Teh Other Dave
Alan Cameron (40)
A Fiji/Samoa/Tonga that can play brutal, fast rugby will get people through the turstiles. Instead, their sons and daughters are filling the XVs and VIIs of wealthy tier one nations.
The Fallout from RWC 2015
- Thread starter Hugh Jarse
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Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
Yeah. Fiji would be a much better team if the Wallabies hadn't stolen Henry Speight from them. The ARU are such evil and rich corporate scumbags.
wamberal
Phil Kearns (64)
One way of looking at it is that turnstiles in Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga would not generate much money even if these three nations had all their very best players all the time.
In a professional era it makes sense for young men from these relatively poor countries to play abroad where they can earn the sort of money that their local unions can never, ever, dream of generating.
Better they travel to play our code. The alternative is the NRL, or State loig competitions.
Inside Shoulder
Nathan Sharpe (72)
They say if you sit here long enough you'll see everything.
Campo bagging someone for their tackling technique: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/r...g-a-brilliant-tournament-20151008-gk4vwc.html
Campo bagging someone for their tackling technique: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/r...g-a-brilliant-tournament-20151008-gk4vwc.html
That article was just dripping with unintended irony.
Campo certainly has a point that the second tier nations and particularly the Islander teams have been repeatedly dudded with suspensions. The flip side of that though is that you can't watch Fiji in particular play a game without thinking that their discipline is just atrocious. Tonga and Samoa have been major culprits of this at previous RWCs as well.
I think one issue that needs to be looked at is the number of weeks of suspensions for various incidents and how greatly that affects things.
Illegal use of the knee is punished very severely because clearly a knee can inflict a lot of damage but my guess is that these punishments are based on a knee also being likely to be used in a far more flagrant way than say a shoulder etc.
Lifting your knee in a tackle is clearly not the same thing as attacking someone with your knee on the ground etc.
Maybe there needs to be a new law designed around foul play by the ball carrier which covers multiple things and is aligned with judiciary punishments that better fit the crime.
Campo certainly has a point that the second tier nations and particularly the Islander teams have been repeatedly dudded with suspensions. The flip side of that though is that you can't watch Fiji in particular play a game without thinking that their discipline is just atrocious. Tonga and Samoa have been major culprits of this at previous RWCs as well.
I think one issue that needs to be looked at is the number of weeks of suspensions for various incidents and how greatly that affects things.
Illegal use of the knee is punished very severely because clearly a knee can inflict a lot of damage but my guess is that these punishments are based on a knee also being likely to be used in a far more flagrant way than say a shoulder etc.
Lifting your knee in a tackle is clearly not the same thing as attacking someone with your knee on the ground etc.
Maybe there needs to be a new law designed around foul play by the ball carrier which covers multiple things and is aligned with judiciary punishments that better fit the crime.
Inside Shoulder
Nathan Sharpe (72)
Not only unintended but evidently not perceived by the author!
Jellic87
Chris McKivat (8)
So I've been looking at the quarter final draw a lot harder now that we've beaten England now that the fear of us not making it out of the pool is now gone!!
I've noticed that if we beat Wales this weekend we will most likely draw Scotland in the quarters and could very well draw Ireland in the Semi's. Now please correct me if i'm wrong but that would mean the Wallabies would actually have to win a 'Grand Slam' just to make the final and then cap it off by most likely meeting the All Blacks in the final...... Epic.
Now i know that all RWC tournament wins are incredibly hard but a Grand Slam sweep of all 4 home nations would be incredible!
I've noticed that if we beat Wales this weekend we will most likely draw Scotland in the quarters and could very well draw Ireland in the Semi's. Now please correct me if i'm wrong but that would mean the Wallabies would actually have to win a 'Grand Slam' just to make the final and then cap it off by most likely meeting the All Blacks in the final...... Epic.
Now i know that all RWC tournament wins are incredibly hard but a Grand Slam sweep of all 4 home nations would be incredible!
wamberal
Phil Kearns (64)
Jellic87
Chris McKivat (8)
To be honest, i'd actually worry more about playing Ireland than i would about the Saffies at the moment, but you're not wrong. Coming off SA straight into the AB's would be harder than coming off Scotland into Ireland
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
Yeah, but you're not making it out of the quarters. #Banter
a fair call but not Wales at Cardiff, Ireland in Dublin and Scotland in Edinburudgfhhdhh. So not a true GS!
Jellic87
Chris McKivat (8)
Ignoto
Peter Sullivan (51)
At the same time, if we have to go down that route (playing the Scots then the Irish), we'd have gotten an accidental Grand Slam over the United Kingdom.
Jellic87
Chris McKivat (8)
That's true, Wales in Cardiff are a whole different story. But we'll take any sort of Grand Slam if it means winning Bill! Fingers crossed we can do the job on them this weekend!
T
TOCC
Guest
Yea they do receive ongoing payments, but $US500'000/year for 4 years is $US2.15million.. That's around £6million less then the tier 1 teams receive every 4 years.
