NH International Rugby
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Apparently this has been around since February but I only just discovered it:
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@crucial said in NH International Rugby:
Will be flicking between this afternoons matches as the interest holds.
Get the feeling the Wales/Scotland game may be the better.
We live in hope.
Roof on. No excuses.
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@mikethesnow said in NH International Rugby:
@crucial said in NH International Rugby:
Will be flicking between this afternoons matches as the interest holds.
Get the feeling the Wales/Scotland game may be the better.
We live in hope.
Roof on. No excuses.
More kicks than passes so far.
Sort your shit out teams.
Kick, kick, kick, kick,error, penalty, points,yawn -
Skimmed through the comments in both the NH games, I don't think I'll bother watching either. Seems that England are ripe for the plucking, boks can only get it up vs ABs, Wales ranking flatters them, and Scotland still cannot play away from home. Oh and if Faamausili doesn't, and Marx does get player of the year, it'll be a farce of the Kaino vs 'one good game & consolation for rwc loss' Dusautoir scale
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It’s a trap I tell ya. The Walrus’s latest column in the Sunday Times. The bastard is paying compliments now. Is there now end to his, oh wait...
All Blacks are the greatest of all
It cannot be denied any more — these All Blacks are all-time sporting greats. And next at Twickenham, the Bradman Blacks. It was not just his Test batting average of 99.94 that made Don Bradman such an amazing cricketer, it was his lead over the next best. Nobody has ever come within 25 runs of his
It cannot be denied any more — these All Blacks are all-time sporting greats. And next at Twickenham, the Bradman Blacks. It was not just his Test batting average of 99.94 that made Don Bradman such an amazing cricketer, it was his lead over the next best. Nobody has ever come within 25 runs of his career average.
So, too, the All Blacks. New Zealand have played 100 games since the start of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, winning 90 and losing just seven for a winning average of 90%. In the same era, England are second with 57 wins from 82 and 70% before yesterday’s game against the Springboks.
Are the Kiwis the greatest? Yes. They have taken two world titles during that run and taken a technical lead by ripping out so many of the precepts of play. It is hard to compare teams across eras and sporting disciplines, but what of those teams deemed to be all-time greats? The great West Indies cricket team under Clive Lloyd won only 36 out of 74 Tests, while the team under Vivian Richards won 27 from 50, although it is easier to find drawn games in cricket.
Kiwi class: Beauden Barrett has some days of genius
Kiwi class: Beauden Barrett has some days of geniusKOKI NAGAHAMA
The Australia cricket team between 1999 and 2008 twice won 16 games on the trot but for me were never as dominant as the All Blacks. The Brazil football team of 1970 are deemed to be the best, cementing football as the beautiful game, but not even they saw off opponents with such alacrity and consistency as New Zealand under Graham Henry and Steve Hansen.Perhaps the argument is best nailed down when you consider that Test rugby is ferociously competitive. Consider how vast the amounts spent and the effort expended by the rest of the world to catch up. To no avail, even in this era when everything the All Blacks have done on the rugby field can be seen from about 30 different angles on replay. Many have tried to catch them, but only the 2017 British & Irish Lions were nose to nose down the final furlong.
You would never call rugby the beautiful game, especially in its current industrial-diamond state. But New Zealand can be as beautiful as any, taking the ball into fewer crunches. They have torn up the idea that only quick ball with the opposition on the back foot is attacking ball. Instead, they have run the ball thrillingly from deep, wide, short; they have run fast ball and slow ball, attacked after their own passes have been dropped.
England have not played New Zealand very often of late. They won in 2012 by 38-21 but on Saturday will need to prove that was no freak. They also have to take heed of the words of Eddie Jones, who said on arrival in England that it was vital that you do not play New Zealand at their own game, and that England must develop their own style.
One of the happiest aspects of domination in any sports arena is that opponents try to play in the same style as the best team, a surefire way of staying well behind them. Confirmation of what Jones was saying came last summer at the world under-20 tournament, won by France, who took New Zealand to the cleaners. They did so because their massive pack, led by Demba Bamba, thrashed New Zealand in tight phases.
Since New Zealand are the trend-setters, everything they do must be on-trend. It is impossible to detract from Richie McCaw’s consistency at the breakdown but if you had thrown him into a struggling team he may have retired almost unknown.
It is almost impossible for dominant teams to have anyone dismissed. When Sonny Bill Williams was sent off against the Lions we had to turn back almost to the opening chapters of the record books to find out when the previous All Black had been dismissed.
