NH club rugby
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@Crucial said in NH club rugby:
@jegga said in NH club rugby:
Bundee Aki has been behaving like a dick and copped a three match ban
That article doesn't explain the ban. I'm confused.
He was being a disrespectful jerk and walked away while the ref was trying to talk to him
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@jegga said in NH club rugby:
@Crucial said in NH club rugby:
@jegga said in NH club rugby:
Bundee Aki has been behaving like a dick and copped a three match ban
That article doesn't explain the ban. I'm confused.
He was being a disrespectful jerk and walked away while the ref was trying to talk to him
He also decided to have some afters and made some "remarks" to the ref after the game. Not reported what he said. In Aki's minor defence, Davies can be a pretty shit ref when he gets going, but Connacht had the better of the penalty count and couldn't have any complaints about the result.
John Muldoon, his captain, will be pissed at him - he doesn't tolerate fools gladly. They're in 8th spot and will have to go into a playoff to get a European Cup spot for next season. Aki will now miss the last two games of the season and the playoff semi. Lam won't be happy either. He wanted to finish his stint with Euro qualification as a minimum.
Connacht being in the lower rank Challenge Cup next season won't do any favours for Aki's profile and test selection.
Pretty dumb move.
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@Pot-Hale how's the Rwc bid coming on? Rowen hasn't kept us up to date with the South African end of things unfortunately.
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@jegga said in NH club rugby:
@Pot-Hale how's the Rwc bid coming on? Rowen hasn't kept us up to date with the South African end of things unfortunately.
Funny you should mention that. He turned up online earlier this week on an article on the topic in one of the British newspapers. He used his own name too. He didn't last long.
Don't know how the bid is doing bar they had the visit from the WR committee who assess these things. Final submissions to be handed in by end June I think. Decision announced in November. No doubt there's lots of politicking going on behind the scenes.
There was a bit of a public hoo haa about the WRU and the agreement they got everyone to sign when they hosted it in 1999. Reports said that they were entitled to 20% of the profits if the IRFU were successful. After a few complaints from various unions, the WRU announced after a board meeting that the agreement would not be enforced and they looked forward to a transparent and equitable process in the awarding of the bid. No love lost between the two unions anyway, so I don't think there'll be any votes on that one.
WR rules this time round state that it must be one union bid, and that pool games cannot be farmed out so that settles any queries on that issue.
The French have been promoting their bid, and used a lot of shirt and stadium promotion during the Six Nations to that effect.
South Africa have got their Minister supporting the bid and financial guarantees have been provided by all three governments.
The Irish stadia are not as good as the French or SA ones - that might tell against them. The capacities are lower too, but 445,000 total capacity is still pretty good and they're confident of filling them.
The IRFU have a site with various facts and figures - http://irfu-ireland2023-wpengine.soticcloud.net
here's a video they released recently on four of the stadia which has got a good response from various fans.
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This weekend is going to be the last and most important round of the regular season of the French Top 14.
Clermont will play La Rochelle in a top of the table clash. La Rochelle is already certain of the no. 1 spot, but Clermont still has to win to secure a home semi-final.
Montpellier can still contest that 2nd place and will play St Francais Paris. After the (failed) merger between these two teams that was almost forced upon St Francais, they will have plenty of motivation to try to beat Montpellier. Also, St Francais is on equal points with Racing 92 for the last spot in the finals play-offs, so we can be sure they will throw the kitchen sink at it.
Racing92 can expect a visit from Bordeaux. Racing must win to secure a play-off spot, while Bordeaux has nothing to play for but pride.
Toulon will host Pau, and while Toulon is certain of a spot in the finals play-offs, Pau currently sits outside the top 6 but is still within reach and needs a win.
Toulouse v Bayonne will be an absolute meaningless game. Toulouse is safe, but not in contention for a place in the play-offs and Bayonne is certain of relegation to the Pro 2.
Grenoble will receive Lyon, and this won't be much more exciting. Grenoble is certain of relegation and Lyon only have a very theoretical chance to make the play-offs (Racing92, St Francais and Pau would all need to lose).
Brive will play Castres at home. Brive has nothing to play for but Castres needs one point to be absolutely certain of a spot in the play-offs. If they lose without a bonus point, and Racing92 and St Francais both score bonus point wins, Castres is out.
Such a pity we can't watch these games on tv in NZ. All games are played at the same time (Sunday morning, 7 May, at 6.45am NZT), so you can only watch one game and only via a dodgy stream online.
Clermont v La Rochelle is definitely the game to watch. -
@Stargazer French rugby can often be awfully dull to watch imo.
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@Billy-Tell Depends on which game/club you're watching.
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@Stargazer said in NH club rugby:
@Billy-Tell Depends on which game/club you're watching.
I've seen a fair bit through the years, but not so much at all this season, I tend to watch the Irish clubs if I'm watching European rugby. I'd be open to watching the La Rochelle game as they have quite a few Kiwis, and Clermont are usually good value.
