Ok, rugbyheads. This is our thread.

Who will win the tri-nations???? What do u think of rugby??? What do u think of the super 12???

Lets talk!!

Hi,
It's not only because I'm a big All Blacks fan, but I feel New Zealand should win the Tri-nations based on their recent performances. Their defence against Australia was solid and they took advantage of just about every opportunity against South Africa. And that was with some of the "star" players on the bench. It is a great confidence builder to know that the starting fifteen are playing well with players like Lomu, Umunga, Kelleher and others on the bench ready to come in as a substitute to pick up the slack. As I'm sure you know, anything can happen in the beautiful game of rugby that any team could win in the final. I'll be supporting the All Blacks but know they could have quite a challenge in the finals.

As for the Super 12, I'm just starting to get into this division of rugby and being a NZAB fan, it is good to see some of the players that I recognize. Unfortunately, not many games are televised in the USA so if I do get to see a match it's around 3 AM my time but it's well worth the lack of sleep to see my team in action. I do occasionally tape the match to watch the next day but there's nothing like the excitement of watching the match live. Hopefully some day I'll make it out to New Zealand to see a live match. It's near the top of my list of goals that I would like to acheive in my life. Anyway, All Blacks forever!!! Peace.

YESSS YESSS YESSSSSSS !!!

WE'VE RETAINED THE BLEDISLOE CUP !!

TAKE THAT KIWIZ :D

Just another game. It's already forgotten.

Yes just another loss for u guys.
i forgot that you're pretty used to it by now :D

Originally posted by Krypton X
Yes just another loss for u guys.
i forgot that you're pretty used to it by now :D


That match had some "Vodafone Streakers".:mrpimp:

New Zealand r $hit. Out of the big three southern hemisphere teams Australia r the best. But I think next year when it comes to the WC England will show their true class and give u all a thrashing.

I think Union is the best sport ever ! Ive been playing for nearly 10 yrs now as a Lock (Second Row). I mostly play full 15 union, but really enjoy 7's, 10's and 12's, Although I dont really follow the Super 12's league.

Cheers
Nath

P.S If anyone is interested in youth rugby in the UK visit ... http://www.juniorrugby.com !!

Originally posted by Juventus_theres_next_year

That match had some "Vodafone Streakers".:mrpimp:
loool, that was hilarious.
The best thing is that the streakers (there were 2 of em) were actually paid for their trouble by vodafone, they called vodafone the day before and asked if they would agree to sponsor them if they carried out a stunt at Stadium Australia while advertising the company's logo and vodafone said 'sure'.
The Kiwis were furious because one of the streakers started running & dancing aroung their kicker Andrew Mehrtens just before he was about to take a kick and Mehrtens ended up missing it and New Zealand lost by 2 points.

And the following week there was a match between New Zealand & South Africa in South Africa and one of the springboks fans was pissed off at the refereeing and decided to do something about it so he ran all the way across the field and tackled the referee. The ref had his shoulder bone dislocated and decided to take up legal action against the fan, but as it happens the fan ended up being a millionare and didn't mind the meagre fine.

And just last week the Australians were complaining after members of the South African crowd were hurling glass beer bottles at them.

Maaan, this just gets better & better :D

Originally posted by Number9
New Zealand r $hit. Out of the big three southern hemisphere teams Australia r the best. But I think next year when it comes to the WC England will show their true class and give u all a thrashing.

I think Union is the best sport ever ! Ive been playing for nearly 10 yrs now as a Lock (Second Row). I mostly play full 15 union, but really enjoy 7's, 10's and 12's, Although I dont really follow the Super 12's league.

Cheers
Nath

P.S If anyone is interested in youth rugby in the UK visit ... http://www.juniorrugby.com !!

I bet your regreting saying that now since New Zealand won the tri nations. I actually hope they play a few World Cup games at the gabba so i can see some of the European teams like Ireland they are always good to watch.

Wasn't it great to see he Wallabies lost to the Boks in injury time? Now those twats know how it feels. Just the look on Gregans face when they took the lead made me mentally ill. When they lost I cheered like it was an All Blacks win. And in the end who won the whole thing? All Blacks of course.

yep, All Blacks won the tri-nations :D

Lovely, now we can win the world cup next year :mrpimp:

can someone tell me if this is true or not...

I saw on the news that Chile beat the USA in what i thought was rugby 21 to 13 and that means Chile qualify for the World Cup or they have to beat the USA in the second leg?

Originally posted by zul-aid
can someone tell me if this is true or not...

I saw on the news that Chile beat the USA in what i thought was rugby 21 to 13 and that means Chile qualify for the World Cup or they have to beat the USA in the second leg?

Yeah, where they will get anhialated by the All Blacks in the pools round :monkey:

thats pretty funny Chile in the world cup that isnt soccer oh well if Uruguay and Spain play why not Chile, i just hope the Union world cup wont turn into the Cricket and League world cups where crappy teams outnumber the great teams of the southern hemisphere (with the exception of the UK and France)

Originally posted by zul-aid
thats pretty funny Chile in the world cup that isnt soccer oh well if Uruguay and Spain play why not Chile, i just hope the Union world cup wont turn into the Cricket and League world cups where crappy teams outnumber the great teams of the southern hemisphere (with the exception of the UK and France)

Uruguay havent qualified for the World Cup. They are behind Chile, USA and Canada in the american qualification group. USA still have a chance i think to qualify, there are more games left as far as i know.

One more thing, Super 12's ISNT as 12 player per side competition, it is a 15 a side 12 team comp in the southern hemisphere. It is the biggest (quality wise) non-international comp in the world, as it has teams from Australian, New Zealand, and South African States/Provinces.

SO yeah thats Super 12's

Cheers
sKIp_E

Does anyone know when the next Rugby Union World Cup's due? I think it must be sometime in 2003.

The world cup is in September 2003.

And no I dont regret my previous post as although NZ won the tri nations this year, I still believe that they are no longer the force they were and unless they start to get back some of that old style they will be shown up come the world cup.

Hell the AB's haven't been a force since 1990 pal! Ever since that time the Aussies beat us 21-9 in Wellington!

HaHa... yes maybe so! but they were still been there or there abouts untill about 97. In the last few years the standard has really dropped, it seems every time the autumn internationals come round your never quite there.
I used to enjoy the way the AB's played and loved to watch them, they still have a great 7's team. Lets hope (for the entertainment factor more than anything) that they can start to show that kind of form and class again in the full 15 games!

Thanks
Nath

Originally posted by danger zone
Hell the AB's haven't been a force since 1990 pal! Ever since that time the Aussies beat us 21-9 in Wellington!

my first game at that stadium :monkey:

Yeah, super 12 is a competition, where every1 plays each otha and then the top four play each other in semi, then the final match.

There are 5 teams from NZ, 4 from South Africa, and 3 from Australia :mrpimp:

yeah there should be another australian team..we are stong enough, and if there is one thing we have over New Zealand and SOuth Africa, i think its depth..
but thats another story..
Cheers
sKIp_E

Is it necessary for other lesser rugby developed countries like Chile, Uruguay, Spain, Ivory Coast, Nambia, etc to play in the World Cup. I know i shouldnt compare it to the greatest spectale of all time the soccer world cup, but even the best teams failed to qualify (Holland, Czech, Colombia etc.) for that world cup while lesser lights like Chile, etc.. have the chance of playing for the rugby WC, should the IRB reduce the number of teams, or keep it like it is and have it like the Rugby League WC with 100 to 7 score lines .

Also its a shame that this world cup like the others before it (expect when france won) will be so predictable that you just choose from the big three.


(the ones i have named above have either played or are about to qaulify for a world cup)

Originally posted by zul-aid
Is it necessary for other lesser rugby developed countries like Chile, Uruguay, Spain, Ivory Coast, Nambia, etc to play in the World Cup. I know i shouldnt compare it to the greatest spectale of all time the soccer world cup, but even the best teams failed to qualify (Holland, Czech, Colombia etc.) for that world cup while lesser lights like Chile, etc.. have the chance of playing for the rugby WC, should the IRB reduce the number of teams, or keep it like it is and have it like the Rugby League WC with 100 to 7 score lines .

Also its a shame that this world cup like the others before it (expect when france won) will be so predictable that you just choose from the big three.


(the ones i have named above have either played or are about to qaulify for a world cup)

I think their are more than just 3 teams that stand a chance. I think on their day, 5, maybe 6 could win. But its likely that it will either be Australia, NZ, SA, or England. France, and Scotland though, could cause an upset, and once ur in the final, who knows what will happen!

Cheers
sKIp_E

I doubt Scotland would cause anything big in this World Cup look at their 6 nations record I believe they got beat by Italy in Rome and were second last to Italy - so if Wales can do better then them with the really old Neil Jenkins, then Scotland have got no hope and also they have to play Australia in the first round of the finals)

Id just like to point out that no one has mentioned anything of Ireland since the whole WC thing started. I would say they are prob the 2nd best Northern hemisphere team and will be pushing to reach the later rounds when the WC comes around.

yeah Ireland will be a tough team to beat, but since they are still in qualification with Teams like Georgia and Romania it makes it hard to build a quality side against sh*tty opposition.

Ireland just missed out on the 6 nations best effort in a long time my second favourite team, but as I said with an easy way through to the final rounds will they choke when they finally get to the big teams.

Originally posted by zul-aid
yeah Ireland will be a tough team to beat, but since they are still in qualification with Teams like Georgia and Romania it makes it hard to build a quality side against sh*tty opposition.


Romania are good, not shi!tty. We're in the World Cup after whooping Spain today.

what was the score when they played Ireland, what do you think the score will be when they play Australia, New Zealand or South Africa

We were hanging in there with Ireland. And we will do the same with Australia and New Zealand. We are building a stronger team every month due to our present coach.

Two of the big pieces of the Rugby World Cup 2003 qualifying puzzle have fallen into place today with Ireland and Italy securing their places for next year's tournament.

Ireland have qualified in the Europe 1 position after a 63-14 thumping of Georgia in Dublin and will now face Australia, Argentina and qualifiers from Europe and Africa in their Pool A.

