The Rugby Union thread!!

[Erebus Pasha]

That's what you get when Kiwi's try to be innovative...

Gutted about losing to Harlequins by the way. I haven't been here because it's taken me some time to get over it. Was in a foul mood last weekend...

Mind you we did well to get to the final in the first place.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

To be fair to Harlequins they did play well, although I too wasn't a happy man after watching it. Sadly, the Tigers didn't perform as well as they could of.

[Erebus Pasha]

That's the crux of the matter - if we will play to our full potential we are a better side than the Harlequins will ever be.

[Halbard]

Portugal beat Wales in Lyon Sevens!
Also beat Italy and is we're going to play France now!!

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

That's the crux of the matter - if we will play to our full potential we are a better side than the Harlequins will ever be.

Well said.

[Sidus Preclarum]

The .
After the H-Cup, Clermont has choked yet again in a semi-final this year.
Jesus, they were ridiculous at times, with Nathan Hines taking the prize. And Parra's late penalty kick attempt was 1 meter short of matching Wilko's 15 points.

So, all red & black final, this year, Toulouse vs. Toulon.
Bleh.

As for the Lyon Sevens, hadn't even *heard* of it. Shame that 7 gets so little exposure here...

[Sidus Preclarum]

2012/13 Heineken Cup Pool Draw

Pool 1: Munster Rugby, Edinburgh Rugby, Saracens, Racing Metro 92
Pool 2: Toulouse, Leicester Tigers, Ospreys, Benetton Treviso
Pool 3: Biarritz Olympique, Harlequins, Connacht Rugby, Zebre
Pool 4: Northampton Saints, Ulster Rugby, Glasgow Warriors, Castres Olympique
Pool 5: Leinster Rugby, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Scarlets, Exeter Chiefs
Pool 6: Cardiff Blues, RC Toulon, Sale Sharks, Montpellier

[emotion_name]

Not a bad draw for my Blues, it helped being in top tier when draw was done mind! Poor Scarlets, what a nasty group to be in!

I thought there would have been a bit of an update/banter regarding the weekends internationals, but then i suppose we all feeling a bit flat.

Any Irish fans must hang there heads, as the AB showed just how far behind Irish rugby seems to be. Wonder if Leinster would have shipped that many tries to the AB?

England put up a good fight but were pipped by the Boks. I hear talk of how Farrell must move to centre so Flood can go in at 10, could this be the start of the pressure starting to break Farrel - look at Hooky as soon as he started getting shipped around the backline!

Then its onto Wales, what a waste of an opportunity and there s no excuse - we were outplayed. A lot is being made of how we came back to within 1 point, but imo the Wallabies took there foot off the gas and allowed us back into it, as soon as there was chance we might squeek it they started playing rugby again and it was game over! So how do we improve?

First off i think Prestland should be benched. Warburton gave him a dodgy pass, but his overall game was horrble, it was like Twickenham all over again! Put Hooky in at 10 and let Priestland see he has to be on form to hold his place. Then our forwards need a good kick up the arse, Pocock made mincemeat of us at the breakdown and Phillips was left to work with scraps, and finally someone, somewhere, has to be able to teach Jon Davies how to pass a bloody ball!!

I think the team for the next test should be

G.Jenkins
M.Rees
A.Jones
AW.Jones
I.Evans
D.Lydiate
S.Warburton
R.Jones
M.Phillips
J.Hook
G.North
A.Beck
S.Williams
A.Cuthbert
L.Halfpenny

[Sidus Preclarum]

Not a bad draw for my Blues

Possibly the most open & even group of the 6.
I'd go for Toulon.

Qualifying will be hard for ASM. Especially since they haven't an italian side to trash to secure a best runner-up spot.

Very tough 3rd pool : French champion, English vice-champion, Celtic League Champion. Poor Trevise

Rather a Lucky draw for Biarritz.
Yet again.
Zebre and connacht, a best runner-up spot should be within reach, if they get their together.

Can't see Racing go through their pool.
Castres... Maybe.

[emotion_name]

The Toulon games will be great for sure, how perfect a script is it that Gethin Jenkins will play against his old club the season after he left!!

Still a bit early, but id say

Munster and Sarries from pool 1
Ospreys and Toulouse from pool 2
Biarritz and Harlequins from pool 3
Ulster and Northampton from pool 4
Leinster and ASM from pool 5
Toulon and Blues from pool 6



Cian Healy and Mike Ross are injury doubts for Irelands 2nd Test against AB, and George North and Scott Williams are apparantly on course to recover in time for our 2nd test against Wallabies.

Man i hope we wins this 2nd test, quite simply we have to win one game and anything else is a complete failure. How thrilling would it be if the series went to the decider, instead of the 3rd test being a formality!

