Rugby World Cup 2015

[HFX]

@Hanley! I've been watching close to every game(god bless PVR). I just haven't been online to talk to you lot. Is our France vs Ireland bet still on BECAUSE YOU CATHOLIC TATER MUNCHERS ARE GOING DOWN next Sunday.

Canada bounced back well after the shellacking from Ireland. Played well and maybe deserved the win against Italy but the Italians just made better use of their chances to squeak out a win. Disappointing result that left me pretty pissed off yet proud of my boys. I was also incredibly impressed with our performance against a 1st string France. The final score of 41-18 isn't flattering and doesn't speak of how well Canada played. They were within reaching distance late into the game but they just tired out and a late yellow card sealed the deal for France. Here's hoping they can regroup and give the Romanians a whooping. Their scrum is scary but if our pack can just hold their own long enough to not get penalized I think we can win. Big if though as they have abused us in scrums and lineouts the last couple games against and pretty much won off of scrum penalties. Canada definitely has the better backs, though Romania's Catalin Fercu is really good, which should cause a lot of problems for the Oaks if we can spread the ball out wide.

Pool A is definitely playing up to it's name. The English are on the outside looking in at their own home tournament and NEED a big victory over Australia(while denying them a BP) and then to absolutely smash Uruguay like they haven't smacked around a team before to have a hope of advancing. I know a lot of Welsh and English fans so the lead up to the game was funny and the end result even better. I've been super impressed that Wales have pulled together like they have with their stretched and depleted roster. I'm also feeling bad for Fiji who have played Wales, England and Australia close. They definitely got screwed by the draw and would have stood a much better shot at the QF, or at least AQ for Japan '19, if they had landed in another pool.

Don't really care about the other Pools but the games have been fun to watch. Japan vs South Africa is a game I'll never forget and has to go down as a classic. Namibia has also shown up and impressed. They held stronger than most thought possible for them against the All Blacks and then ran Tonga close when they should have been stomped.

[Hanley!]

Yeah, the bet is still on. To be honest, I haven't been impressed with France at all in the tournament so far. I think the final scores against Italy and Canada were both flattering. They look like they could come crumbling down against a top side. That being said, it almost wouldn't surprise me if they suddenly turned it on against Ireland. But I'd still back us to win.

Canada should have beaten Italy. They should have gone for the try when they had the chance after 70 minutes. Italy are on worse form than they've been in some time. Having Parisse back will make a difference for them, but I could still see us taking a bonus point victory there on Sunday.

I'm almost certain England are out of the tournament. Fair play to Wales for hanging in there during that match, but England should have been able to put them away. I'm not going to even criticise them too much for kicking into the corner. I'd give them more grief for just not finishing Wales when they had them on the ropes. They're on the back foot now, the pressure is all on them against Australia, and I don't think that they're going to be able to get it done.

[Hanley!]

Man, I love watching Japan play rugby. Respect to those guys, they're really bringing it in this World Cup.

[Hanley!]

I'm talking to myself in this thread. Ye fuckers can't shut up about American football every weekend, but nobody's talking about the Rugby WORLD CUP.

Anyway, Ireland top our group. We've got the better draw of Argentina in the quarter finals, while France have to face the All Blacks. So they won't be too happy about that.

It was a great game from us, after falling asleep at the wheel a bit against Italy last week and only beating them by a single try. We really turned up against France and brought the game to them. It was an arm wrestle for most of the match, but I think we were better in just about every aspect of the game, and against a strong side too.

Losing so many of our best players is a big concern though. Payne was ruled out of the World Cup before the game with a foot injury. Our captain Paul O'Connell is almost certainly gone for the rest of the World Cup with a hamstring injury. Our kicker Sexton could be injured too. And then there's O'Mahony and Earls into the bargain. I really hope that some of these are minor injuries, and that we'll have some of these guys back for next week. But we sure as hell won't have all of them.

That being said, our substitutes really showed up today. Madigan had one of his best games in a while. If we lose some of our first selection, hopefully it'll just make their replacements that much hungrier to do them proud. We can beat Argentina if we show up on the day. I'm really hoping we take them down.

And @HFX ... you have to stop making this bet with me, my friend. It hasn't been working out well for you. Here's your new sig picture. I look forward to doing business with you again at the Six Nations.

[HFX]

Yah it's my bad @Hanley! I only swing by like once a week lately cause I get most of my online interactions done on Reddit and a rugby site.

I can't(well I can) believe how the Irish responded despite some of their players dropping like flies. I thought the game was over after Sexton went off hurt but Madigan came in and looked deserving to be out there. Then when POC went down I thought no way the Irish bounce back from this blow. But I forgot I cheer for the French and under PSA you can't ever count on the team to capitalize. Disappointed SOB only got a one(two) week ban but what can one expect from World Rugby. I mean the same people gave Nick Blevins a 5 week ban and won't tell anyone which play earned it.

The Irish definitely earned their win last weekend and will be hardpressed to get by the Pumas. Argentina have speedy explosive backs and some of the best forwards in the world, especially that front row. They ran New Zealand close in the first game, including leading them late, and powered through everyone else. I think it will be the best game of the QF and wouldn't be shocked if either team won.

Not as optimistic about France's chances against the Kiwis. The All Blacks side is better top to bottom and though historically you should never count out the French, especially when they are underdogs, I just don't trust PSA's selections and coaching style. At least Parra is getting the start at 9 so he should be able to help keep the game respectable.

The Scots did what they had to do to get to the QF and no one can hold that against them. Sure Japan finished with the same record but everyone knew Bonus Points were going to matter and they did. Scotland is 2-1 in their last 3 against the Aussies but the Wallabies are out for blood. They very well might be the current favorites to win the World Cup right now and the Scots will be little more than a speed bump in their way.

