RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D)
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@Kirwan said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
@MiketheSnow well I’m not guessing what the coach was thinking or throwing out cliches like one team wanted it more.
Depth isn’t great in Fijian rugby, I bet if there was a slightly bigger gap between games more of the top team could have played.
Well done for them taking advantage,
but without looking at the draw do Wales or the ABs have four day turnarounds?Edit: Yes they do, good.
If the situation had been reversed and the clearly inferior team had to deal with a 4-day turnaround with the majority of their team not having played against far superior opposition and certainly not under the added pressure of at a WC, and then one - possibly two - game changing decision(s) went against them and they lost the match then I could understand the shouts of 'the WC is biased against Tier 2 Nations'.
This match was not that.
That was yesterday's match, Russia v Samoa.
I went back. You had no problem with it yesterday.
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@Kirwan said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
Not taking away anything away from Uruguay, love a good upset. It’s what makes the WC interesting.
Just want a level playing field.
Everyone has at least one short turnaround in the tournament. Fiji didn’t respect the ball and fell off a lot of tackles.
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The Uru’s really kept their shape on both sides of the ball. They were pretty disciplined defensively* and took their opportunities with the ball through spotting gaps and support play.
*Not to be a downer, but at the ruck I thought the ref gave the Uru’s some lee-way. Lots of warnings when they were have an extra hold on or off their feet. Several I thought they could’ve been penalised.
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@ACT-Crusader said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
*Not to be a downer, but at the ruck I thought the ref gave the Uru’s some lee-way. Lots of warnings when they were have an extra hold on or off their feet. Several I thought they could’ve been penalised.
I thought the same, while noting only a couple of freebies for the Fijians as well - particularly driving in from the side. The difference for me was Uruguay were first on the ball a lot, and pretty much always from the gate.
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Russia selected exactly the same team after a 4-day turn-around for yesterday's match vs Samoa. No one would accuse them of a lack of effort if they were tired.
Waqaniburotu's post-match comments said it all, a lack of respect for the opposition and the basics of the game.
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@Kirwan said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
@MiketheSnow well I’m not guessing what the coach was thinking or throwing out cliches like one team wanted it more.
Depth isn’t great in Fijian rugby, I bet if there was a slightly bigger gap between games more of the top team could have played.
Well done for them taking advantage,
but without looking at the draw do Wales or the ABs have four day turnarounds?Edit: Yes they do, good.
Fiji have obviously targeted wins against either Australia or Wales or both to put them through to the QF stage.
They came up short against Australia last Sunday, so the only route to the QF available to them pre kick-off was beating Uruguay, Georgia and Wales.
If they achieved that then meeting them in the QF would be one of England, France or Argentina.
Teams which would be expected to beat Fiji.
Knowing that, if I had been coaching Fiji I would have started the matches against Uruguay and Georgia with close to my best side.
Attempt to run them off the park, secure the BP, and then make substitutions as early as possible without putting the result in jeopardy.
John McKee selected a team which he felt could beat Uruguay.
The Fijian players either didn't execute the game plan or went off script.
The Uruguayans played better than McKee had anticipated and he didn't have the personnel and/or Plan B to turn the game around and secure the win.
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@Bovidae said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
Russia selected exactly the same team after a 4-day turn-around for yesterday's match vs Samoa. No one would accuse them of a lack of effort if they were tired.
Bingo. And it was Uruguay's first game together at this tournament so do we give them more credit for bringing good cohesion?
I'm as disappointed as any neutral that Fiji are unlikely to make the quarters at this stage. But you can't say they deserve to, based on two performances so far.
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Great win for Uruguay.
Lets hope world rugby & SANZAR can develop the game there by giving them more regular Test matches
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@MiketheSnow said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
@Kirwan said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
@MiketheSnow well I’m not guessing what the coach was thinking or throwing out cliches like one team wanted it more.
Depth isn’t great in Fijian rugby, I bet if there was a slightly bigger gap between games more of the top team could have played.
Well done for them taking advantage,
but without looking at the draw do Wales or the ABs have four day turnarounds?Edit: Yes they do, good.
If the situation had been reversed and the clearly inferior team had to deal with a 4-day turnaround with the majority of their team not having played against far superior opposition and certainly not under the added pressure of at a WC, and then one - possibly two - game changing decision(s) went against them and they lost the match then I could understand the shouts of 'the WC is biased against Tier 2 Nations'.
