182 Comments

Pages: « 1 2 [3] 4 » Show All

• 101.TASSIES:
  7 May 2012, 21:48 pm

  @skopskiet(skopskiet)-97: very

• 102.rangerman:
  7 May 2012, 21:50 pm

  @TASSIES(TASSIES)-92: i am not so concerned about his size but ja his height is a worry.

  one thing is sure though, he puts spies to shame in terms of heart and ball skills.

  but i prefer him at 6.

  @NoRugbyGuru_0_(RugbyGuru_0_)-94: uhm….ja.

  @carol(carol)-96: ja agreed but grant was instrumental in chasing them out.

  @skopskiet(skopskiet)-97: “with a quick flick of my wrist”

  bwaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. we know what you flick your wrist for and it aint flies mr miyagi

• 103.TASSIES:
  7 May 2012, 21:52 pm

  @rangerman(rangerman)-91: ja. had forgotten about some of those guys. So long ago it seems. GBS was a character. Loosehead very knowledgeable at scrumtime. Enjoyed his special insight. Pietman….well…what can one say?

• 104.skopskiet:
  7 May 2012, 21:52 pm

  @TASSIES(TASSIES)-99: I think some international bloggers here complained to the management so they pulled the plug again… I was just getting along nicely with Nikita Joanne and seems they pulled the plug on her round about the same time too… wonder what all the fuss is about this time.

• 105.Dawn:
  7 May 2012, 21:53 pm

  I have an in-built speargun

• 106.TASSIES:
  7 May 2012, 21:54 pm

  @rangerman(rangerman)-102: never been a Spies fan….but, as they say, never say never. Keegan closer to a 6 than a 7 and 8. Keegan over Spies any day of the week. Huge heart. Great vision. Totally different kind of player.

• 107.TASSIES:
  7 May 2012, 21:59 pm

  @skopskiet(skopskiet)-104: what international bloggers? BP in disguise? NZChina in disguise?

• 108.sharks_lover:
  7 May 2012, 22:04 pm

  @rangerman(rangerman)-102: @ Mr Miyagi

• 109.sharks_lover:
  7 May 2012, 22:04 pm

  wax on wax off

• 110.rangerman:
  7 May 2012, 22:05 pm

  @TASSIES(TASSIES)-106: agreed

• 111.skopskiet:
  7 May 2012, 22:06 pm

  @TASSIES(TASSIES)-107: nope must be somebody who reckons the toffs around here are far too ashamed to mingle with the low down trash like moi… BP or NZinchina wouldn’t be one of those.. more likely a pompous yellow bellied stiff upper lipped cur from out the backwoods of Her Highness last glorious toffee nosed Estate

• 112.skopskiet:
  7 May 2012, 22:07 pm

  you should check me catch a fly with a simple swift flick of my wrist.. piddle sticks it is.. far easier catching one and chucking it out the window than fetch the fly swatter and have poor innocent fly blood splattered across the kitchen table.

• 113.rangerman:
  7 May 2012, 22:09 pm

  @sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-108:

  whattajerkoff comment flick of the wrist lmao!

• 114.skopskiet:
  7 May 2012, 22:13 pm

  @rangerman(rangerman)-113: go fetch you f’ng harpoon you yellow belied little scavenging cur…think you so big and brave like Rambo .. pitiful little underwater murderous rat needs a big sharp harpoon aimed at your over inflated arse.. then you check what its like swimming in the ‘zone’ ‘old chap’

• 115.rangerman:
  7 May 2012, 22:14 pm

  @skopskiet(skopskiet)-112: and if you chuck it out the window and it flies back in?

  and why are the flies so close to you?

• 116.sharks_lover:
  7 May 2012, 22:15 pm

  @rangerman(rangerman)-113:

• 117.skopskiet:
  7 May 2012, 22:15 pm

  nighty night

  carry on regardless .. careful now.. don’t let any those fishies bite.

