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Season 5- Episode 28- Disappointment (6 Nations Round 4, Premiership Round 20 & Super Rugby Round 3)
30 Plays3 years ago
It's another monster episode from those American rugby dorks, but at least we kept it under 90 minutes. On this episode we attempt to cover it all starting of course with 6 Nations, all 3 away nations taking the points home and some disappointment for many. We also jump over to the Prem (36:46) with all the action including the big one at the Gtech. Of course, we cover the fun as everyone returns from Melbourne (except the Waratahs in Super Rugby (53:10). We are a happy pair as we end with talking about the home opener of the Free Jacks and the rest of the MLR (1:17:26). All this and much more to keep you entertained, sit back and join in the fun with us, won't you?
Check out the TFRY Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyRugbyYanks
Ask us questions via Twitter: Jarrod- jdyke8man & Ben- admrablsnackbar, and #AskTFRY.
Send us your thoughts for the show and questions for upcoming shows via e-mail fantasyrugbypodcast@gmail.com. Of course we welcome feedback via e-mail, twitter or by rating/reviewing the pod on Apple Podcast.
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Transcript
Introduction and Housekeeping
00:00:02
Speaker
It is... The Fantasy Rugby Hanks. My name is Jared Dyke. I wanted to say it's stupid and let's move on, but then you kept going. I'm Ben Glauser. I don't like any way anybody gambled that. Collusion! Collusion! Hey everybody, welcome back. It is the Fantasy Rugby Hanks. My name is Jared Dyke.
00:00:31
Speaker
I'm Ben Glauser. We are in. We got lots to cover. Let's go. We do. I'm starting with first things first. I'm going to open one of these up. Find us on your favorite podcast app, share us, download rate review, send feedback as always. I'm fearless tonight due to a clerical error on my part, whereby I drank the last cider and then didn't replenish.
00:00:57
Speaker
Here I am. You probably drove right past that fucking thing the other day when you dropped me off. Fuck. Yeah, I did. Exactly. I know. That's why I have no one to blame. But my my clerk made the clerical error. That would be me. So your clerk is probably your frickin.
00:01:17
Speaker
notepad and your freaking phone. Anyway, let's move on. You're doing done messed up. Make sure you buy our good friend George, the fancy rugby geek a coffee or beer, however you wish to view it. He's going to be another busy one this, he was a busy one this past weekend, but he'll still be busy this weekend because we got a final, we're actually going final in a comp for the first one of the year.
00:01:40
Speaker
So, everybody's gonna be looking for help left right and center and of course he's gonna oblige and land what he can. So make sure you help them out. As always, there is no discrimination here on this podcast nor should there be in sports or in life.
Gary Lineker's Controversial Comments
00:01:55
Speaker
But speaking of sports.
00:01:57
Speaker
A man that I don't necessarily agree with on certain stances, I can totally get behind him here. I don't know if there's been any resolution since the event, but Gary Lineker coming out and stating that the new law is going in about immigration and putting his two cents out there. I think a lot of people agree with it.
00:02:21
Speaker
One of the biggest problems we have, and this goes beyond the discrimination aspect of it, one of the biggest problems we have is that we talk about things that are objective facts as being political.
00:02:38
Speaker
And they're not, they're just that, you know, yes. These immigration policies are very similar to 1930s Germany. That's, you know, and that's, fuck, English government's been going in a not good direction for a while and it needs to be discussed openly. Like if we can't talk about these things, that helps them and that makes things worse. So it's like, we're to the point where now that, you know,
00:03:06
Speaker
And the fucked up thing is how quickly did the right talk about, oh, my First Amendment rights. And I know it's different. But we're seeing it here just as well as there. So they talk about their right to free speech. And you can't politicize speech. And there they go. And they're like, nope, you can't think that. You can't say that.
00:03:28
Speaker
that's illegal, we'll suspend you, we'll fire you, these kinds of things. It's like, what the fuck? This is not, yeah, it's not good. So don't be discriminatory and then don't be a dick when you get called out. Absolutely. Yeah, it's not a... You need to discuss things out in the open and when you deny that they shouldn't be discussed or
00:03:56
Speaker
deny that there's a problem. That's when the problem actually becomes worse. So for him to at least put it out there and be like, yeah, we have a huge problem here. And maybe he's gone and put a little bit too much embellishment on it, but it still needs to be discussed.
Rugby Matches Analysis: Italy vs Wales & England vs France
00:04:13
Speaker
And that's not wrong. Right. You know, so unfortunate.
00:04:21
Speaker
fortunate for Gary. Yeah. But, and there's other issues too, where, where people, other people on different shows are allowed to like write columns and far-right newspapers and things like, you know, things of that nature. They're allowed to do all these things. And all he did was tweet or something and it, or I don't know. Yeah. But it wasn't live on air or anything like that.
00:04:42
Speaker
Yeah, like it was just something he tweeted and like that's probably yeah, it's not what's considered political is problematic. Yeah. Here. It seems like it seems like much of his. Co-workers that match of the day were willing to take it, take a stance and along with the PFA. So that was good. Very good. Don't forget to grab our Patreon. We have new goodies up there. We have the new super rugby sheet ready to rock and roll and for your viewing pleasure.
00:05:12
Speaker
It is up. It is as accurate as can be. Certain players are not available yet in the, in the game. So let's go change some of the, some of the, you know, realities of it, but they'll happen. What are you going to do? Yeah. That's not like, it's not like that doesn't happen or hasn't happened. Right. So happens a bunch. Yeah. So just bear with, and we'll do the best we can. And I'm sure that'll be enough, but it's up. Check it out. Check it out.
00:05:42
Speaker
Anyway. Okay. Let's go to six nations and we don't want to start important rugby. Yeah. Let's start. Let's start. Let's start with that. Let's go. Let's go to Rome. We'll start with that. Um, I think you and I both discussed it, um, as the match was happening or near the end of the match, as bad as David Murphy was, and he wasn't good. He shouldn't be under national referee. Yeah.
00:06:11
Speaker
Italy just want, weren't quite ready for these types of expectations. And that'll come with time and with the, with the expectations. It's a good thing. They're, they're expected to do well now. And that's right. That's a positive step in the right direction. And none of them is going to pass those tests flying squad, flying colors, you know, too. So like, yeah, there's nothing, nothing to be ashamed of. That's the problem is that like, yeah, you're coming away with zero wins, but,
00:06:41
Speaker
you gave everything you could. And then this one was just inaccuracies all all the way. Right. They were their own worst enemy. And that's that's rough. Really? And I mean, in Wales, you think they might have wanted to win that for some reason? I can't imagine why. Apparently, they were celebrating in the locker room like they had just won the damn trophy. I was like, that might not be great. Yeah, but
00:07:09
Speaker
I mean, happy, happy, happy to win, you know, but like, but like they need to win. Well, they also needed to get Italy back from last year, the Patavani try. There's a I'm sure the little bit of a, you know, a whole year worth of. Circling this game of all of them on their calendar, like, fuck it, you know, yeah, or is everyone else going to beat him? Yeah. So like, let's at least kick their ass.
00:07:38
Speaker
I don't know if it was necessarily an ass kicking, but yeah. And it really wasn't an ass kicking, but they won. So, um, they get to celebrate like it. Yeah, it was, it was so, so much potential. And yeah, really we can probably point to of the three tries that whales or two of them being kind of just.
00:08:04
Speaker
either bad luck or really just literally bounced at the ball. Yeah. One literally bounced at the ball and then the other, just the ball squared out the side. So it's a ruck insecurity as you know, as you carry in, that's a, that's a knuckleheaded mistake that you make if you're a schoolboy, not if you're an international rugby player and you've got one of the most experienced fullbacks in the world. That's on top of it. And he's just like later. Yeah. You know, it's just, it's,
00:08:33
Speaker
Yeah, it was even so it was pricey to like one of the more reliable carriers, ball carriers for Italy. So it's like, yeah, I do. Right. It was the players who, you know, everyone made the mistake. It wasn't like you could just pin it on. Oh, these players don't belong here. It was, you know, that they just collectively pooped themselves. And that's sad. That's sad. But it's also kind of really like that's a
00:09:01
Speaker
It's such a better place for Italy to be than they have been. Yes. So it was one of those bittersweet things. Yeah, I agree. I mean, I think... We're talking more about Italy for a reason because I don't think Wales did a whole lot of good in this match. No. They jumped on opportunities, which, okay.
00:09:30
Speaker
But this Web was good. I mean, that's probably the only thing I can say about the whole team is Reese Webb was excellent. He was. And, you know, maybe Rio Dyer, we can throw in there as well. And that's pretty much everything I'm I'm jumping up about. Right. Everyone else is like, that's that's the game I would expect you to have on a consistent basis. Like, that's your average team. What we had two yellows, both of which were kind of stupid. Yeah. The Bruno.
00:09:59
Speaker
Forearm, not forearm shiver and, um, the commodity penalty try. Right. That's just the, the, the, that is just silly arrows. That was harsh. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Things that you could avoid entirely. Yep.
