Rugby Players

[Gunjaman5000 30]

France v England, world cup semi-final: I'm so wound up about this match I'm almost peeing my pants.

 

I know this is incredibly disloyal but I think this could be France's day. England can't possibly repeat their form against Australia can they? Then again, Jonny hasn't found his kicking boots yet and the backs have still to show us how well they can play.

 

I feel bad for casting doubt. Like the contrite French-speaking prawn with the waiter's moustache in Finding Nemo, "I am ashamed."

 

Swwweeeing low, sweeeet charrrriot, cumming four two carrymeeee eeey'ome........

Bloody hell Godot, England scored a try! Why change the plan at this late stage?

 

Good game though, good game.

[Godot 149]

France v England, world cup semi-final: I'm so wound up about this match I'm almost peeing my pants.

 

I know this is incredibly disloyal but I think this could be France's day. England can't possibly repeat their form against Australia can they? Then again, Jonny hasn't found his kicking boots yet and the backs have still to show us how well they can play.

 

I feel bad for casting doubt. Like the contrite French-speaking prawn with the waiter's moustache in Finding Nemo, "I am ashamed."

 

Swwweeeing low, sweeeet charrrriot, cumming four two carrymeeee eeey'ome........

Bloody hell Godot, England scored a try! Why change the plan at this late stage?

 

Good game though, good game.

Good game for a neutral perhaps. It's killing me.

[Gunjaman5000 30]

France v England, world cup semi-final: I'm so wound up about this match I'm almost peeing my pants.

 

I know this is incredibly disloyal but I think this could be France's day. England can't possibly repeat their form against Australia can they? Then again, Jonny hasn't found his kicking boots yet and the backs have still to show us how well they can play.

 

I feel bad for casting doubt. Like the contrite French-speaking prawn with the waiter's moustache in Finding Nemo, "I am ashamed."

 

Swwweeeing low, sweeeet charrrriot, cumming four two carrymeeee eeey'ome........

Bloody hell Godot, England scored a try! Why change the plan at this late stage?

 

Good game though, good game.

Good game for a neutral perhaps. It's killing me.

Holy crap, what an absorbing last twenty minutes. The 'new' high tackle law is a joke though, it would have been a shame had France lost on that call. Good stuff England, see you next week.

 

Go Argies!!!

[Godot's mum 0]

Godot is in a state of collapse and unable to speak. His trousers are in the wash. Am administering gravy intravenously. That should do it.

[Paul Bearer 6,100]

Godot is in a state of collapse and unable to speak. His trousers are in the wash. Am administering gravy intravenously. That should do it.

 

Hello Godot's mum, how are you after that horrible experience? Never mind, there's only one more game to go. Would you like me to arrange a room in the Ronald Reagan rest home for the mentally bewildered for next Saturday night?

[Godot 149]

Godot is in a state of collapse and unable to speak. His trousers are in the wash. Am administering gravy intravenously. That should do it.

 

Hello Godot's mum, how are you after that horrible experience? Never mind, there's only one more game to go. Would you like me to arrange a room in the Ronald Reagan rest home for the mentally bewildered for next Saturday night?

She's back in the home. On the strength of tonight's performance by South Africa I think England are not going to be carrying the cup home this time. Bryan Habana looks unstoppable.

[Lord Fellatio Nelson 6,218]

Godot is in a state of collapse and unable to speak. His trousers are in the wash. Am administering gravy intravenously. That should do it.

 

Hello Godot's mum, how are you after that horrible experience? Never mind, there's only one more game to go. Would you like me to arrange a room in the Ronald Reagan rest home for the mentally bewildered for next Saturday night?

She's back in the home. On the strength of tonight's performance by South Africa I think England are not going to be carrying the cup home this time. Bryan Habana looks unstoppable.

Only if we make sh*t passes like the Argies did.

We have nothing to fear but ourselves.

Its there for the taking Godot.

The Argies were great, but were boys against some very nasty looking, ugly men ( who could play a bit).

[Godot 149]

The Argies were great, but were boys against some very nasty looking, ugly men ( who could play a bit).

And pretty Percy Montgomery.

 

The thing is that England have gone much further than most people, including themselves, believed they would. There will be no disgrace to lose to South Africa. The question is whether they will want to win it enough. They couldn't afford to make any mistakes. But of course LFN it's possible. It's just that the press will be bigging them up unrealistically so much this week. I just hope they make a good fight of it.

