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Season 6- Episode 21- 20 Minutes is Nothing (6 Nations Round 5 & Super Rugby Round 4)
73 Plays2 years ago
It's those American Rugby dopes, here to anger you and make you laugh all within a few minutes of one another. On this episode of TFRY we are of course talking about the final round of 6 Nations with a wider view on things and why this weekend shows why we have a right to be annoyed with certain players in international colors. Then we hop down to the southern hemisphere where more bad than good continues in Christchurch, including an ugly ending to their latest defeat. Finally, it's a stop over at Fort Quincy where the boys righted the ship after a lackluster first half to claim top of the east...and a certainly player is still less than favored by us. Catch this, so much more, have a drink and join 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 Podcast Promotion
00:00:03
Speaker
It is. The Fantasy Robias. 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 handled that. Collusion. Collusion.
00:00:27
Speaker
Hey, everybody. Welcome back. It is the Fantasy Rugby Yanks. My name is Jared Dyk. I'm Ben Glauser. We're into it. Let's crack on, shall we? I'm gonna bust this thing open. Sign your favorite podcast app, download, rate, review, share, all that good shit. I am fearless today. I know you are. By choice.
Beer Talk and Inclusivity in Sports
00:00:45
Speaker
You had your fill on Saturday birthday boy. Certainly did. And the beer I have here, first off, it's Imperial PA and I can't, I always get it because I'm like, oh, it can't be that bad. No, it's just gross. You should stop doing that. Yeah, I know. But it's called laser cat. So what am I supposed to not get it? And then I got to stop doing that. Well, it needs to be Thundercat number one. Right.
00:01:13
Speaker
But you can't get rid of lasers and cats though, but whatever. Anyway, moving on.
00:01:19
Speaker
Make sure that you buy our good friend, George, the fancy little geek a coffee or beer, especially if you did well in your official Six Nation League because the official person that's giving that advice is our good friend, George. So make sure that you buy him a coffee or beer. And of course, thank you to his shout out, including you and I amongst the many that he tagged in that very generous tweet.
00:01:45
Speaker
We are mostly worthy. Someday, someday is not. Depends on who you ask. We approach worthiness at our best. As always, there is no discrimination here on this podcast, nor should there be in sports or in life. Running with the
Concerns and Criticism in Sportsmanship
00:02:06
Speaker
thing we've said of recent weeks is the whole don't be a dick thing. And you and I were talking about Chris Simon and some of the helmetry that we're hoping to avoid with the law changes and what rugby and just, yeah, some general muppetry as well.
00:02:23
Speaker
Yeah, first off, yeah, that the 20 minute read, I still, you know, both, both of us see that as going to be, um, we're gonna see a lot more HIA's because players are just not going to care. They'll come in high, especially as a, a secondary tackler. Um, you know what we saw with, with Owen Franks and we'll get to that shortly. Um, there's just not as going to be as much care for, for opposition. Um, and with that, I saw, uh, Lance Armstrong.
00:02:51
Speaker
Don't be a dick. Don't ask. Came out and was whining about the way competitors in the cycling world are treating each other. It's funny, cycling world with Lance Armstrong. Anyway, he was saying that he doesn't like that the competitors are high-fiving each other and hugging after races. That's just not the way it should be.
00:03:21
Speaker
No, there's nothing wrong with that. If anything, the competition gives us a reason to get better. If somebody beats us, hey, they did well. Congratulate them. Have a beer with them or whatever they drink in cycling. But it should be a we all make each other better. We all
00:03:44
Speaker
a good performance by someone else is going to raise my performance. It should be that attitude, not, I hate you and I want all the worst for you and you beat me so fuck you. That's stupid. That's childish, it's petulant. It doesn't help anything. It doesn't grow any sport.
Rivalries and Player Dynamics
00:04:05
Speaker
So yeah, don't be a dick. Embrace the challenge. Yeah. It's not unlike the real world where you have people that you absolutely despise no matter what their profession is and how well they are at it. And you have people that you love no matter how good or bad they are at their job.
00:04:25
Speaker
And even like rewind to the NFL like 30 years ago, if you played for a certain team, those players hated your guts and probably even further than that, like 40 years ago. Tell us what that was like, Ben. Anyway, oh, no, it was 40 years ago. It wasn't even that long ago. It was it wasn't like, no, I know. But yeah, it's what I was. Right. If you played for the rival team, you know, all the Steelers, Bengals or Packers, Bears.
00:04:50
Speaker
Everybody Cowboys absolutely hate each other. Like they wanted to beat the shit out of each other. And nowadays it's more players versus the league, which is more beneficial to the players. Obviously United front.
00:05:06
Speaker
Yes, you still have players that you would much rather like drink a gallon of sand over talking to them and dealing with them. But right still, it's it's sometimes like, there's there's guys like that on every team that you know, yes, don't be a dick. But guys, so there's a lot of guys who can't deal with themselves. Yeah. But at the same time, that is that's going away. And that's a good thing. Yeah.
00:05:34
Speaker
I agree wholeheartedly agree.
Patreon Updates and Rugby Analysis
00:05:39
Speaker
Uh, also, also, also don't forget to grab our Patreon. I will do boom bus this week. I promised for super rugby. And it's not really relevant for six nations, obviously.
00:05:49
Speaker
but I will do boom busts and I will publish the PWR standings. If you're listening to this and waiting for PWR stuff, go to the fantasy corner. We're going to talk about it. Yeah. Cause we do have updated standings and I'll have the analytics. Hopefully I definitely for prem and hopefully for, for super rugby, it's going to be, it's going to be tight. Very interesting. Like I, and I'm not tuning our own horn here, but the prem stuff is very interesting looking. So if you don't have it yet, I really would.
00:06:18
Speaker
advise you to get a shot and at least look at it. So it's going to be pretty nifty. Let's go Six Nations in the final round. We'll hit on generic topics, not necessarily matches, although one match that we'll probably talk about in particular.
00:06:40
Speaker
Anywho, back to the scene of crime, Cardiff, and four bonus points in the standing kind of sums it up for Wales. With that, I will say
00:06:53
Speaker
They are doing the things that we talked about where they're just kind of chucking the young kids in and say, have fun. So there is good there, but it's just like, ooh, this really hurts at the same time. Look, this is the suck. It's going to be that way. But look at Italy now, right? They did it.