France's Rise and England's Struggles
00:10:16
Speaker
Um, and so we're all there, you know, but they had to, how many handling errors did they have as a team? If, uh, we can figure that one out.
00:10:27
Speaker
Thank you, Sage, for providing these stats. It's not opening for me. Either way. Yeah. Too many handling errors, like too many, just not. Yeah. They didn't give themselves opportunities. They took way too many opportunities away from
00:10:54
Speaker
What they need to be doing is a handling error stat in the player column. So I can count them up. Let's see. Three, five, six, seven, nine, 13, 14, 14 handling errors. Not, not optimal. No, that is, that is compared to Wales.
00:11:19
Speaker
This is almost one every two minutes. Like you're five, like how often do you have possession enough to do that? Yeah. We all said five handling errors total. Yeah. Not awesome. No, not awesome at all. So yes, it's the, the reason we're talking about it at least because one, I think there's more hope on these very side than there is on the well side. Yeah. And like, you have to be concerned if Owen Williams is your answer at fly half right now.
00:11:47
Speaker
And he's had a tremendous season for Ospreys, but like, I didn't see anything from him that told, that said he's an international 10. Yeah. And, and allegedly they're trying to groom Joe Hawkins for it. Well, then why not? Why haven't you stuck him a 10 then? Right.
00:12:06
Speaker
why not just throw them that throw them in
Scotland vs Ireland: Missed Opportunities
00:12:08
Speaker
this match? Cause like, yeah. If he's supposed to be, I mean, speaking of schoolboy error, didn't he kick one of the cross kicks, like into his own player? Something like that. I was like, that's criminal. You can't do that on an international rugby field. Not this level. Come on, man. What are you doing? Anyway. Yeah. Very disappointing from, from the Italians in Missouri. Um,
00:12:35
Speaker
Faletau, that was the other guy I was thinking about, too. I forgot about that. Yeah, Faletau had a... I mean, he had to try. He had a day. Yeah, he had a decent day. So give him the credit that he deserves as well. Well, if you thought that was ugly. Yeah, it got uglier. It did. So here's the thing. I think from what I see in... Call me what you want to call me.
00:13:05
Speaker
I see England just missing here and there and it obviously burns them big time because they're playing such a fucking good team in France. If this was last year and this was Eddie Jones and they didn't do any better against France with Eddie Jones and it wasn't like they were trying shit, they were just playing really fucking horrible ugly rugby.
00:13:27
Speaker
You know, I think for England's sake, they missed here and there. They had some inaccuracies. They had some ill discipline at really inopportune times. And it added up to a team that wanted to just destroy them in France. And France were ruthless. And, you know, they... So I saw a focus that there was a focus on the breakdown and rewatching parts of that match.
00:13:54
Speaker
especially key moments it's clear that they did note that so England when they clear out they do go to deck they're willing to take you down and what France did that I saw was that they would okay we'll let you take this one down and then we'll see what happens next it's a lot of times the support player there will just go to deck themselves they'll be like okay well we're driving forward we're to deck and then the balls out and the France go and they snaffle it or
00:14:19
Speaker
Well, the other time the one that that led to I think to one of their tries anyway was they took Jamie George down like right off, you know, immediately like, you know, take the hit, fall over, let him roll you. And then the next support player was just kind of slow. And yes, the next player for France can't go and grab the ball, but they can go in and drive over and win it. And then they use. So they use that tactic. They're like, OK, if you're going to be late, we're just going to drive you off, clear you out and then
00:14:48
Speaker
A legal player will come and take it. And like that kind of knowledge. And yeah, it was clear by the end. And I didn't you know, I didn't quite have that insight at the time. But even when I was watching it, you know, certainly late first half, I'm just like, would you guys just keep your fucking feet? There are so many times are the balls out because the players are off their feet. And now I could see it obviously on the the rewatch. Why?
00:15:11
Speaker
that it was intentional and that fucking fair play to to france for doing that that's like incredibly intelligent like it's just little things that that english like don't quite think about they think about rugby a very rigid way yes they're becoming the team like you know what when we used when we first started this back in the day you know one of my biggest complaints about ireland was that they weren't free flowing that they didn't open it up they were too rigid in how they do things guess what england are now
00:15:37
Speaker
They're there. Like, what English 8 does, what Aldrich does, the pick and go that ended in Nolivant's try at the end of the half. France won the penalty at scrum time. He picked the ball and ran with it.
00:15:53
Speaker
like so many English H, just keep it in, keep it in, we'll take the whistle and then now we'll try to maul it in. It's like, well, you already have that. Why not just try to score? Because how many times does that happen? And then, you know, the ball gets fucked up or whatnot. Like, it's so rigid. It's so thinking very inside the box. Correct. Yeah, France, they're just like, like you got they got to open this up. And that's why, you know, again,
00:16:17
Speaker
I'm blaming a lot of this on Eddie Jones because he doesn't have them in a position to do that. Like on his watch, this is what it has become. So. Yeah, Bortho has a lot of work ahead of him, and he's very clear about it. And this this is this kind of shit is on Eddie Jones because the players are not prepared. Right. Yeah, I agree. I agree. And there's there's a.
00:16:41
Speaker
And England defense wasn't great, but France also capitalized on some England mistakes on attack and turned them into tries very quickly. So. Slade. Slade was responsible for the first 10 points, by the way, personally. Like the first one on the Ramos try. So they do have an overlap, but Willis is coming up the inside, screaming, I got inside, man, I got inside, man.
00:17:08
Speaker
And Slade, what does Slade do? Doesn't listen. Doesn't listen for a second and goes and hits the inside man and boom. I don't remember who was through on that point. Um, but then, you know, there were several offloads beyond that, but like, I think it was a flam out that started. Yeah. Slade just, I mean, yeah, I would understand that he didn't want to tackle flam out. And you know how many, how many tackles Slade had for the match? Two. Yeah. I'm going to harp on, I think he only had one.
00:17:38
Speaker
One goddamn tackle made. One tackle made center. That's a low number.
Premiership Rugby Highlights
00:17:44
Speaker
Four carries for 15 years. Ollie Lawrence only had three. Yeah, but he came out early, right? He came off at 61. So he only played 46 as well. So right. Right. But like, there's a reason he came off early too. Right. Yeah. And yeah, that was the other thing. Like you got to kind of take some of those points of the grain of salt because they had a forward in the back line and
00:18:07
Speaker
because they had to pull Lawrence early and that sucked and they didn't have enough subs. So it's like, yeah, fuck. Yeah. This was early. This was, you know, for this was like opening. No, that that try you're thinking of. Yes, that was there's no reason for that one. Exactly. You're you're not wrong with that one. Just think of some of the other ones at the end where it just seemed like no, at that point, you know, you get one player gives and then he. So so he had a hand in that he had a hand in the the penalty because he's the one who went for the intercept and just
00:18:36
Speaker
didn't didn't touch the ball somehow like don't even knock it on you just it whiffed completely and you know i i can't remember who it was so that might have been flamont who was through and then um there was a penalty right off of that that then they kicked it so that's 10 points right there because your game was altered
00:18:56
Speaker
Like, yeah, because you have to be an asshole and not do your job defensively. And it's like, why is Slade? So when we talk about these players who don't make me say Slade, I don't know what he provides. And I know what he's, so I'm hoping that he's, I hope the 46 minute poll was the, okay, no, you really can't do this. Yeah, when you reshuffle the back line to Lawrence coming, you know, the Lawrence playing 13,
00:19:24
Speaker
Uh, yeah, it looks a little better at least the attack. Oh, it looks so much better. That's when they scored a try. Like, yeah, it got better. And then Lawrence got hurt and, you know, and then it just, everything snowballed. Yep. Absolutely. Yeah. 10 27. When that try was scored, you, you had to hope and then, yeah. And just unraveled from there. Right. And fair play difference. So I've, I've, I've harped up enough on, um, on England. How fuck.
00:19:55
Speaker
Antoine Dupont had a monster like that. First off, the 50-22s to get them into position. Yeah. Amazing. Because England, that's what they do. They love kicking the ball. But like they weren't prepared for this. How are they not prepared for this? Yeah. I'll show you what actual kicking the ball is. None of this, I'm going to kick it so that we can, you know,
00:20:17
Speaker
retrieve it 10 meters up field. What the fuck does that do? Right. Um, I'm going to kick it so that we get it 30 meters up the field on your side or 40 meters up the field on, you know, inside your 22. Fuck you. Right. That's what kicking the ball is. Yeah. It's that that's good. How many 50, 20 twos have we seen in the prem this season? I think we've seen more 50, 20 twos in six nations than we have in the prep. I don't know. There's a few this past weekend, uh, in the prep that,
00:20:46
Speaker
I just feel like it's so rare. No, there's there's teams that that that definitely nail it down, but maybe not as many teams that take advantage. There weren't as many teams taking advantage of it to start, I think. I think it's probably fair to say. So speaking, I do want to just kind of hit on this before we get on to the Sunday game. Think about where we were four years ago when
00:21:12
Speaker
And maybe five years ago, because I think it was the Six Nations before the World Cup. And we have France getting torched at Twickenham. Absolutely torched. They looked like shambles, just trash. Top 14 rugby was not good at the time either.
