Rugby World Cup

[Santino67]

Very unlucky on Wales after a great performance against the current holders. Can"t say I"ve been overly impressed by the other "home nations" so far, tempted to have a wee punt on France for value after the opening round of matches. I know it"s early days but Australia looking big favourites despite the All Blacks" home advantage. Any thoughts?

[Mikeyboy9361]

England were awful, no intensity or inventiveness, Stevens and Hartley brought the necessary impetus up front and Youngs speed at the base resulted in us grabbing an unlikely win, but at least it was a win.
On the other side of the coin, Wales were excellent, but lost! It was a very good performance with great physicality, and many stand out performances.
Didn"t see Scotland or Ireland, but the results weren"t too impressive.
About 5 weeks ago I had £60 in my PP account and lumped £50 on the All Blacks and a tenner on England, not so sure about the All Blacks now though, as it appears the Aussies have worked "em out.

[AceOnTheRiver]

Grant won"t like this but....

Georgia look good value to beat Scotland at 10/1. They are ranked above Romania and Scotland have a 4 day turnaround whereas Georgia are fresh.

[Santino67]

Grant won"t like this but....

Georgia look good value to beat Scotland at 10/1. They are ranked above Romania and Scotland have a 4 day turnaround whereas Georgia are fresh.

Wouldn"t surprise me mate, but yeah you"re right I don"t like it  

[Scousebill]

They nearly done it..... Good way to get to sleep after doing nights though... Watch Scotland...

[Mikeyboy9361]

They nearly done it..... Good way to get to sleep after doing nights though... Watch Scotland...

LOL, and we thought England were bad!

[Santino67]

They nearly done it..... Good way to get to sleep after doing nights though... Watch Scotland...

LOL, and we thought England were bad!

Yeah we thought England were bad as well  

[bear21]

Just to say GREAT result by IRELAND today against australia  
Just need the WELSH to do the same tomorrow !!
COME ON WALES  

[Mikeyboy9361]

Well played Ireland, terrific performance that has turned the whole competition up side down!

[Honeybadg]

Odds to win the World Cup

Australia 8/1
Ireland 28/1

(Wales 37/1)

Both Ireland and Wales looking good value to back to lay later ...

Ireland vs Wales would be a classic QF

Got to be worth a tickle on Ireland.

L

[Mikeyboy9361]

Scotland certainly gave England a fright! But England came through after a fantastic first half from Scotland, Youngs had a shocker for England, and we have to up the intensity from the kick off. Palmer and Wigglesworth made a massive difference, as did Flood although Jonny was awesome in defence. But we"re through, bring on the Frogs!

[Honeybadg]

Weird game - England didn"t turn up in the first half - but in the second half much more incisive ...

What happened to Wilkinson"s remote control ball he used against Romania?

Stevens is so useless in the scrum.

Cole seems to be pretty weak too.

Kick those two out, and have Flood in for Wilkinson then England much better.

Scotland - I think we needed to have both Evans and De Luca on from the start - England there for the taking but not enough daylight and England have the better impact players.

Scotland really lack an exciting winger - great battle but not enough gamble to score a try.

Pretty pleased with my money on Ireland!

I would chop the downside pre the final vs NZ - but if Carter is injured it all starts to get very interesting.

L

[duke3016]

Slow first half but always in control  

Awesome second half.

Now let"s prepare for the Welsh properly......

[Newportlad]

Wales Vs Irleland QF looks like being a belter.
Both teams looked good in the Group Stages, so looking forward to a classic.

5.30am kickoff is a bit crap though. Will be trying to find some pubs in Newport that will be open for this.

[ThinkerJE]

All Blacks have to be a LAY at 1.82 - fancy them to lose in the semis again

Springboks vs Aussies is too close to call and will be super tough game - Aussies just to nick it

Ireland are STILL great EW value at 14/1 - Wales are exciting with ball in hand and will be tough but think experience will tell overall & either England or the French in the semi is very winnable for the Irish

Who knows what is up with the French? - although they could turn it on against England on Saturday they have been awful in the tournament to date

England need to improve on discipline but they know how to win ugly and should beat the French

Therefore QF selections are IRE, ENG, AUS & NZ with a IRE vs AUS final (and may have a cheeky few quid on the 80 mins draw and extra time)

Should be a cracking weekend.