• 118.rangerman:
  7 May 2012, 22:16 pm

  @skopskiet(skopskiet)-114: fish cant do it

  they dont have fingers or opposable thumbs you see?

• 119.TASSIES:
  7 May 2012, 22:16 pm

  expanding on earlier posts; I am finding, this year especially, watching S15 has lost its mojo. I watch Stormers games and highlite packages of the other games which offer promise. But I’m all rugby’d out these days. I think the controllers of the game we love have stuffed the cat. Someone better catch a wake-up.

• 120.rangerman:
  7 May 2012, 22:20 pm

  @skopskiet(skopskiet)-117: nighty night dont let the moderator bite.

• 121.>^..^< katman:
  7 May 2012, 22:20 pm

  @skopskiet(skopskiet)-114: So you’re all for hunting down the great white sharks, but dead set against fishing for food? Just what happened to you up on the border?

• 122.TASSIES:
  7 May 2012, 22:21 pm

  okay you girls, I’m outta here. Good to catch up with old china again.

• 123.rangerman:
  7 May 2012, 22:23 pm

  @TASSIES(TASSIES)-122: cheers tassies!

• 124.the artist formerly known as gunther:
  7 May 2012, 22:33 pm

  Fuckadilly the penisflytrap?

  Who woulda thunk it?

• 125.wooden spoon:
  7 May 2012, 23:29 pm

  @skopskiet(skopskiet)-104:

  104.skopskiet:
  7 May 2012, 21:52 pm @TASSIES(TASSIES)-99: I think some international bloggers here complained to the management so they pulled the plug again… I was just getting along nicely with Nikita Joanne and seems they pulled the plug on her round about the same time too… wonder what all the fuss is about this time.

  Ag please man. It’s because you’re an irrational, intolerant, racist and hate-spewing potty mouth internet bully. Nothing else, it’s got you banned more times than you can say Caprivi in a minute.

  And please, “Nikita” was probably canned because the ‘person’ posting under that name had nothing to do with this site or that silent person in the video. Conned you and conned a lot of people. Sucker.

• 126.wooden spoon:
  7 May 2012, 23:31 pm

  @TASSIES(TASSIES)-119: Tassies I agree! This S15 format sucks and is turning me off rugby… SANZAR CATCH A WAKE UP!

  Less is more.

• 127.wooden spoon:
  7 May 2012, 23:41 pm

  I have yet to read any positive feedback on the new conference based Super 15 format (outside possibly Australia, explained by them not having their own domestic competition). Repeatedly, and alarmingly for the money men, the new conference system is described by spectators as “boring” and one cannot avoid the fact that crowd attendances are down across the board.

  What was it about Super rugby which used to excite the fans?

  - Strength versus strength: therefore less predictability in the results
  - A short and straightforward tournament format featuring no more than 13 games maximum (Super 12): therefore a more intense approach to the season by the respective teams and arguably fewer injuries
  - Pitting your nation’s best against the best of the other two nations
  - An elite competition featuring the best of the best: requiring qualification for entrance into the tournament (Super 10)

  What is now wrong with Super rugby?

  - Number of teams:
  Simply, there are now too many teams. This has had the effect of diluting rugby strength across the board. NZ can arguably field four competitive teams at any one time, South Africa three and Australia two or three. The hard truth is that the rest of the teams simply make up the numbers to the detriment of the competition. The competition has divided itself into two pools of strength: what is clear is that the Lions and Cheetahs from SA and the Force and Rebels from Australia are in the bottom half and contribute to one-sided and therefore predictable results. Typically, one of the NZ teams struggles each season (in the past the Chiefs have struggled, so too the Highlanders and this season it is the Blues). South Africa is now pushing for the “political” inclusion of the Kings, who are worse than the Lions. Forming a “Super 16” by including the Kings will only dilute Super rugby even further.

  - Monotony:
  There is a sense of monotony with each of the teams being guaranteed an annual place in the competition. There is therefore no incentive on the teams to perform well. No matter how they play they are guaranteed a place at the table.

