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2019 Rugby World Cup

Discussion in 'Other Sports Forum' started by Galant, Sep 19, 2019.

  1. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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  2. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Peebles, Scotland
    Yep, will be watching as many games as I can, and supporting Scotland all the way. Don't have a lot of hope that they're going to go far though. Even if we get out of our group (and I'm wary of the hosts Japan being in there), we'd likely face South Africa or New Zealand in the quarters, and that's where I expect our journey will end.

    Very open WC though, can see 1 of 4-5 teams that are in with a chance of winning it (NZ, SA, Eng, Wal, Ire).
     
  3. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    The one major issue is the time of the games. Over here there all early morning games - around 10am or the late games around middy. So I'll be working for most of them - except the weekends.
     
  4. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Same here, weekend games are ok, but weekday ones not so easy to watch. Luckily I can "work" from home, so might still catch a few ;) :lol:
     
  5. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    USA have just kicked off against England, not expected to win or even keep it close, but will be interesting to see how they do. With MLR now giving rugby players a professional option in the US, they will be a team to watch going forward in the next World Cups. Also may even host one in 2027 or 2031, as they've expressed an interest.

    Tough group the USA have though in this WC, with England, France and Argentina in it. On paper, the game against Tonga is the only one where they're given a chance to get a win.
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2019
  6. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Ouch. 45-7 result.

    France up next for the USA on Weds.

    Edit: Just seen this - USA penalised for a bad tackle against England. Player was ejected. Horrible tackling technique. Didn't get his head down and make a mid-level hit, just seemed to go in with his shoulder to block him NFL-style, and made head to head contact at the same time. They'll need to clean up that sort of stuff.

    And it's here in the highlights too at 1:31 in:

     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2019
  7. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Was a terrible tackle, straightforward red card and he'll be banned for a while for that. There was no reason to even go for that kind of hit either.
     
  8. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    On the subject of an NFL type tackle (and think that may have also been a penalty in the NFL as he could be judged to have targetted the head/neck area with his shoulder), do you think it would be a good idea for the NFL to introduce a penalty for a no-arms tackle like rugby has? I actually think it would improve the game, as using a proper tackling technique would perhaps limit the amount of missed and poor tackles in the game. It would probably also help with the concussion issue.
     
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  9. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    First big shock of the WC, with Japan beating Ireland. More than anything, it now really puts the pressure on Scotland who, even if they win out, may struggle to qualify (assuming Ireland win out, and Japan also beat Samoa to have 3 wins).

    Still, good to see a 2nd tier nation beating one of the big boys, Japan did it in last WC against South Africa, but have now followed that up. There really have to be more games on a regular basis between the top 8/9 teams and the rest of the world outside the WC, if rugby is going to continue to grow.
     
  10. Pauly

    Pauly Season Ticket Holder

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    Wales also got the upset against Australia too.

    I thought the Japanese win was more impressive than their win against South Africa 4 years ago. In the South African game the Japanese were behind and didn’t look like winning until the final whistle. Against Ireland they got behind early then methodically clawed their way back into the game and for the final 20 minutes looked like they deserved to win.
     
  11. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    I've missed most games, didn't see Japan play. Can't say I know anything about Rugby in Japan so it didn't occur to me to watch or expect anything from them. Good on the Cherry Blossoms!

    Need to see if I can catch a game soon. Might be Saturday though, all the games are on while I'm at work. England vs. Argentina or Japan vs. Samoa most likely.
     
  12. Pauly

    Pauly Season Ticket Holder

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    Japan plays a lot like Argentina. They have very solid technique and set pieces, but don’t have the athletic ability of the strongest teams. On a good day they can beat anyone as long as they keep the game tight. Once the game gets into one on one matchups in open spaces they struggle.

    England - Argentina on paper is the best match, but Japan and Samoa could be a lot of fun to watch as free style Island rugby and controlled Japanese rugby is a chalk and cheese matchup.
     
  13. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Better display from the US. They still lost, 33-9, to the French, but it was just a 3 point game with <15 minutes left. They have a centre, Paul Lasike, who was on the Bears roster as a fullback for a while, and I really think that they will need more ex-football players switching sports to really make progress. Even good college football players, who don't make it to the NFL, would help them improve. The likes of Perry Baker and Carlin Isles, who weren't even great college players, have really helped their 7's team (2nd in the World last year).
     
