RWC: Australia v Fiji - 23 September 16:45, Millenium Stadium(24 September 1:45 AEST)

[Tomikin]

I know this is a contentious point, but Japan first then Fiji, the turn around of 4-5 days is not enough for these tire 2 teams, when they have to play tire 1 sides, I hear some of you saying, Ahhh! but we have to face Uruguay in 4 days, well gentlemen that is hardly like going up against NZ then 4 days later going up against England,
Something has to be done to help every one, it must be an even playing field,
As for Australia was drinking at the time and didn't concentrate on the whole game', but I would have thought, if Fiji had had the same amount of rest it might have been the second biggest upset in sport,

Its 8am right now so will take the dogs for a walk have some breakfast then sit down and watch the game properly and get back to you all.

No worries, there was a map of who had bad turn arounds.. Australia finished last.. We picked a whole fucking squad based on we got dudded. I feel for Fiji but seriously fuck off.. We planned our whole squad based on our draw.. Bet Fiji didn't do that

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[Tomikin]

I know this is a contentious point, but Japan first then Fiji, the turn around of 4-5 days is not enough for these tire 2 teams, when they have to play tire 1 sides, I hear some of you saying, Ahhh! but we have to face Uruguay in 4 days, well gentlemen that is hardly like going up against NZ then 4 days later going up against England,
Something has to be done to help every one, it must be an even playing field,
As for Australia was drinking at the time and didn't concentrate on the whole game', but I would have thought, if Fiji had had the same amount of rest it might have been the second biggest upset in sport,

Its 8am right now so will take the dogs for a walk have some breakfast then sit down and watch the game properly and get back to you all.

Oh and England finished best on the list.. Also we Are playing to win the cup..no tier 2 here.. SA found out the hard way

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[Braveheart81]

The big change this RWC is that it isn't just the minnows getting short turnarounds and midweek games. At least that has levelled the playing field somewhat.

It would be interesting trying to work out a fairer draw. If every side has one short turnaround, the likelihood of those games being against strong sides increases the lower down the pool you go in terms of ranking.

Take Pool A for example. Uruguay is the only team Fiji are ranked above. You can't give Uruguay only midweek games

Japan is ranked 4th or 5th in their pool. Any short turnaround they get will be tough. They faced the 1st and 3rd ranked teams during their short turnaround.

I don't see any real way of fixing it completely unless you only play games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and ensure that provides a minimum turnaround period. Midweek games are always going to provide short turnarounds otherwise.

At the end of the day I think you damage the integrity of the tournament more if some of the big teams have much different turnarounds against their main competitors.

Uruguay gets a long break before Fiji, their best chance to win a game.
Japan gets a long break before USA, their best chance to win a game.
USA gets equal footing against Samoa (their first game), a beneficial turnaround against Scotland and a bad turnaround against Japan.
Romania gets two short turnarounds but gets a long turnaround before Canada which is their best chance to win a game.

Maybe part of the intention behind the turnarounds is that the lowest ranked teams are given better turnarounds for the games they've got the best chance of winning?

 

[Brumby Runner]

There was a tight head? I don't remember one.

Phipps did some things well but also made some errors which put us under pressure (mostly trying to catch a ball over his head and knocking it into touch). Phipps made some strong tackles.

Surely the rest of your comments support what I said about the reserves not making a big impact.

I was actually very pleased to see Phipps go for that ball on the full, even though it then went into touch for a Fiji throw in. One of the things that irks me more than most is the propensity for players to let a high ball bounce. Just inviting it to bounce the wrong way and provide trouble for the receiving team.

 

[Dai bando]

Braveheart you seem to have missed the point again, why must a tire 2 side play two tire 1 sides with a short turnaround, why not a tire 2 side twice then they would be competitive against you, or is that what you don't want.
I read that you haven't played Fiji for 5 years, isn't our sport about helping the lesser nations,

 

[Dai bando]

Ahh tomikin, was talking to some of your country men yesterday, they admitted that Fiji might have been hard done by japan too, but they didn't have a keyboard to make a point,
You seem like a nice fella, just another keyboard warrior to me, met you every where.
Have a nice day

 

[Braveheart81]

Braveheart you seem to have missed the point again, why must a tire 2 side play two tire 1 sides with a short turnaround, why not a tire 2 side twice then they would be competitive against you, or is that what you don't want.
I read that you haven't played Fiji for 5 years, isn't our sport about helping the lesser nations,

What helps the tier 2 sides most though?

Giving them the best chance of causing a very unlikely upset against a top ranked side or giving them the best preparation for the matches they have a more realistic chance of winning?

Aside from only playing matches on weekends so there are no short turnarounds, what is your solution?

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[light]

I thought Hooper and Pocock were sensational.

Still worried a little about our starting front row. England will certainly be targeting it.

The lineout was fantastic until Simmons went off. Lost three straight after his departure which isn't encouraging. Convinced Moore is carrying a niggle, doesnt look to be anywhere near his best form. Fardy was suprisingly absent, thought that was maybe exaggerated by the performances of the other two backrowers.

As for the backs. Genia was much better. Foley had a decent game but still left the door open for QC (Quade Cooper) if he performs against Uruguay. Giteau was solid, thought he played well. TK was nowhere to be seen in attack.

That is my biggest concern in regard to our backs. Kuridrani has been extremely quiet and even when he s involved, we haven't seen anything brilliant. IMO he is by far our best 13 but his lack of form is worrying.

Folau was great. Horne had a pretty good game, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) could have done without the first 5 minutes.

 

[qwerty51]

Still worried a little about our starting front row. England will certainly be targeting it.

Um... have you watched England for the past 3 matches?

 

[light]

Um. have you watched England for the past 3 matches?

