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Episode 30: Champions Cup Final & Super Rugby Round 13
31 Plays6 years ago
Alex Goode..a legend in more than one way. Oh, right and a Champions Cup Winner for the 3rd time. In this episode we review the action at St. James, make up for one last great of the game that's saying his farewells. Also, an interesting discussion on coaches, the media and how that relationship results in certain levels of criticism. Finally, all the action from down under and how the quarter-finals are shaping up. If you missed it, make sure you catch the newest episode of The Fantasy Corner, out later today.
Follow us on Twitter: Jarrod- jdyke8man & Ben- admrablsnackbar
Email fantasyrugbypodcast@gmail.com with questions, feedback or just to say what's up.
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Transcript
00:00:17
Speaker
Le, le, le. Le, le, le. Le, le, le. Le, le, le.
Celebrating Saracens' Champions Cup Win
00:00:48
Speaker
Well, as you can guess, Ben and I have been celebrating the Saracens' recent win. Everybody, how's it going? Welcome to the Fancy Rugby Yanks. My name is Jared Dyke. I'm Ben Glauser. It's a happy, happy, happy weekend and week for Ben and I. We are still celebrating the Champions Cup win for the Saracens this past weekend and it was an epic clash. We'll get to it in a second.
00:01:10
Speaker
bloody and we managed to not spoil it for ourselves we did that was that's the that's an accomplishment for us for sure achievement unlocked right we successfully avoided finding out what anything that happened yeah anything anything for what eight hours or so yeah i mean basically i mean because we put
00:01:27
Speaker
The match kicked off at 12. We got back to the room at like 6. So about 6 hours. We did pretty good. Did it off social media. Didn't get into any conversations involving people. Basically told anybody that was talking about it to fuck off.
00:01:42
Speaker
And it was on. So we were at a rugby tournament this weekend. And naturally, it's on in the tent. It was on in the tent. No, no, no, no. And I'm glad. One of our friends came up to us like, dude, it's on in the tent. Don't go in there. Yeah. Our old friend James told us that it's on the tent. Oh, yes. You're all friends with him. Yeah. Hey, James. Sorry. Thanks for rescuing us on that, James. Yeah. Do the best. All right. Let's crack it. Yes. Yeah.
00:02:06
Speaker
Everybody make sure you check us out on Google Play, Spotify, iTunes, review us there, send us an email if you have a question. No major questions this week unless I get one in the next 10 minutes or while we record this for fantasy, but that's okay. So send them in now. Yeah, right, good time. Oh wait, you all can't hear. So yeah, and I did get all the
00:02:31
Speaker
information in terms of rankings and start-sit advice. The only thing I don't have up yet is the green lights and the stop signs. I'll put that up when at least a few lineups are announced, so I'm not throwing out a Hail Marion. Yeah, he's not even playing. Well, that was helpful. So yeah.
Tribute to James Horwell
00:02:52
Speaker
So we forgot one name last week in our farewells, and it's
00:02:55
Speaker
It'd be a shame to leave him out, and it's James Horwell from The Clins, formerly of the Reds, Australian International, Class Act, and the guy's a frickin' beast on top of everything else, if nothin' else. Monster second rower, the game's gonna miss him, so hats off to James Horwell as well for the...
00:03:17
Speaker
for him given his farewell tour this year. He did have to deal with one nasty knee injury when he was playing for the Reds and has come through that quite well, obviously, considering that he's still smashing through people to this day. Yeah. So, but yeah, hats off. I'm a lock by trade, so to my second-row brother and James Orwell, congratulations.
00:03:43
Speaker
Despite the fact that you play for Quinn's, you are a class act and the game will miss you. Could be worse, you could have played for Lester. Anyway.
Coaching Styles: Eddie Jones vs. Bill Belichick
00:03:50
Speaker
To your opinion, at least. Happy retirement, James. Yeah. All right. So obviously, we have some fun, fun stuff to get into today. But you brought up a fun thing you wanted to talk about today. And what the hell? Let's get to it. Why not?
00:04:05
Speaker
So I wanted to contrast two of the best coaches of today's generation and they're in different sports. And it's just been bugging me a little bit about how things work in the media.
00:04:21
Speaker
and how to keep how good coaches keep from You know getting big heads and thinking that they can do no wrong, right? So of course that brings us to uh, eddie jones Yeah, he knows something about that and and yeah, and he he seems like one of these coaches that comes in does a fucking bang-up job
00:04:40
Speaker
And it's like hey, i'm king shit of turd mountain i'm gonna do whatever the hell I want Yeah, and nobody's gonna question me because you're not allowed to and and He had a good relationship with the media. He's very cordial very polite. I mean, yeah every so often i'm actually surprised He's as cordial as he is. Honestly, right? Um But he's always always very nice to them
00:04:59
Speaker
And contrast that against, there's a grumpy ass coach. If you ask any American football fan who the best coach is in the NFL, and then you ask them who the surliest coach is in the NFL. They're the same guy. They're the same guy. It's a guy named Bill Belichick, who also happens to be the greatest football coach of all time. Yeah. Sorry, Jared. No disrespect to Vince. Well, I mean, until he gets the, hey, listen, until he gets the trophy, you're renamed after him.
00:05:29
Speaker
It is what it is. You know, that's true. Um But yeah, the bill Belichick has won a ridiculous amount of um football games and champion champions either and it is undeniable and yet He almost almost never Gets above himself and puts himself on like, uh, you know some sort of like I can do no wrong So i'm just gonna do this and fuck everyone else
00:05:53
Speaker
And sometimes, but when he does, he gets, because he's such a surly asshole to the media. Oh, he gets lambasted. He gets crushed, David. When he didn't start, what's his name in the Super Bowl? Butler. Butler, Malcolm Butler, a couple years ago in the Super Bowl. And the Eagles tore apart his secondary with Malcolm Butler sitting on the bench. Yeah. That didn't go well. It didn't go well, and it didn't go well for Bill. He got crushed by, and this is the best coach of all time, top two.
00:06:21
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Um, no question. And a guy who like he gets, you know, all sorts of shit for, but Eddie Jones leaves Danny Cipriani and Alex Good off of his roster. It's not as even though he's not starting them. He's just not even bringing them along. No.
00:06:39
Speaker
And everybody's like, yeah, it's not the best decision, but, you know, Eddie knows what he's doing. I still question that. But the general consensus is Eddie knows what he's doing. Yes, it is. No, you're not wrong. And whereas, you know, you know, again, Bill Belichick makes a mistake and it's the fuck is this guy like he's the greatest. Yes, he's the greatest coach of all time. But that was fucking stupid. And he gets reamed literally. Yeah, he gets pulled apart for that one. Right. And universally. And I think it's just because like
00:07:09
Speaker
So so my thinking is if you're a coach And you want to make sure that you're you never think that your shit doesn't stink because if you're a coach your shit stinks. Yeah Have don't don't have it. I mean, I'm wondering if Belichick's Relationship with the media is purposeful so that he always has to Bring his best he has to bring his egg. Yeah, if he does if he one slip up the he knows he's gonna get eaten right by everyone Yeah
Coaching Cultures: Rugby vs. NFL
00:07:37
Speaker
so up and down the coast and east to west so that's why i'm wondering if that's strategic on his part at this point because he's apparently a very nice guy away from you know so yeah so he'll talk football for hours with you believe it unless you have a microphone in his face yeah maybe don't maybe don't fuck up say maybe don't stick a microphone in his face if you can help it
00:07:58
Speaker
So that that's my that's my question is is uh, first off is you know, is this bella chick's relationship with the media kind of tactful like Is it is it at some sort of tactic? Yeah And then should eddie jones get a lot more shit? I mean he does but but he uses the media as a as a tactful as a little bit of a
00:08:18
Speaker
because he used it in Australia when they went in the first tour that he did with England down to Australia against Michael Cheka, who he's obviously very good friends with, definitely used that as a tool to screw around a little bit and still does it when like Six Nations comes around and the tests come around, but he doesn't use it
00:08:36
Speaker
in the same way that we're talking about with Bill Belichick, where he might just use it as a way to check himself and or to just make sure he doesn't completely blow up and be like, I don't need to do anything different, do I? People will make sure he's doing something different when need be. Right. And he always has. That's the thing. That's why he's been good.