  14. Pauly

    Pauly Season Ticket Holder

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    The US rugby team has some of the best athletes in the world cup. The reason they’re getting beat is that they have a lack of technique and experience.
    Even so, 2 or 3 world cups ago teams like England and France would be dropping 80+ points on the US so there has been a lot of progress over the last 10 years.
     
  15. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Scotland beat Russia easily to set up a huge final game against Japan. After the abomination of a performance against Ireland, Scotland have now nil'd their next two opponents while scoring 13 tries. Inferior opposition to Ireland, but still a great response to that first result.

    I'm obviously rooting hard for them to beat Japan on Sunday to progress to the quarter finals, but I expect the rest of the world will be wanting to see the fairytale Japan story continue. I'll be disappointed to see them go out if Scotland finish the job though, Japan winning 3 out of 4 group games and not reaching the quarters in a home World Cup would be heartbreaking for them.

    Should be some game though, Japan are no flukes and showed that against Ireland.
     
  16. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Rumours now that the Scotland-Japan game is going to be cancelled due to the impact of Typhoon Hagibis, which is building to the equivalent of a Cat 5 hurricane, on Tokyo this weekend. Big impact on the tournament if that happens, as a cancelled game results in 2 points to each team...which means Japan would progress!
     
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  17. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Woah! Didn't realise that. Horrible way to settle a tournament result though...
     
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  18. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    I've only been watching the England games when they've been televised. Looks like their match vs France won't be on TV. It also would appear that only 1/2 of the QF matches are going to be televised as a scan thru the DirecTV schedule. Hopefully one of those will be England. (maybe vs Wales, ah the rematch!).

    You guys mentioned the tackling techniques a bit. Football is moving more and more to rugby style tackling in their teaching of the game at the youth level. I've been coaching my son's youth football team last two years before he goes into high school next year. And they want us to teach rugby style tackling / hawk tackling, same as how the Seahawks have done it the last few years. They want to keep the head out of the game as much as possible so have turned to the sport of rugby. For ex. the defender on an angle tackle should be putting his head BEHIND the flow of the player (near hip, near foot). That is not the way I learned when I was younger (head in front). Today we've actually got a youth rugby league coach coming to our practice (second time he has) to help teach it. It's interesting because I think the more it's taught by youth rugby coaches, the more you''ll see a crossover of football players playing rugby as a way to stay fit in their offseason and continue to learn the game while they get bigger and stronger thru high school. Who knows, maybe when a kid gets older and can't continue to play football in college, they turn to rugby instead if there's a increasing demand for the sport. That is one way to grow the sport here. The professional league is another .
     
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  19. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    the music is great by the way... NBCSN.

     
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  20. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    England-France and NZ-Italy on Saturday have been cancelled. No real effect for the first game, as both England and France were going through anyway, but the second cancellation puts Italy out. They were very unlikely to beat NZ, but to have that chance taken out of their hands in a World Cup is a farce.

    This was always a high likelihood with the tournament taking place during Typoon season in Japan, and the teams knew the rules in advance of the competition, but it's still a bad look for World Rugby. They should have put plans in place in advance to move games either by location or date to ensure all games are played in what is meant to be the sport's showpiece event.

    The four games on Sunday, including the crucial Japan-Scotland game, are to be reviewed on Sunday morning to see what the situation is before a decision is made on them.

    Bit ironic that Scotland may go out to what was nicknamed a few days ago as Typhoon Haggis (Hagibis) by some in these parts...
     
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  21. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    man that's nuts. I wonder what would happen if it had been a QF/SF or even worse the Final game itself that was cancelled? Add back on points scored throughout the tournament? :lol: :sad:
     
  22. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Well, the game went ahead...and Japan won 28-21. Disappointing as a Scotland fan, but Japan thoroughly deserved the win and I'm pleased for them that they now face South Africa in the quarter-finals. After the way they played in the wins against Ireland and Scotland, they have a decent chance to go further, they've played some tremendous rugby.
     
  23. Pauly

    Pauly Season Ticket Holder

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    Probably the best match of the tournament so far. Japan getting ahead then Scotland clawing their way back into the match. It’s the biggest surprise of any World cup that Japan topped it’s group. South Africa cannot in any way let themselves take the match easy, because this Japanese side is well coached and is really fired up with the hime crowd behind them.
     
