The Rugby Fobcast

Rugby Fobcast Show Episode 1 2007 (Podcast Show)

We are back badder than ever, after a 3 month welfare funded holiday, Sione & Pepe are back with vengence.
This weeks show, they podcast live from Xtopia Xbox360 gaming lounge in Dee Why Sydney, with guest Alex & Jake from Manly Rugby Club.
They cover this years Super 14 talk about each team, also the Waratahs win over the Crusaders for the Rotamahana Cup as well as the new superstar Kurtley Beale.
We also launch 2 competitions which can be found at our website
1- Rugby Fantasy team Competition
2- Rugby Fobcast Super 14 Tipping competition
The Rugby Fobcast Crew, tell the listerns their tips for the week as well as their first weeks Fantasy Team selections, so join the comp & join the trash talk.
So enjoy another O For awesome episode of the Rugby Fobcast!!!
Come join us at Xtopia.com.au Xbox360 Gaming Lounge every Tuesday night between 7pm-9pm & join in on the fun all is welcome, be one of the guys & test your xbox skills against the rugby Fobcast crew & their guests

So please leave feed back on our show through our website via comments

Click the audio button to play The rugby Fobcast EP1 2007

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Fobz & Peter hooking up the xbox 360 after recording The Rugby Fobcast

Changing Times for Professional Rugby Players

Well, I think it is refreshing to see, that the modern day rugby player has become more of a SNAG (sensitive new age gentleman)

With the ever increasing demands that the professional rugby player has to endure, with the never ending  training, preperation, travel & media commitments, it isn’t hard to see why a number of our rugby superstars look for other avenues & opportunities to try & prolong thier professional careers without losing sight at what is most important in thier lives.

Just recently Aaron Mauger & Matt Rodgers, have done deals which were made purely from a family point of view.

Mauger was recently quoted “I’ll be able to watch the kids grow up a little bit more.” which proves that the current S14 player & in his case a high profile player with a family are spending too much time away from home & most importantly from thier families.

The next big decison will be made by Lote Tuqiri, wheather he stays in rugby union or makes the switch back to his beloved Rugby League.

It looks as if, if he stays with rugby he will want to move closer to his family in queensland & could end up being a Reds player in 2008.

The money being thrown around is just crazyness, but I am of the belief, that if you can get it, go for it!!!!

THe modern day professional rugby/league player realistically has around 7-10 years in the game, so in that time, like any professional, you hope to make the most of all opportunites that come your way, that of course taking into account your family situation.

Lote is going to be offered the earth & heavens to stay with Rugby Union, but I think he wants to go back to League, where his heart really lies.

So there lies the delima, he will make a decision to take the money to secure his families future and see less ball, or go back to  league for a reasonable salary & play the game he really loves, & most importantly see the family he’s longing to be with.

Mauger Loss for New Zealand Rugby

It has been confirmed that one of New Zealands most under rated superstars Aaron Mauger, has decided to leave NZ Rugby for Leicester UK at the end of the year.

Here is a snippet from The Rugby Heaven website

All Blacks and Crusaders centre Aaron Mauger said he will not be hanging up his international boots after announcing he will join English club Leicester next season.

While a move overseas usually signals the end of the international career for most players, Mauger still has ambitions to play for the All Blacks at the 2011 World Cup to be held in his home country.

Mauger, 26, has signed for 2½ years with the ladder-leading Tigers starting in December and will move to England following the World Cup in France during September-October with wife Amy, young son Felix, and a soon-to-be-born second child.

“My immediate focus is the Super 14 and getting selected for the All Blacks again,” Mauger said. “It’s good to have this deal done so I can focus on that challenge.”

The 38-Test veteran said he expected his stint in England to be temporary rather than permanent.

“As a family we are looking forward to having an overseas experience and this is probably the only opportunity we will get due to the ages of our children, as we would like them to start school in New Zealand, although our eldest will have to do a half year in Leicester,” he said.

“I’d also love to finish my career with Canterbury and if I’m still playing well enough possibly to have a crack at the 2011 World Cup.”

All Blacks coach Graham Henry said Mauger had been an important member of the national team for the past five years.

“He’s a world class player and has also made a significant contribution as a leader both on and off the field. His decision-making ability has been integral to the All Blacks success.”

