General rugby thread

General rugby thread

Author
Discussion

TheGreatSoprendo

5,286 posts

249 months

Wednesday 18th September 2019
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
His contract ended at the end of 2019 RWC

Pivac is selecting his backroom staff with Wellies already confirmed so he wasn’t part of it.
I think Jonathan Humphries and Byron Hayward are also confirmed?

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

198 months

Wednesday 18th September 2019
quotequote all
Different note

Gareth Thomas - you are a living legend so inspirational both from your sporting career but then leveraging that exposure to help others. He has grown to be an incredible individual.


irocfan

40,439 posts

190 months

Wednesday 18th September 2019
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
Different note

Gareth Thomas - you are a living legend so inspirational both from your sporting career but then leveraging that exposure to help others. He has grown to be an incredible individual.
thumbup

phil_cardiff

7,085 posts

208 months

Thursday 19th September 2019
quotequote all
El stovey said:
phil_cardiff said:
El stovey said:
Never mind betting breaches, it’s the doping that the WRU should be sorting out.
Just the WRU or World Rugby too?
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/drugs-rugby-very-welsh-problem-15313345

Although it’s a rugby wide problem,Welsh rugby has a disproportionately high number of banned athletes at the moment.

article said:
Richard Ings, who was CEO of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority between 2005 and 2010, said: "Welsh rugby is a red flag in regard to the number of doping offences. Indeed, Welsh rugby is infamous for doping offences."
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/ukad-banned-list-drugs-rugby-12515591






Edited by El stovey on Wednesday 18th September 20:17
I think calling semi pro and amateur players "athletes" is a stretch. These are blokes mainly looking to bulk up for body image reasons, similar to many post-industrial areas in the UK.

Having said that, rugby has a massive PED problem in all areas of the sport and the testing regime is laughable.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

198 months

Thursday 19th September 2019
quotequote all
phil_cardiff said:
I think calling semi pro and amateur players "athletes" is a stretch. These are blokes mainly looking to bulk up for body image reasons, similar to many post-industrial areas in the UK.

Having said that, rugby has a massive PED problem in all areas of the sport and the testing regime is laughable.
PED as in what Lance Armstrong did - blood transfusions to boost performance?

anonymous-user

54 months

Thursday 19th September 2019
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
PED as in what Lance Armstrong did - blood transfusions to boost performance?
PED is
Performance
Enhancing
Drugs

prand

5,916 posts

196 months

Thursday 19th September 2019
quotequote all
desolate said:
PED is
Performance
Enhancing
Drugs
So I'm hearing that there's a big problem in doping in rugby.

From what I read, there are two worrying angles; One that says that rugby Union has a disproportionately high number of banned athletes, yet at the same time, other comment says Rugby Union has probably the least tested of the major sports (in the UK).

So if it had the testing regime of say, athletics, it makes me think there'd be nobody left to play!

DocJock

8,357 posts

240 months

Thursday 19th September 2019
quotequote all
The physiques of the players in the U20 tournaments tells you all you need to know about drug abuse in rugby.

phil_cardiff

7,085 posts

208 months

Thursday 19th September 2019
quotequote all
prand said:
desolate said:
PED is
Performance
Enhancing
Drugs
So I'm hearing that there's a big problem in doping in rugby.

From what I read, there are two worrying angles; One that says that rugby Union has a disproportionately high number of banned athletes, yet at the same time, other comment says Rugby Union has probably the least tested of the major sports (in the UK).

So if it had the testing regime of say, athletics, it makes me think there'd be nobody left to play!
The problem in rugby is that cycles can be completed long before testing becomes an issue. For example, back in the nineties, I know of high school rugby players juicing.

Also, remember the jawlines and bald heads of rugby players in the 90s-00s?

anonymous-user

54 months

Thursday 19th September 2019
quotequote all
There is also the issue of players who are effectively in pain for their entire career and play full of painkillers.


Stuff that is meant to be used as a one off is used long term - with long term consequences.

I used to work on the edges of the game and as consequence I am close to quite a few players who played late 90s to pretty recently.

Physically most of them suffering in some way, with some having pretty chronic medical conditions over an above joint/muscle issues.


dai1983

2,912 posts

149 months

Thursday 19th September 2019
quotequote all
DocJock said:
The physiques of the players in the U20 tournaments tells you all you need to know about drug abuse in rugby.
My mate played youth rugby with a current England and Lions player. Comparing their pics aged 18 to 20 was insane.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

198 months

Thursday 19th September 2019
quotequote all
desolate said:
There is also the issue of players who are effectively in pain for their entire career and play full of painkillers.