00:07:12
Speaker
And they're starting to reap the rewards now a couple of years down the line. And yeah, the World Cup this past year wasn't great. But I mean, there are six nations this year has been fantastic for them specifically. And there's a whole lot more to look forward to. I mean, you know,
00:07:29
Speaker
What line up played two matches in this six nations six nations and. Was two for two in tries and or did he. No one but no two good performances nonetheless right and like how how different would that be if you know if he'd been around the whole time and.
00:07:47
Speaker
you know kapozo but the kapozos hurt and you still have pani who played i thought pretty well in this match too so i did too like dude that's a serious back line that all all you know from from ten on out varney's farny's good but he's also super young too um but anyway yeah wales with with costolo and dire and win it
00:08:09
Speaker
And, um, and, um, and, uh, Mason Grady off the bench, like he's a player, the best I've seen him play yet. And really I'm, I'm hoping it's more than the one off for him because club or country, I haven't seen him really do a whole lot until this match. So maybe this is like the, okay, I figured it out match. I don't know, but.
00:08:31
Speaker
Hopefully. Yeah. It needs to be more than just the one off. Yeah.
Wales and Italy's Rugby Development
00:08:36
Speaker
And yeah, there's a lot of, there's a lot more gaps than, uh, in, in, in Wales than dinner on Italy at the moment, like the tight five for, for Wales or, or need some help. Um, I can hear people who were screaming blast from me already. Yeah, I know.
00:08:53
Speaker
Not my fault. Exactly. They need some dynamism there. Let's put it that way. Yeah, they've got some beef, okay, but what are they contributing besides tackles? I think at this point, the tackle stat is not... I'm seeing that as overrated.
00:09:15
Speaker
If you have a lot of tackles- Yeah, if that's all you can do, you're not doing yourself favors. Right. If you have a lot of tackles, that doesn't bode well for you as a team. It's not just as a ... Yeah, great. Someone can make a lot of tackles, but you shouldn't have to. If you're playing well, you shouldn't have to make 30 fucking tackles in a game. That's not good. Right.
00:09:37
Speaker
Totally agree. Totally agree. Yeah. So it should be more of a signal of this is a problem as opposed to. It's a systemic problem as opposed to a player playing well.
00:09:50
Speaker
Right. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. A bit of a fool's gold, if you will. Yes. But I mean, still fighting back, excellent work. I thought that game was well over, but make it look respectable at the end. Nothing wrong with that. Yeah. I think the one guy we got to talk about
00:10:14
Speaker
player of the match for the second game in a row. Brex. Like, wow. And he's not even up for player of the tournament, which he should be. That's too bad. But Medicello also kind of deserves it too. Oh, yes. What a house he is. Good George. I do not want to tackle that going through that gap. No, thank you. No, that's a, that's a year man call. That's what that is. And the worst is the thing about Medicello is you, you, you never know where he's going to show up.
00:10:42
Speaker
No, he works all over the pitch. That's what you want in packs in general, but definitely anybody outside like 10, nine, 10. Yeah, you need that. But Brex has been just like, if the difference is Menicella will show up and just like, pwn wherever the hell he is. Whereas
00:11:06
Speaker
whenever you're in a spot where you're like, man, it would be awesome if someone was right there for them. Oh, there's Brex. And he's doing something awesome. Yeah, absolutely. Johnny on the spot, Juany on the spot. Just absolutely clutch in every aspect of that word. You can't overrate that.
00:11:31
Speaker
Yeah. And he's been through the shit too. So for him to have a very positive experience, obviously, in this Six Nation in particular, you got to feel great for him and just, you got to be happy for him if you're, if you love the sport for any reason whatsoever, you have to love the, a player like him that's gone through how a lot of the tight five have as well. Yeah.
00:11:58
Speaker
And, uh, um, who's an hour, uh, Negri looking one above him. Right. Right. Yeah. Another guy that just went through all the hell. He's put himself through, um, to get this was, was good for a good result for him. I was happy for him. I mean, he's been one of the guys I've been happy, happiest for on this Italy squad. Yeah. He's, he's seen the fruits come, you know,
00:12:25
Speaker
come to bear and it's like, yes, that's, that's what I want. And you want to see people rewarded for, you know, and hard work is like an overrated word sometimes. And that sounds stupid, but I think you and I were living where we do. It's just like, oh, he works hard. So he breaks himself. Yeah.
00:12:45
Speaker
point being, not, not that type of level is what I'm talking about. Like for him, like just to keep his, his focus is the hardest part. I think for him, like last year he could have easily taught like last couple of years, he could have easily tossed it in the towel and nobody would have blamed him. Yep. And for him to just keep pounding, give him credit.
00:13:04
Speaker
And for him to have the performances that he's had on top of it, just absolutely fantastic. So good on him, good on Italy. And Lamaro is not satisfied, which I love. He says, no, I'm not waiting for the future. I want results now. And I love it. I absolutely love it. So I think good things are coming. Yep. Because somebody's got to start setting that standard too. And I think they're in the position to do it and not be
00:13:32
Speaker
Uh, a joke when they say it. So go on him. Yeah. Totally. Totally. Go on those guys.
Scotland's Rugby Challenges
00:13:38
Speaker
And then it was probably their ugliest match of the tournament. And that includes the week before where they lost. Right. What they got it done. Yup. And good teams do that. They find ways to get it done despite how ugly it is. Yeah. But were they ever under serious pressure?
00:14:02
Speaker
Cause like, I feel like Scotland- Probably not until Hugh Jones went over. Right. And by then it was like, what, two minutes left? And then it was like suddenly, okay, now we gotta, now we gotta flip the switch, but- Yeah, I was surprised for squeaky button time at that point. It's like, whoops, I didn't mean for this to happen. Can we take it back?
00:14:19
Speaker
To me, like I saw way too much Kyle Stein with Ball in Hand and way too little of Duhan and King Horn and Jones Ball in Hand this match. Right. And to me, that was a big thing. It was like, oh, they're getting a catch. You know, as I was saying with Brax, like, okay, he shows up when someone needs him. And like this time, instead of it being Duhan or King Horn,
00:14:47
Speaker
it was staying getting the ball and it's like, ah, he sucks. That's not fair. I'm not trying to like, he's not bad, but he's not transcendent. He's not doing the things that like, you know, as we were talking about men and cello and Brex and these other guys can do, he's just not, not really capable of it. That's not his, that's not what he does. And he's not the guy you want to feed. And for some reason, Scotland decided to feed him. I, yeah, I couldn't.
