Rugby World Cup 2023 in France

[fd3]

Did England just "edge" past Japan?

[Peter]

Not by the scoresheet, obviously, but Japan gave them a lot of trouble I think and played some nice stuff.  Or are you alluding to a pundit's comment?!

[Steph]

I posted earlier about how the 'minnows' seem to have turned up ready and willing to play. As I watched the England-Japan game earlier, along with other games involving 'Big' nations, I found myself surprised at how much is wrong with their basics. Nobody seems to be able to catch the ball. for examples. It's almost as if none of them has prepared for the Cup.

I can only see three teams really up for it thus far, France, Ireland and ZAF. And France wobbled badly.

[De Sisti]

Who is the awful ref for Fiji-Aus?

I'm not sure to what you are referring because I didn't watch the match, or at least not closely.  But in the England-Japan match (watching on a small screen), it seemed to me that both England's 2nd and 4th tries contained elements of forward pass.  But we don't see it the way the man on the pitch does, unless it's glaringly obvious, so it must be very difficult for referees, I think.

The TMO could sort that out?

[Peter]

Do they watch the whole match on the "VAR", or just incidents?

[Steph]

I assume they watch the whole match, at least now, because they are now ringing up the referee to tell him what he's missed, which I am ambivalent about.

[farfetched]

AFAIK they are only intervening for foul play and the passage of play leading to a try.
Sometimes the ref asks but I guess they review all try situations regardless.

Edit:  by foul play I mean red/yellow card offences

[fd3]

The tmo never ruled on forward passes, so not sure how they could do it with the new system.

[ElyDave]

The camera really does change the apparent angles, I've not seen a referee behind the game yet, though I've not seen all of the matches.

I was reading the text on the Aus v Fiji game, commentary by an ex RL International, of the view that Aus basically didn't turn up.

[Peter]

That's a little ungracious.  They turned up all right, to be beaten by a better side.

[Wowbagger]

Crikey! That's one of the best tries I've seen for years. Mercurial stuff.

[Wowbagger]

Good grief! France are playing outrageous rugby - and it's all coming off.

If you are not watching this match, you should be.

[Peter]

I watched it for a while, then fell asleep when France had reached 500 points, or something.  I know there are arguments against, but does anyone else feel queasy about these huge thrashings of minnows?  I'm musing about the possibilities of minnows being put into separate groups so at least their supporters, who have travelled and paid for accommodation just as the others have, could see some games they have a stake in and some closer encounters.  Certainly, that would pit the better sides against each other earlier than they would like but they have to beat them to win eventually anyway.  I expect the bean-counters will have worked out what's the most profitable way and that's how it will continue but I actually find it a bit distasteful.

 Or maybe we could have a rule that says people who are no longer good enough to turn out for the All-Blacks or South Africa have to be evenly spread out amongst the minnows.  That way, Scotland would still get theirs and Namibia and other teams could have a few! 

[Wowbagger]

I know what you mean, but it happens in "real" rugby as well.

I have mentioned elsewhere that my college team was beaten 108 - 0 in a match in the 1970s, when a try was only 3 points. The Daily Telegraph published a brief report about it, because of its one-sided nature. I have to confess that I wasn't playing (it sounds as though none of the others was either). I was the following week, when we were beaten 66-0, so my presence made a difference of 42 points.

There were some moves played in that game (France v Namibia) which I think would have torn any team apart. As the pundits said a few times, "How do you defend against that?"

It seems that Dupont is out for at least two games, with a fractured cheekbone, after a head clash which saw the Namibian captain receive a red card. That is a great pity because he's a wonderful player.

[Mr Larrington]

Good grief! France are playing outrageous rugby - and it's all coming off.

If you are not watching this match, you should be.

GIT!
Not home until tomorrow evening chiz

[Wowbagger]

Lots of thud & blunder in the Argentina - Samoa match.

Edit: and is Samoa really pronounced "Sarmur". as the commentator seems to think?

[Cudzoziemiec]

The stress is on the first syllable, if you're Samoan. But if you're Samoan, you also know where to put the unwritten letters and the glottal stops and so on.

[fd3]

@peter, RL tried that about 15 years ago.  Pool of death where the top three go through and then the other pools top out to make up the other qualifiers (it was league so there was some additional complication natch).

To be fair there have been less one sided massacres than there were back when england won it.

[Peter]

I'd forgotten that!

[Steph]

Portugal wow

[Wowbagger]

Just caught the last 5 minutes or so of the England - Chile match.

Isn't Marcus Smith a bit small for the average international fullback?

[citoyen]

First 10 minutes of SA v Ireland has been more exciting than the whole of the England game.

ETA: also, the referee is superb - you've got to have balls of steel to keep control of a game like this.

[Wowbagger]

Bloody hell! I'm exhausted watching that first half. I'm not sure I have the energy for another 40 minutes...

[Wowbagger]

Hmm... I wonder about that penalty kick with so few minutes left. Perhaps a kick to the corner and keep SA under pressure.

[Wowbagger]

Well done Ireland! Close, but deserved in my view.