Rugby World Cup 2019 aka Squishy McSquish goes into a meltdown thread

Well thank feck that wasn't called off!

One of the all time great world cup matches. Japan are an absolute joy to watch with I would wager the best ball handling skills of any team in the tournamant. Some of those tries were simply sensational. Fair play to Scotland for coming back into it when a lot of sides would've wilted under that onslaught. Just an epic battle and sets up some amazing QF ties.
 
Gio said:
No arguments from me there. Our results over the last 12 months never suggested we’d be particularly competitive.
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There is some quality in that side. On the cusp of something good I think
 
McGrathsipan said:
There is some quality in that side. On the cusp of something good I think
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Their lack of power is just insurmontable. Their only chance to win is when the game gets crazy and their opponents forget about the fundamentals
 
The Jpn/Sco game was cracking. Had it been called the Scots would have got more out of it points wise but thankfully it wasn’t. Great fun!

On to the knockouts now.
At least Ireland won’t be looking past their 1/4 final opponents this time.

Predictions for the games?
 
utdalltheway said:
The Jpn/Sco game was cracking. Had it been called the Scots would have got more out of it points wise but thankfully it wasn’t. Great fun!

On to the knockouts now.
At least Ireland won’t be looking past their 1/4 final opponents this time.

Predictions for the games?
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NZ to beat Ireland
Aust to beat England
Jap v SA --- Narrow SA but a Jap win wouldnt surprise me
Wales to beat France
 
utdalltheway said:
The Jpn/Sco game was cracking. Had it been called the Scots would have got more out of it points wise but thankfully it wasn’t. Great fun!

On to the knockouts now.
At least Ireland won’t be looking past their 1/4 final opponents this time.

Predictions for the games?
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England
NZ
Wales
SA
 
Think NZ and Wales will progress fairly comfortably.
Predicting relatively narrow wins for England and SA. Would be great if Japan repeated their performance against SA mind!
 
Rooney24 said:
England
NZ
Wales
SA
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Unfortunately, as an Irishman, I'd agree with this. I don't see any of the games being particularly close. As good as Japan have been they've given up tries in every match and even the Russians got one against them. I think SA will just be too strong.

I'm not convinced Australia will trouble England too much either. The Ozzie's have been a bit of a disappointment so far.
 
We'll put in an awesome performance next week. Whether it will be enough against a fresher NZ side remains to be seen but I guarantee we will leave nothing out there. I think the few shaky performances against England and then Japan may play into our hands here - we have em right where we want them. None of this No1 in the world shite, Ireland are best when we're written off.

Cock on the block, I think we'll edge them in an epic battle but decimate our squad in the meantime and get monstered by England a week later.
 
This is New Zealand’s cup and we’re all just playing in it. I think they’re going to comfortably beat Ireland. Their closest game will probably be England in the semis.
 
Withnail said:
Unfortunately, as an Irishman, I'd agree with this. I don't see any of the games being particularly close. As good as Japan have been they've given up tries in every match and even the Russians got one against them. I think SA will just be too strong.

I'm not convinced Australia will trouble England too much either. The Ozzie's have been a bit of a disappointment so far.
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And that's the scary bit. The Aussies as an underdog and against England of all teams is bound to be motivating beyond belief. They are certainly talented enough. I see Wales France as being closer than expected too.
 
I'm expecting NZ, England, Wales and SA but you never know. Ireland have the toughest draw obv but they have beaten the ABs in recent memory; Australia will raise their game against England; France you never know; and Japan have been great this tournament, they could also lift their game with the home ground support, and they've done it before against SA!
 
England, New Zealand, France and South Africa to go through.

France simply because they're a different beast when World Cup time comes. England and South Africa will scrape through, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if it's Australia and Japan.
 
Such a good quarter final line up.

England Australia, old enemies. England are fresh but untested. Might they be under cooked? The Aussie's are battle hardened but have had less time to prepare. Really can't call this one.

Ireland are one of the few teams that's beaten the AB's twice in the last couple of years. New Zealand are the best side and clear favourites but you never know.

South Africa Japan is the tie of the round imo, the hosts are on fire and there's the 2015 result to add some history. SA were my pick before the tournament started but this game feels like it could go either way now after watching Japan rip it up.

Wales France after the 2011 semi final is also going to be great. The French always seem to have one big performance in them at every World Cup but Wales were excellent against Australia.
 
Vault Dweller said:
Youse can definitely do it man! I just can't see past NZ if I'm honest but I think all 4 games could be extremely tight! Can't wait for them to begin.
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The only hope is that due to the two-week lay-off and not being tested yet they'll be a bit flat and not up to the pace. Ireland will need to be on fire all the same.
 
utdalltheway said:
The Jpn/Sco game was cracking. Had it been called the Scots would have got more out of it points wise but thankfully it wasn’t. Great fun!

On to the knockouts now.
At least Ireland won’t be looking past their 1/4 final opponents this time.

Predictions for the games?
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England to beat Australia

Ireland to beat New Zealand

Wales to beat France

South Africa to beat Japan.
 
utdalltheway said:
The Jpn/Sco game was cracking. Had it been called the Scots would have got more out of it points wise but thankfully it wasn’t. Great fun!

On to the knockouts now.
At least Ireland won’t be looking past their 1/4 final opponents this time.

Predictions for the games?
Click to expand...

What I hope:
Australia
Ireland
France
Japan

What I expect:
England
New Zealand
Wales
South Africa
 
unchanged_lineup said:
Sad/realistic to see how many people are writing off Ireland. :D

Looks like we'll have to become vintage France for a day and pull off a massive upset.
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I don't think people are writing off Ireland as much as it is the All Blacks they are facing in a WC game. Any other rival, it'd be a 50-50 wager.
 
Referees for the quarter finals:

England vs Australia - Jerome Garces - Much to the annoyance of my fellow Aussies, Ben Skeen is the TMO.

New Zealand vs Ireland - Nigel Owens

Wales vs France - Jaco Peyper

Japan vs South Africa - Wayne Barnes
 
It's nice of World Rugby to allow New Zealand and Ireland be involved the Nigel Owens quarter final.
 
Steve Hansen's house which has just gone up for sale.

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