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Ma’a Nonu gets 50 Test Caps for the All Blacks, finally.

Written by Mike on August 8th, 2010. Posted in International Rugby, Rugby Blog, Rugby Union News

Ma'a Nonu (R) celebrates his try with Dan Carter Photo via Newscom

Last night in Christchurch Ma’a Nonu became the 35th player to play 50 tests for the All Blacks. It’s an amazing achievement for a player with such a chequered history with the black jersey.

It’s taken him seven years to make 50 test caps. That’s a long time in the modern game. To put it in perspective, Brad Thorn debuted a week after Nonu and has now played 44 tests, but he didn’t play for the All Blacks at all for four years, from the end of 2003 till 2008. Ma’a Nonu, on the…

Rodney So’oialo Celebrates 100 Super Rugby Games

Written by Mike on May 8th, 2010. Posted in Rugby Blog, Rugby Union News, Super Rugby

To celebrate 100 Super Rugby games the Hurricanes gave Rodney So’oialo the party that the Crusaders didn’t give Richie McCaw. The Hurricanes beat the Reds 44 to 21, getting the 4 try bonus point and staying in semi final contention.

Rodney So’oialo joined former captain Tana Umaga as the Hurricanes’ only players to reach 100 caps. He first began his career for the Hurricanes in 2001 against the Reds, and took over the captaincy from Tana Umaga in 2006 and going on to lead them 49 times. He stepped down at the beginning of this year,…

Crusaders Barely Save New Zealand Super 14 Humiliation

Written by Mike on April 12th, 2010. Posted in Rugby Union News

Feb. 19, 2010 - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia - BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 19, 2010;....Dan Carter of the Crusaders passes the ball during the round two Super 14 match between the Reds and the Crusaders at Suncorp Stadium on February 19, 2010 in Brisbane, Australia.

In a week where four of the New Zealand teams had games at home, it took the Crusaders to stop an unwanted whitewash in round 9 of the Super 14. The Chiefs started proceedings by giving the Bulls a 5-point victory in Hamilton on Friday, losing 19 – 33.

Saturday should have been a festival of New Zealand victories, with all three home teams being odds-on favourites. Only the Blues were playing someone ahead of them on the table, and they were fresh off beating competition leaders the Bulls the week before.

The…

Peter Duckworth

February 3, 2012 | #

I agree entirely, I would even go so far as to say that, based on form & dubious refereeing through the competition the French didn’t deserve to be in the final in the first place. All credit to them that they did so well in the final but at the end of the day the All Blacks did better & fully deserved the win.
Mike

February 1, 2012 | #

Thanks for your comment Jock. Yes, Parks does seem like a player limited to one type of gameplan (which I thought he did quite well?) but that must be frustrating considering some of the talent available on the outsides.
Jock Mitchell

February 1, 2012 | #

As long as Parks is part of Scottish set-up we can forget about playing attacking rugby. It is so sad to see backs that have potential being wasted because the stand off does not know how to carry ball and attack opposition. iT IS LAUGHABLE TO KNOW THE OPPOSITION ARE REALLY PLAYING WITH AN EXTRA PLAYER AND THEY KNOW THEY DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT STAND-OFF.
We need to move on and change our style of playing. Henry critisized England and had no comment about Scotland. A small country like N.Z. can loose Carter and tthen have no shortage of top class reserves.We must encourage young players and give them hope.I have no idea how Townsend can't see a problem.
They want to take players into academies later when they see their real potential in club rugby.(I could make comments about players selected for academies but I will resist)
elsmido

January 31, 2012 | #

Which Irish fans are these? I think we will cope just fine without him and are probably second favourites for the championship. It’s always tough losing a player of his calibre but there is plenty of young talent coming through. Our provinces are riding high in the Heineken Cup. The only question now is whether Declan Kidney and his staff can fashion victories out of that.

Careful with your generalisations.
Elmer

December 29, 2011 | #

I’m from South Africa and have lived in the UK for 10 years now. Since I arrived here I have watched quite a lot of UK rugby league on TV and the NRL stuff too. It’s a completely different game to me and at first I thought it was a joke with those scrums, no lineouts etc…I used to laugh. It all seemed very one dimensional with very direct running and some offloading occasionally with a predictable grubber after the 5th tackle. I’ve changed my mind now and accepted it for what it is. It’s a different sport and a good tough one. I really enjoy the big games and the internationals and really enjoy watching the Sam Tomkins of this world play. Rugby Union is a far more technical game and tactical game and caters still for just about every shape. I can see why rugby league fans say Union is boring, because some games particularly a couple of years ago were dominated by kicking which was and is dire. At its best, Union should be a combination of kicking, scrum and forward phases and clever running by the backs.

Obviously RU is a more popular global game and is my favourite with Cricket second. Rugby league has its own place in sport though. It’s a good tough and entertaining sport and is certainly a better code than the round ball with all its cheating, diving and crowd violence/behaviour. I look forward to watching more rugby league!