The Silver Fern

I reckon it's a great idea. And looking at that team it makes me really keen to watch, which is frankly more than I've been for the Lions to take on Super teams without their best 5-7 players.

As for tradition, history etc - Australia only has four Super teams. For a full tour you need to provide 5-7 matches beyond Tests. It's not like we have other rugby teams with history and pedigree just knocking around (well you could reform the Rebels but nobody wants that).

Sure we could roll out a Country side like we did in 2013, but the fun of playing amatuers from the bush wears off pretty quickly as the Lions put on 100+. You could do Australia A, but does that really have any more tradition and prestige than the AUNZ concept? Not really.

Between the AUNZ and the Pacifika/Indigenous side next week, I think RA are trying a few things that may evolve into actual traditions that we can continue in years to come.

Haven't scrolled through all 91 pages, but I will offer my perspective as a neutral.

1 vs 2. Heavyweight bout. Champ vs contender. Historic rivals in game 100. And...

The game was pus. Absolute shite. Reminiscent of watching the Force vs the Rebels in 2017, though that probably does those teams a dis-service as at least they had a fkn crack.

The fault obviously rests with South Africa. They can get in the sea. It's rugby at it's worst. Kick kick kick. Maul maul maul. Tackle tackle tackle. Whinge whinge whinge.

The sad thing is it worked. Almost worked. But they shouldn't be happy with that result, as the All Blacks played the worst they have all year and they still couldn't win. I wouldn't be happy with that if it was the Wallabies. They made a thousand errors, not through ferocious Bok defence either. Soft, unforced errors that they won't make next game.

And as many have mentioned here it's made worse by the fact that they are a really talented side. I love Nkosi and Mapimpi but they haven't been able to do squat this RC because of the tactics employed. And it wasn't like this tactic won them the World Cup, they were far more ambitious in Japan. They are fighting with one hand behind their back, though it's not helped by the fact that Handre Pollard is by far the worst player of any team in International rugby this year.

So I say this to Foster and the ABs. Please beat them by 90 this week. Please. I need this. We all do. Even South Africa needs it, so they can change course from whatever they are doing right now.

I couldn’t give a flying fuck if you all think it was a bad game.

We haven’t beaten the Poms since 2015. More than that, we haven’t gotten close to beating the Pons since 2015.

We lost Quade in the warmup, then lost Banks, AAA and Swain inside the first half.

And we FUCKEN WON. By rolling straight over the top of them.

So it might have been ugly but I’m grinning from ear to ear today, no matter what all of you miserable Kiwi bastards think.

10/10 game. A classic for the ages.

I've got sympathy for everyone here.

RA is on the bones of its arse here, and after much wrangling had secured WA agreement to host a Bledisloe at Optus Stadium. Packed house, 60k, a much needed financial boost.

So to have the Kiwis pull out at the last minute would sting, on a few levels.

But the NZRU are only trying to get the best for their players, who are understandably reticent to spend months away from home.

As for the manner of it, well it doesn't reflect well on anyone, does it.

From the scrum in the 78th, the ABs had no excuse not to win that game. A couple of pretty sloppy mistakes let the Boks have it.

That said, I cant remember the last time I saw a team successfully play out the last 90 seconds of a game with one-out forward hit ups. The refs are so thirsty for a penalty in those moments, and they find one 90% of the time.

I wonder if it might be better to grubber the ball into touch 30m out. Yes you give it back to them but it's much harder for them to score from there than 20m out.

God Davey is such a flog. Walking off a field because of a sledge? After all you've dished up over the years, the time you decide to draw a line is... in a middle of a grade game against Wests?

I don't care if he graphically described having relations with your dead grandmother - you don't leave the fucking field. Put them to the sword then complain after the game if you have to.

Every time you want to feel even a shred of sympathy for him, he goes and does something like this that reminds you that, no, he really is just a phenomenal fucktard.

What a win. Second best in the last 15 years or so (number one is knocking England out of their own WC in 2015).

So happy for JOC, what a story. And Jorgo and Wright really putting forward world class performances when they get space to work with.

As for the Boks, they started chasing the fools gold out wide when they were beating us up on tight. Real failing from 9/10. We just herded them wide, and picked them off. Or they dropped it.

The last five minutes of camerawork, titled ‘let’s show as many desolate Boks fans as possible’ should win awards.

On the subject of tampering methods...

The draw shake-up can't come soon enough.

That's the main issue for me, the whole thing just follows the same predictable pattern year in, year out.

Round 1 - NZ roll over Australia, and SA get off to a good start against the Pumas
Round 2 - NZ roll over Australia, and SA play out a tight one in Argentina
Round 3 - NZ roll over a plucky Argentina (who bring their A game), while SA and Aus play out a fairly tight, dire match in Brisbane
Round 4 - NZ roll over SA who look decent for 30 minutes but then fade, while Aus beat an underwhelming Argentina

Then we actually get to the more variable games, with Australia and NZ going to SA and Argentina.

