USA Eagles,
Good Heart to come back in the Second Half, against Samoa. You did not let them get away on you.
LR
Yeah, Georgia have some decent forwards. They would get torn a new arsehole by one of the Tri-Nations teams though.
England v Tonga and Argentina v Ireland should be good games to watch this weekend I reckon.
[quote]deanosumo wrote:
Yeah, Georgia have some decent forwards. They would get torn a new arsehole by one of the Tri-Nations teams though.
England v Tonga and Argentina v Ireland should be good games to watch this weekend I reckon.[/quote]
Georgia gave it heaps, good stuff.
Might be 2 Northen Hemisphere teams earning their keep this weekend.
Pre weekend predictions.
Ireland out.
England through in a close one.
[quote]supermick wrote:
Pre weekend predictions.
Ireland out.
England through in a close one.
[/quote]
you forgot one, South Africa completely embarrasses the Eagles. I was impressed with our boys play against England, and the second half against Samoa (especially the last few minutes), but South Africa is just way too strong in every aspect.
And with the American defense’s tendency to leave a lot of space open on the wings, Habana might just break a try scoring record (although I think it’ll be exciting to see he and ngwenya race. Both guys run about a 10.5 second 100m).
If the match against Samoa was twinge longer the Eagles would have got a win. Was I the only one confused with the uniforms from New Z and Scotland?
Cheers
[quote]rjerez wrote:
If the match against Samoa was twinge longer the Eagles would have got a win. Was I the only one confused with the uniforms from New Z and Scotland?
Cheers[/quote]
I was initially pissed that the ref didn’t allow the kick off and a last ditch effort by the US. And I’d like to think that if Hercus had made the conversion on that last try, the ref would have at least allowed the following kick off and a chance at a quick try/drop goal attempt/penalty.
But seeing as we missed the conversion and hence were down by 4, and both teams were obviously tired and getting scrappy, I understood his decision to end it. I thought our boys showed a lot heart playing balls out til the very end, but it really was just too little too late. I only hope we play with that intensity against South Africa on Sunday.
Even though it’s, by all accounts, a futile effort, that’s one of the greatest things about rugby; on any given day, any team can win, no matter how outmatched they may seem to be (not that I have any high hope of a glorious upset, but I’ll be rooting for it until the final whistle).
And yes, a lot of people were confused by the Scotland/New Zealand jerseys. It was a clusterfuck to watch, especially at the breakdowns.
And England is through. The lack of depth in the Tongan squad showed as some of the best players were clearly knackered, but what a spirit to watch!
The Tongans gave away the ball through simple errors (badly aimed line-outs, knock-ons and erratic kicking) that cannot only b blamed on a wet ball. England a few moments played brilliantly, but will have serious difficulties against the convicts.
In the end, the fact that there are more registered senior male players in England that there are inhabitants on Tonga made the difference.
TQB
How about them Fijians?
Awesome.
And tomorrow ,the U.S. team will find out where the real WMD’s are…In the Springbok squad.
Go Bokkkkke!!!
Well, Argentina showed some class today imo. The Hooker Odesna is awesome, as was the Fly-half. He just ran the game. Their second try was as good as any your going to see.
Very few Irish players stood out - O’driscoll and Murphy being the exception but make no mistake. That Argentinian team was very very good. They will beat the Scots for a semi Final place imo.
Ill have to listen to the SA-USA match online 
NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
OMC
[quote]OMC wrote:
NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!![/quote]
unfortunately, yes. I couldn’t be arsed doing a breakdown of players/ what went wrong. They sucked. Simple as.
Thing is, I don’t begrudge Argentina at all, they deserve every minute of their success and I hope they make it to the semi’s, if not further. If their performance at this RWC doesn’t make a solid case for an expansion to create a southern hermisphere quad-nations then nothing will. Fair play to them.
France are going to get hammered in Cardiff, and I, for one, can’t wait to see it.
Unbelievable weekend for world cup rugby. If Tonga played basic rugby they may have caused another upset. It was a brave fight till the end, unfortunately lack of experience, silly handling errors and lack of touchline kicks cost them dearly.
Bravo Argentina and Fiji! It’s good to see the smaller rugby nations are coming through the ranks.
My team played well and made sure they send a message to the boys, “we are bringing the cup home again”. GO BOKKE!! The Springboks did manage to put up a big score however it wasn’t points given to us for free. USA played well and scored a brilliant try showing our star winger that he is not the only one capable of scoring well worked tries.
