This just smacks of a small, vocal minority wanting to ruin it for everyone else while they get their own way. Unfortunately people pander to these idiots far too often.
Well written Mark. Society has become so warped these days. The feminist movement, who claim theyre striving for equality and an end to misogyny, often end up becoming as bad as the very thing they despise, by using blatant misandry to get their points across.Serena Williams behaviour was absolutely disgusting and the attempt to accuse Carlos Ramos of sexism was her showing her narcissistic personality.She acts like she is a goddess of the tennis world and that she is above reproach. She has form at the US Open too; this is the third time she has been in the spotlight for being abusive to the officials there.As far as I can remember, she has never apologized for her behaviour in the past and so far has stuck with her outrageous sexism claim, so we wont be expecting her to accept she was wrong any time soon.The saddest thing of all is that Japans first ever Grand Slam winner, Naomi Osaka has almost been forgotten about because Williams petulance and 0 accusations have taken the spotlight completely away from her.
Even if there was conjecture about the first of Damian McKenzies tries, hardly anyone seems to be questioning the other call in the second half that denied Shannon Frizzell a debut try. Frizzell thought hed scored under the posts and the referee, John Lacey, went to the TMO saying hed seen a grounding but wanted to check it. The TMO, George Ayoub, then reported back that he couldnt see a grounding and so the referee effectively overruled himself by following his TMOs advice rather than trusting his gut and awarding a try.
If the All Blacks had been awarded that try when one of our players was clearly not behind the hind most foot when he went for the charge down, you can be sure the UK media would be ripping into the officials for awarding a try they shouldnt have.The UK media should be more worried about why England couldnt push on and win after racing out to a 15-0 lead in very wet conditions that suited them more than it did the All Blacks.I suppose us All Blacks fans could consider this karma after Jerome Garces was heavily involved in the decision to turn a penalty offence into a knock on in the deciding moment of the third British and Irish Lions test last year, that denied the All Blacks a penalty shot to win the game.
I like Australian Masterchef. Its the only cooking and reality tv show that I actually watch. I always enjoy the sense of camaraderie that develops between the contestants despite the fact theyre competing with each other to be crowned champion. The three judges, Gary Meghan, Matt Preston and George Calombaris are excellent and the special guest judges they bring in are always good.On a side note, you mentioned the incident in the A-League Grand Final two years ago, where Calombaris shoved a young man in the crowd and was subsequently charged with assault. What youre conveniently forgetting is that this young man made insensitive comments about Calombaris family, while being goaded to by the people around him. Sure, Calombaris shouldve just ignored this idiot and walked away but can you really blame him for wanting to defend his familys honour? Of course he copped the blame because hes a celebrity chef and supposed role model for the younger generation, while the idiot in the crowd insulting his family got no punishment.
This seems like another Reason beat up about how NZ rugby players are thugs who can get away with it.This same journalist praised the physicality of the British and Irish Lions last year against the All Blacks, yet he never made the same noises about Sean OBrien getting away with striking Waisake Naholo in the head, an action that left the All Blacks winger concussed and subsequently scrubbed from the deciding test.The word hypocrisy springs to mind here after reading this article.
I really feel for Carlos Ramos. He ruled to the letter of the law but is facing criticism because too many people have blindly backed Serena Williams stance.Williams is just a petulant, spoilt brat who cant handle it when things dont go her way. She is also incredibly narcissistic because she refuses to accept accountability when she gets it wrong and makes it someone elses fault.Its extremely disgusting that she turned her confrontation with Ramos into a sexism issue and while she was fined for her behaviour, the fine is not a proper punishment and she will carry on believing she was wronged even though she was the one in the wrong.
The first point of contact is shoulder on shoulder and no, Farrell never wrapped his arms around Esterhuizen, so at worst it was a yellow card offence and at least it shouldve been given as a penalty to the Springboks. As far as I know a player cant be cited unless an incident is considered to be breaching the red card threshold, so Farrell was always going to be cleared to play the All Blacks after that tackle.
This has to be the most predictable article to appear on this website yet. Of course Reason was going to come out from under his rock to slander the TMO for taking the game from his beloved England side, even though the TMO made the correct call and was backed up by World Rugby. The reality is that there are some English media types who are gutted that the team blew a golden opportunity to get a rare win over the #1 ranked team so they are putting the boot into the TMO rather than ask why England didnt win after being 15-0 ahead.The irony of all ironies was the penalty that gave England field position to score their second try. The penalty was blown after either Damian McKenzie or Beauden Barrett played the ball from an offside position after the other had lost the ball forward in an aerial contest with English wing Chris Ashton. The irony comes from the fact the referee on the weekend, Jerome Garces, was heavily involved in the awful error in the deciding British and Irish Lions test last year to turn a penalty for playing the ball in an offside position from a knock on from a kick into just a scrum. This journalist went on record congratulating the officials for that poor decision that left the test and the series drawn.
So the All Blacks won by scoring six tries to three but so many people would rather be negative and act like the final score was 6-3.Two weeks ago the rugby is boring mob had crawled out from under their rocks after the All Blacks completed back-to-back Bledisloe Cup wins to safely secure the cup for another year.We are so cynical as rugby fans and will always focus on the negatives rather than just simply sitting back and enjoying the fact we have an amazing team to support who are playing very well at the moment.For me I dont care if they win games by 6-3 or 63-0, as long as they win most of them.
I think that the All Blacks were the better side and were always going to win the game, but theres no doubt that the incorrectly awarded yellow card for France allowed the All Blacks to take control of the game and the floodgates opened from there.To make matters worse for the officials they blundered the Sam Cane high shot which should have been a yellow card at minimum. No doubt Mark Reason will launch into the referee for favouring the All Blacks, regardless of the fact the referee is English like Reason.
I dont mind people standing up for the rights of mobility parkers to use the mobility parks, as long as they dont get judgmental and assume that disabilities are visible only. It is a mistake regularly made by these carparking vigilantes, some of whom dont even bother to check the dashboard to make sure the permit is being displayed before ripping into people who are legally using the parks.My father has had two severe head injuries, the second of which allowed him to gain access to the mobility parking permit. On a few occasions where he has asked me to park his car in a mobility park for him I have been confronted by people who see me as able bodied and question my right to use the park. None of them bothered to look at the dashboard to see the mobility permit being correctly displayed, or even my father, whos disability is indeed very visible. I simply would never use the parks if he was not with me.The classic saying look before you leap applies here.
In 2010 the All Blacks, wanting to bring back an old school value along the lines of enemies on the field and mates away from it, decided to invite the opposing team into their changing room for a beer after a game. The Wallabies initially accepted the invitation after the game in Christchurch but when the then coach, Robbie Deans got wind of it, he stopped them from attending and the All Blacks were left a bit bitter by it. At the time it was the ninth consecutive defeat to the All Blacks and Deans obviously felt that being matey with the ABs after a game was not what they needed.Later that year when the Wallabies finally broke the losing streak in Hong Kong they invited the ABs into their changing rooms for a beer after the game but the All Blacks were left with the feeling that the Wallabies just wanted to gloat at them after theyd pinched the victory from the ABs at the death.Over the last couple of years things have gotten out of hand a bit, especially because of the tumultuous 2016 year, so hearing that the two sides are happy to have a beer with each other after the game regardless of the result is fantastic and shows that most of the animosity portrayed is driven by the media hoping to throw the cat in among the pigeons.
Serena Williams showed the world her petulant arrogance when she lost to Naomi Osaka. She also showed the world how she thinks shes bigger than the game, evidenced by her telling the umpire that hell never officiate on HER court again. She also showed the world that shes the ultimate narcissist unable to accept when shes done something wrong and instead will shift the blame onto anything or anyone else but herself.The worst thing about her behaviour was her attempt to turn being properly punished by chair umpire Carlos Ramos into a sexism issue when it clearly wasnt. This is the lengths an egotistical narcissist will go to to escape blame for something that was clearly their fault only.Sadly she is seen as a darling in the States at least and naturally many of her fans there have backed her claims even if some of them are probably questioning why theyre doing it. Im sure Williams knew that she would be backed up by a lot of people and that obviously fueled her desire to blame everyone else but herself for losing.The saddest thing out of all of this is the fact that Osakas maiden Grand Slam triumph has been overshadowed by the mass egotists arrogant petulance. There has been barely any talk in the media about Osaka winning her first slam and instead we have been subjected to a barrage of articles either attacking or defending Williams behaviour.
Im sure he knows the Lions benefited quite well from the farcical 18 team conference format and this years revised 15 team one. In fact the Lions last year qualified in first place without having to face a single NZ side until the playoffs, with the Brumbies also getting a home playoff despite having scored fewer competition points than all of the NZ sides.The problem with the format isnt about who travels the most its the format itself. It is geared to reward mediocrity by allowing conference winners automatic entry into the playoffs and has seen the standards drop in South Africa and Australia as a result.The round robin format is the only logical way forward for Super Rugby. Make teams qualify for the playoffs on merit again. It doesnt matter where theyre from, if theyre good enough theyll get there. Its the only way to lift the standards of the South African and Australian teams again. Sure they might take a few years to regain their competitiveness and itll probably benefit the NZ sides for a while, but in the long run having a round robin format will be better for Super Rugby than the ridiculousness the conferences provide now.
Good little rocking shake here in Nelson. Have to laugh at the title of this article though, saying a quake centered in Picton (in the South Island) shakes lower North Island ;-)
Whats the point of building a new stadium when theyre intending to put residential apartments next to it? I wouldve thought the whole point of building a new stadium away from Eden Park would be to get it away from the residential areas so that theyre not restricted by how many times theyre allowed to use it, particularly at night?
You are absolutely correct. The success of NZ rugby players at Super Rugby and International levels has seen a lot of petty jealousy come from the Northern Hemisphere in particular and as a result they like to fuel the flames by continually calling the NZ players cheats and thugs, yet turn a blind eye to whats happening in their own backyard.Some of them will even fabricate things to fuel this anti All Blacks sentiment. For example, Stephen Jones claimed that Owen Franks had eye-gouged Kane Douglas two years ago in the Wellington Bledisloe Cup match despite it being clear and obvious that Franks hands had been over the eyes of Douglas only and not once had he attempted to gouge the Wallaby. He knew there was no real evidence of an eye-gouge but ran the story anyway knowing hed fuel the anti All Blacks sentiment big time. Of course he got his desired result even though Franks was cleared of eye-gouging.
The conference formats have been unfathomably stupid since they were introduced and have left Super Rugby in a precarious state.The main problems have been around a perception of a fairer draw for some, a dilution of talent in Australia and South Africa, a higher injury toll in NZ, as well as a nonsensical playoff format that rewards mediocrity (like last year when the Brumbies were awarded a home playoff despite having accumulated less competition points than ALL of the NZ sides).How have we reached this stage? Money. SANZAAR have been so focused on making money theyve turned a once great competition into a giant farce.How do they fix it? They need to bite the bullet and accept that their drive for more money was wrong and that they need to hit the reset button and return Super Rugby to a proper round robin format. Make teams get to the playoffs on merit again. Have everyone play everyone else at least once during the regular season. Really its not hard SANZAAR!
As great a player as Serena Williams has been, moments like this show the ugly side of her personality. When she gets like this she becomes an entitled, spoilt brat who cant take it when shes losing. Serena then trying to make the confrontation with the chair umpire a sexism issue because the chair umpire was male is absolutely disgusting and designed to fuel the misandry towards men.She may or may not have noticed her coach doing hand signals but the chair umpire did and was quite within his rights to issue a code violation. From there Serenas petulant arrogance proved to be the rest of her undoing.The sad thing is that the focus after the match has been on Serenas behaviour and that has taken the gloss off Naomi Osakas maiden Grand Slam triumph.
So far the build up has been good between the two sides. Two years ago things got really sour between the two nations with the listening device scandal and the clown caricature cartoon igniting plenty of fury from Wallaby coach Michael Cheika, while the All Blacks were a level above the Wallabies on the field for three convincing wins.Last year, despite a horror first 50 minutes in Sydney, the Wallabies were vastly improved. They came oh so close to breaking a then 16 year win less drought in NZ against the All Blacks before being overrun and losing their chance to take the Bledisloe Cup to a decider.That third game was coined as a dead rubber by the media but the Wallabies outplayed the All Blacks on the night and deservedly won the game.There will be plenty of intrigue in the build up to the first game and hopefully we get a great contest on Saturday night between the two nations (with the All Blacks winning of course).
Pretty poor article loaded with lots of misandry.Serena Williams acted like a petulant, entitled brat to chair umpire Carlos Ramos who was quite within his right to issue the code violations he did. Serena lost her cool because she is heading to the end of her career and is one Grand Slam win title win behind Margaret A. Court and so is desperate to at least equal her. That desperation got the better of her in the 2018 US Open Final.Unsurprisingly opinion is divided on whether she was right or wrong. Some are defending her because she has done a lot of great things for womens tennis, but she has history of behaving in a petulant, entitled brat manner in the past and so others are putting the boot into her.Undoubtedly Serena was way out of line with her behaviour in this Final and she has been rightfully punished.
