Angry Players

Sometimes when I watch an International Match, there are players that are so fired up they appear angry (quite often losing the plot). There are a few that spring to mind but the most prevailent in my eyes are the following:

Sean Lamont - he's always "on the edge" and is often complaining (presumably because before this year's 6N, his team lost a lot)

Mirco & Mauro Bergamasco. Definitely from the same mould these two. They run around the field like (pretty effective) rabid dogs often squaring up for no particular reason.

Lee Byrne. Don't think I have ever seen him smile in a match (apart from scoring tries) and he also likes to get "stuck in" for no apparent reason.

Any others?

Mike Phillips.

Geoff Cross.



...geddit?

But you have to be angry to play rugby.

Cian Healy had one of the most prolonged, angry strops against England recently. Probably out of character but he certainly didn't want to simmer down any time soon.

If he'd been an animal they would have broken out the nets and tranquiliser darts.

Richie McCaw. He makes players angry. The refs love him though.

Mike Brown

I wish some of our welsh forwards would get angry now and again; maybe Mark Jones could do an angry clinic with them alonside Mike Teague

Philips is the boy wonder of Always-on-Fire players. But I love that aspect about him.

I find the great and exalted Parisse a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes - temperament wise. He's never too far away from a moan or red spell himself.... which perhaps comes from the frustrations of playing with Italy (well in the bad years anyway). But it's a different form to Phillip's roving madman role, and one endears me and the other doesn't.

Scotland's Allan Jacobsen was an abrasive but cuddly character. If there was ever a tussel where you couldn't make out the participants until the ref broke them up, sure as hell, Allan would be the last man discovered - right in the middle of it. Allan has given me a lot of laughs during his time.

For Ireland...let me see. Has to be Flannery. An absolute nutcase who you always sensed was trying to finish the game before his short fuse completely blew him to bits. He was always in a rush...always telling himself to 'calm down, the fu*k!' and never quite managing it. The conflict in his own head. War.

England..................? Well I don't know. But one hot poker is certainly in development - we await further news on Farrell

Secret I like the way you like Phillips. I wish our forwards had his tenacity - I want him in the trenches alongside me - "feck em lets get stuck" in - I love the way he fecks with the other back row with his bring it on attitude - its funny sometimes but he's worth the ticket

Census

http://www.lerugbynistere.fr/videos/ca-chauffe-bakkies-botha-census-johnston-0303131749.php

Yeah, Mike Brown has had anger issues in the past. Seems quite composed at the moment though.

Farrell has a sense of the nasty about him.

David Paice for a long time was a banker for loosing his rag - loved getting cards.

HairyDonkey seems quite riled a lot.

Also this man right here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQR-Gt-j-oc

I think both Care and Brown used to have an angry streak, Something i think both have cut out of their game.

Watching the Samoan team before during the anthems before their RWC11 match vs SA, I remember thinking that they looked so fired up, so emotional and seemed to be letting the emotion get top them. They looked like a team ripe for a card - and lo and behold Paul Williams was sent off.

RubyGuby wrote:Secret I like the way you like Phillips. I wish our forwards had his tenacity - I want him in the trenches alongside me - "feck em lets get stuck" in - I love the way he fecks with the other back row with his bring it on attitude - its funny sometimes but he's worth the ticket

That was the impression I took from the Paris game. His attitude is invaluable.

Parisse - shown that he has a way with words....especially where the ref is concerned.

I sit just me, or does Parisse always look as if he is wearing make-up?

He may not be angry but Elliot Daly always looks like he's about to burst into tears when i see Wasps play, and after he makes a mistake he looks like he needs anti-depressants

Glas a du wrote:

RubyGuby wrote:Secret I like the way you like Phillips. I wish our forwards had his tenacity - I want him in the trenches alongside me - "feck em lets get stuck" in - I love the way he fecks with the other back row with his bring it on attitude - its funny sometimes but he's worth the ticket

That was the impression I took from the Paris game. His attitude is invaluable.

I can see Phillips and Harley introducing themselves tomorrow

I disagree slightly about Phillips in terms of always angry. There's a tipping point with Phillips, a point he gets too at some point in the game where he is 'in the zone' and is at just the right level of aggression and arousal. Sometimes it happens early, sometimes not til the 2nd half. But it always happens. He's like a bottle of pop that is shaken and shaken until eventually he pops! He's usually really good in that 15 minutes or so 'at peak', but sometimes if it festers too long then he goes overboard and does something silly. 'Mike Watch' I'll call it. Waiting to see when Phillips explodes!

In sport psychology terms he's very prone to frustration aggression.

Julian White had more than his share of red mist moments! A great scrummager throughout his career though.

Jonno always looked p#ssed about something

Griff wrote:I disagree slightly about Phillips in terms of always angry. There's a tipping point with Phillips, a point he gets too at some point in the game where he is 'in the zone' and is at just the right level of aggression and arousal. Sometimes it happens early, sometimes not til the 2nd half. But it always happens. He's like a bottle of pop that is shaken and shaken until eventually he pops! He's usually really good in that 15 minutes or so 'at peak', but sometimes if it festers too long then he goes overboard and does something silly. 'Mike Watch' I'll call it. Waiting to see when Phillips explodes!

In sport psychology terms he's very prone to frustration aggression.

ok..so always angry was an obvious dollop of poetic licence He's the adrenalin heart of the Welsh team though. When they need someone to fire them, Phillips is the man to offer them a backlash mood.

SecretFly wrote:Philips is the boy wonder of Always-on-Fire players. But I love that aspect about him.

I find the great and exalted Parisse a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes - temperament wise. He's never too far away from a moan or red spell himself.... which perhaps comes from the frustrations of playing with Italy (well in the bad years anyway). But it's a different form to Phillip's roving madman role, and one endears me and the other doesn't.

Scotland's Allan Jacobsen was an abrasive but cuddly character. If there was ever a tussel where you couldn't make out the participants until the ref broke them up, sure as hell, Allan would be the last man discovered - right in the middle of it. Allan has given me a lot of laughs during his time.

For Ireland...let me see. Has to be Flannery. An absolute nutcase who you always sensed was trying to finish the game before his short fuse completely blew him to bits. He was always in a rush...always telling himself to 'calm down, the fu*k!' and never quite managing it. The conflict in his own head. War.

England..................? Well I don't know. But one hot poker is certainly in development - we await further news on Farrell

I absolutely hated Jacobsen. Chippy little tossp@t, particularly against the English. I always willed someone to just sit on the midget little fecker. The lack of an English nutter has slightly annoyed me in recent years. Not the hot-headed type but the sort who is always nastily aggressive. T Youngs may be the closest. Farrell, as a 10, needs to cut it right out.

greenandpleasantland wrote:He may not be angry but Elliot Daly always looks like he's about to burst into tears when i see Wasps play, and after he makes a mistake he looks like he needs anti-depressants

Yeah, very, very serious looking guy. Needs to smile once in a while as he doesn't have the physique for the whole 'brooding menace' thing.

Mr Bounce wrote:Any others?

Everyone who's Ire-ish.

Peter O'Mahony

SecretFly wrote:England..................? Well I don't know. But one hot poker is certainly in development - we await further news on Farrell

Farrell's a picture of patience compared to Marler. Who has been remarkably well behaved at Test level ... Not so much for club though

Cudmore.