Re: Rugby Union
 

You should have watched the Rugby League on Sky. That would have taught the union players a thing or two, 100mph for 80 minutes, great game compared to this :)

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I was going to come on here and larf my butt off, till I realised we've got Australia tomorrow :(

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I actually turned over after England went 10 - 0 down.
Very Poor tactically :(

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Yes very poor indeed. Could it all be a tactic to lure the rest into a false sense of security ?????



LOL

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Yes I'd wait for the result of that match before any gloating ......... ;)

With home advantage in such a key World Cup game Wales have a massive advantage over the likes of England however I don't think England would've beaten SA with the side they had available even at Twickenham. As for Wales, well I can still foresee see a comfortable Aussie win but this is the World Cup and anything can happen.....

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I have a feeling this is going to be a slaughter :(

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Good start for Wales - Larkham is out.

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There truly is a mighty big gulf between the Southern Hemisphere and home nations sides right now. Sadly I know whose rugby I prefer to watch :(

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Well, Wales lost, thanks to giving away valuable ball handling in the first half. They recovered some ground in the second half, but now they will likely have to face SA IF they get through their group stage.

Given what they did to England, and the fact that Wales will face the Burger, I am not looking forard to that encounter.

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Ireland 14-Georgia 10 :confused:

It's all so clear to me now - in the true spirit of kinship the Irish and Welsh have decided to play so badly in order to make their English brothers feel a little better :D

Seriously though - the home nations are not exactly setting the rugby world alight are they?

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Does anyone know what was printed in L'Equipe about Ronan O'Gara?

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Looks like us Scots are gonna make even those efforts look good:(

7-0 already........and if that first kick by Pattersons anything to go by we`re gonna get a hiding

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At least you posted, the other jocks are decidedly quiet tonight. :D

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It`s 10pm and i still dont know the final score...........i turned over and watched the condemned instead.

........:shocked:

It`s actually not as bad as i thought it was gonna be...lol

Re: Rugby Union
 

England 36 - 20 Tonga, in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the game though.

England will have to be better than tonight to have a chance against the Australians.

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Best game they have had so far in the tournament, but the defense was still poor i felt and the Aussies will find it easy if we don't improve.

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Yeah England's best game so far but that's not saying all that much. Will need to do much better to live with Australia next week though.

As for Wales v. Fiji - well what can you say about Fiji? They only know one way to play the game and came out on top. A great win for them and probably Gareth Jenkins' last as Wales coach given such an early exit despite partial home advantage.

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Yes, he said "Judge me on the world cup".

Well Gareth, you have been found wanting, its back to club rugby for you boyo.

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Fiji were superb and we made a game of it but we had a bad start again. Jenkins now says he won't resign...........I don't think he will have a choice. Fiji are not mugs most of them now play abroad in NZ France, England or Wales.They are big fit athletic boys their forwards can run like backs and their backs can act like forwards. Surprised.........not me, who replaces Jenkins? don't know none of the regional coaches stand out and I include Lyn Jones (Ospreys) in that. Foreign coach don't think the WRU will pay out large sums of money for someone to go back home after 3 years. Mike Ruddock.....no WRU would be seen to be making a U turn of massive proportions. I still say he's the best coach we've had in recent years and it was player power that undone him. If there is to be a new coach and you can guarantee the suits are already looking at someone he needs to be in before the start of the 6 nations as I don't think there are any matches in November this year because of the world cup.

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Isn't one of the problems Wales had that they didn't sufficiently adapt their game to counter the strengths of the Fijians in a game they had to win?

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Yup, which is what bayonet meant when he said "Fiji were superb and we made a game of it but we had a bad start again".

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Sorry, my point is that Wales' start wouldn't have been so bad if they'd planned their game properly before the match. Trying to adapt half way through a game is always fraught with danger.

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Our kicking out of hand was and has been for a while abysmal, kick to touch and attack the line out miss touch and these sides will bury you. They are 7s specialists who can counter attack from anywhere. Take the scrum it was a shambles as far as Fiji were concerned did we learn....No. Jenkins said, "Judge me on the world cup." so he should resign but if you were getting his pay packet would you resign?