00:08:58
Speaker
But then again, there's the other thing where rugby is a much less surly sport than football is. And so coaches don't, you know, even the players, coaches, everyone involved says, yeah, this is a game. We get to we get to enjoy this for a living. Right. Well, because professionalism is still a new thing. It's, you know, professionalism was what, 96, 99, somewhere in that neighborhood. Right. We're only in 2019 here. That's 20 years. That's true. By my math.
00:09:23
Speaker
We'll check back in 55 years and see what regular players are like. See how nasty and I mean, hopefully we're still walking around at some point. But yeah, we'll see what it brings by that point. And you
Evolving Professionalism in Rugby
00:09:39
Speaker
can just see it in the daily routines of coaches between the two sports.
00:09:44
Speaker
Yes, they both love their job and they both sink their teeth right into it, but you know, NFL coaches, to be fair, or at least from what I know, they work themselves to the bone and they get no sleep and they'll spend the night at the facility just to get a jump on. And can I ask, what the fuck are they thinking? No, thank you. So I have a thing about my professional life, which is,
00:10:10
Speaker
I've always thought that I work in an office environment and my thing is if you see, there was a guy who I used to work with many years ago when I first started this company who I would show up, there were days I would show up early, like 6.30 a.m., his car would be there.
00:10:28
Speaker
Wow, and there'd be days when I would show up late or i'm sorry let's show up late leave late Yes, it's car still like 6 7 pm or something like that car still there and all I can think of is the only way that makes sense is either a He's really bad at his job and it just takes him that that long to do or maybe he's distracted Half the time at the time so he's like, you know, maybe working for an hour then fucking off for an hour And then he does that for yeah, so that'll cause 16 hours and that gets him eight hours of work
00:10:58
Speaker
But like, why would you? Why would you live? Like, what are you doing? I knew what the guy did because I worked in the same department and I knew exactly what he did because I was doing it myself. And I was like, no, there's no way this takes that much time. Right. But like football coaches for their.
00:11:13
Speaker
When I talk about Bill Belichick being the best coach in the NFL, it's by a great distance. Yeah. Even the second tier guys are far, far cry away from him. And there's only like five of them at most. At best, yeah.
00:11:29
Speaker
And then everyone else is an equally long drop from them from those from those tier two So they're way behind and then you get to the shags like all these guys are fucking incompetent at what they do And they have a shit perspective on what they do So yeah, i'm not i don't have a very big I don't have too much respect for football coaches. Yeah, it's I mean
00:11:53
Speaker
And so for them working long hours, I'm just like, what the fuck are you doing? It's that money-driven thing with the NFL, and that's the thing that just makes me feel grosser and grosser every year I watch it. I'm just like, I keep watching it because I love my Packers, but I just feel a little nastier and nastier as I continue to watch it and knowing more and more about it as I understand more and more about it.
00:12:14
Speaker
is just gives me a little creepy crawly feeling sometimes and you saw even last year i would say like maybe third or fourth game in the season and i'm looking i'm watching the Steelers and i'm like i this team is just unlikable oh yeah yeah from an entire just they're they're disgusting to watch um just the way they the way the game is called their their game planning and and what they do and i'm just like
00:12:36
Speaker
One of the things that I so I got one of our our elderly teammates Yeah team members as we can was was clap was laughing at me and clapping about it on Sunday after our match because I was telling one of the rookies Something that I noticed and was asking him a question about what he saw
00:12:54
Speaker
And I was telling them here's what I saw and here's what I want you to do and and this guy starts laughing and clapping He's like ABC always be coaching You know these these kids don't know the game and if anything I want to give them Yeah, the habits of good players like you're an athlete you can tackle you can run fast That doesn't mean you're a good rugby player if you can do all those things you need to be able to do some other things yeah, and it's like you need to know the habits of good players and
Teaching Good Habits in Rugby vs. Football
00:13:21
Speaker
And like football coaches don't do that shit. They don't talk about that. They just say you do this, do this exact thing. And that's it. They don't give you the root of why and the surrounding materials as to what's the point of this. They just kind of say, do this. Oh, great. That's going to solve all my issues.
00:13:41
Speaker
No, no, it doesn't it okay. Well when we call this play, this is exactly what i'm going to do now I don't but if you don't understand the point of it Yeah, if you can't process while you're doing it, then you you can't make the adjustment, right? Yeah, like you look at the the wide receivers and they'll talk about the best ones Oh one third down they just get to the sticks and turn around and wait for the ball and it's like Yeah, why don't rookies do like that's fucking basic. I can I me i'm 39 i'm big and fat And i'm not very tall I can run nine yards turn around and wait for a ball to get to me and catch it
00:14:11
Speaker
Yeah, i'll take a hit whatever but like right that's something that I can do without athletic ability Why can't they do it with athletic ability? Yeah, that's because nfl coaches suck Yeah Might might not might have a point there. All
Champions Cup Final Preview: Saracens' Key Players
00:14:25
Speaker
right. Sorry for for taking a time with that That's right. But I just yeah because it really did to me transition into the the champion's cup final conversation that that we're about to talk about because
00:14:39
Speaker
Fuck why the fuck isn't alex good on this on the goddamn roster? I know best european player This year, you know, and I don't know if he was by a mark a large margin or not, but doesn't matter It doesn't matter. I guess he's clear. He's clearly been because that's clear up to it. It's european It's not england. No, it's not like There weren't many good english players in the tournament. No, I mean like, you know, most of them reside in the same team. So right
00:15:06
Speaker
It's pretty ridiculous to think about how he hasn't been picked by them. Are you really going to ignore this? Let's rewind. And it's Cardiff, it's a shot to nothing from Dan Bigger. And wouldn't it have been nice to have an actual fullback to try and field the ball that Josh Adams eventually grabbed and scored?
00:15:32
Speaker
instead of a guy that usually likes to play center and usually plays center. But instead, you don't have that. Look at who was on the other side of the field wearing a red jersey that day.
00:15:47
Speaker
bomb diffuser in chief and he basically was the main reason that England England's game plan went to hell. Right. So he was also a major impact on the European Cup on this one too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He he he diffused quite a bit. Yes. He did a lot. He did a lot of good things as as a member of the Saracens as well. So yeah, Champions Cup final in Newcastle
00:16:11
Speaker
What a frickin' what a belter. Oh my goodness. That was a great match. Yeah, obviously Ben, like I said Ben and I are obviously dancin' ourselves away this past weekend. It was
00:16:27
Speaker
a lot of fun to watch and enjoy. And, you know, you just, I was obviously on pins and needles basically until Billy scored. And then when that scored and the time started to wind down, I was like, okay, keep going, keep that clock moving. I was desperate to keep that clock moving.
00:16:45
Speaker
Yeah, I dealt with my nerves in my own way. Yeah, no, you were good. You were good to go. And I should have had one more of my freaking beer. Yeah. Holy shit. But yeah, so I was, you know, and obviously with Jerome Gar says it's such a fun lottery at the contact the contact area. Yeah. So that was the other thing. I can't wait for the World Cup now. Yeah. What a lottery. But so there was a point that the other rugby pod brought up Saracens. And this is this is before the match.
00:17:15
Speaker
Saracen's had him in the in the semi final. So maybe the having that happen gave them a little experience as to what he might do. It didn't maybe not a hundred percent but it did not help them at all in the first half. No. So in in the the one half that they really struggled struggled. Yeah.
