u/darcys_beard

That's 13.36 Points per game. And a Top 14 & 2 Heineken Cups for good measure. Just an out of this world player, who, given the adversity, and the mental strength required to get through 3 years of almost non-stop injury... I can't say he's not the GOAT. Maybe Carter is 🐐a and Wilko is 🐐b?

Wasps are an iconic Rugby Brand* around the World. A powerhouse of English Rugby. London Irish, while less decorated, hold a place in the heart of many. Some amazing players have passed through their ranks, and there has always been a soft spot for them on this side of the Irish Sea. You'd see quite a few LI jerseys around town (the only really acceptable non-provincial Jersey one could wear, lol)

Surely these teams will come back? I know talk about the Irish coming back was circulating. But since Eddie Jordan passed,, this seems to have died down. And surely there's a millionaire, or group of businesses willing to invest in Wasps.

The question is, where do they start? Presumably the Championship. But if there was money injected in restarting either of these teams, on the proviso they were to begin life in the Premiership, would this be possible? Would it be fair? Would the RFU be on board (money talks, after all)?

What's the word on the street in England?

I always liked them because I visited Biarritz as a kid, and loved it. I also love the Basque ethos, and sense of unity, and they represented a cross border region, rather than just a "French" team, in a way that Boyonne don't seem to, as much.

I remember they won the Brennus, three times in the early 2000's, they reached 2 Heineken cup finals as recent as 2010, and won the challenge cup in 2012. Then I take my eye off the ball, and suddenly they're languishing in the bottom half of the D2, season after season.

What the hell went wrong? (Chose flair based on cool factor of Biarritz)

I dunno. She'll probably go in the box next episode. Lol.

As an Irishman of a certain age, I have 2 favourite players of all time: Brian O'Driscoll, and Carlos Spencer.

I fell in love with Rugby whilst living in NZ, left soon after the 2003 WC, then soon after DC became the man (can't argue with that, in fairness).

That all said, how do you think Spencer, in his prime, would impact the All Blacks today? I think hjs range of passing, and vision would be unparalleled in modern rugby -- we've entered an attacking cycle (unless Nienaber is still your coach -- bitter Leinster fan) in the past 12 or so months. I actually think the style of the game nowadays would suit him better than the era he played in, when percentage rugby was the order of the day, and risk-taking was genuinely despised by coaches. Nowadays it is embraced so much more (Spencer himself being a big influence on that). The closest to him in World Rugby, currently, would be Finn Russell, in terms of style. But Spencer is a profoundly more gifted passer than, not just Russell, but anyone since at least Mark Ella.

For me, his tactical kicking was legitimately a thing of beauty. The issue was sometimes whether he was kicking too often, and losing possession. That isn't as severe nowadays with the game far less correlated with territory than the 90's/early 2000's. With the 50:22 rule, and his deftness and ability to find space... You've got a guy who can attack you 3 different ways, and literally no way of knowing what is coming at you. He was no Beaudie, but he had wheels he could punish you with, especially when caught off guard.

Yes, the Goal-kicking was an issue. There are 2 options. Take that, and accept a couple of missed conversions are worth the attacking blitzkrieg, or let someone else take them. Again, this isn't nearly as big an issue nowadays, because so many penalties are kicked to touch, compared to 20/25 years ago.*

I honestly think with a rock solid 12 like Jordie next to him, the current All Blacks could be unbeatable on their day. Conversely, when Los has a bad day at the office, it tends to stay bad, so you just have to get him into a rhythm.

Either way, it would be Prime fucking Time Rugby, every game. What do you guys think?

*P.S. I looked it up and beat guess is he was a 70-75% kicker, but streaky. Mo'unga is a solid 10% better. 10% is a lot, but it's essentially 8 added points every 5 tries to Spencer's 7. Or 33 Vs 32. What you have to ask is "who do you trust will help you score 5 tries, if a World Cup is on the line?

I genuinely feel a lot better having watched this. Squidge knows his shit, and he is right when he says Bordeaux have not faced anybody like us, basically ever.

Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed it a lot more over the past while. We've all turned when it's been Amber. I don't know anyone that won't do that during busy periods, but now you'll see another 2 or 3 cars go after that, when the light has been red a good second or two.

Another thing I've noticed is people running the red at pedestrian crossings, when there appears to be no pedestrians around. Saw some prick in a 261 Tesla do that yesterday, here in Maynooth, but honestly that's at least the third time I've seen it in the past few weeks.

Anyone else noticed this?

https://preview.redd.it/3wbxm7kaai1h1.jpg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df544b88ac75d1ad59f76049afbb8f4cc70cf378

And a handy often cums in Kleenex.

Say what you want about Pearce on Saturday (I don't think he was that bad -- he had a standard and we adapted to it, and the penalties at the breakdown went away), he seemed to see through the opposing TH & Hooker BS and penalize the man actually scrummaging illegally.

World Rugby have been clear they expect referees not to have an outcome-based attitude to refereeing games, particularly at the scrum. The South Africa match was nothing short of an embarrassment for World Rugby (if us, too). We might be little ol' Ireland in most things, but in the Rugby World we have some sway. And it's never a good look for the #3 ranked team in the world to almost have to wave the white flag and ask for a walkover. Nor does it add up; South Africa may be Kings of the Scrum, but these are pros at the cutting edge of the game. this doesn't happen in high level sport. Ever.

Are we finally seeing this applied at the scrum? I'm sure there was a massive forensic post-mortem done on the hows and whys of this happening. And I'm sure they saw things that simply weren't reffed as World Rugby have asked them to be. Could Porter's reputation be recovered somewhat by being the blame every time a scrum collapses or wheels, or whatever?

That aside, do we need to become more streetwise? More in tune with the 'Dark Arts'? Because at the end of the day, there will always be penalties given unfairly against looseheads in particular, that won't ever completely go away completely.

That said, does anyone else see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel for the scrum situation we're in? Saturday was not the first time this year that an Irish side was expected to get crushed at the scrum, and simply haven't.