RWC: AUS v ENG (Twickenham): POOL A; 6am (AEDT) Sunday 4 October

[Viking]

Amazing the number of morons on the front page article calling for Cheika to resign or be sacked if we lose.

Apparently Quade Cooper's 3 yellow cards in 4 games is a complete non-issue and anyone suggesting it is affecting his non-selection is "a pathetic stick for you to cling to".

Of course Cooper not getting selected is because Cheika only selects his favourites.

I'm certainly pro-Cooper and don't rate Foley much but Cheika didn't really have much of a choice. Coopers yellows, goal-kicking, and errors were his downfall. It was his spot for the taking but he didn't put his hand up.

Can't blame Cheika for that. Maybe the exclusion of Lilo was a poor choice (but we only know that now given the poor performances of Foley and Cooper).

 

[BabyBlueElephant]

Farrell and Barritt. If this goes tits up I'm not sure how Lancaster will explain changing from the regular Ford and Burrell in midfield over the past season to this utterly one dimensional combo.

 

[Cardiffblue]

Seems you are getting under their skins. Keep it up.

For mine I wanna know why irb are commenting anything re reffing decisions. Wtf. There were a few I wasn't happy with too

Times article

Host nation angered by scrum propaganda after officials admit to errors

England are furious at what they perceive to be a campaign designed to undermine Joe Marler and create a “smokescreen” around the scrum before Saturday’s do-or-die World Cup showdown with Australia.

Bob Dwyer, the former Australia coach, has accused Marler of gaining an advantage by boring in on opponents. The England loose-head prop’s “illegal” technique has also been highlighted by Jonathan Kaplan, a former referee, and Australian bloggers, who have posted online a still image to illustrate Marler’s angle of attack.

England have a strong tradition of dominating Australia up front, most recently when they over-powered the Wallabies to win 26-17 last November. The squad is understood to view this furore as an attempt to influence the referee and compromise England’s power base. Scrummaging experts have told The Times that the spider-cam images from the Wales game have been misinterpreted. They argue Marler is not cheating, as has been claimed, because neither he nor England could gain any advantage from his hips being out that wide.

England are anxious that the officials on Saturday night do not make the same mistake; they are particularly sensitive about refereeing interpretations after being informed by World Rugby that four crucial penalties in the 28-25 defeat by Wales, including one at a scrum, should not have been awarded against them.

However, the referee on Saturday night is Romain Poite, a Frenchman who is renowned as one of the best officials in the world at reading the balance of power in the scrum, and England are confident that he will not be swayed by the rumpus over Marler.

Why Saturday may be better

England’s crucial game against Australia will be refereed by Romain Poite, below, who has a reputation as the leading referee of the scrum. He took charge of the Lions’ series-clinching 41-16 victory over Australia in Sydney in 2013 and penalised the Wallaby pack heavily. This will be his third match of the World Cup.

 

[Groucho]

we are going to be monstered in the scrum(by fair means or foul)
hope Fiji can deny wales a bonus point!

Do you work for the English rugby press, brokendown? That's what they've been intoning all year.

Also, England have already denied Wales a bonus point.

It's not as bad as you think!

 

[Cardiffblue]

Do you work for the English rugby press, brokendown? That's what they've been intoning all year.

Also, England have already denied Wales a bonus point.

It's not as bad as you think!

It is as bad as you think when you start banking on bonus points. Best not to go there. Just knock off the orcs. Still find this weird for a country aspiring to win the comp

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Good find @Cardiff Blue.

That article in The Times is attempting to influence the referee as much as the #ScrumStraightJoe campaign is attempting to draw attention to the Illegal Scrummaging from some NH teams.

Meanwhile, Eddie Jones stirs the pot with this:
‘To me, Robshaw is an outstanding club player, but at international level he just doesn’t have that point of difference. He carries OK, he tackles OK, but he’s not outstanding in any one area,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘He’s a good workmanlike player.’
Source: Daily Mail, quoted on the Blog front page - http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/?p=87187

Soap Dodgers have named their Squad:
1 Joe Marler
2 Tom Youngs
3 Dan Cole
4 Joe Launchbury
5 Geoff Parling
6 Tom Wood
7 Chris Robshaw (c)
8 Ben Morgan
9 Ben Youngs
10 Owen Farrell
11 Jonny May
12 Brad Barritt
13 Jonathan Joseph
14 Anthony Watson
15 Mike Brown

16 Rob Webber
17 Mako Vunipola
18 Kieran Brookes
19 George Kruis
20 Nick Easter
21 Richard Wigglesworth
22 George Ford
23 Sam Burgess

 

[drewprint]

It is as bad as you think when you start banking on bonus points. Best not to go there. Just knock off the orcs. Still find this weird for a country aspiring to win the comp

I find it weird you keep banging on about this. Many people, many times, have said we plan on winning every game. Many of these people are also realists and understand a victory against the English isn't a sure thing, and in a highly competitive pool other factors may come into play.

 

[Groucho]

It is as bad as you think when you start banking on bonus points. Best not to go there. Just knock off the orcs. Still find this weird for a country aspiring to win the comp

100% agreed.

But it's not really about bonus points. It's about assigning blame. The scapegoats are milling in the starter paddock of the id, and the blame jockeys are scrambling to find a last-minute seat.

This might be the last chance that anyone has to moan about going for the posts about Fiji, and people want their money's worth!

