RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland
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Firstly, I really don't have a problem with Ireland growing and becoming no.1 - it's good for the game and we end up with nail-biters like Saturday. But as far as I'm concerned, there's banter and there's obnoxious disrespect for the opposition and what the game is about.
On the former, what goes on the pitch stays on the pitch,- think POM, Gregan, Fitzy, JdV or Colesy - but it's fair game for supporters to take the piss out of those situations in the same spirit, particularly when the biter is bitten.
If Reiko said something after the match, then that's bad too and I'd pretty much imagine he got a talking to by the leadership group, but he doesn't act like that all the time. I'd put Maro Itoje in the same camp and it's been bloody great to see Borthwick stamp that sort of stuff out. He's a better player for that.
But there's a clear distinction between that and the sort of stuff which Sexton gets up to almost as a deliberate policy - abusing the refs, Hollywood dives and generally acting like a childish fluffybunny after the game. I'll include Rassie & Eddie Jones in that camp as well. It crosses a line and it's bang out of order. It's a blight on the game and Sexton does nothing but demean his reputation as one of the great rugby players.
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@junior said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@ShitMcCaw said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
Meh. You are better than us but all the bad mouthing of sexton by all blacks fans comes across as weak to me. He pumped you a good few times and that doesn’t sit will with you because he’s not meek and self effacing like you expect us to be. But guess what. Winning is what counts and we’ve gone from never beating you to pumping you five times in ten years. Would be a sad and soppy game if we turned everything into a saddo popularity contest. Maybe have a bit of grace and realise he’s one of the best you’ve come across.
Sorry, mate, but this is one of the worst takes on Sexton I've ever read. He is loathed by every group of rugby fans around the world, not just us AB fans who supposedly expect him to be meek. He's "pumped" plenty of other teams many more times and their fans all agree that he is a fucking cock (still a great rugby player, and probably the second greatest Irish player in m lifetime, to be fair to the man).
Keith Wood?
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People saying Ireland didn't choke but I think they did a bit at the end there. 36 odd phases and they didn't really fire a shot, I think too scared of losing the ball given the occasion. They'd do things differently if they had that time again I think.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@chimoaus said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
Losing to France was a master stroke, all hail king Fozzie.
Cunning bugger, eh? He's in the Semis and Gaultier isn't.
3 losers in the semis.
England hottest of unbeaten hot hot favourites.
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@No-Quarter They backed their "cut and paste" attack to pry open the ABs defence.
They had made good progress down the pitch. The Irish breakdown work was exemplary for the most part in that last stanza and they were getting nearer to the line.
It took incredible discipline for NZ not to cough up the penalty (which would have been kicked to the corner) and patience to wait for opportunities to effect the winning breakdown turnover/penalty.
Ireland didn't think NZ had that patience and discipline. I'll bet a fair number of NZ fans didn't either
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On the players behavior on the field - I loved Rieko holding his ear to the crowd, absolutely fucking awesome. Just like I laughed my ass off when Merhts pulled the fingers to SA fans after winning the game. Rugby wouldn't be the same without Gregan's epic sledge. POMs "shit McCaw" sledge was superb, and credit to Cane for sticking it to him this game. This is professional sport, not fucking kids ruppa rugby, these guys are at the top of their field and are going to battle every time they play, I'd fucking hate it if any of that stuff was removed from the game. May as well watch robots.
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@stodders said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
They backed their "cut and paste" attack to pry open the ABs defence.
That was quite the telling comment from Foz.
As if, in actual fact, they have fuck all variation, and once you figure it out, you can defend it all day.
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@No-Quarter said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
On the players behavior on the field - I loved Rieko holding his ear to the crowd, absolutely fucking awesome. Just like I laughed my ass off when Merhts pulled the fingers to SA fans after winning the game. Rugby wouldn't be the same without Gregan's epic sledge. POMs "shit McCaw" sledge was superb, and credit to Cane for sticking it to him this game. This is professional sport, not fucking kids ruppa rugby, these guys are at the top of their field and are going to battle every time they play, I'd fucking hate it if any of that stuff was removed from the game. May as well watch robots.
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SB and GG say Hi
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@Frank It is a bit like the Bok defence. You know what is coming, but stopping it is another matter.
