Article: The Original Rugby Championship - Six Nations 2016
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<p>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.</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Pot Hale" data-cid="564671" data-time="1458002350">
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<p>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.<br><br>
Can someone remind me again as to why SANZAR wanted to have three-test tours?</p>
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<p>Utter humiliation ;)</p>
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<p>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.</p> -
<p>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.</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Bovidae" data-cid="564738" data-time="1458034342">
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<p>Are England or Ireland playing any midweek games on their tours like Wales are (vs the Chiefs)?</p>
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<p>According to Wiki, just the three tests over consecutive weekends.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Pot Hale" data-cid="564671" data-time="1458002350">
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<p>Can someone remind me again as to why SANZAR wanted to have three-test tours?</p>
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<p>We wanted proper tours rather than the crap that had been served up to us with development tours etc.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Catogrande" data-cid="564371" data-time="1457857985">
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<p>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.</p>
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<p>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.</p>
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<p>But still, he's versatile. <em><span style="font-size:10px;">(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.)</span></em></p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="ulsterman" data-cid="564747" data-time="1458039851">
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<p>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.</p>
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<p>But still, he's versatile. <em><span style="font-size:10px;">(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.)</span></em></p>
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<p>To be fair, NH wingers prob only get 1 or 2 draw-and-pass opportunities in space per season. </p> -
<p>I'd like to think you forgot the fishing emoji TeWaio but I doubt that you did.</p>
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<p>Aaand Tomas Francis gets 8 weeks. </p>
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<p>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.</p> -
Yes, unfathomable.
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<p>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</p>
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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.
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<p>The key element in all of this...did the player apologise on twitter?</p>
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<p>That is always worth a couple of weeks reduction.</p> -
<img src="http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/03/15/51f2420644df2d924f0dfdb36342f5b4.jpg" alt="51f2420644df2d924f0dfdb36342f5b4.jpg"><br><br>
IRB juridicial officer digging suspensions from the official IRB surprise-lottery-box -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="antipodean" data-cid="564746" data-time="1458038693">
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<p>We wanted proper tours rather than the crap that had been served up to us with development tours etc.</p>
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<p>And how has that worked out in reality?</p>
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<p>Steve Tew still isn't happy and is making noises about not committing to another schedule until some other things are worked out.</p>
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<p>The development touring squad complaint was a bit hit and miss and had largely stopped well before 2012-2019 schedule. Did the tests generally get full houses when they were played? </p> -
<p>Marler gets off the striking an opponent charge without sanction. Did not warrant a red card so nothing further. Seems about right to me. Also no further action on the Gyppo slur. Apology given and accepted. Enough done.Time to move on.</p>
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<p>Shame really i was looking forward to seeing someone else play - perhaps Matt Mullan as well as Vunipola.</p> -
<p>I don't understand how deliberately throwing a forearm into the face of a prone opponent can not be a red card.</p>
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<p>How can it be considered the same as a badly effected but legitimately attempted tackle?</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="antipodean" data-cid="565118" data-time="1458170999">
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<p>I don't understand how deliberately throwing a forearm into the face of a prone opponent can not be a red card.</p>
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<p>How can it be considered the same as a badly effected but legitimately attempted tackle?</p>
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<p>Ask McCaws face and Hartley's elbow.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Pot Hale" data-cid="565042" data-time="1458157810">
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<p>Steve Tew still isn't happy and is making noises about not committing to another schedule until some other things are worked out.</p>
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<p>Is this about revenue sharing again?</p>
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<p>Do te RFU make more money from an ABs game than other games? They all sell out don't they? If they raise the prices for the ABs then Tew has a point to argue.</p>