Aussie Pro Rugby
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i never made it to the old one, was it that bad? or was it more just a case of too hard to update....or two small? i was surprised they rebuilt it as it never seemed a very old stadium to me on TV
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i never made it to the old one, was it that bad? or was it more just a case of too hard to update....or two small? i was surprised they rebuilt it as it never seemed a very old stadium to me on TV
@Kiwiwomble said in Aussie Rugby:
i never made it to the old one, was it that bad? or was it more just a case of too hard to update....or two small? i was surprised they rebuilt it as it never seemed a very old stadium to me on TV
i thought viewing-wise it was pretty good. getting a beer could be pretty shit though
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i never made it to the old one, was it that bad? or was it more just a case of too hard to update....or two small? i was surprised they rebuilt it as it never seemed a very old stadium to me on TV
@Kiwiwomble said in Aussie Rugby:
i never made it to the old one, was it that bad? or was it more just a case of too hard to update....or two small? i was surprised they rebuilt it as it never seemed a very old stadium to me on TV
The problem was the concourses and access.
It was really outdated in terms of safety and being able to get large groups of people in and out safely.
From what I understand given it's bones it would have been a nightmare to refurbish (from a concourse point of view).
I also found the lower bowl quite shallow in terms of perspective - you'd sit halfway up but still not feel on top of the action.
I think the new stands will be steeper and a better viewing experience.
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@Kiwiwomble said in Aussie Rugby:
i never made it to the old one, was it that bad? or was it more just a case of too hard to update....or two small? i was surprised they rebuilt it as it never seemed a very old stadium to me on TV
The problem was the concourses and access.
It was really outdated in terms of safety and being able to get large groups of people in and out safely.
From what I understand given it's bones it would have been a nightmare to refurbish (from a concourse point of view).
I also found the lower bowl quite shallow in terms of perspective - you'd sit halfway up but still not feel on top of the action.
I think the new stands will be steeper and a better viewing experience.
@KiwiMurph thats what Marvel is going to be like for the AB's later in the year, that lower tear is very flat, happy to be in the top deck
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@KiwiMurph thats what Marvel is going to be like for the AB's later in the year, that lower tear is very flat, happy to be in the top deck
@Kiwiwomble Good call - I think I ended up with middle tier for the Bledisloe.
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https://marvelstadium.io-media.com/web/index.html
this was awesome to showing mrs womble what the view would be like, shes not a huge fan of heights
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i never made it to the old one, was it that bad? or was it more just a case of too hard to update....or two small? i was surprised they rebuilt it as it never seemed a very old stadium to me on TV
@Kiwiwomble said in Aussie Rugby:
i never made it to the old one, was it that bad? or was it more just a case of too hard to update....or two small? i was surprised they rebuilt it as it never seemed a very old stadium to me on TV
Yes it was shit. Took ages for the crowd to get in and disburse. There wasn't much thought given to movement for drinks, food and toilets. The seating angle also made you feel like you should stand to view anything.
Basically the opposite of Suncorp when Suncorp was new.
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At the time I thought they could have re-done the seating and maybe brightened up the concourse a little.
But there were too many choke points that were the result of the 1980s design, and too many structural components that needed altering.
It is kind of fucked we haven't had a decent rectangular field stadium in Sydney for a couple of years (the one in Parramatta is excellent, but hardly "Sydney" for the rugby wankoscenti), but the pain is nearly over.
Well, except for Tahs fans... that pain is never over...
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@Kiwiwomble said in Aussie Rugby:
i never made it to the old one, was it that bad? or was it more just a case of too hard to update....or two small? i was surprised they rebuilt it as it never seemed a very old stadium to me on TV
i thought viewing-wise it was pretty good. getting a beer could be pretty shit though
@mariner4life said in Aussie Rugby:
@Kiwiwomble said in Aussie Rugby:
i never made it to the old one, was it that bad? or was it more just a case of too hard to update....or two small? i was surprised they rebuilt it as it never seemed a very old stadium to me on TV
i thought viewing-wise it was pretty good. getting a beer could be pretty shit though
I will say that grabbing any sort of refreshment during a Swans game next door was a piece of piss by contrast.
Due in part to the nature of the game being longer and with less critical minutes, and the fact the G is just set up better.
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That's shit. He's awesome to watch and a massive part of the Wallabies' threat.
