# 2019 Rugby World Cup Discussion



## WhiskeyZuluLima (Sep 20, 2019)

The Rugby World Cup, taking place in Japan, takes place this year.

I personally will be dedicating most of my focus to the whole event so I figured I'd make this thread as containment should any other users be doing much the same.

If you're new to rugby, or just a casual viewer and want to know how you can watch the event you can find the broadcaster here: https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/broadcasters?lang=en

Nations competing are: Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, Fiji, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Namibia, New Zealand, Russia, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga, Uruguay, USA, Wales.

I personally have a close relationship with the game, so if you are new to the game and wish to learn through this tournament I will make my best effort to be helpful to any questions you may have - and I am fairly confident others in the thread will be too.

If your nation is one competing, I'll announce my alignment here: Welsh, so if we play let's try and be civil (we aren't football/soccer hooligans) - but I will absolutely call you a cunt and say I'm better than you.

MATCHES (Link to RWC site for times, converted local to you):


Spoiler: KNOCKOUT STAGE GAMES




Saturday 19 OctoberENGLAND / AUSTRALIA - FT 40 / 16 - Match Report, from The Guardian
NEW ZEALAND / IRELAND - FT 46 / 14 - Match Report, from The GuardianSunday 20 OctoberWALES / FRANCE - FT 20 / 19 - Match Report, from the BBC
JAPAN / SOUTH AFRICA - FT 3 / 26 - Match Report, from Sky SportsSaturday 26 OctoberENGLAND / NEW ZEALAND [Semi-Final 1]Sunday 27 OctoberWALES / SOUTH AFRICA [Semi-Final 2]Friday 1 NovemberLoser SF1 / Loser SF2 [Bronze Final]Saturday 2 NovemberWinner SF1 / Winner SF2 [Final]






Spoiler: THE POOL STAGE RESULTS






Spoiler: GAME RESULTS




Friday 20 SeptemberJapan / Russia - FT 30 / 10 - Match Report, from Sky SportsSaturday 21 September
Australia / Fiji - FT 39 / 21 - Match Report, from Sky SportsFrance / Argentina - FT 23 / 21 - Match Report, from Sky SportsNew Zealand / South Africa - FT 23 / 13 - Match Report, from The Guardian
Sunday 22 September
Italy / Namibia - FT 47 / 22 - Match Report, from Sky SportsIreland / Scotland - FT 27 / 3 - Match Report, from Sporting LifeEngland / Tonga - FT 35 / 3 - Match Report, from Sky Sports
Monday 23 SeptemberWales / Georgia - FT 43 / 14 - Match Report, from Sporting LifeTuesday 24 SeptemberRussia / Samoa - FT 9 / 34 - Match Report, from The GuardianWednesday 25 SeptemberFiji / Uruguay - FT 27 / 30 - Match Report, from The Guardian (I'll editorialise here, Uruguay shouldn't have won, what the fuck have I watched that was massive.)Thursday 26 SeptemberItaly / Canada - FT 48 / 7 - Match Report, from Sky Sports
England / USA - FT 45 / 7 - Match Report, from Sporting LifeSaturday 28 SeptemberArgentina / Tonga - FT 28 / 12 - Match Report, from The Guardian
Japan / Ireland - FT 19 / 12 - Match Report, from the BBC
South Africa / Namibia - FT 57 / 3 - Match Report, from The GuardianSunday 29 SeptemberGeorgia / Uruguay - FT 33 / 7 - Match Report, from Rugby World
Australia / Wales - FT 25 / 29 - Match Report, from Sky SportsMonday 30 SeptemberScotland / Samoa - FT 30 / 0 - Match Report, from The GuardianWednesday 2 OctoberFrance / USA - FT 33 / 9 - Match Report, from The Guardian
New Zealand / Canada - FT 63 / 0 - Match Report, from the BBCThursday 3 OctoberGeorgia / Fiji - FT 10 / 45 - Match Report, from Sky Sports
Ireland / Russia - FT 35 / 0 - Match Report, from The TelegraphFriday 4 OctoberSouth Africa / Italy - 49 / 3 - Match Report, from The GuardianSaturday 5 OctoberAustralia / Uruguay - 45 / 10 - Match Report, from Sky Sports
England / Argentina - 39 / 10 - Match Report, from the Evening Standard
Japan / Samoa - 38 / 19 - Match Report, from The GuardianSunday 6 OctoberNew Zealand / Namibia - 71 / 9 - Match Report, from the Independent
France / Tonga - 23 / 21 - Match Report, from The GuardianTuesday 8 OctoberSouth Africa / Canada - 66 / 7 - Match Report, from The GuardianWednesdy 9 OctoberArgentina / USA - 47 / 17 - Match Report, from The Guardian
Scotland / Russia - 61 / 0 - Match Report, from the BBC
Wales / Fiji - 29 / 17 - Match Report, from The GuardianFriday 11 OctoberAustralia / Georgia - 27 / 8 - Match Report, from The GuardianSaturday 12 OctoberNew Zealand / Italy - 0 / 0 - GAME CANCELLED DUE TO TYPHOON HAGIBIS
England / France - 0 / 0 - GAME CANCELLED DUE TO TYPHOON HAGIBIS
Ireland / Samoa - 47 / 5 - Match Report, from The GuardianSunday 13 OctoberNamibia / Canada - 0 / 0 - GAME CANCELLED DUE TO TYPHOON HAGIBIS
USA / Tonga - FT 19 / 31 - Match Report, from The Guardian
Wales / Uruguay - FT 35 / 13 - Match Report, from Sky Sports
Japan / Scotland - FT 28 / 21 -Match Report Pending






