The Silver Fern

It’s been a minute…

I’ve been preoccupied with life. Perhaps I have lived in Australia too long now. The game with all its changes and the lack of parochialism for the game, here in Eshay-land, has rubbed off on me. I don’t follow the NPC anymore and couldn’t tell you who the captain is for Wellington. But this World Cup has been somewhat of a revival for my interest. I have always been a rugby guy but it’s waned in the Nrl stronghold of QLD where I live. Now though, watching this WC has been great for helping me remember that even though I don’t recognise many things about the game I grew up playing, living and loving. There are still aspects of this great sport that are thankfully still very much the same. The drama and the banding together to get the job done are very much still there. The fairytale for someone like Whitelock to be the player to earn his team penalty to finish them off. It’s why we watch.

Not surprisingly I still hate England. But I also now very much dislike Ireland. Sexton, as others have said, is an absolute fuckwit. Seeing all these Insta posts during the last few years, saying he was as good as Larkham, Wilkinson and DC was annoying. But the closer the World Cup got he was being touted as the best flyhalf the game has seen. The best flyhalf the game has seen shovelled the ball on for 80 odd minutes today. The biggest game of his career and all he had to offer was an etc set of hands for the ball to touch. I haven’t been here for some 2-3 years and when I was the Irish posters were always very good blokes. I don’t like to say gracious as that sounds patronising. Just good guys. But fuck your team has become easy to dislike. When you’re the top guys detractors are everywhere I guess. Also to be the best you need to have an arrogance about you. But Ireland, in the last 10-12 months especially ( “ …a shit McCaw”) have just built themselves up to a point where todays obvious tragedy, for them, is oh so enjoyable for everyone else. The fact they have been as good as they have been is great for the game. It’s great for their fans and great for their country. But otherwise pretty please, with a cherry on top, eat. a. dick. (Can I say that? I am not up to date with the in and outs of the fern in 2023). Again that’s not focussed on the Irish posters here. Just the Irish team themselves and the non rugby Irish bandwagon hoppers. But especially you Sexton. Who post match had a face like a thousand sucked lemons. I don’t doubt his disappointment was real and he has had an outstanding career for his country. But you’re the type of player the game needs rid of. There was a moment where, as a senior player he was mouthing off, post game at one of his teams mates when he should have been consoling him. Fuck right off.

Anyway on to the next. Ardie and Cane played their best game together, I thought. We tackled like demons and there were selections we either couldn’t make through injury or discipline that meant we could have been potentially better. So fuck all this talk that Ireland didn’t show up. We just meshed and got it right with what players we had on the day and tackled them out of the game.

I don’t care, in this moment, if we win from here. I’m contented, for today. Tomorrow will be different. But today I’m just happy for this team.

I’ve been drinking since 3pm it’s 7:30 now so I apologise if that’s incoherent waffle.

Go Australia.

I feel sick.

Haven’t read the thread.

Obviously gutted. There are days and there are days. This is the latter. Decipher that as you will.

I would like to think, that what was the centrepiece of our game being utterly ruined like this, there will be some wholesale changes to improve it. So it doesn't ever happen again. But then that would assume that the people who decide the rules actually care about the game. There is no feel for the gravity of the situation or what’s at stake from that gormless tnuc in the TMO box. He’s a grown up hall monitor. The teachers pet that even the teacher doesn’t fucking like. The feeling with any of these officials should be about the game. It’s flow and the affect whatever contentious call may have on the game. It can not be some idiot, train spotter with zero fan in him making these calls. I’m not for a moment suggesting that these people turn a blind eye. But to over turn an on field decision so long after the fact. To decide one head contact doesn’t require any type of review and then another a red card. Then once the precedent has been set go ahead and ignore your own standards by allowing Kolisi to return. That not only is there no feel for the game but there is a level of self interpretation going on. Not a clear directive.

Im absolutely fine with SA winning. They deserved it. They played what was in front of them and defended like demons. du Toit was immense. I wish we had someone in our team that kept people looking to see where he is. He fairly blindsided fucking everyone today.