Why change kickers? either stick with one or the other Dwayne Peel has a half decent game and gets taken off. Mike Phillips, who should have started, comes on and looks the part but like the Jones/Hook debate Jenkins seems unable to admit he was wrong? Regarding changing game plan surely there is enough experience in that team to say "It's not working lads this is what we're going to do." Basically that's down to senior players and the captain

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Just got home after shopping with the present Mrs bayonet, a form of torture almost as bad as watching that game yesterday. Never happy when this happens but I'm surprised at how swift the WRU have acted this time.

So who's next lads Eddie Jones ex Aussie coach or Nick Mallett, he's gone downhill since tha Bombalurina single.

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Yeh, pushed. A brave decision indeed, but with 4 years to the next world cup, and only the top 16 guaranteed to seed, a very brave decision indeed.

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Ireland bow out too - what an anticlimax for that squad. :confused:

Scotland v. Aregentina for a place in the last 4!! Who'd have thought ????..

Don't think you can blame O'Sullivan for their failure though - the players just didn't perform.

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Ireland players have to hold their hands up having just watched the game they didn't perform at all. Argentine fo the final my dark horses have come through the defeat to Wales was a smoke screen they deserved to win that game really.

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Not much of a suprise, Argentina are ranked 4th in the world which is two places above Ireland.

Maybe Scotland qualifying instead of the Italians was a bit of a suprise.

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Yes Ireland was a surprise but my tip Argentina could go all the way who will they get when they beat our friends North of the border.

New Zealand Australia or South Africa?

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They will play the winner of South Africa v Fiji

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That could be a hell of a game 2 good packs having a go at each other could be better than the final. Very interesting Scrum V program in Wales last night Jonathan Davies Garin Jenkins Ieuan Evans and Stuart Davies on the panel.

Opinion seems to be it all stems from the WRU, Jonathan Davies said Neil Jenkins is having to coach players on how to kick when they come in to the squad. Surely that's the regions fault and it showed on Saturday

See Martyn Williams has decided to retire today

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugb...sh/7021519.stm

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Disagree, there's a massive difference between world ranking and actual performance in a tournament. You only have to look at NZ's record to see that.

---------- Post added at 12:57 ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 ----------

I've never liked the deal done to split the World Cup games with venues in Scotland and Wales and I'm sure there are a great many Frenchmen who are wishing they were playing NZ in Paris as opposed to Cardiff.

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So it's Farrell to start against Australia then :confused: :confused: Does Brian Ashton have Antipodean ancestry I wonder? Despite what Ashton says about Farrell being worth his place, I really can't see how his form to date justifies a place on the bench let alone a start in a World Cup quarter final. I think the Aussies are going to have him for breakfast.

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Not any more it's not http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/7027824.stm
Which is a shame imo.

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9am on a Saturday morning - it's just not right.

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I take your talking about the England game, it's at 2pm on Saturday not 9am :confused:

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Yes heard the good news this morning - given the few games he's played in the code Farrell just isn't yet equipped for international level. There's no doubting his talent in Rugby League but I honestly think his move to Union at his age was very ill timed.

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He had a lot of injuries when he first switched codes, i think the timing was right for him if he had stayed fit and got a season or two of club games before the world cup. It's a shame because he has/did have the ability to be one of the best players in the team. It seems that at his age now his international career will soon be over.

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That's really what I meant by 'ill timed' - the whole thing turned into a nightmare for everyone concerned but through no fault of Farrell. It was also rather late in any rugby players career to change codes.

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Depends if you are watching it in Surrrey or New York though doesn't it. The French would consider the game to be on at 3pm and the Australians probably feel the game is on at 11pm at night. I imagine this is why this game is on in the earlier slot. The 8pm slot would have meant the Australians would be up at 5am to watch the game! Though of course the QF schedule was set at the outset, so perhaps this is more luck than judgement.
Drinking beer and watching rugby at 9am on a Saturday. I don't think this will be a very productive weekend.

