal number of teams per union each conference will contain:

• 2 Irish teams; 2 Welsh; 1 Italian; 1 Scottish, 1 South African

Additionally, for the entrance of the South African teams their Super Rugby final placings were used for ranking.

Please note: To maintain competitive balance the Conferences will be reset each season based upon rankings from the previous campaign.

FIXTURES

The regular season will consist of 21 Rounds, which is one game less than the previous format. These Rounds will be made up from a combination of:

• 12 Home & Away games in your team’s conference
• 7 Home OR Away games against each team from the other conference
• An additional 2 Rounds to ensure all derby fixtures are played home & away (this means Scottish, Italian, South African clubs play three derbies)

The fixture list has been drafted for all 21 rounds, Rounds 1-13 will be confirmed next week (commencing August 7) after the Championship’s broadcast partners have made their selections for live television broadcasts and the clubs have been consulted.

 

[talkshowhost86]

So is everyone clear?

What I'm not clear on is how you can have a quarter final with 6 teams...but I assume it'll be a 3rd v 2nd, with the winner playing 1st, and then the winner of that playing the equivalent from the other conference.

Either way I don't like it very much. Whenever teams have to play different fixtures from the other teams there's a risk of a lack of fairness and the best teams not necessarily coming out on top. Also it will diminish a couple of the 'derbies' as they'll have to play them three times now.

Obviously needs to be given a chance, but all looks a bit 'Intertoto Cup' at this stage. Hopefully the money will be worth it!

 

[talkshowhost86]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40823540

Good to see the All Blacks continuing to not get any preferential treatment.

What an absolute piss take

 

[talkshowhost86]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40851494

Tuilagi and Solomona sent home from England training camp due to 'team culture issues'.

What on earth does that mean?

 

[UncleBuck]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40851494

Tuilagi and Solomona sent home from England training camp due to 'team culture issues'.

What on earth does that mean?

Probab Means we won't see Manu in an England shirt again...

 

[talkshowhost86]

Probab Means we won't see Manu in an England shirt again...

Yep that will be him done surely.

Looking on Twitter it sounds like the issue was 'alcohol related'.

If true Manu really is a plank and Solomona needs a better role model...although based on his club loyalties so far in his career it wouldn't surprise me if he was a bit of a tool as well.

 

[mpickard2087]

Out drinking till 3am apparently, its not like they've just had the off season to unwind for a bit, oh no... Idiotic.

Also seen that the senior players were left to the decide the punishment.

 

[E17yid]

At least he's not assaulting female police officers anymore, a step in the right direction.

 

[talkshowhost86]

At least he's not assaulting female police officers anymore, a step in the right direction.

Yeah in many ways this is progress. He can now get drunk without attacking people.

What a hero.

I hope he doesn't play for England again after this....and to be honest I could have done without him even before this.

I don't care how good he is (and that's up for debate as he hasn't played for so long) he doesn't deserve to wear the shirt.

 

[E17yid]

Yeah in many ways this is progress. He can now get drunk without attacking people.

What a hero.

I hope he doesn't play for England again after this....and to be honest I could have done without him even before this.

I don't care how good he is (and that's up for debate as he hasn't played for so long) he doesn't deserve to wear the shirt.

Jones doesn't strike me as a 3rd chances kind of guy so I'd imagine he's done.

You've got plenty of options at centre with Te'o and Joseph. That Slade guy has fallen down the pecking order a bit but I've always thought he looks like a good player (was a bit meh in the Argentina tour IIRC)

Either way, I wouldn't worry. Looks like Farrell will be your starting 12 anyway so it just becomes a choice of who to play at outside centre.

 

[talkshowhost86]

On a separate note @E17yid I think I've asked you before but do you listen to the Eggchasers podcast?

If not they are doing previews each week at the moment of one club from the Premiership and one from the pro-14. They did Ospreys this week and didn't seem to be overly positive. General consensus appears to be that even though they've got some big names (Webb, Biggar, AWJ etc) they really don't have enough strength in depth, and the Ospreys fan who wrote in with his review was fairly dismissive of their pack in general.

The slightly odd conclusion they reached was that they'd be better off letting Biggar go now and getting Webb and Sam Davies (is that right?) together more regularly to try and build a partnership.

Sounded fairly daft to me, but their reasoning was that with Hook coming in as well, they've got a bit of a surplus of options at 10.

 

[talkshowhost86]

Jones doesn't strike me as a 3rd chances kind of guy so I'd imagine he's done.

