Rugby World Cup 2015


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What a memorable match, loved it ! Second best after I watched the Springboks beat the All Blacks in the historic Johannesburg match with Nelson Mandela attending. Smoked a Salomones watching it at

Please tell me everyone just saw japan upset the bokkes! holy F*ck what a match although i will say the springs looked lazy and looked like all they had to do was showup wow just wow

Time we started talking about this! Thoughts, people? Other than "Scotland to win", obviously....

I was planning a trip back to UK to catch the semi's. Everything sorted out then the bottom fell out of the mining industry in Oz.

Hard the justify the cost of a small car to watch two games of rugby.

Plan B

I'm now buying lottery tickets using the England scores in the last RWC as my numbers......

I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers

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Interesting article in today's Times newspaper:

Australia have the most scope to improve

Just a short walk from the Sydney Cricket Ground in an open piece of park, a large group of large men are playing rugby. Their playing field, a stretch of ground called the Kippax, is not fenced off. There is no security of note. Pretty much anyone can wander up and watch if they choose. If they do, the squad they watch are the Wallabies.

This column comes to you from beside the Kippax, where we are endeavouring to find out why the Australians manage to come over so damned relaxed. Their rivals for the World Cup have shown a preference for training behind closed doors. These Wallabies even let the international media in for a look.

They have no right to appear so chilled out. And not just because they are in that infernal World Cup pool A with England and Wales. The fact is that no other contenders have problems on the scale that these Wallabies are attempting to overcome. No one else has a reverse gear in the scrum quite like the Wallabies. No one else is still bogged down in such selection vacillation, all the way from scrum half to inside centre. And to top it all, the Wallabies have found a new hole that needs plugging — they require an 80 per cent goalkicker.

The last thing you would think they need, then, is a Bledisloe Cup fixture against the All Blacks on Saturday. Here on the side of the pitch, the media are not slow to remind them that Australia have not lifted that piece of silverware since 2002. The day’s newspapers also bring the reminder that Richie McCaw and Dan Carter will be popping in for the game on what has been dubbed their “send-off tour” and neither wants to be leaving Australia for the last time on the defeated side.

Once training is done, Michael Cheika, the Wallabies coach, does a breezy job of dismissing all that Kiwi hype. He is still quite new to the job, he explained, so because he had never been on the receiving end of an All Blacks’ defeat, he was not interested in any self-defeatist garbage about their invincibility. “That is all just history,” he said, nonchalantly. He has been persuading his men to think that way too. He may as well say: “Just get over it.”

However, there is an alternative perspective on this Australia side: the very fact that they have genuine issues that need to be solved asks the question: “What if they succeed?”

With all the other leading nations (except for France, the eternal exceptions) it is pretty much known where they are and what they will bring to the table. They all have a capacity to grow at the World Cup, but only by taking small steps.

This is certainly not the case for Australia. There are clear, identifiable areas for them to take big strides. What, for instance, if Bernard Foley regains his calm under pressure over the kicking tee? What will they be like when the selectors do finally settle? What if their front row does better at limiting the damage? More than any other team, between now and the World Cup, Australia have the potential to stretch.

Will they fulfil that potential? There are clues at the Kippax. They are a happy squad. They swear by (and fear) Cheika. They know that they have come a long way from the turmoil of 2014, when Ewen McKenzie, then their coach, had to deny an alleged affair with the Wallabies’ business manager. The squad already feel they are on a roll.

Interestingly, too, throughout the Super Rugby season, Cheika introduced “mornings after”, a concept where, after derby games between two Aussie teams, he would fly in the rest of the squad and they would spend half a day together. They would not even throw a ball around; it was entirely World Cup planning.

Team culture is a concept so old and accepted in pro sports, it seems extraordinary that the Wallabies had never done it, but they now have a document that answers questions such as: who are we? What do we stand for? What are our values? Ask any of them and they will swear it has made them stronger.

It is now for them to prove as much — and Saturday against the All Blacks would be a fine time to do so.

Here, at pitchside of the Kippax, people are asking: who is going to go through from pool A? If pushed, I say very marginally England and Australia ahead of Wales. But Australia need to stretch. And we do not know yet if they will.

