The Dew Drop Inn Virtual La Botticella Pub, Rome.

First topic message reminder :

Hello and welcome to the Virtual Rugby Pub, a place where you can come in for a sly beverage and discuss whatever's on your mind, or just eavesdrop on the regulars if you fancy a break from all the rugby chat.

The pub has made its way to the historical city of Rome, the owner Giiovanni, is a Canadian-Italian, and welcomes all after a great day of rugby.

The only rule in this pub is one of mutual respect for everyone in it, oh and no tampering with the pictures of Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Dane Coles, Aaron Jarvis, Samson Lee and Schalk Brits up on the wall. Erm, actually there is a second rule. No elephants, unless they're Effervescing - we can't be barring a Chiefs fan



Previous Pub:
https://www.606v2.com/t36353-the-dew-drop-inn-virtual-jackie-horner-tavern-near-kings-park-durban

Ta mate.

Rodders,
The character of the big farmer and mining types is changing too.
These days you need those big guys to be fast thinking and quick on their feet. Just ask Prop or Rev.

rodders wrote:

Linebreaker wrote:There are no short cuts... you've gotta grow and develop your own talent first and foremost and then groom any potential 'stars' (or at least give those candidates every opportunity) for the long haul of a player's career if necessary. You can't kid yourself or hope for a magic import to suddenly change the mindset and performance of the team/squad and again it's hoping for the wrong thing in the wrong way.

Agree entirely but that is for the long term and issues as to why we aren't producing enough decent props needs to be addressed. However in the interim if this guy Bent gives us a 3rd guy who can be trusted to anchor a scrum without collapsing and/or conceding penalties at the first bit of pressure then he should be welcomed with opened arms in my opinion.

Interesting to listen to Prop and Revs conversation about playing against big tough farmers and miner types. Is that something our young props are missing in Ireland as they go from school boy to academy rugby?

Are you suggesting there are no farmers in Ireland? If so I have a shocking revelation for you Rodders. I know what is missing from schoolboy rugby here Rodders- they don't know how to scrummage. The fat kids are props, the tall kids are second rows. Scrums are restarts like in rugby league. Shambles. Parents don't want their precious children involved in rough old rugger shenanigans, they just want them in the team tracksuits to show how middle class they. Kids in scrumcaps and shoulderpads at 11 or 12? If I have kids and my wife tries to do that I'm selling them to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, or Madonna. Then I'll ship some new children over from the colonies to take their place. Straight off the plane and straight into the team- its the Declan Kidney way. Then we wonder why people like Mike Ross only develop when they hit thirty. It's only because they have learnt the skills they should have when they were 12. There is no culture of scrummaging at underage level. That's the problem.

I hope it's not a major departure from the old shirt, Rev.

Risca Rev wrote:

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

Risca Rev wrote:I remember when I played school football at Hartridge (as it was known) and after we beat them, we had a load of kids coming towards our bus.

To congratulate you, surely?

Haha. Yeah must've been.

Have you all seen the new British Lions shirt?

My mate works for adidas and I saw a mock up about 4 months ago. Isn't it exactly the same as the last shirt except with an old fashioned collar? I thought it looked quite nice.

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:

Risca Rev wrote:

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

Risca Rev wrote:I remember when I played school football at Hartridge (as it was known) and after we beat them, we had a load of kids coming towards our bus.

To congratulate you, surely?

Haha. Yeah must've been.

Have you all seen the new British Lions shirt?

My mate works for adidas and I saw a mock up about 4 months ago. Isn't it exactly the same as the last shirt except with an old fashioned collar? I thought it looked quite nice.

That's exactly what it is really

Well yes Hookie, I'd accept that all that is a slight problem too.....

I like it.

I still haven't worn my 2005 Lions shirt. Its locked away with my Ireland 2012 RWC replica jersey.....

I like it, too. I'm not sure about the 'tonal stripe' but it's subtle enough. I like the old-fashioned collar, but there's a reason they got rid of collars in the first place...

Exactly Lucky.

Just watched the lowlights from the Dragons v Ulster game. That Tom Court celebration is even more embarrassing on tv instead of in a photo, given he actually did a prolonged one.

Just watched the clip of what actually happened to the Chelsea steward too. Now that is disgusting.

I didn't know Tom Court had done it until I saw the photo on the match review. From what I could see it was mostly Ulster fans at that end anyway!

Do we know who it was aimed at?

