@Machpants said in World Rugby chairman election:

Ugh nothing like a bit of corruption and nepotism to really help stink the place up

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/121047624/convicted-fijian-killer-nominated-for-key-world-rugby-role--with-french-backing

is there any role Cliff Curtis can't play?

@gt12 said in Argentina Two: Newcastle, 28 November:

Scott Barrett (39)

fuck off

@gt12 said in Argentina Two: Newcastle, 28 November:

Ardie Savea (48)

fuck off

@gt12 said in Argentina Two: Newcastle, 28 November:

Jordie Barrett (22)

fuck off

@gt12 said in Argentina Two: Newcastle, 28 November:

TJ Perenara (68)

fuck off

Welcome back Bart

Try this little known website called grindr. I reckon lions fans will be all over it

As New Zealand and Australia get set to do battle on the sporting field once again, this time in the Bledisloe Cup, the one-time pinnacle of International Rugby, i think it is only fair that we, as kiwi fans, take a moment to spare a thought for our Australasian cousins. The realists among them are starting to come to terms with the reality that their star has faded, and they are no longer the sporting superpower they once were.

Around the turn of the century, Australia could lay claim to being the best all-round sporting nation on the planet. Not a huge population, they still managed to excel in a number of discipines:

• Tennis: Their two best players in Hewitt and Rafter spent time at #1, and won multiple Grand Slams. The Woodies, particularly Woodbridge, could lay claim to being the best doubles players ever. It was a golden time

• Cricket: Undisputed kings of all forms, unbeatable at home, nigh unbeatable away, with a host of all-time greats; and in the discussion as the greatest cricket side of all time

• The Olympics: Sydney was a triumph of an event, with the home nation taking home 58 medals, including 16 gold. THis flowed in to 2004, where they took their tallies even higher, across a huge number of sports

• Motor Cycling: Mick Doohan was coming off 5 straight MotoGP championships, while Troys Corser and Bayliss were winning Superbike titles repeatedly

• The Socceroos were assembling their greatest ever side that would eventually get out of the Group Stage of the World Cup, including such luminaries as Cahill, Kewell, Schwarzer, Viduka, Aloisi, Bresciano

• And of course rugby. 3 super sides were always at the pointy end. The Reds topped the table in '99, The Brumbies were tussling with the Crusaders for the claim to be the best team in the comp. And this flowed to the Wallabies. '99 World Cup. 01 Lions. Multiple wins over the All Blacks, legit claim to be the best team in the world.

And this isn't an exhaustive list, their league team was more dominant, it seemed no matter what they played, they won. A true golden age.

Compare and contrast with today

• In tennis, their two best players are a couple of douchebags universally reviled by their own fans, who can't even be fucked playing at Wimbledon

• The cricket side has slipped to 4th in the world records, and closer to little old NZ than the top of the table. Series losses home and away are now the norm, rather than a cause for shock. Players were on strike a week ago because they couldn't afford to buy a 2nd Italian sports car

• In the Olympics, Australia's plummet down the medal table has been stark. Medal totals have halved, and again, they are closer to little old NZ than the top of the table.

• Do they still ride Motor Bikes? Daniel Riccardo seems like a bit of a dude in F1, but hardly in a position to actually win anything.

• The Socceroos are in a fight to qualify for the next World Cup, despite playing a bunch of impoverished nations.

• And of course the rugby. Super teams winless against NZ opposition. One team fighting their death in Court. The Wallabies are unable to bank a win at home against Scotland any more. Grass roots on it's knees. A bad Bledisloe series, and the public could switch off, for good this time.

So, dear All Black fans, while you are having your pints this weekend, celebrating the return of test match rugby, and the opening of the once-revered South Hemisphere competition, take a second and commiserate with our trans-Tasman cousins. They are going through a tough time of it, it's never easy getting used to a new reality.

I am fucked if i would sit in a Ryan Crotty stand. The fucking thing would break just before half time.

