Rugby World Cup 2011

[TOCC]

Assuming there was no RWC in 2011, what selection changes would have you happened throughout 2010?

 

[Lee Grant]

If we have to talk about the draw for the RWC I prefer a tough one.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

All set up to be an NZ vs ENG final then...

NZ gets to avoid both of its bogey teams (Australia and France) until the final.
England have the wood on Australia and France at World Cups, beating Australia in '95, '03 and '07, and France in '91, '03 and '07.

The record is 3-2 mate, hardly one sided. We beat you lot in 87 and 91 (in a little game called the final).

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Geez I get fed up with the World Cup some times. It seems like every single game, every single thought about rugby we have is geared towards winning the world cup. 2012 will be sweet when we can get a rugby public/establishment/players group to concentrate on winning the important shit (the Bledisloe).

Aint that ever the truth. The RWC is obviously the biggest rugby prize to win, but test footy is a lot more than that. I want us to beat everyone everywhere. We have a number of bits of silverware on offer, a couple of which I would really like us to win next year if we can.

 

[baldingwingforward]

The record is 3-2 mate, hardly one sided. We beat you lot in 87 and 91 (in a little game called the final).

Granted... But the game has changed a little since 91. The Professional era is just a tad different.
I think England would be really pleased about potentially avoiding South Africa and NZ as they traditionally struggle far more against them than the Aussies. And TBH i reckon the Aussies would probably prefer to play the other 3N teams rather than England as they know those other oponents so much better and seem to be able to combat them better.

Either way i think it will be the closest Cup so far with 4 or 5 genuine contenders who on their day could beat any of the other top sides.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I agree that there are several contenders and that England will feel optimistic, though I'd probably be waiting until after the 6N for confirmation on that. Anything can happen in the knockout stage though, as has been proven numerous times in the past.

 

[runtmuncher]

Granted... But the game has changed a little since 91. The Professional era is just a tad different.
I think England would be really pleased about potentially avoiding South Africa and NZ as they traditionally struggle far more against them than the Aussies. And TBH i reckon the Aussies would probably prefer to play the other 3N teams rather than England as they know those other oponents so much better and seem to be able to combat them better.

Either way i think it will be the closest Cup so far with 4 or 5 genuine contenders who on their day could beat any of the other top sides.

Date Venue Score Victor Comments Attendance
13 November 2010 Twickenham, London 35 – 18 England 2010 Autumn International
19 June 2010 Stadium Australia, Sydney 20 – 21 England 2010 mid-year rugby test series
12 June 2010 Subiaco Oval, Perth 27 – 17 Australia
7 November 2009 Twickenham, London 9 – 18 Australia 2009 Autumn International
15 November 2008 Twickenham, London 14 – 28 Australia 2008 Autumn International 80,688
6 October 2007 Stade Vélodrome, Marseille 10 – 12 England 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-final 59,102
27 June 2006 Telstra Dome, Melbourne 43 – 18 Australia 2006 mid-year rugby test series 41,278
11 June 2006 Telstra Stadium, Sydney 34 – 3 Australia 60,124
12 November 2005 Twickenham, London 26 – 16 England
27 November 2004 Twickenham, London 19 – 21 Australia
26 June 2004 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 51 – 15 Australia

Not sure how the formatting there is going to come out, but the record since the '03 world cup is 7 -4 to the good guys. Pretty sure they still know how to beat them, it's just a matter of actually performing.

Much as it still pains me, it probably wasn't the worst thing to lose to England as we did and to now be going home knowing that we have a lot of work still to do.

 

[Langthorne]

Granted... But the game has changed a little since 91. The Professional era is just a tad different.
I think England would be really pleased about potentially avoiding South Africa and NZ as they traditionally struggle far more against them than the Aussies. And TBH i reckon the Aussies would probably prefer to play the other 3N teams rather than England as they know those other oponents so much better and seem to be able to combat them better.

