Test Rugby 2015 Rugby World Cup Final: New Zealand v Australia

May 2, 2011
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As for carter, surely he's one of them one-in-a-hundred-thousand players, there's absolutely no way his replacement no. 10 will score 1600-odd points at the highest level, unless drugs are involved. I bet my soul
 

bullish23

Premiership Player
Oct 2, 2002
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Reading social media I am absolutely on my lonesome here but sbw giving his medal away to me shows he's not really passionate about RU. He flips sports depending on the biggest pay cheque or the next high profile event which is coming along. He shows no team loyalty, only to himself.

If this was a long life dream he wouldn't give his medal away to a random kid.
 
May 5, 2006
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Not a great night at the office. Douglas and Giteau injured, bugger all possession and less territory, and the referee having a stinker made for a very poor first half.

Came out better in the second half but 99 times out of 100 you don't make up a 16-3 head start to NZ no matter how well you play.

I don't know how the referee and the touch judge missed the forward pass. There's flat and there's a metre or two forward. Bizarre. I wasn't happy with a few other decisions but we still didn't play well in the first half. Arguably should've been 6-6 rather than 9-3 but that is only a true reflection of penalties being paid correctly, not the flow of the game.

RE: Ben Smith I think the ref got it right. It was a clear lift but you could see he realised half way through and tried to ease the player down. No need for a red card as some have called for.

RE: Carter, his kicking is as good as I've seen but the rest of his game is not that good. They'll miss knowing they have guy who will nail penalty after penalty but I'm certain another fly half will roll off the production line and slot in pretty seamlessly.

RE: NZ, losing Carter, McCaw, Smith and Nonu will leave some big holes. The production line will roll on but guys of this calibre don't come along every generation. They'll also be without SBW, Kaino, Mealamu, Franks & Read at least you'd imagine by the time the next WC rolls around. Given almost half their starting 15 from the 2011 final didn't feature last night this is nothing new, but they're replacing their very best this time. I think they'll stay world number 1, but will lose maybe twice a year instead of just once.

RE: us, we have work to do also. Giteau, Moore, Mitchell and Ashley-Cooper are all 31/32 already. If we hadn't recalled Mitchell and Giteau I think we would've been in all sorts of poop so we've got holes to fill also.

Bring on the 2016 Super 12, errr 14, 15... 18? Go Force.
 
May 5, 2006
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Reading social media I am absolutely on my lonesome here but sbw giving his medal away to me shows he's not really passionate about RU. He flips sports depending on the biggest pay cheque or the next high profile event which is coming along. He shows no team loyalty, only to himself.

If this was a long life dream he wouldn't give his medal away to a random kid.

I'm with you.

Give away your jumper or whatever but just handing away your medal is a little bit disrespectful. Mind you they did hand out medals to anyone who was prepared to queue up...
 
Aug 13, 2006
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Reading social media I am absolutely on my lonesome here but sbw giving his medal away to me shows he's not really passionate about RU. He flips sports depending on the biggest pay cheque or the next high profile event which is coming along. He shows no team loyalty, only to himself.

If this was a long life dream he wouldn't give his medal away to a random kid.

I think he's gone from a bit of a selfish, narcissistic unit, to a guy who has bought in completely to the All Blacks culture and ethos, which is all about the team and the jersey, and his behavior throughout this World Cup exemplifies that perfectly.
 
May 8, 2007
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I'm with you.

Give away your jumper or whatever but just handing away your medal is a little bit disrespectful. Mind you they did hand out medals to anyone who was prepared to queue up...

Interesting. I disagree. To me, the medal means very little. It is merely a symbol that you won the World Cup (or GF, or Olympics, or whatever). It's not the actual achievement. I always get (very slightly) annoyed when I hear people say 'This could win him the Gold Medal!' - it doesn't matter whether it is a Gold Medal, a laurel wreath, or a stuffed teddy bear - it's the winning performance that matters. I know it's just slang symbolism, but unfortunately, in our world, people tend to favour symbols much more than I do.

Just me, I guess.
 
Interesting. I disagree. To me, the medal means very little. It is merely a symbol that you won the World Cup (or GF, or Olympics, or whatever). It's not the actual achievement. I always get (very slightly) annoyed when I hear people say 'This could win him the Gold Medal!' - it doesn't matter whether it is a Gold Medal, a laurel wreath, or a stuffed teddy bear - it's the winning performance that matters. I know it's just slang symbolism, but unfortunately, in our world, people tend to favour symbols much more than I do.

