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RWC 2015 Qualifiying

There is no doubting our scrum was awful last year and wasn't much better in the years leading up to that. But there are a couple things to remember:

Pittman and Fry are both young for props. For whatever reason, most props don't really develop until their late 20s. And for Fry, his improvements will be faster than normal since he has only been playing the position for a couple years now and didn't have a dedicated scrum coach until his time in NZ.

EOS really neglected the scrum and it shows. The scrum coach Tolkin brought in is supposed to be pretty good so hoping to see further improvement.
 
First matches of CAR Africa Cup Division 1C in Botswana were played today. The results:
Mauritius - Nigeria 26 - 22
Botswana - Zambia 23 - 15

As only the winner of the tournament advances to Division 1B and thus will keep a chance to qualify for RWC2015, the two teams beaten today face a difficult task if the are to stay in the hunt for qualification.
 
Must add that through 10 Africa Cup matches (including Division 1A, which is not part of qualifying this year and not Division 2 because it was played as a 7s tournament), that ONLY 1 game has been decided by greater than 9 points. And, 6 games have been decided by 4 points or less!!! The average margin per game so far has been 5.4 points!

Africa Cup this year is producing extremely competitive results which is awesome for the game!
 
It does seem like there is quite a bit of parity in African rugby right now. In particular, it seems like any of the top 8 could beat each other on a given day. Good for the game for sure but hopefully the parity drives each of the countries to improve since the African qualifier has been the least competitive of any in the RWC.
 
I don't know. Japan has won every match in World Cup qualifying against Asian teams by a huge margin, at that doesn't look like it's going to change.
 
BZHopenside said:
I don't know. Japan has won every match in World Cup qualifying against Asian teams by a huge margin, at that doesn't look like it's going to change.
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I think he means the African team that qualifies has been the weakest in the final tournament, which would make sense. Perennial African qualifier Namibia have been beaten by pretty large margins never threatening to win a match while Asian qualifier Japan has a few wins/draws to their record.

The African qualifying itself has shaped up to be the most competitive all the way around but the best Asian qualifier is better than the best African qualifier. Although one oculd argue Madagascar's huge home field advantage put them through but we will see next year how talented they truly are when they will be most likely have to play the Division 1A tournament away from the Mahamasina and from Madagascar.
 
Ivory Coast 29-17 Nigera (16-6 HT). Nigeria is presumably done at 0-2, and eliminated from RWC2015 and from progressing to Division 1B.
Ivory Coast------->1-0 ---29-17 --- +12
Botswana-------->1-0 --- 23-15 ---+8
Mauritius--------->1-0 --- 26-22 ---+4
Zambia----------->0-1 ---15-23 ---(-8)
Nigeria----------->0-2 --- 39-55 ---(-16)
 
Pretty impresssive from Mauritius, considering they're a tiny scattering of islands bringing down Nigeria (pop. 170 million). What is it about Islanders and greatness? Beach rugby perhaps?
 
usausa said:
I think he means the African team that qualifies has been the weakest in the final tournament, which would make sense. Perennial African qualifier Namibia have been beaten by pretty large margins never threatening to win a match while Asian qualifier Japan has a few wins/draws to their record.

The African qualifying itself has shaped up to be the most competitive all the way around but the best Asian qualifier is better than the best African qualifier. Although one oculd argue Madagascar's huge home field advantage put them through but we will see next year how talented they truly are when they will be most likely have to play the Division 1A tournament away from the Mahamasina and from Madagascar.
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Yes, that is what I meant. Other than South Africa, no African team has won a match in the RWC and no African team has come closer than losing by 15 since 1991. Given this, I find it ridiculous that Africa gets an automatic qualifier while South America does not. That said, I obviously want the African teams to become more competitive.
 
Based on the points (4 for win, 1 for draw and bonus points), here are the standings.

Ivory Coast----->4 pts, +12
Botswana------->4 pts, +8
Mauritius-------->4 pts, +4
Nigeria---------->1 pt, -16
Zambia--------->0 pts, -8

Saturday's matches (final match day)
Ivory Coast-Zambia
Botswana-Mauritius

I am going out on a limb and guessing that table points will decide the 'winner' of the tournament, and then probably points or try difference. But I don't think anybody is really sure what the format is....
 
Just out of curiosity. Where would people say rugby is bigger out of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands?
 
Definately Belgium at the moment, there are a few Belgians in the Pro D2 and Belgium has played the likes of Canada and others in friendlis in recent years.
 
Little Guy said:
Definately Belgium at the moment, there are a few Belgians in the Pro D2 and Belgium has played the likes of Canada and others in friendlis in recent years.
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Yea i thought so. Rugby seems to be growing rapidly there, they're even ranked 23rd!
 
welshglory said:
Just out of curiosity. Where would people say rugby is bigger out of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands?
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Definitely Belgium. Looking forward to seeing them play in the European Nations Cup Division 1A. They already attracted a decent size crowd in Division 1B and it could only get bigger.

Some impressions from the last Belgium - Netherlands rugby match.

 
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Racing-Métro will be hosting their Heineken Cup match against Saracens in Bruxelles (Brussels in english?)
 
ZeFrenchy said:
Racing-Métro will be hosting their Heineken Cup match against Saracens in Bruxelles (Brussels in english?)
Click to expand...

That's cool. I believe it's Saracens hosting the match though. I remember travelling to Brussels a couple of years ago to see Stade Français - Ulster in the Heineken Cup. Game got cancelled on match day due to ice and snow on the pitch. Hopefully this time the organizers will have more luck.
 
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Definitely Belgium at the moment. Unfortunately their administrator who oversaw the large growth of the game there recently stepped down so hopefully someone good fills the void. They recently had a young player Jens Torfs sign with Metro Racing as well.
 
Yeah it's funny that the Dutch never picked up on rugby, in light of how huge it is in South Africa...you'd think it's just in that Dutch blood, in the culture....but not at all. And it's not even like Africa has a rugby culture anywhere but where they are...

Anyways: I suppose Belgium. They're very close to France culturally after all...even though our rugby regions are the south and center, not really related to the east but...they've picked up on it through us surely...
It would be cool to have a Belgian team in the RWC, wouldn't it ?!
I mean, Spain has made it, and Namibia give teams record victories every time. I'm sure Belgium could squeeze itself in the top, what, 20.
 

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