23-04-2004 16:48									#91
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quote: Originally posted by Havak Another morning meeting - but i'm keen to pick through Eddie's thoughts later.

He's waiting with bated breath!

	23-04-2004 16:52									#92
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He should be - my words carry weight after all.

Sadly afternoon meetings beckon as well - so he will have to wait.

	23-04-2004 19:04									#93
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quote: Originally posted by Havak He should be - my words carry weight after all. Sadly afternoon meetings beckon as well - so he will have to wait.

You have to work for yourself! Today, after planting some Mini Cos Lettuces and Swiss Chard seedlings, I stretched out on the couch to watch The Untouchables, which is being played on cable from episode 1 all the way through!

	23-04-2004 19:18									#94
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quote: Originally posted by finbar Chiefs 29 -d- Stormers 14 So the Chiefs keep their finals hopes alive. Big effort from them, particularly as undermanned as they were. The Stormers reverted to their ways of old - scrappy, mishandling, et al. Oddly enough, as badly as they played, they could probably have won the match if they hadn't coughed up the ball so often in great attacking positions. It's also bound to be Corne Krige's last ever S12 match. Old habits die hard. A ruck had degenerated into a mass of bodies. Corne dived in, apparently to shift a Chiefs player off a Stormer. He twice head butted the Chiefs player. Two separate, quite deliberate head butts. He's bound to be cited. And, as I think this is his last season, it should be his last ever match. A great player, tragically flawed. Such a shame.

I won't get to see this game so it doesn't matter if I know the result.

Good job Chiefs!

I reckon they'll make it to the playoffs this year because:

The Sharks will probably beat the Reds and leap-frog the Chiefs, but the Chiefs may eventually edge out the Stormers. The Chiefs should beat the Bulls, and the Stormers will probably lose to the Crusaders. Also, with Krige gone the Sharks will probably beat the Stormers in their last game.

The only team that might spoil the Chiefs' chances are the Waratahs. Even if the Waratahs lose to the Brumbies tomorrow, they should be able to beat the Highlanders in Sydney, and the Reds at Ballymore. Hmmm....then again, the Waratahs usually struggle when they play the Reds in Queensland don't they?

	23-04-2004 19:46									#95
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Yes, the Reds have had it over the Waratahs recently. Particularly up there. But the Reds are in the absolute pits at the moment. They've had five different 5/8s this season due to injury. Last week they dragged a guy out of retirement after the guy before him - Walsh, dragged back from playing in England to fill the role - failed.

The problem for the Chiefs is that they have to do it again next week. And again. As I noted in my post, they played all over the Stormers tonight, but the Stormers could well have won if they'd hung onto the ball in some very threatening positions. A late intercept try to the Chiefs actually inflated their score.

	23-04-2004 20:05									#96
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Walsh? I have a feeling he was in a National league side as the name doesn't ring a bell...

	23-04-2004 22:06									#97
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quote: Originally posted by finbar The problem for the Chiefs is that they have to do it again next week.

I don't imagine the Bulls causing too many problems for the Chiefs. They barely scraped past the Reds in their last game.

How did the Chiefs' front row look?

	24-04-2004 04:11									#98
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quote: The problem for the Chiefs is that they have to do it again next week. And again. As I noted in my post, they played all over the Stormers tonight, but the Stormers could well have won if they'd hung onto the ball in some very threatening positions. A late intercept try to the Chiefs actually inflated their score.

Not really. They should have had at least 3 more tries.

	24-04-2004 06:33									#99
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And the Stormers could have had five if they - the full back, in particular - hadn't coughed up so much easy ball.

	24-04-2004 06:36									#100
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quote: Originally posted by Caligastia I don't imagine the Bulls causing too many problems for the Chiefs. They barely scraped past the Reds in their last game. How did the Chiefs' front row look?

Okay. The scrums were a bit of a mess on the night. Lots of penalties. What was truly odd was the Stormers' decision not to contest lineouts for about the first 20 minutes. Their lineout killed the Blues last week but they opted to defend rather than jump. As soon as they started jumping, they applied pressure. Most odd.

	24-04-2004 06:39									#101
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quote: Originally posted by Havak Walsh? I have a feeling he was in a National league side as the name doesn't ring a bell...

Tim Walsh. He was playing with Leeds. Probably not in the top grade judging by his efforts here.

