Rugby World Cup 2011

[Bk21]

my prediction for quarters>

New Zealand

South Africa

Wales

France

Check, check, check and check

 

[foobar75]

bk21, you are quite correct. The Ireland win over Australia changed everything and now we basically have a European vs Southern Hemisphere bracket, all the way to the championship.

The potential All-Blacks vs Springboks semifinal is actually worthy of a final, so we have some incredible possibilities. Can you imagine if France turns things around and we have France vs NZ in the final? That would be quite something, the All-Blacks facing their long-time nemesis for the World Cup!

I found out that there are several bars near my home which will be showing the quarter final matches live, so that's where I'll be this weekend. :smiley:

 

[frederic38]

thanks for the video bk21

i don't really like morgan parra....and yachvili
maybe it's one of the reason why we are bad (in the video, noves says that our kicks were bad)

 

[Bk21]

Rules of Rugby for dummies, and everybody else..

[video=youtube;TkkgcF3BSNk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkkgcF3BSNk&hd=1[/video]

 

[foobar75]

The first two quarter-finals weren't great, but the deserving teams moved on.

Wales and Ireland have both played well in this year's Cup, but I've always figured the Welsh to be the darkhorse team of the tournament, and their victory now means they have a chance to do something big.

France played a solid first half, and then held on in the 2nd half to win against England. It wasn't a particularly great game by the Les Bleues, as England shot themselves in the foot with numerous missed chances and penalties, and France took advantage. France vs Wales should be a good one next week.

Looking forward to tonight's games, particularly the Springboks vs the Wallabies. I think South Africa should take this one, and setup an incredible semi-final with the All-Blacks next week. Yes, I fully expect NZ to defeat Argentina in the other quarter-final.

 

[Highlander]

The first two quarter-finals weren't great, but the deserving teams moved on.

Wales and Ireland have both played well in this year's Cup, but I've always figured the Welsh to be the darkhorse team of the tournament, and their victory now means they have a chance to do something big.

France played a solid first half, and then held on in the 2nd half to win against England. It wasn't a particularly great game by the Les Bleues, as England shot themselves in the foot with numerous missed chances and penalties, and France took advantage. France vs Wales should be a good one next week.

Looking forward to tonight's games, particularly the Springboks vs the Wallabies. I think South Africa should take this one, and setup an incredible semi-final with the All-Blacks next week. Yes, I fully expect NZ to defeat Argentina in the other quarter-final.

I'm glad France has made it this far as their national rugby team offers a stark contrast and alternative to "France's" "National" Football team and a shot-in-the-arm for the (real) French people. I'm pulling for them.

 

[frederic38]

I'm glad France has made it this far as their national rugby team offers a stark contrast and alternative to "France's" "National" Football team and a shot-in-the-arm for the (real) French people. I'm pulling for them.

i loved the beautiful try by vincent clerc, who comes from the same city as me!

 

[backrow]

France did well with pretty much all white squad outside of Thierry. They can definitely move past Wales, but it's still All Blacks tournament to lose, unless Aussies can surprise.

good to see one representative of the old continent in the final, continuing recent years' tradition.

 

[Bk21]

Actually I found the first two halves quite thrilling, Wales vs Ireland was a great game, Wales deserve their place in semis, as for France.. well it's a real resurrection, didn't expect them to be that good, especially in the first half.. the second was clearly for England, but they managed to test their defensive abilities, which will serve them for the rest of the tournament

 

[frederic38]

Actually I found the first two halves quite thrilling, Wales vs Ireland was a great game, Wales deserve their place in semis, as for France.. well it's a real resurrection, didn't expect them to be that good, especially in the first half.. the second was clearly for England, but they managed to test their defensive abilities, which will serve them for the rest of the tournament

it was enjoyable, and a breath of fresh air after france-albania (in soccer)
but they need to improve their conversions (transformations en francais)

 

[Matra2]

The Springboks should've had a penalty right in front of the posts due to a blatant hand in the ruck near the end of the first half. Nevertheless they totally dominated the Wallabies yet somehow failed to win. The Wallabies got lucky but they won't win against NZ unless they show some offensive capability.

I think Ireland messed up their match through their stubborn refusal to go for three points on several penalties early in the first half - right after Wales scored.

 

[foobar75]

The SA-AUS match had to be the most thrilling 11-9 rugby match I have ever seen. The Springboks indeed dominated in every aspect but could not take advantage of some opportunities to get a couple of tries and put the match away. I'm sad to see them lose because this was the last game for two of my favorite players, Victor Matfield and John Smit, and also quite possibly the last WC game for superman Schalk Burger. Matfield and Burger played outstanding rubgy, but it wasn't enough.

On the other hand, I'm starting to really dislike Australia, and especially Quade Cooper. I really hope the All-Blacks destroy them next week.

Speaking of All-Blacks, they keep pushing and eventually broke down the Pumas defense, which held strong for the first 60 minutes. I think Argentina will continue to get better as a team and by 2015, we'll have 4 legit Southern Hemisphere teams, especially with their inclusion in the Tri-Nations.

Wales vs France should be another outstanding match, and since both sides are almost entirely White, I will just sit back and enjoy the match. From a drama perspective, a NZ-France final will be the best, with the All-Blacks facing their long-time nemesis for a chance to win the World Cup! I can't wait for the next 2 weeks!

 

[Bk21]

@fred38 yes Yachvilli isn't in great shape, but Parra isn't better.. we still lack a good striker like Elissalde, Yachvilli missed 4 out of 6 shots!