00:17:35
Speaker
Yeah, and maybe that got better but also who knows he's fucking French We talk about it like we even were talking about it at halftime you and me yeah, where a lot of times the the French referee will just slope the field to one side and whatever sides playing downhill they get to play downhill and then the other time the other team gets to play downhill a little bit yep, and I
00:17:57
Speaker
And that was that seen that way it's kind of seen what happened because the the the mirroring yellow cards the penalty count I think I feel like changed in the second half. Yeah um tackles didn't change though Saracen's made about 30 or 50 more somewhere in that neighborhood and they were punishing
00:18:14
Speaker
Oh, they were positive tackles. They were all plus tackles. A lot of them were plus tackles. The launch did it. They were talking about what happened against Munster. Were they offsides half the time? They weren't because Carson didn't call them offsides.
00:18:33
Speaker
You know, and maybe maybe they knew that that was kind of something they could push Yeah, that's why they were able to get up get up and that's very possible that that might have helped He was he let everything go a lot of weird shit. Yeah, so I mean and you know, you just you do have to play with the referee unfortunately and
00:18:51
Speaker
When it's a Frenchman, it's a lottery. It really is. It's a better Russian roulette. Right. You have to spend the first 20 minutes figuring out how to play to him what he's calling against what team. Because just as he's calling it against your team, he'll call something else to get like, oh, no, no, no. You guys are offside. He'll find something new to call against you. You guys have hands on the ruck. But they're putting their hands on the ruck. No, no, no. They're fine with that. They're just offside. Like, what the fuck? Just call the same thing the same way against both teams.
00:19:16
Speaker
But whatever, it did this match, it worked itself out. Yep. And yeah, so Atosje ended up in the bin and in that time, that's when Leinster were able to push themselves over the line, Tike furlong wriggled himself over the line as, as
Critical Moments in the Champions Cup Final
00:19:31
Speaker
much as it
00:19:31
Speaker
disheartened me to see for a long who I really, who I admire. I greatly admire. I greatly admire. Um, but yeah, you know, I was like, no, not that guy. Damn it. Right. He's, he's lining up for that, that pick and go. And I think Jared and I both are like, well, there's the trial. We can relax now because it's over. We were just waiting. We were just waiting, basically waiting for them to get over the line. So we had reset and get the hell on the other end of the field. That's basically all that was happening. Um, but so Ty for a long note eventually gets over and obviously converted while Latoj sitting in the bin.
00:20:02
Speaker
And then and then they and then we gotta also talk about right right when that happened though during the yellow card What else happened with series? I forgot
00:20:13
Speaker
Both their their props had to oh, yeah tt and macco both had to get yanked because they were both hurt right I forgot about that. So so that was a huge moment. It was a huge moment and and the my bit of Insight into this during the time and I want to brag about it now because it was actually pretty accurate Is that if you're going to lose your props at at any point in the match?
00:20:35
Speaker
Right at the 30 minute mark of the first half could be worse. You could do a lot worse because The the back I mean the the the subs are they're starting worthy. They can go for 50 minutes. Oh Barrington the car Get on for where the of start for sure exactly you put them on for 10 minutes They get a 15 minute break right and then they go back out for 40. Like that's they're they're not even really still I mean, they're sweating, but yeah Yeah, you know 15 20 in or so so
00:21:05
Speaker
Yeah they did they um and to be fair I mean Cocker stood out for sure he he had some good runs he was you know he was making himself very useful all over the game winning kick. Oh man barely but yeah I mean and Barrington Barrington is one of those guys if he doesn't stand out then he did then he did his job because he's not somebody that's gonna set the world alight
00:21:29
Speaker
No, but you're going to notice when he misses tack when he's messing up. That's when you notice him. So that's the good thing or turning the ball over in space or something. Yep, something like that. So they left and then eventually the Texans did get a penalty. And I also got a very, very good looking try from Sean Maitland off a
00:21:47
Speaker
Gorgeous little basically no catch pass from Owen Farrell and it went through Barrett was it who was inside who just let it go. Thank laws. Or was it goodie? Maybe Yeah, it was one of them was either goodie or yeah one of those three
00:22:03
Speaker
Who who let the pass skip him? Yeah, I think fairly gave him a shout. Yeah and said let it go and was able to shift it to Maitland walking he was happy to just wait for the ball to get to him and walk in So that was um, that was a very nice bit of work and found the conversion too. That was uh Yeah, that was huge. Obviously because it tied at 10-10 and that was that that was a half-time score. Yep, and you know when
00:22:26
Speaker
When that happened after having a yellow card, I felt I felt good. I didn't know I didn't you know, I wasn't overly confident I was like that could have gone a lot worse. We're still tied. So I was happy with it and then obviously second half Saracen's left him nowhere to go. They really didn't that's that defense just smothered him. He did you know, it really did and it was it was pretty evident that ring rose was having a bad day because he
00:22:53
Speaker
I saw something where he basically just like there was an overlap and he fucked off. He didn't care. He just took the ball in. I was like, oh boy, I'm glad we we didn't give that one away. Yeah. So again, it's one of those things where, you know, you get a little bit too much of that television and eventually you miss the easy things that make you good. And that, you know, we're one you a game because you just you're not thinking.
00:23:17
Speaker
It what made me happy Was uh In the yeah in the second half they were they were as they were coming back in and they were talking about what to watch for in the second half he said both these teams when they're playing at their peak And and they're not alone with with just these two, but they'll they'll choke you out in the third quarter Like they'll figure out a way to wrestle control. So like the the that yeah, that's that's definitely true The first 20 minutes of the second half were really going to determine the outcome. I thought
00:23:47
Speaker
um well they thought at least I seem to agree but I was still that made me all the more nervous for the next like 10 minutes or 15 minutes absolutely and um yeah it was right around the there was uh farty got his uh yellow card at 57 57 yeah and then faz hit the kick and I was like okay we're in the lead that's that's all it takes sometimes right around that time where they were saying that they'll take control so I was like this could be it like that made me
Will Skelton's Impact on Saracens and Australia
00:24:14
Speaker
Yeah, and it was their physicality that just really, really did, just hammered it home. I mean, when the lineup came out, I texted you, we went big, you know, because Maro's playing six Will Skelton's in the lineup, along with Cruiser. So, you know, if we were going for a little bit more speed and, you know, and guile,
00:24:33
Speaker
Well, skeletons not in that lineup. No, but and Marle's playing in the second round not sex was amazing We have to sing we have to sing the big man's praises because he has decided to stay at Saracens they're working out the contract kinks It sounds like he's gonna stay at Saracens and he's not going to Australia which I feel so terrible for but god I love this guy if he's if he's making that sacrifice for us and
00:24:58
Speaker
Check a better fucking pick him anyway. He should I don't understand this. I don't understand this all your pride the guy Making a big exception in and be he should be you're starting long, right? He should be your starting second row end of story and I bet you if you ask James Horrell Who's about to step away from the game? He'd tell you the same thing. He should be a start the strike second row
00:25:18
Speaker
He has 18 caps for Australia. And that's when he was fat. He was a chunker when he got those 18 caps. He was chunky. So now he's fit. He's fighting. He's in form. Like Michael Cheka, just park your damn pride once and pick the man. He's worth it. He's absolutely worth it. What? What? He worried about getting fired? Listen, dude, you haven't been fired yet. You screwed up pretty hard in some aspects, too. Well, this is his last go around with him anyway. So he's gone. So what the fuck? Pick your best guy.
00:25:48
Speaker
Are they really gonna pull Spain and fire him weeks and months before the World Cup? No. If they really want a shot at this thing and do not look like a bunch of chumps, they won't do that. They're not that stupid. And they're certainly not gonna fire you for bringing in fucking Will Skelton. No. I think most Australia fans would jump up and down. Yes, please. Thank you. Yeah.
00:26:06
Speaker
So, but just the same, we love Will Skelton for staying and hopefully everything gets worked out and knock on wood. And he's going to be a Saracen for at least a couple of years, which is... That's great. I mean, bad news for anybody else in the pipeline. Right. So, like, joke book, who's probably going to have to go on loan or get so... Or just go somewhere else. I don't... And I won't blame him for leaving, you know, even like, even if a sequel wants to jump ship.
