chrissmith921

Probably, but thats just a guess, would say that if he missed one it may change, but as the old head, 1000+ points to his international name... he has record of being able to handle the pressure.

It could possibly alternate, given one is left footed and one right, I'd imagine Wilkinson would be the first choice though.

Interesting how many Ireland fans have tickets for Saturday - Wales fans travelling picked up 1/4 final ones for this game on the belief we'd be 2nd - how many Irish fans thought theyd top the group? This game will be down to who picks up on the refs interpretation at the breakdown first. Its going to be a 1 score game by the looks of things - a slow adjustment to playing the ref could cost a side 6-9 points which could be the final margin

There you go - they're both in. I think thats the best option for England really, and IIRC it means you've got a right and left footed kicker in the side? Wales have named up - surprised to see Halfpenny in at 15, thought we'd have stuck with Byrne but thats probably as potent an attacking back 3 as we can name - Halfpenny provides us the 50m penalty goal option too. Roberts & Davies in the centre - know what we're going to get there - hitting the line at speed and hopefully crossing the gain line regularly - especially with Priestland rather than Jones at 10 - delivers a much flatter pass and has really got the best out of Roberts for us. The animal that is Danny Lydiate being back is a huge, huge boost - this is our best back row trio and hopefully they can get us some sort of ball against that very very impressive irish set - front 5 - well, the lineouts theirs, the scrums ours... game on. I think the finalist from the NH side of the draw will come from the Wales-Ireland quarter final. Far too much quality and importantly, form, for the other two to handle imo.

Wilkinson will be fine. Chips are now down - hes a world cup winner. not many of the others in the squad are. he knows what hes doing.

Flood is a liability defensively. Wilkinson never lets the side down on that respect. Flood is an open target for any backrow forward to hit, and with France's lineout being so strong off the back, he'd be a sitting duck.

England turn up and play expansive against France or any of their semi final opponents they'll be beaten by half time. England now must stick to what theyre good at - keep it tight, control and kill off the game.

He's what he is - a stop gap option. I think Englands discipline on-and-off the field has been a cause for concern for them and as a result citings happen. There isn't the 'get him done cos hes English' attitude going on though - but if you do stupid things in high profile games you're going to get done. They're letting themselves down though - surprised the French have announced so early and made so few changes from the Tonga defeat?!

Ah now, the Ireland scum wasnt looking too bad against Italy! im very much enjoying watching our 3 beast-like back row. Its crazy that i think our no8, heaslip (6ft4 & ^17st) is the least animal in the back row. anyway should be a great game and if you beat us i hope you go on to win the thing (or at least knock out england if you meet them) Agreed, once they lost Castrogiovanni (spelling error robo style) yes, it fell apart - but Wales do have 3 very very good scrummaging props in Gethin Jenkins, Paul James and hairbear Adam Jones - in fact had Matthew Rees been fit we'd have the Lions front 3 packing down here - the scrum is probably our best weapon in fact. I look forward to the battle of backrows, O'B for me is a world class 6. However, he's not a 7 - and could that give Sam the edge? (thats my hope!) What a game its going to be though - I reckon the best of the tournament potentially as two very very strong sides, on form, facing up.

Id take that as a positive. Armitage is not cut out at this level. Cueto and Ashton are Englands finishers. Go with them - the ball never seems to go wide often with England so you need someone there who'll do something with it when it does, not die with the ball. Not sure you've been watching our games mate (not that I blame you!) - Armitage has been easily one of our best players so far! Ive watched all but 1 of Englands games and he's wasted opportunities in them all - one moment in particular stands out - cant remember who against but he stayed about 30 yards out on the touchline after Foden had broke, forcing a ridiculous pass for him to throw. That for me was enough to see on him, dont forget now hes a good player, but is he a top class winger in the same category as those now playing in the quarter finals...? My opinion is of all the remaining nations, he wouldnt start for any of the others...

Id take that as a positive. Armitage is not cut out at this level. Cueto and Ashton are Englands finishers. Go with them - the ball never seems to go wide often with England so you need someone there who'll do something with it when it does, not die with the ball.

