Round 19

[fenlanderlady]

Promise not to gloat - but I'm well happy with last nights RM result.

Shame about Montpellier though!

[gaston le gaff]

A match Montpellier could have won but once again through away the victory, then the defensive bonus point and came away with NADA!!!!
The match against Bayonne on the 20th is now beginning to be a win at all costs.
Good victory for Racing, but Clermont are easy when they play away ,even we beat them!!!!
6 Nations round the corner cant wait,should be as usual excellent, lets see if they adopt the pointless kicking game or do they play proper rugby!!!

[fenlanderlady]

Don't burst my happy bubble Gaston hehehehehe - ok, so Clermont don't travel well, but the result was still the one i was hoping for and even with last nights results the RM table postion is still a good one heading into the last seven games. Looks like my Montpellier trip may have to be postponed until next season (all teams still being in the same league of course) - cost of flights is prohibitively expensive as neither of the 'bucket' airlines start their routes until end of March.

Comiserations to Tonymanx on the BO result - Bayonne are deifnately fighting now to keep from the drop

In the meantime 6Nations - hurrah hurrah - and Mr Quins has agreed to go to France v England provided i can get the tickets. So the hunt is on...................

[fenlanderlady]

Oh and in response to your rhetorical question - let's hope they all play proper rugby; too many kicking games in the last few months that have made watching a match very boring sometimes!

[TonyManx]

Thanks for the comiseratons......they got what they deserved but what a fantastic atmosphere!! It was my first visit to Jean Dauger but it will not be the last and makes Aguillerra feel like a graveyard!!

BO are good with its first team but when one or two are missing, their replacements are just not up to it. Last night we were missing Barcella, Yach, Traille, Bosch and Karmichael Hunt (again) and the absence of any two of those, never mind five, is sufficent for paralysis!! Also we just do not have a 10...Perylongue is well passed his sell by date and Courrent is a liability!

Top 6 of 14 and H Cup...not this year!

6N.....as said somewhere else, I am leaving tomorrow for Far East and hope it is all over before I get back!!

Always looked forward to watching it on TV when I was young and growing and managed to cultivate a friend who eventually could get me tickets (sorry - not now as he is retired !) to most games after he got into the corporate hospitality business.

Due to the poor quality and timings, I lost interest in attending Internationals some few years back but I was lucky to see three successive World Cup Finals, including my last International being the 2007 Final in Paris. Now I prefer the whole club scene yet, supporting BO, I am beginning to wonder whether I should go back to the frustrations of watching England for a rest!!

[fenlanderlady]

Hi Tony - Well at least you had a good time at the ground despite the result.

Have a good trip to Far East, i'm sure that you still catch up on line somewhere and keep any eye on the results???

Do you think BO will invest in more/new players for the new season?

Anyways - catch up with you when France have won the 6N!!! or will that be Ireland? Thank goodness that Mr Quins isn't standing behind me while i type this

[TonyManx]

Not sure that BO have any money to be able to invest else why did they not go for the Toulon 10 who went to Bayonne this week so bad are ours!!

Cap Gemini are the main fund provider for BO and it will interesting to see what happens but it is my understanding (rumoured) that another sponsor (Orange?) wanted to become co-sponsor but Cap Gemini said no and they had he contract! Not sure how true that is but it would have made life that much easier if there were a little more cash about....even though the club put together a "club" for supporters that raised some 1 million euro last summer! Not being of the area and, therefore, caught up in the rivalry, a merger with Bayonne seems like an awful good idea to me for many reasons to do with finance but that would be like Liverpool/Everton or Utd/City!!!

I certainly feel that without some new players, they could lose the likes of Barcella just like we lost Lecouls and others recently and then it becomes a vicious downward circle.

The good news is that there are some good young players coming through who, ideally, should have runs in a settled winning team, with experienced heads around them, to give them time to deveop and maximise their potential. So all is not lost!!

I will certainly be keeping my eyes on the results and will really look out for that of Les Blues against Les Verts, could well be the decider!!

[gaston le gaff]

Hi guys if you want to visit for Montpellier games, Luton Nimes with Ryanair is the one,always cheap if you book in advance, its just down the road from Montpellier.BO did us know favours on Thurs i was hoping they would beat Bayonne looks like the 20th Feb when we play Bayonne could be the game of the season for us!!!!!

[fenlanderlady]

Thanks for the Luton/Nimes tip - hadn't even given that a thought!

Can't see that Bayonne & BO would willingly merge; not knowing much background to the sponsorship deals, i'm guessing that like everything, performance pays but if you haven't got the right team/tools for the job, then money starts to dry up - and whatever would the Liverpool/Everton faithful make of that pairing Hope that they get the finance/young players.

