Yet Another Cycling Forum
Off Topic => The Pub => The Sporting Life => Topic started by: Wowbagger on 10 August, 2019, 12:56:16 pm
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I have just read that Wales are now the World no. 1 team after NZ lost a warm-up game. Surreal...
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That is based on an unofficial ranking that is going around Facebook - the official IRB rankings were last updated on the 5th August and I believe will be updated again this monday coming after all the weekend matches. NZ are top on 91.54 points with Wales 2nd on 89.96.
This weekend, NZ have lost to Australia [26-47], Ireland beat italy [29-10], South Africa beat Argentina [46-13] and Wales play England today, so if Wales beat England they will go top.
Edit
Sky TV have just told me that if Wales beat England OR draw, they will officially go top.
Additional edit
England win 33-19, probably keeps NZ top.
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Apparently they were unofficially top for 24 hours.
It’s now back to NZ.
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Blimey! What happened to Ireland today?
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England, by the look of it.
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So who's in your 15?
https://ranked-list-images.files.bbci.co.uk/all-time-world-cup-xv-56ad6231d39a1543d5a4eebc89afcbcb.html (https://ranked-list-images.files.bbci.co.uk/all-time-world-cup-xv-56ad6231d39a1543d5a4eebc89afcbcb.html)
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I swear the haka gets longer and longer...
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I swear the haka gets longer and longer...
But not as long as their national anthem, which goes on for bloody ever.
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Watched the highlights on ITV catch up. Some thoughts.
Russia did surprisingly well.
Scotland seem not to have bothered travelling.
Tongans love expatriates.
Australia and South Africa are going to have to pick up their game.
France are playing well. Some of the time.
Argentina is determined to make several kinds of mark, as are the Georgians.
Wales need to stop relaxing. It wasn't 'all over' in the first few minutes.
Ireland have most definitely got the big games in their sights.
Wing play is amazing in this tournament so far.
NZ are scarily efficient, and it will take a lot to beat them (and Popes and bears, religion and forests, natch0
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Professor Larrington and Dr Davis attended the France-Argentina game. Dead exciting, they said, and the French supporters were by far the louder singers on the way to the stadium.
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Looking at the pool tables at the moment, and seeing Italy above NZ...
Won't last, but it made me smile. The WC should be about the 'smaller' nations and spreading the game across the world, not just a showground for the big boys.
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And seeing the mighty Samoa top their pool above Scotland and Ireland.
I drew Samoa in our works pool. Looks like I almost earned the prize for first red card today!
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Good to see Japan doing well against Ireland...
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Wow. :o :o ;D
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That’s thrown Scotland a lifeline! ;D
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Wow. :o :o ;D
Bloody hell! What did I just post about "smaller nations"? This is what the World Cup should produce!
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Arse.
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Come on! You could have seen that coming from last time round.
It was probably the best game of the world cup so far.
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Wales beat Australia - again !
That was a bit tense.
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Tell me about it! Just watched it on catch-up before night shift, deliberately not looking at the result beforehand.
I note that the Aussies are whinging already. Hint to Aussie skipper and coach: you do NOT lead with the forearm. Ever.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/49870953
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I thought the late shoulder-barge was much more blatant (by Cooper?). He was possibly lucky to stay on the pitch.
The forearm just looked like his natural ball-carrying technique at normal replay speed.
I don't think they had much to moan about over either decision - it could have been worse for them!
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Yebbut, Aussies. They always moan. Remember their comments about being stuffed in the Olympics medal tables by the UK?
"The Brits are only good at sports where they can sit down" [rowing, cycling]
[After getting beaten in the medal table for swimming] "Not bad for a country with no soap and not enough swimming pools"
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C'mon Fiji! ;D
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England v France cancelled (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/49995604).
Hopefully Scotland will get an opportunity against Japan...
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I think it is silly that they do not want to reschedule final group games. There is a week break next week so they can fit in.
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England v France cancelled (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/49995604).
Hopefully Scotland will get an opportunity against Japan...
Not for nothing is it called Typhoon Haggis.
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The Scotland match is on.
Wales are struggling with Uruguay in a manner that they probably shouldn't be.
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Japan are looking sharp.
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Wales were crap, but we will take the win. Chwarae teg, Uruguay!
Japan are playing amazingly. This is what the World Cup should be--"minnows" like Uruguay and Japan showing their appetite for the game.
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:o Japan are going for it.
