Rugby World Cup

Phew,
I've lost my vioce shouting at the TV during the 1st half of the England v South afrikaans match. Glad their kicker had an off day!
Second half was much better, and the theme of not conceding a try is still good...
Just hope the maestro that is Wilko doesn't get injured, and that Nike supply them with better shirts that don't rip....

Jonny - 100%, and still redeye doesn't want him for the All Blacks.

I though the SAs played pretty well and 2 of the 4 kicks he missed were tricky ... should have got the other 2 though. But they never looked like going through England's defence, so errors were the only way they were going to win. Good to see the game was clean.

ABs v SA should be interesting ....

Patrick,
agree with you that game will be a must watch...
I just worry about the potential French Banana skin in the semi's!

Steady on there Patrick!

Wilkinson was superb. Considering how motivated SA were I thought Eng did very well to deny them.
On tv here before the game they played some highlights from Eng's performance in the 99 World Cup. Nothing short of bloody amazing how much bigger/fitter and more mobile the forward pack is this time. Their conditioning is top drawer.
You have a very shrewd coach there...

Colour me impressed.

red

ps...FYI, we HAVE a goal kicker now

Yes, but 22 out of 21 in the last 3 games apparently. Jonny had a pretty poor game but his place and drop goal kicking is near perfect. The SAs did really well to limit his opportunities.

Pre the start, the papers here were all going on about what a tough draw England had - especially if they didn't top the group. I've just realised how tough NZ have it. SA, Aus and then England or France - if you beat that lot you deserve to be World Champions.

Agree Patrick

...and the real worry is that we (NZ) have the three tough games you mention (all effectively sudden death) after 4 soft games in our pool! In many ways I wish we had one of the "top" teams in our pool like England does.

Lucky England will now have an easy(ish) quarter final - probably v Wales and are virtually assured of a semi spot. NZ will be playing a much improved SA side battle hardened from doing rather well against the leading side in the world. The fear (for me anyway) is that NZ may not even make the semi finals if we have an off day and SA fire. I don't want to think about it....the National misery would be unpalatable! Don't get me wrong, NZ should beat Sth Africa - but because NZ is not as clinical as England and rely upon speed and flair rather than total dominance, there is never certainty when playing a good team like SA.

I'm finding all this pool match stuff against weak nations a pain in the butt, but I guess it's hard to avoid if rugby is to grow as an international sport...

Richie T

SA have a very good pack, and if J van de W plays well behind it, they could cause problems. Fortunately he's not the player he once was.

The 3/4s is pretty rubbish in attack, but solid in defence, and I can't see SA giving open play turnovers on the NZ goal line to let your flyers do their stuff. They're far too professional for that!

I'm looking forward to watching (and I won't be tense at all!)

Whats worrying me is I'm getting used to an England national team winning at a particular sport! I 'expect' them to win every time they play...gulp.

I was hoping we (ie England) would not do well so that rugby would be consigned to the minority sport oblivion it so richly deserves; but it looks like we are, so the media will continue to shove this so-called "sport" down our throats and even bigger herds of great gallumphing public schoolboys and yuppies (accompanied by their simpering girlfriends) will block the streets and clog up the pubs.

I couldn't get a drink anywhere on Saturday afternoon because of hordes of oafish "rugger" fans.

Rugby, bunch of arse mate

Love

Kevin

Kevin,
don't hold back matey - say what u think!

Rather herds of 'gallumphing schoolboys' than the roaming gangs of beetle-browed soccer thugs?

Or indeed their ill-disciplined 'heroes'.

If England succed in rasing the profile of Rugby Union then it might just become rather less a minority interest. Certainly where I live Rugby in all its form is not a solely middle-class preoccupation.

Bruce

Quote from Bruce W

Rather herds of 'gallumphing schoolboys' than the roaming gangs of beetle-browed soccer thugs?

Bruce, I said "gallumphing public schoolboys" (there's a difference), but both "beetle-browed soccer [it's called football, by the way] thugs" and the aforementioned posh types operate in a manner that betrays a complete lack of sensitivity and regard for their environment. I know, I live in South-West London.

Anyway, the ony reason that egg-throwing has not been tainted with violence in the same way as footy has is because hardly anyone gives a shit. After all, who can get worked up about such a poxy game?

Kevin

I have a feeling our stereotypical Rugby and Association Football fans are equally inaccurate.

