20 thoughts on “I’m just going outside, and I may be some time.”
Dreadful wasn’t it? France were not very good and we STILL could not beat them! Even worse, it looks like Wales will be going through from the Northern part of the draw. 😦
I suspect Jonno will be updating his CV about now!
Don’t drop the knife!
FEEG, with England out, I am now supporting Wales. Come on boyos, look you!
They aint worth it Bravo. I was sorry to see Ireland go out but will happily now support the Welsh.
Bravo, looking back Delamere never did beat PoW at rugby as I recall.
Commiserations…
Now you know how John Mackie3 and I felt last Saturday, though most commentators thought England did not deserve to win then.
Sheona, it’s simple. The team that scores most points deserves to win.
Can’t remember, Zen – I do remember losing at cricket once, only because I was one of two new boys on the field that day. The other one was A guy I had played with at Stratton Grammar:-)
Dreadful it was, Feeg. MJ was a great battle leader, but has never really made the step up to the strategic grade.
The Bokke 17-16 win over Wales in the pool does not look quite as safe as it did yesterday.
Now you know how John Mackie3 and I felt last Saturday, though most commentators thought England did not deserve to win then.
Yes they did deserve to win. On the few occasions they woke up and played properly, they were much the better team. The same was true today, but France were awake for at least half the game!
I hate to say it…but I told you all England were rubbish. They got what they deserved, beaten by a slightly less rubbish French team. No let us hope they go learn how to play properly and stop behaving like primadonnas. Jeepers, if Scotland and the Argies ran them close, no wonder it didn’t take much for the Frenchies to limp over the line.
Well done Wales, credit where credit due. They played rugby, shock horror, it worked. Fancy trying to score tries!!
Having said that, the ABs won’t choke, even without Danny Carter.
Aus v SA should be a cracker on Sunday.
Come on Bravo, be a big brave lad…it’s only a game!….I know I could get annihilated for saying that.
The Royal family will get their man back before he get’s into anymore trouble.
Rosie: I secretly agree with you, but would have been to afraid to say what you did out loud.
I hate to say it…but I told you all England were rubbish. They got what they deserved, beaten by a slightly less rubbish French team. No let us hope they go learn how to play properly and stop behaving like primadonnas. Jeepers, if Scotland and the Argies ran them close, no wonder it didn’t take much for the Frenchies to limp over the line.
Well done Wales, credit where credit due. They played rugby, shock horror, it worked. Fancy trying to score tries!!
Having said that, the ABs won’t choke, even without Danny Carter.
Aus v SA should be a cracker on Sunday.
Only one thing wrong in that comment, Cuprum: your remark, “I hate to say it”. Come on, admit it, you love saying it. But you are right in that a) you predicted that they would fail and b) that they played abysmally. However, I am still not sure who the the primadonnas are in the English team. Nobody that I am aware of made any grand statements about how wonderful they were. By all means criticise them for the way they played but I really do not see that they did anything that was so outrageous that deserved so much contempt from so many corners.
The English press, the Telegraph in particular, have been doing everything in their means to undermine the morale of the English rugby team. It is as if they were trying not just to get England to lose, but to kill rugby as a sport in England. They made mountains out of molehills with respect to the relatively innocuous behaviour of the team off the field and gloated over the various citings for foul or dangerous play, none of which were particularly offensive. It was as if they were saying and wanted everybody to believe that England’s rugby players are every bit as arrogant, self-cenrted and badly behaved as England’s footballers. I simply do not believe that to be the case.
As I continue to read in the press, by journalists and readers alike, the vitriolic personal remarks made about the English team I am left with a dirty taste in my mouth. That sort of talk is not worthy of rugby fans.
As you know, my knowledge of rugby is close to the square root of f.a., but cheating by swapping balls is not exactly the sort of behaviour one might expect, and the off-field behaviour of some of the team has been as bad as that generally associated with soccer players in the UK, or NRL/AFL thugs in Oz.
I await with sadness our inevitable defeat by the Boks later today. 😦
I was watching the game in the Shakespeare bar here in Almaty with a bunch of French guys, an Irishman and an Australian. It was an embarrassment. The scrum was creaking, the line-out was, erm, excrement, but worst of all was the general ineptitude in the basics – the final pass dropped, the tackle missed, the failure to look up and see a support runner… as Feeg says, just dreadful.
