Rugby World Cup

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  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    cjcp wrote:
    England are quite good at this RWC lark, though. If Wilkinson can keep kicking for territory, and keep the points ticking over (something he's pretty handy at), England are definitely in with a shout.

    Sounds simple, really.

    OT, I remember watching the Wales/Eng QF match in 2003. i was in India, so had to listen to Aussie commentary on some Star Sports or something. When Colin Charvis got the ball just before the half-time whistle on Wales's try-line and started to leg it upfield, the commentators went nuts in a sort of Harry-Carpenter-and-Frank-Bruno-against-Mike-Tyson kind of way.

    Johnson is definitely the master of not giving a sh!t how you win, as long as you win. Which is just the right mentality for the RWC.

    I'm concerned at both England's less than watertight defence, and their patchy ability to unpick tight defences.

    That said, winning with a score that's divisible by three is fine by me...
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  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    Rob Earnshaw to take kicks for Wales anybody?
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • benno68
    benno68 Posts: 1,689
    walkingbootweather wrote:
    Rob Earnshaw to take kicks for Wales anybody?

    :lol:

    I'm not a football fan but would have loved that to have gone in - the England camp would have been in pieces!
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  • asprilla
    asprilla Posts: 8,440
    OK, what do you think England's chances are of making the semis?

    I only ask because I'm am spending that weekend on the west coast of Ireland. Should be fun.
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  • London_Falcon
    London_Falcon Posts: 150
    Quarters are most likely to be England vs France and we seem to have the hex over them at World Cups. Probably Australia after that and game over
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  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    England's play unlikely to make anyone have a semi....

    We ought to grind our way into the quarters then depends on who is still fit. Semis are a possibility

    Sad to say but I can't see any of the Northern hemisphere teams getting close to winning the thing.

    We've had enough problems in the past playing just Western Samoa - how are we going to get on against the whole of Samoa? :wink:
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • Clever Pun
    Clever Pun Posts: 6,778
    the taffs group looks pretty tough.

    Samoa, Fiji and South Africa... ouch; if they make it to the next round about 5 first teamers wont be injured
    Purveyor of sonic doom

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  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Clever Pun wrote:
    the taffs group looks pretty tough.

    Samoa, Fiji and South Africa... ouch; if they make it to the next round about 5 first teamers wont be injured

    And Namibia.

    They're all going to batter three shades of sh!t out of each other.

    England have a good chance of making the final if Wilkinson stays fit.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    Fixtures listed here

    Anyone watching the opening ceremony before work tomorrow? What is it with ceremonies at these big events? If it was taking place in my back garden I'm not sure I'd bother drawing the curtains. Bring on the rugby.
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • jamesco
    jamesco Posts: 687
    walkingbootweather wrote:
    Fixtures listed here

    Anyone watching the opening ceremony before work tomorrow? What is it with ceremonies at these big events? If it was taking place in my back garden I'm not sure I'd bother drawing the curtains. Bring on the rugby.
    Kind of, we've got a big-screen telly in the office, so we'll set that up tonight and come in early for the ceremony & first match. Just wish the game was France v. NZ!
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    So what did everyone think of NZ? I had glimpses of the game, but that's it. Looks like they did enough, and some of the passing between the backs looked quite tidy.

    I picked out Romania in the office sweepstake. There goes my fiver.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    Francois Pienaar hit the nail on the head for me. The ABs were OK. Nothing more.

    Tonga's defence looked most well organised and the AB backs looked sharp on occasion. But that may have been flattering. Of more concern to them was their forwards, who I thought made up the bulk of the "OK" assessment. Seeing them get repeatedly outs fumed on their own line in the last quarter will not have made happy viewing for Henry.

    They will have to up their game a lot to win it, IMO.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

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  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    On the sweepstake: I bought in at half time. As I picked, I said "I had better not get bloody Tonga". Well, guess what.

    Next guy got Australia. Dammit.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

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  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Greg66 wrote:
    Francois Pienaar hit the nail on the head for me. The ABs were OK. Nothing more.

    Tonga's defence looked most well organised and the AB backs looked sharp on occasion. But that may have been flattering. Of more concern to them was their forwards, who I thought made up the bulk of the "OK" assessment. Seeing them get repeatedly outs fumed on their own line in the last quarter will not have made happy viewing for Henry.

