Rugby World Cup 2023

[John S]

Some great chat online about racism after the English briefed their media that Bongi had called Tom Curry a "white c**t".

Lots of South Africans giving helpful translations of Afrikaans, where "kant" means "side".

Yeah - just look at the socials where pretty much every Sth African possible has jumped on saying the the C word just isn't used in Sth Africa as a swear word - even by those who speak English.

Without clear evidence one way or the other, it's going to a he said/she said thing where no one wins. World Rugby is damned if they do and damned if they don't investigate.

To their credit, SA Rugby have said they're looking into it.

 

[Dctarget]

Yeah - just look at the socials where pretty much every Sth African possible has jumped on saying the the C word just isn't used in Sth Africa as a swear word - even by those who speak English.

Without clear evidence one way or the other, it's going to a he said/she said thing where no one wins. World Rugby is damned if they do and damned if they don't investigate.

To their credit, SA Rugby have said they're looking into it.

I just feel like the Saffa fans have a little too much invested in protecting their only hooker in the entire squad from being yeeted for them to be 100% honest.

If it were the Wallabies' chances at a RWC on the line, I'd tell you that Aussies hate swearing, are polite road users and avoid shortening words where possible.

 

[Mr Pilfer]

The problem with England's style of play is that if you don't score tries you rarely build up a big enough lead to be "safe" and then what happened on the weekend can happen.

I agree though, must give credit to the Sth African coaching team. I thought the switching of Libbok and Pollard made sense but was surprised when they took Etzebeth off. The difference with Sth Africa is they have the ability to play different games styles depending on the opposition whereas England are more one dimensional. Hopefully the final is a bit more free flowing as NZ won't want to get into a kick fest

 

[drewprint]

Might be better for NZ if Bongi isn’t suspended - thought he had a stinker against England.

 

[Tex]

I just feel like the Saffa fans have a little too much invested in protecting their only hooker in the entire squad from being yeeted for them to be 100% honest.

If it were the Wallabies' chances at a RWC on the line, I'd tell you that Aussies hate swearing, are polite road users and avoid shortening words where possible.

Love the image of one crazed Bokke fan manipulating 46 different twitter accounts to provide linguistic cover for England's little culture war.

If it wasn't audible on the telecast, how did the journo's get the detail so quickly after the game? Either the issue is serious enough to warrant a formal complaint to World Rugby or it's not. Until Curry/England file the complaint, all they're doing is bullshit scuttlebutt after a tough defeat.

 

[KevinO]

Having the ref mic on the whole time means it has to be investigated by world rugby, every rugby fan knows what's been said. If WR (World Rugby) is serious about racism in sport they need to say something, the fact it uses every women's least fav word needs to be looked at. You take the risk of turning away women fans who see rugby as still a men in suits business if not investigated.

 

[Dctarget]

Love the image of one crazed Bokke fan manipulating 46 different twitter accounts to provide linguistic cover for England's little culture war.

If it wasn't audible on the telecast, how did the journo's get the detail so quickly after the game? Either the issue is serious enough to warrant a formal complaint to World Rugby or it's not. Until Curry/England file the complaint, all they're doing is bullshit scuttlebutt after a tough defeat.

Yet to meet an online Bokke fan that isn't crazy.

But yeah, I agree with you. It's a weird insult to use and even if true who cares, play on.

 

[Derpus]

Having the ref mic on the whole time means it has to be investigated by world rugby, every rugby fan knows what's been said. If WR (World Rugby) (World Rugby) is serious about racism in sport they need to say something, the fact it uses every women's least fav word needs to be looked at. You take the risk of turning away women fans who see rugby as still a men in suits business if not investigated.

Surely cracking out the C word would barely raise an eyebrow if not combined with something else.

 

[PhilClinton]

Having the ref mic on the whole time means it has to be investigated by world rugby, every rugby fan knows what's been said. If WR (World Rugby) (World Rugby) is serious about racism in sport they need to say something, the fact it uses every women's least fav word needs to be looked at. You take the risk of turning away women fans who see rugby as still a men in suits business if not investigated.

Racism obviously a big no.

But if you think someone saying see you in the NT during a game of rugby is going to turn away female rugby fans, you obviously don’t get down to clubland much.

Any time someone makes a half break their team-mates are yelling in support “go karnt”.

 

[LeCheese]

If it wasn't audible on the telecast, how did the journo's get the detail so quickly after the game?

I think the follow-up from Curry, asking "if their hooker calls me a white c**t, what do I do?", was what was heard on broadcast - not the actual remark itself. Unless the incident happened in the vicinity of BOK and his mic, we'll probably never know.

