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Rugby World Cup 2007

Nice start by the All Blacks vs Italy: 76 - 14.

Italy had a really bad start into the game. They did well later on. I assume they are already focused on the Scotland game.

I hope it doesn't turn out to be a disadvantage for the All Blacks not to have a serious opponent in their group. The quarter finale opponent will be a lot better than the teams in the pool.
 
pivo6 said:
I agree on the upsets. Will anyone go on a limb a predict an upset in tomorrow's USA v England? ;)
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I just want the US to make a good showing. I even changed my avatar in honor of the world cup!

I have to say, it really sucks that more Americans don't follow the world cup. I am stuck getting the actual games a day behind, so while I am excited to watch the France-Argentina match today, I already know what happened. :( But I am planning on taking notes and seeing what the pros do in games that we can try to emulate in club rugby.

If the US loses (I can dream, right!?), I don't know who I am switching allegiance to... New Zealand, Australia, England are always the big ones people here follow if they're going to root for an international team.

I am just excited to see pro rugby. WHOOOOO WORLD CUP!!!!!!
 
As an Englishman myself, and tracking our progress (well decline) over the past 4 years I would suggest you switch allegiance to New Zealand.

It would take a miracle for us to get past the quarter final stage. Even though we have possibly a better group of players this time, as a team, they don't seem to have the self belief, drive, determination or team spirit of the 2003 team.

Maybe having a half back or lock (yes Dallaglio) as captain would help us. Vickery doesn't seem to be the best choice for captain, and Dallaglio has always been an awesome leader for Wasps.

Watching Australia (Mr. Bush, its Australia, not Austria!) vs Japan, it looks like there are going to be only uncontested scrums, their pack just can't take Australia's power.
 
steviem said:
As an Englishman myself, and tracking our progress (well decline) over the past 4 years I would suggest you switch allegiance to New Zealand.

It would take a miracle for us to get past the quarter final stage. Even though we have possibly a better group of players this time, as a team, they don't seem to have the self belief, drive, determination or team spirit of the 2003 team.

Maybe having a half back or lock (yes Dallaglio) as captain would help us. Vickery doesn't seem to be the best choice for captain, and Dallaglio has always been an awesome leader for Wasps.

Watching Australia (Mr. Bush, its Australia, not Austria!) vs Japan, it looks like there are going to be only uncontested scrums, their pack just can't take Australia's power.
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Ah, thanks for the tip. I do like the All Black jerseys, so there's that. On the other hand, in American hockey I am a NY Rangers fan, so I understand rooting for a team that won't win. :)

I didn't know they do uncontested scrums in the world cup. Is that common or only as a safety concern?
 
Its really just a safety concern. It only really happens when there isn't a fully qualified front row, like if a prop gets sin binned. I think there is a vast weight difference between Australia and Japans packs which causes them problems aswell.

I used to love staying up late to watch the Hockey on TV, its so fast paced and brutal, two of my aims in life are to go see a New York Rangers match and to play a season in defence for an amateur team over here in england.
 
steviem said:
Its really just a safety concern. It only really happens when there isn't a fully qualified front row, like if a prop gets sin binned. I think there is a vast weight difference between Australia and Japans packs which causes them problems aswell.

I used to love staying up late to watch the Hockey on TV, its so fast paced and brutal, two of my aims in life are to go see a New York Rangers match and to play a season in defence for an amateur team over here in england.
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Makes sense. We do the same thing in games sometimes, but then again we're a bunch of amateur women, so it's more likely to occur with us that one team or the other has an inexperienced front row. I can definitely see where if there's a huge diff in size/weight they'd go uncontested. Should still be interesting to watch.

Hockey is great. It's so brutal...you should definitely see a Rangers match. One of the major benefits to living in the NYC area again, for me, is that i plan to go to several home games this year. I saw them play in high school, Rangers vs NJ Devils. THAT was a brutal game, for the fans and the players. :)

Good luck playing! Any particular position?
 
If you guys can get the top spot in our group, then you can do well. The past few times I've seen England vs South Africa I haven't been impressed by how dirty South Africa tend to play.
 
Jasonbot said:
Anyone here shouting for South Africa? Or am I a lost soul??

Also, what's your Opinion on South Africa's chances- We're not necessarily underdogs.
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In my first post on this thread I predicted South Africa to win the tournament (therefore they're doomed! :p )
 
steviem said:
If you guys can get the top spot in our group, then you can do well. The past few times I've seen England vs South Africa I haven't been impressed by how dirty South Africa tend to play.
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Springbok rugby tends to favour hardness over subtlety, so it's not all that surprising.

Whilst not as cultured as the French or the All Blacks the Springboks have enough talent to go with that hardness. Many in the Northern hemisphere lament the passing/ reduction of a true forward battle but the Boks have never really lost it. All those brais I guess ;)

@ Jakebot - the Springboks are the only team to have consistently beaten the All Blacks over the last few years, albeit twice, so they have what it takes.

At the rate England are going against the USA I'm going to sell my tickets for the match against the Boks :mad:
 
USA have kept their composure against us, but they seem to be tiring now, so lets hope for a second half try-fest...

I've been really impressed by the USA so far, they could be a force if they put in as much effort as the NFL etc. The Northern Hemisphere needs some good teams to go up against the south...
 
How come our second string side could beat USA by 50 points or so and a second string Munster side can beat them comprehensively but England couldnt show any real quality today?
 
OK, does anyone know if there are any free online video streams of the RWC? I'm stuck here in LA, and all I can find so far are ones that make you pay $US50 for delayed matches. Blah. Or require Windows. Bleh. Even an audio stream would be better than nothing, watching a scoreboard just doesn't cut it.
 
cazlar said:
OK, does anyone know if there are any free online video streams of the RWC? I'm stuck here in LA, and all I can find so far are ones that make you pay $US50 for delayed matches. Blah. Or require Windows. Bleh. Even an audio stream would be better than nothing, watching a scoreboard just doesn't cut it.
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Probably doesn't help, but if you have satellite TV, all games are being shown by Setanta, which is how I'm watching.
 
cazlar said:
OK, does anyone know if there are any free online video streams of the RWC? I'm stuck here in LA, and all I can find so far are ones that make you pay $US50 for delayed matches. Blah. Or require Windows. Bleh. Even an audio stream would be better than nothing, watching a scoreboard just doesn't cut it.
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Try Eurosport - Rugby.
I was not able to receive anything from there yet. I assume the servers can't cope with the requests or maybe it's a windows optimised site :mad:

Now I got through, but following message appears:
Désolé, cette vidéo n'est pas accessible depuis votre région.

I am obviously in the wrong region to access the video :(
 
Thanks all. No satellite (or cable), just OTA here. I managed to get onto the Eurosport site using a French proxy - the videos were only highlights packages rather than the full game though. But that's enough for me for the moment, seeing some tries is a lot better than just reading about them!
 
The Kiwis and the Aussies both looked very convincing in their wins. Unfortunately for me the Scotland game is on too late for me to watch tonight, hopefully we will win...
 
pivo6 said:
The US should be given some credit for their defensive play, but England really don't look all that good. 21-3 at HT.
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Did the second half actually get any better? I watched the first half but it was possibly the slowest and most boring England game I've ever seen... I ended up switching over at half time and watching the footie instead :eek: And I hate footie!
 
Nickygoat said:
Which game are you watching? The one I'm watching is in Nantes :p
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Oh. :eek:

Not watching anything, no telly. Just glanced at the BBC's sports page. I thought Wales were playing their games in Cardiff... my mistake.
 
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