EDF ENERGY ANGLO-WELSH CUP

[loratadine]

the big match being the derby between the blues and the ospreys

henson aint fit

hook starts at 10!!

all the welsh internationals are back for both teams!!

i dont know any team news for the tigers sharks game, apparently corry will be in the tigers back row!!

mr predictions


tigers 33
sale 20

ospreys 45
blues 26

[Cymrurugbyfan]

Have the Tigers put out their best team for the game? If they have I would have thought they would rest their best for their game against Paris In the HC quarter finals. If they have rested them I think Sale will win. Ospreys too, but not by much

[PeeJay]

I'll be supporting Cardiff and Leicester this weekend. I'm thinking about buying a ticket on the day, but I'm not sure if I can afford it :(

[ScumV]

Today I will mostly be supporting the Ospreys. Wales' one true region :D

Ah well, off up the club now, it is 9:30 and there is beer to be drank, buses to catch, more ber to be drank.

[Prestwick]

I didn't actually know anyone actually cared about the EDF Cup.

Look, I've got a cup too..

http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50238154/3oz_Paper_Cup.jpg

Bet its worth more than the bloody EDF cup! :P

[Bullitt]

I didn't actually know anyone actually cared about the EDF Cup.

Look, I've got a cup too..

http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50238154/3oz_Paper_Cup.jpg

Bet its worth more than the bloody EDF cup! :P [/b]

Notice only the Boyos are posting about this game with interest.

[Prestwick]

Aye, lets face it. It is going to be the only cup that the boyos are going to win this year.

[Cymro]

To be honest your attitudes stink if you nothing good to contribute then please don't!

Anyway the touch judge is crap, calls back for something that never was and should have been Blues ball.

Anyway Cardiff have been crap end of!

[Prestwick]

Why? All this cup does is add extra work onto an already overworked set of English and Welsh teams for absolutely minimal gain. It doesn't add anything to the English or Magners Domestic leagues, heck, it doesn't add anything period its just an opportunity to try and milk more cash out of the fan.

Its the competition that stinks.

[SmokeyMonkey]

I think the winner earns more money than winning the Heineken!

[Prestwick]

Really? And where did you get that from?

Nah, this tournament is a waste of time, its caused unnecessary friction between the WRU and the other two Magners League unions (although their 'Rainbow cup' between the Magners League and the South African teams was more insane by a country mile) and its lumped extra matches onto players who really do need that time off. Thats why the English Premiership teams are sending their 2nd teams to their EDF matches, they can't be arsed with it.

[SmokeyMonkey]

I think that the winner gets £250,000, look it up if you can. If the English want less games then just get rid of your stupid play-off system at the season.

[Prestwick]

Or we can just get rid of the stupid EDF Cup that nobody cares about.

[Cymro]

Really? And where did you get that from?

Nah, this tournament is a waste of time, its caused unnecessary friction between the WRU and the other two Magners League unions (although their 'Rainbow cup' between the Magners League and the South African teams was more insane by a country mile) and its lumped extra matches onto players who really do need that time off. Thats why the English Premiership teams are sending their 2nd teams to their EDF matches, they can't be arsed with it.
[/b]

Well why did Leicester and Sale both field full strength sides?



I think that the winner gets £250,000, look it up if you can. If the English want less games then just get rid of your stupid play-off system at the season.
[/b]

Agree the play off system sucks, if you top the league you are champions! No need to lumper another set of games, take away more cash, stretch the season out more and its a tad pointless!

[Prestwick]

Sale didn't field a full strength side because most of it is out of action with injury and to be honest, they'd be resting them to try and fend off possibly finishing 3rd or even 2nd from last in the Guinness Premiership.

I mean seriously, is there anyone else here, who is actually English, who has posted anything enthusiastic about the EDF Cup? Anything at all? No. Thought not. Its a waste of time, money and effort. Nobody cares about this cup, everyone in England sees it for what it is; a tired attempt to try and milk more money out of the fans. Not even Sky wants to televise the thing (apart from the finals) so that gets given to the BBC who wonder why nobody can give a toss about it.

