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Season 5- Episode 43- Was Right to Be Scared (Super Rugby Final)
33 Plays2 years ago
It's more fun coming at you from those American rugby knuckleheads for your enjoyment. On this episode of TFRY we are of course talking about the Super Rugby final and the boys in red doing it once again. Was the stick O'Keefe got worthy? We debate that and who should be the next All Black's captain when Razor takes over. We also turn our attention to Queensholm for the Prem 15s final between Gloucester-Hartbury and Exeter. The performances, the afters and everything between. All this, much more including the Conference Semi-Finals in MLR. Get a drink, kick back and enjoy friends.
Check out the TFRY Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyRugbyYanks
Ask us questions via Twitter: Jarrod- jdyke8man & Ben- admrablsnackbar, and #AskTFRY.
Don't forget, TFRY is coming up on Episode 200! Get your questions in for us and our much better halves.
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
Podcast Introduction and Season Overview
00:00:02
Speaker
It is... The Fantasy Roby Yanks. 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! Hey everybody, welcome back. It is the Fantasy Roby Yanks. My name is Jared Dyke. I'm Ben Glauser.
00:00:32
Speaker
We're in, um, we're running out of things to talk about here. We are. We're down to the, the, there's literally three matches left for us to discuss, um, go going forward. So, um, yeah. And they're all MLR. So we were kind of dropping the, uh, we're dropping the, the 2022 to 2023 season as it, as it winds down.
00:01:02
Speaker
Yep. I mean, you know, this is this is what we were left with last year, too. So. Oh, yeah, I know. There's nothing nothing wrong with it. It's not.
Major League Rugby Finals Discussion
00:01:09
Speaker
Yeah, nothing wrong with it. This is just the. The not that much to talk about time, except for, you know, no, it is. And you know what's happening here and and things. So and, you know, getting the finals. That's that's what I mean. That's the fun part like that. It's you know, the stakes are higher. And there's also, you know, all the other teams go home. So then.
00:01:32
Speaker
That's how it works. That is how it works. Last time I checked. Last time I checked, yeah. This still works, though. I think there we go. Can I have the same thing? I got it. Picking one of my beers. Yeah, I didn't realize till I got home that I gave you two of those orange.
00:01:56
Speaker
Oh, I have. Well, you have two of them in your. Well, I think I think I drank one of at least one of them likely, if not both. The other ones. I think the other one's still in the cooler slash fridge. Got it. All right. Let's bust into it. Obviously, make sure that you check us out on your favorite podcast to have download review.
00:02:21
Speaker
Buy a good friend, George, the fancy where we geek a coffee or beer. If you're anywhere near competitive in either your super root games or anything like that, you owe that man a coffee. So go ahead and just hit that button and enter your details and he'll thank you very much. And that'll be your thank you to him. Especially if you want to cross comp fantasy league. Bye.
00:02:46
Speaker
Nobody here did that.
Controversial Comments on Trans Athletes
00:02:50
Speaker
So, as always, there is no discrimination here on this podcast nor should they be in sports or in life. Back on the trans rights and we had a prominent figure come out and say something about
00:03:07
Speaker
I just what he said, just like boggles my mind. Like, really, you would choose to do that. Right. You have people. He's not just not just what he said, but like, you know, someone to choose to do that is just stupid. Lance Armstrong was right here. And then he made a comment about how trans athletes really only only do it so that they can win and compete. And it's like,
00:03:35
Speaker
Dude, what did you do to win it? And first off, that's all you did. And you did the same things that you're accusing them of doing. You use gender-affirming hormones and ultimately did actually have genital surgery as well. So, sir, dude. About that. Granted, it was for life-saving reasons. Well, because of all the other shit he did, yeah. Yeah.
00:04:06
Speaker
Yeah, because he decided to do steroids. You got testicular cancer and all that. Yeah. Yeah, the but the other that cancer. Right. But then also like, no, people that's not that's that's a that's a big fucking thing to do to yourself just for opposition. You get right. Why would you choose that? Honestly kidding me. Like, I don't think nobody would choose that.
00:04:28
Speaker
No, especially considering how hard it is to be a trans athlete right now, nobody would choose that. No way. And ultimately, that's again, it kind of points out that just the stupidity involved. So like, ultimately, when we're talking about don't be, you know, don't discriminate, don't be it's because like, you have to say you have to end up saying stupid shit just to justify it.
00:04:54
Speaker
Yep. And like, I mean, terrible stuff. Don't get me wrong, but also incredibly stupid. Incredibly. So it's like, just don't be stupid. That's like, you know, if you ever have to get to travel in time, don't travel to the past and certainly don't meet your ancestors. You will hate them. They will, every five seconds, they'll say something. You'll be like, the fuck is wrong with you? Yeah. Don't be that guy. Don't be the person that everybody's looking at you and going like, what the fuck is wrong with you that you would say something like that? Like, right.
