RWC 2019

[Pilotman123]

Really looking forward to this weekend of rugby, hopefully South Africa can beat England but the way England have been performing, I can’t see it happening

[Twist]

Springboks team to face England:

1.Tendai Mtawarira
2.Mbongeni Mbonambi
3.Frans Malherbe
4.Eben Etzebeth
5.Lood de Jager
6.Siya Kolisi (captain)
7.Pieter-Steph Du Toit
8.Duane Vermeulen
9.Faf de Klerk
10.Handre Pollard
11.Makazole Mapimpi
12.Damian de Allende
13.Lukhanyo Am
14.Cheslin Kolbe
15.Willie Le Roux

Bench: 16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Steven Kitshoff, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. RG Snyman, 20. Franco Mostert, 21. Francois Louw, 22. Herschel Jantjies, 23. Frans Steyn


England team to face South Africa:

1.Mako Vunipola
2.Jamie George
3.Kyle Sinckler
4.Maro Itoje
5.Courtney Lawes
6.Tom Curry
7.Sam Underhill
8.Billy Vunipola
9.Ben Youngs
10.George Ford
11.Jonny May
12.Owen Farrell
13.Manu Tuilagi
14.Anthony Watson
15.Elliot Daly

Bench: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Dan Cole, 19. George Kruis, 20. Mark Wilson, 21. Ben Spencer, 22. Henry Slade, 23. Jonathan Joseph.

[Ruckedtobits]

So Wales, with a majority of possession and territory and fewer penalties, comeback to 10-14 with 34 mins gone and then Ben Smith decides to show why he should have still been an automatic choice and closes out the half with two great ties for 10-28.
Good game and NZ still a side of classy skills.

[MylesNaGapoleen]

So Wales, with a majority of possession and territory and fewer penalties, comeback to 10-14 with 34 mins gone and then Ben Smith decides to show why he should have still been an automatic choice and closes out the half with two great ties for 10-28.
Good game and NZ still a side of classy skills.

Normal NZ service has been resumed. They were lethal at the breakdown when they got a sniff....some brilliant rugby on display and fair play to wales for giving it a go. A few soft tries from loose tackling (dan biggar again) but I thought wales did okay.

Don't understand the praise the welsh scrum half gets. He takes a very long pause when feeding from rucks/breakdown. ball is available..he has his hands on it...but there is a few seconds delay before he passes.

[FLIP]

So how are people feeling about tomorrow, and who will they support?

On the one hand England have played the best rugby.

On the other, it's England.

On the one hand South Africa has a question mark over their talent due to their ongoing issues with steroid abuse in their game.

On the other, all the casual England fans have come crawling out the woodwork after 12 years and are insufferable.

On the other other hand at the South Africa game one of the Saffas had a sign saying "Pineapple belongs on pizza" which I'm pretty sure is a hate crime against Italians.

But then.. England have an asterisk against their progress having had a week off.

But also, South Africa haven't won every game on the way to the finals where as England have.

South Africa play in the same league as us and wear green. I suppose that will swing it.

[Oldschool]

So how are people feeling about tomorrow, and who will they support?

On the one hand England have played the best rugby.

On the other, it's England.

On the one hand South Africa has a question mark over their talent due to their ongoing issues with steroid abuse in their game.

On the other, all the casual England fans have come crawling out the woodwork after 12 years and are insufferable.

On the other other hand at the South Africa game one of the Saffas had a sign saying "Pineapple belongs on pizza" which I'm pretty sure is a hate crime against Italians.

But then.. England have an asterisk against their progress having had a week off.

But also, South Africa haven't won every game on the way to the finals where as England have.

South Africa play in the same league as us and wear green. I suppose that will swing it.

Insufferable England for me, SA can be every bit as insufferable and they're from the SH.
By less than ten points and I wouldn't rule out a last minute dg either.

[Blueberry]

I hope England win it, switch off the Green goggles for a minute and you have to admit that game v NZ was seriously impressive and good to watch. They deserve it.

England should win tomorrow and if they don't it will be something weird like a red card which will stop them. SA have been dour and brutal to watch, Wales if they had backed themselves a fraction more would have got past them.