@taniwharugby said in Coronavirus - New Zealand:

Getting alot of work done though!

you're among friends here mate. No need for the bullshit

Sorry nick and barb, this isn't really aimed at you, you guys haven't gone full whinge (just sort of half)

But fuck this whinging, bleating and crying from the Australian rugby fraternity this year. They should be embarrassed.

My guess is it's born of frustration. This year was not supposed to go like this. The established narrative after the world cup was of a team on the rise. The all blacks were supposed to be going the other way.

Instead its been a horror year. Their super rugby teams were bent over and railed. They got whitewashed by the poms. They list in South Africa, and tried their hardest to lose the game in aus as well. We have given them a nearly unprecedented 3 game mauling. And along the way they've played some mind-numbingly poor rugby, compounded by some strange selecting.

And what have we heard from the rugby community in aus? Not even excuses, just bleating. This weekend had been the worst, fuck me "we didn't get awarded a tryyyyy. Waaaah" in a game you got gaped by 27, and with even an average international kicking performance it's more like 33.

Your media has lost the plot, your coach can't find answers, and all the focus is external. What happens if you win 2 from 5 on tour? Who are you going to blame then?

We did this to ourselves. And by us, i mean you, because AB fans don't lose. Endless, and i mean, endless social media; sports forum; phone in; fucking smoke signal whinge fests after every single game looking to absolve everything and everyone for any loss, because the ref fucked us.

We are not shit at rugby, we were fucked by the ref. How could the ref miss that minuscule knock on that we only found in super-slow-mo? Isn't he professional? It's a fucking conspiracy against my team/in favour of that team.

Rugby fans are obsessed by referees. Look at any match thread. Who is the ref? Oh shit, really? he hates us. He loves them. He hates breakdowns. He won't let us scrum. He once missed a knock on against my team 8 years ago that i have decided cost us the game. Fuck that guy. He's a cheat. French refs are shit. Aussie refs are shit. Bok refs are shit. English/Irish/Welsh refs are too slow to keep up with the game.

So world rugby listened, and gave you this clusterfuck. Where we have guys who aren't good enough to be refs watching TV and whispering shit in the refs ear "you missed a very marginal thing back there, we better check it. if we don't we will get accused of cheating" so back we go. And then we better find a penalty, or this will look like a farce.

Add in endless replays on big screens to get howls of outrage from pissed up idiots in the stands, and it gets infinitely worse.

We bought this on ourselves. And this toothpaste isn't going back in the tube. The day we got rid of it, someone is going to knock on before scoring against Ireland, no one is going to see it until after it's awarded, and the internet is going to explode. World Rugby will never allow that to happen.

that is depressingly hilarious

so, injury aside, basically last week is all Reiko's fault? Everything else was apples? Fuck me dead

What the fuck is that midfield?????? If it is all about supporting Mo'unga on defense to the detriment of the play at 12 then that is damning

Is that the worst AB forward pack in recent memory? Savea still at 8??? fuuuuucking hell. Patty T has his training wheels on at test level, and the dude next to him has a handful of minutes under his belt. The guy off the bench is limited, and hasn't played in months. These guys need to go up like 5 gears.

What the fuck is DMac doing there?

BB at fullback and no Bridge makes the backline marginally better than last week, but with the muddled midfield it's close...

@taniwharugby said in Has Hansen gone stale?:

so, if we do retain the RWC, are we happy with this loss to get it?

Do we want our unblemished record v Ireland back or a 3-peat? Think I'd take the former TBH...not sure us winning 3 RWC's in a row does the game or tournament any favours.

i want to win everything, all the time, while at the same developing an entire squad of test quality players, and new innovative rugby

Is that too much to ask?

I'm cutting the warriors a loooot of slack given they are in their second year being based in Aus. And now have had to de-camp to Qld. I am surprised they still show up.