00:05:23
Speaker
Absolutely not.
00:05:27
Speaker
And then make sure that you are tuning into, if you're hearing this, then there will be a post up for Twitter to ask questions. So make sure that you are in tune with that. If you've asked your question already, you can ask it again. That's fine. We'll make sure that we don't miss it. All right. But we do have, I do, I am keeping a running list, so don't worry. But yes, we'll, we'll get into that probably sometime in the next week. We'll have that done.
00:05:53
Speaker
So when I say that then I mean the episode. Right. Not the questions. We'll answer the questions at that point. Yeah, maybe. We feel like it, you know. We're sober enough. Yeah, you know, that helps. All right. So we had, to my knowledge, we only had, we had what, one new World Cup squad released?
World Cup Squad Updates and Critiques
00:06:19
Speaker
I believe so. I don't think England did anything. England made an update, but like. Not a substantial one. Not. Yeah. And it still doesn't have any of the finalist teams, which is fucking that's weird. So I don't think they'll have a they'll have about a month to get that camp before they start doing warm up games. So I think that I think this week, if they do it next week, they'll be fine.
00:06:50
Speaker
Okay. Um, but yeah, let's look at Australia though. Cause that, that came out. Um, well, Johnson is a, is a head scratcher for me. Uh-huh. Uh, I don't get it. Um, Donaldson over little CEO at that, you know, I, nope, big old bucket of note for me.
00:07:15
Speaker
You know, the really stupid thing would have been and hopefully that's not the I don't think it's going to be the case would have been because this would be an anything for him to do would be to pick Bernard Foley and Nick White together. Yeah. Yeah. I think that was done last year once and it wasn't that good. I mean, I'm just not. I don't see anything that I'm really. All that excited about, honestly, no, no, no fighting.
00:07:45
Speaker
That's really that's been coming, honestly, in my opinion. Right. Right. I mean, yeah, he's he's he's fucking, you know, he's deadly around the tri line. But useless. Anyone else? Yeah. Can't throw in. Can't. Yeah. Like not great defensively, certainly. Yeah. So I'm not sure about Rooney Valu over someone like Corey Toole.
00:08:14
Speaker
That doesn't make sense to me. I think, I thought tool was hurt. I think, I think he's in the injured and not available list. Okay. That might, that might make sense to them. Cause I think if tools available, hoodie Volo needs to get the boot right away. Yeah. See ya. No more. No, I will say no lock East went and that was probably a good move because fellas are walking red card. Yeah.
00:08:37
Speaker
Just not great. I like seeing non-gourd. What's up? Yeah, non-gourd. Non-gourd and Fessler actually were a decent part of a really good red front row that didn't have Tupo in it. So they got their chance to put their hand up and say, yeah, let's let's make this happen and let's get into a World Cup team. So good for them.
00:08:59
Speaker
Still kind of annoyed over Harry Wilson. Yeah, I don't. That's an Eddie move right there. That's what that is. That's an Eddie move. It really is. It is.
00:09:14
Speaker
Let's pick this random guy that played like four games for his club. Yeah. And like, that's, I guess that's my question here too, is I'm just looking through this again, but who's your eight? Like Sam? Probably. Yeah. Fucking kidding me. That'd be my guess. And you're going to leave. Okay. Sorry. I would take one over the other and it's not Sam.
00:09:41
Speaker
Yeah. I beat the hell out of me. Yeah. With Eddie's thinking, Tom Hooper's is eight. That's what I bet. Right. Probably. Well, he's talking about... The way he goes. What was he talking about? Hold on. Shit. One of the flankers at wing. That sounds like an Eddie line to me. Yeah. Hold on. I'm trying to find him.
00:10:04
Speaker
I mean, I can appreciate like having cover for like an all situations type of thing. Yeah. But like actually putting them at wing willingly without. Kamini. No, there he is. He's a utility player. He has enlisted his utility with Ben Donaldson and Dylan Page. And he's fast. Right. And the thing about putting him. You fucking kidding me. Another one I get. Another one I can do without is Kamini. Again, this is this is why like
00:10:31
Speaker
How can you be England and fear Eddie at this point? Look, it's a fucking clown show. It's clownery, this. It is. It's buffoonery. Big old circus. Yeah, you can have them. And Australian rugby really can't
00:10:49
Speaker
They can't do this long-term, because it's going to be bad. Like, you're going to do this for the next World Cup. They're going to try and do it due to the one they're hosting. Yeah, and it's not going to have fun with that. The problem is they're already spinning their wheels. It's not like they're even as good as England are, I don't believe, at this point. But you think he's not the guy to build up the program. He's the guy that might get you over the top once, because he's fucking too crazy to care.
