RWC 2011 SF1 - Wales v France

[Gnostic]

The Law provides that the tackle could indeed be a red card offence. It is unfortunate that it most probably determined the outcome of the match but he knows the rules and put himself in the position to at least get a yellow. I don't think it can be debated that the tackle was dangerous foul play and as such the ref was left with no choice once he formed that opinion.

 

[Cardiffblue]

That was the worst performance the Welsh put on in the whole tournament. Their kicking from the tee and from hand was abysmal. I feel that if they had kept the ball in hand they would have won. The French defence considering they were a man up was pretty woeful and only really got organised in the last 10 minutes. The Welsh however didn't captialise on it, putting up poor kicks that were not effectively chased so the French took them under no preasure and returned with interest and actually kicked for touch. Where for all that they have the shortest lineout from the tier one nations the French Lineout is very very good at turning over the ball.


In any event I think Gatland made a big mistake in this game putting on S. Jones at 10, since the kicking game was most definitely not working. I know it will be said he was put on for his goal kicking but he had only one shot which he missed closely, but they needed to run the ball and this has never been his strength. Wales really didn't have the lineout functioning well enough to plug the corners with any confidence so I cannot understand putting Jones in there.

agree 100% gnostic except re: Jones. Hook was not getting us anywhere. Wales should indeed have kept ball in hand. However in view if loss they Panicked. Lack of experience probably or lack of killer instinct. Losing Breadman destroyed lineout options. Made it easier to defend our throw in. Thought Toby was awesome. Having Jaw in the scrum on our ball destroyed our backline continuity for to long until they realised jut how crap the french were. How much ball did we kick to Shane williams' wing, when he was covering elsewhere. S'funny they practised playing with 14 earlier but I guess no one not even cement head thought it would be breadman sent off.

 

[pete88]

I will add, I thought Wales got away with a fair bit at ruck time, a lot of going off their feet to secure their own ball that went unpunished. The penalty that led to Halfpenny's shot definitely went the wrong way. To be fair, they played the better rugby so they probably deserved the rub of the green. And yes, I wouldn't share my opinion about the ref in Cardiff.

I didn't think Jones was an improvement, and running th eball in to contact in the French 22 instead of lining up a droppie??? Thought he made a few mistakes towards the end that looked costly.

And yes, the more I think about it, the more I think Wales wouldn't have just won with Warburton on the field. As you say cardiffblue, Jamie Roberts on first phase crash ball = free metres gained, probably at least one linebreak for the match.

 

[Cardiffblue]

I will add, I thought Wales got away with a fair bit at ruck time, a lot of going off their feet to secure their own ball that went unpunished. The penalty that led to Halfpenny's shot definitely went the wrong way. To be fair, they played the better rugby so they probably deserved the rub of the green. And yes, I wouldn't share my opinion about the ref in Cardiff.

S'funny cos just at the moment we got that kick I's just said that the ref would give a make up penalty of some sort. Just a bit astounded he gave us that one!

 

[pete88]

ha, sorry looks like my ninja edit got done while you were posting! woops.

 

[Cardiffblue]

Hey Cardiff, I see you are back on line. tell us about your fecking gnome now. How in the hell did he manage to orchestrate that?

the ways of the gnome were perfectly on display tonight. He s not a force for good!. Building us up and then letting us down in a way that will cause maximum angst.

Now we will always talk about the game when captn Sam got sent off and we lost to a total heap of merde

thankfully he will probably leave us alone for the 3rd place playoff

 

[Groucho]

The Law provides that the tackle could indeed be a red card offence. It is unfortunate that it most probably determined the outcome of the match but he knows the rules and put himself in the position to at least get a yellow. I don't think it can be debated that the tackle was dangerous foul play and as such the ref was left with no choice once he formed that opinion.

Indeed. A match deciding card for a tip tackle has been overdue for some time. The Wallabies might well have suffered a few already, were the referees better sighted.

 

[pete88]

Yeah, that and some of the other decisions did feel slightly make-upish to me too.

Ah I feel for you guys, hopefully it's a new permanent leaf for Welsh Rugby. I'm going to go right ahead and say you should beat whoever you play in that game. Whoever loses will probably not want it as much as you guys, and this Welsh team looks like it would gobble that type of complacency (and underdog status) up for breakfast. Who's your captain going to be? I totally missed who got the arm band after the red card.

 

[Groucho]

the ways of the gnome were perfectly on display tonight. He s not a force for good!. Building us up and then letting us down in a way that will cause maximum angst.

Now we will always talk about the game when captn Sam got sent off and we lost to a total heap of merde

thankfully he will probably leave us alone for the 3rd place playoff

I'll be putting a cheeky Euro or two on Wales for 2015.

 

[Cardiffblue]

I'll be putting a cheeky Euro or two on Wales for 2015.

trouble will be that unlike here squads dont get together often enough. Gatland has had these players for 4 months. that's unheard of and probably wont happen until 2015.