  - Too many local derbies:
  The creation of more local derbies, once thought to be the solution to dwindling crowd attendances, has backfired spectacularly. Fans are not interested in seeing their team play the four other local teams over eight games in Super rugby.

  - Format:
  Annually, each team “avoids” playing one team from the other two conferences. This adds a small element of unfairness, submitted as unsatisfactory rather than significant.

  Suggested solution?

  This proposed solution aims to reintroduce what is now lacking in Super rugby whilst accepting that growth in the number of teams is inevitable:

  - Strength vs strength
  - Unpredictability in results
  - Intensity
  - An element of earning your place at the table by qualifying
  - Fewer local derbies
  - Simplicity and fairness in the format

  So what to do after 2015?

  Add the Kings. Make it a Super 16 [South Africa is geographically too large to make mergers between two teams workable with the possible exception of close neighbours, Lions and Bulls. In any event it is submitted that a merger of two unions is simply not viable solution in South Africa and should not be considered under any circumstances].

  Create two separate pools featuring the top 8 and bottom 8 teams ranked on the previous year’s results. Call them “The Championship” and “The Challenge Cup” or such similar names. This will deliver strength vs strength and increased unpredictability in results. Crusaders vs Bulls in the top 8/Force vs Lions in the bottom 8 and not Crusaders vs Lions and Bulls v Force.

  Home and away games against the 7 other teams in the pool = a total of 14 games which will allow teams to keep the intensity up.

  Implement a promotion and relegation system between these two pools. One team is promoted/relegated annually. This creates a “deserve your place” system and gives teams something to play for. Not only will there be interest at the top of the table, but at the bottom too (for example, is anyone really interested in what the results are between the bottom teams now?).

  When SANZAR want to include Japanese, US, Argentinian, etc teams they can easily tack on a 3rd division (with promotion) and if any of these teams are good they will work their way up the leagues. This will also prevent one-sided games.

  Just an idea… virtually anything will be better than what we currently have. What’s your solution?

• 128.Blitzbok:
  8 May 2012, 01:01 am

  Lambie? ag puleeze. back on the lambie song sheet. hes a coward and you know it. no authority no conviction no decision making… no better than earl rose.

• 129.mushu:
  8 May 2012, 03:11 am

  @Blitzbok(Blitzbok)-128: If there is one thing Lambie is not its a coward. Ive seen him time after time back great tackles on much bigger players. He is not big enough to run over players but uses good technique. He will only get better as time goes on

• 130.CoachPete:
  8 May 2012, 03:43 am

  @rangerman(rangerman)-84:
  I agree with you about Daniels

• 131.Te Rangatira:
  8 May 2012, 07:22 am

  @wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-127:
  Good read,but I have no solutions…….perhaps the inclusion of outside talent will lift the standard of the struggling sides…..Super Rugby can be marketed as the true competition of Champions, where overseas players want to come and prove themselves against the best week in week out. If we can get the best from Europe down here, it would surely create an enormous buzz…. Other than that I wouldn’t have a clue.

• 132.ShaunSwindon:
  8 May 2012, 07:23 am

  This would be my Bok 22 to face England…..

  15. Patrick Lambie.
  14. Francois Hougaard.
  13. Jean De Villiers (c).
  12. Francois Steyn.
  11. Bryan Habana.
  10. Morne Steyn.
  9. Fourie Du Preez.
  8. Pierre Spies.
  7. Willem Alberts.
  6. Heinrich Brussow.
  5. Andries Bekker.
  4. Eben Etsebeth.
  3. C.J. Van Der Linde.
  2. Bismark Du Plessis.
  1. Coenie Oosthuizen.

  16. Tendai Mtawarira.
  17. Adriaan Strauss.
  18. Jannie Du Plessis.
  19. Juandre Kruger.
  20. Jacque Potgietor.
  21. Sarel Pretorious.
  22. Jaco Taute.

