2011 Rugby World Cup

[dj1470]

Canada's 25-20 win was well deserved but somewhat fortunate. Very fortunate that the Tongan pack crumbled the way it did in the last 20 of the match. I was impressed with the Canadian tackling - 101 tackles made and only 10 missed. I was dismayed with the SA referee and his line judges who missed many calls particularly against Canada - what comes to mind is two instances: the blatant leg whip on Pritchard and the illegal tackle on Monro. Very poor refereeing. The ref seemed more concerned with nickle and diming both teams on offsides than on more serious infractions. Even former All Black commentator Justin Marshall was incredulous with some of the referee's decisions. That says something.

So as Canada gets a short 4 days turnaround against what will be a pissed off French side on Sunday.....

Pros
1) Keelburger and Carpenter - excellent play from the back row especially with O'Toole's early departure
2) Pritchard's kicking was spot on which will help later in the tournament
3) Monro ably controlled the backline and organized some solid attacks
4) DTH was solid in the centre both running and tackling
5) Nice solid scrummaging and mauling especially in the latter half of the match

Cons
1) Ed Fairhurst was a disaster kicking away possession 9 times for no apparent reason
2) Losing O'Toole one of their better professional players
3) Riordan as captain needs to assert himself more especially when dealing with the referee
4) Cudmore needs to involve himself more physically - he was a non factor
5) Too laid back defence of the backline needs to be more aggressive

Hopefully the French don't beat us too badly on Sunday. Hopefully we can keep the game in touch and under 50 points.

 

[dj1470]

and the bigger pack took advantage when offered.

Canada's pack was smaller in weight to the Tongans by 33 kgs which is significant.

The Canadians were faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar stronger however which a good sign of conditioning and training. That conditioning made it look like Canadian forwards were bigger.

 

[weekend_guy]

Canada's 25-20 win was well deserved but somewhat fortunate. Very fortunate that the Tongan pack crumbled the way it did in the last 20 of the match. I was impressed with the Canadian tackling - 101 tackles made and only 10 missed. I was dismayed with the SA referee and his line judges who missed many calls particularly against Canada - what comes to mind is two instances: the blatant leg whip on Pritchard and the illegal tackle on Monro. Very poor refereeing. The ref seemed more concerned with nickle and diming both teams on offsides than on more serious infractions. Even former All Black commentator Justin Marshall was incredulous with some of the referee's decisions. That says something.

So as Canada gets a short 4 days turnaround against what will be a pissed off French side on Sunday.....

Pros
1) Keelburger and Carpenter - excellent play from the back row especially with O'Toole's early departure
2) Pritchard's kicking was spot on which will help later in the tournament
3) Monro ably controlled the backline and organized some solid attacks
4) DTH was solid in the centre both running and tackling
5) Nice solid scrummaging and mauling especially in the latter half of the match

Cons
1) Ed Fairhurst was a disaster kicking away possession 9 times for no apparent reason
2) Losing O'Toole one of their better professional players
3) Riordan as captain needs to assert himself more especially when dealing with the referee
4) Cudmore needs to involve himself more physically - he was a non factor
5) Too laid back defence of the backline needs to be more aggressive

Hopefully the French don't beat us too badly on Sunday. Hopefully we can keep the game in touch and under 50 points.

What? Cudmore was a non-factor?? He had 23 tackles...almost 1/4 of Canada's total!

O'Toole was definitely a loss as he was playing a strong game. But he is not one of our professional players.

Great game and anything can happen on Sunday against France. Let's get 'em boys!

 

[dj1470]

What? Cudmore was a non-factor?? He had 23 tackles...almost 1/4 of Canada's total!

He needed to do more. He only had 7 solo tackles. Most of "23" were aided and shared.

O'Toole was definitely a loss as he was playing a strong game. But he is not one of our professional players.

What? Get your facts straight. Chauncey played for Glasgow Warriors last year and just signed a multi-year deal with Ospreys. That is about as professional as it gets.

