Leeds Carnegie v Sale Sharks

['Hopper]

Fair point Bullitt, I have to agree, but you will see a better all round game of rugby watching lower down the league system.
I realise some Premiership team's supporters do this as we see at our club with people wearing Sale Sharks merchandise, but after watching two try-less games on TV over the weekend it is obvious the top of the game has gone stale as a spectacle with defences so much on top.
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Keep supporting your local team, but I'll stay with the grass-roots game where your English born players learn the game. Don't forget, there wouldn't be any home grown players in the premiership if it wasn't for the years of unpaid work done at Level 3 club's and below.
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Give our regards to Gracy when you next see him, from all at 'hoppers.

 

[Teh Mite]

So far this season there have been 36 matches. 3 of them so far have been tryless.

This weekend was some of the worst weather we've had all season which made for awful playing conditions. 3 of this weekends games were tryless.

3 of this weekends games were excellent, 11 tries were scored with some rollercoaster events and amazing skill on display - Excellent adverts for the sport. The other three matches were tryless.

Three of this weekends games were on TV. Those three were tryless.

Of the tryless games, only 1 was boring.

Don't give me this "the top of the game has gone stale". That argument for the pro's of watching the lower league only serves to makes me believe that Preston have no ambition to move up and instead are content to live in the quagmire of the lower leagues.

 

['Hopper]

Don't give me this "the top of the game has gone stale". That argument for the pro's of watching the lower league only serves to makes me believe that Preston have no ambition to move up and instead are content to live in the quagmire of the lower leagues.

I've touched a nerve there!!!

No lack of ambition at PG matey. A good all round club like many in the lower leagues and not just a "One Team Outfit" relying on junior clubs to give surplus players game time.

Think yourselves lucky that 95% of the rugby clubs in this country are there for you 5%

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Am I not allowed to be a fan of both Sale Sharks and Lichfield RFC now?

 

[Teh Mite]

Apparently not. Didn't you know you're not a true rugby fan if you don't watch it standing in a muddy field with a crowd barly reaching 150 (plus their kids on pitch number 2 more interested in kicking a soccer ball about)?

Sounds to me more like like you're bitter about something 'Hopper.

 

['Hopper]

Apparently not. Didn't you know you're not a true rugby fan if you don't watch it standing in a muddy field with a crowd barly reaching 150 (plus their kids on pitch number 2 more interested in kicking a soccer ball about)?

Sounds to me more like like you're bitter about something 'Hopper.

You obviously don't get out much Bullitt, your friend supporting Lichfield will tell you what a superb set up they have.

We run 6 senior teams so no room for kids kicking a ball about on any of our pitches, but they can play in the play area next to our main pitch.....but you will have seen our set up when you played us in the Cup a few years ago?

Our funding at Level 4 from next year is zilch! In fact, it looks like we will shortly be asked to pay for the referees. The grudge all clubs below level 2 have, is that the professional game takes all the money out of the game at the expense of clubs like ours who produce the English players to play in the top two leagues.

How many England players started their carears at your club for instance?

 

[Teh Mite]

How many England players started their carears at your club for instance?

Currently Active England Players who stared their Rugby Union careers at Northampton:

Courtney Lawes
Chris Ashton
Steve Thompson
Ben Cohen
Stephen Myler (Saxons)
Paul Diggin (Saxons)

Notable recent history:
Matt Dawson
Tim Rodber
Martin Bayfield

Wait, hold on, I mean "None". After all, saying all that (therefore politely shaouting "BOOM, Sit Down") doesn't use TRF as free advertising for a Preston Grasshoppers match.

Aslo,

You obviously don't get out much Bullitt,

Personal abuse, nice touch. Can I expect much of that if I go to Preston?

 

['Hopper]

Currently Active England Players who stared their Rugby Union careers at Northampton:

Courtney Lawes
Chris Ashton
Steve Thompson
Ben Cohen
Stephen Myler (Saxons)
Paul Diggin (Saxons)

Notable recent history:
Matt Dawson
Tim Rodber
Martin Bayfield

Wait, hold on, I mean "None". After all, saying all that (therefore politely shaouting "BOOM, Sit Down") doesn't use TRF as free advertising for a Preston Grasshoppers match.

Aslo,


Personal abuse, nice touch. Can I expect much of that if I go to Preston?

Three points:

Are you sure Northampton introduced the game of Rugby to all these players, or did they come from other clubs who had done the spade work as experienced players?

I don't understand your second paragraph, at all?

Thirdly, apologies but no abuse intended, I was inferring you didn't get to see rugby outside the professional circuit.

 

[Teh Mite]

I think you'll find a hell of a lot more work goes into developing a player once they've joined a pro club then what they do for The Dog and Ducks 2nd XV.

On the Northampton front: I'm Certain.

Ben Cohen - Northampton boy, played for Saints' funded "Northampton Old scouts" before joining Saints at 15 or 16 years old
Steve Thompson - Same as above with "Northampton Casuals"
Paul Diggin - Same again with "BBOB"
Courtney Lawes - Same as Cohen
Myler - Former RL player with no Union experience
Ashton - Same as Myler
Dawson - Joined Saints at colt age player in amateur era
Rodber - As Dawson
Bayfield - Full time Bedford policeman who specifically commuted just to play for Saints in amateur era. Went on to play for England.

