Nick Posted 17 September 2015 Posted 17 September 2015 England will have to play out of their skins to get out of the group. In all honesty I'm not confident that they will.
stripeyfox Posted 17 September 2015 Posted 17 September 2015 Seeing as how the tournament is in England, why the fcuk are we letting Wales play in Cardiff?
leicsmac Posted 17 September 2015 Posted 17 September 2015 England will have to play out of their skins to get out of the group. In all honesty I'm not confident that they will. Were it being held anywhere else I'd agree with you, but having each of the crucial games at Twickenham will count for a fair bit for England and perhaps give them the edge. They'd have to lose to both Wales and Aus on home soil to not progress (or just beat one of them and have an incredibly convoluted set of circumstances arise) and I can't really see that happening.
Dr The Singh Posted 17 September 2015 Posted 17 September 2015 I got Namibia in our work sweepstake!!! What a waste of £2!!
Captain... Posted 17 September 2015 Posted 17 September 2015 The injury to Halfpenny means Wales are fvcked, he is a great player and until this 6 nations I preferred watching Wales to England, but England have a bit more about them at the moment, good running backs and looking to use them, Brown, May and Watson are all exciting to watch, Joseph also turned up for the 6 nations, we have a good strong mobile pack and George Ford is a good kicker, I still don't rate Ben Youngs and we are still prone to making stupid mistakes particularly in our handling and line outs, but we are as good as anyone on our day, except New Zealand. The problem with the Rugby World cup is there are too many one sided matches and the nature of rugby means there aren't many big upsets because it is impossible to just hang on to a lead, even if Fiji get a couple of break away tries tomorrow and then defend for their lives, we will always be able to peg them back with our kicking game as we are just all round a better team.
Nalis Posted 17 September 2015 Author Posted 17 September 2015 Its interesting to see the English perspective on Ireland as opposed to the Irish media. Back in Ireland, the story is that this is our time to reach the final and shake off the chokers tag. Over here, its seen that we are simply a one/two man team who have too much reliance on those players. The reality is we are probably somewhere in between... I know we have Aussie Foxes on here, do we have any Kiwi or Saffie Foxes here?
Finnegan Posted 17 September 2015 Posted 17 September 2015 I'll be a kiwi fox as soon as Wales bottle it. I've spent the last few years religiously following super rugby, particularly the new Zealand conference and I do find I'm looking forward to this world cup more as a result, especially as I'm less and less expecting Wales to get out of the group as every extra man goes home injured. Getting silly now. Anyone expecting Halfpenny to make or break our campaign is going a little bit on reputation, mind. His boot is one of (if not THE) the best in the world from the tee but he's, if anything, got worse from open player since he started his career. He was once touted as the new Shane Williams, now all he does is catch the ball and clear. He doesn't run try scoring lines like Lee Byrne used to do, joining the attack freely. Liam Williams, however, will. This tournament is a big opportunity for Liam to make his name and if Wales get out of the group I can see him being the northern hemisphere's big breakout success story of the tournament. Himself and Scott Williams are two of our best attacking talents yet they're both only getting in because Gatland has been forced to make changes that don't fit his Warrenball due to injury. I don't see Ireland as a one or two man team, I see them as the most complete northern hemisphere side at the moment with probably the best coach. I think they're our best hope of dethroning the southern dominance. I wouldn't be put off by the English media view of Ireland, tbh. They're too busy pulling a soccer and convincing themselves they're favourites to win the whole thing which is frankly very bold given the ABs form, the aussie resurgence and the fact their group is a lottery.
Guest MattP Posted 17 September 2015 Posted 17 September 2015 I wouldn't be put off by the English media view of Ireland, tbh. They're too busy pulling a soccer and convincing themselves they're favourites to win the whole thing which is frankly very bold given the ABs form, the aussie resurgence and the fact their group is a lottery. Bit baffled by this part. I've been reading loads of newspaper articles over the last couple of weeks to get myself ready for watching this tournament and virtually every single preview or opinion I've read has stated that it will take something exceptional from someone to stop the All Blacks winning the trophy. Most seem to think England will have made a cracking effort if they get to the final (as that would also mean that had won the group).
Wymsey Posted 17 September 2015 Posted 17 September 2015 What are rugby games like in terms of atmosphere? When on tv the crowd sounds quite shallow unless they score.
ScouseFox Posted 17 September 2015 Posted 17 September 2015 i enjoyed the diving in rugby section on sky sports before. was great to see. proper cheating and diving and play acting. gents.
stripeyfox Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 What are rugby games like in terms of atmosphere? When on tv the crowd sounds quite shallow unless they score. In my experience of going to rugby matches, the atmosphere is totally non existent. Tigers occasionally rustle up a chant of "Tigers Tigers", but that's about it. A few years ago someone gave me tickets for the European Cup Final between Leicester and Wasps at Twickenham. It was a good day out but considering the occasion, the atmosphere was like a pre season friendly. Even more bizarre (by football standards) was the fact that sat next to me were fans of Munster and all around the stadium were fans of other teams in their colours. The Munster fans told me that they always go to the final. Imagine going to Arsenal against Chelsea in the Cup Final and being sat next to a United or Everton fan! I will watch the RWC but the lack of surprise results means it won't get going for a month until the Quarter Finals. Teams will grind out results until then. The only time I've seen really exciting rugby was earlier this year when England had to win by 60 points (or whatever it was) to win the Six Nations. Now, if they played like that all the time...
