Week Two made Irish eyes very sad. But Welsh eyes leeked with joy, when the Wallabies didn’t quite manage to hop into the lead in the second half. Uruguay failed to repeat their magic from Week One. Otherwise, the results were more or less as expected.
Week Three’s biggest clash is looking like England v Argentina, although no doubt there will be some surprises in the other fixtures.
We’ve also got some Pro14 and that English Premiership Cup thingy to look forward to.
Exciting (?) rugby on the telly this week
Friday 4th October
| S Africa 49 – 3 Italy | 10:45 | ITV4 |
| Glasgow 21 – 25 Scarlets | 19:35 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Leinster 53 – 5 Ospreys | 19:35 | Premiers Sports 2 / TG4 |
| Worcester 19 – 34 Exeter | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
Saturday 5th October
| Australia 45 – 10 Uruguay | 06:15 | ITV |
| England 39 – 10 Argentina | 09:05 | ITV |
| Japan 38 – 19 Samoa | 11:30 | ITV |
| Kings 20 – 31 Munster | 15:00 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Zebre 28 – 52 Dragons | 17:00 | Freesports |
| Cheetahs 63 – 26 Ulster | 17:15 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Cardiff 11 – 19 Edinburgh | 17:15 | Premier Sports 1 / S4C |
| Connacht 41 – 5 Treviso | 19:35 | Premier Sports 1 / TG4 |
Sunday 6th October
| New Zealand 71 – 9 Namibia | 05:45 | ITV |
| France 23 – 21 Tonga | 08:45 | ITV |
| Northampton 28 – 54 Saracens | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 |
Tuesday 8th October
| South Africa 66 – 7 Canada | 11:15 | ITV4 |
Wednesday 9th October
| Argentina 47 – 17 USA | 05:45 | ITV4 |
| Scotland 61 – 0 Russia | 08:15 | ITV |
| Wales v Fiji | 10:45 | ITV/S4C |
Ovally Balls 
Yep, watched the highlights there, OT. Raiders got done. Does Shaft of all shafts work for League too ? both decisions had a major impact, incredible.
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Dov – I think I do have them mixed up, but they’re all Bastards, let’s face it.
Chimpie – don’t hate Scotland, just think you’re a shit team. BIG difference. I ❤ Scotland
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Works everywhere. I’ve just started using it in work for even the most minor inconveniences.
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“my bin is on fire!!!”
“shaft of all shafts boyo… “
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Graduate has just given me a load of late, badly written mince. He’s going to get the shaft of all shafts.
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‘don’t hate Scotland, just think you’re a shit team’
*cries*
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Karl.
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That was big opening for a Karl there
Karl etc.
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It’ll only be a metaphorical shaft
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Before anyone gets worried.
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Title of your sex tape etc etc
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Your obsession with my sex tapes still worries me.
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*imaginary
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@deebee
” Ireland grimly stamp their authority … on Samoa in midweek”
Actually we’re playing – typhoons permitting – Sat lunchtime (11.45am here).
Right now, it looks as if there will be a lot of “undercooked” teams likely to qualify for the QFs…although that is probably clutching at straws.
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I don’t buy this ‘undercooked’ thing. The RC teams are not long finished their competition and the 6N sides all had 4 competitive warm up games. They’ve also all had much longer training camps than they’d normally get. All teams are well prepared.
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It does feel England can’t win with the press – before the world cup it was “group of death/5 tests in 5 weeks/all players will be broken”, now apparently our group is a piece of piss and we’re so undercooked we’ll get walloped by the Wallabies.
It would be really nice if an English rugby journo could write a reasonably balanced but ultimately positive article – something like “not perfect but probably building as nicely as possible so far”
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England looking good to DOMINATE
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I’d say England, Wales, ABs, Boks all looking in pretty good shape.
Ireland a bit unknown after that doing by Japan. will likely be out in the Quarters anyhoo.
Wobblies being all wobbly.
Japan looking decent, but got gubbed by the boks in the warm ups so who knows.
France, unlikley to make it past the quarters but which France will turn up etc.
As for Scotland, well we’re pish and everyone hates us. Boo hoo.
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@FF
Eddie Jones (who I understand from people who have met him is a really decent gent) seems to dislike the press.
Hence they tend to make his job harder in return.
Add to that the fact that there are plenty of people who dislike England and the usual need for clickbait, and it’s difficult to expect too much reasonable content about the team in the media.
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My impression is that the PI teams are getting better game by game. Even Samoa, who were clearly in the doldrums leading up the Cup have improved and look more with it. Tonga looked a different team too from the warm up games. Fiji started surfing the waves again in the second half against Georgia.
All three teams are going to be far more awkward customers than they were at the outset of the tournament.
