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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Bledisloe Cup 2020

    Tell 'im he's dreamin.

    So, here we are then.


    Living at a time when we must protect the elderly and the vulnerable, remain distant for fear of contamination and limit our exposure to all forms of media lest the constant stream of bad news erode our already fragile mental health.

    The novel coronavirus? Well, yes, that is also the cause of some concern and inconvenience.

    But the virulent threat to the wellbeing of Australians to which I refer is the Bledisloe Cup, which returns this weekend in an unusual Sunday afternoon time slot that would usually be as inviting as the White House buffet.


    If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different outcome, the definition of stark raving dribbling-down-your-chin bonkers is tuning in on Sunday and expecting the Wallabies to be anything other than roadkill for the All Blacks.


    The Wallabies have failed to reclaim the Bledisloe Cup under Michel Hooper's captaincy.(AP: Brett Phibbs)Given the Bledisloe Cup has been missing from the Wallabies' trophy cabinet since 2003, what leads you to believe there is any more hope of them winning in Wellington than there is of Alan Jones inviting former Rugby Australia (RA) chief executive Raelene Castle over for Christmas dinner?

    Except … there is something quite enticing about this season's first encounter, a hint of renewal and purpose that has either created the cruellest of false hopes for local rugby fans or — dare we believe? — is the turning point for Australian sport's great underachiever.

    Rogue African nations have conducted coups less bloody than Australian rugby's recent purge. The coach, chief executive and chairman have all gone, while one of Qantas' few scheduled departures was from RA.

    But for all this shuffling of deckchairs on the Titanic, most of the responsibility for avoiding the iceberg falls to new coach David Rennie, who happily possesses impeccable credentials.

    He is an acclaimed coach with a proven record and — as a Kiwi appointed by the previous administration — will be the perfect scapegoat if things go pear-shaped again.



    Dave Rennie's appointment as coach has offered hope to Wallabies fans.(AAP/SNPA: David Rowland)So far, Rennie's team is making all the right noises about their new mentor. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto spoke of how Rennie has "gone really well in building the culture and getting the boys to understand different cultures because we all come from different places".

    This seems an important step forward from the days when the different places from which the Wallabies came were not multicultural backgrounds but private schools such as Joeys, Riverview or Nudgee, and the cultural divide was between their different hazing rituals, school songs and their parents' choice of European car.


    Change has also brought renewal with no less than 16 uncapped players in the extended Wallabies squad, creating the possibility the jersey presentations will take longer than the game if Rennie goes all-in on youth.


    Rennie has maintained one link with the past by reappointing the redoubtable captain Michael Hooper, who will play his 100th Test for Australia on Sunday, a feat that will place him in an elite group of just 12 Wallabies.


    Australia's relative lack of success makes this is an even more laudable achievement given maintaining your place in the Wallabies line-up for so long must have seemed — at times — like being the last person waiting to be rescued from a burning building.


    Added feeling to Bledisloe Cup clash

    During a desultory period for the Wallabies, softened only by the occasional highlight such as the unexpected ride to the 2015 World Cup final, you could feel the wider public interest and passion for a once-beloved national team drain away.
    At the same time, the All Blacks — with their famed shed-cleaning culture, internationally recognised brand and serial winning — gained grudging respect in the rugby states and unfettered admiration from those of us residing outside rugger heartland.


    The All Blacks retained the Bledisloe Cup with their win in Auckland last year.(AAP: David Rowland)It might horrify the hardcore Wallabies faithful and those ex-players still showing the scars from All Black boot studs but as a rivalry became an occupation, the All Blacks have imposed a form of sporting Stockholm syndrome on some Australians.
    But there is some real needle to this Bledisloe Cup clash, partly the result of the unusual COVID-era conditions that necessitated hard bargaining on either side of the Tasman about scheduling and conditions.

    This brought out the smug and dictatorial streak in New Zealand Rugby,
    whose resistance to Australia's COVID-related scheduling requirements has been both abrupt and high-handed.


