Alreet rugger fans.

Its been a while since this threads been posted in, lets get it back up and running.
Seasons finished obviously now, we're startin pre-season training at my club on the 1st of july - should be mostly fitness (sigh). This will be my first season of senior rugby, i can't wait.

The tests are pretty good just now, the wales - south africa game was superb. Shane Williams' try was absloute genius.

Meanwhile the All Blacks have made a mess of both England and South Africa. Oh yeah.

At 7/10/08 02:41 AM, Rosenrot-I wrote: Meanwhile the All Blacks have made a mess of both England and South Africa. Oh yeah.

As usual, it was good to see england get beat. But southafrica did come back the other day to beat your lot. What a game. Enrico Januarie's try was superb.

At 7/15/08 06:37 AM, KingRugger wrote: As usual, it was good to see england get beat. But southafrica did come back the other day to beat your lot. What a game. Enrico Januarie's try was superb.

Yeah, ended up being 1-1, such a fucking good game though. As much as we all hated his try we could not deny it was fucking skillful.

Also lost to the Aussies, if only the NZRU weren't idiots and hired Deans before they got to him. Now they see the result.

At 7/27/08 02:22 AM, Rosenrot-I wrote: Also lost to the Aussies, if only the NZRU weren't idiots and hired Deans before they got to him. Now they see the result.

Although the very latest result was anything but disappointing.

Australia vs England is about to kick off.

I don't know much about the England side at the moment but Australia has been impressive in patches over the trinations.

Hopefully we can get a win in a close and exciting game.

AHHH! This is a great exciting game of rugby being ruined by horrible television coverage from channel 10 Australia.

Ads at every penalty, scrum, line out, etc. etc.

It is fucking insane.

Worst sporting coverage ever, thanks channel 10.
You useless bunch of cunts.

Leave the rugby coverage to foxtel, PLEASE.

The deplorable state of affairs of the Autumn Tests aside, we now have a really good looking Six Nations series in full swing. England's victory against Italy looked horrible, but they made amends against Wales, despite losing in Cardiff.

Yesterday, the first Friday Night Rugby match took place, with Wales just coming up short to the French, meaning that France, Wales and Ireland are top of the table with 2 wins each (Ireland have a game in hand against England at Croake park today.

It's looking like a nice open championship this year, I'm getting ready to shout myself hoarse at the TV for that one.

Currently, it's Scotland 6-3 Italy and it looks like a nice open game, though both of these teams don't deserve to be fighting it out for the bottom team this season, but unfortunately, they have been outplayed by the other four teams (even England :P)

Autumn internationals have now finished (for England, at least) and for the three matches that England played, it was really a tale of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The loss against Australia was bad, the win over the Pumas was ugly to watch - kicking against the Argentinians wasn't a good idea - if we'd have run against them, our scoreline would have reflected the score that Wales put up over the weekend against them.

The Loss to the All Blacks can be described as good, because we only really lost that in the fourth quarter of the match. We played with spirit and fire, getting the crowd involved at regular intervals and we had the All Blacks all but neutralised for the first half. Arguably our best 40 minutes of Rugby since the World Cup Semi Final.

Two crucial try-saving tackles that kept us nicely in the game and at the end of the day, we can hold our heads up high and realistically set a target of some good play coming out of the six nations in February.

A bit late in commenting, but, speaking about the autumn tests - I feel Scotland's proved promising. I was watching the australia game and at the time didnt feel the ominous defeat coming. Something most unusual. But what a game. Our defense yet again saving us embarrasment.

But not long till the 6 nations now chaps - any thoughts? I'm going to be very pompus and bold - Scotland will finish top 3!! We can but dream...

Okay, the English season is well underway now and I managed to get some tickets to go and see the Worcester Warriors battle the Doncaster Knights in the RFU Championship. Basically, if we win the league, we're back in the premiership.

Good to see some early expansive play from Worcester, with Miles Benjamin running in a try from 30 yards towards our corner, as the Warriors asserted dominance in the first 20 minutes, leaping out to a 17-0 lead, Neil Best adding a second first half try in the early going.

Doncaster showed spirit and one can understand why Worcester are being made to work hard for the title this year and at half time, it was a more even 17-7. Cochrane with the try and Roberts adding the conversion.

Former England International Andy Goode was not at his best with the boot, missing 2 conversions and 2 penalties, as Doncaster were allowed back into things a little, but try scoring and some good work at the back from Dale Rasmussen kept the visitors at bay.

After Half time, it was all Doncaster. Boyd broke through and pulled Doncaster closer, while the boot of Goode and Roberts traded penalties and Jake Abbott broke away up the middle to score Worcester's bonus point try. Disaster struck with about 3 minutes to go, as Williams evaded tackles and Worcester found themselves behind 27-28, with 2 minutes to go. With a lot of work required to maintain perfection, Worcester burst forward towards the Knight's line and earned a deserved penalty, as the refereeing had left a lot to be desired. The linesman was completely oblivious to Doncaster forward passes and one move that allowed them to score the try should have been brought back for obvious infringements.

