Good Rugby Reads
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Sumo Stevenson is rapidly becoming my favourite sports writer and commentator. What a top bloke. Just go and read this
48 hours drinking with rugby’s greatest losers
Scotty Stevenson spent the weekend in the company of rugby players who'd just been on the receiving end of heartbreaking losses, and he loved every minute of it.
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@nzzp said in Good Rugby Reads:
Sumo Stevenson is rapidly becoming my favourite sports writer and commentator. What a top bloke. Just go and read this
Scotty Stevenson spent the weekend in the company of rugby players who'd just been on the receiving end of heartbreaking losses, and he loved every minute of it.
I always thought he had an extremely punchable face and generally felt he came across a little cocky on tv. But a mate of mine knows him personally and reckons he's a real stand up guy.
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Lots of pretty pictures and graphs here breaking down the ABs try scoring over the year so far.
Analysis: Where have the All Blacks' 60 tries in 2016 come from?
We’ve studied each of the Kiwis’ five-pointers ahead of Saturday’s Test against Ireland in Chicago.
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And another article on the mental skills side of things (much of which has been written before)
From red heads to blue heads: Gazing into the All Blacks' mental skills
‘The skill is to recognise when your attention is diverted and to develop your own strategy to move your attention back.’
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Because we don't have a "miscellaneous" thread, this seems the best place to post this:
Record numbers of New Zealanders playing rugby
http://www.allblacks.com/News/30085/record-numbers-of-new-zealanders-playing-rugby
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http://www.theroar.com.au/2016/11/08/rugby-weekend-chicago/
Interesting bit in there about Justin Marshall as well:
*On the way back to the hotel, we bumped into Justin Marshall on Michigan Avenue. He was walking around like any other tourist, totally incognito. We stopped him (I told him I may write about it for The Roar, which he knew well) and after a brief chat, I asked him about Graham Henry’s claim in his book that he was the trouble maker. My lovely photographer cringed; Justin tensed up but answered clearly, as if he has been waiting to answer this for a while.
He passionately told me that Henry never spoke with him, that he was not the “captain trouble” of the team, that all this came as a surprise to him when he read the book. He said, if only Ted would have spoken with him.*
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Excellent article on Akira Ioane
I don't think Akira will ever be a Kaino type defender - but he has the ability to be a special AB. Time will tell whether he will be - it is up to him.
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http://www.theroar.com.au/2016/11/17/neutral-weekly-new-waves-ready-rise-irish-french-rugby/
Love the Swede. Great articles he writes.
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Revealed: How Pacific Island player welfare is being neglected in rugby's 'gold rush'
Shortly before they face England at Twickenham on Saturday, Fiji will pay tribute to a fallen brother. Isireli Temo was a prop for Tarbes, a French third division team, who committed suicide last week, aged 30.I posted the news about Temo's death in the NH Club Rugby thread 8 days ago. Had no idea it was suicide. Incredibly sad for his children and family in Fiji.
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Article from telegraph via Stuff.
On Twickenham revenue v Fiji match payments v Engkand match payments.
Nothing particularly new. But interesting in the context (unlike Tews revenue sharing battle) that a country like Fiji don't have reciprocal hosting (England last there in 1991). But if Fiji did host they might probably lose money (if Samoa is an example)?
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"The current All Blacks are the most dominant rugby side ever. Why?"
The current All Blacks are the most dominant rugby side ever. Why?
In the aspects of the game that matter most, nobody can match New Zealand
"... just a handful of the twenty or so variables that appear in standard reports proved to be statistically significant predictors of how many points a team will score (see chart). “Clean breaks”... turned out to be the most important factor. ... What mattered was penetrative running, as measured by clean breaks and metres run with the ball. In both of these aspects, the Kiwis are untouchable. Other sides usually “carry” for between 300 and 400 metres in a game. The All Blacks do so for 500 (see chart). On average, the New Zealanders make an impressive nine clean breaks per match ..."
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Interesting stuff from Stuart Barnes
Stuart Barnes: New Zealand ditch kicks in pursuit of the perfect game
The race for Tokyo has started. At least, it has in New Zealand. The final whistle, in what was a disappointing British & Irish Lions series from an All Black p
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- Mostly about the Olympics, but also the elephant in the room of the African boycott and the All Blacks 1976 tour to South Africa.
(I've also just read his 1972 Munich Article on same site, which was a great read)
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Not a read, but an interesting edition from Sky Sports UK podcast the "Offload" with World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper making a guest appearance to answer questions.
1st topic - RWC 2019 draw
6:11 - RWC 2023 bid
18:02 - Samoan financial issues, incl French academies in Fiji & S Africa, young Tongan players going ('lured'?) to Japan
33:00 - Club rugby v international rugby (club teams v national teams), incl global calendar
36:10 - More about the global calendar & player welfare
38:14 - The next phase of the growth of women's rugby after the 2017 WRWC (focus on Ireland), incl 7s v XVs
45:27 - briefly more about 7s v XVs in the men's game
46:22 - Baabaas -
Just read Beavers Book. I enjoyed it.
Gave me an appreciation of what a player can go through when chips are down.
One thing that I was a little surprised about was teh Siti used to play dumb on camera in the hope he wouldn't be asked for interview but was quite bright. If ever he came up with a play in training, everyone would just jump on it because it was always the right thing. Had a massive rugby brain and vision.
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?objectid=11944442&ref=twitter
The Big Read: Teammate Lee Byrne reveals the last years of former All Black Jerry Collins
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I loved this article by Dylan Cleaver.
About the 1992 NZ Schoolboys team that included 10 guys who played test rugby for NZ including Carlos Spencer et all & 2 of the best ever in Lomu & Jeff Wilson. Plus 2 guys who played test rugby for Samoa.
The article is about the guys 'who didn't make it", fascinating. The amateur and semi-pro paths some of them took, the bad luck, the options etc
Interesting how many of them rated Todd Miller so highly. I'd first seen/heard of Todd Miller when he played for NZ schoolboys as a 15 year old 2 years earlier and scored a great solo try in a rare televised game. Then he disappeared for a few years doing mormon stuff, before re-appearing at NPC level for Waikato.
The greatest rugby team you never saw the nearly men – NZ Herald
A rugby team only diehard rugby fans ever saw play but had All Black legends Jonah Lomu and Jeff Wilson. 25 years on, its legacy is poignant and enduring – NZ Herald exclusive feature.
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@taniwharugby That was choice, cheers!
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