Rugby World Cup

[mjazzg]

Anyone?

tournament came alive yesterday with the Japan victory. England looked workmanlike first up. Now looking forward to seeing the All Blacks and Argentina - another shock would be fun

 

[Clunky]

Japan were superb. Edge of the seat stuff, for neutrals. I'm worried how Scotland will handle them next week. 

[danasgoodstuff]

Played in College, gotta love a sport with a 'hooker' in a 'scrum'.  And the drinking songs.

[xybert]

Didn't watch the All Blacks game this morning. We won but i heard that we were a bit shaky. Might be a good sign that we're starting slow as we usually peak too early while other teams in the tournament save their best for when it counts.

I'm a bit out of touch, haven't managed to catch any of the international matches leading up to the cup. Now that it's in full swing i'm going to try to get more in to it.

Japan's win over South Africa: Wow. Everyone in the office is following them now. 

 

 

[mjazzg]

Here goes again. Can Scotland burst the bubble of everyone's favourite second team? All the pressure has to be on the Scots

[mjazzg]

Order restored. Scotland assert their supremacy with clinical (eventually) approach. Too many errors from Japan gave themselves no real chance. They still look very exciting with ball in hand, going forward

[tomatamot]

Rugby Union, my favourite TV, without commentary, but just a fine Jazz record on a realistic volume.

[Big Beat Steve]

Listened to some rugby coverage casually on French radio here and there these past few days when working on my cars (my radio in the garage is permanently tuned in to Europe 1) and caught something amazing:

The US of A actually are in that World Championship and lost their first match to, of all countries, SAMOA??

Says a lot about its ranking compared to (American) Football on the domestic sports scene, doesn't it?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Those Pacific rim countries are generally pretty good at Rugby. They've all got short, broad players in their packs.

America's being in there is amazing, because Americans don't take un-American sports seriously as there's no billions in them. Just as well; if there were they'd rule EVERY sport.

MG

[xybert]

Congrats Scotland! 

Samoa are pretty good. Although we should beat Samoa, i'm always wary when we play them as they are capable of beating higher ranked teams (the South Africa versus Samoa game will be one to watch). I was going to say that most of the national team probably play their club rugby in New Zealand (Auckland has the highest population of Samoans of any city in the world, including Samoa), however a quick look at Wikipedia shows that the majority of the current squad play for English and French teams:

Player	Position	Date of Birth (Age)	Caps	Club/province
Alafoti Faosiliva	Flanker	28 October 1985 (age 29)	14	Bath
Alesana Tuilagi	Wing	24 February 1981 (age 34)	35	Newcastle
Anthony Perenise	Prop	18 October 1982 (age 32)	25	Bristol
Census Johnston	Prop	6 May 1981 (age 34)	49	Toulouse
Fa'atoina Autagavaia	Wing	18 September 1988 (age 27)	17	Nevers
Faifili Levave	Flanker	15 January 1986 (aged 29)	7	Toyota Verblitz
Filo Paulo	Lock	6 November 1987 (age 27)	19	Treviso
George Pisi	Centre	29 June 1986 (age 29)	17	Northampton
Jack Lam	Flanker	18 November 1987 (age 27)	16	Bristol
Jake Grey	Prop	17 February 1984 (age 31)	4	SCOPA
Joe Tekori	Lock	17 December 1983 (age 31)	33	Toulouse
Johnny Leota	Centre	21 January 1984 (age 31)	19	Sale
Kahn Fotuali'i	Scrum-half	22 May 1982 (age 33)	25	Northampton
Kane Thompson	Lock	9 January 1982 (age 33)	31	Newcastle
Ken Pisi	Wing	24 February 1989 (age 26)	7	Northampton
Manu Leiataua	Hooker	26 December 1986 (age 28)	8	Aurillac
Maurie Fa'asavalu	Flanker	12 January 1980 (age 35)	26	Oyonnax
Michael Stanley	Fly-half	29 December 1989 (age 25)	7	Unattached
Motu Matu'u	Hooker	30 April 1987 (age 28)	4	Hurricanes
Ofisa Treviranus (c)	Flanker	31 March 1984 (age 31)	33	London Irish
Ole Avei	Hooker	13 June 1983 (age 32)	22	Bordeaux Bègles
Patrick Fa'apale	Fly-half	5 March 1991 (age 24)	6	Vaiala
Paul Perez	Centre	26 July 1986 (age 29)	12	Sharks
Rey Lee-Lo	Centre	20 February 1987 (age 28)	3	Cardiff Blues
Tim Nanai-Williams	Fullback	12 June 1989 (age 26)	2	Ricoh Black Rams
TJ Ioane	Number 8	9 May 1989 (age 26)	6	Sale
Tusi Pisi	Fly-half	18 June 1982 (age 33)	22	Suntory Sungoliath
Vavae Tuilagi	Number 8	15 June 1988 (age 27)	4	Carcassonne
Vavao Afemai	Scrum-half	18 February 1992 (age 23)	5	Vaiala
Viliamu Afatia	Prop	24 May 1990 (age 25)	12	Agen
Zak Taulafo	Prop	29 January 1983 (age 32)	37	Stade Français