00:15:17
Speaker
Can you give you an answer on that one either? I'm no fan of his. I've, I've rather, I, we know always Smith and Darcy Graham are probably the better choices, but I think they're both banged up or hurt. So I mean, hell, even cow row. Still, I think I would have maybe seen row out there more. Yeah. You know, that's just what at the same time, the whole thing at the same time, they completely shut down James Lowe.
00:15:45
Speaker
Yes, completely true. Like he was, I mean, he wasn't, he wasn't a non-factor, but he wasn't, there was never a point where I'm like, yeah, exactly. It was never a point where it's like, Oh, we got to watch out for him. No, he kind of, he got a couple of good runs, but nothing, you know, they, they shepherded him into touch. I think a couple of times. Good job. Not letting him do his thing.
00:16:08
Speaker
Yeah, and we know that England found out how hard that is last week. Yeah, it's not easy. But that's the thing. Scotland were so good at defense. Again, it's the same thing. They were making all those tackles.
00:16:22
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah. They, I mean, but we don't overrate it, but at the same time they did. Yeah. They did a damn good job of doing, keeping themselves in the fight. And sometimes, sometimes. Yeah. That is enough to get you over the line, but against a very good team like Ireland, it's hard to do it that way. So I think they'll, I think they'll root. They're attacking. Yeah. For sure. They give you mad themselves on that one for sure. In my opinion, at least.
Ireland's Rugby Performance
00:16:51
Speaker
Peter Armani, the good credit to the reporter that's asked the question because the question must be asked. That's part of their job. And also credit to the war horse or the war God saying like, we'll have those conversations we will have.
00:17:11
Speaker
but now is not the time. All the looks of him tell me he's done though. Honestly, I'm looking at him and I'm like, I'm watching him and I'm like, he's done. He's not back. No way. Absolutely. That's the look of a... I'm not saying yes right now. This is not the time for me to say yes. We'll talk about it later. But I'll tell you when I'm ready to tell you it's not right now.
00:17:33
Speaker
But like the looks he had like the looks he look he had when they won is not a look you have when you know, this is this is not your last one, but you're excited anyway. Like I think he's just I think he's burnt. I think he's done. Right. That's fine. He's done a lot. A lot of good. But there's you know, there's there's no harm whatsoever. And it's like that whole hang him up or make the movie year too early rather than the year too late. And
00:18:04
Speaker
That's also goes for, you know, the, the whole, um, what was it Peyton Manning versus Tom Brady when they're talking about like, you know, I'll, I'll play until I suck. And it's like pure money does not suck. And no, and it's, it would be a lot better for, for him and for everyone if, if he's not like, you know, what Peyton Manning at the end, like dragging his own corpse. Oh my God. Like even Brady the last year or so he couldn't really throw, um,
00:18:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think I think it's time like we're, we're, we're like a, um, the, the knife's edge away from it being like, Oh, I'd love Peter Romani, but it's, it's hard to watch him now and we don't want that. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. But that in the end,
00:18:59
Speaker
No doubt iron was the best team is not a question. And just cause they wanted, I'm not saying that like they had one like bad game at the wrong time. And that was, that was last week. So.
00:19:15
Speaker
That's how it is, but here we are. They still managed to put a more consistent performance across the board than any other team by far. France sputtered to start this thing. They figured it out the last couple of weeks.
00:19:32
Speaker
Yeah. Obviously England did what they did. We know their problems. Scotland got kind of screwed a little bit. So give them, given that credit, but they needed to kind of perform better in this match to really have a case. Right. And they didn't, and Wales had their problems and we know Italy is just getting going. So yeah, that's, that's, that's the end. Right. But let's, let's go to France.
England's Rugby Struggles
00:19:59
Speaker
Let's go to Leon and talk a little bit about it and
00:20:03
Speaker
Number one, this is what pisses me off so fucking much about George Ford because this match, this match in particular showed me exactly why he could be England's 10 because he did so many great things and was so good in attack. And then he's got all this ability and said, wait, guys, you know what I'm gonna do for most of the game though?
00:20:31
Speaker
I'm going to kick the ball. Yeah. And like what he goes into that mode, it's like, what are you doing, dude? Like, no, you have so much more up your sleeve than a fucking high ball. What's wrong with you? And I think his because he did that. He still did that a couple of times in this match. And I honestly think that was the difference between them winning and losing. Yeah, because it's like you played that well. You play an attack and it's like, no, no, we're going to give up this attack and just kick it and and and, you know, flip a coin and hope it comes up heads or
00:21:00
Speaker
No, just like keep attacking. I mean, even Henry Slade wasn't useless and he didn't carry. I was saying the same thing to myself. I was like, huh?
00:21:16
Speaker
He didn't carry particularly well, but as a second distributor, fucking excellent. The thing is, I don't think they need that there. I think it's much more useful to have another runner there. Honestly, the Singleton team does not have enough runners. The three locks
00:21:37
Speaker
Um, none of them are particularly good at carrying Sam Underhill, not particularly good at carrying, um, Ben Earl, he's up for the carrying. Yeah. Like, so we talk about some of these other players who are like high tackle Rick counts, but Ben Earl has a quite a high tackle count, but also he's carrying and, you know, making more meters than, than most players on any team. So like, fuck, he's good.
