2015 Rugby World Cup **Potential spoilers**

[Wafer]

must be rarer than a straight lineout ball...

And hookers taking a side step towards their own line before throwing....

 

[John the Monkey]

"A petition demanding ITV to stop playing Paloma Faith’s Rugby World Cup song has attracted thousands of signatures."

http://lebuzz.eurosport.co.uk/viral...world-cup-song-by-paloma-faith-4180/#uk-fb-po

 

[nickyboy]

I'm forced to agree that this is probably true.... (I primarily played as an 8 - I wasn't quite crooked enough to be a flanker

.

Having met you I can vouch for your honesty. I, however, was a 7

 

[Kestevan]

Having met you I can vouch for your honesty. I, however, was a 7

Wondered where my water bottle and rear light went after that ride.......

 

[GrumpyGregry]

It does actually. Ta. (Tho' I can't remember the last time I saw those things happen 'the instant'....must be rarer than a straight lineout ball...

Law says "immediately" iirc. Which in refspeak means very very very quickly.

As an aside I dislike the current tendency for elite refs to call it e.g. "Release 6", "ball is out", etc., Shouldn't have to say a word. The players know what they are doing. The players know what they've been coached to do. Now whether or not what they've been coached to do is legal, e.g. bridging, is another bucket of cod.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Back in my day, locks weren't required to do a great deal (I wonder why I played there). We just kind of lumbered between scrum and lineout unless a foolish back got within arms reach.

It all seems much quicker these days!! I was certainly more comparable to Wade Dooley than Courtney Lawes (just about 20 levels below both)

I was always touted as the fourth member of the back row. When I played in Wales I used to pride myself on beating the club blindside to the breakdown.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

You cant compare Wade Dooley with Courtney Laws, one was a police man playing for preston grasshoppers at the weekend, the other is a highly paid professional athlete.
The amatuer game that you and I played hasnt changed that much.i played in the surrey leagues about 10 years ago and when i go back to watch them it is still the same speed and standard.

Playing level 9 rugby in the 80's and 90's I would, at six-two, be among the tallest four/five people on the park.
As a ref in last five years at that level even the scrum halfs were taller than me most weekends.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Burgess against Roberts could be interesting.

Against Fiji, England just seemed to play rugby by numbers, there doesn't seem to be an original thought from any of them. "We did this on the training ground and then we did this. If it fails, we do this ad infinitum". The only spark of hope is that with Halfpenny missing, we won't be punished points wise for all the transgressions we'll make at the breakdown.

Lancaster and his Plan A, Martin. There is no plan b. And that will be our undoing, cos when Plan A fails, and mark my words it will, when the wheels come off, and the playbook gets torn up, the vacuum of leadership on the park will see us on the coach home.

 

[martint235]

I was always touted as the fourth member of the back row. When I played in Wales I used to pride myself on beating the club blindside to the breakdown.

I was pretty quick for a lock and it was known for me to sprint occasionally however my in built laziness usually won out.

 

[Ciar]

in school i was a openside flanker, but after leaving school and working in finance my position was tight head and i ended my playing in that position, nothing like being in the scrum.

 

[martint235]

Lancaster and his Plan A, Martin. There is no plan b. And that will be our undoing, cos when Plan A fails, and mark my words it will, when the wheels come off, and the playbook gets torn up, the vacuum of leadership on the park will see us on the coach home.

IIRC we only had Plan A in 2003 it was just that it was an exceptionally good plan A with the staff to carry it out. I think the only time we deviated it from it was against Wales where it was going horribly wrong and Mike Catt was brought on to play at 12 outside Jonny and offer more kicking opportunities.

This time I agree I think it will go wrong, if not in the group then certainly in the knock out phases. There's no one with that little bit of "what will he do next".

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I played rugby union once and got sent off for punching a team mate who got a bit too close to the privates during a ruck. This was at school mind, up north, teacher gave us our football back the week after.

 

[Wafer]

There's no one with that little bit of "what will he do next".

There is, but Lancaster doesn't seem to want to play him.

 

[HF2300]

I didn't bother watching it because I genuinely thought Japan would be slaughtered on the pitch, glad I was proved wrong but wish I had watched it.

It'll still be available on the ITVPlayer, and is well worth watching even if you know the result.

 

[Wafer]

Georgia came unstuck against Argentina but I enjoyed periods of play where they relentlessly went through the phases and kept the ball much better than I would've expected before the tournament.