 

[weekend_guy]

He needed to do more. He only had 7 solo tackles. Most of "23" were aided and shared.




What? Get your facts straight. Chauncey played for Glasgow Warriors last year and just signed a multi-year deal with Ospreys. That is about as professional as it gets.

He played one game for Glasgow last fall on a trial basis and released. I guess those are the facts you're referring to? He's been in Canada ever since. Personally, i'll wait until he actually suits up for the Ospreys before I refer to him as a professional...so no, that's not as professional as it gets. He's an impressive talent and all the best to him once his professional career starts.

Nevertheless, the fact that you would dismiss 23 tackles as insignificant and you gauge a lock's game on solo tackles is perhaps telling of your analysis. In fact, 7 solo tackles for a tight five against a Tongan team that smashed it tight all night is pretty damn impressive, too. As a tight five player, if I'm making 23 tackles, shared or solo, i'm very involved in the game. Also excellent in the lineouts, which was looking to be our achilles heel this summer.

 

[dj1470]

He played one game for Glasgow last fall on a trial basis and released. I guess those are the facts you're referring to? He's been in Canada ever since. Personally, i'll wait until he actually suits up for the Ospreys before I refer to him as a professional...so no, that's not as professional as it gets. He's an impressive talent and all the best to him once his professional career starts.

Nevertheless, the fact that you would dismiss 23 tackles as insignificant and you gauge a lock's game on solo tackles is perhaps telling of your analysis. In fact, 7 solo tackles for a tight five against a Tongan team that smashed it tight all night is pretty damn impressive, too. As a tight five player, if I'm making 23 tackles, shared or solo, i'm very involved in the game. Also excellent in the lineouts, which was looking to be our achilles heel this summer.

Whatever. You obviously think you know it all.
I'm done here. No more arguing against a brick wall.

Hopefully we can keep Freance under control and show something to Japan.

 

[blackrock13]

Canada's pack was smaller in weight to the Tongans by 33 kgs which is significant.

The Canadians were faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar stronger however which a good sign of conditioning and training. That conditioning made it look like Canadian forwards were bigger.

I thought I saw the numbers the other way around, but hey.

 

[dj1470]

I thought I saw the numbers the other way around, but hey.

I think I'm right but maybe I'm just whistling dixie.
I don't want to argue anymore in this thread.
I just wanna talk rugby. It only happens every 4 years.
Go Canada! Beat them froggies!

 

[blackrock13]

I think I'm right but maybe I'm just whistling dixie.
I don't want to argue anymore in this thread.
I just wanna talk rugby. It only happens every 4 years.
Go Canada! Beat them froggies!

Argue? Fair enough.

I hope Fiji recovers from their last game. Two of their keys players left the game early with injuries.

 

[rld]

Argue? Fair enough.

I hope Fiji recovers from their last game. Two of their keys players left the game early with injuries.

The Bokkies have worse injury problems than that. Still picking SA by about a dozen or so.

 

[blackrock13]

A good warm up for Argentina. They still have my vote for a long shot.

How did rugby ever make it a hit in countries like Romania and Georgia. I guess it's soccer with full body contact for those who want to 'hit somebody hard'.

 

[dj1470]

A good warm up for Argentina. They still have my vote for a long shot.

How did rugby ever make it a hit in countries like Romania and Georgia. I guess it's soccer with full body contact for those who want to 'hit somebody hard'.

It's become huge in Georgia ever since the fall of the USSR.
Lots of the Georgian players ply their trade in France and the Georgian RFU has a coaching/development agreement with the FRU.

Romania has always hung around the top 15 in the world. I remember Canada playing a tough Romanian side back in RWC '95. That Romanian team had a great fly half named Nikolai Nicoteau who at the time was heralded as one of the best halfbacks in the world and played for years for Perpignan and Toulouse.