00:22:05
Speaker
Yep. And like, you need more players like that. Oh, did did Elliott Daley play? Was he on the field at all? Because I think they sent out the search party for him that afternoon. And I don't think they found him yet. I think if they searched in Damien Pinot's shadow, they might have seen him a couple times. Yeah, probably, probably good place to find them. But like, that's, that's the problem. Like, there's, there's, you have all these guys who do certain things, but none of them are the thing you need done. Like Tommy Freeman,
00:22:34
Speaker
I thought he was a beast too, certainly showing like I would almost rather have that at 13 than Slade. And I don't, you know, again, Slade played well. I'm not not slagging him too much here. It's just that. The things he does. His good games are not what are not quite what you need in an international level. Yeah, because Fiku is still to keep going higher. Yeah, Fiku was was by far the best 13, which, you know, yeah, that's there's no shame in not being as good as Gal Fiku, but at the same time,
00:23:06
Speaker
Yeah. He also, I think Fikyu just ran right through Slade's gap in that long try that was finished by Legarek too. Again, he's not very good on Fikyu. Yeah. I think there were a couple of times he got exposed. Yeah. Just a couple. Just a couple. Yeah. Fikyu had 62 meters on the day. Not too bad. But you look at this fresh side and that's- 10 defender beaten. Sorry, that's pronounced. That's to me the difference is that
00:23:35
Speaker
You look all up and down this France team, and it's guys who you want with ball and hand. I mean, Flamont, hey, did you know it used to be a fly half? Oh my god, I can't believe they brought that up again. I was like, no, no, no, why are we going down this road again? Stop, shut up, shut up, shut up. Oh, I wanted to hit someone. Mayafu was a, like Mayafu I think is more, yeah, he and like Martin and Cheson were kind of on that line. They'll run you over.
00:24:02
Speaker
Um, um, not running past you, but like even crows and, and then only ball and Audrey, these are guys who you want running with the ball. Yes. And then obviously the Garak Mitchell, I thought had it, uh, an uncharacteristically poor effort. Yep. Um, but then, you know, Ramos, Billy Barry, um,
00:24:20
Speaker
Ficu, Pinot, and Barre, like, de Porte, I wasn't that impressed with, but that also could've been because he was running in the garden. Yeah, that's also not helpful, trying to freaking hang on to him for a while. Still couldn't do it. Right, so it's, again, down to, the difference here is that France, they both came through the kitchen sink at each other, but France had, honestly, the more talented team, and that's why they won.
00:24:50
Speaker
France had the bigger boat. Yeah. I mean, this is, but this was a fun fucking match. This is what you said. This is what I want to watch this. I want to watch this England team. Yes. Please give me this. Get some better players. Um, you know, if that was like Murley instead of daily, I think this would have been a much different game or even mirror. Yeah. Somebody that. Yeah. Can attack maybe at the next level. And if it was, you know, um,
00:25:20
Speaker
Marchant instead of Slade. Yeah. Unfortunately, Joe is not in England anymore. Right. This whole situation should have been avoided is where I'm going with that. You are correct. You are correct. You are right. Honestly, it didn't help them that the bench, too laggy on the bench,
00:25:47
Speaker
I get the hat tip, I get the, you know, yes, thank you. That should be the, that should be the end of Man or Two Lenny in a white uniform. Well, it is, because he's now officially gone. Did he? Yeah, the sale already officially announced today that he's gone at the end of the year. And yeah, but still, like, it's unnecessary. We don't need, again, we were just talking about like,
00:26:13
Speaker
You know, with, with Peter Monti, we were well past that with to a laggy, like it's nice to watch. We're in, we're like, it's in Billy Vunupola territory where it's like, Oh dude, you're killing us. Um, he's just not what he once was. No. And, and it should have been this selection again. You know, I'm starting to see that. Yes. Be patient with Bortho. And I still, I was always are already on that train.
00:26:39
Speaker
but now it's got to be okay. You've got your, you kind of got a thing going. Now fix your fucking selection problem. Please. Cause roots gave us, gave you nothing. He came on, he had played 26 minutes. I didn't see him once. Nope. Once he came on, not once in an attack or defense, like what the fuck is he? He's a hole out there. Yeah, agreed.
00:27:00
Speaker
guys who make impact. This is you're getting you're getting the the flavor of it. But you got to start using the right ingredients. Yep. Yeah.
Women's Six Nations Preview
00:27:12
Speaker
Your your instructions are good. Your ingredients are dog shit. Yeah. Well, not dog shit, but not good. Not good. Not good at all. All right. Let's let's look at
00:27:25
Speaker
We're in six nations because that is coming up around the corner right here right now. I'm looking forward to it. Yes. And we were talking before we hit the old red button there. This will undoubtedly be one of the more competitive
00:27:42
Speaker
women's Six Nations in recent history because one, more teams are taking the sport seriously, which is great. More countries are giving their due, which is good for these players. They deserve it. A lot of the home countries are
00:28:02
Speaker
players are now based in the PWR, which is awesome. Cause that makes, that's why that leads been pretty awesome to watch. Uh, but yeah, giving them that so many of these players, that professional environment for longer than a couple of months a year is huge in ways that cannot be explained in words, like just, and that's what's going to make this interesting. And I won't steal your thunder, but you know, results might be.
00:28:31
Speaker
just want to get the same time. Yeah, it's a race for second. And that's no, again, no shame in that. But at the same time, if England put one foot out of line, if they they pooped the bed one time, shit could change. Like, you know, the past years, they could put out a C team and still. Yeah, no problem. But.
00:29:01
Speaker
This is like, that's not the way it is anymore. They're still the best team, still likely to, odds on favor to win it. But again, it's not a, the margins are getting smaller. Yeah. And they're not, they've been, they've been the more professional team for longer. So it makes sense that they're going to be this way. But, you know, as we found out with other countries and other sports, US, US.
00:29:30
Speaker
When other countries get the clue and start to put their own investment and their own time into it, then it starts to level the playing field a little bit. Sometimes you get surpassed. Even the Scotland team, full of professionals right now, which is not... Yeah.
00:29:55
Speaker
Is Rachel, how come the captain for the team? Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Awesome. That'll be good. I've been in that locker room when they had all the names there. It was really cool. Yeah. And like, I think every single one on the squad, if I'm looking through is, is a, is a pro full professional. Um, well, there's some that might not be, but same time, right. And I will say.
00:30:22
Speaker
to Scotland rugby credit. They are, they have, they've done some matches that are more professional locally as well for some of the Scottish teams, right? I'm trying to put them on before some of the URC games, which helps obviously not only people see it, but also just helps these players understand what a professional environment is. So even if it's a taste of it, and then they come into this team,
00:30:53
Speaker
and experience the full noise thing, it'll...
00:30:57
Speaker
they'll still do them good. So I think there's a lot to like. And these are also like, not just professional players, but staunch contributors on professional teams. Like Megan Varley, she's been picked a couple of times in our fantasy game. Yes, she has. Good players. She usually does well. Yeah. And she's uncapped. This is a lot of new players coming in. And they have a good choice to go through here.