● For those concerned that the England camp is led by a regime often described as “headmasterly”, happy news emerges from the recent England camp in Denver. Stuart Lancaster, the head coach, has been strong on discipline, which is good up until the point where players may have felt marshalled like schoolkids. The good news, though, is that, in Denver, the squad were allowed a night out. A proper old-fashioned night on the beer. There was even a players’ tour court. Lancaster trusted them to go. And, given the absence of damaging evidence of previous years — dwarves thrown or incriminating photos taken — they appeared to have repaid that trust. This may be just a tale of a few beers and a few sore heads. Alternatively, if it is an indication of broader trust and responsibility being handed to the players, it bodes well for the coming three months.

Sexton is foundation on which all Ireland’s hopes rest

Jonny Sexton, the Ireland No 10, by my reckoning, is the world’s most valuable player. Here is why. We are now into the proper World Cup countdown. The European programme of “warm-up” internationals starts on Saturday, which means five weekends of international rugby. Therefore the fortunes of those with potential to win the World Cup hang partly on performance gains in those matches and quite heavily on how many key players they lose to injury. The All Blacks, for example, are already without Aaron Cruden and Waisake Naholo, but have such strength in depth they have barely checked their stride.

Seven nations could conceivably be called contenders (the southern three plus England, Ireland, Wales and France). OK, maybe that’s being generous to France, but here is the question: if you were forced to remove a single player from each of those, which edifice would topple, like a Jenga tower?

Richie McCaw is massive to the All Blacks and they would be significantly weakened, but I do not think there would be a collapse without him. Ditto, Kieran Read and Aaron Smith. Three hookers in the global game happen to be essential to their nation’s prospects: Stephen Moore, of Australia (because he is captain and a figurehead), Bismarck du Plessis, of South Africa (because he is outstanding) and England’s Tom Youngs (because there is no Dylan Hartley). Wales would be wounded without Jamie Roberts or Alun Wyn Jones, but not mortally.

However, there is no foundation stone to a single team quite as crucial as Sexton. Remove him and Ireland’s Jenga tower topples.

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Congrats to the Aussies! Perfect timing in the run-up to the World Cup. Great result against the All-Blacks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/33834620

And One for the record books for Argentina, with a great first victory over the Springboks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/33838013

Two results that were unexpected. If the Wallabies beat the All Blacks at Eden Park, Auckland next Saturday that will truly be a result to savour as it hasn't been done since 1986. In the meantime, it was nice to enjoy the first Australian win over New Zealand in a Rugby test since 2011! lol3.gif

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Have put a little bit of coin earlier in the year on Ireland for the WC at 14's for an outright win.

Big money on an Ireland v New Zealand final....

Ireland vs New Zealand Rugby Test results...played 28 times for New Zealand winning 27 times with one draw (in 1973). The last test in 2013 was a 24-22 win to the All Blacks. The Irish have had some tough luck quarter-final losses in previous World Cups. It would be nice to see them overcome these previous results.

Incidentally, the latest world rankings sees Ireland at 2nd, their highest ever, although they are only 0.05 points ahead of Australia in 3rd.

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Interesting article in today's Times newspaper:

Australia have the most scope to improve

Just a short walk from the Sydney Cricket Ground in an open piece of park, a large group of large men are playing rugby. Their playing field, a stretch of ground called the Kippax, is not fenced off. There is no security of note. Pretty much anyone can wander up and watch if they choose. If they do, the squad they watch are the Wallabies.

This column comes to you from beside the Kippax, where we are endeavouring to find out why the Australians manage to come over so damned relaxed. Their rivals for the World Cup have shown a preference for training behind closed doors. These Wallabies even let the international media in for a look.

They have no right to appear so chilled out. And not just because they are in that infernal World Cup pool A with England and Wales. The fact is that no other contenders have problems on the scale that these Wallabies are attempting to overcome. No one else has a reverse gear in the scrum quite like the Wallabies. No one else is still bogged down in such selection vacillation, all the way from scrum half to inside centre. And to top it all, the Wallabies have found a new hole that needs plugging — they require an 80 per cent goalkicker.

The last thing you would think they need, then, is a Bledisloe Cup fixture against the All Blacks on Saturday. Here on the side of the pitch, the media are not slow to remind them that Australia have not lifted that piece of silverware since 2002. The day’s newspapers also bring the reminder that Richie McCaw and Dan Carter will be popping in for the game on what has been dubbed their “send-off tour” and neither wants to be leaving Australia for the last time on the defeated side.