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BANZAI!
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What a game!
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Amazing!
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Fully deserved by Japan. They played by far the more attractive rugby and scored 4 fantastic tries.
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My old chum Harry in Kelso will be swearing off sushi for life. Once he's finished just swearing.
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I would not call Japan "minnows" these days, any more so than Argentina who have made it to the semis previously.
Japan were unlucky last time, and now have beaten three of the tier one nations in a world cup, that's not by accident.
I might make comment or two when I go up to Aberdeen this week.
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Scotland have been poor in defence under Townsend. I wasn’t confident of a result before the match. Japan were immense and fully deserve their place in the QF. I think Scotland have to have a good six nations or Townsend will be in trouble.
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Oh no! THAT French team have turned up.
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Gosh. Just enough that.
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Oh no! THAT French team have turned up.
Yes. The ones who can never resist doing something stupidly dirty.
Now waiting for my heartrate to come down.
Wow.
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O M G.
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What a stupid shit. We'd have won otherwise.
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What a stupid shit. We'd have won otherwise.
It was indeed stupid. I would, however, also mention the utterly cynical and unnecessary foul in the NZ-Ireland game. You have thrashed the opposition, but they have gained some self-respect by fighting back, and look like getting a well-deserved try, at the base of the posts.
So you blatantly and illegally drop on the ground to block it.
Utter git.
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Thought that Wales scraped through there; failed to capitalise on the extra man.
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Absolutely, ten minutes to go I was wondering if they'd fall short.
One game too far for Japan, I'd love to have seen them in the semi against Wales
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What a stupid shit. We'd have won otherwise.
It was indeed stupid. I would, however, also mention the utterly cynical and unnecessary foul in the NZ-Ireland game. You have thrashed the opposition, but they have gained some self-respect by fighting back, and look like getting a well-deserved try, at the base of the posts.
So you blatantly and illegally drop on the ground to block it.
Utter git.
Yeah. Git.
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What a stupid shit. We'd have won otherwise.
It was indeed stupid. I would, however, also mention the utterly cynical and unnecessary foul in the NZ-Ireland game. You have thrashed the opposition, but they have gained some self-respect by fighting back, and look like getting a well-deserved try, at the base of the posts.
So you blatantly and illegally drop on the ground to block it.
Utter git.
Yeah. Git.
It was gamesmanship, and he got a yellow - seems reasonable. The French guy tried to break Wainright's jaw (after failing to remove his head), and the SA prop spear tackled a Japanese player and only got a yellow. Both of those wear the GIT label a bit more strongly for me.
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Yes, the SA prop knew exactly what he'd done. Even asked the ref "is that a red".
Diference between that and the Frenchman is the intent. The prop didn't look to me to have the intent to damage, but was very reckless, and knew the onus was on him to get the player back down safely. Frenchman - Utter git.
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Yes, the SA prop knew exactly what he'd done. Even asked the ref "is that a red".
Diference between that and the Frenchman is the intent. The prop didn't look to me to have the intent to damage, but was very reckless, and knew the onus was on him to get the player back down safely. Frenchman - Utter git.
Yeah. I don't know if he knew as he was doing it, but as soon as he'd done it he was sat on the floor apologising. I wonder if that saved him from a red. The French guy just looked pissed off to have been caught. I wonder what the likes of Maxime Medard (last WC game) said to him after.
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I see the French have tried a whinge as well on their red card. You will remember that in a previous WC Sam Warburton was shown red for a 'spear tackle'. I pointed out at the time that as Wales had just knocked out Ireland, and were then playing France, putting an Irish ref who is half French in charge of the game was a little silly in terms of possible perception of bias.
The French are no complaining that Peyper shared a joke with some Welsh fans post-match. I perceive that as being him joking along the lines of "How could a pro player be so stupid in such an important claim?"
French press are shouting about bias. You may also recall Warbs' reaction to his red card, which can be summed up as "I committed a foul. Those are the laws, and I got a red card. I shouldn't have committed a foul"
One player involved, at least, was an honourable man. Anyone know what the French player is saying now?
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Here's a link.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/news/referee-jaco-peyper-stood-down-over-photograph-with-welsh-fans-after-rugby-world-cup-quarter-final/ar-AAJ96OX?ocid=spartanntp
I see the French federation appear to be gits. Perhaps they should talk to their player.
Anyway, it seems one of my favourite refs has a semi: Nigel Owens. I love his way with the players.
