Money I guess.
In this professional sport world of today nothing counts if you are sponsored.
Pity.
Money I guess.
In this professional sport world of today nothing counts if you are sponsored.
Pity.
Thinking of sponsorships and the monetization that ruins the direction of sporting codes, I can't help but think of Captain Amazing from Mystery Men...
And Wayne's World...
Wotsa score please
They lost 17-7...got carded twice in short succession., game over...
but the Sharks beat Bordeaux very well in the Heineken Champions Cup - 32-3
Lions kit was lost by the airline they used. Away kit clashed with Stade hence the reason they used that kit.
Well it was something different for sure.
...thanks for the info.
Lions were crap
Coetzee at 15 was pathetic as was Landsberg at lock
Alberts needs to retire
Lombard at 10 was piss poor
Lyon vs Bools...7-0
Bismarck looking like a 80's TV police detective ...or porn star...
10-0
38 yo Bissie being a real nuisance on the deck...
17-0
Bulle is K@K vanaand.
Bismarck looking like a 80's TV police detective ...or porn star...
Haha
Why the fuck did the Bulls not select their best side given the importance of the game
They needed a point to automatically qualify for the last 16
Fucking Jake is a prime idiot
Yes he was not there but he makes the selection calls
On a positive note I really like Ruan Vermaak at 4 for the Bulls. Two big physical games in a row for him now
I knew he was good, I liked the look of him at the Lions but they hardly used him
Whole day of rugby today...with the SA sides in the Heineken, the competition has become much more interesting for me, even if the SA sides are not involved.
Sharks struggling against Quins...21-8 after 25m, it's raining penalties against them.
21-13
21- 15
24-25
Etzebeth haha what a try!
24-22
Halfway
29-22.plenty points
Daar groet my krag....tot sesuur.
Leinster vs Racing is quite a good game...Racing haning on 7-5, but one feels the dam is going any time.
7- 10...Racing not dead yet.
12-10
What a kick Gelant!!!
Racing can't stay down...great perseverance!!@
lekke WiePie!!!!
Well done Stormers....Happy to see Jean luc du Plessis back....impressive start after long layoff....Dan du Plessis is growing in stature and a great 12.....Roos also showed his strength....what,s happened to the bulls? Compared to last season, there is something off....smart try from Eben
Roos is just a different animal.
I saw Wolhuter starting for tje Stormers in two games and then vanished from sight due to injury, Liked what I saw of him last night.
Roos when he came on from the bench was huge in the game.
All 8 URC teams through to the last 16 as compared to 5 Gallagher Premiership Teams and 3 Top 14. Bodes well for the URC as a league.
If Munster pull off a win today which is unlikely Stormers will be playing the Bulls at home in the last 16.
If Toulouse beat Munster which is likely than its Bulls will have to travel to face them in the last 16.
Stormers will then either have Munster or Montpellier at home.
Most likely the Sharks will drop a position today after the Edinburgh Saracens match and will most likely have the Ospreys at home who I suspect will also drop one place toady.
You would fancy Stormers and Shark to make the quarters but I think the Bull won't go beyond the last 16.
Stormers has got a flyhalf headache.
Libbok, Kade, Jean Luc, Sasha, Willemse.
For years we had to suffer with Peter Grant or Chris Russouw. Now all of sudden we have to bring 4 flyhalves into the match day 22
Monster making a game of it.
Count the Bulls out at your own peril.
I hope the bulls can get there form back....they might also be missing the leadership from Marcelle Coetzee....won't count them out either.....Lions and Sharks are also still in with a chance?
Steep hill for the Bulls, but they pulled it off vs Leinster in Ire last season...
Bulls have talented players....Grobbelaar is my favourite....Jake hopefully have some good plans to get Bulls back on track...
Jake is a fucking idiot who keeps selecting under strength sides - no more so than the all important game this last weekend where the Bulls needed a result to qualify for the last 16 in the Champions Cup
If a coach can’t work out which of the two tournaments to prioritise he should fuck off
The Bulls were crap over the weekend, their scrum got destroyed and there was far too much possession conceded through poor handling or aimless kicking
The Sharks were bloody disappointing against Quin’s
Stormers did us proud, with the Lions only just managing to do the same, conceding a massive first half lead
The sharks were not on there game but Thomas was solid in the scrum I thought....really getting better @ Tighthead....should get more game time in bok games....Vincent koch is not necessarily better.
Agreed Thomas is a great tighthead and better option than Koch, given he is younger and great in effecting turnovers
Too many teams to follow. But also scary to think how good these teams have become with the advent of professionalism.
A B team Exeter team can beat the boks a side.
A off coloured French team can give an overhyped bulls team a hiding.
Harlequins put over on the only SA team with the most boks, playing against no less than 3 SA players and boks with some current England stars.
Would a Super rugby team from 10 years ago be able to beat the European teams of today. Maybe, but just look at the condition of these players. They are all athletes and bulked up. Playing a better brand of attacking rugby
I thoroughly enjoyed the Quins / Sharks match actually !
