Better team won, no question about it.
Afaia, O'Gara kicked into touch because the chances of him converting from the sideline into the wind were slim. Did the Welsh guy convert much in the 2nd half?
Anyway Wales were magnificent and even better than magnificent when defending inside their 25.
At 10-10 there was a glimmer but it would be a total disrespect to the Wales effort to say there was a fine line at that stage which Ireland could have crossed. Tough for the Irish to have to digest yet another World Cup flop.
The timing of Wales' scores were perfect for them, devastating for us. I was telling my mates last night that I was afraid of wales, and I was told no, we're better. Still, I'm always worried - it's part of being Irish and into sport. Anyone Irishman who is confident going into a big team game can't be a real sports fan![]()
Stutts i told you and posted hear that i thought we would lose to wales.very disappointing but at least we will have a playoff to look forward to..hopefully
You did, that's true.
Its all Ryle Nugent's fault RTE should have left Hugh Cahill doing the commentary and Ireland would be in the semis!
Only saw second half of Oz v SA but thought SA wuz robbed, or at least very unlucky. High tackles unpunished, fwd passes penalised (rightly) but no more fwd than 3 or 4 that have gone unpunished so far in NZ game, and that nearly always go unpunished. Even the final penalty was harsh I thought. Contact in the line out was minimal. I think the Oz guy just fell.
Argies giving NZ a run for their money so far.
For those who will be cheering on our celtic cousins (last week's welsh slime) in their historic semi final against the French.
If you were wondering about - wouldn't it be nice to join in their national anthem -
but thought it infinitely beyond the realms of possibilities, don't give up hope.
Poet Nigel Jenkins has clipped in with a phonetic transcription of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau,
which actually fits in quite decent as long as you can keep a straight face.
My hen laid a haddock, one hand oiled a flea,
Glad farts and centurions threw dogs in the sea,
I could stew a hare here and brandish Dan's flan,
Don's ruddy bog's blocked up with sand.
Dad! Dad! Why don't you oil Auntie Glad?
Can whores appear in beer bottle pies,
O butter the hens as they fly!
Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi,
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri;
Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mad,
Dros ryddid collasant eu gwaed.
Gwlad, gwlad, pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad.
Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau,
O bydded i'r hen iaith barhau.
I'll be supporting the French. Never been a Welsh fan always support England against them too. Allez Les Bleus!
Fook Gatland and Edwards - Allez les blues.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
I concur.
Was listening to R5 Live at lunchtime today. Man, I love an England World Cup post mortem in any sport. I think Martin Johnson is the Stan of international rugby. Great servant & leader on the pitch, out of his depth as manager / coach.
I've nothing against Wales and am quite neutral on that side of the draw. I've always loved the French rugby idiosyncrasies and quite like Wales. May the better team win.
33-10 Walkover. NZ the only group winners still remaining.Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
All set up for a repeat of the 1987 final, which madly enough, was also in NZ. With a similiar outcome.
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Wouldn't have anything particularly against the welsh (well maybe Andy Powell), just their coaching staff.
Argentina were unlucky (certainly no walkover!) - a fairer rub of the green in the first half who knows how the pressure would've got to the All Blacks. I would've rated Owens a few years ago, but he's really off form the last year or two including games in last years Celtic League.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
What's all this "the Welsh were much the better side". We actually dominated every phase of the game (possession, territory, yards made etc etc). Obviously we were behind on one stat that matters - the score.
There was one pivotal moment in the game. We got back to 10 all. The momentum was with us. Then there was a line out for us around the centre of the field and we lost it. The first line out we lost and Wales went on to score from that. The rest of the game was Wales' (they scored from another lost line out). I really believe that if we won that lineout we had a better than even chance of winning the game. Such are the fine margins between victory and defeat.
A comment on the anthems. I agree, there is no emotion for Ireland's call. It's just a song. It represents nothing. I pray to God that we have a great rendition of ours (please no bagpipes) on Tuesday. It sets the tone.
Forget about the performance or entertainment. It's only the result that matters.
Wales were much the better side in the same way we were much the better side against Australia despite the fact they spent more time around our try line.
I'm not a huge fan of Ireland's Call, but I still prefer an Ireland team to an ROI/NI split. The debate doesn't appear to be about using some other song (which would be my preference), but rather that we should force through Amhrán na bhFiann on players and supporters from a unionist background.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
The irony being that Amhran na bhFiann is an anti-imperialist song.
Which phases did we dominate ? Possession and territory were margnially in our favour, but we missed more tackles, lost more lineouts, conceded 3 penaltys at scrum time and conceeded more turnovers.
The more I think about it - the more I think the scoreline flattered us, Priestland kicked two penalties off the woodwork. Wales for me have improved beyond all recognition from the six nations, will be interesting to see how good they really are. A repeat of that against France would be good enough I think.
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