Official Rugby World Cup Thread

cycologist

All it needs now is for Argentina to beat South Africa tomorrow for a truly amazing world Cup.

2007 : The year of the underdog. ( The bookies must be loving it even more than England supporters.)

heavymental

Ouch. My head hurts this morning. Another absolutely fantastic match! I can't believe we're in the final. This must be the most exciting world cup there's been. I hope the final is as exciting.
I dunno what to say. I was chuckling to myself last night in disbelief!

mtb.boy

YAAAAAY

Great day to be English yesterday.

Football - England 3 - Estonia 0

Rugby - France 9 - England 14









And Scotland beat Ukraine 3 - 1.

heavymental

And we won a series against Sri Lanka the other day in the cricket. We're flying at the moment! Just need Hamilton to clinch that F1 title!

heavymental

What a match though! Lewseys try in the first minute.....catching the ball, running straight into Traille and seemingly in slow motion both of them toppling over the line like a felled tree. Amazing start! Worselys tap tackle just as France looked to be certain of scoring. That was no doubt the most important tackle of the match. And talking of tackles, Chabal always needed to be smashed to silence the crowd and ensure french heads went down, Stevens put in a big hit that completely halted him then Sackey and Flood bundled him into touch in the final few minutes when the french move was gaining momentum. Then of course Wilko slotting the drop goal to take the gap to more than a penalty or drop goal.

Another huge gutsy performance. To the final and brimming with confidence whoever we face. We've a great chance of winning this thing!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VWxBxq9jhVo

richa

RichA wrote:

CHRISNOIR wrote:

I had £12 left in my Ladbrokes account so dumped the lot on at 33/1. Should be a nice return if England pull it off!

Do you think England are going to win?

If not you could lay England on Betfair...

My calcs...
Lay £45.33@8/1.

If Eng win, you get £408 less £362.67 = £45.33.
If Eng lose you get £45.33 less £nil = £45.33.

Either way you get £45.33...

Revised figures...

Lay £136@2/1.

If Eng win, you get £408 less £272 = £136.
If Eng lose you get £136 less £nil = £136.

Is that any more tempting :?: :?: :?:

oldwelshman

Fantastic match heavy? You must have been watching a different game to me
It was probably one of the worst games of the tournament!! Exciting for English and French fans possibly, but I have never seen a game with so many handling errors, poor options taken, and turnovers. This was for both sides.
England have done well to get to the final, but the only problem is they do not look like scoirng, especially against the better organoised teams like Austrailia and France.
Once again, as with the Austrailia match they were reliant on the forwards stiffling the opposition pack and old Johnny with the kicks.
Unfortunately for England they will probably come up against South Africa in the final and they will not overrun their pack. In fact the Argentinian pack are pretty good also.
I think England would have had a better chance against the All Blacks than SA as their pack is not so dominant and they rely more on fast ball.
If England win I am going into hiding for the next 6 months as I cannot bear to read the newspapers and watch the news should it happen

heavymental

oldwelshman wrote:

Fantastic match heavy? You must have been watching a different game to me
It was probably one of the worst games of the tournament!! Exciting for English and French fans possibly, but I have never seen a game with so many handling errors, poor options taken, and turnovers.

Well I agree it wasn't a pretty match and of course I'm biased but surely the fact it was so closely contested for 80 minutes counts for something?! I'd say the Australia match and yesterdays matches have been 2 of the most exciting matches of the cup. The quarter finals were all pretty exciting I thought because they were so close. There hasn't been a run away victory for anybody since the pool matches and none of the results have been certain until the last seconds of the match.

And what do you mean we have't looked like scoring. We scored a try yesterday!

Fair enough our backs aren't setting the tournament on fire but we're playing to our strengths. We've got a great pack and we're using them to good effect. I wouldn't even say we're relying on Wilko because his percentages haven't been that great when kicking for the sticks or out of hand. I'd say we're relying on digging deep, playing as a team, putting our bodies on the line and fkin toughing it out. Thats something the AB's didn't manage to do (and several other teams I could mention) and what makes the difference between winning and losing. We did it in 2003 when we went unbeaten for a long run and we're doing it now.

Test matches aren't always pretty affairs but you've got to win any way you can. Results are what goes down in the record books. Course we'd like to see some pretty tries but I'm happy for us to have a filthy scrap next weekend if it means we come out on top after 80 minutes.

I think it would be poetic if we got SA in the final and managed to turn them over after the result the other week. That seems a long time ago now.

