Rugby World Cup 2011 - New Zealand

[pharvey]

I thought the Poms were supposed to be the whingers.

Trust you're not including the Celts on that.........

[charlesh]

Tim's out of line - he must have been thinking about Soccer!!!!!

[Arcadian]

Much better from England, the forwards didn`t try to batter the opposition into submission but made quick ball available to allow the backs to do what they are supposed to do.

[pharvey]

Much better from England, the forwards didn`t try to batter the opposition into submission but made quick ball available to allow the backs to do what they are supposed to do.

Giving away 3 penalties at the breakdown in the first 8 or 10 minutes, I thought Beelzebub's XV were onto a repeat of the first 2 games with regards to the penalty count, but MJ will no doubt be pleased that wasn't to be the case.

Fair play to Romania for keeping at it, but completely outclassed at the end of the day.

Now for the Garlic Munchers against the Blackness...... exciting first 15, but looking like a rough night for Les Bleus....

[pharvey]

Well, the Blackness look a little frightening..... Thank God that Wales will be there to meet them in the final and let the rest of the rugby world know how to beat them

France I think did look a little weak, BUT NZ were GOOD...... worthy winners at 37 vs 17 (which could of and should have IMHO more)

Congrats also to Richie McCaw who becomes the first AB to reach 100 caps, the top points scorer for NZ forwards and World Player of the Year 3 times....... superb player, just not as good as Sam Warburton!!

Looking forward to the Sweaties against the Argies tomorrow.....

[EDIT] OH cr@p, not forgetting Fiji vs Samoa ........ now that could be a game and a half!!

[Arcadian]

[EDIT] OH cr@p, not forgetting Fiji vs Samoa ........ now that could be a game and a half!!

I anticipate lots of blood subs.

[Randy Cornhole]

Damn these picks come up too quick. i'm currently working 25 x 12 hour shifts in a row and don't even have time to watch the world cup let alone remember the picks...!!!

I may finish last this time...

[pharvey]

Damn these picks come up too quick. i'm currently working 25 x 12 hour shifts in a row and don't even have time to watch the world cup let alone remember the picks...!!!

I may finish last this time...

Oh I don't know mate...... I'm rapidly heading downhill

A few sore bodies in the Samoan and Fiji camps after this mornings game I'm sure - some huge hits going in. One Samoan stretchered off after being knocked cold. Exciting game to watch, again great Samoan defense, but handling errors by Fiji certainly cost them dearly. Samoa 27 vs Fiji 7

Wales certainly need a bonus point win against Namibia and not to slip up against Fiji as we have a habit of doing at the World Cup!! Big games for Wales and Samoa coming up with Fiji and SA respectively.

[MrPlum]

Haven't been interested in watching all the early games. NZ and SA look the pick.

Except for the talented Tuilagi, England look too reliant on power over finesse. Methinks Jonah Lomu's destruction of the England backs changed the back line forever. Jeremy Guscott and Rob Andrew would get creamed these days.

[pharvey]

Haven't been interested in watching all the early games. NZ and SA look the pick.

Except for the talented Tuilagi, England look too reliant on power over finesse. Methinks Jonah Lomu's destruction of the England backs changed the back line forever. Jeremy Guscott and Rob Andrew would get creamed these days.

The Blackness certainly, but I have my doubts over SA. Two of the ''Big 3'' (SA and Aus) are certainly beatable, but NZ are looking strong and are not IMHO going to miss out on a 2nd RWC at home.

With regards to Lomu changing the back-line, I'd have to disagree. Very talented and a monster of a player - 6ft 5'', pushing 20 stone and around 10.5 sec for the 100m!! However, the game turning professional shortly after the 1995 RWC tournament where Lomu made his ''impact'' has more to do with the changes in the game. Players are far fitter, far stronger and quite frankly getting a lot bigger. There is IMHO still a place for the ''silky runners'' such as Guscott - in the professional era, he would have simply been built up.... James Hook of Wales is a prime example of this.

