Agree for sure with France Scotland - I thought at the time that it was getting close to the line and maybe they would have reviewed more last year.
Rugby 2019 Discussion
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I like the way he's kept everyone focused. Still got a job to do, Scotland won't be easy and Ireland will definately come to Cardiff wanting to prove a point.
I just had a look at some old videos of Murray box kicking and there's definitely something up with him. He used to follow the flight of the ball in the past after the kick but he's keeping his head down for so long now after kicking. He seems much more immobile. It gives the visual impression of him having no confidence in it, it looks kinda half-hearted. I wonder is he playing through pain to get to the world cup.
I dont fancy Ireland in Cardiff this year. We are suffering from injuries to the centres and lack of confidence in the half backs. Really worried for the french game because they have started to show some form with a decent showing in the final minutes when they changed the scrum half against england and also a good win against Scotland. I hope we find a win against France and then carry momentum to Cardiff but the form team is definitely wales and I fancy them for a grand slam.
He could be. Or he could be just lacking in confidence and feeling crappy after the stories in the press that caused him upset this year. Either way he needs to try get back to where he was.
Wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't recovered from the neck injury yet
Wouldn't be surprised at all. I saw people noting how slow he is to rucks at the moment too, he definitely was in the Italy match. That's why I'm wondering if he's masking it and playing through pain to get to the World Cup .
Maybe he reinjured it before the Exeter game, because that was the beginning of his troubles, since he got back, what ever it is marmion would be the No 1 scrum half if he was fit, at the moment
Marmion is back for Connacht so let's see. He might get back for the Wales match.
Anyone seen about this World League stuff? The players group have just released a scathing knockback of it. Thread:
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If it's going to devalue the World Cup, I'm not keen on it. Rugby Australia are keen on it though.
Anyone seen about this World League stuff? The players group have just released a scathing knockback of it. Thread:
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Would it not be smarter to expand the Southern tournament to include maybe Fiji and introduce promotion/relegation to a second tier including Tonga and namibia.....I'm probably being an idiot as that likely couldnt work. Also I think a second stream needs to be introduced for the six nations too. Spain, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Belgium and Holland. At least lets give the sport a chance of growing.
Rebels beat the Highlander earlier. The NZ domination of Super Rugby seems to be at an end though its still early days in the competition.
Rugby Australia are going to be keen on any idea that gives them an equal share of NH tv and sponsorship money.
Chiefs in some serious trouble at home versus the Sunwolves.
Sunwolves pulled it off! Fully deserved too.
Scarlets and Ospreys to merge as Ospreys are completely bust apparently. The plan is that the new merged region will be called the Scarlet Ospreys and train out of Swansea, play matches at Llanelli. The money generated from this new superprovince and saved from backing the underperforming Ospreys will be used to set up a new region in the North.
Welsh rugby is a clusterfeck of Brexit proportions.
Welsh rugby is a clusterfeck of Brexit proportions.
Refused to watch regional rugby full stop once Bridgend got done over. Welsh rugby's politics have been ridiculous for as long as I can remember.
I'm from Swansea and this is an absolute joke. WRU are pathetic.
I don't know if it's just my perception being from outside Wales but Scarlets and Ospreys are easily the two biggest and most identifiable brands of the four since ye carved the club game into regions. Blues just seem to go through the motions without ever challenging or impacting affairs at Pro 14 or European level while Dragons are just the whipping boys at the bottom alongside Zebre and the South Africans.
Scarlets have been brilliant over the last few years and Ospreys the most successful region of the pro era. This just seems a ridiculously shit decision.
You're spot on with all you said there mate. No one down South Wales is happy with this at all. Just can not see how it would work.
Is the issue with the welsh clubs just that they can't get bums on seats for games?
The issues run far deeper. Where Ireland had 4 historic provinces to easily feed the clubs into and England/France have several large cities and rugby heartlands to spread the load, the entirety of Welsh rugby scene resides in a small stretch of the South West which would fit between Wexford and Dublin in South Leinster alone.
They were firmly entrenched in their clubs for decades and centuries and there was no easy way to split/merge those clubs into professional regions without pissing off supporters. The traditions, history and rivalries of those clubs ran too deep and their is no feasible way for Welsh rugby to fund more than 3 or 4 professional outfits.
Add to this a hatred for being stuck in a league with the Irish and Scots while casting ever envious glances at an English setup which doesn't want them, and the fans have never bought into the modern era of Welsh rugby and don't attend matches in the numbers needed for the regions to be profitable and competitive.
