Rugby videos of tackles, tries, funny incidents and more: Wales fail to capitalise on chances as All Blacks triumph

Monday, November 09, 2009

Wales fail to capitalise on chances as All Blacks triumph

The All Blacks got their tour of the UK & Europe under way on a positive note after they beat Wales 19-12 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

They now hold a 21 match unbeaten streak over the Welsh, who at times came close, but couldn’t quite break the hoodoo that the New Zealand side has over them.

On a sour note, Dan Carter, who put in one of his better performances of the season, has been cited following a tackle he made in the final ten minutes of the match.

He kicked four penalties and converted the lone try by Andrew Hore, but felled Martin Roberts with a head-high tackle that went unpunished on the field.

The home crowd booed Carter whenever he got the ball after that.

"Carter played sublimely, but it was perhaps a new experience for him to be jeered," said former Welsh captain Eddie Butler.

Roberts, who had come on as a replacement, said that Carter apologised to him afterwards.

"Looking at the replay it did look quite high. He did apologise to me. He said 'sorry for the tackle' after the game," Roberts said.

"Things like that happen in games, and you just have to take it on the chin. It looked bad, but I was fine."

Captain Ryan Jones admitted that their errors had given the All Blacks chances to score.

"The All Blacks capitalised on our mistakes and you can't afford to give the All Blacks and Dan Carter an easy ride," he said.

Stephen Jones kicked four penalties for Wales in what was a fairly dull encounter, in contrast with all the excitement and intensity surrounding last year’s fixture.

New Zealand have since moved on to Milan, where they will face Italy next weekend.

Time: 05:29

Another first post, who would have guessed it!
Well done Wales, close but no cigar!
Big P

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2009 11:38 pm
Gotta say NZ were lucky there, cos wales so nearly ruined their night. From the highlights it looked like the all blacks definately deserved the win, but just saying looked close!

you know how in cricket they show the path the ball would have taken, to see lbw etc. It would be interesting to see whether Alan Wyn Jones would have made it to the corner....

would be cool if they could make something that did that, so take Jones fitness and speed, and doodars speed and see whether doodar would have caught him before the corner.....

Great vid thanks RD

By Vic, at November 10, 2009 12:05 am
IRB World Rankings09 November 2009
1(1) RSA
2(2) NZL
3(3) AUS
4(4) IRE
5(5) FRA
6(6) ARG
7(8) WAL
8(7) ENG
9(9) FJI
10(10) SCO

Check out them top 3 bros thats a sign of dominance aye

By Bro from downunda, at November 10, 2009 12:22 am
I'm getting kinda sick of the all blacks cockiness.. Alright your a good side. but loose carter where's all your points coming from... donald maybe not proven though.
and shame the highlights doesnt show our prop catching your winger. yeah gethin jenkins be his name. best prop in the world!!

whilst we lost to a good all black team.. we learned a few things, you are not invincible.. your a bunch of definately maybe's, oasis song if you want all the lyrics.

And we aint far away and should of beat you if we took our chances..

By Abs7, at November 10, 2009 12:38 am
Ain't just population. Ireland, Scotland and Wales all have real small populations. But so do New Zealand.Player population. I know from Rugby Worldin the SH; SA have the most, then NZ, then Austrailia. And from living there; Ireland's is very small. Gaelic Football, Hurling. Where it's at!

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2009 12:55 am
vast majority of south africans don't care for rugby. soccer is the number one sport over there. the dwindling boer population, capes and the few english speakers love their rugby, but there are only a about 3 or 4 million of them.

only watched the highlights. don't care for either team, but i will admit that stadium is on of my favorites. all internationals have this epic feel when played at the millennium. fight the dragon me lord.

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2009 1:16 am
Gatland sounded pretty weak when he was talking about how the ref missed the high tackle. Really pathetic. Maybe he's right, maybe he's wrong about how it would have been a yellow and 3 points had it happened on the other end, but I'm sure that's not why you lost. Man up.

To Carter's tackle - sure he got him around the neck area, but was the Wales runner falling down? It looked like their feet got tangled a split second before contact. Had that not happened, maybe Carter only gets him around the shoulder.

