Planet Rugby Forum

sonic_attack

Pretty good effort from the Brit’s though. There was a good build from the start of the whole Barcelona gig, it looked at the start like they’d built a barge incapable of turning but ended up being comfortably the worthy challenger, kept building up until smacking into a brick wall. Hopefully they’v...

sonic_attack

They were saying some rudder damage. Pretty shit luck with huge consequences. Never say never of course but needing 5 wins on the trot is a pretty big ask. I’m not entirely convinced of the format. Not that it’s not fair but I feel the boats have outgrown the 20min match racing within a short course...

sonic_attack

Brits just not switched on today. Short of something catastrophic you’d call match point.

sonic_attack

Well, that’s a hard lesson. Picking yourself up to square up after being smoked by a kilometer is tough. Especially considering the tightness in the performance of both boats.

Could just as well be reversed in the next race but why didn’t they see what ETNZ saw from the start.

sonic_attack

Boom, what a course!

sonic_attack

That tiny little sliver of a rudder must be helpful for manoeuvrability on ETNZ. You wonder how effective it would be with another 15 knot on it.

sonic_attack

ymx wrote: ↑Sun Oct 13, 2024 1:51 pm Did anyone just hear Ainslie call the kiwi commentator a fvcking wanker

He is a bit of an insensitive smug wit kant, with the dumbest questions at precisely the wrong moments.

sonic_attack

Not a lot in that really, a couple of decisions could have turned the outcome in both races. You know both design teams have done pretty well when the gnats cock of margin comes down to a choice of going left or right at a couple of points over an eight leg course decides the outcome. I’d expect the...

sonic_attack

Tricky conditions first up. Practically impossible to fight for position in the starting block so be interesting to see how either team handles the light air start, and what tricks does ETNZ have to reveal.

sonic_attack

I think the season immediately after NZR sent a shit team to Argentina while the A side jetted off to England the same weekend. So not a lot to whinge about after that. It’s pretty well established the French domestic season and provincial rivalry have a greater standing than the French national tea...

sonic_attack

Yes, well done Brits. Pretty much a flawless finals series, over 11? races execution and tactics were practically bang on unflappable. Was probably the best LV series I’ve ever watched, at least since 1987 mostly because of the quality and closeness of opposition in the Italians. No glaring and obvi...

sonic_attack

f**king hell, Italians making it hard for themselves gifting the Brit’s half their race wins. Terrific effort to come back from spudding the whole gig to winning the second race though. Such a dumb unforced error from the Brit’s and just so costly. Looking forward, the Kiwis are going to need an ace...

sonic_attack

fudge all between the two. I do wonder if we will see Ainsley getting a bit touchy as the pressure comes piling on if the two teams go hit for hit through this series and it gets closer to match point. He has shown he can get aggressive with pressure, and showed a little of it the other day in the p...

sonic_attack

Big wind for first final race, punchy waves too.

sonic_attack

Don’t mind it moving around. If it keeps us competing it can’t be all bad. Might have been good for restaurants and bars down the viaduct but it’s hardly a spectator friendly sport. Youth final kicks off now with Italians V Yanks. Been quite a good series in the little 40’s with the Italians pretty ...

sonic_attack

Watched a bit of the youth racing in the smaller 40’s. pretty good action with the chaos of fleet racing. Thought they could have had a series of that in the big boats to stretch it all out a bit.

sonic_attack

Not sure which team was more exposed in that. This All Black side has to play a whole game instead of falling away at some stage. Happy to see the structure for solid performance exists but they have to button up soon.

A win is a win though.

sonic_attack

Ahh well, hard luck Yanks. Pretty respectable scoreline in the end but convincing win to the Italians to seal it.

sonic_attack

These boats are awesome when they’re running around 45knot but the best racing is right on the wind limit and everyone shitting it hoping they stay on the foils.

sonic_attack

Good point there for the Swiss, hard to deny they didn’t sail better than the Brit’s in doing just enough to squeak a win given the conditions.

