The Silver Fern

@barbarian said in Theory about historically successful teams:

So the ABs are a historically successful team, and have been for some time. ...

And now it seems they have attracted the scorn of pundits and fans around the world. ... their nefarious tactics (eye gouging, niggle off the ball, constantly infringing), their cozy relationship with referees, issues with 'attitude' and 'entitlement' (eg shagging birds in disabled toilets), and a general longing from most fans that they will flat out lose.

Here is my theory, and maybe it's stating the bleeding obvious... this treatment isn't so much to do with the ABs, in fact it happens to most, if not all, historically successful teams.

Admittedly I don't have a huge number of examples to support this, but here are a few off the top of my head:

Australian cricket team of the early 2000s - set the record for consecutive test wins, and the 'hard edge' they were lauded for early in Steve Waugh's reign became a lightning rod for criticism. They attracted a pretty solid opposition around the world for boorish tactics (esp from Hayden, McGrath, Warne, Ponting, Waugh).
...

I see it all in fairly simple terms - it is child-like jealousy which deserves to be ignored.

When your favority fave isn't good enough, when your "arguably on paper best in the world" isn't, you make stuff up about the other mob. Discovering ESPN-like data bases is especially helpful as are 7 second video clips proving habitual cheating cheatery by everyone other then our lot. That is, if you are a shrill 14 year old who has no idea how it feels to have your face buried in the cricket pitch, top dressed for winter with more gravel than loam, laid by the local council's lowest tenderer.

It doesn't only emanate from the game's infant supporters. I recall walking across the car park to the Sydney Cricket Ground in the early '90s, in grand anticipation of seeing the Springboks in action here for the first time in twenty years. I was with the Eastwood Club crew - our Marty Roebuck was at full back and his protégé Matt Burke was on the threshold of Wallaby selection. Listening to a couple of older blokes I couldn't believe their vitriol towards the Springboks.

It took me a while to work that out. It was not the apartheid issue, the Springboks hadn't done anything wrong. It came down to envy of the Springboks' past success.

"Until the 1990s South Africa were considered one of the most successful rugby nations in Test match history, with a positive win-loss ratio against every Test playing nation including their traditional rivals, New Zealand. (from Wikipedia)"

This also highlights the fact that people forget that the game goes through cycles. It took fifty years for the All Blacks to win a series over there on their turf.

Just last week I listened to an interview of Michael Cheika by Graeme Hughes, Peter Tunks and Brett Papworth on Hughes' Talkin' Sport radio program. Cheika said that most of the Wallabies have little knowledge of what and who went before them and that he was attempting to educate them with his high regard for the traditions of the game. You'd reckon profit motive alone would have players studying footage of Little's beautifully balanced running, and of where Poidevin and David Wilson were running to and what they did when they got there.

If the fans' attitudes cannot mature into an appreciation of the marvelous Blanco, the superiority of Porta, Michael Jones and Teichmann and the craft of Castrogiovanni - and of the excellence of the All Blacks - they are denying themselves an affection for all that the game offers. They are choosing to be miserable for long periods of their time following rugby.

"I don't have a huge number of examples to support this"

I'm flat out finding any. The ruthless Australian XI under the best captain I have seen, the demanding Ian Chappell, didn't cop any of this jealousy, nor did Clive Lloyd's exceptional West Indies.

Chappelli's team got away with more than Steve Waugh's lot, who plied their trade in the modern era when whinging about excellence became de rigueur. They also got plenty from the politicking anti-sport mob who reckon young blokes must cease on field bullying, that they should attend cooking classes and stand aside to let wymminses past them and into the best jobs.

St George weren't hated during their dozen or so rugby league premiership years, they were held in awe. Brisbane Broncos weren't much liked but that was more about interstate rivalry I believe.

My only example is Greg Norman, who rocketed to the top and didn't pay homage en route to the Aussie rat pack of Shearer, Newton, Davis and others. He stood aloof, singularly focused and successful and was criticised for it. That continued through his best years, notwithstanding that he did more to promote Australian golf than any player before him or since. Attacks by the media and fans accusing him of "choking" were a bloody disgrace. I feel similarly about the same accusation against the All Blacks in the World Cup. Other golfers / teams were better on the day and that is all it was.

That term holds as much substance to me as the stupid "X factor" bandied about in recent years by inarticulate dills who are incapable of putting into words the specific capabilities they see in a player.

