What Does The World Cup Mean To You?

Peg Leg · Post by **Peg Leg** » January 11th, 2011, 12:30 pm

There a a few posts on the Leinster V Sarries thread RE: its relevance and heritage.

IMO: I like!

Broken Wing · Post by **Broken Wing** » January 11th, 2011, 12:32 pm

I like it. It's the only meaningful NH V SH competition after all. Hell even BNZ get all het up about not winning it despite their 3N titles.

Logorrhea · Post by **Logorrhea** » January 11th, 2011, 12:42 pm

The format is all wrong, but its the biggest and best competition in world rugby

ruck · Post by **ruck** » January 11th, 2011, 12:46 pm

I reckon my feelings about the World Cup are slightly related to the chances of us of ever winning one.

ronk · Post by **ronk** » January 11th, 2011, 12:57 pm

It's the only time that all the top teams in the World consistently field full strength teams at the same time and play each other.

Any individual tour may or may not be a big deal, the World Cup always is. Teams like Argentina and Samoa get full access to all their players for a proper program with time to do meaningful training camps. It's the only chance they get to play to their full potential.

It opens doors too. We played Georgia in 2007, we'll probably next play them when we meet them again in a World Cup.

hugonaut · Post by **hugonaut** » January 11th, 2011, 1:43 pm

ronk wrote:It's the only time that all the top teams in the World consistently field full strength teams at the same time and play each other.

Any individual tour may or may not be a big deal, the World Cup always is. Teams like Argentina and Samoa get full access to all their players for a proper program with time to do meaningful training camps. It's the only chance they get to play to their full potential.

It opens doors too. We played Georgia in 2007, we'll probably next play them when we meet them again in a World Cup.

Good points Ronk. My feelings – like Ruck's – are unfortunately tied to our history in them, when we've been brutal. Possibly a slight dose of hyperbole, but RWC07 was the most consistently disappointing sporting event of my life [including my own chequered career ...]. I've had worse one-off shocks, been more disappointed after losing to rivals, been more gutted about matches I've lost, but I couldn't get over just how appalling we were in 2007, having travelled with such high hopes.

It really was a massive, massive knock-back. For the first time in Irish rugby, people weren't afraid of saying that we had a good chance, that we would get to a semi, that we could even get to a final and then possibly win in, and then we choked like absolute crazy. Most of our players played like total sh*t [exceptions, as I recall, were Girv, Bossy and Drico].

I'd like us to do well, and I think it's important that we don't throw in the towel and not prepare for it adequately, i.e. admit defeat before we're even there. It's not the be-all and end-all for me, and I certainly don't expect much from us, bar getting out of our group.

Scott · Post by **Scott** » January 11th, 2011, 2:10 pm

hugonaut wrote: I'd like us to do well, and I think it's important that we don't throw in the towel and not prepare for it adequately, i.e. admit defeat before we're even there.

No fear of that with Heaslip around. Heard him being interviewed over weekend & he said we have a great chance of winning the 6n's & we have every chance of winning the world cup!

For me its the best rugby comp hands down

ronk · Post by **ronk** » January 11th, 2011, 2:22 pm

I think we possibly didn't understand the full implications of our preparations for the last World Cup, sure we got it wrong, but part of that came from a desperation due to the weight of expectation we were putting on ourselves. Despite all the hard work we had a preparation model that wasn't really designed for World Cups, it mostly made us strong between World Cups but left us with a static team and little room to harness the full ability of our in form players.

When you pick the team a year (at least) out you expose yourself to players losing form and/or getting injured. Our normal preparation advantages and ability to rest players became a curse. We had to wrap our small squad in cotton wool while the scratch teams we were used to beating spent serious time together and gelled, eroding our advantage. We went stale bored in lengthy camp, they had a lot of work to do and weren't so used to people that they got fed up with them.

Though we haven't really come to terms with it, central contracting is a system that's good for making us competitive every 6N but won't do a lot (on its own) for the World Cup. It gives coaches extended time with players to modify gameplans, time that we need this World Cup because of the way the game has changed and is still changing.

StrangeButBlue · Post by **StrangeButBlue** » January 11th, 2011, 2:31 pm

Its the pinnacle of test rugby.
In fact for me it's not the 6 Nations or Antony Foley that should be in the list but the Olympics or Footy World Cup.
OK, Foley stays in the list.

Bosco · Post by **Bosco** » January 11th, 2011, 3:29 pm

7 weeks on the piss in New Zealand

johng · Post by **johng** » January 11th, 2011, 4:23 pm

Bosco wrote:7 weeks on the piss in New Zealand

Have you managed to transfer your dole to NZ

Bosco · Post by **Bosco** » January 11th, 2011, 4:27 pm

Not my dole, my grant money

I'll try claim for the time i was away when i come back,

johng · Post by **johng** » January 11th, 2011, 4:30 pm

Bosco wrote:Not my dole, my grant money

I'll try claim for the time i was away when i come back,

Yih Lad! God Bless Ireland.

Bosco · Post by **Bosco** » January 11th, 2011, 4:32 pm

If I come back......

johng · Post by **johng** » January 11th, 2011, 4:34 pm

Bosco wrote:If I come back......

If I get a lumpah munnay in me hand uv a Friday, I'll be gone like a bullit from a gun. (Funnier in a Tipperary accent)

Dave Cahill · Post by **Dave Cahill** » January 11th, 2011, 4:48 pm

Oh bosco is used to a funny tipperary accent

please don't tell her i said that

Bosco · Post by **Bosco** » January 11th, 2011, 4:50 pm

jezzer · Post by **jezzer** » January 11th, 2011, 5:01 pm

For me, the tests against NZ are the pinnacle. There's something special and weirdly sado-masochistic about our regular Lough Derg-like pilgrimage to take on (and some day beat) the ABs that gets me so fired up.

Even though we could meet them in the RWC - and knowing their hex it might be our best chance of beating them - that almost makes me value the one-off tests higher.

Donny B. · Post by **Donny B.** » January 11th, 2011, 6:18 pm

It's not that I hate the World Cup, I just hate the attitude that everything must be sacraficed for it, like a Six Nations Championship.

The Six Nations is still the Six Nations, even in a World Cup year and the idea that we should take it lightly in the hope that perhaps we may make a semi-final is completely ridiculous.

New Zealand did everything they could in terms of preparation for the last World Cup and still went out in the quarters, while England's preparations were an utter disaster yet they still made the final. At the end of the day, it's still an knock-out competition, so the idea that your preparation will guarantee success is utter shite.

janeymac08 · Post by **janeymac08** » January 11th, 2011, 7:12 pm

I agree with Donny about the attitude to it. I'd prefer a 6ns any day to a semi-final in the RWC. I would like us to get out of our group though.

The NH teams are disadvantaged in that its the start of its season as well, where as the SH teams have had plenty of competitive matches under their belt by the time the RWC comes around in Sept./Oct. Why don't they hold it in May/June for a change?

Babbling 'brook