Rugby World Cup 2011 - New Zealand

Here you can talk about anything about the RWC.

New Zealand taking on Tonga first up and hoping that New Zealand wins tonight.

Here you can talk about anything about the RWC.

New Zealand taking on Tonga first up and hoping that New Zealand wins tonight.

I'm so excited!!

Go Aussies :) Although I really hope NZ can do well for all the tragics over there :lol:

Go Australia :D

Allez la France :D excited about this WC, but the time difference will probably kill me :o

France :cheer:

The team is not at its best but who knows...

:yawn: I hope we don't win. That'll shut up discussion of the RWC in this country quick-smart. :devil:

Go all the teams except for Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales

:yawn: I hope we don't win. That'll shut up discussion of the RWC in this country quick-smart. :devil:

NZ beat Tonga 41-10

Good start for the kiwis.

Come on England :cheer:

Solid start for NZ. Dan Carter's face during the Haka :spit:

Can this just become the "Pics of Hot Rugby Players" Thread? :inlove:

Can this just become the "Pics of Hot Rugby Players" Thread? :inlove:

Yes please :inlove:

But my favourite is out injured :sobbing:

http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/404274-danny_care.jpg

Hope South Africa defend :D

Argentina :( You big fat chokers.

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llvtquGXxQ1qzcdbso1_400.gif

ARG 9 - 13 ENG

I give England credit for making the try when they finally got the opportunity, but Argentina really should've sealed the deal long before that. :o Bad kicking on both sides, but it cost the Argies more in the end.

Argies. :hug:

Too bad Wolfman Williams isn't playing, but he plays league, not rugby :sad:.

Yes please :inlove:

But my favourite is out injured :sobbing:

:hug:

Its ok we'll just have to cope without his gorgeousness for a while. :sobbing: :sobbing:

:hug:

Its ok we'll just have to cope without his gorgeousness for a while. :sobbing: :sobbing:

Found out this morning he's doing punditry on ITV :hearts:

I got up early this morning to watch :oh:

i have to figure out if i can watch it in Germany
Go ALL BLACKS :)

i have to figure out if i can watch it in Germany
Go ALL BLACKS :)

Sport1 and Sport1+ are showing a few games here and there. They have South Africa on tomorrow. I'm consulting streams for the rest. :)

Hope South Africa defend :D
I kind of hope so too :oh:. I should be supporting the AB's, but I want NZ to be disappointed :devil:.

Australia a little bit rusty in the first half, but still win easily over Italy :)

Go all the teams except for Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales

Why not those 4?

Italy did a good job in the 1st half, but in the 2nd Australia turned up the heat and then it was over pretty quickly.

I'm gutted for Wales! So damn close and with that missed kick out of nowhere toward the end they had little chance of coming back. :hug:

ZA :yawn: :rolleyes:

if you saw USA's efforts in their warm up matches they played 1000 times better against Ireland. Our #13 was the real #13 on the day. Ireland's forwards in set pieces were just playing a different level even though the wieght was almost even. They have to learn to play this way every time they put on a USA jersey. :angel:

All Blacks looking good...where's France? :devil:

if you saw USA's efforts in their warm up matches they played 1000 times better against Ireland. Our #13 was the real #13 on the day. Ireland's forwards in set pieces were just playing a different level even though the wieght was almost even. They have to learn to play this way every time they put on a USA jersey. :angel:

All Blacks looking good...where's France? :devil:

Long time no see! :wavey:

I knew the USA would push Ireland. I really hope they can beat Russia tomorrow, would be a great reward for 4 years of hard work. I am very keen to see what Russia bring to the table in their first world cup appearance. With 7's being given Olympic status in 2012, Russia have started pouring millions into the development of the game over there. They are here this tournament to make up the numbers, will be hoping to get a victory or two in 2015, and then get into the quarter finals in 2019. This can only be good for world rugby. If we could get a super power on board, that would open rugby up to a whole new audience.

Three games today - Here's how I see them panning out.

Samoa Vs. Namibia

I was impressed with Namibia against Fiji, as they seem to have made big strides since the debacle of a campaign in 2003. Samoa though, should again be in different class. After beating Australia earlier in the year, they are primed for a big word cup. Would not surprise me to see the first half century brought up here. Something like 55-15 would be my guess.

Tonga Vs. Canada

This will be closer than people expect, but Tonga will get over the line. For sheer speed and size, if nothing else. Canada play a structured game, that I think matches up better with the Northern Hemisphere nations. Something like 28-17 maybe. I think it will be with in 15 points.

