Gimme Hope Jo'anna: Rugby in 2021

[Eggchaser]

Well the current England options seem to be Daly, Malins or Furbank. Brown is still better than any of them.

Daly will never be a full back whilst he draws breath. Furbank was picked too soon but seems to be coming on nicely for Saints. Malins looks like he might be a proper player.

As for Brown, he's got a two year deal at Newcastle, hooking up with the coach who brought him through, Dean Richards.

It also appears that Gustard, about whom everyone at Quins has a bad word to say, told Brown he was out at the end of the season before it started. In a four minute conversation. That is a truly shitty way to deal with the situation, Gustard was a fucking cancer.

By its nature, professional sport is ruthless towards the cattle, but throwing out someone like that tends to be afforded to a coach with some track record of success behind them. Or any track record at all. And if you decide to do it, then you had better deliver, and Gustard failed to deliver in a comprehensive fashion.

[Ray de Galles]

A behind closed doors game feels even weirder in an indoor stadia, as Racing v Edinburgh (which has just started) is demonstrating.

[Ray de Galles]

Pure filth, especially Vakatawa's offload :

https://twitter.com/btsportrugby/status/1378682101525061633?s=21

[Ray de Galles]

Racing destroy Edinburgh 56-3 and look monstrously good.

They'll still manage to somehow not win this competition though.

[Ray de Galles]

Well at least Scarlets are unlikely to throw away any advantage at home to Sale. They're 0-20 down with just over thirty minutes gone and haven't been in the game, it looks all over already.

Wales 0 England 4.

[Antepli Ejderha]

A really disappointing weekend for Welsh Rugby.

I felt most sorry for the Dragons who've really come a long way under Dean Ryan.

I presume Richard Hibbard was injured, this meant Elliott Dee was scheduled to play the full 80 and his sin binning after 71 minutes ended their challenge. It really is a 23 player game these days.

[Eggchaser]

Quins capping a shit weekend by throwing out second/third choices and kids to be slaughtered by Ulster. Really shameful, we have a decent history in the second Euro Cup competition and simply giving up with the team selection is shitty, to say the least. You used to blast French teams for doing it, less than impressed with Quins attitude.

[Ray de Galles]

I've only seen snatches of the Quins game but thought there were a lot of unfamiliar faces in it.

I don't understand why they're not bothered about progressing in this competition? Does it really hamper their other priorities, which I presume are a place in the English Premiership play-offs this season or the Champions Cup next campaign?

[Eggchaser]

Fuck knows, I gave up and put my daughter to bed (we're reading Diggers by Terry Pratchett) and we're watching Death on the Nile with Ustinov and a cast of very familiar faces.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Nick Tompkins has been recalled from his loan with the Dragons by Saracens with immediate effect, I know that the Dragons season is effectively over but this doesn't make any sense.

[Ray de Galles]

It was notable that Tompkins was kept out of the starting line up by 20 year old Aneurin Owen in that vital European game last weekend and got quite a bit of criticism for his defence after he came on as a first half substitute.

He also fell down the pecking order a little for Wales during the Six Nations.

I had the impression that the deal with Dragons was a loan with a view to a permanent move but it appears not.

If he remains with Saracens and signs a new deal with them he'll become ineligible for Wales under the 60 cap rule, I presume.

[Ray de Galles]

I know we had all forgotten it was still planned but the Pro14/South African Rainbow Cup looks under threat :

https://twitter.com/rugbypass/status/1381203431164059652?s=21

[Ray de Galles]

Bordeaux Begles v Racing is on right now as the first of today's two all-French Champions Cup quarter-finals and it's been a surpringly dull 9-9 kick fest so far. Clermont Auvergne v Toulouse later.

Leinster will be the only non-French representative in the semis as they saw off Exeter yesterday and Stade Rochelais smashed Sale.

[Ray de Galles]

Racing destroy Edinburgh 56-3 and look monstrously good.