Media
Dragons Fans
Ulster Fans

Risca Rev wrote:

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

Risca Rev wrote:I remember when I played school football at Hartridge (as it was known) and after we beat them, we had a load of kids coming towards our bus.

To congratulate you, surely?

Haha. Yeah must've been.

Have you all seen the new British Lions shirt?

That happened when we beat Caldicot away when Sarries were district side and they were like div 4 or something? They wanted another friendly the week after....we said no!!

prop_lyd wrote:

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

prop_lyd wrote:I wonder if I had an Irish gram whether I'd have received a call up....

Careful, Prop. Remember what happened to Matt Stevens.

Ah but I can actually prop!!

Don't tell the Sarries that for goodness sake, you'll be playing in the backs!!

MBTGOG wrote:Interesting debate about Bent. Personally, I think the Strauss selection is far worse!

Oh man, me too. Absolutely.

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:

rodders wrote:

Ozzy3213 wrote:
To answer your question, yes we do put the SANZAR nations and their players on a pedastal. I think there are a number of reasons for this, but one of the main ones I think is this. When a 18/19 year old does well in Super Rugby or even the ITM or Currie Cup, they seem to be very ready to blood them into the national team. Generally it is one player coming into a settled, top quality side and they flourish immediately, which gives us the perception of them being a teenage world beater and the next 'best player in the world'.

John Afoa gave an interesting insight into this last season when assessing the academy/schools set up in Ireland.

He said how that in NZ there is a very close relationship with the schools system and the professional clubs/franchises. The school boys are on serious training programs and getting coached professionally and when the cream come into the academys they are ready physically and skills wise to step into top level rugby and are waiting for a chance.

By contrast Afoa said that young players in Ireland aren't doing proper training or getting top coaching until they leave school and get into the provincial academies and at that point they are still a few years of being ready to play 1st team senior rugby.

That's not totally true. The schools with the most money do very well, MCB, Belfast Inst and Campbell for instance. They train obsessively, running drills at lunchtime, compulsory weight sessions and the like before school and all that kind of thing. Their players are bigger, stronger and dominate games by sheer physicality. That said I know for a fact that several years ago Brian McLaughlin started to look outside the big Belfast schools for players who had skills but maybe not necessarily the physical attributes at under 18 level. I still go most St Patrick days to see the school cup final and watch kids with poor basic skills run straight lines bashing into one another. It's dire stuff. Conversely, the less physical but more gifted players take slightly longer to develop in the academy as it takes longer to get them up to the required physical level. But what Afoa said is true in one regard- we have too many players that are not ready for consistent provincial level until mid to late 20s.

I think that we've spotted this hole in our development of players. Brian McLaughlins role is essentially identifying and nurturing talent at sub-Academy level, if I'm not very much mistaken. Hopefully part of his job remit is to improve these guys basics before they hit the Academy as well as their physicality.

Mind you, the biggest surprise I've gotten from an Ulster player coming through was from Chris Farrell. I saw Chris Farrell in the Schools Cup Final playing for Campbell and I thought he wouldn't make it for a good few years at least- he was very effective in that game, but he simply relied on his power to break the line. I never saw him pass or offload the ball once, so I thought he was completely one-dimensional and lacking in basic skills and awareness.

But then when he was playing for Ulster suddenly he was given license to pass the ball and he did it well. I think it was in the reserve team we sent to the RDS last year where his distribution shone through and I had to reconsider. I think the pressure of Schools Cup rugby can lead to an overly conservative brand of rugby that doesn't ask players to employ the skills they'll need to go to a higher level.

So guys were all agreed then.....

Court - Strauss - Bent as starting front row for Ireland...... ....

Well, right now Cian Healy and Rory Best are carrying knocks so be careful what you wish for. We could be 2/3 of the way there!

rodders wrote:I still haven't worn my 2005 Lions shirt. Its locked away with my Ireland 2012 RWC replica jersey.....

What RWC is this? Rounders? I know it's an official GAA sport but I wouldn't have thought it was popular elsewhere............ We would beat the Yanks I'd say. It's the Latin Americans you have to watch in sports like that.

2011 RWC I meant Thom, gees I can still remember that tanking by Wales like it was yesterday....

I was trying to make a joke but it obviously failed. Ah well won't be the last time.

Cleared the place T!!

Bad injury for O'Driscoll. Misses the Autumn series and misses the back to back games with Clermont.

rodders wrote:2011 RWC I meant Thom, gees I can still remember that tanking by Wales like it was yesterday....

So can I Rodders, so can I ....







.....