Mauger’s most recent start for the All Blacks was against England last November, although a knee injury restricted him to just that first match of the 2006 European tour.

One of a group of 22 All Blacks currently on a conditioning program, he is expected to rejoin the Crusaders’ Super 14 campaign in March.

Crusaders coach Robbie Deans said Mauger’s passing and kicking skills made him one of the world’s most valuable second five-eighths.

“Having Aaron at second-five-eighths gives any team he plays for a second decision maker. He has always effectively played as a second, first-five-eighths, whether he was outside ‘Mehrts’ [Andrew Mehrtens], ‘DC’ [Daniel Carter] or any of the other players he has combined with,” Deans said.

“What that achieves is to double the decision-making threat to any opposing defensive line, while also relieving a fair weight of the decision-making pressure off the man inside him.

“Leicester is getting a very special player, and one who still has a lot to offer in his career. Hopefully he will add to all that he has achieved here with the Crusaders in the time before he departs.”

Deans’s comments were echoed by Canterbury coach Rob Penney, who said Mauger had set the template on which future Canterbury inside backs would be modelled.

“There is nothing out on the field he can’t do - from playing just about every position in the backline except halfback, which he has done at first-class level, to goalkicking,” Penney said.

“From a coach’s perspective, players of the skills of Aaron are like gold. He is going to be a huge loss, but we wish him all the best for his future in England.”

Mauger follows in the footsteps of another fine former Canterbury and Crusaders servant, Daryl Gibson, in joining Leicester.

Gibson has been vice-captain of the powerhouse English Premiership club, which is invariably at the forefront of both the Heineken Cup and Guinness Premiership competitions.

Mauger has 38 caps as an All Black. He has won four Super rugby titles and made two other finals from his seven seasons with the Crusaders. He has also shared in two New Zealand domestic titles with Canterbury, as well as being associated with winning the Ranfurly Shield twice.

He made his All Black debut in the same Test match as current Crusaders and All Black skipper Richard McCaw in 2001 against Ireland at Dublin, scoring his first try 54 minutes into his Test career.

He subsequently led New Zealand against the Barbarians at Twickenham in 2004.

Mauger’s older brother Nathan was also an All Black on the 2001 tour, with the then Linwood club-based brothers following in the footsteps of their uncles, Canterbury All Blacks Stephen and Graeme Bachop, who had previously been the most recent All Black brothers.

The Mauger boys grew up and played all of their junior rugby in Lyttleton on the other side of the Port Hills from Christchurch.

Michael Niko Jones “Ice Man”, Hall Of Greatness

 

Michael Jones has always been a huge favorite of mine, he has also been a huge influence on a number of our current superstar players, it isn’t uncommon, to consistantly read on players profiles that Michael Jones is their favorite & most respected player.
He was without doubt the most commited & loyal man to ever grace the rugby union field, no mortal NZ man would ever give up the oportunity to wear the great All Black jumper, but this great man whom was so respected for his religious beliefs would not play on Sundays, but would still be the first player picked regardless on his stance.
I don’t think you would ever find a more humbled man then the Ice Man, for he embodies the real essensce of what a true gentleman should be, wheather it be on the field playing an intense test match against a physical Springbok pack or of the field.
In my honest opinon, Mr Michael Niko Jones should be Knighted, for the way the played the game & the commitment to the game now as a Rugby coach for the struggling Manu Samoans.

