2023 Rugby World Cup Tipping Competition

POOL A
Fri 8 Sept France v New Zealand (8.15pm, Stade de France, Paris)
Sat 9 Sept Italy v Namibia (noon, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne)
Thu 14 Sept France v Uruguay (8pm, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Fri 15 Sept New Zealand v Namibia (8pm, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)
Wed 20 Sept Italy v Uruguay (4.45pm, Stade de Nice, Nice)
Thu 21 Sept France v Namibia (8pm, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Wed 27 Sept Uruguay v Namibia (4.45pm, Parc OL, Lyon)
Fri 29 Sept New Zealand v Italy (8pm, Parc OL, Lyon)
Thu 5 Oct New Zealand v Uruguay (8pm, Parc OL, Lyon)
Fri 6 Oct France v Italy (8pm, Parc OL, Lyon)

POOL B
Sat 9 Sept Ireland v Romania (2.30pm, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Sun 10 Sept South Africa v Scotland (4.45pm, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Sat 16 Sept Ireland v Tonga (8pm, Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes)
Sun 17 Sept South Africa v Romania (2pm, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Sat 23 Sept South Africa v Ireland (8pm, Stade de France, Paris)
Sun 24 Sept Scotland v Tonga (4.45pm, Stade de Nice, Nice)
Sat 30 Sept Scotland v Romania (8pm, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Sun 1 Oct South Africa v Tonga (8pm, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Sat 7 Oct Ireland v Scotland (8pm, Stade de France, Paris)
Sun 8 Oct Tonga v Romania (4.45pm, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)

POOL C
Sat 9 Sept Australia v Georgia (5pm, Stade de France, Paris)
Sun 10 Sept Wales v Fiji (8pm, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Sat 16 Sept Wales v Portugal (4.45pm, Stade de Nice, Nice)
Sun 17 Sept Australia v Fiji (4.45pm, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne)
Sat 23 Sept Georgia v Portugal (1pm, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)
Sun 24 Sept Wales v Australia (8pm, Parc OL, Lyon)
Sat 30 Sept Fiji v Georgia (4.45pm, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Sun 1 Oct Australia v Portugal (4.45pm, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne)
Sat 7 Oct Wales v Georgia (2pm, Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes)
Sun 8 Oct Fiji v Portugal (8pm, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)

POOL D
Sat 9 Sept England v Argentina (8pm, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Sun 10 Sept Japan v Chile (noon, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)
Sat 16 Sept Samoa v Chile (2pm, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Sun 17 Sept England v Japan (8pm, Stade de Nice, Nice)
Fri 22 Sept Argentina v Samoa (4.45pm, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne)
Sat 23 Sept England v Chile (4.45pm, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Thu 28 Sept Japan v Samoa (8pm, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)
Sat 30 Sept Argentina v Chile (2pm, Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes)
Sat 7 Oct England v Samoa (4.45pm, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Sun 8 Oct Japan v Argentina (noon, Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes)

Quarter-finals
Sat 14 Oct Wales v Argentina (4pm, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Sat 14 Oct Ireland v New Zealand (8pm, Stade de France, Paris)
Sun 15 Oct England v Fiji (4pm, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Sun 15 Oct France v South Africa (8pm, Stade de France, Paris)

Semi-finals
Fri 20 Oct Argentina v New Zealand (8pm, Stade de France, Paris)
Sat 21 Oct England v South Africa (8pm, Stade de France, Paris)

Third-place match
Fri 27 Oct Third-place Play-off England v Argentina (8pm, Stade de France, Paris)

Final
Sat 28 Oct World Cup Final New Zealand v South Africa (8pm, Stade de France, Paris)


Pick the Winning Margin:

N - Narrow	1 - 4  points
C - Comfortable	5 - 14  points
E - Easy	15 - 29  points
T - Thrashing	30 +  points

Scoring:

25 points for picking the correct winning team
20 points for picking the correct winning margin (N,C,E,or T)
75 points for picking the correct drawn result (D)
12 points for one rung off the winning margin
 0 points for more than one rung off the winning margin... but you still get 25 points for the win.
 0 points for a 'No Result/Match Abandoned'.

Double points for nominated *Golden Match*
Note: Select only one Golden match per Group = 4 matches
Select 2 GMs for the Quarters and one for the Semis = 3 matches
The Final and the 3rd place play-off match will also be worth Double Points.

Note:
For the 3rd Place Play-Off and the Final.
75 points x 2 = 150 points for a (D) "Draw" after 80 minutes regardless of the final score (i.e. the actual winner after extra time)

e.g.
New Zealand v Italy
"New Zealand E" GM - *Golden Match*
New Zealand wins 34 - 22 (margin 12 points = C) ... one rung off E = 37 points (25 + 12)... x 2 for Golden Match = 74 points.