@Nepia said in All Blacks v Wallabies at Eden Park.:

The no try: I watched this game with an American mate whose been getting into the game lately, he's a big (US) Football fan and when that idiot Oz winger took Savea out he actually said that he thought that was one of the rules of rugby, that you couldn't block.

FFS, maybe it was harsh on the Aussies but the fact is he interfered with a defender without the ball. It doesn't matter that the defender was behind the player (the cry baby Oz commentators* seem to think you can take anyone out behind the player) you still can't interfere with them. I don't know why anyone would try and claim it's ok to do that to a defender. It was stupid play by Hallet-Petty, Cheika should man up and lay the blame on his player who did a stupid thing.

*Kafer - you used to be the best analyst going around, now you've just turned it to a facsimilie of the crybaby whinger Kearns.
.... .

I understand the Laws of Rugby state:

"10.1 (c) Blocking the tackler. A player must not intentionally move or stand in a position that prevents an opponent from tackling a ball carrier."

This YouTube video features the disallowed try and a head on view shows Haylett-Petty moved in a manner which offends 10.1 (c).

The words don't speak about the tackler's prospects of making the tackle, whether he is too far behind to catch up or anything else, other than "intentionally move or stand".

PS. I see Foley walked back to take the kick and past Referee Owens, who explained he was looking at something further to do with the try. Foley throws his head back and says what sounds like "Oh fire-truck", which highlights a problem with the Qantas Harmless Wallabies. Owens had communicated politely and informatively and did not warrant that response.

They have no regard or respect for the authority of the referee, which is at the very least stupid, stupid, stupid. It's not as if they are the lords of the manor, strutting triumphantly, who can treat the hired help with disdain.

I arrive here seeking a Safe Space, a place where anyone can relax and be able to fully express, without fear of being made to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe on account of biological sex, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, cultural background, religious affiliation, age, or physical or mental dumbness ...

I made good my escape from the local Australian fan sites where the now culturally traditional whinging is in full swing, with its monotonous blaming of referees Peyper, Owens, Joubert and Poite for denying the Qantas Harmless Wallabies their destiny of beating the Poms in 2016, even more so than blaming the traitorous Eddie Jones who is failing to show respect and demonstrates a lack of humility.

Not a lot is being said there about incompetent passing, catching, tackling, on field decisions, failure to capitalise on bountiful possession and ever so crafty kicks down centre field landing on their 40 metre mark from which the ball found its way to our 5 metre line.

The English commentators didn't do much to improve the kiddies' knowledge of the game - I heard them peeing their pants about a tackle by The World's Best No 6 and went back to have a look, in expectation that the li'l fella had Michael Jones-ed someone into the turf up to his ribs. No, he had made a conventional tackle around the thigh on someone lumbering past his side of the scrum, something Brewer, Reuben Thorne, David Wilson and Matt Cockbain did routinely.

Then they eulogised Folau for running about 40 yards (and failing to pass, a deeply traditional cultural habit of his). One long run per season for eight or nine hundred thousand a year isn't that flash. I'm convinced Israel doesn't pass because he is simply too lazy to think about it. Either that or he studied too much footage of autographed videos gifted to him by Adam Two-Fathers from which he learned that passing is optional and rare. The Roar has Mr Talented-but-One-Dimensional as World's Best Full Back Who Should Be Centre, though.

Haylett-Perry's yellow card is being cited as more evidence of a declared jihad. He has ability and spark but shouldering someone for no profit, late in the game, in your own half, when their kicker is doing Dead-Eye Dick is plain stupid and worthy of a yellow for educational purposes.

Michael Cheika has done well in Europe, better than expected, with the mediocrity dished up to him by the busted Australian system. You'd think the fans would have every reason to be happy with that.

Eddie Jones' success with a team which was on its knees a year ago is worthy of admiration, especially given his lifetime of sterling service to club, state, super and international rugby. Intelligent rugby fans would have every reason to be happy with that, but we don't have many of that type - our lot prefer to subjectively dissect video footage in 7.2 second bites to reveal injustice to their faves.

I'd better check up the page now to see if I have offended any other posters who believe the Qantas Harmless Wallabies' "I surrender" performance was "solid".

@victor-meldrew said in Springboks V All Blacks:

...

Nah, the Boks outplayed us for 70 minutes and are obviously improving. Great to see them so competitive against us rather than the shellackings they've got over the last few years.

Love the rivalry and respect, and the way the 2 teams mingle after the game.

