Rugby Union

[GhostOfDixie]

I've been meaning to get more into club Rugby for a while now, but since I have been without Sky for the last year that interest subsided.

I am getting it back this month so I'm going to start watching some more games. I did enjoy it at school, but it was always football because then football was good. Now its just pissing me off, and Rugby seems to have a fairer set of rules and very few games are decided by cheating or bad decisions.

I also like the way the players are real men and don't dive and cry like babies when they get a tiny knock on their funny bone.

So I'm not going to stop supporting the Blues that can't happen, its just an impossible situation, but then I wouldn't want to stop supporting the Blues, ever. I'm just going to widen my sporting passion. All I need to do now is pick a team worth watching, any ideas?

 

[zero]

if it was the other code then it would have to be the mighty St Helens....but its not so I can't help you there I'm afraid.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Watch rugby league instead, the players in that actually try and run with the ball rather than kick it time after time.

 

[zero]

Watch rugby league instead, the players in that actually try and run with the ball rather than kick it time after time.

ditto, just don't watch Bruce's team

 

[Bruce Wayne]

As a Wigan fan I can't really advocate following Saints, although I suppose as a neutral one could find them quite entertaining.

As for union, the closest local team are Orrell, but they're rubbish. The next nearest are Sale who won the English title the season before last. They've got a decent team with some big name players, including Chabal, Sheridan, Lobbe, Hodgson, McCallister and Cueto. I've followed them ever since Jason Robinson went there from Wigan and they always used to play an attacking style of game. Certainly more so than the likes of Leicester and Gloucester who were stick it up the jumper type teams. Wasps are the London glamour team and under the coaching of Shaun Edwards play a decent style as well.

Seriously though, League is much better. There's a test match series soon between GB and New Zealand. Well worth watching, and you'll probably see some tries to, unlike the kick and clap lot

 

[GhostOfDixie]

Well I was obviously a token Wigan fan years ago even went to Central Park to watch them play Warrington, but I'm more interested in Union, 6 nations and all that. I was thinking Saracens, but I want to make a choice before I look at them playing. So its not based on the best team bollocks.

Maybe I'll research more and watch some games and see which team I like the look of. Its very exciting.

 

[daz4matty]

As a Wigan fan I can't really advocate following Saints, although I suppose as a neutral one could find them quite entertaining.

As for union, the closest local team are Orrell, but they're rubbish. The next nearest are Sale who won the English title the season before last. They've got a decent team with some big name players, including Chabal, Sheridan, Lobbe, Hodgson, McCallister and Cueto. I've followed them ever since Jason Robinson went there from Wigan and they always used to play an attacking style of game. Certainly more so than the likes of Leicester and Gloucester who were stick it up the jumper type teams. Wasps are the London glamour team and under the coaching of Shaun Edwards play a decent style as well.

Seriously though, League is much better. There's a test match series soon between GB and New Zealand. Well worth watching, and you'll probably see some tries to, unlike the kick and clap lot

I used to follow wigan in the eighties with goodway,hampson and all them i was a bit of a glory hunter to be honest a lot of my mates played and i had to pick a team.

 

[Welton Toffee]

Bath. We are ACE.

EDIT - Union is far better than League.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Well I was obviously a token Wigan fan years ago even went to Central Park to watch them play Warrington, but I'm more interested in Union, 6 nations and all that. I was thinking Saracens, but I want to make a choice before I look at them playing. So its not based on the best team bollocks.

Maybe I'll research more and watch some games and see which team I like the look of. Its very exciting.

Oh god, the six nations are even worse, talk about a kick-a-thon That and they only have one song that they sing relentlessly. Now I do enjoy a game of rugby of whatever code but the constant ejaculation over Wilkinson et al does get my goat.

If you do support Saracens you'll be acquainted with Andy Farrell. He was the Wigan skipper for around a decade before crossing codes and in many ways sums up the arrogance of the Union press. He went there towards the end of his career after winning the World Player of the Year award as a prop forward and started playing in the centres (a sign of how slow the backs are in Union). He suffered some bad luck with injuries (car crashes and the like) that kept him out of the game for around 18 months and pretty much every time he's played for England he's been panned (no pun intended) by the usual arrogant tossers (Carling, Guscott et al) who wouldn't know skill if it bit them on the bum. The fact that a prop forward has a better goal kicking success ratio than old golden balls (Wilkinson) is often overlooked too.

