Not overly pleased to see New Zealand win but at least it wasn't Australia.
The All Blacks were clearly the best team coming into the tournament and throughout so hard to deny that they did not totally deserve this.
I thought it was an ok tournament overall. I wonder if there is anything they can do to try and bridge the gap between the haves and have nots. I guess Argentina getting to the SF maybe shows that the lower teams are getting better and Japan beating South Africa might as well. But both those situations seemed to be more of perfect storms happening rather than lower teams taking big steps. At the end of the day I would still say the big 3 from the South and the 5 nations (not Italy) are the top 8 teams in the world.
Not overly pleased to see New Zealand win but at least it wasn't Australia.
The All Blacks were clearly the best team coming into the tournament and throughout so hard to deny that they did not totally deserve this.
I thought it was an ok tournament overall. I wonder if there is anything they can do to try and bridge the gap between the haves and have nots. I guess Argentina getting to the SF maybe shows that the lower teams are getting better and Japan beating South Africa might as well. But both those situations seemed to be more of perfect storms happening rather than lower teams taking big steps. At the end of the day I would still say the big 3 from the South and the 5 nations (not Italy) are the top 8 teams in the world.
SA is going to not decline, unless they sort out their coaching/ selection set up. They play a crap brand of rugby.
Argentina is on the up swing, and will continue to be. They have shown dramatic improvement since being invited to the RC in 2012, now with a Super team they will only get better.
Japan have benefitted from the professional industrial league, also you can not discount Eddie Jones. I honestly think that if all things stayed the same, but with a different coach, Japan doesn't do as well. Eddie is just that good.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
I watched both Argentina-SA games in the Rugby Championship this year and even the game they won I am not sure they were the better team. They are on the upswing but still a level below the top 8 teams and their the best shot of the teams that are on the 2nd tier.
To me Canada isn't that much closer to beating a tier 1 team than they were 10-15 years ago and that is with a huge increase in players opportunities to play in the better leagues now.
Maybe we will start to see a change and maybe the SF break through will see a big jump from them but I am just concerned that those were one off results. I certainly hope so because more exciting games would be awesome to see.
I watched both Argentina-SA games in the Rugby Championship this year and even the game they won I am not sure they were the better team. They are on the upswing but still a level below the top 8 teams and their the best shot of the teams that are on the 2nd tier.
To me Canada isn't that much closer to beating a tier 1 team than they were 10-15 years ago and that is with a huge increase in players opportunities to play in the better leagues now.
Maybe we will start to see a change and maybe the SF break through will see a big jump from them but I am just concerned that those were one off results. I certainly hope so because more exciting games would be awesome to see.
The Arggies are a young team. The Little Maestro is 24, and they only had 2 players Over the age of 30, in the 1/4 final game against Aus. These are all players that have profited from 2012 onwards.
Canada, played better rugby this WC than last. Trouble is the rest of the world is moving too fast. We still have class players, DTH comes to mind. That boy is a world class player. My buddy was the skills coach for Canada at the WC, I want to have a beer with him and get his honest take.
I am hopeful the number for this World Cup will cause TSN to carry more rugby on a regular basis.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
Wow, what a final! Wish I could have been in nz for it as my Facebook and snapchat are just full of celebration videos. Well done all blacks, they were dominant and really only faltered when they were down a man.
Aussie Front Row = NZ Front Row: While Moore has been playing very well, Coles appears to be a freak, he has shown amazing turn of speed in the open. Moore is back to his no nonsense forward smash mouth rugby.
Aussie Second Row < NZ Second Row: Brodie Retallick is better than the other 3 combined. He is just too good, and possesses the skills of a midfielder
Aussie Back Row > NZ Back Row: If this was 2011 then it would be different. But the GOAT of 2011 is not the GOAT of 2015. He is still good, but not at the top of his game. I think that combined Fardy, Pocock & Hooper are greater than the combination of Kano, Reid & GOAT.
