Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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#3120708 27-Aug-2023 08:23

This is good news. It’s going to be an awesome World Cup. Maybe we will see somebody else win it this year which would be very good for Rugby. I would love to see a team like Fiji or even Japan take the cup.

So far it’s been dominated by South Africa since 1995 winning already 3 out of 7 world cups since they joined the tournament in 1995.

Dingbatt

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#3120710 27-Aug-2023 08:39

Wombat1:
So far it’s been dominated by South Africa since 1995 winning already 3 out of 7 world cups since they joined the tournament in 1995.

Does that include poisoning the opposition?*

I just watched the end of the Ireland vs Samoa match. Samoa gave Ireland an almighty fright. I’m a little disappointed that the obvious professional fouls by Ireland in the final 5 minutes only received penalties (that Samoa squandered).

The downside of the Fiji and Samoa games is the Northern Hemisphere teams have been alerted to the threat. I would rather they have been ambushed at the RWC.

*Sorry, I had to finally rise to your trolling (imo) from the last couple of pages.

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Wombat1

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#3120711 27-Aug-2023 08:50

My point is South Africa has already won 3 world cups since 1995, if they keep playing like they played yesterday it will be another one. Will be good to have somebody else win it than SA, or NZ for that matter.

Dingbatt:

*Sorry, I had to finally rise to your trolling (imo) from the last couple of pages.

What comment of mine were you referring to specifically? Was it when I said the "Springboks pummel the All Blacks"? This is not trolling, thats what happened.

JPNZ

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#3121038 28-Aug-2023 08:25

Dingbatt:

Wombat1:

Malcolm Marx was wiping blood from his brow just after the hit. Barrett came with speed and intention hitting a prone player with his shoulder on the head. Barrett will be cited by the foil play commissioner who will then decide if a suspension is required. It can go either way.

In both the yellow cards for direct contact to the head, neither “victim” (Marx and Cane) was referred for an HIA. I would have thought any impact warranting a yellow card would mean the person receiving the contact should be assessed? After all, the rule is there for player safety and not just so the IRB has a defence against litigation…..

Ive watched the replay about 7 times from all available angles, first contact is Marx shoulder then their is slight head on head contact. No way was it even close to a red card (understandably yellow).

As for the AB's it reminded me of the RWC19 semi vs England. We got out muscled in the forwards and had no answer to the rush defense. Same issues that we have been having for the last 3 years. If you want to take an observant look at it, watch the game and just look at the size of the forwards that came on for SA. NZ just don't have the size and strength that SA forwards do, we continued with a game plan that wasn't working (same again as the semi vs Eng).

After watching France smash Australia this morning, I think the All Blacks should be more concerned about beating Italy rather than France. Italy looked really good in beating Japan yesterday. Could NZ go out in the pool stages? (another unwanted record for Foster) Even if we make it out of the pool we will have to play either SA or Ireland in the quarters and those are the two strongest teams IMO in the competition. I don't think we can beat either of them especially away from home.

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#3121065 28-Aug-2023 09:52

Lock Barrett, who received an automatic red card after two yellows in the first half, faces a nervous wait as he prepares for a judicial hearing on Monday night (NZT). If suspended, it leaves Foster with just two available locks in Sam Whitelock and Tupou Vaa'i.

invisibleman18

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#3121080 28-Aug-2023 10:42

As an England fan I couldn't be looking forward to this tournament less if I tried. I'm not much of a rugby fan anyway, much more football and cricket (looking forward to the latter a bit later this year much more and we actually have a chance in that) but will always watch my team. Looking like a repeat of 2015 not making it out of the group. We'll likely be thrashed by Argentina in the first game. If we do scrape past Japan into 2nd in the group then whoever wins group C (Australia/Wales/Fiji) will be licking their lips at getting the easy quarter final. Thankfully the draw looks like we shouldn't make it far enough to have to play NZ this time so will hopefully be able to avoid all the ribbing and abuse that tends to produce at work etc.

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#3121168 28-Aug-2023 14:00

Upon some time to reflect on our match against SA, I think there are some things to consider.

We never play that well after a decent break.

There aren't many, if any, teams who could have held SA to within 24 points, with 14 men for 60 minutes, and 13 men for 10 minutes. AB's brought that on themselves with some dumb penalties. SA followed Irelands' template for how they started and also targetted a key component of the AB's game, the offload. Take into account some fairly uncharacteristic basic handling errors, like balls dropped cold, and it's pretty hard to get into a game.

The first SA try should have been disallowed and a yellow card for foul play against Etzabeth. He grabbed a defender's legs which caused him to fall over. You could argue that may not have prevented the try, however, it's foul play and that type of behaviour has been subject to yellow cards for cynical play (ala Ritchie McCaw), plenty of times in the past. Even without that, it's tackling a player without the ball. I am not suggesting it would have been the difference, but the referee was pretty free with the whistle, and the TMO got involved plenty of times, and it was shown on the big screen as well.