[Gunjaman5000 30]

The Argies were great, but were boys against some very nasty looking, ugly men ( who could play a bit).

And pretty Percy Montgomery.

 

The thing is that England have gone much further than most people, including themselves, believed they would. There will be no disgrace to lose to South Africa. The question is whether they will want to win it enough. They couldn't afford to make any mistakes. But of course LFN it's possible. It's just that the press will be bigging them up unrealistically so much this week. I just hope they make a good fight of it.

If I could be bothered trawlling back throught the thread to find my original post, I'd be crowing about how I've always said England could do it...

 

No need for the press to 'big them up' me old mukka; England's scrum is as good if not better than South Africa's, England's lineout is the equal of South Africa's (by equal I mean as good as, not better, they shouldn't have trouble winning their own throws-in is what I mean), and if Wonder Johnny stays fit they'll have the best kicker on the field. If they stick to their game and not try to play some other team's game, they'll be fine. If they go mad and try to throw the ball around and be ahead by 4 tries at half-time they will lose.

 

In my book South Africa's got little to offer, big fowards to smash the opposition off the ball and fast, fast wingers for chasing kicks and intercepting passes. You cannot rely on a game plan based around something as opportunistic as an intercept pass, take away the two scored today and you'd have to say the Japies should be beating Argentina by a lot more than what they did. Keep giving Wilkinson the ball to kick for territory, don't throw miracle passes for Habana to intercept, maul the ball up the field and drag in the South African loose fowards, then finally give the ball to Wilkinson to kick for territory/penalty/glory.

 

Come on England, I've always said...

[Cowboy Ronnie 78]

The Argies were great, but were boys against some very nasty looking, ugly men ( who could play a bit).

And pretty Percy Montgomery.

 

I knew a girl who once went on a date with Percy Montgomery. Or so she claimed. She was from Sweden, or Denmark maybe, and it seemed a bit random that she would have made up that she went on a date with Percy M. She was good-looking enough that one could believe she had.

 

This post really isn't about celebrity death at all. Or rugby, for that matter.

 

Go England!

[Godot 149]

Well Gunjy that was as convincing a rationale as any we're likely to see in the press this week. Yet why am I still not convinced? There are a lot of "ifs" and I'm not convinced that England will be able to keep it tight enough to close out Habana.

 

I don't think, somehow, that England will be trying to play the running game. If they still have Catt they should be able to match SA with their kicking game and I think they can match them for power. But it's speed and inventiveness where they're lacking although Robinson remains a danger man. If they can get some good turnover ball, kick well and win their lineouts they are in with a shout. But if they start to doubt themselves they're finished.

 

I think a good game plan for England would be to knobble Percy's hairdresser and bribe him to mess up the Percy hairdo on the morning of the match. Also the press could make the rest of the team feel bad by repeating the story of how Bryan Habana's dad was banned from playing rugby because he went to watch the Springbocks during the apartheid years. On second thoughts that might just make Habana run faster.

[Anubis the Jackal 77]

If you're worried about Habana England could replace the injured Josh Lewsey with U-S-A U-S-A's Takudzwa Ngwenya who absolutely flew past Habana in their game. Yeah, so there may be some problem with nationality issues, but if that fails get a real life cheetah in.

[Anubis the Jackal 77]

Gunjy and our other antipodean chums, given your countries natural, and quite understandable antipathy towards England, will you really be able to go as far as to support the vile South Africans against us on Saturday?

[honez 79]

Gunjy and our other antipodean chums, given your countries natural, and quite understandable antipathy towards England, will you really be able to go as far as to support the vile South Africans against us on Saturday?

Absolutely. I would support the Devil Himself, coached by Hitler and sponsored by Pol Pot if they were up against England.

[Lord Fellatio Nelson 6,218]

Gunjy and our other antipodean chums, given your countries natural, and quite understandable antipathy towards England, will you really be able to go as far as to support the vile South Africans against us on Saturday?

Absolutely. I would support the Devil Himself, coached by Hitler and sponsored by Pol Pot if they were up against England.

Thats what I love about the Aussies, totally unbiased and objective.

[Lady Grendel 139]

Gunjy and our other antipodean chums, given your countries natural, and quite understandable antipathy towards England, will you really be able to go as far as to support the vile South Africans against us on Saturday?

Absolutely. I would support the Devil Himself, coached by Hitler and sponsored by Pol Pot if they were up against England.

Thats what I love about the Aussies, totally unbiased and objective.

