2011 RWC General Banter/Team Talk Thread

Ga1wegian

Check out match tracker on www.knockon.ie if you want to have a bit of craic watching the game or if you are stuck at work and have to follow it online

efb

France to bring it back over the equator!!!

GerM

Deleted User wrote: »

Can't understand how Gatland thinks Priestland > Biggar...

Biggar was very poor throughout last season. Priestland had the Scarlets playing some brilliant rugby at times. It was a complete reversal of the previous season when Biggar looked for all the world like a Lion in waiting and Priestland was the big weak point for Llanelli. Still surprised to see Priestland get the nod for the XV though.

Grimebox

Anyone know where I can catch the highlights? online or otherwise?

Stev_o

Someone please enlighten me how Tom McGuirk hosts a rugby panel.

The most clueless rugby pundit in the history of the game. God i want to punch him when he starts talking drivel

"Do you think Conor Murray can handle Genia?"

David Wallace "Well ehh...that's not his job"

"Tuilagi hasn't been really tested under the high ball"

David Wallace "Ehhh well you see Tom he plays in the centre..."

URGGGHHHH

clsmooth

Did Frankie Sheehan say Samoa have beaten Australia, Wales and Western Samoa??

MungBean

clsmooth wrote: »

Did Frankie Sheehan say Samoa have beaten Australia, Wales and Western Samoa??

Beat Wales twice as Western Samoa I thought he said.

CIARAN_BOYLE

clsmooth wrote: »

Did Frankie Sheehan say Samoa have beaten Australia, Wales and Western Samoa??

I wasn't listening for it but maybe Australia Wales and American Samoa. Western Samoa is the country we call Samoa in rugby.

clsmooth

Skunkle wrote: »

Beat Wales twice as Western Samoa I thought he said.

That makes more sense

tolosenc

I was fully expecting Sheahan to compare Genia to TOL for the length of that segment.

CIARAN_BOYLE

There was an ineresting point in this morning's independent.

Not including the New Zealand World Cup squad there are 40 New Zealand born players in 9 world cup squads.

highgiant1985

so any one else up watching the games?

****ing hate all these spam threads...

seanhynes

ya iv watched the two games ,2 very good open exciting matches especially the scots game. was an entertaining finish when romania had taken the lead and scots needed a try or two. Namibia gave a good account of themselves,highlight would be their out half getting 3 drop goals inside the 1st 15 mins!!

See Ye

No one watching France-Japan?

Japan fighting back and just scored their second try!

Taco Corp

See Ye wrote: »

No one watching France-Japan?

Japan fighting back and just scored their second try!

Almost got a third!! Great match! Fair play to Japan, now France 25 - Japan 21. 59 gone.

The French coaches look so pissed off!!

wonton

Grimebox wrote: »

Anyone know where I can catch the highlights? online or otherwise?

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/

joshrogan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3cePrcHUFQ&feature=aso haha

Hermy

joshrogan wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3cePrcHUFQ&feature=aso haha

The punditry was rushed just so this nonsense could be aired. Great stuff RTE.:mad:

Taco Corp

Does anyone know if all the games are released on DVD after the tournament?

volvoman480

I'm watching as much as I can on ITV, the punditry isn't too bad, Craig Doyle was passable enough last night anchoring the show with Michael Lynagh, can't remember the Scottish lad that was with them. Looking forward to tomorrows game now, early to bed tonight I think. I think we'll get past the yanks alright but given the way that the supposed "underdogs" have played I certainly don't think we'll get an easy ride, I can't imagine Eddie will want to let the lads off too handy with an easy win. Really looking forward to the Wales match too, should be a cracker.

Does anyone else think that the ref in the England game this morning left Argentina away with quite a few things? I wasn't complaining now mind, only asking!!! The standard of kicking was very poor I thought, If Contepomi hadn't gone off I reckon Argentina would have won that game. Very surprised at Wilkinson though, he had a shocker. I would have thought that having a closed roof would have made the kickers job easier.

Enjoying the tournament thoroughly so far, looks like I picked a great time to be off work on the sick........ (genuine case lads, I didn't pull a sicky for the world cup,... honest!!!!)

Pudsy33

The minnows seem to be putting up a decent fight in most of the matches. Makes for better viewing

vinny chase

Pudsy33 wrote: »

The minnows seem to be putting up a decent fight in most of the matches. Makes for better viewing

Absolute agreement here! Loving that aspect so far!

