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Bledisloe Cup

Twizzle

Administrator
Staff member
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150,734
I personally think that there is no support of the game at grassroots level, poor decisions at the top, terrible team selections and a generally poor attitude. Michael Hooper (Wallaby captain) last night said "We showed the good fighting spirit and I'm proud'. Dude you were 50 points behind at one point that isn't anything to be proud of.

As I said in another thread, I remember when the Bledisloe Cup was one of the biggest events in the Australian Rugby calendar, it always produced some outstanding contests and thrilling finishes. But now it's really just a cakewalk for NZ as they don't even need to play well to win it. I even wonder if they even get excited at winning it these days.

take out the private schools and we really dont have much left, no where near enough park Rugby played in Australia and hardly any in the rural areas now
 

ZEROMISSTACKLES

First Grade
Messages
8,666
Wallabies win 23-18 in Brisbane. Well done guys.
Yeah that was a good game. A bit messy from both teams but some big tackles. Even with the last lineout we got in the 79th minute, I had my doubts we could all of a sudden cross the Wallaby defence line which was good tonight.
 

DC80

Juniors
Messages
215
As I said in another thread, I remember when the Bledisloe Cup was one of the biggest events in the Australian Rugby calendar, it always produced some outstanding contests and thrilling finishes. But now it's really just a cakewalk for NZ as they don't even need to play well to win it. I even wonder if they even get excited at winning it these days.
Interesting to hear an Aussie perspective on this. Been saying this for awhile too. Being in the UK I used to get up early on the Saturday morning to watch the game. Packed stadium, two strong evenly matched teams, some bloke with a banjo playing waltzing Matilda before kick off, and in an era when there was greater emphasis on skill and running rugby with players not bulked up like they are now. The game was advertised on Sky Sports like a Premier League game is.

Now, I never get up for it, there is no advertisements for it either so unless I actively went digging for detail when it’s on it could happen and I wouldn’t know about it. The decline of Australia due to apathy is one reason why it’s no longer a must see event, the other reason is the decline of the sport itself. It’s now very defensive, attritional, two teams made up of 15 huge gym monkeys crowding each other out, line breaks at a premium.

The Lions played Aus not long back and there is no question it didn’t feel as good winning the series knowing the opposition are not what they were. The stadiums were packed with red jerseys, you would have sworn it was a home series for the Lions. Aussies didn’t give a stuff. No way can NZ take the same satisfaction of beating Australia like previously.
 

King hit

Coach
Messages
13,756
Interesting to hear an Aussie perspective on this. Been saying this for awhile too. Being in the UK I used to get up early on the Saturday morning to watch the game. Packed stadium, two strong evenly matched teams, some bloke with a banjo playing waltzing Matilda before kick off, and in an era when there was greater emphasis on skill and running rugby with players not bulked up like they are now. The game was advertised on Sky Sports like a Premier League game is.

Now, I never get up for it, there is no advertisements for it either so unless I actively went digging for detail when it’s on it could happen and I wouldn’t know about it. The decline of Australia due to apathy is one reason why it’s no longer a must see event, the other reason is the decline of the sport itself. It’s now very defensive, attritional, two teams made up of 15 huge gym monkeys crowding each other out, line breaks at a premium.

The Lions played Aus not long back and there is no question it didn’t feel as good winning the series knowing the opposition are not what they were. The stadiums were packed with red jerseys, you would have sworn it was a home series for the Lions. Aussies didn’t give a stuff. No way can NZ take the same satisfaction of beating Australia like previously.

Something that really helped Union here in Australia back in the days of 1996-2000 is that the Super 12 was shown on channel 7 but nowadays you need fox to have any access to any Rugby beside from the Wallabies. The Super 12 was such a great competition when I look back these days. The Rugby was fantastic and entertaining and the sides were more competitive. Australian and South African teams' record against NZ teams were quite good. The current format is overblown and the season is breathless which has really impacted the quality and competiveness. New Zealand teams have won the last 30 or so trans tasman clashes.

That Lions series had massive interest in Australia. I was at the first test and the Lions game against the Reds and the atmosphere and backdrop was amazing. Stadiums being packed with red jerseys? it doesn't seem like you've seen to many Lions tests. They are always like that.

