mazolaman Posted September 10, 2011 Posted September 10, 2011 Great opening ceremony. Not such an easy run out or NZ,those Tongans are tough nuts to crack. Watched a bit of the Namibia Fiji match,and admired the Namibians fighting spirit. The Scottish were pushed hard by the Romaians,but came through. Read some interesting stuff about the Romanian team.They were an Army team in the eighties,when their rugby was at it's peak,but the 5 nations would not allow them in,sadly,they are not at the heights they were. Also some admirable stuff about Argentina,who's top players are professionals overseas,but most of their international squad is still amateur,therefore they have to pay their own way to international matches and training etc.This seems admirable when looking at our premiership footballers,who earn from £50k to £200k / week,and can't be arsed when playing internationals. So,I'm off to the pub to watch the opening England game.It seems slightly wrong to go to the pub for 9am....but hey why not!
kiwirwe Posted September 10, 2011 Posted September 10, 2011 Great opening ceremony. Not such an easy run out or NZ,those Tongans are tough nuts to crack. Watched a bit of the Namibia Fiji match,and admired the Namibians fighting spirit. The Scottish were pushed hard by the Romaians,but came through. Read some interesting stuff about the Romanian team.They were an Army team in the eighties,when their rugby was at it's peak,but the 5 nations would not allow them in,sadly,they are not at the heights they were. Also some admirable stuff about Argentina,who's top players are professionals overseas,but most of their international squad is still amateur,therefore they have to pay their own way to international matches and training etc.This seems admirable when looking at our premiership footballers,who earn from £50k to £200k / week,and can't be arsed when playing internationals. So,I'm off to the pub to watch the opening England game.It seems slightly wrong to go to the pub for 9am....but hey why not! Yes after the 4th Pint it will be around 10.30am, so you wont feel so bad lol Have a good one and good luck England
riazp Posted September 10, 2011 Posted September 10, 2011 Close call, but England managed to pull out the victory! I'm curious to know why so many penalties were missed in a stadium with no weather conditions whatsoever...
mazolaman Posted September 10, 2011 Author Posted September 10, 2011 Apparently,Johnny Wilkinson reckons that stadium has it's own conditions,due to the roof...... not sure about that... didn't really deserve that win,but still didn't think Argentina would be a pushover.
mazolaman Posted September 11, 2011 Author Posted September 11, 2011 Well,the USA gave good account of themselves,but it looks like Ireland are the winners. After the heart attack inducing England Argentina game,I'm off to see South Africa play Wales. More beer for breakfast....
JMH Posted September 11, 2011 Posted September 11, 2011 Spent most of the day on the couch watching rugby. Second half of the sa-wales game is just starting, good match so far. More beer for breakfast.... Good nutrition is important. Make sure you drink stout.
mazolaman Posted September 11, 2011 Author Posted September 11, 2011 Spent most of the day on the couch watching rugby. Second half of the sa-wales game is just starting, good match so far. Good nutrition is important. Make sure you drink stout. Exactly what I did...2 pints of guiness,and a full English.... good match,SA were quite lucky in the end,as like England,they were making mistakes everywhere. Wales played well. Can no-one kick 3 points anymore? I'm off for a nap......
dicko Posted September 11, 2011 Posted September 11, 2011 Wallabies played well against plucky Italians. Backline needs to gell better and forwards not give away so many penalties, as good teams will hurt us for that. Good signs though, and no-one wants to peak too early in a tournament!
BobKincaid Posted September 11, 2011 Posted September 11, 2011 Watched the replay of the US/Ireland match. Talent differential was obvious. USA/Russia match should be interesting. What time do these things start in real time in the U.S.? Separately, I suspect if more Americans had exposure to rugby, it would become popular more quickly than soccer. The obvious evolutonary relationship between American football and rugby is reminiscent of seeing the divergence of two distinct species in the fossil record.
El Presidente Posted September 11, 2011 Posted September 11, 2011 Thoroughly enjoyed the opening round! No score blowouts, competitive rugby. Japan/France game was a cracker as was the Wales/South Africa game. I still can't understand how Wales lost that one. Australia v Italy was a dour encounter with plenty of improvement in the Aussies. Of the other heavyweight sides, England and South Africa were all at sea. Wales will be a handfull in the quater finals. NZ still the team to beat. Looking forward to this weekends Ireland/Australia game. I wish I was in Dublin watching it with Andy/Rob and the lads
ZinZan Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 This year word look more competitive, the lesser favorite nations seems to close the gap with the big boys. Argentina played really well, gave england run for their money. The japanese held their own for most of the match. Its gonna be an interesting world cup.