Just me, I guess.
Spot on. In fact I'd say that the quoted post displays a far poorer attitude than SBW. If the medal holds that much more than just a token value to you it shows a lack of respect for the achievement itself, of winning the RWC as a team and being able to take pride and satisfaction in that alone.
 
May 5, 2006
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I just think SBW is a knob. Khoder Nasser only manages knobs. If you're a professional rugby player that wants to convert to Islam and box, he's your man.

Upped and left the country while under contract to the Bulldogs in the NRL because he wanted to play union in France. Got bored with that and signed with the NZRU because he wanted to play at the 2011 World Cup. Gave Super Rugby a whole two seasons before pissing off to Japan then back to the NRL. Gave the Roosters two years before deciding he wanted to play at the 2015 World Cup so would go back to the NZRU. Sooked every time the people paying his million dollar deals said 'no you can't just go and box whenever you feel like it'.
 
May 5, 2006
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Who will survive from our squad through to 2019?

1. Sio (24)
2. Moore (32)
3. Kepu (29)

4. Douglas (26)
5. Simmons (26)
6. Fardy (31)
7. Hooper (24)
8. Pocock (27)
9. Genia (27)
10. Foley (26)
11. Mitchell (31)
12. Giteau (33)

13. Kuridrani (24)
14. Ashley-Cooper (31)
15. Folau (26)

For mine the bolded are gone on age alone.

Not a lot to get excited about on the bench either.

16. Polota-Nau (30)
17. Slipper (26)
18. Holmes (32)
19. Mumm (31)

20. McCalman (27)
21. Phipps (26)
22. Toomua (25)
23. Beale (26)

Since Michael Hooper was capped 3 years ago 40 players have debuted for the Wallabies. Most have barely been seen since.

Genia and Foley are OK, but not amazing. Golden child O'Connor is gawn and Cooper couldn't even make the 23 man squad in most games. Who do we persist with in the backs? Horne? Toomua? Bring back Lealifano? Speight?
 
Who will survive from our squad through to 2019?

1. Sio (24)
2. Moore (32)
3. Kepu (29)

4. Douglas (26)
5. Simmons (26)
6. Fardy (31)
7. Hooper (24)
8. Pocock (27)
9. Genia (27)
10. Foley (26)
11. Mitchell (31)
12. Giteau (33)

13. Kuridrani (24)
14. Ashley-Cooper (31)
15. Folau (26)

For mine the bolded are gone on age alone.

Not a lot to get excited about on the bench either.

16. Polota-Nau (30)
17. Slipper (26)
18. Holmes (32)
19. Mumm (31)

20. McCalman (27)
21. Phipps (26)
22. Toomua (25)
23. Beale (26)

Since Michael Hooper was capped 3 years ago 40 players have debuted for the Wallabies. Most have barely been seen since.

Genia and Foley are OK, but not amazing. Golden child O'Connor is gawn and Cooper couldn't even make the 23 man squad in most games. Who do we persist with in the backs? Horne? Toomua? Bring back Lealifano? Speight?
Foley is about at the same level Dan Carter has been for the past few years. Not necessarily a gamebreaker in open play but he's an extremely reliable kicker and particularly under pressure. Quade Cooper ideally will never be seen again and unfortunately the O'Connor ship sailed a long time ago, but there's a few players on that bench who showed a bit at this RWC. Mitchell and AAC will be the toughest players to replace but there's enough talent coming through at centre and wing to cover it IMO - Luke Burton, Mike Harris, etc. This current Wallabies side is built mostly around the front 8 anyway and in particular 4-8
 
May 2, 2007
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Interesting. I disagree. To me, the medal means very little. It is merely a symbol that you won the World Cup (or GF, or Olympics, or whatever). It's not the actual achievement. I always get (very slightly) annoyed when I hear people say 'This could win him the Gold Medal!' - it doesn't matter whether it is a Gold Medal, a laurel wreath, or a stuffed teddy bear - it's the winning performance that matters. I know it's just slang symbolism, but unfortunately, in our world, people tend to favour symbols much more than I do.

Just me, I guess.
Tell that to Duncan Armstrong that had his stolen.
 

