a diabolical performance from all concerned

[Bloodstained Angel]

The All Blacks' inexplicable decision not to take a penalty shot (and so get a bonus point) in the dying moments seemed to sum up what was a very muddle-headed performance from everyone concerned in Dunedin yesterday.

The singer forgot the words to the Australian National Anthem (what a bloody disgrace !) but thank god the great crowd in Dunedin finished off the Australian anthem in great style - well done and as BigFooties token Kiwi can I apologise on behalf of that idiot out there on Saturady.

The refererring was a complete disaster - talk about pedantic interpretations ! - The looks of sheer exasperation on the faces of bnoth Eales and Anton Oliver said it all about this complete idiot, who didn't seem to be able to tell the difference between a ruck and a maul for example.

The Wallabies didn't play well either - but when surrounded by duffers on every side, they were alone in keeping their mind on the job long enough to win the game, inspite of the fact they couldn't get their lineouts going and their inside backs struggled to bust the line all day.

But biggest howlers must go to the All Blacks - they were flat, unfit and seemingly disinterested all day long. Their tackling was not much better than last year and all three loose forwards put in absolute shockers.

They have the best player in the World in Lomu but don't seem to know what to do with the guy. Scored a try as soon as he touched the ball then for the rest of the game his teammates ignored him ????

WTF is going on ?

Lomu is an absolute waste of space on the wing - he should be playing at Number 8 where he can do major damage running off the back of scrums and rucks. He just dosen't see enough of the ball stuck out on a wing like that ...

But congratulations to the Wallabies, especially Matt Burke, the guy is all class and surely the best centre in the world at the moment ?

cheers

 

[OutKast]

Originally posted by Bloodstained Angel

The refererring was a complete disaster - talk about pedantic interpretations ! - The looks of sheer exasperation on the faces of bnoth Eales and Anton Oliver said it all about this complete idiot, who didn't seem to be able to tell the difference between a ruck and a maul for example.

Why the hell do they appoint northern hemisphere refs!! Surely there would be no complaint if a referee from the non-playing tri-nation was appointed and i'm sure they'd do a better job then these bloody poms.
I couldn't believe it when George Smith was told he'd be yellow-carded for having his head down in the rucks! He was on his feet doing nothing illegal, and the ref is asking him to change his whole playing style?
That was just one of many things that pissed me off, at least the penalty try was payed this week although a similar thing happened to Andrew Walker in the SA game and a scrum was awarded to SA instead.
Anyway Go Wallabies!!

 

[Ms.Storm]

BSA...

What a great summation of the game and the bits and pieces associated with it. Congrats. Did you know you have a gift for writing..well at least I think so....so well done.!

Matty Burke is an absolute sensation and such an asset to the team. I just love watching him playing and of course Gregan and Roff....

You seem to love Rugby BSA and have a thorough knowledge of it. Do you have a local club in Sydney you also follow? (Sticky Nose Me!!

Cheers

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

No I don't Ms Storm

Rugby was a big part of my childhood but I've lived in Australia and followed Australian Rules for 20 years now.

Like your average man in the street, of course I'll make an effort to watch the big International Test Matches and of course they don't come any bigger than Aust v NZ v SthAfrica.

As for the club competitions and local rugby in general, no, its not really my scene at all.

Too many Private School types for me ! I didn't go to a posh Sydney School and so don't feel any great 'connection' with the local Rugby scene at all which is very upper middle calss orientated.

But the passion and allure of the "Game they play in Heaven" still burns quite brightly for me, and of course there is nothing like watching epic international tests to get you fired up about the game.

I played all my Rugby in New Zealand as a kid 20-25 years ago and II have to say the game I knew and played back then is very VERY different from the fast, athletically demanding and highly skilled game they play these days.

The game has moved on from when I knew and played it, but International Test matches still give me a great thrill - especially when the Men in Black are playing !

cheers

 

[elt]

Great wrap up BSA. It certainly was a classic case of "if you can keep your head when all about are losing theirs". The attempt at our national anthem was a disgrace but the guy was a last minute stand-in so it's not entirely his fault I guess.

The refereeing was diabolical and play was scrappy from both sides, especially early on. I can't fathom Oliver's decision re the penalty goal at the death. I read a quote from him about how the "Tri-nations means nothing to him" and he was out there playing an individual test but if there is no chance of winning the game I don't know why they would go for a meaningless try. Still, another Bledisloe retention for the Wallabies, maybe they should get a bigger trophy cabinet

A huge win for the Wallabies in the context of the Tri-nations series. Now leading courtesy of the bonus point against Sth Africa with both home tests to come things are looking good.

