@RuggerBits is a site dedicated to the best game anywhere: rugby football.
Edited by a former player (wing) turned referee (never made a bad call, ever), rugby trivia and information are provided for the believer, the enthusiast, the casual observer and the novice alike.
Rugby is rarely without controversy, so perhaps we can be provocative as well. We just hope you enjoy @RuggerBits!
@RuggerBits
This is what Welsh rugby is all about…what we used to be accustomed to, before the dark ages…as Ospreys shatter Munster 45-10 to book a spot in the Pro12 final.
Leinster book a place in the Heineken Cup Final against Ulster on 19 May at Twickenham by beating Clermont 19 - 15 (at Clermont in an amazing atmosphere)….
Edinburgh knock Toulouse out of the Heineken Cup 19 - 14 at Murrayfield in what is surely a boost for Scottish rugby.
Northampton rumbled over Bath 26 - 6, even without the suspended Dylan Hartley and Calum Clark.
It was Leinster who kept their foot on the gas to beat Munster 18 - 9 at the weekend.
IRB World Rankings - 19 March 2012
Position (last week)
1(1)
NEW ZEALAND 91.43
2(2)
AUSTRALIA 87.99
3(3)
SOUTH AFRICA 84.34
4(4)
ENGLAND 83.62
5(5)
WALES 83.32
6(6)
FRANCE 81.91
7(8) 
ARGENTINA 80.28
8(7) 
IRELAND 79.85
9(9)
TONGA 76.63
10(10)
SAMOA 75.81
11(12) 
ITALY 74.17
12(11) 
SCOTLAND 73.86
Interestingly, Wales have not moved up a notch after their Six Nations Grand Slam. Not surprisingly, though, Ireland and Scotland have dropped to 8th and 12th respectively. Italy have seen their fortunes improve to 11th spot after avoiding the Wooden Spoon.
A look at highlights from England’s comprehensive 30 - 9 victory over Ireland at Twickenham on St Patrick’s Day.
I have written before at how surprised I was during this year’s Six Nations campaign that England were getting win after win. That feeling of surprise was due in part, perhaps, to the fact that England were under a caretaker manager in Stuart Lancaster, they were a relatively inexperienced squad, and had come off a very disappointing performance at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. I was wrong. England performed very well indeed overall. Things were not all that impressive against Italy or Scotland, but against France and ultimately Ireland things came together and the word “dominant” wouldn’t have been an inappropriate description of their play.
Well done to England, the “pleasant surprise” of the 2012 Six Nations, finishing second behind Grand Slam winners Wales.
It has to be said that Alain Rolland had a shocker of a game in Rome today. Pedantic, slow, incorrect and inconsistent would be some of the kinder adjectives one could use to describe his performance. It also has to be said that neither Scotland nor Italy brought their best game to the pitch, but on the day, Italy deserved to win and avoid the Wooden Spoon. One now really has to wonder about Andy Robinson’s coaching future…
It is fair to say that the new-look England has surprised a few people this Six Nations campaign with two wins out of three matches. It was a tough loss to Wales at Twickenham on Saturday, and England may feel hard done by as to whether David Strettle touched down or not at the last moment. As well as England have been playing, almost fearlessly, perhaps, the match against Wales highlighted two very serious ongoing problems for the England team: a real dilemma at the halfback pairing and a lack of try-scoring (Charlie Hodgson’s charge-downs aside).
Surprisingly, the relatively inexperienced partnership of Lee Dickson and Owen Farrell has worked very well so far. The partnership of Ben Youngs and anyone else, even Toby Flood, hasn’t worked at all. That needs to get sorted for the long term, sharpish.
The lack of tries is also worrying. I know, I know, Hodgson scored one against Italy and another against Scotland, but they were opportunistic. Apart from the Strettle try-that-wasn’t against Wales, there doesn’t look to have been much of anything manufactured by the England forwards or back line so far. Goal kicking has carried them far in some close games, but they have to do better if they want long-term success.
England next travel to the Stade de France for what will hopefully be another classic clash with France. It will be interesting to see what, if any, changes Stuart Lancaster makes.
After a rousing start, aided perhaps by a packed Murrayfield belting out Flower of Scotland, Scotland fell short against France, losing 17 - 23, to remain winless in this year’s Six Nations campaign.
(Source: youtube.com)
Video highlights of the Triple Crown win by Wales over England 19 -12 at Twickenham on Saturday. It was a great match with both sides playing very well indeed.
Video highlights of Ireland’s 42 - 10 win over Italy at the Aviva on Saturday. ROG set a record as Ireland’s most capped player winning his 118th cap.
London Irish fullback Delon Armitage never seems to be too far away from trouble. In this weekend’s Aviva Premiership match against Newcastle, Armitage was on the receiving end of a punch that saw Newcastle’s Adriaan Fondse red-carded, and later in the game he delivered what looked to be a high and dangerous tackle (of sorts) to Newcastle’s James Fitzpatrick. Armitage escaped punishment, but one wonders how long Newcastle’s memories will be…
I thought it was time to find a little something to lift Scottish hearts and remind everyone that there have been times, even in the not too distant past, that Scotland have played well and beaten some stiff international competition. This video shows highlights from their thrilling 9-8 victory over Australia at Murrayfield in 2009.
(Source: youtube.com)