SteveR_100Milers

A win's a win, it was pure theatre, though hardly beautiful.

heavymental

Well. England vs South Africa it is. SA looked good against Argentina and have already notched a 36-0 win against England. But so much has changed in those 4 weeks. What a chance for revenge and with the biggest prize at stake.

You've got to fancy SA but who would write England off after seeing off Australia and the hosts last night?

Roll on next saturday.

OffTheBackAdam

Do I detect a touch of envy from our Taffy contingent?
I thought it was a great game, got the contents of the Goodwood Bar at Thruxton cheering. Pity I couldn't remember the full version of "Ou-est le papiere?"!
Great opportunist try by Lewesey, as you may have noticed, the only try of the match!
I misses the Pumas v Springboks, driving back, couldn't get 5-Live in the lorry, but seeing the highlights on the Eurosport News, it looked like the SAs were heavily punishing the Argies' handling errors.
It's going to be a cracking final!
Apparently sales of condoms have fallen derastically in France, since they've realised that it only takes one Johnnie to fcuk 15 Frenchmen!

ricadus

Oh dear, Grim Gordon has announced he's going to the final. Does he know who we're playing on Saturday?

I can't say England are a dead cert to win -- well at least any more likely than Labour to win a snap election -- so, control freak that he apparently is, he'll probably back out of it on Friday evening, realizing he can't be absolutely sure of a positive spin on events.

Now, if Cameron had only had the foresight to have been there (and be seen there) last Saturday for the France game he would have surely been guaranteed an even bigger lead in the polls.

CHRISNOIR

RichA wrote:

RichA wrote:

CHRISNOIR wrote:

I had £12 left in my Ladbrokes account so dumped the lot on at 33/1. Should be a nice return if England pull it off!

Do you think England are going to win?

If not you could lay England on Betfair...

My calcs...
Lay £45.33@8/1.

If Eng win, you get £408 less £362.67 = £45.33.
If Eng lose you get £45.33 less £nil = £45.33.

Either way you get £45.33...

Revised figures...

Lay £136@2/1.

If Eng win, you get £408 less £272 = £136.
If Eng lose you get £136 less £nil = £136.

Is that any more tempting :?: :?: :?:

Surely it's be wrong (as an Englishman) to bet against England now? Plus that's £400 flashing its knickers at me there... Anything's possible here isn't it?

Isn't it...?

richa

CHRISNOIR wrote:

Surely it's be wrong (as an Englishman) to bet against England now? Plus that's £400 flashing its knickers at me there... Anything's possible here isn't it?

Isn't it...?

Not wrong at all. You where the one that backed England from the beginning. By laying now you just allow someone else to back them

Three Outcomes:

Do Nothing. Winner: England. You win £396.
Do Nothing. Winner: S.Africa. You win £nothing.
Lay England. Winner: Who Cares? You win £136.

Your call...

Ghost Donkey

It was a good win but not a great match. A win's a win and we played well. I thought the match was and wasn't exciting. What was happening on the pitch wasn't pretty but it was so damn close all the time I was on the edge of my seat for most of the game. Here's hoping for another good display for the final but I'm not too confident seeing how we've played so far. SA seem to have better forwards and backs. I'll still be cheering .

The only down side is Rob Andrew will keep his job and there won't be the urgency to sort out the conflicts of interest between the domestic league and internationals.

heavymental

Ghost Donkey wrote:

The only down side is Rob Andrew will keep his job and there won't be the urgency to sort out the conflicts of interest between the domestic league and internationals.

True, it might have been useful to crash out in the pool stages to give the whole thing a shake up as now it looks like we're capable of winning a world cup with the current setup. Which, looking at the evidence, I suppose we are, but I think thats just testament to the quality and experience of players and coaches rather than the structures.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_u ... 046458.stm

As Best says, hopefully we'll learn from this and at the 6N we'll be flushed with young blood. We'll get tonked for a few matches but next year we'll be a better team for it.

I think Rob Andrew is probably coming up against brick walls alot of the time. Woodward had the same issues when he was trying to get the best for the Enland team. Its not an enviable position. There's lots of things to sort out and alot of them are big and contentious. For example, looking at the number of foreign players in the premiership is not something that will be tackled overnight.

Clever Pun

HeavyMental... have you seen for the 6 nations Leslie Vianakolo of glouster(sp) can play for England???

He used to be the most feared winger in rugby league playing for Bradford.

