Where will your team be come 2015 RWC?

England

IMO I think we’ll have an outside chance of winning if the fixtures are kind to us, I don’t think we’ll be the best team in the tournament but I like what SL is developing, OK it’s not ground breaking but everyone knows what they are doing which wasn’t always the case under MJ, plus I feel we are a team as apposed to a group of players coming together every now and then.

I’m also very happy with the talented players starting to come through.

In England presumably.

Pot Hale wrote:In England presumably.

Wales won't be

HERSH wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:In England presumably.

Wales won't be

Where will they be?

Seeing as they'll be playing in Cardiff my moneys on Poland.

HERSH wrote:England

IMO I think we’ll have an outside chance of winning if the fixtures are kind to us, I don’t think we’ll be the best team in the tournament but I like what SL is developing, OK it’s not ground breaking but everyone knows what they are doing which wasn’t always the case under MJ, plus I feel we are a team as apposed to a group of players coming together every now and then.

I’m also very happy with the talented players starting to come through.

2003 gets further away every year.

Up in the stands holding the World Cup up.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed are we Roger!

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Up in the stands holding the World Cup up.

Really Kia?

I was very disappointed with the All Blacks last week I think your starting to decline in terms of performance as Carter and McCaw get older, I expect SA, Aus, Fra and England to be on the up by 2015.

You never know you might get to play France again at the MS?

HERSH wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:In England presumably.

Wales won't be

Not wanting to turn this into yet another Wales v England thing but...... what the hell: If Wales get to play at home (big if at the moment too, and it will not be against a tier 1 side we've been told) it will be no different to the 1999 World Cup hosted by Wales where England played all of their group matches and their 1/4 final at home in Twickenham. Silly really, but that's what was decided.

Griff wrote:If Wales get to play at home (big if at the moment too, and it will not be against a tier 1 side we've been told) it will be no different to the 1999 World Cup hosted by Wales where England played all of their group matches and their 1/4 final at home in Twickenham. Silly really, but that's what was decided.

1/4 final was in Paris. sat behind the posts, cold wind whippiing through the gap in the stadium, Jannie de Beer knocking over 78 drop goals. A day I will never, ever forget.

I reckon we'll dip in 2013-2014 as SA and Australia come to the fore again. We'll struggle to replace Conrad Smith and the hookers but by 2015 we should be on an upward curve again and hopefully that leads to exactly where Kia says we will be.

LondonTiger wrote:

Griff wrote:If Wales get to play at home (big if at the moment too, and it will not be against a tier 1 side we've been told) it will be no different to the 1999 World Cup hosted by Wales where England played all of their group matches and their 1/4 final at home in Twickenham. Silly really, but that's what was decided.

1/4 final was in Paris. sat behind the posts, cold wind whippiing through the gap in the stadium, Jannie de Beer knocking over 78 drop goals. A day I will never, ever forget.

Ah yes, it was the semi at Twickenham. So to speak.

France to beat Argentina in the final via some controversial ref calls by Alain Rolland... you heard it here first .

LondonTiger wrote:

Griff wrote:If Wales get to play at home (big if at the moment too, and it will not be against a tier 1 side we've been told) it will be no different to the 1999 World Cup hosted by Wales where England played all of their group matches and their 1/4 final at home in Twickenham. Silly really, but that's what was decided.

1/4 final was in Paris. sat behind the posts, cold wind whippiing through the gap in the stadium, Jannie de Beer knocking over 78 drop goals. A day I will never, ever forget.

The awesome power of a drop goal used to it's finest.

For Ireland it is as follows

I think that we will have our four provences playing strong breakdown providing quick ball for us and slow down the opposition.
I think it will have fed through to the national side by then.
We will have a decent 6 Nations winning all our home games and contesting away games. (I think all but italy will be competing and Italy will be good for 70 mins)

I would hope to get atleast second in the group and be pushing for first.

To be honest I think NZ will be felling the financial pinch by than and they will be losing players overseas, but due to their ego/pride/sustainablity they will still have the "no overseas players" policy maybe changed to no non S15 players.

France to beat New zealand in the semi final after contensious calls by ref Rolland and TJs Barnes & Walsh.

France get blown away in the final by Australia who have rebounded well from the Deans years under their new coach Warren Gatland (appointed in the summer of 2013 after the 3-0 drubbing suffered at the hands of the Lions)

LondonTiger wrote:France to beat New zealand in the semi final after contensious calls by ref Rolland and TJs Barnes & Walsh.

France get blown away in the final by Australia who have rebounded well from the Deans years under their new coach Warren Gatland (appointed in the summer of 2013 after the 3-0 drubbing suffered at the hands of the Lions)

you might have a point there.

You can now get 3/1 on England for the 2013 6 Nations Hersh - As 3rd favourites you need to get your money on quick before they are ranked number 1 in the world

Wales:
Struggle in the group, maybe make the 1/4s but be criticised heavily for not destroying the opposition. Put up a decent fight in the 1/4 final but bow out to one of either SA, NZ or OZ.