 

['Hopper]

I think you'll find a hell of a lot more work goes into developing a player once they've joined a pro club then what they do for The Dog and Ducks 2nd XV.

Who is being insulting now?

Just ask Paul Grayson if he thinks he played for the D&D's 2nd's in his youth....Accrington Stanley yes, PG D&D's 2nd's no!

 

[Teh Mite]

No abuse there at all. What you're implying is when a player progresses from a minnow club to a premiership (if they're REALLY lucky, normally it's barely into ND2 or the Championship) they're already the finished article. You couldn't be further from the truth. When these kids move on from the little clubs to the big world, all they bring to the party is potential. It takes literally years to get their fitness levels, skills and brains in tune with top flight rugby - A prime example is Soane Tonga'uiha.

When he left Bedford, he was already considered a demi-god at the considerably high level of ND1. However, he was a bit porky at the time and it turned out in the big leagues he couldn't scrum for toffee and was almost hesitant to go into contact. He was dumped into the development squad and made to work hard on his skills and fitness (remember this is someone who already has international caps). 5 years or so later and he's now carved out of wood, finally doing the things he was touted to be doing in ND1. That didn't happen overnight and he certainly didn't arrive as one of the worlds best players. It took him a long time and a lot of hard work from both himself and the training team around him.

Yes, pro rugby has lost some of the charm of the amateur days. Sadly however, that's part and parcel of evolution and things haven't changed that much. We're not talking about the extents which Football's gone to.

 

['Hopper]

No abuse there at all. What you're implying is when a player progresses from a minnow club to a premiership (if they're REALLY lucky, normally it's barely into ND2 or the Championship) they're already the finished article. You couldn't be further from the truth. When these kids move on from the little clubs to the big world, all they bring to the party is potential. It takes literally years to get their fitness levels, skills and brains in tune with top flight rugby - A prime example is Soane Tonga'uiha.

No you are not seeing my point at all. What I'm implying is that you wouldn't have the players at all if someone hadn't introduced them to the game in the first place (some at the age of 7) and brought them to a standard the scouts see the potential for bigger things.

You gave a list of players in an earlier post that you think Northampton should take credit for, here is a list we are proud to name as "Hoppers" who "made the grade"!

Wade Dooley
Paul Grayson
Pat & Alex Sanderson
Will Greenwood
Iain Balshaw
Steve Borthwick



Who knows what would have happened to them and others like them if us "minnows" of rugby hadn't coached them in their youth?

 

[lynam1104]

So it was you who gave us Borthwick.....:redcard:

 

[Teh Mite]

Larry and Greenwood we all knew about, but it's Prestons fault we suffer Balshaw & Borthwick?

You miserable gits! :lol:

 

[Duckdee]

School rugby? Parents who took their children to their first rugby match?

 

[Teh Mite]

School rugby? Parents who took their children to their first rugby match?

Or maybe watching it on Telly?

Crazy ideas...

 

['Hopper]

Larry and Greenwood we all knew about, but it's Prestons fault we suffer Balshaw & Borthwick?

You miserable gits! :lol:

You can send them back any time you like

 

['Hopper]

Or maybe watching it on Telly?

Crazy ideas...

Very sad.

You have moved so far away from the real world of Rugby Union that the vast majority of us share.

Time for a wake up call I think!

 

[Teh Mite]

Very sad.

You have moved so far away from the real world of Rugby Union that the vast majority of us share.

Time for a wake up call I think!

That would be you, yourself and Irene I suppose.

One thing that did get on my ***s when Saints went down was this "holier then thou" attitude which did emanate from some of the less successful clubs' fans attempting to justify their position.

People tend to follow their local club. I live in the St. James' part of Northampton, so my local club is Saints. If people happen to live near a lower league club, they may well choose to follow them. Or they may go 30 miles down the road to watch someone else. It's their choice.

You've managed to convince me of one thing though; I shan't be going to visit Preston Grasshoppers any time soon. I get the impression I'd be which hunted for not turning up wearing wellingtons or being related to at least 1 or 2 of the players on the pitch.

 

['Hopper]

From what I have read in this thread, I think we are better leaving you supporters and players at levels 1 & 2 in the professional end of the game to play amongst yourselves, and leave the other 98% of Rugby Union in this country to play and support our Clubs the way it should be. Hopefully there are a few amongst your number who respect the whole game and not just the over paid section of it, not to mention the Overseas Players Pension Club!

I think if you asked the many Northampton supporters who visited Lightfoot Green for the Cup Match, you will find they paint a very different picture to the one you have illustrated. They were treated the same way as we were on our visit to Franklin’s Gardens a few years later.

As the point I was making in my original post has long since disappeared, I will repeat my suggestion that Leeds supporters, not familiar with lower league rugby make the short trip to Morley on Saturday, I am sure they will be well entertained.