Australia v Fiji, 23 September

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AUSTRALIA v FIJI
23 September 2015
KO: 16:45
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Live on [tbc]

Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Nigel Owens (Wales) & Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)

A. Head to Head

19 Played 19
16 Won 2
1 Drawn 1
2 Lost 16
546 Points 221

B. Recent Form

5 June 2010
Canberra Stadium, Canberra
49 – 3 to Australia

23 September 2007
Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France
55 – 12 to Australia

9 June 2007
Subiaco Oval, Perth
49 – 0 to Australia

18 September 1998
Parramatta Stadium, Sydney
66 – 20 to Australia

C. Teams

AUSTRALIA

15 Israel Folau
14 Adam Ashley-Cooper
13 Tevita Kuridrani
12 Matt Giteau
11 Rob Horne
10 Bernard Foley
09 Will Genia

08 David Pocock
07 Michael Hooper
06 Scott Fardy
05 Rob Simmons
04 Kane Douglas
03 Sekope Kepu
02 Stephen Moore (c)
01 Scott Sio

16 Tatafu Polota-Nau
17 James Slipper
18 Greg Holmes
19 Will Skelton
20 Dean Mumm
21 Nick Phipps
22 Matt Toomua
23 Kurtley Beale

FIJI

Metuisela Talebula, Waisea Nayacalevu, Vereniki Goneva, Gabiriele Lovobalavu, Nemani Nadolo, Ben Volavola, Nikola Matawalu; Netani Talei, Akapusi Qera, Peceli Yato, Leone Nakarawa, Tevita Cavubati, Manasa Saulo, Talemaitoga Tuapati, Campese Ma'afu.

Replacements: Viliame Veikoso, Peni Ravai, Isei Colati, Nemia Soqeta, Malakai Ravulo, Nemia Kenatale, Joshua Matavesi, Asaeli Tikoirotuma.

meh. I've been to the Stade de France plenty of times, never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a train afterwards, probably 30 mins max from leaving my seat, and usually less than that. This includes international football and rugby, and club rugby (I've never been to a concert there admittedly). Of course they have the advantage of having two RER and one metro station nearby, but the RATP (who run those) make a conscious effort to have more frequent trains on at the time the match finishes. It's not particularly difficult really (though parking is more chaotic, wouldn't recommend at all).

maestegmafia wrote:

Jimpy wrote:

Fanster wrote:

Jimpy wrote:

Fanster wrote:Tell that to every major stadium in the world! It's easy to say, but nigh on impossible to do with rail regulations, and only a limited amount of parking opportunities for buses.

Sometimes you have to put your hand up and say 'yes I'm following 100/150'000 to an event that will take over a city centre, I understand this is an irregular occurence and I will be patient and courtious while I inevitably wait to leave the same time as 90% of the hoards'.

Or you do what I did Saturday and watch the following game (SA japan woohoo) in a bar that was reasonably full, enjoy my time and hop straight onto an empty train around 10pm, therefore enjoying my day, relaxing and being home at a reasonable hour.

Try that if you live 250 miles away Richard.

You live 250 miles away and you made no preperations for travel, stay or enjoying the event your going to see?

Who's fault is that really?

You really are special aren't you?

You know what, sometimes it just isn't possible, and as several thousand other people were to discover on the night, it just wasn't possible for them either.

Believe me, I'd rather be waterboarded by the CIA than go to Wales, anywhere in Wales. But for a rugby match in a world cup, i'll make exceptions. However, with tickets that I received at short notice and little or no holiday available from work, the decision to travel on the day was the only credible one. As it turned out, actually, it wasn't.

Jesus Jimpy you really should watch what you accuse other people of being with statements like that.

Exposing idiocy with a perfectly legitimate explanation as to why I didn't travel is not only warranted, its necessary.

Is there actually something wrong with you?

If you're offered tickets on the day, and live 250 miles from the stadium, in which you know isn't the most accesible, and you have no time off work then who is the one to blame when you force yourself to go to a country you hate, to a game your nation isn't competing in, just to say you went?

Use adult logic, if your not in position to be able to go, don't go. Don't go then whinge about your struggles to a bunch of strangers and slag everyone but yourself for going.

Cyril wrote:

Fanster wrote:How does one firgure out a 100'000 mass of people in a small city centre?

Should the Welsh assembly spend 50 million to fix a 6/7 times a year 2 hour wait?

In reality it is a 2 hour wait, Ive done it all over the world, Giants stadium for a U2 concert, Twickenham after Blues v Gloucester, Parc de prince after a 6N game, and the ANZ post lions 3rd test took over an hour to get into the station, then another to get onto the train and away.

Serves you right for paying to go and watch U2. Just horrible 'music' 

That was repeated numerous times during the queue, which turned out to be a fair bit of fun, bit of a sing song, few drinks, and a streaker.