If somehow SA slow the game down, batter away and turn it into a slug fest and win it won't be pretty.

And from a Leinster perspective our fifth star only came a cropper against Sarries who are the core of this England team, not a bad sign as to where the boys in blue are in the world pecking order !!

[Ruckedtobits]

A friend of mine, a serious rugby head, not normally given to flights of fancy, is convinced that England will lose tomorrow because, he says, the way they have handled Brexit proves they have forgotten how to finish anything.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I think the key for SA is how Pollard, Kolbe, and Le Roux perform. Pollard is very inconsistent and if he can't threaten the line then they're goosed but when he plays well he really is great. Kolbe is arguably the best back in the world right now but I'd be worried about his fitness. It's stating the obvious but his ankles are pretty important for those steps! I'm really surprised Le Roux hasn't been dropped, he's in awful form. In theory his handling ability is crucial for them but if he's not playing well then it's pointless having him there.

That's all assuming the pack plays well of course. I don't think SA have been as dour as others seem to, I think the problem has been more about execution than intent. They did shut up shop as the Welsh game went on but early on they played some good stuff but blew all the chances they had with poor handling.

Barring a red card or something I just can't see England being beaten. I struggle to see the likes of Curry and Underhill in particular doing anything other than dominate SA and think they'll win comfortably by more than a score.

[johng]

England every time and twice on Sundays

[Ruckedtobits]

Despite England being the odds-on favourites to win this Final, the margin which many Bookies predict is six and below - a really tight game. So, although England can be got at 1/2 this morning, don't be surprised at a very close game.

These two teams know each other very well, not just the Nations but the direct opponents themselves and they have played against each other five times since the previous World Cup with the majority of the same players. Out of the five games, just have a look at the how often the various positions have been filled by the same players:

Full-back: England: Daly (4) S Africa: LeRoux (4 of 5 Games):
Right Wing Neither team has had a consistent choice in this position
No 13 England - Slade (4) S Africa - de Allende (4)
No 12 England - Farrell (4) S Africa - Am (3)
No 11 England - May (4) S Africa - Dyanti (4)
No 10 England - Ford (4) S Africa - Pollard (4)
No 9 England - Youngs (5) S Africa - F de Klerk (4)
No 8 England - Vunipola (3) S Africa - Vermuelen (4)
No 7 Robshaw (4) not selected S Africa - PS Du Toit (4)
No 6 England - Curry (5) S Africa - Kolisi (4)
No 5 England - Itoje (4) S Africa - Mostert (4)
No 4 England - Lawes (2) S Africa - Snyman (4)
No 3 England - Sinckler (4) S Africa - Malherbe (4)
No 2 England - George (5) S Africa - Mbonambi (4)
No 1 England - Vunipola (4) S Africa - Mtawarira (4)

Among the overall Squads its the same story and Marler (4), Lawes (2), Wilson (2) and even Spenser (3) are very familiar with their opponents like Kitschoff (5), Du Toit (4), Jager (3), Etzebeth (4)

This is one of the main reasons that I believe that this game will be a lot closer than many predict and I also believe that there could be a decent scoreline by the final whistle. In 2015, the pre-match Final prediction was a total of 41 points. The final scoreline of 34-17 to NZ was 10 points higher. This time around, the predictions are more varied but a total points of below 30 is being quoted in some places.

The most recent results between these teams would belie these predictions:

1st Test June 2018 : S Africa 42 : 39 England
2nd Test June 2018: S Africa 23 : 12 England
3rd Test June 2018: S Africa 10 : 25 England
Nov 2018 Test: England 12 : 11 S Africa

South Africa know how to win the World Cup, even without the best team. They have done so twice already. England has the better team, but have blown opportunities as good as this before. Prediction: The game will be a draw within the final 10 minutes but a decisive score for Pollard to give SA the win

[dropkick]

Yesterday was the end of an era. The Gatland era. It's been some 12 years for Gatland in Wales. If the measure of a good coach is getting the best out of resources you have then Gatland has to go down as one of the best of all time. 3 grand slams and 2 world cup semi finals where they were narrowly beaten.


