Wales V All Blacks and England V Springbocks tonight........
Discussion
Seems to have gone under the radar! England game is on live but Welsh game is highlights only 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/welsh/...
Hoping beyond hopes for an all British final.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/welsh/...
Hoping beyond hopes for an all British final.
Indeed, will be keeping an eye on the scores, just a shame we can't watch the game live. I still can't get over the fact that Wales came back from being 19-9 down with 3 minutes to go of the quarter final to beat France 23-19! There was a bit of a rumpus after the final whistle too:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/745653...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/745653...
Watched the Wales V NZ game and those young Kiwis are HUGE!
If I was Rob Applyard I'd be asking to see their birthcerts
, some of their forwards were 19 years old, 6'4"+ and over 125kg. Very talented bunch too, they always make good ground and I can't see anyone else winning this championship. We did well to hang on to them for 50 minutes but it was one way traffic after that.
Although the scoreline was unbalanced there are positives for the young Welshies:
+ 2 very high quality flyhalfs coming through the ranks to add to the inventory alongside Hook
+ winger Halfpenny looks like a good talent as does the captain
+ Jonathan Davies looks like he could develop into a decent 13 providing he gets his head down and learns
+ They arn't scared of running the ball, all have a natural talent and ability.
Lets just hope their respective regions put the time in to develop these youngsters, in a few years I wouldn't be suprised to see quite a few in the senior ranks.
If I was Rob Applyard I'd be asking to see their birthcerts
, some of their forwards were 19 years old, 6'4"+ and over 125kg. Very talented bunch too, they always make good ground and I can't see anyone else winning this championship. We did well to hang on to them for 50 minutes but it was one way traffic after that.Although the scoreline was unbalanced there are positives for the young Welshies:
+ 2 very high quality flyhalfs coming through the ranks to add to the inventory alongside Hook
+ winger Halfpenny looks like a good talent as does the captain
+ Jonathan Davies looks like he could develop into a decent 13 providing he gets his head down and learns
+ They arn't scared of running the ball, all have a natural talent and ability.
Lets just hope their respective regions put the time in to develop these youngsters, in a few years I wouldn't be suprised to see quite a few in the senior ranks.
Caught the second half of the England game on Freeview 301 (one of the BBC "interactive" channels) - I was thoroughly impressed with the performance in some pretty rough conditions. The lineouts were well taken (and stolen from the boks on many occasion) and Joe Simpson looked on very good form (his runs were sublime - cutting through the boks on numerous occasions) .
Eng gong for a hat trick vs SH opposition, having already beaten Aus + SA, which is nice to see. Its also nice to see an Eng team playing to their potential and with some attacking flair. NZ must be the Favs, but i was very impressed with the Eng team last night.
Friend of mine saw the Kiwi Ben Afeaki and texted me to say how he couldn't believe how huge the bloke is. Walked past him in reception.
The Kiwis are always bigger at this age, problem is they are usually faster and more skillful too
Friend of mine saw the Kiwi Ben Afeaki and texted me to say how he couldn't believe how huge the bloke is. Walked past him in reception.
The Kiwis are always bigger at this age, problem is they are usually faster and more skillful too
I watched both games last night. There was some very big hits coming in from NZ quiet a physical side. They seemed to have one big weakness receiving a high ball. The wind was swirling and it was pretty wet but this didn't cause the Welsh boys the same problems.
What impressed was the composure the NZ players showed with ball in hand.
The English 9 looked very promising he had a great game, England have continuity with this side shows in the way they played together.
What impressed was the composure the NZ players showed with ball in hand.
The English 9 looked very promising he had a great game, England have continuity with this side shows in the way they played together.
dickymint said:
Ah well, Wales stuffed. England well beaten. - looks like the next generation is going to be dominated by the Southern Hemisphere 
Not sure, 3rd place play off games are about as useful as an ash tray on a motorbike, surprised the Saffas got themselves up for this one.The Kiwis are always good at this level, polynisians/maori's tend to be bigger and fitter and a much younger age than our boys but on the flip side they generally age earlier too.
Both Wales and England showed they can play come rugby, they just need to cut out the silly mistakes. Too many slipped tackles, holes in defence, aimless kicking. They will learn.
I just hope they get game time at their regions. We in Wales have been blessed with good junior teams but they never make it to senior level. Gats mentioned a 5th region but I would rather send home the hundreds of journeymen from all the divisions and stick in our youth. We may suffer for a few years but we would be better off in the long run. You never see the SH teams covering their young talents in cotton wool like we do, they blood their players early at a high intesity like NPC and S14 whilst we stick ours on the bench and opt for experienced (but bland) journeymen instead.
disco1 said:
dickymint said:
Ah well, Wales stuffed. England well beaten. - looks like the next generation is going to be dominated by the Southern Hemisphere
Not sure, 3rd place play off games are about as useful as an ash tray on a motorbike, surprised the Saffas got themselves up for this one.The Kiwis are always good at this level, polynisians/maori's tend to be bigger and fitter and a much younger age than our boys but on the flip side they generally age earlier too.
Both Wales and England showed they can play come rugby, they just need to cut out the silly mistakes. Too many slipped tackles, holes in defence, aimless kicking. They will learn.
I just hope they get game time at their regions. We in Wales have been blessed with good junior teams but they never make it to senior level. Gats mentioned a 5th region but I would rather send home the hundreds of journeymen from all the divisions and stick in our youth. We may suffer for a few years but we would be better off in the long run. You never see the SH teams covering their young talents in cotton wool like we do, they blood their players early at a high intesity like NPC and S14 whilst we stick ours on the bench and opt for experienced (but bland) journeymen instead.
Meeting last Friday with the WRU and the Regions............
http://www.wru.co.uk/1391_18389.php
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