England v All Blacks

[didds]

The ABs just reminded us how special that England performance was.

John

as my son pointed out to me, Wales conceded more points in 13 minutes against NZ than England did in 80. This with that world class defence.

didds

[vandefrosty]

The inquest in NZ will probably go on for 20 plus years ....2007 is still raw for many people!

2007 was different, AB's were competitive throughout that game. They had the ball for all of the second half and yet were denied by unprecedented (!) French defending and by a couple of 50:50 calls. So this one is still raw for some folks because there is, rightly or wrongly, a sense of grievance.

I don't believe there's any of that about last Saturday's result. From the start, ABs were never really in it. They'd managed to stay close, and finally generated some momentum leading up to their try in the second half. England might have gotten the wobbles at that point, but regained their composure and closed the game out. Fair play to them, and I think most ABs supporters recognise that the better team won on the day.

It also helps in 2019 that the ABs won in 2011 and 2015. A lot of the anguish in 2007 arose from missing out again after disasters in 1999 and 2003, and the inevitable teasing about 'choking' and 'four more years'. Those barbs don't sting so much any more.

Greg

[simoan]

The ABs just reminded us how special that England performance was.

John

Or looking at it another way, how Wales peaked 6 months too soon. I know they reached the semi-final but IMHO they had a pretty average World Cup tbh. However, that's a lot better than Ireland and Scotland managed!

There are signs of some good players coming through for Wales. I thought Patchell had a great game before he went off injured and they have two very good scrum halves. The latter is more than you can say for England...

All the best, Si

[flyer61]

Argh those 50/50 calls.....AB's no penalties awarded for the entire second half....ironically the same referee as today's match.

Yep no arguments from NZ, better team won on the day. Will be interesting to see if they can close it out tomorrow. Beating all 3 southern Hemisphere teams would be some feat and England would be very worthy winners of the cup.

[dionaeamuscipula]

The ABs just reminded us how special that England performance was.

John

as my son pointed out to me, Wales conceded more points in 13 minutes against NZ than England did in 80. This with that world class defence.

didds

Wales have not been that great throughout this World Cup, other than perhaps against Australia. And their record vs the ABs is nearly as bad as Scotland's.

Also for today they were missing:

Anscombe
Faletau
Navidi
Halfpenny
Liam Williams
North
Tomos Francis
Wainwright

All injured.

Against power teams they pretty much always look weak. Yet they only just failed against South Africa.

If SA try to play against England as they did against Wales they will get hammered.

BTW I think the idea of a bronze match is nuts. I really liked someone's idea of having a plate final instead.

DM

[simoan]

The ABs just reminded us how special that England performance was.

John

as my son pointed out to me, Wales conceded more points in 13 minutes against NZ than England did in 80. This with that world class defence.

didds

And we gave them those 7 points with the rugby equivalent of an own goal. If England are going to win tomorrow, they can't afford any shockingly bad line outs like that.

All the best, Si

[simoan]

Also for today they were missing:

Anscombe
Faletau
Navidi
Halfpenny
Liam Williams
North
Tomos Francis
Wainwright

All injured.
DM

To be fair, Anscombe and Faletau weren't even at the RWC. I'm sure all teams can point to players that would be in their team were it not for injuries picked up prior to the tournament. Personally, I think Wales overtrain and that's why two of those missing did hamstrings, and Liam Williams was an ankle injury from training.

All the best, Si

[dionaeamuscipula]

To be fair, Anscombe and Faletau weren't even at the RWC. I'm sure all teams can point to players that would be in their team were it not for injuries picked up prior to the tournament. Personally, I think Wales overtrain and that's why two of those missing did hamstrings, and Liam Williams was an ankle injury from training.

All the best, Si

While that is fair comment, injuries are more of an issue for Wales than most of the Tier 1 nations because of their relatively smaller pool of elite players.

DM

[didds]

injuries are more of an issue for Wales than most of the Tier 1 nations because of their relatively smaller pool of elite players.

DM

yes - but Im sure the scots will be quick to make a comment

didds

[dionaeamuscipula]

injuries are more of an issue for Wales than most of the Tier 1 nations because of their relatively smaller pool of elite players.

DM

yes - but Im sure the scots will be quick to make a comment

didds

Next time we make a RWC semi final I'll be jumping right in there.

DM

[didds]

Next time we make a RWC semi final I'll be jumping right in there.

DM

don't get Gavin Hastings to take a penalty all but slap bang in front of the posts next time...

https://youtu.be/uv7BpYVkeic?t=793