I think Steve Hansen has to give Richie Mounga a shot at the #10 jersey against the Pumas (who did well to beat the Springboks on the weekend).Theres no doubt that Beauden Barrett is the best #10 in the world right now. Dan Carter in his prime years was easily the best #10 in the world and because of that they relied on him a lot and won many games. During the time that Nick Evans was involved in the All Blacks they didnt give him enough opportunities and this was the time period where rotation was a key part of their game plan to build depth. Evans got tired of being in Carters shadow and decided to leave for Harlequins in England.So the All Blacks will play Barrett as often as they can in the #10 jersey but they do need to find a good balance to keep Richie Mounga and Damian McKenzie up to speed so they can slot seamlessly into the jersey when Barrett is unavailable.
Theres an All Blacks test match coming up this weekend and the referee is one who is relatively inexperienced. This is classic Reason click bait aimed at putting the spotlight on NZ players. Remember he made a name for himself seven years ago on the eve of the World Cup here with his article that was titled: McCaws a cheat.
There is always a disconnect between fans and the All Blacks coaches over form players. The fans always want to see form players get rewarded with call ups to the All Blacks. For example, Ben Lam, who ended up breaking the record for most tries in a Super Rugby season was wanted for an All Blacks call up in June but Reiko Ioane had become the incumbent and Shag will always back an incumbent ahead of a player in great Super Rugby form who hasnt played a test match.A similar thing happened with Aaron Cruden, who promptly left for France once he realized that Beauden Barrett had usurped him in the #10 jersey. Cruden began the 2016 season as the incumbent after Dan Carter had left for France too, but was quickly overtaken by Barrett, who went on to win consecutive player of the year awards from World Rugby.During the French series when Barrett got concussed in the red card collision incident, it was clear that Damain McKenzie was seen as the next cab off the ranks and he responded by having a brilliant game in Dunedin. McKenzie had had a full season in the All Blacks environment and Richie Mounga had just a brief taste of what it was like at the end of the year. Mounga is a brilliant player and looked at home when he came off the bench in the third French test. He just needs to keep doing what hes doing and hell eventually force Shag and co to pick him to start.
The V8 or V10 engines are still a significantly better option than what we have now. Why? Its simply because these current V6 engines are too complicated and too expensive, leading to prospective engine suppliers being reluctant to enter the sport and drivers driving within themselves to preserve their equipment.These two things have massively contributed to a dull spectacle where only two or three teams can win races. For three of the years the sport was left with just two teammates duking it out for the title, which was very bad for the sport.What the sport so desperately needs is a significantly simplified engine formula, one that encourages more suppliers to join and allows the drivers more freedom to race. Formula One is a sport and as such is part of the entertainment industry. The noise the cars make is every bit a part of that spectacle and in that respect the current engines have failed badly.
The fallout from the womens final has been as ugly as the incidents in the final themselves. I have no doubt in my mind that Serena Williams behaved in a disgracefully poor manner and has taken the spotlight away from Naomi Osaki, who won the match and the title, her first.Williams has a history of poor, petulant, bully-like behaviour, especially at the US Open. The way she behaved after Carlos Ramos warned her for being coached by her coach via hand signals was completely disgusting but Williams is such a narcissist that she refused to accept blame for it and instead perpetrated nonsense about sexism and perhaps even racism in order to turn the heat on the umpire and away from her.Most people though saw through her actions and she has been widely condemned for her behaviour. Her ego is so inflated that I doubt shell ever apologise for her behaviour and poor old Osaki will likely not receive the acclaim she deserves for winning the title.
The All Blacks coaches have a very specific way about how they do things. It obviously works because they have remained top of the tree at international level for the last nine years and in that time have won two World Cups.They will always pick players who they know can perform for them in test matches. So why is he preferring Beauden Barrett ahead of Damian McKenzie and Richie Mounga right now? Because Barrett has the most experience at test match level, followed by McKenzie then Mounga. Its as simple as that. Either McKenzie or Mounga will end up challenging Barrett for the #10 jersey at some point once both have gained a good amount of experience at the test match level.The way they select their squads doesnt mean that theyll ignore form players and in his six and a bit years in charge Hansen has introduced dozens of new players into the environment, many of whom are in form and some who the All Blacks see mass potential in (like Shannon Frizzell for example).The fact that we are debating the squad like this shows we still have tremendous depth in most positions despite always being prone to the foreign raiders who would rather chase our talent than blood their own. Heres hoping the All Blacks have another good Rugby Championship before two crucial test matches in November against England and Ireland.
The way Serena Williams behaved showed how ugly she can get when things arent going her way. When shes winning shes a darling in the eyes of many and she has 23 Grand Slam victories to her name, but when the shoes on the other foot and things arent going her way she has the ability to become a petulant, spoilt brat who cant accept that she can be beaten.The main point of conjecture seems to be the first code violation where Serena was warned for being coached by her coach in the grandstand, who admitted afterwards he was making hand signals to her. The point of conjecture comes from a belief that coaching like this goes on all of the time and that it is not punished consistently, so in that respect it was unfair on Serena.Regardless of whether or not it was fair, Serena just needed to calmly accept it and get on with playing. She didnt and ended up throwing a temper tantrum, destroying a racquet and then losing a game for abusing the chair umpire.The sad thing is that Serenas petulance has taken the gloss off and the spotlight away from the fact that Naomi Osaka, who was just one year old when Serena won her first Grand Slam, has won her first slam herself. The tennis world should be celebrating the achievement but instead it has become embroiled in a ridiculous sexism row perpetrated by a player who threw her toys out of the cot when she couldnt get her own way.
Ironically Serena was the one being sexist by trying to claim sexism against Ramos. The way society has been warped these days, its only sexist if a male says ir does sonething derogatory towards females, but when a female does it to men theres never the same amount of outrage.
We are a fickle bunch. If the All Blacks lose a couple of games and/or dont play well then some of us act like the sky is falling on our heads by demanding immediate change. If the team gets on a winning run, like they were two years ago, the same people are known for complaining about the game being boring. Essentially the All Blacks cant win with these people.Steve Hansen will decide his future on his own terms and he has earned the right to do so. Whatever he chooses to do beyond the 2019 World Cup, he has my backing.
The NZ teams would still probably be playing the ANZ Championship with the Australian teams if theyd dropped a team to condense their player depth, as that depth was stretched too thin with five teams and the result was the NZ teams couldnt win in Australia consistently enough and the Magic won the only title won by a NZ team in the nine seasons the competition ran under a trans-tasman format.Essentially the problems NZ netball faced were similar to those of the ARU in Super Rugby, having too many Super Rugby teams and not enough depth to justify having them. The flow on effect was the Wallabies suffered in quality too, just like the Silver Ferns have suffered in quality in recent years.NZ Netballs other major problem has been being too steadfast in their eligibility rule. The way they denied Laura Langman the chance to still play for the Silver Ferns impacted on the quality of the team. Sure shes just one individual, but shes vastly experienced and her presence on the court was needed during the tough times lately. She is back now but the team is in a rebuilding phase and has a lot of work to do to get back to challenging the English and Australian teams on a regular basis.
No they dont sing. They sound absolutely terrible, comparable to a vacuum cleaner on wheels. They have lost the ability to give the fans the feeling of their hairs standing on the back of their necks when the cars go past.Even the man who has benefited from these engines the most, Lewis Hamilton, hates the noise they make, which tells you something. He also despises the fact theyre limited to just three engines per year. Theyre paid to go racing after all, not trundle round preserving their equipment!
Theyre hardly going to say that the All Blacks are too good for them, but at the same time they can be guilty of talking themselves up too much and not being able to back up the talk on the pitch where it really matters.Also, they havent beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2001 and only twice since they lost the Bledisloe Cup have they taken it to a decider (before losing at Eden Park on both occasions, 2007 and 2015).That being said, theyre still a dangerous side and won the last game between the two sides and the All Blacks will never take them lightly no matter how the Wallabies are traveling.
Conversely, I think we can be too quick to write off the Wallabies. Sure they havent held the Bledisloe Cup since they lost it in 2003 and have only twice since then taken the cup to a deciding match, before losing those deciders that were at Eden Park on both occasions, but they will always remain a dangerous side and won the last fixture between the two great rivals. They also came within a whisker of winning in Dunedin last year before the All Blacks conjured up a magical winning try.Their inability to win against the All Blacks in New Zealand has been their greatest issue. Excluding the 2011 World Cup, they havent won in NZ since 2001. Meanwhile, the All Blacks pick up regular enough wins in Australia to ensure the cup is safe most years.The All Blacks know better than anyone how dangerous a foe the Wallabies can be despite their poor record in the last 15 years, so the ABs will always treat the Wallabies with the utmost respect, even if their hot-headed coach can sometimes fire off wayward and irresponsible accusations towards the All Blacks when his team loses.
This situation was even worse under the even more nonsensical 18 team conference format last year, where the Lions were able to qualify in first place without playing the NZ sides during the regular season. On top of this was the gift wrapping of a home Quarter Final to the Brumbies, who had fewer competition points than all of the NZ sides, even the Blues had more!Quite frankly, the conference formats have left Super Rugby in a giant mess and they will probably continue into the next broadcast deal because SANZAAR care more about making money than common sense.What this flailing competition desperately needs is for the conference formats to be permanently scrapped in favour of a return to a proper round robin. Teams need to be made to EARN their playoff spots on MERIT again after the teams have played each other at least once. No more of this silly gift wrapping of playoff spots and no chance of an imbalanced draw favouring some teams and disadvantaging others.
The Northern Hemisphere have long bleated about how the All Blacks are thugs and cheats and the recent incidents in Super Rugby and in the opening test match have just been more fuel for them to stoke on the fire of NZ rugby hatred that they produce.The reality is that they cant stand that a little nation at the bottom of the world with a small population in comparison to them, can keep consistently beating them at the game they created, so they continue to perpetuate these myths about the way the All Blacks play and even who plays for them, all the while trying to mask their own hypocrisy.
The English team certainly werent saints out there but the Colombian teams behaviour was far worse. They were too cynical and their behaviour was so bad that they even tried scuffing up the penalty kick spot to disadvantage Harry Kane, who scored anyway.The way the Colombians behaved in that game showed the world the ugly side of the beautiful game. FIFA have never really done anything about it and probably prefer a bit of drama like that if it takes attention away from other things that have been going on outside of the players control!
The All Blacks would simply never write off the Wallabies, no matter what state their Australian rivals are in.Only twice since the Bledisloe Cup returned to New Zealand has it been taken to a deciding match and both of those games were at Eden Park (2007 and 2015), a place where the Wallabies havent beaten the All Blacks since 1986.Also, the Wallabies havent beaten the All Blacks anywhere in New Zealand since 2001. That poor record is one of the reasons why they have not held the Bledisloe Cup for so long.The Wallabies have also lost plenty of games against the All Blacks in Australia to open the series each year and that has forced them to try and win in New Zealand to take the cup to a decider, something they nearly did last year.They are capable of beating the All Blacks and won the last test match between the two, but their inability to be consistent has cost them dearly.Despite this inconsistency they will always be a threat and a strong challenge to the All Blacks no matter where they game is being played.
The excerpt from Paul Rees not so subtly suggests that the TMO, Marius Jonker, a former South African referee, conspired to rule the try by Sam Underhill out against the All Blacks, because England escaped without Owen Farrell being penalized for a shoulder hit on the Springbok center last week at the end of the game won by England by one point.
The Chase is a brilliant show because of the chasers and Bradley Walsh. All of the chasers are extremely good but Walsh elevates this show to another level with his ability to laugh. The incident with the German Skier remains the funniest moment on this show but there are plenty of other moments where Walsh has lost his composure to hilarious effect. The bloke with the question about the Lammergeier is another funny moment, as well as the young lady who though a football deflected off an Ice Cream Van into the goal during a Premier League match!
The form versus favouritism debate rages on. Right now Beauden Barrett is the incumbent #10 even if Richie Mounga has outplayed Barrett in Super Rugby recently. Why? Because Barrett has been an All Black for six years now and Mounga has played one festival game against a French XV last year and 12 minutes in the third test against France this year. Mounga just needs time to develop at the top level of the sport as it is a big step up from Super Rugby. He can do it and will eventually challenge Barrett for the starting #10 jersey if he keeps going the way he is.The All Blacks coaches will always pick players who they know can perform for them at the top level, but that doesnt mean that they wont reward form at Super Rugby level. I think they have the balance right between picking form players and players who they trust. They have kept this team at the top of the tree by selecting the squads the way they do so we cant really complain too much about the way they do things.
Nothing but mind games from Nick Mallett. Malcom Marx is a brilliant talent, theres no doubting that, but Im sure hed rather this stuff from Mallett didnt happen in the build up, because he knows that the Crusaders will not engage in the mind games and instead will do their talking on the pitch, the only place where it really matters.
The race cars of today are more showpieces of amazing technology being paraded around for everyone to see how good the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda are, than being genuine race bred cars raced flat out from start to finish.
The author of this article clearly doesnt understand how Steve Hansen operates. Hansen will first and foremost back the players who he knows can perform for him in the team. This is why he backed Beauden Barrett over Richie Mounga and selected Nehe Milner-Skudder ahead of the likes of Ben Lam and George Bridge.The insinuation is that he sticks to his favourites while ignoring form players in Super Rugby, yet he has blooded several dozen new players into the team since he became head coach in 2012 and last year alone had to use about 55 players over the year. So while he will back his incumbents first, he is not afraid to bring new players into the environment, so the argument that he sticks to his favourites all the time holds no weight. He has kept this team at the top of the tree since he took over and clearly has the balance right so we should be 100% behind him and the way he operates.
