@sparky said in Sam Cane - All Blacks Captain:

Which test was Andrew Hore ABs captain for?

It was a club game.

@snowy said in RIP Phil the Greek:

One more year and he would have got a message from his wife.
Wonder what that would have been?

Actually feel quite sorry for the old girl. She really did love him.

A couple of years ago the son and his partner were doing the Windsor Castle walkthrough while we were in the pub. ('Two Brewers' if you are looking for a good one there) and while others in their group went rushing from item to item they stopped to just look out a window onto a courtyard. A door opened and out came Lizzie with a couple of dogs, a car pulls up and out hops Phil. She has a big smile and goes and gives him a hug. They luckily witnessed a totally real and candid moment between the two.

My own little experience was more formal but we got an invite to one of the garden parties at the big London house and then got selected to meet the old girl as she wandered through the garden. Anyway it is all quite formal and you get introduced etc. The wife and I use different surnames and because of a quirk in the way it was set up ended up standing on either side of a couple of friends. Anyway she has her little chat along the line to the others. Work talk. Then gets to me. 'and what brings you here Crucial?'. I pointed to the wife and said 'I'm just here as support and logistics for her'. She actually laughed and said 'Oh, I have one of those as well'.
After she moved on to the next group and we were released we had so many people come up and asked how we made her smile and laugh. The 'joke' was weak so I can only assume it was thinking about the silly old bugger.

@cantab79 said in AB Test Team v France.:

Can't believe people are seriously suggesting that Steve Hansen has not called up Akira Ioane because he is saving him for the Maori team. Is there any precedent to back up this theory? Luke Whitelock has outplayed Ioane at both Super Rugby and Mitre 10 Cup levels this year, and that's why he's been selected.

How does that pie taste?

Took a drive yesterday (only 5 km over the regional border) to a farm in the Wairarapa and picked up a new pup. 3 month old black lab. Very cool little fella. This will keep me busy.

Look. Tana and BOD have buried the hatchet and are sharing a laugh.

Next on Tana's list are @Kirwan and @Duluth

@jegga said in RWC: Japan v Ireland (Pool A):

@booboo said in RWC: Japan v Ireland (Pool A):

@jegga said in RWC: Japan v Ireland (Pool A):

@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: Japan v Ireland (Pool A):

@jegga said in RWC: Japan v Ireland (Pool A):

Apparently BOD was a pundit on the Irish coverage and didn't take the result well. If anyone has the footage and can post it I will be eternally grateful

Was on the ITV coverage.

He had the look of a man who's swallowed a wasp during during a live TV interview and that distracted him from the fact he's also having a severe bowel spasm.

Excellent.

A quarter final exit is an Irish tradition isn’t it?

Planet Rugby’s Ireland fans are still delivering gold

“We knew all of this in advance.
That’s why Joe player what he felt was his best team.

In cooler weather, better ref, neutral location both teams given the same amount of rest and our B team puts 40 points on them.

Do we really think that Japan making the quarters wasn’t just what WR wanted?

At this rate Japan might make the semis or better.

Reminds me of Korea/Japan WC in the football.”

Also a whole thread about how bent Gardner is

http://forum.planetrugby.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=91481&sid=5594db999ca625c55956a0becc14a9dc

I don’t remember bok fans being this graceless at all and their team came back and gave ours a hell of a game in the semis.
I hope Heneke Meyer had a smile on his face last night .
The only downside for Japan is no one in their pool is going to take them lightly so they’ll be playing their top side if possible.

As a neutralish observer (I was obviously backing Japan) I didn't notice any obvious issues with the officiating. Did anyone? (Haven't read the thread.)

What are their specific whinge? Or is it just victim mentality?

Some of them have been saying Japan had an advantage because they play in the super rugby comp and are more used to the way Gardner refs .

Victim mentality, delusions of grandeur or just ungracious arseclowns? Take your pick

According to comments on the42 Ireland were beaten by some fella called Hugh Middity.
He wasn’t on the team sheets but must have been there because everyone is saying “Hi, Hugh Middity”

What about stupid people that think they can coach and select the ABs but have no clue about it. They can piss right of!

@allblacksfan72 said in Are there any All Blacks wildcards left ?:

How about George bridge? Has all the qualities needed for test rugby

A red and black jersey?

Can someone please correct this thread title. It is doing my head in.

@toddy said in Olympics Thread:

@crucial some hesitancy crossing the start/finish line there. Is that because it's better to sit 2nd/3rd rather than do all the work and make a late move for the gold?

He seems to be taking longer at the pits and happy to just stay in touch.

Van derPoel forgot he wasn’t on the road and cased a big step-down in rocks. Took a big tumble.