00:11:19
Speaker
Right. But this is not a team that's built to be over the top. And these decisions are not. No, he's not. He's not. I. Yeah. They're. All right. Have fun. Yeah. Yeah. Like the castle. I mean, they've got some good players. Don't get me wrong. But like. None of the like, you know, Alan Alatoa. Well, but
00:11:49
Speaker
You know, even, you know, Hooper, McRate, those kind of guys, Valentini, they're not going to be the guys that are, and Will Skelton, great guy to have, but is he going to get you over the line really? I don't know. I don't think they have anybody available that's going to. That's the thing. But yeah, like, yeah, I don't know. The Tom Wright is his quality. Tom Wright's going to be great. Yeah. If he, if Cora Betty shows up like you did last year, he'll be great.
00:12:18
Speaker
True. I mean, we, this is the rugby championship for now. So yeah, exactly. We could see a lot of, we could see a lot of changes coming soon because there's going to be injuries. Number one, you just got to hope it's not somebody that's near near irreplaceable. If not irreplaceable, you know? Yeah. To me, it's guys who are like still, but they're still learning to be, to play at an international level versus like, and they don't have, I don't see there's that much.
00:12:47
Speaker
like mentorship there either. I mean, you got you got some guys there, but. Yeah, I mean, it's a lot to ask of them to the old man in the right half room right now. Yep, exactly. But is he going to be their fly half? Probably not. I mean, I just can do the job if need be as well. But right. I don't think that's the best position. So I think that's I think that's my that's my biggest problem is like who's who's steering the ship and then who's like, who's your centers there? I mean,
00:13:17
Speaker
If Ikytow would be... I like Ikytow. Yeah. Like an Ikytow, Faketti, or an Ikytow, Hodge combo could be on the cards. It could work, but again... I have to do something silly, like try and not walk into Nawasi at 13, because that's what he does. Yeah. Yeah. Or right at 13, something like that. Actually, I wouldn't mind to walk into Nawasi at 13. I actually think that might be a good idea. He's never played it, though. That's the thing. Well, fuck. If he's played it once, okay. But, like, damn.
00:13:47
Speaker
Yeah, let's not try that at international level if we can help it, please Yeah, we'll see there's a whole lot of we'll see on this one for sure Yeah, I Don't think they're gonna I don't think they're gonna run the all wax as close as Randy's team did that that Nick white debacle there All right Let's get into your guys
Match Analysis: Chiefs vs. Crusaders
00:14:18
Speaker
Crusaders and Chiefs. Right. I did say I was scared. And I feel like that was. I mean, always always well-founded when you're talking about the Crusaders and the team they have. And can I can I tell you a guaranteed way to lose to the Crusaders? Is you get three yellow cards and one of them should have been a red. Yeah, I don't know how that was. I what the fuck that was.
00:14:48
Speaker
Yeah. And, you know, that's when I can't blame O'Keefe. It wasn't his decision. I think he was like yellow and that'll be a red. I think even he was like, are you fucking kidding? Like, I don't think I remember some it wasn't exactly that, but it was some seemingly surprised exclamation from them. Like, oh, it's still in yellow. OK. Like, right. You sure? Like you get that right.
00:15:10
Speaker
Yeah. You sure it's a yellow. Yes. Okay. Okay. Whatever you say, chief. Right. It's your decision. But, but, but, and between like, I, for him to get this much abuse and stuff is to me, like I'm not a big Ben O'Keefe fan. If you've heard me talk about him, you'll know. Neither am I. But at the same time, okay. There's two major decisions that went wrong. One was that that yellow, that should have been a red.
00:15:39
Speaker
and the other was a forward pass that ended in a Chiefs turnover where they kicked it to touch. And yeah, the Crusaders scored after that, but it's like, come on, man, you're separate phases of play away. Like, at that point, like, let it go. It's play on, it sucks. It's just something that didn't go your way. Tell you what, if fucking Damien McKenzie can learn how to line up right on a line out,
00:16:07
Speaker
Like that was one of the things where I was like, you got to be kidding me. There's no way they can call that. And then they showed the replay and he's not anywhere close to 10 meters, not anywhere close. He's still like that. You can see the line outs inside these well inside the field and he's inside the 10 like he's six meters back at most. It's like, yeah, you're offside.
00:16:26
Speaker
Definitely. And if he's on side, I don't know if he's getting to that throw. That's the other thing. Right. I mean, that was a great time. Like, he caught it exactly when he needed to catch it at this right pace. Like, just hit just right. And you're right. If he had to be five meters further back just to be on side, I don't know. And it also makes it clear that he's going for it. Like, it's... Yeah.