What sport do you get passionate about? For me it would actually be cricket, which is of course supported only by retired army colonels with labradors.

Bruce

quote:

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cricket, which is of course supported only by retired army colonels with labradors

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In that case, all I have to say is:

WOOF WOOF

Alex, labrador.

"What sport do you get passionate about? For me it would actually be cricket"

Actually Cricket is as much as working class game as Football in the North of England and everyone I knew growing up watched football in the Winter and Cricket in the Summer. I am mildy surprised that this isn't obvious to you as a Yorkshireman Bruce given the glorious tradition of England finding its best fast bowlers working on Yorkshire coalfaces.

Rugby Union on the other hand is unquestionably a middle class south eastern game which is why it remains so ghettoised and unpopular (and why it has such a high media profile). Its mainly crap as well beaing largely a sequence of arcane infractions that only 4 people in the world actually understand (What the hell is "Shepherding" anyway?)

Matthew

Whisper it-I was actually born in Essex!

Rugby, cricket and football in Yorkshire (at least around here) is pretty classless in my experience. I play league cricket with a real mixture-and all the better for it. Many Rugby League fans around here also follow Union with enthusiasm.

Any views from Oz or NZ? I always understood that Rugby union in Australia was seen as a very poor relation of League (and Aussie rules etc).

Bruce

Bruce

Kev-w,
nice polarised opinion you have there dude. I like to watch a game where the ref/umpire is in charge and treated with respect - and not gobbed off at using all the expletives under the sun... but then again you probably don't like soccer/football either do you?

Quote from Andy C

Kev-w,
nice polarised opinion you have there dude. I like to watch a game where the ref/umpire is in charge and treated with respect - and not gobbed off at using all the expletives under the sun... but then again you probably don't like soccer/football either do you?

Andy, I love football (well, West Ham and England anyway). I am a Hammers season ticket holder and have been to every home game this season.

Like you, I would love to see a game in which the ref was in charge. But I have to say - and I'm sure Matthew Robinson would agree with me on this - that the quality of refereeing in this country is abysmal. Last Wedesday against Norwich it as an effin' disgrace. This is why refs get so much abuse. If they were all as good as Pierluigi "Uncle Fester" Collina they would be treated with more respect.

Kevin

Rugby Union on the other hand is unquestionably a middle class south eastern game

Bath, probably the most successful club in the history of English Rugby Union, is a City in the South West, so I would say it was probably better described as a Southern game.
John

Kevin,
sincere apologies.
I too like football. Then again I like most sports. But I love watching RFU and have done so for years. I also like watching a game where our national team is well capable - and regularly does - kick the opponent's butts into the next world!

quote:

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Rugby Union on the other hand is unquestionably a middle class south eastern game

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Matthew, in Britain it is largely middle class except in places like Cornwall South Wales and the Scottish Borders, but it's certainly your own particular blend of prejudices which makes you call it south eastern.

David

And I should know better, David, as I am regularly corrected on this fact by a mate from Devon.

Matthew

I'm surprised that redeye (and others) haven't yet taken the opportunity to gloat over the poor performance by England against Samoa.

Samoa were very good until they tired towards the end, and the referee was pretty awful (IMO), but England made far too many errors. I've never seen Jonny Wilkinson miss 4 kicks in a match and quite frankly the Samoan No10, Va'a, looked the classier of the two.

Still, a win's a win, and if you've got to have a bad game and conceed a try, the group stages are the time to do it.

Are the ABs as good as the Samoans, I wonder?

If England have to concede any more tries I hope they are all as wonderful.

All credit to Samoa but I have rarely seen such an inept (and nervous?) display. When struggling we should have gone down to basics, playing the phases, retaining the ball, gaining ground. Starting from that base then you can try the fancy moves.

Jonny W looks very out-of-sorts to me, I'm also very worried that Jason Robinson has shown so little, he seems to be taking up some odd positions and failing to gain yards as he is static when taking the ball.

I do hope Samoa will be up for S Africa this weekend and give the same spirited performance.

France in the semis will be a big game assuming we each get to that stage.

Bruce

I have been a bit quiet since scotland were embarassed by France.

Perhaps I could stir things up by saying I thought Gregor Townsend had a good match, and that he would still by my pick for a British Lions team at fly half.

Would JW be good at full back? I hear a lot of praise for his defense, and he wopuld be in any team for kicking ability.

Alan