Canada was the underdog but held a 17-9 lead, particularly a more impressiuve lead when one considers that Canada was amassing a scoreline via tries while the Welsh were relying upon penalty goals.
Well into the 2nd half the boys still had a 17-16 lead when they fell apart. Under pressure in the shadows of their goal posts a bad pass was followed by a shanked kick and suddenly the Welsh were back in the lead. By the time the floodgates had been shut the game was over and instead of pulling an upset victory, we were saddled with an unflattering final scoreline.
A quarter-final placing now seems improbable, to say the least. However, a top 3 placing in the pool is still a good possibility, which would put Canada into the top 12 and secure a place in the next World Cup.
The Springboks were expected to win this match but the final scoreline is a bit of a shock. I know the English fans fear their upcoming game with Samoa, especially after having had so much trouble against the USA. I say the Boks could take it all yet.
Well that result is going to come to bite Ireland in the ass, I can see it now.
If England is discraceful after their performance against the US, what is Ireland after that ****show they just had, with a full-strength side no less. I only pray that was a wake-up call, but that is what the Italy warm-up game should have been.
Well that result is going to come to bite Ireland in the ass, I can see it now.
If England is discraceful after their performance against the US, what is Ireland after that ****show they just had, with a full-strength side no less. I only pray that was a wake-up call, but that is what the Italy warm-up game should have been.
Its ok, we got the WIN.
Argentina took out France which is a bigger shock...
If England is discraceful after their performance against the US, what is Ireland after that ****show they just had, with a full-strength side no less.
Just as bad is what they are. Probably worse.
Three days in, and its already down to three teams as far as I'm concerned.
Italy are masters at performing like crap in the groups of the football world cup and then coming through to win the whole thing.
Only the points matter at the moment.
They missed out on the points. They remarkably failed to secure a bonus point, which condemns them to playing Australia in the quarter finals, and its not 2003 anymore.
Well they probably would have played Australia either way. But the wost part isn't that England failed to stamp any kind of authority on the game against a minnow nation, its that they played like they didn't care. Its an attitude thing more than anything else, which is a problem.
Wow there's a pretty big difference between the Northern and Southern hemisphere teams. I haven't really followed up the NH this year but can someone tell me, are these teams really this bad? or just need a few games to get into it?
England scraping by the US was a bigger surprise than the Arg/Fra game. Pretty sure Arg had beat the French in the last 4 out of 5 games they'd played.
Wow there's a pretty big difference between the Northern and Southern hemisphere teams. I haven't really followed up the NH this year but can someone tell me, are these teams really this bad? or just need a few games to get into it?
England scraping by the US was a bigger surprise than the Arg/Fra game. Pretty sure Arg had beat the French in the last 4 out of 5 games they'd played.
Irish captain Brian O'Driscoll was injured in the match. The score was 27-17 when Ireland scored to make the coreline more flattering. Namibia may have been the lowest rated team in the tournament. There were fears this could be the most on-sided match of the day. Instead, Namibia put up a credible result. Namibia was formerly known as Southwest Africa and their rugby team was once within the fold of South Africa. They did beat Ireland a few years back, shortly after entering the international sporting fray. Thoughts that they could become a middle-power of world rugby quickly faded as they now struggle to even qualify through the relatively weak African qualification pools.
Up next:
Tuesday September 11th
Argentina v Georgia
Wednesday September 12th
USA v Tonga
Japan v Fiji
Italy v Romania
More links:
Turns out Slam! has some nice coverage of the RWC. [CLICK HERE] for a story on Canada's game. And [CLICK HERE] for a list of links to stories on the other matches.
They missed out on the points. They remarkably failed to secure a bonus point, which condemns them to playing Australia in the quarter finals, and its not 2003 anymore.
Well they probably would have played Australia either way. But the wost part isn't that England failed to stamp any kind of authority on the game against a minnow nation, its that they played like they didn't care. Its an attitude thing more than anything else, which is a problem.
Well ireland fell 70 points short of their expected target, these minnows arent laying down for a beating....well not all of them.
Argentina took out France which is a bigger shock...
It's not really a shock.. Argentina have beaten France in 5 of their last 6 games now.
None of the Northern teams are clicking, all of the South ones seem to be in ominous form. Samoa gave South Africa a very tough time but as usual, they could not sustain their turbo charge after 50 minutes.
I know, I was just pointing out the fact that its wrong that a team has no chance of the cup because they didnt win their opening group by 60 points.
The team has no chance because they aren't good enough. Its that simple. I mean you said yourself you didn't even watch the game. Like I said it wasn't just that they won by a small margin and only scored twice, its that their attitude to the game was dismal.
Australia dropped a lot of ball, turned over possession and played with almost no precision and still won by 90. South Africa were under intense pressure from the hard hitting Samoans and won by 50. New Zealand won by 60 against Italy- who have significantly improved and are no longer the pushovers they used to be- without reaching third gear. These three teams haven't played since July, and in South Africa's case they haven't had their best 15 on the field since June. The class difference is apparent, one of these three will win the Webb Ellis.
Fitness levels alone should put the top teams over teams like the USA and Namibia by 40 which is what you saw in the South Africa. Samoa faded as the game went on, and South Africa gradually dominated more and more as a a result. Makes you wonder about the preparation of Ireland and England.
I mean Christ, in Namibia you're talking about a team that lost to Uganda and Kenya.
The Argentines rested 6 starters for this match. In 5-team round-robins teams often have to pick when to rest certain players. They no doubt felt the need to load up for the game against France. The big game for Georgia will be the one against Namibia for the pool's wooden spoon!
