[Closed] Rugby world cup

Timp, I have it on good authority that Wales are playing more warm-ups than usual because they have to revise the 'rules' of the game after a summer of being on the pop and having fights in Chip Alley.

If you don't consider priestland or stoddart as fullbacks then Wales only have one in the 45and he's injured.not hopeful but backrow looks exciting. Williams (scot) is a pretty exciting 12 replaced Henson in last game, looks good but it seems like world cup is too soon.

Lol, sorry a_a, my brain filtered Stoddart out in disbelief that he is still mentioned in the same phrase as 'national team'.

The commentators will say something like, 'great counter-attacker', deftly avoiding the appalling defence that he provides. Or doesn't provide, if you see what I mean.

His inclusion, like Charteris and Mitchell, shows how desperate Wales are becoming at a national level.

Williams (scot) is a pretty exciting 12 replaced Henson in last game, looks good but it seems like world cup is too soon.

That's him - my mind was saying Steve Williams and I couldn't place him.

He has been included on the basis of two decent end of season games?

Back row is indeed interesting, but imo the WC is too soon for Faletau. I hope to be corrected on Saturday.

I thought Mitchell did well in the six nations. Andrews and bevington are shite mind. Toby might do well being a dragon has had plenty of game time. Hoping to see delve play next week.

Gents, does anyone have a working stream for this game please? Also has anyone used the vipbox.tv succesfully? Cureently in the US and having trouble finding this. Cheers muchly!

thisa one usually works for me
http://www.vipbox.tv/sports/rugby.html

tj your link hasnt put the feed up yet..

http://watch3sport.com/page.php?3732

Missed that tackle and Sky wouldn't show it...Link??

hmmm. pains me to say, should have been wales game, after loosing jones and stoddardt the blacks should have waltzed this. Doff my leek to you taffy's.

nickname good link cheers.

I dunno, both sides as bad as each other

However, the real All-Blacks (oh alright, the Scottish Exiles)are looking bloody good, unlike the home nations.At least we won against Ireland, but we were rough.I still think we will be better than Argentina, thus reaching expectations. However compare the pace and tempo of todays games with the tear up this morning.Nobody from the Northern Hem can get too excited.

Good win for Scotland. Why the difficulty in turning chances into scores tho? Loads of ball in the Irish 22.

Looked rusty but willing. I hope Ansbo gains some confidence from that and shows he is the answer to Scotlands centre problems.

Good performances from a few guys but rucking needs to be sharpened up / emphasised more

I was watching the Ireland game and thinking how much more I prefer an open running game rather than the war of attrition between the packs (ex-winger see) when what did Scotland go and do?
Beautiful try.
50 X 100m sprints in training? 😯

Yeah, a win for Scotland against any Ireland team has to go down as a big result for them. They should have had Ireland's reserves put away by half time though. A 78th minute try to save the blushes wasn't really what they'd have been looking for I guess. Argentina will be living their lips at that display today. 🙂

I don't think Argentina , Scotland and England are much of a muchness at all! Probably only Scottish people calling it a group of death. After watching nz v sa the other day though there is a gulf between north and south in terms of the intensity esp at the break down.

Argentina will be living their lips at that display today.

Has Colin Charvis had botox? He's looking good given his age.

Not that much of an Irish reserve team DD. Still if that gives you an excuse,that's fine.A big result for us is not beating you, it is beating Argentina. Our lineout and contact was rubbish;and will improve, yet you still could not beat us. Ireland looked slow,old and lacking in ideas.

I thought an inexperienced Walsh team did well against a far more experienced england side, Wales had nothing on the bench either and pushed england all the way. Result came down to home advantage imo. England knocked on from kick off, enlish player picked up in front and scrum given should have been a pen. Ref then got it right from the next scrum when Felatau (looked in experienced but kept trying) knocked on wales player picked up in front and pen given!! How did walsh miss that knock on too???
Tuilagi will be ruthelessly exploited by better teams and Flutey was totally anonymous. Need to see Delve and Henson play next week for Wales and Priestland was very good for a first cap. Have to wonder re Felatau and others how Wales playing England will prepare them for playing Samoa and Fiji the two teams they need to beat in the world cup. Felatau may get much more broken field runs against them.

