Rugby World Cup 2015
Posted by: Karl on 18 September 2015
Any body interested ?
Can England win?
Karl
I am not hard core fan, but.... Since I have been living in Hong Kong with the yearly sevens, I have gotten interested in Rugby and I will definitely keep an eye on the WC.
i think England will win.
Good start for England.
Ref is having a shocker...too much TMO time.
OK, England weren't perfect but opening game, a win, 4 tries, 5 points, banana skin avoided.
Job done.
OK, England weren't perfect but opening game, a win, 4 tries, 5 points, banana skin avoided.
Job done.
Not very convincing, so interested to see how England will play against real competitors...
Fiji are ranked in the top ten so England did well to gain the bonus point. I'm sure Australia and Wales would be happy to achieve the same.
Better teams than Fiji will capitalise on the breakdown problems and scrum weakness. There is much to enjoy elsewhere, and a willing sense of adventure but back row and front row do not look like World Cup winners.
I thought the ref was utterly undermined by giving a try he could not see, then asking for a TMO only when the stadium howled at the replay. Who is the authority here? The TMO then take way too long for this and other decisions.
Bit of a scrappy start to RWC. I wish England well, but S Hemisphere side will win.
Bruce
Not the most exciting start, but 4 tries and five points may prove to be valuable.
As Sir Clive said, at this stage, let's not worry too much about how pretty it is, let's just win one game at a time and move on. Hopefully the team will gain in confidence and keep progressing.
Japan beat the Boks
Fantastic stuff, totally deserved it.
Bruce
Japans win - amazing, and good for the tournament!
Japans win - amazing, and good for the tournament!
Yes really enjoyed this one...
Incredibly brave to go for the try rather than kicking for a draw at the end. Upsets are great unless the All Blacks are playing..
I'm not surprised Japan be SA.
After all rugby union is nothing more than a pushing competition, and the Japs are very accomplished pushers.
SUMO-SUMO.
Shaky start for New Zealand against a powerful and skilled Argentine side, who ran out of gas in the last 20 minutes, thank goodness. This will be a very competitive world cup with more upsets on the way. Good to see lower rated teams playing so well.
Argentina very competitive but (unlike S Africa) I never really expected NZ to lose in the last 1/3rd of the match.
From the games I have seen England have a long way to go to be up there at the end.
Bruce
Not to detract from the OP, but I wonder if anyone here is following Jarryd Hayne's transition to the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers? Thus far he hasn't fumbled, which is paramount.
Not to detract from the OP, but I wonder if anyone here is following Jarryd Hayne's transition to the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers? Thus far he hasn't fumbled, which is paramount.
Joe, rather confusingly, there are 3 different types of rugby. The current world cup is for the Rugby Union form. Jarryd is an ex Rugby League player, a different form of the game. The epicentre of rugby league is Australia mainly NSW and Queensland. Rugby union is played in far more countries and this current world cup is the 3rd biggest sporting event in the world after the Olympics and the soccer world cup. The Olympics will have yet another type of rugby called Rugby Sevens which the US of A is actually quite good at. ATB
Kiwi cat,
Thanks for the clarification. NCAA (college) football in the US is starting to use rugby-style kickers for the punting part of the game. Most seem to come from Australia. Jarryd is different in that he is playing the running back position and actually carrying the ball (at the NFL level) rather than simply a college punter. He looks like a great athlete and I'm hoping he does well.
I think the Rugby League and Sevens are the two styles of rugby I occasionally see on TV in the US. My son enjoys watching it and thinks rugby players are the toughest and best overall conditioned athletes in the world. He has a couple friends that play sevens. Anyway, enjoy the Rugby Union World Cup. Cheers!
Argentina very competitive but (unlike S Africa) I never really expected NZ to lose in the last 1/3rd of the match.
From the games I have seen England have a long way to go to be up there at the end.
Bruce
Right observation, however t
the Kiwi's showed some very impressive playing in some parts of the game (very fast playing), and they are my favorites ...so I hope they will make it in and win the final....
Some random thoughts
Whatever happened to the drop goal? Not seen a single attempt even in the games I have watched.
Generally seeing a lot less of the aerial pingpong kicking than in some 6 nations recently. Fewer collapsing and reset scrums too.
Ruthless refereeing of the breakdown seems to be making for faster play.
The rolling maul should be limited to 2 per team per game. I can see it is is skill but it is a but dull at times. At least it can only stop and restart once now
....and finally the ITV coverage includes the most dreadful strangled singing of 'World In Union' at every break, plus some of the most pathetic and boring Rugby-themed advertising imaginable. What on earth is that Orangutan about!
Bruce
Some random thoughts
Whatever happened to the drop goal? Not seen a single attempt even in the games I have watched.
Generally seeing a lot less of the aerial pingpong kicking than in some 6 nations recently. Fewer collapsing and reset scrums too.
Ruthless refereeing of the breakdown seems to be making for faster play.
The rolling maul should be limited to 2 per team per game. I can see it is is skill but it is a but dull at times. At least it can only stop and restart once now
....and finally the ITV coverage includes the most dreadful strangled singing of 'World In Union' at every break, plus some of the most pathetic and boring Rugby-themed advertising imaginable. What on earth is that Orangutan about!
Bruce
Bruce - you want thrilling last minute drop goals, less ping-pong kicking, faster play plus less stop-start? Watch RUGBY LEAGUE. It's had all this for years. Fitter athletes, fewer players and simpler rules make for a really flowing game. Finest game in the world especially the Aussie NRL standard.
Some random thoughts
Whatever happened to the drop goal? Not seen a single attempt even in the games I have watched.
Generally seeing a lot less of the aerial pingpong kicking than in some 6 nations recently. Fewer collapsing and reset scrums too.
Ruthless refereeing of the breakdown seems to be making for faster play.
The rolling maul should be limited to 2 per team per game. I can see it is is skill but it is a but dull at times. At least it can only stop and restart once now
....and finally the ITV coverage includes the most dreadful strangled singing of 'World In Union' at every break, plus some of the most pathetic and boring Rugby-themed advertising imaginable. What on earth is that Orangutan about!
Bruce
I understand where you are coming from. But as non Rugby fan I still enjoy to watch it.
Some random thoughts
Whatever happened to the drop goal? Not seen a single attempt even in the games I have watched.
Generally seeing a lot less of the aerial pingpong kicking than in some 6 nations recently. Fewer collapsing and reset scrums too.
Ruthless refereeing of the breakdown seems to be making for faster play.
The rolling maul should be limited to 2 per team per game. I can see it is is skill but it is a but dull at times. At least it can only stop and restart once now
....and finally the ITV coverage includes the most dreadful strangled singing of 'World In Union' at every break, plus some of the most pathetic and boring Rugby-themed advertising imaginable. What on earth is that Orangutan about!
Bruce
Bruce - you want thrilling last minute drop goals, less ping-pong kicking, faster play plus less stop-start? Watch RUGBY LEAGUE. It's had all this for years. Fitter athletes, fewer players and simpler rules make for a really flowing game. Finest game in the world especially the Aussie NRL standard.
Point taken.
Rule changes, cross code players and coaches and professional status seem to have brought League and Union closer together progressively. This is a good thing I reckon.
Bert, I am enjoying it!
So as quite a number of your are coming from the Island, what is your prediction for tonights game ?
I would like to see Wales win but I think it is unlikely, too many injuries and England have home advantage. It should be a good game.
Karl