Just saw this thread, and quite a good one I though. I have had a change, lived in Aus for 24 years, and as I was due to retire we came back home to NZ. Not a rushed decision as was always coming back, would of perhaps 5-10 years back but was getting to age where I was better to keep going with work etc until retirement. So in October I handed/gave my business over to fella who had been with me since I started and sold house and wife and I returned hame. We originally looked at Hawkes bay to live but couldn't find any houses we fancied where we wanted to live (Waipukurau), so after looking around Waiarapa etc we ended up in Taranaki (don't ask how, we from Levin) and after moving into house etc I can say I am enjoying every moment of my life. I have never been a gardener (who can be in Brisbane anyway) I have been mucking around in garden, generally enjoying living back in small town. Been down to Southern rugby club to have a look at trainings, so will be a supporter there. Get to see my siblings as I want, that are spread around North Island, see my adult daughter and grandkid s(also adult) at times, so actually at times I stop and pinch myself to make sure it all real. I even love driving around the roads as countryside here so beautiful. So in reply to how I am on happiness scale, at moment I right up there! hey and rugby has started so

Just thought I would put up a post to remind everyone about club rugby. I know it not trendy to follow it these days as much as it was, but moving back home and too a small town it reminds me where a lot of the heart of NZ rugby lies. Taranaki actually kicked off club rugby on Good Friday, so I was able to go to Stratford and enjoy them playing Clifton. Was just brilliant sitting in a packed stand and having a chat to people I didn't know about the game etc, as well as watch game full of players just playing becuase they love the game. And were a good number of cockies there in gumboots etc . Only trouble was too many heading into clubrooms after game seemed it best to head home.
And then Saturday in Hawera ,Southern (which is now my club played Tukapa and were enjoying 25th year anniversary. Once again it was a great crowd ,and bloody enjoyable time watching games, and this time while having a quiet beer and great rugby chat with a few gents I had never met before. I know we get a few that sneer at what they call park rugby etc, but I would suggest that it is still what any rugby man should try and do more often (I know some can't for their own reasons) and you just may remember why the game is so bloody good.
What is the point of the post? Just that this is a rugby bored and the theme of posts is to often negative about players/coaches etc, and I just thought why not have one about some of the bloody good things and why ours is the best game around!
I actually posted this elsewhere, but just I feeling real good about game so..............

Well fellas there is why I love this game! That was bloody great, don't ever accept the other team has better players, have a better team plan is the answer!

@rapido said in Pasifika SR team:

With this kind of thing:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/124896487/super-rugby-tonga-coach-welcomes-moana-pasifika-but-with-a-warning-for-all-blacks

Did Mark Robinson et al actually think an NZ Pacific franchise would be ever be a good PR thing for the NZRU?

Welcome to years of trolling anytime an NZ born and raised Samoan happens to make the All Blacks if at some time early in his career he happened to have played for an NZ franchise based in Penrose rather than another one 9.5km away in Sandringham.

Kefu kind of has a point, though from a Tongan POV. Tonga, unlike Samoa, actually do produce some good players that enter the NZ system and go right to the top. Although they already enter at schoolboy level and this won't increase any of it.

Isn't it good to see Kefu's worry etc, after the stirling performance he had for Tonga!
FFS how short the memories and pot kettle comes to mind!

Geez I struggling to see anything in that game that you would use to promote the game.
What the hell is happening to the skills in our game here in NZ?

@gt12 Yep not sure there the rugby IQ in Blues to win this. They have just basically used their scrum up to now, and not a lot else. Papali'i is playing well but they badly need Tom Robinson to give him a hand, because Sotutu and Ioane certainly didn't help him last week.

@duluth How is there an argument on this? The ref under that post is surely the only one who can see if has gome between the uprights! FFS I a Canes man but can't believe anyone seeing it on tv or somewhere in ground thinks they got better angle. There are getting to be some serious whingers in our our game!

@winger I didn't think Gatland went well last week by any means, but f*** me fellas, I would be surprised if he was tossed after one game. Geez imagine if all coaches did that, we would need squads of about 60 to last a season. I thought he actually looked ok at start, but went off a bit during game. I do think other thing is really you would be struggling to find a better 10 to put in his place, maybe move DMac there and if that doesn't work? Trask is still injured. I actually think whoever there this week will get hammered with Crusader's pack against them anyway.

My trouble is I would enjoy having a beer with any poster, well any who post about rugby anyway. I tend to think most in here seem like the types I would enjoy leaning on a table and having a beer and chat with!

@taniwharugby said in Chiefs v Blues (27 March 2021):

I think some of Black's less than ideal performance last night sits with Mcdonald, he is fucking around with the 9, not allowing a combo to be built.

I think the reality is Otere is not a top 10, he was pretty ordinary last year until he had BB helping him from 15 and he has had only a couple of good games this year when Blue's pack was absolutely on top.

@gunner said in All Blacks 2021:

That’s a bog average looking All Blacks squad.

Forwards are actually not too bad, but that backline…

Midfield - let’s hope Havili and Ioane don’t get hurt.

3 fullbacks and only 2 wingers selected, which means we’ll probably see the worlds slowest winger locked into 14 for the season again.