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I see the Aussies are up to their childish tricks again complaining to the referee before the match and telling us all how much they hate the English.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mai.../sraust126.xml

Can you imagine a British official doing likewise? I can't think of anything more childish really tbh - a sad national trait which is totally unecessary and does them no favours IMO. It's all very well wanting to win but when senior officials start acting like ill mannered children in an effort to upset the opposition I think things have gone a bit too far. Eddie Jones tried a similar thing in 2003 causing Clive Woodward to retort 'Eddie Jones did my team talke for me'. Let's hope the same thing happens this time. All I want to see is a good fair match in which the best team wins. If that's England I'll be delighted but if it's Australia so be it. It's a pity more of them don't share the same philosophy - they really don't need to act like immature idiots do they?

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Australia 10 England 12 :cleader: :cleader: :cleader:

Should keep Russ quiet, for at least a little while longer. :D

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Definately not - I'm hoping you'll do exactly what happened last time - go from heros to zeros within 18 months :D

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Newflash from the England changing room:

"John O'Neill did our team talk for us" :D:D:D:D

Au revoir Australia :waving: :waving: :waving:

"Definately not - I'm hoping you'll do exactly what happened last time - go from heros to zeros within 18 months"

Russ are you suggesting that England might emulate Wales then?? Even if they do it's better to have been World Cup heroes once than never at all eh ? ;)

Whatever else happens, England have at least put in a great performance and have certainly exceeded my early expectations.

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Who cares, 4 years of nothing and when it matters there we are in the semis, going on form thats like a mammoth success and we beat the Aussies to boot. Bloody fantastic.

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Too young for the 70s then eh? At least our downfall took years - you lot went from world champions to spectacularly surrendering the Grand Slam to...er.....Wales in less than 18 months :D

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Not too young at all Russ older than you actually. Tell me did Wales ever win the World Cup??? :) The records show England winners once, runners up once, semi finalists twice. Remind me of Wales' World Cup record again...... lol

I know it's hard for you to accept Russ but we're in the semi's and you're not - learn to live with it, you'll be a lot less envious. :)

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Yes, in a tournament which has only been played 5 times? That's really some acheivement........

Hard to accept when it's on every newspaper and news programme??

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Don't expect you'd be playing that tune now if Wales were in the semis would you?? :) Anyway I'm looking forward to a major and unexpected celebration tonight.... Have a good evening Russ. ;)

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Well you just know I'd never let you hear the end of it! But would the press pick up on it so much? Doubt that....

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That's weak even for you, it was hardly saturation coverage after all, what really was your problem with our glorious victory, jealousy or just the typical small minded nonsense we have come to expect froom people like yourself over the years :rolleyes:

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Must say the England match today was one of the most entertaining i have watched for a long time.

Very well played by England- the scoreline a true reflection of the match though, just a shame they couldn't break the Australian backs to get a try in.

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:clap: :clap: :clap:

Yes it'd be rather odd if there was no media coverage when England who'd been pretty much written off by virtually everyone beforehand managed to beat Australia and outplayed them in the process. I guess some people are just upset because all the gloating they've prepared over the last 4 years is going to have to wait for next time now. Sad eh?

In all honesty, given their erratic form, most England followers (myself included) would have bitten the hand off anyone who'd offered them a semi-final spot and a win against Australia before this tournament. France next week? Well it depends on which French team turn up and another major improvement from England I guess. It's a big ask in Paris but whatever else happens the lads have risen to the challenge when it has mattered and done us and themselves proud....

... and that leads us nicely on to New Zealand :confused:

What is it with that team? They have been the best team in the world for ages, they consistently play the sort of rugby most teams can only dream of and deserved the title IMO yet the red hot favourites have blown it again :confused:

For reasons best known to themselves they let the French off the hook and must be absolutely gutted!!! Had they kept up their tactics of the first 30 mins or so they'd have blown France away so why didn't they? 2 points down in the last 10 minutes, they were camped out on the French line trying for a try when 3 points from an easy drop would have been enough. They eventually went for it with seconds to go when they'd squandered far better positions for the points. Perhaps in that respect their overwhelming belief in their ability to score tries was the root of their downfall.

