isaidno Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 Starts on Friday. The first England match is on Sunday vs Tonga. https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/pools
Finnegan Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 We're all Japan aren't we. I mean the All Blacks are going to walk it, it's pointless cheering for our own tier one sides, might as well just embrace the Brave Blossoms mad-capping their way to the knock outs with their relentless, manic attack. If anyone's not convinced to support them, keep in mind they've got the Scotch in their group and it's likely to be a straight shoot out between the two to come second. Incidentally, it was the Jocks that ruined the party in 2015. After the "miracle" in Brighton (Japan beat South Africa 32-34 in probably the best game ever), Japan were expected to recover in a mere few days to play a decisive group stage game against a fully rested Scotland. Scotland won comfortably but it was a travesty given the scheduling which always shafts tier two sides. Japan have gotten a Super Rugby team since then and almost their entire squad has been signed to its reserves in a clever bid to get them all playing together solidly for the last nine months. Elsewhere, Ireland are set to continue their hilarious run of losing in basically every quarter final ever given their 1/4 opponents will be either South Africa or New Zealand. Sorry lads. England have the ultimate banana skin group with injury magnets Tonga, bipolar France and the ever evolving Argentina making up a pool they really should win comfortably but it'll be no embarrassment if they don't. Watch out for Argentina. The Jaguares have steadily improved since joining SR and were the most exciting team as they finished runners up to the imperious Crusaders. The Jags is about 99% of the national team so, like Japan, they'll be another hugely unified outfit. Oh and if Wales lose to Australia in the group stages, Wales vs England will likely be a quarter final so there's always the possibility I'll sulk off the forum in a strop for six months if we lose that, which will no doubt be good for some lols. Edit: and will a mod please for the love of God capitalise the title of this thread it's going to drive me insane.
stripeyfox Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 Meh! Can't be any worse than England fluffing their lines and getting booted out of their own World Cup at the first stage like last time. Not really into Rugby but I assume this one will be even harder to get into with unsociable kick off times etc It's a No from me I'm afraid but hope that the egg chasing fans enjoy it!
Jimothy Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 As with any sporting event I hope England do well, but I won't be going out my way to watch any games, even England games.
ScouseFox Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 should be fun, gonna be the standard lols in the group stage with teams like USA and russia playing teams that are actually aware of the rules of rugby. russia lost to jersey in one of their warm up games and lost by 70 to italy in the other. decent. kick off times are actually pretty sound, a few 6ams but other than that half 8 or 11 o’clock and mostly at the weekends, be a better build up to whatever you normally do on a saturday morning than fu cking soccer am.
Nalis Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 South Africa New Zealand final, England to get to the semis. Ireland to go out in the quarters. Again. On a side note, I was in Cardiff for Wales v Ireland pre world cup warm up and absolutely loved it, Cardiff is some spot on a rugby matchday (before and after the match) and the atmosphere with the roof closed is pretty cool even tho it was a glorified friendly and not a sell out. The unexpected win was the icing on the cake albeit it wouldnt have been disappointed with the loss and the rugby was secondary to general weekend craic by that stage. Would def do it again.
Izzy Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 Looking forward to this. Weather/conditions could be a factor but can't see past the usual suspects. Gotta fancy Wales as favorites though. Great team, great coach and they'll have big support out there.
Lionator Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 Agree with @Nalis, the AB's and Boks should be favourites to meet in the final, with England and Wales the other likely teams to get there. Japan and Fiji will be dangerous in the group stage. Expect Ireland and Scotland to get knocked out in the QF as well as the Aussies. I just want a cracker of a tournament, Japan is a great nation full of wonderful people who deserve a great showcase.
Finnegan Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 9 minutes ago, walkerleeds said: South Africa will win this. Nope. I mean, alright, its possible. Any of the likely semi finalists could. But the Tri Nations / Rugby Championship winner never wins the world cup. Partly this is just one of those weird anomalies but also there's some sense in it to an extent. What that sense says is that writing off the All Blacks because they appear to have slumped is folly, they're just rotating, resting people, trying out different combinations and keeping their cards close to their chest. They're comfortably the best team in the world and up until recently South Africa were comfortably the worst of the top 6.