00:21:30
Speaker
And we were really, we, along with a lot of other people, we're taking a hard poo on it. And Premier Ship, we're running up. Because they would not show up at Champions Cup like they would. And Premier Ship, we're running Champions Cup along with, you know, basically with Leinster. So between them and Leinster, that was what was running Champions Cup.
00:21:51
Speaker
And now fast forward, French rugby is class is the class. They are, they are the, they are the cat's ass right now. Prim rugby is struggling for the most part, not completely, but for the most part in terms of competing in those competitions right now. And.
00:22:09
Speaker
you know, England have been left in a really, really shitty situation with their team. And that is a huge difference in, and I will say this, Galte didn't take over until middle of the last cycle, I don't think so. And he was kind of still, he
Irish vs Sale: Strategic Insights
00:22:28
Speaker
still has his head up his ass, let's be honest. All the way until Japan.
00:22:33
Speaker
And then he fixed it and he went out and he's like, all right, we need a defense. So they got Sean Edwards and they knew they needed help elsewhere. So they've gotten all these coaches to jump in and help. And now, with the home world cup on the horizon, I don't know of a team that's more likely to win it than Lebleu. The odds have to be in their favor at the very least.
00:22:59
Speaker
You know, so it's a huge difference in, it's a huge difference in re-hire and what happened with the re-hires of each coach too. Like we have Galtier who got re-hired by France and look where they are. We had Eddie Jones who got re-hired by England and well, quite honestly.
00:23:14
Speaker
If they get to the knockouts, then they probably should just be celebrating that. Let's be honest. And also, when we're talking about the coaches, that coach's box on the Pinot try off that line out, I mean, you don't see that. Like that was something that they had like, you know, like that's, you know, if we ever can have fun, let's do this and whatever.
00:23:42
Speaker
And they're just like, yeah, let's just fling it. And fuck, I mean, but it's also kind of a standard play. There's just so many moving parts to it that like for it to get all the way through the motions to that last, like a lot of things had to break exactly right as the play developed and they did. And just so wonderful. And then obviously the coaches are all fucking celebrating and Gaultier afterwards, you know, holding back tears in the interview, like,
00:24:12
Speaker
As you said, they've worked so hard to get them here. It's it's so rewarding as a coach, like to, you know, to see that happen on the field. So it's not been a happy hunting ground for them either. Yeah. Two years ago, when we thought they were just about to hit their peak, they found a way to screw it up. Right. Like if this happened in Paris, that would be one thing this was. That's right. Yeah. Right. But it's like.
00:24:39
Speaker
Yeah, it means it means a lot more obviously. Yeah, absolutely. And it was a thorough, but they just had them. Yeah, there was no that there is, as they said, and remember the Titans leave, no doubt. Yeah, they didn't. They didn't. I mean, in the England players, none of them, none of them played particularly well. That's the sad part. You know, Van Portvley was had a had a shit like, but this is also the problem because they're not right. You know,
00:25:03
Speaker
They have so many players who are playing for the first time together. And, you know, I mean, there are a couple of games in, but it's still, you're still getting used to each other and talking to each other and also getting used to playing at this level, you know, like Ludlam has been amazing. He doesn't have enough caps. Like Domra doesn't have enough caps.
00:25:21
Speaker
Um, Sinclair had a shit game. He did. But like, he does that every so often. And he's a prop. You're a tight-headed prop. Every so often, you're going to have a pooper that can't impact the team the way it did. But it does because he's one of the team leaders because there's not many others. There aren't many others right now. Like, this is a problem. This is, again, the thing that Eddie didn't get.
00:25:44
Speaker
You know, even relying, you know, now you're sure you're, you know, you Borthwick came in and said, okay, yeah, my, these wings got to fucking go. Cause they're liabilities. And now he's finding out, Oh, slate. Yeah. He's a liability. Like if he he's working it through to see who was actually good and who's yeah. This is, this is one of those really hard growing pains. It really is. And it's, it's hard to ping it completely on him. And yes, he's had a few games with them, but that's a few games. It's not much.
00:26:09
Speaker
You know, it's a couple months of them like, Oh man, I would not expect to do well either. So I don't blame them. Yeah, exactly. There's no, it doesn't work this way. Like there's still always moment, like there's always momentum from the previous coach, whether it's still positive as far as, you know, you're built up a team and they can still.
00:26:30
Speaker
kind of run on empty for a bit and run out the string. If the coach isn't up to par the next one or in the other case, it doesn't matter who the next guy is. There's so much. This plane is like nose diving and it's feet off the ground. What the fuck are you going to do besides crash? Like you can't blame the guy who hits the ground because that's where the planes pointed. He's, he's easing up as much as he can, but it's not good. Right. Right. Yeah. I agree. Um, yeah. Well,
00:27:00
Speaker
We'll see what happens in, happens in, uh, in France. Cause this is going to be very interesting to see at least. Anyway, let's go, let's go to, uh, Edinburgh. How was the Dublin? Um, the theme of the round was disappointment, I think. And we talked about that earlier, you, before we hit the, uh, that, that red button there. Um,
00:27:27
Speaker
Disappointment for Italy in the way they played disappointment for England in the way they played and disappointment because Scotland had a real shot here and they really bottled it. They did. And the the even the other disappointment to me is that Ireland didn't play particularly great rugby either. No. So it's like you had it. He had it teed right up for you, Scotland. It's right. Right there. And no, no, no, no, no, no.
00:27:57
Speaker
And Haag was playing out of his mind. What a belter he had until it went poor. But like he really gave it his everything. Yeah. Really backed up that hundred caps. White wasn't great. Finn. Nope. Nope. Nope. Wasn't Haag
Bristol Bears' Strong Form
00:28:19
Speaker
and Finn are both out. Yeah.
00:28:22
Speaker
Right. Jack Dempsey, I thought, played pretty well. I want to give him his due. That's the best he's played, which I don't know if that's enough. Right. And, you know, and Huey Palatu, what was an excellent combination, as always. Yeah, that's that's been the best. Yeah, I, Stame was a ghost. That's no good. Right.
00:28:43
Speaker
Yeah, with all so let's talk a little bit about island because didn't play well. But man, did they front up to get this thing done because you have who wouldn't hold on that to my notes. So give me a second. She gets hurt. So we had her gets hurt. So
00:29:01
Speaker
in the first few minutes, Gray and Sheehan and Doris all went off. That was awesome. So we have three injuries in the match. Two to Ireland, important boys too. And then Kelleher gets hurt really on like to the point where he tries to continue on and just not throw. And
00:29:23
Speaker
they're still like, yep, we're gonna keep going. I was like, okay, you guys are just not blink. They didn't blink at least. They kept going, they kept acting like everything's fine and we're gonna get this done, which they did. Yeah, this was like a Pyrrhic victory. That's what I would call it. And it was that kind of, it was like, we are just going to myrtleize the shit out of each other. And one of us is gonna end up winning.
00:29:51
Speaker
And I, you know, in that kind of, and just cause you need that, you're going to put nuts on the table and here's a hammer and let's see who lasts longest until the Island took some blows. They did. They did not come away unscathed, but they, yeah, no. Yeah. And Henderson Henderson came off, came off at 23 minutes. I knew there was another one that I miss. Um, so it's, and they,
00:30:22
Speaker
Yes, they were there points where they slipped up. Like you have Josh Vanderfleer throwing in and keen healing play. OK, no shit. You're going to slip up here and there. These guys don't do those jobs normally. Right. Anything that Josh Vanderfleer can't do, although as a as a man, I want to say how.
00:30:41
Speaker
Um, it shouldn't be a surprise how good he was at hooker because as we were, yeah, as we were talking about it, we were texting about it and talking past each other. Hookers don't really scrum anymore. They're not really like, you don't use them to push. They, they kind of, and they barely hook at this point, the way the ball gets placed in, like they're mostly just a back row player that kind of just sits in the middle of the scrum inexplicably.
00:31:06
Speaker
Healy comes in and is like, I'm a prop. I know actually how to push and how to use that leverage and work it. And when you go, when you have that mismatch, of course their strong became dumb. I was like, he's having so much fun in there. Like I don't have, but yeah, I got out. As long as you're used to the binds are the worst part.
00:31:23
Speaker
Divines are weird. I think that binding of like, I'm holding on to my teammates and trusting that they're not going to fuck me up. That's basically what it comes down to getting used to my right. I didn't trust them for shit. My right. Cause I do. I know how heavy I am. So my, my right knee was so sore after the, after game, all of my weight on it before a scrum. So trying to hold that break foot.
00:31:48
Speaker
Yeah, that, that was the, that was the worst part was, but I'm also kind of used to it because I was a tight head. So that was my break foot already anyway. So it was just that much more people. There's a lot more weight as a hooker, but if you can take that, oh, it's so much easier once you're in that scrum. And then we had.
00:32:11
Speaker
player of the match and rightfully so, like Mack Hanson put up his hand and say, Hey guys, I'm here too, guys. I'm here too. Don't forget about me. Just, you know, just hanging out over here and doing my thing. So someone did note too, actually pretty interesting that all four wings in this match come from Southern hemisphere teams or kind of some Southern hemisphere countries.