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The French coach was basically saying it was a red card offence after the match. I think the federation are just trying to deflect attention by taking offence at social media.
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It is inappropriate for a referee to be in a photo like that. It trivialises the incident and questions the ref’s impartiality.
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Bernard Laporte has a good record on trying to clean up dirty play in Rugby Union. But his remark about the photo insulting "the whole of France" is just silly. It's a photograph; most people in France wouldn't even know what it's about, on the same principle that most people in England do not actually support Manchester United.
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most people in England do not actually support Manchester United.
Now you are being silly! ;D
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;)
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A reasonable first two minutes...
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A wonderful remaining 78 minutes!
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That was stunning.
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Bugger. Missed it. And there was a pub in Whitchurch doing a full English and a pint for £10. Well done England!
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That was stunning.
I reckon the All Blacks were stunned too. France Info mentioned that the only score they got was off an England error. Shame about that; 19-0 against the Blacks would have been immense.
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According to the Graun, the referee was wrong to disallow one of the two non-tries.
I will ask my daughter how well that went down in Melbourne. Her boyfriend is a Kiwi. O:-)
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Wow. What a way to start a wet weekend 🙂
Interesting Odds:
England Vs NZ:
England: 5/2
New Zealand: 4/11
Draw: 25/1
Wales vs South Africa odds
Wales: 5/2
South Africa: 4/11
Draw: 20/1
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England's new haka response. Worked...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48961720628_8ddff24f7c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hAzBK3)haka 26102019 (https://flic.kr/p/2hAzBK3) by a oxon (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145942400@N06/), on Flickr
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According to the Graun, the referee was wrong to disallow one of the two non-tries.
I will ask my daughter how well that went down in Melbourne. Her boyfriend is a Kiwi. O:-)
I felt the disallowing of the second one was harsh.
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harsh but fair, from a materiality viewpoint if it were in midfield would have made no difference, but as part of a scoring movement it casts doubt
I thought the first disallowing was far more borderline, the decoy runner did what he needed to do and was tackled without the ball. The tackler was nowhere near Underhill
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England's new haka response. Worked...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48961720628_8ddff24f7c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hAzBK3)haka 26102019 (https://flic.kr/p/2hAzBK3) by a oxon (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145942400@N06/), on Flickr
Yes, that pleased me greatly. The Owen Farrell Smirk is starting to go viral:
(https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/c23c4488ec6bb8721c75b3c2852d421e?width=650)
As long as the All-Blacks are given their special stage, teams should be allowed to do what they like in response :thumbsup:
I did think NZ were very good losers - clearly GUTTED, but respectful. A good day for sport.
Now I wonder who will win the 2nd place play-off tomorrow ...
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Mr Owens seemed to have a bit of a blind spot when it came to forward passes in the last ten minutes but I DON'T CARE COZ WE WON ;D
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While it was a truly outstanding performance and win, the team that knocks NZ out often lose their next game, at least this happened in 99,03 and 07 ... It's not inconceivable that this took a lot out of them today. Hope not of course!
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It didn’t look like they had spent themselves, often when beating the ABs sides are up afejbet it right to the end.
I felt concentration was the key today, not so much physical commitment.
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Not sure if this is fwp or sporting, but I wonder if emirates will be showing this on dubai-brisbane flight next Saturday?
Exactly how much should I rub it in that we beat Aus at the important game, again?
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I was in Oz for the first few games of THAT RWC, and the adverts on TV were all about various 'national stereotypes' of fans of all but one of the teams playing.
Yup. The ads featured every team but the one playing in white with a red flower on the boobage.
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Well, that didn't look like a great match. Attritional and tense.
Looking forward to next week.
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Yes, a real armwrestle... Going to be quite some final.
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Zut, really thought Wales would win the whole thing.
I now have to support England, as a win for England is a win for the Northern Hemisphere, and therefore France.
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Boo! That was a Rubbish.
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Zut, really thought Wales would win the whole thing.
I now have to support England, as a win for England is a win for the Northern Hemisphere, and therefore France.
Zut².
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light blue touchpaper and ...
...
...
fizzle
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NZ to thump Wales on Friday then.
England should roll over RSA if they both play like they did in their respective semi finals.
If.
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NZ to thump Wales on Friday then.
England should roll over RSA if they both play like they did in their respective semi finals.
If.
Indeedy.
