Reply With QuoteSuperb game played in good spirit so far. Great stuff!
Wouldn't have mattered who won this afternoon. These two teams tonight are in a different universe. Enthralled.
Superb game played in good spirit so far. Great stuff!
I fancy England to smash either of these as long as we go down to 14 and leave Farrell on the coach.....Originally Posted by Ruggertech
🤪🤪🤪🤪
I have the coffee Ryan, it’s time to either wake up or stop drinking 🤪🤪🤪🤪
I do believe Ryan was using the twin themes of irony and humour.
Lolz Ryan, like the cut of your jib.
Not gonna lie. I’m happy Ireland lost. Well done NZ
Just wow!
NZ for the WC on that defensive performance
Well, that's it; only France representing the 6 Nations in the semis.
Great game though. Some awesome performances on both sides, especially the Kiwi no. 7.
I fancy the Boks to beat France which would leave England as the sole NH side in the semis! Hilarious.
Sam Cane MOM today. I thought Barnes favoured Ireland today - harsh 1st yellow and missed some forward Irish passes.
Agreed Sam Cane put in a shift
England are going to win this aren’t they ?
Sexton gobbing off at the end and even telling Andy Farrell to F off. Classy way to end. Knob
Well that was disappointing.
Absolutely zero chance
Wow indeed. More than impressive.
WTF are you talking about
2 stick on yellows and Ireland harshly penalised in the scrums when the dominant force.
Superb game of rugby which neither deserved to lose.
4 top tier nations at the moment: Ireland, NZ, SA and France.
I thought Barnes got all of that match pretty much correct.
And both sides were commendably good.
Going 30 and then 37 phases without a mistake and offence from either side is pretty impressive. That won't happen in many games, the accuracy it requires is immense, from everyone.
The NZ defence was awesome, very few teams can soak up all that.
In terms of the scrum, there was no doubt that Porter was boring in, he told him so but he kept doing it. The replays showed it every time.
Argentina found their feet a little more today, but on that performance, NZ will smoke them next week.
2 more interesting games tomorrow. One for championship potential, the other not.
1st yellow was not a stick on - there was cover behind. The guy with the mullet in the Irish scrum kept pushing sideways in the scrum and he had been warned over and over again. 2nd yellow was a stick on (penalty try).
You need to understand the laws - if it’s a line break then it’s a yellow
If there was no to limited cover it would have been a penalty try which it correctly wasn’t
As an Irish fan, the better team won the game but both yellows were definitely correct
NZ right on the edge in the ruck but that’s brilliant play and exactly how to win big games
Mr. Barnes did a great job coaching Ireland at the scrum & breakdown. He even took Porter's foul-mouthed criticism of his decisions with good grace & no sanction. Porter should either have gone off on a yellow for the same, persistent infringement or for mouthing off. Why Farrell kept him on until about 70 minutes only he can explain. As for the breakdown area, I'm sure someone will count up how many times the ref. allowed Ireland to 'double-dip' & slow down NZ ball before calling out, 'Second man!' or 'Leave it!': that's a penalty offence, isn't it?
As for poor Barnesy: his bromance with Johnny seems destined to remain unrequited.
Re Sexton: club career finishes with him banned for ranting at officials, so he has a rant at Barnes at no-side in his last international. Stay classy, Johnny!
______
Jim.
I know RT. Hence my smileys. It made me chuckle.
Jim
Someone needs to let OF know we have a King not Queen as the monarch.
National Anthems!!!
Jim
My misunderstanding. Enjoy today's games Jim.
No worries at all RT. And I am.
Currie is a lucky boy. C’mon Fiji. Bill Mata my home town player.
Last night we heard how not all head contacts are yellow cards. Mmmm
Curry is a bit of a liability! Can't see him lastng the 80 minutes. Again.
Should’ve been off for high tackle just before Fiji try
Lawes just sh1t himself!
Boy against men!
Jim
Reynal they the best. Certainly helping the charioteers.
Jim
Last edited by Jimmcb; 15th October 2023 at 16:52.
Oops!
Well this is a game!
Fiji showing England’s defence for what it is!
And why are off the ball hits not being applied
Jim
Great match, good for the tournament that we have at least one NH side in the semis.
Hopefully the NH nations that fell short like Ireland, Wales, Scotland etc will be cheering on England in the semis as they will for sure be underdogs.
Fiji were cheated out of this when playing 16 on the field.
Jim
Happy to be wrong about this result.
I doubt the opponents will be quaking in their boots.
One thing I will say in England's favour; they do seem to do well at World Cups despite themselves. It isn't the first time I have predicted humiliation and been proved wrong.
The one time they did win it, they looked like potential winners from the outset.
Agreed on all counts UA
The sad thing is England used to be a side I’d pay to watch as it was open, exciting rugby. Now it’s heavy and turgid.
This is the first game in the WC they've played a team of reasonable quality. So let’s see what happens next.
Jim
I don’t think you understand how this rugby supporting thing works Ryan! 😂
It was a good match to watch for a neutral, and good matches are what I want to see, dominated by the players and not refereeing decisions.
England not being heavy and turgid is historically the exception not the rule.
Great performance from England. Farrell and Lawes outstanding, Earls also put a shift in.
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I thought England played pretty well today, right up until they forgot the plan and went into full on panic mode for 5 mins after the first of those late Fiji tries.
Luckily they had enough sense to regroup.
We would have been in trouble but for Earls today, immense performance.
And shame Semi Radradra only played one season like that for Bears, he was also great today.
But next week is another matter for England.
They've progressed, but not enough.
PA system playing We Are The Champions. Have England won the tournament then?
Some *interesting* referee decisions there - even the other officials seemed non-plussed at times. I’m sure Fiji were just getting over their experience against Wales…
England deserved the win but they've managed to get to the semi final without playing any top tier team and even then they struggled. I'm predicting a New Zealand v France final. £100 into the FR if England go any further. Anybody want to disagree and match it?
Probably best to wait and see how many players are still standing after tonight’s match.
Didn't think England were turgid at all today, certainly not by comparison to the Woodward years! It's the world cup not 7s and Fiji are a decent side so credit where it's due after a poor build up to the competition. England will be underdogs in the semi but stranger things have happened....
Don't forget that in their previous game, Fiji lost to Portugal.
Having said that, Fiji previously beat Australia.
So yes, anything can happen. Let's hope that something does.
What game were you watching Nick?
Jim
To save embarrassing themselves and world rugby, based on the first 10 mins, England should concede now and give a walk over to either side that wins tonight.
What a game after 10mins!
Given the All Blacks are highly likely to make the final I'm thinking maybe England should rest much of their 1st XV for the semi against France/Boks to ensure they are fit and rested for the final.
Holy shit, this is some game! Can't see either team keep this up for long, it's totally exhausting.
Yet again England showing the rest of the NH nations how to beat SH opponents in WC knock-out matches.
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