Rugby

[mctoon]

... Cornish Pirates v London Welsh (my brother used to play for them) as well.....

Great performance by the exiles last night. Shame it looks as if they won't be allowed promotion. The authorities really need to sort that stuff out.

Fine with me being a falcons fan .. They are going to appeal the decision though so it aint over yet

[Welshie]

I was listening to a Radio 4 programme called "Sport & The Britsih" (it may still be on a podcast now) it had a programme about rugby becoming professional, it would appear that many sides who during the amateur era were top clubs, don't stand a chance of moving back to the top flight. This is due to the locations of their pitches which are on crown land, and cannot be extended, this is the catergory London Welsh fall into. Sadly other great clubs such as Richmond, Rosslyn Park, and London Scottish also have similar problems. These are ones i know, there are probaly other tier 2 & 3 clubs in a similar situation. Unless i'm mistaken the Pirates facillities were not acceptable either. If ever there is a county in England which needs a top tier team, its Cornwall.
Cheers
Aled

[firehazard]

... Cornish Pirates v London Welsh (my brother used to play for them) as well.....

Great performance by the exiles last night. Shame it looks as if they won't be allowed promotion. The authorities really need to sort that stuff out.

Fine with me being a falcons fan .. They are going to appeal the decision though so it aint over yet

Fair enough comment. And it would be a shame to see one of the northern outposts of English RU go down. And I would like to see Dean Richards having another go with a Premiership team... I reckon he'd have been England coach by now if it hadn't been for the bloodgate thing. But the biggest shame will be if promotion/relegation ends up being decided by the lawyers rather than on the pitch.

...Unless i'm mistaken the Pirates facillities were not acceptable either. If ever there is a county in England which needs a top tier team, its Cornwall.

Yeah, the Pirates have known all along that they wouldn't be allowed promotion, which is a real shame. You can imagine the Exeter v. the Pirates matches in the top tier... I think London Welsh if they did get promoted would be moving to Oxford United's weird three-sided football stadium, which doesn't entirely seem right.

[Welshie]

Process is still under discussion i believe, my brother would love to see "Welsh" promoted he'd probably get a good deal on season tickets!
Seems unfair on the Pirates, the council have not supported their bid i believe, what about Cornwalls moto "Un ag oll" (One and all) bit tight i thought.
Cheers
Aled

[firehazard]

Process is still under discussion i believe, my brother would love to see "Welsh" promoted he'd probably get a good deal on season tickets!
Seems unfair on the Pirates, the council have not supported their bid i believe, what about Cornwalls moto "Un ag oll" (One and all) bit tight i thought.

'Twould be so much better if it could all be decided on the rugby pitch over 80 minutes...

Excellent English Premiership Final on Saturday. Well done to Quins, who were pretty impressive throughout. Though it wouldn't have surprised me if Leicester had come back to nick it at the end.
And congratulations to Ospreys too, for a fine win in the Pro12 Final. Lil Shane leaving on a high note...

[Welshie]

. Lil Shane leaving on a high note...

Yes and whats he going to pull out of the bag for the Baa Ba's next week against Wales!!
Lots to look forward to in coming weeks must say.
Cheers
Aled

[Welshie]

Congratulations to Scotland, thats is a great result for you. I've always believed that you were not as bad as your 6 Nations showing!(and thanks a bunch for making it harder for us tomorrow)
Ok we're up tomorrw as are the rest of the NH & SH teams letss see how we go...
Cheers
Aled

[firehazard]

Congratulations to Scotland, thats is a great result for you. I've always believed that you were not as bad as your 6 Nations showing!(and thanks a bunch for making it harder for us tomorrow)
Ok we're up tomorrw as are the rest of the NH & SH teams letss see how we go...

Yes, I think you got the backlash there, Aled.

Tough dose of reality for most of the NH teams. You'd've got good odds against Scotland coming away with the best result.

[Welshie]

Yes i aggree FH, although England and Wales had their moments, but not enough to win.
Italy also lost to Argentina so all said not a good weekend for the NH teams.
Cheers
Aled

[firehazard]

... not a good weekend for the NH teams.

And I don't think things will get any easier for them as the tours go on and injuries take their toll. For England, the first test was the one they had the most realistic chance of winning, before moving to higher altitude for the next matches.

[Welshie]

Well a big weekend for the NH teams tomorrow. Sadly i only fancy Scotland for a win, but if the rest of us make a decent fist of it and play like we are able, we may be able to lose with diginity....again, which to be honest i'm getting sick of!!!!!!!
Cheers
Aled

[firehazard]

Well a big weekend for the NH teams tomorrow. Sadly i only fancy Scotland for a win...

Yes, I think Scotland should win (again), and maybe France in Argentina -- but for the rest of the NH teams, it could be a tough weekend. Rugby in the southern hemisphere seems like a different world at times.

Though it wouldn't totally amaze me to see Wales push the Aussies a lot harder this time. The Wallabies do have their off days, and Wales are capable of a lot better than in the first test.

[Welshie]

Well once again with the exception of Scotland its gallant losers all round, again, getting well and truly sick of this, hell Argentina turned France over as well!
Cheers
Aled

[firehazard]

Well once again with the exception of Scotland its gallant losers all round, again, getting well and truly sick of this, hell Argentina turned France over as well!

Yes, well done to Scotland on another good win.
Desperately close for Wales and Ireland. Unlucky not to get a result.
England were blown away by SA in the first half. Spirited comeback, but it never looked like being enough. Brilliant run that ended up in a try by Pietersen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRHBugtaP90

[firehazard]

So that's that for the summer tours...

Congratulations to Scotland, on a winning tour. And on playing in Fiji and Samoa. The other NH nations really ought to be playing there too.
Unlucky Wales. So close again, and it's hard to believe they lost that series 3-0, when they could just as easily have won the series.
Oh dear Ireland. Blown away by the All Blacks.
England avoided losing the series 3-0, a creditable draw in the last test, but that game was there for the taking. But they're a work in progress, and a number of young players will have benefited from the experience.
The autumn internationals are going to be important this year, with seeding for the RWC at stake, as well as a few players' futures.

Lions next summer...