Spoiler: Pool A Table




*TEAM**PLAYED**WON**DRAW**LOST**TRIES**+/-**BONUS POINTS**POINTS**Japan*440013+53319*Ireland*430118+94416*Scotland*420216+64311*Samoa*41038-7015*Russia*40041-14100






Spoiler: Pool B Table




*TEAM**PLAYED**WON**DRAW**LOST**TRIES**+/-**BONUS POINTS**POINTS**New Zealand*431022+135216*South Africa*430127+149315*Italy*421114+20212*Namibia*40133-14102*Canada*40132-16902






Spoiler: Pool C Table




*TEAM**PLAYED**WON**DRAW**LOST**TRIES**+/-**BONUS POINTS**POINTS**England*431017+99317*France*43109+28115*Argentina*420214+15311*Tonga*41039-3826*USA*40047-9200






Spoiler: Pool D Table




*TEAM**PLAYED**WON**DRAW**LOST**TRIES**+/-**BONUS POINTS**POINTS**Wales*440017+67319*Australia*430120+68416*Fiji*410317+237*Georgia*41039-5715*Uruguay*41036-8004







It appears I've somehow convinced myself to maintain this OP with information regarding the tournament such as post-match reports, I'll try not to go too far but suggestions for good little additions are welcome


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## Franjevina (Sep 20, 2019)

Just the fact that you used word " soccer " shows how much of a faggot you are


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## Rancid Flid (Sep 20, 2019)

I'll be supporting England & Wales, both of who have a chance of being in the final. As do S.Africa, Australia & maybe France & Ireland. Scotland played quite well in a few matches in the winter, so if I were to have a bet, I might go with the Jocks as the odds should be fairly good on them. The Haka bois will win though.


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Sep 20, 2019)

Franjevina said:


> Just the fact that you used word " soccer " shows how much of a faggot you are


I only put it there for the American audience, I did use the correct word for it - even if it is the lowest form of football.



Rancid Flid said:


> I'll be supporting England & Wales, both of who have a chance of being in the final. As do S.Africa, Australia & maybe France & Ireland. Scotland played quite well in a few matches in the winter, so if I were to have a bet, I might go with the Jocks as the odds should be fairly good on them. The Haka bois will win though.


