2022/23 Champions/Challenge Cup

[Jim Lahey]

GAme back on, maybe

Nah. Their kicking game is absolutely shocking. They deserve nothing from this 2nd half.

[Ovals]

Exeter making really heavy weather of this.

[Tichtheid]

Brok Harris comes on, he'll be 38 in a month's time.

[SaintK]

Exeter making really heavy weather of this.

Dreadful stuff

[OomStruisbaai]

Stormers 10 and 12 was Bok legend brothers.

[OomStruisbaai]

Prince of flyhalfs not to bad.

[Ovals]

This hasn't been an attractive game to watch but credit to Castre - they've battled on very strongly and are still giving it everything, despite 3 yellows and a red.

[Sandstorm]

Prince of flyhalfs not to bad.

Kade is going to get sold. Probably Sharks.

[Torquemada 1420]

This hasn't been an attractive game to watch but credit to Castre - they've battled on very strongly and are still giving it everything, despite 3 yellows and a red.

Whatever else Castres are, they don't tend to fold up. When they are hammered, it's generally because they were outclassed. It's why they irritate so many in France!

[_Os_]

Stomps vs Clermont was a real game of two halves, poor first half a lot of Stomp pens and solid Clermont defence, second half was brilliant from the Stomps.

[OomStruisbaai]

Prince of flyhalfs not to bad.

Kade is going to get sold. Probably Sharks.

Will be sad. Kade have the best boot of all our 10s and has great skills. We are fortunate to have so many 10s.

[OomStruisbaai]

That must be the worst 5 minutes of rugby I've seen from a pro side by Clermont

Stormers did the same against the Bulls. When they get it right it's nice

[_Os_]

The cultural links to Europe are pretty much the same for the Aussies and Kiwis too, should we invite them in?

Agreed it's not your choice alone. I don't think it's appropriate that having for whatever reason gotten out of Super Rugby without an alternative plan in place, you've been foisted on us in the European competition, to the obvious detriment of the tournament format, to the fan experience, and to travel demands. (I have other concerns regarding player welfare and squad sizes and the sheer physicality of SA sides and so on, but those won't be widely shared, I think; it's not like the tournament is a fair one to begin with)

Aus/NZ are more and less connected to Europe, more because a majority of their populations are transplanted from the British Isles with little local cultural adaptation, less because the connection to Europe was more recent (there was significant European trading/settlement at the Cape before Newton's theory of gravity, there was a Napoleonic battle fought at Cape Town, etc). My point on this one was only in reply to yours that it wasn't "natural" for SA to be playing in European competitions, everything since Vasco da Gama half a millennia ago doesn't really agree with that.

I think if the Aussies had been in the time zone SA is, then Super rugby would never have happened and they would've gone to Europe from the start. The time zone and geographic distance is what's stopping Aus/NZ. I don't think SA has been foisted on anyone, presumably we can be booted out and everyone else in the competitions has some say? I could easily see us not lasting long in these comps if the English (and French?) aren't happy. I think we're staying in the URC for sometime yet though, and can't see us going back to Super Rugby any time soon.

SA teams are here because the dickheads with the money think there's a chance it might be financially useful for them to extract some blood from the stone and reverse the direction of travel that's been happening ever since the dickheads with the money started fucking with the tournament. It's very reminiscent of the death of Super Rugby - chasing change in order to fix the problems caused by previous changes.

Growth is the system we live in. JM Coetzee called it after the 1995 RWC (can't remember the title of the essay, the opening line was something like "The world cup is over, South Africa has won" ) he said rugby had no guiding philosophy had been hijacked by "international cartels" whose only mission was to grow like a "bacteria".

As for the comparison to the Aussies - no, fuck off

SA teams are interlopers into a tournament that they have no history in and offer no obvious benefit to. The Aussies didn't like you and had their own reasons for not wanting you in there, but pretending that SA sides being parachuted into European competition is anything like SA sides being in Super Rugby from the start is not exactly arguing in good faith, and there's several very reasonable objections and very few strong arguments in favour of it. And that's before we get into the whole "6 nations stalking horse" argument!