I thought RSA were outstanding for the 1st 20 mins against NZ, so it ain't over yet.
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Boo! That was a Rubbish.
I thought it was gripping stuff, not 'flowing' rugby, but tense high stakes to the end.
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Bollocks! Only just seen this. Oh well. I did spend an hour or so watching a kingfisher this afternoon.
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Bollocks! Only just seen this. Oh well. I did spend an hour or so watching a kingfisher this afternoon.
Did it constantly kick? And did it constantly telegraph it was going to kick?
Bah!
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"I don't think the final will be won by a very expansive gameplan and wonderful tries. We'll go and grind it out." Rassie Erasmus
I wonder how England will 'manage' the Springboks. They probably won't want to get stuck in a repeat of the Wales semi, 'with more kicks than minutes in the game'...
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Boo! That was a Rubbish.
I thought it was gripping stuff, not 'flowing' rugby, but tense high stakes to the end.
I was, quite frankly, bored. It was tedious, aimless, undirected aerial wiff-waff. Unlike the end-to-end of saturday's game it never really got going, neither side dominated, neither side looked at any point like gaining an advantage. It was back to 1990's rugby trench warfare. Paul Thorburn could have popped up any time.
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Nice one on Twitter today.
Condolences to Wayne Barnes, best referee in the world, denied the chance to referee the RWC final by the selfish behaviour of his countrymen.
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As a Welshman I was quite happy with the TV coverage until now. Quite often in international coverage of any sport when England have an outside chance we would of got hours of chat about the colour of Sinklers underpants or other twaddle. Or in the hour build up of say Scotland Ireland match they used to spend half an hour talking about England. They have not done that. Unfortunately after England's superb performance against New Zealand the press have now caught on that this England team is now everyone's favourite. Anyone who follow the six nations knows than Rugby matchs have an element of Rock, Paper, Scissors. England beat New Zealand and New Zealand beat South Africa does not imply England will necessarily beat South Africa.
Hopefully it will be a good game.
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Good point: South Africa beat Wales, and England generally beat Wales. So it should be a close final.
;)
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Squidge Rugby made a really good point about RSA and their kicking game. It's deliberate. They play 5 phases, if it's going no where, they kick.
It just becomes boring to watch if the opponent is doing similar and/or if the kicks are shit.
Shame WR had Squidge's videos taken down.
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Nice one on Twitter today.
Condolences to Wayne Barnes, best referee in the world, denied the chance to referee the RWC final by the selfish behaviour of his countrymen.
He's good, but I wouldn't rate him any better than Nick Berry or Nigel Owens
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Nigel wins on the accent alone. That and the icy stare once he has made his mind up.
It would be better if we could switch to the Red Button channel and just have the referee commentary.
RIP Bill McLaren.
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Nigel wins on the accent alone. That and the icy stare once he has made his mind up.
It would be better if we could switch to the Red Button channel and just have the referee commentary.
RIP Bill McLaren.
That's why I used to like Spreadbury, that and he taught my course back in the last century.
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It's going to come down to how the breakdown is refereed. If he allows the Boks to slow everything down, it'll turn into the same spectacle as the Wales game. There's not much you can do with slow ball inside your half against a good defence, so box kick it, and either win the ball and get some go forward or back your defence to put them in the same predicament. It surprised me that so many of the box kicks were rubbish though. Really short ones seemed to cause the most problems!
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All Blacks shading it just now...
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I wonder whether Wales will ever get to beat the All Blacks during my lifetime.
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Bounce back from the ABs and injuries for Wales, always going to be a toughie.
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Disappointing result for the Walesians but a sight more entertaining to watch than their semi-final.
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Great surge of alarm. All Saints is a public holiday here and feels like Saturday: thought I'd missed the final.
Of course, I still could.
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What's the difference between Faf de Klerk and time?
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Here we go.
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Stressful...
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Edge of the seat...
SA will be pleased to have kept England out.
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(https://i.postimg.cc/5yMMZH6j/340-A867-D-F4-FB-40-DB-B62-F-688-C34145-BFF.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/Q9SP7dgr)
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:)
England need a try... and to overcome the weight of history on that half time score.
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Have SA made a straight lineout throw yet? >:(
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All over. :(
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Yes, I don’t think has a way back now.
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The better team - by far - have won.
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Ooooook, so I think we need some calm, rational analysis here:
I've looked at the head-to-head results, and clearly the only fair result is a 3-way tie between
eng, RSA,NZ;
With Wales in a plucky 4th.