Aussie Half Backs < NZ Half Backs: Genia > Smith, but Foley < Carter. So close, the difference between Foley & Carter is greater than the difference between Genia & Smith
Aussie Midfield = NZ Midfield: This is a wash. Giteau offers another first receiver option. He is more inventive than Nonu with the ball in hand. Smith is my choice over Kuridrani. Smith is a mongrel and plays as such.
Aussie Wings < NZ Wings: I am torn. I think if Beale was starting on the wing he would be the better option. I am not a Mitchell fan, and I think Beale would have scored on the run that lead to the 3rd try for AAC. Miler-Skudder appears to be another freak in this game. He is an excitement machine.
Aussie Fullback > NZ Fullback: This is razor thin. I am a big Smith fan, have been since he broke in. I love his lines and smooth running. That being said Folau is so good. On paper he takes it, but I have concerns about his fitness
Aussie Bench < NZ Bench: The Aussies have some good on the bench Beale top of the list, but NZ has a deeper bench. It isn’t just SBW, but Barrett is scary. While is tactically a step back from Carter, his ability to take a gap and accelerate is scary.
There is an old rugby saying “Forwards win matches, backs decide by how much”. I think this will ring true. I just can’t see the Aussie backrow trio being stopped. I think the only defense to Pocock is to break his leg.
Aussies by 3
Nailed it.
Truthfully that wasn't close. It tightened up when the All Blacks were down a man, but really aside from that it was New Zealand doing what they wanted. I also think that Australia ought to have been carded a couple times. First on the late hit/shoulder charge on Dan Carter and second on the player who dove over the ruck and smacked the ball away. That was clearly an intentional knock on.
Leading up to this game it seemed like Hopper and Pocock were the main chance for the Wallabies. They were expected to create turnovers and really the breakdowns were all New Zealand. They were generating the turnovers far more frequently, and then their running was much more impressive.
I know that the Aussies pulled to within four at one point, but if Smith hadn't been sent off I think they were simply outclassed. Just solid dominance.
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Truthfully that wasn't close. It tightened up when the All Blacks were down a man, but really aside from that it was New Zealand doing what they wanted. I also think that Australia ought to have been carded a couple times. First on the late hit/shoulder charge on Dan Carter and second on the player who dove over the ruck and smacked the ball away. That was clearly an intentional knock on.
Leading up to this game it seemed like Hopper and Pocock were the main chance for the Wallabies. They were expected to create turnovers and really the breakdowns were all New Zealand. They were generating the turnovers far more frequently, and then their running was much more impressive.
I know that the Aussies pulled to within four at one point, but if Smith hadn't been sent off I think they were simply outclassed. Just solid dominance.
Agree completely. Australia were never even close to the try line outside of the 10 minutes when smith was off. Scrum was weak as well and they were not as good on the breakdown as they were expected to be. For all the gushing over Pocock he was a non-factor in this game, his try notwithstanding.
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Truthfully that wasn't close. It tightened up when the All Blacks were down a man, but really aside from that it was New Zealand doing what they wanted. I also think that Australia ought to have been carded a couple times. First on the late hit/shoulder charge on Dan Carter and second on the player who dove over the ruck and smacked the ball away. That was clearly an intentional knock on.
Leading up to this game it seemed like Hopper and Pocock were the main chance for the Wallabies. They were expected to create turnovers and really the breakdowns were all New Zealand. They were generating the turnovers far more frequently, and then their running was much more impressive.
I know that the Aussies pulled to within four at one point, but if Smith hadn't been sent off I think they were simply outclassed. Just solid dominance.
Meh, I back the side I picked from day one. All things considered I would and will continue to back the Aussies, I like their footy.
Clearly NZ were the better side, of that there is no doubt. Losing Giteau really hurt the Aussies, he organizes a lot in D.
The Kepu hit (shoulder charge) was dealt with properly. Nigel looked at it in real time and not only was it not a shoulder charge is was marginally late. Proper application of the law.
I think Smith was hard done on the yellow, but once he passes horizontal there is no choice for the ref, had he driven him it would have been a red.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
The Aussies came out playing a very negative 'rope-a-dope' (thanks Slava) game trying to absorb Kiwi pressure and it worked for the most part, but come on, this is a final, you cant just sit back and try to bend and not break.
