Rugby World Cup 2007

Kiwi Red

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I know it's a long way away (only 9 weeks) but I am already getting excited about the Rugby World Cup.

I reckon that it is finally the All Black's time. They have been the best team the last few years, and are really fired up this year to win it.

Personally, the English have been trash recently, and will be lucky to even make the semi-finals.
The Ozzies - well you can never count them out. Always consistent, always annoying as well, as they love blowing their own trumpet - I'm sure in England you now how biased the Austrlian commentators are!!
The South Africans - have been good in recent times, and will certainly be a big test.
Ireland - the best chance of a home nations win. Have good speed and style, but will need to produce an amazing performance and hope the big boys have an off day, if they're to win.
France - the enigma. Very good on their day, and shocking off it. Still too inconsistent to win the World Cup, and were decimated by NZ in Paris last year.

Overall: All Blacks to win - but, as any Kiwi fan will tell you, it's never going to be comfortable.

What do other people think?
 
Egg ball excites me less, but I will watch. Unless I discover the game times are daft, then I won't. Or if it clashes with Derby vs Sunderland...

As a betting man, putting money on anyone other than the All Blacks is wasted lira, they are nailed on to win this tournament. England will suprise everyone and reach the semi finals is my outsider prediction
 
Would be sweet to see Australia win obviously

Although I reckon the All-Blacks will roll their way through

I'm looking forward to it
 
Should be our tournament even after a few below par performances in the tri nations so far. Centre is a big concern for me; Conrad Smith would be my choice but hes not match fit, Toeava is decent but inconsistent, Muliana is a fine player at centre but if he's going to play there he needs match time at centre and not fullback. I think Mauger needs to be dropped as well, with McCallister taking his place.

The Jarpis never travel well, and for that reason don't worry me that much.

The English have been trash for the last few years and like you said, will struggle to even make the semis.

The Aussies are still my main concern, because with players world class players in the back like Mortlock, they can break our line and take advantage of our weakness at centre. They will be a big threat regardless of their form prior to the world cup, as they always perform in the major tournaments.

You can never underestimate the home crowd though, and I think the French will cause their fair share of upsets.
 
Kiwi_fan said:
Should be our tournament even after a few below par performances in the tri nations so far. Centre is a big concern for me; Conrad Smith would be my choice but hes not match fit, Toeava is decent but inconsistent, Muliana is a fine player at centre but if he's going to play there he needs match time at centre and not fullback. I think Mauger needs to be dropped as well, with McCallister taking his place.
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The All Blacks are pretty much covered in all areas except at 12 and 13. Mauger is a very good second five eighths but lacks a consistent 13.Like you said Toeava is decent but too often he goes missing plus he lacks the serious physical presence for a centre.I honestly thought Umaga was going to make a surprise come back just for the world cup but it seems like the retirement decision was concrete.Mils is an exceptional full back and should just be left at 15 instead of being moved around.Personally I will prefer Doug Howlett as a reserve right winger instead of Gear.
 
Eto'odinho said:
The All Blacks are pretty much covered in all areas except at 12 and 13. Mauger is a very good second five eighths but lacks a consistent 13.Like you said Toeava is decent but too often he goes missing plus he lacks the serious physical presence for a centre.I honestly thought Umaga was going to make a surprise come back just for the world cup but it seems like the retirement decision was concrete.Mils is an exceptional full back and should just be left at 15 instead of being moved around.Personally I will prefer Doug Howlett as a reserve right winger instead of Gear.
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I actually think the quality is there. Mccallister and Mauger are both fine second five eighths, while the fact that we probaly have the two best fullbacks in world rugby means we have the luxury of playing Mils at centre, and if not him then Conrad Smith. The alarming thing is that we have not played the same 2nd five-centre for the last seventeen tests. We need to choose a combination, then stick with it and give them match time together.

I'm pretty sure that both will travel as back up for Sivivatu and Rokocoko.
 
Rokocoko is absolute class. I would love for the all blacks to storm their way to the title playing to their potential but like Kiwi Red said they seem to suffer from stage fright. Also the Aussies are like Brazil in football they are always there at the business end of things.
 
