Re: Did the All blacks Miss Lomu ?

"MasteroftheRevels" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Alan Luchetti wrote:

> > > England are the World Champions and all of them play in the
English
> > ZP.  NZ
> > > finished a wretched 3rd and all of them play NPC/S12 with a bunch
of
> > Samoans and
> > > hapless SAs who are even worse.  Can anybody seriously now doubt
that
> > the
> > > English ZP is the premier rugby competition in the world?  Or did
> > RWC03 that
> > > finished a week ago not happen?


> > The only yardsticks I have:
> >
> > 1. Players who miss out on S12 readily get a run-on ZP start.
> >
> > 2. ZP player of the year returns to Aus and can't get the S12
starting
> > spot that he lost before going to England.
> >
> > 3. Aus, NZ & Eng are near enough to level pegging.  Aus talent is
> > diluted into S12 3 ways. NZ talent is diluted into S12 5 ways, Eng
> > talent is diluted into ZP 2 ways.  (Auckland, Canterbury and
Leicester
> > have disproportionate representation, but it's hard to see how that
is
> > relevant)
> >
> > 4. I haven't seen that much ZP, but most of what I have seen (with
the
> > odd honourable exception) has been pretty dreary (some marvellous
> > scrummaging though -- breathtaking, scintillating) (also lots of
artful
> > obstruction just away from the breakdown)


> Here we go again.  England won RWC03 and are the World Champions.
> Deservedly so.  Pat on the back.  However, its been a week now.
Somehow or
> other they did this all by playing in an inferior NH competition.  The
> English talent is not diluted 2 ways.

My typo.  I meant 12, obviously.  If it were diluted 2 ways you might
have had a point.

> It matches at least the NZ quota of
> 5 x S12 sides.  Straight off the top there have been outstanding
> contributions from Leicester, Northampton, Wasps, Gloucester & Bath.
After
> that it thins out a bit - but we are talking quality not quantity with
> Harlequins, Saracens, Sale & Newcastle.  You only have Leeds, London
Irish
> & Rotherham not really feeding England.  Of those, Irish feed Ireland
and
> Rotherham you can forget about.  9 decent ZP Premiership Clubs to 5 NZ
S12
> franchises of which only Canterbury & Auckland are up to much.  There
is
> 4.5 times the talent in the ZP.  I rest my case.  You are lucky I
don't
> bring up European Rugby.  That puts even more distance between the two
> hemispheres.

Even more distance than an extra-time dropped goal?  Congrats, but don't
get carried away.