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I suppose a thread on this should be started around now as the build up gathers pace

To kick off ( sorry ) can anyone tell me if this is a pure sendup about a nonexistent advertising campaign or whether the campaign was seriously contemplated? - whichever it is quite funny though

http://sport.iafrica.com/news/747164.html

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When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him

HA HA if I have lots of sex in the leadup to the world cup does that show my support for the all blacks to loose?

Ill run this one by the wife LOL.

The Australian team has been named today.

Wallabies squad:

Backs - Kurtley Beale, James O'Connor, Drew Mitchell, Digby Ioane, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Rob Horne, Pat McCabe, Anthony Faingaa, Berrick Barnes, Quade Cooper, Nick Phipps, Luke Burgess, Will Genia.

Forwards - Ben McCalman, Radike Samo, Wycliff Palu, David Pocock, Rocky Elsom, Scott Higginbotham, James Horwill (capt), Rob Simmons, Nathan Sharpe, Dan Vickerman, Ben Alexander, Sekope Kepu, James Slipper, Salesi Ma'afu, Stephen Moore, Saia Faingaa, Tatafu Polota-Nau.

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They left out my mate Lachlan Turner. He can play virtually any position in the backs (best at wing or fullback though). At wing he's the fastest there is as was proven when he ran against all comers from Rugby, AFL and League and beat them all.

He would have been a good standby at the very least.

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Tony

This sort of thing seems to be symptomatic of what Aussie sport is going through at the moment - strange Management decisions - your cricket does seem to be in turmoil at the boardroom level.And as far as Rugby is concerned England are even worse.Johnson seems to have a completely blind and misguided loyalty to past their best players and his coaching staff don't have a clue

South Africa are in the hands of a man who is quite simply a fool

IMO the only 2 teams with a chance of lifting the cup are NZ and France ( who are probably worth a small bet ).Australia do have an outside chance but will have to lift their game

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When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him

Just had a closer look at this - Giteau????

Is he injured or is there another problem??

And Elsom no longer captain?

You guys think Deans might be going a bit too far?

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When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him

Deans does originate from across the pond

ivqii wrote:

Just had a closer look at this - Giteau????
Is he injured or is there another problem??
And Elsom no longer captain?
You guys think Deans might be going a bit too far?

It is not surprising that Giteau will not be at the world cup but he is unlucky. I have not been a solid fan of his for some time but his efforts in this years Brumbies home games were the best for several years and of a very high standard. I think the fact that all his coaches could not decide whether he was an inside centre or a fly-half did not help his cause.

On the other hand, all but two of the selected inside and outside backs have successfully been used in almost every position and that does not seem to have affected their chances.

While the decision to name Horwill as captain came as a bit of a shock, on reflection it seems to have merit. I must admit to some bias here as the positives of Elsom as captain have never been obvious to me. However, the basis of the decision would seem to be Howill's very successful season as the Reds captain and the lack of recent football by Elsom. I thought that Elsom was only in the larger squad because he was captain but Deans says his place is safe.

Deans has just had his contract extended for two years so the powers-that-be think he is doing something right. There are quite a few possibles who could be in the team and the pack would be very different if injuries had not left their toll. I am not sure that our results would be greatly different if a different coach was in charge.

As far as the cup is concerned I would have to favour the Kiwis to win. Having said that, I have no idea who they might meet in the final. I will not write off the Aussies and the previously successful countries like England and South Africa should also make the finals.

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I was looking at the various odds for NZ or Aust.winning and all the others.

If you fancy a bet on Namibia winning you can get 5001:1 about it

NZ are favourites (obviously) with Aust. second.

The quinella is better odds than a straight out bet on NZ and the best trifecta is (naturally) NZ/Aust/S.A. but the payout is commensurately poor value.

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Tony

Tony - I think a wiser bet would be Shergar for next year's Grand National

Richard

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When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him

Interestingly the two teams who have a history of imploding at the vital moment.

Oz and SA are never going to be far away and I think England will come together at the right time.

So, for me the semi-finals are 4 from those 5, and possibly a surprise from Argentina who will be very tricky to play against as they were last time round.

Gavin, you seem to have forgotten about Scotland!

Scotland will probably beat England, lose to Argentina, draw with Romania, then the referree will award a penalty try to Georgia to knock us out of the competition. Our game is so 'up and down' 'hot and cold' or just plain 'messed up' I wouldn't be surprised if we went to South Africa by mistake and spent a week wondering why we were the only team there

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It's good to shoot the breeze with like-minded people.

Get yourself down to the bookies and get a few Won on that right now...

They're off

NZ look comfortable against Tonga -a very physical side
29 -3 at halftime

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When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him

They don't exactly look like world-beaters now, though, do they?

