What a cracker of a first round! Some delectable rugby, some surprises, and plenty of dodgy reffing decisions to moan about.
Tonga and Samoa have yet to play, but Wales easily contained Fiji. The big surprises were the performances of the two South American minnows: Chile gave Japan a good fight, although they ran out of puff before the end, and Wrwgwai (that’s the Welsh spelling of Uruguay, per MisterIks, apparently) gave France a hell of a fright.
So what’s in store for this weekend? Mostly very one-sided fixtures; it’s not even worth speculating about the scores. The closest matches may well be Samoa v Chile, Australia v Fiji, England v Japan, and South Africa v Romania, now they’ve lost Marx and seeing as how they don’t have a proper 10.
Not quite sure if a 45 minute walk to get to our coach really fits the expectation of a transfer system. It is only supposed to take 2 hours to walk the whole route Never mind it was following a win
Ps missed who was player of the match – presume it was Joe Marler with his header try assist.
@Flair – But why do you wish for Australia to go through at the expense of Wales (and when it might turn out to be at the expense of Fiji)? That’s the reality of your preferred result.
It’s not Wales’ fault anyway that they got a couple of decisions against Fiji and it wasn’t anything like as egregious as some (you included at the time) are making out. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed you positive about Wales (dismissive at best) so I take that into account. Obviously we all have teams we don’t care for – I’d be surprised if England /Ireland/South Africa supporters think I want their teams to do well for example though I imagine they all realise I’d be pleased for them as individuals.
What I thought was notable about the Fiji-Australia game was that with the referee much more inclined to allow a contest for the ball they absolutely thrived at the breakdown and won the game on penalties from defending at the ruck, kicking their goals and a scrappy try from an Aussie error. Not what you expect from them traditionally at all.
In reality I think if Fiji BP Georgia they should be OK though Wales losing to Aus with a BP of either kind would leave things up in the air for them especially if Aus got one themselves. Wales needing a BP win against Georgia is a possible scenario that I would have no confidence in whatsoever, can see them winning or losing both remaining games to be honest.
I’d rather see Oz in the QF than Wales because I usually prefer their style of play (as poor as it was vs Fiji) . But its also because I can’t stand what I perceive as an injustice. Whether it is Wales fault or not, do they not profit from a reffing performance that most neutrals found disgusting? Do you seriously believe the ref did not affect the result?
Sorry if I made the wrong calculation and permutations, BP etc, but my choice for the QF would be indeed Fiji and Oz.
Well if Wales were to beat Aus they wouldn’t really be ‘profiting’ form the Fiji result in terms of going through so I see that for what it is. In that instance they might get to play Argentina rather than England off the back of it though who knows which will be better/worse?
As far as the Wales-Fiji game is concerned I think Wales should have got a yellow card sooner (or a warning one pen sooner and then who knows?). If they had done so then it’s a different game though obviously one that Fiji find themselves in a better place in earlier. Think we were lucky with the disallowed try in the first half too though there were also a couple of possible Fiji yellows that weren’t given. The ref only reffed Wales for the last ten minutes so I think they got a good bit back there. If you wanted lots of cards for Wales then even accepting that he was so keen to penalise them then it’s worth noting that other teams have given away similar numbers of penalties this tournament for one or no cards. So yes, I think we did well out of him, but all this ‘worst refereeing performance ever’ stuff is a load of bilge.
That game hasn’t put Fiji out and it won’t in itself put us through in any case.
@Refit – Think that’s quite a poor decision though I guess that cross-kick was the best piece of play (at least by an England player) in the game. He appeared to at least be awake for most of the game though which is better than Anscombe managed yesterday.
Even sober I’m not really happy Pollard is back in the mix. He simply can’t get the Bok backs firing like Libbok can. Maybe when we’re on attack Willemse or Le Roux will take it at first receiver to give us a chance. Otherwise, we’re looking at a 9-12 axis of Faf, Pollard and de Allende, which is as creative as mud.
