No future in Wallabies using Force

[The EnForcer]

Is it just me or do the eastern states reporters sit on the sidelines hoping for a Force defeat?

No future in Wallabies using Force

Spiro Zavos
Tuesday, April 10, 2007

http://www.rugbyheaven.smh.com.au/ar...971023265.html

[Bacon]

I thought that article was less about the Force and more about the state of Australian rugby at the moment.

[The EnForcer]

Maybe it's my new found sensitive side that is surfacing.

[Bacon]

I'll meet you half way... There was certainly some jabs thrown at the Force, most definitely.

The rest of the article bitched about how bad the tahs and reds are, so take heart in that.

[.X.]

Is it just me or do the eastern states reporters sit on the sidelines hoping for a Force defeat?

Yes TEF - its just you

[tragic]

The article isn't a happy read for any Oz rugby fan The article seems less of an analysis and more of a obiturary.

[JediKnight]

Like a phoenix they will rise from the ashes!!!

[blutackey]

I am sick to death of people on this forum consistently whining about eastern states bias!! STOP IT please! The eastern states papers are made for eastern states readers, they must cater to their target market and that is what they are doing.

The focus on the three teams over there is merely a reflection of that and there is no need to constantly bring up the east vs west thing because it is not applicable.

If you read the West then you will also realise that it is heavily biased towards the force, this is because thats that West Australians want to mainly read about.

And on an aside, Spiro Zavos is one of the best rugby columnists going around and has been more than fair to the Force in all of his columns, and the points he makes about the Force are true.

Sorry for the rant but it is so depressing to read about this week in week out.

[Burgs]

I will agree with you about the papers blutackey, except for those articles in the Australian which is our National paper.
You don't need to spend very long in the East to realise to them nothing exists past the Great Dividing Range (and certainly not beyond Adelaide) so it isn't so much that they are biased, more that they are ignorant.
Without a word of a lie, in my travels I have consistently known more about a persons home State (away from their local area) in conversations than they have themselves.
How could they possibly be able to write as anything other than biased?

[.X.]

I will agree with you about the papers blutackey, except for those articles in the Australian which is our National paper.

Burgs whilst The Australian is a national newspaper I am sure that the Editor is well aware of where is bread is buttered - if the Australian has national Sales of say 100,000 copies and only 5000 copies are sold in WA and 45000 sold in Sydney you can be sure that the "slant" is aimed at the majority.

Blutackey is absolutely correct with his post.

[JediKnight]

Jeez Exile, it's about time you came back over West.....they've even got you too!!!!

[blindsid3]

Its been a few days since I have posted - mainly because i didn't want to "drive angry" and launch into an upset tirade about the weekend. This seems a good time to get back into the fray...

This article doesn't Force bash, and it doesn't have an east coast bias. For those unaware, Spiro is a kiwi...

This article is an analysis of the modern game, in which very successful coaches (read Deans) are able to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and structure the game plan to counter both.

"It was not so much the margin of the defeat that looks like ending the dream, it was the way the victory was planned and carried out...the master coach Robbie Deans has devised a way of beating the Force"

Spiro argues that the Crusaders are so successful because they are not only able to develop a winning plan, but execute it perfectly and without error.

The danger to the Force is that the Crusaders adopted a Giteau stifling tactic that may be copied by other Kiwi teams. For Australian Rugby the danger is Gits will then be targeted (by the Crusader All Black's including McCaw) at the world cup.

He also discussed the difference in pre-season regimes between the ABs and Tahs with the result that the ABs are bigger, stronger, more flexible and faster- and ready to execute us. On the other hand the Waratahs spent the off-season building a monster, inflexible pack and many of these players hope to dominate wallabies selection. Spiro muses that this may have been the wrong strategy, especially as the future of Rugby under the new laws is an even faster more mobile game.

Perhaps its time that we read all the words on the rugby news pages rather than just the ones around the word "Force".

[The EnForcer]

I guess you are still a little tiny bit peeved then Blindsid3?

[blindsid3]

Im trying to focus on moving home next week and not dwelling on the past

[Burgs]

Ex, if that is the case then they should change their title to the Eastern Stater or something more appropriate.
The National paper should speak for the Nation equally.

Just to clarify, I don't actually have very much of a problem at all with this particular article, pretty much what blindsid said on the matter.
I always enjoy Spiro's articles and respect his take on matters as I think he is the reporter with the least barrow to push in Australia.


Oh, and hi Spiro