Rory Best out of the November tests and a possible doubt for Northampton!

With Muller a doubt for those games with Saints as well, this is serious stuff for Ulster.

Does anyone want to buy me this?

http://www.4starclassics.com/bmw-2000-Touring-For-Sale/

Afternoon all.

Fully electrified once again!

On Schools rugby in Ulster.

It is absolutely heart breaking to watch the style of play prefered by the "Big Rugby" schools here. The most successful of all of them are purely interested in BIG forwards and BIG backs. Not interested in back play at all. The number of times we watch our lad get himself in try scoring positions if anyone would just put the ball out there only to have the 12 or 13 take it straight back into contact.

Says it all when Craig Gilroy first heard of the notion to move the ball to his other hand and fend when he was already playing for Ulster.

We watch Blackrock for example and their lads are flinging the ball out like it's second nature.

Ulster do have centralised development sides from age 14 though so hopefully BM will get his mitts on these lads earlier and get some skills instilled.

That's the most depressing post I've read on here. And to think I was just having a break...

Sorry to ruin your Glas.

Just be thankful you don't have to watch it, especially as the parent of a reasonably fast winger!

The only attacking move I learned at school was the Garryowen. I was pretty good at chasing those though. Still have a creak in my neck mind you....

Ironically when I played for Garryowen FC we never used the up and under.

Problem is, it works.

As in it wins the Schools Cup!

They will not change because winning the Schools Cup and Medallion Sheild are the only things most school rugby coaches are interested in. No development, no skills, no long term view.

Too obvious stag, the opposition would see that one coming a mile off....

Yes, and then Pro 12 coaches or worse, International coaches talk about "building for the future".

MrsP wrote:They will not change because winning the Schools Cup and Medallion Sheild are the only things most school rugby coaches are interested in. No development, no skills, no long term view.

Nail on the head Mrs P. Agree 100%.

MrsP wrote:Sorry to ruin your Glas.

Just be thankful you don't have to watch it, especially as the parent of a reasonably fast winger!

I watched my nephew who is 16 play a couple of weeks ago. He got a West Wales cap at 10 years old, but is a very late developer. He was a foot shorter than his mates and is a few stone lighter. He plays centre usually but was full back on this occasion. He only got the ball when it was mishandled by the other backs and ended up getting rag dolled a la Shane Williams more often than not. I've told him to play football for a couple of years and come back to it later when he catches up. He did play for Cardiff Bluebirds when younger so has the skill. As far as I can see, the coaches at this level are all pathetic. He's the type that can pick up skills just by watching somebody else doing it once.

He's on 8th Avenue New York on a school trip currently. He's managed to phone home though and is OK.

Oh Glas,

Glad to hear he's okay. What a nightmare. We had no electricity for 4-5 hours this morning but I kept thinking about all those across the Atlantic who had that plus that terrifying weather too.

Has there been many casualties?

Unfortunately yes Stag although, when you consider the size and ferocity of the storm, relatively few.

Fatalities in the twenties I think.

I have no idea how long it will take to clear up after this.

Thats very sad. Theres something very elemental seeing a city like NYC brought to its knees by Mother Nature.

Evening All

Hope everything's okay with everyone in here.

Re: the storm in the US, the latest is that the death toll has reached 33. However, given the size of the area affected by two storms coming together so violently, that's mercifully few. New Yorkers are pretty resilient and they'll come through this I'm sure, although it'll take time.

Evening Cari and pub.

Sorry to hear about your friend kiwi.

I think you're right about the casualties in the US Cari. That could have been so much worse if tgey hadn't evacuated about 0.5m people.

And in London they moan about a bit of rain.

Hound - a British guy living in NYC has sent a photo to the BBC showing a park with trees overturned and things. In the caption, he says that the morning after the storm, New Yorkers were out jogging and walking their dogs in the park like it'd never happened. If it happened over here, no one would leave the house!

They are either nutters, or just showing off.

If this works, there are some cracking photos of last weekend's jollies at Mogliano on their website. Under the first pic there's a little 'forward' button that activates the slideshow.

http://www.rugbymogliano.it/joomla/index.php?view=detail&id=9504&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=85

Ah, we are up an running again. I got messages saying the website was down.

I've just seen the referee appointments for the weekend. Greg Garner for Tiggers v Saints.

Hmmm.

Looks absolutely blydi brilliant

Yeah I've been struggling for a couple of hours to get on! Glad to be back......watching Pride Of Britain Awards........so inspiring.