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Post by wayseer on Sept 14, 2007 1:41:54 GMT
I think it just great that the 'lesser' nations are teaching the 'greats' a few lessons in humility - may in continue to be so. Argentina in the final?
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Post by leonardo on Sept 14, 2007 7:33:47 GMT
Keith you should be delighted. Stop complaining about winning and enjoy the game!
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bod
Member
UGLE - MM (London), MMM RAM(Middx), OSM (London)
Posts: 1,296
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Post by bod on Oct 3, 2007 7:55:11 GMT
Congrats to those teams who made it thru to the quarter finals. Some soul searching and re-organisation required by Wales and Ireland to get back to where they should be. Anyone know if Graham Henry is free?
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Post by leonardo on Oct 4, 2007 21:50:48 GMT
Ireland was dismal, to say the least. Poor performances throughout the championships and deserved this early exit. Their manager will soon be shown the door, methinks.
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Post by leonardo on Oct 6, 2007 20:57:22 GMT
France have just beaten the All Blacks 20 - 18! Amazing rugby. Well done to France for playing so brilliantly.
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Post by middlepillar on Oct 6, 2007 22:10:10 GMT
I have just watched England beat Australia in an unbelievable game! At half time with a 10-6 lead I honestly thought the Aussies would walk away with it. I can say for sure, this is one of those days you have to admire the English guts and character to reduce the Aussies to trying to Drop kick from 50 metres is something special.
I decided to go out this evening and have a meal to celebrate, having returned I see that France have humbled the Mighty All Blacks (where is Whistler BTW?!) What a turn up, go back one page and see the ridicule that was poured on the Northern hemisphere! Fact is there will be one of us in the Final! Come on Scotland!
Fantastic stuff! Reminds me of reading my Boys own mag in the 60's!
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Post by keith on Oct 7, 2007 1:39:52 GMT
Well now, what a turn up for the book! Four years ago the French beat us too! Congrats to both England and France, you both really turned things around.
Now the Bathhurst 1000km V8 supercar race is on at the Mount Panorama circuit in NSW this afternoon.
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Post by leonardo on Oct 7, 2007 7:31:10 GMT
I didn't get to see the England match but by all accounts they were magnificent in the way the dealt with Australia. Well done to them for doing the good.
Keith, I take it from your comment on motor sport your interest in the rugby world cup is no more ;D
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bod
Member
UGLE - MM (London), MMM RAM(Middx), OSM (London)
Posts: 1,296
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Post by bod on Oct 9, 2007 8:26:08 GMT
From the BBC The All Blacks' dramatic early exit from the Rugby World Cup has sent shockwaves through rugby-obsessed New Zealand. There were tears of disbelief among stunned Kiwi supporters as they watched France come from behind to beat the tournament hot favourites 20-18 in Cardiff. Despite past failures, there was widespread confidence in New Zealand that the current All Black squad could regain the world title. But the quarter-final elimination was the All Black's worst-ever World Cup performance. For New Zealand's fanatical fans and news media, the nightmare result is regarded as a national disaster. Many fans were left bewildered and depressed by the unexpected defeat. Pride and confidence soon gave way to gloom and despondency. Within minutes of the final whistle, New Zealand supporters were venting their disappointment and frustration through telephone texts and radio talkback. Parents described children as inconsolable. Others talked of family or workmates reduced to tears. Not surprisingly, the issue has dominated news bulletins and fallout is expected to continue for months. One target of fierce criticism is English referee Wayne Barnes. Disgruntled All Black fans are upset the winning French try came from an unpunished forward pass. But others say poor leadership and poor tactics contributed to the All Black disaster. In an online poll by New Zealand's TV3 network, 55% of respondents blamed referee Barnes for the loss; 19% blamed the All Blacks and 7% blamed coach Graham Henry, who has already lost his job after the defeat. 'Need to grow up' Paddy O'Brien, the New Zealander who heads the International Rugby Board referee's panel, told TV3 that the loss could not be blamed on refereeing. "We've got to remember that France played very, very well, and as a country I think we have got to grow up." HEADLINES FROM DOWN UNDER "Ref faces backlash as 'pampered ABs', not Henry, take the blame" - NZ Herald "Four more years of void" - The Dominion Post "All Blacks' $50m failure" - Otago Times "At least we didn't choke" - Brisbane's Courier-Mail New Zealand radio commentator Murray Deaker was among those who blasted the All Blacks, claiming they lacked intelligence under pressure. "Sadly, we are a dumb rugby nation," he said. "We don't play the big matches well. On the big occasions we choke." Rugby is New Zealand's national sport. But winning the World Cup for the first time in 20 years had become a national obsession. Thousands of All Blacks fans gathered to watch the match at bars and clubs around the country. Few were expecting anything less than a comfortable victory. As French fans smiled, New Zealand fans could only hide their faces At most venues, there was stunned silence as the game and the dream slipped away. In downtown Auckland, Cock & Bull Tavern duty manager Ric Togapuna watched in disbelief. "The referee cost us the game," he said. "Heaps of French errors went unpunished." Former All Black Stu Wilson believes the team wasted too many opportunities. He told the New Zealand Herald the players' performance would face intense scrutiny at home. "The country is in mourning. They've now got to be prepared for the tsunami wave of criticism from the fans and the media." news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7032466.stm
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Post by keith on Oct 9, 2007 23:57:35 GMT
I am as passionate about our national game as ever and there will be some terrific games ahead in the semis and the final which I will definitely watch. I hope the Pumas do well! I enjoy a good game of rugby, no matter who's playing. However there is still more to life than rugby and I also enjoy a good car (or motorcycle) race - and the Bathhurst 1000 is a great race
Ford Falcon V8s came in 1, 2 and 3, Holden Commodore was 4th (You would know the Holden better as a Vauxhall)
The All Blacks arrived back in Christchurch this morning to a riotous welcome home from about 3000 fans.
