Rugby Union 2009 [Archive] - Page 15

kellco88

29/06/2009, 1:51 PM

Its a digrace that Burger only got 8 weeks. A case of a big name influencing the citing commission decision. I guarantee if it happened at any other level it would be a minimum 6 month ban.

endabob1

29/06/2009, 2:09 PM

2 weeks for Botha, misses next weeks dead rubber, big deal.

8 for Burger is designed so he misses just the first half of the tri-nations, had it been the 12 that Quinlan got he would have missed the whole thing & rightly so.

paul_oshea

30/06/2009, 9:45 AM

De Villers' comments were a disgarce too. As brillliant a spectacle as top class rugby union is, I still can't help feel that there's a reluctance high up to take on some of the worst aspects of the game. Burger gets 8 weeks - a joke of a suspension. I can't imagine he'll lose much sleep over yesterday's headline in The Observer - "5 Lions in Hospital, Burger Takes The Blame" . If anything he'd cut it out & show to his grandchildren :)

Still, imagine if the ball sailing through the posts with the clock already run down was at Cardiff. Such a fine line and all that. What was it Kipling said about defeat & victory?

Who, Mr Kipling?!

"Exceedingly good cakes"

pete

30/06/2009, 12:00 PM

O'Driscoll is out of the 3rd test as he is flying home tomorrow (wednesday).

paul_oshea

30/06/2009, 12:29 PM

He is out of the test because he is flying home?! I don't get that? Is he injured?

Stuttgart88

30/06/2009, 12:36 PM

Who, Mr Kipling?!

"Exceedingly good cakes"You know the old joke:

Do you like Kipling?

I don't know, I've never Kippled.

rambler14

30/06/2009, 12:44 PM

O'Driscoll is out of the 3rd test as he is flying home tomorrow (wednesday).

2nd bout of concussion on the tour so rightly sent home. I don't think he could take a 3rd dose.

paul_oshea

30/06/2009, 12:49 PM

Its annoying when you see with little time left and one man makes a huge tackle to try and rally the others, yet none step up to the plate. At that time the BOKs really looked like they were going to pull ahead and win quite easily and then o'driscoll does that. None of the other players took up the mantle at that stage. POC as captain should have, but he never seems to be able make those hards yards or make those crunching tackle that I think a good captain should be able make. You could say O'Gara too*

*But the brother did get me thinking that he didn't seem too sure about what he was doing, and that he might still have been concussed. Its not usually like him to "loose the head" i.e. over-exuberant in this case. Though if you have been sitting on the bench for 150 odd minutes of 2 test games it might be hard to contain yourself.

OneRedArmy

30/06/2009, 9:09 PM

I'd worry about O'Driscoll's career and indeed his long-term health. He had another one in this years 6N.

Recent medical evidence is pointing towards multiple concussions resulting in longer term brain injury
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-27-sports-concussions_N.htm

shakermaker1982

01/07/2009, 11:34 AM

BOD needs a few months off and maybe invest in a Peter Cech style head cap! Legend.

It will be interesting to see what they do with the team for the third test. Flutey or Earl's at 13?

endabob1

01/07/2009, 11:43 AM

I'd love to see Earls get a run, he's been excellent in the games I've seen him

pete

01/07/2009, 11:48 AM

I'd love to see Earls get a run, he's been excellent in the games I've seen him

A Roberts/Earls midfield would certainly not lack for pace. Earls might struggle defensively but would make up for it in attack.

Flutely has done nothing to impress so far & while he could get a place at 12 don't see him as a 13.

DmanDmythDledge

01/07/2009, 11:50 AM

I thought Roberts was out of third test as well?

endabob1

01/07/2009, 12:01 PM

Pre-tour i thought Flutey was the favourite for parterning BOD but he's been absolute sh!t, if Roberts is out I'd stick Hook & Earls in the centre

joeSoap

02/07/2009, 10:38 AM

Pre-tour i thought Flutey was the favourite for parterning BOD but he's been absolute sh!t, if Roberts is out I'd stick Hook & Earls in the centre And leave out a natural centre in D'Arcy? I think not....

endabob1

02/07/2009, 10:55 AM

:eek: I'd forgotten D'Arcy was even there :o

rambler14

02/07/2009, 11:33 AM

British & Irish Lions (vs South Africa, 3rd Test)

15 Rob Kearney (Leinster / Ireland)
14 Ugo Monye (Harlequins / England)
13 Tommy Bowe (Ospreys / Ireland)
12 Riki Flutey (London Wasps / England)
11 Shane Williams (Ospreys / Wales)
10 Stephen Jones (Scarlets / Wales)
9 Mike Phillips (Ospreys / Wales)

8 Jamie Heaslip (Leinster / Ireland)
7 Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues / Wales)
6 Joe Worsley (London Wasps / England)
5 Paul O’Connell (Munster / Ireland, Captain)
4 Simon Shaw (London Wasps / England)
3 Phil Vickery (London Wasps / England)
2 Matthew Rees (Scarlets / Wales)
1 Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks / England)

