European rugby
Lelio
tonight I watched on tv 2 matches of franch rugby championships (1st
round) and I was impressed for the quality and the names in the
rosters of the ddifferents sides.
There is high quality, de luxe benches, stadiums full. It's like a
test match.
And a lot of champions coming from everywhere, big names of southern
hemisphere, champions from league, the best names of emerging nations.
To make it short there is the best of world rugby playing there, and
still Guinness Premiership has to come with even better players.
I've to say that all this is too sad. Money has made these players
modern slaves and has stolen talents from poor countries.
It's sad to see empty stadiums in Npc and Currie Cup and all the teams
in S.H. with no big names, who came to Europe to be the 40th player of
a rich european side.
I'm sure this has been discussed here but I want to know how you,
people of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, feel about what's
going on.
Sad regards
Lelio
Ciao
Lelio
Lodi
I'm always wary of an NH'er asking for a SH opinion. But as you asked...
One of the main functions (possibly THE main function) of the Air NZ cup
is to replenish the five NZ Super14 franchises. This in turn keeps us
competitive against Aus and SA, who we see as our main rivals. If we can
get two or three teams in the S14 semis then it usually flows on to a
successful 3N campaign.
The points you mentioned (full stadiums, test match atmosphere, ex-big
name SH players, quality benches) are great if you want an entertaining
afternoon out.
But (and wait for the usual moans from the usual NH'ers) *at this level*
all that matters is winning rugby.
Or, taken to its logical conclusion, winning the next test is all that
matters.
So thanks for your pity but when you watch Air NZ Cup rugby don't focus
on the crowd size or how many spectators have their face painted or how
many foreign ex-internationals are playing (none).
Instead focus on which of the new players are good enough to become S14
players and, in time, possibly play for the Maoris, the Junior All Blacks
or go all the way and make the senior squad. Jared Payne, Peter Saili,
Victor Vito, Adam Whitelock are all debutantes this year at this level
but IMHO are all heading to S14 next year and hopefully further.
I get far more satisfaction from watching young unknown players in the
Air NZ Cup as opposed to watching Howlett/Tipoki/Mafi/Manning v Collins/
Mehrtens/Oliver/Taumoepeau (also known as Munster v Toulon)
Regards
Lodi
William Clark
Of course you do. Your life would be without meaning if you didn't.
William Clark
Lodi
Ummmm...yep. So where's the problem.
Funnily enough William when I wrote "the usual moans from the usual
NH'ers" I had you and SSB in mind. Nice of you not to let me down.
Anyway, how can you say I've got no life when you're the one up at 2:00am
reading RSRU. Get thee to a bed :-)
Regards
Lodi
Bobs
Just means less young Frogs get an oppertunity to play top tier rugby.
Suites me.
William Clark
Well there's your problem, then. Complete absence of the irony meter.
Couple that with a lack of comprehension of what a time zone is - no one
with a life is going to be on rsru at 2am.
William Clark
Dave Keegan
wrote:
> In article <g928pd$nl...@aioe.org>, Lodi <l...@ccr.com> wrote:
> > >On Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:10:14 -0400, William Clark wrote:
>
Gees William, you're a character. You try so hard to be cutting and
clever, yet when someone does it to back you pitch a fit, say you're
tired of cutting and clever shots at you, throw your toys from the cot
and leave RSRU in a huff.
You reap what you sow...
Keegan...
Uncle Dave
I sincerely hope you don't have to pass any bulls on your way home
then...
UD
Lelio
scritto:
I see your point and it's not so far from what I think.
Having good youngsters growing with enough space to make experience is
great and that's why I love watching the so called minor rugby played
in the school and far from the lights and the Tv.
But I keep in mind 2 things that Rugby has to cope with:
1) Itf too many good and experienced players leave the S.H. sides all
together this will cause some minor interest from media and sponsors,
less attendance and less money. So youngsters will keep going North as
soon as possible and there will be always less quality in the game for
who watch and for who play... Where all this will bring ?
2) Test match rugby will find less space in the calendars or at least
will be played with no first class sides but with the 2nd row players.
It has been sad to see the poor quality of the NH teams touring in
june this year and it will be worse if also S.H. teams should suffer
the shortage of first class player in the next test matches.
When I say first class player I want to point to the quality and not
just to the names. I would accept Tana Umaga who close with played
rugby in Toulon but it's more difficult to accept people of 22/25 year
to go away while in the best part of their strenght and ability.
It seems like seeding rice 4 times in a year. At the end you risk the
field to be barren.
From the part of the NH I feel bad because we (or at least them) steal
talents instead then trying to create them at home.
Ciao
Lelio
Dave Keegan
I passed a kidney stone in June, does that count?