On the Great Debate, I would prefer Wales to go through to Australia, along with Fiji, if only to see Eddie Jones trying to worm his way out of explaining their exit at the pool stages!
injured Namibian from yesterday had a broken leg and and a dislocated ankle.
we were in Vannes (Pro-D2) and went to see a training session – one of the locals got us to meet Darren O’Shea (prev Munster) – he’d suffered same injury in Feb and was back training (Aug 22) – finally got back playing this month (Sep 23)
When you look at what Gatland has done with Wales in a similar period of time, and starting from a similarly weak position, there only logical conclusion is that the RFU have once again backed the wrong man in Borthwick. No country with as many professional players has any business being so poor.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d bite anyone’s arm off for Wales’ record in the 6N under Gatland and Edwards, I’m just not sure that the wins over Fiji and Portugal point to a great improvement. Even the game against Australia won’t be a litmus test as Oz are below par for them.
“When you look at what Gatland has done with Wales in a similar period of time, and starting from a similarly weak position”
We’ve got a bit better than we were at least when the ‘first team’ are out. We’re still probably going to fail to qualify from an underwhelming pool while England will have an even chance of a semi-final.
“No country with as many professional players has any business being so poor.”
Obviously you’re right that Gats has a lot less to work with!
However, I agree that with England’s resources they should be stronger – there is just too much of a disconnect between club and country imo.
France seem to be doing better with similar, if not greater resources, they have limited the number of foreign players and backed their youth programmes. England are moving in that direction but to be honest I think the club game may see more problems in the coming season, same for Wales by the looks of things.
Ireland work around one team, strengthening it where they can from three others – I haven’t looked up the full squad but that’s the impression I get.
The long and short of it is that they are number one in the world and are genuine contenders for the pot, even if they get beaten by SA in their next game
CMW, my mistake about ‘profit’. My English isn’t always what I’d like it to be. I knew there was something wrong ( in French it is profiter de) but was too tired and lazy to find the proper word which is “to benefit from”.
I still believe Wales benefited from the situation . To claim the game didn’t put Fiji out and it didn’t put you in is a bit disingenuous though. Would you rather have five points from that game or just the two BPs?
And of course, I’d love to see Eddie’s Oz vs England in the QF, but not at the expense of Fiji.
But none if this matters anyway, that ship has sailed.
Having looked at the squad, I’d say that Old Moany and possibly Beirne are the only non Dubs in the starting pack, with Aki and Hansen filling in the backline.
@Flair – I think you misunderstand my point. If (big if) Wales beat Australia then they will definitely deserve to go through as (putting the supposed ‘greatest injustice of all time’ to one side) the Wales-Fiji result will have no bearing whatsoever on them progressing other than that they won’t also need to beat Georgia. Aus will have lost two games and will deserve to go out. And of course who knows, Wales may be unlucky in defeat to Australia, it wouldn’t be the first time.
If Wales do beat Aus then they will very likely win the group (a terrible injustice etc), but unless we believe Argentina will always be as bad as they were against England (unlikely as they’re very much a hot and cold team as far as I can tell) winning the group is no particular advantage.
Should Aus beat Wales and both teams pick up bonus points and whatever else decides things put Fiji out then I would agree Fiji will be very unfortunate. How the Aus-Wales game plays out would determine which of those two would be the luckiest to go through given that whatever you think of the refereeing Wales definitely played better against Fiji than Aus did. Fiji will have the last play of each of their games so far to think about on that front though as well as your great injustice.
Wales can reach a maximum of 20 points, if they do Australia can reach a maxim of 13.
Fiji can gain a maximum of 16 points.
If Aus beats Wales, they can gain a maximum of 16 with two BP wins, then Wales can reach a maximum of 17 (one BP win and a losing BP plus try BP against Aus).
If Wales and Fiji are tied, Wales go through due to their head to head.
If Aus and Fiji are tied, Fiji go through due to their head to head.
Fiji get their 16
Aus beat Wales and end up with 15 or 16 points
Wales lose to Aus and beat Georgia without a BP in either game for 14 points
It only gets complicated for Fiji if Aus beat Wales and Wales get a BP in that match (or if Fiji themselves miss out on BPs against Georgia or Portugal with an Aus win against Wales thrown in).
Wales beat Aus and everything’s OK for Fiji and Wales (unless Fiji lose to Georgia or Portugal).