    Well, this is the version widely reported by the Australian media. And during a year when sport is replete with saccharine stories about "athlete sacrifice" and usually bitter rivalries are diluted by "wonderful cooperative efforts just to get on the field", a bit of old-fashioned argy-bargy is a welcome sign of normality.


    Then there is the broader trans-Tasman rivalry which, to be honest, has been rather awkward for Australians in recent years as the Kiwis enhanced their reputation as the noble diplomats of cricket, entertainment and even global politics.


    The pandemic, however, has presented a rare opportunity to look bitterly across the pond and curse New Zealanders for their laughably minuscule COVID rates, their relatively short and highly effective lockdown period, their substantial and relatable prime minister and — most of all — their refusal to let us in.


    A shock Bledisloe Cup defeat by a resurgent and exciting young Wallabies team coached by one of their own is just the thing these entitled small islanders deserve for having it so good.


    So an against-all-odds Wallabies victory would come at just the right time both to help regenerate the game, and provide something fans have missed during this Kumbaya period of world sport: sheer bloody spite.


    Offsiders will review all the big sports stories and issues on Sunday at 10:00am on ABC TV.

    https://www.xxx.xxx.xx/news/2020-10-09/australia-wallabies-can-restore-pride-with-win-over-new-zealand/12744786
    Warning: Be cautious if you are a fragile pink

  2. #2
    Thailand Expat

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    roll on sat.oops thanks for the change its SUNDAY. another black day in oz.

  3. #3
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
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    Suppose I better get around to renewing me RugbyPass subscription then.

    Sunday morning is gonna be fun after a massive party the night before.


  4. #4
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AntRobertson View Post
    Suppose I better get around to renewing me RugbyPass subscription then.
    Was just thining the same thing...


    but


    If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different outcome, the definition of stark raving dribbling-down-your-chin bonkers is tuning in on Sunday and expecting the Wallabies to be anything other than roadkill for the All Blacks.

  5. #5
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
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    Well maybe but who knows. Certainly a very unique set of circumstances this year.

  6. #6
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Unique? yes.

    at least we have a scape goat i̶f̶ ̶ when we lose.

    Bledisloe Cup 2020-11720564-3x2-xlarge-jpg

  7. #7
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
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    Traitorous turncoat!*


















    *Not really, I like Rennie.

  8. #8
    On a walkabout Loy Toy's Avatar
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    Come on the Wannabees.

  9. #9
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    When the likes of backfielders Will Jordan and Sevu Reece do not make the game day 23...deep deep talent in Aotearoa New Zealand.

  10. #10
    I Amn't In Jail PlanK's Avatar
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    Wallabies have had months of lockdown to rewatch the English RWC demolition of the ABs.


    If they keep losing they'll go all American and sulk back into Aus Rules & League regional games where they can at least claim to be world champions.

  11. #11
    RIP pseudolus's Avatar
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    I reckon its worth chucking a couple of grand on Aus to win. The odds you can get are pretty damn good, and well, The Dave Rennie Factor might just be enough to pull the Aussies out of the doldrums. Mind you, they have no props of note, their hooker options are dire. The locks would be better placed in a curling team polishing the ice, back row has some promise but certainly wouldn't concern many. Nic white? I guess he's not so bad except when he is under pressure. JOC? He's been known to find the line... wink wink. Wonder if he will end his career in the back row? Can't be worse than the selection there already. I like Matt at center which gives JOC some other options I guess. Hunter? Wil be fun watching him hit a few. So in general though, the Kiwi cunts will win by a canter and I will not be placing the bet on Aus. Well maybe a tenner.

  12. #12
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pseudolus View Post
    and I will not be placing the bet on Aus. Well maybe a tenner.
    So you will or wont?

  13. #13
    RIP pseudolus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheRealKW View Post
    So you will or wont?
    You can get 20:1 for a sneaky 1-5 point win for the shackle draggers. Kiwis start cold and who knows

    But no. I will not. They have no chance.