Anton Cooper is looking competitive in the MTB so far

That Olympic course is pretty cool. Just get rid of those nasty ups and I’d ride it.

@gt12 said in All Blacks 2021:

@toddy said in All Blacks 2021:

@tim said in All Blacks 2021:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby-all-black-shannon-frizell-charged-over-alleged-violent-incident/WIVSLTLE23PFND2JBPFLFS4RUE/

Highlanders and All Black star Shannon Frizell had been charged over an allegedly violent incident in May.

It is understood the 27-year-old Tongan-born loose forward with 15 international caps to his name will appear in the Dunedin District Court tomorrow on two allegations of assaulting a female and one of common assault.

New Zealand Rugby's general manager professional rugby and performance Chris Lendrum said: "We are aware that charges have been laid against one of our players and we have initiated our own employment process."

He refused to comment further.

In May, police confirmed they were investigating an incident at Octagon bar Vault 21 and said a rugby player "of significance" was allegedly involved.

Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark, at the time, said he was aware of the incident and that there would be an investigation.

Frizell was dropped from the Highlanders squad the week after the alleged violence but Clark said it was not a punishment, simply a measure to avoid "distraction".

He has not yet responded to requests for comment today,

The All Blacks are gearing up to face the Wallabies next month for the annual Bledisloe Cup clash, defending a title they have held since 2003.

The maximum penalty on a charge of male assaults female is two years' imprisonment.

What a fluffybunny if guilty. Also means a lot of wasted tests on him.

Only positive for Fizzell is that it may open doors at the Crusaders for him.

This might be the funniest post I've ever seen on this site. Fucking well played.

May I add to the theme while we are putting the boot in?

@tim said in Re: Movie review thread...:

I cannot emphasize enough how good this movie is. 5/5 Old Style Pilsners.

It looks like everything I expected going by your review.

@arhs said in NPC - news, injuries etc:

Have seen news and squads for 13 teams here. Has Waikato withdrawn? Does anyone know what is going on there? Why no information regarding NPC squad?

No CM squad announcement yet either. Expecting it soon.

I think we all owe Japan a beer for butchering that. Could have opened the possible NZ v Fiji quarterfinal scenario up.

@kirwan said in Super Rugby Women's Competition:

@stargazer said in Super Rugby Women's Competition:

Men's Super Rugby is of a much higher standard than NPC, so women's SR will also be of a much higher standard than FPC.

If these games are stand-alone games, they'll be played at small grounds (e.g. Jerry Collins stadium instead of Sky Stadium; Rugby Park, instead of Christchurch Stadium etc.), so the ticket prices will be much lower.

I'll happily pay for a ticket to a women's SR game, provided it's not at Sky Stadium prices.

Not sure that statement is true. Worst case scenerio is that the standard is exactly the same, because you are assuming that the consolidation of talent will have the same effect as it does in the men's team.

Not sure there is any evidence of that, as it's really early days. Are they training full time like the men? Or this semi-pro still? If semi-pro then it leans more towards the standard being the same.

Has anybody done any research if there is a market for women's rugby? Will women watch it? Will men?

I know that there was alot of talk about the potential ratings for High School rugby, that didn't eventuate either. At the end of the day, there are so many choices for sports fans, you have to have a really good product to steal away eyeballs.

I'm a rugby tragic and find it hard to get through a woman's match, standard is not great and it's like watching rugby in slow motion. Woman's sevens is a bit better, that's reasonably fun to watch.

I get the argument that this may be moving too fast but I see it as increasing experience levels which will, in turn, increase skills.
The biggest problem with women's rugby is the amount of games available to get experience. School and Club comps have few teams so players are moving up a level to FPC with very little experience.
Growing the game in visibility will, in turn, increase participation etc etc.
Our top level 7s players show that if you play a often and gain experience you can produce high quality entertainment.

@kiwiwomble said in Super Rugby Women's Competition:

@bovidae said in Super Rugby Women's Competition:

@kiwiwomble said in Super Rugby Women's Competition:

@bovidae said in Super Rugby Women's Competition:

Reading an article today, planning is well advanced for a 4-team competition to start in March next year. Teams based in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch. A round-robin and final.

...wait...so i'd have to support the crusaders?...i thought they were trying to attract new fans....

They've taken the best Otago players already.

ive got lots of ties to chch..but i just dont think i can do it

I know a lot of Otago-ites that feel the same. Best option is to have a different name for the one SI team. Base it in Chch but take games to Nelson, Dunedin etc when they can.
" Southern Pounamu" or something like that might get around the fact that everyone else hates the Crusaders name.