Italy secured the Europe 2 qualifying position after a hard fought 25-17 win over Romania in Parma and the Italians will now face New Zealand, Wales, Canada and a repechage qualifier in their Pool D.

Georgia will now host Russia on 13 October with the winner of that match to claim the Europe 3 position at RWC 2003 while Romania host Spain next Saturday with the winner of that match securing Europe 4.

Ireland's Pool A Draw

Saturday 11 October v Europe 4 (Romania or Spain) at Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Sunday 19 October v Africa 1 (Namibia or Tunisia) at Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Sunday 26 October v Argentina at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Saturday 1 November at Docklands Stadium, Melbourne

http://www.rugby.com.au/central/news_detail.asp?newsid=14812&SectionID=1

They have improved but they wont do anything 50 point ball games except for the African game (they dont play in the 6 nations again they wont stand a chance - you need constant professional rugby all the time to stand a chance)

Originally posted by sKIp_E
yeah there should be another australian team..we are stong enough, and if there is one thing we have over New Zealand and SOuth Africa, i think its depth..
but thats another story..
Cheers
sKIp_E

I do think that has been a problem over the last few years, especially because there was a mass retirement of long-serving all blacks all at the same time, which coincided with the beginning of the Australian dominance. There should be another Australian team, get rid of one of the South African teams cos they usually end up holding the wooden spoon.
Also the trouble has been with a narrow selection policy which has basically meant that Canterbury = Crusaders = All Blacks.

BUT :rockman: :rockman: :rockman:
All that is about to change!
The NPC final this season will be contested by 2 North Island teams, Waikato and the mighty Auckland! And as all New Zealanders know (and for everyone else, here is the secret) All Black Rugby is at its best when Auckland dominates domestic rugby. Anyone remember Kirwan, Michael Jones, Fitzpatrick, etc. etc. all of them great All Blacks and all of them from Auckland. Over the last few weeks Auckland has systematically dismantled Wellington, Otago and Canterbury (racking up 50 points over Otago and beating Wellington and Canterbury away from home), and I am expecting a great game against the Mooloos in the final.
So anyone that has written the All Blacks off for the World Cup, do so at your own peril. It will all depend on whether the selectors and John Mitchell can get over their preference for selecting players south of the bombays. imo Doug Howlett was the best and most consistent player of the tri-nations for the All Blacks, and I hope to see him joined by a few more of his team mates. Auckland have the best defence in the country, and they have an exciting attack.

Boy oh boy I wanna see Gregans face as he watches the Cup loaded on the plane to Auckland.
And the only time Northern Hemisphere teams do well in the Southern Hemisphere is if the Lions come downunder, so I will be extremely surprised if anyone other than England gets to the semis, and they certainly won't be winning the world cup this time.

Final comment: Australia have benefitted from the Super 12 more than NZ because the domestic competition is much harder and demanding in NZ, with the Super 12 Australia has been able to improve because they can play class teams now more than they used to.

Auckland 49 - Waikato 28

Auckland NPC Champs
The World Cup for NZ is next

:rockman: :hump: (H) :mrpimp: :rockman:

AUSTRALIA VS ARGENTINA

Australia 3 Argentina 0 at River Plate Stadium in the 16th Minute

game finished 17 - 6

The argentinian goal kicker missed 7 attempts at goal

Originally posted by zul-aid


The argentinian goal kicker missed 7 attempts at goal

In other words, Aussie were lucky ;)

Noones mentioned the Wallabies - England game here ? :o :p :kader:

Originally posted by rhizome17
Noones mentioned the Wallabies - England game here ? :o :p :kader:

I kno. It was a great result :D

http://www.jonahlomu.com/gallery/photo873.jpg

Originally posted by rhizome17
Noones mentioned the Wallabies - England game here ? :o :p :kader:

Yeah, because it was about the Australian 3rds ;), plus they had no longer arrived in the UK then they had to play 2 tests, then leave again ;)

Cheers
sKIp_E

Latest Rugby Scores from this morning:

South Africa lost to england 53-3
Wales lost to NZ 47-17
Ireland beat Argentina 16-7
France beat Canada 35-3
Australia beat Italy 34-3

England i admit are probly one of the best teams in the world if not the best.

Originally posted by g-14
Latest Rugby Scores from this morning:

South Africa lost to england 53-3
Wales lost to NZ 47-17
Ireland beat Argentina 16-7
France beat Canada 35-3
Australia beat Italy 34-3

England i admit are probly one of the best teams in the world if not the best.

Yes England are good, but I still dont thikn the best.
I mean Australia only recently beat the British and Irish Lions (which is England plus the best Irish, scottish and welsh players basically ;)), when they came here for a PROPER 3 test series. This current tour of the Northern Hemishphere by the Southern teams is a joke to say the least.
They arent playing any warm up matches over there, and are just rocking up staying a couple of days, and playing a test.

Australia had around 10 injuries before the English match, and still scored 3 tries to 2, and only lost by 1 point. And New Zealand, only just lost to England too, and as I said this isnt a tour, just one match ;)

I really think people are making too much of the recent results. For me NZ and Australia will still be starting favourites for the WC next year. England would be my third choice though ;)

Cheers
sKIp_E

Yeah, under pressure NZ/Australia would waste englands ass :hump:

Originally posted by g-14
Yeah, under pressure NZ/Australia would waste englands ass :hump:

It is good that the poms won though because they will come down here feeling cocky.

Originally posted by rhizome17
It is good that the poms won though because they will come down here feeling cocky.

Yes!

Also the poms are great to watch. They have totally changed my way of rugby now. When i play now instead of runing doing a Jonah style i just bomb it high into the sky and get someone to chase it (H)

Well, the All Blacks have started training regimes already, in prepration for the world cup later this year. The only glitch so far has been a contract issue involving the best winger in the world at present, Doug Howlett, but that has been resolved. Super 12 isn't too far off, and I expect this year to be a better one for the Blues. If they can retain the momentum from Auckland winning the NPC, then the Blues could be real contenders this season. The Crusaders may be a fading force, but still have a lot left in them. The Chiefs could also be riding the creast of a wave from Waikato making the NPC final, whilst the Highlanders and the Huricanes will prove formidable opposition as usual. All the players know that they could also squeeze into the All Blacks in a few positions, so hopefully some good rugby will be on show, instead of the dour affairs witnessed last season in some games. The Blues and the Chiefs at least should carry over the attacking, flowing rugby from the NPC season. Hopefully also the South African teams have another shocker, so that the Aussies can get another team in there. Some people here look at NZ-South Africa encounters as the bigger game, but I prefer the trans-tasman rivalries personally.

As for the World Cup prep, the All Blacks have home tests against England, Wales and France before the Tri-Nations, while Australia host Ireland, Wales and England.

Coach John Mitchell said the Australia-England test in Melbourne would be of particular interest. :brow: What, as a premonition of the 3rd/4th playoff? j/k. I can't see the cup leaving the Southern Hemisphere, and hopefully that means not travelling any further than across the Tasman. Personally, I think France will be the bigger threat, rather than England. An All Black - france final, now that would make great viewing, especially after the All Blacks ceding 3rd place to France so lamely at the last cup.

I know this year's world cup is for England to win and i know that Ireland are going to shock the rugby world

Theres been rumours that the team i play for Lincoln Rugby Football Club U17's might be going on tour to France later this year! I can't wait!:rockman:

Originally posted by TOON ARMY
I know this year's world cup is for England to win and i know that Ireland are going to shock the rugby world

Theres been rumours that the team i play for Lincoln Rugby Football Club U17's might be going on tour to France later this year! I can't wait!:rockman:

Should be good, going to France to play rugby. As for the world cup, England will probably make the semi's, and maybe the final, but i can't see them winning the trophy in the southern hemisphere. I think France have a better all-round rugby team, and have a better chance. But i will not waver on my prediction that the cup is heading home to where it was first won. I think the depth of talent here is pretty outstanding at present, for the first time in about 5 years.

*bump*

Xavier Rush has been named as Blues Captain for the upcoming Super 12 campaign. Things get underway tonight with a pre-season warmup between the Blues and the Hurricanes (our own rivalry, Larry(H) ). The Chiefs warm up against the Highlanders.

Big things are expected from the Blues this season, based as they are on the championship-winning Auckland team from the NPC.

Well it's 6 nations time again. I'm looking foward to England V France. We'll win that especially with being at our spiritual home Twickenham.

Post your thoughts and predictions

Well i dont have any comments but my prediction for the tourny this year is:

England
France
Ireland
Wales
Scotland
Italy

What? Rugby, Cricket, ...?? :p

<center><h2>ENGLAND 25 - 17 FRANCE</h></center><h4>

Not a stylish game for England but a solid one. The scoring was opened by a very nice penalty from Jonny Wilkinson before youngblood Hodgson's deflected kick leads to France's first try which was converted. However, Wilkinson's boot was on form as he hit three more to lead England into a half time lead. A magnificant try from the extremely skillful Jason Robinson (man of the match for me) really put the game firmly into England's grasp before another penalty and a drop kick sent England way infront and brought up Jonny Wilkinson's 600th international point. France scored a couple of tries in the corner but it was too little too late as England beat their arch rivals.

Any comments?

-C

Yeah man, England will win it this year, but i heard that Italy beat Wales :gavin:

Well the England coach said Enlgand played crap but we were still good enough to beat the French!

This game was the most important for England but the game against Ireland will be interesting

<center><h2>Scotland 6 - 36 Ireland</h></center><h5>

Ireland break the 20 year Murrayfield deadlock with a magnificant win over Scotland. Scotland weren't as bad as the scoredline makes out but Irelands dominance in the lineouts and rock solid defence rendered the Scottish attacks futile. Brian O'Driscall played a wonderful game as did Fly Half Humphries to ensure complete anilation to the Greens. Scotland had chances, the best of which was a dead cert until it was dropped by a below par Laney, but the Irish defence was firm and the blue passing less that accurate. The scoreline was very harsh on the Scots but Ireland did deserve their impressive victory.

Any comments?