Underneath the posts, Goode stepped back, as a hush fell across the ground. He stepped forward and deposited the ball into the back of the stand, where some lucky fan probably had themselves a souvenir for the park. Worcester left the day winners, but not by the margin that the early going had forecasted.

Still, it was a damned fine day out. Here's the view from the Slick Systems Stand, looking out across Sixways.

Six months later and Worcester kick off their promotion chase in earnest. A mass brawl sees three players (2 Worcester; 1 Bristol) yellow carded and the Bristonian number eight sent off for holding down Worcester Fly Half Andy Goode and punching the living snot out of him.

A few minutes left to play and it's Bristol 15 - 37 Worcester. Wow, I'm glad I had a chance to listen to it, though it's a shame I wasn't there.

Newcastle Falcons - Worcester Warriors in about half an hour. I've got ESPN on and I've got the booze in. Time for some action and I hope that the Warriors can come away with 5 points, because this is already shaping up like a relegation battle.

Okay, so I've not been able to make it to Sixways this season so far, due to cash flow issues and various family issues. But that doesn't stop me getting in a few cans and watching it on ESPN with my dad.

Worcester Warriors hosted Bath Rugby this evening and Lewis Moody led his team into a hostile reception the only way he knows - face first. He came off after about 55 minutes, blood pouring from various wounds, after running face first into Marcel Garvey's shoulder and losing consciousness momentarily. He also appeared to have picked up a knock on his shoulder, but that's how he plays.

As usual, the Warriors did their level best to throw the game away, leading 13-0, with 10 minutes to play, they allowed Bath to bundle over a try, due to some abysmal kicking decisions from Joe Carlisle and Andy Goode.

Still, a win is a win and those four points can prove vital, come the end of the year. We're 9 points up on Newcastle, who have a game in hand and now Leicester Tigers are second bottom. I'm not sure that will stay the same for long, mind you.

So, Worcester managed to scrape a tough-fought win against the champions, Saracens yesterday. We played with some real grit and determination, proving to most observers that we really belong in the Premiership. Yes, the defence is one of the most solid ones in the league, but that does not do anything if we can't score.

Andy Goode stepped up to kick well and on top of that, we managed to score a well worked try, for Alex Grove. Worcester are making steps in the right direction, with the addition of new personnel for next season, we're here to stay.

6 games remaining in the season and Worcester are 14 points clear of bottom club Newcastle Falcons, though they have a game in hand against Leicester Tigers today. That should only go the way of the Tigers, though I've seen reversals this year...

Beaten by the Welsh, how humiliating.

At 15 hours ago, NEVR wrote: Beaten by the Welsh, how humiliating.

I think that we can hold our heads high - we may have been beaten by the Welsh, but the score is a lot closer than it should have been. We could have won it as well, if it weren't for that plank of a Kiwi ref, who missed a knock on (led to a Welsh Penalty); adjudged Matt Stevens to be off his feet at the ruck (Welsh Penalty) and failed to give the try for Dave Strettle. Had we not had the try, we should have gone back for the penalty.

I was indignant over it, but I've had fun today, poking fun at the Welsh, for having to rely on a Kiwi to beat the English.

Wow, a close game in the Premiership last night. Newcastle Falcons show a bit of fight, forcing the top of the tabloe Harlequins to slot a dying minutes penalty, to claim a 9-9 tie. Newcastle's Jimmy Goperth seems to be doing his level best to keep the Falcons in the Prem. Newcastle are 4 points adrift of 11th placed Wasps and, more importantly, 12 points adrift of returning Premiership side, Worcester Warriors.

Both Wasps and Warriors have a game in hand over Newcastle now and today's results could put more of a final shape on the lower half of the table, with Bath Rugby (9) entertaining the Warriors (10) in the matinee fixture and Wasps (11) playing host to London Irish (8), the parenthesis showing their positions in the table.

Still, we're looking for a good end to the season, as there's 5 weeks left after today, so the fortnight off will help Worcester recover a little, in time for the crunch game with Newcastle on the 23rd, when we hopefully confirm our goal of Premiership Rugby for another season at Sixways :D

At 6 hours ago, Coop wrote:

Both Wasps and Warriors have a game in hand over Newcastle now and today's results could put more of a final shape on the lower half of the table, with Bath Rugby (9) entertaining the Warriors (10) in the matinee fixture and Wasps (11) playing host to London Irish (8), the parenthesis showing their positions in the table.

Well at least Bath can still beat a few sides in the League... a very disappointing season to bo honest, given our relative financial advantage and obvious history, but at least we are well out of the relegation dogfight. Newcastle have looked sunk all season for me.

great first season for teh Warriors in a tough league to stay up in.

At 1 day ago, Sentio wrote:

At 6 hours ago, Coop wrote: Both Wasps and Warriors have a game in hand over Newcastle now and today's results could put more of a final shape on the lower half of the table, with Bath Rugby (9) entertaining the Warriors (10) in the matinee fixture and Wasps (11) playing host to London Irish (8), the parenthesis showing their positions in the table.

