OSPREYS ARE TAKING THE PI$H

[fuzzylogic]

by cables » Fri Mar 19, 2010 1:07 pm

Meanwhile an Osprey aged 18 and a few days is selected to play for the Welsh senior team even though he has never played a ML game.

He has played in the HEC though!

[pwrmoore]

by cables » Fri Mar 19, 2010 1:07 pm

Meanwhile an Osprey aged 18 and a few days is selected to play for the Welsh senior team even though he has never played a ML game.

He has played in the HEC though!

well that's alright then

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

dumb and stupid this comparison be...

front row for clear, understandable reasons that should be obvious to most here is a dangerous place to be if you're not up to it.

a winger, even in a game of rugby, isnt exposed to the dangers that a prop faces. evans for scotland highlighted that it is a game that can be dangerous, but in the backs excess physicality is not a pre-requisite.

a young forward wont make the step up for several years longer usually because bulk is needed. in the backs, and particularly out on the wing, talent and skill and solid technique can matter more. that said he may well get a bit of a bashing, but has halfpenny ever looked out of his depth despite being young and slight of frame?

this is a dumb comparison, that doesn't indicate double standards. rather it signals the petty nature of several posters on this board.

[Jackie Brown]

Jez I wish u'd wind your neck in

[pwrmoore]

welder no-one is seriously comparing playing on the wing to playing in the front row. You can be such a prat.

Nevertheless there is a serious point to this thread. The Ospreys are hiding behind a technicality to avoid fulfilling a fixture at a time when they feel they are under-strength due to a combination of International call-ups, injury and player suspension. This could be viewed as gamesmanship but it smacks of unsporting behaviour.

There is absolutely no reason why they could not field a front row using a combination of their available players and players "playing-up" under permit from their feeder clubs. Players from one of their feeder clubs played against a full ML front row in the Ravens v Aberavon game last week. The fact that they have chosen not to do this but instead pretend that they are "unable" to field a qualified front row shows a cynicism that I feel has no place in our sport. When they reschedule the game not only will their international players be available again but a player who is currently banned will be available for selection. With this move they have effectively undermined the judgement of the disciplinary committee as well.

Taken to the extreme if this is tolerated without sanction from the ML organisers this could set a dangerous precedent of convenient front row injuries whenever a key player is injured/banned and would play havoc with the league schedule.

[Rooster]

front row for clear, understandable reasons that should be obvious to most here is a dangerous place to be if you're not up to it.

None of the Aberavon front row died in the Ravens match against our front row and they are a feeder club for hairsprays, Archer survived for Munster and I'm sure if you searched the previous matches over several seasons it would be foundd that others have played in emergencies. If the reff sees that the front row is dangerous he would have the option of oordering a change in players, if the replacements were not up to the job the match would then change to unopposed scrums.

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

welder no-one is seriously comparing playing on the wing to playing in the front row. You can be such a prat.

Nevertheless there is a serious point to this thread. The Ospreys are hiding behind a technicality to avoid fulfilling a fixture at a time when they feel they are under-strength due to a combination of International call-ups, injury and player suspension. This could be viewed as gamesmanship but it smacks of unsporting behaviour.

blah...

blah...

re the ospreys carrying on like this, i agree. no reason why they cant pull together a front row from their feeders - inc aberavon who played against our front row already...

that's alright then, if no-one's seriously not being an ass and comparing them blaming lack of front row for not fulfilling a fixture with an 18 year old playing on the wing in an international match, then im not suggesting for one moment that dumb and stupid this comparison is.

[Rooster]

welder no-one is seriously comparing playing on the wing to playing in the front row. You can be such a prat.

Nevertheless there is a serious point to this thread. The Ospreys are hiding behind a technicality to avoid fulfilling a fixture at a time when they feel they are under-strength due to a combination of International call-ups, injury and player suspension. This could be viewed as gamesmanship but it smacks of unsporting behaviour.

blah...

blah...

re the ospreys carrying on like this, i agree. no reason why they cant pull together a front row from their feeders - inc aberavon who played against our front row already...

that's alright then, if no-one's seriously not being an ass and comparing them blaming lack of front row for not fulfilling a fixture with an 18 year old playing on the wing in an international match, then im not suggesting for one moment that dumb and stupid this comparison is.