The Scotland vs New Zealand game was convincing enough for me to assume that SA will meet Argentina in the Semi final. It is so true that on any given day a game of rugby can go to any team!! Argentina is looking strong this world cup and I am definitely looking forward to an exiting game�?��?�. I suppose we need to win Fiji first obviously!!!
[quote]Mavric wrote:
Unbelievable weekend for world cup rugby. If Tonga played basic rugby they may have caused another upset. It was a brave fight till the end, unfortunately lack of experience, silly handling errors and lack of touchline kicks cost them dearly. [/quote]
What game were you watching? Really, besides the first 20, Tonga were not in it. In addition, after EVERY world cup, its frequently stated that ‘if only the south sea teams can sort out their tight play’ - and every time the fail to do so. Expect more of the same next time.
[quote]
Bravo Argentina and Fiji! It’s good to see the smaller rugby nations are coming through the ranks.[/quote]
Argentina? There ranked 4th, have had 2 draws with the All blacks over the years, beaten France several times in addition to ALL the home unions. They NEED to be in an expanded 6 nations or Tri nations. That’s if the arrogant Tri-nation rugby unions can see some sense and let them in. In addition with one of the south sea Teams - maybe they could play between themselves (fiji v tonga v samoa) annually for the right to compete in a southern 5 nations Championship? The game needs expanding and now its ripe to do so - shame the IRB with their backward thinking of awarding the next RWC to NZ instead of Japan dont think so.
Lets have some forward thinking people - please!!
supermick wrote:
What game were you watching? Really, besides the first 20, Tonga were not in it. In addition, after EVERY world cup, its frequently stated that ‘if only the south sea teams can sort out their tight play’ - and every time the fail to do so. Expect more of the same next time.
The comments made by Epeli was pretty valid and I doubt I could have said this any better. Quote: “It was one bridge too far,” sighed Epeli Taione, the experienced Tongan centre. “The difference was down to small things. Against a professional outfit like England, mistakes turn to points. There were little mistakes of awareness after which we never recovered.”
supermick wrote: “besides the first 20, Tonga were not in it.”
Again: “Tonga were hampered by their tactical kicking at times as they failed to find touch, but they showed several moments of the brilliance that has become their trademark in this world cup - their most successful ever with two wins. Tonga’s inspirational captain and flanker Nili Latu was also able to take some big positives from the game, but was left feeling that they lost the match midway through the second half.”
England has never lost to Tonga, and won the last of their two meetings 101-10 in a 13-try romp at Twickenham at the 1999 World Cup. 36-20 this time round seems pretty close, I am not suggesting that England played bad, I am complimenting Tonga for playing better rugby.
Argentina? There ranked 4th, have had 2 draws with the All blacks over the years, beaten France several times in addition to ALL the home unions.
The best result the Pumas achieved when it counts was in the Wales 1999 WC, beating Ireland to get to the quarter-finals 8 years ago. Comparing results they are definitely coming through the ranks in beating France and Ireland to reach the quarter finals in this WC.
They NEED to be in an expanded 6 nations or Tri nations. That’s if the arrogant Tri-nation rugby unions can see some sense and let them in. In addition with one of the south sea Teams - maybe they could play between themselves (fiji v tonga v samoa) annually for the right to compete in a southern 5 nations Championship? The game needs expanding and now its ripe to do so - shame the IRB with their backward thinking of awarding the next RWC to NZ instead of Japan dont think so.
Lets have some forward thinking people - please!!
I agree!
[quote]Mavric wrote:
The comments made by Epeli was pretty valid and I doubt I could have said this any better. Quote: “It was one bridge too far,” sighed Epeli Taione, the experienced Tongan centre. “The difference was down to small things. Against a professional outfit like England, mistakes turn to points. There were little mistakes of awareness after which we never recovered.”
Again: “Tonga were hampered by their tactical kicking at times as they failed to find touch, but they showed several moments of the brilliance that has become their trademark in this world cup - their most successful ever with two wins. Tonga’s inspirational captain and flanker Nili Latu was also able to take some big positives from the game, but was left feeling that they lost the match midway through the second half.”
England has never lost to Tonga, and won the last of their two meetings 101-10 in a 13-try romp at Twickenham at the 1999 World Cup. 36-20 this time round seems pretty close, I am not suggesting that England played bad, I am complimenting Tonga for playing better rugby.
