Can't believe we lost to a team that struggled to show dominance over Samoa!!! Dear God!!
Outplayed by the better team on the day.
Having said that.........my god we played badly. After all the hard work to improve and actually show glimpses of form and look like we could actually threaten the top teams(much less England!), we go and blow it all playing like busted a**es!!!
It's not like our forwards were outplayed.....it's like they just didn't show up at all! Almost never getting to the breakdown quickly and scrumming like it was 2005 again. No one in the team could hang onto the ball for 2 seconds. Gregan had a shocker too. Just all round awful play.
And frankly, what was going with the penalty shot from 45 out on the sideline to try to win it? Mortlock was never going to get that kick! I spose they figured they couldn't go for the line out and then at worst play for a penalty closer to the sticks because they probably wouln't hold onto the ball!
Dreadful!
/end rant!
Outplayed by the better team on the day.
Having said that.........my god we played badly. After all the hard work to improve and actually show glimpses of form and look like we could actually threaten the top teams(much less England!), we go and blow it all playing like busted a**es!!!
It's not like our forwards were outplayed.....it's like they just didn't show up at all! Almost never getting to the breakdown quickly and scrumming like it was 2005 again. No one in the team could hang onto the ball for 2 seconds. Gregan had a shocker too. Just all round awful play.
And frankly, what was going with the penalty shot from 45 out on the sideline to try to win it? Mortlock was never going to get that kick! I spose they figured they couldn't go for the line out and then at worst play for a penalty closer to the sticks because they probably wouln't hold onto the ball!
Dreadful!
/end rant!
Atilla
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Sacrebleu mon ami, the question is not whether the lions will eat the frogs, whether they have the appetite for it...
I think NZ lost it in the second half ( to state the bleedin obvious ) constantly trying to barge their way trough the French only to fumble the ball. Passing the ball wide and playing fast rugby similar to their first half try would have been the better option imo.
The English game will be different. More like the first half with plenty of kicking imo. NZ should have carried on as they were in the first half.
In trying to outwit the opposition by changing tactics they've outdone them selves.
I've lost a wager with my friend Eric at work. I'll have to eat humble pie.
I didn't think we would win that match,not couldn't ,simply wouldn't. I'd expected it to be tight with Oz defence and running with ball in hand giving them the edge to win. Nothing over the last couple of years ,or during this competition could have warned that that would be nullified by our front 8 demolishing theirs all round the pitch. Our 8 played very well,BUT it was so lopsided I can't help but feel their 8 coughed the occasion to make us look that outstandingly good. Leaving that negative aside the best team won and after the first 10 to 15 minutes even when we were behind I actually never felt we were going to lose that match as the scoreline really never reflected our dominance pretty much as it was in the 2003 final.
France ,what can one say except thank you. The AB's pack is much more the equal to ours than the French pack so if styles make games we definitely wanted the French and not the AB's in the semi's although France in France is as tough as it get's.
However, knockout Rugby as we saw yesterday ,anything is possible.
I thought the standard of both games was very high considering what they were playing for..you don't get a lot of 'pretty' rugby in games like this as the pressures/tension tend to lead to more errors etc. Enthralling stuff. Basically both England and France played 'up' to the occasion and Oz and Kiwis undershot what they are capable of and in that sense it's right that the winners get their reward and go on.
France ,what can one say except thank you. The AB's pack is much more the equal to ours than the French pack so if styles make games we definitely wanted the French and not the AB's in the semi's although France in France is as tough as it get's.
However, knockout Rugby as we saw yesterday ,anything is possible.
I thought the standard of both games was very high considering what they were playing for..you don't get a lot of 'pretty' rugby in games like this as the pressures/tension tend to lead to more errors etc. Enthralling stuff. Basically both England and France played 'up' to the occasion and Oz and Kiwis undershot what they are capable of and in that sense it's right that the winners get their reward and go on.
barjon
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I think both England and France deserve all the credit for knocking Australia and New Zealand off their stride and their game plan and therefore forcing them to play badly. Unable to play their usual game, neither seemed to have a plan B to fall back on and they paid the price.
