Hot: McCaw... Not: Goosen
It is time for Planet Rugby's weekly wrap of who has their name in lights right now...and who is making the headlines for the wrong reasons...
They're smokin'!
Richie McCaw: Winning 100 Tests is something which must rank as one of the greatest individual achievements in the history of the game. This feat has started a debate in some quarters whether the All Blacks captain is the greatest player of all time. And rightly so, we say.
Mike Harris: Despite playing out of position at full-back, in front of a hostile crowd, the Reds man led the charge with 20 points in the Wallabies' win over Argentina in Rosario.
Charlie Hodgson: The veteran pivot showed there was still plenty of fuel left in his tank as he notched all 28 points in Saracens' Premiership victory over London Welsh last weekend.
Waikato: The Mooloos ended Taranaki's lengthy stint as Ranfurly Shield holders in style with a convincing win at the Amber and Blacks' home ground.
Griquas: The Currie Cup's most unfancied team continued with their giant-killing act when they beat the high-riding Golden Lions in Kimberley. The win over the defending champions shows that previous wins over the Sharks and Blue Bulls was no fluke.
Get these guys a cup of warm soup!
South African Rugby Union and Australain Rugby Union: The mother bodies of the Springboks and Wallabies will have to do serious introspection regarding their decision not to follow the lead of the New Zealand Rugby Union by using the central contracting system. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has described it as one of the main reasons why his team completed the Rugby Championship with hardly any injuries. The Springboks and Wallabies, however, were decimated by casualties. Enough said.
Mont de Marsan: The Top 14 newbies have found the going tough and only have one point to show after eight matches. They have already conceded a staggering 240 points at an average of 30 points per game.
Zebre: Like Mont de Marsan the Italian outfit have struggled in their new surroundings. Still winless after five matches, Zebre boast a single point in the PRO12 standings, conceding 164 points at an average of 32 points per match.
Heyneke Meyer and Johan Goosen: Both should take the blame for allowing Goosen to stay on the field for about five minutes when he was clearly injured. During that time, Goosen missed the crucial tackle which allowed All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock to cross the whitewash.
By David Skippers
Comments
Rosbif says...
@sandal. yes, remember it well mon ami. as a frenchman, whose national side had been taunted by brian moore, will carling and co for most of the early 1990s, it gave me a particularly sharp sense of schadenfreude :-)
(also, i'd forgotten just how good bachop was as at scrum half - the speed and skill level is scary)
Posted 09:44 14th October 2012
whizz52 says...
Trinuts...three words.. could not tackle.
Posted 05:54 13th October 2012
sandal says...
@AWEBLAX
I too remember Batty taking on some great lunk of a Springbok forward. He seemed to be jumping to land a blow.
But if you really want to see what the man was capable of, seek out footage of an inter-island match of 1974 or so. Glorious!
You might not know, but he was marked down to tour South Africa in 1970 as an 18-year-old. He had a bad match, however, and the selectors thought better of it.
Posted 04:33 13th October 2012
sandal says...
@ Rosbif
Any team can run the ball when time is up and it's behind on the scoreboard. (Well, any team except South Africa last weekend.)
But to run the ball from the first minute when there is everything to lose -- that is another thing. So my vote would be either of the All Blacks' first two tries in the 1995 semifinal. Result? 12-0 after four minutes or so.
What gives added relish is that some blazer boy at the RFU, in charge of coaching or something, had responded to critics a few days earlier by saying you had to earn the right to run the ball after 20 minutes or so. Precious!
Posted 04:28 13th October 2012
Rosbif says...
Ah APV1, now you're talking! Funny, I still remember when I first heard about youtube. Was convinced it was some teenagey uber-cool thing I would never understand. Then again, I also remember saying No Thanks to a ipod since my sony walkman was still working fine. Just kinda hoped the whole "i-thing" craze would go away. Now my kids are way ahead of me.....
...oh, and yes, Rowntree's gotta be in the running for Ear of the Year, although there have been a few gnarly Gloucester and Bath front-rowers over the years who might argue with us... and those Forest of Dean folk would eat chunks out of Rowntree for breakfast!!
Posted 16:24 12th October 2012
APV1 says...
@ Rosbif - As a backrow myself, I prefer this sort of thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAjm4hgIyhQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha9RqQmtXUU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZPZLnA_HWc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbDvGF5O6mg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avpZVejwGyg
Gotta love a few minutes of youtube browsing..!
Posted 15:33 12th October 2012
chubbylugs says...
@sasquatch
i hear you, although look at the half backs you have mentioned. all played behind the dominant pack of their day. name a half back that has been able to dominate a game wthout the platform - not so easy
i appreciate the decision making element, but the 9 and 10 are just 2 more cogs in the team. they can bring game making / breaking elements, but then so can the other players on the field.
fly-halves are an obsession in the UK, partly down to the media and the emphasis on kicking at goal, but they are equally a product of the side they play in.
Posted 14:08 12th October 2012
Rosbif says...
@bambo. you missed my favourite one. to win the series in NZ in 1994. last minute of the game. France trailing. Eden Park. penalty or drop kick won't do it. the rest, as they say, is history.....and not many teams have won away series in NZ over the years.... :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTwTi-UeQ7s
Posted 14:03 12th October 2012
Rosbif says...
