 |
| |
|
|
finbar
|
 |
Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
Jan 1970
time: 06:31
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Havak
Rotherham away the week after as well – their first win of the season no doubt. |
Yes, I gather Rotheram are pretty chuffed at the moment. Whenever the word "easybeats" is tossed around, they know it doesn't necessarily apply to them.
quote:
I think Deano, great success that he has had, is in trouble. |
Yes, well. Last season was the pointer.
quote:
And I am so embarrassed I missed the Dallaglio reference.  |
Anyway, he will continue to get a game because there's no one else. That chap who applauded on his way off the other day - if he's one of the alternatives - hasn't made much of an impression the couple of times I've seen him.
quote:
Joe Worsley by the way has been severely reprimanded for acknowledging the crowd after his yellow card – I understand this did not stop an Aussie TV pundit (no name given to me) from suggesting he be executed and England stipped of the win?  |
Phil Kearns, I think. I'm sure I heard him say it. Great p*sstaker. He's doing a series of ads for Telstra - the phone mob - tied into the WRC. There's one where he accidentally wanders into the England team dressing room. He sees a whiteboard with all sorts of lines and hieroglyphics on it. Beauty, he thinks, and uses his new mobile phone to take a photo of the England team's tactics. He exits one door as some of the England forwards return by another door. Phil is out in the corridor using his phone to report that England are using the same old tactics. Back in the dressing room, the England forwards finish their game of noughts and crosses on the whiteboard! Oldie but a goodie! 
quote:
In addition Steve Smith (ITV summariser for Uruguay) says he caught an Aussie TV trail for the Uruguay game saying “who is the best XVI man team in the world?”. Just love that Aussie sense of humour – if only they could turn it on themselves more often? |
Wishful thinking, I suspect. That level of wit wouldn't exist in Channel 7's promo department.
quote:
The BBC report Eddie as saying now is not the time to experiment and that he will continue to play his best XV – this was specifically in response to being asked about Larkham and Gregan. |
Yeah well. It's not yet too late, but in two weeks time it will be. Which isn't to say people like Whitaker and Giteau would win the cup for us. But I - and many others - would rather go down attacking than go down impotently, if you'll pardon the imagery, which we will. Why did Eddie persist with Noriega for so long when it was evident that Noriega was past it? So poor young Al Baxter gets tossed straight into the very deep end? The most daring thing Eddie has done as national coach is start Smith and Waugh together. I know it's a long time since Bob Dwyer rode a hunch and plucked Phil Kearns and Timmy Horan, et al, from nowhere and gave them an opportunity - but it feels like only yesterday.
quote:
And as for the game breaking try… |
Not to mention half the passes in the England - Uruguay match. It's now a joke.
quote:
It was nice to see that they, like England, are fallable at times. I expect Mitchell will rocket them now and sort it out though? |
I gather they're, um, working on defence. It's why I was worried about the number of easy games the ABs had in the pool matches. They were never tested. Lucky for them they didn't have Namibia instead of Samoa. Their wake-up call would have come against the Boks.
Now, I watched the BBC series "Bargain Hunt" tonight. I love the show. Tonight, the auction rooms were in Leicester! On the way to the auction rooms - Warners, I think - they stopped at the Guild Hall. Was my mind playing tricks? Or were there echoes of young Havak's dainty, slippered, size 18s still echoing from his star turn in the Leicester Primary Year 4 production of "Swan Lake"?
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
Havak
|
 |
Swing Low, Sweet Chariots.
Aug 1999
time: 05:31
|
|
quote:
Yes, well. Last season was the pointer. |
To you and me certainly – but I’m not sure Dean Richards got the point.
quote:
Anyway, he will continue to get a game because there's no one else |
There is an alternative – Martin Corry. He is a number 8 first and foremost even though Clive uses him to cover the back five of the pack. He is a strong ball carrier and the way Dally is not doing that right now he is worth a go. Oh and he is a Tigers player.
Worseley is not having a good tournament – and he is the only other option unless Hill gets fit (Hill plays 8 for Sarries).
quote:
Wishful thinking, I suspect. That level of wit wouldn't exist in Channel 7's promo department. |
Good old Channel 7.
The commercial though sounds genuinely funny – did you write it?
quote:
I know it's a long time since Bob Dwyer rode a hunch and plucked Phil Kearns and Timmy Horan, et al, from nowhere and gave them an opportunity - but it feels like only yesterday. |
Bob’s a chancer and an improviser – a risk taker. Eddie comes across as conservative to say the least. I fear he needs to be bullied into risk taking – and who is strong enough? O’Neil?
quote:
Not to mention half the passes in the England - Uruguay match. It's now a joke. |
Yes ‘lateral’ or ‘flat’ seems to be the word of choice. Andre Watson is the only ref I’ve seen really call it more than once in a game. We are as guilty as anyone on it. Even George is making the passes quite flat after his double step back from the scrum. What has happened to Gregan – four years ago he was an imperious scrummy pestering the oppo, sniping at the fringes and giving clean quick ball to the stand off every time. As it stands now I would not give him a pension move to Tigers (or Rotherham!).
quote:
Lucky for them they didn't have Namibia instead of Samoa. Their wake-up call would have come against the Boks. |
I thought they had Tonga rather than Samoa? I think Andydog called it right – Straeuli must be optimistic beyond anything he should have expected before Sunday. I still think the ABs will overcome them – but maybe not a landslide this time.