That is humilitae in action I believe, Sir Stephen insisting on best public relations practice to fool the con men of the ever critical media.

He had the players show acceptable respect at the beginning by presenting the highest level of Haka (See the discussion earlier in the thread. They have created a monster for themselves there ... the players cannot be allowed to decide what suits them best all by themselves, they must satisfy a vacuous media which determines if the Haka they use is evidence that they are demonstrating proper 'spect) and now he cunningly follows up by cleverly camouflaging All Black arrogance with humilitae!

It is a distorted environment - I know, I know - you just cannot have a winner celebrating a triumph by appearing triumphal in full view of l'il kiddies on family television, because it is a form of bullying or deep seated racism or disbelieving wymminses when they say stuff about blokes or something.

But do not despair - I see booboo was onto the most important bit which the detractors have not noticed, just up the page there 39 minutes ago:

"Fuck you world rugby.
Aura is back baby"

“I’m here fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality”

That fight was won long ago, she’s getting herself mixed up with Billie Jean King – The US Open introduced equal prize money for women in 1973, the Australian Open did so in 2001, and the French Open and Wimbledon followed suit in 2007. Of the 31 Grand Slam Tournament Finals in which she has appeared Williams has taken home equal pay 27 times – that’s 87% of ‘em.

She just walked out of this tournament with $1.85 million dollars for coming a churlish second! Our Serena has eked out career earnings of $90 million.

The US Open total prize money is $53 million including $21 m for the men’s singles winners (Rounds 1 to 4 and all finals) and $3 m for men’s doubles winners. The women? $21 m for the singles and $3 m for the doubles.

Prize money has grown from about $25 million in 2012 and $34 million in 2013.

Umpire Ramos was paid $653 for officiating the Williams – Osaka match. $653.

@FakatavaAllBlack said in Vote All Black Captain:

@The-Docter I'm too young to really remember Taine Randell, although I do know he's an Otago & Landers legend so if I ever met him I would shout that man a drink

Taine Randall - a fine No 8 who could play at 7 and 6. He was strong and able and fierce with a good future ahead of him and your selectors fixed that - it was a time of great change in your senior personnel, so they appointed a young bloke who had just arrived as captain and left him to work it out for himself ... at 21 or 22! It was one of the most myopic decisions I can recall from the wise men of rugby, shameful really, and Randell was the only one who paid a price.

Foxtel leaves the All Blacks match before hearing from anyone involved, simply to hear their Australian nitwits talk rubbish, led off by John Eales who always - always - talks absolute world's best rubbish about the Qantas Harmless Wallabies.

@NTA said in Aussie Rugby in general:

@mariner4life said in Aussie Rugby in general:

Look, it's kinda stating the blatantly obvious, but if the only reason you are keeping the coach of the national rugby team in Australia is that you can't afford to replace him, then that is possibly the worst piece of governance of mainstream political sport that i have ever seen.

Which would be ignoring all the other issues they've created through shit governance and stewardship of the game.

I point you back to my previous comments regarding one DO for all of Western Sydney.

Yes, it is de rigueur to bag the tripe out of Michael Cheika and ignore all that other peripheral stuff, such as packed out Club grand finals one couldn't get a ticket to, followed by a quarter century of appalling management at State and National level, exacerbated by internecine warfare between the unions, interrupted briefly by a successful World Cup followed by a mad scramble by the ARU to spend the $42 million profit as quickly as it could. That has included new head office premises of course. Twice.

So little attention was paid to player development that we have not fielded a genuine first five since the current assistant coach for the Wallabies left the field in 2007, we couldn't field a front row for a decade without giggling with embarrassment and we had to turn to League to find some clapped out backs - one of who spent 50% of his period in the sick bay. Another spent a good deal of his time admiring Bryan Habana galloping by, turned in frustration to bonking on tour, then departed suddenly mid contract after targeting a young lady from the family of a senior rugby figure.

Not to be deterred the ARU went full blown corporate - Mosman cattle man as personality CEO 'n all, forgot the lessons of the fleeting Rodney Blake phase and plucked three wunderkind straight out of pre-school to rescue the game. They couldn't tackle, reliably pass a ball, kick it in a forward direction every time or recognise that the other blokes dressed like them were part of their team. Skipping two or three years in Club rugby possibly probably had everything to do with that. After spending a couple of million each season on their fabulous off field lifestyles their on field mediocrity per dollar shone through and that all fizzled out, praise be to Allen the Profit.

