Rugby World Cup 2011 Thread
 

With less than a week to go until the big kick off, I thought this deserved its own thread. Really can't wait for this, and if it's anything like as unpredictable and exciting as 2007, we're in for a hell of a 6 weeks. I love how the groups are set up this year, with Pool A being the only one where it's clear who's going through. From a personal stand point it's great to see Wales hitting some form going into a World Cup for once. I can't see anyone stopping New Zealand this time though. It's been said time and again and they've choked, but on their home turf they'll surely put their World Cup demons to bed.

Pool A:
Canada
France
Japan
New Zealand
Tonga

Pool B:
Argentina
England
Georgia
Romania
Scotland

Pool C:
Australia
Ireland
Italy
Russia
USA

Pool D:
Fiji
Namibia
Samoa
South Africa
Wales

gonna be a huge thread this

though i may post during england games

Shhh. Some of us do actually talk about rugby here!! I remember back in the day there was a RWC 2003 thread and it was huge. WTF happened?!

Also being in America, I got really excited when NBC announced they had the rights to the World Cup. Then they released the schedule of matches and all they're showing is the opening game and then all the USA games :| What a great way to promote the sport over here... :roll:

ITV Player on my laptop in the middle of the night it is for me then.

Rugby World Cup 2011
 

With 2 days to do, I thought it was time to make this thread.
Will anyone else be watching besides me, newstead, and dowunder?
Australia looking strong, South Africa, England and France area always there or there abouts. NZ at home will be tough to beat.
Thoughts on what's about to unfold?

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/home/fi...poolstage.html

Draw for pool stage.

already a thread

The Kiwi can host the thread if he likes, I guess it's rather fitting ;) Someone delete one or merge them or whatever.

you just don't want to be the idiot who created a thread no one cares about. ;)

There'll be plenty of activity once it kicks off trust me ;)

I've actually just checked the schedule finally on itv and seen that there's 4 games in a row in the morning. I'm actually looking forward to it now! Though its a football weekend so how long i stay up for it we shall have to see! lol

Weren't you ragging on rugby last time?
Anyway, All Blacks Tonga tonight, well in 6.5 hours, should be some massive hits!

Can't wait for the opening ceremony and first kick off. 4:30am for me, but well worth it.

Its not an overly exciting sport to me but i do like to watch the world cup if the coverage is good. Dunno if you mean last time by the last rugby thread on here, don't think i was posting in that at all.

Typical All Blacks vs minnow game, boring blow out. Watched the first half before I retired to bed. Fucking ITV online is doing my head in. Awful.

We should finish 2nd in our group, which then means we play South Africa more than likely followed by New Zealand in the semi-finals and Australia again in the final...so that won't be happening.

Bloody Jocks are being taught a lesson by Romania

Wish I had bet on Romania now, I thought they might run them close (Within 20 points).

Romania were awesome. Even Namibia leading Fiji for a bit was awesome. Enjoying the Japan v France game right now, if Japan can keep the ball in hand a bit more then they will do fine.
Game last night was horrible. All Blacks looked like they'd never heard of set piece. Was schoolboy rugby.

Looking forward to England v Argentina tonight, and South Africa v Wales tomorrow should be awesome too. Pretty much gonna watch every game I can.

Holy shit Japan v France. 20mins to go!

There is a rugby world cup!? :p

johnny's lost it lol

Come on you Argies!!!

Come on you Argies!!

streaker :lol:

Good thing i've only just woken up and not caring too much about this score atm :D

"panic" over :D

lucky lucky england!

Hah. That's how England do when they don't have a guaranteed goal kicker. Jonny needs to get his head out of his ass if they hope to go beyond the quarters. Of course they'll just be happy with the opening game win and move on. Horrendous performance by England but such an epic game. Felt like a knock out game already :D Love it.

Awesome full day of games though. Watching the Scotland game with a Scot was hilarious, and loved Japan's spirit, genuinely thought they and Romania could pull it off at one point.

Didn't see the other games but i assume scotland won? Oh i remember seeing that the japan/france score was close at one point...

Gonna go out on a limb and say Italy knock out Ireland on the last day of group games. Haven't been impressed with the Irish this year unless they're holding something big back for the RWC...