Do you think then under H&S rules we could make a case for not being able to field a scrum half due to the fact that he might get clobbered by an experienced number 8 from the opposition as we do look to be in severe diffs for the next few matches with only small Paul being available as scrum half.
(note taking the pish again)
On a serious note the CL said they would be investigating this case further and has anyone heard of any statements ?

[pwrmoore]

ffs welder. Can you please try to place your words in the correct grammatical order and insert some reasonable punctuation. It is bad enough that we have to mentally rewrite boggy's posts to see if we can work what in God's name he is on about. I really don't think I can cope with having to do it for you too and you claim to be able to write so you don't have boggy's excuse.

[mikerob]

There is reference to clubs like Aberavon being "feeder" clubs to the Os, but that doesn't mean the Os can just pick who they want from these clubs.

Clubs like Swansea, Aberavon and Neath are perfectly entitled to tell the Os to feck off. These clubs have their own fixtures to fulfill and in fact, Aberavon, Neath and Swansea all had fixtures in the Welsh Premiership competition last night.

The situation isn't like Ireland where the branch controls the professional and amateur game. Given resentment caused setting up the regions in Wales, the local amateur teams (who have a proud tradition themselves) aren't at the beck and call of the Ospreys.

I'm not denying the need for the Os to maintain a proper squad, but the Os don't have the right to force clubs like Aberavon to release their players.

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

Do you think then under H&S rules we could make a case for not being able to field a scrum half due to the fact that he might get clobbered by an experienced number 8 from the opposition as we do look to be in severe diffs for the next few matches with only small Paul being available as scrum half.
(note taking the pish again)
On a serious note the CL said they would be investigating this case further and has anyone heard of any statements ?

havent heard a thing other than something to the effect that CL couldnt sanction the match.

my point is only that the front row is a specialised position. someone playing it exposes themsleves to a dangerous situation numerous times during a match, and if they arent ready for the level they are going to be playing at they are likely to get dominated. this (probably) results in them being twisted and turned, pushed down head first into the ground, with the weight of their own pack pushing down on them one way and the weight of the opposition pack pushing down on them from a different angle. but u know this and it doesnt take a non-front-row to state it.

im not saying the Os arent playing games here and waiting for their internationals to return before playing this fixture. as said they could simply pull in the aberavon front row, who already matched up against bryan young, deccy, and tom court in the ravens fixture. to me they're taking the pi$h (as this thread's title so cleverly suggests)

my point is that in even raising mention of a young player being selected on the wing ranges from being irrelevant at best (but par for the course here - all u off-topics-thread-hoppers take note) to just plain barmy.

where do u reckon that this fits into the sliding scale:

Meanwhile an Osprey aged 18 and a few days is selected to play for the Welsh senior team even though he has never played a ML game.

I look forward to reading the Ospreys take on this one.

Perhaps?
"For the avoidance of any doubt, Ospreys believe that H&S issues in selection only apply to front row players."

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

Jez I wish u'd wind your neck in

u feed beefburgers to swans

[mikerob]

as said they could simply pull in the aberavon front row,

I don't think they can. Aberavon had their own fixture in the Welsh Premiership on Friday 19 March. They can tell the Os to feck off.

There may be agreements in place between the Os and other clubs in the region for development of players, but that doesn't mean that the Os can pick who they want, when they want from the clubs unless the player is actually contracted to the Os.

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

ok didnt realise it was like that.
had assumed that it would be akin to ulster being short a scrum-half and pulling someone from dungannon or ballymena

[mikerob]

ok didnt realise it was like that.
had assumed that it would be akin to ulster being short a scrum-half and pulling someone from dungannon or ballymena

Nope. Its not like Ireland where there is a hierarchy of international, professional and amateur with the union controlling everything. The Os are a privately owned business and have no control over the local amateur clubs.

At the end of the day, if a player is signed to Aberavon, or Neath or Swansea, they are under no obligation to release them to the Os. And given they all had fixtures last night, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't.