The Rugby Thread

[pharvey]

Well, my concerns for Wales getting through the Pool stage in the RWC have increased somewhat - certainly goes to show you can't write the "Crims" off until the final whistle. A couple of positives for England and Wales though in that Australia's scrummaging was poor and they had a lot of problems at the breakdown - Wales especially should take heart from the latter. It'll be interesting to see how Australia do against Argentina in the scrum next week - the Corned Beef Munchers are after all renowned for their front rows......

Anywho, back to the match. Down 20-7 at one point, the Wallabies came back with 2 late (very late) tries to take the match 24-20 - a hell of a come-back. New head coach, Michael Cheika admitted to shouting "Go for Goal" when Flyhalf Stephen Moore decided to kick for the corner rather than for goal in the dying minutes - a decision which ultimately won the game for the Antipodes. In all fairness, they never stopped playing and at the end of the day deserved to win.

Matt Giteau coming back into the side after a 4 year absence (quite incredible in international rugby) was also a big plus for those from down under - still a class act.

Certainly going to be an interesting tournament this year, especially with the reduced schedule.....

[dtaai-maai]

Well, my concerns for Wales getting through the Pool stage in the RWC have increased somewhat

Because they have to play Uruguay in their opening game...?

[pharvey]

Don't start!

You may well joke, but Uruguay could have a lot more influence on things than the majority of supporters think. They are the obvious minnows of the group, however actually getting out of the "Pool of Death" could well depend on points difference IMHO. God's Own are notoriously slow starters in tournaments, and whilst I have no doubt we'll win comfortably against the South Americans, I do have my concerns we will not put enough points on them to better Beelzebub's XV and the Great Unwashed from Down Under.

Can't wait.......

[PeteC]

Uniform question. Is it legal for Jerseys to have some padding in key areas? I ask as I just watched highlights of the Japanese national team and closeup's showed for sure some kind of padding at the shoulder area.

[dtaai-maai]

Yes. It's not the jerseys that have the padding, but it's worn separately underneath or as part of an 'undershirt.
Here's a photo of me in mine...

d-m's shoulder pads.jpg (6.04 KiB) Viewed 562 times

[PeteC]

[pharvey]

Here's a photo of me in mine...

Seriously DM - you need to look at the colour of the shorts...

[PeteC]

^ Yep.... Something seems to have gone amiss there! The Pool was named HHF RWC 2015, but it appears as I've hit the "Invite players from last RWC" button, they've used the same name. I'll have a look into changing the name or if need be starting a new pool.

Any news on this one Pharvey? Should we sign up for the mis-named one, or wait?

[Big Boy]

Personally, I dumped my invite based on previous posts and am waiting for a new one.

[pharvey]

Apologies guys - I'd sent an email to Superbru but as yet have had zero response. As such, I've simply destroyed the original Pool and created another one: -

http://www.superbru.com/rwcpredictor/po ... p=11428455

Pool name: HHF RWC 2015
Pool code: doselots

Hopefully messages will have been sent out to inform others (such as Oz) who don't seem to use the Forum much these days......

[PeteC]

Thanks Pharvey and yes, their follow up to messages has been lacking this year.

[pharvey]

I find this somewhat ridiculous... Bath and the RFU paid and are paying a fortune for the guy and yet they cannot seem to agree on the position he should play . Both Center and Blindside Flanker are very specialised positions - I played the latter but could certainly not play the former with the same ability. Burgess is a great athlete and a superb Rugby League player - Union can be VERY different. He has had some great outings for Bath (MOTM on occasion), but I would have my reservations at him being picked above others on the international field.... then again, being Welsh, I hope England DO pick him at center!!

Sam Burgess: Bath Coach Mike Ford Wants England Man at Flanker

"Rugby league convert Sam Burgess will remain a blind-side flanker at club level, according to Bath boss Mike Ford, despite England saying they will only pick him at centre.
Uncapped Burgess, 26, began his Bath career at centre before moving to the back row, where he had more impact.
England coach Stuart Lancaster has said that Burgess will only be considered at centre for this autumn's World Cup.
"He's only going to play at six," Bath head coach Ford told BBC Radio Bristol.
"If he was with us in pre-season and not with England, he could learn his line-out roles better.
"I know ultimately he'll come back a better player with his experience at the World Cup, so I'm pretty chilled about it. It doesn't concern me at all. Wherever he plays, he'll contribute to the England team."

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-union/33652882

ONLY 56 Days to go!!

[pharvey]

You've got to feel for the Jaarpies..... going down by 4 points to the Crims last week, and yesterday by 3 points to the Blackness - after leading by 10 with 6 minutes to go Great game and a hard fought win for NZ. At the end of the day I think it was NZ's superior fitness and the class of the likes of Richie McCaw which made the difference. The NH sides certainly need to step up a gear if they have any hopes of taking the RWC....

Argentina vs Australia on the other hand was somewhat of a disappointment - the Crims outscoring the want-to-be Falkland owners 4 tries to nil and running out 34-9 winners. I was certainly hoping for a closer match and actually thought the Argies might have had a good shot, especially at home......

Anywho, here's to the next round!!

[PeteC]

Last appearance for Richie McCaw in SA. Good way to end it for him. August 8th in Sydney and I think Australia have a good shot at winning it this year, but......the McCaw factor will be in play again for sure.

[PeteC]

...I'm still waiting for something I haven't seen yet. A player crosses into the in-goal area but decides not to ground the ball, wanting to get closer to the centre in order to make the extra points try easier.......and someone comes along and swats the ball out of his arms or tackles him in a bear hug preventing him from grounding the ball. I know it must happen and has happened...but I feel I may be waiting for a long time to see it. Pete