Back to coaching - when Michael Cheika was invited in the ARU needed him way more than he needed them and he did the deal a good businessman would do, including unilateral decision making. He arrived with the political protection of the most powerful NSW faction and the clear understanding that, after the board meeting to appoint him, to clap him on the back and to assure him that he had their full support and their individual vote, several of them would hurry off down the hall in whispered conversation:

"We've got to get rid of this bloke quick smart - he's from Queensland for Pete's sake / he's from New Zealand for Pete's sake / he's from bloody Randwick for Pete's sake / he's the Matraville Mafia's man. Call The Group together, we need a one year plan."

The ARU now has a new woman as chief boofhead, with no background in the game, new stationery and a very strong position on religion. Her performance has been - well - unremarkable.

It is so easy to forget the poisoned chalice handed to, and accepted by, Michael Cheika on conditions set by him. I still back him as the best available (no, no, no - Jake's best days were some years ago now) he has tried many new players and many combinations without success and the elephant in the room, to me, is the deeply embedded low quality of player stocks feeding through the system which I have briefly outlined above, and the alarming self evaluation/RUPA opinion of their worth. To repair this devastated sport is a five year task, or more, and the only innovation this Board and this new CEO has come up with to improve the quality of rugby upstream is nothing.

Brett Robinson ran a high performance program for some years but I don't recall hearing about any high performance graduates. Pat Howard just lost a similar job at Australian Cricket for Cheats - don't laugh, they may yet slot him in quietly.

The ARU has mimicked all the politically correct corporate behaviours - a management review by a former Federal Minister in 2012, former champion players who govern as ably as former champion players, new board members who have come and gone, a banker as CEO on a fabulous salary, a recent CEO who fell on his sword and an empty bank balance, new vote distribution, a new name, wymminses and a strident position on Amazon delta old growth forest fires.

Scott Johnson. Scott succeeded the reliable Roy Saunders at the Mighty Woods as first five and introduced profligate kicking of hard won ball, all day long! Eastwood had a long history of fine wingers - Ian Williams, for example - and he had Marty Roebuck up the back but, no, kicking was the way to go and we just had to get used to it. He departed with our good wishes and did alright in coaching overseas for a bit, going back in time.

With this one appointment the ARU has broadcast that they are bereft of ideas. Scott's best years in coaching are in the past but, in any event, where is the demonstrated need for a fourth coach? I haven't bothered to read about it but I assume he has some selector veto, which means division and anger and walk outs, to facilitate some cunning plan by the ARU managers-upon-managers. Enter Pat Howard, for he has famous rugby breeding?

I agree with observations up the page by:

1. mariner4life:

He witnessed Cheika as an after dinner speaker: "Cheika was super impressive." ... "and i have to say, my opinion has changed".

I found Robbie Deans to be as good in person too - remember, the demonstrably successful coach who our precious tulips believed was not worthy of their attention? The anti Cheika crew here have many more worthy suspects to target than him.

2. jegga on Nov 2:

Commenting on Dowager Auntie Raelene's stiff pursing of her lips and hands on hips at Michael Cheika, and her demand that he perform: "Poor bastard was mauled by a dead sheep".

She is fair dinkum of no worth to the ARU, useless ballast.

For rotated on Jul 9: "He (Cheika) has told us many times he is filthy rich and doesn't need the job." Has he? Really? Tell me when he has said this.

@no-quarter said in All Blacks v Ireland, 2021 NH Tour:

Beauden going off injured was a big blow as well. Mo'unga has been very poor so far.

Mo'unga is no more than an adequate Super 15 first five, I saw that right from the jump and he has done nothing to change that.

• @NTA said in Wallabies v Springboks:
  ...

The entire top section of the stand was empty which is a disgrace. International footy in a brilliant stadium.

In a state where stupidity has trashed a franchise, in a country where the national team got walloped twice in the last month, on a day where it pissed rain for two hours leading up.

The last factor would have wiped out about 5000 walk up tickets. The First two account for the other 20000.*

Quite so, 30,000 turned up at Suncorp.

No matter where the debates meander on why the players do as they do and fail as they fail, who is the right coach, what is wrong with this coach or that, the referee is a dunce and so on, this is what is happening continuously, the inevitable erosion and contraction of a once valuable institution which is a central part of community life.

You cannot imagine the deep disappointment and sense of loss one feels after a lifetime involvement, from mid teens, witnessing the decline of Australian rugby.