00:31:27
Speaker
It's not just, oh, hey, Chloe Rollie. Hey, you know, Helen Nelson. Hey, you know, right. Who is the center? And I can't find her. She might have aged out at this point. Horse boot. I remember her. Yeah, I remember. Yeah. I just can't recall the name, unfortunately.
00:31:47
Speaker
But yeah, there's a lot of quality players there. And that's just Scotland, right? That's before we get to Ireland and Wales. And even Italy, they've always been dangerous. But now, again, that professionalism might make them that much more dangerous. Yeah, I see what players are playing professionally. So yep. It's going to be one of the more entertaining tournaments to watch for this one for a while.
00:32:12
Speaker
If you haven't decided to get into it, get the fuck into it. Let's go. Right. And I'm kind of fascinated to see what the selections will be for England, too. Because there's so many good players within this. Like, is Maud Muir going to be one of your starters? Or is she going to continue to be a bench player for now? Like, there's just so much to... You know, Mo Hunt's probably going to be your... Probably going to be the starter? Because she's the... Right now, I think the best nine there.
00:32:43
Speaker
Yeah. It's hard to say otherwise. Right. Like who's going to be at 15? Are they going to go with Emma Singh? Are they going to go with killed on or are they going to move killed on the wing or something? But then, you know. Yeah. Who loses out there? You have Abby Dow and Jess breach out there too. So it's like, whoa. Right. Hard to say the hardest. Just express or Abby Dow. And you got to give Abby Dow a lot of credit because she's been doing it on a team that's not awesome at the moment either. Right.
00:33:09
Speaker
And she's still turning out performance this weekend and week out. So got to give her a ton of credit. So I'm I'm sure she'll get I'm sure she'll get a few nods here and there. Mm hmm. Abby, I'm making the team as a mom. Like, that's that's awesome, too. That's good for don't mess with the moms, man. No, do not mess with the moms. Do not mess with the moms. Her and Packer. No, no, no. No crossing that. That's not a good idea. I could tell you that for a fact.
00:33:39
Speaker
So, yeah, it's like I honestly don't know. What, you know, who who might finish second France, I think, still have an inside track there, but.
00:33:50
Speaker
At the same time, again, they've been faltering here and there too in the past. Yeah, they've had some bad days for sure. Yeah. It's not to say they will. They'll continue to have it, but it's still a possibility of they've got some fucking horses there too. They have some- It's going to be exciting. It's going to be an exciting competition. Get in the fantasy game too. Don't forget that.
00:34:15
Speaker
We'll have our group up. I'll post that tomorrow. Yeah. A little time tomorrow, thankfully. Assuming the small ball of flesh doesn't decide to ruin that. Right. You get that. Okay, let's go. Let's go to the supers. Well, I mean,
00:34:41
Speaker
We don't need to spend a ton of time. I can spend all day on this match only because it was my team. But yeah, losers and hurricanes. The last five minutes were the match. As we said before, probably. You know, some some issues. Yeah, it's just.
00:35:11
Speaker
All
Crusaders vs Hurricanes Match Analysis
00:35:12
Speaker
right. So Crusaders and hurricanes won't, we wouldn't, we won't spend too much time on it only because it wasn't a very good game, but I had dog in the fights. That's the only reason I was glued to it. Right. And it, well, I mean, it was compelling, especially the last five minutes. Um, maybe the only, the last five minutes. Well, it was mostly the hurricanes lead for throughout, but then they gave it up and then they lost the lead and then they
00:35:40
Speaker
fought back and... See, but this shit is why, to me, the 20-minute red card is a bad idea because the Crusaders are just not a disciplined team right now. Which is shocking compared to what's been in the last five, six years. I also saw a graphic about Penny's last nine
00:36:07
Speaker
super rugby matches and they're all lost. They're all losses. So it's like, you know, maybe higher about her, but at the same, like, you know, and then obviously Owen Frank's helmetry, just, what do you do? Like, what do you do? Like the problem is there's going to be players who are feeling like they're going to feel like not only that, that that's like an acceptable way, but there's not. Serious repercussions for it. Right.
00:36:33
Speaker
There's, there's not, so that's, that's where the lack of respect is going to come in. Cause it's like, oh, I'm, I'm just mad at the way that, that we just, you know, are losing this game. So I'm going to just get all like, dude it up and smash into your head and then suplex somebody like, what are you doing? Yeah. I mean, and overall the reaction from the Crusader was kind of like a spoiled punk, honestly. Yeah. It's getting to them. It's in their heads.
00:37:03
Speaker
Yeah, and they know, I don't know, probably at least a few years ago, this is not a loss. Right. Yeah, to me, like a seven, nothing lead at halftime. That's all the hurricanes had like two years ago or even maybe even last year. They're not coming away with a win. No. No, Crusaders would have figured that out for sure.
00:37:32
Speaker
But that's not who they are now. Nope. Not right now. Yeah. Can someone put out an APB on Levi Oumu, by the way? Because I... Right. He's better than this. This is... Here's the thing. The fact that Moana figured out how to use him and that the Crusaders haven't, doesn't speak well for the Crusaders' attack coaches right now. Right. Just saying. No slight Moana, but we know the difference in the two teams.
00:38:02
Speaker
On the other side though, Joshua Morby is a thing. He is a thing. I know you've been talking about him a little bit, but he's a thing. Yeah. And he was one of those guys that got...
00:38:14
Speaker
some playing time back when we had a lot of those COVID cancellations and reschedules for like midweek games. So he's one of those guys that benefited because he was picked as one of those secondary teams as most people would probably refer to him. And he's, he took his chance and showed out and has continued to do so since, since then. So I, yeah, loads of credit. Brett Cameron's been great as the 10 for those boys. Really, really awesome.
00:38:44
Speaker
And the Sangster. Justin Sangster. Oh my god. That's not fair. His last name is like the nickname. The Sangster is in there. Watch out for the Sangster. Oh well. I'm sure I'll take him as long as he keeps doing that and give him shit. That was a quality try there. Yeah. So one thing I do want to talk about that really, really pissed me off during this game was James Dolmans.