Tomorrow's game is huge for Wales. Pretty much decides whether we're going further than the quarter finals or not. Can't wait to find out if we can finally beat those South African bastards after coming so close countless times. Always suspected Gatland's had something up his sleeve for the World Cup and here's the time to see it. The warm up games have gone great and the fitness is incredible, and for once there's some strength in depth with the squad as the bench looks superb. The young guys have delivered and even the ones that lack quality make up for it with their work rate. Quietly confident but nervous as hell. Don't think I can stumoch another agonising loss to them.

Yeah Scotland won but were losing with like 8 minutes left. Japan rattled the fuck out of France, was great to see.

Ha, atleast we weren't the only big team struggling.

This has lightened my mood and given me a nice chuckle :D Doubt any of you will get much of it but what the hell:

<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eE_jofIa5Pk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

just seeing highlights of the scotland game, seems like a classic.

Some of the play in the 6 Nations was great, but inconsistent, looked like it was just waiting to click properly and it did in the last game vs. England. But in the summer series warm-up games it looks like they went backwards rather than forwards, so not holding out much hope. Still, I don't think we'll lose to Italy.

Gutted for David Wallace. I was at that England and that was easily the worst part of a very shit day.

First off a lot of these big Teams will be having opening game jitters.

I think next weekend a lot of bigger teams will do a number on the smaller teams by bigger margins. Also the depth in bigger squads is a lot better and I think a few smaller teams (Romania, Japan) played there finals yesterday. They left it all out on the field and might struggle to match that intensity again.

That said I think cricket scores against smaller nations may be a thing of the past, a lot of the smaller nations have players from Heineken cup, Super 15 etc so there conditioning and professionalism is so much higher than 10 or even 4 years ago when a lot of the smaller teams were at sometimes 90% amateurs playing pros.

Its an awesome progression for the sport.

fucking pissed i can only watch these games on pay per view

or on stream? http://www.vipstand.net or http://myp2p.eu

Italy v Australia on right now, 6-6 at half time. Hope Quade Cooper gets killed.

Depressing!!!

Itsno big deal, only the third bigget sporting event in the world behind olympics and world cup of soccer

Basketball worlds champs?

Commonweatlh games?

That was shite. Next week is going to be horrifying. Really dreadful kicking from Sexton there was the main problem, Ireland started well and should have had the game won early on through penos before opening up with tries. Instead it was well into the second half before the win was secured. Too many silly errors also. One good thing was how good Ferris looked back in the side after a long time out.

Myp2p doesn't work anymore actually, they use a different site now. (or atleast that's the case for me/others)

South Africa 17-16 Wales

Unlucky Wales! Bet you're gutted Team Sheep.

Really wanted the other sheep shaggers to win :(

Plus I love seeing the Saffas get dealt to by anyone.

Can't explain how gutted I am right now. Feel like we'll never beat South Africa again. We dicked all over them and we still lost. Can never seal the deal against any Southern Hemisphere teams. Sickening.

Well, at least you know what it's like to be shafted by Wayne Barnes at the RWC.

Was a bit interesting a video ref wasnt called for the kick in the first half that "Missed"

And lets be honest BC we shafted ourselves at the last RWC. We spent far to long fucking around and not playing rugby against France.

Great effort from Wales. That's something to build on at least.

Nice to see that rampant steroid abuse isn't just limited to wrestling.

/NFL

O2 are sending me 2 breakfast pies and 2 cans of beer because of the rugby. That's the first time I noticed the world cup was even on.

Looking down at the old shrivelled meat and vege are ya champ?

You need to learn that your own interests (looking at other people's penises) and your own problems (tiny penis) are not really any concern of mine.

Anyone would think that you are in denial about both steroid abuse in rugby and your sexuality.

Stephen Jones and Gethin Jenkins back fit and available for Wales. Promising stuff. Glad we got out of yesterday's game unscathed injury wise at least. Looking forward to see how Samoa look on Tuesday. Bit of a come down waiting until next weekend for the big games now :(

Moonax, don't come back to TPWW and ruin this thread. Steroid abuse is rampant in all sports.

Yeah, next round of games start tomorrow. I've been getting withdraws having 2 days of no rugby!