If Fiji beats Ireland, that settles the NH v SH debate, if you're still wondering. Fiji's a second-tier SH team and didn't Ireland just win the 4N?

There's no question that the SH (SA, NZ and AUS) are better than the NH (ENG, IRE, WAL). How can you argue otherwise?

By www.realrugby.com, at November 10, 2009 1:17 am
Carter should take 3 weeks off for that reckless play. If he was South African, he'd get 7 weeks.

By McBull, at November 10, 2009 1:24 am
Maybe it's just a sign of Rugby Dump's popularity that given enough visitors to the site, there's got to be a few assholes - and those assholes tend to be the ones who comment and start a shitty argument no one really cares about. So cheers to RD for being so popular, but the comment system really does suck (ironic, then, that I bother commenting?). It'd be nice to be able to talk about the game - good points and bad by either side - but instead, you get shit-for-brains like "Bro from downunda" with nothing intelligent to say.

Here's to another comment thread hijacked by imbeciles.

By Iya, at November 10, 2009 1:26 am
Out of the 18 games played against the Springboks, Ireland have only managed 3 wins (counting the farce of Paul "talk to your players" Honnis)

I don't need to mention Ireland's record against the All Blacks, or the amount of World Cups the Springboks have won, do I?

By Ubi, at November 10, 2009 1:35 am
Man, this SH / NH shit is lame ! maybe RD could delete comments that don't relate to the video/article

nice game Wales - your tight forwards & Hook had a good run - go ABs !

this series is gonna be a classic

By boomshanka, at November 10, 2009 1:58 am
Wales sometimes makes the mistake of not getting the ball to Shane Williams enough. I know, he's not a miracle boy, and he had a pretty bad Lions tour, but the few times he touched the ball tonight, he created opportunities. There were a couple of times where had it've been Williams with the ball, a try probably would've happened. But it didn't, and NZ won the night fair and square. They looked good (as usual); no two ways about it. Man...there aren't many sides in the world who can compete with NZ rucking ability, just like not many sides can compete with SA lineouts. It's just what they do, and they do it well.

...I will say, that tackle on Roberts looked like a train wreck in real-time. He was absolutely blind-sided by Carter. It didn't actually LOOK illegal in real-time, either...but yeah, in review, it was definitely high (dunno if it really requires a suspension, but that's what happens when you're a famous player playing an international match - you get made an example of).

Poor James Hook, eh? Clearly, he's talented...there just seems to be no place for him on the pitch with Jones at 10, but it's a waste to put him on the bench...I just found out even Stephen Jones himself was stuck at full-back a few years ago. Maybe it's just the Welsh way. "Oh, you're a five-eighths? How about you play full-back...instead of throwing the ball, you can try kicking!"

By hop on pop, at November 10, 2009 2:20 am
Ehhh, sorry. I meant "Saturday night" not "tonight" (I'm just now watching the match).

By hop on pop, at November 10, 2009 2:22 am
Ignore and just don't communicate with trolls. Stop reading them and read the other ones. It's that simple. Only communicate with apt posters. Yes, apt.

How about leaving the generic NH vs SH debate (part 7 billion) til...after the autumn internationals are over? When a more informed version of it could actually happen?

Re the match itself: I thought it was incredibly boring. Teams won't risk having the ball in their own half anymore. That's a travesty, and this match was one of the worst/best examples of this I've seen.

Watchin it again on line y'day (Irish TV site, don't think its available outside of Ireland) I fw'd to a point I hoped would be more interesting. The commentator said that it had been a kickathon up to that point. There were 7 kicks in a row immediately after that statement.

Neither side wanted the ball.

By mise, at November 10, 2009 2:38 am
Bro from down under... You correctly point out Alun Wyn Jones got outpaced by your backs.. I mean, he's a lock. You'd expect that.
But Gethin Jenkins, a prop - meant to be one of the slowest blokes on the field, not only caught up to Zac Guildford but put in a fantastic tackle to boot. What's your explanation for that? I'm pretty sure that's a far more commendable effort than a forward being outpaced by a back.

Quit with the arrogance. It's pathetic.

By .......Luke, at November 10, 2009 2:43 am
Seriously, Bro from downunda, Im a huge AB (and wales, btw, after my own country) supporter, but I jsut cant stand the likes of you, so heres a little history lesson for you.

