Would also decimate our squad too.

Leggo Usa.

Poor start from the USA

great try

Not exactly true. Yes 5 of the starters were naturalised but 10 starters were Japanese. There were another two naturalised on the bench with the remaining being Japanese. Most countries including All Blacks and Wallabies have players eligible or originating from other countries.

Japan lost to the US in the lead up too

The thing is, not many japanese would have been aware of it, the Japanese have their own sports, cruel game shows that they are passionate about :lol:

Up next, bathing in a tub with scorpions :lol:

So that's weekend one done, here's the schedule for the next 7 days. IMO Scotland v Japan, South Africa v Samoa, England v Wales are the must watch games. Australia v Fiji and Scotland v USA could be interesting as well.

Wed Sept 23   Scotland v Japan   Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester   11.30pm
Thu Sept 24   Australia v Fiji    Millenium Stadium, Cardiff   1.45am
Thu Sept 24   France v Romania   Olympic Stadium, London   5.00am
Fri Sept 25    New Zealand v Namibia   Olympic Stadium, London   5.00am
Sat Sept 26      Argentina v Georgia   Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester   1.45am
Sat Sept 26      Italy v Canada   Elland Road Leeds 11.30pm
Sun Sept 27   South Africa v Samoa   Villa Park, Birmingham   1.45am
Sun Sept 27   England v Wales    Twickenham, London   5.00am
Sun Sept 27   Australia v Uruguay   Villa Park, Birmingham   9.00pm
Sun Sept 27   Scotland v USA    Elland Road, Leeds   11.30pm
Mon Sept 28   Ireland v Romania   Wembley, London   1.45am

Not a fan of the Olympic Stadium getting games, London and the south get enough games without it. Not much you can do though when the Northern Football clubs don't want to give up their stadiums mid season.

Argentina v Georgia could be huge. The Georgian scrum was amazing in the way they outmuscled the Tongans and an upset against the Argies could see them through the group stage.

You're right, this could be one of the best forward battles in a while.

The Georgians have always had an incredible scrum though, it was little surprise the Tongans couldn't compete there. They're no mugs, most of their pack play in France and are highly valued by the clubs there.

I thought the Georgians would have an edge in the scrum but the way they manhandled them was crazy. That was a great match and it was interesting to watch the opposing styles and seeing the Tongans decide to run the ball wide.

NZ v Argentina last night also showed some great running rugby. Throw in the Japan match and it has been three of the best matches in years.

I haven't really had time to post of late. I was out Saturday night after Oktoberfest and when I saw the Georgia result I was impressed. After scrolling down to see the Japan result I spat out my beer and my phone fell to the floor. Amazing result. I couldn't believe my eyes.

I haven't really had time to post of late. I was out Saturday night after Oktoberfest and when I saw the Georgia result I was impressed. After scrolling down to see the Japan result I spat out my beer and my phone fell to the floor. Amazing result. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Yes it's not a big sport amongst the general public but trust me everyone knew about that result. Everyone I spoke to was in disbelief but proud. There's been a huge amount of investment by the Japanese corporate sector and JRU to build the game here and a result like this will go a long way. The Japanese love winners the same as the rest of us.

The "cruel game shows" are not exactly what they seem. All the participants are celebrities who are on contract to perform in a variety of shows as comedians, singers, actors, and guests on talk shows/panel discussions. Many are on a relatively modest salary but these shows be they physical challenges, trivia etc are ways to earn extra money.

It's almost like reality TV that features mostly just celebs and entertainers. A lot of it is put on.

Scotland v Japan on now, 12-7 HT to Scotland. Good game this.

Mafi carving up.

Wallabies playing good footy so far

We lost three of our own line-outs against Fiji. How the hell are they that shit?

England must be licking their lips. They'll kick it to the corners wherever possible and really pile on the pressure. Also, Australian scrum isn't that flash.

Why is there so much inconsistency? What is it with Moore's throwing? Why is Quade Cooper there? The dude is an a-grade douchebag who caves in under pressure.

