Looks like a good call 9 - 17 now.Originally Posted by Biggles
Eye ties appear to be tyre ring.
Looks like a good call 9 - 17 now.Originally Posted by Biggles
Eye ties appear to be tyre ring.
Last edited by JPaul; 02-11-2006 at 05:31 PM.
16 - 31 with a late, late try by England to make it look more comfortable than it was.Originally Posted by JPaul
I hope Italy are knackered by the time we play them - they seem pretty good this year.
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum
They are definitely improving. I thought Engerland would win at a canter. Particliarly after the Wales game.Originally Posted by Biggles
Congrats to the Welsh, pity the game was spoilt by the sending off.
Oh Pants!Originally Posted by JPaul
I think the sending of was a tad harsh too - Gough had him pinned to the ground nowhere near the ball. Both sin binned for 10 minutes would have been fairer.
Thought the effort from the lads was huge though - 60 minutes with 14 men and only 10 points in it - pretty damned heroic. I had visions of doom when Scott was sent off. The mood was quite buoyant in the pub by the end (although that could have been the beer)
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum
Originally Posted by Biggles
It definitely ended on a high and there are still a lot of positive things to take from the match. Not least the spirit shown.
I think most people agreed the sending off a bit harsh and that he wasn't that type of chap. A nanoseconds madness, just a human being being a human being.
Only a three week ban Pity about the England game though Perhaps Nathan will reconsider now that the coach has changed.
Clearly the panel thought the referee a tad heavy handed.
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum
Thanks for the congrats.
I have to say that with our forward dominance and, to be fair, back division superiority - I think we'd have won by a similar margin even if the, unlucky, Murray had stayed on the pitch.
That's all been superseded now by the unexpected resignation of our coach.
I've heard today that Mike Ruddock was on a third of the salary that Steve Hanson (previous coach) was taking home. Absolutely scandalous that was the case ten months on from our first Grand Slam in 27 years.
The WRU wanted to drag negotiations on til the end of the Six Nations and the rumour is that after the drubbing by England, had intimated he wasn't going to get even half of what Hanson was on.
They have treated him appallingly.
The 'family reasons' for his demise will only last as long as this Six Nations tournament. I'm sure Mike Ruddock will be back in a big way with a huge job shortly. Maybe back at the Wales helm once the rubbish, like WRU chief exec Steve Lewis, has been cleared away.
It's a damn shame.
Was shocked at Ruddocks departure. I would have thought after a Grand Slam he was set up for life tenure. The RUs of all the home nations seem to have built in self destruct buttons.
So you would recommend that Scotland play with 14 men for all matches?
I think it made a difference. The game was evening out nicely with only 4 points in it when he was sent off. The Scottish scrum did ok for the rest of the match even wheeling and taking the put-in in the second half. Both sets of backs threw the ball around beautifully and made it an exciting match. I thought Wales were over-elaborate a couple of times and the two fairly clear forward passes were just wasteful. However, Scotland dropped the ball on the final pass to the try line twice. The final match stats were impressive with Scotland slightly head on both possession and territory. An extra man would have come in handy both at the line out and in defence. That said, it could still have been Wales' match. It was that sort of game.
I was content at the end because I thought the guys had really tried and never let their heads go down.
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum
I think psychology comes into it a lot when a player gets sent off in rugby - more so than in football. When Wales were down to 14 for 10 minutes against England in the second half - we didn't concede a point, but when Martyn Williams came back on, England scored tries.Originally Posted by Biggles
When Murray got sent off, the Scots on the field visibly upped their game to a man - I could see by the tactics (kicking to the corner instead of opting for the three points, throwing the ball around with gay abandon) that the Welsh team thought/knew they had it won.
We play attacking rugby - but seldom to that extent.
The spoiling tactics you mentioned that were implemented by the Scots in the scrum were inevitable but had Murray stayed on the pitch, tight forward play would have been a much greater factor and the forward superiority I mentioned would have been much more evident.
I know it sounds mad but had the guy not been sent off, I think Wales would have been more professional and won by a greater margin because the holes in our defence wouldn't have been there.
We may also not have employed our props in the outside half position so many times
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