Rugby WC 2019

Well you can’t complain about the TMO decision.

What the one the ref on the field over rule(sort of)?  Correct though he may have been.

The one that disallowed the try.

Very ordinary performance against a minnow side. The usual problems presented themselves. Poor ball security, undisciplined tackles, no clear plan in attack. Allowing Uruguay to score in the last five minutes was just lazy.

Another weak send off.

We will soon have players deliberately running into the opposition's shoulders at this rate.

It occured to me that it mightn't be a bad tactic if we actually get to the knockout stage

nice pun

So 6 red cards so far. I understand the need to punish dirty play but the fact remains that it ends the game as a contest. I have no clue what the solution should be.

Only send off if it is genuine foul play. What we’ve seen so far has mostly been well short of that.

Maybe screw around with a substitution rule for the sent off player.  Sinned against team to Nom replacement and offenders to lose an interchange.  Just spitballing here.

taipan wrote:So 6 red cards so far. I understand the need to punish dirty play but the fact remains that it ends the game as a contest. I have no clue what the solution should be.

Appoint Tim Paine as skipper of the offending teams. Ball security will be at a premium, there will be lots of smiles at the camera and lots of jolly speeches.

Bradman wrote:Maybe screw around with a substitution rule for the sent off player.  Sinned against team to Nom replacement and offenders to lose an interchange.  Just spitballing here.

Yeah, but the stupid new rules legislate against that. You have to have 2 props. The SA Italy game had uncontested scrums 20 minutes in. And that was before the dirty bastards had a prop red carded.

Bradman wrote:Maybe screw around with a substitution rule for the sent off player.  Sinned against team to Nom replacement and offenders to lose an interchange.  Just spitballing here.

Whilst we can always argue as to whether any given incident warrants a red card or a yellow one, I'm a firm believer that a red should punish the offending team - not the team losing a player to the resulting injury.

Take the Lavanini card - and suppose it was the last round of pool games, France are guaranteed a QF, and England/Argentina are playing for QF, loser is out. Replacing Lavanini after 10 minutes is essentially the same team sanction as a sin-bin for collapsing the 4th maul on the line in as many minutes.

Likewise that nasty spear tackle - had that been NZ rather than Italy it would have been a significant disadvantage *in the match where the offence occurred*, rather than the QF opponents benefiting a week later.

England v France and NZ v Italy called off, scored as 0-0 draws. Neither affects who goes through, but very unsatisfactory, they should have found alternative venues or midweek slots for them, and if necessary moved the QFs back as well.

Scotland v Japan still in doubt which is a decisive one, in the hosts’ favour if that one is off. I wonder what happens if a knockout game falls to the weather, is it highest ranked team goes through, best performer in the group stage, or a drop kick shoot-out indoors somewhere?

Another ordinary performance from the Wallabies. Once again ball handling & passing let them down. Can't see them even getting close against England.

Come out, Mr K ...

And chieka all smiles after

the game.  Only hope is England might be undercooked.

Farking handhelds.

PeterCS wrote:Come out, Mr K ...

This is beyond me

It's always fun watching England lose but it will not be in the QF.

Oz is so woeful I expect Chubby is sitting back smiling knowing that by reaching the quarters he has triggered a contract extension.

I'm sure I heard Castle say before the tournament that first or second was the "expected" finish for the wallabies



link to deluded ceo

Deluded is being too kind.

embee wrote:I'm sure I heard Castle say before the tournament that first or second was the "expected" finish for the wallabies



link to deluded ceo

Talk about someone being promoted to two or three levels above their competence. She might have been OK in charge of NZ netball but she presided over chaos at the NRL Bulldogs and it's been a shit show at the ARU since she's been in charge.

The ARU has been a basket case for years.  Throwing the token in was never going to help except to deflect blame from the old guard and I'm not absolutely sure that wasn't the reason for the hire.

Hell of a game going on between Japan and Scotland.