Come back is on!

sonic_attack

Oh well, I suspect most are expecting semi finals to be all over tonight and both victors to be 5-zip up. I expected the Yanks to claim a couple races to make the Italians work a little but not to be it seems, Italians just squeezing them and simply sailing too good. The 4th race between the Brit’s ...

sonic_attack

Yeah, to come from behind to win both races pretty much sums it up for the Italians. No significant boat or speed advantage, just good decisions to come back from back foot start position. Absolutely nothing else in it there though. You can tell Alinghi needs another whole cycle. That’s where the ot...

sonic_attack

Mostly faultless from the Brits outside of a tiny wobble. It has that men against boys about it though this semifinal, can’t argue with 1300+ meter leads though that’s just a different class. Other semi might through up a battle though, some tight racing there, but again it seems the Italians have t...

sonic_attack

When they realise they no longer have the competitive edge and the win percentage lowers. When the brand suffers by incurring more frequent losses. It was only ever a scare tactic, “you can’t have this if you don’t do this”. We’re not living in the 1970’s anymore and you can’t really expect people t...

sonic_attack

Brits picking the Swiss in the semi final. Probably the easiest decision, leaving the Yanks and Italians to kill each other off.

Borderline light winds predicted all weekend which should make a contest of it all if racing starts. Should be touch and go and pretty tense.

sonic_attack

Ineos did, the evidence from the other day though suggests they’ve progressed beyond that. They were comfortably flying around tacking in 5-7 knot with no touchdown barging. Through the prelim regatta and first round robin their problems were obvious. They couldn’t sail in under 10 knots. They could...

sonic_attack

Faultless race from the Brits there in the playoff. Dusted the Italians twice in a row, pretty tough day for the Italians in being DQ’d? I missed it, then throwing top spot away. Bit of a change up and definitely a big turnaround in a week for the Brits. Semifinals start Saturday Who should Ineos p...

sonic_attack

Faultless race from the Brits there in the playoff. Dusted the Italians twice in a row, pretty tough day for the Italians in being DQ’d? I missed it, then throwing top spot away.

Bit of a change up and definitely a big turnaround in a week for the Brits.

Semifinals start Saturday

sonic_attack

Ineos for all their drama is still only 1 loss behind Prada and comfortable second on the table, so it pretty much shows where they’re at. Definitely not a million miles away but it’s been squeaky enough here and there to take notice. In terms of the 5 day rule and what they’ve kept under their slee...

sonic_attack

Talea was OK? Did he even touch the ball?

sonic_attack

Congrats Saffers, 4 on the trot tells the story.

Intense match as always, but holy fook both teams played awful. Crap handling and probably about the dumbest I’ve ever seen the All Blacks ever play. Just complete shit.

sonic_attack

Looks like games of old. Handle the initial Springbok storm and build into it. Handling stifling any progress though, don’t mind the All Blacks breakdown work either. I’m sure I’ve watched games with Clancy in the past and not really enjoyed his style but this test seems pretty good, a couple harsh ...

sonic_attack

Wtf. What a dumbass

sonic_attack

Clancy doesn’t fudge around does he.

sonic_attack

What’s up with the bloke taken out on n the air? Wtf?

sonic_attack

Ineos looking good in a moderate breeze to high. Under 10 knots and they’re in real trouble. Who knows though, maybe they were expecting the breeze they’re sailing in today to be the average and set their boat up as such. A different foil set could have seen them unbeaten through these round robins....

sonic_attack

Pretty tight race between the Yanks and Italians. That Prada setup is pretty formidable and proved they just have the edge, they can pick their way through a course to squeeze everything out of it.

sonic_attack

Yep, actually makes winning the initial round robin genuinely valuable. The commentators have tried to make it complicated, this team that, that team this... it's top vs Alinghi or Orient for mine. Would seem the logical step. I mean you could almost bet the house on the Italians being first place ...

sonic_attack

Re cyclors and the whole hydraulic systems. ETNZ ran out of oil or hydraulic power in that horrendous tack on the line against the Italians the other day allegedly. There is mention that ETNZ skidded out on the tack because of disturbed or aerated water from the leading boat which may or may not hav...

sonic_attack

Swiss and French have real problems. I’m sure it’s just a case of green crew/team in their first AC72 outing while the others have 6-7 years of development and experience. Thought the French should have taken the Brits the other day but threw it away with poor decisions. Seems a high cost to duck ou...

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