00:26:32
Speaker
I don't blame him. I will hold no hard feelings. I understand the point. You need to get game time. You need to get seen. You need a lot of, you know, you need a lot of things that aren't going to necessarily be there for you all the time outside of international windows. So, you know, I would understand. But yeah, so digress back to the match.
Billy Vunipola's Game-changing Try
00:26:53
Speaker
The clinching, the clincher, the clinching tried to get up. Oh, wait, that was a different.
00:26:59
Speaker
oh my god we saw so much shames lowe bum we also saw some testicles too oh man that was a full moon yeah and then some guys tie your shorts all right please tie your bloody shorts good lord that was all of james lowe's ass and more yeah thank god we didn't see anything else but we're very familiar with mr lowe now yeah no kidding everybody knows what that looks like oh god but um
00:27:27
Speaker
outside of that the um The uh four person carry-in try for billy. I mean he didn't carry him all in but he got to the line and just reached Yeah, he didn't carry four of them in because two of them just fell off. That's true That's very true he um and the replay with where because he he busts all of them down to like a half meter short of the line and then
00:27:51
Speaker
Dots it. Yeah dots it over and and once again jane the aforementioned james lowe They showed on the replay from the reverse angle And he sees what that what billy's doing as he as billy goes to reach rips He rips it away from him and goes to reach it and you see lo just go
00:28:10
Speaker
He's mad. He's like, no, get back here. Yeah, nope. So and then, you know, Saracens were able to really like, even when it was it was, you know, nothing time, they were just still able to.
00:28:24
Speaker
Find a way to just suffocate the life out of everything's going backwards Yeah for them by the by the end of the match probably about yeah right around that 60 minute mark Everything was going backwards. Mm-hmm. It was you know, and it's It's baffling to think about you know them Again, we've talked about lester and their high-powered offense and they definitely have a high-powered offense They have lots in the locker and that in that back line and even in that loose loose forward group, but there was nothing dynamic
00:28:53
Speaker
No, they didn't do a lot. It was hands. They didn't do a lot of special things, no. Maybe a mispass here or there, but the ball only went one way. And it rarely went out the back. Right. And it was a little baffling about the lack of creativity. This is almost like the inverse of what happened for England against Wales. They just ran out of creativity.
00:29:14
Speaker
Right they they and I mean i'm sure some of that has to do with with uh, the Saracens launch On defense, but not that much. There was a lot of time like they weren't they didn't watch every time right? Couldn't but some of those times they didn't they they you know on the obvious forward crashes they didn't just blindly launch up until they smacked the guy they
00:29:34
Speaker
Did a good job of Working to make double tackles even behind the line and that's when they they they really didn't drive into them and driving back They just caught them and then worked them backwards No, absolutely Absolutely So yeah
Saracens' Historic Achievement
00:29:50
Speaker
Saracens are your champions of Europe. They are the fourth team to claim three European titles along with Toulon, Toulouse, and Leinster. They're the first English team to claim three titles which gives them the most in England.
00:30:05
Speaker
They were tied with both Wasp and Lester at two, and they've now gone ahead of them. They're one of the few teams that has won three championships in four years or less. Lester did it until long, did three years in a row, and now Saracens have done three out of four. So it's a huge monumental achievement. It's a huge thing for English rugby, obviously.
00:30:31
Speaker
Again, we talked about, you know, even like last week when it was the shags against the shags, Exeter and Saracens, if you want to know how to get there for Europe, just have a look at Exeter, have a look at Saracens. You'll you might want to take some notes. Yeah. All right.
Alex Good's Legendary Celebration
00:30:51
Speaker
Let's. And somewhere somehow. And I was I was hoping he would he would still have it on so we could laugh. So I could say somewhere somewhere out there. He's still wearing it. And he's not. He's not anymore. He took it off. He took it off about 12 hours ago. What a freaking bender. What a bender that had to be. So Alex Good was still wearing his his Saracens kip, not only last night, but the night. He basically wore it up until about 12 hours ago, as Ben just said. From from Saturday.
00:31:18
Speaker
the night saturday night on until tuesday midday that's that he wore his i have two words legendary yeah that is just epic and not to mention he had his gum shield
00:31:33
Speaker
Yeah, it's true. He did still have his freaking mouth card. Oh, man. Can I tell you this much now? What's that? If a fanny pack is good enough for Alex Good, it's good enough for me. Good enough for me. Yeah, absolutely. Fully justified in my fashion. That's all he was sporting was his kit and the fanny pack. Fantastic. He did it two years ago when they won in...
00:31:55
Speaker
tweeting out where they're going, addresses of where they were. Yeah, when they won an Edinburgh, he did two years ago. Apparently, Newcastle's a hell of a time out as well. So even if he made it back to London in his kit, but still. I think they went back to London, because I think he was getting ready for the bus in his kit.
00:32:13
Speaker
Yeah, he was definitely getting ready for the bus and his kid, but like even like the night the night before, like the night they won, I'm sure they were not Newcastle because apparently they share all the time. Yeah. Yeah. But his his London bender is. I'm going to go ahead and venture a yes and say he's not playing this week. I'm going to say he's going to need a rest if if for nothing else, the fact that he's going to be hung over. Yes.
00:32:38
Speaker
But Alex, Alex, good. You are. Everybody's here out there, whether they want to admit it or not. Absolutely heroic. Yeah. Meanwhile, once upon a time, Down Under, there was there was other rugby being played, too. And. Bowden Barrett, he's actually pretty good.
Rugby Matches Recap: Performances and Highlights
00:32:59
Speaker
I've heard tell of this guy. So one thing that stuck out for me in terms of him was he scrambled to get to recover a ball kicked it.
00:33:13
Speaker
He chased the damn thing, went after the first guy, the first guy got rid of it, somebody managed to make this guy have to dance for a second, scrambled himself back and got him, and then he got to his feet and he either won the penalty or stole the ball. I was like, wow, or whatever it was, he countered it, he won the ball single-handedly just hanging out down in the Blues' end. So, Hurricanes 22, Blues 12,
00:33:41
Speaker
It was a, it was a, it was a scrappy match. Hurricanes actually showed something. I was really, really hoping that they would finally show defense. They showed some defense and rocked up. 12 points against, not bad. Yeah. And that's not like, that's not, nobody's were shutting down. Rico, you want, he did play in this game and none. I'm on, I knew I'm, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that they're nobodies. They're kind of good. They're all right.
00:34:05
Speaker
So, you know, it's and it was really good to see poor Jordy Barrett, ouch, ouch, town population him. He went up for a ball on a high kick. And, you know, he
00:34:21
Speaker
lifted his leg up trying to protect himself. Well, somebody else went in for the same ball, lifted their leg up and caught him there. Not only did he catch him there, I'm pretty sure as they both came down, the shin came down on top of him in the region, in said region. Double tap.
00:34:39
Speaker
And they were like, uh, Jordy's down. And I'm like, I think I know why. I was pretty sure he just got one in the nuts. And he did. I was like, oh, dude, like double, double. Yeah. Yo, baby. That hurts. So and you still have pretty damn good game on top of all that. So you did well. Ben Lamb basically decided that he was going to score a try.
00:35:02
Speaker
Like he took, he got a hold of the ball and just wriggled off four people and scored. I was like, um, why haven't you done this today yet? Thanks for doing it. But why hadn't you done that yet? Because that's basically what it looked like he did. He's like, I'm going to take this ball and I'm putting it in the try zone. And if anybody wants to try and stop me, you might have to shoot me. Yeah, that's a, he's a, he's a unit. He is a unit that should be a more regular thing for him.
00:35:29
Speaker
Agreed. I mean, seven circuit as opposed to here kind of makes takes some takes a little bit of adjustment time, I guess, but he's had at least a year or so. You'd like to think that he would figure it out by now. Look at I mean, I remember his first year. He thought I just do it up scorching. He loved the world. Yeah, he lived the whole the whole league. It was cool. See, Hurricanes 22 Blues 12. They are slowly inching themselves towards a home quarterfinal, which would be really cool for for them. I think they're far and away the best team not named Crusaders in the league.