You are right about the way his family have been fiercely protective of their private life. That can be a double edged sword though because being fiercely private like that leads to speculative comments in the media and they can be tough to read for the family if they do indeed read them.One thing is a definite though. The man Michael Schumacher is today is a shell of his former self after a serious head injury and six months in an induced coma. We will never know the 1 extent of his injuries and the quality of life he now leads, but we have no real business to know either and its up to the family to reveal anything they feel comfortable with revealing. Until then we will keep getting speculative claims from the media.
I think its fair to say that the French lock shouldve only been penalized for his high shot and that Sam Cane shouldve been yellow carded for his, but once again we have a situation where the losing team are happy to sit back and label the All Blacks as cheats/thugs, knowing full well a reaction to the incidents will be ignited.If the All Blacks play with too much aggression the thug claims usually surface. Back in 2005 the rest of the rugby world claimed that Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu deliberately set out to injure Brian ODriscoll as he was the captain of the B&I Lions and their best player. What the incident really was however was a bad cleanout of a ruck that went horribly wrong and left ODriscoll with a dislocated shoulder. The two ABs should have been cited for it but werent, further fueling the anti NZ rugby sentiment.
Two years ago under Michael Cheika, the Wallabies scored just two tries over three games (denied a third by a TMO call) and were a clear second best to the All Blacks, using most of their energy blaming the All Blacks for the bugging scandal, alleged eye-gouge incident and Clown Caricature in the NZ Herald in a feeble attempt to deflect attention away from their own poor performances.Last year they were significantly better, despite a horror first 50 minutes of the first test where they conceded 54 points. They managed to score 12 tries over the three games, went extremely close to breaking their 17 year win-less drought in NZ against the All Blacks, before winning the third test in Brisbane.Much has been made of their poor Super Rugby form having gone on a 40 consecutive game losing streak against the NZ sides before it was finally broken, but there is enough talent in Australia to ensure the Wallabies are competitive, even though they havent held the Bledisloe Cup since they lost it to the All Blacks in 2003. This year should be another year of competitive games, with the third being played in Japan for the first time in nine years.
Only NZ players are thugs who can get away with it, its what the Northern Hemisphere journalists like to fall back on when a NZ player escapes sanction for foul play.
The writer of this article is a sometimes Radio Sports host who relies on negativity to spark a debate. Take for example what happened about a year ago. Back then Watto said that if the All Blacks were to lose to Australia in Brisbane in the dead rubber Bledisloe that he would consider the 2017 season a failure, because of what happened in the Lions tour as well.The Wallabies did win that third game and Wattos reaction was gold. Steve Hansen remarked after the loss that the sun will come up in the morning, reassuring people that a loss to the Wallabies wouldnt bring on Armageddon, yet Watto was most displeased with Hansens comments, going as far as yelling into his microphone: APOLOGIZE TO ME!!!! at one point, because he thinks the All Blacks should win every game 50,000,000 to nil with zero mistakes in each. Tells you all you need to know about this bloke!
We all know that if the All Blacks had scored a try like the one England were denied and it had been given, the likes of Stephen Jones would be howling about how the referees are too in awe of the All Blacks, so essentially people like Jones are hypocrites.There is a pathological hatred of everything about NZ rugby that exists in the UK (but it doesnt mean everyone hates NZ rugby). The likes of Stephen Jones are employed to fuel the anti NZ rugby sentiment and he goes as far as fabricating evidence and claims to prove his points.At the end of the day people like him are easily ignored and he can carry on squealing like a stuck pig if he wants.
Neymar Jrs behaviour is pathetic but he is by no means alone in doing it. His antics have probably been the most blatant of the lot and thats why hes being singled out for it.Diving/simulation is a plague on the game and FIFA wont do anything serious about it because they probably love a bit of controversy/drama, especially if it draws attention away from them given the corruption that has been rife in FIFA in recent years.I do think the referees need to get better at identifying the cheaters in among the genuinely fouled players. Some of the top players are so skilled at the art of simulation that they can make it look like a foul has happened when it really hasnt, while others are just really blatant. If FIFA persists with the VAR technology they maybe they will get better at ratting out the cheaters
Of course the Home Nations would be outraged at statistics like this given theyve been spending decades ignorantly accusing the NZRU of raiding the Pacific Islands while they themselves are the 1 pillagers of the region.
Im a Crusaders fan and Im hoping theyll win, but if theres any team out there that can become the first team to beat the Crusaders in Christchurch in a playoff match its this Hurricanes side.These two teams have been the best in this years competition but because of the stupid format theyre forced to compete in a Semi Final rather than potentially making the Final together. If the Hurricanes win on Saturday night, the Final cant be in Wellington despite the Canes having accumulated the second highest competition points overall, because the Lions and Waratahs were ranked higher as their respective conference winners. So if we want the Final to be in New Zealand the Crusaders have to win the Semi Final.This format has long been ridiculous and it simply has to be scrapped in favour of a return to a proper round robin format from 2020 and beyond. With the round robin it means everyone plays everyone else at least once and the best teams have EARNED their playoff spots on MERIT. The conference formats have contributed to a drop in standards in Australia and South Africa and giving a team each from their respective conferences automatic entry into the playoffs has caused too many problems for Super Rugby.
The problem with your comment is that Courtney Lawes never retired behind the hindmost foot and it was clear and obvious that he was offside, hence why the TMO overruled Garces initial decision.Clearly you are an English fan and if the All Blacks had been given a match winning try like that youd be saying the complete opposite, such is your bias against NZ rugby.
Ahh yes could you imagine the outrage across the ditch if they were told two of their legendary music icons, John Farnham and Jimmy Barnes, were born in the UK?
I love the piece from Paul Rees where he not so subtly suggests that the TMO (Marius Jonker) conspired to deny England the match winning score because he is South African and England had won by one point at the end against the Springboks the previous week, with Owen Farrells shoulder on the Springbok center not being punished when some thought it was a penalty offence.
The piece from Paul Rees not so subtly suggests that Marius Jonker, a former South African referee, conspired to rule the try out as some sort of payback for England escaping with the win over the Springboks the previous week after Owen Farrell didnt use his arms to tackle the Springbok center at the end of the game, meaning England escaped with a one point win.The lengths some of these writers in the UK will go to to garner click bait is incredible sometimes.
That was a fantastic match this morning but Spain will not be happy to only draw with two thirds of possession of the football.Christiano Ronaldo showed what a Talisman he is for Portugal, winning a penalty (which was legitimate), scoring a goal from a goal keeping howler and then the stunningly good free kick (which he certainly milked from the referee by going down too easily under the challenge of Gerard Pique).
I find it funny how the players are expected to give a speech about fair play before every game at the World Cup and then we see stuff like one of the Colombian players attempting to create a divet on the penalty spot in an attempt to make it difficult for England to convert the penalty, which they did anyway. So far Ive heard nothing from FIFA about them questioning the Colombian team about their behaviour in that game, which leads me to believe that they like a bit of controversy on the field as long as it keeps the spotlight off themselves and whatever shady deals they might be up to.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are considered as the two best current Footballers on the planet but their personalities are contrastingly different. Messi is a humble human being capable of being a team man and Ronaldo knows how popular he is and it fuels his ego, making him act like hes the star of the show and that people should take notice.
Yes definitely, thats one thing I didnt mention in my article, the way the referee gets crowded when he makes a contentious call. It just doesnt look good and we have to assume that all sorts of petulant insults are aimed in the direction of referees in this moment. It beggars belief that FIFA still wont do anything about it.
Id be amazed if Serena owned up to her petulant, spoilt brat behaviour that completely took the limelight away from a 20 year old Japanese/American player whod won her first Grand Slam, convincingly beating her idol in the process.
It has been fascinating over this month how quickly some have been prepared to throw one of our most successful coaches (Steve Hansen) out with yesterdays fish and chip paper because they believe people like Mark Watson who has spouted nonsense about Hansen becoming stale, with that belief backed up by the results against England and Ireland.Well have to wait and see what Hansen decides before Christmas as to whether or not he stays on beyond the 2019 World Cup. For him he has been in the environment since 2004, in which time there have been two Lions tours to NZ, one successful, the other not, and three World Cups, the first of which saw our earliest ever exit from a tournament, followed by winning the next two. The All Blacks have also won 11 out of the 15 Tri Nations/Rugby Championships since he became involved.Theres no doubt that Joe Schmidt has the credentials and maybe his decision to retire from the sport after the World Cup is his way of quietening down the speculation? Its more likely hell be 1 to his word and retire from the game for good after the World Cup.So if Hansen goes after the World Cup and Schmidt isnt going to replace him, then the odds are that Ian Foster is the front runner, which Im sure will cause mass hysteria if he does indeed become head coach of the All Blacks!
Theres no doubting the Lions are a very good side but they have benefited greatly from SANZAARs ridiculous conference formats and also a drop in standards from the more traditional powerhouse South African sides.Last years competition in particular was seen as a great farce because of the fact that the Lions qualified for the playoffs in first place while avoiding playing the NZ sides. Therefore the Crusaders saved SANZAAR some major embarrassment by winning the Final in Johannesburg.The Lions cant be blamed for benefiting from the crazy conference formats and all they can do is play whos in front of them. In that respect they are worthy Final opponents for the Crusaders in 2018.
Tensions have been simmering away again this week with Steve Hansen expressing his disappointment at the Wallabies appearing to deliberately avoid staying behind to be a part of Sam Whitelocks 100th test match celebration. Im sure a number of their players congratulated him before they left though so its not like they completely ignored him.The disappointment from Hansen is born from the fact that the All Blacks in recent years under his watch have begun offering players from rival teams a bottle of champagne as a token of respect for reaching the 100 test milestone. In 2014 they gave former Springboks Jean De Villiers and Bryan Habana a bottle each and then later on in the year they gave former Wallaby Adam Ashley-Cooper one too.What this shows is that the All Blacks are prepared to maintain a level of respect with their opposition but the Wallabies in particular since Michael Cheika became coach, have adopted a a siege mentality of sorts and are less interested in maintaining a level of respect away from the field. Clearly the Australian rugby public have become tired of the way the team are conducting themselves under Cheikas watch but I dont think the ARU will sack him a year out from the World Cup unless things turn really sour internally over there.
I heard John Lacey say hed seen a grounding but wanted to check. The TMO, George Ayoub couldnt see any footage of the grounding and instead of trusting his initial instinct, the referee went with the TMOs call.
Seems like the judiciary were indeed swayed by sentimentality. They obviously figured the storm of controversy that wouldve followed Billy Slater being suspended from the Grand Final in his last ever game was going to be much bigger than the storm of controversy that will follow him being let off what looked like an obvious shoulder charge to prevent Sharks player Sosaia Feki from scoring, so they went for the lesser of two evils and have allowed Slater a chance of a fairy tale farewell.There has always been a suspicion that the judiciary are more lenient on the star players in the NRL, especially if theyre Australian. Its like theres some fear that if they do the right thing and ban star players, especially if theres a critical game within the suspension period, like a State of Origin or NRL playoff, that theyll diminish the spectacle somehow because the fans would be robbed of the chance to see their favourite players in action, so the judiciary err on the side of caution and let the star players play. The only notable exception to this would be Cameron Smith being banned from the Semi Final and Grand Final in 2008, which caused him to whine like a petulant, brat. He is a player who rarely gets into trouble with the judiciary but is suspected of getting away with a lot on the field.
It feels like some people are behaving like the world is going to end because the All Blacks lost a game. These people are intent on finding 1001 reasons why the defeat happened rather than doing the right thing and congratulating the Irish for a game well played.Since the loss there have been calls to sack the captain, the coach, fix this, fix that and its all becoming a bit tedious if you ask me. Sure the last two games have been difficult to watch but the All Blacks arent perfect and cant be expected to win every game 50,000,000 to nil while making no errors. When they do get on a winning run playing good rugby the calls start happening that rugby is becoming too boring, so these people are just too negative.The All Blacks have been the clear benchmark team since 2010 and only now are they being genuinely challenged by the likes of Ireland, South Africa and England. Its good for the game to be honest and losing the odd test match here and there is not a bad thing really, as it allows the team to learn from where they went wrong. Its better they lose games now than in the World Cup where knock out rugby does some wacky things to even the best teams.
I can only guess that Neymar was desperate because it happened near the end of the game when the game was still goalless. Thankfully the VAR was able to see through the ruse and reversed the penalty decision. Brazil ended up winning the game anyway but this pathetic behaviour from Neymar undermines the result.The top players are on megabuck salaries and so monetary fines will mean nothing to them. Suspending them for a minimum of two games, with suspensions increasing in length for recidivist offenders might just make the players think twice before engaging in these theatrics.It can be tricky for the officials to adjudicate on because a lot of the time a foul has actually been committed and the player on the receiving end has exaggerated the contact and some players are clever enough to go down at the right time to make the dive look more convincing to the referees as a genuine foul.
I dont think theyll tinker with the lineup too much as they will have enough respect for the Pumas.I think Beauden Barrett well and truly put his doubters in their place over the last fortnight. He is the best #10 in the world at the moment and hes back in form too.Richie Mounga will get his chance and it may well come in the next game in Nelson. Back during the rotation era the All Blacks admitted that despite all of the rotating of players, they didnt give former All Black Nick Evans enough of an opportunity at the test match level as there was no doubt he was capable of playing there. The reliance on Dan Carter won them a lot of test matches but they didnt give the players behind him enough game time and thats one of the reasons why Evans left for the Harlequins in England in 2008. Im sure theyre a lot wiser now and wont make that mistake again, so the Mounga fans just need to be patient.