@foobar75 totally agree for a NZ-Fr final, but Wales are almost as good as NZ (I said almost ) they are really pleasant to watch, and they will be a tough opponent to pass

As for Argentina, they were great in 2007, and they still great 2011, I wonder how the rugby culture got there because, it's the only south american country who practice this game

 

[Matra2]

I wonder how the rugby culture got there because, it's the only south american country who practice this game

It's also played in Uruguay - they made it to the 1999 World Cup - but maybe that country is too small. There has always been a small but very influential Anglo-Saxon population in Argentina. Virtually all of them moved to Argentina after rugby became popular in Britain and many were industrialists and big landowners - historically rugby union has been associated with Britain's upper class. I believe they brought rugby to the country.

As for Argentina getting better I don't see it happening. A few years ago they asked to join the Six Nations offering to play their 'home' games in Spain to avoid transatlantic travel but they were rejected. This was after the Tri-Nations countries also rejected Argentina. AFAIK there are no plans to allow Argentina into either tournament. For me that means their progress will stall. They may even go backwards without regular matches against the main powers of the sport.

 

[frederic38]

It's also played in Uruguay - they made it to the 1999 World Cup - but maybe that country is too small. There has always been a small but very influential Anglo-Saxon population in Argentina. Virtually all of them moved to Argentina after rugby became popular in Britain and many were industrialists and big landowners - historically rugby union has been associated with Britain's upper class. I believe they brought rugby to the country.

rugby is really for the upper class in argentina
you can see also that a lot of the rugby players from there are students, and speak english (unlike tevez for example)
for example contepomi is physician

also, a lot of players and a lot of argentinians have ancestry from south-west of france, and the basque country, where rugby has always been very popular (ledesma, ayerza, bustos, leguizamon, lalanne...)

 

[Bk21]

@Matra2 actually Argentina is accepted in the Tri nations starting from 2012.. they have a good team and they managed to contain NZ in the first half..
The Argentinian players are for the most of them highly educated, they are called the pharmacist team because a lot of them do pharmacy, they even have a Baryton!

http://translate.google.fr/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ladepeche.fr%2Farticle%2F2011%2F06%2F02%2F1096509-quand-un-pilier-de-rugby-fait-l-ouverture.html&act=url

 

[Matra2]

@Matra2 actually Argentina is accepted in the Tri nations starting from 2012..

Looks like I'm behind the times. I'm surprised none of the commentators mentioned this during Argentina's WC matches.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/22/sports/rugby/22iht-rugby22.html?pagewanted=all

 

[Bk21]

A lot of Springboks players are from french protestant descent, some families emigrating there since the 17th century, here's a portfolio about 15 boks players and the history of their origins:

http://translate.google.fr/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lequipemag.fr%2FEquipeMag%2FReportages%2FPORTFOLIO_ces-boks-au-nom-francais.html&act=url

 

[frederic38]

A lot of Springboks players are from french protestant descent, some families emigrating there since the 17th century, here's a portfolio about 15 boks player and the history of their origins:

http://translate.google.fr/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lequipemag.fr%2FEquipeMag%2FReportages%2FPORTFOLIO_ces-boks-au-nom-francais.html&act=url

funny how they changed the way to spell their names, i had no idea some of these names were of french origin

 

[foobar75]

Thanks for sharing this info, I had no idea! I figured most the Springboks are of Afrikaans (dutch) heritage.

 

[Matra2]

Earlier I said:

The Springboks should've had a penalty right in front of the posts due to a blatant hand in the ruck near the end of the first half.

Now it looks like the Kiwi referee who allowed this to happen may quit:

Already vilified by many in the media and Springbok fans at large, the knife was further twisted by South African referees manager André Watson, himself formerly a Test referee, who said he was dumbfounded by the New Zealander’s performance in Wellington on Sunday.
South Africans have accused Lawrence of getting several key decision horribly wrong, and particularly of failing to rein in Wallaby openside flanker David Po**** from illegally spoiling the Springboks’ ball and flow...

...A Facebook petition launched immediately after the South Africa-Australia match on Sunday, calling on the Kiwi to never again be given a match, had more than 55,000 members by Tuesday and was still growing at pace.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ru...South-Africa-and-Australia-quarter-final.html

 

[Matra2]

foobar75

Thanks for sharing this info, I had no idea! I figured most the Springboks are of Afrikaans (dutch) heritage.​

Afrikaners are a mixture of Dutch, German, and French Protestants. They formed a nation fairly early on in their settlement of SA based on Protestantism, a Dutch-derived language, and with the French Huguenots playing a disproportionate role (mostly skilled craftman; they also started important wine industry). The non-Afrikaner whites of British descent, known as Uitlanders, came along much later. It's a shame the Mother countries of the Afrikaners not only refused to support them but actively supported the take-over of SA by the black Xhosa tribe who are now oppressing all the whites in the country. They may even face an attempted genocide:

http://mangans.blogspot.com/2011/09/genocide-watch-upgrades-south-africa.html

 

[Bk21]

It's a shame the Mother countries of the Afrikaners not only refused to support them but actively supported the take-over of SA by the black Xhosa tribe who are now oppressing all the whites in the country.

what do you mean by that, and to which events are you referring to? I know so little about SA, and we do not listen politically about it here in France either good or bad

 

[Matra2]

When blacks were discriminated against (ie Apartheid) Britain, France, the Netherlands, etc, used political, economic, and cultural influence to try to force South African whites to give up control of their country. Now that whites are suffering they'tr more than happy to have normal relations with SA. See my link in the above post or the one below:

http://afrikaner-genocide-achives.blogspot.com/

 

[Bk21]

9-8 for France, but what a shame!
From the beginning I thought that Wales has a chance to win the cup, and today's match must be frustrating for these brave Red Devils! with one lesser player they had the dominated all the way, and (like against SA) their failure to score made them lose this game!

a NZ-Fr is in sight, and France has to play like last week to have a slight chance of winning