Scotland v Romania
"Scotland T"
Scotland wins 53 - 11 (margin 42 points = T) = 45 points (25 + 20)

Japan v Samoa
"Samoa E"
Samoa wins 17 - 15 (margin 2 points = N) ... two rungs off E = 25 points (25 + 0)

General Notes:

Please get your selections in at least an hour before the first match kicks off. No points earned for late entries.

I know it's a bit of a task but it would be great if you can post the 40 group matches on the thread below. If there are any reasons you want to change your selection or winning margin - just post it up here and I'll give it a "like" meaning I've taken the change on board.

No problem if you only post up the first dozen or so selections in the coming days (to get the maul rolling) and then post up the rest up later on. Just be aware there's not many breaks in the fixtures so copy and paste the first cab off the rank... and don't forget to adjust the other person's selections!

Due to time differences - I'll try and get the Leader Board up asap. Might be a day and a bit delay but I'll keep you all regularly updated.

So, that's about it. I'll set up the spreadsheet and get ready for the feast of rugby.

Good luck with your picks and may your team go well!

You're a marvel.

I'll do selections for the first week of fixtures, then predict the second week on Monday/Tuesday, which I trust is OK?

France v New Zealand = France C
Italy v Namibia = Italy E
Ireland v Romania = Ireland T
Australia v Georgia = Australia C
England v Argentina = Argentina C
Japan v Chile = Japan E
South Africa v Scotland = South Africa E
Wales v Fiji = Fiji C

France v New Zealand - NZ C
Italy v Namibia - Italy C
France v Uruguay - France T
New Zealand v Namibia - NZ T * GM
Italy v Uruguay - Italy E
France v Namibia - France E
Uruguay v Namibia - Uruguay N
New Zealand v Italy - NZ E
New Zealand v Uruguay NZ T
France v Italy - France C

POOL B
Ireland v Romania - Ireland T
South Africa v Scotland - SA C
Ireland v Tonga - Ireland C
South Africa v Romania - SA T * GM
South Africa v Ireland - SA C
Scotland v Tonga - Scotland E
Scotland v Romania - Scotland T
South Africa v Tonga - SA E
Ireland v Scotland - Ireland N
Tonga v Romania - Tonga E

POOL C
Australia v Georgia - Australia C
Wales v Fiji - Wales C
Wales v Portugal - Wales T
Australia v Fiji - Australia C
Georgia v Portugal - Georgia E
Wales v Australia - Australia N
Fiji v Georgia - Fiji C
Australia v Portugal - Australia T * GM
Wales v Georgia - Wales C
Fiji v Portugal - Fiji E

POOL D
England v Argentina - Argentina C
Japan v Chile - Japan C
Samoa v Chile - Samoa T
England v Japan - Eng E
Argentina v Samoa - Argentina C
England v Chile  - England T * GM
Japan v Samoa - Samoa C
Argentina v Chile - Argentina E
England v Samoa - England C
Japan v Argentina - Argentina E

Duty281 wrote:You're a marvel.

I'll do selections for the first week of fixtures, then predict the second week on Monday/Tuesday, which I trust is OK?

France v New Zealand = France C
Italy v Namibia = Italy E
Ireland v Romania = Ireland T
Australia v Georgia = Australia C
England v Argentina = Argentina C
Japan v Chile = Japan E
South Africa v Scotland = South Africa E
Wales v Fiji = Fiji C

Yeah, no worries Duty.
Did the whole lot... took about 10-15 mins. Copy and paste the same format if you want.
Don't forget your golden matches * GM for each group.

POOL A
France v New Zealand - FRA N
Italy v Namibia - ITA C
France v Uruguay - FRA T
New Zealand v Namibia - NZ T
Italy v Uruguay - ITA C
France v Namibia - FRA T
Uruguay v Namibia - URU N
New Zealand v Italy - NZ C
New Zealand v Uruguay NZ TGM
France v Italy - FRA E

POOL B
Ireland v Romania - IRE C
South Africa v Scotland - SCO N
Ireland v Tonga - IRE C
South Africa v Romania - SA E
South Africa v Ireland - SA N
Scotland v Tonga - SCO E
Scotland v Romania - SCO E
South Africa v Tonga - SA TGM
Ireland v Scotland - IRE N
Tonga v Romania - ROM C