00:16:52
Speaker
It was a great play. And the fucking fend off on Mwunga to finish it was delicious. Yeah. Like, it's one of those, oh, you can't call it. There's no way you can call that back. Oh, no, you got to call that back. Yeah, it was bad. It was bad enough. And he was consistent, though. He called the Crusaders when they did what he was pinging the Chiefs for. It's just that the Crusaders did it like three times the whole match and the Chiefs did it fucking every play. I still think he let them get away with a few things.
00:17:20
Speaker
Yeah, maybe, but he still put, you know, they like the the the chief still earn their cards. And I. Yeah. And also, and let's also, you know, if we're going to drag this out to postgame to. Sam Kane. Fucking shameful. Shameful to Sam Brad Weber out there in your place. To to face the music postgame. Yeah, awful to do that to him because you can't do it. What kind of captain are you?
00:17:50
Speaker
Like, yeah, I don't know. I mean, I've been, you know, I mean, like, look, these are guys I've been okay with because, you know, previously they've been bringing more good to the table than bad, but I mean, Mackenzie was awful this match. I saw someone, you know, I saw someone say that he and Moonga are the form 10s. And I thought, you know what, that might be true because Barrett just, Mackenzie was better than Barrett last week. He spit the bit, yeah, for sure. I agree.
00:18:19
Speaker
even with the things that annoyed me, but like, yeah, I just thought that the chief's like never even tried to show O'Keefe that they like were listening to him. He got really, I mean, he got super pissed at them and I would be too. They're like, they're keep fucking with his game. Like they keep getting, they keep tackling and laying behind the ball and then not rolling away. And it's like, and then- I think he was inconsistent at best with that though.
00:18:44
Speaker
What was it? Like you have a guy like Vitalik who knows what's supposed to be going, like he's like, dude, you're old enough to know better on one of the last ones. Like I think before the second yell, it's like, and it's everybody, it's just looking bad. I thought he was, I mean, yeah, I thought he was pretty, I thought he was consistent with it. So that was my perception was that, I mean, the chiefs didn't have the ball enough. They didn't attack enough to really force the Crusaders into those kinds of plays.
00:19:14
Speaker
And I thought when they did, he helped, he called it. I thought he was fair. He maybe waited a little too long for some of the advantages, I thought. I was like, come on, dude. And then he's like, he gave him, like, okay. Like when I saw something that I thought was a penalty, he would call it. So, and that was not all, I'm talking about when, you know, against the crusaders, like,
00:19:37
Speaker
Yeah, I don't like for him to face as much abuse as he faced is Like even if you thought he had a bad game, I get it Come on, man. Like the Chiefs just fucking pooped it. Just that's all there is and they play they almost almost won. I Think the cane yellow was the hardest thing for me though You know, it's one of those things where it's like
00:20:04
Speaker
Ball's just freaking sitting there free. And he didn't even say, well, he didn't come from an outside position. You said he just said it wasn't out. I was like, really? I didn't think it was out. I thought it was, there was, there were legs over it. It just was a weird angle. I don't even think there were legs over it. They were just on the floor, which to me says that ball's out and nobody's kept their feet play on. And I don't blame Sam came one bit for doing what he did. Yeah, I just wouldn't have because it's like, again, yeah, you're on the goal. Like it's,
00:20:34
Speaker
You're putting it in the referee's hands as to whether he interprets that as in or out. That's a bad interpretation of out of in or out, though, because if there's nobody covering it, the only thing that's keeping it in is the fact that's not beyond a foot. That's bullshit. Yeah, I like that. And that goes to the that goes to the fucking caterpillar rock. Like it's the same thing.
00:20:56
Speaker
There's nothing over it and keeping it in. It's out. Guys are just like, oh, yeah, it's in. I'm like, why? Because it's just not beyond the leg. It's clearly out. The sun can see it. It's out. Fuck off. I'm over that type of rule. So, yeah, I don't believe what he did. Yeah. I just thought the way
00:21:19
Speaker
It just, again, paints a bad picture. It's like, he's already annoyed with you. It's, I wouldn't, I wouldn't push it. And especially because you've been all right down in the goal line, you'd been holding them out. Don't, you know, this isn't the time. It was, I thought it was, it was just the wrong time to take a chance. Um, I don't even think it was a chance though. That's the thing. That's why, that's why it's bad. That's why it's a bad decision on my part. That's fair. Um, I can, yeah.