 

[dj1470]

Great win for Ireland over Australia 15-6
Ireland was full value in their win and had excellent defence particularly when spoiling Australian rucks and mauls
Australia looked very ordinary and made too many mistakes at crucial moments
Commitment of the Irish forwards was incredible especially the front row - first time I have ever seen a prop get man of the match
I loved watching the Wallabies unravel and lose discipline sometimes the sense of entitlement the Australians have is annoying

 

[basketcase]

Can't tell if I was impressed with the Boks or disappointed with Fiji. Not an exciting game.

 

[dj1470]

Well Canada loses to the annoying, diving, and whining France 46-19. The score not indicitive of the game as France scores 21 points in the last 15 minutes. Having only 4 days off after beating Tonga really hurt Canada. Those who played full both games ran out of gas in the end and the Canadian replacements simply couldn't handle French play particularly in the backs. Typical French DRAMA throughout the game as there was some diving and whining particularly French lock Pape who was pushing and shoving after almost every whistle and went down for magical freeze-spray treatment 4-5 times.

Pros
1) Monro was excellent organizing the backs and kicking 2 drop goals
2) Back row again good - Carpenter, Kleeberger, and O'Toole particularly Carpernter who ran well
3) DTH great ball running but I hope he's OK and the shoulder injury isn't too bad
4) Forget the french resistance - it was the Canadian resistance as defensively Canada was excellent for 65 minutes

Cons
1) Fairhurst AGAIN kicking away possession for no reason - even his good buddy Gareth Rees noted it in the opening
2) Scrum - initially not good but got better as the game went on
3) Too many penalties although I felt the ref was harsh in some decisions and listened to French whining too much
4) Pritchard needs to be better kicking goals, 3/6 not good enough on this stage

Theme of the game for Canada was "Frustrate the French" and I think they did that. Things look good for Japan in 9 days. France is NOT as good as everyone thinks (including me) and the All Blacks will look to roll against Les Bleues in their next game.

Very nice to hear the NZ commentators describe Canada as "Courage, Pride, and Determination"

 

[Captain Fantastic]

Pritchard killed Canada. His misses took the wind out of the team's sails and directly set up a few French scores. Killed the momentum and kept the French in the match.

Canada always plays the French well @ RWC. This was another case of coming up just short against the big fish of global rugby. Too bad, good showing wasted.

 

[blackrock13]

The France v Canada game was great and Canada held up well. The depth of France showed at the end.

 

[dj1470]

Well we are heading into the traditional "dead" week at the RWC. Most teams getting rest and only one game every few days involving minnows. No big clashes at all until the weekend for Argentina v Scotland, Fiji v Samoa, and NZ v France. Canada doesn't play again until Tuesday Sept 27 morning early at 12:30amEST against Japan. Last RWC I was at in 2003 this was the week that everyone travelled, went sightseeing, and shopping. Oh and drinking every night of course.

 

[blackrock13]

Well we are heading into the traditional "dead" week at the RWC. Most teams getting rest and only one game every few days involving minnows. No big clashes at all until the weekend for Argentina v Scotland, Fiji v Samoa, and NZ v France. Canada doesn't play again until Tuesday Sept 27 morning early at 12:30amEST against Japan. Last RWC I was at in 2003 this was the week that everyone travelled, went sightseeing, and shopping. Oh and drinking every night of course.

Apparently England has made quite a name for themselves in NZ, drunken fools.

 

[dj1470]

Apparently England has made quite a name for themselves in NZ, drunken fools.

Any englishmen who were in NZ at the time truly were drunk and lost as the rest of us were in Australia watching the rugby games.

I'll never forget Australia 142 Namibia 0 - I mean why bother, right?
Being utterly disappointed watching Canada lose to Italy 19-14
Visiting Steve Irwin's Crocodile Park and getting lost on the way
Getting in a fight with some Aussie idiot after Australia beat Scotland in the quarters

We managed to see every Canada games as well as 6 others and the Australia/NZ semi which was amazing

I'd do it again in a heartbeat

And what ever happened to Jared Barker?
In 2003 he was supposed to be the next great Canadian flyhalf and played well at the RWC