Wordless Wednesday...#24 - Waikato Jersey!RM3**?Gulpp!

P/S: Nak kumpul duit...:)

Bombay,

Nonu Looking Forward To Playing With Sonny Bill..

All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu, shifting out one position from his preferred berth at second five-eighth to accommodate Sonny Bill Williams, said he is looking forward to playing with his midfield rival.

The two players in theory are operating head-to-head for the honour of the All Blacks number 12 jersey, but while the Grand Slam tour last year may have had little separating the pair, coach Graham Henry has opted to start Nonu in most test matches so far this season.

Williams, who started against the Springboks in Port Elizabeth, is giving his second opportunity this year.

A chance, as Henry said, to “to force their (his) abilities on the selectors.”

Henry has said that Williams needs to measure his approach.

"Don't try and do it all in five minutes. Patience is going to be key. If he (Williams) lets his natural ability control the way he plays, he will play well."

This is something that the big centre agrees with.

"Sometimes I get a bit too excited out on the field,” he said.

But Nonu said he was excited to playing with his high profile team mate.

"Everyone knows what he can do," Nonu said.

“He's a megastar and a rock star and a great athlete.

"If he can do his magic, hopefully I can run off him."

The two will be against Andrew Ma'ilei and Sukanaivalu Hufanga in the Tongan midfield, and while there names may not be familiar to some, they have been selected based on their overall fitness.

Nonu said the Pacific Islanders would come out hard.

"I think the Tongans will be firing," Nonu said.

"They pretty much want to come out and have a good hit-out really.

"I assume they want to bash us. There'll be no love lost against the Tongans, our Tongan brothers, and it will be a good first-up game."

Source : www.allblacks.com

Rugby World Cup 2011 New Zealand

Bombay,

All Change For Japan..

[Rugby World Cup 2011, New Zealand]

Only Thompson, Kikutani, Onozawa and Nicholas retained

Japan have made 11 changes to their starting line-up for their opening Rugby World Cup match against France on Saturday.

Only Luke Thompson, Takashi Kikutani, Hirotoki Onozawa and Ryan Nicholas are retained by coach John Kirwan following the 20-14 warm-up win over the USA.

"These guys are definitely the guys who are on form. We had two guys who are unavailable through injury - Justin Ives and [Yuta] Imamura - so besides those two these are the 22 that we decided are playing the best at the moment," Kirwan said.

Thompson and winger Kosuke Endo started Japan's last World Cup match against Canada in 2007, while veteran winger Hirotoki Onozawa will match the World Cup appearance record for a Japanese player - equalling Masahiro Kunda (1991-1999) and Yukio Motoki (1995-2003) on nine.

Japan: 15 Shaun Webb, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Koji Taira, 12 Ryan Nicholas, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Ryukoliniasi Holani, 7 Michael Leitch, 6 Takashi Kikutani (c), 5 Toshizumi Kitagawa, 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Hisateru Hirashima.

Replacements: 16 Yusuke Aoki, 17 Nozomu Fujita, 18 Hitoshi Ono, 19 Itaru Taniguchi, 20 Atsushi Hiwasa, 21 Murray Williams, 22 Alisi Tupuailai.

Source : www.skysports.com

Rugby World Cup 2011 New Zealand

Bombay,

Graham Henry Sets Up Fullback 'Dogfight' For Cup..

[Rugby World Cup 2011, New Zealand]

Graham Henry

It was the most honest response from the All Blacks camp all week. And possibly the most disconcerting. Asked if Israel Dagg was now his No 1 fullback, Graham Henry looked all of his 65 years as he paused a second or two before replying: "We are not sure who that is, to be frank."

Hmmm. It's not like backline selections haven't exactly bitten the All Blacks on their backsides at recent World Cups, mostly in midfield. Remember Mils Muliaina playing out of position in 2007, ditto Leon MacDonald in 2003 and ditto Christian Cullen in 1999?

In this instance it appears less a possibility of picking the wrong guy for the assignment, as deciding which of two very strong candidates to go with, but it has to be concerning that with the World Cup upon us, Henry still hasn't nutted out the makeup of his premier back three. He's also admitted to uncertainties around No 9 and plenty of "competition" in the second row and midfield.