Wouldn't mind if the Yanks broke with the tradition tomorrow though!

Stev_o

volvoman480 wrote: »

I'm watching as much as I can on ITV, the punditry isn't too bad, Craig Doyle was passable enough last night anchoring the show with Michael Lynagh, can't remember the Scottish lad that was with them. Looking forward to tomorrows game now, early to bed tonight I think. I think we'll get past the yanks alright but given the way that the supposed "underdogs" have played I certainly don't think we'll get an easy ride, I can't imagine Eddie will want to let the lads off too handy with an easy win. Really looking forward to the Wales match too, should be a cracker.

Does anyone else think that the ref in the England game this morning left Argentina away with quite a few things? I wasn't complaining now mind, only asking!!! The standard of kicking was very poor I thought, If Contepomi hadn't gone off I reckon Argentina would have won that game. Very surprised at Wilkinson though, he had a shocker. I would have thought that having a closed roof would have made the kickers job easier.

Enjoying the tournament thoroughly so far, looks like I picked a great time to be off work on the sick........ (genuine case lads, I didn't pull a sicky for the world cup,... honest!!!!)

Bryce was awful as usual, he's a woeful ref to begin with. Played two different rules for either team.

flynninio

volvoman480 wrote: »

I'm watching as much as I can on ITV, the punditry isn't too bad, Craig Doyle was passable enough last night anchoring the show with Michael Lynagh, can't remember the Scottish lad that was with them. Looking forward to tomorrows game now, early to bed tonight I think. I think we'll get past the yanks alright but given the way that the supposed "underdogs" have played I certainly don't think we'll get an easy ride, I can't imagine Eddie will want to let the lads off too handy with an easy win. Really looking forward to the Wales match too, should be a cracker.

Does anyone else think that the ref in the England game this morning left Argentina away with quite a few things? I wasn't complaining now mind, only asking!!! The standard of kicking was very poor I thought, If Contepomi hadn't gone off I reckon Argentina would have won that game. Very surprised at Wilkinson though, he had a shocker. I would have thought that having a closed roof would have made the kickers job easier.

Enjoying the tournament thoroughly so far, looks like I picked a great time to be off work on the sick........ (genuine case lads, I didn't pull a sicky for the world cup,... honest!!!!)

agreed the itv coverage was good during t night. craig doyle doing well to and has grown into good rugby host recently on itv4. then again i living in london now so cant get rte. glad to be not listening to hook tho tbh eventho he has funny moments on the rare occasion.

slightly offthe point but on facebooks guiness link thomas o leary reckons we will win by more than 50 points(maybe as he not playing). was thinking imagine if he said that while still in squad before a game. ha. but had me thinking the players in back of there minds probably think that to if all goes well. .

Imhof Tank

I dont know if the article has been referenced in this thread but reading McGurk's "words of wisdom" in the Irish Times today nearly made me puke

Daire O'Brien has been excellent though (imo). I would love to see him replace Tom permanently

scriba

volvoman480 wrote: »

Does anyone else think that the ref in the England game this morning left Argentina away with quite a few things? I wasn't complaining now mind, only asking!!! The standard of kicking was very poor I thought, If Contepomi hadn't gone off I reckon Argentina would have won that game. Very surprised at Wilkinson though, he had a shocker. I would have thought that having a closed roof would have made the kickers job easier.

Have to agree, maybe he took umbrage at their all-black kits? He was a bit inconsistent, although some of the penalties England conceded at the breakdown were pretty stupid. Watched the highlights later on today, and he was pretty clear on what he wanted at ruck time. England couldn't adapt. But he definitely gave Argentina a little more leeway at recycling the ball, and they should probably have picked up a card in the second half.

vinny chase

Imhof Tank wrote: »

I dont know if the article has been referenced in this thread but reading McGurk's "words of wisdom" in the Irish Times today nearly made me puke

Daire O'Brien has been excellent though (imo). I would love to see him replace Tom permanently

I'm a big fan of Daire O'Brien, think he's really good as an anchor. Can direct a discussion nicely, without sticking in the ridiculous opinions you get the odd time from McGurk.

volvoman480

What I can't understand is how so many kickable penalties were missed, and not just missed by the width of a post but by a good margin.