 

[minorbird]

In regards to the Warburton red card, I found this on another site:

To summarise, the possible scenarios when a tackler horizontally lifts a player off the ground:
∞ The player is lifted and then forced or “speared” into the ground. A red card should be issued for this type of tackle.
∞ The lifted player is dropped to the ground from a height with no regard to the player’s safety. A red card should be issued for this type of tackle.
∞ For all other types of dangerous lifting tackles, it may be considered a penalty or yellow card is sufficient

For mine, the Warburton tackle fits the second scenario (you could even make an argument that he drove in the tackle, which would fit the first)

Source: http://www.deepsouthrugbyunion.com/images/IRB_Memorandum_re_Dangerous_Tackles.pdf

 

[Cardiffblue]

Yeah, that and some of the other decisions did feel slightly make-upish to me too.

Ah I feel for you guys, hopefully it's a new permanent leaf for Welsh Rugby. I'm going to go right ahead and say you should beat whoever you play in that game. Whoever loses will probably not want it as much as you guys, and this Welsh team looks like it would gobble that type of complacency (and underdog status) up for breakfast. Who's your captain going to be? I totally missed who got the arm band after the red card.

we've played like that for a while now. Just not consistently. Not sure who will lead team- my guess would be Ryan Jones as he's done it before.

 

[Waylon]

Wales were robbed
The game is as soft as sh1te now. It's a farce the bloke got sent off for that tackle.
It was worth a penalty. That's it
They still should have won. They missed some easy kicks.
A lifetime of regret for the goal kicker

 

[Cardiffblue]

In regards to the Warburton red card, I found this on another site:

To summarise, the possible scenarios when a tackler horizontally lifts a player off the ground:
∞ The player is lifted and then forced or “speared” into the ground. A red card should be issued for this type of tackle.
∞ The lifted player is dropped to the ground from a height with no regard to the player’s safety. A red card should be issued for this type of tackle.
∞ For all other types of dangerous lifting tackles, it may be considered a penalty or yellow card is sufficient

For mine, the Warburton tackle fits the second scenario (you could even make an argument that he drove in the tackle, which would fit the first)

Source: http://www.deepsouthrugbyunion.com/images/IRB_Memorandum_re_Dangerous_Tackles.pdf

Why bother? I don't agree with you and I can probably find at least 3 million other people who don't ,but in the end it's history. History that ruined the game, but there we go. We didn't adapt well. frankly I didnt realise quite how central Breadman was to Wales' performance but it was obvious from the lineouts to the rucks.

BTW you know that Huw richards was sent off in RWC'87 semifinal, and remember david Codey was sent off in 3rd place playoff

 

[Groucho]

I just so much wish you'd won it. It'd have been a victory for the ages. You went very close. Next time!

 

[Cardiffblue]

I just so much wish you'd won it. It'd have been a victory for the ages. You went very close. Next time!

Still think the playoff game will be greater game than anything involving france. Future looks good and this time unlike 87 there's no way this team is going to bugger off to RL.

 

[Lindommer]

Okay I've put up with this long enough

Dear all Commentators

It is pronounced Daveees, not Davis, Jonathan DavIES, Bradley DavIES.

Fucking hell it's not difficult

Not if you're Welsh. In Wales Davis and Davies are pronounced the same, with a short second syllable.

 

[Cardiffblue]

Wales were robbed
The game is as soft as sh1te now. It's a farce the bloke got sent off for that tackle.
It was worth a penalty. That's it
They still should have won. They missed some easy kicks.
A lifetime of regret for the goal kicker

I hope history is not to hard on Shove or Wellies. Kicking wasn't easy on an ice rink. Philips showed that we made the french defence look better than it was. Lesson is that rugby is better played ball in hand and we did that too late

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Wales lost the SF to punish the fickle Poms who got on the Welsh Bandwagon

Do you know what?

A Welsh Flag over #10 Downing Street.
All the Soap Dodgers at work claiming Welsh Heritage, or "I've always supported Wales cause I grew up in Hereford (or wherever)" etc, or "We've got to go for our neighbour, and they are playing awesome rugby, and should win".
I am sure that this has probably been the same for all Soap Dodgers worldwide.
All the Support from the Soap Dodgers probably put the gnome into overdrive, and he took action. He had no choice.

Sometimes with a Cancer, (Bandwagon, fickle, know-it-all smartypants Support from the Soap Dodgers is a cancer) you need to cut out healthy tissue to prevent the cancer spreading. The Welsh loss today was part of that cancer treatment. The Soap Dodgers need to know their place. They may have invented the game, but that doesn't mean that they have any god given rights of superiority.

Unfortunately the Rugby Gods had to take action against the Soap Dodgers and fair weather Soap Dodger supporters that the IRB were not prepared to do during the RWC. Punishment meant their mob were on the first available plane out of Auckland Airport, and their alternate bandwagon team has also been chosen to play for the Bronze medal.

 

[Richo]

The card was what it was. I thought it was a yellow, but I get the call too. Wales still had the chance to win it and did not capitalise. If you miss 3 (or was it 4?) penalties, plus a conversion and two droppies, you lose. IMO, Wales have no one to blame but themselves. The French, however, can thank Dieu.