I agree the All Blacks will win, hence the subtitle to the thread. Since about February during the six nations I have been calling it the contest to play NZ in the finals.


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## Rancid Flid (Sep 20, 2019)

WhiskeyZuluLima said:


> I only put it there for the American audience, I did use the correct word for it - even if it is the lowest form of football.
> 
> 
> I agree the All Blacks will win, hence the subtitle to the thread. Since about February during the six nations I have been calling it the contest to play NZ in the finals.



I'll have some lulz if the Japs &/or Italy beat the Yanks. They're not used to contact sports without wearing a suit of armour. I'm English with a bit of Welsh in me, so on the off-chance they're both the finalists, I'll be torn as to who to support. I hope Italy win at least a couple of games, it'll improve their confidence.


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Sep 20, 2019)

Rancid Flid said:


> I'll have some lulz if the Japs &/or Italy beat the Yanks. They're not used to contact sports without wearing a suit of armour. I'm English with a bit of Welsh in me, so on the off-chance they're both the finalists, I'll be torn as to who to support. I hope Italy win at least a couple of games, it'll improve their confidence.


I'm Welsh through and through, I live in England though, so English local club. If that's the final, I'll be very out of place.


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## Furina (Sep 20, 2019)

Congratulations to the Japanese for their good start. Wishing them the best. 

I will be putting my support behind Australia, with South Africa second. I would also like to see Namibia and Japan get as far as possible. Japan because I'd like to see the hosts do well and Namibia because they're the real underdogs here. Fuck the All-Blacks.


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Sep 20, 2019)

Furina said:


> Congratulations to the Japanese for their good start. Wishing them the best.


That game was really quite good, the scoreline doesn't quite do it justice. The Japanese clearly had something bothering them, presumably home crowd pressure, by the fact they had so many handling errors in the first half. However they made very good use of the outright authority on being a nimble, athletic side, against the wall of meat the Russians put up. It was a nice contrast between two clearly very different approaches to the game on a team level.


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## Furina (Sep 20, 2019)

WhiskeyZuluLima said:


> That game was really quite good, the scoreline doesn't quite do it justice. The Japanese clearly had something bothering them, presumably home crowd pressure, by the fact they had so many handling errors in the first half. However they made very good use of the outright authority on being a nimble, athletic side, against the wall of meat the Russians put up. It was a nice contrast between two clearly very different approaches to the game on a team level.


I don't watch a ton of rugby (my dad was watching it when I came over so I sat down with him for a while) but I think the Russians actually performed quite poorly. They looked like they were _trying_ very hard, but just couldn't play very well. Still, looking forward to things.


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## Draza (Sep 20, 2019)

I guess i'll throw my weight behind the All Backs again.


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Sep 20, 2019)

Furina said:


> I don't watch a ton of rugby (my dad was watching it when I came over so I sat down with him for a while) but I think the Russians actually performed quite poorly. They looked like they were _trying_ very hard, but just couldn't play very well. Still, looking forward to things.


The Russians play a very hard game, they're all built to fuck and will hit harder than your biggest guy - so as soon as you get through three or so phases of play they're all fatigued (of course, I'm speaking relatively to the level you expect of a world cup squad). On the contrast the Japanese can hit pretty hard but probably every other team's middle weight guy hits harder than Japans hardest, and as such they have fantastic athleticism - if they get the ball and see an opening, they will score a try almost every time simply because they are impossible to grab ahold of or keep up with, however if they get pressed in their 22 against the try line all you have to do is just push hard rucks at them to walk it over. 



Draza said:


> I guess i'll throw my weight behind the All Backs again.


Lmao picking obvious favourite to win 

All games today were good, which surprised me since I didn't have brilliant hopes for FRA/ARG since both teams are prone to be somewhat mediocre despite having very good players. The AUS/FIJ game for me personally was actually the worst, simply because the Fijian side just couldn't keep up the pace in the last quarter. The highlight though, of course, was the NZL/RSA game, it was always going to be a good one but it really was a very good game with comparable sides going against one another - unfortunately though the South Africans kept making rather amateurish errors which lost them the game, I can distinctly remember two tries they really should have gotten but instead got turned over.


