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Rugby World Cup 2011

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Yeah, disappointing from Hook all right. I've tended to champion his claim so far but even I wouldn't put him ahead of Priestland now.

TBH though I'd have been amazed if Wales had won today after what the semi must have taken out of them, mentally more than anything.
 
Looking forward to this.

Hopefully France can show up for the first time in this world cup and make a real game of this.
 
France were unlucky. That ref was a proper 'homer'. ABs lay wrong side of the ball at every tackle and were not penalised for it once. French better team on the day for me.
 
[quote author=LeTallecWiz link=topic=45879.msg1415612#msg1415612 date=1319364246]
I will wait to see what Wizadry says Mr. Mac before agreeing with you.
[/quote]

That's Dr, LTW. Dr Mac.
 
IMO Joubert was the right choice for the Final based on the games so far, but that was his weakest game all right. McCaw in particular must have been pinged maybe one third of the number of times he should have been. Mind you, France threw the game away for my money - one time in the second half, when they were on the attack, Servat turned back inside with the ball when an outside pass would have given them a two-on-one overlap, admittedly not far from touch on the left but only a few yards out from the tryline.

All that said, I'm glad this French side didn't wind up as the poorest World Cup winners overall that there would ever have been.
 
Yet another game decided by the ref.


I lost count of how many high tackles he let the kiwis get away with and if there was any 50/50 call to make he came down in favour of the All Blacks nearly every time.

Still an enjoyable game and the team of the WC won in the end, although maybe the best team on the night lost.
 
[quote author=LarryHagman link=topic=45879.msg1415717#msg1415717 date=1319375390]
Bit of a whimper. Not a great touro really. Glad the AB's won. Pound on Wales for the 6N.
[/quote]

I'm not a major , major rugby fan but do watch a fair bit ...anyway i'd agree , it was all a bit predictable really and a little boring in the end , i mean NZ's first real test was the final ...guess that's one of the problems with rugby , not enough countries involved .
 
It was not quite French Toast nor Black and White win as predicted but All Blacks by the skin of their teeth! The French showed up at last.
 
Not V fair: France fined for standing up to haka

The decision by France to line up in a V formation and advance towards the New Zealand haka before Sunday's Rugby World Cup final has proven to be a costly one.

The French team has been fined £2500 ($3800) – not, as reported earlier, £10,000 ($15,370) – because its action breaches an International Rugby Board regulation on how the haka should be faced, introduced after previous confrontations.

As the New Zealand team performed the ceremonial haka, known as Kapa O Pango, the French linked arms and formed a V formation, then fanned out as they marched from the 10-metre line towards halfway.

An IRB spokesman said teams knew they must not breach a 10 metre gap, which had been reduced from 20 metres a year ago.

All Blacks manager Darren Shand said France should not have been fined for confronting the haka in the tense moments before kick-off.

Shand said in a radio interview today a fine was too severe a sanction for the offence.

"They came to play and that was great," he said.

"The culture challenge is that. It should be done and then we get on with the real stuff."

France captain Thierry Dusautoir said the French team had decided on the morning of the match to confront the haka.

"At one stage we were so close to them that they wanted to kiss the New Zealanders, but I told them to take it easy," he said.

"It was a great moment and a moment we will remember all our lives."

Dusautoir was named the International Rugby Board player of the year for 2011 at a ceremony on Monday.
Click to expand...



How fucking useless is this !!! They have rules regarding that stupid Haka!! I mean they're allowed dance around and stick out their tongues like a bunch of cockheads and you (opposition team) have rules to observe while they do !!

I hate the haka ...i always watch and hope the opposition team suddenly decide to charge them and batter them .
 
I don't hate the haka, but the idea that there should be rules governing how the opposition can respond to it is idiotic.
 
and why are they even allowed to do it ? I mean would they let the irish lay down a Riverdance style challenge ? i doubt it !!
 
I think it all has to do with the haka's cultural status. If the Irish or anyone else came up with some kind of challenge for which they could make similar claims, I suppose the IRB would have to let them do it now.

As for the idea of Paul O'Connell or Rory Best doing one of those arms-behind-your-back Irish dances, words fail me. ;D
 
I love the Haka and i enjoy it even more when oppo sides do something in response to it, it makes for fantastic viewing and really gets the blood pumping before kick off.

I'll never forget Cockerill and Hewitt (Martin Johnson asked Cockerill "do you know what you've just done?" when it was over)
Wales refusing to walk away first after it was finished
Chabal looking like a caveman when the french fronted up (i could be wrong but i think he went on to break Ali Williams jaw and knock out Masoe in that game)
 
wales haka response



Yeah i was just looking at the welsh response . Poor ref can't get them to start after , haha .


Anyway , the thing with the Haka is i thought it was a challenge laid down to people who enter your "land" ....so it is done when they play at home but shouldn't be when they play away . Think it was that way once then it just got done all the time as people like seeing it .
 
[quote author=RedZeppelin link=topic=45879.msg1416688#msg1416688 date=1319532651]
and why are they even allowed to do it ? I mean would they let the irish lay down a Riverdance style challenge ? i doubt it !!
[/quote]

The haka went through a renaissance, can't remember when. Probably just before the game went professional, mid 90s. Undoubtedly, someone saw a commercial opportunity. It was a bit of a damp squib where they simply went through the motions for years. Now they have different ones for different occasions. The 'Ka Mate' one is still the best, some of the others are a bit boring.
That said, there are more Maori in the team than there used to be so maybe some justification. Spoke with my Dad about it during this WC, he said no-one was particularly arsed about it for years. He also said that the Aussies used to have a haka of their own that they phased out in the 60s.
 
