Rugby World Cup

[sev112]

Just as I thought- you were the one with the accusations of racism , and of course when asked to back it up you deflect 👍

Will await for the next time you throw it in.

Anyway onto the serious stuff - The QFs

how are they going to end up

England vs Aus - England with a tight win
NZ Vs Ireland - NZ by a couple of tries
France vs Wales - Wales comfortable
SA vs Japan - SA with a tight win

Semi final line up imo

England vs NZ

Wales vs SA

And will end up with a NZ vs SA final

@Liverpoolphil

You’re 0 for 4 -; please predict a NZ win for us next week

 

[Deleted member 15344]

@Liverpoolphil

You’re 0 for 4 -; please predict a NZ win for us next week

I got the results right 😖 just not the level of wins

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Really enjoyed the Wales game and how glad were they for that idiotic French elbow. I thought Japan can hold their heads high and while they were outclassed they kept battling to the end. The problem is how do they build on the success of their side in this world cup. They need regular games against the better sides to really grow

 

[Deleted member 15344]

81percent possession for the nips really making the saffers work hard.

Really poor that an ethnic slur like this is allowed on here

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nip

 

[GB72]

Really enjoyed the Wales game and how glad were they for that idiotic French elbow. I thought Japan can hold their heads high and while they were outclassed they kept battling to the end. The problem is how do they build on the success of their side in this world cup. They need regular games against the better sides to really grow

Where do you propose that they put these games. Already players need less matches but with the 6 nations, rugby championship, autumn internationals plus club rugby and the odd lions tour and world cup there are no gaps in the schedule. If you changed the rugby championship from being home and away you could squeeze them in their if invited but having recently added Argentina I cannot see that happening. Plus New Zealand and Australia hardly play the Pacific Islands on their door step let alone Japan. Remember the All Blacks demand a million pounds plus just to show up. You also have the Sunwolves dropping out of super rugby this year. 6 Nations would be a travel nightmare plus would cause outrage amongst emerging European nations. Some of the 6 nations sides play one tier 2 side in the autumn so that could create some matches and I can see them being an attractive option next year.The best option is to start with a strong tier 2 competition and work from there.

There is a lot of romanticism around Japan at the moment but they beat an average Scotland side and, by their standards, a poor Ireland team but were found out today when facing tougher opposition. It may be a bit soon to be traveling the world playing tier 1 nations. If they get their new league underway in 2021, that may be the time for more involvement.

All well and good stating that they need more tier 1 games but with only 10 tier one nations all involved and in long standing annual events that the unions need the funding from (no football levels of money in rugby) plus a sport which by its physical nature limits the number of matches you can play then the impracticalities are clear

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Where do you propose that they put these games. Already players need less matches but with the 6 nations, rugby championship, autumn internationals plus club rugby and the odd lions tour and world cup there are no gaps in the schedule. If you changed the rugby championship from being home and away you could squeeze them in their if invited but having recently added Argentina I cannot see that happening. Plus New Zealand and Australia hardly play the Pacific Islands on their door step let alone Japan. Remember the All Blacks demand a million pounds plus just to show up. You also have the Sunwolves dropping out of super rugby this year. 6 Nations would be a travel nightmare plus would cause outrage amongst emerging European nations. Some of the 6 nations sides play one tier 2 side in the autumn so that could create some matches and I can see them being an attractive option next year.The best option is to start with a strong tier 2 competition and work from there.

There is a lot of romanticism around Japan at the moment but they beat an average Scotland side and, by their standards, a poor Ireland team but were found out today when facing tougher opposition. It may be a bit soon to be traveling the world playing tier 1 nations. If they get their new league underway in 2021, that may be the time for more involvement.

All well and good stating that they need more tier 1 games but with only 10 tier one nations all involved and in long standing annual events that the unions need the funding from (no football levels of money in rugby) plus a sport which by its physical nature limits the number of matches you can play then the impracticalities are clear

So you suggest we let Japan have their memories and leave them to stagnate. I would suggest in a population of their size there will be a real uptake in rugby participation in schools and what clubs they have on the back of the last few weeks. If the national side cannot be accommodated on a regular basis then what will be the legacy of this WC and what chance to ever grow the game globally and does it then just become a closed shop for the Tier 1 nations always?

 

[GB72]

So you suggest we let Japan have their memories and leave them to stagnate. I would suggest in a population of their size there will be a real uptake in rugby participation in schools and what clubs they have on the back of the last few weeks. If the national side cannot be accommodated on a regular basis then what will be the legacy of this WC and what chance to ever grow the game globally and does it then just become a closed shop for the Tier 1 nations always?

