I hope it didnāt ruin their Tuesday morning macchiatoās.
Itoje is up with McCaw as the best forward of his generation. Most excellent players will struggle against him.
He is a freakish talent imho.
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He is indeed, but a player canāt be dominated by him so regularly and still considered world class. Ryan is a fine player but could really do with going abroad for a while to develop his game. The same can be said for a number of players in Ireland.
Theyāre not good enough to
Bernard Laporte arrested by French police I see. Interfering in a suspension handed to Montpellier a few years ago as he was in with the rich owners of the club.
Irish forwards are generally judged by the parameters of effectiveness at Northern Hemisphere winter rugby - tacking, mauling, one out carries. The gulf in class with their SH equivalents in terms of handling, passing and appreciation of space is vast.
Furlong is lauded for his role in the Grand Slam clinching try, which was notable for itās rareness - an Irish forward executing skills under pressure
That was down to his Gaelic Football background.
To be fair - Itoje isnāt exactly a free-wheeling passer of the ball - heās most known for his destructiveness/annoyance in defence
Correct. The English have the ability to destroy the New Zealand pack. Australia forwards arenāt great either.
The northern hemisphere v Southern Hemisphere skill difference is a nonsense anyway. At times wales and France play amazing stuff.
Not many of the Boks would be known for their passing either.
Whatās happened to Adam Byrne? Iād have expected him to start on the wing ahead of Keenan. Leinster seen to have a huge pool of players adequate and above for Pro 14 level anyway. Probably too many in a way.
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Heās injured. Yes it looks that way. Larmour isnāt a 15 either.
Pro rugbyās in big trouble. Championship in England may not happen. No crowds, cancelled season and cut in RFU funding has ruined many clubs over
They could play in the Pro14.
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Assume that the South African clubs have pulled out of the Pro 14 for next season. Would open up a spot for them
They will only draw couple hundred in attendance, big improvement on the SA teams
Rugby seems to be in right trouble. It is a sport built on hype and marketing and it is barely scratching relevance at the moment in the absence of that. The GAA on the other hand have been forced back to brass tacks and it seems to be thriving and capturing the imagination. Just goes to show. Iām not sure there is enough to sustain the professional rugby game over here in the absence of gate receipts and significant TV money.
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I think top level Rugby has done a good job tapping into the social supporter who see it as an evening out/excuse to go on the beer or on a jolly. It has a high proportion of women and upwardly mobile men who were never overly into sports following it compared to other sports.
With Covid these sheeple will move onto some other fad and will be tough to entice back.
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The club game in GAA has really hit a high note in terms of capturing attention during covid. Rugby would do well to try copy a bit of that with the club game.
Provinces could be fucked but thereās no shortage of those willing to line out for local club and hopefully they get support in numbers.
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One is already gone. Theyāre hoping to drag someone else in. The Pro14 crave the Saffers, they want to drawn them into the 6N also.
In truth the Pro14 is dying on its hole.
The GAA is not thriving financially however.