Now that we have reached the point where the general public are being fed rugby stories every day as the third biggest world sports tournament reaches its climax, does the dedicated rugby follower have the expert answers for his or her work colleagues as the questions and comments are thrown? Continue reading
... and that's about it. Of course, on the day there'll be a bunch of other guys in front of us, but I reckon we can take them.
Has the World Cup thrown Australia’s first Tri-Nations win in a decade into a different perspective? Yes. Do their back-to-back victories over South Africa in that tournament have any bearing on the upcoming RWC11 quarter final between the two teams? No. Continue reading
Our survey says: ER-ERRRRRR
History
Le Crunch is the game traditionally considered as the top draw of the Six Nations, despite the fact hat over much of the last decade, it has not been the case. Similarly, despite England’s recent woes in that tournament (this year being their first Championship win since their 2003 team preceded their World Cup victory with a Grand Slam) England have a very decent record against France of late, losing only one of the last five head-to-heads. Continue reading
"You should see the other guy"
Scotland face into their final pool game with only the slimmest of hopes of eliminating England from the tournament and progressing to the quarter-final themselves. To do they will have to beat England and score more bonus points than them or simply win by more than 41 points, so unless Chris Paterson can find his Monsieur Cent Pour Cent form from the 2007 World Cup and England are penalised off the park, you would think that one would preclude the other. Continue reading
Bismarck Back for Boks. Bish Bash Bosh*?
Crazy Piet has made a few headlines over the years with his post match comments. You know the kind. As with many appointments in post-Apartheid South Africa, there was some consternation that he had been appointed partly because of his colour rather than his ability. However, PdV is no fool. Continue reading
Don't think we'll see the same sort of result this time round
If we look at the last game between the two teams, Italy dominated two of the set-pieces: the scrum and the lineout. Continue reading
The All Blacks take on Portugal in 2007 with a 20 minute turnaround.
Mole has heard a few discussions about the fairness of World Cup schedule, the protracted nature of the tournament and the slim chances of any minnow beating a big fish. They’re all legitimate comments and Mole recognises that it’s not a fair world. Sometimes though it pays heed to listen to what isn’t being said.
Pool B comes to the big screen
This game is almost pure cup match. If Argentina lose, they are going home. If Scotland lose, they must beat England next up and see how the permutations work out. Continue reading
There's a six in the morning? Sky Plus baby!
St Declan’s selection for this match indicates what the warm up matches were for and contrasts him with the witless Lièvremont. In many regards, this team is the one that played in Bordeaux against France and the changes are indicative of Kidney’s interpretation of his squad’s form. Continue reading
Digging Like a Demented Mole 