[2015 RWC] Pool A: England vs. Fiji (18/09/2015)

[barthelemy]

Over throwing the line out ball to no one isn't horrendous? It was a poor and thoughtless move, let alone when you're down to 14 men.

I don't think it was a sin bin though, as a penalty try was given. That should have been punishment enough

Sorry, my bad, lost in translation, I was thinking of the yellow card, not the line out.

And the try that has followed was the penalty try, certainly not the awful fiji line out

The line out was definitely horrendous play..still, I would love to have had a lot of replays of the last pass on that try after the line out, It looks forward but obviously medias in the stadium did not show a lot of replays of that one.

 

[Kiwi_]

I'm usually a fan of Jaco Peyper, but in this game he was very pedantic. I guess it's an indication of how this tournament is going to be run and he was under some sort of instructions to officiate that way.

What's with going up to the TMO for every on field call? Good God.. Rugby is already slow enough, although I'm guess you're used to that pace in the NH.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Job done, bring in Nowell and improve for Wales. Fiji gifting points to England and the lack of a place kicker was the difference between the sides. Fiji won't pull an upset out of the bag this tournament unless vast improvement is made in the 10/12/13 axis.

 

[ratsapprentice]

What's with going up to the TMO for every on field call? Good God.. Rugby is already slow enough, although I'm guess you're used to that pace in the NH.

Nope - and it was a SA ref/TMO.

 

[nickdnz]

Job done, bring in Nowell and improve for Wales. Fiji gifting points to England and the lack of a place kicker was the difference between the sides. Fiji won't pull an upset out of the bag this tournament unless vast improvement is made in the 10/12/13 axis.

Why "bring in Nowell"?

The wingers both had good games - and in my opinion offer a lot more threat than Nowell (who to be fair doesn't really rate all that highly for me).

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yeah, i can't see a reason to bring in Nowell.
I am a HUGE Nowell fan but the three back three players were our best three on the pitch, and Burgess had a great impact.
Unless you want Burgess starting and Nowell at 23?
Which, tbh, I'd strongly consider. (I do prefer Slade but we need a big carrier other than our no.8 and Burgess offers that - I'd consider him at 6 if he had experience as a lineout jumper)

 

[Maverick1987]

The ball didn't touch the line and it was obvious from behind the line it never got there.
However, it's a moot point, it's been given and the warning is now out there for all the other camps to be aware of...
There is no way a foreign team would have got that decision.

I think he got there tbh . So did the TMO by the looks ....

 

[j'nuh]

Real credit to Fiji today. They lost by a fairly big margin, but what's fairly clear is that Fiji don't lack skill, but perhaps finance, for putting together a really competitive team. They need the financial backing to be able to take on the types of training programs that tier one nations are able to do, so they are able to keep up with the intensity/fitness requirements of international rugby.

That being said, am I the only one with the sneaking suspicion that England are somehow getting worse under Lancaster at this point? I know people aren't happy with Barritt, but I almost feel that that's just scratching the surface. What on earth has happened to our set piece? Breakdown is still a massive problem, at least 6 years running. Losing there to Fiji doesn't fill me with confidence, especially now that we have to face Warburton/Tipuric and Hooper/Pocock. Our kicking game is often aimless. Did we run any attacking patterns? Really pessimistic.

 

[Kiwi_]

Nope - and it was a SA ref/TMO.

Yeah I know, but obviously they have had a briefing before the RWC on how to officiate, what to police and how to run the game etc.

 

[ABs2015]

Yeah I know, but obviously they have had a briefing before the RWC on how to officiate, what to police and how to run the game etc.

Yeah I know what you mean. The much slower pace of the game that these additional TMO involvements caused certainly does not suit teams who feel they (1) have a fitness advantage and/or (2) prefer a free flowing game. That being said, from a kiwi perspective I'm kinda glad they are gonna use the TMO more and make sure the calls are made correctly. I'd happily sacrifice pace of the game to ensure the correct calls are made. Hopefully teams will take note as well and realise foul play will not go unpenalised even if its missed the first time.

 

[Rich Taff]

I'm usually a fan of Jaco Peyper, but in this game he was very pedantic. I guess it's an indication of how this tournament is going to be run and he was under some sort of instructions to officiate that way.

What's with going up to the TMO for every on field call? Good God.. Rugby is already slow enough, although I'm guess you're used to that pace in the NH.

Have you ever made a positive comment anywhere, at any time, about anything, no matter how biased, one eyed, uneducated or just completely wrong in reality?

 

[Kiwi_]

Have you ever made a positive comment anywhere, at any time, about anything, no matter how biased, one eyed, uneducated or just completely wrong in reality?

I cracked a faint smile once, when the final whistle went in the 2011 final.

 

[kesh]

-T.Youngs looked good in the loose. Still feel daft arse Hartley needs brought back in. According to his Sun column statistically his the best hooker... in the world.

- Oh god, BB. His run forward bend-head-down-fall over A game, alongside .. basically his attack is the square root of **** all. As we know. Still leaning on him starting v Wales for some reason. He had a bad game, it happens. SB still as a impact player unless BB has another mare against Wales, think those calling for Slade as if his some sort of holy grail saviour are partly deluding themselves. His not England's Conrad Smith at 12 as his a featherweight still. In a few years if he manages to bulk a bit but in this game the Fiji lumps would of ran him over. Yes they would of.

- Drop Lawes not Parling for Jo.

- Keep Morgan in unless he repeats that performance of not hitting the game line at all i.e., his job.

- Wrap Mike Brown in cotton wool and hire a high class escort to vacuum his nether regions.

 

[Kiwi_]

Refs these days

 

[RedruthRFC]

Fiji 24 - England 22
All the best to both teams. This will be an entertaining game to watch. Great way to start the RWC.
GO FIJI GO

Just to clarify things in my mind, could I have your picks for the rest of the tournament please.

 

[Jaguares]

RTL7 rugby drinking game.


Drink everytime:

- A basic rule is explained
- They compare rugby positions to football positions
- They mention Tim Visser, Jonny Wilkinson or Jonah Lomu
- They talk about Nelson Mandela and the 1995 World Cup

HahahahHah Where are all the rules?

 

[aucklander]

Just to clarify things in my mind, could I have your picks for the rest of the tournament please.

Of course you can make it interesting going for the underdogs.
Congratulations to England for the win.
Fiji had their moments but couldn't capitalize on their opportunities. Positive out of their game was their set pieces. Brown and the reserves played really well for England. Looking forward to seeing the wallabies and Fiji game. This will give you a clear indication on who will top this pool.

 

[sigesige00]

Fiji's 2nd jersey is black. In the case of colour clash, both should wear 2nd jersey.

 

[nightmarehitter]

Going on that game England will not be winning this world cup. All Blacks would of been ruthless in punishing Fiji for their turnovers and lose structures. Disappointed that England looked as poor as that.

 

[optimuswolf]

Some tosh on this thread.

England 5/10 faltering scrum again means both Marler and youngs should be under pressure despite the latters strong performance in the loose.

Breakdown also worrying, but apart from benchinh Morgan and starting launch not sure what we can do

Backs went okay.

Fiji 6/10 - breakdown went well although the ref was v lenient on not releasing and going off feet. Set piece pretty damn impressive. Flashes of brilliance in the backs but they were overshadowed by Brown and co. And they need a kicker.

The officials got all the major decisions right, but still had a poor game. The TMO should have picked up the dropped ball quicker and should not have bee m involved in two minor penalty calls (actually 3 as the 'tip tackle' should have been picked up in real time or ignored as not dangerous).
Not a good advert for the sport unless we want to compete with the NFL..