    They will have to up their game a lot to win it, IMO.

    Come on France....
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,344
    Don't understand rugby. Various friends have tried to explain it for the better part of 30 years but I just don't get it. I know if other people in Green shirts are roaring at the TV I should roar too, but frankly I no idea what they're roaring about.

    That said if I'm out of the pit on Sunday morning in time I'll be watching Ireland v USA.

    We seem to be in a group with Australia, Russia, Italy and the Yanks.

    I'm guessing we're playing for 2nd there???


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  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Good to see France performing like France.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    20 mins to go. Not looking good. Armitage has taken every ball on his heels. Ashton hasn't touched it, and JW needs a trip to specsavers.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

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  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    And breathe.

    For a bit.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A
  • asprilla
    asprilla Posts: 8,440
    On the plus side none of the 'big' teams who have played so far have impressed.


    I put big in inverted commas because I'm including Scotland.
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  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    Yeah, well, that was never on doubt really, was it?

    :oops:
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

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  • jonny_trousers
    jonny_trousers Posts: 3,588
    I always knew we'd win :shock:
  • jamesco
    jamesco Posts: 687
    cjcp wrote:
    So what did everyone think of NZ? I had glimpses of the game, but that's it. Looks like they did enough, and some of the passing between the backs looked quite tidy.
    Scored some tries, won the game, noone injured. Overall, a decent start.
  • benno68
    benno68 Posts: 1,689
    I'm starting to get that nervous feeling already, I'll be at my cousins house for a cooked breakfast tomorrow am. COME ON WALES!!!

    At this stage, it's about the sides finding their feet, settling nerves and getting a win and the players staying fit. The Blacks showed some promising signs and their victory was never in doubt.

    I missed the last 20 minutes of the England game (had to come into work) so missed the try etc, I don't think the ref did them any favours and the Argie pack are always going to cause problems - this game was a wake up call but England will work out how to play the ref for next time and will come out stronger.

    Surprised that so many kicks were missed overall, especially bearing in mind that there was no wind to worry about.

    Dunno what you guys think, but I prefer matches to be played out in the open as the elements can make the game more interesting - hey ho.
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  • bicyclepirate
    bicyclepirate Posts: 229
    JW need to stop charging into contact or he'll get a boo-boo. Match wasn't all that bad lineout was good and scrums were excellent when they were competitive. Martin Johnson post game comments were brilliant it's so awesome tho have a coach that doesn't talk s@it. Come on England ! Rugby world cup!!!!
    All hail the FSM and his noodly appendage!
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    First half was so dull, I decided I went for a ride. England will get better, though. Defence looks tighter than France's at least.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • Flyingbogey
    Flyingbogey Posts: 352
    Hopefully a repeat of four years ago when the pub team turned into contenders in the knockout stage, Don't forget though we weren't all that great in 2003 just got the job done:

    S.A should have beaten us in the pool but for a fluky charge down try and their kicker was off.

    Samoa gave us a game for 60 odd mins, Jonny x field kick to mmm Dan Luger, try.

    Wales had us on the ropes but failed to finish the Job.

    The weather beat the French
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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Can someone explain why England are in black?

    Surely that's a kick in the balls to New Zealand, especially since they're hosting it?

    They seem to care about black as much as the Dutch care about orange.
    _
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    So close. :(

    Brilliant performance. Priestland doesn't deserve any criticism for the drop goal; he did everything else brilliantly and made it look so simple. Shows why the Boks are always in with a shout, though: if their attack isn't firing on all cylinders, their defence is excellent.
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Can someone explain why England are in black?

    Surely that's a kick in the balls to New Zealand, especially since they're hosting it?

    They seem to care about black as much as the Dutch care about orange.

    Bit of a fuss over nothing, really. It's just a black kit.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    Never mind the colour of the kit, but can someone please at least stick the numbers on properly.
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    cjcp wrote:
    So close. :(

    Brilliant performance. Priestland doesn't deserve any criticism for the drop goal; he did everything else brilliantly and made it look so simple. Shows why the Boks are always in with a shout, though: if their attack isn't firing on all cylinders, their defence is excellent.

    That was a brilliant performance from Wales. Stunning. Incredible urgency to their game, as if they were in the knock out stages, which is more than can be said for any of the supposed top five.

    What are the likely routes for no 1 and no 2 in that group through the 1/4s and semis.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

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