Fanster wrote:Is there actually something wrong with you?

If you're offered tickets on the day, and live 250 miles from the stadium, in which you know isn't the most accesible, and you have no time off work then who is the one to blame when you force yourself to go to a country you hate, to a game your nation isn't competing in, just to say you went?

Use adult logic, if your not in  position to be able to go, don't go. Don't go then whinge about your struggles to a bunch of strangers and slag everyone but yourself for going.

No, but when it comes to the expulsion of hot air, i'll listen to you as I always defer to the experts.

You don't know what the full circumstances were, as it was, when I got the tickets I was in a position to be able to attend. As it turned out, I couldn't on the day and frankly, after what was clearly a travel debacle, I'm glad I didn't.

Don't spout garbage on here that suggests that someone isn't particularly intelligent at organising their lives when you aren't in full possession of the facts. And don't suggest using adult logic in such a case either, that just suggests you need to look up the word 'irony' in the dictionary.

Weren't there complaints from fans on Twitter about the trains, or lack of them, at Paddington to take them (Irish I think) to Cardiff the other day? Sounds like a shambles by the whole lot - World Cup Organisers and train providers in both Wales AND England. We're not to blame for everything (for once!).

Yes...the World Cup organisers as a whole... not just in Wales, must have done some research into how people would choose to move around the country.

SecretFly wrote:Yes...the World Cup organisers as a whole... not just in Wales, must have done some research into how people would choose to move around the country.

Arghhh! Can't decipher the presence of sarcasm or not! Assuming not Fly, then I agree. I would have thought they'd consider all games played at all stadiums and not only how fans would get home but also where fans would travel FROM to get there. As a witty Irish fan tweeted from Paddington: "You've only had 4 years notice!".

Jimpy wrote:

Fanster wrote:Is there actually something wrong with you?

If you're offered tickets on the day, and live 250 miles from the stadium, in which you know isn't the most accesible, and you have no time off work then who is the one to blame when you force yourself to go to a country you hate, to a game your nation isn't competing in, just to say you went?

Use adult logic, if your not in  position to be able to go, don't go. Don't go then whinge about your struggles to a bunch of strangers and slag everyone but yourself for going.

No, but when it comes to the expulsion of hot air, i'll listen to you as I always defer to the experts.

You don't know what the full circumstances were, as it was, when I got the tickets I was in a position to be able to attend. As it turned out, I couldn't on the day and frankly, after what was clearly a travel debacle, I'm glad I didn't.

Don't spout garbage on here that suggests that someone isn't particularly intelligent at organising their lives when you aren't in full possession of the facts. And don't suggest using adult logic in such a case either, that just suggests you need to look up the word 'irony' in the dictionary.

So let me just get this straight, you're happy to whine about how rubbish Wales is, how you'd only go for a RWC game, that you had to be in work the morning after, and couldn't stay in Cardiff that night, or delay your home journey, and that the trains were rubbish, is a unique problem to Wales and not every stadia world wide, yet you didn't even bother travelling? You didn't even go to the game hahahahaha

At what point could you have mentioned you didn't even go? Maybe at the start of the debate about how bad your time in Cardiff was? How you couldn't stay the night? No, mybe just wait to you wound yourself up silly by me suggesting you havent much foresight for going to a game you were unable to... wow, just wow!

No sarcasm, Griff. Wales not to blame....................... for once

I just think for such a show, you'd have expected better planning and pre-thinking about how many fans would turn up at games, where they'd mostly come from (not in terms of Nationality but in terms of direction-wise from within GB itself) and how many of them would want to get out again quickly enough and not hang around for the 'craic'

That could all have been pre-planned accurately enough with models and allow for more transport coordinated on a countrywide basis to cater for a competition that is taking place countrywide

fly

Lets use Cardiff as an example...

Do you really think that the powers that be didn't accomodate the excess traffic as much as rail regulations would allow?

Rail is extremely strict when it comes to customer safety, and only so many trains, carrying so many carraiges, allowing so many passengers are possible.

Should the Assembly pay millions if not billions of pounds to totally revitalise the road network for 5/6 2 hour waits per year?

Not the assembly Fanster.  Not billions.  

I said I don't think it's a Welsh issue but an Organiser's issue.  The organisers wouldn't have planned for bottlenecks.  They wouldn't.  They wouldn't have wanted them because it's not great for image.  So they've obviously been caught out a little on the one that seems to develop around the Millennium on Match days.

During normal activity (6N etc) then Wales and Cardiff are obviously on their own  They must look after their own transport plans and, yes, I wouldn't call on the Assembly to spend billions that are needed elsewhere.  

That's where the specific Organisers of the WC come in.  They could have helped out in planning more pleasing solutions to the travelling mobs  That's all I'm saying.  Not Billions either but simply better planning to ease the clog.
There are going to be profits from this WC - handsome ones it seems.  So the planning from Organising Committee Head Office might have assisted Cardiff more in extracting fans from the city after games?

