Rugby World Cup week 3 round up (pt2)
Friends, family and countrymen, lend me your ears for the week 3 round up in part 2 of our weekly newsletter.
Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way.
Italy — Uruguay — As expected.
France — Namibia — As expected, with a notable mention that Antoine Dupont’s world cup future is in jeopardy due to a massive tackle by the Namibian captain.
Argentina — Samoa, Great display from Samoa, but Argentina were just better in the set pieces and breakdown (though not by much).
Georgia — Portugal, excellent display of grit and determination by the mostly part time Portuguese team, only to miss a penalty in the dying moments of the game, ending the game in a draw (would have been a great first world cup win for them).
England — Chile, Chile came out with all guns blazing, but England ultimately dominated in all aspects of the game. Owen Farrell is looking particularly good creating opportunities for his backline — definitely a team to look out for in the knockout rounds.
Upcoming games:
Tonga — Scotland — Tonga won’t give Scotland too much trouble, the only concern for me is how physical this Tonga side is, and their focus on putting individual playmakers in the hospital which Scotland have many of (e.g. Russell, VDM). We are unlikely to see a clean game here in my opinion (at least 2 yellows and a red card).
Wales — Australia — Easily the second most anticipated game of the round, I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss the Australians here, they know how to win games when it matters. The loss to Fiji obviously hurt them, but you know how dangerous it can be to poke a kangaroo when it is down. It does seem though that Australia have more going on off the pitch than on it, with rumours of their Head coach Eddy Jones pulling out of the team and joining Japan again (hopefully after the world cup is over), as well as continued conflict between him and the ex-captain Michael Hooper who was dropped from the squad. Wales are still facing a bit of an injury crisis, with lots of young players with lots to prove. Hopefully the experience of Bigger and North can see them through with a desirable result, I see this game being very tight, it might even be a draw.
SOUTH AFRICA — IRELAND
A disastrous result to say the least for the Bokke, however, it’s not all doom and gloom.
I’ve come up with a few key points that I think best summarize the game and future of the Springboks world cup.
1. At the time, we were all very upset with the ref, but in the cold light of day I have to admit there were a lot of 50 / 50 calls that just didn’t go our way.
2. Marx was sorely missed, yes Deon Fourie has experience but not in knockout World Cup rugby. But let’s be honest, unless Bismark makes a surprise comeback, he is our best option. I think they need to start him against Tonga to let him settle into his role.
3. Marx was sorely missed, we were honestly dominated in the breakdown, losing multiple turnovers to the aggression of the Irish defence.
4. Faf has way too much energy, but he isn’t using it when it matters (though still not a bad game from him). OUR NO.9 SHOULD NOT BE KICKING FOR POSTS.
5. Jesse Kriel needs to go, he doesn’t make an impact where it matters. I’d much prefer to see a dynamic playmaker at 13 like Moodie.
6. Damian Williamse is a revelation at fullback, he is dangerous in open play and was fantastic under the high ball.
7. Pollard needs to start against Tonga for some much needed game time, as much as Maanie needs to be given an opportunity, when we get to the knock-out rounds of the game, we need a fly-half that can kick. One could argue that this is the main reason we lost the game.
8. We only have to beat Ireland once, they have to beat us twice.
9. 7–1 split was overhyped massively by the Irish supporters.
If you got this far, thanks for reading, and see you next week!
