2012 Rugby Championship thread

[NCC1701]

Another average game for the All Blacks, only managed to watch the first 60-odd minutes as I had work but 51-22 at full time is a pretty poor effort considering we were playing Scotland. At least it proved a nice training ground for new combinations, looking forward to seeing Keiran Read taking over the captaincy for the Italy match.

And I'm not sure to laugh or be afraid of the score of the Australia-France game, considering we drew with the Wallabies a few short weeks ago

[Jono]

Not a complete turnaround but enough of one to win out 20 - 16 against the "Old Enemy". The most pleasing aspect was the scrum and how much better it looked with the two Bens and Timani in there. There was even the rarest of sightings: a win against the feed against an English scrum. The lineouts went through a rough patch but Polatu-Nau has always been a bit shaky with his throws, though it did come after a head knock, so that probably had an impact.

Good defence by the team with the only English try off a quick tap from around the 10 m on Australia's side and even then the try was a whisker from been saved. Cummins got the Wallabies' only try and it came off what appeared to be a forward pass as well, so both sides had unconvincing tries and they also both had one disallowed a piece.

Barnes in the side adds more options and seemed to take the pressure off Beale and Barnes kicking game was pretty solid as well as his efforts under the high ball. Ioane was back, but the attack was favouring Cummins' wing so he didn't feature much. Mitchell also came on for the last 10, but I don't think he touched the ball. Timani looked good as well returning...and I think that's all the injury returns, oh Ben Alexander was solid in the scrum and around the park.

England was a bit poor, they had some aimless kicking and their decision making was questionable. They didn't score in the second half, partly thanks to good defence, but also because they decided against at least 3 get able kicks within the first 20 - 25 minutes. They were also a bit like the Wallabies last weekend with their attack breaking down due to poor passing and ball control.

If the side can keep this form and even improve on it they should account for Italy, especially if the scrum holds up. Two years ago they came close to losing against Italy with the Wallaby pack faltering, but then again the next week they towelled France by 50 points, so as an Wallabies supporter knows the Wallabies can go from okay/pretty good to terrible within the space of a week.

On the sidelines Campese has again attacked the Wallabies. Sometimes I think the only way Campo will be happy is if he is cloned so he can play 1 to 15, be the coach and take every position in the ARU. It is probably down to media beat up which focuses hard on his negative comments, but he does come across as the most negative former Wallaby in the media, not to say that he never has a point, but I'm getting to the point where I'm about to put my fingers in my ears whenever I hear anyone say "former Wallaby David Campese has said..."

[Orac Zen]

Campese is the Neil Harvey of Australian rugby. Absolutely everything was better in his day, and absolutely everything about the current day is crap. About the only difference between the two is that Campese has an even bigger ego (Harvey's nauseating deification of Bradman isn't something Campo would ever offer about anyone he played with). The media go to them when they want a controversial comment or fifty and despite their utter irrelevance, they always deliver.

If coaching is as easy as Campese reckons it is, one wonders why he's never given it a go. Enough said, really.


Haven't seen the game yet but even after I do, I probably won't feel any more optimistic about things than I have been. Why is it that we can only seem to perform at even a half-decent standard when the knives are out and it's backs-to-the-wall? All year it's been a step or two forward followed by four or five steps back. It's getting tedious and the ludicrous injury toll aside (two more blokes ruled out during the week in addition to the ridiculous suspension Simmons copped), it's well past time some of these blokes learned to play at a consistent standard.

The snippets on the news did reveal one thing, though - possibly the most hideous strip ever worn by an international sporting team. England looked vile. As one smartarse in the comments of a Guardian blog put it, "The All Plums, sponsored by Ribena" (while another commenter reckoned they were "dressed up to look like Barney" ). Craptastic.

Elsewhere, predictable wins for NZ and SA, while Samoa defeated Wales. Wouldn't it be good if the IRB decided to stop fawning over the so-called "home" nations and started looking after countries like Samoa... Eh, hell will freeze over first.