You've got plenty of options at centre with Te'o and Joseph. That Slade guy has fallen down the pecking order a bit but I've always thought he looks like a good player (was a bit meh in the Argentina tour IIRC)

Either way, I wouldn't worry. Looks like Farrell will be your starting 12 anyway so it just becomes a choice of who to play at outside centre.

Based on the training squad Jones has just called up, he's picked a lot of Farrell-like players who can play 12 (Lozowski, Slade, Francis, Mallinder) so I think you're right that we'll continue with the creative 12 for a while. We do need an option to biff it up the middle though, and beyond Te'o I'm not sure who we have other than Tuilagi.

But as I said I don't really care about the rugby side of it if the player can't be bothered to represent his team properly. And it's hardly his first indiscretion.

Good riddance I say.

 

[E17yid]

On a separate note @E17yid I think I've asked you before but do you listen to the Eggchasers podcast?

If not they are doing previews each week at the moment of one club from the Premiership and one from the pro-14. They did Ospreys this week and didn't seem to be overly positive. General consensus appears to be that even though they've got some big names (Webb, Biggar, AWJ etc) they really don't have enough strength in depth, and the Ospreys fan who wrote in with his review was fairly dismissive of their pack in general.

The slightly odd conclusion they reached was that they'd be better off letting Biggar go now and getting Webb and Sam Davies (is that right?) together more regularly to try and build a partnership.

Sounded fairly daft to me, but their reasoning was that with Hook coming in as well, they've got a bit of a surplus of options at 10.

I'm a big fan of Sam Davies but he's not ready yet. I know he's a small lad but his defence is nowhere near as good as Biggars. Thing is, Webb will be gone in the next year I would've thought so not really sure on that fellow Ospreys fans logic there. Baker and King are good players but they're not standout so our back row, other than Tips is a bit weak but Wes be looking good as long as we had Lydiate back but fuck knows what form he's going to come back in. My dream signing would be to get Moriarty over here but there's more chance of me getting a call up. We're weak in the front row but we've got a couple of good young locks coming through (Thornton and Beard) who look promising.

I'll have to keep an eye out on that podcast and get back to you. Cheers for the heads up though, mate.

 

[talkshowhost86]

I'm a big fan of Sam Davies but he's not ready yet. I know he's a small lad but his defence is nowhere near as good as Biggars. Thing is, Webb will be gone in the next year I would've thought so not really sure on that fellow Ospreys fans logic there. Baker and King are good players but they're not standout so our back row, other than Tips is a bit weak but Wes be looking good as long as we had Lydiate back but fuck knows what form he's going to come back in. My dream signing would be to get Moriarty over here but there's more chance of me getting a call up. We're weak in the front row but we've got a couple of good young locks coming through (Thornton and Beard) who look promising.

I'll have to keep an eye out on that podcast and get back to you. Cheers for the heads up though, mate.

I should warn you that two of the presenters are English, and the third one who is Welsh is a bit of a bell-end (as in arrogant business-man type) and they all agree with me about the pro12/14.

It's quite a good laugh though. It's sort of the equivalent of three of us from this thread making a podcast in that it's just about as well informed and there's quite a lot of bickering.

They did say that Halfpenny was a good signing for Scarlets though...so they can get it wrong at times

 

[E17yid]

I should warn you that two of the presenters are English, and the third one who is Welsh is a bit of a bell-end (as in arrogant business-man type) and they all agree with me about the pro12/14.

It's quite a good laugh though. It's sort of the equivalent of three of us from this thread making a podcast in that it's just about as well informed and there's quite a lot of bickering.

They did say that Halfpenny was a good signing for Scarlets though...so they can get it wrong at times

I listen to the Scrum V podcast on occasion as it's more Welsh focused but I'll keep an eye out for your one.

 

[E17yid]

That super rugby final was good but Peyper did his best to ruin it. Really brave effort from the lions in that second half with 14 men and they made a good contest of it despite Peypers best efforts but no joy. Good watch though.

 

[talkshowhost86]

That super rugby final was good but Peyper did his best to ruin it. Really brave effort from the lions in that second half with 14 men and they made a good contest of it despite Peypers best efforts but no joy. Good watch though.

What did he do to ruin it? I've only seen the highlights but don't think there's any issue with the red card.

Good effort from the Crusaders to go there and win in Jo'burg (and they were two scores up before the red card to be fair) but looked like a great fight back from the Lions.

 

[talkshowhost86]

In other news I'm heading off to Belfast at the end of the month for the last day of the Women's World Cup.

Looking forward to it and hoping England are in the final. By all accounts they should be but I've been stung too recently by England in World Cups to be confident!