Keegan...
Dave Keegan
> il Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:08:10 +0200 (CEST), Lodi <l...@ccr.com> ha
Lelio, you are the most intelligent poster I've seen from the
Northern Hemisphere. Your understanding of the situation is spot on.
If you can imagine it, there are posters in here from the NH,
especially England, who take great joy from the fact that they manage
to take a few of our players for their teams every year. Last year it
was over 50 players moving North from New Zealand. They seem to think
that this will eventually gain them some advantage over us, can you
believe it?
And yet we beat them again this year like red headed stepchildren in
the June/July tests, with the "left over" talent, while as you
correctly point out, their players jobs are going to SH players and
their players have to watch as the Southern Hordes put their feet up
on their couches, drink their beer and tup their women.
It makes no sense, but what can we do to help?
I hope you will post more often here..
Keegan...
Uncle Dave
>
> If you can imagine it, there are posters in here from the NH,
> especially England, who take great joy from the fact that they manage
> to take a few of our players for their teams every year.
Who are they then? Obviously, we're happy to get top players from SH
countries up here but AFAIK there are none in England yet. Well, one,
wotsisname the one who was going to be THE NEXT BIG THING. I couldn't
care less that ABs are emigrating en masse to France and Ireland and I
doubt any other Englishman is. If you could go a whole year without
telling fibs about the English I'd... well, I'd be astonished.
"You reap what you sow." You're a few years too late with that one I'm
afraid.
UD
Lelio
ha scritto:
I agree. But which will be in the future top Rugby ?
Test matches or Heineken Cup ?
I'm afraid that rugby can follow what happened in football where only
World Cup has some meaning and international games are hampered in
every possible way by rich clubs and players are only globetrotters
bought and sold 3 times in a year.
Ciao
Lelio
Andrew Dunford
"Lodi" <lo...@ccr.com> wrote in message news:g925t9$cc2$1...@aioe.org...
<snip>
> Instead focus on which of the new players are good enough to become S14
> players and, in time, possibly play for the Maoris, the Junior All Blacks
> or go all the way and make the senior squad. Jared Payne, Peter Saili,
> Victor Vito, Adam Whitelock are all debutantes this year at this level
> but IMHO are all heading to S14 next year and hopefully further.
I meant to pick you up on this last time you made a similar comment about
Vito, but forgot. He played for Wellington through the 2006 Air New Zealand
Cup and only seems like a new player now because he was injured and missed
the entire 2007 season. That injury is also the only reason he hasn't
already played S14.
<snip>
Andrew
Dave Keegan
You just can't help yourself, can you?
Keegan...
Lodi
Hi Andrew....Yep I knew that he'd already been in the 2006 Wellington
squad cos I remember him a few years back doing a TV interview saying how
not long ago he'd been playing schoolboy first XV for Scots and now here
he was playing just outside Tana.
Wrong to call him a 2008 debutante I know but his loosie time in 2006 was
severely curtailed by being behind Heering, Lilo, Waldrom, Masoe and
Collins and his wing time by being behind Fa'atau, Paku, Nonu and Jane.
Also (I think) he must have been injured early on in the season cos I
just checked rugbyheads and he doesn't get a mention in any of the 2006
22's.
Shame about the shoulder injury but it may have served him well as it
allowed Gordon Tietjens and (I think) Eric Rush to get their hands on him
for the 2007 season.
By the by, a good win last Saturday for Wellington in Invercargill.
Superb defence (except for when they let that try get scored just before
half-time). Crusaders-style defence and Auckland-style attack. Finalists
this year for sure.
Regards
Lodi
Lodi
>> In article <g928pd$nla$1...@aioe.org>, Lodi <lo...@ccr.com> wrote:
>
>>> >On Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:10:14 -0400, William Clark wrote:
>>
>>> >> In article <g925t9$cc2$1...@aioe.org>, Lodi <lo...@ccr.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> I get far more satisfaction from watching young unknown players in
>> >> the Air NZ Cup as opposed to watching Howlett/Tipoki/Mafi/Manning v
>> >> Collins/ Mehrtens/Oliver/Taumoepeau (also known as Munster v Toulon)
>> >>
>> >> Regards
>> >> Lodi
>> >
>> > Of course you do. Your life would be without meaning if you didn't.
>> >
>> > William Clark
>>
>> Ummmm...yep. So where's the problem.
>>
>> Anyway, how can you say I've got no life when you're the one up at
>> 2:00am reading RSRU. Get thee to a bed :-)
>>
>> Regards
>> Lodi
>
> Well there's your problem, then. Complete absence of the irony meter.
>
Ummmm...yep. So where's the problem.
