RWC: ENG v Fiji (Twickenham) Pool A

[Froggy]

Although, if the England 4 had have done what they did and one Fijian had stayed bound to them, the maul would still be in existance.

Not if the ball carrier had disengaged from the maul

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Wasn't a terrific game if I'm honest, very scrappy at times. If Fiji ever work how to get a bit of structure going they could beat a lot of teams in world rugby. What they did very well though was to harass England at the breakdown. It shocked me how often England turned the ball over (or had it turned over), but upon reflection it's clear that they don't play a genuine openside. They rely on flooding the tackle area and cleaning out the jackal, but that obviously doesn't always work. Cheika is insane if he doesn't play Hooper and Pocock to inflict similar kind of damage. It's one of those situations where the dual opensides makes so much sense. I was expecting England's set piece to be a bit better than it was as well. If we play something approaching our best footy we're a big chance to beat them. That said, any thoughts we might had about taking Fiji lightly should have been well and truly dispelled. They'll be competitive alright.

BTW, I had to stand up and applaud Mike Brown at the end of the game, what a superstar that bloke is.

 

[Quick Hands]

Not if the ball carrier had disengaged from the maul

We're going around in circles, so I'll end it there.

 

[Groucho]

As regards the laws and that rolling maul.
The laws of rugby 17.4 (f) clearly state that when all the players from the defending team leave the maul, such that there are none left, the maul can continue and the offside rules still apply ( there must be at least one defending player for the maul to form, but once it's formed they don't have to stay there).
On the other hand 17.2 (b) states that a player must be caught in or bound to be part of the maul, and 17.2 (c) clearly states that having a hand on another player does not constitute being bound.

I don't think 17.4 f says that at all. You left out the key word 'voluntarily'. That law was introduced to stamp out the tactic that emerged a few years back where the defending team would move away in unison to generate a truck-and-trailer penalty. There was nothing voluntary about yesterday's incident. The maul broke through and became a flying wedge, which is virtually impossible to stop, because it's big men running obstruction.

 

[Bairdy]

snip
Cheika is insane if he doesn't play Hooper and Pocock to inflict similar kind of damage. It's one of those situations where the dual opensides makes so much sense.

Just on this point, I thought I would acknowledge how funny it is to hear NH media pundits and the NH teams refer to the jackal work of Pocock and Hooper. But hey if that is their assumption, all the better for the Wallabies.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Just on this point, I thought I would acknowledge how funny it is to hear NH media pundits and the NH teams refer to the jackal work of Pocock and Hooper. But hey if that is their assumption, all the better for the Wallabies.

I think I know what you're getting at and I agree. There is a bit more to both of their games than just stealing the pill at the breakdown. I doubt any of it has escaped Lancaster though.

 

[Dan54]

That's funny because the Wallabies have a worse draw.

How do you work that out Gwerty, they get Fiji wednesdy(who will be stuffed after weekend game) a stroll in the park for the second team next weekend, then a week until England, then another week break until Wales.

 

[Highlander35]

It's about rest days.

Wednesday - Sunday - Saturday - Saturday is technically the shortest period to do play games. We've got a very similar draw.

 

[cyclopath]

How do you work that out Gwerty, they get Fiji wednesdy(who will be stuffed after weekend game) a stroll in the park for the second team next weekend, then a week until England, then another week break until Wales.

Aus have the shortest average turnaround for all games, I seem to remember seeing somewhere here. I think that's what he meant.

 

[Dan54]

The bottom line is Australia get Fiji, who will be on a 5 day turn around after England, the a stroll in the park, then the 2 tests a week apart, imagine if they were in Fiji's shoes, it would be like playing England Friday and Wales on Wednesday, a bit tougher I think, especially for a tier 2 team!

 

[Tahtrajic]

I just read the whole thread again after watching the game again. I agree with many points made.
So I'll just in throw a conspiracy theory in about the TMO interference it's just another way for the northern hemisphere teams to slow the game down. it has to be somthing like that because no right thinking person could think that crap is good for the game.

 

[qwerty51]

The bottom line is Australia get Fiji, who will be on a 5 day turn around after England, the a stroll in the park, then the 2 tests a week apart, imagine if they were in Fiji's shoes, it would be like playing England Friday and Wales on Wednesday, a bit tougher I think, especially for a tier 2 team!

No doubt it's tough but they get 8 days rest after that. Only really stuffs them for 1 game. Aus get 6 days rest before Eng and Wales whilst their opponents are getting 7 and 9 days rest for those matches. Not really fair. Not to mention Aus get Eng and Wales last meaning they will be playing 5 tier 1 teams in a row if they want to win it all.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

"Fiji flanker Dominiko Waqaniburotu was suspended for one week on Monday (Tuesday NZ Time) after admitting an act of foul play during the opening Rugby World Cup match against England.

"Waqaniburotu, who was not punished by the referee, was cited for dangerous tip tackle on England winger Jonny May and will miss Fiji's Pool A game against Australia in Cardiff on Wednesday (Thursday NZT).

"Judicial officer Chris Smith reviewed television footage of the incident and deemed it to be "low-end", also taking into account Waqaniburotu's admission and remorse before deciding on a one-week ban."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...niko-waqaniburotu-banned-for-dangerous-tackle