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FFS our best hooker by a fair way has picked up another knock.
https://www.rugby.com.au/news/billy-pollard-added-to-wallabies-squad-after-porecki-head-knock-202283
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@NTA Have never really heard of this guy and after looking at the Brumbies squad I now know why - he looked to be number three hooker on their roster.
@Higgins said in Aussie Rugby:
@NTA Have never really heard of this guy and after looking at the Brumbies squad I now know why - he looked to be number three hooker on their roster.
He played for Aussie A recently.
There's some good info in this article.
It is the first national squad selection for Pollard, who was a sought-after talent as a teenager after playing junior rep footy in both rugby and rugby league. Big-name NRL coaches such as Wayne Bennett and Craig Bellamy attempted to sign Pollard, but the Sydney-raised youngster elected to sign with the Brumbies. Former Brumbies coach Dan McKellar, who is now the full-time Wallabies forwards coach, told the Herald earlier this year that he didn’t think Pollard would choose rugby when he initially began trying to recruit him. Part of the pitch was that Pollard would have to spend two years learning the dark arts of the rugby scrum, and other set-pieces. “He is a very good footballer, he’d be a very good league back-rower, there’s no doubting that,” McKellar said. “He has speed and athleticism and skill-set, and he’s tough. But learning the dark arts of scrum, lineout and maul take time. “We made it really clear from the start that an 18-year-old ... that he was going to need a couple of years development, and get his set-piece to the level it needs to be at.” -
My rugby weekend - strap yerself in:
Saturday
Knew we had a heap of guys out, but still fronted up for 2 Grades at Epping, who are sitting in the top 3 both grades.Fuck me. I was expecting 25 guys at least, not 21. As a result, I started both Grades, played about half of Seconds, and all of First Grade at hooker. We were shit - lost 2nd XV 53-19 and First Grade 108-0.
No, that is not a typo. Nor did we switch to AFL. One Hundred And Eight. And the ref called it about 10 minutes early.
I went over to the sideline at one point, and asked the opposing coach if they had anything left they wanted to show us. He says "My players want 80 minutes. What's happening out there isn't my fault". Yeah spirit of the game you shitcunt.
Still, the opposition guys out there were nice enough and we all had a bit of a laugh. That's park footy some days. Hope they all woke up with sore hamstrings from running in a mud bath. Shit field
Sunday
Got up at sparrowfart to go run a womens 7s tournament at our ground. Stressed as fuck thinking no volunteers were coming but it all worked out. The womens tournament hasn't run for a couple of months due to the wet weather here so everyone was grateful just to play.Two fields, 9AM kickoff, nonstop rugby. Our girls won their division (tho why they were in Third Division I'm yet to understand)
At one point I spied Matt Burke - yes World-Cup-Winning-Wallaby Matthew Fucking Burke - whose daughter plays for Manly Womens Rugby. Marched over in my Ground Marshal bib and introduced myself. Had a good old chat. He compliemented our field and I said "yeah but the ingoals are a bit narrow" to which he replied "I remember one year at Murrayfield we had the same thing - barely anywhere for the reserves to warm up!" so that was a reality check
Later on I learned that one of our girls (fantastic AFL player and rugby fits her like a second skin) is going out with Aussie 7s player Matt Gonzalez who came by the canteen and I said hi. Poor Jade hyperextended her knee in our last pool game and so Matt had to take her to hospital.
Stopped just after lunch at Parramatta Eels office to talk to their Football Operations Manager about how the day was going. There were a few things to chat about like the upcoming development in the precinct and how things were going during the season. They're a good bunch and you always know where you stand.
Packed up the second field when they finished at 3PM. Winding down to finals on the main field just before 5PM the Treasurer and I toasted a pretty successful day overall. Got compliments on our ground, canteen banked $2K, and I got to press the flesh and promote the club. Racked up 23,000 steps on the Garmin and didn't get badly sunburned despite the glorious sunshine.
Went through about 30 loaves of bread and probably 300 of our butcher-quality snags on the day, as well as a fuckload of powerade. Not much beer or spirits which was a little disappointing TBH but we're all set for Old Boys Day next weekend.
Got home, wife has defrosted steak and snags for a fucking BBQ :grinning_squinting_face: I could barely go through with it after smelling BBQ all day. Got it done, then sat down with a bourbon to watch the Wallabies.
Fuck me, what a weekend!
