Ireland so close to Beating the AB's

Fixey

Ireland came so close to a rare victory over the NZ All Blacks today with a performance today by Allan Lewis that will go down in the history books as one of the most pathetic displays by an international referee ever.

limerickman

I didn't see the game (watched Ireland being beaten by Aus.)
Lewis is normally a good ref.

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Fixey

Then he had the shockers to beat all shockers.....
the English backs may as well have had Black jersey's for the most of it. If we went to ground isolated it was immediate penalty, if England went to ground isolated it was imediate scrum thier feed....
3 yellow cards, cant comment on the first one (I didnt see what happened, dont know anyone that did) but the second and third where for slowing the ball....something England did all day......Pathetic, I have never before openly questioned the honesty of a ref till now!

limerickman

I caught an hour of highlights just now on BBC3.

I have to say that Woodcock took Hodgson out late and deserved to be binned.

The carding of the AB No 7 : from what i saw the AB No 7 had his hands on the ball on the ground.
Should he have been carded ? I can't honestly say.
The third card was for the replacement prop for AB's.
He was a dirty bugger that guy (from what i saw) and propbably deserved to go.

I saw Tony Woodcock on his exercise bike on the touchline - I wonder how long it would take him to do D'Huez !

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

darkboong

Talking of harsh refs I thought that Percy Montgomery had it a bit rough as far as the yellow cards went in the Wales vs RSA game. It seemed to me as though the Welsh and Irish pissed their games away today.

I can't comment on the English one, I'll have to wait for the highlights tomorrow.

chch_legend

Just got home from a ride and read the NZ papers online and they are giving the ref a bagging. Will be interesting to see the game, if Australian TV actually show it.

It's a shame when a game is dictated to so much by the man with the whistle. It appears the northern hemisphere is again slipping behind the southern hemisphere in the official stakes also. Referrees need to let the game flow otherwise the potential quality of the game is lost.

Roll on 2011, may even have to move back home.

Fixey

Woodcock didnt get binned for the hit on Hodgeson, he got binned for pulling down a mall which I think is harsh but pluasable.

Tialata is not known for dirty play at all. His binning was a joke. To get binned for killing the ball in a non urgent situation when your possibly trapped on the ground and some moron is stomping on your legs is non sensicle.

As for Masoe using his hands, yes he did. As he was on his feet when he started he probably warrented a penalty for trying to long, but a card? come on! How many times did English players get Penalised for playing the ball on the ground......and their whole pack killed the ball all day with no consequences.

I still believe Lewis to be on the take.....after all it was the Poms that payed to have the AB's poisined in 95, I wonder how much they where willing to pay to avoid the humiliation of a grand slam in the same year thier Lions got mauled!

equus

For what it's worth, I think that the England pack had a great game. It's just a pity that the backs could not do anything with all the possession that they had. They didn't look like scoring all afternoon! The AB's have more than justified their World No1 ranking and fully deserve a grand slam against the home nations.

The ref did have a poor game, but lets not forget the forward pass for the AB's first try! Any talk of the ref being on the take though is just daft.

It will be interesting to see if the Kiwis can keep up the intensity and consistency until the next world cup!

darkboong

He appeared to persistantly infringe and had been warned on at least two occasions before the yellow card. To be honest the ref was spoilt for choice when it came to carding All Blacks from coming in from the side, that isn't news though, it's always been their style. If Kaplan was ref'ing that match he would have sent pretty much the entire team. My suspicion is that Lewis wasn't consistent enough throughout the match. It happens.

The All Blacks were undoubtedly killing the ball illegally though. It's part of the game, the English need to learn to play that kind of game. The backs also have to get used to the idea of running straight too.



The English got blown up quite a bit on that front as it happens.

[QUOTE=Fixey
I wonder how much they where willing to pay to avoid the humiliation of a grand slam in the same year thier Lions got mauled![/QUOTE]

LOL. If anything I think that team will get a lot stronger as a result of that game. Definitely a game they needed and on balance another fine game of Rugby, despite the controversy. WP ABs.

limerickman

I thought England - it's forwards - palyed really well.
The backs looked a bit hesitant, I thought.
But England gave the AB's a match and the relieve on the AB'sfaces when it was over was palpable.

I thought Lewis had a poor game - he blew up far too much but I can't say that he was biased toward England.
He seemed to have it in for both sides.

One thought though - the hype about Andrew Sheridan was just that hype.
Hayman was superb : the AB scrum was locked tight.
England didn't get any change from them - and to think McCaw wasn't playing either !

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

limerickman

You're right - he was binned for pulling down the maul - he got himself noticed though for the late tackle on Hodgson earlier.




C'mon Fix - you know that every Kiwi flanker lives on the offside (or very close to it !).
Masoe's hands were all over the ball on the floor : but you're right England
played the ball on the floor at times (I saw Corry and Sanderson do it).




LOL.
I thought it was RSA who poisoned the AB's in 1995 !

Hey Fix, the AB's are looking world class at the moment - 18 months to go to the World Cup : I hope Graham Henry hasn't made them peak too soon.
The AB's are a fine side - I well remember the Mourie Team of 1978 and I think this current team will emulate that side.
Although I still consider Mourie to be the best open side flanker of all.
(showin' me age, aren't I ?).

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

darkboong

Not convinced about that Lim. I'd say they battled to a stalemate. In the highlights it looked like Sheridan did more ball carrying, made more yards, and put in some cracking tackles. That might just be the way the highlights were cut though. Hayman seemed to be somewhat less visible in those roles.



I am not sure McCaw would have made much difference, as good as he is. Corry impressed me more this weekend, Moody seemed to be somewhat erratic. Sanderson played that classic blindside style that I used to aim for as a kiddy. My feeling is that Moody is a smidge hot-headed, if he settles a little I think he will be a game winner.

limerickman

Moody is a good player - a little bit hot and cold as you say but a good player nonetheless.
Corry played well - I've always rated him as a player and he did well this weekend.

Sheridan ? Like you I only saw highlights and the hype was that he would outscrum Hayman.
The 60 mins of highlights on BBC3 showed that Hayman matched him in the scrum.
The AB's front five were superb : Woodcock had the upper hand on Vickery.

I think the rollerskating Thompson is disasterous as a hooker : he can't throw.

I reckon DB, you're of the Mike Teague/Peter Winterbottom era ?

Did you see the Sunset Times a few weeks back : Andy Ripley (former Rosslyn Park No 8 and England/British Lions) has prostate cancer ?
Now there was a great player (and not a bad rower either !).

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

darkboong

Talking of #8s Leamy had another good game for Ireland (IMO).



I think you are being a bit harsh on the English props, they made good yardage and they had to go the full distance, they didn't get the rest breaks that the AB props did. At the end of the match the AB props looked dead on their feet, whereas Sheridan & Vickery had their heads up, backs straight and looked ready for another 20 mins.

You are also forgetting that first try, which was a textbook application of the front 5.



Heh, you're not going to convince me of that. My feeling was that Woodcock & Hayman were desperately trying to pull them down - and failing because Vickery & Sheridan were too strong and too smart for them.



He is dire, but ironically he seemed to have one his better days this weekend. I'm sure we must be able to sort that out - lord knows we're not short of decent hookers.



Aye. Dean Richards is the one I miss most (although as an Irishman you are probably relieved that he's not on the pitch anymore). Corry seems to have many of the essential Deano characteristics, but he is a bit too smiley. Skinner and Dooley were liabilities as I recall. Brian Moore was a pretty decent Hooker, aside from his habit of arguing with the ref.



Andy Ripley is a hero of mine. That is terrible news.