00:21:46
Speaker
I mean, it might be the fact that I'm just annoyed in general at Sam Kane, but. And that's fine. You could be very annoyed with Sam Kane. I know he's not been your favorite person. I don't blame you one bit. I have plenty of guys like that that I get annoyed with. Right. There's nothing wrong with that. No, I always appreciate that. And I right. And maybe because I was as annoyed with the Chiefs as O'Keefe was to like fucking send them off. I think I actually was like, he's getting a card. Like there's no doubt that's a card. Like I that's where I was. So
00:22:14
Speaker
yeah i whatever like it sucks but yeah but that's the thing that's what the crusaders do to you yeah they can't suck you into the game that they want you to play and right make you just lose your head a little bit yeah the like
00:22:30
Speaker
Chiefs, yeah, they never really, like, weren't able to create the open play that they like to create. And every time, like, the Crusaders lulled them to sleep with the kick. Like, again, same thing that I was annoyed by with Saracens, where several times the Chiefs have been, in this season, very good at winning the kicking battle. And that's what's helped them get into position to strike.
00:22:54
Speaker
And they massively lost the kicking battle in this game. At times they won, and when they won, that's when I think they threatened and scored. But it was the times when they lost that they just got F'd in the A, I think is the technical term. F and A. Yeah, not great, obviously.
00:23:17
Speaker
Just kind of just lull them to sleep. It reminded me a lot of the prem final last year in a couple of ways. Like, you're not doing what you're good at doing. And the other team is just grinding away at you because that's what they do. This is not going to go well. They are, yeah. They have that ability to grind you out. And the only difference being that, you know, chief's got three cards, which I would not recommend. I wouldn't recommend. No, usually it would not go well.
00:23:46
Speaker
But the, so for the, for the Chris ears though, don't tell me it doesn't mean anything just cause it's what four or five in a row. Like you could see the emotion on everyone's face after the game. And obviously this fellas leaving, uh, which is going to attribute to that. Um, buying a new fuse, leaving one is leaving, um, Sam white locks done. Obviously razors out and go into the all blacks after this. So yeah, I mean, it means a ton to these guys. It does. And, and.
00:24:16
Speaker
That's I think that's the thing is that they they were willing to do whatever it took to win. And that's I mean, that's that's crusaders rugby and. Fuck, when you're that good, you're willing to go to those dark places when you have to and do shit you don't want to do. They're very good at that. Yeah, they're very good at that. And they have the guy they just have the grit and the vets to do it as well. Granted, there were a couple of.
00:24:42
Speaker
younger faces in this team, like McLeod and Fiaki. Yeah, but you take out McLeod 10 minutes into a match or whatever it was. And I'm sorry, you know, it was illegal, all that, but like he's out and they, who'd they bring? Fergus, Fergus. No, they put Fiaki in. Oh, they put Fiaki in. Okay. They put Fiaki in first. Okay. I thought they'd put Burke in for some reason. Nope, they did not.
00:25:07
Speaker
Okay. I think they mentioned his name first. I think, yeah, I think they mentioned his name at one point. Well, because they were thinking that was the, that'd be the like the replacement. Okay. So that's, I heard that. Okay. Then I was, okay. That was good. Because every time I saw Fihaki, I just figured, I just looked at the number. Yeah. Burke did not come on till the 74th minute and that was for Fiyaki. Thank Fiyaki. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Well, Fiyaki still can, he's a,
00:25:35
Speaker
He's a burner and he did well, actually, so. Yeah. So there's need to say I was there will be a discussion once. Yeah, there'll be discussion once razor takes over the all blacks and after the World Cup. And one of them obviously is going to be who's going to be captain because I would bet the farm he's not going to keep came. No, no, no.
00:25:59
Speaker
If I had to venture a guess, I'd say it's gonna come from his old team. And my preference personally would be Cody Taylor, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's Scott Barrett either. Yeah, that's actually who I was thinking. Fucking Scott Barrett. Can we talk about Scott Barrett? I'm sorry, I'm disrespectful to him to not mention him earlier. The guy played defense like a center. He was out there tackling like outside centers in space. Like fuck off. What was his numbers? Thank you.
00:26:29
Speaker
Yeah, fuck you very much. Yeah, no. 18, no misses. Oh, and those were not... 18, no misses. These were not like... Not all of them are easy, no. You can see 18 for a prop, but they're all in tight, and it's like, yeah, okay, they don't fall off any of them because they just flop onto them or whatever. No, this guy was like... He was out in space, yeah. Didn't he wreck Mackenzie once or twice? He got a hold of him once, yeah. He got... Chase, I think, even.
00:26:58
Speaker
Nankovell, I thought he lit him up too. Yeah, no, he was putting interior defensive hits out in the exterior on fast people, and then also just making those tackles in space well too. Yeah, he was good. Yeah, yeah. He was very good.
00:27:19
Speaker
Yeah. And there was, I mean, there was some, there was still some great play from the chief. We saw Sean Stevenson playing absolutely, you know, this is why he should be in the all blacks. I thought Nankabel played pretty well in attack. Has a nice pair of hands on him, no doubt. But in the end, just wasn't enough. Nope. And I, you know, it's hard to,
00:27:46
Speaker
I know you can't put him in a tough position, but I don't blame Brad Weber for kind of being the way he was and just being like, no, I thought he did. I thought he handled it very well. This sucks. That's exactly what I would say, too. This sucks. Right. And you got it right. You know, the fans deserve better. Like all that stuff. And they did.