Watching Ireland Scotland as we speak 65 mins in its like watching two one legged men in an arse kicking contest. Scotland couldnt score in a brothel and at least ireland have the excuse of playing a second team.

[url= ]dont look if your squeamish[/url]
poor bugger, full marks to Danny Care for refusing to carry on playing too.

maxray - Member

I don't think Argentina , Scotland and England are much of a muchness at all!

Really? Look at the IRB rankings and look at recent results between them. Very little to chose between them

Only saw the Wales game through the highlights on the news and was pleased to see Wales playing rugby and scoring tries.

Remember kiddies, if it can't be Googled, it's wrong.

Really? Look at the IRB rankings and look at recent results between them. Very little to chose between them

TJ, on todays showing and all we have seen in recent seasons Scotland are plain rubbish, England are however quite good and Argentina are a team in decline.

I hope Ansbo gains some confidence from that and shows he is the answer to Scotlands centre problems.

I thought Lamont looked a threat at 12 when he played there in the six nations, much better than Morrison.

That will be the Scotland that in the last 3 games against England the results are a win apiece and a draw? The Scotland that beat a full strength Argentina team in Argentina twice? the Argentina team that beat England and pushed them close?

England would be the favourites of course but anyone who thinks there is much between the three when you look at recent results and IRB rankings is daft

With my blue filter on. I don't understand how ireland don't get penalised at the break down for being off their feet and not rolling away and having a loose forward on the wrong side of the ball. Almost every time. Anyone watching that will have the ball carriers driving low, too high in the tackle

Yes, probably best to take the blue filter off. Ireland were just far better at the breakdown all day long. And @duckman, no excuses, I never like to see the green machine lose, but if you're making out that that particular green machine was anything other than a reserves team (apart from a few positions) then you're as deluded as TeeJ. I'm not exactly familiar with what Argentina have been up to recently, but given Scotland's ineptitude at crossing the line given how much time they spent inside the 22 today, and Argentina's reputation for steely defence, I don't think Scotland gave them much to worry about.

Darcy - all yo need to do is look at the results between the 3 teams in the last couple of years to see how close they are. that and the IRB rankings

Ireland did give Scotland a lesson in the rucks for sure the defence generally was good.

Tandem +1.

Rankings shmankings! 😀 How many 6 nations have Scotland won, how far do they get in world cups? All will become clear once the group games get under way.

Sorry TeeJ, I just meant deluded in general. But I agree the IRB rankings and results suggest there's not much between the three.

If it was the Argentina of the last RWC, Scotland would be in a shaky position, but like I said, I'm not up to speed on what they're like at the moment.

EDIT: The rankings also suggest the green machine are good for a semi final spot. 😀 So we know how much attention can be paid to those.

maxray - Member
Rankings shmankings!

You can make statistics say pretty much anything. To pit it simply, England are far more likely to win the world cup than Scotland or Argentina whatever the irb rankings say. 🙂

Of course if we have to use the rankings there's pretty much the same points difference between Scotland and Japan as england and Scotland 🙄 Nuff said. 😀

I don't think either Wales or England were particularly up for it. I have a feeling there's an element of hustle going on here 🙂 As in, hold back, look poor so the other sides under-estimate you...