	24-04-2004 06:52									#102
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quote: Originally posted by finbar Okay. The scrums were a bit of a mess on the night. Lots of penalties. What was truly odd was the Stormers' decision not to contest lineouts for about the first 20 minutes. Their lineout killed the Blues last week but they opted to defend rather than jump. As soon as they started jumping, they applied pressure. Most odd.

Maybe they didn't realise Keith Robinson wasn't starting? Jono Gibbes was a monster in the lineouts though. He didn't lose one thrown to him.

	24-04-2004 07:13									#103
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Even if they hadn't known Robinson wasn't starting, which I find hard to believe, how long would it have taken them to realise? It had to be a tactical decision not to contest. And I can't fathom why. And why aren't they playing Paulse? He's not injured. He sat out last week too.

	24-04-2004 12:27									#104
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Crusaders 40 -d- Bulls 21

A win and a bonus point for the Crusaders who played a mixture of good rugby and pretty ordinary rugby, particularly in the second half. They led 33-8 and the Bulls pulled it back to 33-21 before the Crusaders' final try. Extraordinary number of turnovers by both teams. One thing is for sure and certain - having seen most of their matches this season, the Crusaders' defence is nowhere near the wall it once was.

	25-04-2004 02:53									#105
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Tamerlin is probably ill, drunk or something like that since he didn't post the following bit of news:
Toulouse will make the final of the HCup.
Toulouse bet Biarritz by 19-11.
I didn't see the whole match. I saw only a small part, but arghhh... these are two of the very best teams in France! The number of handling errors has been apalling. That Toulouse managed to score a try only thanks to their powerhouse Isitolo Maka and not thanks to their backs is very understandable, as the backs would knock on every time they touched the ball (disclaimer: even though I'm a forward, and hooker even, this is totally unbiased and objective - the ball could never be handled properly even when they had nice 4 vs.2, the second or third back would knock it forwards). Now Biarritz was hardly better.
I think Tamerlin choked to death laughing when he saw Yachvili make a blind pass which ended up right in the hands of the opposite scrum half (Michalak). Too bad Michalak is not yet in full shape, as he would probably have scored a try after that mistake.

Anyway, Toulouse will have to lift their game if they hope to win the final.

	25-04-2004 06:44									#106
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quote: Originally posted by LDiCesare Anyway, Toulouse will have to lift their game if they hope to win the final.

Very true, the match was very tough and the Toulousains have produced one of the worst match of the season to the exception of the last twenty minutes when they really started playing.

All became better when Michalack went out and was replaced by the young Dupuy. The revolt came, as I was expecting it, from the forwards and Isotolo Maka.

	25-04-2004 12:24									#107
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Mmmm. Sounds like the HC will reside across the channel.

	26-04-2004 01:27									#108
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quote: Originally posted by finbar Mmmm. Sounds like the HC will reside across the channel.

The Stade Toulousain is able to produce the worst as well as the best... let's hope it will be the best the 23rd of may.

And there is a revenge to take against the Wasps who beat the Munster 37-32 this afternoon after a very good game.

	26-04-2004 06:12									#109
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quote: Originally posted by Tamerlin the Wasps who beat the Munster 37-32 this afternoon

Damn! I wanted Munster to win!

Great S12 match between NSW Waratahs and the ACT Brumbies on the weekend. Off-field mates, on-field enemies, competitors for Wallaby slection, historical rivals. Played at a furious tempo under great pressure with some brutal defence from both sides (as well as some slack, one-on-one defence, it has to be said). The Waratahs' aggression, particularly in the forwards, upset the Brumbies' patterns, never letting them get into a rhythm. Plank Harrison is born again after his swap from the Brumbies to the Waratahs. A 37-29 win to the Waratahs was, I thought, a fair result. And a good sign for the Waratahs' maturity that they were able to come from behind with minutes to go. And a bad sign that crap defence had let the Brumbies take the lead with minutes to go.

	26-04-2004 07:26									#110
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quote: Originally posted by finbar Crusaders 40 -d- Bulls 21 A win and a bonus point for the Crusaders who played a mixture of good rugby and pretty ordinary rugby, particularly in the second half. They led 33-8 and the Bulls pulled it back to 33-21 before the Crusaders' final try. Extraordinary number of turnovers by both teams. One thing is for sure and certain - having seen most of their matches this season, the Crusaders' defence is nowhere near the wall it once was.

Yeah, just saw that one today. No doubt they'll make it to the semis, but who knows if they can lift their game enough to win or not.