The 6N is a genuine traditional competition. Champions Cup like Super Rugby, is not a traditional competition it's an entertainment product. Your arguments about "history" in the comp/"being in Super Rugby from the start", hold up better with the 6N. This comp is exactly what JM Coetzee described 3 decades ago. The clever marketing trick they pulled in Europe was to sell it as traditional (JM Coetzee gave the "image makers" a blast in the same essay, he's a grumpy kind of guy), something they couldn't really do with Super Rugby because it obviously wasn't.

[sockwithaticket]

Trimble working hard on an alternate view of that deliberate knock on was painful. At least Best had the sense to call it what it was.

How did we end up with 3 Nordies doing the commentary?

[Torquemada 1420]

Growth is the system we live in. JM Coetzee called it after the 1995 RWC (can't remember the title of the essay, the opening line was something like "The world cup is over, South Africa has won" ) he said rugby had no guiding philosophy had been hijacked by "international cartels" whose only mission was to grow like a "bacteria".

The bit missing at the beginning being "Sustainable".

[Tichtheid]

Trimble working hard on an alternate view of that deliberate knock on was painful. At least Best had the sense to call it what it was.

How did we end up with 3 Nordies doing the commentary?

Trimble is one of the better ones, he's usually got a sense of humour about it all.

This is a good match

[sockwithaticket]

Not a high scorer, but far more blood and thunder than we saw in the 3rd round of today's games.

[Jim Lahey]

Trimble working hard on an alternate view of that deliberate knock on was painful. At least Best had the sense to call it what it was.

How did we end up with 3 Nordies doing the commentary?

Trimble is one of the better ones, he's usually got a sense of humour about it all.

This is a good match

Its intriguing for sure.
But two shite teams that won't trouble teams at the business end of the comp.

[JM2K6]

Os - it's certainly an entertainment product now. But it was originally party devised for the sides to fill the gap between club and international rugby, and was a natural extension of the international rivalry. There was no real concept of it as a televised product in the early years. There IS a lot of tradition there and it's something that's been hard won.

[Torquemada 1420]

This is the same Sale at the top end of the Prem?

[sockwithaticket]

Well thank goodness for that, almost a whole game without Jono Ross getting carded. Was starting to fear it was the end of days.

[Jim Lahey]

Trimble working hard on an alternate view of that deliberate knock on was painful. At least Best had the sense to call it what it was.

How did we end up with 3 Nordies doing the commentary?

Trimble is one of the better ones, he's usually got a sense of humour about it all.

This is a good match

Trimble is a proper God loving non preachy normal Prod like Van der Flier. Magnificent looking men as well

His kid is in the same swimming lessons as my eldest. Natually I don't let my missus take her to the pool.

[Torquemada 1420]

Well thank goodness for that, almost a whole game without Jono Ross getting carded. Was starting to fear it was the end of days.

[Brazil]

Bollocks to this competition, and bollocks to BT and their fucking commentary team. And bollocks to the ref, one side officiated for the last twenty minutes.

[Torquemada 1420]

ROG went up a notch in my estimation with this interview


Really good appreciation of French mindset problems and also refreshingly honest about the oppos: none of this "they are a great side" bollox. Called Saints for what they are, not a top side.

[Oxbow]

ROG went up a notch in my estimation with this interview


Really good appreciation of French mindset problems and also refreshingly honest about the oppos: none of this "they are a great side" bollox. Called Saints for what they are, not a top side.

Still bitter about missing those piss-easy shots at goal 23 years ago.

[Chilli]

Sards Do you watched the Challenge Cup? Cheetahs and Lions play in it.

Soup is a dead horse. It killed our rugby.

The HC format is just as shite as what Soup is.

At least there are close games like Quins vs Racing but then you only watch the Sharks games.

The HC have 3 games at the same time, so it's a much better product and at least there are crowds and supporters with true rugby culture Something a trolley like you will never appreciate.

Whatever it's processed as. No quality whatsoever. This is a case of quantity over quality. You hated soup because Stormers got groot pakslaae from the Kiwis. Now you found an inferior comp where you can win something you are happy. It's like the seniors winning a junior comp. What it does do is spread the team over 2 comps. Hardly ideal.
And don't give me bullshit about pedigree and rugby culture. We lost that when we stopped playing with the Kiwis.

I wonder if the feeling is still the same when you can't beat the Harlequins?

[OomStruisbaai]

Bollocks to this competition, and bollocks to BT and their fucking commentary team. And bollocks to the ref, one side officiated for the last twenty minutes.

