NZ 76 Italy 14 in a game of two halves. Italy stood and watched the abs play in the first half but realised the shame of it all and played better in the second half as the nz side rung in the changes and their pattern fell apart under the pressure of solid forward play from the Italians. NZ will not be happy with the second half and overall will be glad not to pick up any more injuries.
Expect Ma'a Nonu to be on a plane shortly to cover for the ever absent Conrad Smith.. Ma'a should have been there from the start.
What is to say about the completeness of the Australian package. 93 pts to 3 against Japan. I had to go to bed just before half time but they looked primed and ready for anything.
Originally posted by HumeAI only saw the highlights but England were not impressive, although USA seemed to have pretty good defensive lines (way better than Italy's). The Catt kick for the first try: I don't really know what to say about it other than it seemed unnecessarily flashy when the try was on anyway. The English seem to have fallen in love with the long cross-kick.
I almost said "So what does this loss mean for England?" before I realised that we actually did win... technically. Congratulations to the USA btw. They played out of their skins for 80 minutes... what more can you ask?
Is victory against SA on friday now a step too far for the men in white? Will Ashton be forced to make changes?
To be perfectly honest, ...[text shortened]... and if we don't get our act together by friday, I can see the Boks putting 50+ points on us.
After tomorrow, we'll see how SA look after what could be a tough one against Samoa. I'd first like to see how they start before agreeing with you.
Originally posted by eagles54Do you think the U.S team would have done better if they were allowed to wear helmets and body amour en-masse?
The US played a tenacious game with mostly amateurs set on proving they could withstand and test a great England side. The second half by score was 7-7. England needs to buckle down to face a tough SA squad.
Originally posted by Freddie2006I'm not sure what you're driving at but the shellacking that was supposedly going to befall the US team never materialized as they showed great heart and determination thoughout the game.
Do you think the U.S team would have done better if they were allowed to wear helmets and body amour en-masse?
Can't appreciate a good performance I take it?
Originally posted by Tirau DanYeah the Aussies were a bit rusty in that 1st half ,lost Gerrard for the tournament.
NZ 76 Italy 14 in a game of two halves. Italy stood and watched the abs play in the first half but realised the shame of it all and played better in the second half as the nz side rung in the changes and their pattern fell apart under the pressure of solid forward play from the Italians. NZ will not be happy with the second half and overall will be glad no ...[text shortened]... Japan. I had to go to bed just before half time but they looked primed and ready for anything.
Wales at Millenium will be different proposition though.
Good to see Berrick Barnes blooded and he got himself a double.
Originally posted by eagles54Of course I can appreciate a good performance, when I see it. The fact of the matter is though, that neither team played well. U.S.A played shockingly, and England just played a bit better but not up to their usual standard.
I'm not sure what you're driving at but the shellacking that was supposedly going to befall the US team never materialized as they showed great heart and determination thoughout the game.
Can't appreciate a good performance I take it?
There was no good performance to appreciate, from either side.
edit: and I was just suggesting that perhaps the yanks should stick to "football".
SA 59 - Samoa 7.
Well, from a South African perspective it was an emphatic win, but not a complete one. A bit like eating Chinese really, something was missing, but job done although I think they could do better. The Samoans came out hard and physical but ran out of steam. Against the run of the play, a defensive error saw Samoa run in the first try, but even with that one included, they never looked threatening. The Samoan lineout was terrible and their scrum weak. I reckon SA won more lineouts from Samoan ball than their own.
The Boks stuttered to start with - lots of dropped passes - but settled down in the second half to score plenty. That man, Habana, got four out of eight. On the other wing, JP Pietersen again showed he is simply not good enough (yet) to play at this level. Francois Steyn made an immediate impact at centre when he came on for injury - he's going to be special, partly because he doesn't believe in trying to run through the defence when he can go round them. Partly because he can.
For Samoa, Brian Lima made a fifth world cup tournament appearance, but lasted just a few minutes before coming off with a concussion and a yellow card for a late, head-high tackle. One of the other old men of rugby, Os du Randt, turned 35 yesterday and looked good, while playing about 60 minutes. Remember, he was one of the 1995 WC winning squad.
Based on this, I'll take a wild flyer at SA vs England - 35-12.
Ireland were terrible tonight. It's tough to see them being competitive against the better teams now. I think the fact that Munster and Leinster were out of the Heineken Cup so early has made a huge difference.
The southern trio were superb. It's tough to see a final which doesn't feature a couple of them (I don't know if it's possible going by the way teams line up against each other going forward)
D
Originally posted by RagnorakIreland 32 - Namibia 17. I loved it because Nam is my second home. Big scare for Ireland with Nam outscoring Ireland 14-12 in the second half and the one Irish try wasn't. Not bad for a team with just six professionals who were well organised and were allowed to believe in themselves. Not much one can say about Ireland, but that they got the win.
Ireland were terrible tonight. It's tough to see them being competitive against the better teams now. I think the fact that Munster and Leinster were out of the Heineken Cup so early has made a huge difference.
The southern trio were superb. It's tough to see a final which doesn't feature a couple of them (I don't know if it's possible going by the way teams line up against each other going forward)
D
Originally posted by Ragnoraki agree they where pretty crap tonight.
Ireland were terrible tonight. It's tough to see them being competitive against the better teams now. I think the fact that Munster and Leinster were out of the Heineken Cup so early has made a huge difference.
The southern trio were superb. It's tough to see a final which doesn't feature a couple of them (I don't know if it's possible going by the way teams line up against each other going forward)
D
i'm confident we'll make the 1/4 finals though.
really hope we beat france. that would be sweet.
My Synopsis of the first weekend.
Arg vs Fra - I didn't see it as a huge shock - defense has always one world cups - Fra were very nervous in their play but on recent form between the two teams it went the way expected.
Nz vs Ita - pretty emphatic continuing with their good form - once more the ABs might come unstuck a bit after "easy" pool games making them complacent but they are playing the best rugby by far.
Aus - Jap Australia looked in pretty god shape- however they still have a way to go
Eng vs USA - England were awful - on many occasions players took the tackle and I couldn't help thinking to myself that if it had been the ABs the pass would have gone just before contact - which is what is making the Abs so dangerous at the moment.
SA vs Samoa - recorded not seen so no idea yet though from what I have read and Englands performance they should not have too much to worry about yet.
Wales - Canada only watched this off and on Canada gave them a fright but I think it will give Wales confidence heading to Cardiff to play Aus - I think that there might be an upset there.
Scotland-Portugal - Scottish defence didn't look great
Ireland Namibia - what a fright on that showing Ireland will struggle to qualify.
Originally posted by buffalobillThe penalty try awarded was also questionable. Hell, Samoa brings down a scrum 5 times in a row and SA doesn't get a penalty try - Namibia gets scrummed back a bit, some heads pop out and Ireland gets a penalty try?
Ireland 32 - Namibia 17. I loved it because Nam is my second home. Big scare for Ireland with Nam outscoring Ireland 14-12 in the second half and the one Irish try wasn't. Not bad for a team with just six professionals who were well organised and were allowed to believe in themselves. Not much one can say about Ireland, but that they got the win.
I think Joel Jutge didn't have a great game and if it wasn't for his bad calls going against Namibia, we may well have seen a MAJOR upset.
I didn't see that coming...