We had the chance to take the lead and we missed both of them. We also l, IMO, should have kept pushing instead of taking the long range attempt. Our ball security was horrid and players we’ve depended on went missing. Jordan and Taylor at the front of that line. I felt the choice to sub Smith was the worst call we made as a team. He was in control and the game was far from decided. Christie shouldn’t have been in the match day squad let alone on the field. Talea was my MOM. He was outstanding. Savea close behind. The props DeGroot and Lomax carried well and held up our scrum amazingly.

I don’t think we were supposed to win. Not in the stars, World Rugbys plans and certainly not in the poor excuse for a coaches playbook. If there’s one take away from all of this, and I am not vengeful person, but Fozzy did not really deserve to have “World Cup winning head coach” in his resume. And he doesn’t.

Malo boys. Malo. You did us proud.

@salacious-crumb said in 17 Test AB to Play for Tonga at World Cup:

I'm seeing Ma'a Nonu's name mentioned, and I'm a huge Nonu fan, but seeing him in a different national rep jersey to me stinks of mercenariness, and 'tho would be good for Tonga, I'm not convinced the optics are good for the game.

It would be a massive coup for Tonga considering he is Samoan....

After living 18 years in the UK my brother went along to Lord's for the first time for the first day with his cricket mad youngest son. My nephew has lived his entire life in the UK but still rocked up wearing black caps kit.

Shame Reed couldnt make the trip

I am constantly annoyed that we don't win enough.

Oh, can't see a problem with him losing his job/s. He should never have been let back in the first place. It's not about not being allowed to reform. OK you feel sorry and youre ready to prove it. Good that's all society can ask. However it doesn't mean you should get your old job back. It means you can be a law abiding citizen that keeps his fucken hands to himself and finds work in another area. Outside of the privileged career you threw down the toilet when you broke a women's back, fluffybunny!

I apologise for the swearing. Given the ferns new guidelines etc. mods please feel free to censor......

The Warriors are, after 25 years, a novelty to the Australian rugby league public. We are still an expansion team earning our right to be here. It doesn’t matter that the warriors probably have the largest fan base in the competition. That we are in the top selling jerseys year in year out. We are just a team of islanders, Maori and Aussie cast offs. Tonight Braith Anasta referred to RTS as his dark horse to win the Daly M. He’s the fucken incumbent! How can he be a fucken dark horse!

But what NZers don’t realise, who don’t live here and know how the warriors are perceived on the ground here in Bogantasia, is that no one wants to know why we get so many bad calls against us. No one cares about [Toovey voice] an inquiry. It’s just how shit is. We are an unwanted club. The commentators struggle to veil their dislike of the warriors. Saying something encouraging or complementary usually comes across as a knee jerk or shock comment. Like “fuck me dazed they actually completed a set”.

This is never going to change....Unless...We win the fucken thing, the whole thing. We can dominate a game and the post match is always going to one of amazement. When we string a few performances together there’s always an expectation that we will fall over eventually. The problem is that we do just that, we meet their expectation. We need to exceed their expectation. We need to win the Comp. It’s the only way the respect will ever come. The only way the refs will give us the rub is if we are seen as a team to respect by the Australian public. The only way that happens is if we become a must watch team. The only real way that happens is if we are the best team going.

It’s fucked and clearly not fair. But this is Australia and we are just a bunch of riffraff in their eyes.

Checking in late.....

Warburton is an absolute class act. He knew his team had played 14 men for 50 min and only just won. He is easily one of my favourite personalties

Lions live offside.

Can we get a ref that actually likes the game of rugby?

Its a can of worms repeatedly opened but Vunipola gets to stay on the field why exactly?

I hate NZ media, specifically TVNZ for drudging up a 9yo video of a SBW shoulder charge right after he switched codes. Its inciting public anger. Ditto our tall poppy syndrome on social media. He fucked up, let it go. The guy does a hell of a lot of good away from the field so put the pitch forks away FFS!.......and he had a direct hand in two WCs! IMO he lost his ability to wrap as Naholo came in. It was either use the arm and jam it, possible break it or wrap the arm around Naholo as he should have done. We all now he took another option and it was silly.