You may think your the king of the world, but hum, wasnt it this year you were smoked by the french? I seem to recall a certain french flyhalf getting through, hum, how many? 6 or so OH SO MIGHTY ABS to score a try, going solo. I also remember a certain french winger out freakin pacing you, just going around you and scoring one of the "non threatenning a tackle" tries of his life.

How many games did you win in the tri nations? And I dont mean training matches against a more than crappier wallaby team (no offense, its true, aussies, you need to get back to your former class), I mean a real test? Werent you smoked by SA time after time after time... after time?

Seriously, I hope the other ABs in here dont get upset with me, I love the abs, my favourite players ever include flying joe, toeava, umaga, mcaw... but Im trying to shut this guys trap up.

Ill finish with this happy thought, bro from downunda, if your so friggin god-like, how come even my country scores tries against you? Also, you want to know whats my country? Drum roll... ... ... TA DAAAA, all mighty Portugal, who actually scored a try against you

PS - Love NZed and Wales, allways have

Viva os Lobos

By Xavier, at November 10, 2009 3:04 am
Xavier the french team that beat the abs was due to us missing 9 playas and they are our bogey side we actually have better playas than them but the refs are told who to win against abs vs france.
believe it or not i have large amounts of respect for france - they are a nh team that can actually beat nz on their day but they arent from the UK their from eastern europe

but yeah we lost to the boks 3-0 fairly no excuses here but they r from the SH bro not the SH

and when portugal scored a try against the ABs its because we let yous mate, trust me if we went hard out for 80 mins from every kick off we would not let you out of your 22 they even said we are going to go easy on portugal

By Bro from downunda, at November 10, 2009 3:12 am
1:07 Good tackle from Shane Williams!

From a Welsh Fan,

Saw more positives than negatives from the match as far as Wales are concerned. With a proper tighthead and a seasoned full back and with Shanklin and Roberts playing properly, we would have beaten the AB.
We could also try playing for the full 80mins instead of having a siesta between 50-70mins. Would also have liked Tom James to have had a crack off the bench in the last 10 minutes.

One thing is for sure, Carter should have been dealt with on the pitch and not cited.
And also the woman interviewing the players for the BBC should choose her questions better the next time as she came across as a twat.

The AB were the better team, and deserved the win. but we will beat you next time and in the world cup..

QUOTE
Bro from downunda "they are a nh team that can actually beat nz on their day but they arent from the UK their from eastern europe"

Fair enough your from NZ (other side of the world) but to call France an Eastern European team is just idiotic, I thought only the USA were bad at Geography.

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2009 3:25 am
'Bro', what do you mean by this:

"If you dont have the talent to finish off an intercept and you no you dont then my advice as a coach would b to not go for it its a risky move to pull off and i think win johns knew that he had failed when zac caught him from being 50 meters away."

Because it sounds like you think the 60/70m that AWJ made was a mistake... In that case, you sound like a total choad that has never been anywhere near a rugby pitch, and definitely isn't anywhere near qualified to comment on a player like AWJ. Although, to be fair, most of what you say makes you sound like that.

Yeah, the SH won at the weekend, but that doesn't mean you have to be complete cocks about it - ever heard of being magnanimous in victory? Actually, that's a stupid question; judging by most of your comments, any word longer than two syllables would be a stretch for you.

Go back to school big guy, and listen to the grown-ups.

By HM, at November 10, 2009 4:22 am
Agreed, HM. Cheers for that.

By Costanza, at November 10, 2009 4:56 am
Unfortunately every team has its share of idiots like you supporting them, but as a lifelong fan of the ABs I say to Brainless from downunda – you are an embarrassment to your country and your team, pull your head in.

By TK, at November 10, 2009 5:01 am
I cant believe someone talked about population being a factor in how good a nation is in Rugby

`SA population: 49,000,000
Ireland population: 6,000,000`

well if thats the case then why is NZ that good?
why are the pacific islands good?
that comment is just a load of S**T.
get your facts straight before you right something! what a waste of space on the website!

