The Rugby Thread

[Barmy_in_Palmy]

It also doesn't help that it's at the end of our season and the start of theirs.

Ours started in February.

 

[nightgoat]

World Cup draw's just been done (incredibly stupid that it's done over two years away from the start of the tournament, but there you go...)

Pool A: Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Europe 1, Play Off Winner
Pool B: NZ, South Africa, Italy, Africa 1, Repechage Winner
Pool C: England, France, Argentina, Americas 1, Oceania 2
Pool D: Australia, Wales, Georgia, Oceania 1, Americas 2

 

[talkshowhost86]

England getting stiffed on the draw yet again by getting Argentina and then one of Fiji/Tonga/Samoa. Although if you can't beat those teams then you don't deserve to win it.

Plus as you say @nightgoat it's so far ahead who knows really?

Nice and convenient piss easy group for New Zealand though.

 

[werty]

Nice group for us.

 

[nightgoat]

England getting stiffed on the draw yet again by getting Argentina and then one of Fiji/Tonga/Samoa. Although if you can't beat those teams then you don't deserve to win it.

Plus as you say @nightgoat it's so far ahead who knows really?

Nice and convenient piss easy group for New Zealand though.

You never know with France. It could be a tough draw, but on the other hand they could implode like they often do. Argentina will be very tough, but then we beat them with 14 men for 75 minutes.

I wouldn't underestimate Ireland's group, especially if Townsend keeps Scotland improving at the rate they have over the last couple of years. Japan as hosts won't be easy, but will they be the same team as they were under Eddie Jones?

On current form for a Band 1 team if you could pick your draw you'd go for South Africa and Italy. South Africa are terrible at the moment, and whilst there's probably little difference between Italy and Georgia, you're going to get more of a physical test against Georgia.

 

[talkshowhost86]

You never know with France. It could be a tough draw, but on the other hand they could implode like they often do. Argentina will be very tough, but then we beat them with 14 men for 75 minutes.

I wouldn't underestimate Ireland's group, especially if Townsend keeps Scotland improving at the rate they have over the last couple of years. Japan as hosts won't be easy, but will they be the same team as they were under Eddie Jones?

On current form for a Band 1 team if you could pick your draw you'd go for South Africa and Italy. South Africa are terrible at the moment, and whilst there's probably little difference between Italy and Georgia, you're going to get more of a physical test against Georgia.

Yup looks very cushy for New Zealand if the draw was tomorrow. South Africa are the worst of the 8 top seeds at the moment and Italy seem to be moving the wrong way entirely. Plus New Zealand avoid all the Pacific Islands.

Hopefully South Africa will get their shit together by 2019, but if the tournament was this Summer, New Zealand could afford to play a C team and still cruise to the knock-out stages.

As for England, if you can't beat Argentina and France then you won't win the tournament, but having to win those games plus a game against probably Fiji will take it out of them whilst the All Blacks are on the deck chairs in the first round.

If they do the quarter finals as they do normally (A v B and C v D) then you'd expect to see:

Ireland v South Africa
New Zealand v Scotland/Japan
England v Wales
Australia v Argentina/France

 

[mpickard2087]

Potential for that to be a very tricky group, again, for England. France have improved this season, and if they can get the right balance in their game between structure and their offloads then they'll be very dangerous in the next few years. Argentina are usually a different animal when it comes to the World Cup.

 

[E17yid]

Yup looks very cushy for New Zealand if the draw was tomorrow. South Africa are the worst of the 8 top seeds at the moment and Italy seem to be moving the wrong way entirely. Plus New Zealand avoid all the Pacific Islands.

Hopefully South Africa will get their shit together by 2019, but if the tournament was this Summer, New Zealand could afford to play a C team and still cruise to the knock-out stages.

As for England, if you can't beat Argentina and France then you won't win the tournament, but having to win those games plus a game against probably Fiji will take it out of them whilst the All Blacks are on the deck chairs in the first round.

If they do the quarter finals as they do normally (A v B and C v D) then you'd expect to see:

Ireland v South Africa
New Zealand v Scotland/Japan
England v Wales
Australia v Argentina/France

Does it really matter who NZ have in their group. They're head and shoulders above anyone else.