Scotland Vs. Georgia

Match of the day for me. I expect Georgia to really run Scotland close, and maybe even beat them. Scotland have been nothing short of terrible for the last three years. And their match against Romania was another example of this. Georgia have been the best European nation outside of the six nations teams. They ran Ireland so close in 2007, I think an upset is on the cards here. Not willing to predict a score as I am sitting on the fence.

Thoughts anyone?

Forget this
Anyone see the Nude Blacks
They lost to a women's team from Spain who agreed to remove an item of kit after every try they scored. ;)

Women 25-20 win

Imagine the great ball handling skills in that encounter :oh:

Omg the pics from that match
http://i.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/5600836/Nude-Blacks-take-on-Spains-fairest

Oh my god...really? :lol:

It's so awesome Ireland managed the upset. :rocker2:

AUS :oh:

It's so awesome Ireland managed the upset. :rocker2:

AUS :oh:

I so knew this was going to happen. In a way I'm kind of glad, I mean...I'd be more worried if they waltzed into the quarters with 4 wins and playing badly. Hopefully this is a bit of a wake up call, they'll be up for SA moreso than they would be against Wales. Plus with Pocock, Moore and Ioane back it should get better...still dissapointing, but all is not lost. Should crush Russia and USA and play SA in the quarters.

Ireland :bowdown:

Aussies :tape: Quade Cooper :oh: Nice hollywood pass.

:woohoo:

We won, oh yeah.

Great night out too in Auckland, anyway its 6:42am time for bed :p

:woohoo:

So delighted the lads proved all the doubters wrong. Incredible performance, their best since the Grand Slam I think. The thrashing of England was good too but they arent the force Australia are.

Rog's interview almost had me in tears :tears: He cant retire, hes still better than Sexton.

Samoa :hug:

Irish athletes will always have doubters until the stop choking in major competitions.

But then when we do have champions RTÉ just try and erase them from history over a little controversy i.e Michelle Smith. I mean RTÉ and the mainstream media is never happy. :shrug:

England played much better, but Georgia gave us a good fight :yeah: We are still too indisciplined & giving away too many cheap penalties. Fortunate that the Georgian kicker had a REALLY off night.

Tonga 31-18 Japan

Very entertaining game of rugby there. Some brilliant play by Tonga, though I'm a bit upset for Japan. :awww:

Australia 67 - USA 5

Makes Australia's loss to Ireland look even stranger considering Ireland only beat USA by 12 points.

e9GQUrptINc

Just had to post this... amazing.

Genia is about 30kg/ and a foot smaller. No wonder :lol:

Looking forward to this weekend and the two big matches of NZ vs France and Scotland Vs Argentina.

I think NZ will demolish France but France will bounce back. Didn't realise that Argentia lead Scotland 9-6 in their head to head but Scotland won the last 2

AUS and NZL :cheer::drool::hearts:

Israel Dagg is one big twat

Why?? Did I miss something?

..No one out douches SBW btw. ;)

What a close match between the Scots and the Argies. To be fair to my celtic bretheren they've been lucky so far to always get out of the groupe stages when for the past 10 years or so rhey haven't had a very good team.

I just hope we out 50+ on Namibia tomorrow.

England :facepalm: Useless, but again managed to scrape a win.

Scotland on the way home barring a miracle that Georgia beat Argentina. Tonga beat France :yeah: France have been embarrassing. If England lose to this French team in the QFs...:tape:

Dan Carter out of the WC with groin injury :sobbing:

:bigcry: Poor Dan

Hopefully Colin Slade can step up or the All Blacks are screwed :unsure:



England v Scotland was a great match, another hearbreaker for the Scots :sad:

Slade suck soooooo much. I even like Woz more than Slade. Bring Cruden to the starters because his form is better, and his game style fits the rest of the backline more. Moreover, he is now bigger than Slade so Slade really has no advantage. FFS bring Stephen Donald over Slade.

Wouldn't trust Slade with my laundry, but he'll have to do. All Blacks need to win it this year; anything else would be a massive letdown (at least for me).



And I'm not even going to comment on Scotland and England. :facepalm: :tape: Had me fucking believing! :mad:

Wouldn't trust Slade with my laundry, but he'll have to do. All Blacks need to win it this year; anything else would be a massive letdown (at least for me).