When my son started playing our Catholic parish school was putting 120 juniors on the field every weekend, supported by the effort of more parents than one could count - Eastwood's future grand final winners brought along by ordinary fathers from subbies and lower grades all the way through to champions such as John Ballesty, John Cootes, Mick Mathers and Dennis Tutty. In the '80s we had up to a dozen junior clubs in the district and now there are six.

I saw the discussion here on Brett Papworth's criticisms of the ARU and stayed out of it. It was clear no-one knew that he, a former local junior, has served as Eastwood president forever, who speaks with the universal support of my peers from those days who did well enough to now be substantial financial sponsors.

Younger men hearing older hands speak of what they have experienced have little patience to listen and swiftly turn to the dismissive pejoratives of "rose coloured glasses" and "pre-professionalism amateur day ignorant old men". That amuses me greatly - the Eastwood district then and now is the domain of high net worth individuals running their own shows, typically Irish Catholic and Lebanese successful businessmen who pour time and money and knowledge and achievement into their community without hesitation. We reached a point back then at which we had to slow down our fund raising program - we had been so successful that we were putting our various sporting club tax and corporate exemptions at risk.

Rugby used be run by amateurs and they managed to steer the thing pretty well through the glory days, certainly with more effectiveness borne of passion and determination to leave it in good shape when they moved on than is evident now. Rugby eventually became a profitable business, the opportunists spotted the income flow, and the professional managers came in and fixed it.

In as brief terms as I can manage - the opportunity lost came after the '03 World Cup, which netted the ARU $42m.When John O'Neill returned in December 2006 there was just $3 million left. Simultaneously Andrew Demetriou was launching the wealthy AFL into western Sydney, jostling for position with a similarly cashed up FFA and NRL. The ARU fiddled around for a bit and did nothing, then acted as a delusional gambler on a losing streak by throwing big money at a half dozen or so individuals - ex League and fast tracked wunderkind - believing their presence alone was enough to counter the other codes. That idea worked a little bit for a little while and now we are left with nothing enduring.

If we had formed a ten year plan when the money was there in 2004 - like Eddie McGuire and Mick Malthouse did with Collingwood, like the All Blacks did under Sir Graham - focusing on the existing network of Club rugby, with a modest form of NRC we would be profiting from it now.

Back to the start and NTA's pen picture of Suncorp on Saturday - from the very beginning of Super Rugby the reliable barometer has been Waratah rugby, where the money and the numbers of people are concentrated. When they win the ordinary supporters and the corporate supporters literally pour through the gates, it's the place to be seen. When they are losing the ground is like a mausoleum. Sports business is too fragile an environment to entrust the future of the game to fools.

@donsteppa

During the bushfires in Victoria in 2009 I watched the nightly news featuring a visit to the firefighters by that effete little man Rudd as Prime Minister. He stepped out of the Commonwealth limousine, stood and looked awkwardly towards the crews milling about, 30 or 40 yards away, collecting their tucker from the trestle tables.

They looked back at him with obvious disinterest. He then had to walk towards them, beaming and unwelcome.

The very next night the news showed a similar setting - a white sedan arrived on site, the front passenger door was opening before it stopped. Out bounded Shane Warne with a big smile and "G'day fellas", striding to them. The reaction was spontaneous - they came to him as one, laughing and enjoying the surprise, swamping him with their hospitality.

He did what he needed to do instinctively, with confidence and ease. He was a natural.

That is precisely what I see in the video you have displayed - "Quite a skill" you say. I reckon you would be fortunate to see that just once in a lifetime.

Big Merv could pull it off it; Mark Waugh too - he was good with the mob; and Greg Matthews, a charismatic and able fella, who they liked. None of them could do it with near the same aplomb as Shane.

It has been a sad week, I felt the same when Peter Brock died sixteen years ago. You come across many good men in a lifetime, some of them are truly exceptional.

That was mighty generous of Jako to stay back for half an hour after the rugby had been played, to manage scrum practice. He managed to fit in a couple of extended committee meetings of the Referees Association while he was at it.

There is no-one quite so stubborn as a South African appointed as some minor official - I think it was Marius van der Westhuizen, linesman¹ from the far side, who refused to leave the field until Jako let him have his way over Joe Moody.

