W
also a shameless proud son plug for my old man who's nominated in the volunteer of the year for about the 80th time.. never won it! Bloody deserves it the amount of shit he does is fecking ridiculous!
Charles Monro Rugby Volunteer of the Year
Cathy Charles (Otago)
Andrew Gemmell (Thames Valley)
Allen Grainger (Waikato)
likely leaving cause of the merger between jumbo and quickstep.. will be 4 grandie tour winners on one team. be a few more movements
anyhoo - in more important news closer to home. Youngest took out her age group in the Nat road cycling champs last weekend.
bit of a stressed dad moment - got caught right on the line (her closest to camera) she snuck it by millimeters if the line was 10cm further she would have lost!
@Bovidae said in Bledisloe 1:
Read was calling for RTS to start at Eden Park. The reasoning being that he needs to play in a big test to see if he is an option for the future.
this has been the 'downstream impact' of us sucking this year.. kept playing the 'A' team week after week trying to get them to fire.. meant the likes of RTS, Perofeta, fainga'anuku and fakatava haven't had any game time to see if they're the game breakers we think they could be.
geez this coaching squad makes it hard to get on the razor bandwagon..
We’ve rewarded performance.
we rewarded form
It’s difficult not to play Ethan de Groot but the other two are playing great footy, as simple as that
“Cam’s been impressive hasn’t he? He’s taken his opportunities and we believe this is the match for him
then goes and sticks the two blokes that took their opportunities, played great footy and delivered probably their best test performances..
..on the bench
Will Jordan same fuckup that cost us WC final.
Can't believe he doesn't get the same shit dmac would for his never ending knock ons shit passing and brain farts
instead of pissing around with the jerseys what the Adidas engineers really need to put their minds to is some sort of hair superglue for Izzy.
I calculate the drag from the comb over turning into an airbrake is costing him at least 2 secs per 100m - this could become crucial when running for the corner.
@Crucial said in Stormers v Chiefs:
@Stargazer said in Stormers v Chiefs:
1 Kane Hames, 2. Hika Elliot, 3. Atu Moli, 4. Dominic Bird, 5. Brodie Retallick, 6. Liam Messam, 7. Lachlan Boshier, 8. Michael Leitch
9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 10. Aaron Cruden, 11. James Lowe, 12. Stephen Donald, 13. Anton Lienert-Brown, 14. Toni Pulu, 15. Damian McKenzieRESERVES
16 Brayden Mitchell, 17. Siegfried Fisi’ihoi, 18. Sosefo Kautai, 19. Taleni Seu, 20. Mitchell Brown, 21. Finlay Christie, 22. Sam McNicol, 23. Shaun StevensonHappy with that lineup although it would be nice to have Cane and Laulala playing which would flow through to a stronger bench as well.
Also, it would be nice to have Beaver on the bench and a stronger midfield but them's the breaks. Any news around on the possibility of Ngatai returning to play?
YES!
update out today... "We have a number of players due to return from long term injuries in the coming rounds including Nathan Harris and Charlie Ngatai. "
@canefan said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@Chris-B didn't I read that Squire had personal issues too? Seems like rugby is not his #1 priority right now
i can't beleive no one on here has the inside word.
the Southern wing of this organisation is farking useless!
Can't remember the last time the ABs started their first game of the year looking so slick, normally a rusty slow start.
Also satisfying to finally see them properly attacking the opposition throw getting a jumper up early as opposed to their normal half arsed lift
@WillieTheWaiter said in Olympics Thread:
@Bovidae said in Olympics Thread:
@WillieTheWaiter Does the Netherlands have the latest bikes/tech? Just wondering after they beat GB in the men's team sprint.
yep they ride Koga frames - made there. Frame about 10,000 quid. More in line with what you'd normally pay for a top end frame - the other prices you hear are just hte 'pre olympic' prices - rules are they have to be available for purchase.. they just jack the price right up so no one buys them.