 

[ForceFan]

Much the same as life every day in Australia where it seems normal to be called a “White Cxxx - always was, always will be our land” but calling someone a “Black Cxxx” - even when usually justified- is considered ‘racist’ by the social elite/virtue signallers. Nothing to see here - move on.

 

[eastman]

Is that the first time you’ve watched those teams play? You know it’s not their standard MO?

It’s definitely their default MO in the most high pressure games though; look at any World Cup and the Lions series.

And it’s a real shame. These are the games, the world is watching and a real opportunity to grow the sport.

 

[eastman]

Much the same as life every day in Australia where it seems normal to be called a “White Cxxx - always was, always will be our land” but calling someone a “Black Cxxx” - even when usually justified- is considered ‘racist’ by the social elite/virtue signallers. Nothing to see here - move on.

Who are the elite?

 

[Derpus]

Much the same as life every day in Australia where it seems normal to be called a “White Cxxx - always was, always will be our land” but calling someone a “Black Cxxx” - even when usually justified- is considered ‘racist’ by the social elite/virtue signallers. Nothing to see here - move on.

Hardly the place to tackle social injustice but this one seems obvious. Both are wrong, no?

I believe strongly in a person's right to call another a fluffybunny when so warranted. Its a good, wholesome word. It doesn't need any racial prefix.

As an aside, are there any other swears auto-filtered on this forum? Could be a fun game.

 

[Sully]

Who are the elite?

Sparkies from the Mt Isa apparently. Just leave colour and race out of it and call them a Cxxx. It's not hard.

 

[Braveheart81]

To be honest, I loved it. Thought it was brutal. The way England put the Boks off their game for the first hour or so, particularly where England have been this last year or so, was amazing. They were huge in defence. I haven’t seen that Bok pack smashed like that for years. Itoje, Lawes and Martin were huge. While Mitchell and Steward will perfect in executing their respective skills.

They played perfectly to the conditions which were pretty horrendous and the skills executed by Steward etc. to deal with the high balls far better than South Africa were excellent.

I don't know I've seen a game where more attempted passes slipped out of the player's hands while trying to pass. It clearly wasn't easy out there.

I do wonder how the game would have gone if the conditions had been better. Could England have mixed it with South Africa if the weather hadn't played into their hands and blunted some of South Africa's strengths?

 

[Tex]

Who are the elite?

From a Perth perspective it's anyone associated with the NSW and QLD rugby unions.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Opinions on best Refs of the tournament?

Nic Berry went up in my view. Wasn’t a huge fan through Super Rugby but he’s a good communicator with the players like Barnes and BOK even though his games can become chaos.

I know Gardner is an old hand now but he seems to have the highway patrol vibe with players and talk at them.

 

[Doritos Day]

Opinions on best Refs of the tournament?

Nic Berry went up in my view. Wasn’t a huge fan through Super Rugby but he’s a good communicator with the players like Barnes and BOK even though his games can become chaos.

I know Gardner is an old hand now but he seems to have the highway patrol vibe with players and talk at them.

Not best/worst just general comments:

Nika - raw and has potential but runs matches like he's thinking about his review matrix at all times, makes for some tough/long watches; Aus v Portugal was a shocker

Carley - stocks went down from Fiji v Wales which sucks because he's one of the better refs imo, doesn't have main person syndrome like some others and usually a decent decision maker

Dickson - possibly my least favourite in the world but to his credit did a really good job in Wales v Argentina, 'letting it go' just the right amount. Would be a good ref if he was always like this. Needs to cool the attitude a bit.

Gardner - solid tournament overall, was absolutely stitched up by support crew in Italy v Uruguay with the constant stoppages they called in. Probably favourite to do 2027 final

O'Keeffe - don't understand the love World Rugby and SANZAAR have for him, consistently gets these big games and can't handle the crunch moments (think Reimer over ball Bru/Blu SF). Saffas owe him a lot, could've easily let the scrums go like Barnes did today and most would rather that outcome

Pearce - good and fair ref but starting to get aforementioned MPS a bit, not sure why he was snubbed for knockouts, can't remember which games he had in group stage

 

[noscrumnolife]

Thought the standard of refereeing was poor all tournament. I appreciate its a very hard job and the guidelines don't help at the moment but equally I can't ever recall so many questionable moments across different games at a World Cup.

The only referee who has impressed me at any level recently was the Japanese guy at the Junior World Cup. Don't remember his name but he really stood out.

Their also seemed to be the baffling approach to clamp down on head contacts in Week 1 (recall the absurd Curry red), then a decision to stop doing that all the way up until the final when Foley got his suit and tie on and felt like getting his face on the television.