Well at least Bath can still beat a few sides in the League... a very disappointing season to bo honest, given our relative financial advantage and obvious history, but at least we are well out of the relegation dogfight. Newcastle have looked sunk all season for me.

Yeah, but until they are, I'm not popping any champagne corks :P

great first season for teh Warriors in a tough league to stay up in.

First season? Pfft, we're back to stay. This is our 7th top flight season and we'd like to build on this in our 8th, so that we can push to be better than ever. 8th is our best finish, so we can start there...

At 4 days ago, Coop wrote:

First season? Pfft, we're back to stay. This is our 7th top flight season and we'd like to build on this in our 8th, so that we can push to be better than ever. 8th is our best finish, so we can start there...

You know what I mean! There is such a gulf between the top flight and the first division, even though Worcester have been an established top flight side in the past, coming back up is still a big jump and one that they have handled really well this season.

As the popularity and standard of domestic rugby continues to improve since professionalism came in, I wouldn't be surprised to see the top flight expanded to 14 (or more) teams to take in a few more of the established sides that are being dumped into the poor first division. It is so competetive now at the top that it is only a matter of time before a real big boy finds themselves down there for a season. Perhaps at the expense of the LV Cup.

At 13 days ago, NEVR wrote: Beaten by the Welsh, how humiliating.

Cymru am byth!

sorry, had to do it!

At 1 day ago, Sentio wrote:

At 4 days ago, Coop wrote: First season? Pfft, we're back to stay. This is our 7th top flight season and we'd like to build on this in our 8th, so that we can push to be better than ever. 8th is our best finish, so we can start there...

You know what I mean! There is such a gulf between the top flight and the first division, even though Worcester have been an established top flight side in the past, coming back up is still a big jump and one that they have handled really well this season.

I think we're building to something better as well, with the additions of players such as Nikki Walker (Scotland Centre) and David Lemi (Samoa Wing) will help. That, coupled with the development of players like Matt Mullan and Oliver Tomaszczyk (props); Matt Kvesic (flanker); Blair Cowan (number 8); Ravai Fatiaki (centre) and Josh Drauniniu (wing) will really help our prospects for 2012 / 13

As the popularity and standard of domestic rugby continues to improve since professionalism came in, I wouldn't be surprised to see the top flight expanded to 14 (or more) teams to take in a few more of the established sides that are being dumped into the poor first division.

Some owners are saying that we should expand the Premiership to 14 teams (add Leeds and Cornish Pirates) and abandon promotion / relegation for three years, to develop what we have and improve the grass roots of English Rugby. If you're going to do that, why not make it like American sports and set up a full minor league system, where teams affiliate with one another and drafts take place, to maintain balance? Of course, teams like Leicester will do better, because of their resources, but it would be easier to implement in RFU than in football.

At 6 hours ago, Adam-Beilgard wrote:

At 13 days ago, NEVR wrote: Beaten by the Welsh, how humiliating.

Cymru am byth!

Wales is part of England ;) Edward Longshanks saw to that in the early 14th century.

Admit it, the referee gave you the game against us. You should have demolished us and you only won because of him.

At 6 hours ago, Coop wrote:

Cymru am byth!

Wales is part of Great Britain ;) Edward Longshanks saw to that in the early 14th century.

Admit it, the referee gave you the game against us. You should have demolished us and you only won because of him.

Fix'd

Also, if you play well enough, the ref will never decide the game.

At 16 hours ago, Adam-Beilgard wrote:

At 6 hours ago, Coop wrote:

Cymru am byth!

Wales is part of Great Britain ;) Edward Longshanks saw to that in the early 14th century.

Admit it, the referee gave you the game against us. You should have demolished us and you only won because of him.

Fix'd

You broke it. I know what I'm talking about, because Great Britain didn't come about until James I of England and James VI of Scotland, some 150 years after the Welsh wars and Edward Longshanks installing the first Prince of Wales. Wales is a Principality of England, hence why there is no reference to the Welsh flag on the Union Flag.

Also, if you play well enough, the ref will never decide the game.

It was a game we weren't supposed to win. Not even close. Will you be ready for the French? I'm looking forward to it, but I wouldn't like to see the Welsh win, it's not a Grand Slam that they deserve - for a team of their calibre, they have played poorly in at least two matches (England and Scotland) and got the win, when it could easily have gone the other way.

Right, it was worth a tenner for the weekend's games - 10.8-1 for Scotland to beat Italy, followed by France beating Wales and England beating Ireland. I could be well off by tomorrow, especially if we're champions.

7 hours of Rugby is really going to take it out of me tomorrow. Bring it on!

Played first game of rugby for the year today, was such good fun. I missed it over the offseason.
Heaps keen for this year, looks like we have a pretty strong side.
Lost the grandfinal last year, want to go one better!

Have not been able to watch any rugby since the world cup, working every friday/saturday night sucks balls and I don't have PayTV at the moment. So lame.
Need to take a weekend off and get to a Waratahs game.