Ken Gargett Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 Apparently,Johnny Wilkinson reckons that stadium has it's own conditions,due to the roof...... not sure about that... didn't really deserve that win,but still didn't think Argentina would be a pushover. he also apparently blamed the balls. he was crap. so was england. very lucky to get out of that and will need to improve immensely to get anywhere. we were crap first half, better second half. also need to inprove a great deal. jonny was so bad, i wondered whether rob andrew had pulled on a jersey again. shows just how far ahead of any other fly half carter is. cooper ran hot and cold. how the pumas must have longed for the days of hugo porta.
mazolaman Posted September 12, 2011 Author Posted September 12, 2011 Yep,pretty fair assessments above. England were crap,only improved when Youngs came on to provide some imagination. Carter didn't have a great game against Tonga,in fact,most fly halfs have started badly. I doubt anyone will enjoy playing Argentina,probably the most physical game you'll have,although the south sea Islanders are a bloody tough bunch too. Oz looked good second half,when they seemed to get themselves together.Their back row looked great. Definitely agree,all the perceived smaller teams did well. I'm also looking forward to USA v Russia,sorry don't know what time that is on,but if you go here you can click above the listing to alter the time to your local time,as if by magic.
mazolaman Posted September 14, 2011 Author Posted September 14, 2011 Well,the Samoans brushed aside Namibia. And it looks like The Wild Man Of The Woods is playing for Canada... Well done to Canada,played a clever tactical game,with an aggressive defense. Will be interested to see how Scotland do...
mazolaman Posted September 15, 2011 Author Posted September 15, 2011 Whenever Argentina play England play each other at anything,it will be hard fought. But watching the early stages of this USA Russia match,blimey,these guys are throwing themselves into battle like warriors,or battering rams. Ball handling isn't good,plenty of passion though. These players are going to feel it tomorrow..... Fairly evenly matched,with the US slightly better organised. Again admirable,the fact that these guys are taking unpaid leave to play for their countries...no prima donnas here.
riazp Posted September 15, 2011 Posted September 15, 2011 I enjoyed watching Canada play Tonga...very well played game by the Canadians...maybe they can be a surprise team in this world cup, even though I doubt that very highly, Especially since their next opponents is France. Only a couple more days before England play their second game...hopefully a weeks rest will help them game plan for what should be a "easy" game vs goergia
mazolaman Posted September 17, 2011 Author Posted September 17, 2011 South Africa looked very good against the Fijians,they are the team to beat in this world cup,I think. Looking forward to Ireland Australia,should be a good match.
Montaigut Posted September 17, 2011 Posted September 17, 2011 Bloody hell!! Australia 6 - Ireland 15 Can my beloved Wallabies take a mulligan on that one? Well done Ireland, gritty performance where it counted. Obviously the Irish were well prepared for Australia...
baragh Posted September 17, 2011 Posted September 17, 2011 Not looking forward to facing my Irish coworker on monday
mazolaman Posted September 17, 2011 Author Posted September 17, 2011 What a great game. Have to say the Irish worked their game out well. They didn't give the backs a second to get a run going,harrassed them all the way. Which was exactly what they did to England in the 6 nations! commentators are claiming this was a major upset. Are they sure?Ireland are nobodies pushover.
kiwirwe Posted September 18, 2011 Posted September 18, 2011 commentators are claiming this was a major upset. yes im upset, how can i win a cigar or 2 if australia, new zealand not in the finals grrrrrrr
riazp Posted September 18, 2011 Posted September 18, 2011 Wow! I agree with the fact that its not really an "upset", Ireland are a solid squad, but I thought the wallabies had what it took to beet the Irish. All blacks crushed the ****...there is quite a difference in play level from the top teir and lower teir teams. Now...COME ON ENGLAND!
NJP Posted September 18, 2011 Posted September 18, 2011 commentators are claiming this was a major upset. yes im upset, how can i win a cigar or 2 if australia, new zealand not in the finals grrrrrrr We can still have a cigar if I win.
kiwirwe Posted September 18, 2011 Posted September 18, 2011 We can still have a cigar if I win. i will hold you to that :-)
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