I honestly expected to be watching Ireland v England this Sat. how wrong could I be!
I have no doubt that the better teams won yesterday, I thought that with O’Gara at pivot the Irish would play for territory and kick Wales into submission.
As for the English, not their finest hour, contrary to other opinions here I thought that the French were good, they were a pleasure to watch, that captain of theirs No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy had a blinder and deserved his MOM, in fact all the forwards played well and what about that center Rougerie, great player.
I was so impressed with Rougerie’s performance that I suggested 2 MOM awards, one for the forwards another for the backs, why not?
‘Not their finest hour,’ you can say that again – in spades. I expected to be watching an Ireland-England semi-final too, but, after yesterday’s awful, inept display I’m (almost,) glad I won’t be.
Sipu #14 – fair enough, you have sussed me! I defy anyone not to like being right!
As for your dislike of the British press attitude to the rugby team, in addition to Bearsy’s quite correct and pertinent comments, I could go on all day about how they have let themselves down. It is exactly the fact that they are starting to behave like footballers that causes those of us who are true fans of the game that are falling out of love with them. Admittedly, I have a bigger agenda, namely the irritating attitude of the northern hemisphere towards safety first rugby that caused my original blog, but the England team personify all that is wrong with professionalism in rugby up here. (I currently offer Wales a temporary exemption!)
Let us start with Martin Johnson. Great player and captain (trade learnt in NZ), no arguments here. Then, merely because of that reputation he gets the England head coach/manager post with no prior experience, knowledge or success. Find me any line of work or sport where that would work. Doomed to failure. But, as far as MJ is concerned, he is the best, the one and only. Horrifically arrogant and obnoxious. Look at the way he talked down to all the press at all the press conferences. When he has been a manager/coach for 15 years like Henry or Gaitland I’ll listen to what he has to say. Not that he’ll be in the job much longer as his ego won’t allow for failure….not his of course in his mind, but those around him.
England need to accept that they are just an ordinary team with ordinary skills and an expectation that they ought to win by just turning up. Just like the soccer team has done since effing 1966.
Soutie, you make a fair point about some of the French players, they were trying to play and those three deserve a mention, but, they’re talent as a team is woefully short of others in the tournament and the Welsh should feel quietly confident!
Boadicea's Chariot 
Dreadful wasn’t it? France were not very good and we STILL could not beat them! Even worse, it looks like Wales will be going through from the Northern part of the draw. 😦
I suspect Jonno will be updating his CV about now!
Don’t drop the knife!
FEEG, with England out, I am now supporting Wales. Come on boyos, look you!
They aint worth it Bravo. I was sorry to see Ireland go out but will happily now support the Welsh.
Bravo, looking back Delamere never did beat PoW at rugby as I recall.
Commiserations…
Now you know how John Mackie3 and I felt last Saturday, though most commentators thought England did not deserve to win then.
Sheona, it’s simple. The team that scores most points deserves to win.
Can’t remember, Zen – I do remember losing at cricket once, only because I was one of two new boys on the field that day. The other one was A guy I had played with at Stratton Grammar:-)
Dreadful it was, Feeg. MJ was a great battle leader, but has never really made the step up to the strategic grade.
The Bokke 17-16 win over Wales in the pool does not look quite as safe as it did yesterday.
Sob!
OZ
Yes they did deserve to win. On the few occasions they woke up and played properly, they were much the better team. The same was true today, but France were awake for at least half the game!
I hate to say it…but I told you all England were rubbish. They got what they deserved, beaten by a slightly less rubbish French team. No let us hope they go learn how to play properly and stop behaving like primadonnas. Jeepers, if Scotland and the Argies ran them close, no wonder it didn’t take much for the Frenchies to limp over the line.
Well done Wales, credit where credit due. They played rugby, shock horror, it worked. Fancy trying to score tries!!
Having said that, the ABs won’t choke, even without Danny Carter.
Aus v SA should be a cracker on Sunday.
Come on Bravo, be a big brave lad…it’s only a game!….I know I could get annihilated for saying that.
