Offical Rugby Thread

Can't leave Te'o out now. He was one of the hardest choices.

Can't wait to blow out Chile. I'm interested to see how we do against the Arg XV. Mostly, how Magie handles it.

 

Te'o had a good game against Canada. Still want to see consistent good performances, especially against better competition. Davies had a real nice game too, as did the locks. Lock is suddenly really competitive, especially with Mahoni so young and developing so quickly. Ostberg another one kinda lurking there.

 

George North is such an animal

 

Just opened up Mediahhh to watch. Espn3 has Super rugby on all morning. USA v Chile around 1:45 or something.

 

Scotland showing a lot of heart.

 

Yeah they came out for the secobd half and really wanted it. We done fucked up.

 

Slept in and missed the Scotland match. When's the last time Scotland beat both other Celtic nations in the 6N? The 90s?

 

That was their first win against us in 10 years

 

50 points three weeks in a row for the Eagles. Fun to watch, but missed a tight 5 player with the passing skills to link the attack like Brakeley provided (and Taufete'e in November) in the game IMO. Sets up a big one against Argentina next week.

 

So the big topic after the weekend is Italy's tactics against England where they refused to engage in a ruck and then could stand in the backline as there is no offside without a ruck. What do you guys think?

 

Haven't watched it, but have read the comments. If they aren't breaking rules, then it's a solid game plan. Except they lost, so it didn't work out too well did it?

Once I watch I may have a stronger opinion. What do you think?

 

You may have seen it previously if you watch Super Rugby as the Chiefs use it from time to time. The problem with it in the Italy match was with the way it was reffed (apparently on instruction from World Rugby). In the past, teams have countered this tactic partly by reaching out and creating contact with defensive players near the tackle area in order to create a ruck. Garces ruled that this did not constitute a ruck:



The problem I have with this is that the only way to counter Italy's strategy here is to play through the middle via pick and go. However, if they are simply allowed to hang around the tackle with no ruck formed unless they actively engage in contact, that will kill the pick and go as well. So IMO the laws don't need changing as long as the attack can form a ruck by reaching out and grabbing anyone near the tackle area. This will ensure that there is either space up the middle as the defense will have to be a couple meters back to not be engaged by the attack, or they will have completely vacated that area by fanning to the sides.

 

I've seen that and used before on mauls, but not rucks. But as soon as the other team grabbed us we were "in". Strange ruling. If two teams did that against each other it would make for a huge cluster fuck.

 

Anyone going to Vegas this weekend?

 

Yesterday has gotta be the best day ever for American rugby. 15s team won the Americas Rugby Championship, the first tournament victory in 15s since the 1924 Olympics, and the 7s team made the semis of the Vegas 7s with an awesome comeback win against Argentina. Playing South Africa in the semis today is probably gonna be a step too far, but you never know. Baker and Unufe will give any team nightmares.

 

Should have beaten South Africa, nice comeback win against NZ. Yes, best day/weekend for USA Rugby ever.
Cima is a boss.
Tolkin would never had us playing this way.
Hopefully we continue this form into Ireland. It Should help with Mitchell moving to America now.

 

Mitchell is moving to America? Where did that get reported/you hear that? Cool, if true.

 

Thought Dan Payne said it during the fb live Q&A.

 

Oh, I must have missed that. When was it? Hope there's another one soon. I want to hear his thoughts on how to ensure that our best young players play for our age-grade teams, particularly the U20s. Not having Cal, BYU, St Mary's and who knows who else's players pass on playing for the U20s is unfortunate, both from a resource-use standpoint and from a results standpoint.

 

Well thank fuck for that.

 

Guessing his jersey got ripped earlier in the match and that was there as a backup in his size.

 

Psalm Wooching on trial with Pau now. Is it too early to pencil him in as one of the starting wings at the RWC?

 

So I definitely prefer 15s to 7s, but damn this 7s team is fun to watch. A few highlights from last weekend's 2nd place finish in Singapore:

 

We might see him this June since Blaine will be out. Opens up a spot out wide.

I woke up for every match. Fuck Canada.

 

Is Blaine out for sure for June?

Fuck Canada, but they performed really well over the weekend. I did think they got away with some pretty cynical play towards the end of the final when the game was still tied and we were camped out in their 22. Think it was Pinkelman (?) who got stopped just short of the line and the Canadian player just laid all over the ball. Ref bizarrely called held up instead of not rolling away, which should be a yellow card in that scenario, and we turned it over right after the ensuing scrum. But then again, I don't think very highly of the standard of reffing on the 7s circuit.

Anyway, that 3 extra points in the standings could come back to bite us. 9 points back of NZ instead of 6, with 2 events left. A top 4 finish would be amazing and should be the goal going forward. Are you going to the 7s World Cup in SF next year?

 

I had a teammate dislocate his elbow and he was out for a couple months. Obviously the injuries could be a different severity, but I think Pati did the same thing on the 7s Series and I haven't heard his name in a while.

I'm pretty sure we're going out there. We should be able to get press passes by then, but I bet they get a lot of requests. Are you going?