Ain't the internet great..after a few hours of digging around I've found it's a tune called Peña Baiona and is the club song of a French Basque club called Aviron Bayonnais
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6a16dFg0mc&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6a16dFg0mc&mode=related&search=
Jack o'Clubs
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nice quote from Dallaglio in the paper this morning.
he'd given one of the pre-kick-off pep talks and said that the team had to do it for the fans, who unlike the press, hadn't let them down. Apparently a couple of players had been in a restaurant on the Friday night and got a standing ovation from England fans as they left. Dallaglio said, "well, if they can get that reaction just for eating..."
he'd given one of the pre-kick-off pep talks and said that the team had to do it for the fans, who unlike the press, hadn't let them down. Apparently a couple of players had been in a restaurant on the Friday night and got a standing ovation from England fans as they left. Dallaglio said, "well, if they can get that reaction just for eating..."
JTrader
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butter fingers
The main difference that i notice between watching international rugby union, and rugby leagues super league, is that the general catching, handling & passing skills in rugby league are FAR superior.
Some of the (england & other teams) rugby union players, look like they've never caught, held or passed a ball before, talk about looking nervous. Compare this to the skill, trickery and expansive nature of rugby league, and the gulf in ability seems huge 😱 .
This is part of the reason why i cannot understand the flack that andy farrell has received for his england RU appreances. In the games i have seen him play, he has been one of the best players in the england side. Add to this the fact that he is one of only a few england players who seem capable of catching, handling and passing the ball well, and he becomes virtually indespensible. Oh, and he can kick too.
I suspect that in professional RU, not enough time is spent in training practising the basics of catching, handling and passing the ball, probably spending a lot of time practising scrums, line-outs etc.
The main difference that i notice between watching international rugby union, and rugby leagues super league, is that the general catching, handling & passing skills in rugby league are FAR superior.
Some of the (england & other teams) rugby union players, look like they've never caught, held or passed a ball before, talk about looking nervous. Compare this to the skill, trickery and expansive nature of rugby league, and the gulf in ability seems huge 😱 .
This is part of the reason why i cannot understand the flack that andy farrell has received for his england RU appreances. In the games i have seen him play, he has been one of the best players in the england side. Add to this the fact that he is one of only a few england players who seem capable of catching, handling and passing the ball well, and he becomes virtually indespensible. Oh, and he can kick too.
I suspect that in professional RU, not enough time is spent in training practising the basics of catching, handling and passing the ball, probably spending a lot of time practising scrums, line-outs etc.
JTrader
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Do you agree that the handling (of the ball) skills in RL are superior to the handling skills in RU?
Jack o'Clubs
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categorically not. In fact I thought your original proposition so daft, I just didn't bother replying, unlike Chump! Just think 'stakes' and 'pressure' and try and compare, say, the psychological conditions the Kiwis were playing for in the quarter-finals compared to a high-level RL game. There is no comparison.
Incidentally, it is interesting that both the dominant teams on Saturday had been playing knock-out rugby for a couple of games already, whereas for Oz and NZ it was the first real pressure test in this tournament. Personally I think that was quite a big factor in the results. Maybe next time round, teams like the Kiwis should conspire to lose their first pool game to give them a bit of practice at playing under pressure when the knock-out stages come round!
JTrader
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Well you're one of the "experts" who thinks andy farrells crap, so it show how much you know - i.e. not a lot!
Your pressure argument does not stand up. Theres pressure in a basuc RL super league game, as each player knows he has to perform well, and if he doesn't come the end of the season he may be out of a job.
Just because there are more people watching an RU world cup game, shouldn't create more pressure. The pro's should be able to handle such pressure, without a deterioration in performance.
Your pressure argument does not stand up. Theres pressure in a basuc RL super league game, as each player knows he has to perform well, and if he doesn't come the end of the season he may be out of a job.
Just because there are more people watching an RU world cup game, shouldn't create more pressure. The pro's should be able to handle such pressure, without a deterioration in performance.
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Jack o'Clubs
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I'd be delighted if you could highlight where I've so much as hinted at that, let alone said it directly JT. Don't start making things up when you can't find facts to fit - you'll turn into a politician!
EDIT: Although I admit the case I make in post 118 is a weak one. A far better argument would one based on the nature of the rules: given the ability to contest the ball in RU, inevitably there will be far more apparent fumbles than in RL. Personally I prefer RU, but I would not knock RL. For one thing, any sport other than football is a 'minority' in the UK, and fans of the oval-ball game ought to stick together. They have far more in common than they have to seperate them.
EDIT: Although I admit the case I make in post 118 is a weak one. A far better argument would one based on the nature of the rules: given the ability to contest the ball in RU, inevitably there will be far more apparent fumbles than in RL. Personally I prefer RU, but I would not knock RL. For one thing, any sport other than football is a 'minority' in the UK, and fans of the oval-ball game ought to stick together. They have far more in common than they have to seperate them.
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