As for Tuilagi, yes he looks impressive..... a little sad that he's Samoan (We have our own Tongan to compete). Then again, there's a few ''international'' players in England's squad: -

Matt ''Coke'' Stevens - SA, played for Junior Boks
Dylan Hartley - NZ
Alex Corbisiero - USA/Italy
Tuilagi - Samoa
Delon Armitage - Trinidad (and embarrassingly (for them), rejected by France at age level).
Shontayne Hape - NZ, played international level for them at Rugby League

MJ even playing for NZ under 21's............ can all be a bit of a farce. Not picking on England particularly as it's endemic within the sport, just following on with the thread [EDIT] Or rather post.

[dtaai-maai]

Haven't been interested in watching all the early games. NZ and SA look the pick.

Except for the talented Tuilagi, England look too reliant on power over finesse. Methinks Jonah Lomu's destruction of the England backs changed the back line forever. Jeremy Guscott and Rob Andrew would get creamed these days.

No comparison, Mr P. The game was in the middle of huge changes in rules, style and physique. Might as well compare Bill Beaumont and Martin Johnson.

NZ, obviously, but South Africa - why? You should have been watching the early games!

[pharvey]

Haven't been interested in watching all the early games. NZ and SA look the pick.

Except for the talented Tuilagi, England look too reliant on power over finesse. Methinks Jonah Lomu's destruction of the England backs changed the back line forever. Jeremy Guscott and Rob Andrew would get creamed these days.

No comparison, Mr P. The game was in the middle of huge changes in rules, style and physique. Might as well compare Bill Beaumont and Martin Johnson.

NZ, obviously, but South Africa - why? You should have been watching the early games!

Also a very valid point DM - some very significant changes to the rules in recent years.

On the comparison in style, fitness, physique etc., I was watching a video of the classic BaaBaa's vs NZ game of 1973........ compare that to today!!

[hulltoon]

Well,it looks like we will just have to beat England to qualify.

[dtaai-maai]

Ah, the Barbarians. But that team was, unfortunately, an exception that ranked alongside the Lions tours. And even they linger in the memory like snowbound childhood winters in London...

The simple fact is that the game has changed immeasurably since I played in the 70s, and entirely for the better. No more dour 3-3 draws in the rain, with fat, steaming front fives hauling themselves painfully from one scrum to the next. All the more surprising, really, that the backs weren't more effective more often. At the top level, all 15 players nowadays are supreme all-round athletes - the change in the forwards (who can now run, pass and occasionally think logically all at the same time) probably more remarkable than in the backs. You have to see these guys close up in person before you can really appreciate just how very big and strong they are.

I agree with pharvey about players adapting to the times and there still being a place for the less muscular players. Shane Williams must be a classic example. Ronan O'Gara manages very well, and he always reminds me of Rob Andrew. Going further back, I was lucky enough as a teenager to be coached by and play (after a fashion) against Gerald Davies when he was still in his 20s and playing for London Welsh and Wales. Not a tall man by any means, but he was carved from a Welsh coal face - totally immovable, not that many could get near enough to lay a hand on him. I somehow think he'd have coped very nicely thankyou with today's rugby! And many others with him.

But the rule changes and turning professional were the major factor - a gamble, but it paid off big time, creating the most exciting running and handling ball game in the world. (And they destroyed rugby league while they were at it)

Most significant changes?
4, then 5 points for a try
cannot kick straight into touch outside the 25 (sorry, 22...)
assorted ruck and maul rules to prevent interference
lifting in the line-out
the sin bin
others I can't think of...

and apparently biting, punching and gouging in the front row is now frowned on.

Even watching Scotland - Argentina today, when the outcome isn't going to ruin my day, I'm quite knackered when the game finishes. Mrs D-M has learned not to sit next to me until the fairyball starts. And that reminds me, if someone stops playing, you can be pretty sure he's really hurting.

I love it. Best game in the world without a doubt.

[MrPlum]

The game has certainly developed.

Couple of questions for the experts...

1. The way the two scrums engage is tightly controlled. Yet the actual 'put-in' is not. Whatever happened to "Not straight?!" Doesn't this render scrums a little pointless? I haven't heard of one being won against the head for a long time.

2. Line-outs, likewise, are more predictable. Allowing players to lift gives an unfair advantage. What was the reason for allowing it?

Great finish to Scotland v Argentina.