• 133.greatest13gerber:
  8 May 2012, 07:28 am

  @ShaunSwindon(Karma-zaf)-132:

  not bad. But CJ will not wear Bok jersey again. Cannot scrum.
  That backline you got there I am certain will come close to what Meyer will select.

• 134.greatest13gerber:
  8 May 2012, 07:32 am

  Foden
  Ashton
  Tuilagii
  Barrett
  Sharples
  Farrell
  Youngs
  Morgan
  Robshaw(c)
  Haskell
  Parling
  Botha
  Cole
  Mears
  Corbisiero

  this be likely Pommie test side if injury free. very strong. Esp in pack

• 135.greatest13gerber:
  8 May 2012, 07:35 am

  Lambie is our most talented 10, glides like Carter and defends like Carter as well. Should be in starting lineup at 10 or 15. Meyer will pick him at 15. In time
  a backline with Lambie(15) FSteyn(12) Goosen(10) Hougaard(09) will surface.

• 136.greatest13gerber:
  8 May 2012, 07:44 am

  “England’s 42-man squad to tour South Africa”

  42!!

• 137.brains_trust:
  8 May 2012, 07:46 am

  SUPER 16 sollution: 4 pools of 4 teams (like the Champions League) each play home and away (8 games each) Top 2 per pool advance to a QF, then Semi and then final. Simple as that !

• 138.brains_trust:
  8 May 2012, 07:50 am

  @ wooden Spoon, I don’t think an A league and B league (with relegation \ promotion) would work. The Champions League format would be fantastic (the top 4 can be seeded and the rest drawn randomly)

• 139.stormersboy:
  8 May 2012, 07:51 am

  As I do most weeks, here is Rugby 365′s team of the week:

  Team of the Week – Round 11:

  15 – Andre Taylor (Hurricanes):
  It is not difficult to see why so many New Zealand pundits feel he is as exciting as Christian Cullen – one of the most balanced runners that glides through gaps.
  Bubbling under: Ben Smith (Highlanders)

  14 – Cory Jane (Hurricanes):
  Injuries may have limited his game time in 2011, but this season he is showing why he was such a sensation when he first burst onto the scene as a Sevens star in 2006.
  Bubbling under: Henry Speight (Brumbies)

  13 – Conrad Smith (Hurricanes):
  He may not be as flash as some of the other players, but careful analysis of his game will reveal his true creative and defensive value to the Hurricanes.
  Bubbling under: Richard Kahui (Chiefs)

  12 – Andries Strauss (Cheetahs):
  Even if you ignore some of the big hits, his allround play was invaluable to the Cheetahs getting an important win.
  Bubbling under: Sonny Bill Williams (Chiefs)

  11 – Digby Ioane (Reds):
  He again showed that, along with Will Genia, how crucial he will be if the Reds hope to remain in the play-off race.
  Bubbling under: Bjorn Basson (Bulls)

  10 – Morné Steyn (Bulls):
  He has come in for some severe criticism this season, especially as a result of his misfiring boot, but this past weekend produced one of his most impressive allround performances in years.
  Bubbling under: Aaron Cruden (Chiefs)

  9 – TJ Perenara (Hurricanes):
  With All Black regulars like Piri Weepu and Jimmy Cowan misfiring badly this year, Perenara is not a bad bet for the national team.
  Bubbling under: Will Genia (Reds)

  8 – Scott Higginbotham (Reds):
  There were times when it seemed he was taking on the entire Crusaders pack on his own.
  Bubbling under: Kieran Read (Crusaders)

  7 – Michael Hooper (Brumbies):
  It is not difficult to see why legendary Australian flank George Smith rated Hooper as a future Wallaby.
  Bubbling under: Matt Todd (Crusaders)

  6 – CJ Stander (Bulls):
  He certainly doesn’t look like a player in his debut Super Rugby season – now one of the most talked about loose forwards in South Africa.
  Bubbling under: Heinrich Brüssow (Cheetahs)