BTW the guy who would sing 'waltzing matilda' before Wallaby tests was John Williamson.
 

DC80

Juniors
Messages
215
Something that really helped Union here in Australia back in the days of 1996-2000 is that the Super 12 was shown on channel 7 but nowadays you need fox to have any access to any Rugby beside from the Wallabies. The Super 12 was such a great competition when I look back these days. The Rugby was fantastic and entertaining and the sides were more competitive. Australian and South African teams' record against NZ teams were quite good. The current format is overblown and the season is breathless which has really impacted the quality and competiveness. New Zealand teams have won the last 30 or so trans tasman clashes.

That Lions series had massive interest in Australia. I was at the first test and the Lions game against the Reds and the atmosphere and backdrop was amazing. Stadiums being packed with red jerseys? it doesn't seem like you've seen to many Lions tests. They are always like that.

BTW the guy who would sing 'waltzing matilda' before Wallaby tests was John Williamson.
It was specifically the Lions series in 2013 that I first became aware of the dire straits that RU in Australia was in. I hadn't read anything about declining playing numbers or viewing figures, so that tour was a major eye opener.

Two things stood out: the midweek games involving Aussie club teams, at the end of every game an Aussie player would be interviewed over the public address system and he would make a point of thanking people for coming and if they could show up for the next regular club game. Never seen begging like that after a game, and it was clearly a policy among clubs to do this as they all did it. The second issue was the sea of red dominating the crowds in all three tests, in stark contrast to the 2001 series where there was a policy to sell tickets to Aussie fans to ensure a green and gold majority. Tickets were like gold dust in 2001, many Lions fans missed out on the Melbourne and Sydney tests as the Aussies snapped up the tickets. But for all those red jerseys in 2013 the tests would have been played in half empty stadiums as there wasn’t anything like the same demand from the locals.
 

shiznit

Coach
Messages
14,747
Meh... I’m a NZ rugby fan... and I have no apathy towards Australia....

We want to crush them every time we play them... by f**king 50 if we can...

Same with England, South Africa & especially those bastards the French... the French scare the shit out of All Black fans...

We tend to have a real soft spot for the Irish.., but looking at how good they are going... and hearing how much chirping they have done since they won their first bloody test for over 100 years... we might need to set them straight too... :joy::joy:
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
17,509
I can't see us winning in NZ but last week was a top performance and gives us some hope going in tot he World Cup.
 

King hit

Coach
Messages
13,756
Australia do have a chance to win the cup. The Blacks have made some interesting selections and have looked off the boil in this year's championship so I do feel there is a chance. Their reaction after being bashed is ferocious though but they didn't lift after being run close by Argentina and drawing with South Africa
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
17,509
On the radio today I heard that it goes to aggregate points if they win? I always thought you had to win both games for the cup to change hands?

The caveat is this was Melbourne radio
 

SpaceMonkey

Immortal
Messages
37,540
On the radio today I heard that it goes to aggregate points if they win? I always thought you had to win both games for the cup to change hands?

The caveat is this was Melbourne radio

Nope, you need to win both games when it’s a two game series. Not that it matters anyway, the ABs won either way.
 

Twizzle

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
150,734
All Blacks respond in historic Bledisloe thrashing of Wallabies at Eden Park

The Wallabies may have claimed a famous victory in Perth but the side were given a stark reality check in the Bledisloe decider.

Rugby Union: The All Blacks ran riot at Eden Park, keeping the Wallabies scoreless to secure the Bledisloe Cup on Saturday.

Last week, the Wallabies were riding high, but at Eden Park, the All Blacks have given Australia an almighty reality check.

A 36-0 drubbing at the Kiwis’ spiritual home has sent a warning shot ahead of the World Cup.

The win sees the Kiwis retain the Bledisloe Cup. As the reigning champions, New Zealand holds onto the trophy after this year’s two-match series was locked at one-all.

If New Zealand are ever going to play anywhere after a loss, they must want it to be Eden Park.

The Auckland ground has once again proved to be the fortress of nightmares in World Rugby with the All Blacks continuing a 25-year domination at the ground.

The last time the side lost at Eden Park was 1994 with a record of 41 wins and two draws in that time.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby...k/news-story/a3d3ad1fc15390da3fe798f1c1329eb8
 

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