The ball is coming down end first, it did all the way from the top of its flight. Richards went up for it and it grazed his arm at roughly the elbow/right forearm, it is only a slight contact, but the ball goes from being point down at that point to turn in the air and ends up landing on its side.

I think you are giving PR way too much credit to say he planned to miss it. Watch the flight of the ball, it is direct until it passes though his arms at which point it changes in flight.

He Planned to miss it! Do you honestly actually believe anything that you write? Surely you cant.

The ball already has a spin on it as it is coming down and continues that cycle until it hits the deck, Richards didnt touch it, the much more qualified officials took plenty of time and made the correct call.

I disagree.

Fair enough mate it doesn't matter any more anyway, im just looking forward to a fit Fecka and a structured attack next year

So this was some elaborate move where jumpers pretend to jump for the ball and miss it, hence fooling everybody and allowing George to run in and collect the ball, that always bounces very uniformly, and is 100% predictable, so score under the sticks.

Absolute rubbish, He missed the ball, thats it. It was a poor attempt at a catch, and we where lucky he didn't touch it otherwise he wouldn't have scored. I think jonh has a point though, I think he most likely did touch the ball, but it didn't look like it on the screen.

Longs try was 50/50, but so was meli's that was ruled out from my first viewing (haven't got that far into the game 2nd time round, so haven't seen it) so we got one of the 2 50/50's.

Saying that I thought Saints where very lucky to win, I think we lost it more than they won. Carmont catches that offload by Joel (who I though played well tonight) and Pat most likely scores. Add that to Roberts being denied by some absolutly sublime scrambling defense, and then add that flick pass by Sam that, had Tommy, Phelps or Feka (I think) been able to pick up that would have also been a try.

I don't recall many unlucky Saints denied efforts tonight, I think we had the edge, but not the patience (story of this season anyone?)

Like I said, his arms were quite wide apart, much wider than someone who has the intention of catching and securing a ball.

It was just a thought that occurred to me, and it's not beyond the realms of possibility. I don't claim to see into Richards' mind, but it struck me that it's a [ipossible[/i tactic. Miss the ball, let it bounce, decrease the chance of the opposition taking it and launching a counter-attack.

It's a feasible tactic, the same as kicking high near to the touchline, in the hope your opposite will catch the ball, and you'll hit them with the tackle straight into touch.

But as to whether that's what was intended, who knows? Richards' and/or his team-mates, that's about it.




He may well have missed the ball, but I think you have to accept there's a possibility it [icould[/i be a utilised tactic. The thing to remember is, if it didn't look like it was touched to the Video Ref (who has Full HD coverage to look at) then benefit of the doubt has to be ruled. Since the video ref didn't press the "BOTD" button, he must have been sure. (The same goes for Long's try, which I was amazed didn't have those 4 words tagged on)



Trust me, there was no 50/50 in Meli's no-try. It took the video ref a while to spot his foot, though.



Yes, we did have a lot of missed opportunities tonight, we played a lot better than them for most of the match, and with the momentum at the end, if it hadn't been for the lack of penalty forthcoming on the Long-Tomkins incident, I think we would have scored and forced Golden Point time. We could have seen a new world record for longest drop goal with that wind and Richards kicking it!

To claim a miss catch, a basic dummy off a high ball i think is personally wrong and goes against everything you are ever coached.

Meli was a mile in touch for his disallowed try, his white boot was clearly in touch.

Fully agree and seen it in HD to boot.

Is HD worth buying ?

Only if you've got Sports AND Movies, in terms of value for money.

Depends I got it cheap...but until more channels are in HD I'd wait but it's good.

Yes, if only for the rugby. Great for sports, movies and the odd nature programme. Planet Earth was excellent.

Great game yesterday. As a neutral Richards [imight[/i have knocked-on, but there was no evidence he did from the replays. The Fa'asavalu attempted offload that was called as a strip was a poor decision and a real turning point. Long's try was fine though. All IMO, of course.