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## Woke Blue Muttlema (Sep 24, 2019)

Wish fucking Scotland make shit man. Not feel like bandwagoning yet.


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## DSPGouting (Sep 24, 2019)

Cymru Am Bath


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Sep 24, 2019)

Russia - Samoa game, the two high tackles resulting in yellow cards. First one I think is a yellow (marginally) but the second a hard red with the player off regardless due to HIA after knocking himself out. Samoa play a hard game, they play the old game - which I personally love - but they tackle too dangerously for current rules.


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## User name: Required (Sep 24, 2019)

I’am a dumb burger. how is rugby played?


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Sep 24, 2019)

User name: Required said:


> I’am a dumb burger. how is rugby played?


To specify, this is Rugby Union rules I am explaining, there is also Rugby League - but that's shit, American Football is a more dangerous game than League.
Rugby consists of teams of 15, with 5 substitutes available. The ball used is, for all intents and purposes, the same as an American football. Unlike American football, however play continues between phases with more flow (See Video 1 linked below). It is a game of two halves, each being 40 minutes. 
Scoring is if you touchdown the ball (Properly, you must be in control of the ball as it comes into contact with the ground) over the try line - for this you recieve 5 points - and after scoring a try your team can then convert the try, earning another 2 points. 
Passing must always be backwards unless the ball is kicked - even if the ball is passed essentially horizontally, it must not go forwards.
There are rules surrounding tackles in the aim of safety, the primary one being "High-Tackles" which essentially labels head and neck collisions absolute no-go's, which even as a burger I'm sure you can appreciate why through even your armour. (See Video 2 below for the framework on a high-tackle). 
There is no permitted armour in the game, with a few exceptions, the main one being a scrum cap - which is a small foam thing designed to stop your scalp getting removed. Otherwise you get electrical tape and a few bandages to hold your ears and fingers on.


The key thing about rugby which puts off you burger folk, I find, is the scrummage. A scrum is a pure show of strength. With the average pack weight this world cup being about 950kg (2095lbs) spread between the 8 man unit, where they form up 8 on each side, crouch down, bind, and then slam into the other team and try to push for control over the ball being put in by one of the teams - generally now a scrum is not lost, it's more formality now because of the quality of the game and also the safety surrounding it.

VIDEO 1





VIDEO 2





I think this is everything in a very basic capacity, if another user in the thread cares to add or correct me they're welcome to.
I will leave you with this, Japanese TV is trying to take advantage of the RWC being in Japan so is trying to help the new audience learn, so to demonstrate the characteristics of each position they made this:


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## User name: Required (Sep 24, 2019)

WhiskeyZuluLima said:


> To specify, this is Rugby Union rules I am explaining, there is also Rugby League - but that's shit, American Football is a more dangerous game than League.
> Rugby consists of teams of 15, with 5 substitutes available. The ball used is, for all intents and purposes, the same as an American football. Unlike American football, however play continues between phases with more flow (See Video 1 linked below). It is a game of two halves, each being 40 minutes.
> Scoring is if you touchdown the ball (Properly, you must be in control of the ball as it comes into contact with the ground) over the try line - for this you recieve 5 points - and after scoring a try your team can then convert the try, earning another 2 points.
> Passing must always be backwards unless the ball is kicked - even if the ball is passed essentially horizontally, it must not go forwards.
> ...



Cool, thanks.

I’ve always been interested in understanding rugby but never got to it because it never ends up on US TV. 

I watched a bit of Australia vs Fiji from the current cup and holy shit some of those Fiji players are fucking huge. 