And I'm not even going to comment on Scotland and England. :facepalm: :tape: Had me fucking believing! :mad:

I was the same, I was thinking Scotland may actually pull it out....but then a little way in I was just like...they aren't going to win, they're just going to make me think they can and dissapoint. YEP :lol:

Ireland 36 - 6 Italy

Looked all very even in the first half, but the better team stepped up and delivered in the end. :worship:

Ireland v Wales
England v France

South Africa v Australia
New Zealand v Argentina

Here's my predictions

Ireland v Wales- Ireland
England v France- England
South Africa v Australia- South Africa
New Zealand v Argentina- New Zealand

Semi Final

England v Australia- England
NZ v Ireland- NZ

Final

England v NZ- Johnny Wilkinson will win!

Here's my predictions

Ireland v Wales- Ireland
England v France- England
South Africa v Australia- South Africa
New Zealand v Argentina- New Zealand

Semi Final

England v Australia- England
NZ v Ireland- NZ

Final

England v NZ- Johnny Wilkinson will win!

Think you have your semis mixed up?

Quarters:
Ireland vs Wales - Ireland
England vs France - England
SA vs Australia - SA
NZ vs Argentina - NZ

Semis:
Ireland vs England - England
NZ vs SA - NZ

Finals:
JEROME KAINO and Sonny Bill Williams will slaughter England.
Eden Park is a fortress.

IRL - WAL

ENG - FRA

ZA - AUS

NZ - ARG

-------------------

IRL - ENG (hoping for Ireland to surprise me, though)

ZA - NZ

-------------------

ZA - IRL :o

-------------------

NZ - ENG :rocker2:

Pity Ireland and Wales are playing each other at this stage, both the best of the Northern Hemisphere teams at the moment and both the form teams. If only one was playing France and the other England it could have been a semi.

Slade suck soooooo much. I even like Woz more than Slade. Bring Cruden to the starters because his form is better, and his game style fits the rest of the backline more. Moreover, he is now bigger than Slade so Slade really has no advantage. FFS bring Stephen Donald over Slade.

Don't even mention Stephen Donald's name in the context of All Black Rugby. :fiery:

Slade did OK, I prefer Weepu to sweep up this mess and lead the Mighty Mighty All Blacks to glory. :cool:

Why is everyone so sure that Ireland is going to beat Wales, when I can't imagine a more evenly based contest?!

Ghiraldini banned 15 weeks for eye-gouging.

Still not entirely certain it was intentional, but the sentence was NID.

Why is everyone so sure that Ireland is going to beat Wales, when I can't imagine a more evenly based contest?!

I agree, its a toss up either could win.

I agree, its a toss up either could win.

Thanks. I'm starting to get totally hacked off with the amount of bias there is in the UK coverage of the world cup. On Radio 4 this morning, that twit Gary whatshisname's report was such that anyone listening would think that England is the only UK based country left in the competition!! We had a long report about adverts on gumshields, the latest bad boy antics and what the English had for breakfast, along with tales from the French camp (because France are England's opponents on Saturday). Meanwhile, not ONE mention of Wales or their match against Ireland. Unbe-bloody-lievable.

Come on England :cheer: Hope Ireland & Wales is a great match. :cheer:

Ireland and Wales is gonna be a good match. I tip my hat slightly towards the Irish just because they must be brimming with confidence coming out on top in their pool.

As an NZer to often burned by Les Bleus, go England! That said wouldn't mind a set up for a potential France-NZ revenge final, and I don't want England to be close to a 3rd consecutive final cause I'd pick them against Ireland and Wales.

Ireland :oh:

Second faves out. Such a bummer. :awww:

I hope France can be a little less useless today. :o

Amazing defence from Wales! Well deserved. QF 1 and I've already got a pick wrong.

Come On France :cheer:

There playing great rugby for the moment :)

16-0 at half-time :angel:

It seems likely that I'll have gotten my quarterfinal 1 and 2 picks wrong.

19-12 YEAHHHHHHH :bounce:

Au Revoir Pommies!!! :devil:

Woooohhhoooooo Allez France!

It seems likely that I'll have gotten my quarterfinal 1 and 2 picks wrong.

I called France! :bounce:

But I wanted Ireland to win. :(

I'll go with South Africa and Argentina to win tomorrow...

...just kidding about that Argentina pick.

:tape: :lol: :tape:

I thought Wales would win, but France was a pleasant surprise. I'll probs go with SA/NZ tomorrow.

Thanks. I'm starting to get totally hacked off with the amount of bias there is in the UK coverage of the world cup. On Radio 4 this morning, that twit Gary whatshisname's report was such that anyone listening would think that England is the only UK based country left in the competition!! We had a long report about adverts on gumshields, the latest bad boy antics and what the English had for breakfast, along with tales from the French camp (because France are England's opponents on Saturday). Meanwhile, not ONE mention of Wales or their match against Ireland. Unbe-bloody-lievable.