Up next:
Wednesday September 12th
USA v Tonga
Japan v Fiji
Italy v Romania
Canada's next game:
CANADA V FIJI
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/2007 @ 6:45 A.M. CDT
[PREVIEW] - The lineups are not yet announced. The page should be updated after the mid-week games are done.
The amazing Tongans are everybody's favourite underdog. But are they ever in need of some decent haircuts! This must have been tough on the USA, having to come back on short rest after having played England. Now the Tongans will be hoping to claim 2 wins in one tournament for the first time when they meet Samoa in a battle of the south seas.
Fiji join Tonga as South Pacific winners win this exciting win over Japan. The Japanese were playing on short rest but fielded a completely different starting line-up from the one with was decimated by Oz on the weekend. Now both must taste defeat at hands of CANADA!
This was a must-win game for Italy after being hammered by the All Blacks. I was hoping for a Romanian upset. As the game showed, they are very close to Italy yet are not allowed in the Six Nations, nor are they provided with a means of qualifying for it.
Up next:
Friday 14th September 2007
England v South Africa
Saturday 15th September 2007
New Zealand v Portugal
Wales v Australia
Ireland v Georgia
Sunday 16th September 2007
Fiji v Canada
Samoa v Tonga
France v Namibia
Canada's next game:
CANADA V FIJI
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/2007 @ 6:45 A.M. CDT on SportsNet and Setanta
[PREVIEW]
Well with a performance like that, England might not be able to get out of the group, especially with Robinson done. If South Africa hadn't let up after their 4th try, one can only imagine the outcome.
But despite England's futility, South Africa had one heck of a game. Their back 3 are just deadly and I'd say that Du Preez (I can't believe he's only 25) may already be better than Kelleher (Pienaar isn't bad either). I'd say the centres are their weak point, Steyn definitely isn't meant to be there but they can afford to experiment in the next couple games.
SA is now my #2 team in this tournament (which is handy because them and Ireland have the same jersey save a couple minor details).
Engerlund's fears of this match were proven right. They barely beat the USA whilst the Boks were squashing the Samoans. The Samoans could conceivably defeat Engerlund. However, they could easily lose their next match vs. Tonga as well.
One thing for sure: This is the World Cup where Europe sucks. The teams from Africa, the Americas, and Asia-Paciific have all met or exceeded expectations thus far.
Code:
Pool A Standings
GP Pts
South Africa 2 9
Tonga 1 4
England 2 4
USA 2 0
Samoa 1 0
Up next:
Saturday 15th September 2007
New Zealand v Portugal
Wales v Australia
Ireland v Georgia
Sunday 16th September 2007
Fiji v Canada
Samoa v Tonga
France v Namibia
Canada's next game:
CANADA V FIJI
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/2007 @ 6:45 A.M. CDT
[PREVIEW]
Gee South Africa are looking sharp, they are looking just as good as the All Blacks at this point. Does anyone know how the play offs system works? are they more likely to come up against NZ or Aus? or neither.
Gee South Africa are looking sharp, they are looking just as good as the All Blacks at this point. Does anyone know how the play offs system works? are they more likely to come up against NZ or Aus? or neither.
Quarter Finals:
1:Winner B vs. Runner-Up A
2:Winner C vs. Runner Up D
3:Winner A vs. Runner Up B
4:Winner D vs. Runner Up C
Semi Finals
Winner 1 vs. Winner 2
Winner 3 vs. Winner 4
South Africa have far and away the easiest road to the final as they will (most likely) play Wales in the QF then any of Ireland, France, Argentina, Italy or Scotland in the semis while NZ and Australia get to battle it out yet again.
Quarter Finals:
1:Winner B vs. Runner-Up A
2:Winner C vs. Runner Up D
3:Winner A vs. Runner Up B
4:Winner D vs. Runner Up C
Semi Finals
Winner 1 vs. Winner 2
Winner 3 vs. Winner 4
South Africa have far and away the easiest road to the final as they will (most likely) play Wales in the QF then any of Ireland, France, Argentina, Italy or Scotland in the semis while NZ and Australia get to battle it out yet again.
That should translate to:
Australia v England/Samoa/Tonga
New Zealand v Argentina/Ireland/France
South Africa v Wales/Fiji/Canada
Argentina/Ireland v Scotland/Italy
CANADA V FIJI
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/2007 @ 6:45 A.M. CDT
The pre-game build-up is picking up. Here are the links:
[RWC: CANADA SQUAD TO FACE FIJI] - Rugby Canada's release.
[PREVIEW] - The offical RWC site. It has lots of good stuff and many links.
[Suggit gets physical] - from RugbyRugby.com. The changes are at lock where, Mike Burak replaces Luke Tait, and at stand-off where Ryan Smith replaces Ander Monro. This is being touted as a sign the Canucks plan to rough up the Fijians.
[Canada aim for triple wins] - Planet Rugby story.
The line-ups are also confirmed, as follows:
CANADA
1 Rod Snow
2 Pat Riordan
3 Jon Thiel
4 Mike Burak
5 Mike James
6 Jamie Cudmore
7 Dave Biddle
8 Sean-Michael Stephen
9 Morgan Williams (c)
10 Ryan Smith
11 James Pritchard
12 Dave Spicer
13 Craig Culpan
14 Dth van der Merwe
15 Mike Pyke
Replacement
16 Aaron Carpenter
17 Dan Pletch
18 Mike Pletch
19 Luke Tait
20 Colin Yukes
21 Ed Fairhurst
22 Ander Monro
England v South Africa: more post-mortem commentary:
This match was significant in that it was the first marquee match-up of the tournament. England won the RWC in 2003 and South Africa in 1995. England have been sinking since their 2003 championship. Their fans feared the worst. That heightened after the USA game. This one confirmed it and the press is all over them.
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CANADA
FIJI
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