Luke McAlister was a gifted player who perhaps went overseas too soon in his career and that impacted his ability to perform at the test match level when he returned briefly.Despite the questions about why Aaron Mauger was left in the stands in the 2007 Quarter Final loss to France, McAlister was one of the few All Blacks to fire any shots and was also named man of the match afterwards, scoring a try and then being ridiculously sin binned by Wayne Barnes, a moment that gave France momentum in the game.When McAlister was rushed back into the All Blacks in 2009 he was absolutely roasted by the public and media after throwing an intercept pass that France scored a match winning try from. Ironically a few months later Dan Carter threw an intercept pass that proved the match winner for the Springboks, yet there was no criticism of Carters mistake, showing how untouchable he appeared to be at the time.After that McAlisters career here faltered and he left in 2011 to resume his career in Europe.
Four years ago on in that same stadium, TMO George Ayoub gave referee Jaco Peyper the go ahead to award England a try when Mike Brown crossed over but hehad his own arm under the ball and didnt appear to place the ball on the ground at any stage, so now weve seen him rule one each way. Thankfully that decision four years ago didnt cost the All Blacks the game as they won by a single point.
Totally agree with you mal2. The outrage to the ball tampering scandal was significantly amplified by all of the nasty, poor behaviour and tactics the Australian mens cricket team had used in the pursuit of victories over the last few decades. They had no idea just how big the reaction to them being caught ball tampering would be.Some former players, like Shane Warne for example, are not keen on the team changing its poor culture too much because up until the tour to South Africa they were getting away with the way they were playing and it brought them a lot of success. The cricketing world have shown however that enough is enough and this team is going to be under significantly more scrutiny from now on in regards to how they conduct themselves on and away from the cricket field.
Ironically the series that the Mazda 787B race car was involved in (Group C racing) was canned because the cars were becoming more and more popular and were threatening F1s perch at the top of the Motorsport tree. The FIA also decreed the cars were becoming too dangerous but most people will say they didnt want the Group C cars becoming more popular than the F1 cars.
Benjamin Fall mightve jumped in the air but his jump was a half-hearted one and he put Beauden Barrett in a very dangerous position as a result. Therefore it was a red card all day.I roll my eyes in annoyance at those who claim that the cards ruin games as spectacles. At test match level its an incredibly rare thing to see a game playing out as a spectacle of running rugby and so I think a lot of people need to lower their expectations somewhat.The All Blacks made a lot of errors but prevailed in the game and won the series. At the end of the day I dont care if they win games 6-3 or 63-0, as long as they win most of them.
After the Portugal vs Spain group game everyone raved about Cristiano Ronaldo, whose hat-trick salvaged a draw for Portugal, particularly around the free kick just outside the penalty box that he scored to tie the game at the end. No one seemed to mention the fact he went to ground over a tiny amount of contact to win the free kick, so to an extent, I felt sorry for Gerard Pique, the player who contacted Ronaldo.I believe that the referees can issue yellow cards to players who theyve figured out have dived. Its a little bit more difficult to penalise the incidents where players exaggerate the amount of contact in order to win a free kick or penalty and get the opposition player sanctioned. The referees just need to get better at identifying the players who are genuinely fouled and taken off their feet, compared to the ones who go down from a tiny piece of contact.
As to be expected there is a lot of backside covering going on and its hardly surprising the lead bowlers have continued to deny any knowledge of the plot instigated by Davey Dumb Dumb to tamper with the ball to get it to swing.This team had been getting away with god knows what over the last few decades and were known to push and overstep the boundaries of fair play more than anyone else to try and win. It is this attitude that led to the significant backlash to the ball tampering being exposed and they have a lot of hard work ahead of them repairing decades of damage. Its not going to be easy for them to change their culture given they were highly successful with the way they were playing, but they will be under a lot more scrutiny than anyone else from now on and cant afford another backlash.
Delboy67, Courtney Lawes never retired behind the hindmost foot so he was offside regardless if an All Black had shifted position. Learn the rules buddy.
The Wallabies of 2017 were a better side than the 2016 team who were well beaten in the three games against the All Blacks. The 2017 Wallabies side, despite conceding 54 points in as many minutes in the first game in Sydney, nearly won the second game in Dunedin and did win the third test in Brisbane.The 2016 year was shrouded by the controversial bug scandal in the All Blacks Sydney Hotel and saw a break down in relations between the All Blacks and Wallabies, with Wallaby coach Michael Cheika going as far as claiming the All Blacks were accusing them of planting it. Then there was the clown caricature in the NZ Herald that Cheika also foolishly claimed the All Blacks were behind.The Wallabies may have had a poor record in the last 15 years against the All Blacks but they will forever remain a dangerous foe and the All Blacks themselves would never take them lightly and will be looking to make a statement in the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup opener in Sydney.
The point that Hamish Bidwell is trying to make is that IF the Crusaders lose to the Hurricanes on Saturday, the Canes cannot host the Final. Why? Because the Lions and Waratahs were ranked ahead of them as their respective conference winners, despite both of them having accumulated fewer competition points than the Canes during the regular season.This situation under the conference formats continues to make a mockery of a once great competition and simply must change from 2020 and beyond. The change has to be to return Super Rugby to a proper round robin format. That way everyone plays everyone else at least once, preventing the imbalanced draws the conferences provide, with the playoffs decided by the overall table, thus ensuring the BEST teams have EARNED their playoff spot on MERIT. The current situation is harming Super Rugby badly.
In recent years the relationship between the Wallabies and All Blacks has soured somewhat, particularly during the reign of the lunatic coach Michael Cheika. This breakdown in relations has been mostly driven by frustration across the ditch inside the worlds largest prison about their inability to win back the Bledisloe Cup. 2016 saw things reach their peak and after three consecutive (and heavy) defeats, Cheika tore into the All Blacks after each game blaming them for anything he could think of as a way to deflect attention away from his own teams shortcomings. The Wallabies were a better side in 2017 but still couldnt get their hands on the Bledisloe Cup.Victories over the All Blacks have become so rare since the All Blacks won back the Bledisloe, that the Wallabies have resorted to celebrating excessively and gloating whenever they do pick up a win. The only time between the two nations that the All Blacks have genuinely celebrated a win was the 2015 World Cup Final where they deserved to.That gloating by the Wallabies following on from the final game defeat to them last year clearly hurt the All Blacks and theres no doubt theyll be wanting to hit the ground running in Sydney next weekend by beating their rivals again.
You guys are really bad at playing down the importance of a sport like rugby, one of the few team sports NZ teams can dominate their Aussie rivals in. We know all too well how quickly things will change when the Wallabies finally win back the Bledisloe. All of a sudden itll be Australias favourite team sport lol
The whole setup, from the conference systems to the rigged playoff formats have become a real turn off for a lot of people and its all a result of SANZAAR chasing money at the expense of Super Rugbys integrity.They seriously need to hit the reset button and go back to a proper round robin format. That way everyone plays everyone else at least once and the best teams EARN their playoff spots on MERIT.I have no doubt in my mind that the current setup has contributed to the decline in standards in South Africa and Australia, by having too many derby games and not enough against the teams in other countries. Theyre not helped by one team from their conferences being gifted a home playoff game either.The round robin format therefore is the best way forward for this ailing competition and we would see the best teams genuinely making the playoffs without any controversy. It is the only logical way forward for Super Rugby and if they continue to ignore the growing calls for its return in favour of the ridiculous conferences, they may just finally kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
The Wallabies were better in 2017 than they were in 2016 and will always remain a threat to the All Blacks, but the All Blacks have almost always had that mental edge over their rivals and thats why they have been able to hang onto the Bledisloe Cup for so long.In fact only twice since the All Blacks won it back has the cup been taken to a decider, in 2007 and 2015. Both of those deciders were at Eden Park, a stadium that the Wallabies havent won at against the All Blacks since 1986, a stadium that will be the venue next weekend too. The Wallabies havent beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2001 too, another reason why the Bledisloe drought has been so long.The All Blacks were under par the last time the two teams met in 2017 and the Wallabies played well to win in Brisbane. The All Blacks will be looking to hit the ground running in 2018 with a strong performance in Sydney, to force the Wallabies to have to win in New Zealand to take the cup to a decider in Japan this year.
Mark Reason was right, the only clear and obvious example of sexism in this whole fiasco was Serena Williams trying to claim that Carlos Ramos was being sexist.She did it because she has become extremely narcissistic and unable to see or admit when she gets it wrong.Ramos saw Williams coach making hand signals and so was within his rights to give her a warning (code violation one). From there Williams orchestrated her own downfall by first destroying a racket (code violation two) and then launching an incredibly stupid verbal tirade at Ramos (code violation three), which included her calling him a thief and a cheat, telling him that hell never umpire on HER COURT again and above all else, attempting to call him sexist because he was a male umpire giving her a game penalty because she is a woman.Her success in the sport has allowed her ego to inflate to such a level that she believes she is untouchable and can do whatever she wants. She has form at the US Open as it is anyway. Twice before this years tournament she got herself in hot water for temper tantrums, including once threatening a line umpire for calling a foot fault on her when she was serving.She is seen as a goddess like figure in the game and it was totally unsurprising to see so many Americans blindly defending her and of course the misandry aimed at Ramos was completely disgusting.
Petone cafe owner upset at being attacked by mums with prams
This just smacks of a small, vocal minority wanting to ruin it for everyone else while they get their own way. Unfortunately people pander to these idiots far too often.
Mark Reason: Serena's sexism reflects America's culture of misandry
Well written Mark. Society has become so warped these days. The feminist movement, who claim theyre striving for equality and an end to misogyny, often end up becoming as bad as the very thing they despise, by using blatant misandry to get their points across.Serena Williams behaviour was absolutely disgusting and the attempt to accuse Carlos Ramos of sexism was her showing her narcissistic personality.She acts like she is a goddess of the tennis world and that she is above reproach. She has form at the US Open too; this is the third time she has been in the spotlight for being abusive to the officials there.As far as I can remember, she has never apologized for her behaviour in the past and so far has stuck with her outrageous sexism claim, so we wont be expecting her to accept she was wrong any time soon.The saddest thing of all is that Japans first ever Grand Slam winner, Naomi Osaka has almost been forgotten about because Williams petulance and 0 accusations have taken the spotlight completely away from her.
Steve Hansen and Jacques Brunel bang heads over Damian McKenzie try
Even if there was conjecture about the first of Damian McKenzies tries, hardly anyone seems to be questioning the other call in the second half that denied Shannon Frizzell a debut try. Frizzell thought hed scored under the posts and the referee, John Lacey, went to the TMO saying hed seen a grounding but wanted to check it. The TMO, George Ayoub, then reported back that he couldnt see a grounding and so the referee effectively overruled himself by following his TMOs advice rather than trusting his gut and awarding a try.
Clearly onside - English media berate call that cost England win against All Blacks
If the All Blacks had been awarded that try when one of our players was clearly not behind the hind most foot when he went for the charge down, you can be sure the UK media would be ripping into the officials for awarding a try they shouldnt have.The UK media should be more worried about why England couldnt push on and win after racing out to a 15-0 lead in very wet conditions that suited them more than it did the All Blacks.I suppose us All Blacks fans could consider this karma after Jerome Garces was heavily involved in the decision to turn a penalty offence into a knock on in the deciding moment of the third British and Irish Lions test last year, that denied the All Blacks a penalty shot to win the game.
MasterChef Australia: Why this season is the best yet
I like Australian Masterchef. Its the only cooking and reality tv show that I actually watch. I always enjoy the sense of camaraderie that develops between the contestants despite the fact theyre competing with each other to be crowned champion. The three judges, Gary Meghan, Matt Preston and George Calombaris are excellent and the special guest judges they bring in are always good.On a side note, you mentioned the incident in the A-League Grand Final two years ago, where Calombaris shoved a young man in the crowd and was subsequently charged with assault. What youre conveniently forgetting is that this young man made insensitive comments about Calombaris family, while being goaded to by the people around him. Sure, Calombaris shouldve just ignored this idiot and walked away but can you really blame him for wanting to defend his familys honour? Of course he copped the blame because hes a celebrity chef and supposed role model for the younger generation, while the idiot in the crowd insulting his family got no punishment.
Mark Reason: Liam Squires let-off after disgraceful showing indicates fantasy world
This seems like another Reason beat up about how NZ rugby players are thugs who can get away with it.This same journalist praised the physicality of the British and Irish Lions last year against the All Blacks, yet he never made the same noises about Sean OBrien getting away with striking Waisake Naholo in the head, an action that left the All Blacks winger concussed and subsequently scrubbed from the deciding test.The word hypocrisy springs to mind here after reading this article.
Tennis umpire at centre of Serena Williams' sexist claims hid in hotel
I really feel for Carlos Ramos. He ruled to the letter of the law but is facing criticism because too many people have blindly backed Serena Williams stance.Williams is just a petulant, spoilt brat who cant handle it when things dont go her way. She is also incredibly narcissistic because she refuses to accept accountability when she gets it wrong and makes it someone elses fault.Its extremely disgusting that she turned her confrontation with Ramos into a sexism issue and while she was fined for her behaviour, the fine is not a proper punishment and she will carry on believing she was wronged even though she was the one in the wrong.
