U20s WC

[waiopehu oldboy]

France 16-7 NZ totally outplayed & some dumb footy esp in the first half when we had a big wind at our backs but seldom used it to get field position: won a penalty on halfway late in the half & down 0-3 & we ran it FFS.

England 32-31 in the other semi so Final will be a repeat of the 6N U20 decider that England won by ~20 points (but I'd expect France to at least get much closer with a big home crowd behind them).

 

[neilc]

England have been quite dominant in U20 WC over recent years - think they won it 2013, 14 and 16 (NZ won in 2015 and 17) and were runners up most years that they didn't win. That dominance doesn't seem to have transferred to senior rugby, not sure why that is.

 

[The Honey Badger]

France 16-7 NZ totally outplayed & some dumb footy esp in the first half when we had a big wind at our backs but seldom used it to get field position: won a penalty on halfway late in the half & down 0-3 & we ran it FFS.

England 32-31 in the other semi so Final will be a repeat of the 6N U20 decider that England won by ~20 points (but I'd expect France to at least get much closer with a big home crowd behind them).

Great play by France, at least the last 30 mins I saw.

They played out of their skins.

Can't see England beating that team.

And how The F England almost lost a a game they were so totally in control of in the first half, I do not know.

I saw SA come back in the second half v Ireland, and demolish them after being behind. Seems they must have done the same to England.

They must have some good tactical coaches, to do that twice.

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[zer0]

Oh well. Would've been nice to win, but a close semifinal is good enough to suggest that the development is still chugging along, which is most important at this level.

Though I read that England has won every final they've played against not-NZ opposition (3-0), but lost every final against NZ (0-5). Here's hoping le Frenchies can blemish that record.

 

[RugbyReg]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">Superbe stamping à 20 m du ballon. Par contre c&#39;est pas sur la tête, mais bien le bras. Après le français, ça fait deux fois qu&#39;il est du mauvais coté. Il a rien à foutre là. <a href="https://t.co/wlQOhmZZFc">pic.twitter.com/wlQOhmZZFc</a></p>&mdash; greub (@greub1) <a href="">June 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[zer0]

Seems the TMO downgraded it to just a penalty because it was on the arm. Though I'm pretty sure stamping is a red, regardless.

 

[Forcefield]

Think you’ve read that wrong. He praised the forwards and wants to see continued development on those positions at the professional level.

That's the size of it. No offense to any of the current players. Hamish Stewart looks great. My point was that we had a prop problem and now we have high quality young props coming out the wazoo. At senior level we have position problems- behind Foley, Genia, at 6 etc. Can we do the same thing we did to fix the prop problem with those positions (I know it is not that simple).

 

[The Honey Badger]

That's the size of it. No offense to any of the current players. Hamish Stewart looks great. My point was that we had a prop problem and now we have high quality young props coming out the wazoo. At senior level we have position problems- behind Foley, Genia, at 6 etc. Can we do the same thing we did to fix the prop problem with those positions (I know it is not that simple).

There are 3 quality 9's in this age group. Lonergan, McDermot (both captains) and Goodard who many on this site believe to be the best, but stayed home on Rebels duty.

Stewart looks the goods at 10. Also, we have seen very little of Harrison who is young and is a huge talent also coming through.



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[Lost]

Bayley Kuenzle was certainly a massive upgrade at 12. Lucas may well be a good 10 but he was not showing capability at 12 which was a big problem in the NZ game. Full of energy but limited effectiveness. The side today was the most balanced it has looked and well served by all. 13 was very impactful, 10 was solid and the forwards were outstanding.

 

[Forcefield]

There are 3 quality 9's in this age group. Lonergan, McDermot (both captains) and Goodard who many on this site believe to be the best, but stayed home on Rebels duty.

Stewart looks the goods at 10. Also, we have seen very little of Harrison who is young and is a huge talent also coming through.



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And maybe the tide is turning. As I said, my comment was not about the current crop, more that I'd like to see gaps in our senior side plugged and that previous U20 hopefuls in some positions haven't cracked on like we hoped. On the other hand we have depth in spades with props. Take tighthead: Kepu, AAA, Tupou, Vui, Ainsley. Three test standard. Two very promising up-and-comers (with no pressure to mature too soon)

 

[Forcefield]

Good news. Whether we win or lose our next game, we dodge SA and NZ next year.

 

[RugbyReg]

Bayley Kuenzle was certainly a massive upgrade at 12. Lucas may well be a good 10 but he was not showing capability at 12 which was a big problem in the NZ game. Full of energy but limited effectiveness. The side today was the most balanced it has looked and well served by all. 13 was very impactful, 10 was solid and the forwards were outstanding.

c'mon big fellah...you can do it..I'm sure you're able to bring yourself to name a QLDer in a positive manner. Give it a shot.

 

[Lost]

c'mon big fellah.you can do it..I'm sure you're able to bring yourself to name a QLDer in a positive manner. Give it a shot.

You seem to have that well covered champ. I will leave it to you


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[RugbyReg]

Stewart was terrific.

 

[The Honey Badger]

Stewart was terrific.

Agreed, I think his controlling of the game was integral to the win

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[Forcefield]

Stewart was terrific and diverse and you get the sense he has far more potential in him. A handful of things he tried were creative but didn't quite work. You get the feeling he will learn with him when some of those things will/won't work and how to be slightly better at them.

 

[Rugbybloke123]

was Goddard not picked or intentionally left home ?

 

[SOLE334]

McTaggart is the weak link. He let in 3 tries against the Italian winger, 2 were very soft tries from extremely lazy defensive efforts. It's time to start Latu. We need someone who can tackle and makes the effort to chase back hard when you miss a tackle.

 

[TSR]

was Goddard not picked or intentionally left home ?

Depends who you ask.

 

[The Honey Badger]

was Goddard not picked or intentionally left home ?

Have you been reading this thread?

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