But that would mean spending some of those lovely profits, in an area that isn't really (it is but kind of isn't) their territory.

Stump up a few grand on buses and rail? or let the fans wait 2 hours...?

Let the fans wait two hours of course. This is Professionalism. 'Pockitt the Dough' is the Maxim.

Fanster wrote:

Jimpy wrote:

Fanster wrote:Is there actually something wrong with you?

If you're offered tickets on the day, and live 250 miles from the stadium, in which you know isn't the most accesible, and you have no time off work then who is the one to blame when you force yourself to go to a country you hate, to a game your nation isn't competing in, just to say you went?

Use adult logic, if your not in  position to be able to go, don't go. Don't go then whinge about your struggles to a bunch of strangers and slag everyone but yourself for going.

No, but when it comes to the expulsion of hot air, i'll listen to you as I always defer to the experts.

You don't know what the full circumstances were, as it was, when I got the tickets I was in a position to be able to attend. As it turned out, I couldn't on the day and frankly, after what was clearly a travel debacle, I'm glad I didn't.

Don't spout garbage on here that suggests that someone isn't particularly intelligent at organising their lives when you aren't in full possession of the facts. And don't suggest using adult logic in such a case either, that just suggests you need to look up the word 'irony' in the dictionary.

So let me just get this straight, you're happy to whine about how rubbish Wales is, how you'd only go for a RWC game, that you had to be in work the morning after, and couldn't stay in Cardiff that night, or delay your home journey, and that the trains were rubbish, is a unique problem to Wales and not every stadia world wide, yet you didn't even bother travelling? You didn't even go to the game hahahahaha

At what point could you have mentioned you didn't even go? Maybe at the start of the debate about how bad your time in Cardiff was? How you couldn't stay the night? No, mybe just wait to you wound yourself up silly by me suggesting you havent much foresight for going to a game you were unable to... wow, just wow!

Really, you're not worth it.

Fanster wrote:But that would mean spending some of those lovely profits, in an area that isn't really (it is but kind of isn't) their territory.

Stump up a few grand on buses and rail? or let the fans wait 2 hours...?

Boris Johnson could have gotten them a good deal on some Ballymena made wright buses, sans air con of course .

Jimpy wrote:

Fanster wrote:

Jimpy wrote:

Fanster wrote:Is there actually something wrong with you?

If you're offered tickets on the day, and live 250 miles from the stadium, in which you know isn't the most accesible, and you have no time off work then who is the one to blame when you force yourself to go to a country you hate, to a game your nation isn't competing in, just to say you went?

Use adult logic, if your not in  position to be able to go, don't go. Don't go then whinge about your struggles to a bunch of strangers and slag everyone but yourself for going.

No, but when it comes to the expulsion of hot air, i'll listen to you as I always defer to the experts.

You don't know what the full circumstances were, as it was, when I got the tickets I was in a position to be able to attend. As it turned out, I couldn't on the day and frankly, after what was clearly a travel debacle, I'm glad I didn't.

Don't spout garbage on here that suggests that someone isn't particularly intelligent at organising their lives when you aren't in full possession of the facts. And don't suggest using adult logic in such a case either, that just suggests you need to look up the word 'irony' in the dictionary.

So let me just get this straight, you're happy to whine about how rubbish Wales is, how you'd only go for a RWC game, that you had to be in work the morning after, and couldn't stay in Cardiff that night, or delay your home journey, and that the trains were rubbish, is a unique problem to Wales and not every stadia world wide, yet you didn't even bother travelling? You didn't even go to the game hahahahaha

At what point could you have mentioned you didn't even go? Maybe at the start of the debate about how bad your time in Cardiff was? How you couldn't stay the night? No, mybe just wait to you wound yourself up silly by me suggesting you havent much foresight for going to a game you were unable to... wow, just wow!

Really, you're not worth it.

You are incredible, you make a huuuuuge fuss, show xenophobic tendancies toward a home nation slate everything and everyone about how bad their performance was, and your experience was, without taking a shred of blame yourself of the situation you chose to put yourself in, then forget to mention you didn't actually go...

Little odd don't you think?

Very odd.

Maybe not so odd?  This is a World Cup.  And a World Cup at home, to boot.  It is a once-in-a-generation event.  What kind of Rugby supporter would not go to a match or two if given the opportunity?  I went to Cardiff knowing it would be a mess getting on the trains.  And it was.  

However, for a once-in-a-generation event, it shouldn't be a such a screw-up.  We have people from all over the world in our island and we show ourselves this incompetent?   I never said where the blame lies.  Certainly there is enough to go around:  GWR for sure, the city, the organisers(!), perhaps even the government for not having a safe effective transport strategy for the tournament.  But there was no absolutely need for that.