POOL C
Australia v Georgia - AUS C
Wales v Fiji - WAL C
Wales v Portugal - WAL T
Australia v Fiji - FIJ N
Georgia v Portugal - GEO C
Wales v Australia - WAL N
Fiji v Georgia - GEO N
Australia v Portugal - AUS TGM
Wales v Georgia - WAL C
Fiji v Portugal - FIJ E

POOL D
England v Argentina - ARG C
Japan v Chile - JAP E
Samoa v Chile - SAM E
England v Japan - ENG C
Argentina v Samoa - ARG C
England v Chile  - ENG T
Japan v Samoa - SAM N
Argentina v Chile - ARG TGM
England v Samoa - ENG C
Japan v Argentina - ARG C

With many thanks to Pal Joey:

POOL A
France v New Zealand - France N
Italy v Namibia - Italy T
France v Uruguay - France T
New Zealand v Namibia - New Zealand T * GM
Italy v Uruguay - Italy E
France v Namibia - France T
Uruguay v Namibia - Uruguay C
New Zealand v Italy - New Zealand E
New Zealand v Uruguay - New Zealand T
France v Italy - France E

POOL B
Ireland v Romania - Ireland T
South Africa v Scotland - South Africa E
Ireland v Tonga - Ireland E
South Africa v Romania - South Africa T * GM
South Africa v Ireland - South Africa C
Scotland v Tonga - Scotland C
Scotland v Romania - Scotland E
South Africa v Tonga - South Africa E
Ireland v Scotland - Ireland C
Tonga v Romania - Tonga E

POOL C
Australia v Georgia - Australia C
Wales v Fiji - Wales C
Wales v Portugal - Wales E
Australia v Fiji - Australia C
Georgia v Portugal - Georgia E
Wales v Australia - Australia C
Fiji v Georgia - Fiji C
Australia v Portugal - Australia T * GM
Wales v Georgia - Wales C
Fiji v Portugal - Fiji T

POOL D
England v Argentina - England N
Japan v Chile - Japan C
Samoa v Chile - Samoa E
England v Japan - England E
Argentina v Samoa - Argentina N
England v Chile - England T * GM
Japan v Samoa - Samoa C
Argentina v Chile - Argentina E
England v Samoa - England C
Japan v Argentina - Argentina E

France v New Zealand - NZ N
Italy v Namibia - Italy E
France v Uruguay - France T
New Zealand v Namibia - NZ T  * GM
Italy v Uruguay - Italy C
France v Namibia - France T
Uruguay v Namibia - Uruguay C
New Zealand v Italy - NZ E
New Zealand v Uruguay NZ T
France v Italy - France E

POOL B
Ireland v Romania - Ireland T
South Africa v Scotland - SA C
Ireland v Tonga - Ireland T
South Africa v Romania - SA T  
South Africa v Ireland - IRE N
Scotland v Tonga - Scotland E *GM
Scotland v Romania - Scotland E
South Africa v Tonga - SA E
Ireland v Scotland - Ireland N
Tonga v Romania - Tonga C

POOL C
Australia v Georgia - Australia E
Wales v Fiji - Wales N
Wales v Portugal - Wales E
Australia v Fiji - Fiji N
Georgia v Portugal - Georgia C
Wales v Australia - Australia N *GM
Fiji v Georgia - Fiji C
Australia v Portugal - Australia T  
Wales v Georgia - Wales C
Fiji v Portugal - Fiji T

POOL D
England v Argentina - England N *GM
Japan v Chile - Japan E
Samoa v Chile - Samoa C
England v Japan - Eng C
Argentina v Samoa - Argentina T
England v Chile  - England T
Japan v Samoa - Japan N
Argentina v Chile - Argentina T
England v Samoa - England C
Japan v Argentina - Argentina C

Will be a miracle if any of that rubbish I have posted scores much…am tired and semi-boozed in a cottage in Yorkshire and unsure whether the cut and paste worked right…

But makes a change from Cricket competitions and PJ’s efforts deserve all the attention possible. All good fun

alfie wrote:Will be a miracle if any of that rubbish I have posted scores much…am tired and semi-boozed in a cottage in Yorkshire and unsure whether the cut and paste worked right…

But makes a change from Cricket competitions and PJ’s efforts deserve all the attention possible. All good fun

Cheers alfie.    
Enjoy your time at the cottage. Be careful negotiating that rug after a few snorts! Let's hope this experiment works. Think it will work out OK.

We used to have Sportform's wonderful Six Nations comps which were great fun. He had the pick the score system with a sliding scale of points awarded depending on how close you were to the actual score. This one is similar to the cricket world cup one - think it was King Carlos? or it might have been JDizzle or Robbo who suggested this type of format.

