Now that I've calmed down and had a stiff scotch. Better for the tournament that the Aussies got through as I think that was Scotland's day in the sun. Agree with the comment that NewZealand will wipe the floor with anything that's left. Shame it was such a dubious penalty though. Aussie coach was not particularly gracious in his interview (we gave them three tries etc). Not a very likeable bloke so I'll take great pleasure if the Argies beat them (highly unlikely) or if New Zealand give them a good trumping in the final (highly likely). Terrific game though. Didn't think we would perform so creditably. Was offered a bet at the golf club earlier on us losing by a 30 point margin and wouldn't have been surprised if we had.
My Irish mate is not very happy.
If only the ref in the Scotland Samoa game had seen Laidlaw's little knock on for the final try, that game today would have been Japan v Australia! On such small margins are tournaments won and lost.
Except not this one which will be won by New Zealand. ;-)
Australia did have a try ruled out for a knock on today. (the Ref checked that one on TMO) It was if the Aussie coach knew the game would be decided in the last minute, When he said trust me this game will go to the wire, 5 minutes before KO. Why did the Referee run off the field without shacking the players hands ? Did he think he would get a Glasgow kiss.
If the All Black bring their A game to the Semi and final, they will win, But their B game won't beat SA or Australia, if they don't.
Englishman walks into a pub fancying a quiet pint on his own. In the bar he finds a Welsh man, an Irishman and a Scot. "I thought you were all planning to be at the World Cup" he says, looking disappointed that he can't have a quiet pint on his own.
Englishman walks into a pub fancying a quiet pint on his own. In the bar he finds a Welsh man, an Irishman and a Scot. "I thought you were all planning to be at the World Cup" he says, looking disappointed that he can't have a quiet pint on his own.
To be fair to the Scot, he had his ticket stolen by a South African and given to an Aussie.
New Zealand were just amazing against France - but it was France. The Boks will give them a very tough game and will attempt to smash them up front - the All Blacks will not have the space they had against France and I think it will be a tight game.
I have previously always rated Joubert as one of the very best referees .. no longer though .. of course he made a total mess of the last and very vital decision .. why he did not refer to the replay referee we will never know .. to my mind if the ball had come off an Australian, the game should just have carried on as offside, either accidental or deliberate only occurs if the last touch came from a teammate .. I am so sorry for Scotland (loath as I am to type this), a once in every 20 years performance only to be robbed at the very end. For a country with only 2 top professional clubs, they have done superbly, although of course, as with the other northern hemisphere nations, Scotland has made liberal use of overseas imported players, as indeed have New Zealand and Australia
Unfortunate Ireland ? .. we will never know how the injuries affected the result of their game .. whatever, Argentina thanks to their participation in the southern hemisphere international tournament, are unrecognisable from the muddy, tough scrummagers unable to pass the ball, of a few years ago .. Like the footballers, it is all about clinical finishing and taking chances .... Aguerro, Tevez, Batistuta, Maradonna, Kempes, etc. etc. all experts at keeping cool and scoring .. the rugby players are now doing exactly the same
Sadly for me Lincs, I suspect that Ireland would have struggled even with the injured & suspended in the side. Torn apart in the first 10 minutes and the benefits of taking part in regular games against the big 3 Southern Hemisphere sides and the undoubted influence of Graham Henry were there to see for Argentina. They played great, flowing rugby and even looked like it was us that we're down to 14 and not themselves during that sin-bin.
As for Joubert...appalling. Not helped that you can't use TMO for what happened, but a decent ref, which I also thought he was, finds a way to deal with that. He could/should have used the time to question his touch judge and then taken in the replay on the big screen and given the right decision. Very tough on the Scots and no surprise he ran off down the tunnel...he'll need a head start back to Saffer!!!
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the decision, the moaning and attacks on the referee by former players after the game are all rather... football like.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the decision, the moaning and attacks on the referee by former players after the game are all rather... football like.
Rugby players always respect the referee, so that can't be true....
I thought the same about Scotland appealing so their banned players could play yesterday.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the decision, the moaning and attacks on the referee by former players after the game are all rather... football like.
good post .. along with loadsa money, mass media exposure and fame and glory waiting round the corner, there always comes controversy and the 'in my day' punditry of ex players who never made a mistake during their entire careers .. and let's face it, despite all the camera coverage (but only at the top level), Rugby has always been a difficult game to referee and has historically depended on a degree of 'assistance' from the players. The way that the majority of the Australians shouted, nay screamed and waved their arms in the air after the 'last incident', did not help matters at all.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the decision, the moaning and attacks on the referee by former players after the game are all rather... football like.
Rugby players always respect the referee, so that can't be true....
I thought the same about Scotland appealing so their banned players could play yesterday.
they could play because they won their appeal, if the appeal was yet to be heard they would have been unavailable (unlike football).
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the decision, the moaning and attacks on the referee by former players after the game are all rather... football like.
