Small Town Values Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 On 22/10/2017 at 3:55 AM, devils1854 said: I forgot we had this thread. Ive become a Sunwolves guy. I love watching this team. I need someone to get me back into the premiereship because I havent been interested in it in a couple of years. The Sunwolves can be quite entertaining. The Japanese side have been exciting underdogs who like the throw the ball around since they entered Super Rugby. However, they need to start turning that enterprise into results. Next season the Sunwolves will be in the Australian conference. After Sanzaar decided to reduce the competition back to 15 teams. Once Super Rugby was the pinnacle of all club rugby, now it's a shambles. While the New Zealand conference has admittedly been brilliant, & NZ derbies often produce some of the best quality rugby played in any calendar year. The other Super Rugby conferences have fallen by the wayside, & lagged behind. Weakened by over-expansion, & teams unable to consistently compete with the New Zealand sides, Super Rugby's product has been greatly affected by carrying too many underperforming teams. Hopefully this reduction in teams, & a potential centralising of the Australian system, sees Super Rugby regain its spark. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here's a reason to get back into the Aviva Premiership... It's the best overall domestic club rugby comp in the world. So, if you want to see the most competitive club rugby in on the planet, look no further than the Aviva. Also, the start to this year's competition has been outstanding, some really breathtaking rugby has been played in the opening rounds. The contrasting styles in the Aviva really make it an enjoyable competition to follow. Some sides like to dominate in the tight, while others like to use the wide expanses. Honestly, it's got everything you could ask for. That's coming from someone from the South who used to view rugby in the North as a dull, & often dour affair. In truth, it hasn't been that way for years. I couldn't recommend it more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 2017 - International Rugby - Highlights / 3rd Bledisloe: Australia v New Zealand (Brisbane) ~ Great game for a dead rubber ~ AUS Win (23/18) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 Revisiting the Scott Baldwin injury via lion... Scott Baldwin shows off gruesome hand injury as Ospreys hooker continues his recovery from lion bite: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-5005805/Scott-Baldwin-shows-gruesome-hand-injury.html Quote Wales hooker Scott Baldwin is on the mend after being bitten by a lion but he still boasts the gruesome scars. The 29-year-old was bitten while stroking the beast at a game park in Bloemfontein prior to Ospreys' PRO14 game against the Cheetahs at the end of last month. He has since undergone four operations to fix the massive gash in his hand, and on Sunday he shared then-and-now images of the injury on social media. (Warning Graphic) The lion effortlessly shredded his hand. He's very lucky to still be playing, it could've been so much worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 (edited) 2017/18 - Aviva Premiership - Best Tries, RND 7: (Veainu Try - Voted the best of the round) Edited November 20, 2017 by Marc MacGyver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 (edited) 2017 - International Rugby Union - Test Window / End of Year Tours - Notable Fixtures: * ** *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (All Fixtures - World Rugby - Top 10 Ranked Nations) * ** (Note: Fixtures from an Australian Rugby website. All times listed are AEST. Please, check local guides) ** * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Rank 1 - New Zealand / Fixtures) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Rank 2 - England / Fixtures) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Rank 3 - Australia / Fixtures) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Rank 4 - Ireland / Fixtures) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Rank 5 - South Africa / Fixtures) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Rank 6 - Scotland / Fixtures) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Rank 7 - Wales / Fixtures) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Rank 8 - France / Fixtures) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Rank 9 - Fiji / Fixtures) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Rank 10 - Argentina / Fixtures) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Link / All International Fixtures / Results / Stats / Reports) https://www.rugby.com.au/fixtures-results?competition=3&team=&season=2018&ticketed=false ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Recommended - End of Year Tours - Player to Watch: * ** *** (Asafo Aumua, NZ) The modern front-row forward keeps evolving to become more athletic & skillful. Edited November 4, 2017 by Marc MacGyver 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 2017/18 - Aviva Premiership - Best Tries, RND 8: (Thorley Try - Voted the best of the round) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 2023 RWC - News: 2023 Rugby World Cup: France beat South Africa and Ireland to host competition http://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/41995220 Quote France will host the 2023 Rugby World Cup after beating rival bids from South Africa and Ireland. South Africa had been expected to win the vote after an independent review recommended they stage the tournament. However, at a World Rugby Council meeting in London on Wednesday, France was chosen to hold the 10th event. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personally, I had hoped Ireland's bid would prevail. But, it was not to be. Congratulations to France. I'm sure they'll do an outstanding job hosting the 2023 RWC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 (edited) 2017 World Rugby Awards - News: NZ Rugby boss says Black Ferns world rugby award sign of things to come https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/99264799/live-2017-world-rugby-awards-in-monte-carlo Quote 2017 WORLD RUGBY AWARD WINNERS Men's Player of the Year - Beauden Barrett (NZL) Women's Player of the Year - Portia Woodman (NZL) Team of the Year - Black Ferns (NZL) Coach of the Year - Eddie Jones (ENG) World Rugby Referee Award - Joy Neville (IRE) Try of the Year - Joaquin Tuculet (ARG) Breakthrough Player of the Year - Rieko Ioane (NZL) Men's Sevens Player of the Year - Perry Baker (USA) Women's Sevens Player of the Year - Michaela Blyde (NZL) IRPA Special Merit Award - Richie McCaw (NZL) and Rachael Burford (ENG) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Congratulations to all the winners... ***** Some thoughts & acknowledgements... ~~~ Black Ferns: Well deserved. The first female rugby team to win the "Rugby Union Team of the Year Award" / 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup Winners / Black Ferns Sevens Team - Won the 2016/17 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. Outstanding year all round from the New Zealand Women's Rugby Teams. ~~~ Portia Woodman (15s) / Michaela Blyde (7s): New Zealand's dominance at the awards continued with both Portia & Michaela picking up the top individual honours in both the Women's Fifteens / Sevens. Well done, ladies. ~~~ Rieko Ioane: Special talent with a very bright future. Deserved MPOTY over Barrett imo. Nice to see him acknowledged with the "Breakthrough Award." ~~~ Perry Baker: Perry ran away with this award imo. The American flyer is the most exciting player the Men's Sevens circuit has seen since Fiji's William Ryder. Baker is an absolute pleasure to watch... And, still improving. ~~~ Eddie Jones: This was the right call... The Eddie Jones orchestrated turnaround of English rugby has been nothing short of remarkable. Steve Hansen would also have been a worthy recipient, but there can be only one winner, & it's Jones for me. ~~~ Beauden Barrett: Should probably count himself a little lucky... His level of play in 2017 hasn't consistently reached the heights of 2016. While the positional bias of the "World Rugby Men's Player of the Year Award" isn't as obvious as the "National Football League's MVP Award," there can be no doubt it still exists... And, it was likely a significant factor in Barrett picking up his second (Back to Back) World Rugby MPOTY Award. (Not saying he didn't have a great season, just that others were more consistent) Edited November 27, 2017 by Marc MacGyver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 (edited) EXTRAS: Highlights of some of the 2017 award winners... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Perry Baker) - Men's Sevens Player of the Year - (Rieko Ioane) - Breakthrough Player of the Year - (Beauden Barrett) - Men's Player of the Year - (Portia Woodman) - Women's Player of the Year - Edited December 2, 2017 by Marc MacGyver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 2017/18 - Aviva Premiership - Best Tries, RND 9: (Singleton Try - Voted the best of the round) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 (edited) 2017 - End of Year Tours / Results (Nov 4th - Dec 2nd): http://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/international-match/results ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thoughts: - England, New Zealand, & Ireland go undefeated. Well done! - England v New Zealand needs to happen ASAP. - New Zealand needs to play Ireland again too. - Scotland look impressive heading into the 6 Nations. Strong results against the touring sides. - Wales are attempting to play a new & expansive style of rugby. Their mixed results reflect the difficulties of transitioning to the new style. - Disappointing finish to Australia's season. Ruined the momentum they were building after defeating New Zealand in Brisbane in October. - South Africa simply can't preform away from home. I fear that they may never be a dominant force in rugby again. - France are in the same boat, except they struggle at home too. - Japan continue to show promising signs. - Inconsistent performances on tour from Fiji. Poor against Italy, but brilliant when they faced Ireland. - Until Argentina build depth they will continue to struggle. 60 minute performances just aren't good enough. Edited December 3, 2017 by Marc MacGyver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 2017/18 - Aviva Premiership - Best Tries, RND 10: (Polledri Try - Voted the best of the round) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 2017/18 - Champions Cup / Challenge Cup - Results - Rnd 3/4: ***** Champions Cup - Rnd 3/4: (RND 3) (RND 4) Challenge Cup - Rnd 3/4: (RND 3) (RND 4) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Links - (Scores / Match Reports / Stats / Table / Video Highlights): ~ Champions Cup ~ http://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/fixtures_champions_cup.php?includeref=21924&nocache=1&season=2017-2018&round=3 ~ Challenge Cup ~ http://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/fixtures_european_rugby_challenge_cup.php?includeref=22185&season=2017-2018&round=3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 (edited) 2017/18 - Aviva Premiership - Best Tries, RND 11: (Chudley Try - Voted the best of the round) Edited January 3, 2018 by Marc MacGyver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 (edited) News: Australia rugby star Karmichael Hunt faces drugs charge http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-42520794 Quote Australian rugby union star Karmichael Hunt has been charged with possessing drugs after police arrested him in Brisbane, reports say. The Wallabies player was detained on Saturday, along with another man, after being found with a white powder, broadcaster ABC reported. Rugby Australia said it had launched an investigation into the incident. In 2015, Hunt received a six-week suspension and a A$30,000 ($23,400; £17,300) fine for cocaine possession. ABC said Hunt, 31, had been granted bail and was due to appear at Brisbane Magistrates Court on 29 January. In a statement, Rugby Australia (RA) said it had been "made aware of an incident involving Wallabies and Queensland Reds back Karmichael Hunt in Brisbane". ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Thoughts) Stupid stuff. He just undid all the hard work he put in rebuilding his reputation, & getting his career back on track. His international career was just about to take off, & he was tipped to have an extended tenure representing the Australian national team. Clearly he has a serious problem, & unfortunately this will likely bring a premature end to his international career. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (UPDATE) Hunt fined but free to play for Reds: https://www.rugby.com.au/news/2018/03/19/karmichael-hunt-rugby-australia-hearing-results Quote Having pleaded guilty to two charges in Brisbane Magistrates Court last month, Rugby AU deemed Hunt's arrest a low-level breach of the code of conduct. The resulting punishment leaves Hunt $10,000 out of pocket but since he voluntarily stood down from Super Rugby to start the season and the Reds have since played four games, Rugby AU deemed that the suspension has already been served. That means the 31-year-old is immediately available for selection, though whether he is now part of Reds coach Brad Thorn's plans remains to be seen. Edited March 26, 2018 by Marc MacGyver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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