142 - 0 sounds like a really boring game to watch. I didn’t see it.
NZ v Tonga 91 - 7
I wonder what a Tonga v Namibia scoreline would be, just for something to compare.
Two great games yesterday.
Great heads up on the Samoans, Bassman. Man they played brilliantly. Those England players have to be hurting after that. The ref seemed a bit lenient on the Samoan’s putting in the fist. Can’t say I blame him.
HG
If only the Samoan side had been at full strength with all their pro players we may have seen a different score.
Watch out for the Samoan team next time.
Manu Samoa - fa’a Samoa (Team Samoa, the Samoan way)
South Africa better watch out. They could be beaten by Samoa and be out of the tournament. That would see an All Balcks vs Samoa game in the quarters which would be fun. In fact, I’d say if they hadn’t been in the toughest group, Samoa would be in the quarters for sure.
Brian
My hair’s turning white from watching England struggle in turn against South Africa and Samoa. The latter performance was absolutely awful, except for that one magic pass from Wilkie that created the decisive try. I just cannot see us coming off better against any of the big three – on current form, France would beat us narrowly and the teams from down under would demolish us.
I agree with Huang – we just don’t have what it takes to rise to the occasion and triumph on the big stage. There’s a definite character weakness there. Our dearth of any major team-sport trophy since 1966 will not be changed in 2003 – and perhaps not until 2066.
My tip for the final? Australia v. France, if they don’t meet at an earlier stage, with Australia winning it 38-12.
Omni. I’m starting to back England oddly enough. Nothing based on their play, more that I’d like to see them win. They’ve come a long way and I’d hate to see them drop it right now. Failing that . . .
Manu Samoa - fa’a Samoa!
(Cheers for that Bassman. I hope to infest a pub full of South Africans when Samoa play SA and scream that at the top of my lungs)
HG
They can’t meet before that. As long as there’s no mishaps (like NZ loosing to SA or possibly even Samoa in the quarter finals), the semis will be Australia vs New Zealand and England v France.
I’m still predicting a NZ vs England final.
Brian
They can’t meet before that. As long as there’s no mishaps (like NZ losing to SA or possibly even Samoa in the quarter finals), the semis will be Australia vs New Zealand and England v France.
I’m still predicting a NZ vs England final.
Brian[/quote]
Mishap? Maybe, but should the bok tight five play out of their skins, they could just do it.
If Toutai Kefu has anything to do with the results, the Poms could lose some points
[quote]"(They) need to show courage over England’s extra-man scandal and strip the Poms of their points," he wrote in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph.
"It makes no difference that the English sent out Dan Luger at the tail end of the game when the result was already decided. The bottom line is that rules are rules.
"Even worse, England defied a tournament official. That’s the key issue. To suggest nothing should be done is a joke. They should be deducted the points they got from the game and the points handed to Samoa. England have got to take a real good look at themselves. They showed lack of respect for the tournament official and the whole thing just smacks of arrogance.
“But then the English have always been an arrogant race. Go back in history, look at the English army. Who goes to war dressed up in red coats?”[/quote] 
The Welsh could even put one over on us in the quarter-final. Nothing would please them more, and they’ll be going for it as if it were the final. They may well get the better of us if our lads play as disjointedly and handle the ball as sloppily as they did against Samoa.
Samoa were a tougher prospect than Wales. It must be said, though, that Wales were the only team to give England much of a game in this year’s Six Nations, and, like Omni said, they’ll be up for it.
As for Kefu, he’s still miffed that England made him look like a clodhopping amateur (again) back in June.
Though I’d be delighted to be wrong, I expect England to follow time-honored tradition and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory somewhere along the way. My money’s on New Zealand.
The French are shite. Ignore them.
Those words will haunt you.
I’m afraid they looked anything but shite when (apologies to Sandman for having to mention this) they trounced the Scots 51-9. That really prompted me to sit up and take them seriously as contenders in this tournament.
Talk about counting your chickens! On the subject of flanker Richard Hill’s recovery from a hamstring problem (and by God, we need him back in the team), Clive Woodward is quoted on the BBC website as saying: “We don’t want to take risks with him and prefer he is back fully fit for the semi-finals.” I’d rather he didn’t tempt fate with pronouncements like that!
You are probably right. Just une petite trollette. The French certainly do have un pack formidable. They seem a bit lacking at the back though, apart from Michalak. There doesn’t seem to be a Bernat-Salles or N’Tamack (?) that could blaze down the wing in the traditional manner of les Bleus. That new winger, the blond Jonah Lomu or whatever he’s supposed to be, looked dodgy a couple of times against Scotland, a game in which the French were totally in control.
Hard to judge them really, till things start getting really serious next weekend.
How would a less than fully fit Richard Hill be an asset against Wales? He’s a superb player, to be sure, but he’s no spring chicken.
Sorry, I missed your point. Yes, it is a bit presumptuous of Woodward to talk about the semi-final at this stage. That kind of attitude only tends to goad opponents into performing better.
What a game…Go Wales Go! Wales 10-England 3 at the half.
I missed todays games, but it looks like my predictions have worked out so far (not that they were difficult prdictions). NZ vs Aus and France vs England for the semis. It’s goingt o be a tough game for us, but I’m still going for an All Black win next Saturday (I’ll be at the Brass Monkey for that if anyone wants to come down), and an England win on Sunday. Then NZ vs England for the final, and All Blacks for the cup.
Brian
England were awful again, and can consider themselves fortunate to have beaten the Welsh (thanks to Wilkie’s magic boot – he was one of the few members of the team who didn’t let their country down). They’ve been far too jittery and have shown no kind of form at all throughout this tournament so far – there’s no way in the world they could beat any of the other three semi-finalists the way they’re playing. I have no doubt they’ll be pulverized by the Frenchies next Saturday. Of course I’ll watch it, but it’s going to be a painful ordeal.
I stick by my prediction of a France v. Australia final. I’d love it to be England v. N. Zealand, as the All Blacks are far and away the most entertaining of all teams to watch, but I just don’t see the Aussies letting the big prize slip out of their hands on home soil. While France will walk all over England, the other semi-final should be a hell of a tussle and an absolute thriller before the Aussies scrape their way into the final.
You know, being a Vic, I know as much about Rugby as the the Kiwi one day side know about playing cricket (bait, bait), but I’m willing to put $G1K down on the Aussies. Takers?