Me no unnerstannn DD? We have an ineptitude at crossing the line, but did and beat your lot; how is that a positive for Ireland...That bodes well for your pensioners XV next month 😀
And that was not a first choice Scotland XV either I am afraid.
As an aside, the SRU are skint due to their decision not to use lottery funding to rebuild Murrayfield. That means they have had to cut their cloth when it comes to the three then two pro teams,this means that the districts are actually bringing on young talent. The Irish Provinces have players like Howlett boosting their pensions and taking up jumpers. How long can the IRFU sustain this, bearing in mind the well documented problems the southern economy has.The pro teams there do not get huge crowds outside of European games (Magners brings in anything from 4-8000 spectators,not enough to cover outgoings)

Me no unnerstannn DD? We have an ineptitude at crossing the line, but did and beat your lot; how is that a positive for Ireland...That bodes well for your pensioners XV next month 😀 And that was not a first choice Scotland XV either I am afraid.
As an aside, the SRU are skint due to their decision not to use lottery funding to rebuild Murrayfield. That means they have had to cut their cloth when it comes to the three then two pro teams,this means that the districts are actually bringing on young talent. The Irish Provinces have players like Howlett boosting their pensions and taking up jumpers. How long can the IRFU sustain this, bearing in mind the well documented problems the southern economy has.The pro teams there do not get huge crowds outside of European games (Magners brings in anything from 4-8000 spectators,not enough to cover outgoings)

That will be the Scotland that in the last 3 games against England the results are a win apiece and a draw? The Scotland that beat a full strength Argentina team in Argentina twice? the Argentina team that beat England and pushed them close

How many tries have that inept set of players that are called the scotland team scored in the last three years? You need to face facts TJ scotland are rubbish, England are much better and 9 times out of ten will beat scotland home or away. England are also quite a bit better than wales but thats another story.Scotland do not have a back who would be considered for a Lions squad and would also struggle to see more than two front 5 players considered.

A-A; I am afraid TJ has you there, last three years,one apiece and a draw,and this;

You need to face facts TJ scotland are rubbish, England are much better and 9 times out of ten will beat scotland home or away

is statistically inaccurate.

Oh and thank God nobody remembers who won,just the number of tries they scored...oh hang on 8)

What happened to A-A's pin up yesterday, was he injured? I only saw the highlights of the England/occupied territory game.

is statistically inaccurate

how can it, the current Scotchland team hasnt played the current englandshire team 10 times, they only play once a season. If you want stats tell me how many tries scotland have scored in the last 3 years against top nations which we'll take as six nations teams and tri nations teams? Then tell me how many of those were against the weak teams like Wales and Italy, tell you what we'll trow in Argentina too as they are on a level with Wales, Italy and Scotland.

Scotland may beat England at the world cup but its unlikley, very unlikely

53/33/14 In Englands favour, hardly dominant is it? Away now to look at the World Cup stats...

Wales and england are pretty much level on historical record but england are currently a much better team, these stats are pointless.

Is that eng v Scot win lose and draw? If so it is fairly dominant 🙂

A a is right, its like comparing Manchester utd and Liverpool, fairly equal titles count but Liverpool haven't won it for donkeys years.

ah, a handy thread. i had a wee bit of a rare foray into tv watching today and saw a some of the highlights of the england-wales game. now forgive me if i'm a bit behind the times you rugby viewing types but can you explain why england are dressed as the all blacks? is this a new tactic to fool the opposition? and if so who will they dress up as next?

If so it is fairly dominant

It suggests that England would win half of all matches played. I wouldn't class that as dominant. Scotland have never beaten England or Argentina at the world cup though 😉

TJ has missed an England win too, it's 2/1/0 in the last 3 years TJ 😉

As AA said it's all fairly irrelevant anyway as current form is the best indicator. Lets face it, none of the home nations has a decent chance of winning the World Cup. The mean side of my nature really wants one of us to put the Kiwis out though.

Lol at A-A

England are of course favourites to beat Scotland. However to say it is very unlikely to go Scotland's way is utter tosh.

England needed a forward pass to beat Scotland at Twickenham in the 6N. They were the better team but a full strength Scotland side playing in front of a massive support in NZ will be troubling MJ.

I absolutley would not bet against England but but would not put a big amount on them to win either

TJ - Unfortunately think you are wrong . Think the last 3 encounters have 2 England wins and one draw.