  5 – Nathan Sharpe (Western Force):
  As the player with the most Super Rugby caps you would expect his legs to start getting tired, yet he matches the youngsters step-for-step every week.
  Bubbling under: James Horwill (Reds)

  4 – Craig Clarke (Chiefs):
  Up against one of the Lions’ most reliable players, he showed his qualities by dominating the veteran.
  Bubbling under: Luke Romano (Crusaders)

  3 – Owen Franks (Crusaders):
  It was, without doubt, one of the most dominant scrum performances of the season and the Crusaders’ main weapon in a tight game.
  Bubbling under: WP Nel (Cheetahs)

  2 – Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks):
  Just in case somebody wondered who South Africa’s premier hooker is, he sent them a timely reminder.
  Bubbling under: Adriaan Strauss (Cheetahs)

  1 – Coenie Oosthuizen (Cheetahs):
  Forget the odd penalty his gave away, he remains the best poaching prop in the business.
  Bubbling under: Ben Franks (Crusaders)

• 140.RL:
  8 May 2012, 07:54 am

  @greatest13gerber(greatest13gerber)-135: no difference between Lambie and Jantjies and Meyer will probably go with Jantjies as cover for Steyn. When Goosen recovers he will be the one who displaces Steyn.

  Lambies only hope is at 15, but he does not play there. Just does not have the pace and big boot Meyer prefers his fullbacks to have. Taute is the kind of 15 that Meyer is looking for.

• 141.houston, we have a problem...:
  8 May 2012, 07:58 am

  @Te Rangatira(Te Rangatira)-131:
  i think the biggest failure of the sanzar administrators is not getting the crowd attendance numbers up. english football seems to draw full attendances even between the bottom of table teams.
  sanzar should aim to do something similar in super rugby because crowd attendance helps to build the buzz and hype of games whether it between the top teams or the bottom teams.

  how they do it could be through artificial marketing schemes initially, like giving the tickets away to schools, companies and so on or organising competitions giving away huge prizes to attendees in order to stimulate interest, or perhaps spending large amounts of money on advertising aroung the areas with the lowest attendances.
  the point of all this would be to lift interest in the stadium events to an extent wherein which human group psychology behaviour kicks in and people start clamouring for the ‘new big thing’ which is popluar and in demand.
  hopefully this would create a demand for the event which always outstrips supply and it becomes self sustaining withou the need for artificial manipulation.

  what is obvious is not enough of anything is being done at the moment or has been done for a long time.

  their gurus need to find out what it is that make newlands, wp and cape town so succesful at drawing the highest crowd attendances for super rugby for as long and consistently as it has and perhpas copy this or at least look to devise a formula similar to it..?…

  the psychology of crowd dynamics is where the big heads should be looking.

  if you build it… the popular interest will come…

• 142.houston, we have a problem...:
  8 May 2012, 08:04 am

  if this happens then it stands to reason that if you have the most popular show in town then surely all the best players will want to be a part of it and also strive harder to excel in it…?..

  this would push its quality quotient up even higher.

• 143.Bokhoring:
  8 May 2012, 08:13 am

  @TASSIES(TASSIES)-106: Keegan is more of a hybrid between 8 and 6 than a true 6. Most line breaks for the Sharks (5th in the competition overall), offloads the most, makes most of the metres with ball in hand of the forwards although his is mostly in open play whereas Marcell Coetzee provides the bash it up meters. He can also put in some good kicks now and then, as his kick that created Lambie’s try shows. He did not kick it straight into Gear’s hands but made him turn around.

  He does turnover the odd ball at rucks but not enough to be counted as a true 6 in my opinion. His problem is consistency as he can be prone to handling errors and missed tackles.

  I would not choose him as a Bok 8, and I have my doubts about his captaincy, but he is a very valuable player for the Sharks.