Yesterday Henry named Dagg - at Mils Muliaina's expense -- as his fullback to face Tonga in tomorrow night's tournament opener, teaming him with Richard Kahui and Isaia Toeava in an entirely rejigged back three on the back of the Brisbane stumble. He has also found space for the polarising Sonny Bill Williams, with Ma'a Nonu moving out a spot to form the most muscular of midfields.

Israel Dagg

Mils Muliaina

But the fact that the coach has gone with a heavily experimental backline rather clouds the significance of the selection for what should be an interesting pipe-opener. With Tonga's vast Auckland population rallying round their men, everyone's anticipating a fiery challenge - starting with the Sipi Tau, and extending into the real affray.

What to make then of this selection, with Keven Mealamu, Conrad Smith, Piri Weepu, Cory Jane and Muliaina all judged surplus to starting requirements? Traditionally the All Blacks like to open up with their top lineup, but here they may just have put the cart before the horse, and got their experimenting in early.

That's why Henry asked us not to read too much into some of his selections.

Andrew Hore starts at hooker with Mealamu rested altogether, Ali Williams comes in at lock with Sam Whitelock the designated loose forward cover on the bench, Jerome Kaino is back at No 6 (for the injured Adam Thomson); and in the backs everyone bar Dan Carter and Nonu is new.

Henry said Dagg and Muliaina were "competing for the opportunity" of being that No.1 fullback, and the Hawke's Bay wunderkind just happened to get first crack.

"Nobody is ahead," said Henry. "Israel has done something remarkable to overcome a major leg injury and play like he did in South Africa. We have got a huge amount of respect for the boy and what he has done.

"But that was a one-off and now he knows he is up for potential selection in the top team. That brings extra pressure and how is he going to handle that?

"Mils has played 98 tests and been one of the top No 15s in the world for a long time. He's having a bit of a flat patch at the moment but knowing Mils he will respond to the competition and it will be a real dogfight."

Henry said he was relaxed about shifting Nonu to centre to give Sonny Bill Williams a chance to live up to, er, his entourage's billing.

"We don't know what is going to be happening later in the tournament, who is going to be standing and who isn't, so we have to give players opportunities to force their abilities on the selectors."

Hardly a ringing endorsement if you're still an S-B-Dubya man, but at least he gets a shot. From his perspective, Williams is just "excited" to get the chance. We know that because he told us about 17 times.

Henry's advice to his No 12: "Don't try and do it all in five minutes. Patience is going to be key. If he lets his natural ability control the way he plays, he will play well."

Williams says he's all about "fitting in" and "toning it down". He adds: "Sometimes I get a bit too excited out on the field. We've talked about that."

Keep a close eye on Dagg and Williams tomorrow. They're very much men on a mission.

Loosehead prop Tony Woodcock took a full part in All Blacks training yesterday, and looks set to take his place in the lineup after suffering a hamstring tweak.

ALL BLACKS: Israel Dagg, Richard Kahui, Ma'a Nonu, Sonny Bill Williams, Isaia Toeava, Dan Carter, Jimmy Cowan, Victor Vito, Richie McCaw (capt), Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Brad Thorn, Owen Franks, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock. Reserves: Corey Flynn, Ben Franks, Anthony Boric, Sam Whitelock, Piri Weepu, Colin Slade, Cory Jane.

Source : www.stuff.co.nz

Rugby World Cup 2011 New Zealand

Bombay,

[Video] - England Beat Ireland in Dublin - Manu Tuilagi and Delon Armitage Tries

Earlier in the week we took a look at the Manu Tuilagi tackle on David Wallace that resulted in injury, so today we'll have a quick look at the tries from the match for those who missed it, or just want to watch them again.

As you may have heard by now, Ireland lost their fourth match in succession as England came up trumps 20-9, with tries from Tuilagi and Delon Armitage, as well as some assured kicking from Jonny Wilkinson, proving the difference between the two sides.