I look at RM and see a number of more 'senior' players, all at their peak, some internationals amongst them and age not necessarily on their side, but also have seen (when i went to the ground) that they have a very good acadamy for the youngsters coming through. In fact the junior players had literally just finished mid-week training when i arrived for the game and there were loads of them. I know not all will make the grade, and some of those that shine will no doubt not remain at RM if they get spotted by another top team, but i was heartend to see their enthusiam.

I'm guessing that RM will have to produce/buy some more star players to keep their finances rolling and investors happy as the likes of Nallet, Steyn (ok he's got some time to go yet) and Chabal will not be around forever. But its been a good season so far and i hope to see them maintain their strength for the remaining games.

[gaston le gaff]

there are rugby gods some where, USAP, do power of good to Montpellier by beating Bayonne, now are game on the 20th is going to be a cracker, if we win Bayonne could be in deserate situations.
The money market is open and as usual the Midol (french rugby newspaper) is having everyone move everywhere, we have two new trainers from Bourgoin along with half their team plus we have lost half our team to everybody else, journalists don't you just luv them!!!!!!
Things could get UGLY for Scotland tomorrow, the boys are after the big one this year, with the ROSBIFS and the Irish at home, lets wait and see!!!! HAPPY RUGBY.....

[TonyManx]

I should be happy as a BO supporter at the plight of Bayonne but must admit to having really enjoyed the totally different atmosphere at their stadium such that I will be going to other matches there, I have to hope they stay up in order to see good teams coming there!!

As usual, first round 6 N was pretty poor stuff and the SH must be laughing their collective heads off at the rubbish that is being played by the European International teams! The Welsh forgot to turn up, the Irish were fast asleep, the French had too many baguettes and Italy and Scotland are just not up to being in the competition anyway!!! That leaves the English who were allowed to do what they wanted in the scrums but were stuffed by the lack of a kicking/passing or break making fly half who has had his day...........

Off to tomorrow and, hopefully, by time I am back, the players will have learnt and be allowed to play some decent stuff!!

[fenlanderlady]

Managed to miss the Ireland game as was sitting in a hotel lounge trying to convince the manager that he needed to change the TV prog from Sky news! Eventually got to see the England game and was pretty bored really although Mr Quins enjoyed it.

Scotland - well they started with good intentions (so i thought anyway) but after allowing France to get through, they sort of lost it although agree with Tony, the French weren't excatly on sparkling form either. Bastareaud certainly went some way to cleaning his copy book up so i guess from that perspective ML would be happy but now with another three players out injured for the Ireland game on Saturday he must be scratching his head with all sorts of worries. Ireland won't be anywhere near as easy as Scotland to run through and with one less day to get ready for the match as well.

[gaston le gaff]

hi guys , feel you are a little hard on Les Bleus, the only team to win away from home, against a team that did well in the Nov internationals, even Paterson was quoted as saying they were up for the French game then the Grand Slam!!!! and of course taking into consideration their 16th man with Nigel Owens giving absolutly nothing to France when Scotland infringed from start to finish in the front row.
As far as the S.H. we the French did go and beat the All Blacks in their own backyard it's a while since England have done that!!!.
Is this sour grapes or just the start of another Guerre de 100ans!!!!
ALLEZ FRANCE AND EVERYTHING FRENCH.
P.S the match, Montpellier against Racing is the 6th March k.o. 20.45 local time and televised by Canal +.

[TonyManx]

Not sure we were that hard on the Les Bleus, really, Gaston!

As I found myself in a bar after midnight in Hong Kong, where it was more or less compulsory to watch the game, I caught the France v Ireland game despite my initial instincts!!

I was fully rewarded and hugely impressed with the best performance that I have seen in the 6N for years and Les Blues redeemed fully the confidence I have that they will be the Grand Slam winners with their stunning display. Ireland were shown up to be what they really are...a set of great backs and a good back row but a team with a pretty poor front five and who tend to cheat or, as they would call it, be professional!! I felt they won last year as much by default as by real rugby cohesion and this showed here. Wonderful! (Must say Barnes was awful and Flannery not being red carded was not only a poor decision but will be a real slap in the face to the French if he is not cited and banned......the challenge was worthy of police action for premeditated assault and battery)

Les Blues are by far the best NH team and showed it without at least five first team players on Saturday....their only real problem has been the penchant of Lievremont to swop and change and ruin team spirit. If they continue on the basis of Saturday, I have them up there to be there and there abouts come October 2011 in NZ

[gaston le gaff]