Anyone have any thoughts on how Connor Murray will do tomorrow? I'm delighted to see him play, it's the correct game to play him in and I'm sure he'll have a good game. Hope to god the the rest of our lads do too. We're due a good performance.

MungBean

volvoman480 wrote: »

What I can't understand is how so many kickable penalties were missed, and not just missed by the width of a post but by a good margin.

Anyone have any thoughts on how Connor Murray will do tomorrow? I'm delighted to see him play, it's the correct game to play him in and I'm sure he'll have a good game. Hope to god the the rest of our lads do too. We're due a good performance.

I'd expect Murray to step up reasonably well. No doubt he's solid, only concern I'd have with him though is that he might try a bit too hard and make some risky decisions. If that works to our advantage he comes off lookin like a star but if it doesnt then I hope it doesnt go too badly or it might knock his confidence.

vinny chase

volvoman480 wrote: »

What I can't understand is how so many kickable penalties were missed, and not just missed by the width of a post but by a good margin.

To be honest, I did find this surprising this morning too. Especially with Wilkinson. He had a couple of misses this morning that really were a long way off!

And yet, the commentators said a few times that the players had reported earlier in the week that the stadium was great!

Stev_o

vinny chase wrote: »

To be honest, I did find this surprising this morning too. Especially with Wilkinson. He had a couple of misses this morning that really were a long way off!

And yet, the commentators said a few times that the players had reported earlier in the week that the stadium was great!

Id go as far as to say it has to be the Stadium. Would i be right in saying that it's the only indoor rugby stadium rugby (IE one that does not contain a moveable roof)

vinny chase

Stev_o wrote: »

Id go as far as to say it has to be the Stadium. Would i be right in saying that it's the only indoor rugby stadium rugby (IE one that does not contain a moveable roof)

Yep.

It's supposed to be the first stadium in the world to have a natural grass pitch and a fixed roof.

Here's an interesting article on it here:http://www.rugbyworld.com/news/england-to-play-in-rugbys-first-indoor-stadium-on-saturday/

jacothelad

volvoman480 wrote: »

What I can't understand is how so many kickable penalties were missed, and not just missed by the width of a post but by a good margin.
.

Maybe it's the Coriolis Effect. Spins in a different direction down there.:D

vinny chase

jacothelad wrote: »

Maybe it's the Coriolis Effect. Spins in a different direction down there.:D

Call of Duty Modern Warfare?

volvoman480

Whatever about the ball spinning, it's good to know that the wheels of bullsh1t spin in the same direction wherever you are!!!!!

Sanity_Saviour

volvoman480 wrote: »

Whatever about the ball spinning, it's good to know that the wheels of bullsh1t spin in the same direction wherever you are!!!!!

miaow

jacothelad

joshrogan

jacothelad wrote: »

Just throw on a couple of kangaroo's then to even up the stakes.

tolosenc

Turns out when Wikipedia said the Oz-Italy game was at 3.30 UTC, we're not UTC. We're UTC +1. I could have used that sleep.

pappyodaniel

Ok, I can't do it anymore, have set sky+ to record our game and watch it in the morning, I'm so going to bed right now


ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Samich

Didn't know where else to put this but, the speed of the ball from Aus and NZ is incredible.

As soon as the tackled player in the loose gets tackled, 1 of not 2 players bridge and the next arriving player, could be a prop or hooker acts as scrummy and pops the ball off to a runner.

This doesn't give a chance for the defence to get organised, Ireland atm have to wait for the SH to come and shift the ball out. That's the difference between scoring trys and not.

phog

Grimebox wrote: »

An excellent app for android users:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.rugbyworldcup.AndroidClient

I don't think warrants starting its own thread

Three days into the W/C and is so far so good for this app.

theboss80

Out of Ireland , Wales , Scotland and England only Wales played well and were the only team to lose

volvoman480

Fellas are taking things very seriously over on todays match thread. Someone is going to lose an eye or something over there, it's gone right nasty altogether. I'm almost afraid to stick my head over the parapet and comment as I may be shot for displaying a Munster bias simply by virtue of the fact that I'm from Cork. I thought Reddan did ok when he came on, nothing spectacular, whether I like it or not, the future at 10 lies in Sextons hands, ROG is 34. At this point Sexton should have the jersey nailed down but he doesn't. Connor Murray played ok too, again nothing spectacular but I'm glad he got the start and to my mind, the changes to introduce ROG and Reddan were made at the about the right time. What I can't understand is how D'Arcy is getting away with it. I thought he was very disappointing apart from that beautiful pass he threw to the yank for their try, if he could have found his own men with half that accuracy I'd be thrilled with him. By his own standards, O'Driscoll had a very poor game, he still has the determination but I wonder if his legs are starting to seize up a bit. It'll be interesting to see how long he'll continue after this tournament. That being said, the man has given tremendous service to the jersey and has nothing but my utmost respect.