Seriously, its pointless. Nobody cares about it in Englad and everyone wants a HEC place and not be lumbered with the crappy EDF cup.

[shtove]

How stoopid were Sale in the end? They could have taken 3 points, secured ball at the restart and then rumbled for the line to their heart's content well past fulltime - instead they rumbled first, game over.

Hook played a lovely smart game.

Anyone else want to talk about the rugby?

[Prestwick]

Nah, just gonna whinge about the competition itself thanks. :lol:

[loratadine]

Edit gjohn85: There was no need for that outburst. I know that you are upset, but there are many ways to post your frustration without offending other members.

[Bullitt]

One more racist outburst like that my annoying little cabbage patch kid and you're gone for a week.

[loratadine]

same rule for you ai?

cos your the most racist man on these boards!!

lol

i was drunk if thats an exscuse

well its an exscuse for you to post pointless shit all the time, so im sure it is ;)!!

[gjohn85]

Lora, you cannot blame being drunk for your outbursts. If you are drunk in the future, don't come on here & post because you will end up getting banned.

You have calmed down greatly recently, we all don't want you going back to your old ways.

[loratadine]

lol, its not my old ways, i just think hypocrycy < i hope thts the right spelling

STINKS!!

anyways, i just wanted to get that off my chest, sees that everyone on these boards, can say whatever they like but as soon as i pipe up, then i get slandered a racist, ive said countless times that im not a racist!!

if they dont like the competition then dont post there negative vibes on here!!

maybe there jealous becuase they have to watch sides like leicster and sale week in week out, and we get to watch the scarlets, leinster and the ospreys every week!!

[Prestwick]

How can we be jealous? Seriously come on, how could we be jealous?! Especially when teams like Leicester and co get through most of the time to the final rounds of the HEC while the furthest a Welsh team has gotten has been the Semi Finals, maybe even a final once in a blue moon.

There is no hypocrisy Lora, where is the hypocrisy? I know the (heavily unbalanced and biased) Welsh Regions are dear to you Lora, but there is no grounds to suddenly start shouting "hypocrisy!"

The EDF Paper Cup is a competition with little or no value, and it needs to be dropped, pronto!

Even if the playoffs were removed, that just gets rid of three matches between four teams.

If the EDF Paper Cup was cut, it would free twenty six matches at least from the Guinness Premiership side. That is space in October for GP matches to go in so that the Autumn internationals are not interrupted, that is space in December for GP to go in so that the Six Nations are not disrupted as much.

When we talk about a streamlined, structured season, we mean a season without crap like this bunging up the calendar. Eventually the choice will be very clear: either we drop cynical money making crap like this, or we drop our commitments to International rugby. Because at the rate we are going at now, English rugby cannot commit itself to Autumn internationals AND cash crop cups like the EDF cup.

Besides, we already have a competition where English and Welsh sides can play each other, we&#39;ve had it for the last decade, its called the Heineken Cup!

And as for the racism, maybe if you didn&#39;t go on about how you&#39;d really, really, really, really, REALLY would love to beat England and see them in hell, burning, and then rub it in with as many swear words as possible to the nearest innocent bystander in a white jersey then maybe, just maybe, you&#39;d be tolerated a little more here.

Just a point ;)

[loratadine]

fair point, well made!!

plus rep for that!!

[Prestwick]

And a plus point for you, for proving me wrong when I thought that you couldn&#39;t hold a conversation.

You can, and I&#39;m wrong.

[SaintsFan_Webby]

People seem suprised Leicester were dull.

Leicester have always just tampled teams into submission with their forwards.

They have been doing it since the amateur days.

I can see them doing it to the Ospreys for 80 minutes in the final.