In the words of Winston Churchill: NZ are a "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma".

As for SA and Scotland - well if yesterday's results are anything to go by Fiji will be playing Scotland in the other sem final. Who'd have thought eh??

Anyway at least there will be one N.Hemisphere team in the final although my money's on SA for the cup.

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oooOOooooo!! Hark at her :D

And erm.....'glorious' victory? Yes, all those tries were glorious...

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Presumably you much preferred Wales' glorious defeat to Australia and Fiji and being knocked out in the group stages :D

If it's not harking back to the 70's or glorying in a protracted demise over decades it's counting up tries when it suits lol Any port in a storm eh? :)

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The difference being is we're not delusional about our chances. I only mentioned the 70s because it indicated how quickly England crashed. AS for counting tries when it suits, not at all! I'm just making sure no-one loses sight of what actually happened - a nervous performance. Yes a win is a win and one which certainly won't be forgotten but just like in the last world cup, England didn't play like winners. Not that that matters to you if you retain the cup but it's significant for the rest of us (ie the world) to remind you that playing like champions would have made the game a little bit sweeter ;)

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Err neither are we and neither has the press been, looks like you'll need another excuse for your irrational loathing this time

Just as well none of us could be bothered to remind you how far Welsh rugby has sunk really and I am sure it isn't really significant to the rest of the world, just Wales and Scotland, the rest aren't that bitter

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I think you'll find the press build you up in each sporting tournament you enter. Being English you don't see it as it's normal to you. And 'irrational loathing'? I don't think so. Why would I irrationally loath half of myself?

Plus the fact none of them have to share the media with you ;)

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Not this one they didn't

Whatever, of course some would say it's handy to wheel that out when England are doing well at something, a sort of defence mechanism

Russ their has hardly been any coverage of this event at all, good job after seeing your country's lamentable efforts

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We must have been reading different papers then.

Defence mechansim? I'm half English, can't escape that fact.

As I said, must be different papers.

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I read most of them at work, I haven't seen one yet that's shown any real interest in this compitition, might be different in Wales seeing as they are co hosting it

As I said Russ, some would say, I am sure you are just as proud of your English heritage as your Welsh

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Sorry Russ but I don't know anyone who seeks out or enjoys the sort of media hype (unduly positive or excessively negative) which happens when England play. These forums are full of stories about media hype - are the English to blame for that. How much hype has there been in Wales about the so called new Welsh generation over the last few years? Don't like the national media's coverage of England - well who's problem is that? From where I've been sitting for the last few weeks the media have done nothing but slag off sad, pathetic old England but of course that sort of thing doesn't register with you does it. You only hear what you want to hear.

Sorry Russ but not much of what you say about England and the English in this context is rational but that doesn't stop you does it. The truth is that had Wales gone on to win the cup having scored no tries at all you wouldn't have complained so why do you expect us to? England did what they had to do to beat a team with a better back division - they learned their lesson from 1991 when sadly they reacted to similar pathetic baiting by Campese and the like and it cost them the cup. It won't happen again because they know it's just so much hot air from sad mean spirited people who rely on that sort of thing to disguise their own shortcomings.

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Latest: Argentina 13 Scotland 3

Tight game though.

---------- Post added at 21:54 ---------- Previous post was at 20:36 ----------

Argentina go through just........19 - 13 :disturbd:

No real flair really from either side, so maybe on play the Argies just deserved to edge the win, although they will need to improve by a vast amount to overcome South Africa in the semis..

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If the English hype was limited to Enlgish-only publications then I wouldn't have anything to say.

If you read my post I did say that a win is a win - my reason for posting was to make sure no-one read anything more in to the victory than it was - a scraped win ;)

---------- Post added at 12:45 ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 ----------

Put it this way - I feel about as English as you feel Welsh ;)

Re: Rugby Union
 

The Setanta commentator was in love with Johnny if that helps your case?