NZ in the series loss couldn't deal with it. It speaks volumes that the coaching team and players put in the work to be able to deal with it on the weekend.
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@Frank said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@stodders said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
They backed their "cut and paste" attack to pry open the ABs defence.
That was quite the telling comment from Foz.
As if, in actual fact, they have fuck all variation, and once you figure it out, you can defend it all day.
I noticed this in my drunken haze at the ground. It was all very methodical.
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@NTA said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@NTA said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
I thought Barnes got the first scrum wrong tho - ABs THP folded in for me
Alex Corbisiero has a look at the scrums.
Fuck there's some bullshit about crediting these guys this much ability to judge nano seconds and the ultra subtle reactions.
Mirroring? What the fuck us that? Little tugs on the arm?
Fuck these guys are just pushing like fuck, with all the oxygen in their brains having been depleted in milli-seconds, seeing stars and hoping like hell they're pushing harder and straighter than the other guys.
I seriously doubt they're making such nuanced splut second decisions.
Any serious frontrowers out there want to comment? Am I just too amateur?
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@No-Quarter indeed, but if you want to dance you gotta pay the piper.
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@booboo said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@junior said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@ShitMcCaw said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
Meh. You are better than us but all the bad mouthing of sexton by all blacks fans comes across as weak to me. He pumped you a good few times and that doesn’t sit will with you because he’s not meek and self effacing like you expect us to be. But guess what. Winning is what counts and we’ve gone from never beating you to pumping you five times in ten years. Would be a sad and soppy game if we turned everything into a saddo popularity contest. Maybe have a bit of grace and realise he’s one of the best you’ve come across.
Sorry, mate, but this is one of the worst takes on Sexton I've ever read. He is loathed by every group of rugby fans around the world, not just us AB fans who supposedly expect him to be meek. He's "pumped" plenty of other teams many more times and their fans all agree that he is a fucking cock (still a great rugby player, and probably the second greatest Irish player in m lifetime, to be fair to the man).
Keith Wood?
Nah the other chap, the one who could have died that time
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If any neutral is wondering why we are enjoying this victory so much, have a read of Tommy Bowes column
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/67115828
tl;dr Ireland are the best, the Irish are the best, Irish alone lit up this world up, Sexton is the greatest. A wee mention about how they failed again and next time the weight will be larger.
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@antipodean said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@His-Bobness said in RWC QF: All Blacks v Ireland:
@MajorRage Fair enough. You have a different view. I think the Irish started getting up the noses of a lot of people when they started playing well and winning. I suspect the two things are connected.
I've no doubt there's a considerable element of truth in that statement. I've witnessed it ad nauseum in sports when teams start winning regularly. And to be fair, a lot of people acknowledged how well Ireland played over the last few years and how well they've set up their systems.
Any team that starts winning tends to attract bandwagon supporters and national teams magnify that. The issue is the attracted occasional fan tends not to understand the subtleties, nor the culture. Hence you get an increasing percentage of mouthy piston wristed gibbons that irritate all concerned.
But for all that, I can only think of two Irish players that came in for any opprobrium. One that mouthed off to our captain and was near invisible in Ireland's biggest game, and one who is near universally derided for his character.
And I think Test rugby is in a better place with a stronger Ireland.
Yeah this. It's dumb to say someone is the target of hate just because they're good. Nick White is universally despised here, not because he's awesome, but because he's a ridiculous looking, whinging knobjockey.
Me thinks that alot of this is projection. Perfect example, Ritchie McCaw. The guy who barely opens his mouth is transformed into gobby because he's so farking good.
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1.2M views · 16K reactions | Sometimes being an impartial commentator...
Sometimes being an impartial commentator isn't really doable....
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So apparently they were shit at kicking, the breakdown, scrums, lineouts and in the air and were out-thought by NZ. But they were actually the better team who only lost because they didn't bring their A-game.
Also sounds a bit suspiciously like the BS spouted by some Kiwi commentators when Ireland won the series last year.
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I'm quite sick of this BS that Ireland deserved more. Phuck that. They deserved to be No.1 because they won all them games. They deserved the favourites tag because of recent form and they deserved a QF because they won their pool games but by phuck did Sexton deserve to win the RWC because he didn't win the right to another week. If we get dealt to by Argentina this week, no one will be saying we "deserved" more.