00:39:13
Speaker
advantage over, but not really telling the team that it was over. Like, right. I'm sorry. Number one, you gave longer advantages or at least as long advantage for knock ons. And then you talk about it like Amua was good about not losing a shit, so I'll give him credit. Like if I was Amua, I would have been like, you can fucking tell us that it was over. Go fuck yourself. We would not have gone so high risk if we thought advantage was over, you asshole. Right. He's a dog shit referee. There's no question about that.
00:39:43
Speaker
Also, my last comment on this game is we do know that Owen Franks has been suspended for, what, two games. And I just wanted to note that that's the exact length of time that Poppy Cleo was banned for just saying that's a fucking high tackle because she not to complain to a ref.
00:40:03
Speaker
or about a ref, just that she was mad that she got frickin' clotheslined, essentially. Yeah. Like, that's a fuckin' high tackle. Oh, nope, yellow, and you're banned for two, like, and then there's, you know, what Owen Franks did, and that's, again, why the, again, 20-minute red. Oh, they can just, you know, take a suspension. Well, you know, I don't, who was it that he, whose head did he take off? Was it, was it Sangsters?
00:40:30
Speaker
Um, it might've been, it was, I think it might've answers or I've been, uh, well, and then he flipped Dewey. Then he flipped Dewey. Okay. So it's like, I know that. Yeah. I could remember it was an 18 or 19 that he hit high. And then, um, but yeah, it was either, it was either Sangster or, um, uh,
00:40:51
Speaker
Tussie, I think. Yeah. Maybe we're Kelly stones. But yeah, it was either one of the props or a camera. Right. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. And then, you know, to, you know, smoosh Dewey for no reason, like you just feel like that's that's going to be OK. And, you know, I hope sanctions, you know, whoever I'm going to assume it was thanks. I hope he's OK. But like they're still going to repercussions for that, that that Frank's doesn't have to really worry about beyond his due game suspension. No big fucking deal. So.
00:41:18
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah.
Rebels and Reds Match Overview
00:41:20
Speaker
He's not going to care. No, he's probably not going to care at this point. Maybe, maybe not. We'll find out, but maybe his teammates will give him hell and he can actually, you know, un-fuck his shit.
00:41:32
Speaker
Anywho, let's go to Rebels Reds. Don't need to spend a ton of time on this game. These are the two teams. No, no, nope, nope, nope, not at all. I mean, Sir Ur scores two tries on you. One of them was very good, by the way, which I think they're both pretty good, but one was very good.
00:41:54
Speaker
So not to take credit away from that, but it's one of those things where, all right, he scored two tries. This game is definitely irrelevant now. Like there's a whole lot of question about that. Right. And Fluke's tries were awesome too. Yeah. He's a player. Like this... Definitely putting his name on the hat, I would say.
00:42:15
Speaker
Yeah. And just I'm not really that I wasn't that impressed with the rebels. I mean, Carter Gordon needs to get a lot better, a lot sooner. This isn't, it's not working just yet. But also at the same time, who else do they have? They have like him and Kellaway. You look through the rest of that back line, you're like a bunch of fucking meh. Yeah, big old bucket of meh. Not a bad option. He wasn't gonna work at 13.
00:42:39
Speaker
Right. Not a bad, um, pack, but yeah, that's the other thing. Yeah. Without target, you know, like very unhelpful at that point. Right. I mean, we think the rebels are disappointing. I would say the forces are doubly. So losing at home to, to Moana. I mean, Moana's not, not terrible, but
00:43:06
Speaker
You're at home. Show them. And they get smushed. They got smushed. I think that's fair. They really did. And this was a bit of a grinder game too. It wasn't a, you know, 20, you know, 22, 14, but they still didn't even get the losing bonus point. That's, that's really dope. Nope. That's yeah, it's kind of bad. I mean,
00:43:36
Speaker
Yeah, I'd be, I'd be pretty pissed if I was a forest fan and you know, they, they blew that game against the rebels the other week. They, you know, really didn't show up for this game and they've made these signings and.
00:43:52
Speaker
of the signings that they made that were like big, high highlights. I like Donaldson better than white, but neither really blew my skirt up. And Stewart's doing okay. The thing about Tia Tia is he was impressed with the first couple of weeks, but now he seems to be hitting a wall, because he's not in the best of shape.
Brumbies and Highlanders Performance
00:44:17
Speaker
That's so good. He came out of the gates hot, but
00:44:22
Speaker
that's going to slow down and Harry Potter is not.
00:44:26
Speaker
I guess Mercurial at best is where I can put him there. And on the other side, the Pacifica are, they're not bad, but they're consistent. I mean, not great, but they're consistent. Actually, they're both of those things. They're neither bad nor great. They're consistent. Exactly. That level of consistency, yeah, they'll still put up 20 points in every match, likely, just because they'll throw the kitchen sink at you.
00:44:53
Speaker
Um, yeah, the team created enough. Right. Right. Exactly. Exactly. I was gonna say, let's go over to Forsyth bar. Brumby's first win in New Zealand for a long time. And I, I'm disappointed in the highlanders, honestly. Um, I know no patch all this game, but still just,
00:45:22
Speaker
I feel like they could have done better at home. I mean, come on. If we're at that point where we're saying no res patch on this game, so you got a way out of Tepper X. We can make dollars that he's been playing pretty well. I don't think that's a mystery. No, it's just that four weeks ago, if I said you'd be saying that,
00:45:41
Speaker
I slapped you. Right. I got in the car and slapped you. I'd be like, thank you, sir. I deserve that. Thank you, sir. Yeah, it's still disappointing, though, because I like a lot of what's going on with this team and Sam Gilbert did not have his good best game. That's for God damn sure. And.
00:46:08
Speaker
I will say there, one thing they lack, and this is not a new thing. This is, well, this is not a new slash since Nuggie's left. That second nine is no longer someone that comes on and says, fuck, this is not good. If you're in a tight match. It used to be, whether it was fuckatava starting and Nuggie come on off the bench or vice versa,
00:46:35
Speaker
You were, it was a tight match. You're like, God, this is gonna, this just got like infinitely harder. Right. It's like that high quality nine's coming off the bench. Right. It's like that, that tag team, WWE tag team. Exactly. Like analogy we were talking about like, Oh, here I go. I'm gonna fucking coming in like a ball of fire. And you don't have that anymore. Yep.
