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The Roar

The Roar

Ankle-tapped Waterboy

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Joined August 2019

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For those seeking some information about this elusive match, here is a link.

https://www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/news/match-report-northampton-saints-barbarians-sept-23

“Match Report: Northampton Saints 12 – 48 Barbarian F.C.
Saturday 2 September, 2023

A youthful Northampton Saints side succumbed to a Barbarians squad packed with internationals in a high-scoring exhibition encounter at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.”

Harry Wilson, Baa-Baas teammates try to charge down Hunter Paisami's conversion

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Today

>Cheslin Colbe

I recall him, he had a cheesy grin when he scored.

Hooper set for Paris sign-off: Wallabies great poised for new RA deal ahead of Olympic farewell

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Today

>French fans in the rows in front and behind me – grown men – were shamelessly driven to tears. In all of the emotional wreckage that ensued, from supporters of both sides, it was easy to rationalise the loss, knowing that the surreal performance represented the pinnacle in the lives of these rugby people.

Geoff, thank you for summing up that moment so well. Watching on TV I kept wondering, “when will the All Blacks get the ball?” and then realised just how sublime the rugby was that the French were playing, so my thoughts changed to sheer jaw-dropped admiration. Best rugby I’ve ever seen. Just fantastic.

Weird thing. The French B team turned up for the Final having left it all out there for the All Blacks the week before. The match was a bit of a squib when compared to the previous week’s match.

At least they tried. The May 1987 pool match between Wales and Ireland at Athletic Park Wellington saw my excitement fade from “A Rugby World Cup! Brilliant!” to “The guy behind me has just bet $50 with his mate that this penalty kick goes over, so desperate are the spectators to find something interesting in this match.” For the record, Wales won 13-6 and both teams clearly were bored and did not want to be there. Awful.

The Wrap: Magical World Cup moments and memories that left an indelible mark, and the promise of so much more

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Today

wikipedia is your friend:
>”Long known as the French city of the “weapon, cycle and ribbon” and a major coal mining centre, Saint-Étienne is currently engaged in a vast urban renewal program aimed at leading the transition from the industrial city inherited from the 19th century to the “design capital” of the 21st century. ”

>”From the 16th century, Saint-Étienne developed an arms manufacturing industry and became a market town. It was this which accounted for the town’s importance, although it also became a centre for the manufacture of ribbons and passementerie starting in the 17th century. ”

What is passementerie, I hear you ask?

>”Passementerie (/pæsˈmɛntri/, French pronunciation: ​[pɑsmɑ̃tri]) or passementarie is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, passements) of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings.[1]

Styles of passementerie include the tassel, fringes (applied, as opposed to integral), ornamental cords, galloons, pompons, rosettes, and gimps, as well as other forms.”

From Saint Etienne, entrepreneurs went to Basel and to the USA to set up competing ribbon and passementerie factories. Until then, Saint Etienne was the Western world’s manufacturing centre.

And there I was, thinking that “So Tough” was a bit poppy, “Tales from Turnpike House” deserved to be in the year’s best, and their most recent “I’ve Been Trying to Tell You” in truth is their finest.

'We need to change the mindset': Key area to fix for RWC outlined as Eddie's men shown off in welcome ceremony

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2d

It’s about mindset and how you approach the sport. Take ski-ing. There are two types of ski-ing: downhill ski-ing and cross country. Downhill is same old same old but fast, whereas cross-country you get to see some pretty interesting places and challenges. This is why I excel at cross-country golf, you really get your money’s worth by travelling in tiger country. Cross-transfer of rugby-honed skills helps. Like that advice in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to always know where your towel is, and having been trained as a ballboy, I find that I am readily able to locate the most elusive of errant balls. IMO cross-country golf is more fun but less telegenic.

RWC Backs Power Rankings: 'Cohesive, smart' Ireland edge ABs, the glimmer of hope for unproven Wallabies

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2d

>no stone being left unturned by Jones and his coaching team

We continue to observe with interest the Jones and co following of the path of Dinkum Aussie Rugby, Grasshopper (TM) and so we value the oblique reference to the sequel to Afferbeck Lauder’s compendium of the Australian dialect “Let Stalk Strine”, that sequel being “Nose Tone Unturned” of course.

'We need to change the mindset': Key area to fix for RWC outlined as Eddie's men shown off in welcome ceremony

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2d

With Danty out for the opener France vs New Zealand, would you be tweaking your rankings just for that match, Harry?

Twickenham being an anomaly for the ABs. The consensus from the keen rugby minds is that the systems were solid but they were off in the individual execution in what Justin Marshall calls the microerrors in the skill set. I put that down to being monstered from the start, an ugly start with errors anyway, and the All Blacks habit of not quite gelling after having not played for a while. (Credit where due: the monstering kept up for the full eighty minutes). The disallowed tries showed a team getting it together. The big chevy rumbled into second gear but it was from a cold start on a frosty morning and a service was due.

But the point about this Springbok team is that they can monster for a full eighty minutes, and will take profound -this-is-rugby-made-in-heaven joy in doing so. I foresee more anomalies to come.

RWC Backs Power Rankings: 'Cohesive, smart' Ireland edge ABs, the glimmer of hope for unproven Wallabies

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2d

Intersting that the first step is strong community base. The foundation is accomplished.Good work being done in Perth.

'One of the best contracts I've signed': Super Rugby surprise as Force cut ties with CEO

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2d

This was tipped to happen to NZ rugby back when rugby went professional and the Super Rugby expansions followed.

