Thanks to a glorious meeting of Xbox and Foxtel, I’m now able to watch the rugby from the comfort of the lounge. Rock on!
What can you say about the first round of games that won’t be washed away over the next few weeks? Well, I guess it’s all opinion and comment, so .. Here’s my two cents into the fray.
The Rebels performed the way you would expect (but not hope) a new team to. They were ill-formed and mis-type-cast, kind of like the bug-ridden code I write.
It would have been interesting to know how Greg Somerville’s thoughts were proceeding over the course of the game. Probably something like:
Greg Somerville’s Thoughts In Real-Time Game Time
(00:40) Feeling good. Still got it.
(5:34) Phew. Bit harder than I remember.
(16:12) Young punks. I’ll teach em.
(36:48) Boy do I miss playing with Richie and the boys.
(49:20) Wasn’t this Cipriani fellow supposed to be good?
(65:43) Morty’s blowing as hard as me. Nice.
(74:23) At least I’m getting paid a filthy amount.
(80:03) I’m too old for this .. game.
** True story.
Quite a few of the opinions I’ve read talk about The Waugh-horse and how well he played. It’s true, he did. Orc Commander on the Battlefield.
The two blokes in the piggies who impressed me were Ben Mowen and Kane Douglas. You could see the "go-forward". They made impact when they hit the line.
Barnes was okay, Mitchell and Beale pursued excellence and Damien Fitzpatrick made a wonderful George-Smith-Style steal 77 minutes into the game.
The "almost the whole team" maul try was pretty cool to watch. I bet it was a cauldron of ferocity in there.
Sam Cordingly made some strange mistakes. I watched a bit of the Toulon / Biarritz game, and watching Michalak was like watching Cordingly. Just wierd.
Speaking of wierd, when you come off the field you have a bloke there holding out a water and a gatorade. Since when did hard rugby blokes need the pampering .. oh wait. Money. As Mr Crabs would say .. "Money money money money money!" Changes things. It just seemed so out of place. Here we have the greatest sport in the world, in the universe (except if there is some form of space-rugby), where we pit brawn and brain together in battle .. And when you come off the field you are asked politely by a waiter-type-bloke if you’d like a spot of tea.
A few years back I remember propping against a Barraba prop who was fairly reeking of intoxicating liquidity, who apparently came out of the bush to play rugby. He was beering it up and half-time. A real man’s man. Not really. Also, not sure where that story is going, but ..
I guess none of it matters.
Whether you play with half a tank of beer or get the choice of placebo-replenishing vitamin drinks, what matters is the game.
So take your gatorades and your waters and the bloke that hands them out .. And win! Play hard. Not Brett Sheehan "punch a bloke in the face once per half" Hard, but "John Eales / Richie McCaw / Martin Johnson – win a crap-load of silverware" Hard.
Stu’s Rating:
5 / 10
** 5 / 10 is a game where, although there was great play, it wasn’t a great game. In Stu Ratings, 5 is good. Very watchable. 6 has a couple of fist-pumps. 7 is Ashley-Cooper swan-diving. 8 is our scrum dominating. 9 is Beale falcon-ing, kicking, chasing and catching. 10 is George Smith winning the world cup with a chip-kick, regather and pass to Latho for his tenth leg-pumping, gut-busting try of the tournament.
1. (Loose-Head Prop) – Benn Robinson
Some folk will tell you that George Smith was good, but not great.
Now, I love going to games. But I rarely get to, because I make the decision to stay at home with the family most of the time.