Rugby Union (was 2014-15, now an ongoing thread)

[Dave Cooper please]

This thread has gone very quiet

That's because egghandball is shite.

[lovejoy]

Seriously, I can see why someone who dislikes rugby doesn't post in this thread, it is after all a football forum. Another option is to give a reasoned argument with examples, but to post that is vacuous, if not argumentative.

[PaulWinch again]

Good decision Manu, so he's out of World Cup. I kind of applaud this stance from Lancaster. Makes the competition for centres interesting now.

[lovejoy]

Good decision Manu, so he's out of World Cup. I kind of applaud this stance from Lancaster. Makes the competition for centres interesting now.

Yes, although I seem to remember Danny Care getting numerous chances.

[lovejoy]

I see Glos have a scratch side out tomorrow resting players for the play offs. I feel a drubbing coming on.

[peter w]

Good decision Manu, so he's out of World Cup. I kind of applaud this stance from Lancaster. Makes the competition for centres interesting now.

Probably convenient as it removes one selection headache for Lancaster. Assaulting police officers is quite serious for a professional sportsman though.

[PaulWinch again]

I wouldn't say convenient, as in form he's a huge threat. But you can't do what he did.

[paul_e]

I think it does save a headache.  He hasn't got the brains to play 12 but they'd have put him there to allow Joseph to play 13 which, in my opinion, would've been a massive fuck up.

12 is still a discussion point, I'm personally a massive fan of Burrell but his game needs the pack to be producing quick ball and I don't think we're doing that so it would be better to pick a kicking option.  I'd like to have seen Slade get some time at some point as he'd be the perfect option if we wanted to go that way.  This is why letting Barritt get so much game time has put us in a tough position.

[lovejoy]

So a Saracens Bath final, what does one do? Hope the roof caves in?

[paul_e]

Regardless of personal preferences a Bath win is for the good English rugby, the longer it goes with sarries and tigers failing to win things the better, those 2 clubs are the biggest ties to 10 man percentage rugby left in the country and we really need to move on from that.

[lovejoy]

Bath and Swracens were the two keenest teams for the salary cap investigation to be dropped.

[lovejoy]

I hope Stuart Lancaster watched the Glos Connaught game. Jonny Mays try at the end of a brutal match was amazing. That is what a real winger looks like Lancaster.you can keep your up the jumper beefcakes.

[PaulWinch again]

Fucking hell Hartley cited now.

[lovejoy]

Something in nothing, cited on reputation alone.

[paul_e]

I've been trying to find it and I honestly can't find any footage that shows anything, I agree with lovejoy, it looks like one that's because it's Hartley not because of what happened, unless there's a camera angle that hasn't been released which shows something we've all missed.

Watched both games this evening and I'll add a few thoughts:

Ford, JJ and Watson are awesome, that should be 10, 13 and 15 for a long time.

Sarries won in exactly the manner I expected, they push the rules to the very limit themselves and spend the entire game in the refs ear pointing out the opposition doing the same.  The penalty they scored in the first half was a great example, tackler made no attempt to roll away or let go of the player but somehow they got the penalty because he didn't let go of the ball, it's pretty easy to win the breakdown when you can get away with that.