[Jacquin]

The Rugby world cup has started and England being world number 1 and joint favourites look set to take the world by storm...

J

Sorry had a few probs merging the World cup thread with the six nations thread, so at the mo the world cup transitions to the six nations trophy on page 5- fluffy bunny

[kater]

Unless they bottle it like every other WC :D Can't wait for the SA vs Eng match - its gonna be a blood bath :D and will probably decide the WC.

[kegasaurus]

England are too old to take the cup and the hard Australian grounds will take its toll on their bodies (Plus theres teh fact that England are reknowned no shows when it comes to major events.) New Zealand are the real favourites a sthey have the youth and ability to destroy any team. They are on the way up and seem to be getting better with every game they play. With Rokocoko out on the wing breezing past everyone, they should easily take the WC.

[Eventine]

As much as I'd love the Aussies to win, the way New Zealand beat them in the last Bledisloe game has me thinkiing the kiwis are going to take home the goods.

[Kaz]

I have to say, I agree with Kater about the England vs. SA game - it's gonna be a bloodbath. Both teams had relatively easy openers, but IMO England looked rather aimless at times, as if they were not quite sure what to do with the ball. I suppose that is what happens when you get so much posession and your oppossision is so weak. Same thing happened with the SA game, with no real oppossision it is difficult to really test the strength of the team. But I was impressed with our new caps and Willemse on the wing was fantastic. I was also happy to see that our backline saw a bit more of the ball than has been the case recently. And van der Westhuizen scoring a hat trick of tries put a huge big smile on my face - way to silence the critics who say he is too old for the game.

New Zeeland looked strong, pity about Umanga.

Australia was predictable in every way (only one to win without getting a bonus point if I remember correctly). And if they struggled like that against Argentina, how will they fare against the stronger teams like New Zeeland?

Wales seemed to be struggling against Canada for a while, and although they got the win they're gonna have to work harder.

I was pleasantly surprised by Japan. I love watching them play sevens, but they have never managed to convince me that they can play 15 man rugby. But their match against Scotland proved to me that they are definitely improving. I think the Scots looked rather ordinary against the Japanese team.

BTW Jac - bet still on eh?

[kater]

I think thats a bit harsh - Argentina are a much better side than a Uruguay or Georgia, I seem to rememeber them deserving to beat the Boks in SA but losing to an injury time Koen drop goal and it was only just two months or so ago. They also gave NZ trouble and NZ have never won in Argentina so in fairness to the aussies they had a much tougher opener than any other side. Also Canada are a decent side and won't roll over for anyone, Wales have always struggled against them and to win by such a margin and deserve to win by more makes me happy the Welsh team is at last going in the right direction. I have no hopes for Scotland however, I actually wanted Japan to win at the end there :D But yeah Saturday will decide the whole tournament imo, if England lose and have to play NZ in the quarters suddenly the 'dead-cert' final goes out the window and there'll be a lot of happy french and australians, not to mention welsh ;)

[Kaz]

LOL - yeah I was screaming for the Japanese all the way :D

Look, no doubt that Australia had a far harder opener than SA or England, as you said Argentina is no team to scoff or laugh at. However, IMO the Aussies were outclassed in many ways (including some of the set phases). They didn't use all their opportunities and made very elemental errors - their handling was shocking & definitely not what you'd expect from a world class team. The only reason I could see why Australia's defence really held up was because Argentina made silly errors while they had the ball in hand. And I reckon, if they continue playing like they did they will have their work cut out for them against Ireland. The Irish seem fired up and if all their guys are fit they might prove to be an even stronger team to beat than Argentina.

And no, Canada is no walk over, they have improved much over recent years. However, the Welsh discipline left much to be desired. That yellow card might even count against them later.

Looking forward to Saturday's game.....the way it's being hyped up one would say it's the final & not just the second pool match :D

[Nevyn]

Pretty fair analysis on the Wallabies Kaz . Though saying Ireland might prove to be even stronger than Argentina should be somewhat of an understatement , as the boys in green are third favourite behind England (first) and NZ (2nd) to win the title .

[Kaz]

Yeah, it's a definite understatement on my part there :D After all the Irish have a much stronger pack, they handle the ball better and they have more options in terms of reserves than the Argentinians do.

I'm hoping the Irish go through as winners of the group :D

[Rocket Sheep]

Rokocoko hurt his poor little leg. :(

Umaga, cool dude extraordinaire, is hurt too. :(

Lucky we've still got the best haka and the best music. Perhaps we can just dazzle the opposition.

Ba da da imbu, ba da da imbu...