-C

Originally posted by ChelseaFan88
<center><h2>Scotland 6 - 36 Ireland</h></center><h5>

Ireland break the 20 year Murrayfield deadlock with a magnificant win over Scotland. Scotland weren't as bad as the scoredline makes out but Irelands dominance in the lineouts and rock solid defence rendered the Scottish attacks futile. Brian O'Driscall played a wonderful game as did Fly Half Humphries to ensure complete anilation to the Greens. Scotland had chances, the best of which was a dead cert until it was dropped by a below par Laney, but the Irish defence was firm and the blue passing less that accurate. The scoreline was very harsh on the Scots but Ireland did deserve their impressive victory.

Any comments?

-C

Yup. We suck at all sports except snoker and..........................curling. I bet you're all so jealous:crazyboy:

Originally posted by John 1
Yup. We suck at all sports except snoker and..........................curling. I bet you're all so jealous:crazyboy: And Haggis Hurling ;)

-C

Originally posted by ChelseaFan88
And Haggis Hurling ;)

-C

That's a common misconception. It's actually called haggis tossing:p

Considering I am French, I will place the XV of France before the England's one, even if I am not persuaded that the French will win this tournament...
So,
France
England
Ireland
Scotland
Italy
Wales

;)

Ireland
England
France
Italy
Wales
Scotland

GO IRELAND!!!!

Originally posted by Seán Denny
Ireland
England
France
Italy
Wales
Scotland

GO IRELAND!!!! Actually Ireland have a very impressive team and are well in contention. As England have beaten France, I can only see England or Ireland winning the tournament.

-C

Yep, Ireland beat Italy today, we are well in with a chance. Who won the Wales-England match?

England won this match ;)

The XV of the Rose are indeed launched on the road of the Large Slam.After their success on France (25-17), the English had a perfect command of their first displacement in this Tournament of the VI Nations while going to impose itself (26-9) in Cardiff thanks to two trys of Greenwood and Worsley.Author of 16 points, Wilkinson left touched to the leg.Perhaps on their side, the Welsh Dragons will find some reasons for satisfaction in their beautiful resistance since they were carried out only of three points to the pause (6-9)

If England are going to win the grandslam this year were are going to have to work on our 1st half performances. I think we can win it.
My prediction:
England
Ireland
France
Italy
Scotland
Wales

England would have to be favorites to win the 6 nations this year, especially having beaten France. They are having a good run of late, having dispatched of the Southern Hemisphere (albeit weakened) opposition at home as well. And I need to reiterate that, at home. I think France in France would have been a different story. It is a shame that there are not home and away games, would make for a tighter competition, like the Tri-Nations format.

Anyway, could be a reasonably good season for England, gold in the 6 nations and maybe a bronze at the World Cup provided they can beat France again in the 3rd/4th playoff.

Well, don't forget England need to go to Lansdowne Road and try to beat the mighty Irish! (H)

Ireland will win the tournament this year, forget about England, Ireland are the one to beat!

That's the spirit :D

big game this weekend. Crusaders versus Blues in Super 12. My prediction: The winner will go on to win the tourny...

Ireland beat france yesterday :D - we should beat Wales, and then onto the decider against the English.

I can't wait untill Ireland V England. This match will decide the tournament we can safely say the French are out of it in terms of the grandslam.

come on Ireland!

come on Ireland - thread revival

Ireland scraped (and I do mean scraped) past Wales today making it 4 out of 4 wins.

Ireland is lucky :rolleyes:

Wales actually played quite well against the Irish. They were given a penalty at the death of the game and if one of the Welsh players had just thrown the ball away they would have had a penalty in front of the posts from about 30 metres out. And if Stephen Jones had converted that the result would have been a magnificent Welsh win.

I'm looking foward to Ireland V England. It'll be very close, Ireland will have the added bonus of being at home but i think England can do it.

England have won the Grand Slam.
Ireland 6 England 42

What a win. Everyone thought this would be a close game but the England backs were superb and didn't letthe Irish through when they looked the most dangerous. Towards the end of the 2nd half Ireland lost concentration so England added on to the score.

Bring on the WC:rockman:

England deserved to win this 6 Nations's tournament ;)

This weekend starts the Tri Nations, the yearly tussle between three of international Rugby's heavy weights, Wallabies, All Blacks and the Springboks.

Australia have a tough start travelling to South Africa and playing a Springbok team who have totally been overlooked when it comes to World Cup predictions.

England may have given both the Wallabies and All Blacks a bit of an awakening but this is where business will really pick up.

Who will win?

South Africa have been down the **** tube for many years now and Tri-Nations of past have proven that - WC in South Africa was really it for them and I doubt they will emulate that for a long long time.

Australia have huge problems also but none on the magnitude of SA.

For me NZ are favourites to win all four WC-TRI-BLED-Super 12.

Here is the draw:

12 Jul South Africa vs Australia Cape Town 1:00 am 000-000
19 Jul South Africa vs All Blacks Pretoria 1:00 am 000-000
26 Jul Australia vs All Blacks Sydney 9:00 pm 000-000
02 Aug Australia vs South Africa Brisbane 9:00 pm 000-000
09 Aug All Blacks vs South Africa Dunedin 7:35 pm 000-000
16 Aug All Blacks vs Australia Auckland 7:35 pm 000-000

As for who will win, well I guess the AB's are favorites based on last years tournament, and recent results. South Africa will need to get at least one win from the first two games, having home advantage, if they are to have a hope. NZ have it best probably, as their last two games are at home so they can make up if they need to. I suspect NZ will win in South Africa and their two home games, but we have a bit of a history from the last few years of choking when we play Aussie in Aussie, so I won't predict that one. The Bledisloe could therefore well remain in Aussie. And that bloody nemesis Matt Burke is there as well (don't ask me why, but I always get a bad feeling about the AB's chances when he is playing). But as long as Gregan is playing, I will never support the Wallabies, he is an arrogant little **** and his behaviour towards the end of the Super 12 semi against the Blues was terrible, snotty selfish and childish.

Based on Super 12 performances then one would have to say that NZ have the advantage right now, but one can never count out the Aussies, and SA can always surprise. That is what makes this competition great.

In a way, I hope the AB's do suffer a loss somewhere, so that they don't get too cocky regarding the World Cup. And with this being WC year, I don't know if anything can be gleaned from the results of the Tri Nations regarding wc chances. I know that the AB lineup that has been chosen isn't what I would have gone for, but then in NZ everyone is a prospective AB coach.:p

And lets hope that fat guy isn't there to tackle the ref this year (well depends on how the result is going).

and you can predict what you think will happen by taking part in the tri nations tipping

go here :

http://www.soccergaming.tv/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73861

ha ha aussies, lose to SA yet again!

South Africa showed that they are still a force. As much as Australia always struggle in South Africa this was a game that the Wallabies were expected to win. Worrying signs for Australia who have now lost 2 straight against the other World Cup contenders.

I must admit that I dont have too much recollection of the game as I was seriously drunk at a 21st birthday party while I was trying to watch it.

The rugby WC should be a five team tournament, guess who. What a waste of time.......

Originally posted by danger zone
The rugby WC should be a five team tournament, guess who. What a waste of time.......

Why?

New Zealand, Australia, England, South Africa, France, Argentina. They are all very even.

Yes that would be good tho. A six team tourny with

New Zealand. South Africa. France in one group and the other 3 in the other.

Wud be sweet

don't forget the irish.

All Blacks will be a bit to classy for SA and OZ. The toughest game will be this weeks game in South Africa at the high velt. But ABs should still win hence win 4 from 4 = Tri Nations, Bledisloe.

Originally posted by danger zone
The rugby WC should be a five team tournament, guess who. What a waste of time.......

Still more teams than would bother with a grid iron world cup.

At least the Yanks don't pretend that any other country is interested in gridiron. I can tell you that honestly as a Kiwi who has lived in this place for five years. I've got to the point (almost) where I would rather see the Bears get whipped by the Packers than see the Blacks lose to Aussie in the last minute again.

That won't be happening this year. I think, anyway. Luckily I missed most of those close encounters whilst in England. Can now catch the All Blacks as they move up again.

52-16 to the All Blacks. In South Africa. Against a team that beat Australia just last week.

:| :| :| :| :|

If only we were playing England now, instead of as our first game of the season. Then we would see the real deal.

oh, and I just can't wait for the game against Australia. I just can't wait. And I don't want to hear any excuses, Alex. None whatsoever. :p ;)

It's gonna be tough but I think we can respond especially with the Bledisloe on the line.

The All Blacks were pretty awesome last night though.

Whoa the ab's played good last night

Rokocoko is da man...

He hasn't even played an NPC game yet. Don't know why Spencer didn't ask Mauger to kick some goals tho. No reason to replace SPencer woith Mehrtens tho, can't see Mehrtens making the same impact on the all-round game.

Yes but merts wudnt miss so many that spencer does.

But keep spencer because of his impact in the game. Keep Mauger too, he played good.

No place for Nonu, he isnt good enough for this level...

The thing is, Mehrts on;y really offers his kicking, and if Mauger, Blair and Carter are there they can take care of that, whether they come off the bench or whatever. So Spencer would remain my number one choice for first five. And especially with Devine at halfback. Spencer didn't really click with Marshall.

That was a whipping even the 1988 All Blacks would have been proud of.

Possibly, but they still need to back it up with a convincing win over the Australians this Saturday. I am confident they can do it, but as you alluded to in an earlier post, the Aussies can be tough on their homesoil. But I honestly think that there is a shift in power from the Wallabies to the All Blacks. And they won't capitulate as easily as Springboks did.

No more one pointers hopefully. Just a good old 33-18 like the good old days, 1997 or something.

If Eddie jones would just pick a team and give them a chance to gel I think Australia would give the AB's a good run for their money but the constant changes he is making are effecting the combinations.

I still dont think we are going to get a score like last week. Australia always lose in South Africa over there and usually lift to beat the All Blacks in Sydney the next week. Maybe not this time though but I hope so.

Wow

50-16. What a game!

Holy ****!

I think New Zealand can start dusting off the trophy cabinet because i reckon they have 2 new cups coming their way.

Devestating performance by the AB's against an Aussie side which didn't play that bad. Australia were just too guilty of turning over the ball to the AB's too often an were especially guilty of kicking to the back 3 too often.

Thw Wallaby gameplan needs a seroius overhaul if we are to be competitive in the World Cup as there is way too much one out stuff and Larkham kicked the ball back to New Zealand when Australia really needed to keep the ball in hand.