Footballwipe Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 No surprise about the rugby atmosphere claims, especially in England. The make up of the crowd, price of tickets mean you're getting people who enjoy the rugby. Unless it's close, of course. Wales under a roof though. Cor. Looking forward to today; just hope the game isn't a procession against Fiji. There will be plenty of those throughout the group stage so the last thing we want is the opening game to be over after 25 minutes.
Darkon84 Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 Its interesting to see the English perspective on Ireland as opposed to the Irish media. Back in Ireland, the story is that this is our time to reach the final and shake off the chokers tag. Over here, its seen that we are simply a one/two man team who have too much reliance on those players. The reality is we are probably somewhere in between... I know we have Aussie Foxes on here, do we have any Kiwi or Saffie Foxes here? I wouldn't worry about the media over here, regarding Ireland. Anyone with half a rugby brain knows they're a decent side and have every chance of doing well. Though I can't say I've seen any articles writing them off...so far. I've got them down to make the final, but (unfortunately) lose to New Zealand.
Lionator Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 What are rugby games like in terms of atmosphere? When on tv the crowd sounds quite shallow unless they score. Up until recent years, there used to be quite a good atmosphere at Welford Road. I remember one game around 2007 against Stade Francais where the atmosphere rivalled anything I'd heard at a football game. Unfortunately now it's completely dead with the extra-commercialism brought into the game by tv deals and ridiculous kick off times not helping. Irish teams Ulster & Munster always create great atmosphere's (flares, loud singing etc) but apart from that there's nothing to shout about. Twickenham is a joke, I went to England v Italy a couple of years back and I've genuinely heard more noise made at a funeral. Full of posh ars*holes and corporate robbers.
Darkon84 Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 Up until recent years, there used to be quite a good atmosphere at Welford Road. I remember one game around 2007 against Stade Francais where the atmosphere rivalled anything I'd heard at a football game. Unfortunately now it's completely dead with the extra-commercialism brought into the game by tv deals and ridiculous kick off times not helping. Irish teams Ulster & Munster always create great atmosphere's (flares, loud singing etc) but apart from that there's nothing to shout about. Twickenham is a joke, I went to England v Italy a couple of years back and I've genuinely heard more noise made at a funeral. Full of posh ars*holes and corporate robbers. The Ulster boys are great fun, away too. Clermont have fantastic support too. I still maintain that the best atmosphere at any sporting event I've ever been to (and this will be tough for a lot of football-only fans to take) was probably the Tigers Heineken Cup victory against Stade Francais in Paris, on their own patch. It was deafening!
The Blur Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 I heard some rugby fans get irked by casual rugby watchers getting on the bandwagon during Six nations and World Cup. Is this same for all rugby loving posters on here? Speaking as a football fan, it never bothered me if any casual football fans get on the bandwagon during Euros or World Cup as it is a part of patriotism atmosphere which made these tournaments special. I would have thought it is same for rugby fans.
Darkon84 Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 I heard some rugby fans get irked by casual rugby watchers getting on the bandwagon during six nations and world cup. Is this same for all rugby loving posters on here? Certainly not from my point of view, and I've never heard that from any other rugby fans I know. Any support is good support and if you can get new fans in to the sport and your team, then great. It's usually the rules that put people off, but if you watch a game together with a few beers and explain a bit as it goes along, it's not difficult to grasp and they wonder why they never tried to get in to it before.
Bert Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 i enjoyed the diving in rugby section on sky sports before. was great to see. proper cheating and diving and play acting. gents.Stamping on people, punching people. Gents.
ScouseFox Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 Stamping on people, punching people. Gents. haha, thats always happened though. this thing about diving was hilarious. made ashley young/bale/busquets etc look like amateurs. bloody rugby foreigners ruining the sport an all that jazz
Darkon84 Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 I've set up a fantasy league at http://fantasyrugby.espn.co.uk/ESPN/en/1/clienthome.do if anyone's bored or interested. League code is 1205071-17227
Jordan Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 Questions for you guys: what do you think about the All Blacks' haka? It's tradition, but do you guys think it's great, it's tired, it's intimidating, or what? Is it really a big deal, or just another part of the game? I'm asking because I've just read about Matt Dawson doing the "hakarena" add, and some writers are saying its ruffled a few feathers, while others are saying the All Blacks are just laughing it off.
ScouseFox Posted 18 September 2015 Posted 18 September 2015 just think it's weird but kinda cool. wouldn't intimidate me just makes me laugh normally. they look mental.
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