Ireland V England Saturday 2nd February 16.45.

[jagawayagain]

Nobody said they didn’t. You. Can be the better team AND get the better of the ref too. In fact, they often go hand in hand. It’s not a complicated point.

Other than the Itoje - Earls incident, where like others here I think the fact he had already carded affected his decision, I had no problem with Garces refereeing. He reffed consistently and the way he always does- England played him far better than we did.

[onthe 22]

Other than the Itoje - Earls incident, where like others here I think the fact he had already carded affected his decision, I had no problem with Garces refereeing. He reffed consistently and the way he always does- England played him far better than we did.

WRT Garces.
All you had to watch was the way he handled Munster v Exeter.
The rucks got a cursory glance.
And play on and don't bother me.
That's the way it is.
Deal with it.

[jagawayagain]

WRT Garces.
All you had to watch was the way he handled Munster v Exeter.
The rucks got a cursory glance.
And play on and don't bother me.
That's the way it is.
Deal with it.

Agree completely- all the more reason to be annoyed we didn’t play him as well as England did- as you said, he was just like he was for Munster vs Exeter.

[onthe 22]

Agree completely- all the more reason to be annoyed we didn’t play him as well as England did- as you said, he was just like he was for Munster vs Exeter.

Still the blocking of runners trying to contest the Garryowens really irritated.
Obstruction all day.
You can hold your ground, fine
But 3-4guys tracking across to block runners is taking cynicism too far.

[theghost]

Still the blocking of runners trying to contest the Garryowens really irritated.
Obstruction all day.
You can hold your ground, fine
But 3-4guys tracking across to block runners is taking cynicism too far.

problem is that games these days are played like chess games, its more strategic and set plays than ever before. its not by chance that blockers apppear in running lines, all teams do it and all teams have video analysts who watch other teams and referees etc. Its no coincidence that NZ are masters of the so called darker arts of the game, they play on the edge all the time but have the skill sets to take the chances created by some of these plays.

[jagawayagain]

Still the blocking of runners trying to contest the Garryowens really irritated.
Obstruction all day.
You can hold your ground, fine
But 3-4guys tracking across to block runners is taking cynicism too far.

Not condoning it, or other attempts to frustrate that he allowed, my point is only it was no surprise, and we had no way of countering effectively (or less likely make sure he polices the obstruction).

[onthe 22]

Not condoning it, or other attempts to frustrate that he allowed, my point is only it was no surprise, and we had no way of countering effectively (or less likely make sure he polices the obstruction).

The game is going the way of American football.
On a number of levels
That's not going to be a good thing for the future of the game.
The U20 and Women's games have a lot more game than moves.
And better to watch as a result
Professional sports I suppose become very bland or predictable eventually due to money and play books philosophy.
The amateur game is going to suffer badly from this if it's not happening already to some extent.
But that's another discussion.