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Why should any of this bother you so much Russ? Did anyone claim it was a fine example of flowing rugby? You'll find it hard to find an Englishman or indeed a commentator who's overestimated England's performances over the last few years. If you're so worried about the biased media why do you seem to spend so much time reading it? Why not devote your energies to reading the Welsh media you appear to love and concentrate on Welsh Rugby instead of taking every opportunity to belittle the English game? You claim the media were hyping England's chances before the tournament as usual - let's have all the examples you can no doubt quote then. Where are all the pre-tournament headlines claiming England would win?

You imply your criticism is largely due to England's lack of tries - how many did we score against Wales earlier this year? Did that affect your contribution to the thread?

Quote If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have.

Utter utter utter shambles

Losing to a team like England is bad enough, but that sort of score truly shows the WRU couldn't organise the proverbial 'drink up' in a brewery. Sack the lot.

Not exactly an example of fair minded critique. The truth is that you will never give credit even when it's due.

If you feel so Welsh why keep reminding us ad nauseam that you are half English? Does it make you feel better about, excuse or validate your irrational vitriol? Do you feel having parents of a certain nationality is all that determines your nationality? I take it that will apply to any players the Welsh team may field who don't have Welsh parents - they're not truly Welsh either but that won't matter because they choose to wear a red shirt for a few years before they head back home. :rolleyes:

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I didn't say they were claiming England would win. They were bigging you up more than the other home nations.

You scored a lot more - but that wasn't in the World Cup tournament and I don't remember it being referred to as a 'famous victory'.


Did you miss the twice I've said a win is a win? Yes you guys beat one of the world's best teams, that can never be taken away from you.

Happy now?

Because when I get accused of having 'irrational loathing', I mention it to show I could not possibly have a loathing for my father's nationality. If you like you can compare my feeling on the England team to how most of you feel when you play Argentina or Germany in football. Nothing vicious just a good healthy rivalry.

Tell you what - bookmark this page if you like, but if England win the WC convincingly (I mean by more than just a few points, and by actually playing better than the opposition) I will be the first in here offering my congratulations.

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Being Scottish by birth, I have no axe to grind - I don't care if England win by playing better than the opposition or by just a few points (although I would prefer it); I will be pleased that a British team won.

Re: Rugby Union
 

Scotland Argentina was a gripping game, especially in those final few minutes, it almost looked like the underdogs England, France and Scotland were going to get through.
Then Parks cross kick ended that dream.

Re: Rugby Union
 

Yes, we're famous for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory...... :D

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Russ - you can try to worm out of what you've written in the past now but in reality it's all so much hot air with you isn't it. If Wales won anything of any significance by hook, crook, disputed call or whatever you certainly wouldn't be moaning about it would you? If Wales won the RUWC without scoring a try you wouldn't complain. The media were bigging England up were they? Show us all the pretournament headlines doing that then Russ.

Even now you can't accept England played better than Australia - they didn't win by luck or by chance but by design. They destroyed Australia's forward effort and in so doing outplayed one of the favourites to win. No they didn't score tries but since when was that the only measure of beating another team? When Wales have beaten England in the past by a penalty or drop goal late in the game did that fact negate their win in your mind? How many teams past and present have deserved to win matches by a mile but not necessarily scored many more points than their opposition? When England destroyed Wales earlier this year did you give them any credit for all their tries?

Nobody here is frightened of logical, reasoned debate about any of this but so much of what you write appears to boil down to petty almost childish envy.

Despite England being classed as no hopers before the tournament and beating Australia fairly and squarely in a game totally controlled by England's forwards all you can muster is 'a win is a win' - Thank you so much for that - that's very magnanimous of you. :rolleyes:

I don't think England can win the Cup - their backs have not performed well for a long time. It may not be pretty but for them to have progressed this far therefore is a huge achievement. Ditto Scotland - not necessarily pretty rugby but they've probably exceeded many people's expectations and are coming back after a long time in the rugby doldrums so very well done to them!