It seemed to work well for the CWC. Alfie, you would probably agree... you won the damn thing!  

https://www.606v2.com/t68801-2019-icc-world-cup-tipping-competition

The different rungs are a bit of a punt. Like the cricket one; the challenge was to determine the cut-off points for each rung.

I initially thought a 1-3 points winning margin should be classed as "Narrow"... however I went for 1-4 points to make it slightly more than a penalty kick or field goal difference - but less than a try. Hopefully makes it more interesting. Still it's a very small target to hit.

"Comfortable" is fairly generous - I wouldn't say a 5 point win would be a comfortable win at all - but anything from say a 8,9,10 to a 14 point winning margin could be a seen as a comfortable win.

"Easy" is probably a fair range. Think anything above a 15 point margin could be considered as more than a comfortable win. Although when you get towards a 27, 28, 29 point winning margin... it's practically a thrashing!

"Thrashing" speaks for itself. Ouch! I think in the modern game (in recent times at least) winning margins have become smaller as teams like Italy and Georgia have improved. Don't think we'll see any 142-0 or 111-13 scorelines (in this world cup) like we've had in the past - but there could be some teams which run riot over the likes of Portugal and Chile... and rack up 60 points plus.

There's still time - I can change Easy to 15-39 points and a Thrashing to 40 points plus. Any feedback would be appreciated. What do you think?

As for the actual scoring; I'm mostly generous and like to see the points accumulate. To avoid tied scores ending in 0s or 5s, I've added the 12 points (for one rung off the actual score) to avoid this. So we should get different scores ending in 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 6s, 7s, 8s and 9s across the 48 matches.

The whole golden match thing is a bit of an incentive to stick your neck out and make a grab for some extra points. Naturally, some of the lop-sided looking fixtures are tempting, aren't they? I didn't include the 3rd place play off - what are people's thoughts? It's still a big game for the 'Bronze'.

Forgot to mention another tempter for the bravest amongst us: you can nominate "D" for a Draw. If correct, you'll get a whopping 35 points. Actually, we should make it 50 points. And if it's your golden match you get 100 points. Any takers? Let me know below and I can change the points awarded.

Anyway, thanks Duty, Lowland, nlpnlp and alfie for your predictions. With me it would make 5 members. We need some more punters though...

I think we need at least 10-12 others to make this thing viable and create some competition. I'm hoping all the 'views' can translate into participants before the first match kicks off later today (my time). I'd imagine we'll get more takers later on. I understand some folk are simply holding back until the latest injury news and final team announcements. Expecting a late flurry of postings this evening and then we can really get this comp underway.

Looking forward to getting this one moving and giving us all an extra layer of interest in the unfolding drama that will no doubt occur over the next 7 weeks - culminating on 28 October with the Final.

I shall use the Duty round by round method:

Pool A
France v NZ - Fra C
Italy v Namibia - Ita T

Pool B
Ireland v Romania - Ire T
South Africa v Scotland - SA C

Pool C
Australia v Georgia - Aus T
Wales v Fiji - Wal E

Pool D
England v Argentina - D
Japan v Chile - Jap T

Galted wrote:I shall use the Duty round by round method:

Pool A
France v NZ - Fra C
Italy v Namibia - Ita T

Pool B
Ireland v Romania - Ire T
South Africa v Scotland - SA C

Pool C
Australia v Georgia - Aus T
Wales v Fiji - Wal E

Pool D
England v Argentina - D
Japan v Chile - Jap T

Brave call with the "D", Galted!
I'll award you 50 points if that occurs. I'll change the OP above. Note: also double points for the 3rd place play-off match.

Pal Joey wrote:

Galted wrote:I shall use the Duty round by round method:

Pool A
France v NZ - Fra C
Italy v Namibia - Ita T

Pool B
Ireland v Romania - Ire T
South Africa v Scotland - SA C

Pool C
Australia v Georgia - Aus T
Wales v Fiji - Wal E

Pool D
England v Argentina - D
Japan v Chile - Jap T

Brave call with the "D", Galted!
I'll award you 50 points if that occurs. I'll change the OP above. Note: also double points for the 3rd place play-off match.

Cheers, PJ. I will regularly advise you throughout the competition about where you could be awarding me extra points.

Galted wrote:

Pal Joey wrote:

Galted wrote:I shall use the Duty round by round method:

Pool A
France v NZ - Fra C
Italy v Namibia - Ita T

Pool B
Ireland v Romania - Ire T
South Africa v Scotland - SA C

Pool C
Australia v Georgia - Aus T
Wales v Fiji - Wal E

Pool D
England v Argentina - D
Japan v Chile - Jap T

Brave call with the "D", Galted!
I'll award you 50 points if that occurs. I'll change the OP above. Note: also double points for the 3rd place play-off match.