Ok how do you propose it is done bearing in mind the current rugby calendar

 

[Foxholer]

Really poor that an ethnic slur like this is allowed on here

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nip

H'mm! Not that I use it much (and will refrain in future), it's never seemed to be a slur 'back home' - often used in exactly the way it was above, especially as a trait of their Rugby is their 'nippiness'. Seems attitudes to wartime language last longer over here!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Ok how do you propose it is done bearing in mind the current rugby calendar

I have no idea but I simply feel there has to be some way of stopping this closed shop of elite nations not wanting to play the next level of teams on a regular basis. With Japan now ahead of Scotland and Italy in the rankings https://www.world.rugby/rankings/mru?lang=en should these now not play in the six nations as they aren't ranked high enough

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I have no idea but I simply feel there has to be some way of stopping this closed shop of elite nations not wanting to play the next level of teams on a regular basis. With Japan now ahead of Scotland and Italy in the rankings https://www.world.rugby/rankings/mru?lang=en should these now not play in the six nations as they aren't ranked high enough

Six Nations is nothing to do with World Rankings, it used to be the 4 Nations, then 5, now 6.
You don’t really care about Japan, it’s only topical as they’re hosting the WC, you didn’t care before and you won’t be worrying about Japanese Rugby in a month.

 

[Foxholer]

I have no idea but I simply feel there has to be some way of stopping this closed shop of elite nations not wanting to play the next level of teams on a regular basis. With Japan now ahead of Scotland and Italy in the rankings https://www.world.rugby/rankings/mru?lang=en should these now not play in the six nations as they aren't ranked high enough

Six Nations is primarily a geographically based tournament not a ranking based one.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I don't know the answer to the point made by GB72 but I am with Homer here. Somehow rugby has to ride the wave of rugby enthusiasm in Japan and bring them into the fold more. Even from a commercial perspective it makes sense, a huge and wealthy market for the sport to grow into. Perhaps it just means more tours there than accepting them into a specific tournament but it would be a great shame if Japan was simply neglected after all this.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I don't know the answer to the point made by GB72 but I am with Homer here. Somehow rugby has to ride the wave of rugby enthusiasm in Japan and bring them into the fold more. Even from a commercial perspective it makes sense, a huge and wealthy market for the sport to grow into. Perhaps it just means more tours there than accepting them into a specific tournament but it would be a great shame if Japan was simply neglected after all this.

Why? They were ranked 11th prior to the WC starting, it’s emotional crap mate.
There are Countries much lower than Japan who need the support.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Six Nations is primarily a geographically based tournament not a ranking based one.

They are also ranked above Argentina so should they still be allowed to play in the Championship which is far less geographical and in which they lost three matches and amassed 2 points? Why not introduce a form of promotion/relegation and have some form of second tier with Japan and the Pacific Islands (and/or some European nations - there is still travel involved when Argentina have to play either home or away)

 

[Foxholer]

Why? They were ranked 11th prior to the WC starting, it’s emotional crap mate.
There are Countries much lower than Japan who need the support.

Because it would be a huge opportunity missed/ignored!

That doesn't mean lower ranked Rugby nations should (or would) be ignored!

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Why? They were ranked 11th prior to the WC starting, it’s emotional crap mate.
There are Countries much lower than Japan who need the support.

They beat Scotland and Ireland! The stadiums are full. In commercial terms in makes sense, huge market to tap into that is currently on a creat of a wave, and for growing the game it expands rugby into a very large market.

I'm not saying add them to the 6 nations, that would be geographically impossible, but they need to be added into the fold better than they are now. If not then having the World Cup in Japan will have been largely wasted. Surely WRU must have had a plan for Japan beyond the World Cup?

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Because it would be a huge opportunity missed/ignored!

That doesn't mean lower ranked Rugby nations should (or would) be ignored!

Seriously, can you explain this huge opportunity? We get this wave of public emotion after every World sporting event.
This time the Japanese economy will of benefited and the profile of the game has been raised.
They are and weren’t some team just getting established that has had a fairytale experience after being plucked from obscurity.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

They beat Scotland and Ireland! The stadiums are full. In commercial terms in makes sense, huge market to tap into that is currently on a creat of a wave, and for growing the game it expands rugby into a very large market.

I'm not saying add them to the 6 nations, that would be geographically impossible, but they need to be added into the fold better than they are now. If not then having the World Cup in Japan will have been largely wasted. Surely WRU must have had a plan for Japan beyond the World Cup?

They beat S Africa in 2015, let’s blame the Southern Hemisphere for not taking them in.
They are already a World side, what plan do you expect and at who’s cost.
Let’s just say they do play NZ, Oz, SA every year, how will that benefit the 6 Nations? We’d still only play them the same amount of frequency as we do now.

 

[Foxholer]

They are also ranked above Argentina so should they still be allowed to play in the Championship which is far less geographical and in which they lost three matches and amassed 2 points? Why not introduce a form of promotion/relegation and have some form of second tier with Japan and the Pacific Islands (and/or some European nations - there is still travel involved when Argentina have to play either home or away)

Argentina (come to think of it, is 'Argies', a term I've used for nearly 60 years, (now) an ethnic slur?) are going through a low period, so status quo for me. Including Japan in The Rugby Championship would raise logistics issues - especially given the greater awareness/emphasis on the environment in at least 2 of those countries. A centralised tournament has even been proposed to counter the significant travel involved, though, typically, Rugby administrators ignore 'popular opinion' until foced!

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Who are people wanting to sort out a tournament for Japan ?

They aren’t going to enter the 6 nations , not going to enter the Rugby Champs , so they can create their own with the Pacific Islanders if they wish but I’m not sure what people expect others to do .