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England have the best chance ever to recreate 2003. All the omens and signs and portents and plain old luck are indicating thus.
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‘Pro power rankings of those currently heading into the QFs:
1. NZ
Still the favourites, although possibly underdone going into a QG after Canada, Namibia and Italy. Have the most lethal attacking weapons of all the teams in the tournament.
2. Wales
Beat Australia,seem to have an effective gameplan with all on same page. Will be bloody hard to beat.
3. England
Not really tested yet, but things are clicking. Ford is outstanding. Scary power and fitness.
4. SA
Big, hard to beat.
5. Australia
Under fire already, wagons perhaps circling and have played two challenging and brutal matches. Surprise package?
6. Japan
Second best attacking team after NZ.
7. Ireland
One dimensional, peaked too early – ?
8. France
Wonderful players, mad coach, impossible to assess but expect little.
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I don’t think Joe will ever get over The Shaft in Shizuoka™.
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Were England to, y’know, do what I wouldn’t want them to do and can’t bring myself to type, i reckon Kiitson’ll write an article that ascribes some of the credit for the success to Stuart Lancaster.
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If Ireland’s peak is battering the Scots, they were never serious contenders.
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England are reprising 1995. Pool is a piece of piss. They’ll beat Australia in a tight one before getting clowned by the ABs.
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@Yosoy
In the 1995 pool stages England beat Argentina by 6 points (2 tries to 0) and Italy by 7
Not exactly as easy as this year.
Speaking of 1995, Canada play SA in a RWC again this week. Another scrap?
Of course not, there is no one remotely hard on this Canada team.
I really miss those abrasive Canadian back rowers of the mid-late 90s.
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“Of course not, there is no one remotely hard on this Canada team.”
Karl
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For me it’s still Wales’ tournament to lose. Head and shoulders above the rest.
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Hang on a minute. Another way to look at England and the press is the amount of privileged expectation that that gets laid on thick and fast during the build-up and during the tournament itself.
Likewise with ITV’s coverage when it’s clear England are the the most important team regardless how cosmopolitan the studio pundits might be.
This is not the English team or coach’s fault, but one can’t help but long for a dose of Schadenfreude sometimes.
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Now now Craigs, keep that voodoo hoodoo you do to yourself. Wales are punching above their weight, and as the old saying goes, a good big ‘un will always beat a good little ‘un.
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Aye, right. The Grand Slam Champions are punching above their weight. Nice try Iks, but it doesn’t wash. Wales’ to lose.
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BB – I don’t think that there is any way to ‘punch above’ from such lofty heights.
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Craigs – nope, you’re right. The heights are soooo lofty that Wales are clearly Dogs Among Men. We are simply living in their shadows and should be glad to do so.
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The only problem Wales have is coping with the weight of history. Can they beat the Blackness?
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Pffffffffffffft. Everyone knows only the dumbest side who’d’ve won the 6 Nations with a Slam this year. Everyone was shadow boxing, keeping things up their sleeves and not wishing to peak too early.
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“Do Europeans even do dogging?” he added.
“There is something deeply British about dogging.”
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/brexit-will-spark-rise-in-dogging-213622/
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@tomp
Chek’s been telling us about the Kent scene for years.
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You know those yellow and black bumper stickers that say THINK BIKE / THINK BIKER?
I was driving behind a car that had on of those of the left-hand side, and on the right-hand side it had a sticker in an identical colour scheme and font that said THINK DOG / THINK DOGGING.
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OT, It’s the kind of thing I imagine Chek saying. The House of Lords, Dogging and Something Else – that’s what makes Britain Britain.
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Aussie schools beat NZ schools the other day. Their first try is very very very very very good:
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“Do Europeans even do dogging?”
Flair is always complaining that France are shit.
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“Actually we’re playing – typhoons permitting – Sat lunchtime (11.45am here).”
Ye gods! Imagine how stamply the grim, pent up rage will be by the weekend. Glad the Cuddly Springboks are avoiding them in the QF!
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Good stuff, TomP, do you happen to know if the German laddie was playing for NZ?
I like his story and when given the opportunity I like to keeps tabs on his progress.
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@tomp
Very very very very very very very very very good try. Love that last pass from the fullback to the winger.
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Started on the blindside, ticht. He’s signed a senior contract for one of the Mitre10 Cup teams. Looking good for him,
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“Glad the Cuddly Springboks are avoiding them in the QF!”
Maybe…maybe not. If Ireland can get the full 5 vs Samoa, and Scotland beat Japan well enough – we’d win the group (“ifs” and “ands” etc)
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Gordie Reid on the Japan experience
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https://www.sarugbymag.co.za/argentina-lock-cops-hefty-ban/
4 weeks for Lavanini.
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