Cheers, PJ.  I will regularly advise you throughout the competition about where you could be awarding me extra points.

Aww gawd... You're almost as bad as KP_Fan. Or Guildford. Where is he by the way?

While you're here....

Can you PM some of the serious ones from the England, Scotland and Ireland threads? Or just plonk this link into their respective thought bubbles?

https://www.606v2.com/t71211-2023-rugby-world-cup-tipping-competition

I know all the English are worried and depressed, the Scots are only looking at their own noses... and the Irish have better things to discuss. We're going to need more troops on board otherwise I might have to pull the plug during the anthems. You could earn a special virtual 606v2 Award if you can muster up some more volunteers...

Bugger it. I know you're a lazy sod. I drop the links in.

Pal Joey wrote:

Galted wrote:

Pal Joey wrote:

Galted wrote:I shall use the Duty round by round method:

Pool A
France v NZ - Fra C
Italy v Namibia - Ita T

Pool B
Ireland v Romania - Ire T
South Africa v Scotland - SA C

Pool C
Australia v Georgia - Aus T
Wales v Fiji - Wal E

Pool D
England v Argentina - D
Japan v Chile - Jap T

Brave call with the "D", Galted!
I'll award you 50 points if that occurs. I'll change the OP above. Note: also double points for the 3rd place play-off match.

Cheers, PJ.  I will regularly advise you throughout the competition about where you could be awarding me extra points.

Aww gawd... You're almost as bad as KP_Fan. Or Guildford. Where is he by the way?

While you're here....

Can you PM some of the serious ones from the England, Scotland and Ireland threads? Or just plonk this link into their respective thought bubbles?

https://www.606v2.com/t71211-2023-rugby-world-cup-tipping-competition

I know all the English are worried and depressed, the Scots are only looking at their own noses... and the Irish have better things to discuss. We're going to need more troops on board otherwise I might have to pull the plug during the anthems. You could earn a special virtual 606v2 Award if you can muster up some more volunteers...

I'll bombard the threads with the link but my posts tend to be ignored.

First half of matches now, the rest of the pool matches later.  Thanks for putting this together!

POOL A
Fri 8 Sept France v New Zealand (8.15pm, Stade de France, Paris)  FRANCE N
Sat 9 Sept Italy v Namibia (noon, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne)ITALY T
Thu 14 Sept France v Uruguay (8pm, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)  FRANCE T
Fri 15 Sept New Zealand v Namibia (8pm, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)NEW ZEALAND T-GM

POOL B
Sat 9 Sept Ireland v Romania (2.30pm, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)IRELAND E
Sun 10 Sept South Africa v Scotland (4.45pm, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)SA C
Sat 16 Sept Ireland v Tonga (8pm, Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes)IRELAND E
Sun 17 Sept South Africa v Romania (2pm, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)SA T

POOL C
Sat 9 Sept Australia v Georgia (5pm, Stade de France, Paris)AUSTRALIA C
Sun 10 Sept Wales v Fiji (8pm, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)WALES N
Sat 16 Sept Wales v Portugal (4.45pm, Stade de Nice, Nice)WALES T
Sun 17 Sept Australia v Fiji (4.45pm, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne)FIJI N

POOL D
Sat 9 Sept England v Argentina (8pm, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)WHY DO I HAVE TO PICK THIS?  ARGENTINA C
Sun 10 Sept Japan v Chile (noon, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)JAPAN E
Sat 16 Sept Samoa v Chile (2pm, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)SAMOA T
Sun 17 Sept England v Japan (8pm, Stade de Nice, Nice)ENGLAND C

Don't do rugby much but I'll have a go

First week fixtures

France v New Zealand = France C
Italy v Namibia = Italy E
Ireland v Romania = Ireland T
Australia v Georgia = Australia C
England v Argentina = England N
Japan v Chile = Japan E
South Africa v Scotland = South Africa C
Wales v Fiji = wales N

rance v NZ - Fra C
Italy v Namibia - Ita T

Pool B
Ireland v Romania - Ire T GM
South Africa v Scotland - Scotland N

Pool C
Australia v Georgia - Aus T
Wales v Fiji - Fiji N

Pool D
England v Argentina - D
Japan v Chile - Jap T

It's a pity that Tino's dead again. He could've really set this competition on fire with his bold predictions and thrilling insights.

Galted wrote:It's a pity that Tino's dead again.  He could've really set this competition on fire with his bold predictions and thrilling insights.

