Quote from: nigel on July 08, 2017, 12:33:02 PMQuote from: paul_e on July 08, 2017, 09:51:36 AMABs have been really poor in the first 10-12 of the 2nd half.I put this down to the pressure the Lions have put them under.Stuart Barnes was really p*ssing me off. How great the All Blacks are and how lucky the Lions are.I think it was part that and part frustration that they hadn't pulled away in the first half, looked to me like they were letting that frustration spill over and trying to force things. The lions were largely what we expected if everything went to plan, dangerous out wide but struggling to get good ball to the wingers to make the most of it, solid up front and in the set pieces and kicked points when they were available.A drawn series is a good result, that's undeniable but I can't help but think that a coach willing to risk things a little more could've won that. I thought the ABs were pretty average, they've got 3-4 very good players but, with my England hat on, I wouldn't look at them as being out of our league, they're certainly not some irresistible force as some commentators like to suggest.
Quote from: paul_e on July 08, 2017, 09:51:36 AMABs have been really poor in the first 10-12 of the 2nd half.I put this down to the pressure the Lions have put them under.Stuart Barnes was really p*ssing me off. How great the All Blacks are and how lucky the Lions are.
ABs have been really poor in the first 10-12 of the 2nd half.
Quote from: paul_e on July 08, 2017, 01:13:21 PMQuote from: nigel on July 08, 2017, 12:33:02 PMQuote from: paul_e on July 08, 2017, 09:51:36 AMABs have been really poor in the first 10-12 of the 2nd half.I put this down to the pressure the Lions have put them under.Stuart Barnes was really p*ssing me off. How great the All Blacks are and how lucky the Lions are.I think it was part that and part frustration that they hadn't pulled away in the first half, looked to me like they were letting that frustration spill over and trying to force things. The lions were largely what we expected if everything went to plan, dangerous out wide but struggling to get good ball to the wingers to make the most of it, solid up front and in the set pieces and kicked points when they were available.A drawn series is a good result, that's undeniable but I can't help but think that a coach willing to risk things a little more could've won that. I thought the ABs were pretty average, they've got 3-4 very good players but, with my England hat on, I wouldn't look at them as being out of our league, they're certainly not some irresistible force as some commentators like to suggest.Man of the series has to be Itoji.
Just watched the game again and I think that we shouldn't let the penalty or not define the match. It is amplified as a decision because it was in the last two minutes rather than the first two. Was it the right call? I don't know. This is the part of rugby - these types of laws - that I have no idea about so cannot comment. But the ref called it and so there must be some scope for it to be a correct call, again whether it was I really don't know and it may have been a bad decision.But, we shouldn't forget that over the whole 80 minutes I thought the Lions were on the wrong end of 4 poor decisions that may have affected the scoreline also. Warburton being penalised in teh second minute when it appeared that he turned the ball over cleanly. On 8 minutes the All blacks knocked on and Farrell picked up the ball and was pinged for a knock-on when he wa stackled trying to clear. Attacking scrum for NZ in our 22 when it should have been a scrum the other way. Early in the second half Watson got done for a forward pass to Williams when it came out the back of his hand setting Williams free deep into the 22, and although tackled it was an attacking breakdown from which the Lions may have scored. Finally, on about 60 minutes a counter-attack by the Lions saw a deliberate knock on to stop Davies and Daly getting free. Instead of getting the clear penalty - and possible yellow (harsh as that would have been), the ref brought the game back for an earlier NZ knock-on. So, yes, if NZ want to point to a penalty at the death we can point to 4 separate instances where we were wrongly adjudged to have been at fault.As for player of the season - big shout outs to Faletau, George, Itoje, Murray but despite not wanting to play him for me the player that stood out was Johnathon Davies. Great in both attack and defence.There's something about the Lions which is better than watching England. In the 80s and 90s it was a devalued brand but not anymore. Warburton said that the only shirt that he has hanging up in his house is his Lions shirt and that speaks volumes. The team and tours should be protected. NZ thought they could just walk over the team and were sorely wrong. The Aussies were beaten last time out and South Africa need 4 years to try and get better to even compete with us. brilliant test performances after the first test and proof if needed that Northern Hemisphere, and British (and irish) rugby is in great shape.
It was out of the back of the hand and unless he can defy the laws of physics whether it actually went forward is irrelevant as it would have to have gone backwards out of the hand given the position of his body and his momentum when running.
As ever paul e resorts to snide digs and patronising tones.okay, i won't bother reading all of your post and just admit you are right. I know you're never wrong anyway so shouldn't have bothered.
World cup group is now finalised as England, France, Argentina, Tonga, USA - pretty much as expected when it was announced.
Its a group the Southern hemisphere teams will like too. Its likely we'll go through and none of the big 3 would like Argentina to have a crack at them, and the certainly wouldn't fancy the French.
Quote from: peter w on July 09, 2017, 03:06:50 PMAs ever paul e resorts to snide digs and patronising tones.okay, i won't bother reading all of your post and just admit you are right. I know you're never wrong anyway so shouldn't have bothered.You used the line "unless he can defy the law of physics whether it actually went forward is irrelevant", I'm not being snide or patronising, I honestly have no fucking idea what you were trying to say so I tried to break it down. I did that because I've done the qualifications and with things like this they tell you how to break it down and list the things to look for. The important one in forward passing it the positioning of the catcher and how they take the ball. For the Watson one in both regards it will have flagged as forward.Its not about never being wrong it's about knowing what I'm talking about. In other discussions you'd have a point but in this case you just seem upset that i disagreed and did it with evidence.