shsvs says...

I'm so tired of hearing "they will lose not to meet AUS or SA later on" means what? NH teams are that bad??

You didn't see SA struggling against WAL?! I'm not even talking about the Irish game!

Posted 10:59 21st September 2011

wellyman says...

Jaystar all WRC trainings are closed to public even the Boks,only the press are allowed in for 15 minutes at the start of training while the players are warming up when the 15 minutes are up the press are removed and only then does the training begin,so your info is out of date.

Posted 00:06 21st September 2011

Rosbif says...

@worldwary, you're spot on. Think @KiwiLad was the first to call it, earlier on the blog. It's just media hype. "ABs train before game at the weekend" would not have hooked so many readers. Damn, those journos are good. They're just playing with us. Using all those clever words and all... I feel tricked. Mind you, let's face it, most of us (me espeically) fell for this one. too many addicts out there needing our next fix of rugby news. Even when the news is, THERE'S NO NEWS....

Can hardly wait for Sat. Fra NZ games are pretty special in our beloved sport :)

Posted 20:14 20th September 2011

worldwary says...

Jaystarr, Rosbif et al...i suggest we all re-read the article again. I think we'll all find Ulrich was spot on with his interpretation.

At NO point does the article bear any resemblance to the headline! It basically states that the all blacks held a closed training session where they ran through moves they think the french will use (no doubt based on the coaches video and tactical analysis of the french structures). This was an 'opposed' training session from the sounds of it where some players 'ran' as french in their style using their patterns and moves. Every team does this...its part of prep.

Not sure how this makes GH crazy and PDV sane? Its excellent coaching

Posted 17:11 20th September 2011

rugbybutten says...

Forward pass, forward pass, forward pass...is the rugby world ever going to stop hearing this bleating.=, year in year out ?

It was a forward pass to Doug Howlett in the 2003 RWC V Wales that got NZ going to surpass Wales and so miss the eventual World Champions in the quarters. It happens .

If aprobably when NZ win this WC please , please give the forward pass a rest

Posted 16:53 20th September 2011

JayStarr says...

@ IslandPower: huh!? When did South Africa have a secret training? Almost every training session they have is open to the public... Everyone knows what they're going to do anyway, remember? On the other hand, almost every training session the All Blacks have is closed to the public..!

Or are you sarcastically referring to the injured Boks' rehabilitation at the high performance centre in Rustenburg? You're not honestly stupid enough to still believe that nonsense are you..?

Posted 15:15 20th September 2011

Ulrich says...

I think they are trying to simulate what France will be doing now, based on recent plays, not what they did four years ago. They are simply talking about the psychological points of four years ago I believe and, probably, admitting that winning by drop goals isn't that bad.

Posted 14:20 20th September 2011

olepete says...

Very odd thing to do - wonder whose idea it was?

Posted 13:56 20th September 2011

worldwary says...

Jamesliveinhope, im not kiwi but I admire their drive and desire to win...always. I was talking about how the All Blacks would never deliberately lose a game to manipulate a draw.

however while we are on the subject of world cups then perhaps we should get some perspective. Its only been going for 24 years, lets see how the table looks for the All Blacks after 100 years shall we..im willing to bet it will reflect their status in the game. In addition only 4 teams have ever one the world cup..one of them NZ. Only 5 countries have ever beaten the All Blacks...the Welsh last in 1953:..and I might be wrong but the english in 2003! NZ hold a win loss record in ALL rugby no other country even comes close to matching and a positive winning record against every single rugby playing nation on the planet...something they have maintained for over 100years of internationals.

As I said im willing to bet that over the course of time NZ (like Brazil in football) because of their will to win EVERY game (not just perform in world cups) will sit easily at the top of the world cup winners ladder.

Its an agrument of 'standards' and how NZ attemps to maintain them and the results that stem from that.

Posted 13:35 20th September 2011

bloemboy says...

Vive Le France!

Posted 12:44 20th September 2011