2007 Rugby World Cup

[Mid A 15]

Is there any interest or is everybody so pessimistic about England's chances that they cannot be bothered?

I can understand Amy's silence as Jonny has got an injury again!

[J.R.]

Is there any interest or is everybody so pessimistic about England's chances that they cannot be bothered?

I can understand Amy's silence as Jonny has got an injury again!

Nothing new there, then.

.... and it looks like our National Footy team will get walloped by the Israeli's

[Mid A 15]

Is there any interest or is everybody so pessimistic about England's chances that they cannot be bothered?

I can understand Amy's silence as Jonny has got an injury again!

Nothing new there, then.

.... and it looks like our National Footy team will get walloped by the Israeli's

I predict a typically boring 1-0 in the football.

I doubt if I'll even bother to watch it that's how disillusioned I've become with the England football team.

Sad isn't it?

[blondie95]

i am incredibly excited about the world cup

We can survive without Jonny.
If we beat South Arifca in the pool we will get to quarter finals where i think we will loose. If we loose to South Africa then we will not get past the pool stage!

Also how come we got SA again in the pool

[Mid A 15]

i am incredibly excited about the world cup

We can survive without Jonny.
If we beat South Arifca in the pool we will get to quarter finals where i think we will loose. If we loose to South Africa then we will not get past the pool stage!

Also how come we got SA again in the pool

I agree with you that South Africa is the crunch game.

I just hope he picks a balanced back row with Rees playing open side rather than mess about with two blind side flankers, three number eights or any of the other useless back row permutations we've had of late.

Am I right that if we can by some miracle get past South Africa and win the group we could end up playing Wales?

[blondie95]

i had it as if we win group we are likely to play fiji if they come 2nd in their group but if we come second in the group we play austrailia which is why i say we wont go any further.

my hope is he picks a strong set of backs who can tackle!

[Mid A 15]

i had it as if we win group we are likely to play fiji if they come 2nd in their group but if we come second in the group we play austrailia which is why i say we wont go any further.

my hope is he picks a strong set of backs who can tackle!

Wales are in the same group as Australia and Fiji.

The Fijians are brilliant at sevens but I fancy Wales to finish above them in fifteen aside. So IF we beat South Africa and win the group and Wales come second to Australia in THEIR group we could meet them in the quarters and whilst there are no easy games we would have a good chance.

Having said all that who would have backed Argentina to beat France tonight?

[blondie95]

i am so happy for argenitna-what a brilliant match and what a fantastic start to the tournement.

I honestly think Fiji will beat wales, wales arent playing all that welland I think the Fijian have a strength

[Ajarn Philip]

Press Release
International Rugby Board (IRB) Rugby World Cup 2007

Following complaints to the IRB about the All Blacks being allowed to motivate themselves by performing the ‘Haka’ before their games, other nations were asked to suggest pre-match rituals of their own. The IRB Rugby World Cup 2007 Organizing Committee has now agreed to the following pre-match displays:

1) The England team will chat about the weather, wave hankies in the air and attach bells to their ankles before moaning about how they invented the game and gave it to the world, but no one appreciates them.

2) The Scotland team will chant “You lookin’ at me, Jimmy?” before all of them smash a bottle of beer over their opponents’ heads.

3) The Ireland team will split into two, with the Southern half performing a Riverdance, while the Northerners march the Traditional route from their dressing room to the pitch, via their opponents dressing room.

4) Unfortunately the Committee was unable to accept the Welsh proposal to form a choir and sing Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Unusual”.

5) Argentina will unexpectedly invade a small part of opposition territory, claim it as their own “Las In-Goals-Areas” and have to be forcibly removed by the match stewards.

6) Two members of the South African team will claim to be more important than the other 13 whom they will imprison between the posts. These two will then go about selecting the best parts of the pitch to settle on and claim that they have been there for centuries.

7) The Americans will not attend until almost full time. In future years they will amend the records to show that they were in fact the most important team in the tournament and Hollywood will make a blockbuster fi lm called ‘Saving Flanker Ryan’.