Here is a little insight into the great man Mr Michael Niko Jones

Michael Niko Jones (born April 8, 1965 in Auckland, New Zealand), is a former rugby union player and current coach. He has been named as one of the world’s greatest players of all-time by The Times and also the 3rd greatest All Black of all-time after Colin Meads and Sean Fitzpatrick. His was nicknamed the ‘Iceman’ because of the cool but confident manner in which he played. However most of those he played with referred to him as Ice due to the high frequency of injuries and icepacks required by Michael during the season. John Hart, who first selected him for Auckland, has called him “almost the perfect rugby player.”
Jones came to prominence initially as an openside flanker, making his international debut for New Zealand during the 1987 Rugby Union World Cup, after playing one test the previous year for Western Samoa, for whom he qualified through his parents. He had made his first-class debut in 1985 for his Auckland provincial side in the National Provincial Championship. During his 55-test career he scored 13 tries.
Jones has been credited with revolutionising the openside flanker position with his physical prowess, superior fitness, and uncanny instincts to be wherever the ball would be, as evidenced by his 13 international tries. He scored the first try in the inaurgural Rugby World Cup (1987), and also the first try in the second (1991). Later in his career, lacking the speed which characterised his early career, he played predominantly as a blindside flanker or number eight. In 1998 he was dropped from the All Blacks at the age of 33.
His career was severely affected by injuries, notably two serious knee injuries and a broken jaw, so that although he was first choice whenever his physical condition allowed, he only played 55 full internationals during a period when New Zealand played almost 90 internationals. His number of appearances was also affected by his strong Christian beliefs, refusing to play on Sundays. Although he was selected for the 1987 and 1991 All Black World Cup squads, he was omitted from the 1995 squad because of his refusal to play on Sundays, which would have meant him being unavailable for the quarter-final and semi-final games.
Jones has been a positive role model, particularly for Pacific Islander youth in New Zealand, both during his career and since his retirement in 1998. A strong christian man who often refused to play on sundays to honour the Sabbath, it was once asked of him how can a christian man hit so hard (in tackles), in reply he quoted the biblical phrase ‘it is better to give than receive’
On April 7, 2004 he was appointed national coach of Samoa, replacing New Zealander John Boe. He had previously served as Boe’s assistant coach, culminating in the 2003 World Cup.
He was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2003.

Are we ready for this years Super 14?

With the Rugby World Cup coming into the equasion this year, Are we either blessed or spoilt?

Will this never ending amount of rugby, interfer with the possibility that the quality of most games will be well below par?

From a die hard rugby fanatic, I would normally say that any rugby is better than no rugby!!!

Yet, I remember some games during last year, I was either not interested in the overall result, or the game was really a opportunity for some teams to see who could play Forcings Back the best! (Wallabies Vs Springboks, Sydney 2006)

So looking at the short term, The S14 gives us a delimea, 22 of the Worlds Best Players (All Blacks) have been rested, sorry Re-conditioned, & also during the S14 other players will be forced by their national unions to stand down.

Now we can look at this 2 ways, the competition will lack substance because the higher quality of players not particapating, or we can except that the next crop of superstars will hopefully rise to the levels of their squads marque players.

I for one am on the latter, I believe from what I have seen from the ANZ Cup (Air New Zealand Cup NZ Domestic Comp) that thier is more than enough talent to cover the lose of the 22 protected players, although you can’t replace the likes of Jerry Collins, Dan Carter & Richie Mc Caw, but yet there are other players thoughout the country that have been given the opportunity, that have been drafted from outside their respected zones to now play at that level.

As for the South Africans, last years Currie Cup Final was one of the best games I had seen in years, it amazes me the intensity & commitment, that these tribal provinces got to in their own national comp, but when playing the S14 they at times look dis-interested.

I don’t believe that the South African will make much of a differance this year in the S14, but its a different story come Springbok time.

Australia! there has never been a problem with talent in this country, its just that Rugby League has a majority of the players that have all the qualities that the National selectors are looking for.

As a country, there are no sortage of world champions, or Sporting super stars, alot of the eithos in Australia revolve around sport, yet the Wallabies say they are struggling for players in key positions.

Australian rugby, may lack the amount of super 14 teams the other 2 countries have, but not the playing talent, maybe the drop from S14 to club competition is steep, but not the commitment or talent.

But I am very confident that during this years S14, you will witness the rise of a couple of Aussie rookies that will change the face of Australian rugby for the future in a good way, and possible return them to the glory days.

So what can we expect from this years Super 14 Comp.

Heres some

• Crusaders to lose 3 of thier first 5 games
• Waratahs to complete South Africa tour undeated
• Chief to start slow & fire late in the season to miss out on semis
• South Africans to travel like shit again
• Reds to be the biggest improvers to stake semi spot
• Blues to fall on thier arses again
• Wellington, to fall on their arses like they used too.
• Western Force, fights for semi spot only to miss out by 1 bonus point
• Highlanders, trys hard but not classy enough (No superstars)
• Brumbies to win the comp!!!

These are just some suggestion that might make things spicy in this years Super 14

Rugby Fobcast Super 14 Tipping Comp

So great to see people willing to take up the Fobcast Challenge & enter the tipping comp.

Remember the more people the more trash talk, & I love to trash talk.