Also when you wrote all blacks it hough that meant all the players were black at first


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Sep 24, 2019)

User name: Required said:


> Cool, thanks.
> 
> I’ve always been interested in understanding rugby but never got to it because it never ends up on US TV.
> 
> ...


Thursay 26th you have England versus USA which may be of interest to you. 
To watch rugby you can buy a subscription to RugbyPass whilst is genuinely brilliant for how much it covers, essentially with coverage for everything international and often top end domestic.
For Major League Rugby look to ESPN and CBS, as they have the current partnership with MLR - of course, I say this if you don't already get that as part of RugbyPass, which I can't emphasise enough is worth every penny.


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## User name: Required (Sep 25, 2019)

WhiskeyZuluLima said:


> Thursay 26th you have England versus USA which may be of interest to you.
> To watch rugby you can buy a subscription to RugbyPass whilst is genuinely brilliant for how much it covers, essentially with coverage for everything international and often top end domestic.
> For Major League Rugby look to ESPN and CBS, as they have the current partnership with MLR - of course, I say this if you don't already get that as part of RugbyPass, which I can't emphasise enough is worth every penny.



I’m currently in college right now with no job, so I I don’t have the money right now. I will check the highlights though.

USA is in a tough group from what I’ve looked at, only argentina and Tonga seem winnable, plus none of the players have World Cup experience it seems. Will be a tough watch.


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Sep 25, 2019)

User name: Required said:


> I’m currently in college right now with no job, so I I don’t have the money right now. I will check the highlights though.
> 
> USA is in a tough group from what I’ve looked at, only argentina and Tonga seem winnable, plus none of the players have World Cup experience it seems. Will be a tough watch.


*I am definitely not suggesting piracy*
If you get a VPN into the UK, and make an account for ITV (https://www.itv.com/) you can watch all of the games in full, even after the fact. When it asks for a postcode during account creation drop a pin on a map somewhere in England (Not Scotland, not sure about Wales or Northern Ireland) and use the postcode it shows there - it will follow a format of AA1A 1AA. ITV is free to watch, as they are funded by advertising.


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## buying gf (Oct 12, 2019)

2015: Scotland knocked out due to poor refereeing decision
2019: Scotland knocked out due to category 5 typhoon

What's next for the Scots in 2023? Meteor? Terrorist attack?


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Oct 12, 2019)

buying gf said:


> 2015: Scotland knocked out due to poor refereeing decision
> 2019: Scotland knocked out due to category 5 typhoon
> 
> What's next for the Scots in 2023? Meteor? Terrorist attack?


Getting knocked out as a result of them actually being shit, as would be the case anyway.


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## buying gf (Oct 13, 2019)

Quarterfinals: 
New Zealand vs Ireland
England vs Australia

Japan vs South Africa 
Wales vs France

lmao Ireland going home in the quarters again and Brighton 2.0


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Oct 14, 2019)

buying gf said:


> Quarterfinals:
> New Zealand vs Ireland
> England vs Australia
> 
> ...


My £2 on Japan against New Zealand in the finals looking real spicy right now, 100/1. They beat South Africa probably, and then they play either France or Wales. I hope they play France, I would really enjoy a hard night out on those winnings.


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## buying gf (Oct 14, 2019)

WhiskeyZuluLima said:


> My £2 on Japan against New Zealand in the finals looking real spicy right now, 100/1. They beat South Africa probably, and then they play either France or Wales. I hope they play France, I would really enjoy a hard night out on those winnings.


As much as that match up would be amazing, if Japan make it to the finals I'm not sure they'd have the legs to challenge NZ. Game would end up way too lopsided. That being said, it'll be interesting to see how NZ go against Ireland. Missing a game means extra rest but could also mean a loss in match fitness, and they haven't had a challenging game since the opening weekend.

The only really disappointing quarterfinal is Australia and England. I could see every other less favoured team winning, but it'll be a bloodbath for Australia. I don't know why, but Cheika seems to inspire his players to have a shit first half followed by a valiant and unsuccessful second half. Far too many games have gone according to that script, including when he coached the Waratahs. I'm surprised that the bookies have Australia more likely than Ireland or Japan going through.