I do think that it will be 2 NH in the top 4.

If Aus loose to England can they get back in if Eng beat the bokes

HERSH wrote:

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Up in the stands holding the World Cup up.

Really Kia?

I was very disappointed with the All Blacks last week I think your starting to decline in terms of performance as Carter and McCaw get older, I expect SA, Aus, Fra and England to be on the up by 2015.

You never know you might get to play France again at the MS?

I think those teams you mention all have some growth in them and the first two teams will benefit from the injuries they have at present in terms of finding out the best players when everyone is fit and ready to go. You could probably add Argentina to that list who are on the up and they might well go further than the semis like they did in 2011.

I really don't know who will win as the groups are important. I'm hopeful a few good sides will tumble down the rankings and be in the ABs' pool in 2015 as I think we perform better when we have genuine opposition than teams who rest their best players because they think the game is already lost.

If we face France in the quarters at MS I'll be packing myself but we tend to react to disappointments well and I'd expect if Richie were still playing then he'd know what to do.

Anyway a bit of Friday fun but until we know the groups, it's all speculation. One thing's for sure, I've made a promise to myself that I will be there at the final regardless of who the teams are. The missus is already aware of that. Choose your battles...

I'd love a Wales v England Final, I might be tempted to splash the cash for that fixture too.

Who said anything about paying for a ticket. I'm going to be the ref.

HERSH wrote:I'd love a Wales v England Final, I might be tempted to splash the cash for that fixture too.

I think it would be a bigger deal for us Welsh than you English, if truth be told.

Griff wrote:

HERSH wrote:I'd love a Wales v England Final, I might be tempted to splash the cash for that fixture too.

I think it would be a bigger deal for us Welsh than you English, if truth be told.

What making the Final!

HERSH wrote:

Griff wrote:

HERSH wrote:I'd love a Wales v England Final, I might be tempted to splash the cash for that fixture too.

I think it would be a bigger deal for us Welsh than you English, if truth be told.

What making the Final!

I think we're done here.

RubyGuby wrote:You can now get 3/1 on England for the 2013 6 Nations Hersh - As 3rd favourites you need to get your money on quick before they are ranked number 1 in the world

I'd certainly wait a few weeks if your going to back Wales

England should win the 2015 world cup based on their 2011 performance.

RogerLewis wrote:England should win the 2015 world cup based on their 2011 performance.

We are due to make another final!

For us Paddies, I expect Kidney to leave in may. Who knows who will replace him. Joe Schmidt is the man people want.

The new coaches will have an ageing, injury hit squad to deal with and they'll need time to implement their own gameplan.

The next generation of Irish players are just coming through at the moment and the overall quality of the side will be much stronger by 2015 and thats taking into account the losses of BOD and POC. The problem positions like tighthead and center will have some good options, finally.

What will help Ireland is the new NIQ rules next season that says in the big 3 provinces there can only be 1 NIQ player per position ie 1 NIQ loosehead, 1 NIQ hooker etc in the 3 provinces combined.

It still doesn't go far enough IMO but its a start. We've only 4 teams, Connacht are just finding their feet, that leaves 18 NIQ players playing for the other 3 provinces at the moment which is far too much. Add in the current internationals and former internationals (Paddy Wallace, Marcus Horan etc) it leaves very little space for new players.

Joe Schmidt will be back in New Zealand in June.

We'll probably end up with Foley or someone like that...

Anyway, we could be knocked out in the pool by Scotland or someone like that, or, we will scrape 2nd in a pool and get beaten out the gate by either France or Australia, as per usual.

HERSH wrote:

RogerLewis wrote:England should win the 2015 world cup based on their 2011 performance.

We are due to make another final!

Where is your Italy to win the grandslam article?

RogerLewis wrote:

HERSH wrote:

RogerLewis wrote:England should win the 2015 world cup based on their 2011 performance.

We are due to make another final!

Where is your Italy to win the grandslam article?

?

I take it you saw our 2007 team that reached the final, IMO this current set of players are already a match for them, give them a couple more years to grow and find their feet in the International game them I believe we'll be in a very strong position, home advantage too.

This is not 1991. Other teams can now beat England in England.

Also no Gavin Hastings thank god.

Thanks for that input Roger

England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Argentina, France, Australia, SA

IMO I think they’ll have an outside chance of winning if the fixtures are kind to them, I don’t think they’ll be the best team in the tournament but I like what the coaches are developing, OK it’s not ground breaking but everyone knows what they are doing which wasn’t always the case under previous coach, plus I feel they are a team as apposed to a group of players coming together every now and then.

I’m also very happy with the talented players starting to come through.

I take it you saw our 2007 team that reached the final, IMO this current set of players are already a match for them

I'd say most U20's teams are a match for them

Pot Hale wrote:England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Argentina, France, Australia, SA

IMO I think they’ll have an outside chance of winning if the fixtures are kind to them, I don’t think they’ll be the best team in the tournament but I like what the coaches are developing, OK it’s not ground breaking but everyone knows what they are doing which wasn’t always the case under previous coach, plus I feel they are a team as apposed to a group of players coming together every now and then.