Was Bargain Hunt hosted by The Duke (David Dickinson)? He is some character all right. There is another anchor, similarly eccentric but a few notches lower – Tim somebody or other…
quote:
Mmmm. I might've forgotten a plural there. Mmmmm. On second thoughts, probably not. |
quote:
With which, he retired to bed and FoxSports and, hopefully, another England loss. |
Plenty to choose from over the years – hope whichever one it was sent you off to a good sleep.
quote:
there must be a gaming or strategical dimension where the competitors have to show skill, dedication and intelligence (be it individual or collective). |
The latter point lets England down occasionally – I suspect it’s the dedication that sometimes does for France – they seem to have better ‘headology’ for the better opponents?
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
finbar
|
|
Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
Jan 1970
time: 06:31
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Havak
There is an alternative – Martin Corry. He is a number 8 first and foremost even though Clive uses him to cover the back five of the pack. He is a strong ball carrier and the way Dally is not doing that right now he is worth a go. Oh and he is a Tigers player. |
The knob who flew home to be at the birth of his child? What is it with rugby players these days all turning into namby pambys?  Half the Wallaby team flew home and back from the last NH tour to see curtain clingers born! Why can't they just take a video of some kid's birth and distribute it? See one placenta, you've seen them all! I mean, can't Corry count? Or didn't he think he'd make the World Cup squad? If he thought he was a chance, he should've applied a cold spoon to the bloody thing! Still, at least they induced his kid. So it will go through life knowing it's exactly as old as it is thanks to a rugby tournament. Serves the brat right.
quote:
The commercial though sounds genuinely funny – did you write it? |
Oddly enough, I'm not the only one who thinks England's forwards aren't slow just in the leg-speed department.
quote:
Bob’s a chancer and an improviser – a risk taker. Eddie comes across as conservative to say the least. I fear he needs to be bullied into risk taking – and who is strong enough? O’Neil? |
Yes, I've been surprised by Eddie's conservatism. It would be interesting to know what, if anything, is going on behind the scenes. I suspect the compromise will be - subject to the Wallabies being in control of Scotland - bringing on the likes of Tuquiri and Giteau early in the second half. I just can't see Gregan being replaced early.
quote:
What has happened to Gregan – four years ago he was an imperious scrummy pestering the oppo, sniping at the fringes and giving clean quick ball to the stand off every time. As it stands now I would not give him a pension move to Tigers (or Rotherham!). |
Four years older, for starters. And four years ago he was dictating a style of play that, like it or not, won a world cup. He's still, basically, playing the same game, if not as well, and, most importantly, the oppo is a wake up to him. They sit on him. I also think that, like Eddie, he finds it hard to consider changing horses.
quote:
I thought they had Tonga rather than Samoa? |
Yes, sorry. I can only put my error down to salivating at the prospect of watching another vintage England loss. And they didn't show any!
quote:
I think Andydog called it right – Straeuli must be optimistic beyond anything he should have expected before Sunday. I still think the ABs will overcome them – but maybe not a landslide this time. |
Personally, because of the circumstances, I think it promises to be the match of the tournament, regardless of what happens elsewhere and later. The ABs have copped a hell of a fright, revealing weaknesses in those areas in which the Boks are particularly strong. The Boks are both motivated and confident, though they will miss VanNiekerk, while Hogaard has brought a definite potency that Koen completely lacked. Can the ABs sort out their problems within a week? Do the Boks have the necessary attacking firepower to capitalise? I suspect the latter is what it might come down to, and I'm not sure that they have.
Oh, and I'm still prepared to bet 5 Civ Gold that Umaga won't reappear in the tournament. I think the ABs are sandbagging. How fit can he be? He might come off the bench at best. But then I might have been wrong before on the odd occasion from time to time.
quote:
Was Bargain Hunt hosted by The Duke (David Dickinson)? He is some character all right. There is another anchor, similarly eccentric but a few notches lower – Tim somebody or other… |
We only ever get David Dickinson hosting it. Fascinating character. Wonderful combination of utter sleaze and obvious knowledge of the trade. Did you know he did time in gaol in his very early days for (from memory) dabbling in ill-gotten goods? Unsurprising when you look at him. I think the show's format is brilliant in its simplicity - competition between two teams, suspense over the outcome at the auction, and informative/educational about antiques.