00:32:39
Speaker
So Hanson and Lo. All four, yeah, Stein and Duhan. Oh yeah, I guess we know Wings on the Bench, really. I was thinking Wings on the Bench. Nope. Oh no, yeah. Yeah, that's true. I mean, Duhan and Steiner both South African and Lowes and Kiwi and Hanson's and Ozzy, although to be fair,
00:33:01
Speaker
The engine was eligible the day he was born. Right. He has Irish parents. So, yes, that's not. And Dempsey is Australian. Yeah, I do. They were just pointing out how many how many players were thinking how many of the best players in this match were weren't even. Yeah, it's not wrong. Yeah, it's not wrong. And. And Andrew Fleer, the South Saffa, as always. Saffa, my ass.
00:33:32
Speaker
And there's always the whole, like, I think some of them left the Southern Hemisphere because they wanted better opportunities. Some were tossed aside. Right. As well. You know, Lowe was tossed aside. So he's like, all right, fuck it. I'll go play with Ireland. Good for him. Right. And rightfully so. He wasn't good enough at that point. No. And same for Hanson. And even even even Lowe wasn't good enough when he started playing for Ireland. Right. He's worked so hard. Yeah. He's come good. And, you know, if he's not going to be one of the best wings of the World Cup, I
00:34:02
Speaker
I'm lost. Right. You know, so it's good to see Matt Hanson coming. Good. Cause he, he was all right, but not great. Even when he was back in Australia, he wasn't, he was like one of those, he could be something special and Australia didn't have the time to wait on him. So they're like, no, we're just going to go with the, you know, some, some maybe better than Jags, but probably does the bullet, not having to play for any Jones anyway. Probably.
Super Rugby: Chiefs vs Highlanders & Rebels vs Waratahs
00:34:29
Speaker
Um, yeah. So, but either way, like.
00:34:33
Speaker
Like Keenan was a ghost almost, which is not like... It's not unkind to him. It's more of a thing about how well low and handsome play. Exactly. In the past, like the attention, and maybe that's because Scotland said, okay, we're not letting Hugo Keenan beat us. That's the only...
00:34:55
Speaker
explanation I have there because still a few meters carried and a tri-assist. Exactly. So you didn't have a bad game. It's just that compared to the other two, it's like, yeah, that when somebody was doing something awesome, it was one of those two. When Keaton did it, it was good. Low had 150 meters.
00:35:14
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Uh, James Ryan's lock, uh, second row card has been revoked, by the way, that membership is no longer valid. Like he's kicked out of the club because how the fuck did you screw that up? It's a wing run through him. Come on. Yeah, seriously.
00:35:31
Speaker
That should not stop you. Keep freaking going. Yeah. He doesn't want to, he doesn't want to tackle you. Don't let him. No, don't let him. He's like, Oh man, I got to try this or I'm going to get benched anyway. So I got to try exactly. He's got to show a little bit of effort. All you have to do is, is make him give him a reason to poop himself and he will. Yeah, he probably would have.
00:35:54
Speaker
Uh, shit. So all the wings look for when it's a tight five forward, running up the field, actually, when it's any forward, pretty much running up the field, a wing is looking for a reason to miss the tackle. Generally speaking, there's some that, that are not like that, but I think that was, that was staying, right? So I think so too. Yeah. Good to see. Um,
00:36:14
Speaker
gives him park back to he made immediate impact off the bench as well. So he did. This was this was Ireland's stumble and they still won. Right. And now they get to play England at home. St. Patrick's Day weekend in Dublin for the grand slam for, you know, the Triple Crown the whole shebang. Have fun storming the castle. Good fucking luck is all I got to say.
00:36:40
Speaker
Can you get a cast, can you get a cast? Let's go to, let's go to the gardens. We'll try and spend about two minutes on this one, so. Yeah. Watch my clock, let's go. Northampton, so the names that were missing last weekend were obvious when you look at this team sheet compared to the last. It's like, oh, holy shit.
00:37:02
Speaker
Like Tom James is clearly a different difference maker compared to Calum Braley. Tommy Freeman is who he is. Yeah. Truck truck. He was amazing. He was like, yeah, good. God damn, he's good. So those names right there. Ram was another one. I know I have one more in my head. Ram another one that was missing from this from the last game. So all those names getting reinserted into the lineup is
00:37:31
Speaker
Just, I think you could say you probably, I mean, on paper, you probably would have said, yeah, okay, this is a win, especially when Bath decided to finish Spencer for sure. Yeah. And Bailey had a rough night. Well, he got, he was bleeding early. Yeah. Yeah.
00:37:50
Speaker
It was just a very, it was a tough match for, for Bath and they never applied the pressure. And, and so that's kind of the, the way it goes. Like they didn't apply the kind of pressure you need to apply to Saints. They didn't play well. Why? I mean, Deglanville had a decent match, but like the three forward tries, right? Dougherty is a, you know.
00:38:12
Speaker
with the big guys. Yeah, he's a hooker. Yeah. So like if you go back, who scored the tries? Yeah. Don had to doubt. So you get three and done for two and Dowdy and the only one that's not one of them is to Glanville to Glanville. And it's like you got to be scoring tries and you got to be playing loose and they weren't able to against Saints. And that was nice, though. It was sweet. I thought that was I thought that meant like game on.
00:38:41
Speaker
Not quite. Also, and we got to talk about the man of Matt Robbie Smith. Because he was way to show like your club needs a hooker to play. Well, the design cruise is cover. Right. I mean, no cruise is good. Right. But it's clear that no captain have other intentions with Robbie Smith. So yeah, they want to make sure he gets the time at the proper position. And he certainly put his hand up to say,
00:39:07
Speaker
I want to do this because, you know, or at least he earned a spot on the field, whether it's at Hoke or a flank or whatever they want to do with him. Yeah, he put his hand up, which is what he needed to do. So, yeah, good stuff. We'll talk about other players. This will, you know, when we get to one of the Southern Hemisphere matches, we'll talk about players who needed to put their hand up and decided not to. Right. OK, let's go to Sandy Park. 60 seconds or less.
00:39:37
Speaker
I guess we're in Newcastle. Meh? Meh. Newcastle, we're never in this. Let's be real. Although we live within the dust. Yeah. Yeah. And caught on even kind of left Noel in the dust a little bit too. Right. On the Mighty Mouse score. Yeah. So they had some opportunities, but
00:40:03
Speaker
Sam Simmons also kind of show maybe he's a little bit upset about not making a specific team. But again, you better be doing that against North. Like, this is not a statement match because it's against Newcastle. Sorry to say Newcastle. You're not good enough to to warrant a statement match. You're too low in the standings. But it's certainly a statement of it's a letter of intent within a statement. I intend to make a statement. Yeah. From Sam, I have signed my letter intent.
00:40:32
Speaker
Final note, Soleimani Kata is not fat. No. Like dude is just thick. Holy shit. I was like, Oh, wow. Okay. I might have sex with that guy.
00:40:48
Speaker
He's, yes. Okay. We'll move on from that. Gloucester and Leicester. Zero, zero, and half. So do we need to spend more than 60 seconds on this? No. No. Gloucester not good enough. The best part of them was the kits that were done for Ed Slater. Yeah. I'm disappointed that the kits were empty because those were some fucking... They deserve better.
00:41:14
Speaker
Yeah, those are some awesome jerseys. Your only fucking try is Johnny May falling over the line. Yeah, not good. No, no. You let Ben Young score. What is wrong with you? Yeah, it was that kind of match. And who else scored? I'm waiting on that. Montosha got one. Beast got one at the end, which I was kind of like, yeah. Oh, Mike Brown scored. Yeah, Mike Brown scored. Yeah, Bernie's good. I can go.
00:41:42
Speaker
Again, again, I mean, Brown has been great so far since he signed for Lester. So he really has. And they give him the credit. Another guy that they that they're going to rely on. It's not like they got people coming back. I mean, they got Freddie. Yeah, Fred Watson and Watson. So they don't have ready. He'll be a good. Yeah, he was still a good depth guy. He'll be a quality depth guy, no doubt. But he's still in his role in. Gloucester are sitting on two yellow cards like what are you doing? Yeah.
00:42:12
Speaker
I still questioned the beast try, but really it didn't matter. It didn't matter to win. So, right. Okay. That's, that's how that was. Um, onto an interesting match, somewhat more interesting match Irish and sale on. It was also Saturday, wasn't it? Um, was that Saturday? No, Sunday. I had drugs. I think they were at the same time. It wasn't. Hold on. Hmm.
00:42:38
Speaker
That was Sunday. That was Sunday. That was early Sunday. That's right. That was early Sunday. Yeah, no, that was at the same time as Gloucester. Lester. That makes sense. I'm on drugs, just not enough of them. Yeah, I did not have this one on my bingo board. Not really. Well, I mean, yeah, right. I picked them, but I didn't think it was going to be sale. Just I felt like sale didn't show up. No, I mean, you spotted them.
