The Rugby Union Thread

Who knows, could be the start of an 18 game win streak

maaaaybe

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:rofl: nope but I’ll take it. It wasn’t great but it was enough.

Interestingly, Edwards looked the better 10, and Morgan-Williams little cameo was positive at 9.

I think they should play more and build around them.

Don’t know much about Rugby but never build yourself around one player.

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No agreed, but some positions are critical in defining how a team plays and you need to get those selections right. Wales are desperately short of quality half backs, particularly at 10.

It was good to see a promising youngster that has been touted as the way forward, getting a start and doing ok. Not brilliant, but the key thing is he didnt miss his kicks, whether from hand or from the tee. That to me made a bit of a difference.

Our 9 on the day had a wild game. Scored two tries in the first half then fell off a cliff in the second and basically gave two away.

A shit show again.

I dont know what the answer is here being honest. I’d hate the Dragons to lose out because you isolate that whole eastern side of South Wales. There’s something like 70 clubs in that region and Bristol not too far away.

Elsewhere, you’re asking people to tear up allegiance’s again which if regional rugby in Wales has already proved wont work.

Where is the youth structure? Pointless fixing the top if there’s no foundations.

It’s the problem of ā€œregionalā€ rugby in a country like Wales. All of the traditional hotbeds, of which there are already too many with their own identity to fit into a 4 region structure, are spaced only about 60 miles apart from West to East. Llanelli to Swansea and Cardiff to Newport are both only about 15 miles each. Swansea to Cardiff is a comparatively whopping 40 miles, but you have at least two areas in between there who would feel aggrieved at being squeezed out and would struggle to identify with teams based in either city.

If you wanted to do anything resembling a ā€œregionalā€ approach you would be forced to do it in a way that diverges completely away from traditional Welsh Rugby identities. Maybe something like Aberystwyth (representing ā€œnorthā€ wales), Swansea (ā€œWestā€ Wales) and Cardiff or Newport, but that means the valleys are completely absent from the structure.

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And I’d say the Valleys are the hot bed. Wonder if University and fees have played a part here as well. Swansea used to have tonnes of photos of past players on their walls.

Yep just discussing the same thing at work. Pontypridd is only 8 miles from Cardiff but its closer to 400 miles in rugby terms.

Best idea I’ve heard so far is to tear it all down and go east and west. Issue there is that east region ends up being Cardiff centric which potentially alienates other areas all over again.

They seriously need to get this right.

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Sell out at the stadium for the first game. No Welsh players at all for the first time 100 odd years. Interesting first test for this batch of lions.

Huge shame for Morgan who has been the form 7 over the last 12 months and particularly this tour so far. Farrell doesnt fancy him for whatever reason.

Theyre winning comfortably at the moment.

That game was unexpectedly close on the scoreboard given how superior the lions looked for 60 minutes.

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Echoes of 2001 maybe?

Aussies started a lot better today

Brilliant come back. Brilliant game. Aussies really fronted up and unlucky not to get anything. The Rivaldo-esque play acting at the end was the only low point :lion:

The Rees Zammit experiment with the NFL has ended and he’s coming back.

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Just a glory hunter, soon as Wales win he’s back in the game

Wouldn’t be surprised to see him at Newcastle once their red bull takes over goes through

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Fair play to him for giving it a go. Was always unlikely that he could just start a new sport at elite level when there are millions of kids who have played since they could walk.

Wales could do with his skill and pace currently!

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It’s remarkable how little carry over there is to the NFL given how similar the sports look superficially. A down the middle bosch it center like Jamie Roberts could have some success as an old school short yardage/blocking FB, but that is unglamorous, tough work. A Jason Robinson or Serge Blanco style FB might have success as a specialist kick returner, but outside of that you’re looking at wingers and FBs maybe being limited to defense on kick return teams. And those guys are largely anonymous and very replaceable in NFL teams.

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I will be watching to see how well his fitness transitions back. I dont think its a coincidence that he’s chosen this moment to call it. He gets some time to sort a contract and get rugby fit again.

While I cant fault him chasing a dream, he’s missed a Lions tour which he had a fair shout at being selected for, especially given the injuries to wingers that have occurred.

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