Five of the Canadian team will sing La Marseillaise and hold the rest of the team to ransom.

9) The Italian team will arrive in Armani gear, sexually harass the female officials and then prepare pasta dishes, which they will flog to the crowd for a fortune.

10) The Japanese will shock fans buy demonstrating how to capture a whale for scientific research by harpooning an opposition prop.

11) The French won’t have a pre-match display and will simply hide in fear in the dressing room for the whole match.

12) The Australians will have a BBQ on their side of the field and invite the opposition over before the game. There will be food and alcohol in abundance and by the start of the game no-one will remember what they came to the stadium for. After some streaking, the singing of dirty songs and the occasional chunder everyone will go home thoroughly convinced it was a bl**dy good night. (while singing 'I come from a land down under!')

13) Samoa will prepare a huge feast in the middle of the pitch by digging a large hole and filling it with burning embers. They invite the opposition over by saying, “We’d like to have you for dinner.” It’s only when the opposition get to the pit that they realize there is no meat and that they are the dinner!

Hopefully, with these policies now in place, further problems in this area of the game should cease to exists.

Regards,
Syd Miller
IRB Chairman
THE INTERNATIONAL RUGBY BOARD
Huguenot House 35-38 St Stephen’s Green Dublin 2 Ireland

[J.R.]

Absolutely brilliant, Ajarn !

[Mid A 15]

Good one Phil, I enjoyed that!

Well I can't see past the All Blacks after yesterday. They were awesome!

I hate that word as it is over used but it certainly fits their performance yesterday against Italy.

As for England they did what they had to do. The back row looked a lot more balanced with Rees there and Barkley impressed me too. The backs looked poor though. Cueto is not a full back!

[blondie95]

well yesterday was ok, we won which is the main thing although vaing atched NZ rund 70 points past Italy then Austrailia 93 points Englands 28 was a bit low.

Olly Barkley was fantastic and even if Jonny was fit for Friday i wouldnt start him the South Africans would just target him. Lewesy needs to go to fullback.

Im now watching the South Africans destroy Samoa and am now watching any chance of England beating the South Africans disappear

[Mid A 15]

well yesterday was ok, we won which is the main thing although vaing atched NZ rund 70 points past Italy then Austrailia 93 points Englands 28 was a bit low.

Olly Barkley was fantastic and even if Jonny was fit for Friday i wouldnt start him the South Africans would just target him. Lewesy needs to go to fullback.

Im now watching the South Africans destroy Samoa and am now watching any chance of England beating the South Africans disappear

I think the opposite to some extent funnily enough! Samoa had the South Africans really rattled at times in the first half and I thought they looked vulnerable.

The problems in my view were firstly that the Samoans couldn't really compete in the scrummages. England shouldn't have that problem. Secondly the Samoans ran out of gas, largely because of their scrummaging problems and thirdly Henry Tuigamala (?spelling) went off. He was really influential in the first half.

I'm not saying we will beat South Africa but I don't rate them as highly as their scoreline against Samoa would suggest.

If we play as we did against USA Samoa might give us a problem! Our back 3 (Lewsey, Cueto and Robinson) will need to be a lot better than they were against USA.

[Mid A 15]

Slightly off topic but rugby as it should be played.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwCbG4I0 ... ed&search=


While I'm in nostalgia mode here is my old English teacher at CH, Gerald Davies (wearing number 14), involved in the build up and eventually scoring a try for Wales against Ireland....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GukFXcT ... ed&search=

I'm pleased with that as my 1500th post!

[Ajarn Philip]

Oh, thank you

How I enjoyed that little reminder of the Baa Baas and 'that try.' Of course in those days it was a different game, which is why that was such a special moment for anyone who saw it.

I was never taught by GD, but I can claim to have played against him for the Colts v. the Masters. I was his opposite flanker. I don't think I touched him in the whole game (which is probably just as well).

Moving on... Andy Farrell as no. 10? All I can say is that my fingers are crossed. (I wonder how fit Rob Andrew is these days? Did he bring his boots?)