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And in Pascal Pape's final home game for Stade Francais, he fittingly was sent off:
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@Billy-Tell Yes, and a Clermont home game can expect a sell-out and a very noisy crowd. It will be as crazy as a final.
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Chris Vui, who's on a short-term contract with Worcester Warriors, has signed with Bristol. Don't know for how long.
http://www.bristolrugby.co.uk/news/chris-vui-agrees-bristol-rugby-switch-ahead-of-201718-season/
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Tyler Bleyendaal has been named Munster Player of the Year and has also been nominated for the EPCR Player of the Year award.
Tyler Bleyendaal pays tribute to Anthony Foley as he wins Player of the Year award
Tyler Bleyendaal paid tribute to the late Anthony Foley for helping to propel him and his teammates to greater heights this year as he accepted the Munster...
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@Stargazer said in NH club rugby:
Tyler Bleyendaal has been named Munster Player of the Year and has also been nominated for the EPCR Player of the Year award.
Tyler Bleyendaal pays tribute to Anthony Foley as he wins Player of the Year award
Tyler Bleyendaal paid tribute to the late Anthony Foley for helping to propel him and his teammates to greater heights this year as he accepted the Munster...
Bloody hell. Standards have dropped this season.
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@Pot-Hale I haven't seen much of him but he was pretty much Barry White v Sarries in the semi final.
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@Catogrande said in NH club rugby:
@Pot-Hale I haven't seen much of him but he was pretty much Barry White v Sarries in the semi final.
I couldn't agree more. I don't get the hype about him. He's gone missing in critical matches, and some less than critical. The abject defeat from victory against Cardiff earlier in the season featured several Cardiff players waltzing through himself and his backline. I'd have Ross Byrne over him most days - and I'd hope quicker into a green shirt too.
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@Stargazer said in NH club rugby:
This weekend is going to be the last and most important round of the regular season of the French Top 14.
Clermont will play La Rochelle in a top of the table clash. La Rochelle is already certain of the no. 1 spot, but Clermont still has to win to secure a home semi-final.
Montpellier can still contest that 2nd place and will play St Francais Paris. After the (failed) merger between these two teams that was almost forced upon St Francais, they will have plenty of motivation to try to beat Montpellier. Also, St Francais is on equal points with Racing 92 for the last spot in the finals play-offs, so we can be sure they will throw the kitchen sink at it.
Racing92 can expect a visit from Bordeaux. Racing must win to secure a play-off spot, while Bordeaux has nothing to play for but pride.
Toulon will host Pau, and while Toulon is certain of a spot in the finals play-offs, Pau currently sits outside the top 6 but is still within reach and needs a win.
Toulouse v Bayonne will be an absolute meaningless game. Toulouse is safe, but not in contention for a place in the play-offs and Bayonne is certain of relegation to the Pro 2.
Grenoble will receive Lyon, and this won't be much more exciting. Grenoble is certain of relegation and Lyon only have a very theoretical chance to make the play-offs (Racing92, St Francais and Pau would all need to lose).
Brive will play Castres at home. Brive has nothing to play for but Castres needs one point to be absolutely certain of a spot in the play-offs. If they lose without a bonus point, and Racing92 and St Francais both score bonus point wins, Castres is out.
Such a pity we can't watch these games on tv in NZ. All games are played at the same time (Sunday morning, 7 May, at 6.45am NZT), so you can only watch one game and only via a dodgy stream online.
Clermont v La Rochelle is definitely the game to watch.Results last round-robin Top 14:
Clermont beat La Rochelle 30-26 and secured a home semi-final. La Rochelle was already certain to have the other.Montpellier beat Stade Francais with the smallest of margins: 27-26. This means that Montpellier is certain of a play-off spot. Stade Francais' season is over (no play-off spot) despite it's losing bonus point because ....
Racing 92 has narrowly won its game against Bordeaux: 22-20. This result earns Montpellier the final play-off spot.
Toulon, already certain of a spot in the play-offs, beat Pau convincingly: 32-12. Pau's season has also finished.
Brive 33 -27 Castres. Brive can start its Summer break and Castres claim a play-off spot despite its loss, because St Francais lost.
Toulouse 40 - 12 Bayonne
Grenoble 53 - 21 Lyon. At least Grenoble went out with a bang before its relegation.I assume the play-offs will be:
Montpellier v Racing 92
Toulon v CastresNext weekend at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh:
European Challenge Cup final between Gloucester and Stade Francais. Kick-off NZT: Saturday, 13 May at 7.00am
European Champions Cup final between Clermont and Saracens. Kick-off NZT: Sunday, 14 May at 4.00am -
Charlie picks up players player of the Pro 12 award.
His recent form has apparently been a bit poor, caught up in the general Ulster malaise.
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@Billy-Tell He's the best back at Ulster so their coach plays him on the wing. If he has stopped giving a fuck, I wouldn't be surprised.
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I saw this gif recently:
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@Tim The question has to be asked; where was the blindside defence from Ulster and why is their scrumhalf standing so deep on the wing?
Also; who much did Munster try to fuck up scoring that try?
Bundee Aki's post-match treatment of the referee has no place in rugby