Wales vs South Africa could have been something special if Wales could have fielded a fully healthy lineup. Hell if Wales was healthy they might be playing the Scots right now instead. But it is what it is and while I expect them to give the Springboks a fight I don't think they have it in them to pull out the win.

[Hanley!]

Part of me is tempted to bet on no Southern Hemisphere team getting into the semi-finals, just for the fun of it. A lot of people seem to think the opposite is true, and unfortunately it's looking rather possible.

Wales are looking very depleted right now, and honestly if they weren't, I think they might be able to pull off the win against South Africa. I'm still not ruling them out. I think Japan proved that South Africa can be vulnerable against a team that comes at them with plenty of piss and vinegar. I'd reckon South Africa will win the match as things stand, but I'll be cheering for Wales and I think they could manage it if they have a good day.

France are probably going down against the All Blacks. They've caused the All Blacks some problems in the past, but the side isn't at their best right now. That being said, All Blacks have cruised through their last few matches and could get caught unawares by a French team that actually show up. Hard to say whether or not that'll happen though. The team lacks cohesion and leadership under Saint Andre.

Scotland are fucked. I'll be cheering for them, but they were lucky as hell to get out of their group and they're playing against maybe the form team of the tournament so far. I don't think this is going to be close.

As for Ireland, I'm nervous. We're going into the game without our captain, without the defensive force that is Jared Payne, without O'Mahony and O'Brien to take charge of the breakdown, and probably without Sexton. Argentina have been playing very well in their last few games. But on the bright side, Argentina have been playing against weak opposition. They were good in the first half of their game against the All Blacks too, but they looked lost in the second half. They ran out of steam and out of ideas. They've also been weak defensively throughout the tournament so far. They have the highest percentage of missed tackles in the whole tournament so far, while we have the lowest. Though they've been dangerous in attack. I reckon if we're solid in defense, we can keep them out for long enough to secure a victory. But it really could go either way.

A lot will probably depend on who's on our bench. We still have a pretty strong starting team, even having lost five of our best players in the last week. But it's going to put a lot of pressure on some of our guys coming on in the second half. If we have any more injuries in the Argentina game, things could start to get away from us.

I really hope we win though. We've still never made it to a World Cup semi-final, and that's not at all representative of our quality as a team. We're European champions the last two years in a row. We're back up to third in the world rankings at the moment, I think securing at least a semi-final spot would be an accurate depiction of where we are as a rugby nation at the moment.

[prophet]

Gutted for the Irish today. Big effort by them and they fought valiantly but the better team won in the end, shame they had so many injuries; hate to use it as a scapegoat but I can't recall seeing a team so decimated by them.

[Hanley!]

Gutted for the Irish today. Big effort by them and they fought valiantly but the better team won in the end, shame they had so many injuries; hate to use it as a scapegoat but I can't recall seeing a team so decimated by them.

Yeah, it sucks. Just got away from us in the end. I'm gutted that we still haven't reached a semi-final. We're the best team in Europe, one of the best teams in the world. It's not indicative of how good we are and now we have to wait four years to try and make things right again. It's heartbreaking.

I have to say, while I thought the Argentinians played great and probably deserved the win, they got away with murder in the second half. At 50 minutes, that was a blatant red card. If he hadn't already received a yellow in the first half, he would have gone in the bin for that. But because it would have been a red this time, the ref chickened out. I've no idea what the TMO was smoking. We were 3 points behind at that point, I think. If he had gone off, we could have pulled away. There was another foul that should have been a yellow a few minutes later for a dangerous tackle on Conor Murray.

A few of those decisions just went against us, and we just ran out of gas at the end. Gutted for the Irish team. They've been doing so well.

[HFX]

Gutted for the Irish today. Big effort by them and they fought valiantly but the better team won in the end, shame they had so many injuries; hate to use it as a scapegoat but I can't recall seeing a team so decimated by them.

The Welsh were probably dealing with worse before the World Cup even kicked off. But the Irish definitely were unlucky with multiple injuries plus a suspension to some of their best players.

I'm not shocked that the semi-finals is The Rugby Championship but I am disappointed. The Welsh came so close to beating the Springboks and I still think the Scots got screwed out of a win over the Aussies. But what's done is done and I'm expecting some great rugby this weekend. I'm thinking we'll see an Argentina vs New Zealand final with New Zealand being the first team to win the World Cup three times. Though I'm hoping that Argentina can somehow find a way to win.

[Hanley!]

What really bugs me is some of the "Northern Hemisphere Rugby is Doomed" headlines. I mean sure, there are no Northern Hemisphere teams in the semi-finals, but that's failing to consider that ...

A decimated Welsh team almost beat the Springboks.
A decimated Irish team were well within reach of victory until the last 10 minutes of the Argentina game.
Scotland (of all teams) SHOULD have beaten Australia.

England did go out in the group stages, but it was the group of death. Australia and Wales were also in that group. A good team had to go out of that group. Sure, England could have done a lot better and they'll have some tough decisions ahead of them, but it's not as dire as people are making out

The real story here is that French rugby is in trouble. They looked very mediocre against Ireland and fell apart against New Zealand. But with Saint Andre leaving, that could turn around soon. Who knows? Either way, it's hardly news that France are under-performing. They've been under-performing in the Six Nations every year recently.

[AkydefGoldberg]

Sonny Bill Williams is just a dude - gives his WC medal away to a kid who came on the pitch and was ambushed by stewards, got given a new medal and reading the stories of his tumultuous career including recently, a reversion to Islam, great for him but this Dan Carter seems to be the star and the talk of the town atm.