MichaelRobartes

Shit for Irish. Feel sorry for all the staff and fans.

They're going to have to restructure Europe. We can't give eight of ten Premiership clubs Heineken Cup places.

6 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Mate of mine was first team physio at wasps, now at Irish. Talk about how’s your luck. 
 

He/all staff have been asked to stick it out until end of month as they think they could strike a deal with a buyer. Everyone owed 2 months wages. 
 

It’s only gonna end one way isn’t it sadly. 

Shit. Poor guy.  Hope everyone involved can find other gigs as quickly as possible.

Has there been a rule change in terms of the time you're allowed to bowl your overs? It's been a while, but the last time I watched a T20 match, the last few overs were interminable.

The goys missing out on the fifth stor.

Seriously, that's one of the best finals I've seen. Freakishly good. Four Heineken Cups for ROG now.

2 hours ago, The Bard said:

I thought the old format was dull tbh.  Loads of dead rubbers as only 3 of the 2nd place sides qualified.   Rugby is very poor at organising itself.  Leinster getting to the final was like a procession.  All 4 knock out games at home, including the final.  What a joke.

His general point is well founded though.  What's the common denominator between EPCR, Gallagher Premiership and URC???

That's your answer to what is going on behind the scenes.

 

Disagree about the old format. I think it was really cutthroat. The new format is rubbish, although I quite liked the two-legged round of 16 against all the odds!

Agree about Leinster's run. Fair enough that the final is in Dublin, but I'd like a random draw for the semi finals at least.

Hard to argue with this. They've made a right pig's ear of it. For me, the Heineken Cup was the best club competition in sport. Its decline over the last decade or so is really sad.

That said, we've hopefully got a great final today. Let's hope they see sense and go back to the old format in time.

4 minutes ago, Northern Red said:

 

That's an improvement. Best thing would be to go back to six pools of four teams though. Pool winners and two best runner ups through to the quarters. Top four have home advantage then a free draw for the semi finals. Easy.

17 hours ago, Northern Red said:

We'd be in the bottom group of seeds so we'd end up playing the likes of Leinster and the top French or South African sides.

Munster or Stormers from the URC and likely Toulouse or La Rochelle from the Top14.

2 hours ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Bit of extra cash I suppose, but I can't summon much excitement as I just don't think Bears will be competitive in that competition. 

I'd be delighted as Munster will be one of the URC top seeds and are down to draw Exeter or Baff from the Premiership. I'd prefer Bristol though. I don't get to many Munster matches now.

Looking rocky for Irish. If they go belly up, Bristol will be in the Heineken Cup next season after all.

On 11/05/2023 at 14:09, Laner said:

Aren't O'Neills big in Ireland with Gaelic football shirts.

Can any fellow reds living in the Emerald Isle give us an idea of the quality of those shirts?

Have we just picked the lowest quality shirts possible - or are all of their kits questionable?

I have tons of O'Neills GAA gear and the quality is excellent. Some of the jerseys I have are the bones of 20 years old and more or less in perfect condition. Agree with Norn Iron that it'd be an aberration if our gear turns out to be poor quality.

18 minutes ago, elhombrecito said:

I'd definitely be going to that if I could. Saw the Barbarians against Ireland at Kingsholm years back. Great fun in the Shed with ROG booed throughout and me and my mates booing Contepomi for kicking a penalty at the end to win it.

Were you at that one, @'Orns?

47 minutes ago, In the Net said:

With a population of over 5 million, I think that it's a bit of a sweeping statement to assume that you know what "the norm" is, regardless of which side of the fence you are on. 

Some of us hate the English so much that we've spent most of our lives there and support English football teams. Can't stand the English, me. 

On 01/05/2023 at 11:29, REDOXO said:

God I hate anything to do with The Republic of Ireland and it’s constant blaming of the English for everything. 
 

Dreadful thing to put up on a scoreboard and a bit embarrassing, however thousands travel to this country every week spilling their vile nonsense singing songs about terrorism, killing soldiers and that’s freedom of speech I am told. 
 
Someone should be fired of course, but I was brought up in Guildford and had over 30 years of all the evil bastards!