How do people rate Bernard Foley's kicking? Quade Cooper's kicking is truly shithouse. Is Foley much better?

I just find all this staggering. You can't win a World Cup unless you have an incredibly accurate kick. Australia hasn't had a good kicker since Elton Flatley. Why do they not train junior players how to kick properly? I know Wilkinson was a freakshow. But really they need to be looking at him as blueprint. He was technically outstanding and could hit individual people in the crowd. Why can't they develop kickers who do something like this. Instead we get appalling kickers.

The formula for winning a rugby world cup is to have a big strong forward pack who don't give away penalties, a very accurate kick and few backs capable of running rings around the opposition.

That's the formula. Australia fails in terms of forward pack and, quite possibly, in terms of kicker. The only thing we have is backs. And it has been this way for the last decade. Why can't they just go to the trouble of addressing areas where we're weak? We basically have to rely on Pocock, Giteau, Beale and Folau.

Holy shit!! Wales just beat England at Twickenham in a World Cup match.

Unbelievable. The Welsh try was stunning. The kick to set it up was Pirlo-esque. And Davies' ability to run onto it, pick it up cleanly before the England player and get it over the line. Seriously entertaining.

Both kickers, Dan Biggar and Owen Farrell were cool as cucumber and clinically accurate the whole match.

This group is wide open. Glad I stayed up for this match.

Had a good lol at this.

[youtube]Jsat6l-U_UQ[/youtube]

lol yeah I saw that, just called my family up to remind them England lost :lol:

Wales missing many starters too. Shocked they won.

Yep. A full strength Wales would be favourites IMO. But the players already out, and the ones they lost during the game makes it a great win. Having said that, England probably win the game if Youngs and Vunipola stay on the field.

Hopeless time zone/ scheduling to watch any of this tournament here in our time zone

#-o

I wouldn't say it's hopeless, I'd say the IRB scheduled it perfectly to fit in the Time Zones that matter (Hint: Our TZ isn't one of those)

Thanks Quade for slotting the sideline conversion after the siren to cover the line. Of course if he had of kicked well in the first place it wouldn't have mattered :lol:

The USA have fallen to pieces in this second half.

Cant believe the Wallabies scored over 60 points to Uruguay's 3?:?

It appeared to be far closer than that. The Wallabies made a lot of mistakes too.

Bernard Foley or Quade Cooper at fly-half?

Seriously tough call. Leaving aside the fact that Cooper can be a liability and sometimes loses the plot, he can do amazing things and create so many try-scoring opportunities. Plus, when we've got Issy Folau, Kurtley Beale, Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell, we really need an outstanding fly-half to create the opportunities for the backline.

But Quade Cooper's kicking is average. You can't win if you don't kick well.

Whereas Bernard Foley is a far better kick but a less playmaker.

Who do they go with?

Could Quade Cooper go at fly-half and then, somehow, Foley play as one of the centres. Then Foley can take the kicks? Who would miss out then and would it be too risky?

It's an extremely easy decision imo, especially when you have Giteau at 12.

At Toulon, Giteau was the primary creator at 12 with quality from Jonny Wilkinson. Wilkinson in his later years would play a simple (and highly efficient) short distribution role and would simply hand off to Giteau if the kick or early cut out wasn't on. Giteau would have the rest of the backline running off his angled runs, often breaking through his own created gaps in the defence.

[youtube]watch?v=kfagJsO6GM4[/youtube]


Imo Australia should stick with this. Foley has a no nonsense approach, provides consistent delivery to his backs and is an accurate goalkicker. His tactical kicking needs work but so do all the Australian 10's.

Cooper is a ticking time-bomb on the pitch and a total nob off it. You can't ignore the fact he is a liability when it is a consistent part of his game and imo "individual brilliance" doesn't win you shit at international tournaments anyway.

What does win World Cups is set piece discipline, a consistent backline that gets past the advantage line and a Goal Kicker that can slot every shot within 45 metres.