injuryupdate
20-06-2004, 06:21 PM
At the moment we don't have injury information outside the Tri-nations on this website. If anyone is concerned about the home nations then please note:
Scotland - don't bother, wouldn't be competitive against Australia no matter how many injuries either team had AND
England - big call, but ditto once you have removed Johnny Wilkinson. Talk about one-man team and goal-kicking being overly important in rugby union.
Makes me wonder what the F is going on with Hazem El-Masri. He remains unsigned with the Bulldogs who have apparently offered him less than $150K for next year. No other league teams have weighed in with any big offers (and perhaps since goalkicking in league is less important nor should they). However, if El Masri isn't better value for a union team than Sailor and Tuquri put together then I'm Johnny Wilkinson. And by the way, I couldn't kick the ball over a jam tin.
It just seems that in rugby union, a good kicker will pressurise a team to stick to the rules in defence because they can't afford to give away an automatic 3 points, which gives the offence a huge advantage. If a team has a less potent kicker (and therefore won't always take the shot at goal) then any time they get an overlap the defence infringes and gives away a penalty to prevent a try.
When comparing the wingers, Tuquiri scores a flashy try every third game he plays, whereas Sailor scores one every fifth game (in meaningless encounters) and has never done anything in an important match. Neither of these players could kick to save themselves and therefore talk of Tuquiri playing full-back is a complete joke. El Masri would be the Australian answer to Johnny Wilkinson and would give the halves more room to work in because the opposition would fear giving away a penalty with him in the side.
It all makes me think that the ARU only care about trying to win the marketing battle against the NRL (by poaching their big name stars) rather than trying to actually win Test matches. El Masri would literally win Tests off his own boot, like Wilkinson does, whereas Wendall Sailor is a liability in union. At least if he came back to the Nth Queensland Cowboys (which is what he should do) he might have some impact on the field (as opposed to having impact with his mouth, which is all he is doing at the moment).
NB I've written this post before the Test match against the Poms, but would be utterly amazed if I was proved wrong by England grinding out a win on penalty goals against a lone Wendall Sailor starring on the wing for Australia. Look for the Poms to struggle until Johnny is over his shoulder injury, and for Wendall to do nothing against the All Blacks when Australia face a genuine opponent.
Scotland - don't bother, wouldn't be competitive against Australia no matter how many injuries either team had AND
England - big call, but ditto once you have removed Johnny Wilkinson. Talk about one-man team and goal-kicking being overly important in rugby union.
Makes me wonder what the F is going on with Hazem El-Masri. He remains unsigned with the Bulldogs who have apparently offered him less than $150K for next year. No other league teams have weighed in with any big offers (and perhaps since goalkicking in league is less important nor should they). However, if El Masri isn't better value for a union team than Sailor and Tuquri put together then I'm Johnny Wilkinson. And by the way, I couldn't kick the ball over a jam tin.
It just seems that in rugby union, a good kicker will pressurise a team to stick to the rules in defence because they can't afford to give away an automatic 3 points, which gives the offence a huge advantage. If a team has a less potent kicker (and therefore won't always take the shot at goal) then any time they get an overlap the defence infringes and gives away a penalty to prevent a try.
When comparing the wingers, Tuquiri scores a flashy try every third game he plays, whereas Sailor scores one every fifth game (in meaningless encounters) and has never done anything in an important match. Neither of these players could kick to save themselves and therefore talk of Tuquiri playing full-back is a complete joke. El Masri would be the Australian answer to Johnny Wilkinson and would give the halves more room to work in because the opposition would fear giving away a penalty with him in the side.
It all makes me think that the ARU only care about trying to win the marketing battle against the NRL (by poaching their big name stars) rather than trying to actually win Test matches. El Masri would literally win Tests off his own boot, like Wilkinson does, whereas Wendall Sailor is a liability in union. At least if he came back to the Nth Queensland Cowboys (which is what he should do) he might have some impact on the field (as opposed to having impact with his mouth, which is all he is doing at the moment).
NB I've written this post before the Test match against the Poms, but would be utterly amazed if I was proved wrong by England grinding out a win on penalty goals against a lone Wendall Sailor starring on the wing for Australia. Look for the Poms to struggle until Johnny is over his shoulder injury, and for Wendall to do nothing against the All Blacks when Australia face a genuine opponent.