What do people think about the bonus point system? I'm not convinced myself but with the series only based on a handfull of tests the chances of a draw are fairly high. Didn't they used to award bonus points for scoring three or more tries? I prefer that idea to encourage the running game, rather than resorting to rewarding close losses.

 

[topdon]

Re: Re: a diabolical performance from all concerned

Originally posted by OutKast


Why the hell do they appoint northern hemisphere refs!! Surely there would be no complaint if a referee from the non-playing tri-nation was appointed and i'm sure they'd do a better job then these bloody poms.

And which hemisphere do 'Poms' live?

Okay...i disagree when it comes to nothern hemisphere refs. Their constant misinterpretation of the advantage rule is a blight on the game, and threatened to ruin last years World Cup. They must learn to let the game flow instead of blowing the play up straight away. This turns the game into a virtual 'penalty shootout', and ultimately a boring contest.

I'm against nothern hemisphere refs for this reason.

 

[The Hippie]

elt, the super 12's comp award a bonus point for scoring a certain number of tries, I think the tri-nations bonus point is awarded for losing within a certain margin. I could be corrected on that last point.

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

The bonus points system is good and alot simpler and fairer than the Super12 system where points are awarded according to how many pojnts you score, and not how narrow the margin between the teams are.

In a comp. like the TRiNations, where there are only 3 teams and it is pretty easy to get all of them on the same win-loss ratio, bonus points can open it up a bit and reward the most competitive team. So a team that, say has won two and lost two but those wins were close ones, will get the bonus points and so finish higher than another team with the same win-loss ratio.

Which makes the ABs decision NOT to take that late penalty all the more inexplicable.

If they had got the goal and ghot the bonus point, then they would still be on top of the TriNations ladder, instead of being second and a whole point behind the Wallabies.

cheers

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

hippie - correct-a-mundo

cheers

 

[elt]

BSA,

I agree that the decision was inexplicable. The way Oliver spoke it was like he didn't want to concede defeat. An honourable notion but seeing as defeat in this test was inevitable, why not make sure you don't concede the TriNations as well?

Actually from checking the rugby websites it seems you can still get a bonus point for four tries or more. I guess this caters not only for the situation BSa talks about but say two teams both have two wins and two losses.

If Team A (let's call them the Wallabies ) wins both easily and has two close losses whilst Team B has two narrow wins and two narrow losses you would expect Team A to be ahead.

 

[Dipper]

I didn't see the game (unfortunately) but all your comments about the pommie ref are so similar to the comments we make up here after the refereeing of some of the southern hemisphere refs in games involving European sides.Whilst watching the Lions play Australia inpubs in England people were up in arms about some of the refereeing & literally couldn't understand what some of the penalties were for.

I really don't want to get into who's right & who's wrong situation here I just think that it's a big worry that a great sport like Rugby Union which is primed to become a real world sport has such a disparity between the interpretations of the rules & laws by the referees of the 2 most important Rugby playing areas.Surely it CAN'T be that difficult for the 2 hemispheres to come togethere & agree on interpreatations bacause as things stand it's not an exageration to say that we are effectively playing 2 similar but fundamentally different games.

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

yes dead right DIPPER

something has to be done and fast too.

I find it rather dismaying that instead of talking about the Rugby, everyone just ends up talking about the referee all the time

Its total crap, the referee should be there doing his job and that should be the end of it. Instead you would think the referee is the most important aspect of the game.

Which, unfortunately, seems to be the case.

There must be something deeply wrong with this, Rugby is a game between two teams and the the team that scores the most points wins.

BUT in Rugby we seem to have a situation where the result of the game is determined by the way in which the referee chooses to interpret and enforce the rules.

and I think thats a scandal actually and the game has not a hope in hell of progessing towards a truely global sport whilst these hangovers from the age of amateurism still persist in the game.

The game is there for the players and the spectators, its not a platform for an officious, ego centric nobody like a Referee to grab 15 minutes of fame (or should that be infamy ?)

cheers

 

[elt]

Spot on guys.

I know Eddie Jones has been pretty vocal about the fact that both hemispheres need to have the same refereeing interpretations if the sport is going to go further internationally.

The problem is mostly centered around the ruck but let's hope something can be done so we can enjoy the game rather than be bewildered by the refereeing.

 

[Fat Red]

A further point on this.

As someone who's come to the game a bit later in life. the rules are very hard to understand anyway.

I think this is true of rubgy specifically: I don't have the same problem with rugby league, even though I think rugby's a better sport.

If they're trying to market the game to people like me, well, it's hard enough even if you get the interpretations consistent. In the current scenario it's a bit of a nightmare.