I think the Wallaby ned to keep the same team as it is the best combo we have but they must play a more expansive game and get the ball to the danger men out wide in Sailor,Rogers and either Tuquiri or Roff.
These were the only guys who made any real inroads last night.

The only downfall from the Ab's last night were the lineouts where Australia won a lot of possession on the Ab throw and Phil Waugh and George Smith also combined well to cause several turnovers at the breakdown. Aprt from that they dominated an Aussie side who would have beaten most other teams on the night.

Well done New Zealand I think with the fire power the Ab's possess out wide that they are gonna be very hard to topple.

Wow i would have hated to be Muliania when Sailor scored that try :o

The Aussies weren't that bad, but the AB's are too fast and slick. The Aussies didn't realy know what to do with the ball, spent too much time going nowhere. That makes up for those crappy last minute fiascos of the last three years. Got to keep it up!

Originally posted by danger zone
No more one pointers hopefully. Just a good old 33-18 like the good old days, 1997 or something.

there was a bit more in that game than one point;) excellent performance by the ab's, who certainly look like they can win the world cup this year..

Australia 6
South africa 6

so far in the first half..

In the All Black match, the start of the match was fairly tight..

The All Blacks ran away with it, simply because they are a better side...

Australia have the players tho, and Im sure that we can get things on track, if we work out where to put our talent, and stop changing everything around...

Pity Mortlock will miss the World Cup...He'd be in my dream team at Outside, with Rogers moving to Inside...I agree with what the press is saying about Gregan..He has always been slow at clearing the ball..He picks up the ball, takes a step and passes...Whitaker gets much quicker ball to his outside backs, and with Rogers, Sailor, and Tuqiri out their, how could u hold it up!

I still wouldnt be starting Flatley at Inside, id give Giteau a run...Fullback seems to be a problem spot...Burke is aging, and Latham lacks in defence..

In an ideal world, Roff would go there, OR Rogers would go there, with a Fit Mortlock (or Tuqiri, with Roff on the Wing) at outside...Some are suggesting Larkham, with Giteau at Five-Eigth, but i dont agree there...

My ideal backline, taking into account that Mortlock is injured:

15:Roff
14:Sailor
13:Rogers
12:Giteau
11:Tuqiri
10:Larkham
9:Whitaker

People are saying its unfair to blaim Eddy Jones, but he has the players, so its obviously the way they are being played...

The turning point against the blacks was Sailors brain explosion...It went from a close match to a blowout, when he was sent off...I can see this World Cup going similar to that horrible 95 one, unless we quickly turn things around...Funny, it seems the Cup after we win always seems to be a failure :(

29-9 against the Springboks. Finally a win. Still need a lot of improvement to beat the AB's in a fortnight. Gregan was still too slow around the ruck, much quicker service when Whitaker came on.

Better but still a long way to go.

I don't care if we never beat the Wallabies ever again. 50-21.

Well, 19-11 was closer than many predicted, but given that the forwards had alot of changes, and it was yet another stupid night game, it was good to see that this all black squad can still grind out the performaces when it matters. And Spencer responded positively to the pressure on his goalkicking. So thats one trophy down, 2 to go....

on the subject of night rugby in NZ, it looks like it's here to stay..well at least until 2005...but the rugby board says one of their reasons of having night games is so that people in SA and england can view the live match in their morning?! madness in my opinion...

21-17 to the All Blacks....
I'm Glad to see both trophies locked up in a cabinet on this side of the ditch:) :mrpimp:

hmmmm... trouble is, there is a reliance on Spencer, creatively and kicking-wise...and last night he wasn't exactly on form. It was good to see some big tackles being made in the last quarter... Ali Williams has picked up his game, shame to see Muliaina go off but at least McDonald didn't get his hands on the ball to screw things up for us. Personally I would have Carter there, no bloody McDonald.

Also good to see over the last two weeks that we can slug it out in the close games. I think that now most of the team that has played for the last 6 years has gone, these guys we have now don't have that reputation for choking in the last minute. As we saw last night. The Blues players especially don't have that handicap of seeing matches slip away

Yes very very good game.

But i dont know how AB will do in the world cup. Can they beat Australia three times in a year?

I believe they can. But I think the following changes should be made or considered.

1. Justin Marshall - he clears the ball far too slowly, and often takes the wrong option. I don't know if anyone has noticed, but when Steve Devine is playing, Spencer has that extra half-second availailable to make a decision, as Devine is much faster at clearing. He doesn't try as many of the tricky things that Marshall tries, leaving that up to Spencer (after all, thats his role). Plua Spencer and Devine have worked together for a while now, and it is a combination that works. Marshall gets hammered by the oppsosition coming off the scrum or ruck too many times, and it is easier to close Spencer down when he has less time to decide what he is going to do.

And I think on a hard fast ground, like we shall see at the World Cup, we will see the backs performing again like they did in the first two tri-nations games.
2. I thought they should have experimented a bit more in the game against the Springboks. I think they should have rested Umaga, who has played every game without really firing. Push Muliaina up to centre and try Carter at fullback. I think the way Muliaina is playing, you could put him anywhere and he will perform.

Originally posted by rhizome17

1. Justin Marshall - he clears the ball far too slowly, and often takes the wrong option.

Interesting youy say that when we have been saying the same about Gregan .

Of course the AB's can beat the Wallabies again this year, but I think Australia showed last night that they can beat the AB's.

New Zealand deserve the Bledisloe this year but with a bit of luck last night they may not have got it.

Trouble is, people are reluctant to criticise Marshall here. A few bad kicks and everyone is on Spencers back, whilst Marshall strides around like a god in some peoples eyes. The thing is, he does have a number of dimensions to his game, but I think that with the backline we have, we don't need them. All we need is a decent, quick, efficient ball passer who can get the thing to Spencer so he has time. Devine all the way would be my choice.

Originally posted by rhizome17
Trouble is, people are reluctant to criticise Marshall here. A few bad kicks and everyone is on Spencers back, whilst Marshall strides around like a god in some peoples eyes. The thing is, he does have a number of dimensions to his game, but I think that with the backline we have, we don't need them. All we need is a decent, quick, efficient ball passer who can get the thing to Spencer so he has time. Devine all the way would be my choice.
Yeah, thats exactly what we think about Gregan...We dont need him to supply the options, we have Larkham, Rogers, and the big wingers to do that (Mortlock too if he ever gets fit again)...We just need a scrum half to get quick ball to the backline.

Yeah, and the players you mentioned will be the prime reason Australia will remain a big threat at the World Cup. Several times on Saturday night I was screaming at the TV when one of them had the ball in hand. The thing with the All Black gameplan at the moment is that it is quite simple to shut down if you can prevent the backs getting the ball (although there was one impressive effort that went through something like 16 phases only for Jack to lose the ball on the line). And I would pick Devine for that reason, to make sure the backs get the ball. With Rocokoko and Howlett on the WIng, that is where it needs to be.

Doug Howlett is the man! He is very quick. That Rocko(sp) guy is good too. What do you think of Lomu's supposed comeback? I heard he was preparing to get back into form in time for the World Cup but his father and doctors suggest against it. Is there really a spot on the team for him if he does come back?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Rayzor127
What do you think of Lomu's supposed comeback? I heard he was preparing to get back into form in time for the World Cup but his father and doctors suggest against it. Is there really a spot on the team for him if he does come back? [/QUOTE

Lomu's a great player but unfortunately I don't think he can come back from this to be at a level to play international rugby. Also there is no spot in the present XV.

It would be good to see him terrorising defences again but I think thats Rockocoko's job now.

Hopefully i'm wrong and Lomu can make it back to his best, but with all his health issues you have to wonder if it's worth the risk.

Lomu won't be back. He may be at the World Cup for promotional purposes, being the most visible rugby player worldwide, but he won't be in the All Black squad. If either Howlett or Rokocoko are injured, then Caleb Ralph or Daniel Carter are likely to fill their position. Lomu has been very ill, and even Wellington have dropped him for this weeks NPC game.

Yeah I know it is a bit early but may as well get things kicked off now, since the All Black Squad has just been announced.

2003 All Blacks World Cup Squad

Backs: Mils Muliaina (Auckland), Leon MacDonald (Canterbury), Ben Blair (Canterbury), Doug Howlett (Auckland), Joe Rokocoko (Auckland), Caleb Ralph (Canterbury), Ma'a Nonu (Wellington), Tana Umaga (Wellington), Aaron Mauger (Canterbury), Daniel Carter (Canterbury), Carlos Spencer (Auckland), Byron Kelleher (Otago), Steve Devine (Auckland), Justin Marshall (Canterbury).

Forwards: Rodney So'oialo (Wellington), Jerry Collins (Wellington), Richie McCaw (Canterbury), Marty Holah (Waikato), Daniel Braid (Auckland), Reuben Thorne (Canterbury, captain), Brad Thorn (Canterbury), Ali Williams (Auckland), Chris Jack (Canterbury), Kees Meeuws (Auckland), Greg Somerville (Canterbury), Dave Hewett (Canterbury), Carl Hoeft (Otago), Mark Hammett (Canterbury), Keven Mealamu (Auckland), Corey Flynn (Canterbury).

Yeah it looks real good. Havent seen Corey Flynn play and cant remember much of Braid.

Nice to see Nonu in there :)

nice to see a new look world cup squad... no veterans such as mehrtens, cullen or lomu...

should be a team fit to be able to lift the trophy at the end of the tournament:)

Haha all NZ'ers replying so far :p

I don't know anything about Flynn. As for Braid, he looked good for the Blues in the Super 12, feisty little player, small for his position but nifty, like mealamu. He has looked good for Auckland in the NPC as well, I thought it a bit harsh he was left out of earlier AB squads, but he did play for NZ Maori.

I think the squad is good enough. Sure, no Mehrts, but enough goalkicking backup there. So long as the forwards do their bit and get the ball out (please let Devine be Halfback) then I can't see anyone stopping this backline.

I'll be supporting England as always :p

I doubt if anyone but Australia or NZ will win it though, South Africa have an outside chance but not really, and I doubt even NZ have much of a chance with Australia looking so strong.

