Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play
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@sparky said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
Can anyone remember the last time the ABs played well?
Only when we play Australia. They don't employ a rush defence system so we have more space to work with, hence playing them over the next two weeks is not ideal prep for the WC opener.
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@kiwiinmelb said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@antipodean said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@Hooroo said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@ACT-Crusader said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@Hooroo said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
With Hansen pulling pin after WC and the way we are playing at the moment and in recent times, if we suck the Kumara at the WC (For me sucking would be not making the final) then we could see Foster removed from contention as AB coach? Brings in the likes of Robertson etc??
Unless Foster does a ‘tell all’ before the job interview and tells how Hansen was a tyrant and dictator.
I have an eerie feeling that we bomb out of the 1/4s this year.
If that were to eventuate, it would likely mean we lost our opening match and then had to lose to Ireland.
The flaw in your thinking is Ireland would win a quarter final.
I do believe that so much rests on that opening game.
Lose that I don’t think we recover enough to win it .We could still end up playing Scotland even if we do lose to the Boks in the opening match - Ireland are not a lock to beat Scotland in pool play.
Also, there are precedents for a team losing in pool play and still making the final (although, it would be a first were we to lose in pool play, but then win a final). Look at England in 1991, England again in 2007, France in 2011.
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@akan004 said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@sparky said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
Can anyone remember the last time the ABs played well?
Only when we play Australia. They don't employ a rush defence system so we have more space to work with, hence playing them over the next two weeks is not ideal prep for the WC opener.
Or....it's great to allow us to not show our hand..
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@sparky said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
Can anyone remember the last time the ABs played well?
It has been a string recently of remarkably poor or uninspiring performances.
It seems to me we haven't played well since before the Lions Tests.
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@taniwharugby said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@junior although I dont think a team has ever won the RWC having lost a game...
This is true, but I don't think the difference between the Boks and the ABs now is so great that a loss in pool play couldn't be turned around in a final (unless of course we got spanked in pool play a la the English in 2007 or French in 2011).
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@Bones said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@akan004 said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@sparky said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
Can anyone remember the last time the ABs played well?
Only when we play Australia. They don't employ a rush defence system so we have more space to work with, hence playing them over the next two weeks is not ideal prep for the WC opener.
Or....it's great to allow us to not show our hand..
Fair point. I noticed that we avoided doing chip kicks and cross kicks (apart from one) on the weekend. Don't want to reveal too much now.
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@junior said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
Also, there are precedents for a team losing in pool play and still making the final (although, it would be a first were we to lose in pool play, but then win a final). Look at England in 1991, England again in 2007, France in 2011.
And what else did those 3 teams have in common?
France lost 2 games before the 2011 final.
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@junior tbf I am not sure if us winning the RWC again is good for the International game...So losing in the final to, um, not Aus, not Eng, not Ire, not Arg, not SA, maybe Wales...yeah nah, guess we just have to win it again...
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@taniwharugby said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@junior tbf I am not sure if us winning the RWC again is good for the International game...So losing in the final to, um, not Aus, not Eng, not Ire, not Arg, not SA, maybe Wales...yeah nah, guess we just have to win it again...
Honestly, I don't think it's that bad for the international game. Look at what's happened since 2015, when we won our second World Cup. Particularly up north, there's been a real focus on winning the test matches being played right in front of you, winning series and tournaments, and increasing your ranking (first, by England in 2016-17, then by Ireland in 2018, and now Wales in 2019). I think these teams, and fans, now appreciate that nothing is guaranteed in a World Cup - not even an All Black choke anymore - and there's no point wasting the 4 years beforehand assuming otherwise.
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@Bovidae said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@junior said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
Also, there are precedents for a team losing in pool play and still making the final (although, it would be a first were we to lose in pool play, but then win a final). Look at England in 1991, England again in 2007, France in 2011.
And what else did those 3 teams have in common?
France lost 2 games before the 2011 final.
Indeed they did and then only lost the final by a point!