It's easy to be wise after the event but I don't think the ABs had enough hard games leading up to the game against France, and I don't mean just in the RWC pool games but in the Super 14 and the Tri-Nations . Many senior ABs were taken out of the early Super 14 games for 'conditioning' and to avoid injury. Also the All Black squad was large and there wasn't a specific "1st XV" with the policy of rotating players so they had insufficient playing time as a cohesive team.
The ref missed a forward pass leading to a crucial French try, the touch judges were told beforehand to ignore forward passes, and the sending off for obstruction was wrong but of course that sort of refereeing decision can work both ways. I don't think the ABs would have complained about a French player being sent off in similar circumstances, it's all part of the game
So now we have another 4 years to the next World Cup which will be held in New Zealand
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Post by leonardo on Oct 10, 2007 7:42:05 GMT
Keith > "the touch judges were told beforehand to ignore forward passes................."
Really? Please share where you learned this info from.
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bod
Member
UGLE - MM (London), MMM RAM(Middx), OSM (London)
Posts: 1,296
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Post by bod on Oct 15, 2007 10:06:39 GMT
They seemed to notice more than enough knock on's & forward passes this weekend. A sublime performance by England, and the Saff's did a good job on the Puma's last night as well, setting up a fascinating showdown for next weekend.
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Post by whistler on Oct 15, 2007 17:53:32 GMT
10/6/07 at 15:57, Leonardo wrote: France have just beaten the All Blacks 20 - 18! Amazing rugby. Well done to France for playing so brilliantly. Wot Rubbish - >:(we played a game with a boy for a ref - a boy who gave up the law because he couldn't see. A boy who was used to the slow trudging Northern Hemisphere Rugby, he wasn't fit enough to keep up with the game. Get it right - both England and South Africa didn't want us in the final - so we get an Engish Ref and a SA Linesman. Further more look at the slowed down Game between England and France - Down here if teams played that horrible trudging plodding game - people wouldn't bother and just go home. Bod's A sublime performance by England,If that was Sublime Rugby ooh dear
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Post by middlepillar on Oct 15, 2007 20:01:41 GMT
Further more look at the slowed down Game between England and Argentine - Down here if teams played that horrible trudging plodding game - people wouldn't bother and just go home. Whistler You really havent been watching the Rugby have you? England have not played Argentina in this World Cup! Perhaps the tears have misted your eyes over! There is more than one way to play Rugby, however whichever way you play you should at least have the good grace to acknowlege the English didnt know when they were beaten and showed true sporting courage to win both against Australia and France. (Whom I have to say have been very gracious in defeat unlike that Team that hasnt won The World Cup for 20 years and prefers Dancing & Tongue poking to Playing the Mans game that was required!) YEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by leonardo on Oct 15, 2007 21:14:59 GMT
Whistler, your remarks suggest you're a sore loser. ;D
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Post by whistler on Oct 16, 2007 0:19:44 GMT
Whistler, your remarks suggest you're a sore loser. ;D Yes Middlepillar How very Malecraft of you to call Rugby a "Mans Game" May I draw your attention to The Black Ferns are the current Women's Rugby World Cup champions. They have won three consecutive World CupsRe the World Cup, it is easy to think it has ruined the Grass Roots game, with all the focus on one Match every four years The Touring days when teams stayed a while and visited the provinces made for excitement . a 3 Test series made the results worth while. - How can the Winner of the World Cup be called a World Champion - have they won against every team? The Tri Nations winner, the Super 14 Winners, and the Northern equivalent winners carry much More Kudos than World Cup Winners - What a waste of time the 50 60 plus score games are. All Blacks won 38 of 43 Tests coming into the World Cup, and remained undefeated in Europe for five years. So we cant be that bad For me If the All Blacks had to be beaten a dream final Would have beeen France - Fiji
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Post by whistler on Oct 17, 2007 20:57:43 GMT
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Post by keith on Oct 18, 2007 2:37:39 GMT
Whistler, that link is a dangerous one, I had trouble trying to exit it it and had to reboot It contained a popup telling me I was the 999999th visitor and had won, when I tried to close, it took me to another link, It stuck like s*** to a blanket!
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Post by whistler on Oct 18, 2007 3:01:55 GMT
Whistler, that link is a dangerous one, I had trouble trying to exit it it and had to reboot It contained a popup telling me I was the 999999th visitor and had won, when I tried to close, it took me to another link, It stuck like s*** to a blanket! Keith it was a link to imageshack - which the forum suggest we use for images
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Post by middlepillar on Oct 18, 2007 8:27:30 GMT
Whistler, that link is a dangerous one, I had trouble trying to exit it it and had to reboot It contained a popup telling me I was the 999999th visitor and had won, when I tried to close, it took me to another link, It stuck like s*** to a blanket! This is intesting Kieth, because I had no problems at all, went straight through to the images! (Perhaps you were the lucky one ;D)
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