Article: The Original Rugby Championship - Six Nations 2016

antipodean

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Billy Tell" data-cid="564592" data-time="1457979365">
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Predicting Wales 0 - NZ 3
Ireland 0 - SA 3
Eng 1 - Aus 2
 
in the June tests.
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</blockquote>
 
Agreed. Wales don't look like troubling the All Blacks, Ireland aren't inventive enough, nor are their forwards combative enough to beat up the Boks at home. Australia has a competitive forward pack and better backs, so they should account for England.

MN5

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="564610" data-time="1457987768">
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Hhmmm, you are first to point out people getting all internet warrior tough guy....
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiF5KvRg8HLAhVBPZQKHd0BAqMQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DiC--6V65dvY&psig=AFQjCNFKQqRJtSYFdWZPA4OF6Czj91Dmng&ust=1458074135672864'><img height="180" src="http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/iC--6V65dvY/mqdefault.jpg" width="320" alt="mqdefault.jpg"></a>
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</blockquote>
 
I was hoping no one would notice the blatant hypocrisy in my post but then I remembered the likes of you who checks the fern before your morning dump and knew I was doomed.

Crucial

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="MN5" data-cid="564612" data-time="1457988137">
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I was hoping no one would notice the blatant hypocrisy in my post but then I remembered the likes of you who checks the fern <strike>before </strike>during your morning dump and knew I was doomed.
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Fixed

Derm McCrum

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="564613" data-time="1457988206">
Fixed</blockquote>
 
Staying classy, Crucial. ðŸ‘

Derm McCrum

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="antipodean" data-cid="564611" data-time="1457987835">
Agreed. Wales don't look like troubling the All Blacks, Ireland aren't inventive enough, nor are their forwards combative enough to beat up the Boks at home. Australia has a competitive forward pack and better backs, so they should account for England.</blockquote>
 
As ever when reading a post such as this, there's a small hope tucked away in the deepest recesses of my mind that maybe, just maybe, one of the 6 N teams might come good down South. But after a RWC hardly likely. 
Can someone remind me again as to why SANZAR wanted to have three-test tours?

MN5

Ireland should have enough for Scotland over the weekend but I think fucking up one of their best chances ever to advance beyond the quarter finals in the WC for the first time ever has really screwed things for them. That was the real 50/50 game of the quarters weekend but the Argies put them away very comfortably.

taniwharugby

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Pot Hale" data-cid="564671" data-time="1458002350">
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As ever when reading a post such as this, there's a small hope tucked away in the deepest recesses of my mind that maybe, just maybe, one of the 6 N teams might come good down South. But after a RWC hardly likely. 
Can someone remind me again as to why SANZAR wanted to have three-test tours?
</div>
</blockquote>
 
Utter humiliation ;)
 
I'd prefer a 3 test series v one of the Home nations or France than a 1 off test and then another 2 vs say Italy and Fiji.

Crucial

3 test tours increase the chance of competitive games IMO. For one-offs you get the old 'sending a young squad for development' rubbish we used to get. No one wants to get smashed for 3 in a row though so there is incentive to at least have a good crack at it.

Bovidae

Are England or Ireland playing any midweek games on their tours like Wales are (vs the Chiefs)?

Catogrande

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Bovidae" data-cid="564738" data-time="1458034342">
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Are England or Ireland playing any midweek games on their tours like Wales are (vs the Chiefs)?
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According to Wiki, just the three tests over consecutive weekends.

antipodean

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Pot Hale" data-cid="564671" data-time="1458002350">
<div>
Can someone remind me again as to why SANZAR wanted to have three-test tours?
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</blockquote>
 
We wanted proper tours rather than the crap that had been served up to us with development tours etc.

ulsterman

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Catogrande" data-cid="564371" data-time="1457857985">
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T'was a great try alright. Some might qualify it it by saying "Well, Italy", but you still have to see the plays and make the passes stick. It was great to watch as a neutral. Best try of the championship so far and unlikely to be bested.
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</blockquote>
 
McFadden nearly fecked it up at the end, I was unsurprised to see. Fix your man and pass? No, don't fix your man and throw it borderline forward, forcing Heaslip to reach back and carry 2 defenders he shouldn't have had to, to finish the try.
 
But still, he's versatile. (We'll ignore the fact that when Henshaw was blood-binned, McFadden didn't use his versatility as a direct replacement: no less than 3 players (Payne-Earls-McFadden) shifted position from starting point.)

TeWaio

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="ulsterman" data-cid="564747" data-time="1458039851">
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McFadden nearly fecked it up at the end, I was unsurprised to see. Fix your man and pass? No, don't fix your man and throw it borderline forward, forcing Heaslip to reach back and carry 2 defenders he shouldn't have had to, to finish the try.
 
But still, he's versatile. (We'll ignore the fact that when Henshaw was blood-binned, McFadden didn't use his versatility as a direct replacement: no less than 3 players (Payne-Earls-McFadden) shifted position from starting point.)
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</blockquote>
To be fair, NH wingers prob only get 1 or 2 draw-and-pass opportunities in space per season.

Catogrande

I'd like to think you forgot the fishing emoji TeWaio but I doubt that you did.

Catogrande

Aaand Tomas Francis gets 8 weeks. 
 
I'd love to know the stream of logic that goes through the minds of the judiciary. 12 weeks is the starting sanction. Ashton gets 10 but starts out at 12 plus one for previous, less three for mitigating circus or some such bollocks. Now Francis gets 8. How does that work? Surely it would follow that he would get the same (ish) as Ashton? Not that I think it's deserving, it's just I don't follow.

Disgusted of TW

Yes, unfathomable.

Margin_Walker

Both likely to have had a starting point of 12 weeks for a low end offence. Guessing Francis may have pleaded guilty or had less previous. Or both

Disgusted of TW

Don't bring logic into this. Given the previous arcane decisions of the citing committee it's as likely to have been that they use some kind of Sorting Hat.

Billy Tell

The key element in all of this...did the player apologise on twitter?
 
That is always worth a couple of weeks reduction.

Sapetyvi

<img src="http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/03/15/51f2420644df2d924f0dfdb36342f5b4.jpg" alt="51f2420644df2d924f0dfdb36342f5b4.jpg"> 
IRB juridicial officer digging suspensions from the official IRB surprise-lottery-box

The Silver Fern

Article: The Original Rugby Championship - Six Nations 2016