Official Rugby Thread

[Johnners]

Heh, pretty silly from Cooper. Who is the blonde mangy haired forward for SA? Turd act on replay before, trying to eye gouge Peacock i think it was.

[Smudge]

Schalk Burger. He has previous.

[Johnners]

Originally Posted by Voltman

Schalk Burger. He has previous.

Yeah that's him, potential to be punished after the game though? (I.e. some sort of match review?)

Genia's a star, been superb.

[Somerset]

Solid win for Australia, I certainly don't think they played at their peak (and understandably so given they haven't played test match rugby for three weeks) but more than enough tonight. Elsom and Pocock particularly prevalent IMO, and Giteau also had a commendable performance. I don't think South Africa could really be bothered TBH - they looked lethargic at times and besides a period of about 15 minutes midway through the second half, didn't look threatening at all. Pienaar wasn't a massive improvement on Januarie so I still think du Preez's absence is really affecting the Springboks.

[Smudge]

Yep, there is a SANZAR citing officer for each game, and if there's a case to answer, it'll go to the commissioner.

[Somerset]

Originally Posted by Clapo

That tackle surely wasn't serious enough for a yellow. O'connor not having the best of games so far either.

Bit of a mixed bag from O'Connor - keep in mind that he was marking arguably one of the best wingers in world rugby and that the wing isn't his preferred position. A few too many errors but some impressive breaks and a couple of noteworthy tackles.

As for the yellow card, I think it was fair enough - had the Australian player not cushioned the fall with his hands, he would've landed on his head, and I suppose that constitutes dangerous play. Consistent too with Cooper in the second half landing the same consequence as Fourie.

[Hurricane]

Only watched the 2nd half. The 2nd half was pretty even scoreboard wise. Didn't like SAs ball security at the break down - Genia got on my nerves by not spinning out the ball quickly enough but made up for it by scoring a nice try.

Can't believe SA are 0-3. Can't believe Aussie lost to England and then win against the world champions.

Good tackling by Aussie it must be said. Never seen them tackle that well.

Should be a good match between NZ and Aussie.

[BoyBrumby]

Originally Posted by Voltman

Schalk Burger. He has previous.

Ha, quite. Rather like saying Hitler was unlikely to be invited to many Bar Mitzvahs.

Burger's a fecking grub. Talented player, but a cheap shot merchant. Never really see him have a square go with someone his own size either.

[JBH001]

A good win by the Wallabies. I had expected a tighter game, and a closer win by the Springboks.

The Australian forwards also showed that they aren't snowflakes, but they need to do it consistently to provide any meaningful long-term challenge. Key area for the Wallabies seems to be the breakdown, they still don't commit enough players in that area and need to be more effective in cleaning out the rucks. If they tighten up that area of the game, it should be a close win for the AB's in Melbourne, if not, it will be a big win.

[JBH001]

Originally Posted by Hurricane

Bakkies' ruggedness > Thorn's presence.

Thorn has strong christian beliefs and as such he is not an enforcer type player.

That doesn't make any sense.

This brings to mind a well known story of the great Michael Jones. Jones, a committed Christian, was also known for the toughness and physicality of his play, especially after he moved to the blindside. But when asked how that reconciled with his Christian beliefs said "it is better to give, than to receive."

[social]

And there are countless league thugs who would also beg to differ having been on the end of Thorn's "christian values"

[Somerset]

Cooper suspended for two weeks, and Fourie for four weeks for their spare tackles that resulted in yellow cards - personally felt that both players receiving yellows were sufficient to deal with their actions though. Interesting to note that we've now had four players suspended in just three Tri Nations matches - I can't remember such a high rate of penalties in the tournament's history.

[ripper868]

Wallabies will miss Cooper dearly against the ABs, will be interesting to see how Barnes-Giteau operate....hopefully not a return to the kicking machine.

The suspensions are fair IMO...and my spies tell me that Burger has not been cited so will escape suspension...such a dog player, looking forward to the day he gets rubbed out for a year.

ABs to beat us by 10 IMO, Barnes-Gits to kick too much.

[ripper868]

Wobblies team:
15. Adam Ashley Cooper (Brumbies)
14. James O’Connor (Western Force)
13. Rob Horne (NSW Waratahs)
12. Berrick Barnes (NSW Waratahs)
11. Drew Mitchell (NSW Waratahs)
10. Matt Giteau (Brumbies)
9. Will Genia (Queensland Reds)
8. Richard Brown (Western Force)
7. David Pocock (Western Force)
6. Rocky Elsom (Brumbies, captain)
5. Nathan Sharpe (Western Force)
4. Dean Mumm (NSW Waratahs)
3. Salesi Ma’afu (Brumbies)
2. Stephen Moore (Brumbies)
1. Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs)

Run on reserves:
16. Saia Faingaa (Queensland Reds)
17. James Slipper (Queensland Reds)
18. Rob Simmons (Queensland Reds)
19. Matt Hodgson (Western Force)
20. Luke Burgess (NSW Waratahs)
21. Anthony Faingaa (Queensland Reds)
22. Kurtley Beale (NSW Waratahs)

[Somerset]

Starting XV as I imagined it'd be with Cooper suspended and Moore back to the starting hookers' role. Still not so sure about O'Connor on the wing as think he'd be better at fullback,Horne and Ashley-Cooper looked solid enough at 13 and 15 respectively against the Springboks on the weekend and I guess at this stage theres not much point making excessive changes to a winning combination.