  14. #14
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pseudolus View Post
    But no. I will not. They have no chance.
    So it could be 1000:1 and still be a waste of money.

  15. #15
    RIP pseudolus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheRealKW View Post
    So it could be 1000:1 and still be a waste of money.
    Well, no.

    1000:1 with 100 quid on it, can be hedged easily enough with the 1.5:1 you get on a KIWI win.

  16. #16
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    I'm going against the grain and think the Wobblies will be 22-18 winners . . . a few untested All Blicks to make a few mistakes.

    Having said that, I am for once happy of my accent . . . and will hide my passport.

  17. #17
    last farang standing
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    Quote Originally Posted by Plan B View Post
    Wallabies have had months of lockdown to rewatch the English RWC demolition of the ABs.


    If they keep losing they'll go all American and sulk back into Aus Rules & League regional games where they can at least claim to be world champions.
    The truth is hardly anyone in the majority of Australian states cares. Rugby is a dying sport in Australia.
    The Bledisloe Cup is the rugby equivalent of the Takapuna Eagles playing the all Australian AFL team.

    Is this the end of Rugby Union in Australia?

  18. #18
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hugh Cow View Post
    The truth is hardly anyone in the majority of Australian states cares.
    Except for real blokes.

  19. #19
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    ^From private school backgrounds perhaps, all 273 of them. Union has been a ratings bomb for ages now, nobody gives a fuck about it. An example of that was last year when there was an NRL game, AFL game, Super Rugby game, and women's Cricket game all on at the same time. Guess which one had the lowest amount of watchers

    I can't watch it, like many I enjoy my NRL games too much which has only become faster this season with the 6-again rule and going back to 1 Ref. Union becomes impossible to watch after that, too stop-start too error-ridden and too many penalties which all add up to make it a total fucking snooze-fest

  20. #20
    RIP pseudolus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    a few untested All Blicks to make a few mistakes.
    No such thing as an "untested" cheating kiwi bastard. The production line pops them out ready to plug and play. Just that sometime they are shit.

  21. #21
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
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    B. Barrett is out.

    Don’t think it will cause too much disruption as Jordy Barrett will just go to 15

  22. #22
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    Foster's bringing in D-Mac at fullback.

  23. #23
    last farang standing
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheRealKW View Post
    Except for real blokes.
    You mean real blokes like this?

    Bledisloe Cup 2020-beard-jpg

  24. #24
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Headworx View Post
    ^From private school backgrounds perhaps, all 273 of them. Union has been a ratings bomb for ages now, nobody gives a fuck about it. An example of that was last year when there was an NRL game, AFL game, Super Rugby game, and women's Cricket game all on at the same time. Guess which one had the lowest amount of watchers

    I can't watch it, like many I enjoy my NRL games too much which has only become faster this season with the 6-again rule and going back to 1 Ref. Union becomes impossible to watch after that, too stop-start too error-ridden and too many penalties which all add up to make it a total fucking snooze-fest

    Fuck off, NRL is a total manufactured bore. Go watch some tackle highlights on YouTube. The only league I ever watch is the 3 games of State of Origin each year, nothing else.

  25. #25
    Thailand Expat David48atTD's Avatar
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    ^ I must be a metro bi-Rugby, I like both League and Union ... but I played League and understand it better.

    Sadly, today, I won't be viewing the game.

    It's been 10 years since I met MissFarmGirl (my Thai Partner) and we are off to a country Pub for a nosh and wash the rugrats in their pool.


    My local Park is in the Hi-So area by the River and it doubles as a Union ground during Winter.

    I was surprised recently when we drove by and the Boys saw the game (warm-up) on and wanted to go watch.

    5 mins tops I thought, they would last ... they loved it, dragged them away during oranges (half-time) on a promise that we would return with camping chairs and watch the full game next time.


    Hope today's clash is a spirited affair and the Ref doesn't decide the outcome.
    Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago ...


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