00:46:54
Speaker
Okay, guys, here I am. Oh, fuck. Here's the guy that's going to totally lose the match now. He's the guy that gets clobbered by the fucking chair. Yeah, exactly. Oh, shit. Yeah, just overall disappointing for the Highlanders, but hats off to the...
00:47:14
Speaker
to the Brumbies. They want to make something of this. They had a kind of a poo game against the Chiefs, but who doesn't? Right. That's not, you know, what's to be expected. Sands, Reds, Reds just seemed to be the Chiefs bogey for whatever reason. Right. But they, here's the thing, their, their, their high quality players showed out too, like Corey Toole, Tom Wright, big, big in that one. Valentini was big in this game.
00:47:40
Speaker
Yeah. You know, little CEO didn't have to do much, but he did the things that he needed to do. Well, um, went to more distributed role than otherwise and good things happened. Their pack showed up quite well. So yeah, I give him loads of credit. This is, this was not an easy thing to, you know, step up and take it in. Um, and Lonergan, you know, put it over to, to kind of put it away and, and to the point where,
00:48:09
Speaker
the Highlanders had to just kick the penalty to get the losing bonus point. I wasn't really sure Gilbert was making that either, so that's the sad part. Right. That shows a lot to me, and especially you're dealing with, to me, that 12, 13, 14 combination for Brumby's is they need
00:48:35
Speaker
work Um, yeah icky task probably the best thing in there and he had to drop early like yeah, and your head is still Uh, he should be so much better than he is and it's annoying Yep, no question Let's go to let's go over to fmg But I will say one thing for um, the guy in the middle first because we know I loved a good shit on a referee
00:49:04
Speaker
I would rather see more of Dan Vaienga than I would rather see James Dolman. Yep. Split that one. I'd agree. Or O'Keeffe. Or Jordan White, who referred to the last game, which he's dog shit. I don't like him. Any who, yeah, this was non-competitive, unfortunately.
Chiefs and Drua Match Highlights
00:49:23
Speaker
Fun, but not competitive. Outside of Yosef Amasi. This was not, there wasn't, he made it interesting early.
00:49:31
Speaker
Um, but then again, that's, that's really, you know, it wasn't only going to go this way. Um, these are two teams that are match up that match up. Like the chiefs, they have a good defense ish, but they're getting into that like leaky on the outside. Certainly. Like there's, there's, there's gaps that a team like the Drua can.
00:49:54
Speaker
Um, can exploit, but at the same time, the chief's attack is so fucking ridiculous that, that the druid don't have the defense to contain it. So this is, yeah, this, like, this is how I would have approached this match too of, of, um, just slug it out. Don't worry about, um, you know, how many they score. Just you keep scoring. Right. Yep. Just keep putting the points on the board. You and Caitlin Bashir got into the game. You know, when he puts down two tries,
00:50:25
Speaker
And neither of them were like, they were basically like fallovers. Yeah. Um, yep. So like, no, no disrespect, but it's like, I think even in the, uh, I was looking at, in the fantasy scores, like he had two tries and basically like those were his fantasy points and every time he's got the three, I think on the season and he's got like in the FRD, like 15 total points.
00:50:48
Speaker
or whatever it is. All of them were his tries. All of them were his tries. I mean, the one he literally tapped it down. Not this one, but not this game, but a different one. They brought the ball over the line in a fucking mush of a rock on the one meter line and he just smacked it down. Not the same in this situation.
00:51:07
Speaker
But hey, someone's got a score. Yeah. If it's not somebody else, if it's not me, it's going to be somebody else, right? Yeah. And Leonard Brown is going to be out a little bit, but he'll be okay. That's good. I was scared that it was a non-contact injury and all that, but apparently he got a concussion.
00:51:24
Speaker
uh apparently when he was falling he looked pretty banged up yeah it was like a um i think he took bounced his head off a knee or something or i wasn't looking at that specific part of him i was looking at his lower body every single replay and yeah no pass and no um yeah and guys that did jump that have that
00:51:46
Speaker
turned out to be okay. Tupac is back for now, did not end up being out as long as we thought he played last game too, so that was good. Thankfully for them, Tupac is back. They can fill that gap just fine. They don't have Akoi or Vai too and they're still
00:52:05
Speaker
you know, even Selby Ricket and Tupo are just fine too, which is scary depth after depth of contributing second rows. Wow. You can actually have a second row that can run the fall. All right. Nevermind. What are you talking about? That's not allowed. Oh, wait. It is. Generally speaking.
00:52:30
Speaker
Uh, then little bit of a snoozer of the game. What's up with the blues? I don't know. And then, and obviously Barrett gone is huge.
00:52:43
Speaker
but I expect more out of Parafetta and it's disappointing because here's the thing, in terms of who's going to take that All Blacks 10 shirt, I think it'd be hard to argue that going into this season, the front runners were DMACC and Parafetta.
Blues' Performance Issues
00:52:57
Speaker
And right now, Parafetta is just handing it to DMACC and DMACC is playing well, so it's not like it's totally going to be a 10. DMACC should not be a 10. I agree.
00:53:07
Speaker
I agree, but that's what's going to happen. No, and that's kind of my problem with this whole situation is that you look at these two teams and they're remarkably similar in that like that back line, you know, outside of Zarnes-Sullivan for the Blues is still, you know, even the Chiefs have had some, you know, they don't...
00:53:29
Speaker
they haven't had their top like Narawa by the way is supposed to be back this week. So now they're gonna have they're gonna be at full strength. Like D max operating with just such talent out there that it's hard for him to look bad because he just needs to fling it and good shit will happen.
00:53:47
Speaker
You know, like Daniel Rona at 14, kind of similar to me too, for me too, like a Zarn Sullivan. Right. Um, but like he's, he's quality. You want to, although he, again, I had to, had to drop early. Um, and Clark and Talia, like just get the ball to those guys and you'll do just fucking fine, but it's not happening. No. And.
00:54:13
Speaker
And that back row too. Fuck, Satuju, Papali, Ioani, like you should be crushing it. This should not be a difficult. Most would argue that could be the starting all blacks back row. And this should not be a struggle. And yet it is. So to me, that's why Parafet is not.
