Its just weird now isn't it. I'm scared to mention his name in case he suddenly appears, but it's almost like yer man who used to post on here is briefing the SA players.
SA's entire MO is psyching themselves up by any means possible. It works very well, they win matches just by sheer pashun and willpower.
There was plenty of it on the likes of off the ball and rassie was shown showing players that and the south africa are drug cheats type stuff. I can see why they have their back up
It works very well in fits and starts. I don't think it is sustainable. They are not a consistent team
Two world cups in a row! Six knockout games without defeat! The kind of consistency everyone dreams of.
And pretty mediocre in between. Yes I would like to win a world cup, but this is why South Africa should never be talked about in the same breath as the New Zealand side of 2011-2015 who were far, far better.
Breaking your heart seeing this league improve isn't it?
Yeah I mean if the URC isn't going from strength to strength then what is it doing? Last 3 years have been great.
That's the big difference in mentality between the two countries. SA have no problem experimenting, losing pool games, warmups or even the RC once they learn from it and go on to win the important matches.
Their 4 world cups in 8 tournaments are testament to their ability to get the job done. Sure, there has never been a side as good to watch or as successful as NZ in the mid 2010s but they still only won the same number of world cups as Rassie's SA.
They're in many ways the complete opposite of Ireland who are a model of consistency when it matters less and a model of mediocrity when it matters most. Not hugely dissimilar to Wales, on a smaller scale, who were often woeful but still able to pull off grand slams and WC knockout wins.
Ireland are 'win today, win tomorrow (lose next week)' which works well for them to a point. It's not an ethos every team subscribes to .
Mediocre in this case including a one score game where they missed 4 very gettable kicks last year. Their mediocre and our best are not all that different it seems
No, mediocre being losing twice to Australia in 2021, losing a test in Bloemfontein to Wales in 2022 and a couple of other underwhelming losses in there too. They've lost 12 times in the past few years, so when people say they don't belong in the same discussion as the great NZ team of 2011-15 (the best team I've ever seen) then it's an entirely fair comment.
No i think they dont either but back to back world cups puts them second which aint bad
Yeah, obviously they've managed to peak when it counts most, but the comment that they've been mediocre in between was a fair one.
I think mediocre is harsh particularly given they didnt play a game for 2 seasons with covid
They played plenty though - no one is judging them on the games they didn't play.
In 2021 they played13 games and lost 5 of them, in 2022 they played 13 games and lost 5 of them and then lost another couple in 2023.
Are we allowed to bring up the 'luck' element of winning lots of games by 1-3 points? History books won't remember of course but the margins are tiny…
The French would like a word about the ref too
At the same time, their best and our catastrophic failure aren't that different either.
Itd a large disruption though. 20/21 was a lions win and a poor rc off of that disruption
21/22 series win vs wales a series win vs argentina and series draws vs nz and aus its a fine season
22/23 build to a wc to the point thst they sent different teams to games and a wc win
21/22 was the one real season to work off nd it incuded a series draw vs nz. Weve painted a series win vs nz as the pinicle of irish rugby but they drew one and its seen as no big deal difference of expectations maby
Very true
They were blessed with their path in 2019 - they lost to NZ, then had to beat the following teams in this order to WIN A RUGBY WORLD CUP: (pre RWC ranking in brackets after each one)
Namibia (23)
Italy (13)
Canada (21)
Japan (10)
Wales (4)
England (3)
They were extraordinarily fortunate in the dying moments against France in 2023 - the Kwagga Smith penalty that decides the game was an egregiously wrong decision - he absolutely clearly has his hands on the ground and the penalty should have gone to France.
Wed just lost to japan which is why they played them 😅
They never won a series in NZ in the professional era. They haven't even won a game there in 6 years. The series they drew with NZ was in SA.
All of this is besides the point anyway - they looked eminently beatable and average at various points over the 4 years between 2019 and 2023. Fair play to them for lifting it at the actual tournament, but even then they lost to us, and were extraordinarily fortunate in the 3 knock out games.
Not taking it away from them, these games are just for winning after all, but their constant demands for respect as if they're the greatest ever is a bit tiresome too.
I guess if something happens repeatedly, is it luck?
Like, they won the RWC with three one-point victories in the knock-outs. They had huge slices of luck in each of those games, but to grind the results out consistently shows serious mental strength, even if they weren't the "better" team in any of those matches.
So maybe that's why they have to do this dance of making everything a grudge match and they have to make themselves the victim every time, it's how they get the extra 5% they need.
It's still an absolute crock of shite though, but paper never refused ink I suppose.
Its motivation the same as leinster did when la rochelle staying in cork was an issue for some reason. Sport at this level is small margins and that can be a big help
Leinster couldn't give two f**k that La Rochelle stayed in Cork
That was just an ego trip by ROG, if they really needed to fly into Ireland to prepare for the game they would have stayed at Carton house like Toulouse etc had done, they had the facilities etc for a top rugby team, instead they spent the week going around Cork stroking ROG ego 😂
I don't think anyone from Leinster made any comment on La Rochelle?
But Erasmus takes it to a whole other level of obnoxiousness and viciousness.
We remember it differently see the comment above yours
Why was it an ego trip? Why do away teams have a mandatory hotel?
Coach put his team up in an area hes familiar with its being blown up is the same as what south africa are doing
A hotel with no facilities for a rugby team
Plus a hotel in the city the game was been held in
He could have booked into multiple hotels with better options closer to Dublin with facilities. It was an ego trip.
He chartered a flight to Cork, he could have chartered a flight from La Rochelle to Dublin and it would have taken less travel time than the bus up, I guess they took a bus up
Unless that poster is also an employee of Leinster Rugby, then no, you're wrong here.
What Leo Cullen said about Cork getting behind LAR was:
"Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it? That’s what sport needs and I’m glad that we’re a part of it."
That's what rugby needs, people actually enjoying themselves and having a bit of sporting and friendly rivalry, i.e. the exact opposite of Rassie and his deranged ranting.
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