 

Or even the Welsh .

[Lord Fellatio Nelson 6,218]

Gunjy and our other antipodean chums, given your countries natural, and quite understandable antipathy towards England, will you really be able to go as far as to support the vile South Africans against us on Saturday?

Absolutely. I would support the Devil Himself, coached by Hitler and sponsored by Pol Pot if they were up against England.

Thats what I love about the Aussies, totally unbiased and objective.

 

Or even the Welsh .

I thought Honez was half and half, which if true would truly be a terrible curse.

[Gunjaman5000 30]

Gunjy and our other antipodean chums, given your countries natural, and quite understandable antipathy towards England, will you really be able to go as far as to support the vile South Africans against us on Saturday?

Absolutely. I would support the Devil Himself, coached by Hitler and sponsored by Pol Pot if they were up against England.

I don't know about support, but I'd like to see England win. I want England to win because I don't want South Africa to win.

 

For starters I'd like to see this mother freaker eat his words.

 

Even South Africa’s team manager, Zola Yeye, was dismissive of England’s chances. “What we did to England, 36-0, we will inflict the same punishment on them again,” he said after watching his team beat Argentina. “Some people say I am overconfident, but we are playing in the final a team we have already beaten.”

Arrogant bloody cake stacker, you haven't won yet. Anyone who engages in this sort of carry-on deserves to lose, and lose badly.

 

Next I want England to win because the South Africans are dirty, cheating mongrels. To prove this one only has to look at their international record since the introduction of neutral referees. A preternaturally good home record pre-1992 one could say.

 

Then I want England to win because I don't like the South African accent. "Haar, haar wee woun ageen", urgh.

 

After that I want England to win because, because just because!

 

The teams are fairly evenly matched, all England have to do is play their own game and they should get there.

[Paul Bearer 6,100]

Excellent game tonight

[themaninblack 2,112]

Well done South Africa. Commiserations England!

 

Next up: the Six Nations, which will be the most open for years....

[Godot 149]

A great world cup. South Africa deserved their win. But it was good to see England running them so close. I hope now that Argentina are let in to one of the big two annual competitions. Logic supports extending the tri-nations but what about them basing themselves in Barcelona in a Seven Nations competition? That'd make for a good weekend every two years.

[Gunjaman5000 30]

A great world cup. South Africa deserved their win. But it was good to see England running them so close. I hope now that Argentina are let in to one of the big two annual competitions. Logic supports extending the tri-nations but what about them basing themselves in Barcelona in a Seven Nations competition? That'd make for a good weekend every two years.

I always find the finals a bit disappointing, too defence oriented. One try in the last two finals isn't what I'd call good viewing. Not that I'd mind if New Zealand won three nil, but a showpiece for world rugby it wasn't, and rarely is.

 

I wonder if expanding the tri-nations or the six nations is a good idea. I can't speak for the European competition but the tri-nations is getting harder and harder to get excited about. I'd rather see it go the way football has with a European Cup competition every other year. As it stands it'd make more sense for the Japies to join the six nations, at least they're in a suitable time zone. I'd also like to see the revival of the old style tours, it was great when the Lions were here. It gives the teams the opportunity to introduce new players without having to field a 'B' team in a test match, it gives the local players and crowds a chance to see the big names (my under 21 team invited the 1988 Wales team around for a booze up and half of them turned up, I couldn't imagine that happening now) and most of all the tours create a broader interest in the game than an whimsical competition based on viewing figures.That'll never happen though, not enough money in it I guess.

 

Congratulations South Africa, well done England. See you in 2011 in Auckland where according to at least one esteemed member...

 

Ah well, only 4 more years until the next World Cup that you're bound to win, again.

f*****g well better had do...

[Cowboy Ronnie 78]

You'd have thought Argentina had now done enough to be included in the Tri Nations. With modern air travel the logistics aren't unworkable, plus surely it makes sense to have two games every weekend, not just one with one team sitting idly by.

 

Oh, wait, this is rugby union so that obviously makes far too much sense.

[honez 79]

You'd have thought Argentina had now done enough to be included in the Tri Nations. With modern air travel the logistics aren't unworkable, plus surely it makes sense to have two games every weekend, not just one with one team sitting idly by.

I'd rather go the whole hog and get the Pacific Islands into the mix too. Not sure how the fixtures and home/away thing would stack up though.

[Godot 149]

From the title of his new book it doesn't like Andy Ripley is going to be leaving us any time soon.