[stormmaster1]

The main reason Leicesterwere dull was because burke couldn&#39;tpass outside him, partly due to the aggressive defence of Sale. I thought the Welsh sides looked alot less aggressive in defence, and not as committed to spoiling the breakdown. Itwill be interestingto see what sideand playing style Tigers adopt versus ospreys

[Rugby_Cymru]

I&#39;m not sure a totally objective approach is being taken here.
Now, i&#39;m Welsh, so I&#39;m gonna like the EDF, but i hear prestwick saying how there&#39;s just no point to it. I&#39;d have to disagree, but that&#39;s only because it&#39;s deemed pointless to the English.
For the Welsh it allows us to watch the Welsh sides battle against teh English sides which is always a fun rivalry and not seen often enough in your average season. As a welsh supporter our clubs hav enot been doing well in the heineken cup as of late and so the main competition we watch is one good scottish outfit and 2 poor and one poor irish outfit, one boring outfit and 2 who just aren&#39;t interested in teh league only in the HEC.
So it&#39;s a nice change to get the English sides. I&#39;m not sur ethe winner earns as much as the HEC winner, but the amount is still substantial and the Welsh clubs will take whatever they can.

I don&#39;t blame the English for disliking the competition, but i honestly thought that as much as the cup is trying to get as much money as it can it&#39;s still a nice change from your week in week out GP. And we tend to play a different brand of rugby and i&#39;d like to think that the English fans who turned up on saturday saw a really entertaining match between the O&#39;s and blues.

I&#39;m not trying to sound cynical or obnoxious with my next comment, but i&#39;m trying to think of the positives of the tournament:

- get to play against reasonably good clubs
- experience a different kind of rugby more often
- a healthy sum could potentially be earned from winning it.

Apart from braggin rights and a wider range of foreign clubs to oppose, what makes the HEC so superior?

NB. I am in no way puting the EDF on the same platform as the HEC, I&#39;m just trying to get the perspective of those on the other end.

[dullonien]

I also thought that if the winner of the competition was an English club, they automatically qualify for the HC regardless of their standing in the GP. Or have they done away with that?

I think it&#39;s a good cometition, but if English fans aren&#39;t bothered, then what&#39;s the point.

Personally I think there&#39;s more fault with the GP than this cup. It&#39;s got a stupid relegation system that causes teams to overplay players and rush them back from injury. As a Welsh supporter I want all current Welsh international class players out of the GP and back in Wales. Look at Delve, huge potential but never fit to play for Wales and I blame the GP for this!

The playoff system is another mystery and a stupid system that ends up crowning the wrong team. I think the system us Celts have is alot better than what&#39;s to be had over the border, and most importantly is aimed at producing and protecting players for the national teams.

[SaintsFan_Webby]

I&#39;m sorry, but a lot of what you said there is rubbish.

The playoffs are an utterly abysmal idea, I have no qualms about that.

However, relegation has always been a part of the English league. My team may be propping up the table at the moment, but if we go down then we deserve to. It creates excitement at both ends of the league, making every match actually count for something, and gives clubs in the first division something to aim for.

Look at the Magners League. Some of the biggest teams, such as Munster and Leinster, couldn&#39;t care less about finishing top. Europe is their only real concern. Even if they were to finish bottom of the league it would hardly matter, it&#39;s not like they would go anywhere.

As for the comment about Delve, I think he is just an injury prone player.

Or mabye there is an English conspiracy to keep him out action just because he&#39;s Welsh. :rolleyes:

[Prestwick]

I vote for conspiracy!

[dullonien]

The difference is that the Magners legue is used by the Welsh, Irish and Scottish as a stepping stone to international rugby. The entire structure in these countries are set up to benefit the national teams.

That isn&#39;t the case in England where it appears to me that club rugby to many is more important than international.

You would be hard pushed to find a Welshman with that attitude. There&#39;s nothing wrong with either, just different priorities.

I was using Delve as an example. There always seems to be countless English internationals out at any given time. If something isn&#39;t done, there&#39;s just going to be one after another of Wilkinson&#39;s with huge potential, but always injured.

NZ have it right, they protect their players increadibly well, and they are reaping the rewards at international level.

[Cymro]

I sense the English will take this cup more seriously because of the English pulling out of the HEC!

[Rugby_Cymru]

Yeah, will the EDF become far more prevalent now with the HEC out of the window?