You noticed it too? The 30 others kept getting in his way... PS my reference to Barnes was a comment on Nuts's post that Barnes was a joke. Couldn't see it myself, but then perhaps I'm biased
I thought he had a decent game as well kept cards in his pocket but he needed more help from tmo and assistants
Yes, could well be. Wasn't a dirty game. Anyway, great spectacle, great ball play from both teams, but today NZ hit an impervios green wall
Hansen said before the game that whoever wins it has the right be be called the world number one. I only saw bits in the pub, but the noise and commitment was superb. Well done Ireland.
I'm no Rugby expert, but was that a great All Blacks side? Well played the Irish though, gutsy performance
Great performance and result yesterday, but talk of being the best in the world is a bit premature in my book. If they win the World Cup next year they can rightfully lay claim to that title, until then case not proven
Aussies get a consolation try. Great England performance. Probably only Ireland and New Zealand ahead of them and not a lot in it imo.
Lots of gossip about Premiership Rugby breaking away from the RFU and setting up a no relegation competition. I think it’s because London Welsh have gone under after two relegations in a few years, though plenty of other promoted teams have done ok. They are citing the NFL as a model. Well, rugby has the salary cap as a starter but the key to keeping the NFL competitive is the draft system, which there is no way rugby can replicate as its based on college football. If they do it, how long for the PL to try the same thing?
Yes I think so. But now there are about 14 clubs which can never feel entirely safe when the season kicks off.....
This was talked about earlier in the season mainly because some big name clubs were having a poor season and faced possible relegation. Since then Quins, Bath, Leicester and Northampton have all moved clear of the bottom. The idea was to invite London Irish up to make it a 13 team league and close it to the rest. The RFU would never sanction it and a breakaway would devastate those clubs in the Championship and just below. Rugby League did have a closed shop for a while and may be heading that way again but it isn't such a huge league structure as Union and the League clubs benefitted from the stability which produced a more competitive league. This is much more about the big guns trying to protect their investment but most are losing money and this smacks more of self-preservation than benefitting the game as a whole. I think Bernie Ecclestone was involved in the CVC bid and that tells you all you need to know. Since it turned professional many clubs had meteoric rises followed by crippling falls. The established big clubs now have a similar attitude as the Big Six in Football, they are solely interested in their own dominance to the detriment of the rest. It'll be interesting to see how firmly the RFU will stand up to them if this comes to a head. In football a Euro League is more likely than a closed Premier League...