In many ways this debate is a mute point. NZ vs Oz on Sat morning showed the SH to be leagues ahead of the NH :-(. I hope these warm up games sharpen the NH teams up considerably.

A a is right, its like comparing Manchester utd and Liverpool, fairly equal titles count but Liverpool haven't won it for donkeys years.

Haven't Liverpool beaten Man U more often recently though?

Edit: Sorry about the fussball tangent 😕

😳 its 2 wins and a draw the last 3 years.

However the basic point still remains - all recent games between the three teams have been tight and there is no great gulf between them

England and France are the only NH teams with a hope of springing a suprise as they have the power to compete, scotchland do not.

TJ, that could be because the Scotchish only bother to play properly against your home team, England. 😉

However the basic point still remains - all recent games between the three teams have been tight and there is no great gulf between them

your deluded 🙄

[i]onehundredthidiot - Member
I don't understand how ireland don't get penalised at the break down for being off their feet and not rolling away and having a loose forward on the wrong side of the ball. Almost every time. [/i]

You don't seem to have received the Rugby Law Annexe 3.1.2.(Addendum relating to Irish Teams, inc Ireland, Munster, Leinster.) which relates that Irish teams (and Irish teams and Ritchie McCaw ONLY) and can do whatever they like at the breakdown, especially with regards to players flopping over the ball in the manner of a fat English prop from the 90s, or just generally being on the wrong side of the breakdown.

It's quite a rare document which was only meant for the coaches of the relevant sides and referees.

You don't seem to have received the Rugby Law Annexe 3.1.2.(Addendum relating to Irish Teams, inc Ireland, Munster, Leinster.) which relates that Irish teams (and Irish teams and Ritchie McCaw ONLY) and can do whatever they like at the breakdown, especially with regards to players flopping over the ball in the manner of a fat English prop from the 90s, or just generally being on the wrong side of the breakdown.

It's quite a rare document which was only meant for the coaches of the relevant sides and referees.

[img] [/img]

However the basic point still remains - all recent games between the three teams have been tight and there is no great gulf between them

I'm not worried about Argentina or England (get a grip with the black kit though). Its bloody Romania and especially Georgia that worry me. Does no one remember how good they were last time out?

Betting odds to win outright (and just taking the first ones I can see):

NZ 4/6
Oz 5
SA 9
England 12
France 21
Ireland 28
Wales 66
Argentina 125
Scotland 150

Argentina v England: 3/10 for Eng, 5/2 Arg, 25 for a draw.

Can't see any odds for Sco v Arg yet.

Might be worth a pound or two on Wales (wishful thinking!) or a fiver on Oz or France. Or even England?

Worth a tenner on France at 21-1.

Worth a tenner on Scotland or Argentina as they're up there with Engurland.

[i]don simon - Member
Worth a tenner on Scotland or Argentina as they're up there with Engurland.

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For a one off win perhaps, but to win the RWC?

I agree that on their day, any of the home nations can beat any other. But then can they go on to beat SA, Oz, NZ? The only ones with a track record of doing that are England.

There is always an outside chance I guess, but iirc there hasn't been a single RWC won by an outside chance (maybe except 95 which imo was a political thing).

For a one off win perhaps, but to win the RWC?

I wouldn't put a tenner on Scotland winning the WC. Perfectly capable of beating the bigger teams - but not several of them one after the other which they would need to do,

Those odds above look about right to me although I would say england are poor buy at that and if you want a long shot Ireland look really good value at 28/1

Think those odds for England are English bookies odds

Sure you would get a better deal in most other countries. Agree that they are more likely than the other home nations, just through sheer depth of numbers.

Really cannot see Scotland, Wales or Ireland beating all the big teams but no doubt capable of at least one big 'upset'

Perfectly capable of beating the bigger teams

😀

Ireland have the players and given a big slice of luck could like england cause a one off upset, Wales given a huge amount of luck could beat a top team if they could get their first 15 all fit and firing as they have a number of match winning players in their team. Scotland just dont have the firepower imo. I'll ask again how many tries have they scored in the last 3 years?