@sasquatch. i'm with you mate. i used to play in the backrow. there were times we had a backline that tore teams apart. and other times, well, the backs were useless. there's nothing like picking your head out of your own cleanly won scrum to see the opposition centre or wing strolling with ball in hand under your posts to make you wanna scream. good halfbacks are worth their weight in gold!!
Posted 13:56 12th October 2012
new_j4a says...
@bambo, sorry just realized I was confusing you with someone else. "How's the new country?" might be a more appropriate question in the case of Scotland....and of course the oil has all gone. Maybe Ireland will share.
Posted 10:58 12th October 2012
new_j4a says...
@bambo, both brilliant tries--brilliant French flair. I still rate the 1973 as the best. But i think that it's okay if we all have a different favorite? How is the Old Country? Hopefully the discovery of oil will provide a boost.
Posted 10:36 12th October 2012
APV1 says...
@ Rosbif - If Borthwick wins the much-coveted "Schnoz of the year competition", who get "Ear of the Year"..?
Graham Rowntree..?
Posted 10:04 12th October 2012
Sasquatch says...
@Rosbif:
I hear you mate, it's a symbiotic relationship at the end of the day. All I'm saying is the half backs are the primary on field brains trust. Morne Steyn lacks the rugby intellect and overall dynamic that DC offers. It's no coincidence that the Cheetahs season literally fell to pieces the very minute Johan Goosen left the field injured.
Posted 08:57 12th October 2012
AWEBLAX says...
@sandal yup I have a childhood memory of Batty and BG Williams and for some damn reason I can only remember those 2 playing against the Boks, oh those were the days, when those 2 teams ruled the rugby world, they frequently belted the crap out of each other and that was the only game my dad was interested in.lol. Batty may not have been the tallest man on the park but hell he was one of the toughest, still smirk remembering him more all less jumping up to bop a Bok player twice his size. I think its damn hard to pick greatest player ever, it would be hard enough to pick the greatest fly half ever, compare for example DC and Jonny Wilkinson, Defence both brilliant, Attack both brilliant, Controlling the game both brilliant, Kicking enough said, BUT they play 2 different styles of rugby, Dan seems to have the silky skills of Steve Larkham another contender and Jonny may be more in the mould of Hugo Porter also a contender as well as so many more, but never fear @Carpelone I still have my dark glasses on, my yellow ones are broken,lol. WAIT one lens is fine I see a John, Jeff or is it Jack Eales...........
Posted 08:10 12th October 2012
melkdave says...
LOL Why are you arguing over whos the best player of all time???For one the question can never be resolved properly as laws and playing standards, player welfare and fitness ect have all changed and keep evovling.B.John a great of the game from the 60s-70s wouldnt be today.He wouldnt be fit enough,or strong enough to make the tackles needed today against the big centres ect consistantly.Trying to compare players from different eras is imposible imo,all you can say is so and so is the best player atm,or has achived great things nothing more R.McCaw is a great player of the modern game ,and has achived a record that may never be beaten ,doesnt mean his the best theres ever been ,just the best atm.Just like J.Wilinson was most probily the best player overall in the early 00s,and B.John in the late 60s early 70s.
Posted 04:42 12th October 2012
Bambo says...
new-j4a - Surely if there is any 'justice' then one of these (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UVbA9ZZixI&feature=related) or even this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVtk7a1OUI8&NR=1&feature=fvwp) would 'triomph'? Even the Daily Mail or the staunchest UKIP mouth frother would applaud Johnny Foreigner when he plays like this, non?
Posted 23:42 11th October 2012
Startledwombat says...
Well, if we are taking this discussion seriously, : Brad Thorn has to be a contender.
Posted 22:22 11th October 2012
Sasquatch says...
@chubbylugs:
My post doesn't actually mention goal kicking friend. Flyhalves make the key tactical decisions that determine the flow of play. Surely, one of the primary reasons the Boks are struggling while a talented unit like the AB's flourish while DC is pulling the strings. Of course it's a team effort and captaincy is key, but the AB's are a different team when Carter is on the park and directing them in open play. Look back at all the great teams and one of the key elements that they have in common is they had great halfback combinations eg. Nick Farr Jones & Michael Lynagh, Joost van der Westhuizen and Joel Stransky, George Gregan and Stephen Larkham, Matt Dawson and Jonny Wilkinson, Fourie du Preez and Butch James were arguably the best combo in the 2007 WC where James played some of his best rugby in a green jersey, and I reckon the AB's would have murdered France a second time if DC was on the field.
Posted 19:58 11th October 2012
Rosbif says...
@Sasquatch. Interesting. And I see your point. DC is the quiet power behind the throne. But isn't the old line "forwards win matches, backs decide by how much"
Funny/strange though. With these current ABs, you could almost invert it. Their backs win the match, their forwards decide by how much (i.e. how much ball they get).
Posted 19:39 11th October 2012
Rosbif says...
@Trinats2. I believe the classic response to that is, Will Carling!! Some great banter between the two over the years. Oh, and Carling had a thing with Princess Di so that make him royalty, kind of..... :-)
Posted 19:34 11th October 2012