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[Other Sport] Rugby (Union) World Cup Official Thread



Ooh it’s a corner

Well-known member
Aug 28, 2016
5,533
Nr. Coventry
The organisation of the draw was appalling. Ridiculously unbalanced and ludicrous to have planned it so far in advance. There are two strong qfs and two much much weaker ones - it is a shame that the three best teams(NZ, Ireland and France) will not all be in the semis imo
 




SeagullsoverLondon

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Jun 20, 2021
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The organisation of the draw was appalling. Ridiculously unbalanced and ludicrous to have planned it so far in advance. There are two strong qfs and two much much weaker ones - it is a shame that the three best teams(NZ, Ireland and France) will not all be in the semis imo
The 4 best teams in QF are playing each other. South Africa are much better than England, Wales, Fiji and Argentina.
 


Brovion

In my defence, I was left unsupervised.
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Jul 6, 2003
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The draw was made back in 2020. I took a look at the rankings in October 2022 and all four of the nations you mention were at the top and would have avoided each other.

The same happened in 2015 when England, Wales and Australia ended up in the same group. Eddie Jones was Japan coach at the time and said it was a travesty that England had gone out and also pointed out that pre-tournament rankings suggested they were three of best nations.

It really needs looking at. England and Wales cruising to the semi-final over two from the top half is just silly. That said, nothing is a given at the business end and we shouldn't underestimate Fiji or Argentina. I'm looking forward to next week.

I love rugby over tribal affiliation and if Fiji play a good game then the best of luck to them.
Yeah, all true, but football world cups don't seem to suffer quite so badly, and if a 'weak' team reaches a QF it's usually because they have managed to knock out one of the favourites. In this WC it is undeniably true that with Ireland v NZ a good team will be knocked out, and with England v Fiji a weak team will get through.

I'll be supporting England, but like you though I'm not going to shed too many tears if Fiji win. Could be a mercy-killing for us, and at least we've done better than Australia!
 


keaton

Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
Nov 18, 2004
9,972
It's a bit of miserable way to look at 4 exciting,hard to call quarter finals.
 






wehatepalace

Limbs
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Apr 27, 2004
7,332
Pease Pottage
I actually think we’ll reach the final by playing incredibly boring predictable rugby and by the very skin of our teeth.
We’ll ride our luck a bit too far though and get hammered in the final, I just hope it’s not another northern hemisphere team to give us that hammering.
 


Ali_rrr

Well-known member
Feb 4, 2011
2,848
Utrecht, NL
Thought the actual organisation of this tournament (not the administration of it) has been brilliant by the way. Been to a couple of matches and have been mightily impressed.


Think the semis is a good run if we can get past Fiji.
 
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Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,952
Surrey
I'm a bit underwhelmed by some things in this tournament.

Five team pools is dumb. It gives the teams playing last an unfair advantage as they know what they have to do. And as has been said before, the quarter final draw is an absolute mess. The tournament is all being played in one half of the draw. Stupid.
 




Iggle Piggle

Well-known member
Sep 3, 2010
5,952
I did enjoy this article about the lack of Provence Rose in Marseille for the rugger. She'd have had a fit being on that stairwell for 3 hours.


I like the way the tournament has panned out in a way because at least all 4 Qtr finals should be interesting and all of them could go either way. This does mean the semi's will probably be one sided of course but that's just about better than watching another 4 one sided games after more or less a month of it.
 




Eeyore

Colonel Hee-Haw of Queen's Park
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Apr 5, 2014
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Portugal should have ended with 2 wins, but a win and a draw is still good.

Is it time to replace Italy/have a promotion relegation in the 6 nations?
Yes, although Georgia would likely be the strongest candidate. They should have been playing at a higher level some time ago.

Rugby is Georgia's national sport.
 
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The Mole

Well-known member
Feb 20, 2004
1,365
Bowdon actually , Cheshire
I'm a bit underwhelmed by some things in this tournament.

Five team pools is dumb. It gives the teams playing last an unfair advantage as they know what they have to do. And as has been said before, the quarter final draw is an absolute mess. The tournament is all being played in one half of the draw. Stupid.
Unless the team playing last has already qualified and can have an extra week to recover from their last game
 


Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
57,284
Back in Sussex
I'm a bit underwhelmed by some things in this tournament.

Five team pools is dumb. It gives the teams playing last an unfair advantage as they know what they have to do. And as has been said before, the quarter final draw is an absolute mess. The tournament is all being played in one half of the draw. Stupid.

And it's just not a sport which lends itself to a World Cup format.

The gaps between games, entirely understandable given the physical demands on the players, mean there's just no real flow to it. I really enjoyed the first weekend, but have struggled to keep up with it since, and I have no idea when the quarter-finals are being played.
 


Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,952
Surrey
And it's just not a sport which lends itself to a World Cup format.

The gaps between games, entirely understandable given the physical demands on the players, mean there's just no real flow to it. I really enjoyed the first weekend, but have struggled to keep up with it since, and I have no idea when the quarter-finals are being played.
I know what you mean but think it's debatable. The lack of flow has been caused by a few things. There was one point when France had played 3 games while several others had only played one! That means too many teams aren't involved when they should be, and vice versa.

This should have been a 24 team, 4 teams per group tournament if the sport wanted to expand the tournament beyond 16 teams. Not ideal but better than this five team group mess.
 




Gwylan

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
31,827
Uffern
Yes, although Georgia would likely be the strongest candidate. They should have been playing at a higher level some time ago.

Rugby is Georgia's national sport.
I'd love to see Georgia in the 6N. I'd be heading for Tbilisi for Wales' first game there - what a trip. Leaves Marseille in the shade
 


Questions

Habitual User
Oct 18, 2006
25,504
Worthing
Yes, although Georgia would likely be the strongest candidate. They should have been playing at a higher level some time ago.

Rugby is Georgia's national sport.
What has happened to Romania ?
 
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Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,952
Surrey
What had happened to Romania ?
A lack of investment in the game since the iron curtain came down? A shame though, a strong Romania would have been a good addition to the European rugby landscape, especially as Italy has made such a feeble job of kicking on.
 


Gwylan

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
31,827
Uffern
What had happened tobRomania ?
Rugby was a pretty major sport under Ceaucescu but when he and his missus were shot, it wasn't deemed a high priority and the sport died a death. It's only recently been revived.

It's a reminder of the power politicians can have on a sport: rugby was quite a big sport in pre-Hitler Germany and then he came to power and thought it wasn't German enough. It's only in the last decade that it's been revived over there
 




Questions

Habitual User
Oct 18, 2006
25,504
Worthing
Romania had some good players …
 


SeagullsoverLondon

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Jun 20, 2021
3,870
I know what you mean but think it's debatable. The lack of flow has been caused by a few things. There was one point when France had played 3 games while several others had only played one! That means too many teams aren't involved when they should be, and vice versa.

This should have been a 24 team, 4 teams per group tournament if the sport wanted to expand the tournament beyond 16 teams. Not ideal but better than this five team group mess.
Agreed - I know they want to expand the sport, but it does no favours to anyone to see 90-0 matches - they become glorified training sessions for the top teams.

16 teams is the max needed, the strength in depth is not good enough.

I suppose 5 teams has given the big teams 1 week off over the 5 weeks so far, and at least one week to give players another rest by playing their B team. But it has done nothing keep people watching over the past few weeks. Probably only 3 or 4 "meaningful" games in total so far (and one of those was the opener)

Having said that it will come alive this weekend if Ireland beat the All Blacks and France beat South Africa.
 


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