Once training is done, Michael Cheika, the Wallabies coach, does a breezy job of dismissing all that Kiwi hype. He is still quite new to the job, he explained, so because he had never been on the receiving end of an All Blacks’ defeat, he was not interested in any self-defeatist garbage about their invincibility. “That is all just history,” he said, nonchalantly. He has been persuading his men to think that way too. He may as well say: “Just get over it.”

However, there is an alternative perspective on this Australia side: the very fact that they have genuine issues that need to be solved asks the question: “What if they succeed?”

With all the other leading nations (except for France, the eternal exceptions) it is pretty much known where they are and what they will bring to the table. They all have a capacity to grow at the World Cup, but only by taking small steps.

This is certainly not the case for Australia. There are clear, identifiable areas for them to take big strides. What, for instance, if Bernard Foley regains his calm under pressure over the kicking tee? What will they be like when the selectors do finally settle? What if their front row does better at limiting the damage? More than any other team, between now and the World Cup, Australia have the potential to stretch.

Will they fulfil that potential? There are clues at the Kippax. They are a happy squad. They swear by (and fear) Cheika. They know that they have come a long way from the turmoil of 2014, when Ewen McKenzie, then their coach, had to deny an alleged affair with the Wallabies’ business manager. The squad already feel they are on a roll.

Interestingly, too, throughout the Super Rugby season, Cheika introduced “mornings after”, a concept where, after derby games between two Aussie teams, he would fly in the rest of the squad and they would spend half a day together. They would not even throw a ball around; it was entirely World Cup planning.

Team culture is a concept so old and accepted in pro sports, it seems extraordinary that the Wallabies had never done it, but they now have a document that answers questions such as: who are we? What do we stand for? What are our values? Ask any of them and they will swear it has made them stronger.

It is now for them to prove as much — and Saturday against the All Blacks would be a fine time to do so.

Here, at pitchside of the Kippax, people are asking: who is going to go through from pool A? If pushed, I say very marginally England and Australia ahead of Wales. But Australia need to stretch. And we do not know yet if they will.

● For those concerned that the England camp is led by a regime often described as “headmasterly”, happy news emerges from the recent England camp in Denver. Stuart Lancaster, the head coach, has been strong on discipline, which is good up until the point where players may have felt marshalled like schoolkids. The good news, though, is that, in Denver, the squad were allowed a night out. A proper old-fashioned night on the beer. There was even a players’ tour court. Lancaster trusted them to go. And, given the absence of damaging evidence of previous years — dwarves thrown or incriminating photos taken — they appeared to have repaid that trust. This may be just a tale of a few beers and a few sore heads. Alternatively, if it is an indication of broader trust and responsibility being handed to the players, it bodes well for the coming three months.

Sexton is foundation on which all Ireland’s hopes rest

Jonny Sexton, the Ireland No 10, by my reckoning, is the world’s most valuable player. Here is why. We are now into the proper World Cup countdown. The European programme of “warm-up” internationals starts on Saturday, which means five weekends of international rugby. Therefore the fortunes of those with potential to win the World Cup hang partly on performance gains in those matches and quite heavily on how many key players they lose to injury. The All Blacks, for example, are already without Aaron Cruden and Waisake Naholo, but have such strength in depth they have barely checked their stride.

Seven nations could conceivably be called contenders (the southern three plus England, Ireland, Wales and France). OK, maybe that’s being generous to France, but here is the question: if you were forced to remove a single player from each of those, which edifice would topple, like a Jenga tower?

Richie McCaw is massive to the All Blacks and they would be significantly weakened, but I do not think there would be a collapse without him. Ditto, Kieran Read and Aaron Smith. Three hookers in the global game happen to be essential to their nation’s prospects: Stephen Moore, of Australia (because he is captain and a figurehead), Bismarck du Plessis, of South Africa (because he is outstanding) and England’s Tom Youngs (because there is no Dylan Hartley). Wales would be wounded without Jamie Roberts or Alun Wyn Jones, but not mortally.