By japanmannz, at November 10, 2009 6:10 am
By the way, does anyone else think that the BBC interviewer came across as a massively sore loser (not that there's any love lost between the English and Welsh)?
I mean, the tackle wasn't so bad, and she barely talked about anything else - DC had just won MOTM and had a stormer, why not let him have that?

By HM, at November 10, 2009 6:33 am
Listen, I sincerely wanted Wales to win...it's just the nature of wanting the underdog to prove the odds wrong. However, I think we saw a prime example of what makes a great team great. The same thing happened in the 4th Bledisloe match, where OZ were really not that bad (in all honesty, being last in the 3N is not a fair indication of how good they are...maybe once Arg. joins, there'll be a bit more separation between the wheat and the chaff), but NZ were able to capitalize on every opportunity. Wales did not get that out-played here...they were just unable to make the pivotal points once they were in the other side's half.

I was actually impressed that Wales stayed in it. But Dan Carter led the way in making sure that every penalty was punished with points and the NZ pack made sure that any weakness in a Welsh ruck was exploited and the ball was turned over. On another day, Wales may very well have won. But on that day, New Zealand were simply the better team.

By fivel, at November 10, 2009 6:56 am
Wales dropped the ball big time. I mean, the Boks beat NZ three times this year, France once... they're very beatable.

BTW, when what's wrong with English rugby? Why can't he become a dominant force again? South Africa #1... New Zealand #2... all the time gets boring. In order to remain exciting, things need to be mixed up. England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Argentina, Italy, all these nations need to step up and make rugby more interesting. World Cup is just around the corner and you don't want it to be a two horse race.

By Coolio, at November 10, 2009 7:06 am
JUST because south africa beat New Zealand 3 times in a row this year, doesn't mean other teams can. It means South Africa are a step above.

By Welshy, at November 10, 2009 7:21 am
generally the only way NH can defeet a SH team is if the elements (weather) is very bad which levels the playin field/skill levelz, if its a young team sent ova to establish some new stars or by ref decision which is pretty much his opinion to award those penalties

otherwise 98% of the time its youse guys getting whipped lol

By Bro from downunda, at November 10, 2009 7:29 am
Dnt listen to the other idiot Nz'ers on here, Where not all arseholes.

Game was pretty poor though, too much kicking these days, the welsh always have the best crowds.

Goodluck wales with your upcoming games.

By South Auckland, at November 10, 2009 7:40 am
If you're into voodoos, this game proves that Wales are cursed when it comes to playing the ABs

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2009 9:01 am
I was watching the game and yeah, it was not the most interesting one, but it was alright for me.
Referring Carter's tackle. Like one guy above mentioned, in real time it didn't look illegal but absolutely massive. Of course it was high and a penalty and maybe a yelloy card would have been alright. The citing again is pretty weak I think. For example Giteau didn't get a suspension for his shocker against the boks.
Furthermore, one of the commentators (was it even Justin Marshall? ^^ ) said, the lack of self belief, that A-W Jones didn't even attempt to get to the corner was a fundamental thing, that is hanging over the heads of Wales Ruby. Do you agree to that point or rather not?
Last thought, I think Guildford had a good debut. Didn't drop high balls, had some good runs, showed good power prior to the try.
BTW As far as I can remember, it was Jane that got tackled by Jenkins.

By Ben, at November 10, 2009 9:35 am
We were good but not good enough, typical Wales. Well played to the All Blacks but seriously the cockiness is plain funny, based on your current form without Carter and McCaw you are nothing. Otherwise,

Well played!

By David, at November 10, 2009 9:47 am
kiwi´s and welsh no matter wot have been fiece competers in many forms of sports,not just rugby shearing sheep we always have it over the welsh. but in my exeperince with welsh culture, wot every they do they do it with passion.I enjoyed the welsh culture and the people,and like most maori boy´z i luv the welsh ladies and going with one,and many of my welsh friends love the maori girls,and one of there sayings is marry a maori and wacth her grow,lol.you will never hear a welshman speak bad about us maori so thats why i have alot of respect for the welsh.I was hopeing the welsh cud do it,they deserve to win !!

By Unknown, at November 10, 2009 11:38 am
Okay, the comments on this page have been pretty much cleaned up. If you'd like mature, respectful conversation, please use our forum, which is growing in popularity every day.

