Super Rugby News
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@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
@gt12 Nepia would have been able to tell you if I'd made even the slightest blink at having Hammer at the Crusaders.
It was correct that I had question marks over Schmidt - especially around his RWC performance and I didn't think the Crusaders needed any massive culture shift - just someone who could recruit and put together a better game plan than Toddy. Schmidt's risen in my estimation since then.
Sammy will probably be able to confirm that I was mainly advocating for Dave Hewett and if you dig deep enough you'll probably find somewhere that I said something along the lines that Razor and Tabai both sound thick as planks.
Which is probably still true, but it seems like Razor can coach a footy team! However, I'm reserving complete judgement on that till the end of the season.
Yep, and I was bagging Razor's appointment too.
Looks like my ability to pick coaches is about the same as my game picking
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@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Super Rugby News:
@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
These hypotheticals are wonderful fun now that Razor has the job and is doing well. But the fact of the matter is there was zero support for the super coach when the job was actually available. The fact Cantabs didn't even want him speaks volumes.
But you're safe to express your support for him now that there's no chance of him getting the gig.
Why would that matter, unless you think Hamish Riach and his board are avidly reading the fern and being guided by me?
If Hammer fucks up the Highlanders I'll be just as wrong as if he fucked up the Crusaders - and that's surely the only real thing at stake on the fern.
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you are doing sterling work here @Chris-B a few of the other trolls should be reading this thread and taking notes. A masterclass.
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@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
Sammy will probably be able to confirm that I was mainly advocating for Dave Hewett and if you dig deep enough you'll probably find somewhere that I said something along the lines that Razor and Tabai both sound thick as planks.
I had no problems with Hammer coming home to coach the Crusaders. He'd be heaps better than Toddy I reckon.
But as mentioned, Razor is the shit... way better than I ever thought he'd be
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@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Super Rugby News:
@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
These hypotheticals are wonderful fun now that Razor has the job and is doing well. But the fact of the matter is there was zero support for the super coach when the job was actually available. The fact Cantabs didn't even want him speaks volumes.
But you're safe to express your support for him now that there's no chance of him getting the gig.
Why would that matter, unless you think Hamish Riach and his board are avidly reading the fern and being guided by me?
If Hammer fucks up the Highlanders I'll be just as wrong as if he fucked up the Crusaders - and that's surely the only real thing at stake on the fern.
The point is you never supported Hammett being appointed Crusaders coach until after a new coach was locked in and experiencing good results. In other words, you only endorsed him when there was no way he'd be getting the job. Its a win-win. You can still stand by your man (or son) and his awesome coaching record, while you never have to worry about him being let loose on the Crusaders.
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@mariner4life said in Super Rugby News:
you are doing sterling work here @Chris-B a few of the other trolls should be reading this thread and taking notes. A masterclass.
What do you mean "other trolls"?
I'm in the happy position of mainly believing my view, but knowing it winds up plenty of others.
Incidentally, I need to do some real work, so I'll sign off by noting that I'm not going to be advocating for Hammer as the next AB coach - not because I'm a hypocrite - I just don't think he'll be the best man for the job by 2019.
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@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Super Rugby News:
@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Super Rugby News:
@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
These hypotheticals are wonderful fun now that Razor has the job and is doing well. But the fact of the matter is there was zero support for the super coach when the job was actually available. The fact Cantabs didn't even want him speaks volumes.
But you're safe to express your support for him now that there's no chance of him getting the gig.
Why would that matter, unless you think Hamish Riach and his board are avidly reading the fern and being guided by me?
If Hammer fucks up the Highlanders I'll be just as wrong as if he fucked up the Crusaders - and that's surely the only real thing at stake on the fern.
The point is you never supported Hammett being appointed Crusaders coach until after a new coach was locked in and experiencing good results. In other words, you only endorsed him when there was no way he'd be getting the job. Its a win-win. You can still stand by your man (or son) and his awesome coaching record, while you never have to worry about him being let loose on the Crusaders.
But, whether or not I endorsed him before or after Razor was appointed was having zero impact on the actual event. It's no more real me saying it then or now.
Since I've been arguing pro-Hammett since about 2010 it wouldn't be logical for me to say anything other than that I'd be delighted to have him.
And I would have said it except - as GT12 has shown - I didn't think he was in the mix.
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@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Super Rugby News:
@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Super Rugby News:
@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
These hypotheticals are wonderful fun now that Razor has the job and is doing well. But the fact of the matter is there was zero support for the super coach when the job was actually available. The fact Cantabs didn't even want him speaks volumes.
But you're safe to express your support for him now that there's no chance of him getting the gig.
Why would that matter, unless you think Hamish Riach and his board are avidly reading the fern and being guided by me?
If Hammer fucks up the Highlanders I'll be just as wrong as if he fucked up the Crusaders - and that's surely the only real thing at stake on the fern.
The point is you never supported Hammett being appointed Crusaders coach until after a new coach was locked in and experiencing good results. In other words, you only endorsed him when there was no way he'd be getting the job. Its a win-win. You can still stand by your man (or son) and his awesome coaching record, while you never have to worry about him being let loose on the Crusaders.