It's just so damn predictable. Why can't we start with NZ in South Africa? Australia in Argentina? Change it up.

I'd love a Bledisloe towards the end of the tournament, where NZ have more to play for and Australia may have a bit of momentum.

Fuck you all. I can't cope with this outpouring of Kiwi support. It makes my skin crawl.

He wasn't fired for his religious beliefs, as some in the media are suggesting. He was fired because RA presented him with a contract that said he would face sanctions if he did this one specific thing. He signed said contract, and then did said thing almost immediately.

And then he blocked their calls when they tried to talk to him about it.

It's a workplace discipline issue, not a religious one.

My thoughts: what a weird game.

It felt like watching the Wallabies vs Georgia, except the ABs were the Wallabies and we were Georgia. A few soft early scores and the foot was clearly taken off the gas.

Then the plucky minnows rally and for a while you think 'well at least they are making a game of it' until it starts to get a little too close. You keep kicking to the corners instead of taking the points. You're still throwing flick passes but the game is still fkn alive. Just kill the bastards.

And now you're giving away dumb penalties, and they start to get a bit of self belief. 'They couldn't win this' becomes 'oh god they might actually win this' until you just hang on and think 'by god how did they almost win that'.

Credit to our blokes for showing a bit of ticker but the ABs blew at least four rolled gold tries and should have won by 30.

@mariner4life said in Wallabies v Scotland:

It's not that hard Michael, it's not like you are swimming in talent.

That's precisely it though Mariner. He's waiting until the latest possible moment, in case one of the following occurs in the 48 hours before kick-off:

a) Jonathon Thurston converts to rugby union, effective immediately, or
b) Any other fucking leaguie for that matter, or
c) Stephen Larkham comes out of retirement, or
d) A particularly muscly Fijian walks past Cheika on his way to work, or
e) We can blindly stumble upon someone, somewhere who isn't totally shit at rugby.

Now one, or all, of these things taking place is incredibly unlikely, but Cheik is an eternal optimist. You'd hate to be caught with a full 23 on a Friday when an ARU intern discovers there's a reserve lock from Manawatu with an Aussie grandparent... would be bloody chaos.

So I tip my hat to Cheika and this bold new approach. It will surely usher in an era of dominance that will never end.

I'm just glad this game is FINALLY getting some attention on TSF.

Not sure if it's been mentioned here, but how about the record set by the Cuban heavyweight wrestler Mijain Lopez.

First ever person to win Gold at the same individual event at FIVE straight Olympics. He won in Beijing, London, Rio, Tokyo and Paris.

Never been done at either Summer or Winter Olympics. That is a serious record to have.

@catogrande said in England V Australia:

Uh-oh. Looks like Krusty could be in trouble. A bit OTT for me. I wonder if this will make him walk?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42058084

What a fucken stitch-up. Who gives a fuck what he says in the coach's box? Christ almighty, talk about excessive officialdom.

Shit like this will only make the game more sterile, and way less interesting. Knock Cheika all you want, and by all means police what he says in the public domain. But coming after him for shit he may or may not have said in the press box reeks of a witch hunt, frankly.

@mooshld said in Things that annoy you about rugby...:

@rebound said in Things that annoy you about rugby...:

Players being allowed to roll when on the ground, preventing the player on his feet from playing the ball. Should be a penalty like it always used to be. but now you can roll, crawl and whatever you please and its play on. Here I thought rugby is a game played on your feet

Hate this so much along with this "not held" rubbish. If you're tackled and not held you should still have to release the ball before you get to your feet to continue. It would make it so much easier to ref. Its a no brainer.

A post from 6 months ago... but still so relevant.

The thing that has me shouting at the TV more than ever now is when a ball carrier will be brought to ground, the tackler will release (as required by law) and then the ball carrier will just get to his feet and keep running, with a cry of 'not held' from the ref.

Does my fkn head in.

My favourite is 'we learnt a lot from that loss'.

Michael Hooper has a fkn PhD in losing to the All Blacks by now. An unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Bloke is learned as hell.

It's a great way to respond to a very minor insult, isn't it.

Imagine someone having a crack at you about wearing a poorly ironed shirt at work, and you responding with "I have no time for people who mock others on the basis of race, gender, sexuality or the quality of their ironing".

Instantly makes an innocent sledge seem absolutely horrific. I'm using it today.

I think Vunipola's clearout deserved yellow, but it's an act that happens 10+ times every game now.

'Cleaning out' used to simply be about knocking opposition players off the ball, so the halfback can have quick access. Now it seems like it's a free-for-all to smash any opposition player within 2m of the ruck, regardless of what they are doing. Barrett was clearly rolling away, and there was absolutely no need for Vunipola to clear him out at all, let alone in such reckless fashion.

But I guarantee I could find you multiple instances of both sides committing similar clearouts in that game. I could find plenty in every test, or Super game. It's becoming a blight on the game IMO.