Ireland have now slipped from fourth to eighth on the IRB World Rankings in the space of about a month, and while on paper they've still got a team who can do well in New Zealand, their form and injury problems will be a major concern.

England on the other hand have bounced back from a few poor performances, and with young Tuilagi in the midfield look to have reignited a few of their senior players, Mike Tindall included. He fed off the Samoan born center's energy and had one of his best games for England in recent times. In fact the whole side seemed to pick things up, just in time for their RWC departure.

"You want to win games and this is a tough place to come and win. It just demonstrates to us, if we ever have doubts, when we go and do what we talk about doing, it’s effective and we’re a pretty decent team," said coach Martin Johnson.

"There was lots not perfect about it but we did a lot of good things as well.

Source.

Bombay,

[Video] - Australia VS New Zealand Highlights (Tri Nations, Game 6, 28th August 2011)

Australia outplayed the All Blacks in what was a frenetic first half at Suncorp Stadium, with the hosts smashing the Kiwis back, preventing them from getting front foot ball. In fact the name Dan Carter was barely mentioned in the first period.

A try by Will Genia and a brilliant solo effort by Radike Samo, as well as some good kicking by Quade Cooper, had the Wallabies heading into half time with a 20-3 lead.

The All Blacks came out a different side in the second half though, grinding their way back to bring scores level at 20-20 as they took control of the match and looked destined to take a famous comeback win. Kurtley Beale shut them out though with a fantastic try, sealing things, and capturing the Tri Nations trophy, their first in a decade.

"It's obviously a significant result for us as we haven't done that since 2001, that's a biggie," said coach Robbie Deans. "In terms of the World Cup it's irrelevant. If anything we've probably just put the bar up. But we'll take some real value out of it.

"The All Blacks got back on top and looked ominous but these blokes kept their nerve, got their hands on the ball and produced enough pressure to get the result - so that's an important step for us."

Source.

Bombay,

[Video] - South Africa VS New Zealand (Tri Nations 2011, 20th August 2011)

I don't even know why on earth Allbacks lost in this game..hard luck maybe..nevermind, just concentrate to the next game against Wallabies..good luck guys!

P/S: Make the Webb Ellis Cup stays in New Zealand!

Bombay,

Bila Bombay Menyuarakan Pendapatnya Mengenai Ragbi Malaysia..

Salam semua..hari nie nak berbicara mengenai ragbi..sukan ragbi nie dah makin popular kat Malaysia..sukan nie memang sangat-sangat ganas..tapi, kalau kene dengan cara permainan nya, semua tu tak menjadi masalah..ramai orang cakap, ape barang main ragbi, baik main bola..jangan cakap begitu, semua permainan ada keistimewannya..dalam ragbi, kalau takde kerjasama, komunikasi yang baik dalam perlawanan, sumpah game tu akan hancur..

Mungkin aku akan terangkan lebih lanjut nanty mengenai sukan kegemaran aku nie..korang boleh tengok post2 aku yang lain mengenai ragbi dekat [sini]..aku jugak ada buat dua post mengenai perbezaan ragbi dengan bola sepak..boleh tekan kat [sini] dengan [sini] kalau nak tengok..

Ok, apa yang aku nak tekankan pada entry kalai ni adalah mengenai hala tuju dan masa depan ragbi negara..Aku ada terbaca dekat Facebook Fan Page Astro Arena yang bertanyakan mengenai masa depan ragbi negara..dan pakah yang wajar dilakukan oleh pihak yang berkenaan bagi memantapkan lagi sukan ragbi tanah air..

Aku pon tanpa segan silu memberikan komen macam kat bawah..