 

[Cardiffblue]

I find it weird you keep banging on about this. Many people, many times, have said we plan on winning every game. Many of these people are also realists and understand a victory against the English isn't a sure thing, and in a highly competitive pool other factors may come into play.

Cos I have a dream of England being knocked out and We've provided the means. The combined forces of gagr have got them worried re mahler. Eye on the prize.

 

[Groucho]

Good find @Cardiff Blue.

That article in The Times is attempting to influence the referee as much as the #ScrumStraightJoe campaign is attempting to draw attention to the Illegal Scrummaging from some NH teams.

Meanwhile, Eddie Jones stirs the pot with this:
‘To me, Robshaw is an outstanding club player, but at international level he just doesn’t have that point of difference. He carries OK, he tackles OK, but he’s not outstanding in any one area,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘He’s a good workmanlike player.’
Source: Daily Mail, quoted on the Blog front page - http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/?p=87187

Soap Dodgers have named their Squad:
1 Joe Marler
2 Tom Youngs
3 Dan Cole
4 Joe Launchbury
5 Geoff Parling
6 Tom Wood
7 Chris Robshaw (c)
8 Ben Morgan
9 Ben Youngs
10 Owen Farrell
11 Jonny May
12 Brad Barritt
13 Jonathan Joseph
14 Anthony Watson
15 Mike Brown

16 Rob Webber
17 Mako Vunipola
18 Kieran Brookes
19 George Kruis
20 Nick Easter
21 Richard Wigglesworth
22 George Ford
23 Sam Burgess

Jaysus. That squad hasn't seen some soap in a while!

 

[Cardiffblue]

Jaysus. That squad hasn't seen some soap in a while!

Gotta target jj. He can't be fully fit

 

[the plastic paddy]

Farrell and Barritt. If this goes tits up I'm not sure how Lancaster will explain changing from the regular Ford and Burrell in midfield over the past season to this utterly one dimensional combo.

I don't think he will need to worry about explaining anything, if The Wale win today and Australia win on Saturday, Lancaster will resign immediately.

 

[qwerty51]

Nah the faith will be back once they put 100 on Uruguay.

 

[Cardiffblue]

Nah the faith will be back once they put 100 on Uruguay.

But they will still be out

 

[Groucho]

Nah the faith will be back once they put 100 on Uruguay.

"Peaked at the wrong time."

 

[Joe Blow]

Amazing the number of morons on the front page article calling for Cheika to resign or be sacked if we lose.

Apparently Quade Cooper's 3 yellow cards in 4 games is a complete non-issue and anyone suggesting it is affecting his non-selection is "a pathetic stick for you to cling to".

Of course Cooper not getting selected is because Cheika only selects his favourites.

I am a long time QC (Quade Cooper) diehard. He has had his chances. In between flashes of brilliance have been repeated moments of poor decision making that are a real threat to the sides success.
Coming to the pointy end of this thing there is just no place for hail mary selections. It had to be Foley, if not then To'omua.
This is such a solid side in every respect.

 

[Cardiffblue]

Cmon you guys ch is doing his bit vs marler

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/wales-v-fiji-robin-mcbryde-10166227

Keep up the pressure

 

[qwerty51]

1. Scott Sio
2. Stephen Moore (c)
3. Sekope Kepu
4. Kane Douglas
5. Rob Simmons
6. Scott Fardy
7. Michael Hooper
8. David Pocock
9. Will Genia
10. Bernard Foley
11. Rob Horne
12. Matt Giteau
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Adam Ashley-Cooper
15. Israel Folau

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau
17. James Slipper
18. Greg Holmes
19. Dean Mumm
20. Ben McCalman
21. Nick Phipps
22. Matt To'omua
23. Kurtley Beale

Confirmed bench. As expected.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Not happy with that starting line up but there you go.
What does the collective wisdom of Gagger Land make of England picking Burgess on the bench?
Seems to limit his options in the event of injury or poor form as the guy can only play one position and then barely at test level.

 

[Groucho]

All things considered, that's the 15 I'd pick. The 23 is more important in the new way of things.

If only Quade had got his act together in time. Him in imperious form would change the equation.

As it stands, in the forwards, I think we've got two of the stars of the tournament already in the Pooper. Fardy and the props are also right up there.

We don't need 15 x-factor players. We need 12 or 13 to do their jobs. All our players are capable of displaying x-factor with fast front-foot ball. All of them. And no team has better assets for securing fast front-foot ball than ours.

The 3 or 4 x-factor players we've selected have the potential to dominate. And they're in form.

Watching Fiji dismantle Wales at the scrum tonight, I also feel quite bullish about both our tight fives. Particularly the fact of our finisher front row being the better scrummaging unit.

Especially after we run their blokes round their field for an hour. Despite the nonsense posted on the G&GR front page and the Roar, we won't be playing a conservative game. We'll be trucking it up then spinning it wide, both of those at speed. We'll be putting continuous pressure on their defensive realignment.

England really aren't all that.

They lost to Wales, who very nearly got humped by Fiji. Those are both good teams, but it hardly paints England as world beaters.

The Poms are in disarray. They've already lost a game. Their tournament is on the line. They're trying their 18th different center combination under their current coach. They've selected a goal-kicking flyhalf.

I reckon we're a 15-point better team.

Bring on the fcuking orcs.