Either way i think it will be the closest Cup so far with 4 or 5 genuine contenders who on their day could beat any of the other top sides.

Well there is only one team that has beaten the All Blacks this year!

On a serious note, I'd prefer to avoid England and play NZ in the final - this would be the best (realistic) scenario for the Wallabies. Of course before any of this can happen the big deficiencies (including scrum and consistency) will need to be sorted out.

 

[Bullrush]

I'm well on the way to agreeing with you, TK, except that for me the "important shit" is not the Bledisloe but the next Test whoever it's against. Bugger "building towards". Let's give every match our best shot.

The Wallabies jersey should be prized above everything. It shouldn't be worn by apprentices.

This is something that not many people understand about NZ rugby. Robbie Deans and the Wallabies are tracking along at approx 55% success rate in the last 3 years - a number which a lot are people are happy with so long the prospects at the RWC look good. Robbiw has some leeway to experiment, try new combinations, give players time to develop in the jersey etc without worrying so much about the result. Any coach in charge of the AB's doesn't have that luxury. Henry MUST maintain a winning record and a certain standard of play to ensure he isn't looking thru the job sections in the paper in a few months time. The NZ public just won't tolerate poor perfomances or losses for a sustained period - probably anything more than 1 season. And if the All Blacks lost to Scotland, Ireland, Munster.....there would almost be riots.

The losses in 1999, 2004 and 2007 in the RWC almost sent the country into economic depression...lol. I still remember hearing people on talkback in 1999 saying that John Hart had better not return to NZ - including the show host. It was terrible. And that's the ugly side of having those kinds of expectations on the national team. But as I've said earlier, I don't know which is more important - winning a RWC or having a 75% all-time winning percentage.

 

[Lindommer]

This is something that not many people understand about NZ rugby. Robbie Deans and the Wallabies are tracking along at approx 55% success rate in the last 3 years

There's a lot not many people understand about Australian rugby: as long as the trend's OK (it is), we're happy. And we like the vibe at the moment. Go the vibe.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

This is something that not many people understand about NZ rugby. Robbie Deans and the Wallabies are tracking along at approx 55% success rate in the last 3 years - a number which a lot are people are happy with so long the prospects at the RWC look good. Robbiw has some leeway to experiment, try new combinations, give players time to develop in the jersey etc without worrying so much about the result. Any coach in charge of the AB's doesn't have that luxury. Henry MUST maintain a winning record and a certain standard of play to ensure he isn't looking thru the job sections in the paper in a few months time. The NZ public just won't tolerate poor perfomances or losses for a sustained period - probably anything more than 1 season. And if the All Blacks lost to Scotland, Ireland, Munster.....there would almost be riots.

The losses in 1999, 2004 and 2007 in the RWC almost sent the country into economic depression...lol. I still remember hearing people on talkback in 1999 saying that John Hart had better not return to NZ - including the show host. It was terrible. And that's the ugly side of having those kinds of expectations on the national team. But as I've said earlier, I don't know which is more important - winning a RWC or having a 75% all-time winning percentage.

All of the above applies equally to Australia's cricket team. I'm not sure where you live mate, but if you're here in OZ, then you'd be picking up loud signals of discontent about our performances right now.

As Lindo points out, our rugby culture is a little different. We were rubbish for so long, that this whole winning games business and having some success was rather foreign to us, especially against NZ and RSA. It's only in the last generation that we've gotten used to winning more than we lose and being near the top of the rugby pile. Union is a minor sport in comparison to several others in OZ and thus the expectations aren't as high as for NZ, where rugby is your biggest sport for the blokes.

 

[Bullrush]

All of the above applies equally to Australia's cricket team. I'm not sure where you live mate, but if you're here in OZ, then you'd be picking up loud signals of discontent about our performances right now.

