International Day [R]

If you ask me, I think Canadian rugby peaked a few years ago, and is on a major decline now.

There's just no real good players to replace some of the greats like Charron, Snow and Baugh.

It doesn't help that compared to the Americans, Canadians in Europe seem less than enthusiastic about turning out for the Maple Leafs. If a Bath rep had asked Dan Lyle to continue playing for the club instead of Test duty with the Eagles, I think that the Bath rep may not have walked out of the room alive.

 

France did very well to beat the Aussies, could well be seeing the beginning of the champions at the next world cup the way they've been playing at times. Their defence is a lot stronger than it used to be and they've still got the ability to make good tries.

Great result by Ireland to beat South Africa in a close match. Ireland produced quality when it mattered and the South Africans have only themselves to blame for looking like they thought they only had to turn up to win. They were sloppy at the key moments, especially for the try, which for Tri-Nations champs is disappointing. I expect them to bounce back very strongly though, they are number 1 in the Southern Hemisphere for a reason, a capable team when they want to be but the signs were there against Wales last weak that they can get complacent.

Decent start for Robinson as coach of England. Some very good running rugby, but the team is inexperienced and they'll need to learn to be more ruthless, particularly in the pack which has lost a lot of top players to retirement.

Disappointed Italy lost so heavily with a bad first half. They've been improving steadily and have a good coach. Hopefully this result will help them be sharper when it comes to the 6 nations.

 

i got to see some highlights on skysports on FSW.

the eng-can game> wow, some really great plays by the england teams. those were some sweet trys socred. the highlight reel didn't show any of the canada plays.

aussie-fra> a bit surprising for me anytime the wallabies lose. france is a strong tram. france's first win vs the aussies in 3+ years.

irland-sa> the trination teams are having a bad day. as for them being #1 in the southern, sure, they are but barely.

nz-italy> i wonder how many people were at the match in rome. i am not surpised at this result.

also scotland had a record high points (100) vs japan.

in Tri-Nation league, Great Brit beat Australia, and they will meet again in the final next saturday.