Allowing big hits like Owen Farrells is bad for rugby
The first point of contact is shoulder on shoulder and no, Farrell never wrapped his arms around Esterhuizen, so at worst it was a yellow card offence and at least it shouldve been given as a penalty to the Springboks. As far as I know a player cant be cited unless an incident is considered to be breaching the red card threshold, so Farrell was always going to be cleared to play the All Blacks after that tackle.
Mark Reason: How I hate the TMO
This has to be the most predictable article to appear on this website yet. Of course Reason was going to come out from under his rock to slander the TMO for taking the game from his beloved England side, even though the TMO made the correct call and was backed up by World Rugby. The reality is that there are some English media types who are gutted that the team blew a golden opportunity to get a rare win over the #1 ranked team so they are putting the boot into the TMO rather than ask why England didnt win after being 15-0 ahead.The irony of all ironies was the penalty that gave England field position to score their second try. The penalty was blown after either Damian McKenzie or Beauden Barrett played the ball from an offside position after the other had lost the ball forward in an aerial contest with English wing Chris Ashton. The irony comes from the fact the referee on the weekend, Jerome Garces, was heavily involved in the awful error in the deciding British and Irish Lions test last year to turn a penalty for playing the ball in an offside position from a knock on from a kick into just a scrum. This journalist went on record congratulating the officials for that poor decision that left the test and the series drawn.
The All Blacks are entitled to a bit of praise for seeing off tough Pumas side
So the All Blacks won by scoring six tries to three but so many people would rather be negative and act like the final score was 6-3.Two weeks ago the rugby is boring mob had crawled out from under their rocks after the All Blacks completed back-to-back Bledisloe Cup wins to safely secure the cup for another year.We are so cynical as rugby fans and will always focus on the negatives rather than just simply sitting back and enjoying the fact we have an amazing team to support who are playing very well at the moment.For me I dont care if they win games by 6-3 or 63-0, as long as they win most of them.
All Blacks run away from French with seven-try second-half explosion
I think that the All Blacks were the better side and were always going to win the game, but theres no doubt that the incorrectly awarded yellow card for France allowed the All Blacks to take control of the game and the floodgates opened from there.To make matters worse for the officials they blundered the Sam Cane high shot which should have been a yellow card at minimum. No doubt Mark Reason will launch into the referee for favouring the All Blacks, regardless of the fact the referee is English like Reason.
North Canterburys shame on you parking warrior comes forward
I dont mind people standing up for the rights of mobility parkers to use the mobility parks, as long as they dont get judgmental and assume that disabilities are visible only. It is a mistake regularly made by these carparking vigilantes, some of whom dont even bother to check the dashboard to make sure the permit is being displayed before ripping into people who are legally using the parks.My father has had two severe head injuries, the second of which allowed him to gain access to the mobility parking permit. On a few occasions where he has asked me to park his car in a mobility park for him I have been confronted by people who see me as able bodied and question my right to use the park. None of them bothered to look at the dashboard to see the mobility permit being correctly displayed, or even my father, whos disability is indeed very visible. I simply would never use the parks if he was not with me.The classic saying look before you leap applies here.
Bledisloe olive branch: Wallabies to join All Blacks for post-match beer
In 2010 the All Blacks, wanting to bring back an old school value along the lines of enemies on the field and mates away from it, decided to invite the opposing team into their changing room for a beer after a game. The Wallabies initially accepted the invitation after the game in Christchurch but when the then coach, Robbie Deans got wind of it, he stopped them from attending and the All Blacks were left a bit bitter by it. At the time it was the ninth consecutive defeat to the All Blacks and Deans obviously felt that being matey with the ABs after a game was not what they needed.Later that year when the Wallabies finally broke the losing streak in Hong Kong they invited the ABs into their changing rooms for a beer after the game but the All Blacks were left with the feeling that the Wallabies just wanted to gloat at them after theyd pinched the victory from the ABs at the death.Over the last couple of years things have gotten out of hand a bit, especially because of the tumultuous 2016 year, so hearing that the two sides are happy to have a beer with each other after the game regardless of the result is fantastic and shows that most of the animosity portrayed is driven by the media hoping to throw the cat in among the pigeons.
Did Serena Williams really expect to get away with calling Carlos Ramos a 'liar and a thief'?
Serena Williams showed the world her petulant arrogance when she lost to Naomi Osaka. She also showed the world how she thinks shes bigger than the game, evidenced by her telling the umpire that hell never officiate on HER court again. She also showed the world that shes the ultimate narcissist unable to accept when shes done something wrong and instead will shift the blame onto anything or anyone else but herself.The worst thing about her behaviour was her attempt to turn being properly punished by chair umpire Carlos Ramos into a sexism issue when it clearly wasnt. This is the lengths an egotistical narcissist will go to to escape blame for something that was clearly their fault only.Sadly she is seen as a darling in the States at least and naturally many of her fans there have backed her claims even if some of them are probably questioning why theyre doing it. Im sure Williams knew that she would be backed up by a lot of people and that obviously fueled her desire to blame everyone else but herself for losing.The saddest thing out of all of this is the fact that Osakas maiden Grand Slam triumph has been overshadowed by the mass egotists arrogant petulance. There has been barely any talk in the media about Osaka winning her first slam and instead we have been subjected to a barrage of articles either attacking or defending Williams behaviour.
Lions coach Swys de Bruin blasts Kiwi Super Rugby 'moaners'
Im sure he knows the Lions benefited quite well from the farcical 18 team conference format and this years revised 15 team one. In fact the Lions last year qualified in first place without having to face a single NZ side until the playoffs, with the Brumbies also getting a home playoff despite having scored fewer competition points than all of the NZ sides.The problem with the format isnt about who travels the most its the format itself. It is geared to reward mediocrity by allowing conference winners automatic entry into the playoffs and has seen the standards drop in South Africa and Australia as a result.The round robin format is the only logical way forward for Super Rugby. Make teams qualify for the playoffs on merit again. It doesnt matter where theyre from, if theyre good enough theyll get there. Its the only way to lift the standards of the South African and Australian teams again. Sure they might take a few years to regain their competitiveness and itll probably benefit the NZ sides for a while, but in the long run having a round robin format will be better for Super Rugby than the ridiculousness the conferences provide now.
Magnitude 5.2 earthquake centred near Nelson shakes lower North Island
Good little rocking shake here in Nelson. Have to laugh at the title of this article though, saying a quake centered in Picton (in the South Island) shakes lower North Island ;-)
"Plans for $1.8 billion Auckland waterfront stadium unveiled",
Whats the point of building a new stadium when theyre intending to put residential apartments next to it? I wouldve thought the whole point of building a new stadium away from Eden Park would be to get it away from the residential areas so that theyre not restricted by how many times theyre allowed to use it, particularly at night?
Mark Reason: Liam Squires let-off after disgraceful showing indicates fantasy world
You are absolutely correct. The success of NZ rugby players at Super Rugby and International levels has seen a lot of petty jealousy come from the Northern Hemisphere in particular and as a result they like to fuel the flames by continually calling the NZ players cheats and thugs, yet turn a blind eye to whats happening in their own backyard.Some of them will even fabricate things to fuel this anti All Blacks sentiment. For example, Stephen Jones claimed that Owen Franks had eye-gouged Kane Douglas two years ago in the Wellington Bledisloe Cup match despite it being clear and obvious that Franks hands had been over the eyes of Douglas only and not once had he attempted to gouge the Wallaby. He knew there was no real evidence of an eye-gouge but ran the story anyway knowing hed fuel the anti All Blacks sentiment big time. Of course he got his desired result even though Franks was cleared of eye-gouging.
All Blacks captain Kieran Read needs support in fight to change Super Rugby format
The conference formats have been unfathomably stupid since they were introduced and have left Super Rugby in a precarious state.The main problems have been around a perception of a fairer draw for some, a dilution of talent in Australia and South Africa, a higher injury toll in NZ, as well as a nonsensical playoff format that rewards mediocrity (like last year when the Brumbies were awarded a home playoff despite having accumulated less competition points than ALL of the NZ sides).How have we reached this stage? Money. SANZAAR have been so focused on making money theyve turned a once great competition into a giant farce.How do they fix it? They need to bite the bullet and accept that their drive for more money was wrong and that they need to hit the reset button and return Super Rugby to a proper round robin format. Make teams get to the playoffs on merit again. Have everyone play everyone else at least once during the regular season. Really its not hard SANZAAR!
Kiwi Grand Slam semifinalist Belinda Cordwell rejects Serena's sexism call
As great a player as Serena Williams has been, moments like this show the ugly side of her personality. When she gets like this she becomes an entitled, spoilt brat who cant take it when shes losing. Serena then trying to make the confrontation with the chair umpire a sexism issue because the chair umpire was male is absolutely disgusting and designed to fuel the misandry towards men.She may or may not have noticed her coach doing hand signals but the chair umpire did and was quite within his rights to issue a code violation. From there Serenas petulant arrogance proved to be the rest of her undoing.The sad thing is that the focus after the match has been on Serenas behaviour and that has taken the gloss off Naomi Osakas maiden Grand Slam triumph.
All Blacks reset their killer instinct in search of even more Aussie Bledis-woe
So far the build up has been good between the two sides. Two years ago things got really sour between the two nations with the listening device scandal and the clown caricature cartoon igniting plenty of fury from Wallaby coach Michael Cheika, while the All Blacks were a level above the Wallabies on the field for three convincing wins.Last year, despite a horror first 50 minutes in Sydney, the Wallabies were vastly improved. They came oh so close to breaking a then 16 year win less drought in NZ against the All Blacks before being overrun and losing their chance to take the Bledisloe Cup to a decider.That third game was coined as a dead rubber by the media but the Wallabies outplayed the All Blacks on the night and deservedly won the game.There will be plenty of intrigue in the build up to the first game and hopefully we get a great contest on Saturday night between the two nations (with the All Blacks winning of course).
Has the spectacle of Formula One become too quiet?
Well they already have Formula E for that!
Naked photo 'all for laughs': Rugby sevens world champion Kurt Baker
As long as he didnt leave a Trail of something on the back of Joass head I dont have a problem with a photo like this :-0
Chair umpire's sexist power play ruins powerful US Open women's final
Pretty poor article loaded with lots of misandry.Serena Williams acted like a petulant, entitled brat to chair umpire Carlos Ramos who was quite within his right to issue the code violations he did. Serena lost her cool because she is heading to the end of her career and is one Grand Slam win title win behind Margaret A. Court and so is desperate to at least equal her. That desperation got the better of her in the 2018 US Open Final.Unsurprisingly opinion is divided on whether she was right or wrong. Some are defending her because she has done a lot of great things for womens tennis, but she has history of behaving in a petulant, entitled brat manner in the past and so others are putting the boot into her.Undoubtedly Serena was way out of line with her behaviour in this Final and she has been rightfully punished.
Stage looks set for Richie Mo'unga to get a crack at following the Barrett Show
I think Steve Hansen has to give Richie Mounga a shot at the #10 jersey against the Pumas (who did well to beat the Springboks on the weekend).Theres no doubt that Beauden Barrett is the best #10 in the world right now. Dan Carter in his prime years was easily the best #10 in the world and because of that they relied on him a lot and won many games. During the time that Nick Evans was involved in the All Blacks they didnt give him enough opportunities and this was the time period where rotation was a key part of their game plan to build depth. Evans got tired of being in Carters shadow and decided to leave for Harlequins in England.So the All Blacks will play Barrett as often as they can in the #10 jersey but they do need to find a good balance to keep Richie Mounga and Damian McKenzie up to speed so they can slot seamlessly into the jersey when Barrett is unavailable.
Red card mars All Blacks match with France down to 14-men from the 12th minute
And if they retain both of those trophies youll congratulate them? Hypocritical much?
Mark Reason: Serena's sexism reflects America's culture of misandry
Indeed. She tried to make herself look like the victim when she was really the villain.
Steve Hansen has been the greatest All Blacks coach - emphasis on has been
In his mind being a radio presenter come sports journalist is damned hard :-)
Mark Reason: Liam Squires let-off after disgraceful showing indicates fantasy world
Theres an All Blacks test match coming up this weekend and the referee is one who is relatively inexperienced. This is classic Reason click bait aimed at putting the spotlight on NZ players. Remember he made a name for himself seven years ago on the eve of the World Cup here with his article that was titled: McCaws a cheat.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen puts brakes on Richie Mo'unga bandwagon
There is always a disconnect between fans and the All Blacks coaches over form players. The fans always want to see form players get rewarded with call ups to the All Blacks. For example, Ben Lam, who ended up breaking the record for most tries in a Super Rugby season was wanted for an All Blacks call up in June but Reiko Ioane had become the incumbent and Shag will always back an incumbent ahead of a player in great Super Rugby form who hasnt played a test match.A similar thing happened with Aaron Cruden, who promptly left for France once he realized that Beauden Barrett had usurped him in the #10 jersey. Cruden began the 2016 season as the incumbent after Dan Carter had left for France too, but was quickly overtaken by Barrett, who went on to win consecutive player of the year awards from World Rugby.During the French series when Barrett got concussed in the red card collision incident, it was clear that Damain McKenzie was seen as the next cab off the ranks and he responded by having a brilliant game in Dunedin. McKenzie had had a full season in the All Blacks environment and Richie Mounga had just a brief taste of what it was like at the end of the year. Mounga is a brilliant player and looked at home when he came off the bench in the third French test. He just needs to keep doing what hes doing and hell eventually force Shag and co to pick him to start.