[mjazzg]

All Blacks should beat any team ......but there in lies the joy of such a competition. Which team will stop them and at which point in the competition?

[Big Beat Steve]

Interesting ... Looks like most of the Samoan team is made up of "legionnaires" earning their pay far abroad in more renowned leagues.

As a strict outsider to this sport, what I meant to say in my initial post is just that at first sight it is baffling to see a huge country well-established in many areas of sport being beaten by a small (tiny?) one like this. And this can only be due to the fact that rugby is not a major sport in the USA. I was surprised to see rugby has a following there at all. I wonder what playing rugby is like to an American (considering the position of (American) football there). Maybe a bit like college football as it was being played in the 20s, with no headgear, no body protection, nothing ...?

In case Samoa should be playing France later on in the course of this championship I hope to catch the French radio broadcast.

And of course "established" hierarchies in any sport are no longer what they used to be. As can be seen in the European soccer championship where the Netherlands look like they might not make it whereas Iceland does.

 

[xybert]

Haven't really been keeping up but things are getting interesting...

England are out.

I wish that i'd gotten to see the Australia Vs Scotland match, looks like it was a cracker. Final score was 35-34 to Australia, however they won in the last minute after being awarded a very controversial penalty. That's the way it goes i guess, most countries have been the victims of dodgy calls at times, it's just a bit gutting as it would have been phenomenal for Scotland to have gotten through and by the looks of it they deserved the win.

The ABs thrashed France on the weekend. I only got to see the last thirty minutes as i'd taken my son to his first swimming lesson (he's 2 and a half... pro-tip: don't be lazy like me, get them in the pool when they're younger and can put up less of a fight). The ABs have a lot of demons when it comes to playing France in the World Cup so it was good to knock it out.

This was a pretty sweet try:

So, now it's down to South Africa Vs New Zealand and Argentina Vs Australia.

[tomatamot]

Haven't really been keeping up but things are getting interesting...

.

I wish that i'd gotten to see the Australia Vs Scotland match, looks like it was a cracker. Final score was 35-34 to Australia, however they won in the last minute after being awarded a very controversial penalty. That's the way it goes i guess, most countries have been the victims of dodgy calls at times, it's just a bit gutting as it would have been phenomenal for Scotland to have gotten through and by the looks of it they deserved the win.

 

This was a pretty sweet try:

So, now it's down to South Africa Vs New Zealand and Argentina Vs Australia.

But a wrong decision is still a decision. I`ve seen a great match of rugby today.

And yes Julian Savea..........................a new star player, indeed.

[xybert]

Haven't really been keeping up but things are getting interesting...

.

I wish that i'd gotten to see the Australia Vs Scotland match, looks like it was a cracker. Final score was 35-34 to Australia, however they won in the last minute after being awarded a very controversial penalty. That's the way it goes i guess, most countries have been the victims of dodgy calls at times, it's just a bit gutting as it would have been phenomenal for Scotland to have gotten through and by the looks of it they deserved the win.