I would imagine Fiji will back themselves to win open high scoring games against Georgia and Portugal so don’t see them having a problem collecting their BPs – those games should be fun to watch at least for those who will be in a position to put everything else to one side!
We’ll probably go out due to the Fijian kicker missing that penalty at the end against Aus, what a twat. Obviously we’ll really only have ourselves to blame for letting the big lead slip against Fiji, all very Ospreylian though Fiji’s potential route out would be even more so.
What we’ve seen from Ireland, South Africa and France’s first game suggests that none of this matters a great deal in the long run of course.
@Ticht and CMW – I think Wales have made huge strides since Gatland returned. At the end of Pivac’s era and the beginning of his, they lost to Georgia, Australia and England. Right now, they’d be favourites against all 3. They are very fit and look purposeful with ball in hand.
Deebee, Eddie Jones was the reason I suggested English fans would have particularly enjoyed Fiji’s win yesterday
Absolutely! And I can see the car crash attraction of wanting an England-Australia QF as a result as well. Just the hilarity of EJ jumping through hoops at the end of the group stages would be fun too. What a conundrum we face!
We were 21 points ahead last time we played them and we lost by 5. This sort of thing is a bit of a habit and would probably be more so if we were ahead more often. I’d back us if you give us a 27 point start.
Woah CMW
can you rein in the the positivity a couple of notches?
After Portugal, we are 1 injury away from disaster.
I never want to see that midfield again and Tomos Williams didn’t help.
We have an ok first team, if fit and selected.
Happy for Fiji even if it makes the group interesting.
@BRB – I’m actually quite enjoying the tournament. Can only agree about that midfield though and am very disappointed Tomos Williams has fallen away in the last year or two. Gareth Davies may be a terrible villain, but I think his starting spot is pretty safe just now.
I’m enjoying too and we’ve already exceeded my expectations.
Only taking 2 9’s looks bonkers now and they’re not even injured.
Disappointed in J Williams who looked ok with the Scarlets, but the inclusion of Grady is a holy mystery.
Gareth Davies, Biggar, Faletau, Rowlands, Tompkins nailed on for every match if fit.
Anscombe also looked surprised to discover he was playing in a rugby match every time the ball went near him. Not seen anything to suggest he’s ever got back to his pre-injury level anyway so think he can only be there due to complete lack of options. May be unfair though as I have struggled to retain enthusiasm for watching the Regions. Don’t know which out of him and the two centres I least want to see in the team again.
Isn’t this great?
Wailing and gnashing about the state of the Welsh team and our lack of options?
Just like the good old days.
Yes , Anscombe too.
I’d forgotten he was playing but he looked shot, although his kicking was ok.
At least Wales almost look like they have an idea what to do with the ball when they accidentally get it in a bit of space. England are dreadful, shit, winger in space ? Don’t give it to him, kick it away.
England had two passes yesterday to a winger with a couple of yards free, one where Daly got tackled into touch ( maybe he should have kicked it then ) and once on the other side with Earl on the flank. Talking about bringing in Arundel or Malins will only make the defence worse,and they can’t magic up anything either if not passed the ball. Smith needs more game time, hopefully against Chile at least, 25 minutes at least assuming off the bench. Can’t see what Billy V offered from the bench either, I should retire him now. He can’t even control the ball well at the back of the scrum.
Ireland work around one team, strengthening it where they can from three others
Farrell was in a very tricky place in Mar 21 – 2020 6N had been disappointing, in Autumn Cup we’d lost comprehensively to England, then started 2021 6N with defeats to Wales and France followed by wins vs Scotland and Italy – Scotland win being fairly scruffy. A loss to England, and he was toast.
Building around Leinster gives Ireland huge ‘cohesion’ – we don’t exactly play like Leinster but it can be similar. Looking to kick long, get a line out in favourable position and run 1st phase strike play off them – hence importance of Lowe to Ireland’s game.
Upside of cohesion is that when there’s an injury – Leinster player is always best placed to slot in as they know the basic way we play. ie when van der Flier was out – Farrell preferred to move Doris to 7 and put Conan at 8.