[/quote]
Epi’s statement is more in line with what i said. Nili Latu is their Captain. What do you expect him to say? ‘yeah actually, we blew our load in the first twenty then got stuffed?’ The third paragraph has no relevance to the last match at all, but it is relevant to the IRB being foolish and considering scrapping a 20 nation world cup. Its a shameful day for the game if that occurs.
The IRB need to sort stuff out in FAVOUR of the smaller unions and expand the game. The ‘old boys’ network mentality has to stop imo.
[quote]supermick wrote:
Mavric wrote:
Argentina? There ranked 4th, have had 2 draws with the All blacks over the years, beaten France several times in addition to ALL the home unions. They NEED to be in an expanded 6 nations or Tri nations. That’s if the arrogant Tri-nation rugby unions can see some sense and let them in. In addition with one of the south sea Teams - maybe they could play between themselves (fiji v tonga v samoa) annually for the right to compete in a southern 5 nations Championship? The game needs expanding and now its ripe to do so - shame the IRB with their backward thinking of awarding the next RWC to NZ instead of Japan dont think so.
Lets have some forward thinking people - please!!
[/quote]
The Arrogant Tri nations as you put it, have been down this track. The travel arrangements for Argentina would be like travelling to the Six Nations. Argentina is still amateur in its rugby structure, and has no professional league.
The other factor that the Northern Hemisphere do not take into consideration is that the smaller Pacific Islands and Argentina that a major % of their players play in the northern hemisphere. Your strong club contracts will not release those players for these competitions; your clubs will not even release your own players to tour for tests.
The Pacific Nations Cup covers this base at the moment and has been going for a couple of years, Australia A, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and Junior Abs who are to be replaced next year with NZ Maori. Much like the Churchill Cup does for USA and Canada.
The Japan bid was more about money than the sport, like what happened to the Tongans and Green hair. Also where they stayed, ate and trained, and how they travelled, so much for IRB funding.
The current voting system is weighted toward the “original” powers of the game. Votes are distributed as two each to England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. Supplementing this - and as the voice of the little bloke designed to keep the IRB honest - are single votes to Argentina, Italy, and Canada, with four other votes to the regions of Europe, Africa, Oceania, and Asia (which is essentially Japan).
Of the 23 votes, 11 are held by the Six Nations, with another one available at any time via the European delegate for a simple majority of 12. A two-thirds majority would require another four votes, and with the number of foreign players in Europe from North America, Argentina, and Oceania, it is a relief for the Tri Nations power bloc that the Celts and French don’t often see eye-to-eye with England or each other.
LR
Good post, LastRep. Very true. It’s already bad enough with the travel arrangements for away games in South Africa. Argentina has a dangerous national team but not one club at the same level as one in the Super 14.
I’m a little mad Tonga didn’t beat South Africa in the final phases. I’m sick of England, haha.
[quote]LastRep wrote:
The Arrogant Tri nations as you put it, have been down this track. The travel arrangements for Argentina would be like travelling to the Six Nations. Argentina is still amateur in its rugby structure, and has no professional league.
[/quote]
This in itself is no reason why they could not compete in the contest.
[quote]
The other factor that the Northern Hemisphere do not take into consideration is that the smaller Pacific Islands and Argentina that a major % of their players play in the northern hemisphere. Your strong club contracts will not release those players for these competitions; your clubs will not even release your own players to tour for tests.[/quote]
Now your talking, however more recent arrangements have been made in that the club v country debate seems to be ‘nearly settled’. Also, talks are ongoing to involve Argentina in an expanded 6 nations, but have their base in Spain. Makes sense.
[quote]
The Pacific Nations Cup covers this base at the moment and has been going for a couple of years, Australia A, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and Junior Abs who are to be replaced next year with NZ Maori. Much like the Churchill Cup does for USA and Canada.
The Japan bid was more about money than the sport, like what happened to the Tongans and Green hair. Also where they stayed, ate and trained, and how they travelled, so much for IRB funding.[/quote]
Japan were shafted. The fact remains that NZ almost messed up hosting 2 teams in the last lions tour. How are they going to manage 16 or 20. Their not. Simple as that imo. Japan on the other hand. Well, they have pretty much everything in place to ensure a superb contest. Their stadia is second to none.
That was pretty interesting. Thanks.
The beer is in the fridge and the meat is marinated. We have on more day to go for this exciting rugby weekend to start. Any predictions?