Rugby World Cup 2023

A month or so away but squads being named. Not looking great for England, or perhaps Australia, but a lopsided draw seeded way too far in advance (that will see the best four teams in France, Ireland, NZ and SA almost certainly meet each other in two quarter-finals) gives hope to the apparent no-hopers, with Wales, Argentina, Fiji, Japan and Samoa others who could potentially benefit and sneak through to the last four.

Would be good to see a NH team triumph even if it’s probably not going to be us - Borthwick seems to be stuck in the same Eddie Jones mindset of flip-flopping between the old and the new, as a result we’re fielding a side that’s the shadow of the one that nearly went all the way four years ago (I mean, bringing back Danny Care yet again, and the glass-built Billy Vunipola as the only specialist number 8?!) But Ireland always underperform/get a brutal draw at the big one (they’ve never been past the QFs, which is crazy) and France will have the pressure of the home crowds to deal with. So expect it will be NZ or SA, but it is pretty open compared to usual.

I feel like the Wallabies have been crap for almost half of my life. change my mind

Same’s pretty much true of us… since winning the World Cup in 2003, although we’ve reached two further finals (the first one more than a little fortunate), our overall form’s been patchy to say the least. Only one Six Nations Grand Slam and four titles in those 20 years - totals bettered by Ireland, Wales and France in both cases. So fourth-best in the Northern Hemisphere, even if France are the only others to have made a World Cup final.

Nath wrote:I feel like the Wallabies have been crap for almost half of my life.  change my mind

OK.

They’ve always been crap. That’s why they’re playing rugby.

Yarps have left out Pollard, Am and De Jager (all due to injury/illness concerns). Khaleesi makes the cut despite being on the comeback trail from a lengthy absence.

Sounds like the Wobblies have gone the opposite way to us, with a raw and inexperienced squad.

Chances are at least one of us will make the last four, anyway, even if it’s equally plausible that one of us fails to get out of the group.

But at least Eddie is not bitter ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/rugby-union/66536672

PeterCS wrote:But at least Eddie is not bitter ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/rugby-union/66536672

Has he screwed over both teams during this cycle?

Think the Wobblies have the easiest group anyway… Wales look in turmoil though they do tend to over-perform at World Cups, and while Fiji could be dangerous you’d still take beating them for a last eight place.

As for us, Japan, Samoa and Argentina are all banana-skins though losing to two of them would take an impressive amount of craptitude. Scotland have a shot at sending Ireland or the Yarps packing early.

England and Wales continue to plumb the depths, the draw is looking more lopsided by the week. Scotland are perhaps the fifth best team and they’re stuck in the same half as all those above them. Fiji and Argentina for the last four?

At least England won't suffer from inflated expectations ...

Deflated like a spent balloon, more like.

Billy Vunipola being suspended makes a change from him being injured, I suppose. There’s no specialist backup for him in the squad at the moment…

And now a first ever defeat to Fiji. Getting out of the group looks odds-against right now.

Well, a man down for 77 minutes and we still beat Argentina out of sight. Ford channelling his inner Wilkinson with six penalties and three drop goals. Maybe all hope is not lost…

Can't believe how low profile this tournament is in Aust.

JGK wrote:Can't believe how low profile this tournament is in Aust.

As an outsider it seems like it’s always been the “poor relation” oval ball sport in Australia after league and AFL (and soccer is now coming up on the rails as well), though I know things are somewhat regionalised. Not sure if that was the case in the days of Campese, Lynagh and Eales, or just a trend over the last 20 years or so as the Wobblies’ fortunes have generally declined?

Guess the kick-off times in France are a bit shite for you as well… though the Snoozers would probably tune in at any time of night.

It was always the case. Outside NSW and some Brisbane private schools, rugby was always the 5th winter sport in Oz - nationwide - after AFL, league, ‘soccer’ as called in Oz, and hockey. Rugby hasn’t been the pre-eminent code anywhere for st least 50-60 years. It’d be behind women’s soccer and netball as a spectator sport.

Even hockey outranks it? Perhaps surprising the team’s been as successful as it has over the years then, at a global level.

nationwide it would, though rugby would be ahead in NSW and Southern Queensland. WA, Tas, and QLD are especially strong in hockey.

Australia has been a power in world hockey for decades; men's and women's.

lardbucket wrote:nationwide it would, though rugby would be ahead in NSW and Southern Queensland. WA, Tas, and QLD are especially strong in hockey.

Australia has been a power in world hockey for decades; men's and women's.

Yeah, guess it’s just not that high profile a sport globally, aside from the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. We’ve also had our moments in those events but it rarely seems to merit a mention the rest of the time.

JGK wrote:Can't believe how low profile this tournament is in Aust.

paywall and zero promotion.

beamer wrote:

JGK wrote:Can't believe how low profile this tournament is in Aust.

As an outsider it seems like it’s always been the “poor relation” oval ball sport in Australia after league and AFL (and soccer is now coming up on the rails as well), though I know things are somewhat regionalised. Not sure if that was the case in the days of Campese, Lynagh and Eales, or just a trend over the last 20 years or so as the Wobblies’ fortunes have generally declined?

Guess the kick-off times in France are a bit shite for you as well… though the Snoozers would probably tune in at any time of night.

]

In the Eales era, the Wallabies were possible the most highly regarded team in the Country. I went to games at the Olympic stadium with 110,000 people. The 2001 Lions tour was one of the great sporting series.

Now, I could barely name a handful of people in the national side and I don't even know how to watch them if I wanted to.

Paywalling is the worst thing you can do to “minority” sports. If you keep them out of the eye of the general public, how do they build or retain their popularity?

At least international rugby union (World Cups and Six Nations) remain free-to-air here.

Interesting also to look at where the sport sits in different countries. New Zealand and Wales, the national sport, but small populations. England and France, regionalised and sitting well below football (soccer) in terms of popularity at a national level, but still potentially significant playing resources.

Ireland’s the slightly curious one, they have Gaelic football and hurling, and soccer tradition is largely driven by their best players developing in England and Scotland given they have a weak domestic league, so rugby has seemingly filled a niche for top-level international sport there, through the national team and the provinces in the European competitions. Perhaps the nation that’s most benefited from the professional era.

Fiji turn over the Wobblies, who need to beat Wales to stay in the competition…

we suck!