Downside – as Munster and Ulster fans wil especially note – it’s difficult for promising players in those teams to get a chance as “they don’t know the systems” or they don’t fit the systems.
In first case, we were fairly outraged at Scott Penny getting called into 6N camp – never really picked by Cullen for a serious match – over John Hodnett who was a regular throughout URC run. In second case, Munster use their 8 , Gavin Coombes as first up carrier – Ireland / Leinster have locks and props for that and keep Doris / Conan in wider channels – so Coombes doesn’t fit how Irleand play. Ulster no doubt would point at Hume and prob Cooney (though I’ve no complaints there)
The gaps in Leinster are filled as noted by Hansen – who acts as 2nd playmaker, O’Mahony, Beirne – who gives the impression he could play anywhere – plus Aki (who has been underrated but now seems to have cemented his place. Aki plus 1 is the preferred centre partnership
Anscombe, I’d forgotten he was playing but he looked shot. Not many other options tbh, Gatland won’t t pick Jarrod Evans and the Priest is over 35?
Isn’t it great to be wailing about the Wales team and our lack of options?
Just like the good old days/forever.
Pray that Bigger stays fit.
I think Wales would beat England – but I’m not seeing the permutations where Wales don’t win the group yet still qualify.
After yesterday, I’m seeing Biggar raining down kicks on Gordon (honestly, if our U14s did that you’d be bawling from touchline “silent sidelines” or not)
Oz were poor yesterday and I wasn’t over-impressed with their win vs Georgia , who blew 2 maybe 3 golden opps.
Loved Portugal – lineout try was brilliant – maul fake. Might try that with U16s…..
England perked up after the good fortune of the Lawes try but it was no great shakes up to then.
Ireland went through the motions and that was enough…
Gonna vent here about Jonny too. Rugby Pass has given May a 3.5 rating for the game. Not his fault in attack,he never gets the ball, but he was excellent in defence, only slipped off one tackle and the caught the guy again. He chased and challenged high balls more than anyone else, nd god knows there were plenty of them. One particular incident stood out. Japan attacked from turnover ball ( I think ) from their 22, and caught England flat footed. There was our Jonny, all on his lonesome, facing 4 rampaging Cherry Blossoms. Doing his express backwards sideways crab run, he kept them covered and shepherded them towards touch while other defenders covered across, and he made a tackle, and closed down what may well have been an end to end try. That’s why I think he should be there, he is still one of the best defensive wings in the world. Give him a chance with the ball in open play and I think he will point out that he still has a bit of gas too.
Deebee, when I looked at the matches played in Brighton that year I was little disappointed, USA v Samoa, which I got tickets for, was a bit underwhelming and South Africa v Japan was going to be a massively one-sided affair so I didn’t even bother trying.
When we went to the Sam USA game there were several South Africans sitting behind us, they were quite gracious about the result the previous day.
After the game the Bok supporters formed a tunnel and applauded the Japanese fans onto the buses taking them back into town – a great rugby moment.
Ticht, that was a great rugby moment (and occasion). Took me a while to get over it, but it didn’t hurt as much as losing the SF to the Kiwis by 2 points a few weeks later. That hurt a lot. Luckily we were in the bush, and had headed to a pub at the main camp, so had the solace of giraffe, antelope and a setting sun over the hills to make up for it. It didn’t!
Saw a full sized giraffe in an antique warehouse in Hudson, New York, on Sunday. Quite the mount. 45k US if you fancy it, but you would need a fairly decent sized living room to have it in.
Is this an omen ? Saffas out to England in the semi ? Pollard Ford drop goal shoot out ?
Ovally Balls 
Not quite sure if a 45 minute walk to get to our coach really fits the expectation of a transfer system. It is only supposed to take 2 hours to walk the whole route Never mind it was following a win
Ps missed who was player of the match – presume it was Joe Marler with his header try assist.
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@Flair – But why do you wish for Australia to go through at the expense of Wales (and when it might turn out to be at the expense of Fiji)? That’s the reality of your preferred result.