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I haven't said you shouldn't be celebrating it.

No and you shouldn't either if England win

The media always placed England first when it comes to the rugby headlines. And when you say that's because more of the viewers/readers/listeners are English, does that mean us Welsh can therefore have a reduction in the licence fee/cost of papers?

On Radio 2 this morning there were listeners bipping on about how England "totally dismantled" Australia. As you know, that was not the case. It was a historic victory alright, but not the whitewash so many people are trying to make out.

Yes - I'd rather Wales outclass and outplay their opponents when winning.

Of course not, that particular game was more a measure of how badly we'd sunk as opposed to any success on England's part.

Really?

Why didn't Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea fans come on here and congratulate Man United on winning the premiership last season? Was that petty envy? Or just sporting rivalry? Maybe you could consider that's what I'm displaying instead of taking silly pops at me.

What do you want, blood?

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Still no comment Russ???

Odd for you lol

You always seem to have lots to say when we lose or don't win well enough. Was the score good enough? Did we score enough tries for you? Probably not but then again England are in the final again and Wales aren't. Had Wales won that game in the very same manner you'd have wasted no time telling us all about how great it was. Sleep well matey :D

Still waiting for all those pretournament bigging up England headlines you mentioned BTW - finding it hard to find them ??? :rolleyes:

Your main gripe now seems to be with the English biased media and not to do with tries at all. We don't choose the media any more than you choose your Rugby Team sadly.

Sleep well Russ knowing that whatever else happens the 'zeroes' are heroes again - unlike Wales they've exceeded everyone's expectations.

Is likening yourself to begrudging football fans a defence or excuse now just like being half English?

Since you're half English we're all looking forward to all your 'objective' comments and compliments on tonights match btw. :rolleyes:

Do I want blood? No. Not from you Russ because even if you gave it to England it would be insincere! Would rather have nothing at all from the likes of you. Keep your blood and keep your spite - it obviously takes your mind off failure.

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Oh do stop spouting nonsense, I've more than answered your silly arguments. And you were playing France so obviously I wanted England to win. Looking worryingly like a one-man team but still, world cup final eh?

Re: Rugby Union
 

France 9 England 14

Another great win for the boys. And this time we scored a try, should keep some people happy this time. :D

Re: Rugby Union
 

Silly arguments?? Which ones would they be Russ? Oh I know - they'd be the ones you can't answer lol The only one spouting nonsense has been you - still not come up with all those headlines eh??

The 'zeros' in the World Cup final again and half English Russ still can't even bring himself to say 'well done'. Now who looks silly?

Re: Rugby Union
 

Did you read any of yesterday's papers?

Well you to be honest. I'd have thought someone with such profound knowledge would have heard of sporting rivalry.

Re: Rugby Union
 

You really object to headlines about one of the home nations being in a semi final? If Wales were ever in one you'd see a similar amount of coverage

Sporting rivalry is one thing, Scotland and Wales attitude towards the English is just so pointless, perhaps if their fans spent a little more time getting behind their team rather than indulging in such unimpressive characteristics they might do better in tournaments themselves

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What a game! I still cannot believe we are in the final again, the work rate and passion shown in the last two games is something any Englishman can be proud of and hopefully we can have a repeat of it against South Africa/Argentina in the final. :tu:

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That's utter rubbish, you're completely delusional if you believe that. Want proof? Go and have a look at the back cover of today's People.

That's such an old argument it belongs in the 1950s. There's nothing different between my attitude to England and say, Arsenal.

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I'd rather have a look at the back of last months People, where I guarantee you'd find little mention of the compitition full stop, let alone England, we get into the final of the World Cup and you object to a few headlines :rofl: pretty pathetic Russ

It's as true then as it is today, where does it get you, an hours gloating every couple of years when we go out of the football at the quarter final stage of competitions you and the Jocks never qualify for anyway and what is your attitude towards Arsenal, one of hatred perhaps

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What I object to is Wales and Scotland being treated in the UK media as the poor relations of the country. If you want to be that ignorant then fine, good luck to you but don't moan when we don't share your enthusiasm. And I don't have any person or team - I consider Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea to be United's sporting rivals. Reading anything more in to it just makes you out to be immature and petty.