Stuff that is meant to be used as a one off is used long term - with long term consequences.

I used to work on the edges of the game and as consequence I am close to quite a few players who played late 90s to pretty recently.

Physically most of them suffering in some way, with some having pretty chronic medical conditions over an above joint/muscle issues.
This is the real concern - all these aspiring young men and women wanting to be the stars of the future need to be bigger faster than what exists now.

18-22 stones of beef hurtling round the pitch 10,000 calorie daily intakes when on camp training sessions
Impact of two big people is massive and clearly it will damage them - I love seeing the big hits but I’d be just as happy if it were that 14-16 stone players were at the top end of weight. Less impact and might make viewers ty to cut down on weight themselves.


(We agree #thumbs up)

Evanivitch

20,075 posts

122 months

Friday 20th September 2019
quotequote all
phil_cardiff said:
I think calling semi pro and amateur players "athletes" is a stretch. These are blokes mainly looking to bulk up for body image reasons, similar to many post-industrial areas in the UK.

Having said that, rugby has a massive PED problem in all areas of the sport and the testing regime is laughable.
Agreed. South Wales has a big steroids problem. It just happens that many of those also play rugby at a club level.

If you drug tested Sunday League football players I'm sure you'd find a different issue.

Kermit power

28,647 posts

213 months

Monday 30th September 2019
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Just the latest in a long line of nasty injuries on plastic pitches. Ben Curry after playing Sarries in the Prem Cup. How have these monstrosities not been banned????




Welshbeef

49,633 posts

198 months

Tuesday 1st October 2019
quotequote all
Kermit power said:
Just the latest in a long line of nasty injuries on plastic pitches. Ben Curry after playing Sarries in the Prem Cup. How have these monstrosities not been banned????

Ouch that makes me wince.

What is wrong with plain grass.

Environmentally friendly too - this fake surface stops birds pecking for worms and causes drainage issues too.

The Mad Monk

10,474 posts

117 months

Tuesday 1st October 2019
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Welshbeef said:
What is wrong with plain grass.
Well, it can get churned up and excessively muddy.

Kermit power

28,647 posts

213 months

Tuesday 1st October 2019
quotequote all
The Mad Monk said:
Welshbeef said:
What is wrong with plain grass.
Well, it can get churned up and excessively muddy.
It can, but does it really? I know you can find lots of footage on Youtube of Internationals in the Seventies where you can't actually tell the sides apart because they're so muddy, but that just doesn't happen any more!

Quins' pitch certainly doesn't become excessively muddy, and whilst my (Nat 2 South) local club's second XV pitch does well to have a single blade of grass on it beyond roughly the middle of October, the first XV pitch stands up to the weather brilliantly because it drains properly. It may be that Premiership clubs decide it's cheaper to maintain an artificial pitch in playable condition, possibly, but the notion that they can't maintain a grass pitch in equally playable condition is just wrong.

anonymous-user

54 months

Tuesday 1st October 2019
quotequote all
The plastic pitches can be used a lot more than normal ones.

Sarries rent theirs out for events and similar.

Kermit power

28,647 posts

213 months

Tuesday 1st October 2019
quotequote all
desolate said:
The plastic pitches can be used a lot more than normal ones.

Sarries rent theirs out for events and similar.
So schools and community groups can pay for the privilege of having the skin burnt off their arms and legs? Lovely! hehe

schmalex

13,616 posts

206 months

Tuesday 1st October 2019
quotequote all
Kermit power said:
It can, but does it really? I know you can find lots of footage on Youtube of Internationals in the Seventies where you can't actually tell the sides apart because they're so muddy, but that just doesn't happen any more!

Quins' pitch certainly doesn't become excessively muddy, and whilst my (Nat 2 South) local club's second XV pitch does well to have a single blade of grass on it beyond roughly the middle of October, the first XV pitch stands up to the weather brilliantly because it drains properly. It may be that Premiership clubs decide it's cheaper to maintain an artificial pitch in playable condition, possibly, but the notion that they can't maintain a grass pitch in equally playable condition is just wrong.


We’ve been to the Ricoh a few times during January / February and the pitch looks like the Somme!