It’s not Wales’ fault anyway that they got a couple of decisions against Fiji and it wasn’t anything like as egregious as some (you included at the time) are making out. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed you positive about Wales (dismissive at best) so I take that into account. Obviously we all have teams we don’t care for – I’d be surprised if England /Ireland/South Africa supporters think I want their teams to do well for example though I imagine they all realise I’d be pleased for them as individuals.
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Don’t know who got player of the match – Earl at a guess.
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What I thought was notable about the Fiji-Australia game was that with the referee much more inclined to allow a contest for the ball they absolutely thrived at the breakdown and won the game on penalties from defending at the ruck, kicking their goals and a scrappy try from an Aussie error. Not what you expect from them traditionally at all.
In reality I think if Fiji BP Georgia they should be OK though Wales losing to Aus with a BP of either kind would leave things up in the air for them especially if Aus got one themselves. Wales needing a BP win against Georgia is a possible scenario that I would have no confidence in whatsoever, can see them winning or losing both remaining games to be honest.
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I’d rather see Oz in the QF than Wales because I usually prefer their style of play (as poor as it was vs Fiji) . But its also because I can’t stand what I perceive as an injustice. Whether it is Wales fault or not, do they not profit from a reffing performance that most neutrals found disgusting? Do you seriously believe the ref did not affect the result?
Sorry if I made the wrong calculation and permutations, BP etc, but my choice for the QF would be indeed Fiji and Oz.
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Well if Wales were to beat Aus they wouldn’t really be ‘profiting’ form the Fiji result in terms of going through so I see that for what it is. In that instance they might get to play Argentina rather than England off the back of it though who knows which will be better/worse?
As far as the Wales-Fiji game is concerned I think Wales should have got a yellow card sooner (or a warning one pen sooner and then who knows?). If they had done so then it’s a different game though obviously one that Fiji find themselves in a better place in earlier. Think we were lucky with the disallowed try in the first half too though there were also a couple of possible Fiji yellows that weren’t given. The ref only reffed Wales for the last ten minutes so I think they got a good bit back there. If you wanted lots of cards for Wales then even accepting that he was so keen to penalise them then it’s worth noting that other teams have given away similar numbers of penalties this tournament for one or no cards. So yes, I think we did well out of him, but all this ‘worst refereeing performance ever’ stuff is a load of bilge.
That game hasn’t put Fiji out and it won’t in itself put us through in any case.
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@Refit – Think that’s quite a poor decision though I guess that cross-kick was the best piece of play (at least by an England player) in the game. He appeared to at least be awake for most of the game though which is better than Anscombe managed yesterday.
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Even sober I’m not really happy Pollard is back in the mix. He simply can’t get the Bok backs firing like Libbok can. Maybe when we’re on attack Willemse or Le Roux will take it at first receiver to give us a chance. Otherwise, we’re looking at a 9-12 axis of Faf, Pollard and de Allende, which is as creative as mud.
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On the Great Debate, I would prefer Wales to go through to Australia, along with Fiji, if only to see Eddie Jones trying to worm his way out of explaining their exit at the pool stages!
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Looks like I overestimated England, I think the coaches have a lot to answer for.
Mortimer and Whitehouse were fun
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Deebee, Eddie Jones was the reason I suggested English fans would have particularly enjoyed Fiji’s win yesterday
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injured Namibian from yesterday had a broken leg and and a dislocated ankle.
we were in Vannes (Pro-D2) and went to see a training session – one of the locals got us to meet Darren O’Shea (prev Munster) – he’d suffered same injury in Feb and was back training (Aug 22) – finally got back playing this month (Sep 23)
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When you look at what Gatland has done with Wales in a similar period of time, and starting from a similarly weak position, there only logical conclusion is that the RFU have once again backed the wrong man in Borthwick. No country with as many professional players has any business being so poor.
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Dab, has Gatland improved Wales in recent months?
Don’t get me wrong, I’d bite anyone’s arm off for Wales’ record in the 6N under Gatland and Edwards, I’m just not sure that the wins over Fiji and Portugal point to a great improvement. Even the game against Australia won’t be a litmus test as Oz are below par for them.