No doubt the forwards weren't good enough, but I think it should be able to be rectified. We have had a decent forwards platform post Ryan, and he will be steaming mad at a reversal of the progress they have made.

I am really disappointed with the result, the record loss hurts, but it's stuff we have the ability to resolve.

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#3121217 28-Aug-2023 14:11

I am (and my wife, a doctor is also) perplexed at the thought that Lomax will be available any time soon. 30 stitches, an admission the tear (cut) was deep enough to enter the muscle. Best case he could be on Crutches within a fortnight, but contact let alone contact the likes of test rugby is unlikely for 4-6 weeks, and the risk of it ripping open again (and worse), is really high. Surely, it's better to bring in Moody, or someone else and give them as much time with the team as possible.

AB's have good medical staff, and maybe a miracle is possible but.....

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#3121247 28-Aug-2023 15:26

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby-world-cup-2023/132824894/rugby-world-cup-devastated-prop-cian-healy-left-out-of-ireland-squad-with-injury

Colour me surprised that Farrell didn't make one sympathetic comment in relation to Healy.

France pasting Australia wasn't that surprising, but a couple of comments. Tupou is a bit of a liability. So many dumb penalties! He is a monster of a human being, which obviously helps Australias scrum, but at least 4 times I just shook my head with his decisions.

Skelton is really tall, he gives Australia a pretty decent option at lineout, He isn't super mobile for a lock, and not sure about his captaincy yet.

The biggest thing I noticed about France, is something I have lamented about NZ Rugby for years, is the quality of the pass. So many passes are just in front at the correct height, meaning zero loss of momentum when receiving a pass from the inside player. It was really noticeable how many ground they made as a result of that. It's a big factor in just how fast they play. They look compelling, no doubt about it, but far from unbeatable.

Wombat1

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#3121456 28-Aug-2023 23:29

Looks like we have now dropped to 4th place in the world rankings.

https://www.world.rugby/tournaments/rankings/mru

tukapa1

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#3121460 29-Aug-2023 06:22

Scott Barrett cleared to play

All Blacks lock Scott Barrett free to play after red card against Springboks | Stuff.co.nz

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#3121503 29-Aug-2023 10:11

tukapa1:

Scott Barrett cleared to play

All Blacks lock Scott Barrett free to play after red card against Springboks | Stuff.co.nz

He really needs to get his stuff together. He's getting quite the reputation for dangerous play. If that card had been Red Red, then a nice long suspension would have been warranted. I thought he had put this sort of brain-dead behaviour behind him.

Even the concept of having 1 yellow already, should really have made him extra careful, which it didn't. It really hurt us in that match.

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#3121911 30-Aug-2023 14:53

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby-world-cup-2023/300960749/all-blacks-rated-fourthlikeliest-on-data-to-win-2023-rugby-world-cup-in-france

I mean, on the evidence I'd say that seems fairly in line with my own thoughts on our chances. Considering, I'd be pretty happy with any result 3rd or above. I'd be disappointed exiting in the quarters but with our likely opponents being Ireland and South Africa....

Earbanean

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#3121920 30-Aug-2023 15:09

networkn:

I mean, on the evidence I'd say that seems fairly in line with my own thoughts on our chances. Considering, I'd be pretty happy with any result 3rd or above. I'd be disappointed exiting in the quarters but with our likely opponents being Ireland and South Africa....

I think if we can win our quarter-final, then realistically we should be looking at at least second place.

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#3122014 30-Aug-2023 21:37

JPNZ:

After watching France smash Australia this morning, I think the All Blacks should be more concerned about beating Italy rather than France. Italy looked really good in beating Japan yesterday. Could NZ go out in the pool stages? (another unwanted record for Foster) Even if we make it out of the pool we will have to play either SA or Ireland in the quarters and those are the two strongest teams IMO in the competition. I don't think we can beat either of them especially away from home.

Who between Namibia or Uruguay is going to beat NZ in Pool play? I mean, let's not get carried away suggesting nonsense like NZ exiting in the pool stage.

If it's a choice, I'll take SA before Ireland. We have done OK against SA. Yes, we lost to them with quite a margin, but our forwards can compete with theirs, they just didn't. I'll be surprised if that happens twice in a row. Really surprised.

Ireland aren't unbeatable either.

I believe if we can make the Semi's we have an excellent chance of winning, I mean other than the obviousness of that comment, IF we beat France AND either Ireland or SA, then we have the team that can take us all the way.

I believe in some ways, our issue is mental at the moment. We were building some self-belief, finding solutions that allowed us to win under pressure, but it's not as established as AB's teams of the last 15 years. I think we lack that 'edge' and hard nosed never say die attitude that was the Hallmark of Richie McCaws team(s).

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