Rugby World Cup 2011 – Opening matches.

First match results:

 Scotland 34 – 24 Romania

I didn’t see much of this game – It was a choice between staying up to watch this one or getting up early to watch England (I chose England). But I doubt very much the Scots will be too disappointed with a ten point victory.

Argentina 9 – 13 England

First off, the result doesn’t reflect this but, we were awful. Well maybe not awful, but we certainly need to improve if we want to progress.
I have a couple of reservations about this match – firstly with our kit. Since when is black our colours? Our national colours are White (Home kit) or Red (away) – its very simple to remember, just look at the flag. On this basis, if for some reason we can’t use either of those colours then I would settle for blue. But black? Who thought that was a good idea?
Secondly is the refereeing. I don’t think the ref did anything “wrong” but he was a little inflexible for my taste – particularly in the opening minutes. He seemed to blow his whistle every ten seconds which doesn’t allow the game to settle – at one point he even gave us a caution for incurring too many penalties. I’m not suggesting that the first 5-10 minutes of any game should be a free for all – and I do understand that the nature of the tournament insists on firm refereeing – but I still feel he could have shown a little more restraint. Also most of our penalties were infringements (being off-side etc.) and we got carded for it – while I saw two instances of dangerous play (a tackle in the air and what can only be described as a pole-axe) on behalf of the Argentineans, which didn’t pick up the same penalty.
Lastly, Wilkinson’s poor kicking performance. I’ve never been big on “Wilko-worship” – there were 14 other players on the field the day we won the cup. I do however expect him to perform when it matters. In conclusion: there is much work to be done!

Ireland 22 – 10 United States

Again, I only saw highlights of this game – but from what I saw Ireland turned in a typically solid performance. Personally, I would have expected a slightly stronger result against The States but then a win is a win.

South Africa 17 – 16 Wales

How heart-breaking to lose out for the sake of one point. Don’t let the result fool you – this is practically a win for Wales (aka my second team for the tournament) who many felt, pre-game, were in for an absolute spanking. Strangely, this performance (even though a defeat) should inspire the welsh side to escape their group.

Still To Come:

14th Sept. – Scotland vs. Georgia (08:30 BST)

Coming off of their win against Romania, Scotland face off against a fresh Georgian side and former Scotland coach Richie Dixion.

17th Sept. – Australia vs. Ireland (09:30 BST)

Australia were always going to be strong favourites and smashing Italy 32-6 hasn’t dimmed that opinion any. A true test for Ireland.

18th Sept. – Wales vs. Samoa (04:30 BST)

They’ve yet to play at time of writing, but Samoa come with a reputation for hard hitting rugby. Wales will have to find ways to play around them and not get stuck into a test of strength.

18th Sept. – England vs. Georgia (07:00 BST)

We’ll have to see what happens with Scotland before we can speculate further on this match – but whatever England do, they’ll have to do it without Courtney Lawes (lock) – who has gone and got himself a two match ban. [Can‘t find a video of what happened but you can read about it here.

Plenty more heart-break and triumph to come – and feast of matches to argue about, analyze and discuss.

Let The Banter Continue!

 

I’ve Seen The Future… And It’s Egg Shaped.

Hooray! The World Cup starts tomorrow.
Not that miserable Football World Cup in which we [England] performed so abysmally. No, this is the Rugby World cup – so we might actually have a chance at winning it [rather than mere wishful thinking.]

Coming off of a strong Six Nations, which saw only one defeat for England, my expectations [and dare I say hopes] are high going into the tournament.

The beauty of the game of Rugby however is that, as a Brit, you are never short of someone to support. While my primary support will be firmly behind our boys in white, I also hope to see our neighbours Ireland, Wales and Scotland do well [although, drawing the same pool as Scotland does present a problem.]

Failing that, being Rugby, you can just support the Northern Hemisphere team [those cocky southerners think they own the game – just remember lads: last time you dragged us down to your part of the world we walked out with the gold]. This does mean though, that we might have to begrudgingly support France… which might be a problem. [In all seriousness, based on their Six Nations performance they should do okay. After all RUNNER UP is not bad is it.]

So the first match will be played on the 9th of Sept. at 09:30 BST. An all-southern affair as the hosts New Zealand take on Tonga.

The first proper games start on Saturday morning however, as both England and Scotland start their tournament.

10th Sept. – Scotland vs. Romania 02:00 BST
Like I said, drawing one of our archrivals in the group stages certainly makes things interesting. Looking at the group however [Argentina, Us, Them, Georgia & Romania] I see no reason why we can’t stomp all over it and decide it by clashing heads at Eden Park. [My most anticipated match BTW – 1st Oct. 08:30 – mark it in your diary]. Good luck Scotland – may the best nation win [& we will]

10th Sept. – Argentina vs. England 09:30 BST
And now it really kicks off! …only at 9.30 in the morning [Is that too early to start drinking? Hmm…] Also, when we had that world cup, you could not move down my way for George Cross flags, banners, bumper stickers, boxer shorts, key rings, bubble gum, sandwiches, feather dusters, clothes pegs etc etc… This time around, you would barely know it was going on at all.

The 11th sees the last two “Home Nation” sides join the fray: Ireland and Wales.

11th Sept. – Ireland vs. United States 07:00 BST
America? Do they even play Rugby? Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable with a helmet and some padding? Anyways, The USA are up against the side that finally broke our dreams of a grand slam in the Six Nations. Good luck Ireland (ya bastards)

11th Sept. – South Africa vs. Wales 09:30 BST
So Wales find themselves up against the defending champions in their first game – that’s really hard luck. Also, it’s quite tough luck that Samoa and Fiji are also in the same group – meaning the boys from the valleys have to be in tip-top form to progress. It pains me to say it [as an England fan] but I love watching the Welsh play. When they are at their best, Wales can teach the world a thing or two about the game. Also, being grouped with a clutch of southern hemisphere teams makes them somewhat of an underdog – and I can’t resist rooting for the underdog.

So that’s about the size of the first hurdles of the Rugby World Cup 2011. So let’s see some Rugby!

Let The Banter Commence!