Yeah, he always seems to go missing when we need him most. He's probably just stuck in traffic though and will show up here during La Marseillaise.

Going on the round by round method, my first round

France v New Zealand = NZ C
Italy v Namibia = Italy E

Ireland v Romania = Ireland E
South Africa v Scotland = Scotland C

Australia v Georgia = Australia C
Wales v Fiji = Fiji C

England v Argentina = Argentina C
Japan v Chile = Japan C

Week 1 (will do Week 2 at a later time if that's ok):

France v New Zealand = New Zealand N
Italy v Namibia = Italy C
Ireland v Romania = Ireland T
Australia v Georgia = Australia E
England v Argentina = Argentina N
Japan v Chile = Japan E
South Africa v Scotland = South Africa C
Wales v Fiji = Wales N

Thanks PJ. This is a great thing to do.

France v New Zealand - France N
Italy v Namibia - Italy E
France v Uruguay - France T
New Zealand v Namibia - NZ T
Italy v Uruguay - Italy T
France v Namibia - France T *GM
Uruguay v Namibia - Uruguay C
New Zealand v Italy - NZ E
New Zealand v Uruguay NZ T
France v Italy - France E

POOL B
Ireland v Romania - Ireland T
South Africa v Scotland - SA C
Ireland v Tonga - Ireland T
South Africa v Romania - SA T * GM
South Africa v Ireland - Ireland C
Scotland v Tonga - Scotland T
Scotland v Romania - Scotland T
South Africa v Tonga - SA T
Ireland v Scotland - Ireland C
Tonga v Romania - Tonga E

POOL C
Australia v Georgia - Australia E
Wales v Fiji -  Fiji N
Wales v Portugal - Wales T
Australia v Fiji - Australia C
Georgia v Portugal - Georgia E
Wales v Australia - Australia N
Fiji v Georgia - Fiji E
Australia v Portugal - Australia T * GM
Wales v Georgia - Wales E
Fiji v Portugal - Fiji T

POOL D
England v Argentina - Argentina N
Japan v Chile - Japan E
Samoa v Chile - Samoa E
England v Japan - Eng E
Argentina v Samoa - Argentina C
England v Chile  - England T
Japan v Samoa - Samoa C
Argentina v Chile - Argentina T *GM
England v Samoa - England C
Japan v Argentina - Argentina E

France v New Zealand = NZ N
Italy v Namibia = Italy E
Ireland v Romania = Ireland T
Australia v Georgia = Australia C
England v Argentina = Argentina N
Japan v Chile = Japan E
South Africa v Scotland = South Africa C
Wales v Fiji = Wales N

Damn it, I intended to do this last thing before finishing work yesterday, I’d have got the first result wrong anyway so no massive bother!

Pool A
Italy v Namibia - Ita T

Pool B
Ireland v Romania - Ire T
South Africa v Scotland - SA C

Pool C
Australia v Georgia - Aus E
Wales v Fiji - Wal C

Pool D
England v Argentina - Eng C
Japan v Chile - Jap T

BamBam wrote:Damn it, I intended to do this last thing before finishing work yesterday, I’d have got the first result wrong anyway so no massive bother!

Pool A
Italy v Namibia - Ita T

Pool B
Ireland v Romania - Ire T
South Africa v Scotland - SA C

Pool C
Australia v Georgia - Aus E
Wales v Fiji - Wal C

Pool D
England v Argentina - Eng C
Japan v Chile - Jap T

No worries BamBam. Thanks for participating. I'll get your picks on the spreadsheet.

After that opening match, it's basically 3 scores for all of us. It'll be more interesting after today's games.

45 Andyi
45 Duty
45 Galted
45 Tigertattie
37 Doctor Grey
37 Lowlandbrit
37 nlpnlp
37 Risca

Alfie, Hazel, Irishhoneymonster, Old Man and myself are all on 0.

Didn’t see this. Can I start from tomorrows matches? Or I could do todays results.

No bother if it’s to late.

Huge congratulations to Argentina, never dreamed I'd ever see a sporting performance to rival Aston Villa's ineptness against Stevenage in last season's FA Cup.

westisbest wrote:Didn’t see this. Can I start from tomorrows matches? Or I could do todays results.

No bother if it’s to late.

Sure westisbest... post up your selections for tomorrow's matches.  

I'm just about to post the leaderboard.
I'm coming dead last on 107 points... so I'll start you on 110 because you're a great guy but you'll be just below Hazel.

Same goes for anyone else who wants to join... I'll start you all on 110 points.