There still seems to be a lot of unforced errors in our game, our backs are static and a basic drift defense stifles anything we try to create. Where are the decoy runners and fellas running at angles. There doesn't appear to be anyone taking up a lads shoulder to receive an off load, we always go in to contact. I don't know what to make of it..

Anyway lads, I'm getting worried about myself, I'm starting to sound like the lads over on the match thread. Wish I could go back to bed, I'm bloody hanging here, unfortunately herself was working last night and tonight and someone has to mind the kids. Best moment of the morning was when my 4 year old got very upset that Ireland didn't get the "lovely gold trophy" at the end of the match when they won. If only it was so easy.......

volvoman480

theboss80 wrote: »

Out of Ireland , Wales , Scotland and England only Wales played well and were the only team to lose

I don't mind winning ugly, just sometimes I'd like to win beautifully..:D

Hermy

theboss80 wrote: »

Out of Ireland , Wales , Scotland and England only Wales played well and were the only team to lose

Wales were playing the current champions.
Ireland were playing one of the weakest sides in the competition.

sock puppet

Great opening weekend of rugby though Ireland performance aside. Was out and still haven't gotten around to watching the whole Fiji-Namibia game but really enjoyed all the others.

Loving Phil Vickery's commentary on ITV too.

GerM

Shamelessly stolen from Xanthippe on LF. Interesting reading.


NZ Carter 4 from 6 67%
NZ Slade 1 from 1 100%
Tonga Morath 2 from 3 67%
Scotland Paterson 5 from 9 56%
Romania Dumbrava 2 from 5 40%
Romania Dimofte 3 from 3 100%
Fiji Baikeinuku 8 from 9 89%
Namibia Kotze 2 from 5 40%
France Yachvili 7 from 9 78%
Japan Arlidge 4 from 6 67%
Argentina Contepomi 1 from 2 50%
Argentina Rodriguez 2 from 7 29%
England Wilkinson 3 from 8 38%
Australia Cooper 2 from 3 67%
Australia O'Connor 3 from 4 75%
Italy Bergamasco 2 from 3 67%
Ireland Sexton 2 from 5 40%
Ireland O'Gara 1 fom 2 50%
USA Paterson 2 from 3 67%
SA Steyn 3 from 3 100%
Wales Hook 4 from 6 67%

CatFromHue

Looking at those success rates I don't see enough to say there is a problem with the ball. Maybe next week might change that though.

The best kickers you would say would be Steyn, Wilkinson, Yachvilli, and Paterson. Steyn and Yachvilli's rates are high enough, Paterson is lower but then he kicked the top of the ball from right in front of the posts giving him one very embarrassing miss. Wilkinson was down but he also said it was due to him and not the ball. So it's hard to gauge it just yet. I certainly don't remember any kicker giving out about it anyway. Considering both Mehrtens and ROG didn't shy away from telling us what they really thought of the famous Adidas lemon "pig" we can trust these guys on what they say.

twinytwo

CatFromHue wrote: »

Looking at those success rates I don't see enough to say there is a problem with the ball. Maybe next week might change that though.

The best kickers you would say would be Steyn, Wilkinson, Yachvilli, and Paterson. Steyn and Yachvilli's rates are high enough, Paterson is lower but then he kicked the top of the ball from right in front of the posts giving him one very embarrassing miss. Wilkinson was down but he also said it was due to him and not the ball. So it's hard to gauge it just yet. I certainly don't remember any kicker giving out about it anyway. Considering both Mehrtens and ROG didn't shy away from telling us what they really thought of the famous Adidas lemon "pig" we can trust these guys on what they say.

Wilkinson said himself that he was going through his kicks in his head and apart from one he said he kicked them perfectly and becuase he couldnt tell what was wrong he couldnt adjust. It may have something to do with the ball not losing its shape when kicked.