Not Jonny Wilkinson on current form! Would go with whoever Ireland name at 10 vs Wales. I am really, really looking forward to Wales-Ireland on Saturday - hopefully both sides at full whack, what a game it will be - Roberts v O'Driscoll, Shane and North vs Earls and Bowe and probably the biggest point will be at the face - whoever wins that front 5 battle will win this game. My heart is telling me Wales - but its going to be very, very close. I just can't see how Ireland will stop Wales going forward with Roberts, Falatau and North breaking tackles at will so far this tournament and how good Wales' scrum is - the weakness for us is our lineout - about time the 6'10 charteris woke up a bit! What a game its going to be though - I expect that game will produce this half's finalist. England are too static to beat either side and France are in complete disarray. Dont discount the dirty Bokke from making the final either. Everything seems to be falling into place for them.

Retired now hasnt he? I believe he was being left out anyway so called time. George North has the speed mind - quicker than Shane... LH is really, really quick though, even by winger standards.

5 minutes on the pitch would change your mind Its the equivalent of Stoke vs Stoke everyweek So basically, all we see is Rory Delap's, long, hard, explosive weapon whipped out every 5 minutes. Launching into a goalkeepers box at rapid speed before someone finishes it off by getting their head onto it. Not sure it would. That piece in bold sounds like a description of a really bad porno flick.... Who'd have thought it!

Sorry but no.... just no. North is exactly what we've been crying out for since... forever really. A big, aggressive ball runner who will hit up the middle but all importantly, can finish. He's what? 6'3, 17 stone? Halfpenny is fast, very fast - and the natural successor to Shane after the WC for Wales but North is such a weapon. Everytime hes got the ball hes gone through tackles - Habana has faced some big boys but twice Norths been against him in his young international career and twice Habana has been taken off looking like a complete clearing in the woods defensively. Yep. Gutted a quality English player ends up playing for Wales! Let's hope the something doesn't happen with Ben Morgan. Now he would've been a great alternative to Waldrom! ... see last post! haha I've heard Morgan's being really touted by Wales and the WRU are desperate for him to swing over to us - another Charvis that is potentially. George North is a fantastic player - breaks the first tackle every single time. Saying that, I'd be starting Halfpenny, North and Williams as Wales' back 3 anyway - as LH is seriously quick and those three would be as good a finishing unit as any out there in the tournament. All know where the line is.

Do you know who you should have called up? Ben Morgan What a player he is. Becomes Welsh eligable after the world cup. We'll have him if you dont want him!! Lions back row in the making for sure.

Sorry but no.... just no. North is exactly what we've been crying out for since... forever really. A big, aggressive ball runner who will hit up the middle but all importantly, can finish. He's what? 6'3, 17 stone? Halfpenny is fast, very fast - and the natural successor to Shane after the WC for Wales but North is such a weapon. Everytime hes got the ball hes gone through tackles - Habana has faced some big boys but twice Norths been against him in his young international career and twice Habana has been taken off looking like a complete clearing in the woods defensively.

To be fair, Samoa were off their feet at pretty much every single ruck. Wales did well to grind out the result, rest a few against Namibia and then turn the screw against Fiji. Hopefully make a quarter final against Ireland now (cracking result for them as discussed!) and that really does leave a huge wide open door for any of England, France, Ireland and Wales to be thinking theres a possible final on the cards here

@chrissmithavfc

How American sport is setup domestically though makes it very difficult for any new sport to break through the ranks. You'd need their big colleges backing it, therefore creating a local talent pool to support a professional game on top. I cant see that happening and although they may get individuals playing at top clubs, they'll need the continual competitive games to become good enough to achieve that. Argentina - it was a perfect storm for them - kinda like Bulgaria in 94, South Korea in 02 for football - right place, right time for a group of talented individuals. Id love to see Rugby spread beyond its current core, but I really can't see the US being next. Eastern Europe would be a bigger shout for me.