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  24. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Looks like all of the remaining elimination games will be broadcast via NBCSN here in the US, starting tonight. If that Scotland/Japan match is any indication of what is to come, this could be a lot of fun.
     
  25. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Big win (40-16) by England against Australia in the first quarter final, and NZ are currently 22-0 up against Ireland at half-time in the second one, so odds on for an Eng-NZ semi-final. Australia were poor but England were clinical, as are NZ being (aren't they always!).

    Wales-France followed by Japan-South Africa, which is the one I'm looking forward to, tomorrow.

    I'd put my money on the All-Blacks winning the trophy, but England will likely give them a huge test in the semi.
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2019
  26. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Japan's fairytale World Cup ends with a 26-3 loss to South Africa, whose physicality was just too much for Japan. Wales through to the semi-final too with a 20-19 win over France, but France were the better team, which even the Welsh coach said after the game. France doing what France do though, mixing up great play with self destructive madness. Why their second row (can't remember/spell his name!) decided to blatantly elbow the Welsh player in the head and get himself sent off when his team was ahead and in control, I will never know. Messed up a few chances after that to put the game out of Wales' reach too, even with only 14 players, before Wales got the winning try.

    So, England v New Zealand in first semi-final, and Wales v South Africa in the second. I reckon it will be NZ-SA in the final, but I wouldn't be surprised if England spring a shock.
     
  27. Pauly

    Pauly Season Ticket Holder

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    I’ll be surprised if England can knock off the All Blacks. The wallabies kept making mistakes, and the ABs are too ruthless for that. I thought the ABs were scary in the way they put Ireland in a sleeper hold and crushed them.
     
  28. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    too bad it's a 1 vs 2 and 3 vs 4 scenario in these semis.
     
  29. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    England shock the All Blacks 19-7, completely smothered them with the only NZ try coming from an England error, but they never looked like they were going to be able to break the England stranglehold.

    They have to be the favourite now to win their 2nd World Cup against either Wales or South Africa.
     
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  30. Pauly

    Pauly Season Ticket Holder

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    Huge upset. Not as big as Japan winning their group, but even the English fans didn’t expect a win. They were saying they needed to play a perfect match and hope NZ couldn’t produce anything out of the box. Masterful performance.

    if Wales make it through, I think they’ll give England more trouble than the ‘boks. The Welsh seem to grow an extra leg when playing the English.
     
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  31. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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  32. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    South Africa edge out Wales 19-16 in the second semi. Not the best game to watch (understatement!), more of the typical cagey game that you tend to see in a semi-final. Both teams kicking far too much, playing for territory and hoping for errors...of which there were plenty.

    Too close to call in the final IMO, although maybe edge to England after their win over NZ.
     
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2019
  33. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    Immense performance from South Africa to lift the trophy. Their defence totally smothered England, and that along with dominance in the scrum meant they didn't give England a chance. Two classy tries to round out the 32-12 win too.
     
  34. Da 'Fins

    Da 'Fins Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

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    SA were really tough. An awkward team to play. That little guy with the long hair was so pesky and irritating. And their big guys in the scrum and in tackling were so tough and then their speed was also on display.

    I too thought England would win after watching their QF and SF wins. They looked so physical and crisp.

    But they looked ill prepared from the start. Just out of sink on offense.

    However The turning point, IMO, was the loss of Kyle Sinckler (sp?) just 2 minutes in. He was crucial for their scrums and you could see SA took advantage of that. His side kept collapsing with Cole replacing him. That just changed the physicality of the game and I think SA got that lead as a result and were able to dictate much as a result. The game was a lot closer than the final score indicated. England should have had a try when they were down close. That missed kick hurt them in the 2nd half; and I also think SA should have gotten a yellow at one point as they were intentionally taking penalties. The refs missed a couple of calls - that one and one earlier on a clear forward pass By SA that the ref missed earlier in the game - that could have changed the momentum of the game as well.

    I think this WC was the most enjoyable rugby I’ve watched. It really is such a great game when played at the highest level.

    all that said, SA played their game and really dictated the game. They deserved the title. I just thought it could have gone the other way if not for 2-3 bad breaks for England on the injury and a coupe of calls.
     
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  35. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    5'7" Faf de Klerk on the wind-up below against 6'6" Jake Ball of Wales, wee irritating scrum half...but then most of the best ones are. The ref's face too :lol:

    [​IMG]
     
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