quote:
The latter point lets England down occasionally – I suspect it’s the dedication that sometimes does for France – they seem to have better ‘headology’ for the better opponents? |
Thus far, I think England has suffered stage fright. They might get over it. I just wonder whether Clive is of the personality to put their heads in the right place. Time will tell.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
finbar
|
|
Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
Jan 1970
time: 06:31
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Andydog
They boys seem to think so. Since the game they've been saying that such things as standing out of position while on defensive, and the looseness of the tight five, are deficiencies that can be easily fixed. We will see. |
I'm prepared to believe that the ABs took the Welsh too lightly. They - the ABs - started like a train, as if expecting to turn on an exhibition of backline wizardry and thanks for coming. In so doing, they seemed not even to think about defence. When they realised the Welsh hadn't turned up to be the stooges in the act, they then seemed incapable of adjustment. I wonder if it might have been different had the ABs taken the field with a better ordered plan?
It seemed to me a quite different scenario to England's two frights. In neither fright match did England start well. The oppo jumped them and they took a long time to adjust.
quote:
Rueben Thorne MUST lift his game threefold or I don't think he is worth having in the side. We need to see some inspirational stuff from our captain as Keith Wood provides for Ireland. |
Thorne is another of Mitchell's contentious choices, is he not? As skipper if not player?
quote:
I don't think NZ is sandbagging with Umaga. I think he'll start against Aussie, (provided we get there!). |
How about a 5 Civ Gold bet? He suffered - it is said - a very serious knee injury on October 11. That's 25 days ago. It will be roughly 35 days come the SFs. Even if the knee has mended, he will have been doing some running at most. Preparation for a World Cup SF? Mmmmmmmm.
quote:
We need Umaga if he is fit which leaves the kicking up to Aaron Mauger who I feel is a better option in terms of experience and rhythm for this AB team. Carter is class but still better off the bench at this RWC. |
Methinks you'll end up with Mauger and Carter. Not first choice, certainly, but not half bad. I've been very impressed with Carter. You'll miss Umaga's defence, that's the problem. I think defence - or lack of - will cost Nonu his chance.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
finbar
|
|
Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
Jan 1970
time: 06:31
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Havak
and bust his way back in with a terrific showing in the warm up tests before final squad selection. |
Well, he'd proved his manhood to himself, hadn't he?
quote:
I’ll let that one pass. It might be interesting to come back to the comparative educational qualifications of the English and Wallaby squads at some point though. |
In that Telstra ad I was telling you about, the England forwards had trouble drawing noughts and crosses on the whiteboard.
quote:
Eddie has backed George so firmly only an injury to the lad would allow him to make a face saving change of plan on that one? |
Yep. And now the team has been released. Tuquiri in for Joe Roff, Mortlock for Burke, and The Plank replacing Vickerman on the bench. Joe Roff on the bench while Wendell starts? Bizarre. Certainly, Joe hasn't been firing as well as he should, but he's proven class. Quite bizarre. Does Wendell have photos of Eddie and a Poodle or something? Still, at least Tuquiri and Mortlock are starting. Tuquiri will probably end up starved of the ball, but at least Mortlock will create some impetus. The Plank coming onto the bench? Well, Plank, this is your big chance on the World Stage. It's up to you, son.
quote:
Cue comment saying “so what has changed?” |
I'm sure Tamerlin will be happy to oblige as soon as he gets back from his quick trip to the Pacific to measure the inside leg of that grenouille fille's wet suit.
quote:
Your heart must drop every time you see Jonno lead them out –as the most successful English skipper ever his win ratio is pretty impressive – even against the SH.
*touch paper lit, retire 5M. It is the fifth November after all. |
I'm still wondering how many cameras his mum must have broken.
quote:
I’m so hoping for a big performance against the Welsh. |
Odds are they won't be able to do it again.
quote:
You amaze me. He has been extremely pedantic the last few times I have seen him live here. |
I think he's been consistent with the style the refs are using - jumping on any sign of the defending team mucking around at the breakdown and ignoring the lineout tunnels except when they become obsessed by them. Oh, and ignoring forward passes. Oh, and I've forgotten which ref it was, but one of them pinged the runners for crossing the line before the ball was kicked at a restart. Both teams did exactly the same thing for every restart before the pinging and for every restart after the pinging. Most odd.
quote:
I need to look at myself carefully – Churchill a while back and now Monty. I’m hardly supposed to be at their end of the political spectrum. |
Yes, and we already know where you stand on playing only for the country in which you were born, Enoch.
|
|
| |
|
| |
All times are GMT. The time now is 05:31.
Apolyton Time is 00:31. |
top of page
|
| archivepost |
|
Forum Rules:
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is ON
vB code is ON
Smilies are ON
[IMG] code is ON
|
|
|
|
|
|
04-11-2003 16:44
|