Here comes the World Cup! Oh, and an English Premiership Cup match too.
Exciting rugby on the telly this week
Friday 20th September
| Japan 30 – 10 Russia | 11:45 | ITV / S4C |
Saturday 21st September
| Australia 39 – 21 Fiji | 05:45 | ITV |
| France 23 – 21 Argentina | 08:15 | ITV |
| New Zealand 23 – 13 S Africa | 10:45 | ITV |
| Exeter 28 – 14 Bath | 15:15 | BT Sport 3 |
Sunday 22nd September
| Italy 47 – 22 Namibia | 06:15 | ITV |
| Ireland 27 – 3 Scotland | 08:45 | ITV |
| England 35 – 3 Tonga | 11:15 | ITV |
Monday 23rd September
| Wales 43 – 14 Georgia | 11:15 | ITV / S4C |
Tuesday 24th September
| Russia 9 – 34 Samoa | 11:15 | ITV4 |
Wednesday 25th September
| Fiji 27 – 30 Uruguay | 06:15 | ITV4 |
Thursday 26th September
| Italy 48 – 7 Canada | 08:45 | ITV4 |
| England 45 – 7 USA | 11:45 | ITV |
Ovally Balls 
That’s the game I think
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How did Kolbe do that??!?!?
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Wonderful again from Kolbe.
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I’ll be playing Kolbe gifs in my head all day.
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Give it to Cheslin
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NZ’s attack just brilliant at moving the ball. Good defence holds them out.
A fine win for New Zealand. And a good match to end the day.
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Karl
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Dammit tomp ruined my Karl
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A good morning’s rugby!
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Hell of a game. Unzud too good
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What a day of rugby. Only a month more of this to come.
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Oops
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Only 17 hours to ….,………. Italy v Namibia.
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I wonder if the people that place irritating unavoidable ads on sport streaming sites really think that viewers wish to immediately abandon the match they have been desperately searching for to play a free fantasy game?
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Pro, just copy the address and then you can play the fantasy game afterwards.
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Germany just beat France in the Oktoberfest 7z. Oz v England next up.
Rugby and Oktoberfest seems like a match made in heaven, even if it is in September.
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The only change I can see with the Darkness is that a little bit of the mystique / invincibility has worn off. Otherwise, still awesome.
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Oz 7z have a Honey Badger clone playing. I thought it was him at first glance.
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Steal dedicated to wide open spaces and old times.
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Cat Cheslin has a nice ring to it.
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A little Cat Karl there.
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Eng 0 Oz 40. Tis an omen I tells ye!
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That Cheslin Colby’s a handful, isn’t he?
Stayed up late to watch it on delay, after playing golf and going to work. Glad to get that tricky 1st date out of the way.
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I thought the pitch for the last game this morning looked very dodgy. Did I hear right that the final will be played on it? I’m not sure it will last that long.
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You can go to sleep knowing you made a good first impression, ElS.
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Sorry – Kolbe.
(Am somewhat adjusted.)
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Fuck. ABs punished us for 10 minutes and it was game over. First two scrums Moody should have been pinged, may have upped the pressure. Faf, Pollard and Le Roux all pretty average.
Not overly despondent (other than losing to the bloody Kiwis) because I think we can improve quite a bit. Kiwis were definitely worthy winners, but not unbeatable by any stretch. This is gonna be a helluva tournament!
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‘First impression’, HerrIks?
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Iksy, it is the same stadium for the final. Ireland are playing Scotland there tomorrow. Will be keen to show how it holds up, but it’s probably replaceable “turf” anyway.
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“First two scrums Moody should have been pinged”
It’d be worth France going a long way in the tournament so that Garces is ruled out of reffing the final.
My hope is Wayne Barnes gets the final as a long-service award.
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Mbonambi to replace Marc as starting hooker, Nyakane over Malherbe (if he’s ok), Nkosi over Mapimpi, and possibly Jantjies as starting 9? Faf wasn’t good today.
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Otago got a win over North Harbour, 21 – 15.
Not setting the world alight this season and unlikely to be in consideration for promotion.
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Why can the assistant ref not call it when a prop on the far side goes down? Moody scrummed with his elbow on the floor for most of the match. Well, early doors anyway.
Not sure it would’ve made a difference overall, but some puzzling scrum calls by the ref.
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Suavo, let’s all agree we can get behind Otago.
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Deebee, want a little gamble on your next 3 matches? I reckon you’ll score 175 points in total in your next 3 matches. You choose higher or lower. If you’re right, you choose my avatar.
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TomP – you’re on. I think we’ll score 167.
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First date = first impressions…
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Unlike a wise old AOD sage like you, ElS!
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@TomP, I hope it doesn’t turn into mulch when it rains.
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C’mon Otago!
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Cool. 174 or fewer you choose for me. 175 or more I choose for you.
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Ok, just back from the big game (Melb tore Parra a new one) and watched Sa vs Nz on replay.
Stick by my England prediction!
Great comment from the Scottish commentator (Nicol?) towards the end ” South Africa will really push for a try here to secure the losing bonus point that could be vital in this group of death”
Laugh? I nearly shat!
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Hi, all
Why pick Le Roux? Secondly, SA forwards at first receiver too often receiving the ball standing still, therefore negating their physical advantage.
NZ were ok – smarter for sure but often look weak in defense down the middle.
I’d stick with Faff – he does good work even though his and others kicking was poor today.
Both teams will play better.
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When Faf’s good, he’s terrific but I thought he passed and kicked pretty poorly today and gave away that (possibly) harsh penalty at the scrum as well. He’s definitely first-choice for the quarter final should South Africa negotiated the Group of Death.
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Players taking the ball standing still is an age old problem for us. When we do take it on the move, our guys look bloody good. Faf had a horrible day after the first 15 or so and that affected Pollard too. I’d ditch Le Roux, put Kolbe at 15 and bring Sbu Nkosi into the side on the right wing.
Really hope Nyakane and PS Du Tpit are ok, both key players. Kolisi still off the pace, but will hopefully get up to speed by the time the knock outs arrive.
Marx needs to up his game or Mbonambi should start. Midfield as expected, which isn’t a compliment.
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Enjoyed all four games so far, for different reasons. From Russia’s great opening 20 minutes and getting the first try (liked their kit, too), to Japan’s running rugby and quick wingers. Fiji were Fiji for the first 50 minutes, then were Fiji for the last half hour. Australia took a bit of time to get going, but looked good in patches. THAT France turned up. Argentina’s best backs seem to be scoring tries in France at the moment. After 20 minutes, the ABs were rubbish. After 25 minutes the ABs were out of site. South Africa won’t be far away at the end of things.
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Sadly I think Nyakane’s World Cup is over, Deebs. Rassie not very optimistic:
https://www.sarugbymag.co.za/boks-sweat-nyakane/
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Drop Mapimpi? He saved two tries today (by being ridiculously fast, more than anything, but he still did it).
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Enzo, it was also his miss that set up the ABs first try and he’s been consistently weak on defence this season. It’s difficult to assess his overall impact given how little clean ball he and Kolbe get out wide, but his defence isn’t great.
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Fair enough. How do you feel about your midfield? Hard to gauge after one game (and that one, in particular) but it doesn’t seem settled?
Also, any news on PS du Toit? His knee looked sore.
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