The Rugby Thread

[Dinowolf]

Jared Payne out of the rest of the World Cup with a fractured foot.

 

[ROVERT47]

Hopefully Sam Burgess will now return to League where he's loved.

 

[FrankMunro-371]

Hopefully Sam Burgess will now return to League where he's loved.

As a matter of interest, why did he switch codes to begin with?

 

[ROVERT47]

It's a sellout. C'mon Wigan!

I'm with you mate, thought you might have been going for the Rhino's, can't wait!

 

[ROVERT47]

As a matter of interest, why did he switch codes to begin with?

Money I suppose.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Hopefully Sam Burgess will now return to League where he's loved.

He is loved at Bath. No chance he is going back.

 

[leedswolf]

I'm with you mate, thought you might have been going for the Rhino's, can't wait!

I support Hunslet not leeds that's why!

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Money I suppose.

As league spent the entire eighties nicking every Union player with money I guess karma hurts.

 

[ROVERT47]

He is loved at Bath. No chance he is going back.

Ok, fair enough, I know nothing about Union, I should imagine Bath fans are pretty pissed off that he appears to have been the scapegoat for England's debacle or maybe the ex League star was an easy target.

 

[Nando]

I'd imagine they're more pissed off that the player they've been training to be a 6 has spent his entire summer training and playing at centre.

 

[Tredman]

Don't think he's been made the scape goat really? He played pretty well against Wales, when he went off England were winning comfortably. There's some talk about whether he's tactically competent enough, but he's got more about him than half the people played at centre for England.

 

[FrankMunro-371]

Getting into Manchester should be interesting today. Leeds v Wigan at Old Trafford and England v Uruguay at the Etihad.

 

[ROVERT47]

Perhaps it's just the media then.

 

[Dinowolf]

Mike Ford of Bath has said that as soon as Burgess gets back he will extend his contract to 2019 and will concentrate his training on becoming Baths' regular No.6 and Englands' regular No.6, esp. for the next World Cup.
Lancaster has said that at present Burgess's line-out work isn't good enough but he'll watch his progress with interest.

IMO it's ridiculous he's not taking part today.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Mike Ford of Bath has said that as soon as Burgess gets back he will extend his contract to 2019 and will concentrate his training on becoming Baths' regular No.6 and Englands' regular No.6, esp. for the next World Cup.
Lancaster has said that at present Burgess's line-out work isn't good enough but he'll watch his progress with interest.

IMO it's ridiculous he's not taking part today.

The interesting point is that when Burgess came to Bath he played a couple of games at inside centre and then Mike Ford immediately moved him to number 6 as it is clear that is where Burgess' skill set is best used in Union. Lancaster has made that (IMHO) daft comment about lineout work to cover up the fact that basically he has looked at centres like Jamie Roberts and Ma'a Nonu and decided he needs an inside centre who is all bash and line breaking, and thrown Burgess into the biggest competition in world rugby in that role after he has played a grand total of about 100 minutes there.

Burgess shouldn't be the scapegoat at all. Lancaster should.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Perhaps it's just the media then.

There is an element in the media taking that line. I call that shoddy journalism.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

If Scotland didn't know they were in for a proper game before, they do now.

 

[Dinowolf]

There is an element in the media taking that line. I call that shoddy journalism.

Agreed, unfortunately there will be a lot more of it in the coming weeks.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Samoa 10 Scotland 3 after 10 minutes. Japan will be looking on with great interest. EDIT - Scotland reply immediately by the look of it.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Samoa playing some great stuff. Suicidal stuff to concede but then a tremendous reply.