Rugby World Cup 2015

[JudgeDredd]

WOW! That was a damn site closer than everyone thought - including me!

Superb game and totally and utterly unlucky Scotland. A couple of "iffy" decisions - including the last penalty - lost the game.

Well played Australia though - done enough to stay in!

[undercovergeek]

great game and heart breaking for you guys

i cant believe throwing the ball at someone gets you a knock on - very cynical of the dirty Ozzies

[JudgeDredd]

Really REALLY proud of the Scots this tournament.

They were very unlucky with that call at the end - but what is - is.

I thought they absolutely pushed LOTS of faces into the dirt - especially the pundits that had written them off. Don't get me wrong - I've been a Scotland supporter all my my life - so no-one knows more than me that it's not over 'till the fat lady sings. But that's different to when she hasn't even started singing and the game is written off!

The TV pundits were all over a Southern Hemisphere semi final rout before the game had started. Whilst that was proved right and whilst it may have been on the cards even on paper, it would've been nice to get some support from the British TV!! 

And yes - I saw a southern hemisphere all semi line up - but that's because I'm a Scotland supporter.

Anyway - it turns out that the four best nations in the rugby world are through to the semi finals and they are all southern hemisphere teams.

Good luck to them all. It's been a great tournament.

As always - as an "underdog supporter"...lets see Argentina pick the cup up  :P

[JudgeDredd]

great game and heart breaking for you guys

i cant believe throwing the ball at someone gets you a knock on - very cynical of the dirty Ozzies

Very tough defeat to take...but a loss is a loss...thank you.

[undercovergeek]

great game and heart breaking for you guys

i cant believe throwing the ball at someone gets you a knock on - very cynical of the dirty Ozzies

Very tough defeat to take...but a loss is a loss...thank you.

the more and more i watch, not necessarily Scotland but the game in general the more and more i think if i had a son, i would want him to take the rugby route as opposed to football

the respect and sportsmanship shown on the field and in the stands to the players and officials is a million light years from soccer

The australian guy that almost dislocated his shoulder, didnt want to come off, eventually got dragged off, with his arm rolled up in his own shirt! and was patted on the back by Scots players - unbelievable compared to what would have happened if it had been football

[JudgeDredd]

great game and heart breaking for you guys

i cant believe throwing the ball at someone gets you a knock on - very cynical of the dirty Ozzies

Very tough defeat to take...but a loss is a loss...thank you.

the more and more i watch, not necessarily Scotland but the game in general the more and more i think if i had a son, i would want him to take the rugby route as opposed to football

the respect and sportsmanship shown on the field and in the stands to the players and officials is a million light years from soccer

The australian guy that almost dislocated his shoulder, didnt want to come off, eventually got dragged off, with his arm rolled up in his own shirt! and was patted on the back by Scots players - unbelievable compared to what would have happened if it had been football

Football and rugby are LIGHT years apart when it comes to respect. In football, there is none - not just between teams, but for the referee. I gave up on football about 20 years ago when I found rugby and realised what real men play.

Football wasn't always like that - but it quickly became rooted that they had to dive to make the ref take notice and it became apparent if you surrounded the ref, you could influence his decision. Football - at the very least - needs to stamp out the disrespect for the ref.

I saw something funny the other week. It was involving Stuart Hogg of Scotland. He was tackled late by "The Beast" of South Africa. It was late - but totally forgivable given the speed of play. This was a t St James's Park.

Hogg asked the ref, Nigel Owens - who is a superb ref - to have a look to which Nigel Owens replied "I had a look and it was fair. If you want to get away with things like that, I suggest you come back here in a couple of weeks"...Nigel Owens reference being Hogg's "over acting" on the tackle and the fact that football would be played in a couple of weeks at St James's Park....simply superb refereeing.

As much as there are mistakes in refereeing decisions (the penalty against Scotland in the last 2 minutes was a prime example)...the fact is - they are leaps and bounds ahead of any sports and they are given absolute respect. The players will try to influence that on occasion...but it seldom works. And if the back chat the ref (as did Scotland's number 1 today) they will be marched another 10 meters towards their try line.

Superb play by Scotland and totally against everything everyone had thought.

Over to New Zealand!  :-X

[Pinetree]

I missed the Scotland game, your guys almost did it, wonderful effort. I was very happy with the ABs performance, I knew they'd step it up a gear. I watched the Arg v Ire game, the atmosphere was incredible, would loved to have been there for that one. The Pumas are playing some great rugby and I'm picking them to beat Oz. Having them in the Rugby Championship has been great, you can see them improving every year, it's only a matter of time when they'll beat the ABs. Hopefully not the final if we both get there!!

[JudgeDredd]

Well it seems the TMO cannot be used in such circumstances according to the rugby rulebook.

However - it was a close call - unclear - ball bouncing off everyone almost - and it's an end to the game - he could've gone to the TMO and imo should have made that call to do so.

[Pinetree]

Well, it's official. Craig Joubert screwed up. He's also been dropped from the world cup. He's not been selected for any more games. Looks like Nigel Owens will get the final. He's been brilliant this world cup, I loved how in the NZ/FR 1/4 final he just stood back when there was a bit of a blue and let the players sort it out. Then he went in and sorted who was in the wrong. Harkens back to the old days when a ref would penalise the guy who got flattened because they probably deserved it!

[Pinetree]

Well, thank christ for that! 20-18 to the All Blacks. That was a tough game, but it always was going to be against the 'Boks. There was a couple of times there that I thought we might lose it but the AB's kept their composure and managed to grind out the win. Winning ugly is still winning as they say.

My pick for tomorrow is Argentina. I reckon they've got the goods to go all the way. They should copy the AB's playbook and not compete in the breakdown as the Oz loosies will be too fast. They should just force the errors with some crunching tackles. If they injure a few, well that's good too as the Aussies don't have much depth.

[bayonetbrant]

I watched part of that one here.  They actually had it on over-the-air broadcast TV

[Pinetree]

Yeah, wonders of wonders, they had it on free-to-air as well. First game I've watched on TV in a long time :D

[JudgeDredd]

It was indeed a very entertaining game

I still do not get why those dumb-f*** forwards continue to give easy penalties away by neck-rolling....they get penalised EVERY time - no questions.

But it was a cracker. Being a Brit, this is probably a wee bit controversial, but I hope the Argies win today. Not because of the result last week either (as I'm actually Scottish) but just because their rugby has come a long way...and I like the underdog.

[Pinetree]

Well, there goes my prediction,lol. Aus-NZ final. Should be a good one. Can't wait!

[JudgeDredd]

Meant to post - decent win in the end by the All Blacks.  O0

I'm still kicking myself to understand why Scotland didn't get through to the semi finals - they would definitely have beaten that Argie team and been in their first World Cup Final...though unlikely to win it, I'm sure.