Rolling Rugby Thread

craner

Beast of Burden
The "Golden Boots" backs are really a reason it's always brilliant to beat France, which is why Ireland should be proud to have done so, and why last March's Grand Slam match was such a jumper-chewing affair. You can never write them off, just for those guys. It's also why I love the swarthy, handsome, stylish French sides more than anyone except Wales when they're as good and as charming as they are now.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
Besides, Scotland was the 'banana skin', and we're beyond that now; though it's good to be in a position where every match up until Ireland can be called a 'banana skin'.

I guess it's because we're No. 4 in the world rankings now.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
I don't want to think about tonight until it's happening, but the team is looking as strong as it could be - Shane and Jamie fit to play, Gavin on the bench (despite getting wrecked and rowdy the other weekend), and with a new little superstar in Leigh Halfpenny.

I am stupidly excited!
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I don't want to think about tonight until it's happening, but the team is looking as strong as it could be - Shane and Jamie fit to play, Gavin on the bench (despite getting wrecked and rowdy the other weekend), and with a new little superstar in Leigh Halfpenny.

I am stupidly excited!

Thanks for the team update. We shall be the Welsh rugby contingent in Berlin this evening!
 

craner

Beast of Burden
Of course, I love Chabal, but he doesn't do anything does he? He can't possibly not be picked for the French squad - I mean, any coach would be mad not to pick a player that looks like that. Put him on the pitch though, and he seems to stumble around like Lurch. It's quite ammusing. I think if he had his hair cut off his career would be over. Like Samson!
 

craner

Beast of Burden
We NEED to destroy Ireland now.

This will hurt Gatland. Wouldn't want to be in the Welsh changing room right now.

(Or ever, frankly.)
 

scottdisco

rip this joint please
is it ok to only support the tigers players on the england team and boo the wasps players?

haha!

for me, about the most entertaining thing about Croker on Saturday was the cameras picking out Armitage clearly saying "fucking bullshit" after a collision with O'Driscoll in the second (Martin Johnson's temper and fists were also well served).

of course one can never be sure what's going to happen next but if Ireland don't up themselves considerably from that performance then two things will happen next

(i) they will lose at Murrayfield

(ii) they will get leathered in Cardiff
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
They must get leathered at Cardiff.

Even if ths standard is poor, championship has been exciting. By the last day, Ireland should have won four games and Wales three (and possibly France three, though I fancy England to beat them at twickenham). Which all means that, for the second season in a row (not the third, I don't think, but can't recall), the championship features the two likeliest winners facing each other at Cardiff.

Ireland were pretty rubbish on Saturday (as were Wales on Friday), but at least it guarantees mediocre excitement.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
Wales weren'rt rubbish on Friday: first half very good, second half they let it go.

My mother was amazingly wise when we were discussing this on Sunday: she said, "you know Gatland didn't look displeased. Maybe it was time for them to lose a match. Maybe he knew that."

I think she's right: complacency is Wales' worst enemy. It fucked us up every time we won a match during the dark years.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Um, we lost enough matches in the autumn and the summer!

Ok, Wales weren't rubbish, but they were very disappointing, to me at least. Vision obscured by a 40 minutes in which France absolutely battered us, and the sheer "back to the 90s" nightmare of seeing france have a 3/4 man overlap before scoring their second try.

Great, great first half try though.

And we should have won (undeservedly) at the death. I think it was Powell (?) who missed the yawning gap - one dummy would've done it...
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
If we can't beat Ireland, we just don't deserve it. They're not very good, in all honesty, not a patch on the Ireland of 3/4 years ago, for example.
 
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