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“When you look at what Gatland has done with Wales in a similar period of time, and starting from a similarly weak position”
We’ve got a bit better than we were at least when the ‘first team’ are out. We’re still probably going to fail to qualify from an underwhelming pool while England will have an even chance of a semi-final.
“No country with as many professional players has any business being so poor.”
Obviously you’re right that Gats has a lot less to work with!
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However, I agree that with England’s resources they should be stronger – there is just too much of a disconnect between club and country imo.
France seem to be doing better with similar, if not greater resources, they have limited the number of foreign players and backed their youth programmes. England are moving in that direction but to be honest I think the club game may see more problems in the coming season, same for Wales by the looks of things.
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Ireland work around one team, strengthening it where they can from three others – I haven’t looked up the full squad but that’s the impression I get.
The long and short of it is that they are number one in the world and are genuine contenders for the pot, even if they get beaten by SA in their next game
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CMW, my mistake about ‘profit’. My English isn’t always what I’d like it to be. I knew there was something wrong ( in French it is profiter de) but was too tired and lazy to find the proper word which is “to benefit from”.
I still believe Wales benefited from the situation . To claim the game didn’t put Fiji out and it didn’t put you in is a bit disingenuous though. Would you rather have five points from that game or just the two BPs?
And of course, I’d love to see Eddie’s Oz vs England in the QF, but not at the expense of Fiji.
But none if this matters anyway, that ship has sailed.
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Having looked at the squad, I’d say that Old Moany and possibly Beirne are the only non Dubs in the starting pack, with Aki and Hansen filling in the backline.
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My point being that you don’t need 12 to 14 teams in your league to have a successful international side.
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@Flair – I think you misunderstand my point. If (big if) Wales beat Australia then they will definitely deserve to go through as (putting the supposed ‘greatest injustice of all time’ to one side) the Wales-Fiji result will have no bearing whatsoever on them progressing other than that they won’t also need to beat Georgia. Aus will have lost two games and will deserve to go out. And of course who knows, Wales may be unlucky in defeat to Australia, it wouldn’t be the first time.
If Wales do beat Aus then they will very likely win the group (a terrible injustice etc), but unless we believe Argentina will always be as bad as they were against England (unlikely as they’re very much a hot and cold team as far as I can tell) winning the group is no particular advantage.
Should Aus beat Wales and both teams pick up bonus points and whatever else decides things put Fiji out then I would agree Fiji will be very unfortunate. How the Aus-Wales game plays out would determine which of those two would be the luckiest to go through given that whatever you think of the refereeing Wales definitely played better against Fiji than Aus did. Fiji will have the last play of each of their games so far to think about on that front though as well as your great injustice.
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Wales can reach a maximum of 20 points, if they do Australia can reach a maxim of 13.
Fiji can gain a maximum of 16 points.
If Aus beats Wales, they can gain a maximum of 16 with two BP wins, then Wales can reach a maximum of 17 (one BP win and a losing BP plus try BP against Aus).
If Wales and Fiji are tied, Wales go through due to their head to head.
If Aus and Fiji are tied, Fiji go through due to their head to head.
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The most likely scenario to me is as follows:
Fiji get their 16
Aus beat Wales and end up with 15 or 16 points
Wales lose to Aus and beat Georgia without a BP in either game for 14 points
It only gets complicated for Fiji if Aus beat Wales and Wales get a BP in that match (or if Fiji themselves miss out on BPs against Georgia or Portugal with an Aus win against Wales thrown in).
Wales beat Aus and everything’s OK for Fiji and Wales (unless Fiji lose to Georgia or Portugal).
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I would imagine Fiji will back themselves to win open high scoring games against Georgia and Portugal so don’t see them having a problem collecting their BPs – those games should be fun to watch at least for those who will be in a position to put everything else to one side!
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We’ll probably go out due to the Fijian kicker missing that penalty at the end against Aus, what a twat. Obviously we’ll really only have ourselves to blame for letting the big lead slip against Fiji, all very Ospreylian though Fiji’s potential route out would be even more so.
What we’ve seen from Ireland, South Africa and France’s first game suggests that none of this matters a great deal in the long run of course.
