2011 Rugby World Cup

Who will win the 2011 Rugby World Cup?


  • Total voters
    40
I agree with Sam Yeager... NZ playing at home are very very difficult to beat. I think there are only 7 games to the final and from memory they don't drop a game at home more than once every couple of years. They have had their 'surprise' loss and got it out of their system so odds are pretty long for it happening again if you were going to have a punt. All bets are off once any team gets into the final. Any team these days can drop a pesky field goal from 50 meters out to win. (see 1999 and 2003!). I'd love to see the All Blacks get a nasty surprise like they have in the last couple of World Cup Semi's just to see the reaction of the media and see how many people they fire in the NZRU.
 
SA should breeze through their group and will meet up with NZ in the Semi Final. It will all come down to that 1 Game, If SA wins they will take the Cup for the 3rd Time. If NZ wins they will go all the way.
 
What? 41-10 is an 'unconvincing' win?
 
Some nasty fumbles in the first half, and they kinda lost steam in the 2nd.
 
What? 41-10 is an 'unconvincing' win?

Only for New Zealand's standards in RWC pool games. They put some 70 points past Italy in their 2007 première iirc. Also everyone's usually eager and trying a bit too hard to find weaknesses in the All Blacks in anticipation of possible future shock losses.

(In reality in 2007 South Africa only beat Tonga by 5 points...)
 
Yeah,, Tonga are a half-decent opponent. NZ weren't convincing, but they don't need to play champagne rugby for 80 minutes of every game. They just need to avoid silly defeats.
 
We must have some sort of "get out of jail free" card for use only in the last 10 minutes. And we did enough to get a bonus point, while Romania didn't even get the losing one ? That's awfully rough justice. For long stretches of the game, Romania were the better team.
 
Yes, well… don't look a gift horse in the mouth, or whatever the saying goes like… hmmm, Gaelic class and Sco'land victory in the same day, feels good. Pity I've shaved off my impressive red beard. Can't have everything. I'm not that good at analysing rugby but when Romania went 24-21 up I thought the game was lost, then Scotland somehow rallied. Wheeeeee! Have an Irn Bru on the house, Lambert.

Good thing my mother confiscated the TV at one point to watch some series or else I'd have had a heart attack.
 
What are England wearing?

I think they thought that if they dress like the best team in the world they will play like them. They nearly got beaten by Argentina!

And if the all blacks beating Tonga by 30 point isn't impressive then France beating Japan by 26 is horrible. Last time the All Blacks played Japan they got over a hundred!
 
Yes, well… don't look a gift horse in the mouth, or whatever the saying goes like… hmmm, Gaelic class and Sco'land victory in the same day, feels good. Pity I've shaved off my impressive red beard. Can't have everything. I'm not that good at analysing rugby but when Romania went 24-21 up I thought the game was lost, then Scotland somehow rallied. Wheeeeee! Have an Irn Bru on the house, Lambert.

Good thing my mother confiscated the TV at one point to watch some series or else I'd have had a heart attack.

Agreed about the gift horse - just surprised and grateful that we managed to rally in the last ten minutes. Like you, I thought the game was probably lost when we went behind - Romania were dictating the game, we were playing very poorly, and there didn't seem to be a lot of reason for optimism.

We need to up our game for the Pumas, otherwise we'll just be trampled into the mud. Nonetheless 5 points is the most we could have after one game, and, when you're Scotland, you need to take the points and not worry too much about the flair.
 
What are England wearing?

It's their legendary change strip - black shirt, black shorts, and black socks. To coin a phrase, they could be the "Entirely Blacks". Hmm, doesn't quite ring right, does it? I'll go away with my thesaurus and see if I can get something snappier...

Seriously though, I don't know what they thought they were doing when they picked that. I would have thought that was guaranteed to wind up any neutral kiwis in the audience, who would then want England to be punished for their hubris in thinking they had the right to wear an all black strip while playing in New Zealand.
 
I'd go for NZ. Australia next.
As for NZ/Tonga and France/Japan. Consider the team who won the Pacific cup is Japan, not Tonga, so I wouldn't consider Tonga the most dangerous. Still. France and NZ are both blundering a lot. While England forgot how to play. Australia should be the most entertaining team to watch (with Japan, but the Japanese have no chance to get past the pool).
 
Agreed about the gift horse - just surprised and grateful that we managed to rally in the last ten minutes. Like you, I thought the game was probably lost when we went behind - Romania were dictating the game, we were playing very poorly, and there didn't seem to be a lot of reason for optimism.

We need to up our game for the Pumas, otherwise we'll just be trampled into the mud. Nonetheless 5 points is the most we could have after one game, and, when you're Scotland, you need to take the points and not worry too much about the flair.
Also means Scotland has one more point than Ingerland. Damn that try!
It's their legendary change strip - black shirt, black shorts, and black socks. To coin a phrase, they could be the "Entirely Blacks". Hmm, doesn't quite ring right, does it? I'll go away with my thesaurus and see if I can get something snappier...
Sorry, that name is reserved by the government for the London rioters.
What are England wearing?
I think they thought that if they dress like the best team in the world they will play like them. They nearly got beaten by Argentina!

And if the all blacks beating Tonga by 30 point isn't impressive then France beating Japan by 26 is horrible. Last time the All Blacks played Japan they got over a hundred!
Lambert Simnel said:
Seriously though, I don't know what they thought they were doing when they picked that. I would have thought that was guaranteed to wind up any neutral kiwis in the audience, who would then want England to be punished for their hubris in thinking they had the right to wear an all black strip while playing in New Zealand.
Yes it's bloody cheeky. Horrible Ingerland. Bad taste. Like their cooking.
 
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