And your point is what? That we should ignore steroids abuse in rugby because it takes place in other sports? That is the kind of obtuse hand washing that would make Pontius Pilatus blush.

'Ruin the thread'? oh dear, your poor little thread, however will it cope with the discussion of doping. My apologies for disrupting your oh so insightful thoughts and comments. I'm sorry I must have missed the meeting to declare you a member of the thought police to tell people what they can and can not discuss.

Aussies have suffered a pretty serious blow with Digby Ioane breaking his hand vs Italy.
He might be out the whole RWC, and they will certainly miss his attacking skills.
Looks like Drew Mitchell could be an option to replace him after coming back from his terrible ankle disclocation/broken leg.

Ioane will come back if they make the semis, I would bet on it. He will tape it up and go for it if he can catch.

I see the English lock got a 2 week suspension too, good job, was a pretty dirty slide.

Yeah it was nasty, and he hit that centre pretty late as well.
I can see it being reduced to 1 week on appeal, but something needed to happen.

Canda 25-20 tonga :eek: 5mins left

CANADA WIN!!

Just woken up and glanced at the scores. Looks like a good win for Canada and a good performance by Georgia, running Scotland close like they did Ireland 4 years ago. Fair play.

Posted this in the 'Lesser known players who are loved by your city' thread back in May, and he pops up with Wales' first World Cup try on Sunday :D I was talking to him on Facebook last week and nothing fazes the guy, he was always so shy and quiet, and he was never that keen on rugby. Sunday mornings our coach would go banging on his door to wake him up. His dad just sat him down when he was 17 and said he could go far in rugby, trained him up and got him fit as hell and here he is. Great story.

He's also signed a 2 year contract for the Dragons since I posted that :cool:

Good win for Ireland. :)

Holy shit, what a win. So glad to see Australia lose, and Ireland win for that matter.

First ever time Ireland have beat Austrailia in a world cup.

Great performance, I think with Ferris, O'Brien and Heaslip together in the back row I'd fancy Ireland to take the game to anyone but all the forwards were immense. It would have been a more comfortable victory but for Sexton again having trouble with kicking at goal. The backs haven't really hit top gear yet so if we can get them playing with a bit of fluidity, cut out the handling errors then it will be very interesting indeed. I think Wales will be delighted with this result but at the same time I'd much rather face Wales than South Africa for a place in the semis.

Just woke up in my gross motel in Georgia to this. What a result! Amazing. Where on earth did that come from after the two teams' form coming into it?! That's what makes the World Cup special, so gutted I missed it. Never count out the Irish. Delighted with this now, what a difference a week makes, almost makes the South Africa defeat for Wales a blessing in disguise. Much more comfortable playing the Irish than the Australians in the quarters. Although I'm thinking ahead, must take care of business and bury our demons tonight once and for all first.

Ireland still have to beat Italy as well, which I wouldn't take for granted. It's exactly the sort of game Ireland could balls up due to the pressure of expectation. But it's really interesting how the knock-outs could be effectively split into northern and southern hemispheres.

Jesus Christ that was exhausting to watch. Such an ugly game but fuck it, tonight was all about getting the W and we got it. We didn't concede a single second half point which showed a lot for our character if you ask me, we just lack the cutting edge in opposition territory. Cost us last week and almost cost us this week. Maybe a good run out against Namibia will help us out. For now I'm just delighted we've overcome our Samoan World Cup demons and we're moving on.

I see we beat georgia comfortably. Hopefully all those media cunts making a big deal out of the night out they had will eat their words and shut the fuck up now.

Capello locks England players away. THEY COMPLAIN.

Johnson lets England players out. THEY COMPLAIN.

Can't win. It's interesting how they both have entirely different strategies.

France v Canada is an awesome game. Hope Canada get up!

I want to watch the Rugby World Cup. How do I do it

Missed this game but looks like i didnt miss much.

Epic Canadian beards, eh

NBC are showing some but nothing much. You're better off searching for streams or something.

Be interesting to see who starts at Fullback for the ABs, I'm picking Dagg but part of me wants to see Mills get 2 starts to bring up his 100.

The Argies should smash Scotland I think. Fiji Samoa will be a matter of who puts more glue on there mitts.