[Jono]

The Wallabies continued their fine recent history of playing poorly in Italy sneaking home with a 22 - 19 win. They scored ZERO points in the 2nd half...Z-E-R-O.

Only one try a piece. Cummins bagged the Wallabies and Italy got theirs off poor handling by Timani in the 22. In fact Timani had a poor game. His decision making out wide was poor either throwing a one handed pass to no one or getting isolated.

Main issue was the scrum was poor. The track was soft, but they still got handed a lesson.

Another injury as well with Sheenan having to go off after 30 with a leg injury. The Wallabies looked a bit lost and all over the place in attack for most of the game.

A win is a win I guess.

Next it is Wales who will be on a 6 match losing streak (3 of those to the Wallabies in June/July). In recent years Wales and the Wallabies have played quite close games, the mid-year games were won by Aust by 8, 2, and then 1. Hopefully it will be a good game and that both sides won't be trying to out bumble the other to defeat.

[Orac Zen]

I'll hopefully find some time to watch the game at some stage (still haven't managed to watch the Italy match, though I don't think I've missed a great deal there), but from all accounts it wasn't anything special and we got out of gaol at (literally) the last minute. Unfortunate for Wales but I'm glad Nathan Sharpe leaves the game a winner. He's been a great and greatly underrated servant of Australian rugby and he'll be both missed and very, very difficult to replace.

England beating the All Blacks...geez, we'll be hearing about that for the next decade or so.


Well, according to that great authority on everything, Campese, "girls" shouldn't write about rugby so on that basis I should stop participating in these threads. Fortunately I don't give a crap about him or his opinions, so see you next year.

[Jono]

Given that in the mid-year games the results were Wallabies by 8, 2, and then 1, I was expecting a draw, though with about 5 to go I thought the Wallabies had lost.

Pretty much a mirror of what happened 6 months ago in the second test. Wales had the lead and a minute or so to go they get the ball, kick it away and lose the game at the death. You give the ball to the opposition, you no longer control your fate.

Very surprised by the All Blacks/England result, though I guess they had to actually lose a game sometime...just thought that it was going to be to the Boks in SA next year.

The 2015 RWC draw is on Monday and the Wallabies have avoided what some were dreading, slipping into the second tier for the draw. So they will avoid the ABs, SA and France in the pools. Seems weird to be thinking about this already.

Orac Zen wrote:

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Well, according to that great authority on everything, Campese, "girls" shouldn't write about rugby so on that basis I should stop participating in these threads. Fortunately I don't give a crap about him or his opinions, so see you next year.

To be fair, he did clarify with his apology that was not what he meant. He meant all female journalists lack the testicular fortitude to be writing about any sports, not just rugby. Good clarification there.

[NCC1701]

It's been so long that I haven't even commented on the NZ-Wales game yet, quite a good performance there, probably one of the best of the All Blacks this year. Which is exactly what the game against England wasn't, we got schooled there from start to finish. Carter especially looked like he was rushed back, he really shouldn't have been on the field at all, and not a good way to send McCaw off on his sabattical. Oh well, at least we're still number one in the world for the RWC 2015 draw on Monday, you can't win them all.

Nice to see the Wallabies sneak past Wales again, good way to send Nathan Sharpe to retirement. I liked his conversion attempt at the end of the game. And Pocock finally snuck his way back into the squad, well past time the Wallabies got some injured players back into the game!

That about wraps it up for rugby in the southern hemisphere for this year. Guess I'll see you guys around these parts for Super Rugby in February

[Orac Zen]

Seventh White Boomer wrote:

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To be fair, he did clarify with his apology that was not what he meant. He meant all female journalists lack the testicular fortitude to be writing about any sports, not just rugby. Good clarification there.

Indeed. Almost as inane, sexist and classless as the initial remark itself. I hadn't thought it possible that he could sink any lower than the depths he'd already plumbed in life, but apparently anything really is possible.