00:54:32
Speaker
Yeah, he's pooping the bed on it. He's really been disappointing for a lot of reasons, and that's too bad because I do like him, but just a bucket of right now, unfortunately. Yeah, like the Swartz has, it's an away match for the Blues, but it should not be a two-point match. No, no, no.
00:55:01
Speaker
Right. We keep up time because of the last second try, but still. It shouldn't be a nine point match with at the end of the match. It should be, uh, this should be, you know, nine points at half and then you're cruising the rest of the way. Right. So I don't know what's going on with them. I'm sure I'm sure most of them wish they knew, but at this point where we're not there yet. All right. Uh, Hey, let's go over to Fort Quincy.
Freejax's Comeback and Player Analysis
00:55:34
Speaker
The Freejax have probably played two good halves of rugby so far this year. Right. And one of them was the second half of this game and that was enough. That was enough. And yeah, that Nola didn't do enough to really separate themselves. I mean, he was 14-7 at half.
00:55:54
Speaker
And, uh, right. And I mean, you and I were just on repeat, like the fact that we were down 14 seven after a pretty poo half was astonishing and also hopeful because like, if we actually pulled our head out of our fucking ass, we'll win, which we did. So it was like, yes, finally scoring 27 straight points. That that's a good, that's, yeah, that helps. That helps. That always helps.
00:56:19
Speaker
And let's be honest, the 21 came when everyone was smoked. The ball had been in play for like five minutes straight. It felt like and yeah, it happened. You know, it's like we're either getting a bonus point or we're giving one up. I don't know which one, but here it goes. That's basically how I felt about that whole passage. And I was like, yeah, there we go. And the match winner ultimately was was what Reese McDonald
00:56:46
Speaker
the ball bouncing back over Dougie Fife. Dougie Fife got totally assholed by that ball. Kids, this is why we tell you to catch the ball in the air because you never know where it's going to bounce. And in this case, it bounced twice. And the second bounce, maybe even the third bounce, went like it was bouncing in one direction and Fife was chasing it like he was going to be able to recover it. And then it just totally hit just the right way that it bounced back up over his head going the other direction.
00:57:13
Speaker
and like landed in Reese McDonald's lap. Right in Reese's hands. I was like, well, I mean, that's why you work hard for that shit. Just, you know, catch and fall when that happens. That's all you gotta do.
00:57:26
Speaker
I like the set of Baker guy. I think, was that just? I love his performance. That was his first game for us, I believe. Yeah. Yeah. At least I didn't recognize him. He can play him at seven at any time. Yup. And I'm into it. I'll take it. I'm into it. Good to see Keyser back. Nurdly Calamity should never not be our backup nine if Poland's starting. Right. Saquara shouldn't never play again. Hey, I'm so done with him. Oh my God. How bad was he?
00:57:52
Speaker
Like four or five penalties. Four penalties in a row. Mistackles just awful out there. He's not up to caliber and they gotta see that. Here's the thing. It was notable we got better when Fauzi came on. It was notable we got better when Fauzi came on. Scram got better. There were less penalties. There was less bullshit in the defensive line.
00:58:17
Speaker
I can't spell it out any more plain. And I was talking with an unnamed friend of ours that just gave me some insight. And there's people that have a heart for this guy, but you got to know when to cut them loose and do them a favor. And it's that time, you know, last year, right? Peeked last year. There's no question about it.
00:58:44
Speaker
And I like how we were watching this match with one of your friends who is also a personal trainer. And she's talking about how there's guys like, I think, who's she looking at? I think it might've been John Roy Jenkins, yeah. Saying like, okay, yeah, he's chonk, but he can move. He's athletic. He can actually do things. Siqueira is just like an unathletic fat piece of shit. Like he's, then that's unfortunate to say it, but he's not athletic.
00:59:13
Speaker
Even we can't even walk normally it's weird Yeah, but you're also there nobody's paying you to play rugby. No, yeah, that's a difference. I'm not you know This guy's like oh, yeah, you know I get you know at some point. It's like is he not taking it seriously? No, he just doesn't have the athletic ability to To do something sometimes that's more what I wonder if he doesn't take it seriously which annoys me I
00:59:42
Speaker
Right. I think I'm leaning towards, because he is slimmer than he has been, but the results still aren't there because he's just unethical. He can't physically do the things that he needs to do. Yep. That's that. Yep, but a couple of former
01:00:02
Speaker
Free Jackson house, Philharmonic, he scored one, five, got assled by the ball. Yeah. I said hi to Fife after the game. I did not mention that. I just mentioned, all I said was like, we miss you, but it's nice to see you. Oh, thanks. That was very kind of you. No, and it wouldn't have been to like,
01:00:19
Speaker
Give him shit. It would just would have been like dude Like that's not you know, nobody likes seeing that you know, I'm happy it worked out for us But at the same time I'm not even gonna bother because I genuinely like the guy and right wish him well so it's more like I just wanted to you know get along that message that it's nice to see him and we do miss him because Mm-hmm. He's he's a good quality player and it's a shame. He's on a Team that's below his team abilities. Yeah
01:00:46
Speaker
How about the freaking 22 shushing the crowd after he makes a conversion just to get...
01:00:52
Speaker
Good professionalism, Dickhead. You just lost the game. What are you doing? Congratulations, you made a conversion. Good for you. You pick up the tee and you go see your teammates. You have got nothing to stand on. You just lost the game and you barely were able to snag that bonus point. You might want to just check it a little bit, a little bit. Yeah, risk both. Chill out. What a dank. Chill. What a dank. All right.
Podcast Conclusion and Patreon Plug
01:01:23
Speaker
That's going to do it for the pod pod, the rugby pod pod. We're going to hop ourselves over to the fancy corner real quick and spend some time over there. If you're going to join us over there. Do you know that they play professional club rugby in England? We'll be talking about that in a whole lot more over there. Catch you guys next time. Have a good weekend, everybody. Later.
01:01:50
Speaker
This has been the fantasy of the yanks podcast.
01:01:57
Speaker
If you'd like to ask a question or leave us general feedback, email us at fantasyrugbypodcastatgmail.com. Too far, you die, by the way. Yeah, exactly. The ticky tackiness kind of absolutely pisses me off. Be sure you check out our Patreon at patreon.com slash thefantasyrugbyings. Yeah.