Gavin

No they don't but there is an element of cruising there I think

I still fancy them and France

Richard

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When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him

The Tongans would eat the English for breakfast and not even miss a beat ...

England 13 - 9 Argentina

England (in Black!!) extremely lucky to win this match.
Wilkinson kicking at 20%

They don't exactly look like world-beaters either, do they?

Nope - but England are never going to win this - like SA they have the wrong guy in charge

Interesting about the kicking - the permanent roof have anything to do with it do you think?

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When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him

I think we all knew that England - Argentina was going to be a tight match and we'll settle for that result.

Key thing is it's one win down and six to go.

And why should anyone get so excited about another team choosing to wear black shirts?

I still say that by the end Egland will have over-achieved and New Zealand will have under-achieved. Again.

Egland! Thats a good name for the wannabes with the pink pansy on their black shirts! It fits, because the Poms only play Rugby so that they get to shower with the boys!!

However, and I mean this in the game sense. na muinin an bearla!

Huanga.

The England/Argentina game was very disappointing. I expected the English team to be well ahead by half time and win by a reasonable margin.

Yet I see the same thing happening with a number of World Cup games so far.

Just watching the Australia/Italy game right now and no tries in the first half just 6 all at half time via penalties. I expected us to be ahead by a minimum of 12 points by half time.

After the break we've scored 3 quick tries so far so it's 25-6 right now

I bet Robbie Deans had a WORD or two with the team in the break, don't you.

This is the real Australian team playing now

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Tony

Huanga I am getting sick and tired of your really nasty anti-England sentiments

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When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him

1) No-one down here is excited about Egland wearing black ... I can assure you Gavin!
2) Typical borrrrriiiing Egland result ... a win ... but not very exciting to watch.
3) Agree with your end analysis about Egland by the end of the WC. But we expect better from the ABs. Time will tell.
4) Wallabies looked very impressive in the 2nd 40 and will be tough to beat - as usual.
5) So long as an exciting Southern Hemisphere side wins the WC I'll be happy.

Best of the Northern Hemisphere sides to watch so far ------ JAPAN!
Plenty of guts and determination and exciting too.

SA V Wales about to kick off - Should be a good game.

South Africa 17 d Wales 16.

And yes, I watched it, and it was a good game.

Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

South Africa 17 - 16 Wales

SA very lucky to get away with that one. Wales gallant in defeat and look good.

Pool D - The Pool of Death - is setting itself up for a tense struggle to sort out the two top qualifiers.

Unlucky Wales.

SA need to pick up their game.

A great game - SA very very lucky winners but both sides played well

The Welsh back 3 gave the best total loose forward display that I can remember in almost 60 years of watching rugby

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When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him

Err ... rough guess here ... No wind maybe! The ball goes exactly where you kick it

Since when do Wales have Tongans playing for them? Come to think of it ... Egland have a Samoan player!!

The world's gone mad

Harsh Huanga, very harsh.

There may be a team where all members are born in the country they represent, but I very much doubt it.

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Well I appreciate the sarcasm

But there isn't the same marked effect at eg the Millenium

Maybe there is eg a different air pressure in a permanently enclosed stadium - I dunno

But Wilkinson and Contepomi would normally never miss that number of relatively easy kicks

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When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him

I had to laugh at ex-Wallaby great Peter Fitzsimmons' front page article in yesterdays Sydney Morning Herald.

He quoted Oscar wilde who said:

"I acknowledge that Rugby is not without it's redeeming features. It's a good occasion for keeping 30 bullies far from the centre of the city"

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Tony

Always good for a laugh is Peter Fitzsimons ... never short of something to say.
A bit harsh saying that about the Wallaby WC Squad though!

I'm not sure whether this counts as xenophobic, homophobic or both.

BUT I am sure it has no place on a thread about Rugby. No more, please

Anyhow, back to the Rugby - we've seen all the major contenders play on this opening weekend, and I think the results are pretty inconclusive so far.

France looked good in the end to despatch a typically tough Japan in some style where on some previous occasions they would have lost their cool.

And Australia impressed in the second half against Italy after a tentative opening period. Enough in that 40 minutes to stand out as the best team so far for me.

New Zealand did enough to win comfortably against a strong but not particularly skillful Tonga - but not as comfortably as many (I suspect including many in NZ) would have expected and hoped. That expectation is going to weigh heavily as the challenges get stronger.

England (with the "n" from now on!!!) did well to come through what was always going to be a tough game against Argentina, and should be happy enough with the result. On the other hand, Argentina will be disappointed to have not come away with the win, and more so with the injuries to a couple of key players which will surely affect their strategy for the rest of the competition.

South Africa will be worried at how they allowed Wales to dominate large parts of the game, but ultimately relieved to get the narrowest of wins. Wales can take heart from the way they played, but ultimately will have to rue a chance missed.

And Ireland will surely not be happy with a lacklustre performance against a fairly mediocre USA.

