Rugby World Cup

[The Nomad]

4 fantastic quarter finals.

Should be 2 very one sided semi finals.

 

[SaRed]

Wow ... that was nerve wrecking... what a game ...

That was crazy.
Hopefully we don't drop levels in the semi

 

[Holle]

Ramos will be haunted by that blocked conversion for the next four years.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Ramos will be haunted by that blocked conversion for the next four years.

How often does that happen ?
I cannot remember the last time I saw it.

 

[Athens]

A very small part of me wants to see England beat the Fijians, just so that we can potentially see 2 all northern hemisphere semi's

So, the only northern hemisphere side to make it through is England.

You know that it's all your fault.

 

[Gerry_A_Trick]

England the only team to win all their matches so far.

 

[Dreambeliever]

What a game. Incredible rugby by both sides. South Africa rolled the dice making so many changes so early and it paid off. That try with half the opposition on his back was a Roy of the Rovers moment. Unreal.

 

[Shay_K]

Cracking bit of cheese Gromit. That was a fantastic game. The TMO should have spotted the hand on the ground before the last Bok penalty though, shades of our game with Brighton.

 

[Jürgen4PM]

So, the only northern hemisphere side to make it through is England.

You know that it's all your fault.

I take full responsibility.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Cracking bit of cheese Gromit. That was a fantastic game. The TMO should have spotted the hand on the ground before the last Bok penalty though, shades of our game with Brighton.

I mentioned in the cricket thread that Australia was brighton'ed against Liverpool.
The new Zealand channel i watched didn't discuss this... was this on etsebeth?

 

[Holle]

I would have loved a Fiji v France semi final. But hey.

The only way England can go through is if they bore South Africa to death.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

I would have loved a Fiji v France semi final. But hey.

The only way England can go through is if they bore South Africa to death.

Are England really that bad? Just can't see it.

 

[jexykrodic]

Are England really that bad? Just can't see it.

Nah, England scored most points in QF's.

 

[Judge Jules]

No, we aren't. I'm not convinced by Borthwick and it wouldn't greatly surprise me to see him replaced by Andy Farrell quite soon, but the players have developed a "Nobody likes us - we don't care" mentality which makes them at least hard to beat. Die Bokke ought to win that semi but they won't have it easy, nor would it be the first big surprise at this World Cup if it goes our way.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

No, we aren't. I'm not convinced by Borthwick and it wouldn't greatly surprise me to see him replaced by Andy Farrell quite soon, but the players have developed a "Nobody likes us - we don't care" mentality which makes them at least hard to beat. Die Bokke ought to win that semi but they won't have it easy, nor would it be the first big surprise at this World Cup if it goes our way.

Anyone who thinks the Boks will 'hammer' them is living in la la land ... may the best team win.

 

[The Nomad]

Anyone who thinks the Boks will 'hammer' them is living in la la land ... may the best team win.

Depends... if SA get a couple of quick tries, it could go away from England very quickly.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Depends... if SA get a couple of quick tries, it could go away from England very quickly.

I mean that's how I felt yesterday ... I thought after 5 minutes, France would fucking destroy us ... It just felt they were on a different level physically ... but one lucky break with Arendse (fucking hell he's fast too) and we basically were with them the whole game.

I look forward to the game, and think we should be favorites but it's going to be close imo.

 

[Shay_K]

I mentioned in the cricket thread that Australia was brighton'ed against Liverpool.
The new Zealand channel i watched didn't discuss this... was this on etsebeth?

It was for the last penalty that Pollard put over from inside his own half, I think it was Etsebth who was over the Frech player lying on the the floor, but the replay clearly showed he was not supporting his own weight yet the TMO did not intervene and the penalty yielded 3 points.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

It was for the last penalty that Pollard put over from inside his own half, I think it was Etsebth who was over the Frech player lying on the the floor, but the replay clearly showed he was not supporting his own weight yet the TMO did not intervene and the penalty yielded 3 points.

My mates back the beloved country thought the ref was kak in general, but it seems that's the norm now for most sports...

I'd never seen dupont play until yesterday ... he's magical.

 

[Shay_K]

My mates back the beloved country thought the ref was kak in general, but it seems that's the norm now for most sports...

I'd never seen dupont play until yesterday ... he's magical.

There is too small a pool of refs at the top of this sport IMO, hence the poor standard. Dupont is a fantastic player. (Even though he is French)

 

[Athens]

I think in lots of sports the standard of reffing hasn't improved in line with the players. Perhaps we need some sort of PED for refs.

 

[Judge Jules]

I wonder how much good that'd do TBH. I suspect it's quite a bit easier to work on and improve physical skills than it is to improve accuracy of decision-making. My tentative guess for the future of officiating would be that it might move in the direction of greater automation. Whether that'll ultimately help, I'm not sure.

 

[Athens]

One would have thought that a few guys who had access to the different camera angles would have helped. The TMO seemed to be working quite well but for some reason in this world cup there's been a few communication issues.

 

[Shay_K]

Having watched Wayne Barnes in our qf I reckon the RFU need to adopt the soccer idea of using the spay can as a separation method to keep the lineout in order.

 

[Jürgen4PM]

It would be interesting to see if they could utilise the '4th' officials more for the scrum. For example, I'm sure the refs are left guessing here because they can't see what's happening on both sides of the front row.

 

[Judge Jules]

Having watched Wayne Barnes in our qf I reckon the RFU need to adopt the soccer idea of using the spay can as a separation method to keep the lineout in order.

The lineout does need regulating, but giving referees the power to freeze offenders' ba11s off without anaesthetic is going a little far.

Wayne Barnes BTW is a total Jekyll and Hyde referee. He can be brilliant one game and utterly hopeless the next.

 

[doctor_mac]

The lineout does need regulating, but giving referees the power to freeze offenders' ba11s off without anaesthetic is going a little far.

Wayne Barnes BTW is a total Jekyll and Hyde referee. He can be brilliant one game and utterly hopeless the next.

I used to basically write any prospect of enjoyment of a game off if WB was reffing but he had edged his way into my circle of toleration. Sorry to say he's back out again.

In other news what's with this fucking obsession with pundits talking about players' "painting a picture" for the ref. He is/ isn't painting a good picture for the ref in that ruck/ lineout/ maul etc. Oh do fuck off.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

 

[Judge Jules]

 

[LeTallecWiz]

@Judge Jules - listen from 12:00 onwards, great story with some Saffa who played for England and Bakkies