They are being fucked harder than any pro sports team in the world.

Also I watched 3 on 3 basketball and it is some uni games shit.

In-laws were over and wanted to watch the news. I was assured they would cut the news for the finish. They did not. I hate Ch7.

Now I won't watch anything until the running starts.

Fuuuucked off with Ch7 not showing the end of the road race as promised. I blame this entirely on Hamish McLaughlin because he is a fluffybunny

Lions obviously got a rocket at half time and come from 4 goals back to hammer the Suns

Lol at Carlton

I just found out the Olympics has 3-on-3 basketball. This festival has jumped the shark. They're not even trying to hide that it's about money and fuck all else

@canefan said in Coronavirus - Australia:

@dogmeat said in Coronavirus - Australia:

So is it a supply issue, or the fact that we aren't vaxxing fast enough, or a bit of both? I remember when Ashley said we had enough PPE, remember how that turned out...

well, here in Australia we have a supply issue, and capacity issue, and then the 3rd issue, people don't want the vaccine that is most readily available, and want to wait for the other one, because they are morons who do no understand risk.

actually, that's not fair. They are morons who have been fed some appalling messaging, much of it either politically motivated, or sensationalism-for-clicks motivated, that talked up the risk of blood clots that effectively killed AZ dead in many people's eyes. Now, no amount of professionals trying to explain and compare/contrast the risks will budge them.

also, just quietly, every single Australian State Premier can go fuck their own faces.

A bunch of childish, immature finger pointers and i have no time for any of them.

I get the argument that Gladys bought this on herself with her smug shit over the past 6 months or so. But the gleefull trolling from the other fuckwits (who, of god what a surprise, come from the other party) is pretty fucking shit for the people actually affected by all this. She should have shut her mouth then, they should be shutting their mouths now.

this "country" is fucked.

And no, i'm not angry, i'm sad. Sad for my own selfish reasons, sad for dudes like @voodoo and @NTA who look like they have a long road ahead. Sad for my Melbourne dudes like @ACT-Crusader and @Kiwiwomble who are in lockdown again, after what. 6 months worth? Sad for families who can't visit each other. it's all just a bit shit.

but hey, you make a bit of cheap political capital Dan Andrews you fucking hero.

@taniwharugby said in Coronavirus - Australia:

@mariner4life you are still breathing right

But yeah, Aus & NZ are far too far down this path now that they have to stay the course until they vaccinate everyone and then look at opening to the world!

the pessimistic part of me says, even with teh vaccine, when (if) we open up, there are going to be a bunch of cases, and a bunch of people are going to die.

and that will be sad on two fronts. sad that people have died. and sad we have put ourselves through this for not much tangible benefit.

i hope i am very wrong.

well, the cancellation on my amazing but expensive Mt Maunganui accommodation for Christmas is the end of October. 8 week pause (at this stage) takes me to the end of September.

i was 90% confident i was going a month ago. Now i am 50/50

I think, given my two trips to Sydney, and Christmas, i just need to stop planning things.

someone want to remind me how great we've got it again?

@smudge said in Lockdown Check In:

@voodoo said in Lockdown Check In:

@mariner4life said in Lockdown Check In:

@voodoo said in Lockdown Check In:

@mariner4life said in Lockdown Check In:

@broughie said in Lockdown Check In:

I am in Aruba right know on a dive trip

this motherfucker!! i am supposed to be in Sydney on a races weekend, hanging out with Gai Waterhouse, and i can't even leave the fucking State!!!!

at least you can drive more than 10kms from your house and your bloody kids are at school!!!

okay yes you are winning the misery olympics

but i really like the races. and a weekend away with the wife. soooo...

yeah, would have been an epic trip - fingers crossed for the Everest!

Fingers crossed over here too... (about a 20% chance of that trip going ahead for me, I reckon)

considering the show that the girls were going to has now been postponed until next year, i reckon i am now at even longer odds than you.