00:35:58
Speaker
It's hard. It's hard to argue. I know they don't necessarily rock up and you know dominate teams But I mean, I think the only two they've lost like three games and two of them to the Crusaders, right? So and if you go by points They're far and away the second best. I mean, they've nobody else has 30 Wow, and they've got 40 Crusaders of 47. Yes, so
00:36:19
Speaker
Yeah, they're Okay, so yes my point my point now validated. Thank you Um rebels and reds You know and you know I I said that the reds weren't necessarily that good And the rebels were probably better and the rebels didn't like blow them out of the water by any means But they they played them off the field in a lot of ways
00:36:43
Speaker
Reese Hodge looks like he's somebody that's gonna be wearing a gold shirt this summer, for sure. As we keep saying this. Right, right, right. Yeah, no doubt. Dane Haley steps in and plays out of his skin.
00:36:59
Speaker
you know it was uh it wasn't dominating but it was definitely it was in control i'd say that's what that's why i'd say it didn't i never really had a worry that the rebels were going to lose the game so it was just
00:37:14
Speaker
You know, I think the last try that the red score was fairly late, so made it look a little bit closer than this. 56 minutes. Oh, and they got two penalties late. OK, so there you go. 70 minutes and 80 minutes. So there you go. So, you know, this game wasn't as close as it looked. Quaid Cooper was a little bit better this game, so I think he's starting to shake off the rust and whatever, whatever it was in his head that he said, you can't do this. Yeah, 50 yips.
00:37:43
Speaker
Yeah, so he was able to get it went when when the rebels had the ball it was in The it was in the Reds area Reds 22. Yeah, they're that territory difference is pretty stark right 64 36 The stats tell me you're telling the truth there. Yeah, so they you know and then good things happen you hang out in the 22 of the opposition and
00:38:10
Speaker
Case in point, Rebels score more points than the Reds do. So Rebels win 30-24, not quite back on top of the Aussie conference, but they've also played one less game than the Brumby's. Give that just a beat and we'll see what happens. Bulls and Crusaders.
00:38:29
Speaker
You mean the Crusaders? Yeah, basically. I'm not sure the Bulls played. Did the Bulls actually? They did not play well. They did not play well at all. And to say that the Bulls didn't play well is more that the Crusaders absolutely dominated them. The Crusaders played spectacularly.
00:38:48
Speaker
You know, the Hurricanes have a guy named Bone Barrett. The Crusaders have a guy named Richie Molonga. And the dude is pretty freaking good as well. I've heard the name. Also, Severeese. I've heard that name. Severeese and George Bridge were also getting in on the action too. And they had their own Barrett.
00:39:04
Speaker
Yeah, they do. Scott got over the line, Mitchell Dunshey with a big, big second row run for his debut try, his first ever super rugby try. So I was kind of pumped about that. I was like, yes, go, go, go, you big ugly giraffe, go! So yeah, so he got over, Scott Bear cut over after he was a crash over.
00:39:26
Speaker
But yeah, several weeks with the hat trick, obviously. That helps. Along with the double. Yeah, so it was just, you know, Moanga, he just, he stood out. He really did. He was kicking it. He was, not only did he stand out because he was very skillful, he also stood up because, boy, did this guy work his ass off.
00:39:49
Speaker
So between the two of those things, it just made him look just like the superstar. He is when you see him everywhere. And every time you see him, he's doing something amazing. Yeah, he is. He is a superstar. And for the all blacks to have people were worried about what was going to be happening with Dan Carter. Don't worry. They're going to be they're going to be just as good. I would still be very terrified.
00:40:10
Speaker
Oh yeah, without him either. Good lord. I mean, he was definitely, they could, in theory, stick one of these guys at fullback if they really wanted to. If they really, really wanted to, it wouldn't be the worst idea ever. I can tell you that much right now.
00:40:25
Speaker
So, um, yeah crusaders 45 bulls 13. Uh, I mean bulls got rasco spectrum in back. So that was kind of nice Uh, but man, they they are need they're in desperate need of going back to the drawing board after this one because That south africa conference is still pretty darn tight They need they need to get on it quick though because otherwise they're gonna be left behind Highlanders and jaguars This sucker was wide open
00:40:51
Speaker
Surprise, surprise when you're playing the Jaguars, I know. But it was a very wide open match. Obviously, good things happening for both teams. But the Highlanders just had a little bit more of the skill. The possession was theirs, although the Jaguars are very comfortable not having the ball to say, honestly, I could see it. The Jaguars made a very peculiar move.
00:41:18
Speaker
Concellieri who was their winger was playing very well He was seemed to be just on everything all their kicks He was on top of and you know, he was at the right place at the right time a lot. They pulled him early So I'm hoping it was for injury cause I'm not hoping but I'd like to think that they weren't Stupid and pulling a guy that was playing amazingly for no reason. Yeah, because it didn't seem like they had a reason
00:41:40
Speaker
So I don't know. Josh Awani, again, if the All Blacks need a third verse five, that's your guy. He continues to play very well. He continues to be informed. So if they are in desperate, desperate need of that, it's Josh Awani.
00:41:56
Speaker
And has there been? I haven't seen anything. What's the update on on Ben Smith? I haven't seen anything. The only thing I knew was six to eight weeks. OK, so that was the last thing I saw. OK, well, that's not terrible. I wasn't sure he was going to have to know if he had another ACL kind of situation. No, it's not. It's not that. I think that was that update was as of like, yeah, no ACL. So that was that was the best news possible for sure.
00:42:25
Speaker
I always see his name and I'm just like, is it? Yeah, it is. Thomas Umaga Jensen. It's a nephew of Tana, the Blues defense coach and former All-Black captain. And he actually has another nephew in England playing in the Wasse Academy.
00:42:51
Speaker
Jacob I was like, I know the name. I know the name and give me give me a second here. I know it. But yeah, so anyway Islanders figured it out without without Ben Smith. So that's the best thing you could ask for in that case, especially first game, especially first game without them. You that's the one that's definitely going to be the vulnerable game. So they figured I think I picked against them. Right. Yeah. I think you did, too.
00:43:15
Speaker
But yeah, so it was very good. You know, Matera and Creevy did everything they could. Creevy came off the bench, but still, you know, he is a nasty, nasty dude sometimes. He just wants to freaking get into it every time. But it's it was it was for not. So Jaguars go down 2732. They're still in the hunt in the in their conference, though. So I I would definitely not not not write them off quite yet. We know Kiwi teams beat up on everybody but themselves, basically.
00:43:45
Speaker
Right. So it's not a new thing. And I don't think this is beating up on them, but they did win and they usually don't lose to teams that aren't the Kiwis. So right. Yeah. Just case in point there. Your boys and the Sharks.
00:44:00
Speaker
Well, they did what the Crusaders couldn't do. They beat him. That's good. They beat him. It seemed to, again, it seemed to be, if it was going to be a Chiefs win, it was going to have to be a wide open game because the Sharks definitely would add the set piece advantage, especially with their big boys. No Dan Dupree in this match.
00:44:21
Speaker
Uh, but still just their big boys are a little scary That that's in a way that's good because that's when the chiefs play their their best is when they're They're open they keep it open and as long as they can do that and and maintain their their defense Which they they struggled a lot with earlier in the season. Absolutely, but that's that's settling down
00:44:43
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, I, it's funny, I keep seeing Brad Weber's name on the team sheet and not Tarangi. And that supposedly, supposedly, Tarangi is the third choice nine for the All Blacks. Now, I don't know if that's true or not, but it's one of those things where he's playing. He's playing. Yeah, he's playing amazingly. So it's not like,
00:45:08
Speaker
Again, I don't think it's anything terrain he's doing wrong. I think it's a lot of things that Brad Robert's doing, right? That's the problem. How do you take him out? No, and that's the and that's the other thing. Like, yes, the Chiefs could do terrain your favor and give him some run. And so, oh, yeah, yeah, he can definitely, you know, be the third choice nine if he's got a little more run. But the Chiefs have an obligation to their players and to the fans and to the team to put a team out there that's going to win. And if
00:45:35
Speaker
the Chiefs feel like the best person to give them a shot at winning is Brad Weber. They have a right and they have an obligation to do that. So... And it seems like that's the choice they're making. Right, and I don't blame one bit. Here on Andrews, I have to say, I do like this guy. He's a little bit of a skinny guy for the Sharks, their big second row.