Points Table after Match 5

217 tigertattie
189 andyi
189 nlpnlp
177 alfie
172 Galted
172 BamBam
164 Duty
164 RiscaGame
148 doctor_grey
124 Lowlandbrit
119 Old Man
115 Irishhoneymonster
111 Hazel Sapling
110 westisbest
107 Pal Joey

Average Score: 152
Total Correct Picks: 24/70 or 34% (it was up around 48% before the last match)

Results:
France C
Italy T
Ireland T
Australia E
England E

Notes:
Well done tigertattie! You got 90 points for your Ireland T golden match. (45 x 2)  
Alfie also bagged 50 points for his England N golden match. (25 x 2)
A good start... but there's still such a long way to go.
If anyone wants to adjust their selections or winning margins (for those who did the 40 matches) just post your changes below and I'll give it a "like".

Thanks.

Right missed Japan chile game.

South Africa v Scotland. South Africa N
Wales v Fiji. Wales N

Predicitons for the second round of fixtures:

Pool A
France v Uruguay Fra T
NZ v Namibia NZ T (GM)

Pool B
Ireland v Tonga Ire T
South Africa v Romania SA T (GM)

Pool C
Australia v Fiji Aus E
Wales v Portugal Wal T

Pool D
England v Japan Eng E
Samoa v Chile Sam T

A bit predictable this week's fixtures, just copied and pasted Galted's work. You can accuse me of plagiarism

Pool A
France v Uruguay Fra T
NZ v Namibia NZ T (GM)

Pool B
Ireland v Tonga Ire T
South Africa v Romania SA T (GM)

Pool C
Australia v Fiji Aus E
Wales v Portugal Wal T

Pool D
England v Japan Eng E
Samoa v Chile Sam T

Points Table after Match 8

304 nlpnlp
300 andyi
299 BamBam
291 Galted
288 alfie
262 tigertattie
259 doctor_grey
246 Duty
238 RiscaGame
230 Old Man
226 Irishhoneymonster
214 Pal Joey
206 Lowlandbrit
172 westisbest
136 Hazel Sapling

Average Score: 245
Total Correct Picks: 34/114 or 29.82%

Results:
Japan T
South Africa E
Wales C

Absolutely staggered that I'm not in the lead. The standard of rugby so far has fallen far short of the standard of my predictions.

Galted wrote:Absolutely staggered that I'm not in the lead.  The standard of rugby so far has fallen far short of the standard of my predictions.

l*l
You're doing pretty well... within striking distance of the lead.

Kicking myself for going a bit soft on a few picks. Now realising there may be more thrashings.
I had high hopes for Namibia keeping the scoreline a little closer but Italy had other ideas.
Was also worried when SA came out in those alternate jerseys and the score was rather close at half time... but they shone through in the end.

Also noticed... that first France-NZ game, last conversion, when one flag was up and the other down. If it would have ended up 29-13... then it would have been an E and not a C (at 27-13) and would have significantly affected the rankings on here. Just a bit of trivia for you...

Pal Joey wrote:

Galted wrote:Absolutely staggered that I'm not in the lead.  The standard of rugby so far has fallen far short of the standard of my predictions.

l*l
You're doing pretty well... within striking distance of the lead.

Kicking myself for going a bit soft on a few picks. Now realising there may be more thrashings.
I had high hopes for Namibia keeping the scoreline a little closer but Italy had other ideas.
Was also worried when SA came out in those alternate jerseys and the score was rather close at half time... but they shone through in the end.

Also noticed... that first France-NZ game, last conversion, when one flag was up and the other down. If it would have ended up 29-13... then it would have been an E and not a C (at 27-13) and would have significantly affected the rankings on here. Just a bit of trivia for you...

Think I've had 3 results which were one point off the next bracket - 2 to the good and lost out on the other.

Galted wrote:

Pal Joey wrote:

Galted wrote:Absolutely staggered that I'm not in the lead.  The standard of rugby so far has fallen far short of the standard of my predictions.

l*l
You're doing pretty well... within striking distance of the lead.

Kicking myself for going a bit soft on a few picks. Now realising there may be more thrashings.
I had high hopes for Namibia keeping the scoreline a little closer but Italy had other ideas.
Was also worried when SA came out in those alternate jerseys and the score was rather close at half time... but they shone through in the end.

Also noticed... that first France-NZ game, last conversion, when one flag was up and the other down. If it would have ended up 29-13... then it would have been an E and not a C (at 27-13) and would have significantly affected the rankings on here. Just a bit of trivia for you...

Think I've had 3 results which were one point off the next bracket - 2 to the good and lost out on the other.