00:43:06
Speaker
What a 21 point leader, 19 point lead, something like that early on. Like, damn, what are you doing? Yeah, like they don't have a good like they're not starting well. This is it's happened. It started exactly like the Saracens match, except the Irish avoided it. Well, actually, Irish got a yellow at 35 minutes, which is again, that's where Hannah's got a yellow. I was really questioning whether or not that should have been yellow.
00:43:35
Speaker
But like Dupree gets over right after that, but that's, you know, that's, that was kind of it. Yeah. Yeah. It was 22 to three after Cindy scored his first, or he only got one. Sorry. Um, no, he got, Oh, it was a team. No, the other one was Stokes. No, who scored 74th minute. I have sent you with two tries far. And then Stokes, those are the last two, I think. Okay. And nevermind. I guess the, whatever it's the report I have is.
00:44:05
Speaker
It's missing a line, so let me see.
00:44:09
Speaker
Oh, because they don't have a far in their system, probably because he. Oh, that's right. A prop. Oh, that was a beautiful. He's a baby. That was a. That's right. I wanted to talk about that. He outran George Ford. He outran everyone. Young spry legs carry him all the way. Welcome. Welcome, my brother. Yeah, legs. Yeah, it was it was Pearson Caulfield to him. That's what it was. Yes, it was. And as it was pointed out by
00:44:36
Speaker
Atkins on the, on the comms. He ran quite a distance to cover that try too. So give him credit. He did. He did. He came from the 50. Like it wasn't just the last bit. Then that's what you got to do. Like you see the line, like you see that line break coming or like it might even be there, be ready. And then as soon as it happens, just be through, just be, because they're going to be looking for somebody.
00:45:02
Speaker
And the prop had to finish because no one else came through. No. Calfield was gone. I mean, he was going to do everything in his power to get that thing over the line no matter what.
00:45:14
Speaker
You would have tried whoever got attached to him over the line. But damn, fucking Irish have some props coming through. We have that other guy whose name I can't recall in the 20s. A prop. I can't. I can't. Oh, yeah, we talked about that already. Right. Yep. I like where this is going to get a new 10. We're golden. Get a new 10. Yeah.
00:45:40
Speaker
How dumb is Cobus Visa? How dumb? Oh my god, that is a sin. That is a cardinal sin.
Fiji Drua's Historic Win
00:45:50
Speaker
You're on the bus and you're getting kangaroo court fined out the wazoo on that one, dude. You certainly are. Oh, criminal. A double number took you out? Are you fucking kidding me? Yeah, come on, man. It's not as a forward sub either.
00:46:04
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. It's not a forward side. No, this is a starting double Jennings. I think Jennings paid for it. Jennings. Oh, Jennings himself in there. Jennings is a fucking wild man. Not just there, but that was like he's playing with reckless abandon. Got to mention him. But yeah, Visa's got no. What's get the fuck out of here. Yeah. You're out of the you're the second reunion. Yeah, no doubt. So really, if you look at it, though, for sale, their tries came from after the Hannah card.
00:46:30
Speaker
And then the other one came from a drive over after they won a penalty and then Irish couldn't shut their mouth. So they got back up 10, they knocked it into the corner and then away they went. So they didn't create enough, I think it's fair to say.
00:46:46
Speaker
I thought, no, I thought Dupree played fine at 13. I think people are still shitting on him a little too hard. And that's me saying this, okay? Just keep that in mind. He's the best 13 they have, right? If you want Ford to play and you do. You do? Yep. Then he's the best 13 he got. So I don't know what you're complaining about. What do you want? Sam James out there? Shut the fuck up. Right. I want to hear it. No doubt. Okay. And then the other one, which I just finished watching as we were...
00:47:15
Speaker
discussing other things. I love this match. Started hot and really it stayed hot. I know. I know you said it was kind of over at halftime, but really the tries kept flowing. Oh, the story wasn't over, but like, you knew, you knew the way the wind was blowing. God damn.
00:47:41
Speaker
Um, the, the bears just, who wants to play the Bristol bears right now? They are hot. They are red hot. I'm glad we did done with them and over with, like, I don't know if I want to be a part of that whole thing. Yeah. I don't want anything to do with his beardom. Um, although we'll see what happens without AJ. Yeah, that was the only, and sheedy. They got a couple of weeks. So we'll see what they can get out of that. Yeah. And, um, obviously our condolences just to, to Calum Sheedy. Um,
00:48:11
Speaker
who's, I don't know if you heard when it was early in the match, they were saying his father passed away this week. So that's why he was away. That makes sense. Our condolences to Callum Chidi and his family. Yeah, but hopefully he'll be back from when they play. I don't know. I'm wondering how long the AJ thing is. I'm really nervous about it, obviously.
00:48:37
Speaker
Clearly. This was a great game for him until that point. That's really disappointing, you know, it really is. So the people that, here's the best thing about this Bristol run so far is the people they really, really need to step forward and take charge have been the people that step forward and take charge. You look at like Thacker and
00:49:02
Speaker
Bradbury in the forwards, and then you have obviously Randall who's doing his thing. AJ played really well, but then you have the back three plus Rad Radra that have really just put their hands up and said, we are going to carry this thing over the line the best we can and whether or not it's good enough to get into the playoff, different story, but they're going to just, these three or four guys are going to lead them down the path to glory. They're not far out.
00:49:29
Speaker
That's, that's the thing. They're not, I know the table is so wacky right now. It's absurd. I mean, they're already, they're, they're up to seven. They're in champions cup next year. The way this is already, are you there? And we still exit our eighth spot for a chambers cup with three teams not making it. That's kind of silly. Yeah. I don't know. The rumor that they're re rejigging things. So that might be true right now. Um,
00:49:52
Speaker
But yeah, they're right. They're in contention. They're certainly in contention to get top six. And who's going to stop them at this point? That's it's one thing to be like, okay, if they keep, you know, where they are. They were given hand on the guy, everybody, the important teams in front of them with, uh, on London Irish saints and tigers. And should they come away with at least a win that puts them three points back of a playoff? Yeah. Yeah.
00:50:23
Speaker
Pretty absurd it is pretty absurd. Let me see if I can get there What if I can get to their Schedule and someone see what the schedule is. Yeah, I got another skinny boys. Yeah, and I will say and most people would be like, yeah, whatever Quinn's got a bonus point out of it. And so they and so try to want that back
00:50:47
Speaker
Uh, try was really nice. I was like, I don't know who gave the final offload that just got absolutely obliterated by the tackler. I was like, Oh, you, you died. You, you're dead. You didn't stay down. You're dead. I saw that. And I was like, Ooh, I'm glad that's not me. So the bears remaining schedule, they go away to Wilford road. Harsh. Then they come back. They come away with a whim of that though. That's huge. They come home to sale.
00:51:18
Speaker
They go away to Sandy Park and then they're home for Gloucester.
00:51:24
Speaker
I think they go three and one in that span. I don't think right now sale can can withstand Bristol right now. I welfare wrote that's going to be a tough hat. That's going to be if they go if that I think determines if they end the season four now, because if they win that, oh, they're going to they're going to they're on a fucking heater. Mm hmm. And I don't see sale stopping that the way it's certainly not the way they played just just this past weekend. Well,
Hurricanes vs Blues: A Thrilling Clash
00:51:49
Speaker
the last couple of weeks, it's been mid not not number two overall.
00:51:54
Speaker
If they can win two of those, Lam's job is safe, right? Like no more of this bullshit about- Oh yeah, absolutely. If they win two, and because they're definitely going to beat Exeter at Sandy Park. I have very few doubts because now you know Genge and Sinclair will be around for that. They will, and from what I understand, maybe James O'Connor too,
00:52:23
Speaker
So, fuck. Here's O'Connor. Here's O'Connor, sorry. We'll talk about James O'Connor in a little bit. But yeah, here's O'Connor coming through like, fuck that.
00:52:36
Speaker
Even JJ went just fine too. What the fuck? Who cares? Yeah. Williams has been pretty good so far. You got to say he's been yelling. Lloyd's been amazing too. And who knew? Like he started the season so freaking poorly. And yeah, in the last couple of seasons, that's kind of been his MO. He hasn't started well, but he's gotten better as the seasons have gone on. So I give him credit to at least keep fighting and not just let that be what dictates the season. Yeah, I'm looking at the path is is there for them. So I'm interested to see how this goes. Great.
00:53:07
Speaker
Agreed. Okay, so let's jump to the other hemisphere. Chief Highlanders, it's something we can spend very little time on because the shock was a little. I never felt at any point like this game was going any other way. It was one of those like you could feel from the jump. It's like as long as Chiefs play their ball and don't shit the bed and they didn't, they just played okay. I still don't think Mackenzie, I think if they had a better 10,
00:53:38
Speaker
They would have won by a lot more because if I still think DMACC is not, he's a good second option. Second distributor. Yep. I agree. I agree with that. And that try that he set up on the short side, like when he, when he, um,
00:53:57
Speaker
When he wrapped around the, the rock, that's what I would expect a good 15 to do with the 10 working to play the ball out the other way. I agree. Like that's, that's what I would see what the roles to be. And so, um, yeah, I just, I know he wants to play 10 for the all blacks. I just, I don't think he's a 10.
