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Rugby 2017 Discussion
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And in case people are interested Wales defeated South Africa 24-22 in Cardiff on Saturday in the last test of 2017.
Given some of the performances on show you could be forgiven for thinking even the players themselves were not interested. Coetzee should please quit
On a more positive note, good start to the season for the Blitzbokke in the dubai7s tournament. And also good to see the Cheetahs be competitive in the Pro 14.
Wales-SA was awful, Jeremy Guscott was right in calling it a second division match.
Very interesting to read non South African's views on SA rugby and the issues that it has. Some are true some not so much, i mean someone on here believes top SA rugby players earn 14k euros a year 
, that's what teachers earn in the country, not top rugby players.
1 The biggest problem currently is the coach. He really is a joke, he's basically the Moyes of rugby, a charlatan of note.
2 After that is due to the changes in the reffing of the game, we're being left behind tactically as a nation, hence our super rugby teams struggle so much. We're basically the Italy of rugby, anti rugby at it's finest but the laws of the breakdown have been adjusted and our effectiveness has decreased hugely. Only one super rugby team is doing well, and it's the one that plays the best 'running' rugby of them all with a big New Zealand influence in the coaching style.
3 The biggest most historic teams are currently poor yet their players are still the bulk of the national team. The coach has basically picked a side based on his Stormers side, even the overseas players he's picked are those that used to play under him there(Louw and Vermuelen). We have better players than what we're putting out there. The best local side doesn't have enough fans and presence on the media to question the selection process that we're seeing.
4 The selection currently is the worst I've ever seen in my life for any team at any level. The best players aren't being picked. Someone like De Allende shouldn't be anywhere near the set up, as he's probably the 5th best inside centre in the country but instead he's started a fair number of games in recent times. Our national team is normally based on the best side in the nation, however the Lions play different rugby to the rest of the teams(which is to change cause Mitchell has been hired by the bulls) and their players
5 The vintage style of rugby we're known for isn't working as well as it has in the past.
6 Losing players to overseas nations is also a big problem, but lots of the players overseas aren't better than what we have in the country. It's not like prime 50 cap starting stars are currently overseas. Lots of them are disgruntled players who are angry at not making the boks on a consistent basis. Nowadays it's becoming concerning as blue chip players are leaving or thinking about it. Serfontein is certainly a concerning departure though, also someone like Cloete being frustrated by the selection at the boks isn't helping. Most of the best SA rugby players ply their trade at home.
7 As for quota's, there's enough high quality players of colour for them to fill these spots very easily.
, that's what teachers earn in the country, not top rugby players. 1 The biggest problem currently is the coach. He really is a joke, he's basically the Moyes of rugby, a charlatan of note.
2 After that is due to the changes in the reffing of the game, we're being left behind tactically as a nation, hence our super rugby teams struggle so much. We're basically the Italy of rugby, anti rugby at it's finest but the laws of the breakdown have been adjusted and our effectiveness has decreased hugely. Only one super rugby team is doing well, and it's the one that plays the best 'running' rugby of them all with a big New Zealand influence in the coaching style.
3 The biggest most historic teams are currently poor yet their players are still the bulk of the national team. The coach has basically picked a side based on his Stormers side, even the overseas players he's picked are those that used to play under him there(Louw and Vermuelen). We have better players than what we're putting out there. The best local side doesn't have enough fans and presence on the media to question the selection process that we're seeing.
4 The selection currently is the worst I've ever seen in my life for any team at any level. The best players aren't being picked. Someone like De Allende shouldn't be anywhere near the set up, as he's probably the 5th best inside centre in the country but instead he's started a fair number of games in recent times. Our national team is normally based on the best side in the nation, however the Lions play different rugby to the rest of the teams(which is to change cause Mitchell has been hired by the bulls) and their players
5 The vintage style of rugby we're known for isn't working as well as it has in the past.
6 Losing players to overseas nations is also a big problem, but lots of the players overseas aren't better than what we have in the country. It's not like prime 50 cap starting stars are currently overseas. Lots of them are disgruntled players who are angry at not making the boks on a consistent basis. Nowadays it's becoming concerning as blue chip players are leaving or thinking about it. Serfontein is certainly a concerning departure though, also someone like Cloete being frustrated by the selection at the boks isn't helping. Most of the best SA rugby players ply their trade at home.
7 As for quota's, there's enough high quality players of colour for them to fill these spots very easily.
How much of an impact do you think Erasmus will have on the Boks' fortunes?
Little to none, he's straight from the school of Meyer, White and Van Graan. People like him aren't open to change and sort of see the lions way of doing things as not the right way culturally in our rugby.