> Couple that with a lack of comprehension of what a time zone is - no one
> with a life is going to be on rsru at 2am.
>
I posted at midday-ish NZ time and you replied not long after. That's
near enough to 2am pom-time (I'm assuming you're in pomland).
Speaking of which, I'm in pomland for a long weekend in September so
watch yourself cos I looked up the pomland phone book and I know where
you live.
Oooops...just checked your header and you're in Columbus, Ohio and it's
only 9pm. Some form of apology may be in order.....
See you at next years Bledisloe Cup game in Denver :-)
Lodi
William Clark
> >On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:47:42 -0400, William Clark wrote:
>
> >> In article <g928pd$nla$1...@aioe.org>, Lodi <lo...@ccr.com> wrote:
> >
> >>> >On Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:10:14 -0400, William Clark wrote:
> >>
> >>> >> In article <g925t9$cc2$1...@aioe.org>, Lodi <lo...@ccr.com> wrote:
> >> >
>
> >> >> I get far more satisfaction from watching young unknown players in
> >> >> the Air NZ Cup as opposed to watching Howlett/Tipoki/Mafi/Manning v
> >> >> Collins/ Mehrtens/Oliver/Taumoepeau (also known as Munster v Toulon)
> >> >>
> >> >> Regards
> >> >> Lodi
> >> >
> >> > Of course you do. Your life would be without meaning if you didn't.
> >> >
> >> > William Clark
> >>
> >> Ummmm...yep. So where's the problem.
> >>
> >> Anyway, how can you say I've got no life when you're the one up at
> >> 2:00am reading RSRU. Get thee to a bed :-)
> >>
> >> Regards
> >> Lodi
> >
> > Well there's your problem, then. Complete absence of the irony meter.
> >
>
> Ummmm...yep. So where's the problem.
>
> > Couple that with a lack of comprehension of what a time zone is - no one
> > with a life is going to be on rsru at 2am.
> >
>
> I posted at midday-ish NZ time and you replied not long after. That's
> near enough to 2am pom-time (I'm assuming you're in pomland).
Yes, well you assume wrong.
>
> Speaking of which, I'm in pomland for a long weekend in September so
> watch yourself cos I looked up the pomland phone book and I know where
> you live.
Obviously you do not.
>
> Oooops...just checked your header and you're in Columbus, Ohio and it's
> only 9pm. Some form of apology may be in order.....
There you go - that's better!
>
> See you at next years Bledisloe Cup game in Denver :-)
You bet.
William Clark
The Old Fellow
Want to see some real rugby up there do you?
Andrew Dunford
"Lodi" <lo...@ccr.com> wrote in message news:g94rg2$go0$1...@aioe.org...
He was a bench loose forward for most matches in the first half of the
season but lost his place later when the bouncers returned from All Black
duty.
From memory the shoulder injury occurred late in the 2007 club season.
> Shame about the shoulder injury but it may have served him well as it
> allowed Gordon Tietjens and (I think) Eric Rush to get their hands on him
> for the 2007 season.
>
> By the by, a good win last Saturday for Wellington in Invercargill.
> Superb defence (except for when they let that try get scored just before
> half-time). Crusaders-style defence and Auckland-style attack. Finalists
> this year for sure.
'Twas a good win, although I was a little bothered they let Southland run
the show for so much of the first half.
Not interested in being a finalist - losing finalist four of the last five
years!
Andrew
William Clark
Certainly, but until then the Bledisloe Cup will have to do.
William Clark
Dave Keegan
wrote:
> William Clark wrote:
It's time the rest of the world came to visit the home of the
reigning Olympic Rugby champions...
Keegan...
The Old Fellow
Nice one.. And show them how game is played these days.
dechucka
"Dave Keegan" <ru...@budweiser.com> wrote in message
news:54c33b60-fb69-4fca...@t54g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
dechucka
"Dave Keegan" <ru...@budweiser.com> wrote in message
news:54c33b60-fb69-4fca...@t54g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
=================================
that once a century stupid knock out competition?
Keegan...
Dave Keegan
...all other games are meaningless friendlies and summer junkets...
Keegan...
Uncle Dave
Amen to that. Shouldn't you be in bed?
UD
Dave Keegan
7am...someone has to cook the kids breakfast...
Keegan...
Dave Keegan
Here ya go Dave. RFU is waking up...
http://www.rugbyheaven.co.nz/4673732a22363.html
Keegan...
Uncle Dave
>
> > Amen to that. Shouldn't you be in bed?
>
> > UD
>
> 7am...someone has to cook the kids breakfast...
You *cook* your kids' breakfast?! Isn't there a law against that?
UD