Rugby World Cup 2011 Thread

**Team Sheep** · 10-15-2011, 07:10 AM

Probably in no state to talk about this right now, but here it goes...

Priestland being out hurt us a lot more than I expected. I wasn't too gutted about the injury when I heard about it, because we had two British Lions as substitutes to choose from, and when Hook was selected I was happy in a way because I had more faith in him to kick the vital points needed in knock out rugby. Oh god how wrong was I. I can't get over how big of a howler of a game he had. He was absolutely horrendous, and Stephen Jones, despite trying his best, is past his best, and just couldn't come up with the goods when he came on.

Now, the red card incident. I'm not going to be one of these bitterly annoying fans that says Roland cost us the game, but he sure ruined the spectacle that could have been. Personally (and some may call me biased but whatever) it was a yellow card and no more. I didn't see any malice or intent to drop the fucker on his head, I just think Warburton lost some grip on him mid-tackle more than anything. Anyway, it was always going to be a hell of a challenge from there on out.

The biggest turning point of the game for me though was Adam Jones' injury. The guy was absolutely devastated, not only for himself but for the whole team as he knew what that meant for everyone. It was heartbreaking to see him crying on the bench, for him personally and as a fan.

Everything that could have gone wrong in that first half for Wales happened. Yet despite everything that happened, we lost by one point. The game was there for the taking and we simply didn't turn up. Where was the sheer brutality Wales showed a week ago against Ireland? It was non-existent. We had one real phase of attacking play, and we got a broken tackle and a try out of it. I thought for sure after that we'd take the game to them for the remainder and get another one or two to see it off, yet nothing happened. I honestly can't even remember France attacking once in that game. Yet somehow they are in a World Cup final. I feel disgusted that we lost to this French team. Bottom line is Wales bottled it, and the fears I had last week about freezing in the occasion seemed to become reality this week. The only way I can justify it is that before the tournament I said to myself I'd be over the moon with a semi-final spot for Wales, but to go out like this is just sickening. At least we have a team for the future, and this competition probably came slightly too soon for us (hardly a consolation right now).

For next week, everyone may as well just replay the NZ/France group game. Because that's exactly how it will be. Everything right now just seems so ridiculous.

10-15-2011, 07:10 AM	#21
Team Sheep T�m Defaid Posts: 6,646	Probably in no state to talk about this right now, but here it goes... Priestland being out hurt us a lot more than I expected. I wasn't too gutted about the injury when I heard about it, because we had two British Lions as substitutes to choose from, and when Hook was selected I was happy in a way because I had more faith in him to kick the vital points needed in knock out rugby. Oh god how wrong was I. I can't get over how big of a howler of a game he had. He was absolutely horrendous, and Stephen Jones, despite trying his best, is past his best, and just couldn't come up with the goods when he came on. Now, the red card incident. I'm not going to be one of these bitterly annoying fans that says Roland cost us the game, but he sure ruined the spectacle that could have been. Personally (and some may call me biased but whatever) it was a yellow card and no more. I didn't see any malice or intent to drop the fucker on his head, I just think Warburton lost some grip on him mid-tackle more than anything. Anyway, it was always going to be a hell of a challenge from there on out. The biggest turning point of the game for me though was Adam Jones' injury. The guy was absolutely devastated, not only for himself but for the whole team as he knew what that meant for everyone. It was heartbreaking to see him crying on the bench, for him personally and as a fan. Everything that could have gone wrong in that first half for Wales happened. Yet despite everything that happened, we lost by one point. The game was there for the taking and we simply didn't turn up. Where was the sheer brutality Wales showed a week ago against Ireland? It was non-existent. We had one real phase of attacking play, and we got a broken tackle and a try out of it. I thought for sure after that we'd take the game to them for the remainder and get another one or two to see it off, yet nothing happened. I honestly can't even remember France attacking once in that game. Yet somehow they are in a World Cup final. I feel disgusted that we lost to this French team. Bottom line is Wales bottled it, and the fears I had last week about freezing in the occasion seemed to become reality this week. The only way I can justify it is that before the tournament I said to myself I'd be over the moon with a semi-final spot for Wales, but to go out like this is just sickening. At least we have a team for the future, and this competition probably came slightly too soon for us (hardly a consolation right now). For next week, everyone may as well just replay the NZ/France group game. Because that's exactly how it will be. Everything right now just seems so ridiculous.