 

[talkshowhost86]

Does it really matter who NZ have in their group. They're head and shoulders above anyone else.

True but it doesn't help anyone else get close to them if New Zealand stroll through the group stages without breaking sweat and the other teams have to play 2-3 tough games.

But yeah if the tournament was this Summer it wouldn't matter at all. They'd win it whoever was in their group.

 

[nightgoat]

Yup looks very cushy for New Zealand if the draw was tomorrow. South Africa are the worst of the 8 top seeds at the moment and Italy seem to be moving the wrong way entirely. Plus New Zealand avoid all the Pacific Islands.

Hopefully South Africa will get their shit together by 2019, but if the tournament was this Summer, New Zealand could afford to play a C team and still cruise to the knock-out stages.

As for England, if you can't beat Argentina and France then you won't win the tournament, but having to win those games plus a game against probably Fiji will take it out of them whilst the All Blacks are on the deck chairs in the first round.

If they do the quarter finals as they do normally (A v B and C v D) then you'd expect to see:

Ireland v South Africa
New Zealand v Scotland/Japan
England v Wales
Australia v Argentina/France

Yeah, the other two teams in each pool are unlikely to stand much chance of making the knock out rounds, but Africa 1 (most likely Namibia or Kenya) and any repechage winner are going to be near 100-point cakewalks for a top level team, even with squad rotation. Fiji/Samoa/Tonga will put up a good fight for an hour and be very physical before having the game taken away from them in the last 20-30 mintues. The comparitive amounts of effort required could have an impact on other games.

 

[Arnoldtoo]

I suspect the landscape will be somewhat different in 2 years time. For a start, if Eddie Jones keeps going the way he has, England will be a much stronger proposition, and with enough depth to cope with a difficult group.

Famous last words ...

 

[teok]

Group of death twice in a row.

 

[WorcesterTHFC]

Just hope they do a better job of scheduling games than they did in 2015, when some teams had 2-3 days longer to rest and prepare for their next game than other teams.

 

[Barmy_in_Palmy]

NZ does better when in strong groups, they're a bit shit when the groups easy and then get smacked around by team that can actually push them.

So going from this, does that mean that 1 team from either Tonga/Samoa/Fiji miss out on the World Cup altogether?

 

[Barmy_in_Palmy]

I suspect the landscape will be somewhat different in 2 years time. For a start, if Eddie Jones keeps going the way he has, England will be a much stronger proposition, and with enough depth to cope with a difficult group.

Famous last words ...

It's Eddie jones, in 2 years time he'll have fucked it up.

 

[talkshowhost86]

NZ does better when in strong groups, they're a bit shit when the groups easy and then get smacked around by team that can actually push them.

So going from this, does that mean that 1 team from either Tonga/Samoa/Fiji miss out on the World Cup altogether?

No I think they go into the play-off and then, even if they lose that, into the Repechage. I suspect they will all get there one way or another.

 

[Barmy_in_Palmy]

No I think they go into the play-off and then, even if they lose that, into the Repechage. I suspect they will all get there one way or another.

Ok that's alright then, it'll be a bit shit if one of them missed out.

 

[talkshowhost86]

Ok that's alright then, it'll be a bit shit if one of them missed out.

So actually there is a slim chance that New Zealand get one of the Pacific Islands. But to have 'won' the repechage, that team would have had to lose to someone likely to be worse than Romania, and then conquered a four team tournament that may well include Chile, Sri Lanka and Uganda.

At which stage why the fuck bother?

Anyway it's all clearly detailed in this easy to follow diagram....

 

[Japhet]

So actually there is a slim chance that New Zealand get one of the Pacific Islands. But to have 'won' the repechage, that team would have had to lose to someone likely to be worse than Romania, and then conquered a four team tournament that may well include Chile, Sri Lanka and Uganda.

At which stage why the fuck bother?

Anyway it's all clearly detailed in this easy to follow diagram....

Well, that's certainly cleared that up for me.

 

[E17yid]

Lovely try from Clermont there. Farrel got put on his arse. Great final so far.