# Rugby



## Bean (5 Feb 2006)

May I offer comiserations to our Welsh Friends on this site. A good hard game, well played.

And well done to the scots for a surprising turnover of the French   ........Not that it gave me any pleasure you understand

Bean


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## DomValente (5 Feb 2006)

Totally agree Bean,

Being of Italian descent I would er like to er offer my er congratulations to all our Irish colleagues......................oh and the ref!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well someone had to say something


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## Bean (5 Feb 2006)

Yes that was quite a miss on the refs behalf, the ball was certainly not grounded.

Also nice to see Italy not being the whipping boys

Bean


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## AndyBoyd (5 Feb 2006)

Thanks for the kind words, lets hope each nation looses one match and make it a bit exciting


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## Waka (5 Feb 2006)

AndyBoyd":2mw3a70u said:


> Thanks for the kind words, lets hope each nation looses one match and make it a bit exciting



Except the World Champions.

They were really good games this weekend, I was especially impressed with Scotlands performance this afternoon.


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## Bean (5 Feb 2006)

I missed the match but was bouncing around the room like a madman at the result, i would have lost my shirt because I, and I am sorry for this, would have put money on scotland losing to france. Oh well what do i know


Bean


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## frank (5 Feb 2006)

we have orderd a bib for our grandson that will say in welsh i support england with a few english flags on .i hope his welsh cousins enjoy it .you have to teach them whilst there young, 4 months old :twisted: :twisted:  

frank


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## Bean (5 Feb 2006)

Nice one  

I phoned my welsh mate and left a message on his phone, I cannot reveal the contents but I think it did the trick and repaid his message from last year

Bean


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## Anonymous (5 Feb 2006)

Sooo exciting  England for the grand slam?


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## CHJ (5 Feb 2006)

The most enjoyable two days of Rugby for a long time.

All sides that mattered played well, some better than others, some decisions good some not so good, but none of the latter affected the final outcomes IMOHO.

Lets have more of the same in the coming weeks.


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## Bean (5 Feb 2006)

Could be, but htere atre a few tough matches to go. Ireland and France could both spoil the party as could Scotland on todays performance

Bean


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## Les Mahon (6 Feb 2006)

> England for the grand slam



See we thought last year we had a good chance of a GSA but got masacred by the French. Also you need to consider that Wales were well under strength up front, and Ireland will be fielding nearly the complete Munster pack that sent the much vaunted Sale Pack home with a bloddy nose a few weeks ago - though none of them seemed to be at the races on Satursy - I guess you pays your money and you takes your chances! Fair play the the Scots, that was a cracking game - I only wish we were'n the ones going to Paris on saturday to suffer the inevitable backlash :shock: 

Les


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## dedee (6 Feb 2006)

Great to watch England win and France lose. Rugby really is a game for men. Had Arjen Robben been slapped by one of those forwards ( or even backs ) I doubt he would have got up - ever.

Listening to Pat Nevin on R5 this morning "when I was playing if you got hit by the likes of Stuart Pearce you stood up and pretended it did not hurt and would say "is that the best you can do"". Those mamby pamby footballers of today have so much to learn.

Andy


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## Bean (6 Feb 2006)

Les your right unless Ireland are right up in the French Faces you will get a briusing. If the munster pack can play the same way as they did against sale you are in with a good chance of turning the french over.

Against italy your backs did not seem to be firing on all cylinders either


Bean (looking forward to another Leicester - Munster Cup final)


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## Les Mahon (6 Feb 2006)

> Bean (looking forward to another Leicester - Munster Cup final)



That would be nice! Nicer still if Munster could eventually win the thing!

As to Ireland's back row - I have no idea what they were doing, the feeling over here is that O'sullivan will be looking for a new job, and Ireland looking for a new coach if things don't improve, it's hard to belive that for the most part it was the pack that demolished sale and the backs that ran rings around Bath out there on Saturday!

My vote is that it will be a tight championship this year, I don't see anyone winning a grand slam, england had the biggest win of the weekend, but in reality only in the last 15-20 minutes did they run away with it, against a better pack they will have to work harder.

Les


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## Bean (6 Feb 2006)

Les your right and I would not predict a decisive win for any of the teams at this stage. No one is standing out yet. England are still lacking in the centre and I think the pack are not yet proven, as good as the welsh pack is. the welsh pack seemed to lack fitness and looked very tired for the last 15-20 mins when England ran away with it.

But I cannot wait for the next round of matches, its always such a great tournament when the teams are closely matched

Bean


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## Les Mahon (13 Feb 2006)

Interesting silence all round after this weekend!

I think it safe to say that no side covered themselves in glory?

Les


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## CHJ (13 Feb 2006)

Les Mahon":1382upus said:


> Interesting silence all round after this weekend!
> 
> I think it safe to say that no side covered themselves in glory?
> 
> Les



All seemed games of two halves; If you could have mixed and matched there could have been an outstanding one in there somewhere.