Has the spectacle of Formula One become too quiet?
The V8 or V10 engines are still a significantly better option than what we have now. Why? Its simply because these current V6 engines are too complicated and too expensive, leading to prospective engine suppliers being reluctant to enter the sport and drivers driving within themselves to preserve their equipment.These two things have massively contributed to a dull spectacle where only two or three teams can win races. For three of the years the sport was left with just two teammates duking it out for the title, which was very bad for the sport.What the sport so desperately needs is a significantly simplified engine formula, one that encourages more suppliers to join and allows the drivers more freedom to race. Formula One is a sport and as such is part of the entertainment industry. The noise the cars make is every bit a part of that spectacle and in that respect the current engines have failed badly.
No right or wrong answer in Serena case, but Julia Gillard had a point
The fallout from the womens final has been as ugly as the incidents in the final themselves. I have no doubt in my mind that Serena Williams behaved in a disgracefully poor manner and has taken the spotlight away from Naomi Osaki, who won the match and the title, her first.Williams has a history of poor, petulant, bully-like behaviour, especially at the US Open. The way she behaved after Carlos Ramos warned her for being coached by her coach via hand signals was completely disgusting but Williams is such a narcissist that she refused to accept blame for it and instead perpetrated nonsense about sexism and perhaps even racism in order to turn the heat on the umpire and away from her.Most people though saw through her actions and she has been widely condemned for her behaviour. Her ego is so inflated that I doubt shell ever apologise for her behaviour and poor old Osaki will likely not receive the acclaim she deserves for winning the title.
Mark Reason: Richie Mo'unga call shows All Blacks are mouldy in comparison to Crusaders
The All Blacks coaches have a very specific way about how they do things. It obviously works because they have remained top of the tree at international level for the last nine years and in that time have won two World Cups.They will always pick players who they know can perform for them in test matches. So why is he preferring Beauden Barrett ahead of Damian McKenzie and Richie Mounga right now? Because Barrett has the most experience at test match level, followed by McKenzie then Mounga. Its as simple as that. Either McKenzie or Mounga will end up challenging Barrett for the #10 jersey at some point once both have gained a good amount of experience at the test match level.The way they select their squads doesnt mean that theyll ignore form players and in his six and a bit years in charge Hansen has introduced dozens of new players into the environment, many of whom are in form and some who the All Blacks see mass potential in (like Shannon Frizzell for example).The fact that we are debating the squad like this shows we still have tremendous depth in most positions despite always being prone to the foreign raiders who would rather chase our talent than blood their own. Heres hoping the All Blacks have another good Rugby Championship before two crucial test matches in November against England and Ireland.
Serena Williams' quadruple fault in US Open final: Greg Baum
The way Serena Williams behaved showed how ugly she can get when things arent going her way. When shes winning shes a darling in the eyes of many and she has 23 Grand Slam victories to her name, but when the shoes on the other foot and things arent going her way she has the ability to become a petulant, spoilt brat who cant accept that she can be beaten.The main point of conjecture seems to be the first code violation where Serena was warned for being coached by her coach in the grandstand, who admitted afterwards he was making hand signals to her. The point of conjecture comes from a belief that coaching like this goes on all of the time and that it is not punished consistently, so in that respect it was unfair on Serena.Regardless of whether or not it was fair, Serena just needed to calmly accept it and get on with playing. She didnt and ended up throwing a temper tantrum, destroying a racquet and then losing a game for abusing the chair umpire.The sad thing is that Serenas petulance has taken the gloss off and the spotlight away from the fact that Naomi Osaka, who was just one year old when Serena won her first Grand Slam, has won her first slam herself. The tennis world should be celebrating the achievement but instead it has become embroiled in a ridiculous sexism row perpetrated by a player who threw her toys out of the cot when she couldnt get her own way.
Tennis umpire at centre of Serena Williams' sexist claims hid in hotel
Ironically Serena was the one being sexist by trying to claim sexism against Ramos. The way society has been warped these days, its only sexist if a male says ir does sonething derogatory towards females, but when a female does it to men theres never the same amount of outrage.
Mark Reason: All Blacks coach crash cries out for Joe Schmidt
We are a fickle bunch. If the All Blacks lose a couple of games and/or dont play well then some of us act like the sky is falling on our heads by demanding immediate change. If the team gets on a winning run, like they were two years ago, the same people are known for complaining about the game being boring. Essentially the All Blacks cant win with these people.Steve Hansen will decide his future on his own terms and he has earned the right to do so. Whatever he chooses to do beyond the 2019 World Cup, he has my backing.
NZ competition hurting Silver Ferns: Yvonne Willering
The NZ teams would still probably be playing the ANZ Championship with the Australian teams if theyd dropped a team to condense their player depth, as that depth was stretched too thin with five teams and the result was the NZ teams couldnt win in Australia consistently enough and the Magic won the only title won by a NZ team in the nine seasons the competition ran under a trans-tasman format.Essentially the problems NZ netball faced were similar to those of the ARU in Super Rugby, having too many Super Rugby teams and not enough depth to justify having them. The flow on effect was the Wallabies suffered in quality too, just like the Silver Ferns have suffered in quality in recent years.NZ Netballs other major problem has been being too steadfast in their eligibility rule. The way they denied Laura Langman the chance to still play for the Silver Ferns impacted on the quality of the team. Sure shes just one individual, but shes vastly experienced and her presence on the court was needed during the tough times lately. She is back now but the team is in a rebuilding phase and has a lot of work to do to get back to challenging the English and Australian teams on a regular basis.
Has the spectacle of Formula One become too quiet?
No they dont sing. They sound absolutely terrible, comparable to a vacuum cleaner on wheels. They have lost the ability to give the fans the feeling of their hairs standing on the back of their necks when the cars go past.Even the man who has benefited from these engines the most, Lewis Hamilton, hates the noise they make, which tells you something. He also despises the fact theyre limited to just three engines per year. Theyre paid to go racing after all, not trundle round preserving their equipment!
Wallabies eyeing Bledisloe Cup upset against All Blacks
Theyre hardly going to say that the All Blacks are too good for them, but at the same time they can be guilty of talking themselves up too much and not being able to back up the talk on the pitch where it really matters.Also, they havent beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2001 and only twice since they lost the Bledisloe Cup have they taken it to a decider (before losing at Eden Park on both occasions, 2007 and 2015).That being said, theyre still a dangerous side and won the last game between the two sides and the All Blacks will never take them lightly no matter how the Wallabies are traveling.
Kieran Read’s Super Rugby final form serves as warning for Wallabies
Conversely, I think we can be too quick to write off the Wallabies. Sure they havent held the Bledisloe Cup since they lost it in 2003 and have only twice since then taken the cup to a deciding match, before losing those deciders that were at Eden Park on both occasions, but they will always remain a dangerous side and won the last fixture between the two great rivals. They also came within a whisker of winning in Dunedin last year before the All Blacks conjured up a magical winning try.Their inability to win against the All Blacks in New Zealand has been their greatest issue. Excluding the 2011 World Cup, they havent won in NZ since 2001. Meanwhile, the All Blacks pick up regular enough wins in Australia to ensure the cup is safe most years.The All Blacks know better than anyone how dangerous a foe the Wallabies can be despite their poor record in the last 15 years, so the ABs will always treat the Wallabies with the utmost respect, even if their hot-headed coach can sometimes fire off wayward and irresponsible accusations towards the All Blacks when his team loses.
The credibility of the Super Rugby competition lies in the Crusaders' hands
This situation was even worse under the even more nonsensical 18 team conference format last year, where the Lions were able to qualify in first place without playing the NZ sides during the regular season. On top of this was the gift wrapping of a home Quarter Final to the Brumbies, who had fewer competition points than all of the NZ sides, even the Blues had more!Quite frankly, the conference formats have left Super Rugby in a giant mess and they will probably continue into the next broadcast deal because SANZAAR care more about making money than common sense.What this flailing competition desperately needs is for the conference formats to be permanently scrapped in favour of a return to a proper round robin. Teams need to be made to EARN their playoff spots on MERIT again after the teams have played each other at least once. No more of this silly gift wrapping of playoff spots and no chance of an imbalanced draw favouring some teams and disadvantaging others.
All Blacks don't get 'any favours' at all from referees, says Ian Foster
The Northern Hemisphere have long bleated about how the All Blacks are thugs and cheats and the recent incidents in Super Rugby and in the opening test match have just been more fuel for them to stoke on the fire of NZ rugby hatred that they produce.The reality is that they cant stand that a little nation at the bottom of the world with a small population in comparison to them, can keep consistently beating them at the game they created, so they continue to perpetuate these myths about the way the All Blacks play and even who plays for them, all the while trying to mask their own hypocrisy.
Diego Maradona claims Colombia were victims of 'monumental theft' in loss to England
The English team certainly werent saints out there but the Colombian teams behaviour was far worse. They were too cynical and their behaviour was so bad that they even tried scuffing up the penalty kick spot to disadvantage Harry Kane, who scored anyway.The way the Colombians behaved in that game showed the world the ugly side of the beautiful game. FIFA have never really done anything about it and probably prefer a bit of drama like that if it takes attention away from other things that have been going on outside of the players control!
Steve Hansen has a point about the Wallabies but the All Blacks are still favourites
The All Blacks would simply never write off the Wallabies, no matter what state their Australian rivals are in.Only twice since the Bledisloe Cup returned to New Zealand has it been taken to a deciding match and both of those games were at Eden Park (2007 and 2015), a place where the Wallabies havent beaten the All Blacks since 1986.Also, the Wallabies havent beaten the All Blacks anywhere in New Zealand since 2001. That poor record is one of the reasons why they have not held the Bledisloe Cup for so long.The Wallabies have also lost plenty of games against the All Blacks in Australia to open the series each year and that has forced them to try and win in New Zealand to take the cup to a decider, something they nearly did last year.They are capable of beating the All Blacks and won the last test match between the two, but their inability to be consistent has cost them dearly.Despite this inconsistency they will always be a threat and a strong challenge to the All Blacks no matter where they game is being played.
Clearly onside - English media berate call that cost England win against All Blacks
The excerpt from Paul Rees not so subtly suggests that the TMO, Marius Jonker, a former South African referee, conspired to rule the try by Sam Underhill out against the All Blacks, because England escaped without Owen Farrell being penalized for a shoulder hit on the Springbok center last week at the end of the game won by England by one point.
The Chase's Anne Hegerty urges her fellow chasers to visit New Zealand
The Chase is a brilliant show because of the chasers and Bradley Walsh. All of the chasers are extremely good but Walsh elevates this show to another level with his ability to laugh. The incident with the German Skier remains the funniest moment on this show but there are plenty of other moments where Walsh has lost his composure to hilarious effect. The bloke with the question about the Lammergeier is another funny moment, as well as the young lady who though a football deflected off an Ice Cream Van into the goal during a Premier League match!
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen won't drop Beauden Barrett for Richie Mo'unga
The form versus favouritism debate rages on. Right now Beauden Barrett is the incumbent #10 even if Richie Mounga has outplayed Barrett in Super Rugby recently. Why? Because Barrett has been an All Black for six years now and Mounga has played one festival game against a French XV last year and 12 minutes in the third test against France this year. Mounga just needs time to develop at the top level of the sport as it is a big step up from Super Rugby. He can do it and will eventually challenge Barrett for the starting #10 jersey if he keeps going the way he is.The All Blacks coaches will always pick players who they know can perform for them at the top level, but that doesnt mean that they wont reward form at Super Rugby level. I think they have the balance right between picking form players and players who they trust. They have kept this team at the top of the tree by selecting the squads the way they do so we cant really complain too much about the way they do things.
Malcolm Marx 'better than any Crusaders forward' - ex-Springboks coach
Nothing but mind games from Nick Mallett. Malcom Marx is a brilliant talent, theres no doubting that, but Im sure hed rather this stuff from Mallett didnt happen in the build up, because he knows that the Crusaders will not engage in the mind games and instead will do their talking on the pitch, the only place where it really matters.
Has the spectacle of Formula One become too quiet?
I heard talk that Formula E were looking to stage a race in New Zealand. I wonder if anyone will turn up to it?
Has the spectacle of Formula One become too quiet?
The race cars of today are more showpieces of amazing technology being paraded around for everyone to see how good the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda are, than being genuine race bred cars raced flat out from start to finish.
Clearly onside - English media berate call that cost England win against All Blacks
Perenara has to lift the ball from the ground before Lawes can charge. It is a moot point anyway because Lawes was standing in an offside position.
Steve Hansen's loyalty to certain All Blacks could come back to bite him
The author of this article clearly doesnt understand how Steve Hansen operates. Hansen will first and foremost back the players who he knows can perform for him in the team. This is why he backed Beauden Barrett over Richie Mounga and selected Nehe Milner-Skudder ahead of the likes of Ben Lam and George Bridge.The insinuation is that he sticks to his favourites while ignoring form players in Super Rugby, yet he has blooded several dozen new players into the team since he became head coach in 2012 and last year alone had to use about 55 players over the year. So while he will back his incumbents first, he is not afraid to bring new players into the environment, so the argument that he sticks to his favourites all the time holds no weight. He has kept this team at the top of the tree since he took over and clearly has the balance right so we should be 100% behind him and the way he operates.