I’m also very happy with the talented players starting to come through.

Fixed it for you pot

HERSH wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Argentina, France, Australia, SA

IMO I think they’ll have an outside chance of winning if the fixtures are kind to them, I don’t think they’ll be the best team in the tournament but I like what the coaches are developing, OK it’s not ground breaking but everyone knows what they are doing which wasn’t always the case under previous coach, plus I feel they are a team as apposed to a group of players coming together every now and then.

I’m also very happy with the talented players starting to come through.

Fixed it for you pot

Nope you didn't.

I love the delusion that had been created by England scraping past Italy and Scotland. Apparently they can now win the world cup.

I hope beating Fiji isn't giving you false hope?

England were so close to taking over the world, but then this happened..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFgfGlbkrII&feature=youtube_gdata_player

RogerLewis wrote:I love the delusion that had been created by England scraping past Italy and Scotland. Apparently they can now win the world cup.

I hope beating Fiji isn't giving you false hope?

No but the Grandslam next year will do nicely. How did the Welsh game go last week?

Come on Duty, your better than that mate (I hope)

Not sure why we are talking about the world cup yet, what is it with you HERSH, are you trying to set a record for threads created?

Duty281 wrote:

RogerLewis wrote:I love the delusion that had been created by England scraping past Italy and Scotland. Apparently they can now win the world cup.

I hope beating Fiji isn't giving you false hope?

No but the Grandslam next year will do nicely. How did the Welsh game go last week?

It went very bad. Thank goodness we're current grandslam champions? When did England last win the slam? Remember the slam is easy to win as it's only against weak European nations.

Was it 2012? No that was Wales...
How about 2010? No that was France...
Surely 2009?? Nope was Ireland, who win every 67 years..

2008? No it was Wales...
2005? No, still Wales....

It was 2003!!!! In a couple of months we will be saying, "England, champions of the world but not a slam in 10 years. How did the minnows next door win 3?"

Duty281 wrote:

RogerLewis wrote:I love the delusion that had been created by England scraping past Italy and Scotland. Apparently they can now win the world cup.

I hope beating Fiji isn't giving you false hope?

No but the Grandslam next year will do nicely. How did the Welsh game go last week?

Absolutely hammered. By the 5th Best Team In The World

RogerLewis wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

RogerLewis wrote:I love the delusion that had been created by England scraping past Italy and Scotland. Apparently they can now win the world cup.

I hope beating Fiji isn't giving you false hope?

No but the Grandslam next year will do nicely. How did the Welsh game go last week?

It went very bad. Thank goodness we're current grandslam champions? When did England last win the slam? Remember the slam is easy to win as it's only against weak European nations.

Was it 2012? No that was Wales...
How about 2010? No that was France...
Surely 2009?? Nope was Ireland, who win every 67 years..

2008? No it was Wales...
2005? No, still Wales....

It was 2003!!!! In a couple of months we will be saying, "England, champions of the world but not a slam in 10 years. How did the minnows next door win 3?"

Grand slams are easy. The ABs have managed it every time they've attempted one in the last decade


I really don't get anglo-welsh rugby willy measuring contests. Small vs smaller ...


My money's on South Africa to win RWC 2015. No-one's ever successfully defended it (Australia 2003 came closest, followed by Eng 2007) so NZ are unlikely to hold on.

New Zealand will win it again unless that meet France.

England will win it again if they can avoid NZ, Australia, SA, France, Argentina, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy.

Pot Hale wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

RogerLewis wrote:I love the delusion that had been created by England scraping past Italy and Scotland. Apparently they can now win the world cup.

I hope beating Fiji isn't giving you false hope?

No but the Grandslam next year will do nicely. How did the Welsh game go last week?

Absolutely hammered. By the 5th Best Team In The World

So Wales are nowhere being the 5th best in the World, interesting.

RogerLewis wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

RogerLewis wrote:I love the delusion that had been created by England scraping past Italy and Scotland. Apparently they can now win the world cup.

I hope beating Fiji isn't giving you false hope?

No but the Grandslam next year will do nicely. How did the Welsh game go last week?

It went very bad. Thank goodness we're current grandslam champions? When did England last win the slam? Remember the slam is easy to win as it's only against weak European nations.

Was it 2012? No that was Wales...
How about 2010? No that was France...
Surely 2009?? Nope was Ireland, who win every 67 years..

2008? No it was Wales...
2005? No, still Wales....

It was 2003!!!! In a couple of months we will be saying, "England, champions of the world but not a slam in 10 years. How did the minnows next door win 3?"

Now when did Wales last win the World Cup? When did Wales last reach the final of a World Cup? Oh dear. Still, as the NH's 3rd best nation, they don't do such a bad job.