00:28:05
Speaker
Yeah. So that's the, I thought, I thought he handled it as well as he could. And then it was like, I got to, you know, I can't do this anymore like that. And that's fine. You're, you're, you're perfectly allowed to say that at that time. Um, Katie was perfectly fine with him being like, yeah, go join your team. Bye. You're done. Right. You're clearly done. Yeah. It just, it was a dick thing to do. Um,
00:28:32
Speaker
Yeah. I thought someone, someone returning should have stepped up and done it, but I think they weren't. Yeah. They were looking for a name too, but yeah, of course they were. And Brad rubber would probably get a big reaction as well. And yeah, exactly. He'd be the one they'd cheer. So it's like, okay. Like, yeah. I think you can put Kayna, I mean, maybe it would have done the same as you came, but he kind of had it coming. So yeah.
00:28:57
Speaker
Anyhoo. Anyhoo. That's all I have to say about that.
Allianz 15's Final Review
00:29:02
Speaker
Yeah. Let's go to, let's actually, because the Allianz 15's final was this past weekend as well. We had a slight vested interest in it with some players in black that are usually wearing red, white, and blue for our sakes.
00:29:19
Speaker
But it was not, again, denied in the final. Yeah. I glossed her when they win it again or when they again win it. Right. And they played so well. They completely outplayed Exeter from start to finish. It was.
00:29:36
Speaker
It was, again, not much of a mystery kind of early on. You saw even like, you know, Exeter are what they are normally in for the men to their physical. They're they're tight. They're not terribly. They weren't, at least in this match, terribly creative and attack. No.
00:29:54
Speaker
And Gloucester were not bad, I would say. They did everything solidly to very good. Their physicality was... I mean, they were pushing an Exeter around. And they weren't so great past it. They didn't have an overly creative attack, but it was enough to get the right people in the right places to...
00:30:19
Speaker
put pressure on the places. Exeter wasn't defending. So it's like they didn't have to, you know, they didn't have to throw it around like the Chiefs or the free jacks. They just had to get the ball, like, you know, three, three to four passes away. And they did that really well. And solidly. Yeah, I thought it was. A really good display rugby, the solid. Yeah, I did, too. I thought they would be like good, super, super well.
00:30:47
Speaker
Was it, was it the seven from, from Gloucester though, that tackled Rachel Johnson high would not recommend and also got a chin full of blood for it on top of that. Yeah. Yup. But yeah, I was like, Oh, I would not recommend doing that. Cause she's not going to back down. She's a hard runner. She's got a hard head. She does. I thought overall, I think club wise, this has probably been Rachel's best season.
00:31:15
Speaker
And I actually would like to see her because we're in a year where it's not.
00:31:21
Speaker
There is a little bit on the line because we have the W 15 competition in the fall. Right. But without a world cup being necessarily, you know, in full focus this year, I would like to see her see if she can play eight. I don't know what you're going to do with Zachary, but I would like to see that just the same. So hoping that happens. Really hoping that happens. Yeah, at least give it a shot at a little bit here. Give it a try. What's, you know, again, like you said, it's time to experiment and.
00:31:52
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, look at what England did with Sarah Beckett. They got her into the back row and she performed beautifully and she performed well in this match obviously as well. Just absolutely awesome. Mohan getting a win is one of the best parts of this Gloucester team winning. She has been through a lot. And I mean a lot. And for her to be healthy for this match, to be able to start, play most of it and get out on the winning side.
00:32:21
Speaker
Yeah. Could not have happened to a better person could happen. Couldn't happen to someone more deserved. Like she's been through a whole whole ton of stuff. And, um, she's had her head up the whole time and done it, done it with class the whole time. So well done to her. And I'm really, really happy for Mohan that that's great for her. Yeah. And I also wanted to give a shout out to, uh, the Gloucester
00:32:46
Speaker
club in general for really showing the one, you know, one or two teams one club like all that with the men. I'm Hastings don't get in the way the jersey next time, but the men introducing the women in the.
00:33:01
Speaker
like when they did the lineups. That was a really cool show of solidarity and rebranding to Queen's Home for the day. Yep. That's great. They were there to party. That's the other thing I like about, obviously, the women's game too, is that they make it much more of a party and a celebration of the rugby too. So that's cool to see. Very awesome. Congratulations to Gloucester. Absolutely deserved.
00:33:30
Speaker
whether this was a home file or not, I don't know if it would have made a difference. So good on that. One more name to just everybody. Keep in mind, Emma Singh. She's really good and she's going to make a splash real soon. You watch good stuff for her.
