@Pot-Hale said in Blues v BI Lions:
And booing as well.
How can your fans complain about booing when your forwards yell at us every time we try to put the ball into a lineout? Shouldn't you be more worried about the sportsmanship of your players, than the fans?
As voted by you:
Cane 277
R. Ioane 206
Retallick 169
Whitelock 142
Read 141
A. Smith 126
SBW 98
D Mac 92
Hames 76
B. Barrett 75
Baron your response to any proven lie by Trump is just to say that Obama has said something which is a lie or is made up in the past. This is just silliness. You seem to be saying that as soon as someone lies once, they are automatically as bad as someone who lies many more times. There is a very good reason why inventing an attack which is used to bar a group of people from entering a country is treated very differently to whether or not cars have become twice as efficient.
In this thread, several users routinely like to trash the "mainstream media". I also think the mainstream media in regards to CNN did a poor job in their election coverage. However, many of the users who have spent their time trashing the mainstream media have also made several obviously false claims (like about how few counties Clinton won or that Trump's immigration executive order was exactly the same as one passed by Obama). Furthermore, a quick google of these claims makes it clear that they originated on Breitbart. Criticising the MSM for being biased and then posting obviously false and misleading facts from Breitbart makes no sense to me. You are simply holding media organisations you don't use to higher standards than the organisations that you do use. If you want to criticise the standards in media then you should probably subscribe to the Economist, or the Atlantic, or even National Review.
The thing that is most striking about reading pro-Trump websites is the incredibly small world these people live in. If you read Breitbart there is nothing there about any important issues. Foreign issues are rarely touched upon unless it is to score political points or directly related to Trump. There is almost never an article about reforming the economy, or reducing corruption or overhauling the health system. Needless to say, dissenting opinions are never published on Breitbart (as they are in the Atlantic or New Yorker). If Breitbart is a look in to the world of a Trump supporter, then it is a scary place. It's scary because these are people who believe that the greatest threat to western civilisation comes from the left and that the primary motive of government should be to defeat those people. It's an exercise in futility because any attack on the left will just embolden them.
The mainstream media is not perfect and they should be doing a lot more to focus on the real issues that matter. I just can't take any criticism of the mainstream media seriously if it is coming from someone who believes that Breitbart is the solution.
Man Cruden kicking the ball away with 90 seconds was pretty hard to stomach. That's a 2% play. It was well covered by two Lions defenders. Lions had given away penalties all day. The plan should have been to work upfield, kick a drop goal and at least draw the series.
Also the quick lineout was so unnecessary.
@stargazer said in Crusaders v Hurricanes - SF:
Can't remember whether I already posted this.
Should really be a sell out though. TBF, it isn't just the Crusaders who struggle, it is everyone but all playoff games should sell out a 20k seat stadium.
I thought that was a great game of rugby. If you thought it was boring, give the World Cup a miss.
One of the questions about Barrett (apart from his goal kicking) was how he would do in a game where our forwards were getting dominated. I do not know that our forward pack did get dominated but we were well behind in territory and possession then of course there was the penalties. Barrett answered those questions by how well he played.
@Frank said in US Politics:
@Donsteppa
Trump is an aggressive negotiator. This is power politics is an era of mad-partisanship. The left will not give up their ground easily - especially when aided and abetted by the vast majority of MSM. Trump will use this way to achieve his true objectives. Expect Trump to use the same tactics in relation to China, Iran etc. The longer the left view him as dangerous, unpredictable and unprepared idiot, the better it is for him. It keeps them off balance.
He has both houses of Congress. He doesn't need the left. Propose legislation, make sure it is constitutional and get people to vote for it.
@Donsteppa said in Indian Cricket Tour of NZ 2020:
Can't believe that was potentially the last game with Smithy, Coney, and Waddle on the airwaves.
If cricket isn't on radio next summer, it is a massive loss for the game in this country. Cricket is well suited to that format and it keeps people interested who wouldn't sit down and watch a whole day's play.
@rotated said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:
@gt12 said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:
We've got a problem with our goal kicking, and the play of our 10 in running the game. It's a serious fucking problem, because Barrett is the best 10 we have in Super rugby, but he really struggled in this series. Like, fuck me gently, some people were looking for a Carter 2005 from him. How fucking far away from that level of play has he been? IMO, we would have easily won that game tonight with Carter - in current form - playing and taking the kicks. That's fucking worrying.
Agree 100%. Let's see where Beauden goes from here, but this HAS to end Hansen's indifference to our goal kicking. He has openly chastised media who've asked him about Beauden's kicking (or lack of it for the Canes). If you want to crap on about structure and culture and dedication Beauden has to learn how to goal kick - simple.
I find this whole thing strange. I find people saying we lost the last two weeks because of Beauden Barrett's goal kicking? When the Lions/England lose how come people rarely say it was because Farrell didn't score enough brilliant tries? Barrett missed two kicks today - one from out in front and one from out wide. We know there are better goal kickers in the world. However, even if Barrett got both those kicks it would only be an extra five points. We blew plenty of five pointers out there. Kieran Read gave away a needless penalty and that cost us three points as well.
I think it's just a psychological thing. Someone lines up a shot at goal so you expect it to go over (because it generally does). When they miss those are stored away as points lost.