Maester

Team Captain
Oct 15, 2014
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Upped and left the country while under contract to the Bulldogs in the NRL because he wanted to play union in France. Got bored with that and signed with the NZRU because he wanted to play at the 2011 World Cup. Gave Super Rugby a whole two seasons before pissing off to Japan then back to the NRL. Gave the Roosters two years before deciding he wanted to play at the 2015 World Cup so would go back to the NZRU. Sooked every time the people paying his million dollar deals said 'no you can't just go and box whenever you feel like it'.

Yeah, I mean it's not like anyone in the real world switches jobs every 2-3 years! Oh wait...

I think SBW is motivated by challenges more than anything else. If it was simply money he wanted then he would never have left French rugby. And next year he's going to be playing 7's, on less money, to try and make the Olympics.

Anyway, the 2 year trip back to league between world cups cost him from a rugby perspective. Just before he left he'd arguably gone passed Nonu as the AB's starting 12, but he didn't give himself enough time to get back there. And Nonu had a great last 2 years so he really shut the door. Maybe in hindsight he'd have gone back to rugby after he won the premiership with the Roosters. His 2nd year back in league wasn't as good and until this tournament he hadn't had a great season of rugby this year. Fair dues to him though, he stepped up in the world cup and played well when it counted. Nonu's try just after half time came after 2 excellent offloads by Sonny Bill and that was a pretty crucial score.
 

Maester

Team Captain
Oct 15, 2014
372
236
AFL Club
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Who will survive from our squad through to 2019?

1. Sio (24)
2. Moore (32)
3. Kepu (29)

4. Douglas (26)
5. Simmons (26)
6. Fardy (31)
7. Hooper (24)
8. Pocock (27)
9. Genia (27)
10. Foley (26)
11. Mitchell (31)
12. Giteau (33)

13. Kuridrani (24)
14. Ashley-Cooper (31)
15. Folau (26)

For mine the bolded are gone on age alone.

Not a lot to get excited about on the bench either.

16. Polota-Nau (30)
17. Slipper (26)
18. Holmes (32)
19. Mumm (31)

20. McCalman (27)
21. Phipps (26)
22. Toomua (25)
23. Beale (26)

Since Michael Hooper was capped 3 years ago 40 players have debuted for the Wallabies. Most have barely been seen since.

Genia and Foley are OK, but not amazing. Golden child O'Connor is gawn and Cooper couldn't even make the 23 man squad in most games. Who do we persist with in the backs? Horne? Toomua? Bring back Lealifano? Speight?

I think Stirzaker will push hard at 9. I don't think Genia will be playing much for the Wallabies now that he's moving to France (even though he does remain eligible due to passing 60 caps).

There's been a fair bit of talk that Folau will move to 13 next season, which I think might suit him better than fullback so long as he can get the hang of it defensively. Beale played great at fullback during the tournament and I think he's finally matured as a player. And Kuridrani hasn't been good for a while and needs some pressure on him.

The Wallabies really need to develop a world class lock. Douglas had a very good tournament and Simmons does a lot of work (and until the final was usually good at running the lineout), but we don't have anyone near the class of Whitelock, Retallick, Wyn Jones, Etzebeth etc. That combination of size, power, work rate and athleticism. I think Adam Coleman has a lot of potential and hopefully he kicks on next year.
 

MaoriWarriors

Rookie
Oct 24, 2015
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Sonny Bill is an bloody champ hey!

Great game for both teams and the Aussies played pretty well. The coach is a legend.
 
I think Stirzaker will push hard at 9. I don't think Genia will be playing much for the Wallabies now that he's moving to France (even though he does remain eligible due to passing 60 caps).
At the risk of being lynched I thought Phipps had a pretty good game subbing on at 9 on Saturday night. He's error prone but I wouldn't be surprised if he went to Rio next year and built from there.
 

Maester

Team Captain
Oct 15, 2014
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With games like league/rugby/American football, are more suited to being better contests when defences are dominating.

I don't think many people would agree with you. I think you want a good contest between defence and attack, but ultimately the most spectacular plays and the ones that thrill people are attacking plays.
 
Aug 10, 2011
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I don't think many people would agree with you. I think you want a good contest between defence and attack, but ultimately the most spectacular plays and the ones that thrill people are attacking plays.
Big forwards/offensive players smashing into defences highlights the physicality that make these codes great.
 
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