Rolling Rugby Thread

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Not your memory; the 2008 Grand Slam, though a false dawn, was definitely superior, even if there was disproportionate reliance upon Shane Williams. 2005, I couldn't say for sure.

The WC quarter was definitely convincing, and there was one other recently that I'm now struggling to remember. Too often it's been reliance upon one moment of genius from someone, which I think is why Wales struggle so often vs the SH teams, because such unpredictable moments of genius is more likely to be snuffed out against them, and Wales are nowhere near as consistently good outside of such moments.

Ah well. Didn't see the match so don't know if Phillips would've made a difference, but he has been the spark in a lot of cases since Shane retired (most obviously the World Cup semi; before his break, Wales were really being snuffed out of the game. Damn Stephen Jones for screwing up that kick...).
 

craner

Beast of Burden
In an appalling, abject fashion, and with the Black Death in Cardiff next week. Things can only get worse.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Tbh it wasn't the worst draw Wales could've got. Australia are I think usually the most vulnerable of the big three to being beaten by Six Nations teams - guess it must be because their pack is always so suspect. SA or NZ, Wales would have no chance.

That said, their last six matches with SA and Oz, Wales have lost all six but only scored 13 points less in total. These narrow defeats are becoming ridiculously frequent (and most times the opposition is winning it in the last few minutes, naturally).
 
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craner

Beast of Burden
If Wales are as good as they should be, it's not that frightening a prospect. But with this level of mental fragility, I wonder if we will make it out of the group.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
A few bars were drunk dry in Cardiff on Saturday. Someone brought an £850 bottle of Krug in Tiger Tiger (or was it Ten Feet Tall?). The economy of the city boomed for one weekend. Vimonomics!
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
More than anything, it was an enjoyable and exciting game of rugby at last, after the dirge of most of the rest of the tournament. Lots of broken play, people trying to run into space - it was great!
 

craner

Beast of Burden
It was. It was (finally) the game we've been dreaming about for a good few years. Most heartening. People who don't live in Wales might not realise how massive guys like Phillips, Warburton, Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts, etc are here. They're rock stars and heart throbs. Halfpenny is a pin-up on par with Harry Stiles and Justin Bieber in South Wales. It's horrible when it doesn't work. When it does, it changes the face of the country. It's what we have instead of proper nationalism.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
But isn't the local game in Wales in absolute crisis? Which is not to say that you're not right about the national team being pin-ups
 

craner

Beast of Burden
Yes, it's pretty bad. Dragons and Blues had dreadful seasons. Ospreys improved upon a poor start and Scarlets have promising backs but woeful pack. None of them are exacylt storming the RaboDirect Pro12. The club following (even counting Scrum V watchers) is a lot less than the internationals.

There's an ongoing funding and organisational crisis, and losing a lot of players to French clubs (although who can blame them for going?). People talk about the national side being the "fifth region" and the only one that works; but bad club performances only reinforced the sense of gloom and lack of confidence that afflicted us in the autumn. On the other hand, Lee Byrne and James Hook are thriving in France and in the form of their lives, but have all but lost their Wales spots.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Who does Lee Byrne play for now? I barely follow the club game at all these days (and to be honest I pretty much stopped doing so at the time of the Welsh regionalisation, because it ceased to mean much to me. So sad to see St Helen's ground in Swansea these days - used to have 10,000 capacity it seems when I used to go occasionally in the 80s/early 90s. I just don't get why anyone would care about the Ospreys. At least call them by regional names, as in Ireland).

I wouldn't blame anyone for going to France to play club rugby - seems like one of the great perks of being a good rugby player, and they're hardly letting down a system that has been utterly mismanaged anyways.
 
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craner

Beast of Burden
I agree, I'd be off like a shot. It also makes them more sophisticated, being in France, less parochial.

Byrne plays for Clermont Auvergne, although I admit I had to look that up. Someone I work with knows him well, and tells me about his heroics. They ripped up Ospreys last years, which must have been interesting for Byrne. The Byrne Camp are anti-Gatland. It's not all love for the current regime in Wales.
 

luka

Well-known member
you lot dont watch enough sport. today was extraordinary, particularly after nzs win in the league yesterday. today was the ultimate act of onemanupmanship from the all blacks.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
It was sick. And sickening. I had to watch it through the window of a bar in Bath because I couldn't afford to go in and buy a drink. I was just glad not to be Irish, although I know exactly how they feel. This sort of thing happens to Wales all the time.

I would have watched the League semi-final, but I was driving.
 
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