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## Bean (13 Feb 2006)

Very scrappy, no side excelled, and i have to say, there was a touch of 'and after the lord mayors parade' about it


Bean


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## Bean (25 Feb 2006)

Well played Scotland  England made too many mistakes and did not attack enough

Bean


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## Anonymous (25 Feb 2006)

Definitely well played Scotland - England lost that one good and proper


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## Midnight (26 Feb 2006)

why Thankyou....

now that we've won the only REAL important game of the series... we can relax.. (((_Y_)))


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## DomValente (26 Feb 2006)

Err, just until March the 18th, the team of my forefathers has just been practising ready for that date and I will be there to watch. See you in Rome.

Dom


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## ikd (26 Feb 2006)

Tony":1a7fkdg2 said:


> Definitely well played Scotland - England lost that one good and proper



Definitely agree. England played like amatuers. And why do they keep playing Ellis. He is consistently too slow to get the ball out. The only time the team livend up was when Dawson came on.

Never mind, suppose we should give Scotland thier one weeks glory :lol: as the will be mullered next week 8)


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## samlarsen (26 Feb 2006)

Agree re Ellis. Also think England should get over their aversion to kicking from the ruck. Scotland were so eager to attack our backs that they left the rest of the field unguarded most of the game. 

If Ellis happens to be into making wood smaller (and on this site) then please watch the video, and next time kick the ball when kicking is appropriate.

Rant over (for now)!

Sam


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## Alf (26 Feb 2006)

Am I right in thinking I saw Matt Dawson on as blood replacement for Ellis, and then _taken off_ to let Ellis on again? Huh? Crazy. 

Cheers, Alf


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## Bean (26 Feb 2006)

Alf the reason being that dawson is getting a bit long in the tooth, and what a lot of people have missed is that Scotland were doing a very good job of slowing the ball down in the rucks and England were not doing a very good job of clearing hands/bodies in the rucks, to speed the exit of the ball. Its what you have second rows and flank forwards for.

Scotland played better on the day, England didn't not show a great deal of imagination. It does not matter who is on the pitch providing they stand up to be counted and make their mark, a team should do well, unfortunately the England players didn't.

Bean


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## Alf (27 Feb 2006)

Bean":f3sznvtz said:


> Alf the reason being that dawson is getting a bit long in the tooth


I _know_ that. :roll: But Ellis _wasn't_ standing up and being counted, and the pace of things consistantly steps up with Dawson on, which they needed, so why bother bringing Ellis back once he was off? 

Cheers, Alf


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## ikd (27 Feb 2006)

Alf":10w5ibmr said:


> so why bother bringing Ellis back once he was off?
> 
> Cheers, Alf



5 minutes later he was substituted after being coming back from a blood replacement. A waste of time if you ask me.


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## Alf (27 Feb 2006)

'Xactly!


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## Vormulac (27 Feb 2006)

Congratulations to Scotland, deserved to win, but only by virtue of playing less badly than the other team on the pitch. One of the worst games of Rugger I've seen, no spark or flair from either side, and I agree about Dawson - what the blazes were they thinking??
I hope for Scotland's sake this doesn't represent a degree of complacency creeping in to the team after their splendid recent performances. (well used to complacency discombobulating what should be a victorious England side!)

Ah well, bring on the next round.


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## ikd (27 Feb 2006)

Mind you its nicely set up with 4 out of the 6 nations on one loss each. It may yet come down to points scored on the pitch?


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## Bean (27 Feb 2006)

Ellis is only 1 of 15 men on the pitch most of them with more experience at that level than him................who stood up to be counted in a white shirt ???? so its left for the new boy to take the can for all the old heads.....................hmm Interesting, Played many Team Games

If england do not blood youngens they will have to fit dawsons zimmer frame with studs. Dawson on this occasion had a better game, and that was mediocre. Week in week out Ellis has run rings around Dawson in the league. No one like to lose but you are a fool if you think you will win every game.

Bean


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## Alf (28 Feb 2006)

Bean":2mpll1eq said:


> Week in week out Ellis has run rings around Dawson in the league.


Ever come across the phenomenon of someone who can't quite manage the step-up from league to international? No Ellis wasn't solely to blame; no one said that. But he does consistantly disappoint IMO, and it did seem daft to warm Dawson up as blood replacement, bring him off for a short while and then get him out again.

Cheers, Alf


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## Bean (28 Feb 2006)

> Ever come across the phenomenon of someone who can't quite manage the step-up from league to international? No Ellis wasn't solely to blame; no one said that. But he does consistantly disappoint IMO, and it did seem daft to warm Dawson up as blood replacement, bring him off for a short while and then get him out again.
> 
> Cheers, Alf



Quite often, I seem to remenber Dawson being in that category some time ago. But he was given his run out and persevered with until he had the experience to play effectivly at that level. No one is born to play at any level, for instance when Martin Johnson started playing at my old club, he would back off if someone got rough with him, the club saw the potential and persevered, and taught him to smile when someone punched him. If you stop trying and testing new players and persevering with them until they are up to speed you go nowhere, you live in the past with rules that you stick by without knowing why.