Rugby players always respect the referee, so that can't be true....
I thought the same about Scotland appealing so their banned players could play yesterday.
they could play because they won their appeal, if the appeal was yet to be heard they would have been unavailable (unlike football).
In a game of mistakes, did the ref make one at the end ?
Looked very harsh after seeing in slow motion. At best, it should of been a scrum to Aussies.
Fantastic effort by Scotland.
Foley kept his nerve at the end, after having a poor game by his high standards.
The game was won by the Aussies great line outs.
The Aussies have had 3 hard games against England, Wales and Scotland. Argentina have had an easier route to the semi final.The Aussies should still win but the Pumas have improved so much in the last 4 years.
World Rugby have just put out a statement, that the Referee made a mistake and it should have been a scrum for the Aussies. No Penalty.
Feel for Joubert. Completely thrown under the bus by world rugby.
Well the bloke should have made the right decision then. Threw himself under the bus if anything. Refreshing honesty from the rugby hierarchy - wish other sports would follow suit.
I have previously always rated Joubert as one of the very best referees .. no longer though .. of course he made a total mess of the last and very vital decision .. why he did not refer to the replay referee we will never know .. to my mind if the ball had come off an Australian, the game should just have carried on as offside, either accidental or deliberate only occurs if the last touch came from a teammate .. I am so sorry for Scotland (loath as I am to type this), a once in every 20 years performance only to be robbed at the very end. For a country with only 2 top professional clubs, they have done superbly, although of course, as with the other northern hemisphere nations, Scotland has made liberal use of overseas imported players, as indeed have New Zealand and Australia
Unfortunate Ireland ? .. we will never know how the injuries affected the result of their game .. whatever, Argentina thanks to their participation in the southern hemisphere international tournament, are unrecognisable from the muddy, tough scrummagers unable to pass the ball, of a few years ago .. Like the footballers, it is all about clinical finishing and taking chances .... Aguerro, Tevez, Batistuta, Maradonna, Kempes, etc. etc. all experts at keeping cool and scoring .. the rugby players are now doing exactly the same
For what it's worth, which is not much, my view is that the main problem with rugby is the points system. It cannot be right that a try - which is usually a lot of hard work to get - is only worth five points (plus the conversion points) but, for example, some trivial foul back on the half way line costs a team three points. It's like two free kicks in football being worth more than a goal. Last season in football the very best free kick taker in Europe scored with less than 25% of his efforts. A certain Cristiano Ronaldo scored once from 24 attempts. What's the success rate in rugby? I think I read somewhere that Leigh Halfpenny has a success rating of over 90%! (Obviously with kicks close enough to have a go with). With twenty odd penalties per match and let's say half of those being kickable, that's going to be 15 points per game per team. The equivalent of three tries each It's all got rather silly. Either the points awarded need to be reduced or some offences need to be reclassified as something less than a penalty, probably a free kick into touch for a lineout rather than a direct punt at the posts.
Comments
Except not this one which will be won by New Zealand. ;-)
Australia did have a try ruled out for a knock on today.
(the Ref checked that one on TMO)
It was if the Aussie coach knew the game would be decided in the last minute,
When he said trust me this game will go to the wire, 5 minutes before KO.
Why did the Referee run off the field without shacking the players hands ?
Did he think he would get a Glasgow kiss.
If the All Black bring their A game to the Semi and final, they will win,
But their B game won't beat SA or Australia, if they don't.
Bizarre performance from Australia, so many mistakes
Unfortunate Ireland ? .. we will never know how the injuries affected the result of their game .. whatever, Argentina thanks to their participation in the southern hemisphere international tournament, are unrecognisable from the muddy, tough scrummagers unable to pass the ball, of a few years ago .. Like the footballers, it is all about clinical finishing and taking chances .... Aguerro, Tevez, Batistuta, Maradonna, Kempes, etc. etc. all experts at keeping cool and scoring .. the rugby players are now doing exactly the same
As for Joubert...appalling. Not helped that you can't use TMO for what happened, but a decent ref, which I also thought he was, finds a way to deal with that. He could/should have used the time to question his touch judge and then taken in the replay on the big screen and given the right decision. Very tough on the Scots and no surprise he ran off down the tunnel...he'll need a head start back to Saffer!!!
I thought the same about Scotland appealing so their banned players could play yesterday.
and it should have been a scrum for the Aussies. No Penalty.
Threw himself under the bus if anything.
Refreshing honesty from the rugby hierarchy - wish other sports would follow suit.
Mind you he didn't see the Scottish bloke barge into that same Aussie with his shoulder which should have been a penalty anyway
With twenty odd penalties per match and let's say half of those being kickable, that's going to be 15 points per game per team. The equivalent of three tries each It's all got rather silly. Either the points awarded need to be reduced or some offences need to be reclassified as something less than a penalty, probably a free kick into touch for a lineout rather than a direct punt at the posts.