@kiwiinmelb "Nice guns, Sonny".

"Thanks, Jack - I like your hair".

@Siam said in Indian Cricket Tour of NZ 2020:

Wags out. Baby coming.

But don't worry Henry called up

Don't know why Mrs. Wags can't do this on her own - the delivery is bound to be short, or very short!

@mn5 said in All Blacks v Argentina - Nelson:

@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Argentina - Nelson:

Shit team in a shit location. lucky the Warriors are on

DO NOT diss Nelson you Queensland Bogan fluffybunny.

Ignore him, MN5.

What would a fucker who lives in Cairns know about locations? He's choosing to live in a swamp, inhabited by nasty, poisonous biting creatures - and that's just the people, don't get me started on the wildlife.

In fact, do. Go to the beach - get eaten by a crocodile. Go for a run - get bitten by a snake. Go for a shit - get bitten by a spider. Go anywhere and get bitten by dengue-ridden mosquitos or some other fucking insect largely unknown to science.

Go to the pub and be entertained by Tex Morton and his pet bantam, Stu - singing "Blue Bayou" - a song about living in a swamp.

In summary, he wouldn't know a good location if it bit him on the arse - and in Cairns it probably will!

Well done, lad!

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/126150980/paul-coll-becomes-first-new-zealander-to-win-the-british-open-mens-squash-title

Biggest win by someone from Greymouth in a while.

Dave McKenzie won the Boston marathon, but he was from Runanga.

I'm on the Razor bandwagon.

I used to think that if you had the cattle then any vaguely competent coach could get them across the line - but, Rennie (and Smith) vs Foster and then Razor vs Toddy Blackadder convinced me I was thinking bullshit.

Instantaneous improvement to repeated victory.

I reckon under Fozzie we're getting similar results to what we'd be getting under Toddy. Decent people, competent coaches, trying their best - but, they just don't quite have the magic touch.

Razor may not be able to work his magic with the ABs post-2023 (see Rennie and the Wallabies), but I reckon we'd be silly not to give him the shot.

@No-Quarter said in All Blacks v England:

Jesus the criticism of the DG is a bit over the top, that got us a 19 point lead with 10 minutes to go. That is 100% NOT the reason we lost, it has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Yeah - when we're 16 points up with 10 to play I don't want our senior players wetting their pants about a three-try comeback. That should have been another un-needed nail in the coffin and we should be talking about how good it is that BB took the opportunity to get in some dropgoal practice in a big game.

Maybe it will yet serve us in good stead next year.

How have I never seen Pinky the Loving Cat before?

@sparky said in Savea goooone Skudder in:

@Crucial Selling Comics.

Worst Wing Ever!

Well, that was pretty exciting and given that I hate losing far more than I like winning, I'm remarkably sanguine about the result.

I think some of you guys are being pretty harsh on the execution. The Lions defence was extremely good - no weak links - and I think the ABs decided they needed some pieces of magic to score. Maybe a lack of patience at times, but the two tries we scored both had a fair degree of magic to them - especially the second one. Taking pop passes into a close defensive line and getting smashed isn't the best way of retaining the ball - but, it's also a good way of breaking the line. On another night we could have scored four or five tries - we certainly created opportunities - especially in the first half.

I haven't really seen a massive decline in Hansen's coaching - we just came up against a team chock full of talented players and with the depth to match and possibly better the advantage we usually get from the subs bench - particularly once we lost a few players.

On the final penalty, I guess Poite will give a Gallic shrug and say something like "Il n’est pas la bonne décision, mais c’est la belle décision."

Which means, "It is not the right decision, but it is the beautiful decision." At least that's what I typed into Babelfish to get that result!

Right now, the Crusaders have won the same number of games as the Australian teams combined.

@bayimports Someone posted about that Super League a week or so ago and that was the first time I'd ever heard there was such a thing!

@Canes4life said in NPC 2023:

Defending champs and Ranfurly Shield holders Wellington have released their draw. Man it feels good to write that.

The Southland Stags to get the first challenge.

Wellington Lions Bunnings Warehouse NPC Draw Announced

Round 3 might be quite an interesting round if you guys can avoid the total incompetence of losing to Southland.

Fringe players who don't need to be selected for Fozzie's crusade include Lomax, Frizell, Blackadder, Christie, Havili, Jordan, Fainga'anuku and Reece!

Unless there's injuries, I don't see any bolters in the loosies - they'll take 5 or maybe 6 loosies with, I think, a plan that Scott Barrett will play 6 if the other locks stay fit.