Aussie frame for example will be sub 10k nz post olympics
a lot of the cost is in the custom handlebars - up to 20k alone for top guys to have them moulded to their position
I heard the Chinese had 3D printed handlebars. Considering Rocket Lab's ability to employ CAD CAM and 3D printing tech to make rockets much cheaper than their competitors, perhaps cycling NZ should call him for advice about how to 3D print their next bikes? Would look awesome to have them as a sponsor on the side of their bikes too
just chucking this here cause had an interesting chat over the weekend.
was talking to the guy that runs a company out of cambridge selling elite level track cycling equipment (great nz story they had their equipment on loads of medal winning bikes).
Anyhoo - they have a bike in development in conjunction with the NZ team - still a couple of years away so will be for the next olympic cycle. Reckons it will be better than what the poms were on - thinks he's got some design opportunities for improvement
Most interesting part was he was saying by his calculations we missed out on Gold medals in the womens team sprint and womens team pursuit by having slower frames.
Shaane was floating around with her medal as well - very cool and weighs a ton!!
Rather amusing seeing the two blokes who got put into ABs cause of their scrumming having their arses handed to them on a plate.
I won’t find it as amusing when it’s the ABs playing!
@Canerbry said in Those sports stars you just can't warm to:
Has anyone mentioned Armstrong?Has anyone mentioned Armstrong?Not really a sportsman.
just thought I'd let you know I got to spend a few hours with him this morning on invited ride up the waitaks and coffees after... likes riding bikes, drinking beer and playing golf... yeh probably a prick to some people in the past.. isn't it time to move on? Was a fucking amazing experience - only cause i've been idolising him for like 20 years but each to their own I guess.!
@barbarian said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@barbarian said in Bledisloe 1:
Nah I’m sorry but that’s fucked. First and only time I’ve ever seen that call, and it’s in the 79th minute of a Bledisloe. Just absolute horse shit.
Take the win NZ. But it’s hardly a famous victory.
What was the ref supposed to do? Just wait for the hooter for the next minute?
Player has to take responsibility.
Blow time off. That’s what he does, and it’s what every ref has done in that situation.
Or just let Foley kick the ball three seconds later and not make the game about him.
But he made a call I’ve literally never seen before. On the back of an incredibly dubious penalty for sealing off.
he had blown time off.. then he blew it back on told him to get on with it. and he still fucked around
that got you here didn't it.. ha
Former Waikato Captain and stalwart Jono Gibbes has been appointed as the new head coach of Waikato for the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup.
Gibbes, 41, will return to New Zealand at the conclusion of the Guinness PRO 14 season in Europe, where he is currently the Head Coach of Ulster.
After leaving New Zealand at the end of 2008, Gibbes moved to Europe where he was appointed as the forwards coach of Leinster Rugby. During his time at Leinster Rugby he helped coach the side to three Heineken Cup titles.
In 2014 Gibbes joined the coaching team at French side Clermont Auvergne, helping to guide them to a Top 14 title in 2017. From there, Gibbes moved back to Ireland to become Head Coach of Ulster Rugby.
Jono Gibbes said “For me, it is an honour to have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of previous Waikato coaches, who all contributed to the proud history of the province. With the opportunity comes the responsibility to do the colours justice. That has to be the first objective for myself and for the 2018 team.”
Waikato CEO Blair Foote said “The Waikato Rugby Union is very pleased to announce Jono Gibbes as the new Head Coach of the Mitre 10 Cup team for the 2018 season. He brings a wealth of experience and successful coaching knowledge to the position gained over the last 10 years in the European competitions, and being a former player for the province, he also brings an understanding of the pride and passion playing in a red, yellow and black jersey requires.
It is great to have a coach of his caliber rejoining the Waikato set up, and we look forward to working with Jono as he puts his unique stamp on the Mitre 10 Cup in 2018 and beyond.”
Jono Gibbes was Waikato cap number 972 and played a total of 64 games for Waikato between 2000 and 2007
@Stargazer said in RWC Week 5: All Blacks v Uruguay:
If LF doesn't start next week, he should be on the bench instead of ALB.
pretty unimpressed by him getting skinned on the outside then showing the pace of a president grades prop chasing back and being passed by Whitelock
that was ugly!
was at a Q&A session with fozzie last night.. he was asked if he was concerned about the u20 performance.