[Sidus Preclarum]

Still a bit early, but id say

Munster and Sarries from pool 1
Ospreys and Toulouse from pool 2
Biarritz and Harlequins from pool 3
Ulster and Northampton from pool 4
Leinster and ASM from pool 5
Toulon and Blues from pool 6

Each time resp. 1st and runner up ?
If so, which for best 2 runner ups ?

[emotion_name]

Yeah, thats top 2 in each group i reckon, with probably Toulouse and Northampton as best runners up!

The English teams have given notice they are withdrawing from the HC and the Amlin, apparantly it has to be 2 years notice given, and the French are rumoured to be about to do the same to basically force changes they want to the structure and what not of the European competitions.

Celtic/Italian league and Celtic/Italian cup anybody!

[Sidus Preclarum]

Yeah, thats top 2 in each group i reckon, with probably Toulouse and Northampton as best runners up!

That puts the tigers 3rd : Erebus will gut you :p

Also, I'd say that the 2nd spot of the pool where the Zebre are is bound to be a qualifying spot, but then again, I don't even know what their roster is supposed to be. Do they even have a website ?


Also, I suppose we have to wait for the result of the London Welsh appeal before they can proceed with the Buckler cup (:p) draw ?

[emotion_name]

That puts the tigers 3rd : Erebus will gut you :p

I know, but thats how i see it im afraid!

Also, I'd say that the 2nd spot of the pool where the Zebre are is bound to be a qualifying spot, but then again, I don't even know what their roster is supposed to be. Do they even have a website ?

Im not sure tbh with you, but i reckon the main surprise of this HC will be just that - that either of the 2nd best runner up spots WONT come from this pool!

Also, I suppose we have to wait for the result of the London Welsh appeal before they can proceed with the Buckler cup (:p) draw ?

Yep! Date is set as 21st June in central London, independant hearing and Exiles have already said they wll take legal action if appeal fails!



Northamptons coach has given some insight into why the english and french clubs are withdrawing from the HC and Amlin - basically they think its unfair that every team from the Pro12 gets automatic qualification when the Pro12 is a weaker league and it allows teams from the Pro12 to field fresher squads for european ties.

Seems about right to me, but i wonder what contracts the Pro12 has in place to protect the current set-up? Could be big pay-out to the Pro12 teams to accept changes!

Cardiff Blues have given new director of rugby Phil Davies the perfect chance to show he has made the right decision - his first game is against his old club, Worcester. We have also signed Lou Reed and Benoit Borrust, and posted losses last season of £2.3million!

Carrying on from their famous, historic win over the Baby Blacks at the Junior World Championships (the first that AB U20 have ever had), Wales trounced Samoa 74-3 to reach the semi finals, where we will have to play the Baby Blacks again. Tom prydie shone in this game imo, even though he has a senior cap already i see him being a major force in a few seasons at senior level test matches.

Finally, the WRU has revealed they are spending £3.5million on grassroots rugby like communities, schools and colleges. Funding grants will be made available, and teacher training will be provided, plus the debt on the millenium stadium was shrunk from £70 to £26million. Apparantly Wales was the most profitable Rugby Union by achieving a compound annual growth rate of 13.4% over a five-year period. It said in the past six years turnover had increased by about 24%, and its distribution of funding into the game across the same period by 30%.

Good to hear for me!

[emotion_name]

Also, one of the worst kept secrets in rugby has finally been confirmed by the man himself - Shane Williams has accepted a 1 year deal worth reportedly £300000 to play for a Japanese Division 2 team!

I honestly dont begrudge him anything at all, and if next year the WRU marketed another test as "Goodbye Shane" i would still buy tickets. Such a legend of the game, its sad that only real rugby fans know it will be a longtime, maybe never, before we see a player like Magic Daps again!

[Sidus Preclarum]

Yep! Date is set as 21st June in central London, independant hearing and Exiles have already said they wll take legal action if appeal fails!

Daaamn. I'm sooo impatient of knowing which Italian side I'll have the privilege to see playing in windy Charlèty next season.


As for the U20s, haven't see Wales, but those who have tell me they were impressive, and that we can brace ourselves for the 6 nations a few years from now...


France beat Australia with some pretty nifty Rugby :
http://www.wat.tv/video/eurosport/co...kb_2f1o7_.html

Not sufficent to qualify, though, after a loss against Argentina, narrow victory over Scotland. It really took them a hell lot of time to get into full gear.
The Argentinans were impressive : powerful forwards, and obile backs _ that 15 of them is quite something to see. The only thing they lacked against France, for their score to reflect their domination, was a decent kicker.
Stade signed their captain, btw. Overall, 10 signings so far, with an average of 22.5 years of age : can be seen as budget tightening, can also be seen as laying the foundations for a newfound stability after a few years of turmoil, with a change of ownership last year, and Cheika & Ledesma leaving.