00:54:18
Speaker
They have too many maybe next cycle, but they have too many options. He's got it. He's got a lot of work to do. That's my only takeaway. Yeah, really. I don't know. I'm not arguing with that one. No, I didn't me. I'd say one of the. Bines of this isn't any he kind of was around last season that had has been quite hippie for the center for especially when you consider how much time it'll be missed.
00:54:44
Speaker
Right. And he's still missing some. He's, he's a little bit more. And yeah, he'll be probably unforced to all black rest at some point. So he's going to be, he and Nikeville are going to be huge to this team. And if they continue to play the way they're playing right now, which I don't know if there's many better center pairings out there than these two that have played the first three games, the way they played, um,
00:55:09
Speaker
Yeah. Good luck freaking that one out. And then you have Sean Stevens and to have some, has something to say generally. He heard you, he heard you, man. I'm telling you. Definitely heard you. Let's move on to Melbourne. Let's go to rebels and ties. Big upset.
00:55:27
Speaker
big up. But but notable. I would say a big Oh, so the rebels are this is this is what I've been looking for from the rebels for quite some time. They, they play with balls, they played hard. Yeah, and and water has did themselves not many favors. No, but the rebels took advantage every time they got an opportunity. So yes, they were very lethal with with the stuff.
00:55:53
Speaker
You must have been standing on your, on your chair when you saw the given dummy, the props, right? Yeah. I, yes. Sure. We'll have a proper run. Why not? Yes, please. I'll take it. Yeah. No, no question fucking about it, but you got to love. Yes. Props on the road. It's, it's, it's poor on.
00:56:19
Speaker
Riese, I think was the one that eventually gave him the hole. Like, come on, man. Like, you gotta, you gotta stay there and make the tackle. Yeah. Take, bite the bullet. I'm teaching like, I have, you know, the, the college kids and I'm teaching them about how that, you know, you don't take them on head on, but you take them on the side and they'll go down. It'll be all right. And trust me as a prop, like if you out,
00:56:41
Speaker
Agile me, you know, fair play. I shouldn't out agile you and like that's beating them at their own game. Like, no, yeah, poor, poor, poor effort there, but good for the prop. You know, I wasn't sure that this would be a thing, but I think it is now lucky. Swinton's a ticking time bomb. He's waiting to get another red card. He really is. And I think.
00:57:09
Speaker
Coleman saw that and said, you are not getting a red card right now. You were going to get the fuck off this field and you pulled him early. Yeah. Like, yeah, that, that looked bad. Like something, something a little chippy. And I think it's people are starting to target him as someone that could eventually give away a stupid penalty or a stupid card because he just gets a little too hot under the collar. And you know, we've seen them see the red mist and do stupid shit already at international level. Right. So if I,
00:57:37
Speaker
If you're someone that needs every edge you can against the war toss, which the rebels were, that's something I'm going to do is go try and you know,
00:57:45
Speaker
poke, prod, and do everything I can to bug the shit out of him until he does something stupid. He almost did. He didn't. His coaches were on it, so give them credit for realizing what was happening and saying, no, you're done. You're done. Just start chirping him. Chirping 101, boys. If I got one thing, focus on it, beat it into the ground. Beat it into submission. Absolutely. So the Rebels, Richard Horvick's been amazing for them. Carter Gordon's been very good for them.
00:58:13
Speaker
If the two of them can keep it up, then this team can make noise. No doubt. Certainly. No doubt. And then Ponceo is, you know, okay. He's all right. There's better. Yeah. He's done bloody good. And we thought just come back to form. So let's. Yeah. And having him at 13 has been pretty all right. Apparently that's his preferred position and what he said. Good stuff. Working out all right. Yeah.
00:58:42
Speaker
Let's go over to Fiji. The Druo play their first home game and they get it done. I wasn't sure about it with the kicking the way they were going, but they found it. It was, it was, it was a little nervy. Um, but they like, they came back. I mean, what was it? 20 was 12, nothing at halftime, something like that. 12. Um, hold on. I had, Oh, had that 12, five. Yeah. 12, five. So I had the note here. Yeah. Got it. Um,
Brumbies vs Reds: High Competition
00:59:14
Speaker
And yeah, they scored the try towards the end to really get themselves just enough back into it to believe. And they kept going, they just kept fighting for every point. And, you know, Crusaders had, this is where I was going from the earlier discussion about players who need to step up.
00:59:35
Speaker
Crusaders played, you know, a lot of people who were second choice players at best, you know, like Fergus Burke at your 10 year. Yeah. They were letting him take this one and see how we could pilot the ship. Right. He piloted it. Okay. But certainly not.
00:59:54
Speaker
to standard had the stones to hit the version at the end there. He did. That was a big kick. So I mean, I'm not saying it was like, he was not the problem. I'm not putting it that way. But no, I don't think so either. He was also not like he they should have if he had played it, you know,
01:00:12
Speaker
a worldly of a match for him. But like, you know, to show if you wanted to put us make a statement, this wasn't really much of a statement other than I am Fergus Burke. I can I can play. OK, cool. Yeah, if you hockey wasn't. Was not wasn't onto it. I don't. Yeah, I don't particularly like him that much personally, but I give Springer a pass. He's a pop.
01:00:37
Speaker
Right. Don't expect much, you know, that much of him. But like, and or really coming off early was less than helpful. He was. And Reese was like, OK, he scored his try as he does. But it was something he had to create from five meters out. Yeah. But the most I can say, OK, right.
01:00:59
Speaker
but like Joe Timoney scoring the double thumbs up. Wow. How good was he in this match? He was superb. And the try that didn't count that he almost set up like on top of all that. Woo. Right. And he was used. Excellent. That's propelled his team forward, I think. That's a statement. Even late last year. So cut him some slack about last year. This year he's been there the whole time. Right.
01:01:29
Speaker
And look at the players that have developed around him. That's the other thing. He needs the support player. Like he can't just do it. Like you can't do that on your own as a nine. There's got to be someone else to help finish. And they're finding the guys like Massey, Voda has been good in, in, in spurts. Um, Erony Sowell comes out. Yeah. Joe assess. He's been great the whole time, but like, um, you know,
01:01:54
Speaker
And then again, you know, the, the Salawa and Tamani, like these guys are, are gamers. They've got the horses now. And that's, that's going to help Lomani shine. They've had, they had the experience to keep up with him and that's going to make them that much better. They got to solve their goal kicking problems because honestly, they shouldn't have been in this situation to begin with.
01:02:16
Speaker
Valentini. Good on him for nailing that. How about just coming on and having the stones to like, oh, yeah. Here you go, kid. Your first ever match. Super rugby match against Crusaders at home. It's not like Teddy Teller kicked well, though. So he missed one right in front. Yeah, he did. So I. Yeah, they got to solve that. If they can solve that, then we're talking about them getting into the knockouts. Yeah, we are.
01:02:47
Speaker
Right. I mean, they're they're in it now. But I mean, it's early three. We're only around three. So we're not going to rate eating homework. Right. There's there's a lot that can happen in a lot. We're not taking back right now. But but it's looking it's looking positive. And look, you can't you can never just paper over beating the crusaders. So that's no that was in the crowd. How awesome was that? Great crowd. Great. Love that crowd. Loved it. Loved it. Reminds me of Quincy.
01:03:10
Speaker
And nothing will make me more excited.
01:03:15
Speaker
Um, just a fantastic crowd full of beautiful people enjoying rugby. Yeah. It was really awesome to see that. And you know, in short, short sleeves and yeah, just a couple of months. We'll be there. Perfectly reminded me of Quincy. We'll be there soon. Let's, uh, let's jump over to Wellington and Keynes and Blues.
01:03:39
Speaker
so bloody close for these games. And I couldn't be more happy with the way the guys played sans Mr. Sevilla like help the friggin extreme, the title Lomax put it put it into get himself down was freaking beautiful as props do. He's
01:04:03
Speaker
Yeah, it's, there's a lot to love about the way they played. And we're still looking at some guys that are kind of developing, but, you know, we saw, we saw, what's his butt, come back to Brett Cameron, come back to super rugby. I was like, I knew I'd recognize that name. Yep. I saw the last name. I was like, whoop. And then I figured it out. I was like, Oh, wait a minute. Yes. I remember this guy. The center pairing of Jordy Barrett and Billy Proctor is actually,
01:04:32
Speaker
one of the better ones in the league right now. Certainly one of the ones I would lean on most weeks. And that's saying a lot because there's some goddamn good center pairings, including the one that was across the fucking park from them. Right. Two of us checking. Yeah. There's like, there's three at the top of the cloud and said, say, and these are two of them. The other one we already talked about. Yeah. And that, so to their credit, that is,
01:05:00
Speaker
Yeah, this is a great performance. I know they lost. But if you told me, if you were talking about this last year, I had zero confidence that they were going to get this done. I knew the Blues were going to win. The Blues are that type of team that are just going to take you down no matter how they need to do it. Yeah, they have that class. They're just a world-class team. They're a high-end bunch.