Yeah was a good game....Esterhuizen was really good for Harlequins and also Stephan Lewis old Sharks player....even scored a try....Quins deserved to win and the SA players in there Squad, really gives them a edge
Oh yes, it would be the SA’s not players like Smith, Murley and Davids who make the difference 
By the way, the Sharks are my SA team. Supported them since they were Natal
But off course Becs, they also played a Vital role
Yeah yeah
Stormers and Bulls both got Rugby Lessons this WE....Congrats Scarletts and Ulster....well deserved wins.
Geez, Stormers got smoked.
Eina!
Ulster away was always gonna be near impossible to win...pity about the margin though.
Brave Guppies hold on to beat Edinburgh 22-19
That was an enjoyable game.
The Sharks showed alot of grid....man they tackled like monsters....even Fassi, that is not the best defender, defended well.....congrats Sharks.
Exeter vs Montpelier on now...winner plays Stormers in the quarters...
0-12 after 9 mins
I'm obviously cheering on Montpelier because I want a CT quarterfinal...if the Chiefs win, the Stormers must travel to Exeter...
Few Saffas on the pitch.
Reinach
Nico Jansen van Rensburg...
Wow, what a match...leveled in the last 5 second of extra time...Stormers must pack their bags....GO WP!!!!
Bools behind 12-6 halfway vs Toulouse...still hanging...
Go Bulle!!!
Toulouse romping away after ref missed a clear forward pass before the first try….right in front of him.
The Booools got destroyed, pity to see them doing so poorly. I suspect that things are not well and they are nose diving massively in all comps.
Sharks came out firing and dominated the whole game.
Stormers took their foot off in the last 10 min. Bit of a scrappy game but they did really well to see off Harlequins.
Lions was the surprise. Watch out for the 20 year old Venter being poached by a French club.
More games this weekend. Will be a tough battle.
Stormers Vs Exeter away will be tough. Have to Travel then play, but might have more in the tank as Exeter should have lost to Montpellier.
Sharks away against Toulouse, will be a very tough Journey as the French teams are totally different at home.
Liona did well, hope all 3 teams can make it to the semis.
Just shows you how competitive this comp is and how well organised your team needs to be.
I think that is why Leinster is the top team at the moment. They have a decent squad that just slots in and player 1 to 45 all perform at the same level.
The bulls have gone backwards, not sure if they'll challenge for anything this year.
Game on this weekend.
Really excited
Realistically I think Stormers are the only SA team that can get a result next weekend.
Toulouse at home will be too much for the Sharks. Munster where very poor at the weekend. Sharks didn't even need to be that good, but they play like a team of individuals super stars not like a well coached and cohesive team on the same wavelength.
Likewise Glasgow at home should be too strong for the Lions, though Lions beat them at home this season.
The bulls have gone backwards, not sure if they'll challenge for anything this year.
Sniping is the name of the game in this format. Being relieved of any other objective is a massive positive. It did not miss on this round: teams that focus on other objectives threw their game while teams having nothing else to play played as if there were no tomorrow.
As this competition advances, considering how gruesomely brutal games are going to be, playing the next week is going to hurt.
Starting next week as the english side would not have recovered from all the traumas they suffered during their game against that french side.
If the SA rugby side does not establish forward dominance over their weakened counterpart, they will never do.
Toulouse romping away after ref missed a clear forward pass before the first try….right in front of him.
The ref showed it from the other angle.
That being said, this board depicted SA rugby sides as able to play attacking rugby and how this should scale to test levels.
As already written, this comp is filled with dummy games that do not let gauge properly a team level.
It did not miss. When stuff turned tense, that SA rugby side came up with the usual non rugby offer, trying to gring penalties and that is all.
As stated many times, this approach put a tremendous weight on a ref shoulder as he is left with determining a winner on decisions that may have gone one way or the other.
No such a problem when one side can be screwed at no costs. When a side may grab the phone to file an informal complaint and get the ref blacklisted for theirs games, that is another story.
Refs for this type of game largely prefer non controversial calls like tries coming from a clean interception (one reason the game was mediocre is the French side knowing this and organizing in order to prevent this outcome at all costs)
Ironically, the approach of pushing so much weight on a ref's shoulders usually comes with the introduction of a bias: refs wishing to stay in clear waters usually favour teams that work to provide them with non controversial calls and do not see stuff.
Considering that the SA rugby side provided nothing that do not compromize a ref's decision making, the other team that provided stuff to get the ref out of his torments.
That is the irony: while they tried to provided the ref with what he desired (clean actions that do not involve him) the side was granted a controversial call.
Leinster 27-14 Toulouse...4min left before halfway.
34-17
41-17....Ireland has conquered France...again!
Trad...nobody reads your kak. You know that, right?
Leinster vs La Rochelle
23-17 after 44min
Go Leinster!!!
DbDraad
Hall Of Fame
19005 posts
Stade France vs Lions on now....Lions leading 0-7....but why are the Lions playing in Vetkoekpaleis kit?