Marc Lievremont has been working towards NZ2011 since he took the post, and the chopping and changing that happened over the first 2 years was to find a squad of around 40 players for the World Cup, France was not happy at first because there were no immediate victories, but now they see the results of a lot of hard work, everyone is changing their minds, the usual villain turned hero!!
When you consider the victory against World Champions South Africa in Nov a fantastic match and great victory, the win against Ireland was with 9 different players in the squad, this i think shows the true depths of the situation, and the quality of the French top 14.
Wales in 12 days time is another story, away from home it will be a big ask but if they don't have any more injuries anything is possible, if they can show the aggression and skills they produced against Ireland another win is on the cards.
Now Powell is trying to improve his golf handicap and driving skills who knows!! (personally i always found him a bit of a donkey)
After Dusautoir's eye gouging of Harinordoquoy, Marc Lievremont quoted at the after match press conference that it would not surprise him if Dusautoir got banned for around 72 weeks, obviously with a wry smile on his face!!
Flannery is up today for his sillyness lets see if the IRB have any balls!!!!

[fenlanderlady]

Better late than never i thought i would post my thoughts on last weekend........

Wales/Scotland - - as i happily sat in the pub drinking copious amounts of ale and relishing the game, little did i suspect that it would all go so wrong for the Scots. Even Mr Quins was supporting them (very unusual!). But what a final 10 minutes? Fair play to Wales for pulling it back, Steven Jones was excellent and shame on Scotland allowing it to happen, and then Godman did his thing and that was that (ok, well there was more but by then my distress was absolute) Congratulations to Scotland for pulling defeat out of the jaws of victory. As for the injuries that have beset the team - Thom Evans - i sincerely hope that he has a full recovery; Chris Paterson - sad for him on his 100th cap and poor Lamont yet again picking up an injury. And as for Powell - what an idiot! - worthy of a footballers wives script - this is rugby man, show a bit more professionalism!

France/Ireland - having divested myself of my scotland shirt and now in Chabal (although not selected) regalia (just to wind up the rest of the pub baying for french blood) Thoroughly enjoyed the game and the best of the weekend by far. The potential consequences of Flannery's actions could have been downright disasterous and shows very little respect for a fellow professional; that sort of behaviour could have been career ending and it remains to be seen what punishment the IRB dole out; Barnes on the other hand needs to go back to referee training - dreadful, and where was the touch judge, the TV ref? Why was no-one shouting in his ear - Oi! give that man an early flight home! Thought Parra and Nallet had particularly good games but the team overall played superbly (in my opinion) ML seems to be getting something right?
But fantastic match nonetheless - very pleased with result; very merry by full time; very asleep on sofa for rest of evening

England/Italy - go you Italians!!!! (ok guy's don;t hold that comment against me) Didn't go to pub today. stayed on sofa, drank tea, lit fire and decided to watch at home. Mr Quins on the other hand in full england supporters jersey, toddled off for more beer. Didn't enjoy game very much, thought Jonno's boys lacked a lot of things but mostly initiative; thought the Italians played a blinder for much of the game; Then watched the 'red button forum' on the BBC after with Inverdale, Guscott and Edwards - Guscott deciding that the england boys have all been programmed to play set-piece/no deviation from the plan rugby, and what was all that kicking about? Edwards on the other hand thought they showed some good play? neither could agree and Inverdale had difficulty in making them speak to each other - quite amusing really.

Looking forward now to this Saturday Top 14 RM/Castres - fingers crossed for a good result for RM. What are the predictions for BO/Brive and Montpellier/Bayonne?

[TonyManx]

In answer to comments about flannery......more than anything, I think his treatment shows the disparity in the ways in which the French and Anglo players are being treated. Had he done this in Italy, I am sure (after the way they treated Senna.s death) the boys in blue would have turned up at the airport to stop his departure. It was the actions of a North Dublin thug and he should not play for Ireland again.......Powell was dropped for a lark (showing my age an un-political correctness!1) yet Kidney (who has a Munster and Eire one eye) has called into question the decision?

The problem is he was cited for a trip and not a physical assault on a fellow player and this resulted in a limit to the amount of time he could be suspended for, although even then he was not given the maximum. Chicken Touch judge, chicken citing officer and downright pathetic team Ireland management!

Cannot comment on England/Italy or Wales/scotland other than to ask what the hell is going to change whilst Andrew/John Welles/MJ have anything to do with the team? MJ's robust defense of Jonny yesterday is pathetic and patronising. He is not the player of 2003 and even then he did not make any real breaks and had to thank God for Greenwood to decide how to run the game. Have been opposed to his selection since first muted as he is merely blocking the way. The best England can do is start again and build for 2015.

As for BO/Brive....most win game but depends upon the team slected. Believe, from a great distance, that Barcella/Yach/Traille are all still out and without one of them we have problems. Hope rumours of Cipriani recruitment are true as we desperately need a 10!! Feel that play offs are gone and H Cup next year beginning to look as if we need this year's to qualify!! Good luck this week end ot all and good to have Top 14 back if only fleetingly....I will be thinking of you all!!