However, there is no foundation stone to a single team quite as crucial as Sexton. Remove him and Ireland’s Jenga tower topples.

for what it is worth, alan kippax is a distant cousin of mine.

a contemporary of bradman, most famous for sharing in the highest ever 10th wicket partnership (first class cricket, i believe) - a record that is one of the very longest in cricket. played for nsw - the partnership was something just over 300. i think it was on christmas day nearly 90 years ago. nsw were 9-100ish, chasing near 400. kippax finished over 250 not out.

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Interesting article in today's Times newspaper:

Australia have the most scope to improve

Just a short walk from the Sydney Cricket Ground in an open piece of park, a large group of large men are playing rugby. Their playing field, a stretch of ground called the Kippax, is not fenced off. There is no security of note. Pretty much anyone can wander up and watch if they choose. If they do, the squad they watch are the Wallabies.

This column comes to you from beside the Kippax, where we are endeavouring to find out why the Australians manage to come over so damned relaxed. Their rivals for the World Cup have shown a preference for training behind closed doors. These Wallabies even let the international media in for a look.

They have no right to appear so chilled out. And not just because they are in that infernal World Cup pool A with England and Wales. The fact is that no other contenders have problems on the scale that these Wallabies are attempting to overcome. No one else has a reverse gear in the scrum quite like the Wallabies. No one else is still bogged down in such selection vacillation, all the way from scrum half to inside centre. And to top it all, the Wallabies have found a new hole that needs plugging — they require an 80 per cent goalkicker.

The last thing you would think they need, then, is a Bledisloe Cup fixture against the All Blacks on Saturday. Here on the side of the pitch, the media are not slow to remind them that Australia have not lifted that piece of silverware since 2002. The day’s newspapers also bring the reminder that Richie McCaw and Dan Carter will be popping in for the game on what has been dubbed their “send-off tour” and neither wants to be leaving Australia for the last time on the defeated side.

Once training is done, Michael Cheika, the Wallabies coach, does a breezy job of dismissing all that Kiwi hype. He is still quite new to the job, he explained, so because he had never been on the receiving end of an All Blacks’ defeat, he was not interested in any self-defeatist garbage about their invincibility. “That is all just history,” he said, nonchalantly. He has been persuading his men to think that way too. He may as well say: “Just get over it.”

However, there is an alternative perspective on this Australia side: the very fact that they have genuine issues that need to be solved asks the question: “What if they succeed?”

With all the other leading nations (except for France, the eternal exceptions) it is pretty much known where they are and what they will bring to the table. They all have a capacity to grow at the World Cup, but only by taking small steps.

This is certainly not the case for Australia. There are clear, identifiable areas for them to take big strides. What, for instance, if Bernard Foley regains his calm under pressure over the kicking tee? What will they be like when the selectors do finally settle? What if their front row does better at limiting the damage? More than any other team, between now and the World Cup, Australia have the potential to stretch.

Will they fulfil that potential? There are clues at the Kippax. They are a happy squad. They swear by (and fear) Cheika. They know that they have come a long way from the turmoil of 2014, when Ewen McKenzie, then their coach, had to deny an alleged affair with the Wallabies’ business manager. The squad already feel they are on a roll.

Interestingly, too, throughout the Super Rugby season, Cheika introduced “mornings after”, a concept where, after derby games between two Aussie teams, he would fly in the rest of the squad and they would spend half a day together. They would not even throw a ball around; it was entirely World Cup planning.

Team culture is a concept so old and accepted in pro sports, it seems extraordinary that the Wallabies had never done it, but they now have a document that answers questions such as: who are we? What do we stand for? What are our values? Ask any of them and they will swear it has made them stronger.

It is now for them to prove as much — and Saturday against the All Blacks would be a fine time to do so.

Here, at pitchside of the Kippax, people are asking: who is going to go through from pool A? If pushed, I say very marginally England and Australia ahead of Wales. But Australia need to stretch. And we do not know yet if they will.

● For those concerned that the England camp is led by a regime often described as “headmasterly”, happy news emerges from the recent England camp in Denver. Stuart Lancaster, the head coach, has been strong on discipline, which is good up until the point where players may have felt marshalled like schoolkids. The good news, though, is that, in Denver, the squad were allowed a night out. A proper old-fashioned night on the beer. There was even a players’ tour court. Lancaster trusted them to go. And, given the absence of damaging evidence of previous years — dwarves thrown or incriminating photos taken — they appeared to have repaid that trust. This may be just a tale of a few beers and a few sore heads. Alternatively, if it is an indication of broader trust and responsibility being handed to the players, it bodes well for the coming three months.