How many games have Wales won when they'd no right to? Once his team's got momentum they seemed to have an aura around them that just made every bounce go heir way. That's because of the belief Gatland installed.


It's great from an Irish point of view to see the back of him. I don't think there'll be a immediate dip from Wales because new coaches usually gives the squad a boost but year 2, 3 and 4 could see Wales slip back a bit. Not to being a bad team but more of an average team in terms of form etc.


The whole coaching team is going which is a mistake imo. Leinster are picking up a good one in McBryde. The Welsh pack were always lacking yet always held their own.

[FLIP]

So how are people feeling about tomorrow, and who will they support?

On the one hand England have played the best rugby.

On the other, it's England.

On the one hand South Africa has a question mark over their talent due to their ongoing issues with steroid abuse in their game.

On the other, all the casual England fans have come crawling out the woodwork after 12 years and are insufferable.

On the other other hand at the South Africa game one of the Saffas had a sign saying "Pineapple belongs on pizza" which I'm pretty sure is a hate crime against Italians.

But then.. England have an asterisk against their progress having had a week off.

But also, South Africa haven't won every game on the way to the finals where as England have.

South Africa play in the same league as us and wear green. I suppose that will swing it.

Insufferable England for me, SA can be every bit as insufferable and they're from the SH.
By less than ten points and I wouldn't rule out a last minute dg either.

Another view is that if South Africa win, it means that Munster are truly ultra sh!t - a world cup winning coach couldn't lead them to anything

[fourthirtythree]

I think England will hammer SA.

Like everyone else.

The interesting thing is that I thought they'd win the world Cup if they could keep certain injury prone players fit. They have, but I was wrong about them being key.

And then England can bottle the hubris and go f%~k off and leave us all forever.

[fourthirtythree]

Bit off for the England fans to be singing maro Itoje when he just knocked out Sinckler.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I know it's a World Cup final but I've been really surprised by how nervous England have been. I reckon the Vunipolas and Tuilagi are carrying injuries as well, all three have been very slow to get back up at times and Tuilagi looked like he couldn't run when he caught a pass down the left wing.

Neither side really taking advantage when they have momentum. Thought there was a big turning point on 28 minutes when Underhill made a big hit, Curry got a turnover, and De Klerk gave away a stupid penalty. The defence from SA was amazing though and they did really well to only concede a penalty.

Of the three players I mentioned were key for SA, Pollard has been excellent apart from the missed kick, Le Roux has been terrible again, and Kolbe has only got the ball a couple of times. If one of the the latter two can do something good then they could take the game away from England.

I wouldn't like to call it now, hard to see England being as bad in the second half.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Watching this from a selfish point of view, I really wish we had someone who could carry the ball like Vermuelen did off one of the restarts. He really is some player, love how often he gets over the ball but he's been unlucky not to be rewarded.

[dropkick]

So how are people feeling about tomorrow, and who will they support?

On the one hand England have played the best rugby.

On the other, it's England.

On the one hand South Africa has a question mark over their talent due to their ongoing issues with steroid abuse in their game.

On the other, all the casual England fans have come crawling out the woodwork after 12 years and are insufferable.

On the other other hand at the South Africa game one of the Saffas had a sign saying "Pineapple belongs on pizza" which I'm pretty sure is a hate crime against Italians.

But then.. England have an asterisk against their progress having had a week off.

But also, South Africa haven't won every game on the way to the finals where as England have.

South Africa play in the same league as us and wear green. I suppose that will swing it.

Insufferable England for me, SA can be every bit as insufferable and they're from the SH.
By less than ten points and I wouldn't rule out a last minute dg either.

Another view is that if South Africa win, it means that Munster are truly ultra sh!t - a world cup winning coach couldn't lead them to anything

The teams Munster played didn't sh1t their pants. England - who are a much more talented side - are handing them this game.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

That England scrum a few minutes ago reminded me of our famous one against Northampton, huge moment.

[Blueberry]

Didn't see that coming, fair play to SA....incredible.

England were not allowed to play. Scrums and set piece will get the plaudits but their line speed and D won the game, England neutralised totally and they have been brilliant, amazing to see them not fire a shot.

Erasmus had a plan and they executed perfectly.

Deserving winners.