Rugby WC II

[Xray the Enforcer]

I expect to see a lot of bitter green tears at the beginning of this thread.

[Bazzlebane]

Not being Irish, I won't cry. I watched the game neutral. Instead I will praise a masterfully controlled match by the French. They never looked for one instant genuinely troubled by the Irish; the French forwards simply obliterated them. This is the France I expected to see in the RWC.

[Sir Thursday]

I think Ireland suffered a similar problem to England last weekend - France's kicking game, in particular the size of Traille's boot, was superior to Ireland's. So once Ireland got pinned down in their own 22 they couldn't get out again: every time they kicked the ball away it would come back at them with interest. In the second half I can only remember them being in the French 22 once. Perhaps this trend of winning through field position has been going on for a while and I've only just noticed it, but it seems like it produces some pretty one sided scorelines even among the elite nations.

Ireland are going to have to work hard to qualify now - they'll be praying that Namibia can prevent Argentina from getting a bonus point, because the way the Irish backline has been performing there is absolutely no way they'll be able to score 4 tries against the Argentians. As has been the case in the last few World Cups, any group with Argentina in is the pool of death.

Sir Thursday

[Rimmer]

So if Argentina get a bonus-point win over Namibia, Ireland need to beat Argentina by four tries and stop them getting a BP to level with them and get through?

[Xray the Enforcer]

I only caught half the match (and then beerily sent txts to a few BwB rugby fans, wheeee). France was just incredibly focused the part that I did see, and if they played that way the whole match, then well done -- it was a deserved win.

still, that's sore news to the roving pack of Ireland supporters I watched shuffle out into a Manhattan sunset.

[Ratty]

So next up is England vs Samoa. Now that Ashton has been forced to pick what is probably his best group of backs (out of the ones he brought not mentioned those left behind) I can actually see us scoring a few tries. The Samoans will trouble us, but the fact they are generally poor at the set peice means we should beat them and I'm actually more worried about Tonga.

[Bazzlebane]

Samoa gave a much better England side quite a bit of trouble in 2003. While I would still tip England to win tomorrow, I'm not entirely confident. It would certainly make for an interesting tournament if neither Ireland nor England made the quarters (though probably terrible for the TV ratings).

[Edda van Heefmstra Ruston]

I was listening to the radio broadcast, not watching the television, and frankly, it sounded dire. Of course, George Hook makes everything dire -- we can't lose, until we can't win. Still, despite his digs at the players and the refs, he did have some good points. [The main one I remember was why were Ireland kicking so much -- even if the kicks themselves were better, we would still have been playing against "the best catch-and-attack team in the world."]

Then again, I know some of the lads at work were hoping for a shite game last night in the hope that EOS would be sacked despite his contract.

Rimmer - yeah, that's it. Of course if they don't get the point, or don't win, obviously that changes things. But is that even possible?!

[DJDonegal]

I was pissed and I still thought Ireland were poor last night. Not even drunken revellry could convince me to look on the bright side of things.

[williamjm]

The Samoans will trouble us, but the fact they are generally poor at the set peice means we should beat them and I'm actually more worried about Tonga.

England should be particularly worried after Tonga came within 30-25 of beating South Africa. It almost looked like they would do it with the last attack as well.

[Ser Barry]

*cries bitter tears*

[Xray the Enforcer]

*cries bitter tears*

I tried to txt you last night, and then realized that I didn't have your number. So I drank in your honor instead.

[zakalwe7]

Five minutes gone. Looks like this could be a high score here

[williamjm]

Five minutes gone. Looks like this could be a high score here

I guess losing by 40 points is probably about what was expected. Although New Zealand won comfortably they did make a lot of mistakes.

It was a bit confusing the way both teams seemed to play in exactly the same strips.

[zakalwe7]

Yeah not bad in the end. Gives us a bit of hope for Italy

[niamh]

So the match was shown at the local rugby club, and even though I was the only on in green (except another irish-looking muscled fella dressed in an irish kilt who turned out to be french and the captain of local team), I wasn't set upon nor torn to bits, and everyone was very fair play.

We also made a good dent in the champagne afterwards, which is always the main part of the fun of rugby anyway

It turned out that the little georgian lad who scored that brilliant try against Ireland the other day on his own, plays at that rugby club. "Played" as they all say. Doubtful they'll see him again. But they were very proud of him. The trainer there (it's Blois by the way) is also an ex georgian international. Can't remember his name to save my life. Foreign sounding stuff

[Rimmer]

Pretty scrappy and average game from the All Blacks really.

At the moment we are a great team who just needs a centre... the exact opposite of Ireland

[Ser Barry]

I will attempt to limit my rant about Ireland to this; they remind me of the 2005 Lions in that they are over-coached. They are playing to a plan rather than what is in front of them and this is just adding to the pressure. It is affecting every aspect of their game.

The first French try was beautifully worked. In the first half Michalak fed Clerc on an inside ball from a similar position and Trimble made the tackle. For the try they lined up exactly the same as for the previous move which drew Trimble off his wing (not that he needed much encouragement) and then Michalak put the ball in to the space created. Beautiful.

The build-up, atmosphere and craic in Paris and especially the stadium was awesome. It was only sad that both sets of fans didn't get the close contest they deserved. We still had a good time with the French fans at the match but afterwards the area we were in, with big Irish bars, was very flat.

I didn't watch Scotland A vs NZ. I think the Scottish team selection was an insult to the members of the squad.

[Ser Barry]

I tried to txt you last night, and then realized that I didn't have your number. So I drank in your honor instead.

Thanks mate. I managed to get half a beer down but it tasted of despair so I went home and cried myself to sleep.

[Hereward]

I agree, Scotland should be ashamed of themselves. It's a given that Scotland won't win the World Cup, so surely the point is to find something to be proud of, even if that something is a brave defeat against the All Blacks after giving them a fright. Instead, they surrendered, will probably edge into the QF, get massacred, and go home, never to be remembered for anything. What's the point?