Rugby League World Cup Week 3 match discussion

jamesgould

jamesgould

Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
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DATE TIME (AEDT)MATCHSTADIUM
29th Oct5.30amNew Zealand vs IrelandHeadingley Stadium, Leeds
30th Oct12.30amEngland vs GreeceBramall Lane, Sheffield
30th Oct3.00amFiji vs ScotlandKingston Park, Newcastle
30th Oct5.30amAustralia vs ItalyTotally Wicked Stadium, St Helens
31st Oct10.00pmLebanon vs JamaicaLeigh Sports Village, Leigh
31st Oct12.30amTonga vs Cook IslandsRiverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
31st Oct3.00amSamoa vs FranceHalliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
1st Nov5.30amPNG vs WalesEco-Power Stadium, Doncaster

The big matches to decide quarter finalists this week are:
Samoa vs France - Samoa smashed Greece into the middle of next week, but France weren't too bad against England. Which Samoan side will show up? The winner of this match goes into the quarter finals
Lebanon vs Jamaica - Lebanon need to win this, and assuming NZ beat Ireland they'll be in the quarters
Fiji vs Scotland - you'd assume Fiji will win this to book a spot in the quarters
PNG vs Wales - PNG won their big battle this week vs the Cook Islands, but Wales could still push them. They'd probably be through even with a loss though, it's tough to see the Cook Islands not taking a dent to their F&A vs Tonga

Tonga vs Cook Islands will be interesting too, Tonga don't really seem to have hit their straps yet and will be wanting to enter the quarters in good form
 
Just caught up on an NZ vs Ireland replay ... Kiwis a bit rusty with a few errors in attack, but ten tries is nothing to get worried about. Ireland coach said other sides would be licking their lips after seeing the game, but he seemed to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder. No point peaking at this stage in the tournament. NZ totally dominant on metres made and possession - that will serve them well in the big games.

Goalkicking is a big concern though ... don't think Dylan Brown is the answer.

Jahrome Hughes man of the match by a country mile.
 
frankLauda said:
How good is Jahrome Hughes. I'd have him as the second best halfback in the world, only slightly behind Cleary. That left foot step he has is lethal.
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He reminds me a lot of Stacey Jones actually ... just his running style and step.
 
Yeah. A modern day Stacey. He's got it all. Melbourne will be a force again next year. There probably lacking a bit of forward depth but they always bring up the players coming through. You watch Tarik Sims have a bumper year. If they keep Paps healthy there going to be hard to beat.
 
Couple of huge margins today, England 94-4 over Greece and Australia 66-6 over Italy. England looking dominant so far this tournament!

Fiji 30-14 over Scotland … not sure how well Scotland played, but I’d have expected Fiji to win that a lot more comfortably. Fiji haven’t really fired this tournament so far … I think the Kiwis will be getting some revenge for their 2017 quarter final exit vs them next week!
 
jamesgould said:
Couple of huge margins today, England 94-4 over Greece and Australia 66-6 over Italy. England looking dominant so far this tournament!
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I'm calling it. England will make the final. Comfortably. And will give either Australia or the Kiwis a run for there money. I actually think they are the form side of the comp so far.
 
frankLauda said:
I'm calling it. England will make the final. Comfortably. And will give either Australia or the Kiwis a run for there money. I actually think they are the form side of the comp so far.
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From what we've seen of both sides they should take care of Tonga in their semi for sure.

And if they face NZ in the final, England have a lot of good wins over them at home over the years ... they'd be a massive chance. Not sure how they'll do vs Australia though, they haven't beaten them since 2006 and seem to be massively mentally scarred lol.
 
I think this side could do it. Compared to sides of the past might be lacking for forwards, although Tom had been good. But there halves are playing really well. Outside backs quality. It will be a good game I think either way.
 
Oookay that’s a big statement from Tonga with a 92-10 win over the Cook Islands 😱 Feel for the Cooks there. Suddenly the probable England vs Tonga semi looks like a huge game!

So much for France pushing Samoa as well, 62-4 there. So many absolute smashings this tournament so far, much more than usual. I guess that quarter final bunch of sides has really moved a step ahead of the rest. Concerning that it’s all southern hemisphere sides too, Wales, France … just not in the ballpark anymore.
 
If Samoa perform like they should on paper, they'll beat Tonga in a close game and come up against England in a semi.
It could be one of the biggest turnarounds in sporting history if Samoa can overcome England in the semi after going down to them by a massive score in round one.
On paper, the two squads look well matched. It isn't impossible.
 
Billy said:
If Samoa perform like they should on paper, they'll beat Tonga in a close game and come up against England in a semi.
It could be one of the biggest turnarounds in sporting history if Samoa can overcome England in the semi after going down to them by a massive score in round one.
On paper, the two squads look well matched. It isn't impossible.
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England play like a team that's played together for years. Samoa are just a team full of skillful individuals.
 
Luai had a great game. But think England halves are better. The Samoans forward will need to aim up. They got smashed in the middle by England
 
To make the final, yes. And wether they play the Kiwis or Ozzie's it should be a competitive game.

Will know alot more after the quarters as the games should be alot closer.
 
PNG comfortable winners over Wales. Barr England all southern hemisphere teams.

The eight teams remaining make for a much better competition.
 
Soooo in this elite world competition that has spanned 3 full rounds, now we might actually get a half decent game?

Bag cricket and t20 all you want but at least your not 100% sure who is going to win by 200-300 runs per game
 
This is the first time the World Cup hasn’t had “super groups” with the top seeds, so there was always going to be some blow outs. Previous World Cups have put NZ, Aus, England, PNG, Tonga, Fiji etc all in the same pool, then the smaller league nations in pools by themselves to make things look closer and lead to more competitive games.

They had to take this step at some stage, and overall it will be a good thing for the overall strength of the tournament. Look at how those Pacific nations have benefitted from being in the pools with NZ/Aus/England.

Same as in union, back in 1995 the All Blacks beat Japan 145-17, last weekend they could only beat them 38-31. Give these sides the chance and they will improve, I’m glad we’re doing that. We’ll see the benefits in future tournaments.
 
Tonga over Samoa easily. Until they prove they can beat the greatest forward to play the game in a meaningful game then they will always remain in their shadow.
 
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