I agree Phantom.

“Dave Rennie has … told firebrand back-rower Lachlan Swinton to continue his violent approach in his first Test appearance since a red card on debut.”

Does anyone else think this will end badly?

See more:

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/lolesio-retained-at-no-10-as-rennie-makes-significant-changes-for-france-decider-20210715-p589z1.html

That’s a sensible Kiwi view Haydn. But not one shared by arrogant Australian Eastern Staters who think that no one West of Broken Hill is capable of playing rugby union.

Well said Sheikh. The arrogance of the Eastern States is sickening. If the Force win, which is looking entirely possible, the stupid headline will look even sicker.

He has about the same level of respect for umpires as the charming Australian captain.

Completely agree. I saw BJ speak once at an Australian Cricket Society function, was very impressed and learned a lot about him that I did not previously know – including that he was born in New Zealand! He is a straight shooter with a great understanding of the game and how it should be played and so I am not surprised by his comments here.

WillowWiz, your comment to “Who cares what an Indian batsman thinks?” hits the nail on the head. For as long as anyone can remember, Australian cricket teams have behaved in an unsavoury fashion on the field and, for the most part (acknowledging Paine’s recent apology after Sydney, for which he deserves at least some credit) they cannot comprehend that there is anything wrong with their approach. There are also many Australian supporters who could not care less what the rest of the world thinks about the Australian cricket team and its behaviour. But, like it or not, the rest of the world exists and it will continue to judge Australian teams harshly, and even rejoice in Australian defeats such as the one we saw at The ‘Gabba, for so long as Australian cricketers continue to behave in this way. At the end of that test match we saw a wonderful gesture from the Indian team in handing over a signed shirt to congratulate Nathan Lyon on his 100th test. What a remarkable contrast to the behaviour of their ungracious hosts. Things like this are noticed around the world too.

That’s right JCM. Dane models himself on his hero, the great Sean Fitzpatrick, who used to referee all of his own games.

Good points WillowWiz. One aspect of Paine’s performance which seems to have been swept under the carpet by Paine’s army of apologists (which now, disappointingly, includes Mike Hussey), the Sydney Morning Herald and others is the offensive and mocking use of an Indian accent by Paine during the sledging exchange. There was a Peter Sellers film called “The Party” which was released in 1968 which featured an appalling racist portrayal of an Indian man. Back then it was considered (by white Anglo-Saxon audiences) to be not only OK but hilarious. But Indian people never considered it so. According to a friend of the great Indian director Satyajit Ray, that film-maker was at the time intending to work with Sellers on a project. Then he watched “The Party”, and it was said that the chances of them working together became about as likely as P W Botha collaborating with Stephen Biko on a project. This mocking behaviour is capable of being interpreted as racist. I do not think for a moment that Paine is in fact racist but he does need to think more carefully about his actions as an Australian captain might be interpreted, especially in other parts of the world which (apparently unlike Australia) have moved on and become more enlightened since 1968. Making fun of a foreign person’s accent in this way is capable of being interpreted as an attempt to belittle them and humiliate them and portray them as an object of derision, inferior to the supposedly superior white person who is so enjoying making fun of them.

The Kiwis have done very well and certainly deserve their time in the sun, even if it is only for a matter of days until the rankings are next updated. But there is a big problem, which Austy points out here.

While many were shouting that “things will be different this time” last summer, when the Black Caps were ranked No. 2, more astute observers doubted that the Kiwis had the self-belief to go to Australia and win. As we now know, they could not get anywhere near competing with Australia. Frankly, they were a major embarrassment.

There were New Zealand cricket teams at certain times during the 1980s which could take on anyone anywhere, such as the team which won a test series in Australia 2-1 in 1985/1986; this current team is not yet at that level.

Unless and until the Kiwis can overcome their palpable psychological “hoodoo” which still surrounds playing Australia they can never seriously be regarded as the best team in the world, no matter what the rankings say for a brief moment in time. They had a golden chance last summer to prove that they are no longer suffering from the “hoodoo” but demonstrated precisely the opposite. If they do make the final against Australia at Lord’s their odds of winning would be no better than 40-1.

What will he get at the end of the course – a certificate saying that Pablo Matera doesn’t really like to run over black people in his car?

As someone has just commented on Cricinfo during the latest humiliating loss today, the Black Caps simply have a “mental block” about playing Australia. The drought mentioned in the headline will continue for so long as the Black Caps regard themselves as markedly inferior to the Australian cricket team. They should be sent to a “sports psychologist” or something.

True, DaveJ, but on the evidence of the recent disastrous tour to Australia, and the evidence of the past 35 years generally, the Black Caps have a deep-seated inferiority complex about playing the Australians. On the obverse side of the coin, the Australians have a ferocious determination not to lose to a bunch of Kiwis. So the odds remain overwhelmingly in Australia’s favour despite the most recent form, how the teams look on paper, the potential of individual players or anything else.

To be fair, Fiddlestix, Farrell did seem to wave his arms in the direction of Kolbe but by then Kolbe was already three time zones ahead of him. Farrell trying to use his arms in a tackle for the first time looked a bit like a fish trying to ride a bicycle.

Well, the highlight for me was the detailed speculation about whether it was possible for Eddie Jones as an Aussie to receive a Knighthood and whether all members of the England squad would receive honours for winning the World Cup. Like Eddie, they seemed to think that beating the All Blacks had already won them the World Cup. Absolutely extraordinary disrespect for the great rugby nation of South Africa.