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Ooooook, so I think we need some calm, rational analysis here:
I've looked at the head-to-head results, and clearly the only fair result is a 3-way tie between
eng, RSA,NZ;
With Wales in a plucky 4th.
Do you have prior art on all this bollocks?
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Great post match speech from Kolisi
https://youtu.be/NoX3KOlJOq0 (https://youtu.be/NoX3KOlJOq0)
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Bah! Poor show by The BRITONS' England. Too many penalties given away.
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Ooooook, so I think we need some calm, rational analysis here:
I've looked at the head-to-head results, and clearly the only fair result is a 3-way tie between
eng, RSA,NZ;
With Wales in a plucky 4th.
Do you have prior art on all this bollocks?
Gosh, what heinous statement has provoked the Wowbagger into foul language?
(Does he think Wales don't deserve 4th place in these rankings?)
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I actually felt quite pleased at the result.
No, not because of some Wowbaggerish* about Wales, but simply because SA were the better team on the day. It was also nice that they scored two cracking tries, and that sort of thing is good for the game.
I wanted England to win, but they didn't turn up. Too many simple, basic errors.
That said, I have never liked Garces as a referee.
*"bollocks"
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looking back I think SA set out to prevent the kind of start we had last week, and Sinkler's substitution was the icing on the cake. They were obviously going to go for the scrum and the subbing made that all the easier, without the running play that Sinkler provides. Our handling was terrible - attacks snuffed out by ourselves! What. contract with last week.
SA well deserved winners.
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I think the error count was highest early in the game, when they actually had a lot of ball and space. I'm guessing it was pressure - against NZ they were underdogs, this one much less so. I think dealing with the high ball is a classic symptom of this, sadly.
I don't know enough about the subtlety of tactics to judge that aspect, but RSA did just seem to do all the small things that little bit better, with less errors than ENG - that might have been enough to edge the win, but their huge adnavtage in the scrums made it an inevitable result.
I'm way too bitter to say anything nice about the tries. Yet.
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England players are getting quite a bit of stick for refusing to wear their runner-up medals.
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/england-players-medal-reaction-has-upset-a-lot-of-people-on-twitter
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Disappointing. The upside for me was #1 child wailing "not another scrum!" after about 7 min of watching. Will try him on League next weekend.
While in no way English, would have been nice for the kids to witness their national team win something before they retire.
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Farfetched called it.
While it was a truly outstanding performance and win, the team that knocks NZ out often lose their next game, at least this happened in 99,03 and 07 ... It's not inconceivable that this took a lot out of them today. Hope not of course!
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I was a bit conflicted during the match. I'm English, but my friend Helen was the Springboks's physio from 1992. So my only connection to international rugby is through her.
https://thestormers.com/helen-millson-under-the-spotlight/
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England only win foopball or rugby World Cups under a Labour government :D
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England only win foopball or rugby World Cups under a Labour government :D
And Cricket World Cups only under a Tory Government.
(Sample size of 1.)
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England only win foopball or rugby World Cups under a Labour government :D
And Cricket World Cups only under a Tory Government.
(Sample size of 1.)
Sssssssssssssssssh!
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I was a bit conflicted during the match. I'm English, but my friend Helen was the Springboks's physio from 1992. So my only connection to international rugby is through her.
https://thestormers.com/helen-millson-under-the-spotlight/
<clang!>
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Farfetched called it.
While it was a truly outstanding performance and win, the team that knocks NZ out often lose their next game, at least this happened in 99,03 and 07 ... It's not inconceivable that this took a lot out of them today. Hope not of course!
Thks... But you're too kind. I didn't get the impression that last week's endeavors were the reason. England's scrum was obviously not functioning and that was the root cause of most of the problems. The breakdown was messy which was predicted, and Garces was his usual self, inconsistent and not worthy of the occasion.
We should also not forget that England (also under Jones) have lost 5 final day grand slams in the 6 nation's era. They don't cope well when in the position of favorite. Last week's demolition of NZ only served to up the hype and put SA in the underdog role.
The injury and loss of Sinckler was a factor, it may have been the reason the scrum malfunctioned .. we shall never know. I don't know what the game plan was but I didn't see a plan B either. There is a distinct lack of leadership in this group something England had in abundance in 2003... Over 4 years most of them will get a 2nd chance.