RWC Semi finals

[Tashy_Man]

Well what can I say........WELL DONE ENGLAND !!!!

I can tell you, you have never heard a welshman shout and scream so much when that drop goal went over........It will be repeated only one more time at next weeks final....after that England suck again !!!

Well done.....now come on the Argies !!!!

Crack on...........DT_Xtremez_09:

 

[I Look Like Kevin Costner]

To all the Welsh and Scottish goaters, thanks

 

[propersplitbrainme]

Good grief. Could almost turn me into a wugger fan after that DT_Xtremez_17:
Our footballers could definately learn a thing or two about determination and bottle from the rugby side though DT_Xtremez_14:

 

[Bitburger]

That was a second Waterloo

 

[Sospan]

To all the Welsh and Scottish goaters, thanks

Our footballers could definately learn a thing or two about determination and bottle from the rugby side though DT_Xtremez_14:

And the poofball fans could.DT_Xtremez_28:

 

[fogducker]

VIVA LA FECKING ENGLAND

 

[busby1971]

Sooo shocked

Sooo Happeeeee

Cumon the Argies

We shouldn't really be at this stage but what the hell lets win the cup

Fans logic we'll win, I said this before it all started, and it is the only opinion I have, until proven otherwise..

 

[Talk Wrench]

We won..............


Again and great to see we fckucked the French off.



I am inToulouse at the mo and the atmos is electric.

TW

 

[I Look Like Kevin Costner]

We won..............


Again and great to see we fckucked the French off.



I am inToulouse at the mo and the atmos is electric.

TW

All those mercenary Airbus boys... I hope the biggest St Georges flag possible is hanging off the wing of the next A380 coming out!!!

 

[cockneyrock]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Now I am no fan of Rugby Union, however, I will support England at anything, RL, RU, Association Football, Commonwealth Games, Chess, Tiddly Winks, Cow pat throwing, Bog Snorkelling etc.

Well done England great to be in the final.

However, what an awful game. I think I counted about 10 periods where the backs, of either side, ran with the ball in hand in the second half. Don't get me wrong, a win is a win, but that was possibly the worst "game of rugby" I have ever sat through. Granted it had its excitement but it wasn't rugby. I thought that "William Web Elise" revolutionised the game of football by picking up the ball and running with it?! (OK in know that is a myth but run with me). Unfortunately, World Cup Rugby does no favours for Rugby Union. World Cups are all about winning; flair and spectacle doesn't get a look in. It is all about knuckling down for the win; a task that England took on and excelled at. However, watch club RU and you might enjoy the game, but when it is win at all cost, England will look to the forwards to perform. The endless monotony of watching forward after forward pick up the ball, take 2 paces forward and fall over (repeat adnorsium) just kills any chance of enjoying Rugby at it’s best. Eventually, they will play for the penalty and watch Johnny kick it over. Now, this tactic is admiral, however, it doesn't really follow the spirit of "William". And to add insult to injury, Brian Ashton, Phil Vickery and even Jason Robinson acknowledged that this was the plan to get France out of the cup during their post match interviews. And look at who they will play in the final, South Africa of Argentina, 2 more countries that are fine exponents of killing the game. At the end of the day, the rules of RU only support league matches.

As I said at the beginning, well done England and good luck in the final, however, anyone see a common trend here between 1966 and our Rugby Team? Namely boring boring England. (Remember the "long ball" tactic?).

Still well done England and good luck in the final, I'll be rooting for you along side the tiddly winks and bog snorkelling team. Thank good I watched Leeds -v- St Helens tonight otherwise I would have lost all faith in spectacular Rugby.

(all spelling, grammar, and garbled statements are due to the bottle of red wine swilling around my stomach)

 

[I Look Like Kevin Costner]

So. You saw two aussie dominated teams play a game that sold out to good old Rupert. I do like RL but it is a very different game to union as Andy f will agree.

Jason Robinson came close to scoring the most spectacular score in RWC history.. But he didn't..

England in the final.

Crack on!!!

 

[rugby then work]

OK it wasn't the most expansive game of rugby ever, but as has already been stated, in a RWC semi a win is a win. Englands achievements in this world cup are made all the better by the terrible build up to and abysmal start they had to this tournament. I'm going to watch the game again in a minute before I make any further comments because I'd had quite a few ciders by 2000 last night after watching Glaws stuff Sale at Kingsholm.