So to those whom haven’t hooked up yet, here is the link below & just enter you details & bang your already linked to our Rugby Fobcast Super 14 Tipping Competition

click here

Da Real Deal!! Kurtley Beale

Well guys wait for it your going to hear alot about this young Aboriginal Phenom!!!!!

THe Aussie press is going to now, praise this kid for all he is worth, and wait for it, I think he is a good as they are hoping for.

I am a huge Kiwi supporter, but above all else I appreciate the game of rugby & the special talents that play it, & this young fella Kurtley Beale, is something special.

Pepe & I attended the Waratah & Crusaders trial match here in Sydney (Rotomahana Cup), and the defence on both side was top notch, the final score was Waratahs 17 Crusaders 12.

Now although this young kid Kurtley came on in the 2nd half, where the flow of the game was some what static, he was pretty mach the only attacking shining light for both sides.

His opposite during the 2nd half was another 1st Five kiwi phenom, by the name of Steven Brett, whom looks solid as well, was struggling a little with the combinations of a number of rookie centres & wingers.

But to cut this story short, the final play of the night with the scores Crusaders 12 Waratahs 10, saw a midfield scrum, waratahs position half way, the #8 peeled of right then flops a pass to Beale whom ghost passed the sliding defence of the Crusaders #8 to open space, he finds himself 1 on 1 with the fullback with support players both sides, he almost kills the try with a very late (and forward) inside pass to his supporting player Josh Holmes, for the Waratah to win in the dying mintues.

So brace yourself for the Kurtley Beale show coming to a T.V near you!!!!

Its just about to warm up!!!!!

Let this video warm you up a little bit hey!!!

Rugby Super 14 Tipping Competition- Rugby Fobcast

With the coming of the new Rugby\Rugby League seasons, it is time for us to gather our thoughts & start talking trash about whom will win this years Rugby Fobcast S14 tipping competition.

But first things first, all is welcome to join our tipping competition, where each week on our Rugby Fobcast show we will bathe the weekly winner with insults & trash talk, because being the sore losers that us Fobz are, winning is only exceptable, if I am the winner, and no one else!!

But, if you are willing to take on the might of Sione, Pepe & the rest of the Rugby Fobcast community, hook your self up!!!

Just hook yourself onto www.footytips.com.au

• register yourself
• click on the competitions link
• search for competitions
• search for Rugby Fobcast Super 14
• password is fobz

thats it, so brace youself for another O for Osome Rugby Tipping comp

And good luck cause you need it FOOL!!!

Rugby Podcast “Rugby Fobcast Season 2007 intro

Yes we are back! (Yes unfortunatly for all you)

Take a quick listen to our intro as we are looking at doing our first show this Saturday night just in time for you guys to get all that great information we jibber about, so you have a greater understanding what team not to put your money on during this years Super 14.

Click the audio button to start intro

Download link

Rugby Fobcast Super 14 Fantasy Team Comp

Hi guys, we would like to invite all you try hard coaches to compete in the Super 14 fantasy competition.

If you are not familiar with the fantasy team concept, you are allocated a salary cap to pick your dream team, then after each round depending on certain stats & points, you players are given a rating the highest overall rating for each week, will be paraded & celebrated each week on our podcast show & the winner of the Fantasy team Super 14 (this would be the person that has acumulated the most points over the whole season) will win a big prize, that has not been settled yet, maybe some Amway products!!!

But The Rugby Fobcast has its own competition visit Rugby Fobcast Super 14 Fantasy team Competition

Register your details & once you have selected your team , you can select a League to be associated with so in the Join a Private League & the league code is 857-111 .

Now you are in, post comments if my fobby instrutions need more better england to discribe

Cheers

Check out da promo

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Wycliff Palu meet’s PEPE

Yes that’s right Sione, has let me interview the one and only Wycliff Palu, over a cup of samoan coco.

We discuss his rise into the Wallabies, emulating his childhood hero’s “WILLY O” and George “i got mad skills” Smith.

We also who are the FOB players to look for in 2007,Also if he is man enough can he beat PEPE in a arm wrestle?????

As always we finishing off the interview in true Pepe style with “PEPE’s soild or SHIT!!! tips of the week”

plus an added extra my famous throught of the WEEK!!!

So enjoy enjoy “BE BROWN AND PROUD”
PEPE!!!!!! SOILD!!!!!!