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@Ticht and CMW – I think Wales have made huge strides since Gatland returned. At the end of Pivac’s era and the beginning of his, they lost to Georgia, Australia and England. Right now, they’d be favourites against all 3. They are very fit and look purposeful with ball in hand.
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Deebee, Eddie Jones was the reason I suggested English fans would have particularly enjoyed Fiji’s win yesterday
Absolutely! And I can see the car crash attraction of wanting an England-Australia QF as a result as well. Just the hilarity of EJ jumping through hoops at the end of the group stages would be fun too. What a conundrum we face!
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Too much negative below regarding Wales – do you really think Gatland will let his team lose to Australia?
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We were 21 points ahead last time we played them and we lost by 5. This sort of thing is a bit of a habit and would probably be more so if we were ahead more often. I’d back us if you give us a 27 point start.
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Woah CMW
can you rein in the the positivity a couple of notches?
After Portugal, we are 1 injury away from disaster.
I never want to see that midfield again and Tomos Williams didn’t help.
We have an ok first team, if fit and selected.
Happy for Fiji even if it makes the group interesting.
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@BRB – I’m actually quite enjoying the tournament. Can only agree about that midfield though and am very disappointed Tomos Williams has fallen away in the last year or two. Gareth Davies may be a terrible villain, but I think his starting spot is pretty safe just now.
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I’m enjoying too and we’ve already exceeded my expectations.
Only taking 2 9’s looks bonkers now and they’re not even injured.
Disappointed in J Williams who looked ok with the Scarlets, but the inclusion of Grady is a holy mystery.
Gareth Davies, Biggar, Faletau, Rowlands, Tompkins nailed on for every match if fit.
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Anscombe also looked surprised to discover he was playing in a rugby match every time the ball went near him. Not seen anything to suggest he’s ever got back to his pre-injury level anyway so think he can only be there due to complete lack of options. May be unfair though as I have struggled to retain enthusiasm for watching the Regions. Don’t know which out of him and the two centres I least want to see in the team again.
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Isn’t this great?
Wailing and gnashing about the state of the Welsh team and our lack of options?
Just like the good old days.
Yes , Anscombe too.
I’d forgotten he was playing but he looked shot, although his kicking was ok.
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I wouldn’t have it any other way…
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At least Wales almost look like they have an idea what to do with the ball when they accidentally get it in a bit of space. England are dreadful, shit, winger in space ? Don’t give it to him, kick it away.
England had two passes yesterday to a winger with a couple of yards free, one where Daly got tackled into touch ( maybe he should have kicked it then ) and once on the other side with Earl on the flank. Talking about bringing in Arundel or Malins will only make the defence worse,and they can’t magic up anything either if not passed the ball. Smith needs more game time, hopefully against Chile at least, 25 minutes at least assuming off the bench. Can’t see what Billy V offered from the bench either, I should retire him now. He can’t even control the ball well at the back of the scrum.
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Ireland work around one team, strengthening it where they can from three others
Farrell was in a very tricky place in Mar 21 – 2020 6N had been disappointing, in Autumn Cup we’d lost comprehensively to England, then started 2021 6N with defeats to Wales and France followed by wins vs Scotland and Italy – Scotland win being fairly scruffy. A loss to England, and he was toast.
Building around Leinster gives Ireland huge ‘cohesion’ – we don’t exactly play like Leinster but it can be similar. Looking to kick long, get a line out in favourable position and run 1st phase strike play off them – hence importance of Lowe to Ireland’s game.
Upside of cohesion is that when there’s an injury – Leinster player is always best placed to slot in as they know the basic way we play. ie when van der Flier was out – Farrell preferred to move Doris to 7 and put Conan at 8.
Downside – as Munster and Ulster fans wil especially note – it’s difficult for promising players in those teams to get a chance as “they don’t know the systems” or they don’t fit the systems.