Some tier 2 players are earning minimum wage during the RWC, this is despite many of the players taking wage cuts from their clubs for the duration, how is it that a tournament generating £180million is leaving players out of pocket. That's just not equitable.
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waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
This is a worry (& not just for the unnecessarily convoluted language: why can't he just say "we don't wanna be selling tickets for RWC 2019 at the same time as tickets for the Tokyo Olympics are on sale"?)
"World Rugby's chief executive, Brett Gosper, warned that organisers were not keen "to go in the market in phasing terms when we are up against the Olympics in a ticketing sense" and added that no decision had yet been made when to conduct the draw for Japan."
Bottom line: expect a premature draw & another Pool of Death (& maybe two if the gaps between Tiers continue to close).
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/729532...oup-of-death-could-happen-again-in-japan-2019
"World Rugby's chief executive, Brett Gosper, warned that organisers were not keen "to go in the market in phasing terms when we are up against the Olympics in a ticketing sense" and added that no decision had yet been made when to conduct the draw for Japan."
Bottom line: expect a premature draw & another Pool of Death (& maybe two if the gaps between Tiers continue to close).
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/729532...oup-of-death-could-happen-again-in-japan-2019
Beer Baron
Phil Hardcastle (33)
Given Argentina's improvement, Scotland's consistent competitiveness, Fiji's improvement in the set piece and close games with Aus and Wales (and England until the last 10) There is always going to be a pool death.
There are now 11 teams who could all beat each other (this includes Fiji and Japan). This means three pools getting 3 of the above teams and one pool only getting two. Add a Georgia, Tonga and Samoa in.... days of of sure fire 1/2nd pool places are (hopefully over).
This all relies on Japan and Fiji's improvement continuing, which with the S18 must be assumed for Japan
There are now 11 teams who could all beat each other (this includes Fiji and Japan). This means three pools getting 3 of the above teams and one pool only getting two. Add a Georgia, Tonga and Samoa in.... days of of sure fire 1/2nd pool places are (hopefully over).
This all relies on Japan and Fiji's improvement continuing, which with the S18 must be assumed for Japan
Doing the pool draw so far out from the tournament increases the chances of having a heavily unbalanced pool relative to the other pools though.
A team who is outside the top 8 has a much better chance of being in the top 5 three years after that low point than one year later.
A team who is outside the top 8 has a much better chance of being in the top 5 three years after that low point than one year later.
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
The ideal time to do it is after all the regular spots have qualified. You're never much more than a year out, so you've got a good handle on the rankings in general, while the team that goes through in the Repechage deserves last pot seeding regardless of the actual rank.
Who gets a guernsey and who doesn't to RWCs is part of the growing pains of rugby as it, still, comes to terms with professionalism. Let's be honest, rugby isn't widespread enough worldwide for teams ranked around the 40 mark to cause upsets in our World Cups as they do in soccer. Let's not forget the huge boost Cameroon's victories gave that FIFA World Cup all those years ago, and still does for that country as its players pick up lucrative contracts in Europe. To date the RWC finalists have come from only five countries: New Zealand, France, Australia, England and South Africa. And I can't see it changing in the immediate future (sorry, Paddies, if anyone's going to join that group I'd wager Argentina get there before you). I won't wander down the path of the limited number of FIFA WC winners here.
Realistically, the RWC participants will always include the SH four, the 6 Nations lot and the six in the Pacific Nations Cup. That's 16, add in Georgia as the next best European and they're three spots left for the minnows. Romania were very good up until the fall of communism as Ceausescu supported the code before his downfall (didn't the ABs play a test in Bucharest some time in the 80s?); their club competition will probably never be strong enough to help them rise much higher. Minnows who've competed in past RWCs are Ivory Coast, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Zimbabwe together with Namibia and Uruguay in this one; South Korea and Kenya could join that group soon. Which brings me to my most important point: it's imperative the iRB/WR (World Rugby) keep up their development efforts to improve the game in Tier 2/3 countries. I, for one, would advocate a sustained push to improve standards in Russia and China as the areas which would yield the most significant results.
Realistically, the RWC participants will always include the SH four, the 6 Nations lot and the six in the Pacific Nations Cup. That's 16, add in Georgia as the next best European and they're three spots left for the minnows. Romania were very good up until the fall of communism as Ceausescu supported the code before his downfall (didn't the ABs play a test in Bucharest some time in the 80s?); their club competition will probably never be strong enough to help them rise much higher. Minnows who've competed in past RWCs are Ivory Coast, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Zimbabwe together with Namibia and Uruguay in this one; South Korea and Kenya could join that group soon. Which brings me to my most important point: it's imperative the iRB/WR (World Rugby) keep up their development efforts to improve the game in Tier 2/3 countries. I, for one, would advocate a sustained push to improve standards in Russia and China as the areas which would yield the most significant results.
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