Commonwealth Rugby 7's

[Darwin]

Agree with everything except i cant see Souness being left on the bench. I could see Messam moving to Hooker and Souness taking a propping spot over Raikabula, that would really drive home a power and fetching advantage that Teitjens has been so fond of in the last few years.

I also don't see this New Zealand side as being as stacked with talent as people are making out, especially when compared to previous teams. I'm not fussed with the selections at all. The thing that im particularly disappointed about is the lack of young up and coming players. This would have been a great opportunity to unleash Beauden Barrett, Julian Savea, Lima Sopoaga or Gillies Kaka

Tietjens really rates Raikabula (he describes him as a 'world class hooker'), so (rightly or wrongly) I can't see them leaving him on the bench. Though I agree with you that having Forbes, Messem, and Souness would be a stronger starting pack, there would be no 'fetchers' left on the bench - I feel you really need to have someone coming off the bench that can really compete at the tackle/ruck (especially with a question mark over Forbes fitness). I personally feel the balance of the squad is slightly wrong, and they should have included 1-2 more 'fetching' loose-forwards (the likes of Latimer, Ed Cocker, Soakai, Auva'a etc) at the expense of Mikkelson/Guildford, which would have allowed them to start Forbes, Messem, and Souness in the forwards.

 

[dan the man]

Never thought i'd see an Indian rugby team... But i just did, and although they got thrashed by Wales (no surprises there) there were a few nice touches from the side. Their fans were rowdy, something I like to see.

 

[Eli Jones]

Yes it is interesting, I'd never think I would see an Indian rugby team either but I'm glad rugby is getting bigger, or more interested in other Countries where hardly anyone has even heard of rugby, like Turkey. I would love to see a Turkish rugby teams! I also do believe that NZ will get the gold, this would finally be a good addition to our medal list! Aussie are THRASHING!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Canada/Scotland was very evenly matched,
19 - 17 with Canada just missing the conversion to draw

 

[Darwin]

No upsets so far, with all of the big teams looking pretty comfortable. From a NZ perspective I've been really impressed with Zac Guildford - I was a bit unsure about his selection, as I didn't think he had the vision to play sevens, however he's played really well so far.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Wales have started well big game against South Africa at 12:40pm GMT ...

England making light work of Uganda 19-0 with 2 and a bit mins left in the first half.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

That was quite some fend for the last try there

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I swear the ref just gave a penalty to SA for Wales not releasing the ball, but the Welsh player released the ball, and the SA player was holding the ball against the Welsh players chest =/

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Scotland holding their own against NZ so far,
But for two silly offloads it's be equal (one offload into touch right by the NZ try line, and one offload into Hosea Gears hands...which is never going to end well :lol: )


Ah, the wheels have come off a bit now: 24 - 0 at half time

 

[TRF_Cymro]

NZ will dominate this tournament!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

England have surprised me so far,
Looking forward to seeing how well they do against the Wallabies,
I think the winner of that match will be the ones to take on NZ in the final



Edit:
England won it 21 - 19
Two yellow cards during the match, so i'm very happy with that. Thought it'd be a draw after the try deep into overtime for Australia, but they missed the conversion

Also, Gollings is a bloody kicking machine, he nailed a touchline conversion like it wa nothing, right through the middle of the posts

 

[dan the man]

Yes it is interesting, I'd never think I would see an Indian rugby team either but I'm glad rugby is getting bigger, or more interested in other Countries where hardly anyone has even heard of rugby, like Turkey. I would love to see a Turkish rugby teams! I also do believe that NZ will get the gold, this would finally be a good addition to our medal list! Aussie are THRASHING!

Yeah, that would be awesome!!! now that sevens is an olympic sport i think we'll see alot of other countries having a go. there will probably be alot more funding going into it also

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Yeah, that would be awesome!!! now that sevens is an olympic sport i think we'll see alot of other countries having a go. there will probably be alot more funding going into it also

Thing is ... the IOC has sad that they are only considering a 12 team format ... personally I feel its to small and should include a similar number to that found that on the circuit or that in Hon Kong, IRB want 16 teams as a minimum.

http://www.irb.com/irbsevens/news/newsid=2034111.html#al+caravelli+cant+stop+smiling

 

[Darwin]

Only one real upset during the day, with Kenya beating Samoa 12-10.

The England v Australia game was a great game. Ironically, in losing the game Australia now actually has a much easier draw than England - England have a quarter final against World series champions Samoa (while Australia play Kenya), and if England win they get a semi-final most likely against New Zealand (while Australia's likely semi-final opponents would be South Africa).... I thinking Australia may be relieved that they lost the game

So the quarter finals will be as follows:
New Zealand v Wales
England v Samoa
Kenya v Australia
South Africa v Scotland

I'm expecting New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa to win through to the semis, while the England v Samoa game will be a cracker - I have no idea which way that that match will go.

From a NZ perspective, it was interesting to see Mikkelson start in the first game ahead of Messem - it was likely down to the hot draining conditions, with Mikkelson apparently the fittest player in the squad. Mikkelson did pick up an injury in the second game, so whether he will start today is unknown at this stage. If he is not fit Messem will likely start, with Souness becoming the key forward reserve off the bench. It was also interesting to see that they started Kurt Baker ahead of Stowers - it seems Stowers and Guildford are set to be key subs, coming on to exploit tired players later in the match.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

I know it will be hard for some NZ people but underestimate Wales at your peril ... tomorrow is a different day and NZ could choke against us.

 

[Darwin]

I know it will be hard for some NZ people but underestimate Wales at your peril ... tomorrow is a different day and NZ could choke against us.

If there were 15 players per team I would think choking would be a distinct possibility - luckily (for New Zealand) we don't tend to choke in 7's. I'm certainly not saying Wales couldn't beat New Zealand (as anything can happen in sevens), but New Zealand would have to be huge favourites going into this game... I suppose we will find out in a few hours....

 

[TRF_Cymro]

I there were 15 players per team I would think choking would be a distinct possibility - luckily (for New Zealand) we don't tend to choke in 7's. I'm certainly not saying Wales couldn't beat New Zealand (as anything can happen in sevens), but New Zealand would have to be huge favourites going into this game.

No doubt huge favorites ... Wales did themselves no favors in such a poor display against South Africa.

 

[dullonien]

What time is this resuming tomorrow morning. Did I hear them say on tv after the Aus v England game that the 1/4 finals were starting at something like 6am GMT? Can't be bothered to get up for that, but if it's 8am I may try to drag myself out of bed.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Tomorrows schedule is here:
http://results.cwgdelhi2010.org/en/...e?sportCode=RU&day=12-10-2010&expandAll=False
Google informs me that Delhi is 4hr30 ahead of us, so Wales/NZ is around 6ish =/
Medals matches at about midday which is alright though

 

[TRF_Cymro]

6am ahahaha jog on!