 

 

Seems a reasonable view. I'll just go fup myself then.

Also covered in the Belfast Telegraph here:

https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/bristol-city-fc-apologise-for-message-celebrating-michael-stone-beating-milltown-3-0/1464101728.html

Stone is a notorious UDA murderer. Pretty sick from whoever sent that in, but I don't expect City to have any clue of the significance of the message.

I guess Dickson has come to that decision under law 13.4:

https://www.world.rugby/the-game/laws/law/13

Players on their feet and without the ball must not fall on or over players on the ground who have the ball or who are near it. Sanction: Penalty.

As you know, I don't agree that the law changes aren't necessary, but it's hard to have much sympathy for that decision. It's not high or dangerous and he's trying to prevent a try from being scored. For me, he's already on the floor before making contact with Ashton. It's not like he's dived on him recklessly.

The only thing I'd say is that it highlights the danger of getting silly yellows for deliberate knock ons when you know you have a guy like Karl Dickson in the middle. I don't think that incident has a lot to do with the laws.

8 minutes ago, Lordofthebling said:

Going finally down and out with a wimper tbh..

Genge lost his head, lucky boy, Macginty seems the only one who's given this a go.

Ref has been poor but Cor, the curry's are some unit.

MacGinty has trucked up some muck ball. Not where you want him at all. 

The Curry brothers are class. Get the feeling Bristol need to add a bit more to their pack, especially the back 5. No point having top backs when your pack gets beaten up.

3 minutes ago, Northern Red said:

Think Genge is a lucky boy there.

Agreed. Red all day for me.

Great work from MacGinty and Naulago for that try. I switched it on just in time to see a high shot from Manu 

3 minutes ago, Northern Red said:

He's fine for the World Cup, the relaxation of the no foreign-based players rule is in place until then.

Do think they might have to look at it beyond that though. I didn't realise how many are going to France next year but there's quite a few current regulars - Cowan-Dickie, Ribbans, Nowell, Marchant, Simmonds.

I didn't know it was definitely in place until after the World Cup. Last I read was that they were considering it and that Borthwick was keen to select from outside England.

Would any of those bar Willis be in the post-World Cup frame? I think a lot will depend on what Borthwick wants and how big a rebuild he has in mind. He'll pretty much have a free hand. If the World Cup goes well, his decisions will be backed, and if it doesn't, it'll be a lot easier for him to justify ripping up the squad.

I doubt the RFU will want the exception to become the rule (and rightly so in my opinion), but I think there could be a bit more wiggle room for a few years until the situation in the Premiership is a bit more stable. Under the circumstances, I think it'd be hard on guys to leave them out because they couldn't get what they were worth in England. It's a dangerous game and a short career.

22 minutes ago, Super said:

Although that's not good for his England career is it MR?

It shouldn't be, but Borthwick has indicated that he'd like to be able to pick who he wants irrespective of where they play. The financial landscape has changed somewhat and of course there will be a few guys like Cowan-Dickie going abroad next season, so he may get his wish, at least in the short term. I can't see a situation where England go to the World Cup without Willis if he's fit.

18 minutes ago, harrys said:

It’s been out of use for a while and it is to be totally re-built, a bit surprised they’re allowing an “English” sport to be played at a Gaelic stadium.
Croke Park in Dublin is twice the size of Landsdown Rd but politically it’s a hot potato to play football there

 

That's true but it has changed in the last while. Our football and rugby national sides played there while Lansdown Road was being rebuilt. I haven't checked the dates, but Croke Park may not have been available for the Euros because of All Ireland fixtures.

1 hour ago, Midred said:

Now staying at Toulouse.

Would have been a superb signing for Bristol, but it makes a lot of sense for Toulouse and Willis. They retain a top player who fits perfectly into their back row and he gets to continue playing for one of the best teams in Europe.

24 minutes ago, LondonRobin said:

Highlight of the game: Was sat behind the Clermont coaches and soon as the game was over 2 of them started smoking a ciggy in the stand. The steward could not believe his eyes and told them where to go. Nige… take note

You've got to love French rugby.