00:45:57
Speaker
Very mobile, very dynamic for a second row by far, but with that comes a cost. He's a little thin. He's a little thin. He's almost, he's very lanky. He's very tall. He needs to go kind of the opposite way both skeletons going right now, which is get a little beefier. If he does,
00:46:13
Speaker
If he can continue to hold on and maintain his skills, he is going to be a problem. He's going to be a very good second row. I can feel it. You can see the way he moves. He's able to get rid of the ball, not on his snaming for the Bulls. So I like the guy. I hope he continues to just get a little beefier, make sure he's eating some good food down there, and then he'll be OK.
00:46:40
Speaker
I feel like if it's depending on how committed you are, it's a little bit easier to bulk up. And when I say depending on how committed, I don't mean what you're willing to inject in yourself. I mean, how much time you're willing to spend in the weight section. Right. I mean, and back on Brad Robert, he did score two tries, including what was eventually the winner, I think.
00:46:59
Speaker
The clincher really yeah, the clincher. Okay. Well, I mean he scored 70 minutes left. Okay, so I mean It took the lead right. It was 22 23 at the time. So yeah, and he he does it like not unlike Cobus Reinach who's often on that inside support line for a nine and you Can't say anything bad about that. No He's a very good. He is a very good nine. So who knows maybe he becomes the next one for for the all blacks to go have a look at
00:47:29
Speaker
All right, Lions Waratahs. I'm not sure what to make of this game in terms of, I don't think the Waratahs are that bad. I don't think the Lions are that good. And I just, I couldn't make heads or tails of this game, let alone the result. It was a last second kick that Lions back up, I can't remember his name. Reynolds?
00:47:58
Speaker
That doesn't sound like a south african name, but okay, so it doesn't sound like a south african name, but I think that's it No, reynolds hit the hit a penalty with uh, 28 at 68 minutes Okay, so it was wow. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, ugly. Um, anyway, but like just looking at like
00:48:13
Speaker
I honestly don't think the war I don't think the war ties are that good. So when they beat teams I'm often wondering are they playing down to the war ties or Are the war ties actually like remembering that they're deep there? They do have some decent players Michael Hoover with the dummy and selling I mean Marvin Ori and Malcolm marks to get over the line I mean if you're gonna pick I mean
00:48:35
Speaker
I guess if you're gonna pick one or the other if I tell you you have a choice between tackling a loose forward and tackling a winger or Taking a winger away. You're probably gonna take the loot take the winger away. Yeah, but not if it's Michael Hooper Probably want tackle. Yeah He's gonna tuck it. Yeah It was a dummy and he took off and I was just and I think both guys just felt like they got pantsed Yeah Hooper will dish it once he breaks the line, but yeah
00:49:00
Speaker
and he didn't even do that just felt he just it was it was daylight so bye bye um and Malcolm marks continues to be one of the best hookers in the world uh again I have a hard time jolting him up into the top top two he's still top five though hands down definitely um you know almost can distribute uh not unlike uh you know
00:49:25
Speaker
It's amazing his passing ability for a damn hooker, honestly. He is another loose forward out there for that. He really is. So he set up, I think it was Go Sun's try with a little half break and then dish. So it was, he's very good. Kyle Sinclair like. Except he's got a better head than Kyle Sinclair. Just a wee bit. No red, no red mist from him, not the marks. No red mist.
00:49:51
Speaker
The one game I definitely don't know a damn thing about, and I'm not sure I need to, is the Brumbies and the Sunwalls. We talked about it last week, you know, Sunwalls have this habit of up and down, you know, they'll come up for a performance, whether they get a result or not is a different story, and then back down for the next game, and 33 to nothing.
00:50:13
Speaker
Yikes. That's one thing. Matchdats tell another story, though. Oh, really? Matchdats say Sunwolves had 60% possession. Jeezum. And 74% territory. And they lost 33-nothing.
00:50:29
Speaker
That's not a good thing for their offense. It's a great thing for the Brumby's defense, but that's not a good thing for their offense. No. No Hayden Parker until whenever the hell he gets subbed on, he gets subbed on at some point. He did not start this match. I know that. That I know.
00:50:45
Speaker
oh he came on early okay weird okay so never mind that forget i said that wow that's weird um yeah beats the hell out of me i can't i can't make heads or tails with that good lord um so yeah lily a final hazard day henry spate had scored two came off in the 66 minute he's probably pissed he's like give me my hat trick um
00:51:10
Speaker
But yeah, so again, but some most found a way to, you know, okay, they had possession, they had territory. You still put a bagel up. Not really that good of a performance if you're putting up a donut. I mean, yeah, the what was it? Brumby's had 181 tackles. So the Brumby's 110. Wow, by 70. Whoo. Okay. Well, in that case, you know, the fuck is going on there?
00:51:37
Speaker
Yeah, something something's up Something's up with that. Yeah, so um, get on the brumby's for at least rocking up and showing some defense during it It's the it's the some walls, but hey you gotta start somewhere, right? Yeah, and and maybe there was some desperation passes that I'm sure at some point there's some there were some that came into play, right? Um, so yeah, so some walls go down to the brumby's 33 to nothing Yeah, right exactly my thought
00:52:03
Speaker
Oh, one thing I actually had a thought on. We can move on from fantasy before we get to Beckham. So we talked about all the guys that are coming over for London Irish.
00:52:17
Speaker
but they're gonna have to, they're gonna have a little longer time, they're gonna have to, it's gonna be a longer time for them to gel because the World Cup, you're gonna have at least a month delay, they're gonna give them at least a couple weeks off after that, depending on when they get eliminated too. Some of these guys are gonna, some of these guys might get eliminated, you know, quarterfinal and or pool stage, so that's fairly early. But then, so it's gonna be a little bit longer of a delay for them to get more continuity, so,
00:52:46
Speaker
I don't know be interesting to see what happens with that because bristol had bristol didn't have that problem no
00:52:52
Speaker
Um, so that'll be interesting. I mean, if they gel, they're going to be obviously very good, but. They will. And I would hope that it wouldn't take that long for them to at least be able. I mean, they're so talented. Hopefully it would be, they could win some of these games just on that alone. Um, possibly, but yeah, I mean, I'm going to say it right here, right now, as of what I've seen. What's her going down next year?
00:53:23
Speaker
Because they're losing Teo, right? I mean, I love Duncan Weir. I like France or who guard player the month this week Or a for April brother and you know, I like some of their pieces It's not gonna be enough. They haven't done enough business in my opinion and I know they've had some financial issues where they've had ownership Potential issue. So yeah, I know they're the one club where I can't think of
00:53:47
Speaker
where they would need, they could use some help some, you know, and then they, they haven't signed anybody. They haven't signed anything that friggin lights, like, like, they got Kitchener's brother back. That's it. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. That doesn't light the world on fire by any means. No. You know, that's not something I'm jumping on my seat to say, Yeah, that's who I want.