At various stages though, it has been the Scarlets and the Ospreys who have come closest to bucking this trend and it seems ridiculous that those two are the regions to be merged, rather than Blues and Dragons.
Yeah it really does sound absurd. I read an article about how the university set up in Wales is producing great players and I thought it was translating into success at club level with the scarlets 2 years ago. The Ospreys are always a good challenge to the Irish Provinces. I didnt realise the welsh clubs didnt look too favourably on the Pro 14. It's a great league for blooding decent talent whilst feeding the international team. Ireland do it with a relatively small group of players.
I think it's the supporters rather than the clubs themselves. Your typical Ospreys, Scarlets or Blues fan feels the Irish teams and the referees are cheats and the Scottish, Italian and South African sides aren't good enough for them to be testing themselves on a weekly basis. They want to be involved in the English system like their football clubs are but the English have never shown any interest in including them.
This has led to apathy and resentment towards the league from large swathes of the Welsh support. This has hurt tv income and sponsorship as well as ticket sales and has self-perpetuated this idea that the league is sub-par. I hesitate to blame Welsh supporters for their attitude towards their regional setup because I understand and appreciate how they feel about their clubs and local areas and I recognise there is no real geographical answer to a working regional system over there.
Where I do get pissed off with them is their insistence on looking outside their own backyard for people to blame for their predicament. There are elements of the welsh support, particularly online, who have been shocking in their treatment of referees and other teams, players and supporters from outside Wales.
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To throw into the mix, think of how Connacht were almost disbanded and came back from the brink to win the Pro12. I've just finished reading the book on it. It seems appalling to merge two good teams in favour of bad ones.
I can understand somewhat where the supporters are coming from. Travelling between Ireland, Scotland and Italy is a tough one to support your team. I would struggle to understand how merging the two most successful clubs in this league will help the situation though. It's hard to understand why the success of the international team doesnt translate at club level but then some of your major players are now in England. It's a weird one! My dad used to love when the welsh fans came over for the old 5 nations games. He said they used to get the boat from Swansea to Cork for some reason and they would drink and sing their way to Dublin. Sounds gas craic.
Did the supporters ever leave Connacht though? I mean the gaelic grounds were always well attended even in the worst conditions. I think that had a big impact on how and why you won. That and Pat Laam and fantastic background work and some quality players who just never really got a chance at international level like O'Halloran and Muldoon.
According to the book, mostly yes but there were matches when there'd be 500 people there too. Understandable given the weather here
Now the situation is that they need a stadium expansion. Pat Lam pushed the idea of all of Connacht being involved, bringing the team all over the province for training. The fear of the province being disbanded brought people together too.
Not overly surprised to read news that Kieran Read will leave New Zealand rugby after the World Cup.
It's great to see the transition that happened. Is Connacht rugby going to share/rebuild a GAA stadium in Galway? I always though the best pairing would be with Galway United/Mervue for the crowd sizes and a decent 4G pitch. Could be overlap too in the supporter base?According to the book, mostly yes but there were matches when there'd be 500 people there too. Understandable given the weather here
Now the situation is that they need a stadium expansion. Pat Lam pushed the idea of all of Connacht being involved, bringing the team all over the province for training. The fear of the province being disbanded brought people together too.
Actually yeah, there was a story for a while that they'd partner up with Galway United, but they went for expanding the Sportsground instead. Public consultation was held last September.
There was also a story about some Saudis buying Galway United by the way, but I never heard anything more about that
Will they open it up for all sports? It would be great to see a good development in the West.Actually yeah, there was a story for a while that they'd partner up with Galway United, but they went for expanding the Sportsground instead. Public consultation was held last September.
There was also a story about some Saudis buying Galway United by the way, but I never heard anything more about that
I haven't kept track of it. The dog racing will still be there I think.
How do followers of the Pro 14 view the decision to bring two South African teams into the competition? Is it working? Would people like more South African teams in the Pro 14? It's assumed and perhaps a hope of many in Australia that more South African teams head north but is it good for the Pro 14?
Southern Kings meh, Cheetahs yeah.
Why would the Australian teams want the SA teams to head north? I would've thought a strong batch of teams from SA in Super rugby would be better no?
Australian teams may or may not want SA teams heading north but many fans in Australia do. There's a great desire in Australia for a more time zone friendly competition, teams from SA don't fit that bill so to speak. An ideal solution for many is kick SA out and put a team or two in Pacific Island in the competition. Games in South Africa are on too late for many Aussies (myself not included) to care. Plus, there's just a general apathy towards South Africa despite the relatively even head to head record between the two countries at test level.