I might be making this up but i seem to recall that it was Buck Shelford who started getting the Kiwi's to put some heart into doing the Haka during the 87 world cup. Again i could be wrong but i think they only used to do it when they were away from home, but under Shelfords influence they decided to perfrom it for home games as well.

When i tried to confirm this by doing a few searches on the internet i found this about Shelford:

Shelford made his Test debut for the All Blacks later that year against France in a 19–7 victory in Toulouse, and then was a notable victim of the infamous "Battle of Nantes" in the second Test. Roughly 20 minutes into the match, he was caught at the bottom of a rather aggressive ruck, and an errant French boot found its way into Shelford's groin, somehow ripping his scrotum and leaving one testicle hanging free. He also lost four teeth in the process. Incredibly, after discovering the injury to his scrotum, he calmly asked the physio to stitch up the tear and returned to the field before a blow to his head left him concussed. He was substituted and watched the remainder of the game from the grandstand where he witnessed the All Blacks lose 16–3. To this day Shelford has no memory of the game.
 
[quote author=Kenny4PM link=topic=45879.msg1410488#msg1410488 date=1318245999]
If the South African style of rugby is so out of date, then how come they've won 3 tri nations, 2 World cup's and been ranked 1st twice since 2007 in the IRB rankings?

It might not be every rugby fans cup of tea, but it's bloody effective when played well.
[/quote]


I know this is very late but I somehow forgot to ask this at the time. Since 2007 they've finished last in the Tri Nations more often than any other team and won the comp once (2009) in that time. That one victory, I might add, they abandoned their mono-style game plan and actually played attacking rugby with great results.
 
[quote author=LeTallecWiz link=topic=45879.msg1415612#msg1415612 date=1319364246]
I will wait to see what Wizadry says Mr. Mac before agreeing with you.
[/quote]

Not sure what you're getting at LTW but I thought France were a little unlucky too.

Loved their response to the haka and reminded me a bit of the South African approach a number of years back when they stood nose to nose with them.

France did the same as England in '91 for mine; moved away from their strategic kicking and gave the ball a lot of air. In contrast the Kiwi's looked a little like stage-fright; they wanted to win but were more afraid of losing.

Crucial moments during the game seemed to go NZ way though I really don't quite agree that the ref was letting them away with a lot. France simply got caught isolated with the ball on a couple of important occasions and then, despite striking the ball nicely all game, badly missed a pen that would probably have won it for them.


While I supported England largely during the tournament and really don't like the bias the media claiming only Southern Hemisphere sides are good enough, the fact is that between them the Boks, Kiwi's and Oz have 6 World Cups (2 each). In response the Northern Hemisphere have 1 with England in 2003. Largely speaking the Southern Hemisphere teams play attacking rugby (with the exception of SA in '07 😉) while the northern hemisphere is more the rugby purist. The rule makers have been trying to encourage running rugby and put an emphasis on a try rather than pen goal; to me some nations seem to be trying to resist this effort and they're - largely - suffering the consequences.
 
[quote author=Wizardry link=topic=45879.msg1417842#msg1417842 date=1319698648]
[quote author=LeTallecWiz link=topic=45879.msg1415612#msg1415612 date=1319364246]
I will wait to see what Wizadry says Mr. Mac before agreeing with you.
[/quote]

Not sure what you're getting at LTW but I thought France were a little unlucky too.
[/quote]

Though I don't agree with you all the time, I enjoy reading your posts. So I'll agree with you if I haven't watched a game 99% of the time ( ... And since I didn't watch any games after we lost to the Wallabies).
 
[quote author=Wizardry link=topic=45879.msg1417825#msg1417825 date=1319696316]
[quote author=Kenny4PM link=topic=45879.msg1410488#msg1410488 date=1318245999]
If the South African style of rugby is so out of date, then how come they've won 3 tri nations, 2 World cup's and been ranked 1st twice since 2007 in the IRB rankings?

It might not be every rugby fans cup of tea, but it's bloody effective when played well.
[/quote]


I know this is very late but I somehow forgot to ask this at the time. Since 2007 they've finished last in the Tri Nations more often than any other team and won the comp once (2009) in that time. That one victory, I might add, they abandoned their mono-style game plan and actually played attacking rugby with great results.
[/quote]

Sorry mate i just don't see how their style of rugby is so out of date.

They generally play with a huge pack of forwards which tries to bully the oppo and dominate the set piece, whilst their backs play the percentages when they have the ball. Like i said it might not be to every fans liking, but you can't really argue that it doesn't work considering they've won 2 WC's, Tri Nations comps and a lions tour playing this way + ranked around the 1-3 mark by the IRB.
 
Where's Shaun Edwards going?

If he was interested in a RL job, it would be Wigan, which has just been available without him being seriously linked.

So, it must be England. I hope he gets the proper job, not as a Johnson stooge which would be pointless.
 
I do too, but the RFU is so totally dysfunctional that one pretty much expects them not to make a move for him. Nor is that going to change until they dynorod the whole lot of them, starting with Andrew who has been and remains an out-and-out disaster. Regrettably, if I were a betting man my money'd be on some sort of promotion for Edwards within the Wales set-up. He may have left his club job but I'm not sure the same applies to his international gig.
 
Cardiff have stated that they doubt he'll be going there, so i guess it looks like England or Wales at the moment.

Henry has said he'll be looking for a team over here as well.
 
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