Congrats on the Waratahs' win BTW. Twas a good game.

	26-04-2004 14:13									#111
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Munster's discipline let them down badly at the death.

But the bottom line is Wasps scored five tries to two - I hate to admit it but they are a damn good side and Tamerlin's boys will need to be spot on to stand any chance at Twickers.

	26-04-2004 17:25									#112
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I saw about two seconds of highlights. A very fat, very blonde chap fell over the try line. The earth trembled. Who was that?

	26-04-2004 18:24									#113
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That was Trevor Leota the Wasps hooker. Samoan. Nasty habit of not using arms in the tackle (or body charge).

Nice guy off the pitch apparently.

Mr Cullen also showed some very promising signs of why they bought him. Wasps used a very risky very flat defensive line - and several times he showed good vision with the wide pass to get Munsters 'beefy boys' behind it.

Still not getting the quality time to compose the posts that this thread demands sadly.

	26-04-2004 20:07									#114
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quote: Originally posted by Havak Mr Cullen also showed some very promising signs of why they bought him. Wasps used a very risky very flat defensive line - and several times he showed good vision with the wide pass to get Munsters 'beefy boys' behind it.

He did some quality things early in Munster's QF win over Stade Francais. Disappeared a bit later in the match.

quote: Still not getting the quality time to compose the posts that this thread demands sadly.

Apart from that, Corne Krige copped 8 weeks for headbutting on the weekend. Academic, really, because there are 2 matches left and he's retiring. But not from all rugby, because he's heading to Saints next season. Mark Conners has turned down another season with them and is going to finish his career in Japan. So, with Corne at Saints, a Saints -v- Leicester match should be something for you to look forward to.

	27-04-2004 19:12									#115
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A chance for Martin and Corne to 'discuss' things again?

Far from retiring - by going to a prospective top three finisher here he is certainly moving to the equivalent of play off S12 finisher standards (in fact our top three play far more matches with no whipping boys other than Rotherham on offer - quite different to S12).

A move upwards for him then?

I feel more and more that Wasps have the HC favourites tag. When I caught the highlights of the other semi I was far from impressed.

Shaun Edwards (Wasps coaching staff) has fired the first salvo by suggesting that whilst no one knows how much Toulouse's salary cap actually is (no transparency from them on that one) it is believed to be 2-3 times that of Wasps (and all English clubs). They stand accused of buying success - Mr must put Edwards right?

	27-04-2004 22:47									#116
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quote: Originally posted by Havak I feel more and more that Wasps have the HC favourites tag. When I caught the highlights of the other semi I was far from impressed.

Unfortunately, I agree with you.

quote: Shaun Edwards (Wasps coaching staff) has fired the first salvo by suggesting that whilst no one knows how much Toulouse's salary cap actually is (no transparency from them on that one) it is believed to be 2-3 times that of Wasps (and all English clubs). They stand accused of buying success...

C'est l'hôpital qui se moque de la charité (this is hospital mocking charity).

	28-04-2004 03:43									#117
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quote: Originally posted by Tamerlin Unfortunately, I agree with you.

Merde alors!

quote: C'est l'hôpital qui se moque de la charité (this is hospital mocking charity).

Not only that, Toulouse has a climate to offer its players. England player contracts come complete with a stipulation for dank grey mist.

	28-04-2004 03:46									#118
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quote: Originally posted by Havak A chance for Martin and Corne to 'discuss' things again?

Can Corne spit that high?

quote: A move upwards for him then?

I prefer to see it as English rugby going further down the path of English cricket as a sporting United Nations, weakening itself in the process.

	28-04-2004 03:55									#119
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quote: Originally posted by finbar Merde alors!

The Stade Toulousain can do the best as well as the worst, though saturday's game was not good nobody knows what they will be able to do the 23rd of may.

There is a saying in Toulouse: "the worst opponent of the Stade Toulousain is the Stade itself".

quote: Not only that, Toulouse has a climate to offer its players. England player contracts come complete with a stipulation for dank grey mist.

The English can take us the H-Cup (though that remains to be demonstrated ), there is something they will never take us from the South-West: the soleil.

	28-04-2004 04:31									#120
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quote: Originally posted by Tamerlin The English can take us the H-Cup (though that remains to be demonstrated ), there is something they will never take us from the South-West: the soleil.

Show a Pom a tube of Quinze-Plus and watch him or her scratch his or her noggin.