Now Wales HAVE to get attention from the press :lol: Can't be ignored now.

Well Done to our Boys. Great win. have to say i thought Ireland would win this one, just. But I did tink if we got a couple of tries we would win.

Think I would have prefered playing England as they are in such shit form and as a team i don't think they are as good as they think they are. But they have some good youngsters. bring On France though.

I think NZ are safe but Sa vs Aus is anyones to win. I think if the semis are Nz vs Aus and Wales vs France we are in for a cracking final as all teams like to actually play rugby.

Now Wales HAVE to get attention from the press :lol: Can't be ignored now.

Not kidding, they have a decent shot at the finals if they can come out like that against France.

I'll stick with SA tomorrow, it's gonna be a goodie. Good chance for Australia though considering its not at Eden Park lol. I don't know who I'd rather win though- SA has a better hit rate against New Zealand, but Australia is just so damn unpredictable and the often hyped battle at the pivot position (Carter vs Cooper)... its a no-brainer now who has the playmaking advantage.

Well Done to our Boys. Great win. have to say i thought Ireland would win this one, just. But I did tink if we got a couple of tries we would win.

Think I would have prefered playing England as they are in such shit form and as a team i don't think they are as good as they think they are. But they have some good youngsters. bring On France though.

I think NZ are safe but Sa vs Aus is anyones to win. I think if the semis are Nz vs Aus and Wales vs France we are in for a cracking final as all teams like to actually play rugby.


That is a solid point right there.

Not kidding, they have a decent shot at the finals if they can come out like that against France.

I'll stick with SA tomorrow, it's gonna be a goodie. Good chance for Australia though considering its not at Eden Park lol. I don't know who I'd rather win though- SA has a better hit rate against New Zealand, but Australia is just so damn unpredictable and the often hyped battle at the pivot position (Carter vs Cooper)... its a no-brainer now who has the playmaking advantage.

I don't get what you mean by this part...?

Just saw my recording (tennis comes first) and can't believe my frenchies did it! :sobbing:

GOAT first half and great job holding on in the second!

Go to the final now. Allez les Bleus! :rocker2:

France:woohoo:

I think NZ are safe but Sa vs Aus is anyones to win. I think if the semis are Nz vs Aus and Wales vs France we are in for a cracking final as all teams like to actually play rugby.

Such a sad statement on some levels but true.

Here's to wide open winning Rugby...

...especially of the All Black kind. ;)

:bounce:

England :facepalm: Disgusting.

They got what they deserved. They played shit through the whole tournament. I feel sorry for my friends who went to NZ for this. They must be pissed :facepalm: France peaked at the right time.

Congrats to Wales. I thought Ireland would win if I'm honest, but sounds like they didn't take their chances & Wales played very well.

Hope Wales win the entire thing, if there was any team left who I think all of Ireland wouldnt mind so much losing to, it would be them, particularly as they played so well today. Ireland just didnt get going and I think they should have let Ronan take a few of those penalties rather than kicking for the corner.

Ireland :oh:

Still bitter about the loss? :lol:

England :hug:

France deciding to play after failing against Tonga :lol:

Still bitter about the loss? :lol:

Duh. ;)

Ohhhh myyyyyyyyyy goooooooooooooooooooooood. I just died of nerves. It was scrappy, it was full of errors, Cooper kicked like an amateur...but we fought so hard and defended so well.

Mccabe and Pocock are legends.

Cooper :facepalm:

South Africa :bigwave: :nerner:

Cooper was so shite, though. Not his day. :lol:

NZ 33 - 10 ARG

Well, there's one thing I'll say: Good thing Piri didn't have an off kicking day. :unsure:

http://d.yimg.com/i/ng/sp/ap_photo/20111009/all/l5502830.jpg

:worship:

I was suprised the argies kept it that close at the start.. Its going to be an interesting semi-final between NZ and AUS. Aus have a habbit of doing very well in World Cups. I still think its NZ's to loose.

I just hope we (Wales) give it our all in the semis and if we get beaten by a better team then so be it.

:bowdown:All Blacks

ABs will lose to Wallabies I reckon.

ABs will lose to Wallabies I reckon.
i hope not:tape:

ABs will lose to Wallabies I reckon.

:crying2:

We're not at full strength. We're unlucky to lose Dan, and now his replacement Slade is injured :tape:. So we might be making do with a replacement's replacement :tape:.