Then Ardie, Sam Cane, Papalií, Blackadder, Frizell, Sotutu, Akira all competing for spots, Luke Jacobsen, Grace and PGS behind them with test experience, but I don't see any making it unless there's injuries.

Coles is at risk, but I won't be surprised if he makes it - with a caveat that I haven't watched him this year.

Guys who are listed in the current squad on the AB site who don't make my team if everyone is fit:

Aidan Ross, Akira Ioane, Angus Taávao, Braydon Ennor, Folau Fakatava, Jack Goodhue (sadly), Josh Lord, Big Leicester, Nepo Laulala, Patrick Tuipolotu, Pita Gus Sowakula, RTS,

There's a few others in dogfights., ,

@Winger said in All Blacks World Cup bolters:

@Crucial said in All Blacks World Cup bolters:

@antipodean said in All Blacks World Cup bolters:

If we're honest with ourselves there's only two standouts so far; Roigard and Stevenson. Others are playing well, but not at a level that screams "pick me for the All Blacks".

Lester F needs to back up that last game and he may be given another go. A player that can play midfield and wing is valuable in a RWC squad especially for minnow games.

He was so disappointing though in the AB's. Maybe SR is his level

Actually, he had a really strong debut against Ireland. I recall that I'd warned y'all that he wasn't test ready and I got a couple of little claps back on that.

Second test he was poor, got a yellow card, subbed - and never seen again.

@Kiwiwomble said in It’s Razor. Robertson New All Blacks coach.:

@Chris-B said in It’s Razor. Robertson New All Blacks coach.:

Someone might have already posted this - interesting to see Conrad on the panel.

The panel of NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson, board members Dame Farah Palmer and Bailey Mackey, NZR head of high performance Mike Anthony, former All Black Conrad Smith and Eddie Kohlhase, of High Performance Sport NZ and a former Black Sox softball coach.

yeah, wonder why? isn't he a lawyer? so maybe the combo of lawyer/player? but you might have thought former captains?

Might be indicative that neither Hammer nor any other recent Canes coaches were interviewing.

KRead has been in the media saying appoint Razor and he and McCaw are Crusaders through and through. I don't think they'd want that. Rueben Thorne as well.

Someone might have already posted this - interesting to see Conrad on the panel.

The panel of NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson, board members Dame Farah Palmer and Bailey Mackey, NZR head of high performance Mike Anthony, former All Black Conrad Smith and Eddie Kohlhase, of High Performance Sport NZ and a former Black Sox softball coach.

@Dan54 Far out.

Really testing the depth.

I see Quinten Strange has a hamstring injury, which answers my question from last week.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/300836190/crusaders-hit-by-injuries-to-sam-whitelock-sevu-reece-ahead-of-brumbies-clash

@ACT-Crusader Wow - Stead's really fashioned an extraordinary record.

I wouldn't have picked him to have been statistically more successful than Hesson.

@Crucial said in It’s Razor. Robertson New All Blacks coach.:

@mariner4life said in It’s Razor. Robertson New All Blacks coach.:

Wracking my brain trying to think of another professional sports coach who has the job for a full season knowing he's not wanted?

Very strange fucking time

I actually don't know how I feel about it to be honest.

I want to believe everyone is a stone cold professional and just gets on with the job. But that's fantasy.
If Foster isn't their guy he shouldn't be there now.

It's all ridiculous really.

That's my point. I'm not grizzling on behalf of Foster, I'm stating the obvious. All those posts claiming that players will want to perform are correct. Step away from the extremes/simplistic views for a moment and you'll note that there is a little seed put in their heads that the guy telling them that they can win if they do what he says doesn't really have the full support of the bosses who are more than happy to sit and grin alongside their new hire.
That little seed could mean that the team aren't fully on song.
Surely there were better ways to do this. The interview/selection process appears to have been a done deal (and don't we just hate those?) so why not keep it under wraps?
More Mark Robinson mess IMO.
I do agree that a change of coach is needed but also think that if you aren't going to change the incumbent then full support means full support not praising how you think someone else will do a better job.

On the other hand, everyone knew Fozzie was dead in the water unless he won the RWC and maybe even then.

The Fern had nearly 6,000 posts on the Fozzie Robertson thread, so imagine what the conversations were around the pro rugby dressing rooms and "who had heard what".

If you've ever gone through a big institutional restructuring you'll know how productivity falls away around the water cooler - until there is certainty.