The Rugby Thread

[RichC]

Nice try

[Buzzo]

It’s been low quality stuff so far from both sides as expected. Argentina need to stop forcing the game and focus on playing their Rugby.

[ChesterDave]

Yellow would be generous imo. Should have been a red

[Buzzo]

Yeah looked a yellow, was a cheap shot.

Argentina were gathering momentum towards the end of the half. They must be one of the most frustrating teams of all time to support.

[ChesterDave]

****ing disgusting officiating. No way the Welsh player can legit get away with that. On the take like PL refs

[Doc_Piptorious]

And yet they haven’t won a EC for years and Munster win the URC this year

Won't hear me complaining about Munster winning


The amount of quality within the Leinster squad is staggering though. Guess it does show the difference a good/great coach and coaching team makes to a great pool of players.

[Irishnev]

Great team.


Looking at the team and replacements, it highlights just how good/strong Leinster are at domestic level. You come up against Leinster you are basically not playing a club side but rather the number one country in the world.

And yet they haven’t won a EC for years and Munster win the URC this year

[Doc_Piptorious]

15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD)(35)
14. Mack Hansen (Connacht/Corinthians)(20)
13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD)(56)
12. Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians)(51)
11. James Lowe (Leinster)(25)
10. Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) (Captain) (117)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(29)

1. Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD)(58)
2. Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne)(20)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf)(71)
4. Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne)(45)
5. Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy)(78)
6. Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution)(100)
7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD)(56)
8. Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College)(35)

Replacements:

16. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne)(25)
17. David Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians)(55)
18. Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers)(35)
19. Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin University)(4)
20. Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere)(40)
21. Conor Murray Munster/Garryowen)(111)
22. Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution)(9)
23. Jimmy O’Brien (Leinster/Naas)(6).

Great team.


Looking at the team and replacements, it highlights just how good/strong Leinster are at domestic level. You come up against Leinster you are basically not playing a club side but rather the number one country in the world.

[Irishnev]

South Africa v France is definitely the game of the weekend for me. Impossible to call, would have made a fine final.

Hard to believe DuPont is fit for this, that’s some top healing. But it’s great for the tournament that he plays.

He’ll be tested, no doubt…. the most physical side in the world! Will want to be a bloody good mask!

[Buzzo]

South Africa v France is definitely the game of the weekend for me. Impossible to call, would have made a fine final.

Hard to believe DuPont is fit for this, that’s some top healing. But it’s great for the tournament that he plays.

[Zapater]

I've got a 28-1 on SA winning the Rugby and the Cricket

I've thought about it but you've probably put the mockers on us. Not convinced we'll even beat France. If we do, want England, then Ireland as that would be us vs the North.

.

Clearly abusing the bench. World Rugby need to intervene and do something about this split, it's terrible for the game.

Also I'm over the moon about Reinach starting. I've always thought he's the best scrum half we have, so looking really forward to him finally getting a shot in a huge game.

[Cormack74]

South Africa have sprung something of a surprise by opting for a traditional 5-3 bench split going into their Rugby World Cup quarter-final against hosts France on Sunday night.

Cobus Reinach starts at scrum-half ahead of Faf de Klerk while there is no room in the matchday 23 for Leicester’s Jasper Wiese. Manie Libbok gets the nod at fly-half despite the recent return to fitness of Handre Pollard, leaving the half-back pairing who guided South Africa to their World Cup victory in 2019 on the bench.

Jacques Nienaber, South Africa’s head coach, described Libbok as “our in-form fly-half” and noted that South Africa had lost only once - to Ireland - with Libbok at fly-half in the past year.

[Le Chef]

I've got a 28-1 on SA winning the Rugby and the Cricket

[Cormack74]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2023/10/12/wales-rugby-world-cup-warren-gatland-draw-critics/

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has told critics of the lopsided World Cup draw to stop moaning and warned that his side would represent a “dangerous” opponent in the last four.

“I’d just say to the other teams they should have done better in the last World Cup, that’s where the draw came from,” Gatland said. “It’s not our fault this happened. You didn’t hear us complaining in 2015 about Fiji, Australia and England and ourselves in the same pool, we didn’t complain about that.

[Cormack74]

Farrell as head coach and Shaun Edwards as defence coach. Would make a huge difference to England.

Yes would make good sense.

So the RFU would most almost certainly never appoint them