[emotion_name]

Ok, so the British Teams have announced there teams for the weekends tests, and we shall start with my Wales!

Wales Team

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Leigh Halfpenny (Blues); Alex Cuthbert (Blues), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Ashley Beck (Ospreys), George North (Scarlets); Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Mike Phillips (Bayonne); Gethin Jenkins (Toulon), Matthew Rees (Scarlets), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Bradley Davies (Blues), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Dragons), Sam Warburton (Blues, capt), Ryan Jones (Ospreys).
Replacements : Richard Hibbard (Ospreys), Paul James (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Perpignan), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), James Hook (Perpignan), Scott Williams (Scarlets)

I wasnt to far out with my prediction the other day, even though there were rumours Warburton was going to switch to 8 to allow Tipuric to come in at 7, i had a feeling Howley would go for experience for this test. Good to see Bradley getting some gametime in the boiler room as well after his irish debacle, he does run some hard bloody yards!

Englands team for there second Test against the Boks has 4 changes, most noticeable is Farrell being benched (Flood in at 10 and Tuilagi moves inside centre to cover injured Brad Barritt with John Joseph getting his debut at 13)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

B Foden; C Ashton, J Joseph, M Tuilagi, D Strettle; T Flood, B Youngs; J Marler, D Hartley, D Cole, M Botha, G Parling, T Johnson, C Robshaw (capt), B Morgan.
Replacements : L Mears, A Corbisiero, T Palmer, P Dowson, L Dickson, O Farrell, A Goode.

And the Irish team thats going to the slaughter is

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

R Kearney, F McFadden, B O'Driscoll [capt], G D'Arcy, A Trimble, J Sexton, C Murray; C Healy, R Best, M Ross; D Tuohy, D Ryan; K McLaughlin, S O'Brien, J Heaslip. Replacements: S Cronin, D Fitzpatrick, D O'Callaghan, P O'Mahony, E Reddan, R O'Gara, S Zebo

[Sidus Preclarum]

Irish team thats going to the slaughter

*Figers crossed*

Apparently, the groups for the Buckler alcohol-free Cup have been drawn, regardless of the London Welsh appeal.


Pool 1:
Gloucester Rugby, London Irish, Bordeaux-Bègles, Mont-de-Marsan

Pool 2:
Perpignan, Worcester Warriors, Femi-CZ VEA Rovigo, Bizkaia Gernika RT (Spain)

Pool 3:
London Wasps, Newport Gwent Dragons, Bayonne, Rugby Mogliano

Pool 4:
Bath Rugby, Cammi Rugby Calvisano, Agen, Bucharest Wolves

Pool 5:
Stade Français Paris, *Newcastle Falcons, I Cavalieri Prato, Grenoble


Also, Stade will play 2 friendlies in France, 2 against the Pumas ( ! Roncero's idea, apparently), and one against the Sarries... 2 weeks after the start of the season...

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Unlucky England... Lost to the Springboks 36-27 (I think). Such a shame, but we've played some talented rugby. I'll look forward to the third game.

[emotion_name]

If congratulations are to be given to a team for there performance this weekend, then its Ireland!

What a fantastic, spirited, passionate display and its not a cliche to say the Irish can hold there heads up after that defeat. Playing the way they did, gritted teeth and heads up rugby after the mauling they took last week shows some real strength and character, so well done to the Irish and hopefully they can get that 1st ever win over the All Blacks next week!

Havnt seen highlights of the england game, so i will hold back on commenting but i did see Lancaster gave interview basically rueing missed chances and lost opportunities.

As for my Wales....well......

I cant understand why Priestland is keeping his shirt, and i bet Hooky cant either. His decision making has been below par for months now, and the final 2 minutes against wallabies showed how bad his thinking is.

Tell me, your 1 point up against Australia with just under 2 minutes to go before you win a historic victory! Do you

A) Keep the ball, go through the phases and play the clock, hope for a penalty but ultimately keep hold of the ball then hoof it into the stands when the hooter sounds

or

B) Kick possession away, to one of the most talented backlines in world rugby?

What a twinkie Priestland is, not that it matters much now as its a dead rubber but if he makes the starting 15 for final test then obviously Gats, Howley and co havnt completely got rid of "caps for the boys".

Shame as well because we started brightly and were right in it, scoring 2 tries to the wallabies one and our forwards gave Phillips the ball needed to release our backline.

Vuna has been cited for his charge on halfpenny and could possibly miss the next test, which is about right i think. When i think that Halfpennys yellow against Italy in 6N for clashing with Parisse was same punishment for Vuna's, makes me think the IRB may need a good long look at the tackle and contact area again!