Rugby Union

Ireland are getting mauled today.
Be lucky if they avoid anything less that a 20 point defeat.

 

Certainly looks like how it will pan out at the moment.

 

* sake, saffers!

Georgia 20-16 Samoa
Italy 20-18 South Africa
Wales 33-30 Japan
England 58-15 Fiji

 

Dirty dirty *

 

Ireland should've got more from that game, ABs played poorly.

Ireland 9-21 New Zealand.

 

Scotland-Argentina was great fun to be at. Love Murrayfield as a stadium.

As an aside, I genuinely believe England to be the best team in the world, at the moment.

 

Well we are all entitled to our opinion but World Champions New Zealand the one defeat to us aside look like the clear top team in world rugby to me as their record of 20 wins in their last 21 test matches would indicate.

 

I think England would beat NZ if they played each other, at the moment.

 

Scotland vs Georgia is a very entertaining match.

 

Scotland 43-16 Georgia.

England also did superbly well to beat Argentina seeing as they were down to 14 from the 5th minute.

 

Italy 17-19 Tonga
Scotland 43-16 Georgia
England 27-14 Argentina

Ireland-Australia
Wales-South Africa
France-New Zealand

 

Well they are not due to play each other head to head as New Zealand round out 2016 away to France today so you will stick with your opinion and I will stick with the World Champions and their 20 out of 21 test wins their World title and their recent 6 out of 6 romp through the Rugby championship as the best team currently in world Rugby.

 

I feel like I've offended you in some way...

 

Ireland 27-24 Australia. Wales 27-13 South Africa. Tremendous.

 

Saffers are so woeful at the moment, can't believe they got to the WC semis.

 

France 19-24 New Zealand

 

1. Jack McGrath (Ireland). The Irish loose-head has been building for a few years and enjoyed a breakout November as the Irish scrum took a major step forward under coach Greg Feek, the former All Black.

2. Dane Coles (New Zealand). Coles' work around the park is a bonus, albeit a sizeable one. His base game, his set-piece work, is outstanding. His lineout throwing in particular puts him ahead of Agustin Creevy.

3. Owen Franks (New Zealand). The most dominant scrummaging tight-head in world rugby, Juan Figallo, didn't play a test this year because of Argentina's selection policy and Franks added enough to his all-round game to head the rest of the field.

4. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand). He's not just the world's best lock but he's been in the top three players in the world for the past three years. On his way to a special place in All Blacks history.

5. Maro Itoje (England). Attitude, aggression, size, agility and intelligence. He bossed the Wallabies in June and is a certainty to tour with the Lions in 2017.

6. Chris Robshaw (England). Exceptional work rate makes him vital to resurgent England. Lesser players would have disappeared after the World Cup shambles.

7. David Pocock (Australia). There are better all-round No 7s - Sam Cane, Sean O'Brien - but I'm not sure they've quite put together a sufficient body of work in 2016. Pocock was hindered by being continually picked out of position but he's still a rock.

8. Kieran Read (New Zealand). It's true he's not at his peak, but give me Read over Billy Vunipola over 80 minutes any day. Undeniable, though, that a queue is forming behind Read with Vunipola and Taulupe Faletau at the front.

9. Conor Murray (Ireland). Big, physical, lump of a player in the flesh whose ability to put Ireland in the right part of the paddock is outstanding.

10. Beauden Barrett (New Zealand). Game management has improved out of sight and his ability to manufacture points out of nothing has set the All Blacks apart.

11. Liam Williams (Wales). This year represented a lull in the age of the power winger. Had to find room for this fellow because he has it all.

12. Owen Farrell (England). Mental toughness to rival the best because physically he is unremarkable. The world's best at building scoreboard pressure.

13. Jonathan Joseph (England). Defensive work has gone up a gear or two and he is now a real intercept master in the midfield of the type not seen since Jean de Villiers left the arena.

14. Israel Dagg (New Zealand). Isn't really a wing but that's fine because wings aren't really wings these days anyway. Reads the game instinctively and has somehow found a yard of pace previously thought lost.

15. Ben Smith (New Zealand). Liam Williams could have deposed him here but Smith's understanding with Beauden Barrett at No 10 was a thing of wonder.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...layers-of-2016--and-they-arent-all-all-blacks

 

That's very biased - some all black tinted glasses on there.

No Hoggster?

Liam Williams is an excellent player but team of the year?

Very tough to discount Jonny Gray as well given his performance over the Autumn internationals - actually over the last couple of years as well.

Edit - had a better think about it as well. The Irish loose head is in because he was coached by a former all black (that's what it says).

Jonathon Joseph! I go and watch Bath several times a season and he disappears in matches - he only picks up Rokodugini's scraps and messes 90% of those up.

 

I imagine every article from a certain country will have a couple more of their own players than they ought to. But in saying that you could probably only make a case against Dagg and Read.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love the way the All Black play the game - I even went to see them at the RWC last year. They do play the game to the absolute limits and are lucky to get away with a lot of things.

Interesting to see them recently, definitely not as dominant against the northern hemisphere countries as they were in the Rugby Championship. Its been a long season for them though maybe they just need a rest.