Ioane may be fast but his work rate at this stage of his test career is pants.

Dagg has been outstanding over 2 games but his last man defense is and has always been arse.

For me the AB villain of the game was Aaron Cruden. When we had a platform set, rumble up the middle taking 5m at a time from 40m out, he chose to kick across field for the Hail Mary. I appreciate everything he has done for NZ rugby, his fight back from cancer and he's a tiny man playing a giants game which I always like to see. However he went for the legacy play. He wanted the glory and a lasting impression of his time in the AB jersey and it was the wrong play. That was probably the point where I lost my shit.

Lastly "A win for the ages" they proclaim - ok you won against 14 men, should have been 14 vs 14 if Vunipola gets the same treatment SBW does, possibly 14 vs 13 with O'Briens swinging arm(based on the current IRB rulings....) then the consistently offside Maro Itoje probably should have had a seat for 10 as well. In fairness so does Cody Taylor for the late hit of Farrell. But come on "A win for the ages" really???

Curious to know what peoples thoughts are on this.

My own opinion is this is farcical. Being transgender is fine but to enter the sports arena as a women is one step too far for me.

The best part of the game happened after it finished

Phil Kearns “Australia need a bonus point victory next week” or words to that effect

Greg Clark “Do you think Australia can beat Argentina by 100?”

Fuck I laughed and laughed.

Best shit in ages.

I don't care about what happened with which pornstar or his addictions to whatever. I don't care about the thousands of naysayers with their "who cares about Tiger??" and "There are other golfers too" comments.

This guy is Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Usain Bolt, Roger Federer and Michael Phelps. Make the best of the time we have of these once in a lifetime athletes.

I can say his girlfriend/wife game has well and truly dropped though..

I do not wish failure on anyone, except a coworker that keeps drinking all the low-fat milk in their fat loss shakes so we have none left for our coffee, and if Foster gets the gig I hope he proves the doubters wrong and kills it. But this hater thinks it's going to be a rough tenure and he'll be gone by the end of 2021.

@mariner4life

I’ll jump on the Roosters bandwagon. They are a poor club punching above their weight and I like a Cinderella story. The only team that pays their supporters as well which is amazing when you have so little to work with. I saw they took on an old fella struggling to find his place in the world, a 300 game vet made way to let this guy live out his dream of playing for a premiership, for the 3rd time. Great club. Just need a bit more cash to really make things happen for them.

This is a paid post sponsored by The Roosters

Finally at a stage where i can do more vigorous training and this weekend I will be getting the help of my new live in trainer. The mrs is now a PT and I've managed to convince her to take me on as her project.

She is a nazi when it comes to her own training regime and nutrition. We may get a divorce when Im done but at least I'll look good for my Tinder photo..

@MN5 Ali is a fuck knuckle for sure but a comedian he is not.

I have never appreciated Ali's cliched brand of humour. Like the oh so side splitting time he and SBW decided to do anything but answer questions in WC presser. Im sure it was funny in his head but it was a classic "died on stage" moment.

It didn't surprise me at all when I found out about Ali. I don't think its that big of a deal TBH at his stage of his career. Let he who is without sin etc cast the first blah, blah - so I can't really go all holier than though.

JOC though. Just a couple weeks ago at the 10s Aussie coms were saying he's so young he can come back and give it a real go. Nah! He's a young dumb coont that will go down in rugby history as a coulda, woulda, shoulda but did too many lines, retired because of severe repetitive stress disorder in his right hand from having to flick his hair to one side and marrying his reflection. Just a massive waste of talent. When he was good I felt uneasy with him in the Wallabies backline. Shame.

Can we have the Dark Knight Rises scenario? Oz win by a try and then the ground opens up swallowing both teams?? That's extreme. Just Nick Phipps will do.

@rembrandt this is not new. Anyone who has been shopping with a woman knows this. They are built for endurance.