I reckon England could make the Semi's if Jonny Wilkinson's up to scratch.

-C

Originally posted by CalumnCFC
and I doubt even NZ have much of a chance with Australia looking so strong.



:o

New Zealand just thrashed the Aussiesa few weeks ago, racking up over 50 points, and then claimed both the tri-nations and the bledisloe :o :o

how can you say Australia are looking so strong? They only won one game in the tri-nations :confused:

LOL I didn't know that, we dont see much (any) of the Tri Nations over here.

-C

you mustn't have the channel then, because all our games are played in the evening (7.30 pm) for the benefit of Northern Hemisphere audiences.

anyway, the All Blacks racked up 50 points against South Africa, then against Australia, in their first two games of the trinations. the next two games were closer, but the AB's still came out convincing winners, even after fielding a largely B-team forward pack against SA.

England, France and Australia will be our biggest competition.

Yeah France will be a Challenge. I think England maybe your greatest difficulty, simply because of Jonny's superb kicking.

NZ - ENgland final would be a cracker.

-C

What the hell happened to Cullen anyway? I left NZ in 1998 and then he was our brightest upcoming star. Could it be we had a tendency to lose when he played and they figured that out? Isn't hee only 27 or something?

As an aside I hope it is an All Blacks-England final and we do a job on them like in the 1995 semi final.

Yeah, he is still pretty young... but he did have one off season, and it was a bad time to have an off season with so much talent coming through. He is off to Ireland at the end of the NPC to make alot of money playing for Munster, last paycheck etc., but is playing for Wellington until then. He still looks pretty good and Munster will be happy, but when it comes to the All Blacks, he just doesn't fit the backline combinations that are there at present. I for one would be happier to have Cullen in the squad as backup for Muliaina (if you haven't seen him play, try and see some of the World Cup, he is as good as Cullen and only 20 or something) rather than Leon Macdonald. The good thing about the backs though is that they can pretty much fill any of first-five, centre, fullback or wing. Howlett, for example, while playing on the wing for the AB's, played fullback for the Blues, with Muliaina at centre.
But the squad is very different to what most would have picked earlier in the year. No Taine Randell, no Andrew Mehrtens, no Anton Oliver, no Jonah Lomu, no Christian Cullen. This squad is pretyty young and has a good few playing years ahead, which bodes well for All Black rugby.
Also, what was heartening was that no defence encountered this year could stop us scoring at least one try.

I think NZ's biggest challengers will be the French. The English are good, as are the Aussies and the South Africans but the French are unpredictable. They are the sort of team that can go out one day and struggle, then go out the next and everything will click and they will flow.

In all honesty though I think my team, the Welsh, have every chance of winning this tournament. Steve Hansens (mmmbop) ploy of letting everyone thrash us for a year or two building up to the tournament and then BAM! The dragons roar after lulling everyone into thinking that we are piss-poor instead of the rugby force we are. :crazyboy:

I'd just be glad if we get out of the tournament without conceding 70pts in one game against the All-Blacks. The current crop are an embarrasment to the shirt and history of Welsh rugby.

I dont think France will be too much of a threat. Especially if they dont improve since Argentina just beat them in a two test series.
A big indication will be in their coming matches against the other 6 nation sides.

England look strong, especially the way their 2nd 15 beat Wales on the weekend.

I just cant see anyone beating the AB's at the moment but perhaps they have peaked too soon. There is still 2 months until the World Cup final.

Wallabies are getting better, but I dont think they can win it with Eddie Jones as the coach. They showed plenty of improvement in the second Bledisloe match and hopefully the home crowd can carry them home.

I'm going to a few games but I am looking particularly forward to the Argentina v Namibia game in Gosford. Should be a great display of rugby. Go Namibia.

With the All Blacks it all depends on the conditions. If there is any dew and the pitch is soft, they are there for the taking. Handling errors increase, the pace drops and we can't use our real weapon, which is the backline. Our forwards just shaved it against SA and Oz in the last 2 games - and lo and behold, the games were close, the games were at night and there was moisture in the air.
But the first 2 games, in the dryer conditions of SA and Australia, and we thrashed them all the way back to the dressing room. So in a way I am glad that NZ lost the roghts to host the WC, as ironically our team has a better chance of winning in the Australian conditions.
So I am pretty confident, even against England, who have a superior forward pack, that we can win the cup provided the conditions are right. The England backline lack invention and imagination, and we saw that in the first test of the season, where the AB's would have won were it not for Spencers kicking.
And there is no better backline in world Rugby then the AB's. Full stop. Aussie were there a couple of years ago, but that has been lost.

Originally posted by CalumnCFC
Yeah France will be a Challenge. I think England maybe your greatest difficulty, simply because of Jonny's superb kicking.

NZ - ENgland final would be a cracker.

-C
That will be the final, simply because of the draw...

I still think that Australia and NZ are the best two teams (esp. player wise, Australia are still struggling with the new look team in finding the right positions for people, AND working with each other), but Australia and NZ are due to meet in the Semi-Final, and on current form its hard to back against the ABs...Altho Australia have got much more improving to do than the ABs IMO, its just a matter of whether they can peak for the World Cup...

Australia can 9and will) still beat the AB's on their day. I drift into thinking about the All Blacks lifting the cup again, after waiting 16 years... and there is always this tinge of doubt in a shade of green and gold. Hope we will be alright, seems the selectors have got rid of most of the players who had developed the defeatist mindset against Australia.

I reckon they should ban waltzing matilda though. Why glorify beastiality?:p

U try it... u try and stop it... you're only going to incense the crowd to sing it with 3 times as much gusto!

If you ban Waltzing Matilda, ban the Haka

Like the IRB said ... Waltzing Matilda is a song... but the Haka is...

CULTURE! (H) :mrpimp:

Time to bring back J.K.

he is coaching Italy.

rhizome, atleast you are talking some sense, I have spoken to other Kiwi's who have written off Australia all together.

Same with the Poms.
The World Cup goes for 7 weeks, anything can happen as alot of the Aussie's are saying its all about peaking, and I think Australia are still the best tournament side in the world.

My dream worldcup?
Australia vs England in the Semi's
Australis vs NZ in the final.






AND AS FOR THE WALTZ SING MATILDA? ILL GET THE CROWD SINGING IT WHEN WATCHING THE GAME IN MELBOURNE....

How old are these people who have written off Australia? They should know better... one big result against the Aussies doth not write them off. The difference is, taking a long term view, this All Black side is young and have a great future ahead of them, and probably won't reach their best for a couple of years. The Australian side on the other hand are at the other end of the cycle. Nevertheless, there are some Wallabies I am sure who would love to end their career by picking up the cup.
As for the dream final, I would personally prefer an All Black vs. England final, if only to see how much this All Black side have improved since their opening loss at the start of the season.Also to see two very different styles of play come together, and see the English fans swallow their pride, because they have become even more arrogant since winning twice downunder...

Originally posted by ImmUniTy
rhizome, atleast you are talking some sense, I have spoken to other Kiwi's who have written off Australia all together.

Same with the Poms.
The World Cup goes for 7 weeks, anything can happen as alot of the Aussie's are saying its all about peaking, and I think Australia are still the best tournament side in the world.

My dream worldcup?
Australia vs England in the Semi's
Australis vs NZ in the final.






AND AS FOR THE WALTZ SING MATILDA? ILL GET THE CROWD SINGING IT WHEN WATCHING THE GAME IN MELBOURNE....
That World Cup result is bloody unlikely, because of the way its drawn. Assuming Australia and NZ both win their groups, they WILL meet in the semis (unless eliminated earlier)...If either comes 2nd in their group, then an Aust Vs NZ final is possible...England are on the other side of the draw tho too, so unless they dont win their group, they cant meet us until the Final...

Originally posted by rhizome17
Like the IRB said ... Waltzing Matilda is a song... but the Haka is...

CULTURE! (H) :mrpimp:

Waltzing Matilda just a song?


pfft...When was the last time that a Prime Minister (basically, but not technically our head of state) endorsed something that was "just a song"...

Waltzing Matilda is more part of our culture than our national anthem...

Speaking of national anthems, I hate to admit this, but I think NZ have a big advantage going into matches...The Haka is one thing, but the NZ national anthem is a really good one IMO, and would get the blood stirring of anyone singing it...Especially when its done with the maori wording first, and then the english words...I actually had that version on a CD i use to pump me up for big sport events ;)

Yeah I don't personally have a prob with Waltzing Matilda, in a way it is alot like Pokarekare Ana is in NZ. What you say about the nz national anthem is interesting though. Alot of people here think it needs to be changed, finding it somewhat boring compared to the French and US versions. These voices have become quieter since the Maori lyrics were introduced though. Sometimes I wish they would stop singing after the Maori part has finished...

Originally posted by rhizome17
Yeah I don't personally have a prob with Waltzing Matilda, in a way it is alot like Pokarekare Ana is in NZ. What you say about the nz national anthem is interesting though. Alot of people here think it needs to be changed, finding it somewhat boring compared to the French and US versions. These voices have become quieter since the Maori lyrics were introduced though. Sometimes I wish they would stop singing after the Maori part has finished...
Im not a huge fan of the US national anthem...I think its only considered good because of the partiotism that the US seems to have, and the respect they hold for all things national. The French national anthem is pretty good too..

As for the NZ one, I like the english part in there too...Actually, the part where he just finishes the Maori part, and then starts singing English is the part that I really like the most...It gets me pumped up anyway, and Im not even a Kiwi ;)

I like Englands and NZ's

And I hate Australia's but I will sing it with pride no matter what because I love my country.

Originally posted by Alex
It gets me pumped up anyway, and Im not even a Kiwi ;)

Yeah the US anthem has alot of power cos everyone seems to sing with gusto. I must admit I like the French one though...

But I hope the NZ anthem doesn't have the same effect on the Wallabies as it does on you...

Originally posted by ImmUniTy
I like Englands and NZ's

And I hate Australia's but I will sing it with pride no matter what because I love my country.
Yeah, as far as singing it goes, I agree...

As for "Englands"...i)Its not Englands national anthem, its the UKs....England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales arent "nations", which is why they often have different sporting anthems, just to identify themself as a single place...