Replacements

16 Ross Ford (Edinburgh / Scotland)
17 John Hayes (Munster / Ireland)
18 Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys / Wales)
19 David Wallace (Munster / Ireland)
20 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers / England)
21 Harry Ellis (Leicester Tigers / England)
22 James Hook (Ospreys / Wales)

endabob1

02/07/2009, 11:42 AM

Earls not making at least the bench is a shock especiallly after his last couple of games. Flutey has had an awful tour, I can't see any justification for him playing & moving Bowe out of position when he's been the Lions only form winger on tour seems rather odd.
Vickery's inclusion is a disaster waiting to happen (again)
Not sure what Wallace did wrong to get dropped, but Williams is fine by me.

endabob1

02/07/2009, 11:53 AM

Boks side, plenty of changes too, not many weak links though, Brussow should be first choice & Kankowski is top class.
I don't rate Olivier but he's very highly thought of in SA, Kirchner is an actual full back which makes a change. Ndungane is an excellent finisher but I haven't seen the other winger (don't see too many Cheetahs games)

South Africa: Kirchner (Bulls); Ndungane (Sharks), Fourie (Lions), Olivier (Bulls), Nokwe (Cheetahs); M Steyn (Bulls), Du Preez (Bulls); Mtawarira (Sharks), Ralepelle (Bulls), Smit (Sharks), Muller (Sharks), Matfield (Bulls), Brussow (Cheetahs), Smith (Cheetahs), Kankowski (Sharks).
Replacements: B du Plessis (Sharks), Steenkamp (Bulls), Carstens (Sharks), Sykes (Sharks), Spies (Bulls), R Pienaar (Sharks), F Steyn (Sharks).

DmanDmythDledge

02/07/2009, 12:34 PM

Is Fitzgerald injured?

pete

02/07/2009, 12:54 PM

Is Fitzgerald injured?

From BBC:

Four players were ruled out for the rest of the tour following the ferocious contest in Pretoria, props Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones as well as O'Driscoll and Roberts, forcing head coach Ian McGeechan to make changes.

Seems Fitzgerald was dropped which is bizarre.

Very poor Lions team. Shane Williams has been living on reputation all tour but nothing to show he has any form despite loads of changes.

The only reason the Lions have a chance is bacuse of all the SA changes.

endabob1

02/07/2009, 1:25 PM

Can't believe Fitzgerald was dropped on the basis of his performance, I would assume it's a prevention thing with his eye and/or fearing repercussions from other friendly Boks

OneRedArmy

02/07/2009, 3:09 PM

Midfield and wings are the opposite of whatever a form team is.

If the Boks have any appetite on Saturday (with 10 changes and Tri Nations upcoming they should have), it could get really, really ugly.

paul_oshea

02/07/2009, 3:40 PM

5 forwards, im assuming they are hoping no backs get injured!!

we play them in the autumn don't we, i reckon with a full strength squad ave a good chance beleive it or not!

jbyrne

02/07/2009, 4:11 PM

5 forwards, im assuming they are hoping no backs get injured!!

wallace has played in the backs for munster before

joeSoap

03/07/2009, 8:00 AM

wallace has played in the backs for munster before
In the Magners League....this would be an unreachable step up. I think the logic behind it is that Hook can cover Out half and centre, Bowe can cover centre, full back and wing, Kearney wing and full back etc therefore he went heavy on forward cover.

joeSoap

03/07/2009, 8:02 AM

Talk about trying to deflect what Burger did...this is a joke (http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/lions-tour/springboks-fan-the-flames-as-ogara-accused-of-eyegouging-1803872.html)

endabob1

03/07/2009, 8:08 AM

jbyrne

03/07/2009, 8:11 AM

joeSoap

03/07/2009, 9:19 AM

True. But perhaps the South Africans still suffer from the belief that they can do whatever they want to whoever they want....Burger being the alpha male, blonde, 6ft 4 and all that crap....

endabob1

03/07/2009, 9:30 AM

isnt there an independant citing officer? nothing to do with the lions that he got cited other than it was one of their players that got attacked

Yes, it was Kiwi, Steve Hinds who did the citing not the Lions, this is a country built on propaganda, never let the truth get in the way of a good story!

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=3097&art_id=nw20090627204351379C517282

pete

03/07/2009, 1:59 PM

If I was O'Gara I would sue for defamation, show evidence or shut the f-ck up.
Living here I am astonished at the propaganda that goes with the Bok's the tv coverage is something else, they are constantly implying that the only reason Burger was cited is beacuse the Lions are bad losers..... it does my head in.

Amazing it took almost a full week to come up with that gouging accusation. O'Gara should not let that stand without some action.

Lions are to some extent bad losers (well TV supporters anyway) but that doesn't take away from Boks persecution complex.

There will be punch up within minutes of the start tomorrow. It will require a strong referee.

