This rugby W/C just keeps getting better and better. England/Fiji & France/South Africa, two superb games of rugby, a great shame that two teams had to lose but rugby was the overall winner. There was one spat between two number 7s in the first match but even that ended with a handshake. Makes football look like a game for trekkers.
Mr Cal, I find myself unable to Change the Thread Title. It is what it is, IMO. Unless you want to do it?
I too enjoyed the Rugby Union today. The Honest Opinion amongst the English is we have "Absolutely NO CHANCE against the South Africans" in the Semis.
They will destroy us in the Scrum.
IMO it will be NZ v. SA in the Final.
It's gonna be brutal. It might even be BRILLIANT. I shall be watching.
But, once you get to the knockout stages, LUCK plays a part. Anything could happen.
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There is one way that rugby can become an even better sport - take out the steroid bulking up, this will also remove the aggression at the same time. Fix a maximum weight so the scrums lose significance making all the other aspects of the game just as important. Have you all noticed how rugby players seem rooted to the ground except at throw-ins, it's bizarre and when catching a ball they look away and often naff it. That should be dealt with in training. One aspect of rugby that I find exhilarating is the use of the dummy on a run, great when it comes off.
Most of the time now I can't be bothered to watch football - the diving, play acting, VAR administered by those who are told 'what to do' by corrupt FIFA, this W/C has blown away money obsessed football. The spectators both at the matches and on TV have had a feast, sometimes the quarters and semis have proved far better than finals, fingers xed the quality continues. No rain/no mudbaths so far and the temperatures are going down at last. Sadly Scotland wasn't expected to do well but Ireland was. Every ones writing off England, I doubt the S/Africans players are - vamos a ver/let's see.
Most of the time now I can't be bothered to watch football - the diving, play acting, VAR administered by those who are told 'what to do' by corrupt FIFA, this W/C has blown away money obsessed football. The spectators both at the matches and on TV have had a feast, sometimes the quarters and semis have proved far better than finals, fingers xed the quality continues. No rain/no mudbaths so far and the temperatures are going down at last. Sadly Scotland wasn't expected to do well but Ireland was. Every ones writing off England, I doubt the S/Africans players are - vamos a ver/let's see.
Australia Diamonds v New Zealand Silver Ferns, Constellation Cup: four matches, two in each country.
Australia won the first two in Oz, but the Ferns came back last night and won a thriller in Invercargill. The lead fluctuated and in the last quarter, it seemed as though the Diamonds panicked a bit, probably due to the din produced by the 99.9% NZ crowd.
Great match, even though the Diamonds lost by three. NZ needs to win the fourth game by a large margin to win back the Cup.
Geoff
Australia won the first two in Oz, but the Ferns came back last night and won a thriller in Invercargill. The lead fluctuated and in the last quarter, it seemed as though the Diamonds panicked a bit, probably due to the din produced by the 99.9% NZ crowd.
Great match, even though the Diamonds lost by three. NZ needs to win the fourth game by a large margin to win back the Cup.
Geoff
I knew it was only a matter of time before we agreed on something.
I call your POV brilliant!
Where are all the negatif Engelse klootzaken that said the English would get a drubbing - gone missing, no surprise there. As it happened it was their game to lose and they did, giving away stupid penalties in the lat 10 minutes. the idiot George made 3 really bad throw-ins, two right near the S/A line. Ford was brought in right near the death - why oh why didn't they try for a drop goal with Farrell and Ford on the field, incredible stupidity and they paid the price by losing a game they should have won - so it goes. S/A have brawn the Kiwis have far more skill - vamos a ver.
Cal, it was brilliancy right up to the last 10 minutes. The S/Africans were stunned, you could see it on their faces. Their whole game was shut down. I watched it on French TV the commentators were really congratulating the English, The French spectators were cheering on the English, another great game of rugby - until the last 10 minutes. All the English had to do was maintain discipline. The stupid foul that gave the S/A kicker a chance to send the ball down the field near the English line, without that one foul - no try and then another stupid foul that gave their kicker the chance to win the match, which he did. Would they have beaten a revived NZ? If they shut down their game as they had S/A - quien saves. To lose to a better team is one thing - to throw it away!
As a South African, that semi-final was extremely painful and frustrating to watch...
Dominant England played the game of their lives. And South Africa still won.
We made so many mistakes, could not win our own lineouts, etc. I watched a condensed replay last night, IMHO England could have ended the first half with a larger margin had they kicked for the corner instead of taking the penalty kicks at the beginning. And that would have been the end of the contest for us.
We only gained the lead 2-3 minutes from the end, and it was just a matter of another drop kick from England to finally sink us.
The weather prediction for the weekend is not that great, with a 70% chance of rain throughout the day on Friday and Saturday. So, it's going to be pretty much the same sort of game.
Dominant England played the game of their lives. And South Africa still won.
We made so many mistakes, could not win our own lineouts, etc. I watched a condensed replay last night, IMHO England could have ended the first half with a larger margin had they kicked for the corner instead of taking the penalty kicks at the beginning. And that would have been the end of the contest for us.
We only gained the lead 2-3 minutes from the end, and it was just a matter of another drop kick from England to finally sink us.
The weather prediction for the weekend is not that great, with a 70% chance of rain throughout the day on Friday and Saturday. So, it's going to be pretty much the same sort of game.
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next step - good honest post. The game that England played was boring but right against S/A. Spot on about going for penalties instead of tries. Speaking as a man of the Celteach, overcautious is and always has been a problem for the 'English' which is strange because they are descended from Germanic tribes. In the last European Cup (football) initially they attacked and scored a goal then went back into the negative defensive play, and then just to prove how 'progressive' he was the **** of a manager brought on 2 young black guys who were stone cold and blew their penalties so incurring lots of racial attacks on social media.
It was so obvious how the English had to play the last 10 minutes. On a sports field the same as a battle field you have to make the right moves at the right time or lose. Good on S/A they never gave up and so won the day. They will have to be sharp as hell against the Kiwis who have come on no end since the beginning of the tournament - bonne chance.
It was so obvious how the English had to play the last 10 minutes. On a sports field the same as a battle field you have to make the right moves at the right time or lose. Good on S/A they never gave up and so won the day. They will have to be sharp as hell against the Kiwis who have come on no end since the beginning of the tournament - bonne chance.