01:05:25
Speaker
But as a team of developing players, for the most part, um, Peter, luck. I see pal. See Pat silver stream guy, um, came out, came out of the blocks looking every bit, the, the part, uh, and I know he had the first start as well. So between, so now you have. Or the hurricanes in the back row, you have look, I, you have already, you have Dewey who actually played pretty well this match. Um,
01:05:55
Speaker
You have TK Houghton who came into things last year. And Jose. Yeah. And you're bringing Jose out there. And Flanders actually played pretty well this match. Almost got it. Yeah. Almost got that freaking dance down the touchline after the offload. Oh, so close. Oh, wait. They gave it to him, didn't they? Yeah. The Morby try. That's what it was. I said, wait a minute. Yeah. Yeah. The Morby try. Whoo.
01:06:19
Speaker
If I was a Blues fan, I would have been jumping up and down screaming at the TV like, you mother, I always said everything under the book. So I will, but for all the ones that are going to happen later on this year, I'll take that one happily. So Blues. Otherworldly. So Tutu is a monster. I, I don't know how he doesn't make the all blacks if they want to win the World Cup. Right. Really like out and out. Number eight.
01:06:48
Speaker
guy that does all the jobs you want as a loose forward on the field and is, not only is he, not only is he just like a monster, he's just so smart with the way he does things. He really is just, you see- He's a Vatican coordinated and large and strong. If you don't have all these things- That doesn't exist in many players. No. He's just, he understands,
01:07:16
Speaker
what his, not only does he understand what his teammates are going to do, he understands how he can help them do it. And that is the sign of, that is the sign of a world-class loose forward. He's not quite there, but he's a facilitator. Give him the chance. And I know the Blues are going to play him every minute they possibly can without
01:07:37
Speaker
Fauzi interrupting and that'll only help them and that'll only help him. So I, I'm, I'm, I like 21st person on the scene. I still, I like him a lot more now.
01:07:48
Speaker
And the, it's not the, you know, we talked about the, uh, the Kane's back road, the fucking blues background. I mean, just Akira Akira's hurt as, as happily, but you've properly Tom Robinson, even Adrian choke is, is no fucking joke. Um, he's not as silly as his name sounds. So yeah, there's, that's not fair. What's, what's going on over there. Okay. Yeah.
01:08:16
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know how, and another one that I don't know how he doesn't start, but probably how he doesn't start. They want him to wake up. Right. Beats me. Anywho. Let's go Brumby's Reds. Another classic between these two teams. Big time. I thought, unfortunately, and this is because I don't like the referee number one, but number two, I think it's accurate. Dolman getting involved in some silly things more often than I'd like him to. Yeah. I think it just.
01:08:47
Speaker
This didn't need him. Like, this is one of those matches where you didn't need him to get involved too often. Right. Just let it play. It's not. Nothing was dirty. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Right. I felt like he got too involved too often and it didn't quite have the luster this match could have because of him. Yeah.
01:09:07
Speaker
But I mean, it's still an excellent match. And I still feel like reds really just, they struggled first half. And I like, you know, I don't think lineup played poorly exactly, but it was a clear difference. Yeah. I mean, you could see the huge, the huge difference between the two of them right now. And it's not to say that line that doesn't have the ability to be
01:09:32
Speaker
the level of James O'Connor at any point. He very well could have. He's played so well for a young fellow at this level. You have to give him all the credit in the world, but you bump into a team like the Brumbies that's got a bunch of really smart coaches on their coaching staff and a bunch of really smart players on the field for them, and they're gonna figure it out. And let's be honest, he looked okay against the Hurricanes. They figured him out, too. And he's not making mistakes. It's not like he's making mistakes.
01:10:02
Speaker
It's just that he's kind of you can get him to tip his hand. Mm hmm. And that's all it is. And and and you know, that's the thing we talk about, like, yes, young tens lose you games. That's you take the good with the bad. They're still what they've. Are they still two and one or no, they wanted to because they wanted to. Yeah, that's right. And it's still it's still the Brumby's again, one of the top
01:10:30
Speaker
Two teams, unless the Rebels are really like heads out of their bums, now they're one of the top three teams potentially, or even Martauser aren't terrible. So it's like, there's a lot of stiff competition there. It's not like a pushover like it has been where, you know, when it was just Red's Brumbies, but even so it's still the Brumbies. They're still fucking good. There's still someone you got to watch out for. And yeah, he's not ready yet. Yeah. Lillisia wants his 10 shirt back.
01:11:00
Speaker
Guided things really well for Boyz and White over there. I thought he was really good. Was it Pattaya? For the fullback? No, from O'Connor, yeah. Oh, no, no, no. Lila Cio.
01:11:15
Speaker
Oh, no, I'm sorry. I was talking. I was still back on the Reds. Yeah. But the counter kicked at Pattaya was fucking excellent. Sorry. Oh, God, that was great. I was like, OK, well, that's why you're you are who you are. Yeah. Like both of them like. Yeah, the two of them. Yeah. Another guy. Another guy. If he stays healthy, Pattaya should be in a gold jersey and should be in the lineup more often than not.
01:11:41
Speaker
Mm-hmm. If they especially if they want to do do well and not get bounced at quarter file time. Yeah. Am I reading this right? Did, did rhombus only score two tries? Yes. White and lonergan. That was it. That's it. And they wow. That's it. Yep.
01:11:58
Speaker
White long again and little CEO with five games. Yeah. Three pens, two conversions. Wow. Yeah. Well, let's see who had it. That was a little bit of a statement. That's for him. Like just, yeah, moving the ball around the park. Well, putting it where needed to be. And then kicking when, when they gave him the tea, that's really good. Really good. You know, nothing like.
01:12:22
Speaker
I thought of the three of them, you know, O'Connor obviously played the best, but it was like, yeah, that's a job, you know, they're going to need more than that, I guess, at the next level, but it's acceptable here. Right.
Pacifica vs Drua: Development Disparities
01:12:38
Speaker
Force and Pacifica out to Perth. Pacifica almost do it.
01:12:44
Speaker
Yeah, I know. This game, although I watched it first, but it reminded me a lot of the Druid Crusaders and that Pacific are right there. There's not really much of a difference between the two teams, talent-wise or rugby-wise, and it's just the rub of the green didn't go their way. Right.
01:13:09
Speaker
And yeah, you know the cards they gotta they gotta fucking get their discipline discipline kill you man. Can't have a red card No, discipline will kill you it's It's one of those things where the
01:13:27
Speaker
Drua are just a little bit ahead of them in terms of the development as a team. They are. Last year, they weren't here necessarily to just make up the numbers. This year, 100% less. So they are here to be a pain. And yes, they didn't play well in round two. No. I also feel like this game kind of ended when Tawala came out. He was there 10.
01:13:54
Speaker
essentially. And he was a running, he was electric in this match. I, I didn't see McCutchie except when the tee came out, really. Yeah. Um, a lot of people wouldn't say that too, which is, which is just weird. So there's, there's, they're doing some, some odd things and not that I might've so much, but like, it's not like McCutchie was, let me see if I can find some stats on this. I don't even remember him running with 11 meters on six carries. What do you,
01:14:22
Speaker
No, no. 30 passes. When'd he come off? And to all I had 22. So like that kind of, you know, getting close there. Yeah. It tells you something. Agreed. That McCutchie's over a lot off of like first phase and shit like that. But yeah.
01:14:42
Speaker
I like what they've got, but it's not nearly as cohesive, but you're right. As, as, as Fiji. And I think that's, that was kind of the reason the game went the way it went. Cause I don't really feel like the, um, the force were like terribly dominant. Like we said, only two tries. I think, I think Moana have.
01:15:05
Speaker
a really nice setup with, with much of their backs. I think at this point they need a couple forwards and I know they have a couple that could be, um, Naki's good. Yeah. But really that that's the only guy that comes to mind when it comes to their forwards and they need at least a couple more to step up and put their hand up. And it doesn't, it doesn't have to be a loose forward. It can be a lock or a prop or whatever, but just need a few more guys that can put their hands up and
01:15:32
Speaker
put the team on their back in certain patches of the game to take the pressure off, one, the backs, but two, Funaki. So if they find that in, if one of those, if those players show themselves this season, then again, they won't just be here to make up the numbers. They're going to be here to cause problems. And you can't take them lightly. Right. And I guess that goes, it's almost the same as the four. That's, that's a lot of balance there. Cause like the four, they're, they're,
01:16:00
Speaker
The back row that they put out there for this one was not like, you know, Callan and... Ansti's probably the best part of that. Yeah, Ansti is the best one and he's not...