Not sure who “BackInBlack” really is. Hides behind a guest account. Pretended to be a New Zealand supporter yesterday. Now suggests that he is an England supporter. Probably in fact an out of sorts Irish supporter. Very confused whoever he is.

If the astounding story in Georgina Robinson’s just published article is true, they did have a relationship – a highly toxic one!

Quote:

“Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle was left visibly upset after a heated verbal stoush with Wallabies coach Michael Cheika at a cocktail function at the Australian embassy in Tokyo during the World Cup.

In an incident that was symptomatic of the degenerating relationship between two of Australia’s highest-ranking rugby officials, multiple sources have told the Herald that former Wallaby Morgan Turinui was forced to intervene to stop Cheika and Castle tearing into each other in front of dozens of guests at the embassy in Tokyo’s Azabu Juban district.”

It really is time to drain the swamp and start afresh.

“The problem with a performance like this is that it’s inevitably followed by a tighter game. See 2015 semi, 1995 final for examples.”

Astute point there, Kia Kaha. Perhaps 2011 final was the ultimate example!

Corne, although England v New Zealand should be a great semi-final, the real final will of course be the final contested by the two semi-final winners and something tells me that this will be between the Springboks and the All Blacks. They have played each other 99 times. What a great thing it would be if these ultimate rugby rivals played their 100th match in the final of a World Cup – is this fated to be?

A question for Roarers – is Laurie Fisher available to be appointed coach of the Wallabies? The general view, shared even by Slack, seems to be that the next coach has to be a Kiwi. I read an article recently which named 10 Kiwi coaches who might possibly be considered. But why not someone like Fisher? Certainly agree with Slack that RA should move heaven and earth to try to get Eddie Jones back as soon as possible.

I am one of those who predicted it, “Neutral”. I said that the Irish were one of the two “pretenders” who would crack under the pressure in the knock-out rounds. Wales is the other one and and should have been knocked out today but the Springboks will easily dispose of them next week.

Ultimately the Irish have a great con job on themselves and the rest of the world since upsetting the All Blacks twice in recent years. Consider the following comments:

“It was certainly a night to forget for the Irish. They have a pretty good record against the All Blacks (relatively speaking of course – no one has a good record against the All Blacks).”

That is a real slap in the face for the Springboks. At the time of writing All Blacks have played the Springboks 99 times in history and have won only 59 times (with four draws). For decades there was nothing between the two sides and often the Springboks had the upper hand. It took the All Blacks until 1996 to win a series on South African soil. In New Zealand they still say: “What was the greatest side ever to leave New Zealand?” Answer: “The 1937 Springboks”.

How is Ireland’s record of winning two matches out of 32 (with one draw) over 114 years against the All Blacks a “pretty good record”? It is almost as bad as losing all 7 of the RWC quarter-finals they have played since 1987 (Note: in 2007 they did not even get out of their pool).

Unfortunately the All Blacks did not buy all the talk about how great Irish rugby is. They saw it as nothing more a recently created myth, waiting to be smashed. Now it has been smashed.

The All Blacks will, however, face a real opponent next week in England – plainly the only team capable of stopping the Springboks and the All Blacks in this competition. That will be a contest to savour.

Munsterman, thanks for the context on that journalist/article. Here is one you might enjoy a little more – I certainly did!

https://www.derrynow.com/rugby/rugby-world-cup-munsters-1978-blacks-victory-can-inspire-ireland-weekend/280942

Munsterman, I agree from what I have seen that the Irish press has been quite balanced. My own comment (like Corne’s original comment) was made about the supporters, not the press. In fact, some Irish journalists have even expressed dismay about the arrogance of the supporters: see, for example, this article:

https://www.thesun.ie/news/4607174/ireland-team-downfall-rugby-world-cup-japan/

I think you are being a bit kind to the Irish there Corne. Their current record is actually 6/6 losses in the QFs – because in 2007 they didn’t even get out of their pool. I certainly agree that their supporters have become too cocky!

Sir Clive’s comment is absolutely right an it shows exactly why Ireland is not a serious contender. In the period leading up to the 2003 RWC the English team went to South Africa and beat the Springboks. They went to Australia and beat the Wallabies. They even went to New Zealand and beat the All Blacks there – truly the holy grail. When did Ireland do any of those things? I acknowledge that Ireland won that one-off “friendly” against an understrength NZ team in Chicago (before getting their backsides kicked by the All Blacks the next time they played – in Dublin, mind you). That is not exactly regularly beating the SH teams both home and away.

Hi Shooter and Gavin. To clarify my post, I was referencing the 2003 England team and their famous win in Wellington on 14 June 2003. It was a one-off match billed as a heavyweight championship contest and England won 15-13. On the way home they beat the Wallabies in another one-off test. I remember it like yesterday. You guys may have forgotten it – don’t worry, there are very many test matches over the years I have tried hard to forget too!

The point I was making is that that particular English team in 2003 proved in every which way that it had the toughness and resilience and leadership and self-belief and coaching nous to make it all the way through the knockout stages of a World Cup. I think the current English team probably has it too. The All Blacks have it. The Springboks have it. No other team currently going around has it. All due respect to Wales and Ireland for their recent achievements but they will crack under the pressure in this tournament.