And yes, it would be a disaster. It’s a misreading of how the system as a whole operates for results.

Meantime, Australia envies NZ’s NPC!

Bizarre from the NZRU.

RWC News: 'Losing three biggest academies' - Eddie's truth bomb for ABs, Poms' 'horrendous' fear

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3d

Australia’s island-born coach is a fan of Pacific nations rugby. Fair enough too, no problem, move along.

What would be of greater interest is to have a referee’s reponse about Law 15. Particularly a top tier referee or World Rugby ref’s rep.

RWC News: 'Losing three biggest academies' - Eddie's truth bomb for ABs, Poms' 'horrendous' fear

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Rugby
 
3d

Richie was never offside. You know this.

RWC News: 'Cool to try it out' - Nathan Cleary 'excited' by code switch, France rocked by another big name injury

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4d

Back in the day it was witches in the skies. Then hot air balloons, from about 1790 onward. Then aircraft. Then UFOs.

I deplore the invention of the mobile phone, for taking centuries of mysterious and mistaken objects out of the skies!

Spidercam doesn’t quite make up for it.

RWC News: 'Cool to try it out' - Nathan Cleary 'excited' by code switch, France rocked by another big name injury

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4d

Needs a Bex and a good lie down.

RWC News: 'Cool to try it out' - Nathan Cleary 'excited' by code switch, France rocked by another big name injury

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4d

The benchmark was set by Keith Quinn, with the crowd in “a high state of frenzy”. Gotta love it!

O for the late Bill McLaren.

RWC News: 'Cool to try it out' - Nathan Cleary 'excited' by code switch, France rocked by another big name injury

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4d

rug
*
bypa
*
ss.com/rugby-world-cup/road-to-final/

RWC News: 'Cool to try it out' - Nathan Cleary 'excited' by code switch, France rocked by another big name injury

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4d

Agreed. Getting to Rennie’s semis is quite feasible, and from there winning the semi for the final, and winning the final, come down to the vagaries and dice rolls of Tournament play.

The three Wallabies factors which can align to win the World Cup

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4d

I haven’t heard of Cameron Murray. Is he a good place-kicker? 85% plus? If so, there’s an opportunity gone.

RWC News: 'What a statement' - Goldie lashed for 'arrogance', Cam Murray 'annoyed' by hollow flirting

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5d

>It wasn’t the Springboks fault that NZ were a forward short in the scrum

Actually, it was. The Bok pressure was superb right from the start. They did an enormously good job. First came the small errors, then the penalties, then the cards. Job done!

'Seriously': Ex-Scotland coach calls on World Rugby to 'act' on Springboks after 'abusing bench' against All Blacks

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5d

Portugal? Portugal is for you.

'We didn't want to show too much': Is Eddie bluffing in a high stakes game of rugby poker?

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1w

Agree that Australia has skills issues which are systemic and known. Deans famously pointed this out over a decade ago when he was forced to address technique issues at Wallabies level, that were dealt with a junior level in NZ.
Even so, applying a keen eye and a blowtorch sensibility to Jones is important, because he was hired when Australia slipped to its worst-ever world ranking of #9, after the 2022 end-of-year tour.
Not only has Australia kept that ranking, there’s a feature of the ranking system which acknowledges shellackings. Jones, by transitioning the team from close losses to thumpings, has worsened Australia’s position.
” it is significant whether sides win relatively comfortably – with ‘something to spare’ – so a weighting is applied where a side wins a match by more than 15 points.”
The straw at which he currently clutches is that ranking points are doubled for the World Cup, in recognition of it being a special tournament.

'We didn't want to show too much': Is Eddie bluffing in a high stakes game of rugby poker?

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1w

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines

You’re welcome.

'We didn't want to show too much': Is Eddie bluffing in a high stakes game of rugby poker?

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1w

Good wrap. 10 days! We count down with keen antici…

pation.

World Cup Top 10 Power Rankings: Wallabies' missing piece, ABs still possess super power, and why France edge Ireland

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6d

Interesting that all these changes haven’t resulted in a massive whispering campaign. Angus Bell and the back three impressed on Sunday. McReight’s playing well. To repeat my message of the past two years: The Wallabies pass mark is getting to the semi-finals, based on their record over the past few years. Anything more than that – winning the semifinal, getting into the final – is for the coach to claim. Given the 100% loss record so far, as compared to Rennie’s 54% loss record, it’s time to add a corollary: anything less than the semis and it’s on Hamish. (Call them the Rennie semis, because that’s where the Wallabies were poised to land before 2023). Roll on the pool matches, time is well overdue for some wins.

Enjoy the opportunity, debutants – I’m not sure how many more there will be as Wallabies enter must-win mode

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6d

Correct, and justifiably so. The Wallabies pass mark is getting to the semi-finals, based on their record over the past few years. Anything more than that – winning the semifinal, getting into the final – is for the coach to claim.

The Wrap: Why Rugby Australia’s women problem isn’t going away any time soon

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1w

Now that’s a surprise, Geoff. I was in Sydney for the week and weekend, working one suburb west of Randwick and staying one suburb south of Leichardt. Regrettably the epic events at the centre of the Australian rugby universe did not disturb my “What’s on in Sydney” apps and notifications otherwise I might have gone along for a look. Saturday was a lovely day in Sydney.

The Wrap: Why Rugby Australia’s women problem isn’t going away any time soon

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1w
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