@shark said in NFL Season 2020/21 - Bubble NZ:
I agree that funding the travel and accommodation wouldn't be an issue. Nor finding flights / aircraft. Nor flying into Wgtn which is totally and utterly irrelevant. I'm sure our grounds could facilitate the amount of staff required, even if it meant reduced capacities to create areas for staff and players. All this stuff can be worked with and/or around.
If players keep bailing which reduces the level of the comp, and assuming the same players would travel to NZ, and in light of the issues MLB is already having to start their season, I think the stakeholders inc owners and fans could get behind the idea. I think there is a legitimate chance the season may not otherwise take place.
If they start as planned and games are called off due to positive tests, I don't see how or when they'd make this up. I'd also suggest the Superbowl could still be held as normal in the US as its a one-off event. The world's largest single annual sporting occasion would be in no danger whatsoever of not taking place if everyone involved in it was able to travel from Covid-free NZ.
I think you are underestimating logistics. Do you think an NFL team is going to train at Rugby League Park in Wellington (where the Hurricanes normally train)? It's getting all the equipment and supplies as well. There would be 100s of things we can't even comprehend.
Not to mention quarantine is basically full already. So you would be letting a sports league into the country while saying that citizens have to wait. It's unpalatable.
@shark said in NFL Season 2020/21 - Bubble NZ:
Watching how the MLB season has started. Games already postponed due to players testing positive for Covid. US media questioning how long it can go on for whilst also praising the NBA bubble. Podcast hosts mentioning New Zealand as a safe place to host major league sports. And thinking NFL is only six weeks away and wondering more and more often why we shouldn't as a country make a push to host the entire season here. At the highest level.
The Labour-lead Govt should be all over it. We're a relatively safe haven, we have numerous stadiums capable of hosting games, the season is only 4 and a half months long so it's not as extreme as hosting an NBA season would be, and the financial injection would be enormous. The NFL gets it's TV content to fulfill it's obligations - albeit with some odd kick off and viewing times - and New Zealand gets to host the National Fucking Football League.
Check out
. NFL logistics are insane. Some examples of why it wouldn't work:@Bovidae said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
I have no problem basing a PI team in Auckland as it has many advantages over the team being in Suva, for example. The most obvious being the costs required for travel and logistical challenges in the islands. There are also a large number of PI players outside of Auckland, so limiting your player pool to only one city is a stupid move.
The other important point is that if Kanaloa Hawai’i is 100% funding this team then it is similar to Forrest and the Force in Aust. You add a team to your competition at no cost to the home RU. NZR aren't going to ignore that possibility.
Aren't the Blues a PI team based in Auckland? They have always had PI players in there. I'm not really sure who would play for the team. Most PI players in NZ already have contracts with the NZRU so can't just join a new team at the drop of a hat. If you introduced them for next season, they would mostly be Super Rugby rejects and maybe the odd player coming back from overseas.
It always feels great to win a game when the other team is better than you. You saw those scrums in the first half and every time it was penalty. It's hard to see you winning a game when that happens. That win took a lot of heart.
Jordie was MotM. It's funny how a lot of commentators say mindless shit like to beat the Crusaders you have to go for tries and not kick goals. I think that just makes it easy for the other team. Jordie has to be a lock for All Blacks fullback now. He's a fantastic player. Aumua and Umaga-Jensen were the other standouts for me.
@antipodean said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
I had better things to do but still looked and it appears that Australia has consistently had a good team in Super Rugby. Often with another midpack, but almost always with a couple of cellar dwellers. Sometimes 80% in the bottom half.
The bloat in Super Rugby is correlated with this. From a revenue perspective more teams meant more fixtures so the TV revenue was higher. I felt the quality took a dramatic fall after the 2011 RWC and again after 2015. To make new franchises competitive the depth and overall quality of existing teams fell.
Once people stop watching the product is worth less. For me the quality needs to be high to get people viewing again. That excludes the Force and Rebels, neither of which would beat even the Chiefs right now.
The Chiefs aren't actually a bad team though. The 5 New Zealand teams normally do well so we have to accept that.
A 5 team professional competition isn't sustainable and will get stale quick. Plus the players don't support having all of these derbies. There are really two options for NZ Rugby:
a) Don't go with Australia and create one or multiple Pacific/Japanese teams which will dilute quality.
b) Allow in four Australian teams (and perhaps one Pacific/Japanese team) which will dilute quality.
That was a game we should have put away. It was disappointing to let them back in it.
Jordie has made a huge difference to this team. We have a lot of solid but unspectacular players and are very reliant on a few players. Aumua was probably the standout. Always over the advantage line but the main thing was the much better lineout. He should get the start next week as well.
I would probably be more likely to go to Christchurch to see a game in a new roofed stadium than in a stadium which looked cooler. I like stadium architecture but it doesn't always equal a good atmosphere. Carisbrook looked really cool too but most people prefer Forsyth Barr.
@ACT-Crusader said in Chiefs v Hurricanes:
@ACT-Crusader said in Chiefs v Hurricanes:
I’m actually picking the Canes to win this one. Ardie, Dane and TJ to will them over for an unlikely win.
Bump
I'm surprised we weren't favourites for this one. Before the lockdown we lost away to the Stormers and at home to the Blues when we were down to 12 players. We are hardly a bad team, we just have a few journeymen in the forwards and poor depth.