Does collective greatness mean that each of the players can be deemed great? Of course not. That is where the full effect of New Zealand’s collective can be seen. In a current World XV, they might have a few. Aaron Smith at scrum-half would be a strong contender, so too Dane Coles at hooker. There might be a second-row chosen, though for me it would not be the hyped Brodie Retallick but his partner, Sam Whitelock.
Kieran Read has had a wonderful career at No 8 but has not quite recaptured his best form and was pretty well seen off by Taulupe Faletau in the Lions series. Beauden Barrett at fly-half has his days of genius and would contend.
The point is that an efficient and interlocking combination, especially one in the black jersey, does not always need individual brilliance in every interlocking piece. You could name a list of ostensibly great All Blacks who almost disappeared when they farmed themselves out to other professional teams — Julian Savea is the latest on his switch to France.
On Saturday you can be sure that New Zealand’s basic footballing skill and their choices of play will be excellent. The women’s team are world champions at the main game and at sevens.
For England to win on Saturday would reverse history and would be a stunning boost to Jones, the team and the sporting nation. It would in some ways turn prospects for the World Cup on their head. But, to return to the cricketing analogy, the magnificent All Blacks are defending their status with the broadest of bats and with flashing blades.
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I love how he just doesn't rate Retallic
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@mariner4life said in NH International Rugby:
I love how he just doesn't rate Retallic
Typical Walrus. Praise at the start before he sticks the knife in.
What's the bet he'd have Itoje ahead of BBBR in his World XV?
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@bovidae said in NH International Rugby:
@mariner4life said in NH International Rugby:
I love how he just doesn't rate Retallic
Typical Walrus. Praise at the start before he sticks the knife in.
What's the bet he'd have Itoje ahead of BBBR in his World XV?
Who?
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@booboo said in NH International Rugby:
@bovidae said in NH International Rugby:
@mariner4life said in NH International Rugby:
I love how he just doesn't rate Retallic
Typical Walrus. Praise at the start before he sticks the knife in.
What's the bet he'd have Itoje ahead of BBBR in his World XV?
Who?
Some bloke named Maria
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The crowds for the out-of-window tests this weekend. None of them a sell-out.
Cardiff, Wales v Scotland: 63,188 - capacity = 74,500
Twickenham, England v South Africa: 80,369 - capacity = 82,000
Tokyo, Japan v New Zealand: 43,751 - capacity = 49,970
Chicago, Ireland v Italy: 35,051 - capacity = 62,000 -
@rapido said in NH International Rugby:
The crowds for the out-of-window tests this weekend. None of them a sell-out.
Chicago, Ireland v Italy: 35,051 - capacity = 62,000
What was the deal for the triple header weekend? Did you need to buy a ticket to each game or the match ticket covered all 3 games?
I didn't watch the Ireland-Italy game but there wasn't as many Irish fans in the crowd for the USA-Maori game as I expected (based on the TV footage).
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“No one is scared of them, no one is afraid of them. “They are a quality team. So are we. We just need to turn up on the day and we can turn them over.”
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@bovidae said in NH International Rugby:
@rapido said in NH International Rugby:
The crowds for the out-of-window tests this weekend. None of them a sell-out.
Chicago, Ireland v Italy: 35,051 - capacity = 62,000
What was the deal for the triple header weekend? Did you need to buy a ticket to each game or the match ticket covered all 3 games?
I didn't watch the Ireland-Italy game but there wasn't as many Irish fans in the crowd for the USA-Maori game as I expected (based on the TV footage).
1 ticket for the whole day. No pass outs. 8 hours.
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So the mini-intra-RWC-stop-teh-friendlies League is gathering momentum, with the proviso that all finals will be in NH. A bit of a diadvantage but TBH I don't give a shit. Tew has it right, this is the important part
"If we use the window better can we generate more revenue than we do now. Then you can discuss how you divvy up the incremental revenue rather than attack the existing model because that's not on the table,"
I.e. you NH Unions will have to accept some revenue sharing for us to play finals up there all the time. We need the cash.
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@machpants said in NH International Rugby:
So the mini-intra-RWC-stop-teh-friendlies League is gathering momentum, with the proviso that all finals will be in NH.
Fuck that. I want to go to tests without having to fly halfway round the world.
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@antipodean Test windows will be the same, played SH July, NH Nov (basically) so the finals will always be in NH. You'll still see test, just 'round robin' tests.