Sexton is foundation on which all Ireland’s hopes rest

Jonny Sexton, the Ireland No 10, by my reckoning, is the world’s most valuable player. Here is why. We are now into the proper World Cup countdown. The European programme of “warm-up” internationals starts on Saturday, which means five weekends of international rugby. Therefore the fortunes of those with potential to win the World Cup hang partly on performance gains in those matches and quite heavily on how many key players they lose to injury. The All Blacks, for example, are already without Aaron Cruden and Waisake Naholo, but have such strength in depth they have barely checked their stride.

Seven nations could conceivably be called contenders (the southern three plus England, Ireland, Wales and France). OK, maybe that’s being generous to France, but here is the question: if you were forced to remove a single player from each of those, which edifice would topple, like a Jenga tower?

Richie McCaw is massive to the All Blacks and they would be significantly weakened, but I do not think there would be a collapse without him. Ditto, Kieran Read and Aaron Smith. Three hookers in the global game happen to be essential to their nation’s prospects: Stephen Moore, of Australia (because he is captain and a figurehead), Bismarck du Plessis, of South Africa (because he is outstanding) and England’s Tom Youngs (because there is no Dylan Hartley). Wales would be wounded without Jamie Roberts or Alun Wyn Jones, but not mortally.

However, there is no foundation stone to a single team quite as crucial as Sexton. Remove him and Ireland’s Jenga tower topples.

for what it is worth, correct re a kicker. we need improvement. but anyone watching would not be too worried about our scrum. outplayed nz. and dan carter has been dropped for the return game, i believe. still be very tough to beat nz at eden park.

our massive weakness is that chieka seems to have a blind spot at half, fly half. phibbs is truly the worst international player ever to pull on boots. atrocious. foley is usually solid but simply not good enough.

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for what it is worth, correct re a kicker. we need improvement. but anyone watching would not be too worried about our scrum. outplayed nz. and dan carter has been dropped for the return game, i believe. still be very tough to beat nz at eden park.

our massive weakness is that chieka seems to have a blind spot at half, fly half. phibbs is truly the worst international player ever to pull on boots. atrocious. foley is usually solid but simply not good enough.

Finally saw the highlights. Two lovely bits of skill from Ashley-Cooper and Kepu - lovely to see a prop do a sidestep! Nice to see Carter top 1500 - incredible achievement.

Thought White had a great game when he came - well worth a start, I reckon.

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I can't help feeling that Wallabies win over the All Blacks is a bit like NSWs over Qld in the Origin. Yes they won, but will likely get smashed next week when NZ is in revenge mode..

A fear I think we all have.

Yet....and it is a big YET....if we beat them or run them close (should they play at their best) then the Wallabies are back.

If for the second week in a row our pack beats them or achieves parity...there will be no blowout. That is a start.

I like the fact that in Slipper, Moore, Hooper, Pocock, Fardy we have five players in the pack who would run for a starting spot in the best six sides in the world. Outside of NZ, we have perhaps the best bench in World rugby.

It has been a long time since we have seen a light at the end of he tunnel that wasn't an oncoming train.

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Have put a little bit of coin earlier in the year on Ireland for the WC at 14's for an outright win.

Does this mean that your loyal Irish customers will share in your success if we do it.....just a few sticks each ?

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I wonder if Cheika really believes Quade Cooper can deliver this weekend, or is he using Cooper as a sacrificial lamb to finally end his Wallabies career? Seems like Cheika's already conceded the game and just using it for experimentation?

I like the move from a coaching perspective.

Cheika must believe that the pack will achieve parity allowing Cooper room. He has played behind a beaten wallaby pack most of the time he has started.

If that is the case (parity) then it is up to Cooper. He can play his way in or out of a Wallaby WC squad without any whinging. No real downside. If he has a shocker then I suspect Gitteau will come in to show he can run the backline. if Cooper fires then the Wallabies have another piece of artillery to start or come off the bench.

No lose situation.

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