As Lindo points out, our rugby culture is a little different. We were rubbish for so long, that this whole winning games business and having some success was rather foreign to us, especially against NZ and RSA. It's only in the last generation that we've gotten used to winning more than we lose and being near the top of the rugby pile. Union is a minor sport in comparison to several others in OZ and thus the expectations aren't as high as for NZ, where rugby is your biggest sport for the blokes.

I've moved to Australia in the last 12 months or so and you're right about the comparisons with your cricket team.

I'm not a huge cricket fan myself but even I'm unbelievably happy whenever the Black Caps beat the Aussies.

Off topic BUT - is there any 24hr radio sport station here in Australia? We have one in NZ and I can't find anything like it here apart from a couple of hours of sports talk on a couple of stations.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

...snip...

Not sure how the formatting there is going to come out, but the record since the '03 world cup is 7 -4 to the good guys. Pretty sure they still know how to beat them, it's just a matter of actually performing.

Much as it still pains me, it probably wasn't the worst thing to lose to England as we did and to now be going home knowing that we have a lot of work still to do.

Welcome aboard Runtmuncher.

I can't wait to see your Avatar. I would imagine that it would be a tough gig to find a worthy Avatar to live up to your name.

 

[Jnor]

Anyone want to have a punt on this being the biggest thread here by the time theWC is decided? You may have a winner, HJ

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Something has to keep us occupied over the summer months before S15 and TNSS starts.

Once GPS and CAS footy starts up again, I am sure that there will be plenty of "action" on those threads.

For many people, a GPS title or schoolboy representative selection is more important than anything our Men in Gold are doing. Those threads will get a life of their own when the schools go back in late January.

 

[cyclopath]

The record is 3-2 mate, hardly one sided. We beat you lot in 87 and 91 (in a little game called the final).

Not having a go at the ChromeDomeWingForward (I too sport a glossy melon!), but this notion of teams being another team's bogey side in the RWC is pretty silly, other than a statistical bit of fun. I mean, England have GENERALLY been a thorn in our side over the past 8-10 years, rather than just 2003 and 2007 - we have lost a few to them when we really ought not to have. But overall records are more pertinent.
I agree it could be a good RWC with a greater number of real contenders than ever. And that's before Ireland and Wales start talking themselves up!!

 

[cyclopath]

Welcome aboard Runtmuncher.

I can't wait to see your Avatar. I would imagine that it would be a tough gig to find a worthy Avatar to live up to your name.

Since I have a chance at getting to select it, should it be vacant at the appropriate time, I am already turning my mind to this task!!

 

[Groucho]

Granted... But the game has changed a little since 91. The Professional era is just a tad different.
I think England would be really pleased about potentially avoiding South Africa and NZ as they traditionally struggle far more against them than the Aussies. And TBH i reckon the Aussies would probably prefer to play the other 3N teams rather than England as they know those other oponents so much better and seem to be able to combat them better.

Either way i think it will be the closest Cup so far with 4 or 5 genuine contenders who on their day could beat any of the other top sides.

I'd rather play England than the NZRT in New Zealand. As pointed out above, despite what many Englishmen believe we actually have a strong win record against the Poms. We have a shit win record against the NZRT.

 

[runtmuncher]

Welcome aboard Runtmuncher.

I can't wait to see your Avatar. I would imagine that it would be a tough gig to find a worthy Avatar to live up to your name.

Thanks

I've picked one to start with (it's supposed to be animated?) but will see if I can find anything more suitable over time.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Thanks

I've picked one to start with (it's supposed to be animated?) but will see if I can find anything more suitable over time.

Inspired by The Riddler's Grumbles Growden/Meat Pie, and Cyclo's roving eye animation, I googled Animated Avatar and found some web site which allowed me to put in a couple of image files, and it would produce the required animation. Just save this back on your hard drive and then upload it as your avatar.

I forget the web site but from memory google had plenty of sites which could do the goods.

Probably just blown my competitive advantage for next years G&GR Avatar of the year, but what the hell.