arwebb Posted October 13, 2023 Report Share Posted October 13, 2023 On 10/12/2023 at 1:17 AM, Alexjc said: My opinion of this World Cup is not great...This is the second hosting by France (first as a singular host) and it's still boring. Hopefully we will see some massive upsets this Quater Finals round. I'm fully expecting to see Ireland topple New Zealand in what will a battle of the Ages. I do hope France can get past South Africa and Argentina pull off an upset. I consider Argentina the quiet dark horse of this bland event. As much as I think everyone recognises the draw for this tournament has been horrendously lopsided, we have got four quarter-finals that all look difficult to predict. That said, as far as tomorrow night's (UK time) blockbuster is concerned, I don't think you should overlook the burden of history that is on Ireland given they have never won a World Cup knockout game. I just have a feeling that, perhaps with a bit of the Joe Schmidt factor, will help to get the All Blacks over the line. I think Wales will probably have enough to get past Argentina, but Steve Borthwick's team selection for England worries me against Fiji. The best game of the weekend for me, and the hardest to call, is the hosts against the holders on Sunday night. If I had to put my last pound on the outcome, I'd lean towards the French to win a very close one, but I certainly wouldn't be confident watching it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arwebb Posted October 13, 2023 Report Share Posted October 13, 2023 On 10/12/2023 at 3:06 AM, Sir Rols said: The group stages have been a bit too drawn out - the rest weeks didn't help. Compared to the rapid fire pace of the FIFA tournament group stages, this has been slow going. And let's face it - the skill gap between the top teams and those making up the numbers is too wide to avoid all these blowouts. It's a tough one, though. You gotta keep it global and have some incentive for emerging nations to compete, but really there's only about 16 teams who can really make a show of it. It's gonna be even more pronounced when they expand to 24 teams in 2027. I guess we've seen some countries, like Japan, Georgia and Portugal start to move up in the World Cup era, but I think more needs to be done at the Six Nations and Four Nations level to more nurture emerging Rugby nations. I think World Rugby deserve credit for trying to make this tournament fairer than previous ones have been to the lesser nations. Had we had the four and five-day turnarounds that the Tier Two teams have had to put up with before, there would have been even more mismatches than there have been. The performances of Portugal and Uruguay in particular give me cause for optimism if World Rugby puts its money where its mouth is between now and when we get to Australia in four years' time. I understand the reservations about expansion but I'd much rather seen expansion than a pulling up of the drawbridge of the kind we've seen in cricket in recent years. Ultimately, what has to happen is that Tier One nations must play Tier Two ones more frequently. We talk about it at every World Cup and the talk needs to be translated into meaningful action. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexjc Posted October 14, 2023 Report Share Posted October 14, 2023 (edited) First two matches of the Quarters. AND...JUST LIKE THAT... Argentina 29 - Wales 17...The Pumas pounced. Ireland 24 - New Zealand 28... as predicted was going to be a match for the ages...And it was. BUT the result was the wrong way around...Leaving behind a heartbroken nation and another breathing a surprised sigh of relief... (for a second time in the night after National/Act won the general election) Edited October 14, 2023 by Alexjc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted October 14, 2023 Report Share Posted October 14, 2023 Sigh... Will miss this 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted October 14, 2023 Report Share Posted October 14, 2023 That was cruel. ABs have that X factor about them though, that sense that no matter how hard they have to work, how much of a struggle it'll be, nothing's going to stop them. Probably the biggest indictment so far against the ludicrous draw though, no way do either of those deserve to go down as quarter finalists - that would've been a worthy final for any World Cup. Wales were very disappointing, and I wouldn't be amazed if for all the talk about a changing of the guard, this ends up as a northern hemisphere wipeout rather than whitewash... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexjc Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 3 hours ago, yoshi said: That was cruel. ABs have that X factor about them though, that sense that no matter how hard they have to work, how much of a struggle it'll be, nothing's going to stop them. Probably the biggest indictment so far against the ludicrous draw though, no way do either of those deserve to go down as quarter finalists - that would've been a worthy final for any World Cup. Wales were very disappointing, and I wouldn't be amazed if for all the talk about a changing of the guard, this ends up as a northern hemisphere wipeout rather than whitewash... Yeah...This World Cup set up has been terrible...although the stadiums are full. New Zealand was already mentally prepared for what was going to be a hard-fought loss. It has not been a great couple of years for the All Blacks with some painful losses and stupid snatch from potential victory Draws. Media has been disgusting but also the NZ Rugby management hasn't helped with the Foster v Robinson coach succession fiasco. We have been pleasantly surprised today. Ireland went in as Number 1 and with massively inflated confidence...Why wouldn't they? With a giant slaying winning streak like that...NZ has been there a few times, a cruel reality check, the worst was in 1991. We thought we were it, totally unbeatable until Australia burst the bubble, at, funnily enough of all places, Lansdown Road...and Ireland weren't cheering for the All Blacks that day either. It'll hurt for a year but Ireland needs to pick itself up and carry on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arwebb Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 A wonderful game last night. Ireland will probably rue their start and that missed penalty in the second half but, ultimately, that game has only proven the unfairness of the draw for this tournament. That game deserved to be a final. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arwebb Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 And if last night's game in Paris deserved to be a final, tonight's spectacle between France and South Africa is every bit as compelling. Whoever wins this, my expectation of England in the semi-final next Saturday is less than zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 Yep, yet another mis-scheduled final. And that's 0-4 for all my preferred teams in this week's quarters *grumble grumble grumble* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 As if the French already didn't have much disappointment with their national teams lately with the women's soccer and men's basketball--although we will see them next year hosting Paris 2024. Men's soccer team just qualified for UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 Well, that's my interest in the tournament over. Sorry England, but next week's just going through the motions before the Blacks and the Boks fight out for who gets their fourth trophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 What a match that was... and another many curses to the draw. That Ireland and France will both go down as worse than England and Argentina is just ludicrous - I hope this is the last straw & the 2027 draw is at least done within the year. The best thing would be if it goes to a qualifying process like football, where nobody is guaranteed and Tier 1 will have to play Tier 2 away from time to time. I do wonder how much chance there is of anyone apart from each other ever beating one of that set of NZ/SA/England in the World Cup knockout, it feels self fulfilling at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 Honestly, if ever there was a time for the Northern Hemisphere to challenge, this should have been it. And, yes, the draw was f*cked up, and in both the big matches pure chance could have sent them the other way - both were pretty close struggles. For the mention, not that I saw them, but it also appears the Wales-Arg and Eng-Fiji games weren't pushovers either, but I think most agree which were the heavyweight matches. I really thought it would be good for the game to see a new, northern power, lift the Webb Ellis. It's starting to get a bit boring that it's just being swapped between NZ and SA. The north's gotta just keep plugging away (and Oz has to dig itself out of the abyss). And something's gotta really be done to give the tier two and even below countries more exposure, experience and competition. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 That's why I must admit I was really hoping France in particular could do it, they play with such a style that is unusual for northern hemisphere - it would've been wonderful to see it work. Unless Argentina do something amazing it'll be 24 years since not just northern hemisphere, but anyone other than those two have won it. And being in Australia, does anyone seriously think it won't be between those two again? I'm very much a once a year rugby fan so I don't know why it is but it's almost as though the 6 Nations isn't good enough preparation for knockout World Cup rugby... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexjc Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 Guttered for France not getting there... When will their name be etched on the cup? I've always wanted them to win their home tournament. (And they were my work pool draw team for a $100 prezzi card). World Rugby have only themselves to blame for this Finals set up. Supposedly to ensure a possible Northern Hemisphere final. But really, Argentina, New Zealand, England, and South Africa just had that little bit extra in the tank. The four losing teams could've been the teams that carried on to the Semis. They can all hold their heads high. All four matches were some of the best ever games at a World Cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SportLightning Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 Now i'm thinking Argentina could win this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TorchbearerSydney Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 Q : Now i'm thinking Argentina could win this one. Wow- a Football/ Rugby World Cup double would be amazing!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 1 hour ago, SportLightning said: Now i'm thinking Argentina could win this one. 6 minutes ago, TorchbearerSydney said: Wow- a Football/ Rugby World Cup double would be amazing!!! LOL! Wanna bet on it? I'll even give you 50:1 payout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TorchbearerSydney Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 Q :Wanna bet on it? No, just making an observation. But Afghanistan beat defending Champs England at the Cricket World Cup yesterday, so anything can happen in sport!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotguy II Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 it is time for the haka to go when NZ are not playing in NZ, it is an advantage that gets them hyped up and is totally unfair. Workld Rugby is just all about the All Blacks show. Winning the world cup will mean nothing for nz or the people here they will have forgotten all about it the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SportLightning Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 My prediction for the final would be Argentina vs. England. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 12 hours ago, Sir Rols said: And, yes, the draw was f*cked up I'll take England getting further than France and Ireland as small consolation for 2015. It's not like this is the first world cup it's been pointed out that doing the draw three years in advance is stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palette86 Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexjc Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 20 hours ago, Scotguy II said: it is time for the haka to go when NZ are not playing in NZ, it is an advantage that gets them hyped up and is totally unfair. Workld Rugby is just all about the All Blacks show. Winning the world cup will mean nothing for nz or the people here they will have forgotten all about it the next day. I've been saying that for years... It should be a New Zealand only thing... Unfortunately, the other Pacific nations that do a "Haka" will have to stop performing it overseas as well. Another thing about the Haka is that most of the other NZ international sports teams are now performing it, usually in front of bewildered opposition and stadiums wondering what is going on. A quirky thing that should be NZ at home only. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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