The Pumas had some talented fellas out there, and blokes who enjoyed tackling BBBR, Crockett, Read and Ardie, however they are a disjointed rabble together. Their forwards are (sometimes perfectly) cohesive up until the precise moment the set piece ends, then they rush about as individuals until the precise moment the next set piece commences. Their backs practice dramatic diving only, evidently - no-one seems to know what their team mates inside might do next.

They are a bit like having the mothers club organise the Queens Birthday Bash here tomorrow - order 6 cartons of light beer, a single carton of heavy and too little ice; leave the tomato sauce at home; put on designer salad and tasteless fat free burger meat; no inhumanely harvested beef rump steaks; discover there is too little space to mount the jumping castle for the kiddies; and forget to book the stripper.

I was looking forward to assessing how the new bloke fitted in with Ryan Crotty ( too slow, one dimensional, boringly reliable) and would have appreciated more than 40 minutes in which to see enough.

Last night was like watching the new Under 15s outfits taking their early tentative steps into rugby. This morning was 40 minutes of classic All Blacks excellence followed by an unnecessary delay in getting out into the garden.

¹ "linesman" - they renamed it to "line sheila" or "line batter" - I know, I know - in their determination to de-masculinise the last remaining forum for blokes to be combative.

@nepia

*" Nepia

MJ arrived fully formed. "*

Of course he did Nepia - Sir Niko could do no wrong in my book!

And from canefan "Same could be said for Bunce." ... I agree. He was 30, or near that, when he arrived, strolled onto the field and played like he had been there forever. He excelled against the best we had, in Tim Horan and Jason Little, and against smart midfields from the northern hemisphere.

I enjoyed watching Frank Bunce - he appeared like he couldn't run out of sight on a dark night and then he was gone!

*"@pakman said in ABs v Scotland:

@crucial The Fern's traditions must be respected!"*

Too right mate, they'll still be speaking, in hushed tones, 25 years from now about the day when Jegga had breakfast with Jerome Kaino, Joe Moody, Damian Mackenzie and Liam Squire. I still remember it clearly, as if it were only a season ago.

By then a respectful period will have passed for some of the detail to be revealed and they'll likely have Jegga do little cameos in local pubs - you know, bring him out to sit at the bar with a blanket over his knees, and yarn about it to the 6 or 7 Saturday night patrons.

You could talk about it for hours, really, much like discussing when Tony Woodcock came around from the front, took the ball just as the line out split and thundered through the gap from a good - I dunno - 40 30 10 yards out to score that try in 2011.

I expect it would go something like this:

Question from the riveted audience: "Breakfast with Jerome Kaino, Joe ...?"
Jegga: "... Moody, Damian McK ..."
Q: "You're bloody joking ... fully awesome bru"
J: "Yeah, nah, nah, yeah"
Q: "How good was that?"
J: "Fully awesome bru"
Q: "Yeah, nah, nah, yeah ... how was Liam Squire, like, you know ..."
J: "He was a bit quiet."
Q: "What did he say to you?"
J: "You can call me Liam, squire."
Q: "Oh."
J: "Early on Damian was like, you know, hyperactive. He was fair dinkum popping up everywhere, like Dickie Knee on Hey Hey it's Saturday

with his eyes sparkling just above the edge of the table, climbing up Jerome's back, peering through Joe's beard - until the restaurateur twigged to his problem. He's brought out a couple of phone books, put 'em on a chair and lifted Damian up to sit with the big fellas. He just played with his food after that, egg all over the shop, spilling his poppa juice, dropping his dummy ..."
Q: "Jerome ... how was ..."
J: "He seemed really blissed out, like he had enjoyed a first class root all night long really ..."
Q: "What did you all have to eat?"
J: "Well, as a matter of fact they left their docket on the table so I scanned it in 'cos I knew dedicated supporters of the game would need to know. [Jegga to the barman: Switch on that projector now, there's a good man] I'll take you through the entire menu, course by course."

I imagine they will name it "The day when Jegga had breakfast with Jerome Kaino, Joe Moody, Damian Mackenzie and Liam Squire" Series 2018, 2020, 2022 and so on.

@nepia said in Would-be hardmen thread:

@bayimports said in Would-be hardmen thread:

Brendon Cannon (I think) must be in the frame for his wuss punch on Kev.

Keven never even felt it, didn't notice it, kept on doing whatever he was doing uninterrupted - likely first knew about it when he saw the replay a week later!

