NPR

assfly wrote: Tue May 02, 2023 10:22 am This thread needs a revival.

Raymond Rhule

OomStruisbaai wrote: Tue May 02, 2023 12:57 pm Willie le Roux & PSdT coming home to the Stormers

assfly wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 11:53 am Rob du Preez and Jasper Wiese nominated for English Premiership player of the year.

boere wors wrote: Sun May 21, 2023 11:46 am Has PSdT been playing lately? Haven't heard from him for quite some time

assfly wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 6:25 am I actually feel a bit short-changed with the Japanese-based players. At least players in Europe we get to see them play, but there is so little visibility on the form of these guys. Yes, I suppose I could watch the games if I really sought them out, but there's no denying it is a lower league to the URC and English Premiership.

LoveOfTheGame wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 6:43 am More and more players heading that way, even more so after the RWC. The Premiership is going through a bit of a crisis, whilst League 1 is growing. Why are you so quick to pass comment on the inferiority of a league you don't even watch?

assfly wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 6:50 am

LoveOfTheGame wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 6:43 am More and more players heading that way, even more so after the RWC. The Premiership is going through a bit of a crisis, whilst League 1 is growing. Why are you so quick to pass comment on the inferiority of a league you don't even watch?

It's a widely held opinion that is not very controversial, is it? Even the players say there is much less impact on their bodies. Am I wrong?

LoveOfTheGame wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 8:54 am More attractive league yes. Also financially more powerful. Loads of international players and coaches. Sure, perhaps less physical than other leagues, but why does that make it a lessor league?

assfly wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 10:33 am

LoveOfTheGame wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 8:54 am More attractive league yes. Also financially more powerful. Loads of international players and coaches. Sure, perhaps less physical than other leagues, but why does that make it a lessor league?

Yes, I believe it is a lessor league.

Chilli wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 11:51 am Not as hard, but very entertaining.

assfly wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 1:02 pm

Chilli wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 11:51 am Not as hard, but very entertaining.

Watching RG Snyman play there was very entertaining, I'll give you that

OomStruisbaai wrote: Sat Jun 24, 2023 4:44 am Ben Loader signed with the Stormers

assfly wrote: Mon Jun 26, 2023 5:34 am

OomStruisbaai wrote: Sat Jun 24, 2023 4:44 am Ben Loader signed with the Stormers

That's a middle finger to the convey belt of Western Cape talent.

OomStruisbaai wrote: Mon Jun 26, 2023 8:48 am He want to play for a uitval dop & pap snoek. So why not?

assfly wrote: Mon Jun 26, 2023 9:12 am

OomStruisbaai wrote: Mon Jun 26, 2023 8:48 am He want to play for a uitval dop & pap snoek. So why not?

Fair enough, I'd do the same

OomStruisbaai wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2024 1:44 pm Since joining the URC the NH have open up a new market for our local coaches and players. We get a lot of benefit from this and the other SH teams are left behind.

assfly wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2024 1:54 pm

OomStruisbaai wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2024 1:44 pm Since joining the URC the NH have open up a new market for our local coaches and players. We get a lot of benefit from this and the other SH teams are left behind.

I love it. Almost every team has at least 1 Saffa, making me watch teams I wouldn't normally.

It's also amazing to see how many are getting contracts abroad without even playing for a major union first.

OomStruisbaai wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2024 1:44 pm Since joining the URC the NH have open up a new market for our local coaches and players. We get a lot of benefit from this and the other SH teams are left behind.

Blake wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 12:47 pm

OomStruisbaai wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2024 1:44 pm Since joining the URC the NH have open up a new market for our local coaches and players. We get a lot of benefit from this and the other SH teams are left behind.

It's great isn't it. We should enjoy it and milk it while it lasts, because it is really strengthening our player and coaching stocks. At some point the foreign rugby bodies are going to start putting in measures to try and block it I feel; caps on foreign players and the like. The are already rumblings from the French and English about the SA sides in the European competitions and how it's going to make the Boks even stronger at the World Cups.

Love it. Aligning our future with the north is the best thing we ever did . That is going to be Rassie's real legacy.

OomStruisbaai wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 1:25 pm its a win win situation. We are playing in the NH competitions. SA players (Springboks included)and coaches playing/coaching for other countries creating opportunities for SA players and taking away opportunities from those countries.

Blake wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 1:39 pm The only thing that is massive challenge is player management. It's a difficult puzzle to solve for sure, unless we can align on a global season of some kind and play TRC in the SH at the same time that the NH teams play 6N...or something like that.

How All Blacks’ Scott Robertson wants to copy Springboks

New All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said Tuesday he was pressing New Zealand Rugby to change its sacrosanct rule banning overseas-based players from Test selection, saying he wanted to pick from the best available.

The governing body has refused to budge on the issue, believing selecting players enticed overseas on big-money contracts would weaken the domestic game at Super Rugby and provincial level.

As recently as last month, chief executive Mark Robinson said they were "really happy" with demands that All Blacks selection be restricted to players based in New Zealand.

But Robertson said he had asked the board to "keep an open mind" at his first press conference since taking over as All Blacks coach.

Robertson wants to copy the Springboks’ model, where the the top players are plying their trade in places such as England, France, Ireland and Japan.

The Springboks have won two Rugby World Cups since changing their stance on overseas-based players in 2018.

"That's what I've asked for ... keep an open mind where the game is at the moment, it's moving quite quickly, as we know," Robertson said, insisting he wanted to "be a step ahead" of the competition.

When asked about fly-half Richie Mo'unga, a standout performer for the All Blacks at the World Cup last year but now on a three-year contract with Japanese club Toshiba, Robertson preferred to give a general answer.

"I have got to get in front of a few people, have a few conversations, catch a few eyes, have some chats, I think it's important we do that, respect for all options," he said.

"I just want to keep an open mind, so I can select the best players available for the All Blacks."

Opinion on the issue is divided among players and coaches.

Ian Foster, who coached the All Blacks to last year's World Cup final, where they were beaten 12-11 by South Africa, has said Robertson's idea made "some academic sense" but would be a "disaster" for the game in New Zealand.

Sam Cane, who captained the All Blacks in recent years, has called for the eligibility rule to be reviewed, while his predecessor Kieran Read has doubted that the All Blacks "could survive if we end up going down that route".

From last year's World Cup squad, veterans such as Cane, Ardie Savea and Beauden Barrett are on short-term contracts overseas and will return to New Zealand before the 2024 Test season.

However, Mo'unga, Leicester Fainga'anuku and Shannon Frizell are on longer deals with overseas clubs and are currently ineligible.