Your second team for the RWC

[Welsh Exile]

Whoever England are playing.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

who will you be rooting for and why?

Second team? You serious? None. The entire exercise goes from a 90% emotional +10% technical one into a 100% technical one when Arg is out. And that is if and only if enough time for mourning has been given.
I might display a slight bias towards the underdog in any given game but not because i like any particular team but because odds are that will make the game more interesting to watch. If they win or lose, i don't give e flying turd.

Second team.... the fvck you talking about. You guys are mental.

 

[die_mole]

My dad always told me to root for the underdog so I'll probably do that.

However, since I'm the greatest hater east of the Mississippi I'll take this question as which team I'll hate on second (after Australia of course). It's a tie between England and Ireland. England cause I'll be guaranteed to be happy cause they are such a **** show. Ireland cause their dawg per 80 is abysmal and sexton is the opposite of biggar. He gets in trouble for abusing referees and he only takes drop goals when they are tactically appropriate.

 

[Summer Rose]

I'm really hoping France wins. I feel like they deserve one finally after coming close a few times, and it would be nice if they did it in their own country.

USA didn't qualify so I can't hope for anything in that regard.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I feel like they deserve one

They've already won one. I mean, you're not one of those who actually thinks NZ won 2011's final, aight?

Kidding aside, 'feelings' and 'deserving' have little place in history books. When in doubt, kindly refer to the video below






NB: it's open season from now on lads. Read at your own peril.

 

[Welsh Exile]

They've already won one. I mean, you're not one of those who actually thinks NZ won 2011's final, aight?

Kidding aside, 'feelings' and 'deserving' have little place in history books. When in doubt, kindly refer to the video below






NB: it's open season from now on lads. Read at your own peril.

If you ain't cheating you ain't trying.

 

[Brigantine]

Second team? You serious? None. The entire exercise goes from a 90% emotional +10% technical one into a 100% technical one when Arg is out. And that is if and only if enough time for mourning has been given.
I might display a slight bias towards the underdog in any given game but not because i like any particular team but because odds are that will make the game more interesting to watch. If they win or lose, i don't give e flying turd.

Second team.... the fvck you talking about. You guys are mental.

Well, I already finished mourning for Japan, and now I'm kind of on the same page. I'm excited for the drama & entertainment, but there aren't any teams I can feel a particular attachment to.

So, I have a rather scatter-gun approach... I just want to see a new first time champion and results that are historically unusual. But I do have some preferences:

• Out of the top 4 I'd have to say my 2nd choice is Ireland. To keep the man with the nuclear football pacified, and because it would be such a shame if their golden age ended with nothing to show for it. Certainly not France - that would be negotiating with terrorists.

• 3rd choice: it would be fitting if Argentina won. Because it would be historically unexpected, ruffle all the right feathers in Europe, and since that would restore the TRC as the Championship of Champions. If it does good things for SLAR that would be icing on the cake.

• Then, I also want to see expectations exceeded by Scotland, Fiji, and any T2 within striking distance of England in the rankings (Georgia, Samoa) - Though I don't really want any of them to actually win.

• As for the Black & Tans (not to be confused with), I just want to see a combination of crazy dramatic close games with officiating controversies, and obscene cricket scores (last week was a decent warm-up...) - Last time they only beat Namibia by 62 points, I want to see a better effort this time.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Obviously samoa, our pacific cousins with a squad consisting mostly of players born in new Zealand, and with others who have lived and played in New Zealand

 

[OldSchoolRugga]

I really want Argentina to do well. I'm a fan of the game. Don't have a first team.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

that would restore the TRC as the Championship of Champions.

I've been watching the TRC and the 6N since way before Arg was part of it (hence no skin in the game). For this exercise I am going to pretend Arg is not part of the competition for a sec. With that in mind, to this day it is mind-boggling to me how some people feel the need to explain how the TRC is at par with the 6N. 8 to 1 world cups and the last time a 6N team won was 20 years ago. Let me say that again: 20-years-ago.
Australia, arguably the weakest of the 3 could roast any and all of the 6Ns. Hell, they could roast all of the 6N combined. They do have more WCs than all of them!

I have to say thou, i do see a trend. A very specific exacerbation appears to arise regularly and consistently. Not sure if it's related to some obscure lunar cycle or related to some unknown cosmic force; but it happens and it works like clockwork... Every 4 years, a couple of weeks or a month before a WC begins, a lot of the 6N seem to be possessed by this feeling, this delusional sentiment that tells them they can actually win the thing! It's amazing to watch. And for some reason, they do not appear to have adaptive expectations. They make the same mistake over, and over and over again. Fortunately, it appears to be only a temporary glitch as it rarely lasts longer than two months. After that, it's as if they come back to their senses or something and recognize which competition stands taller. Some desperate souls will retreat to club rugby at that point, resorting to delusional claims like 'the premiership and the top 14 are stronger comps than SR', knowing full well that those teams will never have to face each other. It's an interesting recourse tho. Mainly because of the desperation it entails.

They also tend to disregard the past, learnings, and history. 'This time will be different', 'we've got a great team this year' or 'the WC is being held in the NH'. Many claim that some NH sides have reached the WC at their peak this time and SH sides arent particularly strong this year. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Game on.

Best of luck and let the games begin.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

That's an exceptional wind up post, right down to the subtle but correct use of the past tense when addressing Australia.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

past tense when addressing Australia.

Precisely!
That tends to be the go-to tense for those who've actually won something. Generally falls back on facts, data, and trophies.
People who've never won anything tend to resort more to the future tense, closely related to imagination, wishful thinking, unrealistic expectations, and daydreaming.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Precisely!
That tends to be the go-to tense for those who've actually won something. Generally falls back on facts, data, and trophies.
People who've never won anything tend to resort more to the future tense, closely related to imagination, wishful thinking, unrealistic expectations, and daydreaming.

You're doing well, I want to bite and fall back on facts and data. But most people, me included, are predicting an SH winner despite having two or more very ordinary seasons on the bounce, so we do all agree!

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

What can i say? I am just glad my piggybacking on the SH with no silverware to brag about has gone unnoticed.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

What can i say? I am just glad my piggybacking on the SH with no silverware to brag about has gone unnoticed.

I mean it's what France, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Italy do when talking about SH vs NH, you're in good company

 

[Saintjay]

Precisely!
That tends to be the go-to tense for those who've actually won something. Generally falls back on facts, data, and trophies.
People who've never won anything tend to resort more to the future tense, closely related to imagination, wishful thinking, unrealistic expectations, and daydreaming.

Exactly that's why the Royal Navy is the best in the world based on facts, data and results. You can discount the US navy as they've never met in any significant manner or won anything on there own.

A tad off topic i know but it's the same rationale.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

Soft spot for fiji, not just because they have had an uptick in form but also have a lot of Fijians in my club In melbourne and they're all great blokes

 

[mdaclarke]

South Africa for family reasons

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

It's got to be France for me. For no other reason than I've always loved watching them play - brilliant, brutal and temperamental, often in the space of 5 minutes. And they're at home with the world's best player and world's best anthem. That they produce the best wines and cheese in the world is just a bonus.

TBH the way I feel about England at the moment I might just take Les Blues as my first choice.

 

[Which Tyler]

It's got to be France for me. For no other reason than I've always loved watching them play - brilliant, brutal and temperamental, often in the space of 5 minutes. And they're at home with the world's best player and world's best anthem. That they produce the best wines and cheese in the world is just a bonus.

TBH the way I feel about England at the moment I might just take Les Blues as my first choice.

One of us!
One of us!
One of us!