They'll still manage to somehow not win this competition though.

Yep, Racing manage to Racing it up at Bordeaux. Theylose 24-21 to a injury time penalty from Jalibert a little inside his own half in an appalling tryless game.

At least they have the excuse of missing Vakatawa, Russell, Zebo, Thomas, Le Roux, and (after an injury in the opening minute) Chat.

[ursus arctos]

Toulouse win at Clermont in the other match, which also ended without a try being scored

[Antepli Ejderha]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...droidApp_Other

Two Pacific Island teams to join Super Rugby, I presume one is from Fiji and the other from Samoa.

The other sides are 5 from NZ and 5 from Australia.

With South African sides joining the the PRO14 where does that leave Los Jaguares?

[Antepli Ejderha]

Dwayne Peel is now moving to the Scarlets and not to Cardiff, that's how official. It's not certain in what role yet.

Dai Young has been confirmed as Director of Rugby at Cardiff.

[Ray de Galles]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...droidApp_Other

Two Pacific Island teams to join Super Rugby, I presume one is from Fiji and the other from Samoa.

The other sides are 5 from NZ and 5 from Australia.

With South African sides joining the the PRO14 where does that leave Los Jaguares?

I've mentioned Moana Pasifika on previous threads, they played the Maori All Blacks at the tail end of last year.

I thought they were meant to be a pan-Pacific Islands team but they were certainly heavily Samoan-orientated for that match and I know there was a lot of politics between the unions involved that was causing issues.

In other news, it looks like Zebo is going back to Munster - I wonder if this will herald a clearout at Racing or is just him wanting to get back in to contention for the Irish team with 2023 on his mind as a swan song.

[Antepli Ejderha]

I've mentioned Moana Pasifika on previous threads, they played the Maori All Blacks at the table end of last year.

I thought they were meant to be a pan-Pacific Islands team but they were certainly heavily Samoan-orientated for that match and I know there was a lot of politics between the unions involved that was causing issues.

In other news, it looks like Zebo is going back to Munster - I wonder if this will herald a clearcut at Racing or is just him want to get back in to contention for the Irish team with 2023 on his mid as a swan song.

Looks like there's no Tonga representation nor Cook Islands, I thought it was meant to be a joint side representing the whole pan-Pacific.

Now I remember you mentioning MP but it didn't register as to what it was.

[ursus arctos]

Jaguares are in limbo. Their SuperRugby licence has expired and there is no clear home for them to play. They are much too good for MLR

Moana has rather loose qualification rules. One of the assistant coaches is a Cook Islander, so I think the absence of CI players is more a reflection of the NZ/SuperRugby focus of those running the team (NZ Rugby, with Tana Umaga as coach, at least for now)

[Antepli Ejderha]

Jaguares are in limbo. Their SuperRugby licence has expired and there is no clear home for them to play. They are much too good for MLR

Moana has rather loose qualification rules. One of the assistant coaches is a Cook Islander, so I think the absence of CI players is more a reflection of the NZ/SuperRugby focus of those running the team (NZ Rugby, with Tana Umaga as coach, at least for now)

Pre Covid-19 the talk was of Los Jaguares setting up in Spain and joining the PRO14 or something similar. That looks unlikely with the four SA sides having joined.

I hope that something gets sorted for them, if not they could end up being disbanded and the players going all over the world ending up with a weaker Pumas side due to unavailability.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Really sad to hear of the passing of John Dawes, captain of the 1971 Lions who won in NZ. He also captained the Barbarians in that match.

[Ray de Galles]

Dawes is a London Welsh legend too - player, captain and coach in their golden period in the decade around that 1971 tour (where the club contributed seven Lions) and later president. His son and grandson both played for the club too.

A desperately sad loss from a genuinely awe-inspiring generation.

[Antepli Ejderha]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...droidApp_Other

Not sure if I liked the tone of this article.

[Eggchaser]

Marcus Smith is a baller.

That is all.