Ireland play Rugby as a combined side, Northern and the Republic, so they also use a "Sport Anthem" that unites them under the one banner...

ii)Im not a huge fan, but maybe thats because it used to be ours way back in the day...But I suppose its not bad...


I thought I should throw in, that I definitely do NOT think that Waltzing Matilda should be our national anthem as some people have suggested...Its our national song, but its not an anthem,and its not about the nation at all....

Hey rhizo did you like the wellington-auckland game :p (H)

yeah what a cracker. Amazing, considering it was the first game Auckland have conceded a try, but I always love the NPC seasons when the All Blacks are missing from the teams because it evens the playing field. Taranaki almost got Canterbury last night as well.
Congrats to Wellington for making such a great game.

Yeah and they conceded six in one night :p

Are you doing virtualnpc? Im 139/67302 :)

nah I'm not - I meant to sign up and then completely forgot. Plus I am not very good at picking when the AB players aren't around - I would have picked Auckland to win last night, and Taranaki to beat Canterbury....

Originally posted by rhizome17
nah I'm not - I meant to sign up and then completely forgot. Plus I am not very good at picking when the AB players aren't around - I would have picked Auckland to win last night, and Taranaki to beat Canterbury....

Yeah i picked Auckland :(

But ive got alot of points this round. In 2002 Super12 i came 28th out of 80,000 but i havent been that good lately

28th - better than most of the sports commentators would do. They were all picking Otago to clean up the NPC this year.

Actually, for me, nothing stirs national pride for me like 'We are Australian' - esp the chorus

(Chorus)
We are one, but we are many,
and from all the lands of earth we come,
we share a dream, and sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian!

Originally posted by Jono82
Actually, for me, nothing stirs national pride for me like 'We are Australian' - esp the chorus

(Chorus)
We are one, but we are many,
aka, the song of the schizophrenic :crazyboy:

haha (H)

Originally posted by Alex
Yeah, as far as singing it goes, I agree...

As for "Englands"...i)Its not Englands national anthem, its the UKs....England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales arent "nations", which is why they often have different sporting anthems, just to identify themself as a single place...


I know I shouldn't bring a political punchbag in a topic about egg chasing but the fact of the matter is that the English don't have an official national anthem.

They use God Save The Queen before many sporting events, apart from it seems, the Commonwealth Games, where Land of Hope and Glory is used. However both of those songs are considered as British and not English.

Scotland don't have an official national anthem either, but before sporting matches they do use a song that identifies their country. In the past Scotland the Brave was used but more recently the song Flower of Scotland has been sung before matches in football and rugby.

I'm not sure on Northern Ireland's situation with national anthems. As far as I know, God Save The Queen is used.

But in Wales, the national anthem Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is official, and it is always sung before every major sporting event involving a Welsh team. The status of God Save The Queen over here is a very tentative issue and rows have broken out as a result, because almost all the population regard it as an English anthem.

personally i think NZ will win it because of there strength and speed but england have passion and if england are to win the World CUp its becoz of there passion

Originally posted by andrew_cufc
personally i think NZ will win it because of there strength and speed but england have passion and if england are to win the World CUp its becoz of there passion

That statement is quite true, but England also have several quality players that are capable of winning the greatest of all Rugby prizes. Players like Jonny Wilkinson and the lot are some of the best in the world, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them take the trophy at the end of the tournament.

i think Jonny has to be playing well for england to win it. With NZ u have the dangerous likes of Howlett, Rokokoko(spelling?) spencer who all play really good so its tough with these 2

ps France look good too:mrpimp:

Trust Me

NOBODYS GONNA TOUCH US

Way to classy all over the field.

:) :rockman: :hump: :rockman: :hump:

imagine Howlett(NZ) vs Ben Cohen(england) both probably the quickest in Rugby Union and both powerful and skillful

Originally posted by andrew_cufc
imagine Howlett(NZ) vs Ben Cohen(england) both probably the quickest in Rugby Union and both powerful and skillful

Nah Howlett is quick but he isn't the quickest. You've got Rokocoko, the New Zealand winger, who is debatably the fastest in the team and I've heard he can run in excess of 30km an hour..

Originally posted by boosted
Nah Howlett is quick but he isn't the quickest. You've got Rokocoko, the New Zealand winger, who is debatably the fastest in the team and I've heard he can run in excess of 30km an hour..

do u think rokocoko would be as fast as Cohen????

btw whos that French Fly Half he is a really good player and i think will be a star in the world cup

Originally posted by andrew_cufc
do u think rokocoko would be as fast as Cohen????

I don't really know that much about Cohen, but I believe Rokocoko is one of the fastest players in Union at the moment.

What in the bloody hell are these gay jumpers that England and France are wearing. It looks like they should be in the tour de france, not on the footy field.

Fair dinkum, if they think they are gonna help them they are kidding themselves.

I watched two northern hemisphere games this weekend and they were both bloody boring.

are you serious those kits are so nice. They are supposes to stick so there is no loose jersey for someone to grab and taclke them. Ill try and post some pics soon

Dont bother with the pics i'll just go for a walk down Oxford St if I want to see guys in lycra.
I know why they wear them, I just think they look stupid.

At least with the All Black Jerseys they dont stand out so much because of the color.

Yes, the All Blacks have invested in these tight shirts also..

Is anyone here going to any of the matches?

my tickets for quarter final no. 1 arrived today:D hopefully it's gonna be south africa vs nz.

Nah I'm not going to any, I live on the wrong side of the ditch:p It's a shame though that the tournament isn't going to be shared between Australia and New Zealand because of some silly dispute about stadium criteria etc.

i will be going to watch england vs fiji and if england make the finals i will go watch(H)

im not going sadly but i will be in sydney a month before the world cup

man i love thos shirts england/france wore. very nice

I am going to Argentina v's Namibia on the Central Coast.

I've also got tickets to the Qtr Final in Melbourne. Luckily I have relatives down there to stay with.

My friend works for a major corporation in Sydney and says he is around 75% guarenteed to get Final or at least Semi final tickets for us in Sydney, so i'm really hoping for them.

Originally posted by ::grandmasta::
I know I shouldn't bring a political punchbag in a topic about egg chasing but the fact of the matter is that the English don't have an official national anthem.

They use God Save The Queen before many sporting events, apart from it seems, the Commonwealth Games, where Land of Hope and Glory is used. However both of those songs are considered as British and not English.

Scotland don't have an official national anthem either, but before sporting matches they do use a song that identifies their country. In the past Scotland the Brave was used but more recently the song Flower of Scotland has been sung before matches in football and rugby.

I'm not sure on Northern Ireland's situation with national anthems. As far as I know, God Save The Queen is used.

But in Wales, the national anthem Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is official, and it is always sung before every major sporting event involving a Welsh team. The status of God Save The Queen over here is a very tentative issue and rows have broken out as a result, because almost all the population regard it as an English anthem.
I think uve missed my point.

The fact is, no matter how much you dislike the english, the nation is: "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"

Great Britain is: England, Scotland and Wales (plus I think the isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey etc)...

Therefore Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau isnt a "national" anthem...Wales is either a principality or a nation state (I know Scotland and England are nation states, not sure about Wales, but it is still part of the Nation called the UK-just ask the United Nations ;)).

As I said in my post, God Save the Queen isnt Englands national anthem) which you agreed with, but is the UKs. Because the song has English origins, it is often sang for English sporting teams...I think the Commonwealth games dont use "God Save the Queen" as the "English teams anthem" because that Queen is the Queen of the whole Commonwealth, so it would defeat the purpose really...Scotland are the same, Flower of Scotland, or Scotland the Brave arent officially national anthems, but rather than using a song that is the national song (and therefore England, Wales, and Northern Irelands aswell), they use those.

Of course, Wales and Scotland both like to think of themself as seperate entites to England, and theyre allowed to play most sports as if they are (World Championships in most sports, plus the olympics are the obvious exceptions). So they play their own anthems. But they are never really "National Anthems". They can be official, and they can be "anthems", but ask the UN who the nation is, and what is their national anthem ;)

BTW. Can someone clear up if Scotland the Brave, and "The Battle of Hastings" are different songs?

Originally posted by Jono82
Actually, for me, nothing stirs national pride for me like 'We are Australian' - esp the chorus

(Chorus)
We are one, but we are many,
and from all the lands of earth we come,
we share a dream, and sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian!
yeah this was a decent song, and if ANY song was to replace the current national anthem, I wouldnt mind it being this one...However, it has been turned into an over commersialised piece of .....which is a tad disappointing, but completely unsuprising..

Originally posted by Larry
im not going sadly but i will be in sydney a month before the world cup

man i love thos shirts england/france wore. very nice

i agree wif the shirts, i have searched for ages but cant find any pics, any luck with you guys?????????

I have seen replicas of the England jumpers but they are not exactly like the real ones. I think I saw them in Rebel.

The replicas aren't the same material and I think the ones I saw had collars.

AS much as I disliked them at first they are starting to grow on me.
Apparently the Aussies are going to wear special jerseys in their 1st game in rememberance of the Bali bombing victims.

I suppose the All blacks will end up bombing out in the semi finals again, 49-38 to England or something.

Nah, the only way they can meet England is in the final I think. The worst thing is they could lose to Aussie in the semis.

a 49-38 scoreline would be highly unlikely in my opinion... the game would be pretty low scoring probably...

Originally posted by boosted
a 49-38 scoreline would be highly unlikely in my opinion... the game would be pretty low scoring probably...

i agree if these 2 were to clash it would be very physical and low scoring. heeps of penalty kicks and crisp kicking games

FINAL SCORE 17-13

En-ger-land:mrpimp:

oct 12.. wales vs canada world cup match.. ill be there :D carnnnn the welsh.

Would probably go for England but with it being on other side of world, I think southern hemisphere nations could have quite an advatage. Should be a very good tournament and can't wait.

Think england could rely too much on wilkinson and if he gets injured could see them losing any close games where he is often the difference. They are favourites anyway so I think I will be seeing what odds i can get on the Irish, since with their backs I think they could be a supprise and beat anyone on a good day, especially if the bigger nations don't give them as much respect as the other middle order teams like France or South Africa

It's starting to get very warm down here. 32 degrees C today.