I'll say that Pocock was excellent, but it just goes back to what I said before, Pocock, Hooper and Fardy along with Foley getting his crap toghether just wasnt enough. They were isolated against New Zealand and relied too heavily upon. Basically if one of those guys didnt get it done no one else would.
And while the Wallabies kept it close at the beginning, the All Blacks generated a healthy lead and the 'comeback' was two tries scored while the All Blacks were down to 14. Take away that 10 minutes of superiority and the Wallabies generated basically nothing and were absolutely dominated.
And I hate to rag on him, but the commentators made some good points, that was in many ways not a very well officiated game. The NZ yellow was well deserved but the Aussies got away with at least 2 as well as various other little nickel and dime calls that were wrong.
In the wise words of the great Slava: "When the ref gives you penalty and you say 'Thank You' you know damned well you got away with one."
All that being said, that was an excellent game to watch, the Aussie fans in the pub were a lot of fun.
What a World Cup and the All Blacks were deserving winners.
And thanks for all of the participation in this thread, its been well mannered as well as informative and really enhanced the whole experience of the Rugby World Cup, its always great to get some views from our membership who are more in tune and experienced to really help the rest of us get more out of the whole thing.
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If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
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I'm a little late to the party, still feeling a little depressed and it is going to take a while to recover from weeks of late nights/early morning watching rugby.
It was a great effort by the All Blacks, if they play like that there is not a team in the world that will beat them (I would like to seem them play a World XV though!). It was also exciting to see 5 tries in the final which is more than the last 3 finals combined.
The Wallabies played as well as expected and if not for the missed forward pass and Giteau concussion the game would have been closer. It was also another great game by Pocock, unfortunately the All Blacks were successful in keeping play away from him and exploiting the weaker Wallabies. The biggest difference though was Dan Carter playing like the best fly half of all time while Foley was just serviceable.
I am starting to get Rugby withdrawal but thankfully it is less than three months until the 2016 Super Rugby season starts. I'm definitely planning on being at the Sydney Football Stadium on Feb 27th for the Waratahs vs the Reds.
Up in the Twickenham stands, Kiwi Katrina Haberfield had applauded Beauden Barrett's match-sealing try with more emotional energy than anyone in the 80125 crowd.
Her signed All Black jersey and other regalia hid some enduring discomfort and a drain from surgery as she sat next to Kieran Read's brother and watched the All Blacks win successive tournaments.
Her delight rose even further in the final minutes when Barrett chased down an attacking clearing kick to crown the 34-17 victory with the last try.
Barrett had sorted tickets to the final for Haberfield and her English husband Steve after being in their hair salon at nearby Whitton in the early stages of the tournament and hearing about their rugby passion and Haberfield's health issues.
arrett has asked why they had an All Black jersey on the wall and during the conversation, Steve Haberfield revealed how his Kiwi wife was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. It turned out Barrett knew Katrina's sister, Renee Fowler who is a golf professional at Miramar.
Haberfield refused to charge Barrett so the five eighths offered to take the All Black jersey and get it signed by his All Black teammates.
At the final whistle the first person to come up on Saturday didn’t even shake my hand. As we say in Wales he gave me a ‘cwtch’[a cuddle or hug] .
He put his hand around me and said thanks for a great game. That was David Pocock.
For someone who has just missed out on winning the Webb Ellis trophy to come up to do that says a lot about the integrity of man himself and what a wonderful sport rugby is.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
We should start a regular season Rugby thread. I'm looking for a team to support and I've got to tell you the Rabbitohs sound like the front-runners at the moment.
I know literally nothing about them but that name! That name is all kinds of awesome!
Rabbitohs! It sounds like a breakfast cereal.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
The World Ends when you're dead. Until then, you've got more punishment in store. - Flames Fans
If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
We should start a regular season Rugby thread. I'm looking for a team to support and I've got to tell you the Rabbitohs sound like the front-runners at the moment.
I know literally nothing about them but that name! That name is all kinds of awesome!
Rabbitohs! It sounds like a breakfast cereal.
I like the thread idea, sadly your team of choice is a League team
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
