@Catogrande said in Wayne Barnes gooone!:

@sparky said in Wayne Barnes gooone!:

He was the start of a generation of refs who wanted be the centre of attention. Good riddance!

Steve Walsh says hi. Oh wait a moment, he says get fucked that was me.

yes but he also had better hair.

@Crazy-Horse said in CWC: NZ vs SA:

@MN5 said in CWC: NZ vs SA:

I can’t comment on the Pakistani Rugby team or the French cricket team though.

Why stop now? Lack of knowledge hasn't gotten in your way before.

Never a truer word spoken

Oh boo hoo you haven't won a GF in 3 years, my heart fucking bleeds

hawkesbaytui Congratulations to 6 of our Big Barrel Tui players who have been selected for the upcoming New Zealand Rugby U20 Development Camps! ⚫⚪

North Island: 17th-20th November

Kahlia Awa

Leilani Hakiwai

Luatolu Semisi

Phoenix Reid-Stowers

Kaya Whaitiri-Dee

South Island: 24th-27th November

Raedeen Blake

Well done ladies!

@nostrildamus said in Eddie goooone?:

Um when they consider you one of them it is different..

Doubt any self-respecting Japanese would include fast Eddie in any of their groupings.

@booboo said in Enz of an Era:

Anyone made the obvious Sam Cane joke?

Cane saw red walking down the street?

Cane got whipped?
Cane wasn't Abel?
Cane wasn't sweet on Barnes?
Oh Cane, you've done it again?

Oct 28, 2023  /  Rugby World Cup 2023 Rugby World Cup: Emotional assistant coach Jason Ryan in tears over All Blacks legends' devastating last defeat | Newshub Rugby World Cup: Emotional assistant coach Jason Ryan in tears over All Blacks legends' devastating last defeat | Newshub

Several of the team's veterans wore the black jersey for the last time in the Stade de France defeat.

At least Ryan will have a chance at redemption

@1kiwi said in CWC - Blacks Caps v Australia:

@Damo said in CWC - Blacks Caps v Australia:

Fielding was the difference in the end. Aussie got about 20 runs too many.

Yep Mitchell's dropped catch, Sodhi's blunder that's what cost us

Maxwell dropped Ravindra cold.
One of our outfielders completely failed to stop a boundary hit right to them.
Marnus stepped onto the rope taking a catch.
We bowled too many wides - partly due to pressure - and probably pulled up about 20 runs short on our innings.

@mariner4life said in NRL 2023 + Internationals:

Thank fuck for horse racing or this is looking an ugly 24 hours for NZ

I'm not a horse guy so I'm now pinning everything on the ABs to restore national pride ... there goes my previous feeling of calm before that match.

Yeah I was never worried, same as semi 2011. Scores might have got close but Ozzie were never going to win

@Stag I reckon SBW is a good one to have for interviews (with a producer in his ear) as players will open up to him, but commentary or punditry not really his bag.

@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Medics and Water entering the pitch:

@Cyclops said in Medics and Water entering the pitch:

Football (of the soccer variety) has us beat here. Need a medic? You're off until the next break in play unless you were on the receiving end of a foul deemed worthy of a yellow card.

It's ironic isn't it. We give them shit about diving, but then we have players constantly pretending to be injured to get rest.

It's simulation, should be card worthy. Maybe a new pink card and 10 minutes off the field?

This was objectively the best RWC because one very generous young lady scragged young Smuts like Mulder on Lomu.

@GibbonRib said in Six Nations, SANZAAR New tournaments in 2026:

@frugby said in Six Nations, SANZAAR New tournaments in 2026:

I think the better way to give the T2 sides more games, is adding midweek games to the schedule. All Blacks already take 35+ players on a Northern tour... could easily add 2-3 extras and add in games vs Portugal and Romania for example. You don't want to be reducing the quantity of tests between the T1 teams for pointless games (which is what they are as a contest) that won't engage the fan, particularly the casual fan.

We all joked about the Qatar Airways Cup, but Twickenham was sold out (?)... if that was NZ v Portugal, it wouldn't even be half full.

All Blacks v Portugal/Romania is pointless, contest-wise. But Italy v Georgia, or Samoa v Wales, or Portugal v Japan, isn't - those are the fixtures that rugby needs more of

All Blacks v Portugal/Romania does have value as far as raising some interest, selling tickets for the home union etc, look at the All White when they get to play some of the bigger names, whole lot of press, sell out a stadium etc

i kind of feel the same top teams only playing the same top teams just stagnates things

@KiwiMurph said in How to rank this RWC?:

Quite a few of the hyped pool games failed to live up to expectations from a neutral point of view.

Scotland-Boks, Scotland-Ireland, England-Argentina, Wales-Australia come to mind. Italy weren't even semi competitive vs ABs or France

Of course this isn't unique to this World Cup and other teams performed above expectations going in (Portgual & Japan) but on paper I thought pool play would be even more competitive than it was.

Failing to live up to expectations in a WC has been a Scots tradition for pretty much as long as I remember. A couple of blow outs but completely shat the bed when it counted.

@nzzp
You mean GRABCOAT?

(Greatest All Black Coach Of All Time)

@Catogrande said in Best of RWC 1991:

@Machpants said in Best of RWC 1991:

@Catogrande said in Best of RWC 1991:

to the NZ selectors who then poached him

from Auckland

Added for full historical facts

Is re-poached a thing?

It's called a restoration or return home 😉

@Stargazer Travis Church was also the coach of the Waikato Juniors (U20s), which included a lot of TA Sports players. Some of them debuted for Waikato in the NPC.

@GibbonRib said in RWC 2027 in Australia:

@voodoo said in RWC 2027 in Australia:

@frugby

I just had a go at this, cos it's RWC Final week, and fuck work, right?

Here is my bracket - it assumes current rankings, on the basis that we beat SA this week (shoot me), and assumes everyone performs in the RWC true to that ranking.

I didn't do the 3rd and 4th in each pool by the law, just kept allocating lower ranked teams to higher ranked teams, if that makes sense - so it might not be 100% right

I can't see any outcome too egregious - sure Wales and Australia might disagree with meeting each other in the R of 16, but it is what it is

5ac2417b-406e-4281-b09f-5c68e36856fe-image.png

They won't do the knock-out stages like that though - ranking 1 to 16.

It will be predefined, and something along the lines of:
Winner A v Runner up D
Winner B v 3rd place C/E/F

Yep

And Scotland will be lucky to get out of that group 😉