The reality is Cannon hit him flush with a good right hook, shoulder behind it, that rocked Keven. He reckoned it sent him cross-eyed and he kept his feet only through the grappling that followed. As they were walking off to the sin bin Keven amused himself with the thought that he'd been yellow carded for copping a punch in the head!

Mealamu confirmed they were lying on adjoining benches getting treated, talking about family. He played on. He had given Cannon a closed eye and some bloody cuts, and Brendan could not continue.

His later advice to others was:

"Don't go near his head'. I've proved that's ineffective. I haven't tested Kevvy's ribs yet so give them a go,"

*"@jegga said in Bledisloe II:

Foley not getting much love at g and g , a couple of people have pointed out how weak Beales defence is."*

Good Lord, who knew?

"St Bonocock is their man of the match ."

... after being dispatched tonight as effectively as he was in 2011!? Objectivity absent.

One of the more recent comments, on the gap between these two teams, demonstrates just how uninformed so many of our local fans are:

"is it widening or closing though? our backs have been shovelling the ball for a number of years, yet even their front rowers know how to draw and pass and how to run into space. we keep picking unbalanced teams and players who can't perform the basics of their position. a circuit breaker is needed"

The circuit breaker was due after 2003 but the ARU got distracted working on fabric colours and boardroom table size for the new headquarters, after near breaking their arms patting each other on the back for banking $43 million from the World Cup. Bret Robinson and someone else won fancy titles as director of elite player footpaths or something - corner office, nice four wheel drive, long lunches with player agents - but the footpaths didn't carry a lot of traffic. The ARU tried a bit of catch up by shovelling money at fading League stars, when that faded they signed up three wunderkind who could neither pass reliably nor tackle for a half million each, ramping up to three quarters of a million, and all was well in Australian rugby until the ARU discovered it wasn't. We are not long out of that phase and Michael Cheika is supposed to arm the squad with these quaint old skills inside two years? Aaarrrrggghhh!

@majorrage said in Rugby Freaks:

Skinstad was something else when he first came on the scene.

Andrew Walker probably the most natural runner I’ve seen on a rugby field.

Walker was in a class above, he played on instinct which he had in spades - simply exceptional. He was a beautifully balanced runner, similar to Jason Little, could step and swerve and find his way through openings which simply did not exist! He had splendid natural ability, reminiscent of Mark Ella.

He battled the grog, went on benders and Eddie Jones never stopped caring for him and responding whenever his wife called for help. He did it for Walker's welfare, not to enhance his own Brumbies and Wallabies record. He was finding Andrew work in league, using his vast network, long after he left rugby.

Eddie once left a Wallaby camp at Coffs Harbour to go down south looking for him when he went walkabout. He understood the phenomenon - he grew up with the La Perouse locals, went to Matraville High with the Ellas and Lloyd Walker - and he demonstrated outstanding ability to work with it. He's an easy mark for the big mouths who know not much, Eddie, yet he has a long history of going well beyond the ordinary fellow in his efforts for his fellow man.

@no-quarter said in Wallabies vs Springboks I:

Lucky to get away with a yellow (I agree with the call)

Extraordinarily stupid from Kolisi.

@akan004 said in All Blacks v Ireland, 2021 NH Tour:

The fucking TMO is so desperate to card him and he has convinced the ref to do so. BS call.

That has been a consistent feature this season - the TMO is directing passive referees, not merely assisting

Craig Joubert was dreadfully biased against the Qantas Harmless Wallabies and made them lose when they deserved to win, just like Romain Poite hates them, and Wayne Barnes, George Clancy, JP Doyle, Jérôme Garcès, Pascal Gaüzère, Glen Jackson, John Lacey, Nigel Owens, Jaco Peyper, Chris Pollock, Fairley Arrow, Federico Anselmi, Stuart Berry, Mike Fraser, Eric the Eel, Angus Gardner, Leighton Hodges, Marius Mitrea, Mathieu Raynal, George You Goose, Graham Hughes (didn't he play for Canterbury in League back in the '70s or '80s?), Ben Skeen, André Watson, Paddy O'Brien, Jonathan Kaplan, Shaun Veldsman, Stuart Dickinson, Peter Marshall, Nic Berry, Rohan Hoffmann, Kerry Fitzgerald, James Leckie, Matt O'Brien, Rasta Rasivhenge, Alain Rolland, Roger Vanderfield and Steve Walsh.

Their evil bias is earnestly dissected and discussed, in shrill terms, by Australian fans for weeks after every loss by Our Lads.