Re: Rugby Union
 

But they are though ain't they when it comes to sport. :LOL:

But if it was Wales or Scotland in the final I'd be cheering them on as much as I would England, as they are part of the UK afterall.

Maybe the English ain't as bad as the Welsh or Scottish in attitude because of the underdog thing, we always want them to do well (unless they are against England of course).

Re: Rugby Union
 

I don't want your enthusiasm, just a reason why you feel the need to comment, full stop, when Wales fall flat on their faces, as they frequently do, no one here feels the need to comment, when Wales manage a win no one feels the need to say 'you scrapped a win blah blah', yet you can't seem to help yourself and when some one asks you about it you come out with some crap about media bias, completely disregarding the fact the competition has been largely ignored by the media

Re: Rugby Union
 

Bordering racism this thread me thinks. If a mod wasn't invovled in the debate it would have been closed!

Re: Rugby Union
 

Same reason I react the same on the odd occasion when Arsenal win something.

---------- Post added at 15:16 ---------- Previous post was at 15:14 ----------

I've been out this afternoon but have IQs dropped sharply since I left? How can I be racist?

Re: Rugby Union
 

:confused: How exactly?

Re: Rugby Union
 

No wait sorry, had a rethink (and a sleep after a heavy night), its patriotism :rolleyes: All this England vs the rest really gets on my nerves. Russ, get yourself a taffy paper if you don't like the English ones.

Back onto topic anyway as this has gone way off. Who would you rather see England face in the Final? I would prefer the Argies

Re: Rugby Union
 

The jingoism would be unbearable if it was Argentina. And I don't buy English papers - I get British ones ;)

Re: Rugby Union
 

Why though, if you don't like what they report?

Re: Rugby Union
 

Hmm true. I just cant wait for what will (hopfully) be a great game

Re: Rugby Union
 

Lack of alternative? Still if I was an England fan I'd be hoping Wilkinson stays fit.

Re: Rugby Union
 

I'm not sure but I seem to rememeber a couple of alternatives from my days living in Cardiff (the western something?). I agree that Wilkinson is pretty much the key man although I can't see England beating the likely opponents of South Africa anyway (mind you that's what I thought about Australia and France).

Re: Rugby Union
 

15 Minutes into the South Africa V Argentina match, and I have lost count as to how many times Will Greenwood has made reference to the England team, its incredible.

Update, so far he has been able to mention nearly half of the England team by name, what an incredible piece of biased commentary............we still have 50 minutes of this nonsense.

Re: Rugby Union
 

Yet according to some, this never actually happens.

Re: Rugby Union
 

What on earth do you expect though? I'm not watching the game but I assume he's mentioning the England players in relation to the final? I agree it can be annoying but the facts are that England are playing the winners of this game in the final, so if you're watching the game on a British tv channel with an English summariser it's pretty silly to expect anything else.

Re: Rugby Union
 

I expect a balanced commentary, not one heavily waited and overley gushing about Englands performance over France.

I will be the first to admit that England have done extremely well given their history since the last world cup, but there were other teams in the UK playing, I don't remember seeing brief clips of each player before their matches, describing themselves and what postions they played.

Sorry, all due respect to England for where they are now, but Greenwoods commentary was too much all about England yesterday.

He even ressurected a few swipes at NZ, come on, the guy is a total moron, and I hope that is the last TV appearance he makes.

Re: Rugby Union
 

I have to agree, I couldn't see too much wrong with it all, as you say, English commentators are doing whats expected. I liked the way they took the mick out of Lord Farquaad (Percy) quite a bit.

Re: Rugby Union
 

To be fair, I would be expecting the commentators to be commentating on the game at hand, not on another team.

It's so annoying to listen, whichever sport it is, to commentators prattle on about another game. What about the game at hand eh?

Surely they have a highlights programme that they could use to discuss all the games that have been played?