This match was not that.
That was yesterday's match, Russia v Samoa.
I went back. You had no problem with it yesterday.
Umm, because of work I’m only catching up with the other games now. I didn’t even watch the Fiji game, hence all my questions.
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@ACT-Crusader said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
The Uru’s really kept their shape on both sides of the ball. They were pretty disciplined defensively* and took their opportunities with the ball through spotting gaps and support play.
*Not to be a downer, but at the ruck I thought the ref gave the Uru’s some lee-way. Lots of warnings when they were have an extra hold on or off their feet. Several I thought they could’ve been penalised.
Yeah, plus looking back at a lot of crucial tackle/ruck turnovers, Uruguay got away with a heck of a lot of Pocock style play. Ref seemed very happy for them to be well off their feet and/or hands in the ruck.
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@Bones said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
@ACT-Crusader said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
The Uru’s really kept their shape on both sides of the ball. They were pretty disciplined defensively* and took their opportunities with the ball through spotting gaps and support play.
*Not to be a downer, but at the ruck I thought the ref gave the Uru’s some lee-way. Lots of warnings when they were have an extra hold on or off their feet. Several I thought they could’ve been penalised.
Yeah, plus looking back at a lot of crucial tackle/ruck turnovers, Uruguay got away with a heck of a lot of Pocock style play. Ref seemed very happy for them to be well off their feet and/or hands in the ruck.
Went both ways.
Fiji had a flopper at nearly every ruck.
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Fiji lost for the same reason South Africa lost to Japan: They didn't respect their opposition.
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@MiketheSnow said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
@Bones said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
@ACT-Crusader said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
The Uru’s really kept their shape on both sides of the ball. They were pretty disciplined defensively* and took their opportunities with the ball through spotting gaps and support play.
*Not to be a downer, but at the ruck I thought the ref gave the Uru’s some lee-way. Lots of warnings when they were have an extra hold on or off their feet. Several I thought they could’ve been penalised.
Yeah, plus looking back at a lot of crucial tackle/ruck turnovers, Uruguay got away with a heck of a lot of Pocock style play. Ref seemed very happy for them to be well off their feet and/or hands in the ruck.
Went both ways.
Fiji had a flopper at nearly every ruck.
I probably wasn't paying enough attention - I'm only going off all the "game changer" clips they showed after the game of the Uruguay steals. From what I recall early in the game, Fiji looked to be staying well out of the breakdown post tackle, to the point of having absolutely no one in at all many times - guess that changed as they got desperate!
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@Bones said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
@MiketheSnow said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
@Bones said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
@ACT-Crusader said in RWC: Fiji v Uruguay (Pool D):
The Uru’s really kept their shape on both sides of the ball. They were pretty disciplined defensively* and took their opportunities with the ball through spotting gaps and support play.
*Not to be a downer, but at the ruck I thought the ref gave the Uru’s some lee-way. Lots of warnings when they were have an extra hold on or off their feet. Several I thought they could’ve been penalised.
Yeah, plus looking back at a lot of crucial tackle/ruck turnovers, Uruguay got away with a heck of a lot of Pocock style play. Ref seemed very happy for them to be well off their feet and/or hands in the ruck.
Went both ways.
Fiji had a flopper at nearly every ruck.
I probably wasn't paying enough attention - I'm only going off all the "game changer" clips they showed after the game of the Uruguay steals. From what I recall early in the game, Fiji looked to be staying well out of the breakdown post tackle, to the point of having absolutely no one in at all many times - guess that changed as they got desperate!
You're correct.
Second half they were all over it.
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I’d be firmly in the camp that loves a good upset...so long as it’s not my team...
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@NTA Exactly right. Against weaker opposition, your mindset going into it has to similar to that of a traditional test match opening batsman where you look to blunt them in the first 25-30 mins before looking get expansive. Fiji didn't look like they wanted to tackle in the 1st half and ruined any good ball they had by throwing a horrendous offload and still continued to do it for most of the game despite it not working. When they built phases and kept it simple, they had plenty of success (shock horror), but they were too dumb to realise it and still thought that playing like the harlem globetrotters from all parts of the field was the way to go. There was a serious lack of leadership/brains in that Fijian side yesterday and now they can kiss their campaign goodbye as a result.