00:54:09
Speaker
But they do their their talent is extremely young. That is true and They did they did had a lot of work to gel this year. They did sign 9-9. No, I think yeah That's the one name that gets me excited. That's true. But that's it They still have to replace two wings. Remember right one of them's named Josh Adams the other one's named Bryce heme
00:54:29
Speaker
Yeah, those those are those are good names. Yeah, exactly so I mean I presume not I's gonna bump the wing because penelle's been playing fullback for a long time, but yeah still yeah, I I unless wister can can Stir up some bits some business real soon here. I think I think they're gonna be the one to go down and we'll see I mean, I guess we'll see what happens with a bunch of the new castle guys who
00:54:51
Speaker
Yeah, if they can grab a couple of the good names off that team, right maybe they'll have a shot But until I see that I think they're going down. Yeah, that's not a that's not a bad call I mean they they struggled so much this year
00:55:04
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, they finally put their balls on the line with a couple of good performances and some good teams. But where the hell has that been? And some of those guys aren't gonna be there next year. So, you know, we took Singleton, you know, so again, they're gonna have to, they're gonna have to find some ways to really rock up this coming year. And hopefully they're, for their sake, they have to hope that their quality from the depth of their squad can eventually show up because I'm not sure they have it.
00:55:32
Speaker
it'll probably be like as you said that there's there's no reason to expect the the London Irish to be challenging for for playoffs um it could come down to them versus Worcester and and hopefully yeah for Worcester's sake they uh
00:55:49
Speaker
They get their young guys working well together, right and finish instead of just hey, they made a great break and then they turned it over because That's what was it us? All right, let's go to pick them and By our pickums we can probably figure out who's gonna end up where in terms of champions cup playoffs all that jazz Oh interesting.
Saints vs. Exeter: Playoff Implications
00:56:09
Speaker
Yes, we could we could All right, we'll start with the number one seed and the team that is holding the destiny in their own hands eggs are in Saints and
00:56:19
Speaker
I mean, pretty much at any point in the season, it's smart to pick the team that needs it more. And I think here there could be no greater opportunity for the Saints to need this more than they do. And an Exeter, they don't need this at all. So I'm going to think the Saints march in.
00:56:43
Speaker
Yeah, me too. I will pack my other guys wholeheartedly. So what do you think bonus pointer now?
00:56:54
Speaker
Oh, I think they do. Yeah, I think they go for it just to make sure because they, you know, yeah, the coins. They are just one point behind, right? So, you know, if they go for that bonus, they get that. Well, if they if they get the when they're in, because then they'll have they'll already have too many wins for coins to catch them. OK, so they'll have they'll give them 12 wins. Oh, 10. I missed that. Yeah, that's right. And then and that's it. That's the only team that can catch them coins.
00:57:24
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. So I think then I think the saints when I still think they get the bonus point just to be like, fuck you. All right. Lester and Beth. Well, I think we know where I'm going with this. Yeah.
00:57:39
Speaker
like you said luster should probably work on their uh um some of the youth some of their youth and and bath are fighting for champions cup next year yep they if any team needs to uh redeem themselves from any competition ever besides of course new castle um it's it's bath and the champions cup they do well champions cup this year
00:58:02
Speaker
Yeah, I I will back bath I was back my guy Zack Mercer and hope that he tears the hell out of Lester Friend of the pot Freddie Burns. Yeah burns if anybody knows him let him know he's friend. Yeah. Well, I don't know we like him But I know
00:58:20
Speaker
No, no No, because I still think lester play the defense that that that they are capable of sometimes Okay bastards like that. Yeah, right. Sometimes they are Um new castle and bristle this should be entertaining if nothing else and bristle have an outside shot at getting into
00:58:41
Speaker
Um, but no, I think bristol pilot on here. Yeah, you think so? I think so. Just as I say, uh-huh. Fuck you. We're not going down We're here we're you know, we belong here and you don't and we're gonna make sure everybody knows it
00:58:55
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. I'm not I'm not arguing with Harry Thacker and company. I think he. I think he's had an amazing season, my goodness. You know, just understatement of the day, I know, but wow. So so Bristol. And yeah, they pilot on. They pilot on. OK. Piled on to a bonus point, too. Yeah. Yeah. So Bristol on 52. I mean, with our results before pretty much tells us that they won't get into the Champions Cup, but still they might get into that playoff spot. Yeah.
00:59:25
Speaker
Um, sale Gloucester, the sale box, as we affectionately know them for a little while here. And they're at home.
00:59:39
Speaker
And Gloucester are going to be resting their guys and yeah, and they don't I mean Atkinson and 12 trees I think have played if they haven't played every match. It certainly fucking feels like they did Yeah, I think 12 trees has played every match. Not you say that I know he's missed some time, but he hasn't he hasn't not started or not come on
00:59:56
Speaker
Right. So I just I there's no way they can play them. Yeah, they're gonna arrest them again this week. Unless they want to really unless they want this as a training run. Yeah, that's the only thing that's the only thing they could throw this for a loop. They did have an off week to be fair. So they may be able to maybe able to afford a few guys to get out there and have a run.
01:00:21
Speaker
i'm gonna i'm gonna go with glosster on this one i think i think they end up they won't start all of their um i can't imagine they'll start all of their guys right but i i think they'll start enough that they yeah because they want to they i'm sure they want to win just because who doesn't they also want to get into form for their for the playoffs okay so consider you think sale can keep it close yeah okay so i'd give them a bonus point loss
01:00:50
Speaker
Okay sale on 51 Uh, yeah, i'm not arguing you I think I think washer's quality will still shine through for sale over sale even though I don't think they're gonna play everybody. Mm-hmm But I think they're I think they'll play enough guys and let's be real if ben morgan plays i'm not back i'm not backing down from him Right. Um wasp and quinns
01:01:15
Speaker
Both teams are going to be in need of one thing or another. They're obviously not going to know the results of everything else. They're just going to have to keep playing because everything's kicking off same time. Same time, right. I'm going to go with the quins. I think that the draw of a playoff spot is much more, there's a lot more
01:01:40
Speaker
What do you call it incentive to win that then there is to get to a play-in game for the Champions Cup Yeah, no, I don't disagree and they want and they want to nail down their own Champions Cup spot Yeah, so they have they have work to do to they can't you know to make sure they don't lose. All right, but they also need to Right, they could also get into the playoffs. So I Okay, so
01:02:03
Speaker
What do they have to lose, right? They're right. They're gonna they're gonna throw what they have at the at the wasps and yep, who knows what the wasps are gonna do. Right? All right. Well, I'm I am I am gonna pick the loss.
01:02:16
Speaker
Um, because you love die on God knows that's all right. No, they're at home. Um, I feel like they'll just kind of shake the cobwebs off and say, all right, enough of this. We're at home. Let's rock up for one more shot against a team that probably wants to be this badly. But I might be wrong about that. But, you know, and some of these guys, this will be the last go around for them. So we'll see. Um, so with that, I'll give Quinn's a non bonus point when in our standings. All right.
01:02:46
Speaker
Um, and i'll give was a bonus point loss So we'll put them on what 48 48 Okay, and then our boys against wister probably serison storm b again. Oh, he's gonna be serison storm Might be the team that won the shield on monday, right? And I think that's enough to beat wister I don't disagree
01:03:09
Speaker
They got some I think woulston groff played on that team for god's sake. He's pretty damn good Yeah, oh their their their lineup there was was pretty strong up front. Yep And you know, they had they had tom whiteley in there and yeah, he's pretty damn good in his own, right? I mean, unfortunately, he's got ben spencer sitting in front of him But yeah, yeah, when when will you steps away? It'll be a little bit the two of them It'll be the two of them for sure. Um, yeah, so i'll take i'll take sarahsons, which means you know, nothing necessarily anywhere else but So what do we have we have?
01:03:40
Speaker
Bristol on 52. So this is four, five, six. So if it plays out the way we've just talked about, it would be Northampton in fourth, Quinn's in fifth.