Michael Schumacher 'sometimes cries' as recovery details emerge
You are right about the way his family have been fiercely protective of their private life. That can be a double edged sword though because being fiercely private like that leads to speculative comments in the media and they can be tough to read for the family if they do indeed read them.One thing is a definite though. The man Michael Schumacher is today is a shell of his former self after a serious head injury and six months in an induced coma. We will never know the 1 extent of his injuries and the quality of life he now leads, but we have no real business to know either and its up to the family to reveal anything they feel comfortable with revealing. Until then we will keep getting speculative claims from the media.
France player hospitalised with head injuries from 'illegal' AB tactics
I think its fair to say that the French lock shouldve only been penalized for his high shot and that Sam Cane shouldve been yellow carded for his, but once again we have a situation where the losing team are happy to sit back and label the All Blacks as cheats/thugs, knowing full well a reaction to the incidents will be ignited.If the All Blacks play with too much aggression the thug claims usually surface. Back in 2005 the rest of the rugby world claimed that Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu deliberately set out to injure Brian ODriscoll as he was the captain of the B&I Lions and their best player. What the incident really was however was a bad cleanout of a ruck that went horribly wrong and left ODriscoll with a dislocated shoulder. The two ABs should have been cited for it but werent, further fueling the anti NZ rugby sentiment.
Wounded Wallabies to pick up the pieces as All Blacks loom
Two years ago under Michael Cheika, the Wallabies scored just two tries over three games (denied a third by a TMO call) and were a clear second best to the All Blacks, using most of their energy blaming the All Blacks for the bugging scandal, alleged eye-gouge incident and Clown Caricature in the NZ Herald in a feeble attempt to deflect attention away from their own poor performances.Last year they were significantly better, despite a horror first 50 minutes of the first test where they conceded 54 points. They managed to score 12 tries over the three games, went extremely close to breaking their 17 year win-less drought in NZ against the All Blacks, before winning the third test in Brisbane.Much has been made of their poor Super Rugby form having gone on a 40 consecutive game losing streak against the NZ sides before it was finally broken, but there is enough talent in Australia to ensure the Wallabies are competitive, even though they havent held the Bledisloe Cup since they lost it to the All Blacks in 2003. This year should be another year of competitive games, with the third being played in Japan for the first time in nine years.
Mark Reason: Liam Squires let-off after disgraceful showing indicates fantasy world
Only NZ players are thugs who can get away with it, its what the Northern Hemisphere journalists like to fall back on when a NZ player escapes sanction for foul play.
"Steve Hansen's decision to pick 51 players for All Blacks tour shows he has too much power",
The writer of this article is a sometimes Radio Sports host who relies on negativity to spark a debate. Take for example what happened about a year ago. Back then Watto said that if the All Blacks were to lose to Australia in Brisbane in the dead rubber Bledisloe that he would consider the 2017 season a failure, because of what happened in the Lions tour as well.The Wallabies did win that third game and Wattos reaction was gold. Steve Hansen remarked after the loss that the sun will come up in the morning, reassuring people that a loss to the Wallabies wouldnt bring on Armageddon, yet Watto was most displeased with Hansens comments, going as far as yelling into his microphone: APOLOGIZE TO ME!!!! at one point, because he thinks the All Blacks should win every game 50,000,000 to nil with zero mistakes in each. Tells you all you need to know about this bloke!
Mark Reason: How I hate the TMO
Yawn.
World Rugby backs no-try decision as England moans continue over All Blacks win
We all know that if the All Blacks had scored a try like the one England were denied and it had been given, the likes of Stephen Jones would be howling about how the referees are too in awe of the All Blacks, so essentially people like Jones are hypocrites.There is a pathological hatred of everything about NZ rugby that exists in the UK (but it doesnt mean everyone hates NZ rugby). The likes of Stephen Jones are employed to fuel the anti NZ rugby sentiment and he goes as far as fabricating evidence and claims to prove his points.At the end of the day people like him are easily ignored and he can carry on squealing like a stuck pig if he wants.
Steve Hansen has been the greatest All Blacks coach - emphasis on has been
This isnt the right way to get an apology out of him Watto....
Neymar World Cup diving not a good attitude - Fifa technical director
Neymar Jrs behaviour is pathetic but he is by no means alone in doing it. His antics have probably been the most blatant of the lot and thats why hes being singled out for it.Diving/simulation is a plague on the game and FIFA wont do anything serious about it because they probably love a bit of controversy/drama, especially if it draws attention away from them given the corruption that has been rife in FIFA in recent years.I do think the referees need to get better at identifying the cheaters in among the genuinely fouled players. Some of the top players are so skilled at the art of simulation that they can make it look like a foul has happened when it really hasnt, while others are just really blatant. If FIFA persists with the VAR technology they maybe they will get better at ratting out the cheaters
World Rugby boss Agustin Pichot sparks outrage by sharing xenophobic squads list
Of course the Home Nations would be outraged at statistics like this given theyve been spending decades ignorantly accusing the NZRU of raiding the Pacific Islands while they themselves are the 1 pillagers of the region.
Statistics only serve to show the Crusaders are due a Super Rugby playoff loss
Im a Crusaders fan and Im hoping theyll win, but if theres any team out there that can become the first team to beat the Crusaders in Christchurch in a playoff match its this Hurricanes side.These two teams have been the best in this years competition but because of the stupid format theyre forced to compete in a Semi Final rather than potentially making the Final together. If the Hurricanes win on Saturday night, the Final cant be in Wellington despite the Canes having accumulated the second highest competition points overall, because the Lions and Waratahs were ranked higher as their respective conference winners. So if we want the Final to be in New Zealand the Crusaders have to win the Semi Final.This format has long been ridiculous and it simply has to be scrapped in favour of a return to a proper round robin format from 2020 and beyond. With the round robin it means everyone plays everyone else at least once and the best teams have EARNED their playoff spots on MERIT. The conference formats have contributed to a drop in standards in Australia and South Africa and giving a team each from their respective conferences automatic entry into the playoffs has caused too many problems for Super Rugby.
All Blacks vs England: Jerome Garces and Marius Jonker get decision right but process wrong
The problem with your comment is that Courtney Lawes never retired behind the hindmost foot and it was clear and obvious that he was offside, hence why the TMO overruled Garces initial decision.Clearly you are an English fan and if the All Blacks had been given a match winning try like that youd be saying the complete opposite, such is your bias against NZ rugby.
New Zealand driver Scott Dixon wins IndyCar Series for the fifth time
Ahh yes could you imagine the outrage across the ditch if they were told two of their legendary music icons, John Farnham and Jimmy Barnes, were born in the UK?
Clearly onside - English media berate call that cost England win against All Blacks
I love the piece from Paul Rees where he not so subtly suggests that the TMO (Marius Jonker) conspired to deny England the match winning score because he is South African and England had won by one point at the end against the Springboks the previous week, with Owen Farrells shoulder on the Springbok center not being punished when some thought it was a penalty offence.
Clearly onside - English media berate call that cost England win against All Blacks
The piece from Paul Rees not so subtly suggests that Marius Jonker, a former South African referee, conspired to rule the try out as some sort of payback for England escaping with the win over the Springboks the previous week after Owen Farrell didnt use his arms to tackle the Springbok center at the end of the game, meaning England escaped with a one point win.The lengths some of these writers in the UK will go to to garner click bait is incredible sometimes.
Cristiano Ronaldo scores hat-trick in thrilling World Cup draw between Portugal and Spain
That was a fantastic match this morning but Spain will not be happy to only draw with two thirds of possession of the football.Christiano Ronaldo showed what a Talisman he is for Portugal, winning a penalty (which was legitimate), scoring a goal from a goal keeping howler and then the stunningly good free kick (which he certainly milked from the referee by going down too easily under the challenge of Gerard Pique).
'The ugly side of the beautiful game': World Cup blighted by diving and fake agony
I find it funny how the players are expected to give a speech about fair play before every game at the World Cup and then we see stuff like one of the Colombian players attempting to create a divet on the penalty spot in an attempt to make it difficult for England to convert the penalty, which they did anyway. So far Ive heard nothing from FIFA about them questioning the Colombian team about their behaviour in that game, which leads me to believe that they like a bit of controversy on the field as long as it keeps the spotlight off themselves and whatever shady deals they might be up to.
Cristiano Ronaldo scores hat-trick in thrilling World Cup draw between Portugal and Spain
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are considered as the two best current Footballers on the planet but their personalities are contrastingly different. Messi is a humble human being capable of being a team man and Ronaldo knows how popular he is and it fuels his ego, making him act like hes the star of the show and that people should take notice.
World Rugby boss Agustin Pichot sparks outrage by sharing xenophobic squads list
Another bizarre rant from one of this websites resident trolls.
'The ugly side of the beautiful game': World Cup blighted by diving and fake agony
Yes definitely, thats one thing I didnt mention in my article, the way the referee gets crowded when he makes a contentious call. It just doesnt look good and we have to assume that all sorts of petulant insults are aimed in the direction of referees in this moment. It beggars belief that FIFA still wont do anything about it.
Tennis umpire at centre of Serena Williams' sexist claims hid in hotel
Id be amazed if Serena owned up to her petulant, spoilt brat behaviour that completely took the limelight away from a 20 year old Japanese/American player whod won her first Grand Slam, convincingly beating her idol in the process.
Joe Schmidt to quit coaching after Rugby World Cup
It has been fascinating over this month how quickly some have been prepared to throw one of our most successful coaches (Steve Hansen) out with yesterdays fish and chip paper because they believe people like Mark Watson who has spouted nonsense about Hansen becoming stale, with that belief backed up by the results against England and Ireland.Well have to wait and see what Hansen decides before Christmas as to whether or not he stays on beyond the 2019 World Cup. For him he has been in the environment since 2004, in which time there have been two Lions tours to NZ, one successful, the other not, and three World Cups, the first of which saw our earliest ever exit from a tournament, followed by winning the next two. The All Blacks have also won 11 out of the 15 Tri Nations/Rugby Championships since he became involved.Theres no doubt that Joe Schmidt has the credentials and maybe his decision to retire from the sport after the World Cup is his way of quietening down the speculation? Its more likely hell be 1 to his word and retire from the game for good after the World Cup.So if Hansen goes after the World Cup and Schmidt isnt going to replace him, then the odds are that Ian Foster is the front runner, which Im sure will cause mass hysteria if he does indeed become head coach of the All Blacks!
Culture change the key in turning Lions from chumps to contenders
Theres no doubting the Lions are a very good side but they have benefited greatly from SANZAARs ridiculous conference formats and also a drop in standards from the more traditional powerhouse South African sides.Last years competition in particular was seen as a great farce because of the fact that the Lions qualified for the playoffs in first place while avoiding playing the NZ sides. Therefore the Crusaders saved SANZAAR some major embarrassment by winning the Final in Johannesburg.The Lions cant be blamed for benefiting from the crazy conference formats and all they can do is play whos in front of them. In that respect they are worthy Final opponents for the Crusaders in 2018.
Bledisloe II: Five talking points ahead of Saturday night's test at Eden Park
Tensions have been simmering away again this week with Steve Hansen expressing his disappointment at the Wallabies appearing to deliberately avoid staying behind to be a part of Sam Whitelocks 100th test match celebration. Im sure a number of their players congratulated him before they left though so its not like they completely ignored him.The disappointment from Hansen is born from the fact that the All Blacks in recent years under his watch have begun offering players from rival teams a bottle of champagne as a token of respect for reaching the 100 test milestone. In 2014 they gave former Springboks Jean De Villiers and Bryan Habana a bottle each and then later on in the year they gave former Wallaby Adam Ashley-Cooper one too.What this shows is that the All Blacks are prepared to maintain a level of respect with their opposition but the Wallabies in particular since Michael Cheika became coach, have adopted a a siege mentality of sorts and are less interested in maintaining a level of respect away from the field. Clearly the Australian rugby public have become tired of the way the team are conducting themselves under Cheikas watch but I dont think the ARU will sack him a year out from the World Cup unless things turn really sour internally over there.
Steve Hansen and Jacques Brunel bang heads over Damian McKenzie try
I heard John Lacey say hed seen a grounding but wanted to check. The TMO, George Ayoub couldnt see any footage of the grounding and instead of trusting his initial instinct, the referee went with the TMOs call.
Billy Slater found not guilty of shoulder charge, free to play in NRL grand final
Seems like the judiciary were indeed swayed by sentimentality. They obviously figured the storm of controversy that wouldve followed Billy Slater being suspended from the Grand Final in his last ever game was going to be much bigger than the storm of controversy that will follow him being let off what looked like an obvious shoulder charge to prevent Sharks player Sosaia Feki from scoring, so they went for the lesser of two evils and have allowed Slater a chance of a fairy tale farewell.There has always been a suspicion that the judiciary are more lenient on the star players in the NRL, especially if theyre Australian. Its like theres some fear that if they do the right thing and ban star players, especially if theres a critical game within the suspension period, like a State of Origin or NRL playoff, that theyll diminish the spectacle somehow because the fans would be robbed of the chance to see their favourite players in action, so the judiciary err on the side of caution and let the star players play. The only notable exception to this would be Cameron Smith being banned from the Semi Final and Grand Final in 2008, which caused him to whine like a petulant, brat. He is a player who rarely gets into trouble with the judiciary but is suspected of getting away with a lot on the field.