01:16:12
Speaker
terrible, but he's not, you know, amazing. He has, he has his moments. I don't think he played all that well. I agree. And then you look at the backs and how well, they basically played all of them along the back line. Matt Elliott was, was a little bit of a ghost, which distressed me, obviously, because I have him in fantasy. Yeah. Hagerty played well. Stewart was excellent. Kunzel did a chase to Tia. I,
01:16:41
Speaker
And he was contributorily excellent, if that's a way of saying it. He contributed a lot. He did a lot of things and a lot of good things. So yeah, just nothing to kind of back it in the forwards. Yeah. And
01:17:00
Speaker
you see it in, it doesn't matter what, what, what you're talking about in terms of teams at a level like this, you know, you need, you need enough on either side of it to compliment, you know, the other side of that nine, you got to have it to compliment it. Otherwise yeah, you're, you're, you're going to struggle in certain games, some games you'll be able to put away because you have such a good unit, but it just isn't quite going to do it overall overall. Okay.
01:17:31
Speaker
Let's go to Quincy.
Freejacks' Home Opener Success
01:17:34
Speaker
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Home opener. Opened. The home was opened. Holy shit. Record crowd. Hell yeah. And we felt it. Like I saw people, I saw them, there was a comment on
01:17:50
Speaker
you know, what are you guys looking for? You know, do you have any feedback and somebody's like more rest, more restrooms up on the hill and more beer stands. Cause holy shit. There were, there were so many people that the lines were just impossible. I'm not sure. I don't think I wouldn't have anticipated that either. Honestly, though, like it sounded like they had tried to cover their bases after the last year and they, that wasn't even enough. And they expanded as the year went last year. Um,
01:18:19
Speaker
And I feel like they added one more, even for this one. This felt like more than what they started with last year. And yeah, so I don't know. Great crowd. The ref was so fucking annoying. But the freejacks were the better team. The whole time when they were playing with the 15, they were in complete control.
01:18:50
Speaker
There was nothing that, you know, Old Glory was not really threatening. It was only when they were down to 14, it became like a thing. Yep, including one. And it was down to 14 a lot because like, I didn't agree with the one. Okay.
01:19:05
Speaker
Yes, the one of them, the first one, I think our locks hand, yeah, he came out and he was in the rock, very much in the rock and smacked the ball out of the nine's hand. Yeah. Was that was that already or was that the other guy? That was the other guy. Keys. Kind of keys. Yeah. Yeah, it was keys. Hopefully Larson's better. Oh, I hope he's all right. Just dislocated shoulder was an early, early assessment. So of the two, you can either have a dislocate or separate.
01:19:34
Speaker
dislocated is the better news of the two, depending on how many times he's done it. Yeah. If he's done it once, he's going to be out for a little while. If he's done it a couple of times, then he'll be, he'll be back soon. Yeah. It'll be bad. Um, so I would fully anticipate him being out this week though. Yeah, exactly. Well, yes, I agree.
01:19:58
Speaker
But I thought the Parete yellows were a bit soft, but... And then... Oh, the first one was bullshit. Second one was dumb. Just dumb. I was like, what are you doing, you dummy? Like, that's not even trying to disguise it. Right. And also, last I checked, like, shepherding.
01:20:18
Speaker
He like, if you're shepherding, you're offside and there's no, you know, it's not like, at least it didn't look from where we were. Like there was excessive force in the attempted tackle when he tried to run through the guy who was shepherding, but the, it was Shelts. Yeah. Yeah. Shelts is a, Shelts is a cheeky character to say the least. Yeah. He buys, he buys many things.
01:20:42
Speaker
Right, but it's like you are also in the way so you don't get to like, unless there was something egregious and I didn't see anything egregious. It just looked like a standard like, even if it's a shove, it's like, you're in the way, get out of the way. That's fair.
01:20:56
Speaker
Every referee sees that generally in the world. He's like, yeah, you shouldn't have been there. You're in the way. He's trying to get through you to get the tackle. So penalty. Um, you know, if he came in with like a flying forearm, okay, that's maybe a little bit different. That didn't happen. So, um, yeah, that's fine. You know, so there's little shit like that. That was just really, it was creating, um,
Rugby League's Growth and Challenges
01:21:20
Speaker
But again, growing league can have the best reps, but that hurts us at the national level. So yeah, we've had that conversation. Um, but the right team, Donald at the 15 was good. I think that experiment worked out quite well. It did. So if we have a, we have, if we have ideas about that and going forward, I'm okay with it. Uh,
01:21:41
Speaker
a lot of the good dice scored. Jam got over for what was it was the eventual clincher. Yeah. Oh, and that that little the cheeky pick at the scrum. When the their scrum have just kind of took a shit and the wing was not guarded staying at home. He saw it and just took it. And I don't remember who finished that one. But uh, was that about unless he did that one? Oh, Balcon. Yes.
01:22:10
Speaker
Mm, I can't remember. Yeah, well, so I finished one on the other side. I think it was okay. No, he finished the other one on the other side. So yeah, I think it was okay. So then that was the ballot kind of one. That was the one where he did a little flicky. Beautiful, beautiful. So great, great work by the boys to get the job done at home. You win you win, you get five points, you run away. It doesn't matter.
Major League Rugby Weekend Recap
01:22:30
Speaker
Right. You live with whatever else happens, especially with the news that was to come later. It was a great weekend for
01:22:37
Speaker
Right. Free Jack's rugby. Right. So let's do, let's do the loop around, uh, Chicago. Josh barely went down to Toronto. Um, like it was shepherd, uh, not shepherd. Um,
01:22:49
Speaker
Give me a minute. My brain, my brain will compute it. Um, Sam Malcolm knocked over the winner for the arrows at, at sea geek stadium. Was that, was that, was it their first? It was a second. Sorry. That was the second Chicago home game. Um, but anyway, so yeah, hounds are still kind of figuring themselves out. They'll be dangerous later in the season. So I wouldn't be, um,
01:23:11
Speaker
dismissing them quite yet. Legion blanked the jackals, but only put up 22. So I don't know if that's more on the Legion or less more about the jackals defense. I'm going to go with the first part, personally. Yeah, I think it's more of the Legion. I think it's probably. We know they're better than that. We know they're better than that.
01:23:30
Speaker
Seattle won again, they win the battle of the undefeateds up at Starfire, and now Houston go down. So they are, they're not gonna be fun. And free decks have to go there, which I'm not really excited about. I don't want to. Don't want to. And Noah beat New York. What Gibbs? So at least from the highlights I saw,
01:23:59
Speaker
Or did I even start watching a little bit? It just looked like, I don't know. Nola just moved the ball well and took advantage every time they got a little bit of a break or at least that's how they scored their tries. They got too many breaks, but ironworkers just didn't play very much. Like I feel like they kind of, maybe they had possession, but they weren't really threatening.
01:24:25
Speaker
So at least that's how it, that's how it came across when I was watching. So certainly happy with the result. I'd be concerned if I was New York fan after that one, then I would be too. They'll sign some, yeah, better, better sign some all blacks, right? Yeah. I'm sure they'll try. Yeah. Are you, is it time yet? I woke up, man. I don't know if you're gonna be able to pull it off. Right. Anyway, uh, quick look at the standings and we'll get out of here.
01:24:54
Speaker
So East, the most important one. I'm kidding. Ion workers, Atlanta and Freejax are all at the top, 10 a piece.
01:25:04
Speaker
Everybody else is following DC with seven, uh, NOLA with five and arrows with five. Iron workers have played an extra game though. They have played an extra game. So that's probably the only reason that that point differential is a little bit better for them than not. So there's, there's, there's a little food for that. Seattle, of course, as you'd expect are dominating out West, although they're only at 17 and Cindy goes right behind them at 16 with Houston at 15.
01:25:29
Speaker
Or Utah at nine hounds at two jackals at one. So that's a little concerning if you're starting to see separation. You saw our, our can make, make, maybe claw the way back into it, but we already know hounds and jackals are not. Yeah. I'm so good to get better, but they, the slow start could do them in badly. We'll see how that goes anyway.
Freejacks vs New York Preview
01:25:54
Speaker
Rejects go to New York next.
01:25:58
Speaker
Yep. And then they're back home against, I think, Dallas. So, honestly, I hope it snows. No looking ahead, boys. No looking ahead. Hope it snows. I'm only looking ahead because I'm ready to go back. That's the only reason. I'm ready to go back too, but I mean, I need to get through. No, no, no. I agree. Don't get caught napping on these guys. Right. The Ironworkers are like, yes, you get a bye week afterwards, kind of.
01:26:24
Speaker
Yeah, no, don't, don't get caught napping. Take these guys seriously. We'll be, everything's going to be all right. Okay. That is that. We are, we're, we're done with that. Yeah. I'm Nancy review podcast at gmail.com. Obviously that's how you get all, get all of us for questions, all that good stuff.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
01:26:48
Speaker
If you're coming over to the fancy pod, fancy corner, we'll see you there. Um, you get to hear,
01:26:55
Speaker
who Ben's going to give me in pink slips. And then, other than that, we do appreciate you all for listening to us and letting us babble into your ear for a wee bit. Enjoy the rest of the rugby. Enjoy the close of Six Nations. Good luck, France, and go on Ireland. Have yourself a day. My prediction is done. It's done. The dream is over.
01:27:19
Speaker
Maybe best for us all, to be honest. Hey, I'm glad it lasted as long as it did. Yeah, I'm sure you are. Until then, we appreciate you all for hanging out with us. Have a good one, everyone. Later.