IsMiseSean

03/07/2009, 6:44 PM

Talk about trying to deflect what Burger did...this is a joke (http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/lions-tour/springboks-fan-the-flames-as-ogara-accused-of-eyegouging-1803872.html)

I cant wait for the boks to come to Croke Park now... I wonder what sort of reception Burger and Fourie will receive?? ;)

As for the team tomorrow...
Monye deserves another shot
Im glad M. Williams gets a start
S. Williams and Flutey have been awful this tour
Flutey only gets the nod in my opinion because of the wasps link as does Worsley...
Earls, Fitzgerald barring injuries will probably be part of the next series, they should be involved... Earls deserves a start or at least a place on the bench, he was offered more than Flutey on the tour!!
Glad the Bull got in there.... :)

Rovers fan

04/07/2009, 1:47 PM

Great stuff so far:) Brilliant play by heaslip and flutey to set up williams for 2 run in tries. Did shaw deserve a yellow? I missed the replay 'cause by stream cut out...

elroy

04/07/2009, 1:52 PM

A score for SA before half time AGAIN, could turn out to be a big score. I very much expect SA to come back in the second half, Lions are playing well so far but its almost inevitable that they will struggle in the second half. SA are 5/2 on betfair, very tempting.

Shaw led with his knees in the tackle so I think the yellow probably was the correct call. Kearney, Flutey and Williams playing very well so far.

IsMiseSean

04/07/2009, 2:29 PM

Its looking good now...
O'Connell outplaying Matfield

Schumi

04/07/2009, 2:40 PM

25-9 with 10 minutes to go. Game over. South Africa giving away silly penalties now.

OneRedArmy

04/07/2009, 2:43 PM

I'll bet all those who say it's a dead rubber and meaningless wouldn't say the same if the Boks got the whitewash.

shakermaker1982

04/07/2009, 3:17 PM

Heaslip impressed today. His interview in todays guardian means the game against the boks this November will be very tasty. Cannot wait.

The lions were outclassed four years ago but this time around the series was there for the taking. I still cannot believe they threw the second test away.

endabob1

22/07/2009, 8:33 AM

endabob1

27/07/2009, 1:15 PM

Jean De Villiers signing for Munster, very good signing, top class inside centre.
They reckon there will be 3 or 4 more Bok's leaving after the Tri Nations so it'll be a much weakened Bok squad that comes in November

Looked like a bad knock he picked up at the weekend, from personal experience I thought it looked like ligament damage but there's been no confirmation from SARFU

Jofspring

28/07/2009, 11:27 AM

Looked like a bad knock he picked up at the weekend, from personal experience I thought it looked like ligament damage but there's been no confirmation from SARFU

Its been confirmed as a bad cramp and he should be back for their next match.

Mr A

14/08/2009, 10:59 AM

Very bad news for Ireland and especially Ulster that Rory Best will miss the entire season. It's not a position that we're blessed with much depth in and if anything was to happen to Flannery now we'd really be in trouble.

Paddy Garcia

17/08/2009, 10:44 PM

Three year ban for Richards. Good enough for him, involved in 4 similar cover-ups!!!

joeSoap

20/08/2009, 11:28 AM

Three year ban for Richards. Good enough for him, involved in 4 similar cover-ups!!!

Not sure I agree with this. It's something that has gone unpunished in rugby for a lonmg long time. Players deliberately draw blood to elicit substitutions all the time and I'd safely say that every professional side has done it over the years.

Richards and Harlequins main crime was being so blatant about it.

endabob1

20/08/2009, 11:38 AM

They are being made an example of as a deterent, i have no issues with that.

joeSoap

20/08/2009, 11:50 AM

Agreed. However a ban of 3 years is pretty draconian. Richards was a great player, and a fine coach. He is not the only one to do this or to have done this and wont be the last.

juniorballer

15/09/2009, 9:43 AM

I see the Irish teams have gotten off to a shaky start in the Magners. All of them lost in the first round, but some better performances escept for Connacht last Friday. It seems to be getting better as a tournament each year which is great. Its better standard than the English premiership now.

joeSoap

18/09/2009, 10:17 AM

De Villiers landed in Cork yesterday. What a signing!! I believe this guy is going to make a massive contribution to Munster and the Heineken Cup in general. It's probably going to mean a winger role for Keith Earls, but hey, how bad.

A Munster side for the Heineken Cup opener now could read:

Paul Warwick; Doug Howlett, Liefemi Mafi, Jean De Villiers, Keith Earls; Ronan O'Gara, Tomas O' Leary; Marcus Horan, Jerry Flannery, John Hayes; Paul O'Connell, Donncha O'Callaghan; Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, Denis Leamy.
Subs: Denis Fogarty, Julian Brugnaut, Mick O'Driscoll, Neil Ronan, Peter Stringer, Barry Murphy, Felix Jones.

Thats a serious team if it all clicks.

Jofspring

17/10/2009, 6:24 PM

Munster top of the table after two games. I'll take that especially with how they performed over the two games. Very shakey performances with way too many errors. A top class team would have seriously punished Munster today especially. There is alot of work to be done before they meet Perpignan.