Could make a difference. It was useasonably warm but in 3 weeks those temps wont be too uncommon.

Yeah, the warmer and drier the conditions, the better for the Harlem Globetrotter AB backline (Y)

Ah sh!t, looks like ALi WIlliams might miss the world cup :( with a stress fracture in the foot. :f***:

Originally posted by rhizome17
Ah sh!t, looks like ALi WIlliams might miss the world cup :( with a stress fracture in the foot. :f***:

Yep, and the thing that pisses me off is that when he felt pain two weeks ago, the MRI scan revealed no significant problem:f***:

Rugby World Cup Tipping:
http://www.soccergaming.tv/showthread.php?s=&threadid=80393

Fantasy Rugby World Cup
http://www.soccergaming.tv/showthread.php?s=&threadid=80380

I was in grace bros in sydney yesterday, and they had Rugby 2004.

I played against some business man who was about 30 years of age. We played Australia vs New Zealand, 20 minute halves.

He scored first and dominated for most of the game, but in the second half i scored three trys from doug howlett and joe rocokoko. Many people watched and soon there were around twenty business men watching us play.

I beat him, told all of the aussies New Zealand would win the world cup and left :)

haha, great story (H) thats what I like to hear, giving it to the aussies :D

World Cup in just over 24 hours:) Can someone tell me what the official World Cup site is?:confused:

Originally posted by boosted
World Cup in just over 24 hours:) Can someone tell me what the official World Cup site is?:confused:

Here a few sites for the world cup:

http://www.rugby2003.com.au/ << Aussie RFU World Cup Site
http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/ << IRB World Cup Site
http://www.rugby365.com/TOURNAMENTS/World_Cup_2003/index.shtml << Rugby 365 World Cup Site
http://oneworldcup.nzoom.com << New Zealand World Cup Site

Originally posted by rhizome17
haha, great story (H) thats what I like to hear, giving it to the aussies :D Only a CPU Game :P

Its a known fact Australia will win the RwC :P

Originally posted by Rob
Only a CPU Game :P

Its a known fact Australia will win the RwC :P

They will? If i go by odd, Australia is going for $5.50, while NZ is only going at $1.90:p

Well it kicks off 2night and im really excited, Austrlaia should kill Argys but i still think England will win it, with Ze Frenchies being Dark Horses:confused:

Haha, no you didn't. Argenitina were disorganised and unimaginative, and still the Wallabies couldn't close them out of the game until the last 10 minutes.
The All Blacks and England (and possibly even Ireland) won't lose any sleep over that Wallaby performance.

Hope Giffin is alright, that was one hell of a fall.

We won and that's all that counts.

I still think Argentina will beat Ireland.

Sure the Wallabies won, but I am surprised they did not push more for a bonus point considering their group is probably the most difficult. I think Ireland would have punished the Wallabies had they been playing. Argentina were gifting the match - how many times did the hooker (Alexei Sayle lookalike) misthrow the ball; how many times did the Argentinian pack fail to scrum properly - there was even a tighthead.
The Wallabies looked close to brilliant on occasions in the first half, and their defence was very good in the second half. But it was a very mediocre Argentina performance, and the Wallabies really needed a bonus point, because I think the Irish are capable of an upset.

Non-World Cup News:

Auckland have taken the ranfurly shield from canterbury after 24 defences over a three year period. Im glad its finally gone.

Originally posted by Larry
Non-World Cup News:

Auckland have taken the ranfurly shield from canterbury after 24 defences over a three year period. Im glad its finally gone.

Yep, thank goodness it's in someone elses hands now, even though it's Auckland:p Would've been even better if Wellington could've beaten the Cantabrians earlier in the season, but the 38-38 scoreline was good..

Originally posted by Larry
Non-World Cup News:

Auckland have taken the ranfurly shield from canterbury after 24 defences over a three year period. Im glad its finally gone.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

yeah man at halftime all blacks winning 25-0 against italy

two of my fantasy players have scored trys so far. Spencer and Howlett (H)

Yeah, but im disappointed with Spencer's kicking... 1 out of 4, u have to do better than that, especially when it comes to the crunch vs much better quality opposition.. but bloody excellent tries all round.. Thorn, Thorne, Howlett and Spencer:)

Full Time - 70-7 romp... I'm quite happy with this result 11 tries ain't bad:p Good to see so many players on the board, with 3 of them in my fantasy team:D Only thing I'm a bit disappointed about is Spencer's kicking, but hopefully that will improve in the near future..

good game. 70-7 is a good opening game score for the all blacks. 3/4 of my players got trys. this is a good result

Not the best AB performance, but certainly not the worst. A bit rusty as one would expect, and the Italians had some good periods of play so it was good that the AB's got a decent defensive workout at time.

But really, when the ball gets to Spencer and the rest of the backs, you wonder which team is going to stop them. Yes Spencers kicking is not the best, but 1. Carter is there to pick up the slack and 2. lets face it, unless we play someone like England, then we can rest assured that we have the ability to run in try after try, negating the kicking issue. Spencer scored a couple of tries and created a couple, so I don't think his place should be in question.

Nonu came on and played a great game, which was good because Umaga has been looking a bit ordinary in the last few tests, although he did start brightlyt today. Carter was sublime with a couple of his runs, and Brad Thorn played his heart out.

My gripe: I believe Devine should have started today, considering he has not played a test in some time. Yes I consider him to be better than Marshall, or at least on a par. But I really believe he deserved a start, especially against Italy.

But I expect the lineup we saw today, with the exception of Brad Thorn, is Mitchells first choice.

I really enjoyed this match but not Nz best performance. Carter played really well and i am really happy coz Thorne,Howlett,Rokocoko are all in my Fantasy teams

I liked watching Ireland play. They play a very nice game and i think they might beat australia. the france game was good too, but fiji are just really stupid and give away stupid penalties. My fantasy no8 Imanol Harinordoquy scored for France too :)

Rugby World Cup Results from Yesterday:

New Zealand 70-7 Italy
Ireland 45-17 Romania
France 61-18 Fiji
South Africa 72-6 Uruguay

Yeah, France were very impressive, and very cliniacal in the way they dispatched Fiji. Rupeni is a fantastic winger, and scored a brilliant try, but that is not enough in the World Cup to upset a team like France.

I didn't see the SOuth Africa game, but would like to see them against some real opposition. The game against England should be most telling of where SA are at.

But of all the games I have seen thus far, it is France who have looked the most impressive.

Yeah. Most impressive so far:

1. France
2. All Blacks
3. Ireland
4. Italy
5. Australia

Australia are boring. I loved it how Italy would always jump into rucks in groups of four and soon as they went down. Very effectvie, if only they had good players.

I cant wait for the England game today. Should be good.

Yeah, I am looking forward to seeing where they are at.

ANd I agree with you about Italy. They had nothing to lose, and never gave up. It was good to see that they tested the AB defence, as it gives them something to work on.

Australia, well they played the same as they have all year. I don't know if you saw the documentary before the opening ceremony the pther n9ight, but it showed some of the games from 2000. And many of those wallabies are still there, whilst the AB's are almost a totally new package.

I thikn with the AB's, the same issues we have seen all year (lineout throws and SPencers kicking) are still there, and maybe w are just going to have to live with them, and win by scoring more tries. Makes for great rugby anyway.

michalac played very well for France. his ball playnig and in game kicking is superb not to mention his point scoring abilitites

Originally posted by Andrew
michalac played very well for France. his ball playnig and in game kicking is superb not to mention his point scoring abilitites

I worked @ that game when they sang the national anthems and showd the crowd behind them i was in that part of the crowd i was in that section.

90% of the crowd where going for Fiji

I was standing in front of the USA team - a group of Fijians walked up to them and said "Your a bunch of nothings as well" - they got up and left soon after

The australians in the crowd sarted to sing the Brisbane Lions themesong during the French anthem - so when the chorus of the French anthem started all you could hear was "You will hear the Mighty Roar"

France wasnt that impressive live - Fiji gave up towards the end - France if they hadnt scored those two quick tries after or before the half break it would have been a different story - thats my two cents but really looking at them their was no difference between France and Fiji except the scoreline.

No.3 for Fiji was a crowd favourite

A group of Aussies walked up to a group of French reserve players and starting discussing the Rainbow Warrior -Muaura Attol - and the War on Iraq - before the drunks got kicked out.

I used to play Sub Districts with big Joe. Champion guy but I cant believe he is still running around.

I think to me the team that has really stood ou would have to be France. They may have beaten off average oppostiion but they seemed relaxed and alot organized but not taking any credit from NZ who alsp played well but they always do. Cant wait for the England came. I heard a guy has betted 100,000$ for england to beat georgia and his prize at the end will only be an extra 1000 rather silly i think.

Prediction for the Enlgand Game=
England 117- 6 Georgia

Muliaina is playing on THE WING against Canada :o

yeah, if anyone is interested here is the full squad:

15. Leon MacDonald (Canterbury)
14. Malili Muliaina (Auckland)
13. Ma'a Nonu (Wellington)
12. Daniel Carter (Canterbury)
11. Caleb Ralph (Canterbury)
10. Carlos Spencer (Auckland, vice captain)
9. Steve Devine (Auckland)
8. Rodney So'oialo (Wellington)
7. Marty Holah (Waikato)
6. Reuben Thorne (Canterbury, captain)
5. Chris Jack (Canterbury)
4. Brad Thorn (Canterbury)
3. Kees Meeuws (Auckland)
2. Mark Hammett (Canterbury)
1. Carl Hoeft (Otago)

Looks like a pretty strong squad, good to see Mitchell giving all the players a bit of game time and using the game as a sort of experimentation for combinations etc..

I think so far Daniel Carter from NZ has performed the best in the Tournament. But just a question are there awards for like player of the tournament, top try scorer etc.?

Awesome!

Auckland just beat Otago, so the NPC final is going to be in Wellington next week :) :mrpimp:

Party time, and i will be buying tickets this week :mrpimp:

Hah the tension is going to heat up between the NZers on this board.. between Rhizo and Larry/Myself... Should be a sweet game, i'm gonna try and go:)

Super 12: CHECK
Ranfurly Shield: CHECK

So now we regain the NPC, and the natural order has been restored in domestic rugby in NZ.