Make a video.

[OomStruisbaai]

Ulster need Stormers to pull their heads out of their arses and win this FFS.

Not that we in any way deserve to make the KOs. And even if we do it'll be a 40pt tanking at Leinster.

Job done.

[OomStruisbaai]

Ulster need Stormers to pull their heads out of their arses and win this FFS.

Not that we in any way deserve to make the KOs. And even if we do it'll be a 40pt tanking at Leinster.

Job done.

8 of 8 URC
5 of 8 GPS
3 of 8 T14

Teams through to round of 16

[Torquemada 1420]

Ulster need Stormers to pull their heads out of their arses and win this FFS.

Not that we in any way deserve to make the KOs. And even if we do it'll be a 40pt tanking at Leinster.

Job done.

8 of 8 URC
5 of 8 GPS
3 of 8 T14

Teams through to round of 16

Fre teams occupying all 4 of the bottom slots in Pool A is not a good look.


{EDIT} To add to that, I mentioned how UBB's "player power" (dressing room forcing their coach Urios out) was working out..... It's not and is a lesson for all. Their trainer Lairle pulled no punches after the Glaws game, commenting how the players playing selfishly for themselves and not as a team was resulting in these poor outcomes. It's a poisonous culture of a different kind to say, Bath.

[Torquemada 1420]

Whatever it's processed as. No quality whatsoever. This is a case of quantity over quality. You hated soup because Stormers got groot pakslaae from the Kiwis. Now you found an inferior comp where you can win something you are happy. It's like the seniors winning a junior comp. What it does do is spread the team over 2 comps. Hardly ideal.
And don't give me bullshit about pedigree and rugby culture. We lost that when we stopped playing with the Kiwis.

I think you are mixing a load of unrelated issues here.
1) Soup had become the epitome of quantity over quality and age ago and the pits was when it became effectively a 2nd domestic comp. Granted this latest HEC format is utter sh*te too but it's not as bad as Soup.

2) It's not like you had a choice, did you? Well, I guess you did. You could have said no to Europe and concentrated on CC only. And maybe that would have worked out for you.

[Sards]

Prince of flyhalfs not to bad.

Kade is going to get sold. Probably Sharks.

He is a good looking lad with charisma. Just stick a surfboard under his arm and he could be a poster boy for the Sharks.

[OomStruisbaai]

Prince of flyhalfs not to bad.

Kade is going to get sold. Probably Sharks.

He is a good looking lad with charisma. Just stick a surfboard under his arm and he could be a poster boy for the Sharks.

He learned that st the Sharks academy

[OomStruisbaai]

Clermont support in Cape Town

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... tid=VhDh1V

[TheFrog]

Montpellier is a fecking embarrassment...

[weegie01]

Clermont support in Cape Town

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... tid=VhDh1V

I have mentioned it before, but Clermont home support were a byword for noise and fanaticism. That seems to have dropped with the teams fortunes. But wherever they play, their support follow. I remember them playing an HEC Final in Edinburgh. They essentially took over the city.

150 to Cape Town is impressive.

A complete aside, but Edinburgh are sold out for Saracens, and are well on the way to a sell out for the Sharks next week. The main stand only has single tickets left.

[Torquemada 1420]

Montpellier is a fecking embarrassment...

How the f**kity f**k Spoofer PSA and his safa mercs peddling rugby cancer won the T14 is an embarrassment to French rugby.

{EDIT} I forgot to add "a welcome home for criminals and racists".

[Torquemada 1420]

Clermont support in Cape Town

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... tid=VhDh1V

I have mentioned it before, but Clermont home support were a byword for noise and fanaticism. That seems to have dropped with the teams fortunes. But wherever they play, their support follow. I remember them playing an HEC Final in Edinburgh. They essentially took over the city.

150 to Cape Town is impressive.

A complete aside, but Edinburgh are sold out for Saracens, and are well on the way to a sell out for the Sharks next week. The main stand only has single tickets left.

TBF, many French clubs have vocal and fanatical support. Toulouse is always loud and Stade Mayol is close to scary. It's the new moneyed lot like Montpellier and Racing where it's more like going to an English game.

[Torquemada 1420]

That sums up MH. Rattez was a decent, borderline intl when he was at LaR but has "developed" into a journeyman under PSA.