But, whether or not I endorsed him before or after Razor was appointed was having zero impact on the actual event. It's no more real me saying it then or now.
Since I've been arguing pro-Hammett since about 2010 it wouldn't be logical for me to say anything other than that I'd be delighted to have him.
And I would have said it except - as GT12 has shown - I didn't think he was in the mix.
Of course it wouldn't be logical which is why I'm labelling you a hypocrite. Don't give me that "I didn't think he was available" crap.
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@Rancid-Schnitzel I honestly don't follow your argument.
But I need to do some real work for a few hours.
I will return.
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@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
@Rancid-Schnitzel I honestly don't follow your argument.
But I need to do some real work for a few hours.
I will return.
It's very simple. You defended and continue to defend this guy and his record, yet you were completely mute when he was a possibility for the Crusaders job. You can hide behind that availability nonsense if you want, but the fact is that the silence from Crusaders supporters concerning Hammett's possible appointment was absolutely deafening. He was by far and away the most experienced Super coach, yet not a single person was fighting for him to be Saders coach. Hence the word I've used about 6 times now.
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@Kirwan said in Super Rugby News:
@Siam said in Super Rugby News:
On the Hammett appointment, no room for someone to improve their trade?
I remember when Nonu was dire, he seemed to improve a fair bit.
Similarly Wayne Smith was fucking ordinary early on.
I'm giving ol hammer the benefit of the doubt and will rehash this thread come finals 2018 ( gulp)
Anyway he'll never be as bad as NZ's worst pro coach ever - John Kirwan will wear that albatross for eternity
Fuck off, he's not even the worst Blues coach. Remember Jed Rowlands?
We telling people to "Fuck off" now? Been banned for less
I said "Pro coach"
Kirwan had 2 decent wins in Italy and none in Japan
Rowlands won a RWC with our girls
Despite your adulation Kirwan always was a very poor rugby coach - albeit he never had Beaudy to race his team up the ladder
but whatever
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The injury update is largely unchanged. Coles rested up over the weekend but he is not a starter for this weekend, nor is Matt Proctor, who is apparently making progress in his quest to shake concussion symptoms. Nehe Milner-Skudder is still weeks away from a return.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=11851770
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Sonny Bill Williams' concussion is likely to keep him out of the Blues' team to play the Cheetahs at Eden Park on Friday.
Midfielder Williams suffered the injury during the second half of his team's 40-33 victory over the Waratahs in Sydney, leaving the field and not returning.
A Blues media release today stated Williams was likely to be unavailable, but that lock Patrick Tuipulotu was a possibility to return from a back injury.
Available for selection: Patrick Tuipulotu, Declan O'Donnell and Alex Hodgman.
Unavailable: Sonny-Bill Williams (concussion), Ihaia West (ankle), Stephen Perofeta (ankle), Matt Moulds (knee - 3-4 weeks), Jerome Kaino (knee - 3-4 weeks), Rene Ranger (ankle - 3-4 weeks), Jimmy Tupou (hamstring - one week).
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=11852446
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Bloody hell .... this would be a horrendous scenario:
Sanzaar might not cut teams at all
Sanzaar’s plans to cut teams from the 2018 version of Vodacom Super Rugby could fall flat on its face, meaning the Southern Kings and Toyota Cheetahs may be given a reprieve.
That is, however, if the Australian Super Rugby sides win a court case that the Melbourne Rebels have launched in Australia against the governing body to save them from being axed from the competition.
While SA Rugby still has to announce which two sides will be cut from the 2018 version of the competition, general consensus seems to be that it is the Kings and Cheetahs that will face the chop, prompting emotion and anger in those regions.
But the financial realities in SA Rugby mean that the national body may have no option but to cut teams and has publicly said so.
The problem comes now with the Rebels, who are privately owned, this week launched a court case against the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) to stop the governing body from “buying back their license from them.”
With the Western Force also threatening legal action and the Cheetahs locally reported to have sought legal advice from a senior advocate, the 2018 cut is far from a done deal.
Sanzaar’s governing body will meet in Tokyo on Thursday in a “heads of state meeting” where the progress in the Super Rugby cuts are meant to be discussed, but Supersport.com’s information is that unless the cuts are approved in both Australia and South Africa, Sanzaar will be forced to continue with the 18-team competition until 2021.
South Africa has already approved the cuts in SA Rugby meetings and a franchise committee is now meeting to decide by means of a weighting system which two sides will fall away, but the war in Australian rugby is far greater, with both the Rebels and Force resisting any change in the current system.
The ARU specifically named both sides as the two in danger, while absolving the Brumbies from a cut when it held a press conference last month but both sides have rallied to save their franchises, with the Force obtaining major backing from the Western Australian government in recent times.
Both teams feel they have “an outright case to stay in the competition”, according to The Australian newspaper, with the Force reportedly asking for an injunction as well.
With the two Australian states getting involved – and the Victoria government now reportedly offering the same level of financial support for the Rebels as the Western Australian government, the ARU sits with a problem in trying to sort the matter out.
But if they do lose the court case, or are unable to come to solve the impasse, all bets are off and Sanzaar will keep the same tournament structure for the foreseeable future, even though in their own words it has proved wildly unpopular.
