Well... this makes for very interesting pointy end of the tournament...
Saffas throwing the game v ABs was inspired.... lol...
So:
Poms v Aus
NZ v Ire
Saf v Japan
Wal v Fra
Saf side of the draw the easy one... on paper... or computer screen...
Not necessarily. It's unlikely Japan will be easy. It looks like a bad match up as we are especially vulnerable to being moved around. Our frail defence will be tested. Wales are actually a tougher match up for the Boks than England and Ireland. Since late 2004 these games have tended to be very tight, decided by a few points and intensely physical. They completely blunted the Bok game in November and look just as good now. France would be the preferred opponent, but they have caused us problems under Rassie as well as Coetzee.
I'd prefer Australia or New Zealand over Wales and Japan. I know we can beat those two. England are still the favourites.
Lizzy Page
Big mouth as per normal - knows bugger-all about rugby and cannot understand the game at all, He said the Springbok defense is frail - but they make their tackles except Fat Fransie who missed three tackles against Japan and hopefully he will not be used,
The Springboks beat the full Japan team a month ago in a pre-WC game by 41 -7 and will beat Japan again in the quarterfinals.
So lets see what the SA team is likely to look like for the quarterfinal:-
15 Le Roux, 14 Nkosi, 13 Am, 12 De Allende, 11 Kolbe, 10 Pollard, 9 De Klerk, 8 Vermeulen, 7 Du Toit, 6 Kolisi, 5 De Jager, 4 Etzebeth, 3 Malherbe, 2 Mbonambi, 1 Mtawarira
16 Marx, 17 Kitshoff, 18 Koch, 19 Snyman, 20 Louw, 21 Reinach, 22 Willemse, 23 Mapimpi
Duplication
Lizzy Page
Duplication
japan peaked tonight no question in my mind... boks will put 20-30 on them... if dont do the box kick tactics...
i also suspect fran ce to actually show up v wales... could be upset there...
Frail defence?
Redsman
I am hoping Australia beat the pompous poms and new Zealand beat Ireland. Wales had two rather poor pool games and was very lucky to beat Australia. The French is likely to play ping pong with them.
So I hope the teams going through to the semi are-
New Zealand vs France
South Africa vs Australia
Redsman
I am hoping Australia beat the pompous poms and new Zealand beat Ireland. Wales had two rather poor pool games and was very lucky to beat Australia. The French is likely to play ping pong with them.
So I hope the teams going through to the semi are-
New Zealand vs France
South Africa vs Australia
England v Oz will be a refereeing shocker.
The ABs will also be out in the 1/4s.
My grand cynical theory is that they wanted 1 SH team in the 1/2 finals.
They also England to win it...maybe Wales. Bad news for Oz.
Ireland are more likely to beat the ABs than Japan is to beat the Boks.
It'll be easier to screw the ABs in the 1/4s than SA.
So both ABs and Oz w ill be out at 1/4 final stage.
And the Boks at 1/2 stage.
The most likely semi-final outcome of the quarters should be:
- (Semi 1): England vs All Blacks
- (Semi 2): Springboks vs Wales
England has a chance of beating the All Blacks, whereas Wales could also beat the Boks.
If the All Blacks had played Wales, I think the All Blacks would win easily. However, England's pack could bully the All Blacks.
Wales has skill and pace in the backs, along with some good forwards.
I would rather than in semi 2 have Wales than France to play the Springboks, I am afraid despite their troubles France is likely to beat .Wales depending which French team turns up at the quarter-finals,
Anyway I think the Springboks have an easier way to the finals than the other teams have,
My guess is the final will be between New Zealand and SA.
Dup
something about the french at world cups... all their player revolution media may have been a clever rue. I think too they will bring their A game v Welsh... hopefully anyway...
Plum - you see things clearly... I think the reality is that in every single game the aussies have played the refs have gone out of their way to cite / ref the aussies in as poorer possible light to ensure that when Peyper takes the field he will have jsutification to screw the aussies... seen it way too many times to ignore this pattern...
I think from a marketing perspective NH team to win is what is needed ... and the money in france / UK / Jpn for rugby is inordinate compared to money in SH.
Will be interesting to watch outcomes...
...Redsman the Kiwi ref let Hodges off for an ugly shoulder charge to the head of the Fijian....so obviously Australia has recieved special prefer ential treatment.... you should be thanking the generous Kiwis for that or down to 14 men and trailing against Fiji you'd be out of the RWC by now...what an ungrateful POS you are...
....btw great win for the Kiwis at Bathurst on the w/e.....when are you Aussies gunna learn how to drive..
haha I was trying to work out if the drivers involved in the 'unsporting' like behaviour were indeed from new sheepland... thank you for clarifying... TBH dont care much for V8 supercars... F1 more my thing... do u kiwis have a driver in that..? lol...
I am sorry for being a prick to kiwi friends... but I just cant help it... I do have a problem...
I am now keen to watch some QF rugby that game last night was just good footy -
It was what the code can be when refs arent the key players... and not stop start affair due to poor ball handling skills...
Whoever wins from here will be deserving and I promise I will congratulate the kiwis if they win this RWC ... do you even realise how hard that is for me to do........?!?
This apparently:
Melbourne cup... I am totally unaware of any horses or riders be it from nz or other... I do know that Phar Lap was the greatest ever aussie horse born and bred.... lol...
actually in melbourne for conference week around the spring carnival... many beautiful fillies in town that time of year...
re Bathurst I think team mate of winner used yellow flag incident to slow the rest of the field up whilst eventual winner made up time... really though whateves... I only care about kiwis losing in rugby not anything else... trust me I was going for the kiwis in cricket world cup.... damn cheating poms scamming that win.....
Lol, bending the rules, gamesmanship...lol, what a surprise...it's motorsport.
IMO not playing Italy was a negative for the ABs,in the last RWC they practiced different aspects of their game in each of the games leading up Q/F. This led to the uninformed rugby commentators seeing weaknesses that weren't their, lol. I would have liked to see them prepare for the suffocating type of game Ireland can play. Apparently they had a very hard practice game to simulate game conditions but there is no substitute for the real thing. Ireland have not shown their best self yet & I expect they will show great improvement when they play the ABs.
I predict the ABs will beat Ireland but not playing a warm up game doesn't help.
Less er ....'battle-hardened'. Hahaha what a cliché.....that's an insight, so many commentators have made the same point. Say something original Peeper.
Boks played last Tuesday? and not the firsttean..., so not that much different IMO.
No doubt the Boks are more.....er .....battle-hardened. Waaaaaahahaha!
Shifty Schiff-Strzok is obviously praying for a win by the Japanese in the quarters so as to cancel out criticism of the 2015 debacle of Meyer's Springboks. Keep praying Herr Goebbels. LMAO