Yeah, a C is always a good bet if your team wins. If you're either side with an N or an E... you score 37 points. But only if it's 4 below and 14 above.
Same with an E... 37 points for a C and a T but with a much larger range available if you're only off a rung. 10 below and infinity above.

The random nature of red cards doesn't help much. Thought England v Argentina was as nailed on a draw as you'll find in rugby, then the Argies fell apart only having to play against 14 men. You should introduce a 10 point bonus lottery for each red card predicted.

Galted wrote:The random nature of red cards doesn't help much.  Thought England v Argentina was as nailed on a draw as you'll find in rugby, then the Argies fell apart only having to play against 14 men.  You should introduce a 10 point bonus lottery for each red card predicted.

Or a 20-point Morné Steyn bonus for a single player scoring all the points with kicks. Although to be fair, Morné also scored a try when he scored his 31 points against the All Blacks in 2009.

Okay start, just missed a couple by the odd point too!

Week 2: Time for my first Golden Match picks.

Pool A
France v Uruguay Fra T
NZ v Namibia NZ T (GM)

Pool B
Ireland v Tonga Ire E
South Africa v Romania SA T (GM)

Pool C
Australia v Fiji Aus C
Wales v Portugal Wal T

Pool D
England v Japan Eng E
Samoa v Chile Sam T

Astonished to be doing so well - at least so far. Would have been even better if Fiji had converted that last try. Can't complain though......if that chap hadn't dropped the ball at the end Wales and I may have lost... I feel lucky

France v Uruguay = France T (GM for Pool A)
New Zealand v Namibia = New Zealand T
Samoa v Chile = Samoa T
Wales v Portugal = Wales T
Ireland v Tonga = Ireland T
South Africa v Romania = South Africa T (GM for Pool B)
Australia v Fiji = Fiji C
England v Japan = England E

Think I'll upgrade some winning margins

Ireland - Tonga... Ireland T
England - Japan... England T

Pool A
NZ v Namibia. NZ T

Pool B
Ireland v Tonga. Ireland E
South Africa v Romania. SA T

Pool C
Australia v Fiji. Fiji C
Wales v Portugal. Wales E

Pool D
England v Japan. England E
Samoa v Chile. Samoa E

Looks like no-one foresaw that France's second string side had never actually played together before.

Pool A
NZ v Namibia NZ T (GM)

Pool B
Ireland v Tonga Ire E
South Africa v Romania SA T (GM)

Pool C
Australia v Fiji Aus C
Wales v Portugal Wal T

Pool D
England v Japan Eng E
Samoa v Chile Sam E

Missed the Pool A matches. Here are my guesses for the weekend

Pool B
Ireland v Tonga Ire C
South Africa v Romania SA T

Pool C
Australia v Fiji Aus T
Wales v Portugal Wal T

Pool D
England v Japan Eng E
Samoa v Chile Sam T

Thanks Hazel,

I'm assuming you probably would have tipped France and NZ to win.  
Nobody got the France winning margin exactly correct. We all picked one rung off and scored 37 points. Everyone got the NZ T exactly correct (45).

So, I'll add half of 82 = 41 points to your tally... to get you moving again. Also don't forget your 4 golden matches... unless you're saving for later.

Same goes for tigertattie and BamBam who missed the last 2 games... but only if they can get the rest of the round picks in before the next match. Otherwise, I'll have to assume that they've dropped out. Which would be a shame.

Also ~ half of 37 points = 19 points for Irishhoneymonster and westisbest who both missed the Fra-Uru match but have now submitted their picks.


Doesn't affect the table rankings at all... just squeezes the lower scores upwards a bit.  Hope everyone else is OK with that.

I'll post the updated table up after today's matches.

Points Table after Match 13

550 nlpnlp
546 andyi
545 Galted
530 alfie
505 doctor_grey
492 Duty
484 Old Man
468 Pal Joey
446 Irishhoneymonster
439 RiscaGame
387 Lowlandbrit
355 westisbest
299 BamBam
284 Hazel Sapling
262 tigertattie

Average Score: 439
Total Correct Picks: 61/175 or 34.86%

Results:
France E
New Zealand T
Samoa T
Wales E
Ireland T

Points Table after Match 16

685 nlpnlp
681 andyi
680 Galted
672 Duty
649 alfie
624 doctor_grey
619 Old Man
595 Pal Joey
581 Irishhoneymonster
574 RiscaGame
498 Lowlandbrit
490 westisbest
374 Hazel Sapling
299 BamBam
262 tigertattie

Average Score: 552
Total Correct Picks: 84/214 or 39.25%

Results:
South Africa T
Fiji C
England E