01:03:56
Speaker
Bath and six and Bristol and seventh playing in the playoff Game to get into champions cup. Okay. That's that's what I would like to see. Yeah, I think that'd be kind of fun Yeah, and I'd like to find out where who's who's carrying that as far as a broadcast, right? Yeah, that'd be kind of cool. All right down under hurricanes and jugglers Hurricane, this is the first match of the weekend
01:04:19
Speaker
I got canes. Yeah, oh for for once. We'll actually have the tag water ace lineup At a normal time. I know we're gonna we're gonna have to know it right because i'm playing frickin friday So we have to at least know it by thursday when everything locks so yeah, well everything locks But you know be nice to know if your drag wire players are playing that which I have at least I can't at least two I have one for sure if I ever land on Um, i'd like to know whether or not he's playing that'd be that's another fun
01:04:45
Speaker
Talk about center matchups all over the place. No, no. I'm not paying not even played last week now. La Mape's going against Orlando this week That's well, there's fucking amazing centers all through this whole competition so so yeah rebels and bulls both teams
01:05:02
Speaker
Really in desperate need to win to get back on top of their conference and I yeah, geez And rebels are are the ones on the on the trot right now because the boys just got hosed at home But granted was by the Crusaders, but still that does not feel good. So both of these teams have the same amount of points, right?
01:05:22
Speaker
They have a very similar point differential 20 to sit and uh for the rebels 17 for the bulls. Okay. Um both are um One point shy of the team that's in the top of their conference Also, both have played one fewer match like they're they're right from the top Yeah, yeah, these are like these are very similar teams the story with these teams is extremely similar. Yeah Um, so with that said I i'm gonna go with the home team. Yeah, i'm I want rebels too
01:05:50
Speaker
I'm gonna flip that coin and it lands for the home side. Yeah, it's it's tough and you know Rebels just again roles just one I think they feel that was against a rival team too that they're they're on the bounce. They're they're bouncing.
Chiefs vs. Blues: Lineup Strengths
01:06:02
Speaker
They're feeling good about it Kiwi Derby Blues and Chiefs at Auckland I
01:06:13
Speaker
I mean this will be entertaining. It'll be entered. Oh, yes, it will It'll be a little wide open and I think the Chiefs pull it off. Okay, I think they're gonna have a little bit From what I've seen of both squads. Yeah, you know, we can talk about the talent that's on the blues and They've had that talent for a long time and it just never they never get on the same page. They never they're always kind of
01:06:35
Speaker
Yeah, uh making poor decisions with the ball trying to keep it out of contact. Yeah Um, it should work better than it than it does And I think as long as the the chief stayed disciplined on defense Um, the blues will end up turning it over at keep moments where the chiefs would might might finish it off, right? Uh, side note on the blues I don't know you didn't see jim parson's coming out for the their hooker. No, um 150th or something like that
01:07:02
Speaker
Uh, so the the blues handed out like cardboard scrum caps People were aware. I thought that was pretty good idea. I was like, that's a good idea And you know people know jim parson's for his for his crumb cap. He wears a blue scrum cap all the time So, um, I thought that was pretty pretty nifty idea to tip of the cap. Yeah, that's a good idea for his achievement
01:07:25
Speaker
Anywho, I think you're right in the Chiefs. My reasoning is different, because in terms of halfback pairing, I don't know who the hell the Blues 10 is anymore, because I had my guess twice at it, and it's been wrong both each time, and I just don't like their halfbacks in terms of the Blues. I like Brad Weber, I like Tarangi both, so I'm a- Right, and you remember back the year I was following the Blues,
01:07:53
Speaker
Yeah, you said that was part of the problem. I could not deal with their Scrum have situation. I could not deal with it. I was like, it hasn't changed. It hasn't changed. It's blue, ruru, or knock. And they're all, no. They're all bad. None of them are good. Reds and Wartas. Reds coming off their loss against the Rebels. Wartas coming off their semi-late loss to the Lions. Again, I've said it. I think the Wartas look like a good team on paper, but they just haven't played well on the field.
01:08:21
Speaker
And they've obviously got other things that are distracting them as well, which isn't helping. No, it's not helping. And I agree with that completely. Yeah. Which is why I'm going reds. Yeah. I'm going to go with the MVP, supposed MVP of the Subaru rugby at least halfway through. And that is correct me. So off we go. I will take the reds myself. Lions and Highlanders. Oh, this will be interesting. In South Africa, too. It is in South Africa. This will be very interesting.
01:08:48
Speaker
Wow, the last two matchups actually on this on on the weekend look very interesting. Yeah, that last one looks tasty. Yep this one though I'm wondering if so we you know that we talked about the the bedsmith injury and how the first game back
01:09:05
Speaker
Without him is key. There's also the Ewing theory portion of that, which was—the Ewing theory is an American concept that buys into the—when a team loses its best player, they rally, and they may actually play better as a team.
01:09:26
Speaker
I'm not sure he's the case. I'm not sure he's that case. No, but I think that what if they were able to hold it together for one match and then they kind of like, Oh, we can do this. And then they relax. Maybe. Yeah. So and especially being on the road, I'm going to go with the Lions here with the theory that the Highlanders put it together last week. And because we saw the week when after he got hurt, they fell apart. Yeah. And that's why the chase were able to get that last last second winner.
01:09:52
Speaker
Right a tire a tire. That's true. It was a tire. Um, yeah a jar, but they got points out that they shouldn't have gotten and all that so um, I think I think the lions I think the hurricanes um, remember remember this week that they're losing that they are without ben smith and the lines you mean the highlanders sorry highlanders that one you were on your third base um
01:10:17
Speaker
To me, it's a battle of assuming that he plays Cronia and Yanchis against Smith and Yoani. And honestly, of the two, the two that are on fire are Smith and Yoani. That's true. So I'm going to take those two. All right. And I'm going to take the Islanders.
01:10:36
Speaker
Plus Aaron Smith is my halfback. So he needs to play really well for me so I can get a run in and get up and get in this playoff here Last one, like we said also very interesting stormers who are very Jekyll and Hyde this year and the Crusaders and it's the same story for me always with the stormer stormers against basically a team that's not
Stormers vs. Crusaders: Style Analysis
01:10:58
Speaker
from South Africa and
01:10:58
Speaker
If it's ugly and slow, Stormers are going to be at least in it, if not winning it. If it's open and fast and pacey, it's probably going to be the Crusaders because guys like Haveli and Bridge and Rhys are loose and Moonga, you know. So not to mention some of the loose forward. And yeah, and and Karen Reid, Wednesday Douglas, Jordan Tafua, Matt Todd, they're all going to get loose at some point. Right. Cody, Cody Taylor, who's like another loose forward sometimes.
01:11:26
Speaker
Yeah, so I mean i'm not picking you to crusaders they haven't proven anything otherwise yet So I mean you look at their plan against the the bottom of the south africa conference Yeah, which isn't anything special. Anyway, no And uh, yeah, I can't no I can't do it cotton. No, don't have it in me going crusaders. Yeah, okay
01:11:47
Speaker
Okay. Yeah.
Premiership Playoffs Permutations
01:11:50
Speaker
So it's going to be a fun weekend in partnership. It promises to have some interesting permutations for, um, champions cup and who gets what, who gets in there. Obviously people are going to be very, very much keeping their eye on the saints and Quinn's matches because that's going to determine who gets into the playoff.
01:12:11
Speaker
The semi-finals and hey guess what your gift is gonna be that you get to go play exit or at Sandy Park But hey, at least you got to be in it to win it, right? Right? So well unless our scenario takes hold that we put in for this weekend and the saris would be in front Well, that's a that's a possibility. There's a possibility
01:12:30
Speaker
In which case, it's still not any easier. I mean, I wouldn't be signing up for either one of those if I could help it. So let's put it that way. Yeah, no, especially Saracens. If the Saracens have figured out the formula, then look out. Yeah.
01:12:45
Speaker
So yeah, it's going to be a fun weekend. Good luck with everybody's fantasy. Obviously, you guys can email us fancy rugby podcast at gmail.com. You can tweet at me. You can tweet Ben and he can forward it to me if you don't know what if you don't happen to follow me. That's fine. I'll put my stop sign in my green light up by Thursday morning, probably because there'll be some lineups up. At least I can have a guess at it.
01:13:10
Speaker
But other than that, rate us, review us, subscribe to us on Google Play, Spotify, iTunes, all that stuff. Other than that, have a good weekend and cheers to the rugby, yeah. Have a good one.