ScouseFox Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 new zealand are so much better than everyone else. sevu reece will score about 50 tries this tournament. man's off the charts and he's only just made his debut. in fact gonna back him top try scorer. hope he actually starts lol.
walkerleeds Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 15 minutes ago, Finnegan said: Nope. I mean, alright, its possible. Any of the likely semi finalists could. But the Tri Nations / Rugby Championship winner never wins the world cup. Partly this is just one of those weird anomalies but also there's some sense in it to an extent. What that sense says is that writing off the All Blacks because they appear to have slumped is folly, they're just rotating, resting people, trying out different combinations and keeping their cards close to their chest. They're comfortably the best team in the world and up until recently South Africa were comfortably the worst of the top 6. Hmmm not so sure. Didn't they play two very tight games last year? Would suggest for over 12 months SA have been closing the gap. They play each other first up too. What a game that will be.
Finnegan Posted 16 September 2019 Posted 16 September 2019 3 minutes ago, walkerleeds said: Hmmm not so sure. Didn't they play two very tight games last year? Would suggest for over 12 months SA have been closing the gap. They play each other first up too. What a game that will be. We've beaten them twice in 2018, they drew with a terrible France, lost to England, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand. They've won games, too, obviously and they're amongst the favourites for a reason. But THE favourites? Sorry narh. Wouldn't mind a cheeky bet that, despite joking earlier, Ireland beat them in the quarters.
spacemunky Posted 17 September 2019 Posted 17 September 2019 Really is no mention of this here in Canada. I had to look it up to see that we are in it.
Finnegan Posted 17 September 2019 Posted 17 September 2019 5 hours ago, spacemunky said: Really is no mention of this here in Canada. I had to look it up to see that we are in it. Kinda sad the current state of Canadian rugby. You always used to be one of the genuine best of the rest minnows that'd give tier one nations a headache. Before the like of Georgia, Portugal and Uruguay started settling there was Canada. Genuinely decent tier two side in the 90s.
Jimothy Posted 17 September 2019 Posted 17 September 2019 5 hours ago, spacemunky said: Really is no mention of this here in Canada. I had to look it up to see that we are in it. 5000/1 to win it. Where have I seen those odds before.....
deejdeej Posted 17 September 2019 Posted 17 September 2019 Looking forward to this, only just noticed the scheduling is mostly weekends, great news!
ScouseFox Posted 17 September 2019 Posted 17 September 2019 anyone else having a punt? any good shouts finno? im currently on: sevu reece top tryscorer @ 10/1 beauden barrett top points scorer @ 9/1 NZ win @ 11/8 and for the opening game, japan to win by 50+ @ 25/1 and japan -23.5 @ 6/5.
Finnegan Posted 17 September 2019 Posted 17 September 2019 4 hours ago, ScouseFox said: anyone else having a punt? any good shouts finno? im currently on: sevu reece top tryscorer @ 10/1 beauden barrett top points scorer @ 9/1 NZ win @ 11/8 and for the opening game, japan to win by 50+ @ 25/1 and japan -23.5 @ 6/5. It depends how they line up. If they line up like they played Aus in the Bledisloe game then Beaudy probably won't be kicking so he won't top score. Owen Farrell and Handre Pollard are probably good bets as their teams will put a tidy emphasis on kicking points. Pollard is a better bet to go beyond the quarter finals. If Beaudy starts at 10 then maybe he'd be a shout but he's still a shit kicker. You've got a similar issue with Sevu. You might find that come the first game, just as Barrett might get his 10 spot back, Rieko Ioane might cruise back in to the starting line up. If he does, he'd be my shout to be honest. On form, he's probably the best winger in the world. Jonny May isn't a bad shout. England are the Tottenham Hotspur of international rugby, they struggle to get their attack going against top level opposition but they're strong flat track bullies in a group in which they'll expect to be able to run up the score. Expect May to pick up a lot of tries in England's early first twenty minutes blitz in games.
ScouseFox Posted 17 September 2019 Posted 17 September 2019 probs ask him for tips not you next time finners cheers
Finnegan Posted 17 September 2019 Posted 17 September 2019 2 minutes ago, ScouseFox said: probs ask him for tips not you next time finners cheers What a muppet. He's commonly regarded as the weak link in our coaching staff but still not what anyone needs.
Guest MattP Posted 18 September 2019 Posted 18 September 2019 What a Saturday of sport this week, France v Argies/NZ v South Africa in the morning followed by Leicester v Spurs and T20 finals day. Looking forward to this World Cup and it's fantastic to see it go somewhere like Japan - I think the ideosyncratical nature of holding it in a country like that could lead to a few more shocks than usual. Looking at the draw Wales and South Africa have a great chance to reach the final.
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