His response was that unlike other countries they treat u20's as 'developmental' vs 'high performance'. By which he meant that it's not that they don't want to win it but they want to have a wide group of players to develop and don't dedicate the time to it other countries do. but he defo had some concerns about the result.
he said he spent 3 days with the coaching staff in the lead up to the spanking from Aus.. he said after that loss Mike Kron rang him up and said 'thank fcuk you didn't spend 5 days with them!'
@Toddy said in Chiefs 2019:
Was Cooper really that bad? The initial woes for the Chiefs were DMac at first five. The team just couldn't gel with him there. It was mostly on the up after that.
Sure they didn't over achieve but they finished about where they should for the squad and injuries they had.
they were fcuking horrible.
the only reason they got to where they did was via some unbelievable individual performances and 'team mana'.
the coached 'stuff' sh*thouse. The team turned up barely looking like they knew each other and had no idea what the gameplan was.
the defensive structure was straight out of the 90's - every team at pretty much every level is using some sort of rush defence. Chiefs were using a sliding d that hasn't been seen for years. Fcuk it was painful watching teams as woeful as the Blues just spin it wide and finding acres of space.
And he kept picking that farking woeful excuse for a rugby player MMac at 1st - that in itself should be enough to consign him to the sh*thouse heap - along with his stints at Canes and Maoris.
onwards and upwards! Couldn't give a rats if he's a nice guy - I want someone who can coach not win personality contests.
@1kiwi said in Olympics Thread:
@sparky said in Olympics Thread:
GB get the Gold. NZ the Silver.
Silver medal a huge result for the ladies. It's NZ's first women's team sprint medal in Olympic history so pretty big deal.
From Stuff:
Overlooked as a contender in the team sprint by many pundits, who instead were tipping world champions Germany, China and the Netherlands to challenge Great Britain, the Kiwis were electric.
yep was hoping to read here this morning everyone made heaps of money at the TAB after reading my hot tip from CNZ coaches.. they were great odds for a medal as such outsiders.
just wish i had more than 2 bucks in my account when i put my bet on and couldn't be arsed getting out of bed to find a card to top up as one in my account had expired.. ha.
just to put this in further perspective - NZ are literally riding museum pieces in terms of bike tech. We're on a bike made in 2015 for Rio... all other teams are rolling around on bikes that are worth between 100k - 200k.. each!
we don't even have a bike sponsor.. only place you can get one of our bikes is second hand market and it's about $4k. Was actually having an amusing thought that we might be in breach of the rules - all bikes are supposed to be commercially available to buy!
must be a bit of wind down there old man was just telling me he's at the captains run and Jordie knocked a goal over from midway between 10m and 22 line and it still had plenty of legs in it
@rotated said in Dan Carter hanging up his boots ..:
@victor-meldrew said in Dan Carter hanging up his boots ..:
@chester-draws said in Dan Carter hanging up his boots ..:
Cruden ran onto the 2011 final with no demons (as did Beaver) and could just play his game.
I'd think Beaver had a huge number of demons to face as he was held pretty much responsible for an awful loss to the Wobbles in Hong Kong (IIRC).
Stepped up to the mark and played the game of his life that day - one of the most clear-headed players on the paddock. No wonder McCaw holds him in such high regard
I was there live and rewatched it four years later and thought it was an unremarkable Beaver performance. He didn't bottle it (yay) but they were outscored 7-3 by an otherwise pedestrian French team.
Obviously not all his fault getting ball from Ellis and given the tense moment, but there are at least 10 other guys on that paddock that defended like Banshees in that second half who deserve the credit for that win more than Beaver for one wobbly penalty and not a whole lot else.
disagree - the biggest difference that Beaver made when he came on was that he calmed things down, took the ball to the line by just running straight and made his tackles. Nerves had played a massive part in that starting 15.. guys like Kaino who'd been massive all tournament looked like utter shit and were headless chickens. Which to be fair was totally understandable - the pressure they were under and the atmosphere leading into that game was off the chart (how good was the walk to the ground from town..)
He didn't need to do anything spectacular, but by coming on and almost not giving a shit it had a massive influence on those around him.