First Zebo is gone then the talk of POM and now CJ, do they actually want us to put out a decent team next year, or do they want 1 super province
Yay - go Ospreys
leaves before we lose again
leaves before we lose again
Decent weekend in the Champions Cup so far but there's one thing i didn't like seeing. During the Glasgow vs Montpellier match, Bismarck Du Plesis waved an imaginary card in the direction of the ref after his team was awarded a penalty try. I hate seeing footballers do it and rugby must ensure that it doesn't become a part of rugby. As it was Johnny Gray was sin binned.
Yes poor form from Bismarck there, no place in rugby for that nonsense. Have seen refs starting to clamp down on some of the nonsense we've been seeing from players in recent times regarding questioning decisions.
Terrible weekend for the English in Europe.
Leicester, Exeter and Quins all well beaten by the Irish provinces. Saints and Wasps hammered by Ospreys and La Rochelle. Bath edged out by Toulon and then today, having upset their supporters with a lack of communication after yesterdays postponement, Sarries were absolutely slaughtered at home by Clermont.
Fortunately for them, it's double header week so they get the chance to bounce back next weekend for some revenge. I reckon Bath and Wasps will fancy their chances at home and Saints and Exeter will give Ospreys and Leinster good hard games away.
Last year Munster hammered Leicester at home, only not to show up a week later in Welford Road and let them nick it. I can't see that happening again - we looked stronger in every facet on Saturday and will be travelling over expecting a win.
Not sure either Quins or Sarries have a hope of picking up away wins though. Ravenhill and Stade Michelin are two of the last places you want to travel needing a crucial victory. Can see both sides losing heavily.
Is it just a blip or are we seeing a Lions hangover among the English sides this year? They've certainly looked off the pace during the first 3 rounds.
Leicester, Exeter and Quins all well beaten by the Irish provinces. Saints and Wasps hammered by Ospreys and La Rochelle. Bath edged out by Toulon and then today, having upset their supporters with a lack of communication after yesterdays postponement, Sarries were absolutely slaughtered at home by Clermont.
Fortunately for them, it's double header week so they get the chance to bounce back next weekend for some revenge. I reckon Bath and Wasps will fancy their chances at home and Saints and Exeter will give Ospreys and Leinster good hard games away.
Last year Munster hammered Leicester at home, only not to show up a week later in Welford Road and let them nick it. I can't see that happening again - we looked stronger in every facet on Saturday and will be travelling over expecting a win.
Not sure either Quins or Sarries have a hope of picking up away wins though. Ravenhill and Stade Michelin are two of the last places you want to travel needing a crucial victory. Can see both sides losing heavily.
Is it just a blip or are we seeing a Lions hangover among the English sides this year? They've certainly looked off the pace during the first 3 rounds.
Or maybe the Aviva Premiership isn't what it's made out to be. Certain journalists (Cough) Stephen Jones (Cough) have devoted a lot of their time to denigrating the Pro 12/14, and have instead lauded the AP. This weekend might help them to re-assess their opinions.
Oh I think the last 15 years of European rugby has shown us that the English premiership isn't as good as certain journalists over there like to think it is.
But they usually have a couple of competitive sides and I don't remember there ever being a weekend whitewash as bad as this before.
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Naas Botha is the best.
It's 10 years since I last saw Leinster take such a dicking up front as they took in that first half. Beaten in every facet of forward play and in much of the backline as well!
Unfortunately for Exeter, they didn't take full advantage of the two yellow cards they forced and are only 8 points behind. Can see Leinster coming out in the second half a lot more focused and still edge this.
Unfortunately for Exeter, they didn't take full advantage of the two yellow cards they forced and are only 8 points behind. Can see Leinster coming out in the second half a lot more focused and still edge this.
Alan Quinlan sounds as if he's had a few drinks there, slurring his words.
Good game between Munster and Leinster with Munster leaving themselves too much to do for the 2nd half. Also, it was the first Pro 14 game i've watched.
Not a bad one for a first match! It was definitely a derby, frantic and loads of errors, but some absolutely fantastic end to end passages and lovely tries. Larmour's in particular :O
France has sacked Guy Noves who will be replaced by former Italy coach Jacques Brunel. @JPRouve What do you make of the sacking of Noves and appointment of Brunel?
I have been trying to wrap my head around it for two weeks and haven't got anything intelligent to say.
Noves is one of the best rugby manager ever but he miserably failed with France and I'm not surprised or shocked by his sacking. I ranted about it in this thread but the main problem is that french players are dumb and they have bad individual technique which isn't a recipe for success at international level. So while Brunel is objectively a good manager himself, he doesn't have much material to work with and that's without taking into account the fact that french players barely train with each others in a national setup and they don't have a common philosophy.
Chris Boyd to leave the Canes for Northampton.
2017! Time to make a new thread
Is this the place for talk of the Super League?
This and the Rugby 2018 threads are for Rugby Union related discussions.
Ah sure you can try to talk about League in these threads too, just might not find anyone into it
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/rug...-six-nations-time.436116/page-3#post-22128548
Club League > Club Union
International Union > International League
International Union > International League