Kenapa aku semangat sangat?aku pernah main sukan nie dulu..sekarang aku dah tak boleh main..tapi, aku tetap nak naikkan sukan ragbi Malaysia di mata dunia..itu niat aku..aku terasa jugak kadang2 media selalu memberikan tumpuan lebih pada skuad bola sepak Kebangsaan, sedangkan pasukan ragbi negara juga tidak ada kurangnya..sudah banyak kali juga mengharumkan nama negara..Aku jugak ada hantar komen/message dekat satu stesen TV yang tidak menyiarkan liputan mengenai pertandingan ragbi bertaraf antarabangsa di Malaysia, HSBC COBRA Rugby 10's pada tahun lepas sedangkan liputan mengenai sukan bola sepak tidak terkira banyaknya disiarkan di stesen TV terbabit, lebih-lebih lagi bola sepak antarabangsa..tapi, xde jawapan pon..menugkin komen aku tu hanya seperti pasir kat tepi jalan, yang tak ade ape2 makna pon..Bagi aku, jika ramai yang memberikan perhatian pada skuad ragbi negara, mesti semangat setiap pemain akan meningkat..

Janganla kita asyik menuding jari, menggeleng-gelengkan kepala, bertanya apa sudah jadi kepada sukan ragbi negara, tetapi berilah sokongan yang padu kepada Kesatuan Ragbi Malaysia dan juga setiap pemain..Aku dapat rasakan sudah tiba masanya Ragbi Malaysia untuk lebih maju seiring dengan pasukan-pasukan ragbi handalan dunia..

Disini juga, aku sertakan ranking terkini ragbi dunia dan ranking ragbi Malaysia di IRB..
New Zealand masih lagi memegang takhta ragbi dunia diekori beberapa negara handalan lain..Mungkin, ranking ni akan berubah lepas Rugby World 2011 di New Zealand tahun nie..

Dimanakah ranking ragbi Malaysia?

Ini dia, ranking ragbi Malaysia di International Rugby Board..Kedudukan yang agak baik bagi aku..antara yang terbaik juga dalam kalangan pasukan di Asia Tenggara..Jika sesuatu boleh kita lakukan, mesti ragbi negara akan mempunyai ranking yang lebih baik daripada ini..

Itu saja buat kali nie..insyaallah, di lain entry, aku nak berbicara pula mengenai Skuad Ragbi Wanita Kebangsaan..:)Semoga sukan ragbi akan terus maju, terus, dan terus maju..

Bombay,

SEGMEN : FAKTA TENTANG DIRI INI..BOMBAY..

Salam semua..hari nie join satu segmen yang agak menarik..hehe..kome sume moh le kita join..klik kat sini ye..;)kalau idak pon, klik je dekat banner atas tu..;)

Ini segmen mengenai fakta diri..sesungguhnya banyak fakta tentang diri ini, tapi ini lah fakta-fakta yang aku senaraikan..hehe..;)

1) Aku obses suma benda yang ada kaitan dengan ragbi..especially barang2 brand Canterbury..Barang2 from Canterbury sumpah cool kawan2!

2) Aku penyokong setia pasukan bola sepak team Selangor dengan Manchester United..Kalau ragbi, All Blacks..:)xkan tukar team sampai bila2..hehe..;)

3) Kalau ada game ragbi or MU dgn Selangor main kat tv, memang xdapat la nk tengok aku bergerak..hehe..

4) Aku xboleh nak tido kat katil orang lain time waktu malam if dekat hostel..even ramai2 member2 aku boleh lena je tido kat katil sape2 pon..:)contoh, if aku tertido dekat katil orang lain, aku konfem akan bangun tgh malam tu jugak, or pagi2 buta untuk balik ke katil aku..if tak, aku akan jadi orang yang xcukop tido..hehe..

5) Aku xsuka makan guna polistrin or dekat kertas yang balut macam nasi lemak tu kecuali xde pilihan..aku mesty akan salin bende makanan tu and alih atas pinggan..

6) Bila cakap pasal makan, aku kene makan nasik tiap2 hari..hehe..even aku dah makan benda selain nasik, aku akan carik nasik jugak akhirnya..hehe..

7) Bila makan jugak, air kosong kene ade even dah ada air manis yang lain..sebab dah terbiase..

8) Kalau buat esaimen plak, air panas mesty dah standby kat sebelah..hehe..if xde stock sendiri, sanggup redah bilik orang lain carik stock Nescafe or milo..hehe..

9) Aku suka warna hitam, kalau boleh, suma baju aku nak warna hitam..xnak warna lain..:)

Bombay,