In other news, we're working on a re-development of the site which will include a far improved commenting system, with logins etc, so there will be no more trolls polluting these posts.

Thanks for the patience, and bear in mind that thousands visit the site each day - it only takes a handful to hijack decent discussion.

Cheers

By GMC, at November 10, 2009 12:11 pm
Bro from downunder,
Like someone said before: France is not Eastern Europe. Countries like Poland are Eastern Europe, France is definately Western Europe.
Also: if you want to get taken seriously, try not to end each line with "aye" and use some punctuation and grammar. It would make your posts a whole lot more readable (I always love it when a Dutchman needs to tell this to an Anglophone person XD).
One last thing about you: you sound like a football (soccer for the Americans) Hooligan, if you want to act like a bigshot, than go and support football.
As for the match: yes, after viewing the footage, Carter made a high tackle. Yes, the citing is over the top. Alu Wynn Jones (did I write that correctly?) should have perhaps tried to go for the corner, but keep in mind that he is only human and can make mistakes. Other than that, from what I can tell by the footage, good match.
Cheers

By Tico, at November 10, 2009 12:25 pm
Carter now got a one week ban. In my opinion, that's pathetic

By Ben, at November 10, 2009 2:03 pm
the only reason dan carter got cited was because gatland bitched and moaned and the welsh tv kept showing replay after replay.I mean come on.Its high tackle.its happens..it was a penalty and nothing more.anyone notice the shocking state of the pitch.?

"One thing is for sure, Carter should have been dealt with on the pitch and not cited.
And also the woman interviewing the players for the BBC should choose her questions better the next time as she came across as a twat." thank you

well done all black

By Alain Weyers, at November 10, 2009 2:16 pm
Oh no Dan Carter is cited how could they OH MY GOODNESS.

He should have been cited for more than 1 week. You got off lightly, be thankful.

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2009 2:26 pm
@anonymous

Look at what Giteau got away with during the Tri Nations.
These citings are just inconsistent.

Technically the suspension is not a problem, cause obviously, Carter was to be rested against Italy anyway.

By Ben, at November 10, 2009 2:47 pm
Wow, This comments thread is almost perfect now RD.

See not only does RD post videos, and info, they also make comments more enjoyable.

Although i do have to complain one little bit....you missed a few comments.

Bro from downundas fantastic comment on how france is eastern europian should really be deleted for the shear kindness to the poor bloke, i mean im sure he cant help having a pathetically small brain so really in an essence of kindness maybe that should go....

I stand by my 'whether AWJ would have made it to the corner machine' anyone want to make one?

oh yeh, maybe use a similar thing to the one in Rocky Balboa..lol...

By Vic, at November 10, 2009 3:13 pm
I was bitterly disappointed with this loss but I don't think any of the Welsh players really let themselves down. Anyone else notice during the haka you can't hear the ABs despite them being mic'd up? Just WALES WALES! Love it

By Unknown, at November 10, 2009 4:35 pm
Vic, i really think that if he had just gone all out for the corner that he would've made it. He starts slowing down way before he shapes to pass.

Warren Gatland is really starting to annoy me lately, whinging about Carters high tackle is a joke. It's a penalty or a harsh yellow in my opinion. Beginning to sound like football managers complaining about penalty claims - sometimes the ref's get it wrong, deal with it.

By The Inside Shoulder, at November 10, 2009 4:58 pm
Bro from downunda

'they arent from the UK their from eastern europe'

I get the tiniest feeling you're either 13 years old or you're very stupid.

Aside from that i enjoyed the rugby in this game. Despite being hammered by this point in the day. It seems France and Wales are the top two teams in NH. Def not England, i'm English and I admit we are fucking bollox. Except Jonny.

By Andy, at November 10, 2009 5:19 pm
Was there, and that final whistle hurt like a knife. So close, yet so far. Guess we'll beat them some time, and its guna be a hell of a party when we do. Carter led the line supremely, and i think the high tackle was over-hyped, its very telling that the man on the end of it is the one making the least fuss. Wonderful occasion again, and another great performance form the Welsh front five who are rally starting to compete with the best. Still gutted, but the ABs were the better team on the day. Also, it was great to experience the two minute silence with 75,000 other people, very moving especially as both nations fought in the World Wars, and a touching gesture to include the poppies on the shirts too.