The blame lies with Robinson for poor management. Ellis is not to blame for poor team selection, performance and management, but Robinson is.

You should not shoot something or somebody down for being new, change is to be embraced not feared.

Bean


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## Alf (1 Mar 2006)

I'm *not* saying not to persevere with Ellis. I *am* saying he's disappointed so far. I'm also saying it's totally crazy to warm someone up, especially an older player, then bring 'em off again for 5 minutes before sending them in again. Especially when the player they're replacing isn't playing so well as to make a difference in those 5 minutes. 

Cheers, Alf


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## Midnight (2 Mar 2006)

did I read right..?? blood replacement...????????

what kinda freakin players ya fielding... vampires...???????

sheeshhhh

no wonder they sucked..!!


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## Bean (2 Mar 2006)

Midnight


> what kinda freakin players ya fielding... vampires...???????



Only the front 3 :wink: 

Bean


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## trevtheturner (13 Mar 2006)

Gone a bit quiet on here this weekend, hasn't it.

With all the shenanigans going on within the WRU this season the Wales (my team) results have been, perhaps, fairly predictable. Anybody got a _good_ reason why Mike Ruddock, the first Wales coach to achieve a Grand Slam for 27 years, should be ditched mid-campaign? Think about it - the WRU dispense with a coach (Ruddock) who would not commit himself beyond the present tournament and replace him with a coach (Johnson) who will not commit himself beyond the present tournament. What a mess! You couldn't make it up.

As for England in Paris yesterday ........... well ........... abysmal.
The old stagers really are starting to look like old men. Dawson, as usual, seemed to spend much of his time moaning to the referee, rather than getting on with the game, which he seemed unable to do with much effect. Dallaglio, when he came on, seemed unable to add much to the team's performance. Looking at England's team performance, big and powerful they may be, or may think they are, but they are just still so predictable. This must be down to Andy Robinson who, in my opinion, has largely wasted the time since the last World Cup to rebuild for the next one in that he still persists with older players and Plan A, but apparently no Plan B or Plan C .......... how much good will some of those older players be in eighteen months time? Clive Woodward tried it with some of those older players with the Lions a while ago - it didn't work with those players then yet Robinson still persists with some of them now. One even retired then came back and offered himself for international selection on the strength of a few good club games.

Your comments, Bean, are so relevant. England, to be a world force again, desperately need to develop some younger players at international level. A young Mathew Tait was hailed as England's saviour at centre, was Hensoned (legally within the rules!) in his first full international, and hasn't been heard of since. Did he deserve to be ditched and forgotten after one game? If so, then he was probably a pretty poor selection in the first place, or has Robinson lost his bottle for persevering with younger players?

Although not particularly a football fan to give one example I have seen the Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, bring Cesc Fabregas over from Spain (for nothing - on a free transfer) at the age of 16. Although he reportedly had problems settling in London, he has now played two seasons in the Premiership and is generally regarded as having developed into one of the best, probably the best, midfield player in the country. He is now set to form part of the nucleus of that team for many years to come. Another example which comes to mind is Will Carling. Appointed England rugby union captain at the age of 22, love him or hate him, it can be said that he fully repaid the confidence that was shown in him by leading the England team to many achievements over a number of years. I feel Robinson has left it too late to develop a 'new' team for the next World Cup if, indeed, he is capable of doing so.

...... and I dunno what Wales are going to do, 'cos as it stands at the moment they haven't got any coach at all after the end of this month. :roll:   

Oh, and *WELL PLAYED IRELAND.* A fitting farewell to Lansdowne Road. 

Cheers,

Trev.


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## Waka (13 Mar 2006)

Well done to France yesterday (believe me I hated saying that), its years since I have seen such an England performance, talk about a disfunctional team.

In my view Robinson should go, as Trev said he's wasted the last few years when he should have been rebuilding for the next WC.

We will certainly be no threat to any team if we continue to play like we have this tournament.


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## Bean (13 Mar 2006)

Trev 
England were an embarassment indeed, despite the best efforts of the forwards, they did not get going as a team, on the few occasions they troubled the ball they managed to fluff it.
Dawson was looking his age, Dallaglio should have been ignored and not have made a come back and I believe Robinson is only there due to his association with Woodward. He cannot be there through merit. No team spirit and little team work.

Your right about Ireland a good game although, they didnt seem to be firing on all cylinders in the backs. A fitting tribute to a great ground.

After all those years as a joke side wales seemed to be getting it back, exciting players and exciting play, almost like those 1970's glory days when they were almost unbeatable, so the WRU have decided to throw it all away Mad or what!!

But all in all its a very open tournament this year, I guess we have got used to it all depending on the France - England Match.

Bean


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