We're not at full strength. We're unlucky to lose Dan, and now his replacement Slade is injured :tape:. So we might be making do with a replacement's replacement :tape:.

Yeah but the replacement's replacement played better than he who he was replacing. Cruden definitely sparked the offense more, and is an advantage to have when you have fellow Hurricane Piri Weepu at halfback and more Hurricanes in Nonu, Smith and Jane littered throughout the backline. He ran well although was reluctant to pass, but when he did make those big cutout passes it was fantastic.

I don't know if it was the game plan or what, but the All Blacks moved the ball rather poorly which was a pity because whenever SBW and Cory Jane got the ball on the wings they were dangerous and both amazing at twinkletoe-ing the touchline keeping ball in play. I thought the forwards also could have done better in their ball carrying although it is a testament to the Argentinian D, even Kaino was fairly well managed. All up, quite boring.

SA vs Aus I didn't know who I was for at first, but after the first 5mins my gut told me it was the Boks when I realised I was disappointed at their missed opportunities. The Wallabies aren't beating ABs in Eden Park (they can't even beat Ireland there :oh:), although expect Pocock to win the battle at 7.

Cruden is a little lad isn't he? :eek:

Yeah but the replacement's replacement played better than he who he was replacing. Cruden definitely sparked the offense more, and is an advantage to have when you have fellow Hurricane Piri Weepu at halfback and more Hurricanes in Nonu, Smith and Jane littered throughout the backline. He ran well although was reluctant to pass, but when he did make those big cutout passes it was fantastic.

I don't know if it was the game plan or what, but the All Blacks moved the ball rather poorly which was a pity because whenever SBW and Cory Jane got the ball on the wings they were dangerous and both amazing at twinkletoe-ing the touchline keeping ball in play. I thought the forwards also could have done better in their ball carrying although it is a testament to the Argentinian D, even Kaino was fairly well managed. All up, quite boring.

SA vs Aus I didn't know who I was for at first, but after the first 5mins my gut told me it was the Boks when I realised I was disappointed at their missed opportunities. The Wallabies aren't beating ABs in Eden Park (they can't even beat Ireland there :oh:), although expect Pocock to win the battle at 7.

You're right. I can't see Aussies beating NZ next weekend. However, one positive is that Cooper/Genia/Beale are quite unpredictable....it was a bad game from the backs against SA and they still won, they could pull a rabbit out of the hat. Pocock and Mccabe are really the only dependable ones, but Mccabe got beaten up badly this game.

NZ by 10 points, give or take a couple.

Can NZ please not choke for once in the SFs? :hysteric:

SA :oh:

Cooper was even worse than he was against Ireland :help: :facepalm: Maybe he's waiting to peak in the SFs? :oh:

My Aussie friend wrote: "Quade was horrid. Wrong choices, bad kicks, passes, everything. Probe him for betting scandals!" :rolls:

You're right. I can't see Aussies beating NZ next weekend. However, one positive is that Cooper/Genia/Beale are quite unpredictable....it was a bad game from the backs against SA and they still won, they could pull a rabbit out of the hat. Pocock and Mccabe are really the only dependable ones, but Mccabe got beaten up badly this game.

NZ by 10 points, give or take a couple.

Yup Beale especially. That guy is just so slippery! Isn't he the one who scored that last minute try in Hong Kong after Stephen Donald's blunder? Without Zach Guilford, if Beale can slip a couple of tackles the All Blacks aren't gonna catch him.

Can NZ please not choke for once in the SFs? :hysteric:

SA :oh:

Cooper was even worse than he was against Ireland :help: :facepalm: Maybe he's waiting to peak in the SFs? :oh:

My Aussie friend wrote: "Quade was horrid. Wrong choices, bad kicks, passes, everything. Probe him for betting scandals!" :rolls:

Quade's team mates didn't know what the hell he was doing. This match made me feel really bad for Matt Giteau not making the squad. He could have been a real asset to put on in the last 15mins to calm everything and put some experience outside of Cooper.

Quade's team mates didn't know what the hell he was doing. This match made me feel really bad for Matt Giteau not making the squad. He could have been a real asset to put on in the last 15mins to calm everything and put some experience outside of Cooper.

Quade wouldn't even know what day it was during that match he was so away with the fairies....let's hope he fires up so we can smash the kiwis!!

Cruden is a little lad isn't he? :eek: Last night I said he looked like he should be on the sidelines keeping statistics instead of my the pitch. :devil:

I agree with the poster above that he played better than Slade...plus if Weepu is doing all the kicking anyway...losing Slade is no loss...