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@junior said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@Bovidae said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@junior said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
Also, there are precedents for a team losing in pool play and still making the final (although, it would be a first were we to lose in pool play, but then win a final). Look at England in 1991, England again in 2007, France in 2011.
And what else did those 3 teams have in common?
France lost 2 games before the 2011 final.
Indeed they did and then only lost the final by a point!
you just can't trust those sneaky fuckers
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@junior said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@taniwharugby said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@junior although I dont think a team has ever won the RWC having lost a game...
This is true, but I don't think the difference between the Boks and the ABs now is so great that a loss in pool play couldn't be turned around in a final (unless of course we got spanked in pool play a la the English in 2007 or French in 2011).
The English in 07 were a sneaky trailing leg from (I think) Mark Cueto away from taking the lead and having every chace of winning that game.
So, yeah, they proved that form in pool means nothing.
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@MN5 said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@mofitzy_ said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
What's the furthest the 4N teams can all go? Can we have all RC semis, like last time?
I mean on draw, not form.
.....and here's this weird SH vs NH thing rearing it's head again.
Personally I'd want any of the home nations ( especially Scotland bar England ) to knock Argentina or Australia out.
After Saturday ( and other games against them of recent times ) I've got massive respect for the Boks again.
Never said anything about preference, just that all the 4N teams play in the same comp and seem to be in decent form (except us of course).
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@Nevorian said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@Hooroo said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
I have an eerie feeling that we bomb out of the 1/4s this year.
Have you had this feeling at previous world cups and did it eventuate?
Fuck knows!!! They weren’t last week!
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There haven't been enough cups to really get too worked up about what hasn't worked before.
Be so much better than anyone else that you can't lose is good. After that it's luck as much as skill.
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It was Cueto
ENG had an easy route to the Final
AUS were a decent side but their Tight 5 were as soft as baby shit & England exposed it badly
French were emotionally & physically spent from their QF victory vs [redacted] in [redacted] A game refereed by [redacted]
Boks were by far best side in 2007 RWC I would have backed them to beat any team in the Comp
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@ACT-Crusader said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@kiwiinmelb said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@antipodean said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@Hooroo said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@ACT-Crusader said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
@Hooroo said in Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play:
With Hansen pulling pin after WC and the way we are playing at the moment and in recent times, if we suck the Kumara at the WC (For me sucking would be not making the final) then we could see Foster removed from contention as AB coach? Brings in the likes of Robertson etc??
Unless Foster does a ‘tell all’ before the job interview and tells how Hansen was a tyrant and dictator.
I have an eerie feeling that we bomb out of the 1/4s this year.
If that were to eventuate, it would likely mean we lost our opening match and then had to lose to Ireland.
The flaw in your thinking is Ireland would win a quarter final.
I do believe that so much rests on that opening game.
Lose that I don’t think we recover enough to win it .I think differently. As long as we make the quarters, then the real tournament begins. How we get there (lose a pool game) it doesn’t really matter.
Happy we go into RWC2019 worried about making the semis rather than than other years when we thought getting to that point would be a doddle.
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@mofitzy_ said in [Countdown to RWC 2019 - ABs state of the play]
Never said anything about preference, just that all the 4N teams play in the same comp and seem to be in decent form (except us of course).
TBH I have no idea what's going to happen in 2019 RWC It'll be most open & competitive RWC to date
Gap has closed btw ABs and rest of Tier 1 sides & Tier 2 sides are making massive progress namely USA + Fiji
I hope the following happens:
- Scummy French are knocked out in Group phase
- AUS get ambushed by Fiji in 1st game & hopefully get knocked out ala France
- Boks go well
- Hope team stuffed with SA rate Saffers & Mercenaries (Scots), Team Project Players (Ireland) & Team 2nd rate Barbarian mercenaries (Japan) knock the stuffing out of each other in Group A
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@Jaguares4real
Wouldn't mind Japan knocking out either Scotland or Ireland - unlikely but we've seen them upset teams in the past.