 

Yeah, seems like one of those injuries that could vary wildly in recovery time. That sucks as our wing/back 3 stocks are pretty thin at the moment. I guess the pool for June would be something like Ngwenya, Davis, Augspurger, Brache, Teo, Mikesell and maybe Wooching? Ngwenya, Brache and Teo at the back seems safest. Depends on how well Wooching is doing in France.

Planning on going out to the RWC 7s. Grew up in Norcal so it's a good opportunity to see friends and family in addition to the rugby.

 

This seems a lot more likely to succeed than PRO.

http://www.americasrugbynews.com/2017/02/13/major-league-rugby-coming-2018/

A new elite-level club competition is coming to America. Initially a group of five teams forming the ‘Major Rugby Championship’, the group has now expanded to nine with plans to begin formally under the ‘Major League Rugby’ name in 2018. While the new-found competition has not explicitly stated its intentions to become fully professional, some of the members are already paying their players, most notably the Austin Huns who are currently playing a series of friendlies with their ‘Elite Squad’. The full list of participating clubs (and management entities) is as follows:

Austin Huns (Huns Rugby Management)
Chicago Lions (Chicago Lions Professional Rugby)
Dallas Griffins (DFW Major Rugby)
Glendale Raptors (1924 Rugby)
Houston Strikers
Kansas City Blues (Blues Rugby Management)
New Orleans RFC (NOLA Rugby Enterprises)
Rugby Utah (Rugby Utah Ventures)
Seattle Saracens (Seattle Rugby LLC)

It’s unclear at this time how this will affect the future of PRO Rugby, which remains sanctioned as the exclusive professional domestic 15-a-side competition despite currently having no players or coaches on contract, and no immediate plans for a 2017 season. PRO’s three-year license agreement with USA Rugby expires in April of 2018, with a 180-day notice of non-renewal clause available to USAR should it choose not to extend the permit.

An exclusive sanction for professional 7s in the USA remains with Grand Prix Entertainment, though the trademarked use of ‘Major League Rugby’ has now been acquired by the new group. While further details are still to be revealed, sources have indicated to Americas Rugby News that several sponsors have shown interest, including insurance giants AIG, already strong supporters of USA Rugby. A media announcement scheduled for earlier today was briefly released on social media but has now been withdrawn, set to be re-released later this evening.

 

Sounds like we will be getting much better coverage of the next couple RWCs.

 

I hope we can find a replacement HC that will continue the attacking style Mitch had us using. Pretty pissed he's leaving.

 

It really sucks but there was just too much smoke about every job. About the replacement, gonna just post the tweet thread because I agree with Derek Sagehorn 100%:

 

I agree as well. I do believe the next coach should move here though. That somehow turned into a argument with some people on twitter, but Dan Payne thinks the same. I love what Mitch did, but being linked to multiple open positions while not living in the country you coach, doesn't instill confidence that you're here for the long haul.

 

Milton Haig is the model to follow. He moved his family to Georgia and learned the local language. Unsurprisingly, he's still there 6 years later. He's also helped them develop a wider style of play and helped develop their youth structures. Their U20s finished 10th in the world last year and they get better every year. Their senior team will start showing that too. Go find an ITM Cup type coach rather than an older one who sees the job as a demotion and a quick stepping stone back to higher levels.

If Georgia can find Haig, surely we can convince someone of his caliber to relocate to the US, somewhere with a much lower culture shock.

 

I'm not familiar with coaches down there. Any that come to your mind?

Scott Lawrence being brought into the camp might mean he's up there on the list. He's had success, but not at the level I think our head coach needs.

 

Agree about Lawrence. The performance of Life and the U20s under his helm have been impressive, especially considering there haven't been a ton of star players on those teams and he has developed some players for national honors who weren't previously in the All American system. But we should shoot higher, perhaps with him as an assistant. I haven't watched ITM Cup in awhile, so I'm not familiar with a ton of their coaches at that level. I saw Aaron Mauger's name pop up on Twitter. Could be a good option if he's interested.

 

Didn't now he was the Leicester coach. Kiwi born, used to the attacking style we've been implementing. I like how his last night is pronounced major. Good enough for me.

 

I thought Lawrence would be the interim coach, but then they announced Mitch would be staying for June. I'll probably skip out on the presser after the Georgia match.

 

Any predictions on who wins the CRC? I think Lindenwood or St. Mary's have a real chance to win it over Cal. At first I thought AIC had an outside chance, but I don't know if they have enough experience.

 

Taking Cal in part because I think Lindenwood is gonna be worn down from last weekend. They're also missing Mikesell and Thomas.

 

I think I see Thomas out there. They look pretty solid. I thought IU looked good too, but there's only so much you can do against Cal.

 

Brutal injury bug for the Eagles. Not feeling so confident about the Canada series minus Titi, Manoa and Scully along with the turmoil at head coach. Would have been exciting to see Hume playing on the wing of what has been a very wide style of play developed in the last 12 months, too.

 

Yea, I'm bummed about titi and hume. Given our recent form compared to Canada's, I still like our odds. I'll be nervous as hell both matches though.

 

Anyone watching NZ vs Lions?

 

Looking like a likely 3-0 whitewash. All Blacks are simply on another level from everyone else right now.

 

Yep. Not many teams in any sport are as dominant as they are in rugby.