Desert Eagle said:
Rokocoko is absolute class. I would love for the all blacks to storm their way to the title playing to their potential but like Kiwi Red said they seem to suffer from stage fright. Also the Aussies are like Brazil in football they are always there at the business end of things.
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Joe is truly an awesome winger BUT a dip in form two years ago led to this experimentation with him being shunned to the right to accommodate his cousin another deadly finisher in Sivi.Rokocoko is a better left winger than Sivi IMO but Sivi's in steps are unidirectional and hence Joe has to take the right flank. Still the sight of those two on the pitch together is like having a 1996 Fat Ronaldo and a Samuel Eto'o both on the same football pitch. The AB's # 12 and 13's are not as good the New Zealand public would like everyone to believe. The 2nd five eighths of Mauger/Mc Alister are decent BUT 13 is a real problem for them.If only Umaga could come out of retirement, b'se Mils is a better 15 than 13
 
Desert Eagle said:
Rokocoko is absolute class. I would love for the all blacks to storm their way to the title playing to their potential but like Kiwi Red said they seem to suffer from stage fright. Also the Aussies are like Brazil in football they are always there at the business end of things.
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imo, Sivivatu is a better allround winger, however Rokocoko scores more tries. In the past our lack of depth has cost us at the WC when we have key players injured; in 2003 Umaga wasn't fit enough so we resorted to makeshift MacDonald at centre whom the Aussies destroyed, in 1999 Christian Cullen was moved to centre even though his best position was fullback. It seems however leading up this world cup, NZ has far superior depth than any other international team, and we could probaly have two pretty even teams that could win the world cup. The only players I am worried about getting injured are McCaw and Carter, and even then we have a fine back up first five in Nick Evans, who would be a starter in most other countries.
 
Eto'odinho said:
Joe is truly an awesome winger BUT a dip in form two years ago led to this experimentation with him being shunned to the right to accommodate his cousin another deadly finisher in Sivi.Rokocoko is a better left winger than Sivi IMO but Sivi's in steps are unidirectional and hence Joe has to take the right flank. Still the sight of those two on the pitch together is like having a 1996 Fat Ronaldo and a Samuel Eto'o both on the same football pitch. The AB's # 12 and 13's are not as good the New Zealand public would like everyone to believe. The 2nd five eighths of Mauger/Mc Alister are decent BUT 13 is a real problem for them.If only Umaga could come out of retirement, b'se Mils is a better 15 than 13
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Like I said before, our problems at centre are not as bad as people make them out to be, however it is a clear weakness compared to the rest of our team. As well as being probaly the best fullback in the world, Mils is a fine centre. We have the luxury of playing him there because we have a back up fullback in MacDonald who is about as good as Mils there. Conrad Smith is also a very talented centre, while even Toeava is promising. However to have a realistic chance at the WC we must give match time to our 12-13 pairing. If Graeme Henry is going to play Mils at centre he needs to play him there leading up to the WC with either Mcallister (my pick) or Mauger at second.
 
Kiwi_fan said:
imo, Sivivatu is a better allround winger, however Rokocoko scores more tries.
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Funny thing, I have always thought the opposite. Granted Joe was nothing but a finisher when he first started out and this went on till 2005.But after his poor form and lean spell he suddenly developed an all-round work ethic and started participating in overall team player rather than just hanging around waiting for a try scoring opportunity. On the other hand Sivi is what Joe used to be in 2003-2005 albeit with a little more teamwork.Still the style of play of the AB wingers has changed alot ever since Graham Henry took over, they are now a lot more than just scorers.
 
Eto'odinho said:
Funny thing, I have always thought the opposite. Granted Joe was nothing but a finisher when he first started out and this went on till 2005.But after his poor form and lean spell he suddenly developed an all-round work ethic and started participating in overall team player rather than just hanging around waiting for a try scoring opportunity. On the other hand Sivi is what Joe used to be in 2003-2005 albeit with a little more teamwork.Still the style of play of the AB wingers has changed alot ever since Graham Henry took over, they are now a lot more than just scorers.
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Well both are exceptional wingers; they both average nearly a try a match. The fact that we have both Gear and Howlett as backup means we have great depth on the wings. Do you think Nonu should travel to France? Given that he makes more costly errors than most; on Saturday our bench was flat against the Aussies and no one could really come on and change the direction of the match. Nonu is someone who strikes me of being able to do just that, someone who can come on, break the line and take advantage of the oppositions wearing backine.
 
Kiwi_fan said:
Do you think Nonu should travel to France? Given that he makes more costly errors than most; on Saturday our bench was flat against the Aussies and no one could really come on and change the direction of the match. Nonu is someone who strikes me of being able to do just that, someone who can come on, break the line and take advantage of the oppositions wearing backine.
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I'm a big fan of Ma'a so my opinion might be biased, but like you said he is an impact player who can bulldoze whoever is playing in midfield.His handling and decision making lets him down and I first saw this in 2003, I thought given time Ma'a would've been the perfect replacement for Tana but sadly he hasn't greatly improved.I thought he had an awesome provincial season for the Hurricanes and Lions in 2006.He is erratic BUT has plenty of pace,physique,a winning mentality and versatility.These attributes merit a place in the WC squad.
 
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