Yeah I have. Thanks for asking

 

[I like to watch]

What helps the tier 2 sides most though?

Giving them the best chance of causing a very unlikely upset against a top ranked side or giving them the best preparation for the matches they have a more realistic chance of winning?

Aside from only playing matches on weekends so there are no short turnarounds, what is your solution?

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I think DB was correct in identifying the unfairness in the current draw.
It's impossible to find a solution apart from only playing in weekends,which is not practical.
So someone has to be at a disadvantage,that's just the way it is.
Maybe if they scheduled the bottom ranked team in each pool to only play mid week, it might ease some of the issues?

 

[Hawko]

Thankfully Toby Smith can slot in for him against Uruguay....

But I'm a little concerned about Sio's possible workload having had to play the majority of the match last night, come off the bench against Uruguay and then start again against England.....

Think this downplays Smith's abilities. He should play close to 80 against Uruguay and I'm backing him to have such a good game we'll be discussing whether he has put himself into contention for England and beyond.

 

[qwerty51]

Yeah I have. Thanks for asking

Well then you'd know England are better off targeting Uruguay's scrum.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

We were struggling to execute in the 15m channel/on the end of the line and going wide so early definitely wasn't helping that at all. Couple of squandered opportunities and sloppy play that we can't afford against a T1 nation.

If the Wobs don't start finishing the opportunities they create with more accuracy I don't think we're going very far this time 'round. Still early days, thankfully.

Really think we'd look a lot more dangerous with To'omua at 12 over Giteau. With neither inside back really taking the game by the scruff of the neck our entire attacking structure becomes far too passive.

The problem with us going wide is not necessarily that we do It too early or without sufficient go forward its that we have (or used) only one means of implementing it: a double cut behind 12 & 13 to 15.
This both predictable and too easy to read: izzie was being marked by 3 Fijians when he got the ball as a result.
In my view while I rate all of giteau's talents he lacks the one we really need to create some doubt in the midfield: a physical crash ball strategy. Tomua gives that option and gives rise to some room for doubt in defenders - plus he has a passing game which means he can shift it beyond the 13 channel if the option presents.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

I have a feeling we had a plan to play to a formula which is to be adhered to for the whole campaign - take the points on offer, get a lead and defend it. It just wasn't perfectly executed. If get complacent and start to throw the ball around inevitably you make a mistake and give points away. Against Fiji in a stand alone test you would normally go out with a specific game plan, but I have a feeling they were getting used to the script.

Doubt it: the penalty at 72 mins put us 15 in front thus requiring at least 3 scores and enabling us to take risks.
Unfortunately the risks we took involved our lineout rather than our backline.
As the bonus point debate shows we need 'em

 

[Tomikin]

Ahh tomikin, was talking to some of your country men yesterday, they admitted that Fiji might have been hard done by japan too, but they didn't have a keyboard to make a point,
You seem like a nice fella, just another keyboard warrior to me, met you every where.
Have a nice day

Lol key board warrior, give me a call when Wales can beat Australia.. what is it none out of ten.. You talk like we set the draw to screw Fiji, we have 2 turn arounds much worse then Wales or England..

Anyone can win the world cup, based on Japan beating South Africa.. Why should any team get a leg up based on being better then someone else.. If you want to say Fiji got hard done by, take a good long hard look in the mirror, the draws been made to suit the NH teams...

And any how, its an internet forum, how is anyone not a keyboard warrior ?? your just here making trouble, before your gone after the group stages..

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Lol key board warrior, give me a call when Wales can beat Australia.. what is it none out of ten.. You talk like we set the draw to screw Fiji, we have 2 turn arounds much worse then Wales or England..

Anyone can win the world cup, based on Japan beating South Africa.. Why should any team get a leg up based on being better then someone else.. If you want to say Fiji got hard done by, take a good long hard look in the mirror, the draws been made to suit the NH teams.

And any how, its an internet forum, how is anyone not a keyboard warrior ?? your just here making trouble, before your gone after the group stages..

Voice recognition software

 

[Braveheart81]

I think DB was correct in identifying the unfairness in the current draw.
It's impossible to find a solution apart from only playing in weekends,which is not practical.
So someone has to be at a disadvantage,that's just the way it is.
Maybe if they scheduled the bottom ranked team in each pool to only play mid week, it might ease some of the issues?

Part of the unfairness DB keeps pointing though is an intrinsic part of being one of the bottom ranked sides in each pool. The odds of short turnarounds putting you at more of a disadvantage are exaggerated by the fact that you're the underdog in more games than a higher ranked side.

I think there would be far greater outcry from the Tier 2 teams if they were relegated to playing midweek games. I think they would consider that more of a slight than short turnarounds to play high ranked teams.

I think it's an imperfect system but the reality is likely to always be that games are played on most days of the week.

I guess a worthwhile exercise would be to take the current draw for one pool and try and map it out to be as "fair" as possible.

I'm not convinced that the definition of "most fair" is the same for each team and includes such things as playing in marquee games like the opening match, matches at big venues, matches on weekends in prime time, keeping things as even as possible between evenly matched teams or giving lower ranked teams a more favourable turnaround against the best teams.

 

[Tahtrajic]

no work colleagues or mates to threaten your isolation?

Please report back and tell us how it went.

Evening RR I'm back on line and yes I managed to last till I got home to watch the game. But I will say never again. I just kept saying to my self all day think of the cold beer and pizza, braking my self imposed no beer Monday to Thursday.
Now up to 4 beers and watching Japan V Scotland

 

[Dai bando]

Tomkin I can see you're a fool, I wont waste anymore of my time trying to explain to ignorance,
If you are so certain Australia can beat Wales why did they cry and want to play us in twickers, if your that good you could have beaten us anywhere shirely.