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Oct 14, 2019)

buying gf said:


> As much as that match up would be amazing, if Japan make it to the finals I'm not sure they'd have the legs to challenge NZ. Game would end up way too lopsided. That being said, it'll be interesting to see how NZ go against Ireland. Missing a game means extra rest but could also mean a loss in match fitness, and they haven't had a challenging game since the opening weekend.
> 
> The only really disappointing quarterfinal is Australia and England. I could see every other less favoured team winning, but it'll be a bloodbath for Australia. I don't know why, but Cheika seems to inspire his players to have a shit first half followed by a valiant and unsuccessful second half. Far too many games have gone according to that script, including when he coached the Waratahs. I'm surprised that the bookies have Australia more likely than Ireland or Japan going through.


Oh yeah, for sure, I know the world cup is always a fight to see who gets to lose to the All Blacks in the final, hence why I put money on just Japan playing NZ in the final - result be damned.
Having Australia better in the books than Ireland and Japan does make sense though. Japan are still viewed as a lower calibre of team, and Ireland lost to Japan, I know I am over simplifying it a little bit there but that's why I'd have more hope for Australia if I didn't have a bit of cheese on Japan making the final


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## Spl00gies (Oct 14, 2019)

Gwlad, gwlaaaaaaaad, pleidiol wyf i'm Gwlad!


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## DSPGouting (Oct 14, 2019)

skullomania said:


> Gwlad, gwlaaaaaaaad, pleidiol wyf i'm Gwlad!



BREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD OF HEAAAAAAAAAVEN

WE ARE GONNA WIN IT MY BUTTY


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Oct 15, 2019)

skullomania said:


> Gwlad, gwlaaaaaaaad, pleidiol wyf i'm Gwlad!


MY bet on Japan has ruined me, we probably have a Wales/Japan semi-final coming up. I'm going to be crying and cheering every tackle. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! I've betrayed my country, but money, but nationalism, but money. D:


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## buying gf (Oct 20, 2019)

Eng/Aus went about as well as I expected, but with less cards. Cheika will not be missed.

Didn't expect New Zealand to annihilate Ireland as hard as they did. Nigel had a terrible game - hopefully England lose next week so Barnes can ref the final.

Wales were utter dogshit and would have lost if not for the absolutely fucking brain-dead red card and a dubious pass. You would have thought that they would've learned to play better against 14 men, especially considering the 2015 pool match against Australia.

Japan looked like they played their final last weekend, like Argentina in the 2015 semi after knocking out Ireland. If the Boks can hold onto their passes and not pick le Roux, they should comfortably beat Wales.

Semifinal 1: England v New Zealand
Semifinal 2: Wales v South Africa


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## buying gf (Oct 26, 2019)

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the women in New Zealand.


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## CWCissey (Oct 26, 2019)

SWING LOOOOOOOW, SWEET CHAAAARIOT, COMING FORTH TO CARRY ME HOOOOOOOOOOME!


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## Slimy Time (Oct 26, 2019)

Jacinda took not only their guns, she took their balls as well.


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## WhiskeyZuluLima (Oct 26, 2019)

The real question though is do I change the subtitle of the thread, surely it's too late in the tournament for it to matter but equally is fucking hilarious that I ended up 20 quid out of pocket after laughing at a yank who knows nothing about rugby who kept insisting England would win.
England-Wales final coming up though, that's going to be bloody huge.


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## CWCissey (Oct 26, 2019)

WhiskeyZuluLima said:


> The real question though is do I change the subtitle of the thread, surely it's too late in the tournament for it to matter but equally is fucking hilarious that I ended up 20 quid out of pocket after laughing at a yank who knows nothing about rugby who kept insisting England would win.
> England-Wales final coming up though, that's going to be bloody huge.



Do it and insult the All Blacks at the same time.


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