Hmmm, 90,000 at Carlton vs Essendon at the MCG yesterday. Did they get that for the first round of matches in total at the RWC? It aint the World Cup's fault that there is **** all else to do in Melbourne. touche! Good on yer, Ponky! The RWC so far shows that the so-called "lesser" sides are getting better coached, physically bigger and more tactically aware - so that in a few years, in wouldn't surprise me to see the likes of the USA and Canada getting to the semi-final stages. Would still love to see a team like Tonga winning the cup, though - that would be awesome for the Pacific nations. USA/Canada making a semi final, or Tonga winning it wont happen in our lifetimes. The lure of wearing an All Black shirt is too great for any youngster growing up in Tonga - the best ones are picked at an early age and taken - USA/Canada simply put, don't care enough about the sport for it to be successful there. Tonga winning the Rugby World Cup would be like Ghana winning the football one - great to think it might happen, would be fantastic for the nation and their region - but they just don't have the localised infrastructure to develop the players - and as the game gets more professional, the less chance they'll have.

Why? Wales will almost certainly face Australia in the quarter finals if they make it out of the group. The games against Fiji and Samoa become big games too, and Wales dont have the greatest record against the south Pacific sides. Cup rugby is all about results, yes, Wales will take a lot of heart for their performance against the Springboks, but I am sure they would rather have a win and some points on the table. It's quite simple, Wales have looked a far better team than us for a while now. For some time, England have looked one-dimensional. Against a better team than we faced, Wales produced a fantastic performance that makes me think they could be competitive against anyone. The likely QF against the Aussies will be one hell of a game that I can see going either way. England, on the other hand, look lacking in so many areas and based on our last few performances, I can't see us getting past France in the QF or Wales/Wallabies in the semis. Ben Dirs has written an excellent article on it on the BBC. As a proud Englishman, it really pains me to say it and I hate to be critical of my national team. Having gone to uni and lived in Cardiff, with loads of Welsh mates, I can't help but envy the passion of their support and how much it seems to mean to their players. I think we've got the players to be a hell of a side but the selection and coaching seems to be lacking. I dont know what Andy Powell had been on - but as soon as SA went in front they should have wheeled him on. He either would have won us the game or killed someone.

Why? Wales will almost certainly face Australia in the quarter finals if they make it out of the group. The games against Fiji and Samoa become big games too, and Wales dont have the greatest record against the south Pacific sides. Cup rugby is all about results, yes, Wales will take a lot of heart for their performance against the Springboks, but I am sure they would rather have a win and some points on the table. Id much rather have won than not (obviously) but the pleasing thing is we've got a good enough team to win our games against those bogey teams of ours - we've shown now over the last 3 games that we can stand with the best when it comes to a physical, battering ram approach of rugby (England, Argentina, South Africa) - and for once, our 6'10 weapon in the lineout did something useful! Our scrum needs no introduction - we will front up against absolutely anyone in that tournament with AJ in the front row and we'll turn them over - again, the recent 3 we've played are all scrummaging teams and more than held our own in the 3. Its just very disappointing that we failed to take the chances on offer. Hindsight would suggest Hook at 13, Halfpenny/Byrne at 15 would have been a better choice but we're in knockout rugby now and have to make it our priority to progress, and then think about (probably) Australia.

The problem for me with England is the way its bred into players to play that way. In school (admittedly now, 10 years ago) we played against big rugby schools and they all played the same way - kept it tight, had pre-planned strike moves that in phase one were bloody tough but after that there was nothing. When Armitage came in, he was a breath of fresh air (same as Foden, really) - picking different angles of running, playing on the shoulder and hitting the line, popping out of the tackle, but now seems all too happy to die with the ball - a shame. A talent from this side of the bridge to watch - Matthew Morgan, a young 10 at Ospreys. Fantastic player. Maybe a bit small, but with Knoyle and Roberts either side of him in the next 10 years of international rugby, he'll be fine

Fair enough, Lawes probably did do okay. I do like him, too. On the Foden/Armitage thing, surely that was Armitage's error? He should have got closer to Foden, I thought. Agreed - Armitage should have been a lot closer anyway as he would have then been able to step the guy and do him on the outside (any international winger would have backed himself in that situation)... looked to me like Armitage was short on confidence and was hiding... On the Wales aspect - handled that physical encounter well, even bullied them (they've come off worse with Matfield and their 12... forget the name... going off injured) - but the same old thing - can look at the referee (Hooks kick was clearly over), but we should have won it by 15-20 points given how much we crucified them all over the park. Gutted in truth - good performance but should have won it and be preparing to take apart the Irish in the quarters, rather than a backs-to-the-wall game against Australia