 

This was a pretty sweet try:

So, now it's down to South Africa Vs New Zealand and Argentina Vs Australia.

But a wrong decision is still a decision. I`ve seen a great match of rugby today.

And yes Julian Savea..........................a new star player, indeed.

Regarding the decision, yeah totally. It'll be debated and picked apart after the fact but the ref had to make a call in the moment and he made it.

[mjazzg]

ABs have looked unstoppable, both individually and as a team. However SA have looked like an immovable mountain so their clash will offer one hell of a contest

Shame for Scotland who played so well to stay close to the Wallabies. Sometimes the ref is the most important person on the pitch and he surely was with that decision

I loved the way that Argentina walloped the Irish, who I was supporting (after England's dismal showing it was time to shout for the country of my grandparents' birth).I'd very much like to see them take on ABs in the final

Is the all Southern hemisphere semis real that big a surprise? Maybe Argentina but the other three were always likely to be there

[Clunky]

I'm completely gutted over Scotland's exit. Few would have thought they could take Australia to the wire but they did. Two crucial decisions went the wrong way. The manner of their loss through poor refereeing makes it all the harder to take. If Scotland can play like this in Six Nations then I will be deliriously happy. For now, just angry and sad.

 

[xybert]

Well, may as well tie this up. New Zealand ended up winning the cup. I missed the first half due to being too lazy to get out of bed, and when i started watching the ABs were up 21-3. I was a bit underwhelmed as it looked like it was going to be a bit of a non-event, but then a player got sent off and the Aussies scored two converted tries to bring it within 4 points at 21-17. The Aussies seemed to have the momentum and i got that familiar sinking feeling however the kiwis managed to hang in there. A skillful drop kick took it to 24-17 (which meant the Aussies would need at least a converted try to tie the score), and then a penalty took it to 27-17. There were still nerves (even with minutes to go i could see the Aussies getting a converted try and then a penalty to take the game to extra time) however a runaway try at the end sealed it at 34-17. Good on ya boys.

[mjazzg]

The best team won. It did get a bit squeaky when the Wallabies came back but not for too long

Everyone's loving Sonny Bill for his medal giving away. Just added to the impression that the ABs are a class apart both on and off the field of play

[EKE BBB]

Anyone interested in this year’s Japan Rugby World Cup?

Nice match between All Blacks and Springboks. 23-13 for New Zealand, with serious problems when defending open and just a few screenshots of their unbelievable mastery playing with the line. Very serious at the scrums, though.

Pumas lost against France in a surprising match (20-3 for France in the first part, 18-3 for Argentina in the 2nd) and need to beat England to pass to the second round.

 

 

[mjazzg]

I enjoyed the Springbok v All Black match. Cheslin Kolbe could be the star of the tournament if SA go deep. All Blacks were the All Blacks and will yet again be the team to beat.

I don't like Jones's England very much but will be cheering them on nonetheless. My  remote Irish heritage means I will be wearing green on occasion too.

I hope we get some surprises along the way. The Pumas nearly did so today. France are always so unpredictable.

The early morning timings in the UK aren't great.

[EKE BBB]

14 hours ago, mjazzg said:

 

The early morning timings in the UK aren't great.

Same here in Spain, of course! 

I’ve planned to watch the most interesting matches live over the weekends plus some of them during the week at dinner time, using smart TV options.

[mjazzg]

Good win for England, as expected. Very good win by Ireland. A good weekend for me

[EKE BBB]

1 hour ago, mjazzg said:

Good win for England, as expected. Very good win by Ireland. A good weekend for me

Very easy for Ireland. Its forward pack easily took advantage in most of the plays.

Edited September 23, 2019 by EKE BBB

[EKE BBB]

Now we got semifinals:

New Zealand- England

Wales - South Africa

Definitely, I am in for the All Blacks!