That might just give England a really cutting edge in the backs

heavymental

Sounds good...as long as he can play the game too! Tom Varndell was a bit of a dissapointment when he played for England. Had pace to spare but not much awareness. Sackey has developed nicely recently though and don't forget Strettle put in some great performances in the last 6N. A bit of guile in the centres and we'll be laughing.

richa

Clever Pun wrote:

HeavyMental... have you seen for the 6 nations Leslie Vianakolo of glouster(sp) can play for England???

5 tries in his first game shows that he can score. Lets hiope that (i) he can defend, and (ii) England call him up.

redddraggon

RichA wrote:

Lets hiope that (i) he can defend

As he's from league, and league styles of defence are being copied in union, I'd imagine that as one of the best league players his defence should be pretty damn good. (I don't know for definite but) I doubt his kicking game is too great though.

Ghost Donkey

Heavymental wrote:

Sounds good...as long as he can play the game too!

He took to union sevens well. He was in the Bradford side that won the middlesex sevens in 2002. OK, Bradford were effectively playing league and once they worked out how to defend against the union sides they ran in some big scores 8).

Saying that, Henry Paul was hardly a revelation when he swapped codes.

heavymental

There's always big talk about league converts but few set the stage alight as much as they are expected to. Robinson of course has been brilliant but I never get too excited until they show they can make the switch.

redddraggon

Heavymental wrote:

There's always big talk about league converts but few set the stage alight as much as they are expected to. Robinson of course has been brilliant but I never get too excited until they show they can make the switch.

I think they expect too much, I believe they only have a good chance of successful conversion if they end up playing 11,14 or 15, as the positions are quite similar to their league equivalents.

shin0r

South African shirts have sold out across Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Only kidding - good luck on Saturday boys!

heavymental

I wouldn't be surprised shin0r! I saw plenty of Welsh guys in Tonga shirts a few weeks back and after England got knocked out of the World Cup by Portugal I'd never seen so many Portugese shirts on these shores! Hope it was worth the investment, have you seen how much those shirts cost!? :roll:

Clever Pun

the tongan shirts are pretty cool though

I'm starting to get very nervous about Saturday now... SA are the stronger side by miles, I just hope we can raise our game one more time, we have the potential to beat them.

Ghost Donkey

Clever Pun wrote:

I'm starting to get very nervous about Saturday now... SA are the stronger side by miles, I just hope we can raise our game one more time, we have the potential to beat them.

Well, we're in the last two so we've got more chance than most teams . It's a bit daunting but I'm hopeful of a win. We can do it but it'll be hard.

Jason Robinson is not your normal player. I don't think other union converts could be compared to him. The way he moves is unique and he would have done that playing in either code from the beginning. Our loss is your gain . You should have seen him when he was really fast!

On the subject of code swapping I'd like to thank you for Jonathan Davies and Va'aiga Tuigamala. I still feel I owe the sport of rugby union a big thankyou for these two players.

I'm going off on a tangent. It'll hopefully be a good game but more importantly an English victory.

Salsiccia

Just finished watching the 3rd place game, and Argentina destroyed the French. If they hadn't got stage fright againts the Boks, we could well have been seen Argentina as World Champs tomorow night.

richa

Great display by the Argentinians.

Lets hope they don't join the Six Nations (based in Spain) as is being suggested.

They would clear up - Grand Slam style.

SteveR_100Milers

Ghost Donkey wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

I'm starting to get very nervous about Saturday now... SA are the stronger side by miles, I just hope we can raise our game one more time, we have the potential to beat them.

Well, we're in the last two so we've got more chance than most teams . It's a bit daunting but I'm hopeful of a win. We can do it but it'll be hard.

Jason Robinson is not your normal player. I don't think other union converts could be compared to him. The way he moves is unique and he would have done that playing in either code from the beginning. Our loss is your gain . You should have seen him when he was really fast!

On the subject of code swapping I'd like to thank you for Jonathan Davies and Va'aiga Tuigamala. I still feel I owe the sport of rugby union a big thankyou for these two players.

I'm going off on a tangent. It'll hopefully be a good game but more importantly an English victory.

Surely you mean league (to union) converts? In which case I agree - Farrell is showing the same lack of experience as Iestyn Harris who was of almost wilkinson stature in league.

and what about Jonathan Deveraux who went at the same time? Scott Quinell didnt do too bad either, in fact wales won the 5 nations champs in 1994 just as quinell upped and offed to league, as did scott gibbs (oh did I mention him)... .