00:33:49
Speaker
And then we had the Mighty Free Jacks were off this past weekend, but we obviously had the eliminators going on, quote-unquote, as they call
Free Jacks Strategy and Critique
00:33:56
Speaker
them. I just call them semi-finals. Like, yeah. That's the way it is. Semis, yeah. Yes, just conference semis. Let's focus on the guys we're going to play because that was obviously the match I watched the most of, but also it's the one that concerns us the most. And I'm not terribly concerned.
00:34:17
Speaker
I'm not one that's gonna sit here and be like, New York versus Boston, so New York has to suck, but like, New York sucks. Like, they're not good. Whatever they're doing there for their own environment, for their club, get your act together, man. Like, the stands were empty. They were. The camera work was good about showing, trying to show it packed.
00:34:44
Speaker
when you got a shot of it wide and you could see it, it was bad. I was like, dude, that place can't be any bigger than Quincy. And you better believe that place is gonna be banging this weekend. And it also speaks to the fact that they haven't had the same home venue two seasons in a row.
00:35:05
Speaker
It does. That hurts. And also they keep rebranding. That's not helpful either. Jess asked me, she's like, wait, did they call the ironworkers last year? I'm like, no. No, they were not. And she's like, why are they? Isn't this like?
00:35:21
Speaker
Didn't they keep changing the name? And I'm like, yup. She's like, why do they keep changing the name? And I was like, remember in the wire when they were like running out of shit and so it was all really bad and they were like, just keep changing the name because they'll be, oh, we got the new shit. This is really good. Like, that's what they're doing. It's like, same shit, new name. Like, that's what they're doing. Yeah, it's it's not good.
00:35:48
Speaker
I'm glad, you know, it makes me so thankful, too, that we have the people around the free jacks that we do. Absolutely. This is going to be sustainable now. I mean, they're if they're getting five thousand a game. What was it? I get forty five at a venue that they have a piece of right as well. Like, don't forget that they own a piece of this place. So they're going to get a piece of this pie every time they put butts in seats.
00:36:13
Speaker
Yeah, and they're selling out memorabilia and stuff too, because it's a fun experience. They make it an entire experience, and it's like people around Boston are seeing that, and now they're more coming to the game. And they're liking it. So they're making it not just a thing for fans of rugby, but it's like, come for this, and then you come watch a rugby match. And most people are like, hey, I'll stay around. We've seen it.
00:36:39
Speaker
How many people have we seen? They're like, this is my first ever rugby match. It's like, cool. We'll help, you know, let you know if you have any questions, ask us. Right. Otherwise, just sit back and sit back and enjoy the entertainment. Yeah. Listen to Ben and I freaking give them hell.
00:36:56
Speaker
And yeah, after the match, they're like, this was a lot of fun. I want to do this again. And it's like, cool. Like, welcome. That's why we do this, too. So they make it a welcoming experience. And yes. Yeah. Thank God. But either way, like, how do you lose? Hmm. So speaking of Cher, like, this is going to be the first time I see DC live.
00:37:22
Speaker
since I gave Tushitala an earful. Way back. Just so happened two matches I've missed the last couple of years. I think I missed three last couple of years. One of them was DC every time. So like the last two years. So yeah, that's gonna be what it is. But I have my concerns about the team, but at the same time, I think I feel really good about it.
00:37:51
Speaker
Yeah, there are holes in, but there were holes in the, like neither of these teams was one of those were like, as you're watching the game, you're like, oh, there's a gap right there. And then the other, the team just doesn't hit it. I was like, oh, there's a gap right there. Like, if you really want to unlock this defense to run this pattern and they're like not doing it. It's like, like they thought T. Walden was going to be this huge savior at center. Like guy that came from over from the Highlanders wasn't that good for the Highlanders.
00:38:21
Speaker
There's a reason they let him go. Like, right. And he was not anything super special this year. People are just like, Oh, he was great. But average, yes. But like, yeah, wasn't going to be your savior by any means whatsoever in that midfield. You're going to need a lot more. I don't think when Glooski or Fawcett are that good. No, I wasn't impressed. And when Glooski was freaking hobbling for half the match, I was like, dude, what are you doing? Come off. Yeah.
00:38:47
Speaker
They finally got them off and they had to stick them back on because they got a yellow card in the front row. I was like a disaster. No, at that point, you're the reserve prop. Your ass cannot get a yellow card. No. And DC just handled them in that scrum. I personally don't think
00:39:09
Speaker
Here's the one thing I don't like about Insomie. He is awful about keeping things calm. He just seems to lose it himself a little bit and get flustered himself, which is not something you can do as a referee, even at this level. Because the players feel it. Fuck.