Where are the strike weapons?

I not upset with Tupaea, think he may have a future in Black. ALB only misses first test I think.

@canes4life Have to be Booth you would think. I struggle to really find a lot uf upsides with Campbell, if you watch him when he playing his first instinct is always to go left, usually means his pass to right is a little laboured.

Missed Southern for one reason or other so was good to get back to game on Saturday. Unfortunately lost again to nail down wooden spoon spot , boys just don't seem to be using the top 2 inches at moment, were up 28-7 and lost 35-33, mainly I though through one or 2 bad decisions.
Still such is the life of a supporter, just hope for better next week!

Actually starting to look forward to the final! But then I can't remember when I didn't look forward to a game of rugby in my life!
I know we will hear this and that is wrong with the comp this year, but to be fair covid prevented anything else so it is what it is.
I kond of struggling to decide who I really want to win. I like most people have a soft spot for the Clan, love the way they play, really seem to generally have a very well thought out game plan and players buy into it, so great to watch.
I like how the Blues have come on in the last couple of years, have some bloody good players, and seemingly learning to play a quite intelligent style, ( helped by using young Zarn at 15) so if their loosies can get on top of Clan's, will be fun to watch!

@mn5 said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:

Athletic Park vs Australia 1996.

One of those rainy, windy, shitty days that those who don’t live in Wellington believe we have every day. Woken up by the old man to say he had tickets through work, going to the pub with him first ( bear in mind the drinking age was 20 in those days and I’d just turned 19 so he shouted everything ) and then sneaking in more booze to the ground and sitting with a bunch of GCs who had also smuggled lots of booze which was the thing to do in those days.

The ABs also destroyed Australia 43-6 which was nice. An incredible display of rugby in the worst possible conditions. The water that drizzled on us was brown from the rust in the good old Millard stand. To my utter non surprise Athletic Park got demolished a few years later.

Was at that test too, was sitting on top of Millard Stand right at front. Was cold as f*** ,but the best seats I have ever had. Being up that high about 10metres from touchline, was like watching a game on chess board below. Couple of real special things that stuck out among a lot of great things, was watching the angles Iceman ran, and Zinzan setting up backline in a try he scored ,just blew me away.

Yep just seen of Grandson in NZ herald as he heading down there for Army to do evacs etc.

@tim said in All Blacks 2021:

The tight five selections for the next squad seem pretty locked in now (Moody is out), except for 3rd tight head prop.

Props

Karl Tu'inukuafe
Aidan Ross
Alex Hodgman
Nepo Laulala
Ofa Tu'ungafasi
?

Hookers

Codie Taylor
Dane Coles
Asafo Aumua

Locks

Sam Whitelock
Brodie Retallick
Patrick Tuipulotu
Scott Barrett

Train with the team:

Tamaiti Williams
Samisoni Taukei'aho
Tupou Vaa'i

Probably only one thing I would change is I think I would have Vaa'i ahead of PT, think he is already ahead of PT!

@muddyriver said in One domestic NZ competition?:

@dan54 The problem i have here is these leagues are used as development tools for test matches, to create the strongest test teams.

It means the domestic league itself is always 2nd tier. I think league has the balance right (between club and international) they just lack in meaningful international matches/competition.

Look I don't watch league, so from my limited knowledge isn't same there? Not for test teams, as they don't really have meaningful ones, but aren't comps below NRL used to develop NRL players? It is a fact all sports use the comp below to develop players in some way to feed the one above, doesn't make either comp less meaningful.

Well Southern boys are in New Plymouth tomorrow again, and last couple of weeks I haven't been up there to follow them, they been getting knocked around a bit too. Instead what I have been doing is picking a shall we say a 'village team', one of the 3rd division clubs, really enjoying it, generally make sure I wander into clubrooms and join their for a beer. Loveing it, will do same thing tomorrow and just wander over to Stratford and watch their 3rds play Kaponga where I was last week!

@gt12 said in One domestic NZ competition?:

@duluth said in One domestic NZ competition?:

@godder said in One domestic NZ competition?:

Sky pay for games and duration. Make a shorter, tougher season, and Sky will pay less because there are people who only subscribe for the rugby, so if the professional rugby season is shorter, Sky will lose subscription revenue.

SRA is the shorter tougher season

I'm advocating for a longer professional competition with the best players

After listening to Ben Darwin on the rugby pod (which was interesting even if I thought I'd really like to see the maths they used to generate those stats), another way of dealing with the gap in rugby for the 'professionals' during Sept/Oct as mentioned by some above would be having an 'academy league' where teams have to play a certain number of development players (or players under a certain age with a certain number of caps) in their team. Of course they could also surround them with some of their professionals to keep some structure and maintain a reasonable level. This would allow Super teams to develop some cohesion and introduce players at a lower level. It could also punish teams loaded with ABs (assuming that aBs don't get to play) but would fill a supposed 'gap' in the schedule.

I enjoyed the Ben Darwin thing too gt. Like the academy idea, though think the super U20s almost does that, and really NPC is also pretty important for same thing. If we didn't have NPC even as semi pro comp we would have an awful lot of players going to semi pro clubs overseas.