Having avoided it like the plague I got caught up in the euphoria around the exit & watched the highlights of the last 30 minutes. It reminded me of watching school kids playing League. A big bunch of blokes condensed into the middle of the pitch, chasing the ball aimlessly, just with slightly less skills than 11 year olds.

Throwing to the front is usually the easiest way to secure the ball agsinst a competing jumper.

However at the lineout Wales setup In a way that meant they weren't going to compete in the air and we're going to counter maul as soon as they could.

At that point, the lineout call should have been changed to go to the back.

From an on-line diary by a guy in his eighties who detests "thugby" (union) and has probably never heard of rugby league:

linky linky....

The Changing Man wrote:linky linky.... He's even more set in his ways than I am. He's been running this weekly for nearly 20 years: http://home.clara.net/johncopeland/

The Changing Man wrote:linky linky.... He's even more set in his ways than I am. He's been running this weekly for nearly 20 years: http://home.clara.net/johncopeland/

saw on twitter that Steffon Armitage and his brother were at the super league grand final.

seems that both are big rugby league fans.

question for the guys who watch union. would these be good enough to cross over to rugby league?

doubt it would ever happen even if they wanted to as they get paid very well playing in french rugby union.

Steffon Armitage has been the best flanker in Europe, or certainly best English flanker in Europe, for quite a few years now. However while its not totally mad to see a flanker pull on an RL shirt, it would be pretty much pointless. The traits of a brilliant flanker are all focussed around creating havoc at the breakdown area by stealing the ball , something that would never be applicable in RL. I think most good outside backs in union would be just as good in league.

I'd have to disagree with it being pointless, a flanker, well the openside (no7) should be a jack of all trades and master of all of them, that includes being at the breakdown first, tackling bigger forwards, passing, sneaking out wide (a la McCaw) and even the odd bit of kicking though that's not that common for a 7, more an no.8 like the italian lad Perissi, he'd do just fine in RL, great passer, good grafter and tactically astute. Armitage would equally do fine and as his fitness is one of his great assets he's like a modern day Peter Winterbottom but with better passing skills.

I found moving from 2nd row to play flanker or indeed inside centre (albeit only a few times in adulthood) not that difficult, it just takes a bit of thinking about what you are actually trying to do. Whilst some instincts can be hard to overcome at first like releasing the ball in the tackle (at just the right time to be not penalised) others are not that hard at all.

As I played in the days when pinching the ball in league was more common and I played both league & union at school it wasn't a big step at all playing union some 15 years after I'd last played it (at school). Of course pro level is different but the thought processing is the same, just the fitness and execution level differs.

watched a bit of Wales/SA earlier whilst wirting up some tuff on the laptop.
Interesting the interception attempt (that was straight at the player) in the first half given as a penalty instead of just a knock on when it was clearly a genuine chance though the referee stated several times it wasn't, even JD saying it was very harsh. I realise this is a thing in RU, refs don't call knock ons when they happen at the base of the ruck and so on but genuine interception chances that end with the ball being spilled called as penalties is crazy.
Later on though the SA 9 stops a try scoring opportunity by putting his hand in the way of the pass and gets a yellow.
I would certainly like to see penalties for deliberate knock ons which though in the rules are never given and if in a try scoring position would also be happy for yellow card.
Frankly the rest of what I was watched was dire. Niether sides halves especially the SA 9 have a clue.
I heard a RU commentator say recently that they'd being playing for 4 minutes without a stoppage and were all over the field blowing out their arses, just lol.

So, once more, after decades claiming that tries weren't important to enjoying their more 'technical' game, the RU are introducing a bonus points system in the Six Nations based on scoring.....you've guessed it....tries!

This is to encourage more attacking play and make it more attractive to the spectator.

Nice of them to admit we were right all along.