I really wanted the Kiwis to knock out the Boks and France...still a chance for France. ;)

All we need is Pinetree Meads to come out of Retirement and we'll get to the Finals in no trouble!

I jsut finished my season of rugby too! Go oxford!

England :facepalm: Disgusting.

They got what they deserved. They played shit through the whole tournament. I feel sorry for my friends who went to NZ for this. They must be pissed :facepalm: France peaked at the right time.

Congrats to Wales. I thought Ireland would win if I'm honest, but sounds like they didn't take their chances & Wales played very well.

As ever, everyone has totally under rated and disregarded Wales in this competition!!
Rather than celebrating Wales's success, even today the British media is still obsessing about England. But England are over rated, over hyped, over covered, under disciplined, under talented, under performing and boring to watch. I hope the press get over it by next Saturday, start behaving like professionals and finally start giving Wales credit where it's due!

As ever, everyone has totally under rated and disregarded Wales in this competition!!
Rather than celebrating Wales's success, even today the British media is still obsessing about England. But England are over rated, over hyped, over covered, under disciplined, under talented, under performing and boring to watch. I hope the press get over it by next Saturday, start behaving like professionals and finally start giving Wales credit where it's due!

You got it all covered :yeah:

Donald Duck is back for the ABs... yeah, we're not winning.

As ever, everyone has totally under rated and disregarded Wales in this competition!!
Rather than celebrating Wales's success, even today the British media is still obsessing about England. But England are over rated, over hyped, over covered, under disciplined, under talented, under performing and boring to watch. I hope the press get over it by next Saturday, start behaving like professionals and finally start giving Wales credit where it's due!

Anything else you want to add? :lol: Can't say I disagree with anything. England's ill-discipline is what disgusts me most. Anyway, they're long gone :lol:

Come on Wales :cheer: Hopefully I can haul my ass out of bed to watch it at the pub and NZ, please no choking this time :scared: DID - Do it for Dan :hysteric:

Sam Warburton :weirdo:.

Adam Jones out, Warburton out, and one man down. Wales are in trouble. :unsure:

If France don't win this :tape:

France haven't really taken advantage at all in the first half. They better step it up. :o

France aren't even playing well. They are lucky Wales is one down...

Absolutely crushed. Poor Wales, they would have strolled this otherwise. France in the final after that performance ... :o One of the two most hated teams in the Northern Hemisphere.

The ending :sobbing:

ew. :facepalm:

I'm glad my Frenchies are in the final, but I won't fool myself into believing they deserve it.

Watched most of the match of Wales v France. Thought Wales would pull it off but missed a 3 pointer near the end. Good match!

I thought it was a dull match. Little scoring (no tries from France). It was like watching Wozniacki VS Radwanska.

:facepalm:

NZ save the tournament :hysteric:

France vs Aus is the nightmare scenario :facepalm:

:facepalm:

NZ save the tournament :hysteric:

France vs Aus is the nightmare scenario :facepalm:

:rolleyes:

I thought it was a dull match. Little scoring (no tries from France). It was like watching Wozniacki VS Radwanska.

France was unwilling and Wales was unable. Makes for bad rugby.


:facepalm: @ the Radwanska comment.

:facepalm:

NZ save the tournament :hysteric:

France vs Aus is the nightmare scenario :facepalm:

The nightmare scenario was England vs. South Africa, but that was successfully averted. :wavey:

Am I the only one who thinks Marc Lievremont is really hot?

http://www.espnscrum.com/PICTURES/CMS/21300/21378.2.jpg

Nope I do too :hearts:

I am totally gutted. I was in the millennium staudim watching on the big screen.

Cannot believe that red card. That was a yellow at most. Thanks Allan Rolland for ruining what could have been a great semi-final. We can never know what would have happened now.

Some of his decisions after that were also dreadful, including the penalty Halfpenny got at the end, should have been a penalty to France as Charteris was playing the ball on the floor.

4 missed kicks though, you can't do that at this level. It was an amazing effort from the guys to get so close with 14 men.

The winner is defo coming from the other semi. France were bad tonight

:facepalm:

NZ save the tournament :hysteric:

France vs Aus is the nightmare scenario :facepalm:

Indeed. No-one for the neutrals to support.

Am I the only one who thinks Marc Lievremont is really hot?

http://www.espnscrum.com/PICTURES/CMS/21300/21378.2.jpg

Ewwwwwwww.... :lol:

Also Ferg, Speak for yourself, I know plenty of neutrals that support Australia.

