Also probably something of a case of it being really hard in rugby to put together what is basically a scratch team to take them on. I actually think England by themselves might have had a better chance. Look at what happens to the Barbarians and other scratch teams full of really good players when they take on settled international teams these days.
Auckland has had some bad weather this week but it looks like the conditions should be decent for tonight's decider. Hard to see the All Blacks losing unless they pick up another early red card though.
I have to say that I'm not happy with Gatland's selections, especially at hooker. George is good, but Best is way better than Owens. Not even putting him in the 23 against the final test against the ABs is stupid. And not a single minute in a test from Stander. Last weekend when it was getting dirty, they needed a crasher like him to help control shit. Love the Vunipola brothers, but once Mako started conceded all of those penalties, he was becoming a liability rather than an asset. I have no idea why he didn't put in McGrath. Spoiler Look at me. I should be an international level coach.
Well that was intense. Lions pretty lucky on that decision at the end but a great series and a great match.
Lucky on that discussion but the first penalty was never a penalty for them. Great tour. The Lions format is well and truly reinvigorated after 2001 and especially 2005.
Good lord: All Blacks looking somewhat shaky the last few matches, though. Barrett's kicking woes will cost them against a side like England.
I went to the 2015 RWC last minute (was only in England for 4 days, saw 2 matches) and had such a good time I decided I'm gonna try to go to every RWC. Going to the 7s RWC too, BTW. Let me know if you want to grab a beer.
I'm jealous. I hope you make it to each one. I'm down to grab a beer. We'll be booking our hotel soon. We're trying to get the Eggchasers to make the trip as well.
Wasn't the prettiest game, but nice to finally beat Argentina (or their B team at least). What made you decide to go and how'd you like it?
My buddy had a box and I wasn’t doing anything so it was a no brainer to go and check it out. It was a lot of fun. I knew a small amount of rules, but my friend had two friends that played and were cool about teaching me the game.
If you still haven't watched the Ireland vs France match from Saturday, you can skip the first 70 minutes. Those last 10 minutes, though . . .
Winning the ARC again and the Vegas final in the same weekend was awesome. I was lucky enough to watch all of it. And of course we're hit with the news that Dan Payne is stepping down. I'm still weary of the board and everyone that's been there for a long time.
I went on Saturday but dumbly skipped Sunday. Shoulda gone as it would have been awesome to be there for that. Sat next to some family friends of Ben Pinkelman on the flight back to Denver. They were amused that the scrawny little kid they knew had turned into such a beast. Saw the score of the ARC final but haven't seen the game yet. Were they awesome, Uruguay bad or both? Impressive either way considering the struggles we've had in Montevideo over the years.
Even having watched Pinkelman since he first joined the 7s squad, I'm amazed at how big he's gotten. I was lucky enough to interview him after the Olympics, you could tell he was let down with their final spot. He's awesome though. As far as the match, we were just dominant in all facets. I couldn't believe it. They had no response after our first two scores.
Larry Sura I know you saw this, but the incompetence of USAR/RIM deserves a wider audience: http://www.rugbytoday.com/elite/congress-gravely-concerned-about-rim-42-million-losses-trc
http://www.espn.com/watch/schedule/?categoryId=66&startDate=20180310&type=upcoming Men's Eagles Sevens Schedule | Pool A | Canada Sevens LIVE on ESPN3 vs. Uruguay | Sat, Mar. 10 - 3:04 PM ET vs. Canada | Sat, Mar. 10 - 6:36 PM ET vs. Australia | Sat, Mar. 10 - 10:08 PM ET Sunday for the knockout rounds, too, on WatchESPN. Times depend on how the pools play out tomorrow.
Friday played every reserve. Most starters didn't even touch the field. I understand getting the younger guys experience, but we need to win. Especially when that lone match might be the only match most Americans see. Getting Series points and making a good impression is crucial.
Wonder if some of our main guys were also a little banged up? Semi-related, I wonder if any of our key 7s guys will be moving on after the 7s RWC. Niua is 34, and with the success of the team you'd think some European clubs might take a look at maybe Iosefo or Pinkelman. MLR also adds another possible reason to leave, especially for players with an MLR club in their hometown. Team should be in pretty good shape as long as Baker is around, though.