The Royal family will get their man back before he get’s into anymore trouble.
Rosie: I secretly agree with you, but would have been to afraid to say what you did out loud.
Only one thing wrong in that comment, Cuprum: your remark, “I hate to say it”. Come on, admit it, you love saying it. But you are right in that a) you predicted that they would fail and b) that they played abysmally. However, I am still not sure who the the primadonnas are in the English team. Nobody that I am aware of made any grand statements about how wonderful they were. By all means criticise them for the way they played but I really do not see that they did anything that was so outrageous that deserved so much contempt from so many corners.
The English press, the Telegraph in particular, have been doing everything in their means to undermine the morale of the English rugby team. It is as if they were trying not just to get England to lose, but to kill rugby as a sport in England. They made mountains out of molehills with respect to the relatively innocuous behaviour of the team off the field and gloated over the various citings for foul or dangerous play, none of which were particularly offensive. It was as if they were saying and wanted everybody to believe that England’s rugby players are every bit as arrogant, self-cenrted and badly behaved as England’s footballers. I simply do not believe that to be the case.
As I continue to read in the press, by journalists and readers alike, the vitriolic personal remarks made about the English team I am left with a dirty taste in my mouth. That sort of talk is not worthy of rugby fans.
As you know, my knowledge of rugby is close to the square root of f.a., but cheating by swapping balls is not exactly the sort of behaviour one might expect, and the off-field behaviour of some of the team has been as bad as that generally associated with soccer players in the UK, or NRL/AFL thugs in Oz.
I await with sadness our inevitable defeat by the Boks later today. 😦
I was watching the game in the Shakespeare bar here in Almaty with a bunch of French guys, an Irishman and an Australian. It was an embarrassment. The scrum was creaking, the line-out was, erm, excrement, but worst of all was the general ineptitude in the basics – the final pass dropped, the tackle missed, the failure to look up and see a support runner… as Feeg says, just dreadful.
I honestly expected to be watching Ireland v England this Sat. how wrong could I be!
I have no doubt that the better teams won yesterday, I thought that with O’Gara at pivot the Irish would play for territory and kick Wales into submission.
As for the English, not their finest hour, contrary to other opinions here I thought that the French were good, they were a pleasure to watch, that captain of theirs No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy had a blinder and deserved his MOM, in fact all the forwards played well and what about that center Rougerie, great player.
I was so impressed with Rougerie’s performance that I suggested 2 MOM awards, one for the forwards another for the backs, why not?
‘Not their finest hour,’ you can say that again – in spades. I expected to be watching an Ireland-England semi-final too, but, after yesterday’s awful, inept display I’m (almost,) glad I won’t be.
Sipu #14 – fair enough, you have sussed me! I defy anyone not to like being right!
As for your dislike of the British press attitude to the rugby team, in addition to Bearsy’s quite correct and pertinent comments, I could go on all day about how they have let themselves down. It is exactly the fact that they are starting to behave like footballers that causes those of us who are true fans of the game that are falling out of love with them. Admittedly, I have a bigger agenda, namely the irritating attitude of the northern hemisphere towards safety first rugby that caused my original blog, but the England team personify all that is wrong with professionalism in rugby up here. (I currently offer Wales a temporary exemption!)
Let us start with Martin Johnson. Great player and captain (trade learnt in NZ), no arguments here. Then, merely because of that reputation he gets the England head coach/manager post with no prior experience, knowledge or success. Find me any line of work or sport where that would work. Doomed to failure. But, as far as MJ is concerned, he is the best, the one and only. Horrifically arrogant and obnoxious. Look at the way he talked down to all the press at all the press conferences. When he has been a manager/coach for 15 years like Henry or Gaitland I’ll listen to what he has to say. Not that he’ll be in the job much longer as his ego won’t allow for failure….not his of course in his mind, but those around him.
England need to accept that they are just an ordinary team with ordinary skills and an expectation that they ought to win by just turning up. Just like the soccer team has done since effing 1966.
Soutie, you make a fair point about some of the French players, they were trying to play and those three deserve a mention, but, they’re talent as a team is woefully short of others in the tournament and the Welsh should feel quietly confident!