Ma'a with the first try! OMG! What a start!

Israel. :worship:

Come on AB!!

Weepu's gonna suck today is he? :tears:

:bowdown: Cruden.

That tackle on Cooper was gold. :haha:

Nice dropgoal from the midget. :yeah:

100 test points for Piri! :aparty:

Good job kiwis, too good, pretty much over now! :yeah: Long time coming, please don't choke in the final :lol:

SBW thinking he is still playing league :lol:

Now go win the title, guys! This RWC cannot end any other way.

Yay.

Well Done to the All Blacks.

Reall its theirs to loose in the final. The way France have been playing though there is no contest in this final

:woohoo: Win the whole thing please, ABs.

Kiwis - revenge for 2003 :yeah:

They DESERVE it this time.

Aussies already had a fair share of success in sports this year.

NZ :worship: :dance: :banana:

Quade is finally put out of his misery :oh:

All the pressure on the ABs for the final. No-one is expecting France to win as they've played :facepalm: rugby the entire tournament. But that's the most dangerous time :scared:

I'm in Auckland!!! Semi Finals were great...France v New Zealand is my dream match up...I feel so lucky that I'll be there...Come on, All Blacks!!!

:yeah:

2007 Revenge coming up!
I'm so stoked, just one more to go.

Bronze for the Aussies. Good match, but terrible officiating...someone needs to be sacked. Pretty poor refereeing this whole tournament.

Almost fitting that Cooper would walk out of the world cup on crutches, big clap for him for enduring bad form, tons of criticism from the media and crap from the NZ public. He'll be a better player for it.

man some of that reffing' was terrible! clearly a forward pass that wasn't picked up and resulted in a try,

Wanted Wales to win, but eh, onto the real match!

Bronze for the Aussies. Good match, but terrible officiating...someone needs to be sacked. Pretty poor refereeing this whole tournament.

Almost fitting that Cooper would walk out of the world cup on crutches, big clap for him for enduring bad form, tons of criticism from the media and crap from the NZ public. He'll be a better player for it.

Ruptured ACL is a terrible injury. Horrible tournament for him, but as you say, sometimes you have to go through this to become a better player.

Bronze for the Aussies. Good match, but terrible officiating...someone needs to be sacked. Pretty poor refereeing this whole tournament.

Almost fitting that Cooper would walk out of the world cup on crutches, big clap for him for enduring bad form, tons of criticism from the media and crap from the NZ public. He'll be a better player for it.

Thats what they get for letting Wayne Barnes officiate... That man is the king of forward passes as Kiwis know from 2007. As for Cooper, much as I hate the guy, there's nothing worse than seeing athletes get hit with an (suspected) ACL tear. That's gonna be so frustrating for him.


ALLEZ LE NOIR!!! Les Bleus are going down, Kaino is gonna get IRB MAN OF THE YEAR!

I sort of wanted the ABs to lose at first :devil:, but then I remembered the Pike River Mine, the earthquakes, and now the Rena thing. It's time we had something positive in New Zealand.

France showed up to play today :tears:. ABs must be careful.

Woodcock: "Too easy. :shrug:"

And here comes Donald. :oh:

Lucky that ankle tap stuck :scared:

Weepu's kicking today :facepalm:. 0/3, two of them ridiculous misses.

So, this just got interesting...

Good riddance Weepu. Terrible today :facepalm:. Because of his 3 fucked up kicks now we're under big pressure.

Go France! :)

So close. :spit: Well, the title matters and it is deserved. :worship:

Congratulations to the All Blacks and to all Kiwis!

:cheer:

Possibly the lamest ending to a game I have ever seen. Just holding the ball for as long as possible.
I will never understand rugby.

Besides that it was a entertaining, great effort from France. Congrats to the Kiwis, they deserve it being pretty much the only nation that is 100% obsessed with the sport.

Besides that it was a entertaining, great effort from France. Congrats to the Kiwis, they deserve it being pretty much the only nation that is 100% obsessed with the sport.

Bitter? :hehehe:

So happy France won. At least to my eyes. They were better during this match but hampered by a terrible and unfair umpiring.

Rugby lost today. New Zealand did approach the 5-meters line only once in the whole match and France got only one penality (50m lol) despite numerous faults. A shame it has to end like this.

Bitter? :hehehe:

Bit disapointed that I can't rub a loss into the faces of some of my Kiwi friends, but certainly not bitter. One of three games of rugby I have watches this year and that includes league...so really I don't care at all :lol:

So happy France won. At least to my eyes. They were better during this match but hampered by a terrible and unfair umpiring.

