RugbyRebels

I don't recommend watching that after a 12 hour shift. Wasn't worth the effort of avoiding social media and news reports.

OptimisticJock wrote:I don't recommend watching that after a 12 hour shift. Wasn't worth the effort of avoiding social media and news reports.

Jesus... Yeah.

Here, been meaning to ask... Do you get to go home in your ambulance?

"I'm going home in a fucking ambulance."?

Edinburgh in Exile wrote:Ah sorry lads, didn't mean to thread-jack. It is what it is.

Back on subject, we were baws the day, but fuck it, we won whilst being baws...thats something right?

On VC, Im still convinced he is the best coach we have had for ages. The players too but while they have the potential for great games, they are not world beaters and they are not yet consistent enough. I agree the defence looks passive and too easy to keep the ball against but it was very good on the line today.

On a separate point. In world rankings terms, do you not get extra points for winning by more than 7? If so, should they not have kicked the final penalty?

Can't take anything from these 2 games I'm afraid, especially the 2nd test.

We scored more points than the opposition but can't bring myself to call it a win - a"not lost" is the best I can do.
Being in your own half for the majority of the 2nd half, clearing to half way and getting a scrum penalty from an indulgent ref so someone can kick it over from 50 meters is not trying to win at rugby for me.

We'd call England or whoever out for milking scrum penalties to win games, we should be honest enough to do the same for us when it is clear it became the only though in their heads. Witness Laidlaw visibly disgusted when the ref called use it when he was clearly interested only in the penalty.

If we promise to play more rugby will the mockers gods please smile on us with the fitness of Russell, Dunbar and Bennett for a couple of years....please?

Edinburgh in Exile wrote:

OptimisticJock wrote:I don't recommend watching that after a 12 hour shift. Wasn't worth the effort of avoiding social media and news reports.

Jesus... Yeah.

Here, been meaning to ask... Do you get to go home in your ambulance?

"I'm going home in a fucking ambulance."?

In some rural places I think they actually do.

af73 wrote:
We'd call England or whoever out for milking scrum penalties to win games, we should be honest enough to do the same for us when it is clear it became the only though in their heads. Witness Laidlaw visibly disgusted when the ref called use it when he was clearly interested only in the penalty.

I wouldn't. It might be boring as fvck to watch but they're paid to win. It was a professional finish if nothing else. They knew they could count on Japanese indiscipline and sought to disrupt them to gain the penas'. It worked.

af73 wrote:. Witness Laidlaw visibly disgusted when the ref called use it when he was clearly interested only in the penalty.

That was pathetic indeed. He can be such a great player when he plays with speed but I hate this aspect of his game. At rucktime he screams at the slightest infringement or player rolling away in the hope of getting a penalty. Often missing overlaps that we could have taken advantage of.

It's just grim to watch.

Yup. I said it already but what's so weird is how he seemed to speed things up and move the ball just because he felt like it. Then we happened to win a penalty and it's as if that was all it was for, we just went back to plan A. Am I wrong in thinking Pyrgos was playing to similar instructions?

That was miserable to watch. There is some consolation in that not that long ago we would have been equally shoite but lost both games. Grinding out ugly hard-fought wins has hardly been a Scottish speciality of late.

I wish we could use our undoubted scrum power to better effect rather than trying to milk penalties. OK, do that from time to time but it surely must be possible to hook the ball and provide really fast ball for the number 8 to carry or the scum half to use. Just look at the way the All Blacks do it, and, unlike so much of All Black play, it doesn't require a huge and instinctive skills set.

Cameo wrote:

Edinburgh in Exile wrote:Ah sorry lads, didn't mean to thread-jack. It is what it is.

Back on subject, we were baws the day, but fuck it, we won whilst being baws...thats something right?

On VC, Im still convinced he is the best coach we have had for ages. The players too but while they have the potential for great games, they are not world beaters and they are not yet consistent enough. I agree the defence looks passive and too easy to keep the ball against but it was very good on the line today.

On a separate point. In world rankings terms, do you not get extra points for winning by more than 7? If so, should they not have kicked the final penalty?

It's more than 15 points margin for the rankings bonus.

Kudos to you guys for seeing the game as it was and the series in context, but you got the ranking points even if it wasn't the most sparkling performance.

It is indicative of how the game went when John Hardie made 12 tackles alone and he was a replacement. At least he didn't miss any.

Big D wrote:It is indicative of how the game went when John Hardie made 12 tackles alone and he was a replacement. At least he didn't miss any.

In this months RW Hardie actually acknowledges he needs to 'tweak' the way he tackles and hits rucks. He also wants to improve his attacking.

Eugene Wrayburn wrote:

Cameo wrote:

Edinburgh in Exile wrote:Ah sorry lads, didn't mean to thread-jack. It is what it is.

Back on subject, we were baws the day, but fuck it, we won whilst being baws...thats something right?

On VC, Im still convinced he is the best coach we have had for ages. The players too but while they have the potential for great games, they are not world beaters and they are not yet consistent enough. I agree the defence looks passive and too easy to keep the ball against but it was very good on the line today.

On a separate point. In world rankings terms, do you not get extra points for winning by more than 7? If so, should they not have kicked the final penalty?

It's more than 15 points margin for the rankings bonus.

Kudos to you guys for seeing the game as it was and the series in context, but you got the ranking points even if it wasn't the most sparkling performance.

Thanks, that seems quite a lot. Not great performance but not a disaster and lots of those players need a good rest before next season