The Silver Fern

The Georgia Head Coach, Levan Maisashvili, is in hospital in South Africa with Covid on a ventilator after suffering severe lung damage.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/57874642

Wishing him all the best for a full recovery.

Citing complaint received relating to Bok winger Mapimpi Citing complaint received relating to Bok winger Mapimpi

Makazole Mapimpi has been cited for allegedly making contact with the eye area of the player during the weekend match with Bordeaux Begles

@Bones YOU are the annoying one, how dare you summon me into the sports chat, you know I'm not to be trusted in here....

@sidbarret said in 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to SA:

@stodders the two things that stick out are the stoppages and that incident where the s&c coach got told off in NZ2.

Townsend had a bit of wingh this week about his players being sledged from the sidelines by the SA support staff (though I think he missed the actual sledge - the comments were in Afrikaans and half his team understood what was said - call it a meta sledge).

It's all very class stuff.

If you win it's fine (see Aussie cricket circa 2003) but if lose or are just average you soon become Aussie cricket in 2018.

See Haddin ODI CWC Final 2015... to quote: we won didn't we?

@Catogrande said in [Poll] Who would you prefer to win?:

@Tim said in [Poll] Who would you prefer to win?:

@booboo No, @Catogrande is having consolation sex with Katie Hopkins.

Which would explain my lack of posting yesterday, It took me ages to escape from her cellar.

She must watch too many movies

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That is rather amusing.

I wonder what the Lions did to him?

@Crucial said in RWC: Wales v South Africa (SF2):

@MiketheSnow one of his better ones.
When this guy stops trying to be a comedian his analysis is very good

Yep.

Remarkable when you consider the drivel which comes out of SCW's mouth most of the time, and he's a WC winner ffs

@Bovidae said in RWC: Japan v South Africa (QF 4):

The good sauce is that both Foster and Robertson want Brown as their attack coach.

Party at Tony Brown's?

@Salacious-Crumb fair enough. Yet another reason why I resent our press.

@No-Quarter said in Eben Etzebeth:

@Billy-Webb that is absolutely insane

Agreed.
Note that I have no opinion about his guilt or innocence in terms of a criminal charge. If the police find enough evidence for the prosecuting authority to bring charges, then he needs to face up to these like anyone else.

But the HRC and Equality Court is another matter.

@antipodean said in RWC: South Africa v Italy (Pool 😎:

Can't help but feel what's holding Italy back is that the majority of their players play for Italian clubs.

Apparently the forwards on the bench, according to one of the commentators, all came from the one club.

All the best domestic Italian players are from either Bennetton or Zebre as they play in the Pro14 so are playing at a higher standard than the Italian Top12. Looking at their RWC squad there are only 5 players who play outside of Italy (1 in France, 4 in England).

@Rapido said in RWC: South Africa v Namibia (Pool 😎:

The missed forward pass was disgusting refereeing. No excuse, was static ball from base of a ruck, no forward momentum to consider. Pathetic. Get better at your job.

I assume you mean the one from scrumhalf Jantjies that led to another Mapimpi try?

It was defintely backwards out of the hands - if you viewed it from the other side, while standing on your head, with both eyes closed...

Shocker of a missed call. I called it watching live as it happened. Clearly forward. Very surprised that at a minimum the TMO did not call it back.

@Billy-Webb said in RWC: All Blacks v South Africa (Pool 😎:

@booboo your caption?

Laidlaw suffers the combined onslaught of Du Preez and Bates.

@Higgins said in Bokke v Blossoms:

Did they do a lap of honour in recognition for finally getting their winning ratio against Japan to at least 50%?

🤣

Maybe!

But the cynic in me suspects it is part of a strategy to endear themselves to Japanese fans in the hope of getting some "home town" support in their games.

This thread is turning into a "Things that annoy you about rugby" thread (version 2019).

@nzzp yeah I'm stumped, admittedly I was only casual watching, didn't look that flash to me

Edit actually wasn't the voted ratings they normally do, just one guys ratings

@antipodean said in Springboks V All Blacks:

@taniwharugby said in Springboks V All Blacks:

@antipodean I saw another best of team that had Sanchez at 10...

Think it was Karl T, Marx, Franks, Etzebeth, Mostert, du Toit, Pocock, Read, Faf, Sanchez, Crotty, Goodhue, Ioane, Dyanti, Le Roux

I can't complain about much in that team, other than Bono Cockwomble. WTF do people see in him?

Especially when Kolisi was all kinds of awesome in the games I watched.

This game was a nasty shock. Shades of Chicago 2016 in the All Blacks terrible option-taking and of Cardiff 2007 for poor game management. Massive credit to the Boks for making all those tackles and taking their chances in attack. The Old Foe is back.

The All Blacks have been Bledisloe Cup holders for 16 years, the Number One team for 9 years and World Champions for 7. Success can breed success, but it can also breed complacency. Some of the All Blacks were complacent in Wellington.

Hansen, Foster and Fox need to be unsentimental and weed out of Thier squad any players who ain't as hungry for success as their Saffa, Irish, Welsh or English peers. Winning back to back to back World Cups will require the All Blacks to work harder than any other international team in the next 13 and half months.

@pakman said in Springboks v All Blacks:

Interesting analysis: http://www.planetrugby.com/news/372787/

Funny how in all of those clips they didn't pick p the obvious which was that SA targeted running at A Smith. Nugget may eventually make the tackle but invariably he is hanging on the ankles and the ground has been gained.
ABs will need to adjust their system as it isn't even necessary for the halfback to be defending fringes in general play. No reason he can't adapt to defending further out.