Come on guys, you know it. ;)

wow what a game

all blacks 91
tonga 7

:)

Originally posted by Larry
wow what a game

all blacks 91
tonga 7

:)

The most exciting part were the simultaneous harkers

NZ started normally, Tonga just stood there and did nothing just had their hands crossed after the second comity-comity (on television you hear a big roar that wasnt the crowd it was the Tongans) and Lang Park lifted like I have never heard before - State Of Origin you hear massive sounds but nothing will come close to it - Tongans kept moving towards the Kiwis (it looked like Brad Thorn backed off alittle) and when NZ's hacker stoped Tongans where still going it was totally amazing and no one in the stadium knew (unfortunately the TV coverage didnt do it justice) and not even my words could give it justice I wish I had a video recorder at that exact moment.

Well I think Rodney So'olialo can pack his bags and come home. Decent tackler but can't hold onto a ball. Twice he lost it at the tryline :rolleyes: .

MacDonald looked alright. Carter and Spencer linked well. And Muliaina's try (H) .

It is going to be hard to leave Brad Thorne out of the starting lineup now, he grows with each game. And you can see McCaws impact when he came on as a sub.

BUT MARSHALL: YOU ARE A HALFBACK. PASS THE BALL. DON'T RUN. An error like that against a big team could be crucial.

But all in all, a much improved performance.

Soialo dropped it atleast 6 times last night, and he did it atleast five times last week :(

All Blacks are looking good, loved Muliania's try :)

Yeah great game, Muliania's try was sweet but so were all of them(H) It was the good clean performance that we were looking for and it's good to see we have a reliable kicker in MacDonald:)

haha complete massacre by Australia...

142-0 over Namibia:o

5 tries to Latham... so many records broken I believe.

Originally posted by Alistair
haha complete massacre by Australia...

142-0 over Namibia:o

5 tries to Latham... so many records broken I believe.
Yeah but not the 145 point victory nz had over italy in 95 where Marc Ellis got six trys. Latham could only manage 5 :mrpimp:

____
FUUUCK

Auckland win the NPC final :(

Yeah man, Auckland win 41-29... F*ck um gutted:(

Originally posted by Alistair
Yeah man, Auckland win 41-29... F*ck um gutted:(

I'm not!

So now we have the super 12, the ranfurley shield, and the NPC in the cabinet. And considering how many Aucklanders are at the World Cup, the young guys have really stepped up. No sweet farewell for Cullen, but he got some tries.

But the Auckland attack is relentless - just wait til next season when we get our AB's back.

Scotland played nice last night, but the second half australia played good.

NZ played quite well, but not as good as they could have. Hougaard is going home :mrpimp:

Can someone please teach Matt Rogers how to catch and Wendell Sailor how to keep possession.

These two are two of the most dangerous players in world rugby but they probably have the highest turnover rate as well.

Makes you wonder how we would go with Ben Tune and Chris Latham in the run on side. Bet there wouldn't be nearly as many turnovers.

The linout is pathetic. As much as it improved when Cobain came on Scotland still won 3 against the throw in the second half.

What do you do if Cobain starts? You cant drop George Smith and Phil Waugh was the best on ground last night.

The second half was a big improvement but they still went into cruise control in the last 20 as they did against Argentina. Should have put them away by a lot more.

Gregan played much better. Seemed to get rid of the skip he was taking before he passed from the ruck giving much cleaner service. He still wont get in and do the hard work though. Unless the balls at his feet he wont go digging for it, we turned it over about five times last night because he wouldn't reach into the ruck to grab the ball.

The brightest note was the performance of Lote Tuquiri. Surely he cemented his spot with a very strong game. Always looked a threat and held the ball well.

Didn't see the AB game but a twenty point win agaist SA means they must have played alright.

It's going to be a cricket score next week unless we improve drastically. It hasn't happened yet so I cant see it happening.

Originally posted by choppy
Can someone please teach Matt Rogers how to catch and Wendell Sailor how to keep possession.

These two are two of the most dangerous players in world rugby but they probably have the highest turnover rate as well.

Makes you wonder how we would go with Ben Tune and Chris Latham in the run on side. Bet there wouldn't be nearly as many turnovers.

The linout is pathetic. As much as it improved when Cobain came on Scotland still won 3 against the throw in the second half.

What do you do if Cobain starts? You cant drop George Smith and Phil Waugh was the best on ground last night.

The second half was a big improvement but they still went into cruise control in the last 20 as they did against Argentina. Should have put them away by a lot more.

Gregan played much better. Seemed to get rid of the skip he was taking before he passed from the ruck giving much cleaner service. He still wont get in and do the hard work though. Unless the balls at his feet he wont go digging for it, we turned it over about five times last night because he wouldn't reach into the ruck to grab the ball.

The brightest note was the performance of Lote Tuquiri. Surely he cemented his spot with a very strong game. Always looked a threat and held the ball well.

Didn't see the AB game but a twenty point win agaist SA means they must have played alright.

It's going to be a cricket score next week unless we improve drastically. It hasn't happened yet so I cant see it happening.

Lote Tuquiri was all class last night. I can't see how Jones can possibly leave him out next week, as he is fresh and has a great chance of breaking the AB defensive line, probably more so than Sailor. Sailor seems to be more of a crash player, and the AB defence has some strong players to ahul him down. Tuquiri on the other hand, whilst also strong, has some jinks up his sleeve that will be needed next week.

As with all games at this stage, you start all over again, but I think people would agree that the AB's will be going in as favorites. I myself haven't seen enough development in the Wallabies game to think they will be running away with the game. On the plus side, they are playing at home, they have a point to prove after some stinging criticism, especially from O'Neill, and anything can happen on the night. Plus, the Wallaby defence is pretty tight, tho the AB's will be a completely different attacking proposition than Scotland.

On the negative side, some players (e.g. Sailor, Rogers, Roff) have not stepped up the way they have needed to. Also, the psychological edge the Wallabies had over the AB's a few years ago, when Eales was captain, seems to have evaporated, and was finally killed off when we got the Bledisloe back. The massive win in Aussie helped, but getting the cup back really cemented the AB confidence. If anything, it is ENgland who hold the psychological hoodoo over us now.... But Aussie have some really exciting players coming through, not least Giteau, and to be honest I won't complain if his ankle doesn't come right for next week. But in the end, I think the Wallabies are coming to the end of their game as far as the present team (and coach) are concerned. I think some fresh coaching ideas will be needed after the cup (if they exit in the semi) and it will be time for some players to step down or at least face some competition for spots.

The AB's played their best game of the year, choppy - sure the scoreline was closer than the earlier trinations games, but this was a much improved Springbok team, and the AB style was not so 'new', i.e. the Springboks knew what they are capable of out wide. And basically, that is where the Sprinkboks made sure they had plenty of defence, to stop Howlett and Rokocoko coming through.

But that was what I thought was great about the AB performance, they varied their attack, and surprisingly went up the middle a couple of times, and outmuscled the Springboks pack - basically the AB forwards outpsyched the boks early on and just controlled it from there. There were a number of turnovers from the boks, and as teams this season have found out, if the AB's have the ball you can't just wait for them to cough it up. This years team is just so fantastic, the way they keep attacking the whole 80 minutes.

And Spencer - he got out of position defensively a few times, but some of the passes he was throwing at the end, boy oh boy he sure is an entertainer. Since the kicking was taken away he has really opened up, and now his knee is repairing (remember he was the toher player in the collission with Umaga in the first game) he is starting to run again, and both last night and against Wales he showed his vision, I just know when he is on the field, he can make some mistakes but then *BANG* he does something that just makes you gasp. I just don't think any other team has such a creative genius at their disposal, and I wonder who will be filling his boots by the time the next cup comes along...:(

As you can tell, I am really excited by this AB team, and they do have the ability to go on and lift the cup. But I also know from experience that the Wallabies can come along and wreck our chances. If the ABs play the way they did last night, they will be through, but if Australia can match their performance in the second half, get the lineout sorted, and iron out the ball handling errors, then it is game on and 50-50. I expect to see Spencer sending some balls down Sailors way too....

Rhiz, I saw this quote on BBC.

"a wounded aussie is a dangerious aussie"

Anyway, Australia haven't been winning with style, but we have been winning. We are now 1 game away from the Final, anything can happen. It will be a war in Sydney when the two giants meet.

Originally posted by Rob
Rhiz, I saw this quote on BBC.

"a wounded aussie is a dangerious aussie"

Anyway, Australia haven't been winning with style, but we have been winning. We are now 1 game away from the Final, anything can happen. It will be a war in Sydney when the two giants meet.

Quite right, and if Jone's gets his team selection right, it will be a fascinating match. There will be tries, and I rate the Wallabies highher than the boks, and I was worried about the boks, so I am doubly worried about the Wallabies.

I just don't know if the Wallabies have it in them after seeing the way the AB's totally dominated the boks last night.

Originally posted by rhizome17
Quite right, and if Jone's gets his team selection right, it will be a fascinating match. There will be tries, and I rate the Wallabies highher than the boks, and I was worried about the boks, so I am doubly worried about the Wallabies.



That's the thing. IF Jones gets his selections right could be a great game. God I hope so.

France are looking very impressive after 15 minutes against Ireland.

AWESOME MATCH WALES V ENGLAND!

Im loving it.

Wales 10
England 3

Half Time.

^ and the score flatters England so far. 2 tries to Wales, to bad their kicker is not having a good day. Could have added 7 more points to the total.

England have come out firing.

England lead 13-10.

COME ON WALES!

The only team playing rugby were the Welsh. England should be ashamed of their performance. I hope the French thrash them, for the sake of an entertaining Final. Nothing England did was interesting, and it was Welsh loosing the match, rather than England winning it that led to the result.

The turning point was the missed penalty with 5 or so minutes left. I think the Welsh would have gone on to win if they scored that.

Englands whole score was penalties. Except 1 try.

Wales played well unfortunately they gave away too many penalties and didn't kick well. But 2 great performances by Wales against NZ and England.

Who Played Better:

England against Wales or Australia against Scotland?