By The Schpoople Master, at November 10, 2009 6:52 pm
I'm not that bad at geography??!! ..lol..

By semperfimamba, at November 10, 2009 7:05 pm
a few simple facts on hierarchy:
-people on the bottom hate people on the top and pick holes in them, even when holes don't exist
-people at the top know they won't last for ever and so gloat and enjoy themselves as much as possible
-if(when) a NH team beat a SH team, the first thing any NH person would say is, we're better than you.

I say, let NZ, SA, and AUS enjoy there time at the top because it is inevitable that we will come for you, we will make you pay and we don't like you.

By A Sounds of Reasoning, at November 10, 2009 8:21 pm
GETHIN JENKINS!!!!! first byran habana, next (unknown New Zealander) he's running up a tally of embarrased wingers

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2009 8:22 pm
When did Genthin Jenkins catch Habana? Oh do you mean in the lions tour where they clashed heads and Jenkins had to go off bleeding while Habana went on to help win the series with a try?

Its deceptive when a defending cuts off a winger from diagonally across the field.

Unless you think he's actually faster than Habana............... which he isn't.

By Norton, at November 10, 2009 10:20 pm
Hey whats up with all you nh fans why are you so bitter all the time? because for the majority of this decade you've been 4, 5, 6, 7...? haha

Or is it more than just a decade? I think so.

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2009 10:22 pm
in the space Habana had on Gethin during the B&I Lions tour he would normally glide past a prop in that position, its fantastic that he didn't.

I think the reality is that NH r more interested in the cups like Heineken EDF etc, the air new zealand cup is a pathetic excuse of a cup. Never seen as more tackling as that.

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2009 10:40 pm
i do agree that on lower level rugby it would pass unnoticed, it seems so inconsistent i wish the board with get themselves a set of guidlines.

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2009 10:43 pm
Don't make things up, anon. I assume Jenkins had the touchline helping him.

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2009 11:52 pm
NH are more interested in Cups?
What?
What's the relevance of that to a Wales vs NZ game?

By Jon, at November 11, 2009 1:20 am
why didn't alun wyn jones just go for it he would have scored!

By Anonymous, at November 11, 2009 3:21 am
Jenkins made an open feild tackle on Habana in the first 1/2 half of the first test in Durban. The Boks turned the Lions over in their own 22 and tried to break out and Jenkins caught Habana in the open field. Thta's whay he is referring to...not the head clash in the second test.

By Anonymous, at November 11, 2009 3:32 am
Wyn Jones, head in your hands lad...it was right in front of you

By Anonymous, at November 11, 2009 9:09 am
The NH vs SH debate annoys me aswell but there is some truth to it. The problem is NH play conservative rugby, using forwards and playing it slow. In the South they use kick ball, out wide, sometimes use the forwards and as a result the fitness level is much much better.

Why do NH teams often lead at half time? Because they are good but their fitness levels are shocking because they play a slower game. Super 14 emulates that of international rugby, fast paced and dynamic and sadly no tournament in the NH emulates that of international rugby.

Just look how many tries are scored in the GP compared to the ANZC, year after year we have someone who has about 10-14 tries per 10 games or something, GP players can't manage a 1:1 ratio because they don't want to play expansive rugby. Just get the penalty and that is it, Wales never once came close to scoring a try, England did but still couldn't, always the case.

This is from a player who has played in the Super 14 and GP.

By Les Bleus, at November 11, 2009 3:31 pm
Well, what annoys me about this NH SH shit, is the fact that a lot of the SH fans really have no idea what they are talking about...

Yes i think we can all agree that SH rugby is fast paced, and they play fast and efficiently with lots of backs being used, whereas NH rugby (generalising here guys) is normally slightly slower paced and is normally hard grafted yards, with shoves from forwards gaining yards and a few quick moves from the backs.......

There is a reason for this. no doubt ill be mocked and disagreed with, but really think about it in terms of the team you play for.....picture it, a nice sunny day at the start or the end of the season, you are all sweating like pigs and the backs fitness is holding up the forwards as they seem to do most of the work....right?.....then on the other days, you turn up on a saturday, its been pissing it down non stop for the last 4 months and you arent sure whether you should have brought swimming trunks or rugby kit...the pitch is soaked, by half time its hard to recognise friend from foe because of the amount of mud....with the constant laughs at a back trying to dance through the opposition only to lose his footing and being made to pay for it!!