Taz - Member
Think those odds for England are English bookies odds

Paddy Power have England at 12, Ireland at 25, Wales at 80, Scotland at 175.

Unless I'm mistaken, Paddy power are Irish.

Anyway, since when has national bias been part of a bookies remit?

Pretty sure Scotland beat SA this year & OZ last year. Just gutted that AA has managed to change the rules so that only tries count towards winning

Agree Scotland's try record is not great, but 3 tries in Paris this year (for example) shows they can get over the line.

Issue for me is Scotland do seem capable of line breaks but then somehow contrive to not convert that to tries

Idle Jon its not a bookies bias. It is risk management

They know they will get more money on England therefore the odds are reduced accordingly.

The fact Paddy Power is Irish is irrelevant. Odds for an English team in England is the risk they have to manage and balance between attracting punters vs the risk of actually having to pay out

This season:

Scotland 3 - 49 New Zeland (no tries)
Scotland 21 - 17 SA (great result but no tries)
Scotland 19 - 16 Samoa (one try well done lads)
France 34 - 21 Scotland (three tries a new dawn in scotland rugby)
Scotland 6 - 24 Wales (oh maybe not then)
Scotland 18 - 21 Ireland (no tries)
England 22 - 16 Scotland (a try whoop whoop)
Scotland 21 - 8 Italy (two tries in a mighty win against Italy)
Scotland 10 - 6 Ireland (one try against Ireland B)

So a great result against a knackered SA at home and a win against Italy, as compared to being hammered by wales at home and struggling to do anything against Ireland B makes them likely to spring a suprise against top Nations at the world cup, come on do you really believe it?

You don't seem to have received the Rugby Law Annexe 3.1.2.(Addendum relating to Irish Teams, inc Ireland, Munster, Leinster.) which relates that Irish teams (and Irish teams and Ritchie McCaw ONLY) and can do whatever they like at the breakdown, especially with regards to players flopping over the ball in the manner of a fat English prop from the 90s, or just generally being on the wrong side of the breakdown.

Very funny. Utter bollocks of course, but still funny.

DD - another ref another day would have given plenty more penalties against them for ruck offences yesterday.

I want 5 officials for international rugby matches =- far too much gets missed. Offside in the backs, scrum offences where its dropped on the side away from the ref, blocking in the midfield, forward passes

Did anyone see the knock that was missed by Steve Walsh? Wilko got smashed and the ball went forward at least 15 yards and he missed it which led to the england scrum and try, was amazing.

Oh FFS, it's a standard STW line these days TeeJ. "My team rucked like eejits today and were destroyed at the breakdown. Ergo, the other team was cheating."

anagallis_arvensis - Member
Did anyone see the knock that was missed by Steve Walsh? Wilko got smashed and the ball went forward at least 15 yards and he missed it which led to the england scrum and try, was amazing.

Glad you brought that up! How was that NOT a knock on? Walsh had a very poor game yesterday, IMO, but that's become the norm for him.

I want 5 officials for international rugby matches =- far too much gets missed. Offside in the backs, scrum offences where its dropped on the side away from the ref, blocking in the midfield, forward passes

I'm putting Ireland's loss down to poor reffing by Barnes. He simply didn't allow the green machine to get away with the amount of infringements at the breakdown that he normally does. Flecker. 🙂

Walsh was even shouting to Care to play on as Care was being very careful not to add to Stoddarts agony.
I didnt see much wrong with the Irish play, it was just Scotlands imcompetance when asked to score tries that stood out.

Don't get me wrong Scotland were utter sh*te when a gap opened, and has been said already couldn't score in a brothel. But come on DD let the green scales slide from your eyes Irish teams have perfected the break down infringement. Someone needs to read Trimble the script though.