Rugby lost today. New Zealand did approach the 5-meters line only once in the whole match and France got only one penality (50m lol) despite numerous faults. A shame it has to end like this.
If Weepu didn't kick goal so horribly and make that error that handed France their try we would've won by even more :weirdo:.

If Weepu didn't kick goal so horribly and make that error that handed France their try we would've won by even more :weirdo:.

Missing is part of the game. Having no penalities despite faults is caused by bad umpiring. Any person saying NZ was better today is kinda blind. They were better during the whole WC of course but today France was deserving and better.


NZ did nothing during the whole match. The second half was terrible by them, they did nothing at all during the last 40 minutes but sure were helped by an umpire afraid to give France any chance to kick.

Congratulations NZ :) Ironic that France played arguably their best match of the entire tournament and came up short.

Well Done NZ. About bloody time they won it again. Question now is can they win it anywhere outside of NZ?

To be fair France should never have been in the final so its almst karma that the one game they should have won, they didn;t

World champions :woohoo:

How good was Stephen Donald :lol:

So happy France won. At least to my eyes. They were better during this match but hampered by a terrible and unfair umpiring.

Rugby lost today. New Zealand did approach the 5-meters line only once in the whole match and France got only one penality (50m lol) despite numerous faults. A shame it has to end like this.

Rugby can't lose if the All Blacks win. Rugby would have lost if the French won- they lost twice in pool play and were worse than NZ were last night in their SF vs Wales.

Congratulations NZ :) Ironic that France played arguably their best match of the entire tournament and came up short.
Testament to the All Blacks. They were just too good this tournament, that sucking in the finals is enough.

Auckland was incredible last night, way better than opening night.

I watched a replay of Australia vs Ireland today. Again, I noted that the kicking game was not too good in that match. Perhaps the game of rugby is becoming too much of a power game like American football and some of the skill of the players is declining.

Missing is part of the game. Having no penalities despite faults is caused by bad umpiring. Any person saying NZ was better today is kinda blind. They were better during the whole WC of course but today France was deserving and better.


NZ did nothing during the whole match. The second half was terrible by them, they did nothing at all during the last 40 minutes but sure were helped by an umpire afraid to give France any chance to kick.
I have to agree that it is very rare that any side defending for that long doesn't get penalised in rugby, I think the ref couldn't bring himself to blow the whistle on the home side,I,m from NZ but neutral about rugby union,get more excited about NRL

Too often the better side in rugby union loses, you don't see that in rugby league...the winner is always the deserved winner, no questions asked.

Congrats to all Kiwis! :bigclap:

I was at the finals.

Caught a ball kicked into the stands in the second half by the Frenchies.

I was at the parade.

Now I'm back in LA, one satisfied KIWIFAN. :wavey:


:cool:

I watched a replay of Australia vs Ireland today. Again, I noted that the kicking game was not too good in that match. Perhaps the game of rugby is becoming too much of a power game like American football and some of the skill of the players is declining.

Kicker has to be able to play Rugby too, these days...you can't hide a "Percy" out there...a good team will find him and attack him...either running at your 10 all day or medium up and unders to the 15 to rough him up and take back possession.

South Africa seems to be the only nation that has a never ending supply of kickers who can "play the whole game" (roids); the rest of the world has a challenge...

Well Done NZ. About bloody time they won it again. Question now is can they win it anywhere outside of NZ?

To be fair France should never have been in the final so its almst karma that the one game they should have won, they didn;t

They routinely beat the snot out of everyone everywhere in the world...

...now that this World Cup nonsense has been put to bed, I expect them to win at least the next two. One for Carter :angel: and then one more just because they'll feel no pressure and they're awesome. :devil:

quoting Kiwifan,

''Kicker has to be able to play Rugby too, these days...you can't hide a "Percy" out there...a good team will find him and attack him...either running at your 10 all day or medium up and unders to the 15 to rough him up and take back possession.''

I have read accounts of and seen a few videos of the old game of American football. Like rugby it was a physical game that involved much skill. In the old days we played single unit with very limited substitutions - because of that the player had three way skill: he played offense, defense, and special teams. This, to me, is how the game should always be played - the emphasis of the game should ALWAYS be skill, not power. While the majority of today's fans have now accepted the change into a game that emphasizes power while de-emphasizing skill and stamina, I'm old school and reluctantly accept that the game will never go back to its true form. Today, while I still watch much American football, I say Rugby is King of Sports and sincerely hope it will never evolve into one where power overrides skill as our game has done.