alastair
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Post by alastair on Oct 17, 2023 11:11:41 GMT
No doubt we'll see alastair and his hero Haskell in the stands on Saturday getting up to all sorts of tomfoolery. As I've said before, that type of tosser is precisely who I avoided all through rugby. |
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alastair
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Post by alastair on Oct 17, 2023 11:12:04 GMT
Imagine how rough his hands are Ooooooh /crosses legs |
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zephro
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Post by zephro on Oct 17, 2023 18:12:17 GMT
The responses are genuinely funny.
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Post by elstoof on Oct 17, 2023 19:30:26 GMT
They do this every World Cup when england are the last of the home nations against all odds, the only surprise is they take the bait
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Oct 17, 2023 20:00:53 GMT
I don't think *I* can swallow my pride and support England on Saturday, and I'm English!
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Post by Danno on Oct 17, 2023 23:26:27 GMT
I don't think *I* can swallow my pride and support England on Saturday, and I'm English! Well, what's the fucking point? |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Oct 17, 2023 23:30:45 GMT
DannoHow dost thou mean, good sir?
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Post by Danno on Oct 18, 2023 0:04:01 GMT
DannoHow dost thou mean, good sir? Give me one way England win that doesn't involve 4 reds to SA in the first half |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Oct 18, 2023 8:16:34 GMT
Give me one way England win that doesn't involve 4 reds to SA in the first half
Ah, gotcha.
Um... 5 reds to SA in the first half? 
Yeah, it's not happening.
I suppose one could make the argument that if it somehow did, then England would actually have done something to earn a spot in the final (their relative cakewalk of a draw and mediocre-to-garbage performances notwithstanding); however, I don't see it.
Unless SA expended so much energy, and/or incurred so many injuries in the France game that they'll be severely denuded at the weekend, England are going out.
Besides, the RFU's narrative is already set in stone: "Didn't Borthers, Wiggy, and the Kevmeister do an amazing job to reach the semis? Champagne and contract extensions all 'round! Oh, and how's the canonisation of Saint Owen going - can someone get the Pope on the blower?"
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Post by elstoof on Oct 18, 2023 8:22:31 GMT
A 9-7 win for England would be as believable as a 48-6 thrashing by SA tbh
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Post by Dougs on Oct 18, 2023 11:37:34 GMT
40/1 on that SA margin...
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Oct 18, 2023 13:41:23 GMT
I reckon there's enough quality in this England squad to beat the Boks - or at least, give them a damn good run for their money - but in order to reach that point, Borthwick would have to make some choices that he seems to regard as unthinkable.
My guess is he'll name an unchanged team for Saturday's match, with the same one-dimensional gameplan in place, and SA will be out of sight by the time England empty their bench around the hour mark.
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Post by elstoof on Oct 18, 2023 13:44:02 GMT
He’ll put Steward at the back, drop Smith from the 23. Don’t expect any more changes than that
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jono62
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Post by jono62 on Oct 18, 2023 13:58:20 GMT
Farrell is the bestest ever. He will beat South Africa on his own.
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sport✅
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Post by sport✅ on Oct 18, 2023 14:18:31 GMT
Honestly, I expect it will be raining drop goals at every opportunity. Revenge for Jannie de Beer back in 99.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Oct 18, 2023 14:39:07 GMT
Steward being reinstated at 15 is actually one of the changes I'd make (although I'd drop Smith to the bench, rather than jettisoning him altogether).
I still think Borthwick will stick with playing Smith at full-back. Not long until we find out, one way or the other...
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Post by grey_matters on Oct 18, 2023 15:42:46 GMT
After Ireland and France, I guess I want South Africa to win but there's a growing idea, buried deep down, that it would be great entertainment for England to absolutely shitehawk their way to being champs.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Oct 18, 2023 16:42:00 GMT
Apparently the Torygraph is reporting that Steward will replace Smith in the matchday 23, perhaps because Smith has failed an HIA. If true, that last part isn't surprising - he did take one hell of a knock. grey_matters The "some men just want to watch the world burn" part of me would find that pretty entertaining; the rest of me is appalled by the notion of Owen Farrell being known as a World Cup-winning captain for the rest of his days. |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Oct 19, 2023 13:14:41 GMT
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Post by elstoof on Oct 19, 2023 13:57:18 GMT
A dynamic squad, expect at least as many line breaks as France managed in the 1st 30 monutes
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Post by Whizzo on Oct 20, 2023 19:20:32 GMT
This match is going as expected after a brief glimmer of maybe something surprising at the start.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Oct 20, 2023 19:22:43 GMT
Argentina going 3-0 up was a nice surprise, but in hindsight it feels a bit like watching a cat toy idly with a mouse.
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Post by Resident Knievel on Oct 20, 2023 19:34:15 GMT
Yeah, New Zealand are playing at 80% here
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Post by Whizzo on Oct 20, 2023 19:46:32 GMT
Argentina's tactics aren't great either, they threaten a try with penalty advantage, it fails then they just take the three? You're not going to get too many chances against the Kiwis so why the fuck do you put it between the posts?
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Post by Whizzo on Oct 20, 2023 19:47:24 GMT
This game is over at half-time.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Oct 20, 2023 19:48:44 GMT
Cheika's going to need his own version of, "We few, we happy few..." at half-time if he wants to turn this around now.
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Post by Resident Knievel on Oct 20, 2023 19:49:37 GMT
Think I'll turn off if New Zealand get the first try in the second half
New Zealand's points have been gifted to them, it makes for a boring game when they're not even trying and winning handily
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askew
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Post by askew on Oct 20, 2023 19:55:32 GMT
The last try. Ffs Argentina
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Post by Resident Knievel on Oct 20, 2023 20:05:11 GMT
That kick off. ffs argentina
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askew
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Post by askew on Oct 20, 2023 20:06:38 GMT
Right. See y’all tomorrow.
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