• 144.ufo:
  8 May 2012, 08:16 am

  said way back the 10s for the pom tour will be morne (starting) and lambie (from the bench covering 10 and 15)…

  some people underestimate lambie… he is one of the coolest heads in sa rugby and one of the most skillful… he’s gonna be around for a long time to come… personally i’d make him the sharks captain… immediately…

  in one of his interviews heyneke certainly did say how great goosen is… and is going to be… with which we all agree… but that he needed a little more time before he got there… or words to that effect… with which not all of us agree…

  i’ve always been concerned about goosen’s obvious (but largely ignored in favor of his winning ability) physical frailty… this ‘break’ may be the best thing thing that’s happened to him in terms of his long-term career…

  let’s hope he comes back stronger… and he will definitely be our number 1 number 10… for many years to come too…

• 145.ufo:
  8 May 2012, 08:21 am

  @houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-141:

  you’re correct about the crowd attendances which, imo, are down purely because of all the derby matches… with S15 and CC we watch our teams play each other at least four times a year… depending on a few things… many games do get to be a bit of a bore…

• 146.stormersboy:
  8 May 2012, 08:25 am

  @ufo(ufo)-144: Well put, Lambie is a cool customer for sure.

• 147.Dawn:
  8 May 2012, 08:28 am

  Ai Reyhan

  What’s with the “bladdy”

• 148.ufo:
  8 May 2012, 08:28 am

  @stormersboy(stormersboy)-146:

  thanks bud…

• 149.poppa69:
  8 May 2012, 08:35 am

  @brains_trust(brains_trust)-137: you may want to rethink that “brains” trust..

  if you are in a pool of 4 teams, you will only play 6 games, not 8… unless of course you play yourself home and away as well?

  

• 150.houston, we have a problem...:
  8 May 2012, 08:43 am

  @ufo(ufo)-144:
  agreed, the present is morne and the future is probably goosen. what lambie needs to aim for and accept is a role as perhaps a stand in fh for the incumbent in the event of injury or radical loss of form.

  i cab only imagine how hard it must be for a young man with obvious talent and skill to come to terms with not being the/a first choice player for a bok position.
  and quite honestly i think this will be the case for him, hm will stick with morne for at least the next four years and quite likely develop goosen (perhaps even fouche…who knows..?) as the backup/replacment to morne.

  lambie now has to deal with accepting his ceiling at national level…. sure he can try his best to overcome this by putting in super human performances and just keeping faith (which i hope he will).

  he certainly is imho right up there as a player and would be as deserving as any of the few others for the mantle of fh. jantjes however is a little below both lambie and goosen… i even think fouche leaves him at the moment.

  @ufo(ufo)-145:
  how can they not see the elephant in the room though is beyond me..?..
  or is it the elephant missing from the room (no crowds in stadia)?

  sanzar in its ‘infintite wisdom’..?.. if its about money at the end of the day then surely it makes good business sense.

Pages: « 1 2 [3] 4 » Show All

Latest Rugby News by Category

• Super Rugby

  12

  Players will power rugby’s new world order

  GREGOR PAUL, in the Herald on Sunday, writes world rugby will get its integrated season after the 2015 World Cup and Super Rugby won’t break to accommodate an international window. Read More

• Springboks

  134

  Meyer dealt Duane blow

  Duane Vermeulen is out of the June Tests. Read More

• World Cup

  13

  RFU rejects cheeky Welsh request

  The Rugby Football Union has turned down a proposal from their Welsh counterparts to stage the 2015 World Cup pool match between England and Wales in Cardiff. Read More

• Sevens

  14

  England bury Boks

  Marcus Watson scored in extra time to beat the Blitzbokke in the London World Series Sevens Cup quarter-finals. Read More

• Six Nations

  289

  SA French connection trebles

  French coach Philipe Saint-Andre has included three South African-born players for the three-Test series against the All Blacks in New Zealand. Read More

• The Rugby Championship

  34

  Hansen rewards Blues

  All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has selected several uncapped Blues players in his training group. Read More

Find us on Facebook

Follow Keo on Twitter

twitter.com/keocoza