In first case, we were fairly outraged at Scott Penny getting called into 6N camp – never really picked by Cullen for a serious match – over John Hodnett who was a regular throughout URC run. In second case, Munster use their 8 , Gavin Coombes as first up carrier – Ireland / Leinster have locks and props for that and keep Doris / Conan in wider channels – so Coombes doesn’t fit how Irleand play. Ulster no doubt would point at Hume and prob Cooney (though I’ve no complaints there)
The gaps in Leinster are filled as noted by Hansen – who acts as 2nd playmaker, O’Mahony, Beirne – who gives the impression he could play anywhere – plus Aki (who has been underrated but now seems to have cemented his place. Aki plus 1 is the preferred centre partnership
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Anscombe, I’d forgotten he was playing but he looked shot. Not many other options tbh, Gatland won’t t pick Jarrod Evans and the Priest is over 35?
Isn’t it great to be wailing about the Wales team and our lack of options?
Just like the good old days/forever.
Pray that Bigger stays fit.
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SBT – yeah, England looked much more dynamic and controlled with either Earls or Ludlum at 8. I think Billy’s spent now.
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I think Wales would beat England – but I’m not seeing the permutations where Wales don’t win the group yet still qualify.
After yesterday, I’m seeing Biggar raining down kicks on Gordon (honestly, if our U14s did that you’d be bawling from touchline “silent sidelines” or not)
Oz were poor yesterday and I wasn’t over-impressed with their win vs Georgia , who blew 2 maybe 3 golden opps.
Loved Portugal – lineout try was brilliant – maul fake. Might try that with U16s…..
England perked up after the good fortune of the Lawes try but it was no great shakes up to then.
Ireland went through the motions and that was enough…
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Oops
Double posting grom the beach.
My phone promises to remember my login details but always lets me down.
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Gonna vent here about Jonny too. Rugby Pass has given May a 3.5 rating for the game. Not his fault in attack,he never gets the ball, but he was excellent in defence, only slipped off one tackle and the caught the guy again. He chased and challenged high balls more than anyone else, nd god knows there were plenty of them. One particular incident stood out. Japan attacked from turnover ball ( I think ) from their 22, and caught England flat footed. There was our Jonny, all on his lonesome, facing 4 rampaging Cherry Blossoms. Doing his express backwards sideways crab run, he kept them covered and shepherded them towards touch while other defenders covered across, and he made a tackle, and closed down what may well have been an end to end try. That’s why I think he should be there, he is still one of the best defensive wings in the world. Give him a chance with the ball in open play and I think he will point out that he still has a bit of gas too.
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So. 36 hours to wait. Let me doodle away through some historic footage from the World Cup. This day in 2015 should get some reaction:
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SBT, Johnny may or may not be good with ball in hand. Unfortunately, like the tree in the forest…
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Deebee, when I looked at the matches played in Brighton that year I was little disappointed, USA v Samoa, which I got tickets for, was a bit underwhelming and South Africa v Japan was going to be a massively one-sided affair so I didn’t even bother trying.
When we went to the Sam USA game there were several South Africans sitting behind us, they were quite gracious about the result the previous day.
After the game the Bok supporters formed a tunnel and applauded the Japanese fans onto the buses taking them back into town – a great rugby moment.
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This guy makes me chuckle pretty much every day on Facebook
Brie Encounter
the skies are gruyere since she left me
i’ve never felt so danish blue
caught between a roquefort and a hard cheese
i stilton’t know what to do
don’t give edam about the future
now my babybel’s walked out the door
can’t believe I’ve double gloucester
I camembert it any more
i’ve ricotta get myself together
and build my life back caerphilly
cheddar tear for the final time
say goodbye to us and halloumi
Brian Bilston
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Ticht, that was a great rugby moment (and occasion). Took me a while to get over it, but it didn’t hurt as much as losing the SF to the Kiwis by 2 points a few weeks later. That hurt a lot. Luckily we were in the bush, and had headed to a pub at the main camp, so had the solace of giraffe, antelope and a setting sun over the hills to make up for it. It didn’t!
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It’s funny you should say that, I had a few pints with a giraffe and a zebra in my local after the semi-final last time round.
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Saw a full sized giraffe in an antique warehouse in Hudson, New York, on Sunday. Quite the mount. 45k US if you fancy it, but you would need a fairly decent sized living room to have it in.
Is this an omen ? Saffas out to England in the semi ? Pollard Ford drop goal shoot out ?
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