00:39:26
Speaker
Right. And I just don't think he does a good job of keeping things calm. English is a second language, so he struggles to explain things well, and then players are befuddled, like, what the fuck are you talking about? Right. He'll, like, leave aside his habit. I understand, like... Yeah.
00:39:43
Speaker
Like, listen, if we were playing in an Argentinian league, we'd be expected to learn Spanish. OK, so on the other side of it, sorry, but you do have to learn English, you know, and if it was flip-flopped. Yep, absolutely. If we're going to Argentina, we need to learn some Spanish because that's the language speak down there. And we need and we need to be able to communicate. That is how it is. It's like for the France, they have to have, you know, they require a referee that speaks French. So it's, you know,
00:40:09
Speaker
or Luke Pierce, or what's his butt? Pracy, I think it was his name.
00:40:19
Speaker
So, um, so it's, it's not, it's not awesome. So I hope he's not doing either game this weekend. I think he's going to be unfortunately. And if he's not, that also means he's probably doing the final, which I don't really love. No, he's not doing this one because no, um, the, the Jack's Rangers put out a tweet that said we're, we're never going to see, we do not see him until 2024.
00:40:41
Speaker
Oh, really? So he might be. Maybe he's on the Western Conference and not the final, but not the final. Well, let's have a look. Hold on. Let's see if they've assigned. I assume they can't get him the final. No, he's he shit. He is dog and shit. Excuse me. I think it's on. Oh, there we go. That's not helpful. Can't campstone in the West.
00:41:11
Speaker
Was it, uh, Joe James we get, and then, okay. He did. He did the other game this past weekend. Okay. And then the referee is not set for the, for the final, the final. Oh, I hope it's not him. And sell me as an AR for in our match.
00:41:28
Speaker
I can live with that. Yeah, I can too. Although it should be Amelia, but that's okay. Right. Peter Pender. Although maybe if they make it an actual MLR referee, they'll actually empower them to fucking talk because I swear there is no
00:41:43
Speaker
room for the ARs to talk in this league. No, they have they can't they can't help with the decisions. They can't point things out. They're just sitting there with a thought their ass and their flag in their hand. Like that is a and it is that to me is wrong. This is hilarious that the TMO's name is is Chris Asmus. Oh, that fucking guy. Oh, that's another one that they another one that they love. But I think it was dog shit. Right.
00:42:13
Speaker
but his name is there's been, there's been some good ones. Yeah, there's been some good ones, but they just don't seem to want to prop them up. Like, let's be honest, who should be doing the final this, this coming weekend or next weekend? Catroach. Mm hmm. Catroach should be doing the final. Nobody else. If it's anybody but her, it's a complete crime. But, you know, she wasn't born with balls, so. Yeah, they kind of have a problem with that.
00:42:43
Speaker
Yeah, big time. Big time. Anywho. Well, that's what we got. No pickup, no nothing. So yeah, there's nothing. Free jacks are going to win and I hope Seattle wins. Same same thing as last year. If the free jacks win, we will have two more pods. If free jacks lose, the next week will be our last pod. Bar the special, but.
00:43:11
Speaker
So if you guys want to continue to hear us babble, you better hope the free jacks to win. If it's in your best interest anyway, you better hope the free jacks win. Just saying. Certainly against our GDC. Okay. There's some people, I guess all glory DC fans there. There's like five of them. I, you know, they're allowed to cheer for them, but everyone else. Listen, Fitzy might listen to the spot. Well, he's one of the five.
00:43:39
Speaker
Oh, I'm getting a DM somewhere. I have a feeling. Listen, we're not as annoying as Jack's Rangers, let's be honest. There's no way we're more annoying than them. We're not, we're not, we're not more obnoxious, at least. No. Yeah. Let's put it that way. We might be annoying, but there were, yeah. And then the disrespect to their obnoxious, I kind of, I kind of, yeah, I'm glad we have that kind of
00:44:06
Speaker
edge to our game. Although I would say if New York wanted to kidnap one of them and after going down there, please keep him. Keep. We don't need him. You could have him. Like, that's your problem now. Yeah, I mean, kind of the kind of got it covered. So yeah, 100 percent. Oh, yes. Look, I'll help drive you home when it's all over, but I'm still going to let them.
Closing Remarks and Listener Engagement
00:44:28
Speaker
Yeah, you're still they're still going to take you and just you have to live with it.
00:44:38
Speaker
Definitely not. Um, fancy rugby podcast at gmo.com. Keep an eye on the Twitters for your chance to get your last few questions in. Um, but yeah, so between now and next week, you should probably hear something about episode 200, either having it drop or when it's going to be. Um, until then, um, we appreciate you all for hanging out with us and listening to us. We'll catch you all less next week and enjoy the rugby this weekend. Have a good one later.
00:44:59
Speaker
I'm not paying your bail either.