Possible World Cup Semi

[SouthsvsNRL]

Australia vs Somoa/Tonga or France

England vs New Zealand

Should be tight. All it takes is one bad game for the Aussies and they finish
in second or third. I thinkl the Aussies will be far to good but you never know.
The Tri nations last year were tight and very competitive.

Somoa and tonga will be entertaining to say the least. With the NRL players should
bring a lot of proffesionalism and competitivness.

France will make the play off game but I'm sure Fiji will give them a run for their money.

The games all round look fantastic. Great outcome really.

I'm impressed.

 

[roopy]

The only teams i give no chance of being number 4 in the semi's are Scotland and Ireland, and they can cause an upset or two if things go their way.

PNG, France, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji are all contenders.

 

[BatiFan]

I dont want to sound negative, but isnt it a shame we didnt have 12 teams and split them into 4 groups of 3. We could have seen the likes of Lebanon, Wales or USA in there adding something extra to the competition. It would also have allowed OZ, NZ, England and France to head each pool. Oh well, will still be great watching it all unfold next year. Samoa vs Tonga, Fiji vs France and OZ vs England (to be played in Melbourne on the same weekend as Derby Day races and the Sunday preceding the Melbourne Cup) are the pick of the games for me.

 

[roughyedspud]

i don't think australia will finish top of pool A........


england & new zealand (A) are capable of beating australia and if that happens....who knows.


i'm in 2 minds as what i want england to do.. do we go all out and try to finish top of the group which means playing our very best side against australia or do we concentrate on beating PNG & NZ to secure a 2rd or 3rd place and rest players for the australia game??

that might sound daft to think that but this is tournament rugby,we don't have to win every game,we should target games we can win and rest players for a game that does'nt matter if we win..??

it's a good job we've got tony smith in charge,as the last test series shown he's not afraid to change a winning side where as if we still had brian noble in charge he'd play the same 5 forwards for every game,like he did last year in the tri nations,and come the latter stages they were all knackered..


does anyone know how big the world cup squads are allowed to be? is it 25 ?

 

[girvie]

Australia vs Somoa/Tonga or France

England vs New Zealand

If it works out like that which one would be in Sydney and which one in Brisbane?

 

[roughyedspud]

ENG v NZ in brisbane
AUS v xxx in sydney

 

[SouthsvsNRL]

Batifan ... you need to forget about the whole 12 team comp. We have a great 10 team comp coming to our shores and we need to get behind it.


:crazy:

This will be the best World Cup ever. Can't wait to the squads start to get named.

I tell you this if NZ played Somoa or Tonga in the semi that would be a awsome game. The fans whould flock to that one.

 

[roughyedspud]

NZ are'nt going to finish top of the group....so you can forget about that..

 

[roughyedspud]

don't worry about a NZ v samoa/tonga semi...never gonna happen

 

[Kurt Angle]

The only teams i give no chance of being number 4 in the semi's are Scotland and Ireland, and they can cause an upset or two if things go their way.

PNG, France, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji are all contenders.

Somehow I don't see that playing out.

 

[roughyedspud]

thats impossible......PNG can't finish 4th


one of the flaws of the format..

 

[roopy]

thats impossible......PNG can't finish 4th


one of the flaws of the format..

yeah - i thought of that as i was pushing the button to make the post.

 

[Nz]

ENG v NZ in brisbane
AUS v xxx in sydney

So the top 3 teams in pool one qualify to the semis?

 

[The Engineers Room]

They needed to make the format a little different. As it stands PNG has little to no chance of making the semis. It would be better for them to be in the other pool.

I can see what they are trying to do but maybe the format should have been.

Pool 1
Australia
NZ
England
PNG

Pool 2
Scotland
Fiji
Tonga

Pool 3
Ireland
Samoa
France

Play each other once.

Then qualifiers

winner pool 2 v 4th place pool 1 (a)
winner pool 3 v 3rd place pool 1 (b)

Then semis
1st place pool 1 v winner game a (c)
2nd place pool 2 v winner game b (d)

Then final
winner game c v winner game d

That way you still get alot of quality tight matches with plenty to play for and the top 4 nations are rewarded.

 

[International RL]

They needed to make the format a little different. As it stands PNG has little to no chance of making the semis. It would be better for them to be in the other pool.

I can see what they are trying to do but maybe the format should have been.

Pool 1
Australia
NZ
England
PNG

Pool 2
Scotland
Fiji
Tonga

Pool 3
Ireland
Samoa
France

Play each other once.

Then qualifiers

winner pool 2 v 4th place pool 1 (a)
winner pool 3 v 3rd place pool 1 (b)

Then semis
1st place pool 1 v winner game a (c)
2nd place pool 2 v winner game b (d)

Then final
winner game c v winner game d

That way you still get alot of quality tight matches with plenty to play for and the top 4 nations are rewarded.

Yeah the format is less than ideal with the 6 sides on the other side of the draw fighting for 1 spot. I guess it is what it is. I am really looking forward to the playoff for the semi spot. Should be a cracker.

I hate the Super Pool at first, but now I have come to love it. I think having high quality games at the early stages of the cup stops it from being boring like the Union and Cricket were and takes into account the realities of our game. I think this WC will go off and will really be the launching pad for future international expansion. I can't wait!

 

[Kurt Angle]

That was pretty much te consensus some time ago, August and September

http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showthread.php?t=184338&page=2

 

[roopy]

Interesting that the Australian netball coach said on the news last night that they needed a format where the top four got to play each other in the prelims to avoid blowouts - maybe we can sell them our format??

 

[bender]

The worst thing about the super group is the selection of team 4. It would be a different story if PNG wanted to be there, but they just dont create the the image of a 4th super power and shouldnt be there. The only way this can be forgiven, is if it is followed up with a serious push into PNG before and after to ensure that there whole set up is professionalised and they get financial rewards from being placed in the group.

There are two far better options.

France for starters. The french are starting to get a good name. They have a longer history. They have run each of the big 3 very close in the last couple of years. They have a team in the ESL, they are on the improve. And, i actually think they have a better chance of making the semis in the supergroup (due to being underestimated and pulling out a blinder), than they have of beating the NRL and ESL stacked sides. In fact, their recent record against even Fiji suggests they may not beat these sides. A poor placing in the group will look bad on them.

The other option which should have been taken would have been good was the repecharge qualifier. Western Samoa would have been awesome as the 4th team. For a start, they would attract some great players and could actually beat one of the other 3 on a bad day. Plus, being the 10th ranked team, it would not look bad if they are well beaten. A samoa vs New Zealand game would actually be a block buster, as opposed to NZ vs PNG.

Failing this, even a random draw for the spot would have been a lot better. At least it would have been chance. and most sides would have probably fancied a shot at the big 3 a lot more than PNG.

 

[pcpp]

I don't understand why PNG don't want to be in the Super pool.

Firstly, it gives them the chance to play against the top nations. PNG haven't played all the top nations in a proper tournament since 1992?

If PNG really believe they are the best side in Pool B and C, they should challenge the teams in the Super Pool for a win.

If they play in Pool B and C and actually win through to the semi-final, all they do is play one of the top three nations for one match, instead of three.

I honestly think PNG's path in the Super Pool may actually be easier than a Pool B and C path. I really don't understand why they are so angry.