 

[True Blue Jack]

First off: congratulations to England for reaching the final. That hurt to say.

However, that was the most boring 80 minutes of rugby I have seen in nearly 20 years. The end might justify the means but I think Rugby Union's reputation has been damaged by the game plan (on both sides). England were very strong defensively but the key factor was France's peculiar tactic of kicking long and in-field. Territory is important but you can't do anything if you don't have the ball.

 

[I Look Like Kevin Costner]

First off: congratulations to England for reaching the final. That hurt to say.

However, that was the most boring 80 minutes of rugby I have seen in nearly 20 years. The end might justify the means but I think Rugby Union's reputation has been damaged by the game plan (on both sides). England were very strong defensively but the key factor was France's peculiar tactic of kicking long and in-field. Territory is important but you can't do anything if you don't have the ball.

I don't think it was boring for the french or English fans watching it. It was nerve racking.

If it was boring for everybody else.. Sorry. I don't think that the English team really care on the views from upset Celts.

 

[wgaf]

I'd have been able to understand the arguements about boring rugby 10 1/2 years ago when rugby was still amateur. Lets be honest here, rugby union has long since been turned into a money spinning excercise. It really is a win at all costs mentality these days. Bit sick and tired of all the 'Boring England' posts here. IF we do manage to retain the Webb Ellis trophy in 10 or 20 years time no one will remember the style we played, they will remember the fact that England were the first side to retain the trophy.
As an aside, to the league fans who reckon union is too boring, a lot of the reason for that are the defensive techniques and systems bought in from league. I'd played union for the best part of 20 years before I played my 1st game of league and until then I really couldn't see the attraction of watching one team of players crash into another. Both codes have their attractions, but they are still both totally different games, although getting closer all the time. Personally I love to watch and play both codes.

 

[auchtermuchty]

If it was boring, please explain to my partner why it was the most animated she has seen me watching a game of rugby.

It was ugly I'll agree but ask the aussie or kiwi contingent if they would like to be in the final but playing ugly and I bet you'd get plenty of positive replies. Those that berate the style of play adopted by England to win do not understand forward play. Nor do they understand the history of the game.

This may get me a nerd tag but here goes......

There was a time when a try was worth 0 points and it was viewed as just a way to get to the kicking game. which is why in the annals of history you get a lot of 6-3 and 3-0 scorelines. So all England have done is return to a style of play that was deemed essential in the beginning. To say that the fabled W.W.E. was trying to invent an expansive open game is widely off the mark. The game was transformed into this effectively by a tour of Maori's in the first decade of the 1900's to these shores where they played 30-odd games and went home undefeated. (I think it was 1905 and 36 games but I've been drinking and cant be arsed to look it up) They adopted a style which is similar to the way Fiji play 7's and the british defences had no idea how to combat it. Prior to this it wasnt unusual for all team players to be in a ruck kicking seven bells out of each other and hopefully the opposition. The IRB now try to advocate the 'sexy' rugby as it is undoubtedly more TV friendly and therefore revenue inducing.

Personally, I'll take an ugly win in any game. In a RWC semi I'd kill a sibling for a win - and I've only got one!

I defy any country to say they would rather lose pretty than win ugly.

As for the RL grand final - should we pole the St. Helens fans and see if they would like history rewritten but they will win ugly? Again I think there would be a lot of 'As long as we win' type answers.

 

[I Look Like Kevin Costner]

England - South Africa it looks like.

While I can't see 36-0 again, England will obviously be the massive underdogs. No team that has lost in a RWC pool game has won it.

 

[auchtermuchty]

No team that has lost in a RWC pool game has won it.

No team has undergone such a massive overhaul during a tournament either.

 

[I Look Like Kevin Costner]

While our forwards will give SA a run for their money, if our backs make any mistakes like the Argies, we will be skinned..
England did not turn up against SA in the pool game.

True the forwards are playing much better, but how many points did they give away to France, due to infringments that were unnecessary...

 

[Albert Park]

What's the point of hand-bagging a decision to the 'video ref' if the mug gets it wrong.

The player threw it down, or dropped it. Either way he didn't place it down.