Rugby - The Game They Play In Heaven II

[kittenOFchaos]

Are the French worth a flutter at 19-1 to lose the 1st half, but win the game? That is the question on my mind

Most of the time such bets only gets you 6-1. France are capable of far more than they've been delivering and we've yet to see NZ under any form of pressure this RWC. Australia were a shadow of the team that won the Tri-Nations, Argentina were playing pretty poorly and the NZ pool offered no real test largely because the French didn't bother - even Japan didn't bother.

I'm tempted

[finbar]

There are some nice pictures of the shirt history down the page.

Now there are some nice shirts. Oh for the old days. The Wallabies too. They used to wear a true wattle colour. Now it's a horrible mustardy yellow.

kOC. Keep your money in your pocket. You're a married man now. Mmmm. Okay, don't keep it in your pocket. She'll find it. Bury it in the backyard.

[kittenOFchaos]

kOC. Keep your money in your pocket. You're a married man now. Mmmm. Okay, don't keep it in your pocket. She'll find it. Bury it in the backyard.

Boring!

[Havak]

Not betting, saving money or France?

[Snotty]

The paddy power bookie has already paid out on bets on the all blacks winning, saying the french were the worst team to ever reach the final

[finbar]

Marketing. They've done it before with s***** matches.

[Havak]

Just marketing, but you also feel they have a point perhaps?

I am not watching (what interest is there in this silly 3rd place game?) but have just been emailed by a friend who says Cooper is off with a serious injury - knee ligaments suspected?

[finbar]

I think it's his ACL. Six months out apparently. Pity, he started very well linking with Barnes. Looked like the old Quade. Barnes ended up MOTM with a terrific display of control, creativity, and monumental defence. Makes Deans and Co's decision to overlook him in favour of the McCabe brick wall experiment even more stupid. Losing Beale after 10 minutes with his hammy going again didn't help the cause. It was a dodgy selection in the first place. Wales were very poor. Poor goal kicking, poor options in attack - well, there weren't any, Hook was utter rubbish, and they were out-scrummaged believe it or not. Very good Wallaby effort under trying injury circumstances.

[Havak]

I caught some of Gatland's pre-game interview on the radio as I drove in. Wales were apparrently very down and still aggrieved over the great injustice last week when a referee - and it is hard to explain the full horror of this - chose to apply the law book (the interpretation according to Paddy anyway).

Is anyone surprised at the result? Wales seldom play two good games in a row and this would have been a third....

*edit* From the Warren Gatland school of faux moral high ground, clutching at straws and extreme self delusion I find myself inexplicably pleased that whilst Wales lost three games at the RWC England only lost the one. That Wales played two more games fails to penetrate my comprehensive self-deceipt in the slightest.

[kittenOFchaos]

So, Wales lose again by a small margin and ultimately could have won the game by having a reasonable kicker - it is almost sociopathic.

[kittenOFchaos]

The paddy power bookie has already paid out on bets on the all blacks winning, saying the french were the worst team to ever reach the final

They also refunded £200,000 of losing bets on the Wales Vs France game as they said Wales were hard done by. It is those sort of promotions that makes them my bookie rather than another site. That and they give decent odds and have a good website.

I'm putting money on NZ to win the 1st half and France to win at 19-1. Put simply it isn't THAT unlikely - France have simply been lulling NZ into a false sense of security

[finbar]

So, Wales lose again by a small margin and ultimately could have won the game by having a reasonable kicker - it is almost sociopathic.

Well, yes, but the scoreline flattered the Welsh hugely on this occasion, even leaving aside the Williams try from a blatant forward pass - the Wayne Barnes curse is alive and well - and Williams being clearly in touch when recycling the ball for the late try. Still, the kicking problem has become a disease. As you say, sociopathic.

[Havak]

Congratulations NZ on flopping over the line. The nations psychiatrists are weeping right now as the big pay day has not happened.

However commiserations to France who I felt were actually the better side for the vast majority of the game. Dusautoir fully deserved to be man of the match though Harinordoquoy could also have been for me - and on the other side I thought McCaw and Read were immense?

Oh and for me Wayne Barnes is by an order of magnitude a better referee than Craig Joubert.

[finbar]

No, Waynes Barnes has turned into rubbish. Joubert, on his day, is way better. That wasn't Joubert at his best. How on earth was the first penalty given against the French for holding on when McCaw was lying on the wrong side hanging onto the ball carrier's legs? That aside, the ABs seriously missed Carter's generalship and organisation for the first time. In its place, a collective effort, but there were some seriously worried AB faces in that second half.

Is anyone surprised by France anymore? Heroic, arguably played more and better rugby than the ABs on the day. Yet again Le Fou's subs policy bemused me.

[LDiCesare]

Well, picking Traille for replacement instead of say Heymans was quite surprising.
Mc Caw got away with what he usually does, namely falling purposefully where he can best prevent fast balls. I'm more unhappy with the ref giving a penalty against the French scrum when the kiwi scrummy had fed directly into the second row, but overall the referee was mostly fair. Which means the French should have tackled to the neck more often .
Then again, there's no complaining about referees. Here's a quote from the one who officiated this saturday in Bobigny (France), after I did my normal work in a ruck:
"Don't ruck offside players!"
Yes, sure. At least this one won't officiate at international level. If they're offside, why don't you whistle and grant us a penalty, dude? Players msut adapt to the referee, and if that means rucking someone who's lying where he shouldn't be, then by all means do it.