In case you thought it was just USA Rugby that was a clusterfuck in the world of rugby administration, check this out: In the last round of Rugby World Cup Qualifiers for Europe, Spain only needed to beat Belgium in order to qualify for the RWC. It was highly likely given that Belgium was 2nd to last in the standings and had lost to Spain 30-0 the previous year, while Spain was in great form having beaten Romania soundly and winning away in Russia. If Belgium were to pull of the miracle, Romania would qualify. Well it turns out that an all Romanian reffing crew (ref and both ARs) was assigned to this match before the season started. About a month before the match, Spain asked Rugby Europe for a reffing change as they saw this as a potential conflict of interest. This request was denied by Rugby Europe with the excuse that they couldn't change refs a month before the match. Oh by the way, the head of Rugby Europe is a former Romanian international and there have been some claims that he owns the TV rights to the RWC in Romania. So the match happens and the Spaniards are frustrated from the outset. The refs makes some really awful calls, misses some really obvious calls and generally calls the game in what seems to be a biased manner against Spain with a heavy penalty count against them. The Spanish players come unglued and end up losing the match. Not only do they lose the match but they confront the ref afterwards and may have physically struck him. They apologize but it's likely some of their key players will be getting lengthy bans. But in any case, the Spanish union appeals to have the result voided and the match replayed with a ref with no conflicts of interest. Meanwhile, Romania is celebrating having qualified for the RWC but nothing is certain. And regardless of the outcome of the appeal, Spain still has a last chance to qualify via a long convoluted playoff if they can regain their composure. So all of this has been a controversy for the last week, World Rugby has opened an investigation into the whole thing and Rugby Europe has met to decide what to do or more likely how to proceed from a PR perspective. Then today, it comes out that Belgium used a player against Germany who was really ineligible because his only connection to Belgium was via a great-grandmother and the rules are that you have to never have played for another nation and a) be born in the country you're representing or b) have a parent or grandparent have to be born in the country you're playing for or c) be a resident for 36 consecutive months in that country, which is about to become 60 months going forward. I think special dispensations are also made for those who move to a country at a young age and then go overseas and come back but not 100% sure how that works So clearly having only a great-grandma born there doesn't count and the dude is ineligible so they have to figure out what to do about that. Then, later today a Russian rugby website reports that Romania has possibly been using an ineligible player Sione Fakaosilea for the past couple years now. This is a guy from Tonga originally who qualified for Romania on residency. Except the problem is that he played 7s for Tonga and that cap-tied him to Tonga*. So now it looks like unless there is some special extenuating circumstance, Romania could either be forfeiting a ton of games or could be disqualified entirely. And just to make it more complicated, because of the teams Fakaosilea did and did not play against, whether those matches are forfeited or all of Romania's matches are forfeited is crucial. If it's the former, Russia, who would have been eliminated entirely before, would now be in the RWC and Spain would be in the same spot they were after losing a week ago. If it's the latter Spain will get the spot in the RWC and Russia will still be alive. Either way, this whole thing is a total clusterfuck that reflects extremely poorly on both Rugby Europe and World Rugby. *Due to the Olympics, where apparently you have to be allowed to play for a country you have a passport for, there is a 7s loophole where you can change countries once (changing changes you for both 7s and 15s) and if you change countries you have to play in a 7s Olympic qualifier for that country to complete the switch. Fakaosilea did not do that.
You guys watch any MLR this weekend? Went down to Glendale yesterday and it was fucking cold. Finishing the match with 12 men and getting points during that time was pretty wild. Glendale got an OK turnout considering the weather but they need to do better. Seattle looked like a much more professional gameday experience and is exactly what this league needs to be.
Seattle’s setup looked amazing. Overall, decent start. I hope Austinans NOLA’s stadiums are finished quickly.
So while MLR is pushing rugby forward in this country, USA Rugby is back there trying to hold it back. Re-bracketing the college playoffs on the fly to get a Cal-Life final is a total joke.
Holy shit...Donnacha Ryan played 69 minutes with a broken collarbone in the Champions Cup final: http://rugbylad.ie/full-extent-donnacha-ryan-injury-proves-hes-absolute-warrior/
18 year old prop David Ainu'u called up to the Eagles squad for June. He's basically Titi Lamositele 2.0. Stoked for him and for the Eagles as we desperately need good props.
I guess that means he’s progressing nicely in France. I was hoping titi would get a rest, but it would also be nice for us to have our actual best xv play together.