A stylish Australia against a gritty England in the final, anybody?

That would be a dream result for most on these boards!! but a lot of water to flow under the bridge yet.

You forgot to mention Scotland in your summation of part 1. Was that a full strength Scottish side? A 10 point win over Romania was not exactly convincing, was it?

Wales looked very good, and of the home nations would have to be a major threat.

The Samoa V Wales match is looking to be a very important game already in Pool D.

Hopefully Henry (NZ) can decide on his top 15 soon as we don't seem to have settled on it yet. Don't count them out yet, especially at home.

Agreed, Australia look good and if NZ don't win it, I'll settle for Oz.

Possibly some sort of effect due to the building design / air pressures resultant. Maybe the ball?

During the NZ Provincial Championship, just completed immediately prior to the WC starting, the kickers didn't seem to have as many problems as the aforementioned kickers. Seems odd though as Wilkinson is normally more reliable than last Saturday night.

Argentina didnt seem to have a try in them so would have needed their kicker to be on target.

Gavin-h. Not xenophobic, I do have some English friends and there has even been times, [Infrequent of course.] that I have even cheered England on.
Homophobic. Not that either, as I said there have been times I have even cheered England on!

However, I take your second point. Lets stick to rugby and look forward to an All Black win.

Huanga.

One major thing to remember is that whatever the game, a home advantage can be huge, particularly as you get to the finals stage.

I'd say at least a converted try advantage to any home team, possibly more

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Tony

Year - Previous Hosts - Previous Winners - Runners-up - Final Score

1987 - NZ/Aus - New Zealand - France - 29 - 9 Home Side Win
1991 - England - Australia - England - 12 - 6 Home Side runners-up
1995 - Sth Africa - Sth Africa - New Zealand - 15 -12 Home Side Win
1999 - Wales - Australia - France - 35 - 12
2003 - Australia - England - Australia - 20 - 17 Home Side runners-up
2007 - France - Sth Africa - England - 15 - 6 Home Side semi-finalists
2011 - New Zealand - ? - ? - ?

New Zealand have been in the final 2 times - Won 1 Lost 1
Australia have been in the final 3 times - Won 2 Lost 1
England have been in the final 3 times - Won 1 lost 2
Sth Africa have been in the final 2 times - Won 2 Lost 0
France has been in the final 2 times - Won 0 Lost 2

Northern Hemisphere 1
Southern Hemisphere 5

The only way that Australia can meet England in the final is if one of them finishes second in their group and ends up on the other side of the draw. Otherwise, they're scheduled to meet in the semi-final.

I think New Zealanders wanted Wales to win last night, not least for the fact that if the Springboks finished second in their group, then they would have a quarter-final against Australia.

We aren't worried by the Boks, we are (as any sane rugby team would be) worried about playing the K1W1's at home

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Tony

Todays Games :

Pool D Samoa - Namibia 14.30 nzt
Pool A Tonga - Canada 17.00 nzt
Pool B Scotland - Georgia 19.30 nzt

Can Scotland put on a better perfomance than their last game against Romania?

Samoa 49 - 12 Namibia

A very strong, physical game by the Samoans. All round Samoa looking pretty impressive against a weaker side. Namibia scored two good tries though showing plenty of courage.

Predictable result really. Fiji earlier beating Namibia 49 - 25.

Canada 25 - 20 Tonga

A good game between two evenly matched sides.

Canada (in Black) witheld a spirited Tongan side going into the game with some confidence.
This should put paid to Tongas chances in this years World Cup, but for Canada a chance to do well in coming games against Wales and Samoa.

I see the Wales Samoa match as crucial to this pool.

Scotland 15 - 6 Georgia

A dour match played in greasy conditions. No tries.

Hard to see Scotland progressing out of this pool unless they can up their game and tip over Argentina or England.

Poor result for the Scots in conditions which should have really favoured them

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When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him

One match only scheduled for today :

Pool C Russia V USA 19.30 nzt

Being played at New Plymouth - home of the Taranaki provincial side - this match is being dubbed 'The Cold War'. I don't know much about the Russian side but this promises to be an entertaining match-up. Probable USA victory, but who knows.

Dave

USA 13 - 6 Russia

An entertaining match played, again, in greasy conditions.

I had not seen Russia play before and was quite impressed with their intensity and passion. The USA deserved their victory having had territorial advantage throughout the game. A good game from two of the lesser, but improving, nations.

Dave

I watched a bit of the "Cold War" game between the US and Russia but was very unimpressed.

A ton of silly mistakes which no doubt comes with the inexperience and low quality coaching of both teams.

If Rugby ever takes off in the US (but that's a big if), the money will follow it and the resultant financial offers for some of the World's better players that are nearing retirement. France have done that with overseas players for their provincial teams.

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Tony