Abs should do the job against France, I say that with no arrogance, theres just nothing riding on this game really. So we will demolish them I think. If we meet them in the Final I wouldnt be so confident.

Also how amazing would it be for a France NZ Final, say what you will about all the Teams NZ has history with but you would be hard pressed to say we have a lack of history with France. A World cup final we win, they bundled us out of World cup twice (I think?) and when theres nothing on the line we seem to demolish them.

Its compelling stuff.

And lets not forget the Wallabies are so unpredictable, the Boks are the English of the southern hemisphere, and ya cant trust the Poms to lie down and die.

What a rant, im so engrossed... COMPELLING!!!!

I wouldn't say Argentina smashing Scotland is a given. Scotland are a lot better than what they've shown so far. Every tournament they come in with some confidence and expectation and they fall flat. Disappointing that they only get up for test matches or at the end of 6 Nations tournaments when they're only playing for pride by that point. Either way, they'll be up for the England game which should be a cracker. And if they get their heads out their asses they can certainly beat Argentina this weekend.

If the Scots can turn it into a grind then it will be close.

But if the Argies get to chuck it around I reckon 15+ points in it.

They beat Argentina twice in Argentina last Summer, and have claimed wins over Ireland, South Africa and Australia, and a draw against England over the last 2 years, so the ability is clearly there. But then it's Scotland so fuck knows.

I just haven't been convinced by Scotland, or Argentina this world cup, so I'm predicting the game to be shit. At least.
Aussies weren't so convincing vs USA last night, and had 3 pretty serious injuries. Their chances are seriously going down the toilet.
NZ v France tonight, fucking pumped. Crush these motherfuckers.

Oh god this English commentary is making me sick. Fuck off mun, it's a fucking knackered Romania. You'd think they've just won the World Cup. Jesus.

This NZ/France game better be close. Had a shit night so staying up this late better be worth it. Although I've got a feeling it'll be over by half time.

Pretty sure welsh commentary would be exactly the same if it wales and not england doing this. Think you're just bitter mate. :)(love it when people can't take england doing well) Also why would they be anymore knackered than us?

never heard of teams being 'knackered' after 2 games of a world cup before, that's a new one to me.

Well unless you haven't noticed, the top tier teams get at least a week's rest whilst the lesser nations are playing once every like 3-5 days. Granted, this hasn't been the case for Romania, but from what I've read this is a weak Romanian XV, and I fully expected an absolute blow out from England tonight seeing as Romania are not of the same class or fitness, and already played their "cup final" against Scotland in the opener. I just hate ITV's horrendous commentary. Nothing bitter about it. If I start complaining about England beating the likes of New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Ireland, France and Wales, then fine call me bitter ;)

And yes, I get it, it's ITV's job to toss England off, but put a cap on it at some point for goodness sake.

It just seems whenever England do well, people from other countries who naturally 'hate us' always find something to moan about rather than give any credit. Alright i know they're a 'weaker' team but they would've taken us just as seriously as Scotland and we've been 'below par' until then. They can't really blame the schedule though as you pointed out.

I will agree that ITV's commentary is shit. But that should be well known enough not to be wound up by it now. :p

Awesome win, hope we don't have too many injury problems. Both French tries were pretty weak, so not too worried about giving them up.

Was a good game France vs. Aus, ABs looked very strong.

Richie looked pretty emotional getting his 100 test cap, good on him.

Was at a pub for the first half of the England game and everytime the English passed a ball (I shit you not) he would scream out "Nonu who?" Made me want to stab him...

France v Aus?

how drunk are you sting fan?

Gonna call it 50-50 tbh, a lil drunk but typing is ok... well no worse than usual.

Why you ask?

Oh ha ha, just clicked, I put France vs. Aus, obviously France vs. ABs, slip of the keyboard.

Was watching World cup promo with Aus in it as I typed ha ha.

I also missed out the fact that it was asshat in an England jumper calling out "Nonu who?"

Tough night for me it seems.

Finally some classic rugby going on again. Been far too many thrashings for my liking.

Was just thinking how funny it would be if Argentina scored a try now Scotland had a 6 pt lead, and it took barely a minute.:lol: Conversion easily taken.