Rugby World Cup thread

[Mellor]

In the water we're actually very good - are our rowers the best in the world? Possibly! Our sailors also do amazing stuff, Ben Ainslie in particular. Our swimmers have also improved greatly in recent years.

We are great at many sports, my personal favourite being cycling which I find far more enjoyable these days than football (other than Lufc). And our cricketers did well in the ashes series and we're number 1 in the world not that long ago but broadly speaking team sports let us down. And cricket, although a team game, is more about individuals!

Isn't the English RFU the richest of all the 'unions'. Where'd it all go wrong?

[johnh]

Lancaster is very similar to Roy Hodgson. They are both 'safety first' managers. Keep possession at all costs, never make a risky move or a risky pass. England Rugby showed they are capable of playing an all-out attacking game when they hammered France at Twickenham in the six nations. Against Wales and Oz they reverted to type and this is down to the coaches. Keep smashing up the middle, hoping for an opening. When it doesn't come kick possession away, This is something I don't understand. It is anathema for England to concede possession through a bad pass or at the break-down, but they seem happy to kick possession away on a regular basis.
I think Lancaster has to go.

[Aces]

You're right John England just tried to smash it up the middle, a tactic I've seen them use plenty of times, but ..... Those two games, they just kept messing it up, losing the ball, making little ground, then when they tried to throw it around, they looked sluggish and uninventive and again messed up the play. To be honest, they looked unrecognisable to any England RU team I've ever seen. And giving so many penalties away, I've never seen us do that before, they just didn't turn up.

[NottinghamWhite]

[Mr Russell]

South Africa
New Zealand
Ireland
Australia

all to win their games

[SCOTTISH LEEDS]

Ireland lost 20-43 to Argentina.

[Mellor]

Best team won - don't pretend to understand rugga but Argentina posed a far greater attacking threat.

[Selby White]

So Scotland are now representing the northern hemisphere.

[johnh]

So Scotland are now representing the northern hemisphere.

For another couple of hours.

Not that it made much difference but did anyone else note how many forward passes the All Blacks got away with? They scored a couple of tries off two of them. Its almost like Rugby League.

[Mellor]

Unlucky Scotland - yellow card looked like the kind of decision which goes against Lufc. Messed up on their final line out and let the Aussies back in. Shame.