Not that I'm bitter you understand

 

[monty]

Oh god, the six nations are even worse, talk about a kick-a-thon That and they only have one song that they sing relentlessly. Now I do enjoy a game of rugby of whatever code but the constant ejaculation over Wilkinson et al does get my goat.

If you do support Saracens you'll be acquainted with Andy Farrell. He was the Wigan skipper for around a decade before crossing codes and in many ways sums up the arrogance of the Union press. He went there towards the end of his career after winning the World Player of the Year award as a prop forward and started playing in the centres (a sign of how slow the backs are in Union). He suffered some bad luck with injuries (car crashes and the like) that kept him out of the game for around 18 months and pretty much every time he's played for England he's been panned (no pun intended) by the usual arrogant tossers (Carling, Guscott et al) who wouldn't know skill if it bit them on the bum. The fact that a prop forward has a better goal kicking success ratio than old golden balls (Wilkinson) is often overlooked too.

Not that I'm bitter you understand

I'm with you Bruce always had a soft spot for Wigan, St Heleners are a strange bunch

 

[GhostOfDixie]

Well I like the rucks and mauls in Rugby Union, not too keen on the 6 tackle rule in League, too much like Gridiron for me.

 

[zero]

I'm with you Bruce always had a soft spot for Wigan, St Heleners are a strange bunch

I am deeply offended by the strange bunch insult

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Well I like the rucks and mauls in Rugby Union, not too keen on the 6 tackle rule in League, too much like Gridiron for me.

Fair enough. Like I said, Sale are the nearest top flight team, being based in Stockport, and they're usually pretty strong in the rucks/mauls because they have a strong back row. Jason White is the Scotland captain, Lobbe was one of the stars of the Argentina side, along with his brother and fellow Sale player in the locks, Chabal is Chabal and Magnus Lund is one of the countries best open side flankers.

With Charlie Hodgson and Luke McCallister behind the scrum they should provide some reasonably entertaining running rugby as well this season.

Of course, if you wanted to you could follow both codes as they overlap quite nicely, with Union in winter and League in summer.

There have long been calls for the rules of Union to be changed to make it more of a running game and provide greater incentives for tries because at the moment games are won by penalties more often than not. Admittedely the likes of Australia and New Zealand have led the way because they tend to play a more League orientated style of play, ie fast running style, clearing out the rucks as quickly as possible to get a fast 'play of the ball' so they can attack a fragmented defence. Contrast that to the style typified by the northern hemisphere sides that kick for territory and then use the set pieces of scrum or lineout to either win a penalty or get one of the forwards over for a try. The new rules have suggested reducing the number of points awarded for drop goals and penalties (both are three apiece now as opposed to 1 for a dg and 2 for a pen in league).

http://sport.independent.co.uk/rugby_union/article350299.ece

They'll have their work cut out though because even in the Tri Nations tournament between NZ, Aus and SA that regularly has fast, flowing rugby they averaged just 4.5 tries per match (bare in mind that England managed less than 2 per match, despite playing the likes of America). Even 4.5 tries per game pales in comparison to the 6.5 tries per game averaged in the 2006 Tri Nations RL tournament between GB, Aus and NZ.

 

[Welton Toffee]

Well I like the rucks and mauls in Rugby Union, not too keen on the 6 tackle rule in League, too much like Gridiron for me.

That rule is crazy. How the hell are you supposed to build pressure on the opposition if you've got to give them the ball every 2 minutes?! Stupid. Union is so much better.

In other news....

Team P PD PTS
1 Gloucester 6 81 23
2 Bath 6 36 22
3 Saracens 6 35 19
4 Harlequins 6 17 19
5 Leicester 6 14 17
6 Bristol 6 3 14
7 Sale 6 -8 14
8 Newcastle 6 -9 14
9 London Irish 6 -3 10
10 Wasps 6 -16 8
11 Leeds Carnegie 6 -96 5
12 Worcester 6 -54 4

 

[GhostOfDixie]

I may go with Bath. Very similar town to my home town, plus my wife played handball there in the youth Olympics a while back, got a soft spot for Bath.