Mark Reason: The four moments that should end Kieran Reads captaincy
It feels like some people are behaving like the world is going to end because the All Blacks lost a game. These people are intent on finding 1001 reasons why the defeat happened rather than doing the right thing and congratulating the Irish for a game well played.Since the loss there have been calls to sack the captain, the coach, fix this, fix that and its all becoming a bit tedious if you ask me. Sure the last two games have been difficult to watch but the All Blacks arent perfect and cant be expected to win every game 50,000,000 to nil while making no errors. When they do get on a winning run playing good rugby the calls start happening that rugby is becoming too boring, so these people are just too negative.The All Blacks have been the clear benchmark team since 2010 and only now are they being genuinely challenged by the likes of Ireland, South Africa and England. Its good for the game to be honest and losing the odd test match here and there is not a bad thing really, as it allows the team to learn from where they went wrong. Its better they lose games now than in the World Cup where knock out rugby does some wacky things to even the best teams.
World Cup 2018: Neymar mocked for epic fall in Brazil game against Costa Rica
I can only guess that Neymar was desperate because it happened near the end of the game when the game was still goalless. Thankfully the VAR was able to see through the ruse and reversed the penalty decision. Brazil ended up winning the game anyway but this pathetic behaviour from Neymar undermines the result.The top players are on megabuck salaries and so monetary fines will mean nothing to them. Suspending them for a minimum of two games, with suspensions increasing in length for recidivist offenders might just make the players think twice before engaging in these theatrics.It can be tricky for the officials to adjudicate on because a lot of the time a foul has actually been committed and the player on the receiving end has exaggerated the contact and some players are clever enough to go down at the right time to make the dive look more convincing to the referees as a genuine foul.
All Blacks likely to tinker with lineup for Argentina as they look to grow depth
I dont think theyll tinker with the lineup too much as they will have enough respect for the Pumas.I think Beauden Barrett well and truly put his doubters in their place over the last fortnight. He is the best #10 in the world at the moment and hes back in form too.Richie Mounga will get his chance and it may well come in the next game in Nelson. Back during the rotation era the All Blacks admitted that despite all of the rotating of players, they didnt give former All Black Nick Evans enough of an opportunity at the test match level as there was no doubt he was capable of playing there. The reliance on Dan Carter won them a lot of test matches but they didnt give the players behind him enough game time and thats one of the reasons why Evans left for the Harlequins in England in 2008. Im sure theyre a lot wiser now and wont make that mistake again, so the Mounga fans just need to be patient.
Former All Black Luke McAlister calls time on his rugby career at 34
Luke McAlister was a gifted player who perhaps went overseas too soon in his career and that impacted his ability to perform at the test match level when he returned briefly.Despite the questions about why Aaron Mauger was left in the stands in the 2007 Quarter Final loss to France, McAlister was one of the few All Blacks to fire any shots and was also named man of the match afterwards, scoring a try and then being ridiculously sin binned by Wayne Barnes, a moment that gave France momentum in the game.When McAlister was rushed back into the All Blacks in 2009 he was absolutely roasted by the public and media after throwing an intercept pass that France scored a match winning try from. Ironically a few months later Dan Carter threw an intercept pass that proved the match winner for the Springboks, yet there was no criticism of Carters mistake, showing how untouchable he appeared to be at the time.After that McAlisters career here faltered and he left in 2011 to resume his career in Europe.
Steve Hansen and Jacques Brunel bang heads over Damian McKenzie try
Four years ago on in that same stadium, TMO George Ayoub gave referee Jaco Peyper the go ahead to award England a try when Mike Brown crossed over but hehad his own arm under the ball and didnt appear to place the ball on the ground at any stage, so now weve seen him rule one each way. Thankfully that decision four years ago didnt cost the All Blacks the game as they won by a single point.
Mitchell Starc questions Steve Smith's honesty in dealing with ball-tampering scandal
Totally agree with you mal2. The outrage to the ball tampering scandal was significantly amplified by all of the nasty, poor behaviour and tactics the Australian mens cricket team had used in the pursuit of victories over the last few decades. They had no idea just how big the reaction to them being caught ball tampering would be.Some former players, like Shane Warne for example, are not keen on the team changing its poor culture too much because up until the tour to South Africa they were getting away with the way they were playing and it brought them a lot of success. The cricketing world have shown however that enough is enough and this team is going to be under significantly more scrutiny from now on in regards to how they conduct themselves on and away from the cricket field.
Has the spectacle of Formula One become too quiet?
Ironically the series that the Mazda 787B race car was involved in (Group C racing) was canned because the cars were becoming more and more popular and were threatening F1s perch at the top of the Motorsport tree. The FIA also decreed the cars were becoming too dangerous but most people will say they didnt want the Group C cars becoming more popular than the F1 cars.
Red card mars All Blacks match with France down to 14-men from the 12th minute
Benjamin Fall mightve jumped in the air but his jump was a half-hearted one and he put Beauden Barrett in a very dangerous position as a result. Therefore it was a red card all day.I roll my eyes in annoyance at those who claim that the cards ruin games as spectacles. At test match level its an incredibly rare thing to see a game playing out as a spectacle of running rugby and so I think a lot of people need to lower their expectations somewhat.The All Blacks made a lot of errors but prevailed in the game and won the series. At the end of the day I dont care if they win games 6-3 or 63-0, as long as they win most of them.
World Rugby backs no-try decision as England moans continue over All Blacks win
Thats what he said AndyAnsah. I hear Specsavers are calling you.
'The ugly side of the beautiful game': World Cup blighted by diving and fake agony
After the Portugal vs Spain group game everyone raved about Cristiano Ronaldo, whose hat-trick salvaged a draw for Portugal, particularly around the free kick just outside the penalty box that he scored to tie the game at the end. No one seemed to mention the fact he went to ground over a tiny amount of contact to win the free kick, so to an extent, I felt sorry for Gerard Pique, the player who contacted Ronaldo.I believe that the referees can issue yellow cards to players who theyve figured out have dived. Its a little bit more difficult to penalise the incidents where players exaggerate the amount of contact in order to win a free kick or penalty and get the opposition player sanctioned. The referees just need to get better at identifying the players who are genuinely fouled and taken off their feet, compared to the ones who go down from a tiny piece of contact.
Mitchell Starc questions Steve Smith's honesty in dealing with ball-tampering scandal
As to be expected there is a lot of backside covering going on and its hardly surprising the lead bowlers have continued to deny any knowledge of the plot instigated by Davey Dumb Dumb to tamper with the ball to get it to swing.This team had been getting away with god knows what over the last few decades and were known to push and overstep the boundaries of fair play more than anyone else to try and win. It is this attitude that led to the significant backlash to the ball tampering being exposed and they have a lot of hard work ahead of them repairing decades of damage. Its not going to be easy for them to change their culture given they were highly successful with the way they were playing, but they will be under a lot more scrutiny than anyone else from now on and cant afford another backlash.
World Rugby backs no-try decision as England moans continue over All Blacks win
Lol you have absolutely no evidence of that.
Clearly onside - English media berate call that cost England win against All Blacks
Delboy67, Courtney Lawes never retired behind the hindmost foot so he was offside regardless if an All Black had shifted position. Learn the rules buddy.
Steve Hansen says Wallabies will be 'sharper' after copying All Blacks' recipe
The Wallabies of 2017 were a better side than the 2016 team who were well beaten in the three games against the All Blacks. The 2017 Wallabies side, despite conceding 54 points in as many minutes in the first game in Sydney, nearly won the second game in Dunedin and did win the third test in Brisbane.The 2016 year was shrouded by the controversial bug scandal in the All Blacks Sydney Hotel and saw a break down in relations between the All Blacks and Wallabies, with Wallaby coach Michael Cheika going as far as claiming the All Blacks were accusing them of planting it. Then there was the clown caricature in the NZ Herald that Cheika also foolishly claimed the All Blacks were behind.The Wallabies may have had a poor record in the last 15 years against the All Blacks but they will forever remain a dangerous foe and the All Blacks themselves would never take them lightly and will be looking to make a statement in the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup opener in Sydney.
The credibility of the Super Rugby competition lies in the Crusaders' hands
The point that Hamish Bidwell is trying to make is that IF the Crusaders lose to the Hurricanes on Saturday, the Canes cannot host the Final. Why? Because the Lions and Waratahs were ranked ahead of them as their respective conference winners, despite both of them having accumulated fewer competition points than the Canes during the regular season.This situation under the conference formats continues to make a mockery of a once great competition and simply must change from 2020 and beyond. The change has to be to return Super Rugby to a proper round robin format. That way everyone plays everyone else at least once, preventing the imbalanced draws the conferences provide, with the playoffs decided by the overall table, thus ensuring the BEST teams have EARNED their playoff spot on MERIT. The current situation is harming Super Rugby badly.
Mark Reason: The four moments that should end Kieran Reads captaincy
Ahh yes the French were robbed by a referee who allowed the All Blacks to score 62 points in a Quarter Final lol
'It hurt': All Blacks assistant Ian Foster hasn't forgotten pain of Wallabies loss
In recent years the relationship between the Wallabies and All Blacks has soured somewhat, particularly during the reign of the lunatic coach Michael Cheika. This breakdown in relations has been mostly driven by frustration across the ditch inside the worlds largest prison about their inability to win back the Bledisloe Cup. 2016 saw things reach their peak and after three consecutive (and heavy) defeats, Cheika tore into the All Blacks after each game blaming them for anything he could think of as a way to deflect attention away from his own teams shortcomings. The Wallabies were a better side in 2017 but still couldnt get their hands on the Bledisloe Cup.Victories over the All Blacks have become so rare since the All Blacks won back the Bledisloe, that the Wallabies have resorted to celebrating excessively and gloating whenever they do pick up a win. The only time between the two nations that the All Blacks have genuinely celebrated a win was the 2015 World Cup Final where they deserved to.That gloating by the Wallabies following on from the final game defeat to them last year clearly hurt the All Blacks and theres no doubt theyll be wanting to hit the ground running in Sydney next weekend by beating their rivals again.
'It hurt': All Blacks assistant Ian Foster hasn't forgotten pain of Wallabies loss
You guys are really bad at playing down the importance of a sport like rugby, one of the few team sports NZ teams can dominate their Aussie rivals in. We know all too well how quickly things will change when the Wallabies finally win back the Bledisloe. All of a sudden itll be Australias favourite team sport lol
Mark Reason: Vive les Crusaders and a future with France
The whole setup, from the conference systems to the rigged playoff formats have become a real turn off for a lot of people and its all a result of SANZAAR chasing money at the expense of Super Rugbys integrity.They seriously need to hit the reset button and go back to a proper round robin format. That way everyone plays everyone else at least once and the best teams EARN their playoff spots on MERIT.I have no doubt in my mind that the current setup has contributed to the decline in standards in South Africa and Australia, by having too many derby games and not enough against the teams in other countries. Theyre not helped by one team from their conferences being gifted a home playoff game either.The round robin format therefore is the best way forward for this ailing competition and we would see the best teams genuinely making the playoffs without any controversy. It is the only logical way forward for Super Rugby and if they continue to ignore the growing calls for its return in favour of the ridiculous conferences, they may just finally kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
England lose No 8 Billy Vunipola for All Blacks test after third arm break in 2018
Will Thomas Waldrom get a recall with all of these injuries? Lol.
It's time the Wallabies gave Australian rugby a return on investment
The Wallabies were better in 2017 than they were in 2016 and will always remain a threat to the All Blacks, but the All Blacks have almost always had that mental edge over their rivals and thats why they have been able to hang onto the Bledisloe Cup for so long.In fact only twice since the All Blacks won it back has the cup been taken to a decider, in 2007 and 2015. Both of those deciders were at Eden Park, a stadium that the Wallabies havent won at against the All Blacks since 1986, a stadium that will be the venue next weekend too. The Wallabies havent beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2001 too, another reason why the Bledisloe drought has been so long.The All Blacks were under par the last time the two teams met in 2017 and the Wallabies played well to win in Brisbane. The All Blacks will be looking to hit the ground running in 2018 with a strong performance in Sydney, to force the Wallabies to have to win in New Zealand to take the cup to a decider in Japan this year.
There's a very good Reason behind the fuss over Serena Williams
Mark Reason was right, the only clear and obvious example of sexism in this whole fiasco was Serena Williams trying to claim that Carlos Ramos was being sexist.She did it because she has become extremely narcissistic and unable to see or admit when she gets it wrong.Ramos saw Williams coach making hand signals and so was within his rights to give her a warning (code violation one). From there Williams orchestrated her own downfall by first destroying a racket (code violation two) and then launching an incredibly stupid verbal tirade at Ramos (code violation three), which included her calling him a thief and a cheat, telling him that hell never umpire on HER COURT again and above all else, attempting to call him sexist because he was a male umpire giving her a game penalty because she is a woman.Her success in the sport has allowed her ego to inflate to such a level that she believes she is untouchable and can do whatever she wants. She has form at the US Open as it is anyway. Twice before this years tournament she got herself in hot water for temper tantrums, including once threatening a line umpire for calling a foot fault on her when she was serving.She is seen as a goddess like figure in the game and it was totally unsurprising to see so many Americans blindly defending her and of course the misandry aimed at Ramos was completely disgusting.