That is what it is about in the NH. there is no point playing fast rugby in the NH it does work for some weekends or months, but generally its not easy stuff....

I dunno, im open to you lot hurling abuse and disagreeing but really, think about your own games before debating the NH SH stuff..

HERE IS AN IDEA, BECAUSE THE SH HATE OUR STYLE OF RUGBY, LETS NOT EVER PLAY THE SH EVER AGAIN. LETS CHANGE THE NAME TO SH RUGBY UNION AND NH RUGBY UNION.....

By No.7, at November 11, 2009 5:48 pm
100% agree ^^^

By BigTaff, at November 11, 2009 7:49 pm
Yeah i'd go with that aswell

By Bealy, at November 11, 2009 7:49 pm
HAHAHAHA!!!!
No 7 do you realise how much you sound like a petulant child who doesn't want to play anymore because he keeps losing?
That's the rub. You're not moaning because SH supporters make fun of the rugby your team plays (how sensitive are you anyway?), you're just upset that your team loses constantly to SH opposition, and clearly plays unambitious and substandard rugby.
If your guys won more, you'd be fine, but they don't so you have a moan and throw your toys out of the pram.
The truth hurts mate. And you know yourself that most NH players don't have the same skills as SH players and generally speaking NH teams don't play skilled, expansive rugby.
And while the weather certainly contirbutes on some level, ultimatley it's just the attitude of you guys to rugby.
Eddie Jones said it straight away when he came to england to coach.
He just said straight out that English rugby teams play without ambition. They have no intention of passing the ball and attacking, they play conservative on purpose and then lose to teams that actually take risks.
It's an attitude thing, and NH players will develop their skills just as soon as they start attempting to play with skill.
If that bugs you, deal with it, stop being so pathetic.

By Tommo, at November 12, 2009 4:24 am
Look, tommo, the last bit was more of a 'im fed up with the constant feuding' i have no problem with NH teams losing to SH teams...infact when an NH team beats a SH team with straight boring penalties, im glad and not glad at the same time, because i thrive to see some skillful running and play...such as france where they seem to sprint every ball as if they want to score....but back to the same old climate moan, have you ever played in france? its a lot drier most of the year than UK.....

So actually you are wrong in your assumptions....because, you simply assume that you know me, which you dont...

I dont know who you are or where you play/are from. but if you know anything about playing in club rugby in the UK you will know about the conditions....yes the pitches are amatuer compared to proffessional pitches, but that is where NH proffessional players are born... in our schools we may end up playing on a pitch that is so wet you can pretty much dive on the half way line and slide over for a try (slight exaggeration).

Ofcourse i dont want to not play SH teams, i just with SH fans had an understanding of what its like in the NH.... im speaking from my own experience, perhaps a NH fan/player or whoever would like to contradict me, all i know is that darting runs do work a lot of the time, but the need for the forwards to do the hard grafting during the games to gain the slow yards, is one of the biggest factors in our games. hence why if there is an opportunity to gain points, kicks are taken, because the point of 8 men totalling 800 kg say, on one team and 8 on the other totalling 800kg trying to push each other (mauling rucking scrumming) is damn hard work and the likelyhood of it resulting in tries is not massively high...

i have played games with so much mud, the final score was 6-3 because penalty kicks were all that could be achieved....

By No.7, at November 12, 2009 2:47 pm
the main problem i can see with rugby now is like simon shaw stated, we are trying to make athletes and weightlifters rather than rugby players, and this is perhaps even more true in the northern hemisphere where players seem more intent on being big tough and strong and taking on the other team by themselves. So many times watching the permiership i've seen chances gone a begging because the first forward that gets the ball in the backline(and sometimes even one of the centres) just tucks the ball and tries to bash through the defense despite the 3 man overlap on the outside

By rehanb, at November 12, 2009 4:08 pm
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By Anonymous, at April 30, 2010 5:29 pm
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By Anonymous, at June 29, 2010 4:33 pm