Pacific Nations Cup

[argie]

 

[Simon the kiwi]

The best of the t2 rugby

 

[bushytop]

Great try that second one from Japan.

 

[bushytop]

... and the third! Looking in good form, just what you want from a host nation with the upcoming RWC.

 

[Simon the kiwi]

Japan

34-21

Fiji
Japan played very well. Going to be a handful Ireland and Scotland

 

[Aras Kuyumciyan]

Watching Japan playing fast-paced rugby is really entertaining. Read some comments claiming that Japan will get to the quarter finals... don't agree but still they will be an interesting team to watch.

 

[Simon the kiwi]

1. USA vs Canada

 

[AmericanRugbyFan]

The Eagles waxed Canada with ease. 5-0-1 in their last six v Canada I believe.

Can't wait for Saturday and the test v Japan

 

[Scotty]

Im watching the full games on yourtube(not live), can anyone say why there is no commentary?

 

[Dai Perk]

Im watching the full games on yourtube(not live), can anyone say why there is no commentary?

During Tonga/Samoa, they kept having video issues... However, I noticed the announcers could still be heard. But then, they had more video feed problems, and I think they assumed it was the entire feed, and they just stopped talking, even though you could hear rustling and random ambient noises...

The whole event was pretty tough, they basically had to play on a rice paddock!

 

[Scotty]

During Tonga/Samoa, they kept having video issues... However, I noticed the announcers could still be heard. But then, they had more video feed problems, and I think they assumed it was the entire feed, and they just stopped talking, even though you could hear rustling and random ambient noises...

The whole event was pretty tough, they basically had to play on a rice paddock!

That pitch was epic used to love games like that, you get players sliding for the line from way out, tackles didnt hurt half as much as hsrd ground and just generally fun. Go to side step and drink muddy water lol. Good times. Terrible to watch though

 

[Dai Perk]

Good times. Terrible to watch though

I generally love games that are played in all kinds of bad weather, and snowy fields have special appeal to me as a New England Patriots fan... But this wasn't just slippery or muddy, it was flooded... I saw the complaints asking if Tier 1 nations would have been forced to play in those conditions, and it seems a fair question... Although I'm too new a fan to know how canceling or rescheduling works.

 

[Dai Perk]

I'm looking forward to another weekend of this competition. The USA looked VERY strong against Canada, but after I watched that match, I watched the New Zealand/South Africa match, and man oh man, even for a newbie like me, the difference is obvious. It's like going from JV to Varsity.

That being said, I still think we have a shot of stealing a game in the RWC. This match against Samoa should tell us a little more than the Canada game did, especially on hostile turf. Losing Civetta is a blow for us, to be sure...

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

I'm looking forward to another weekend of this competition. The USA looked VERY strong against Canada, but after I watched that match, I watched the New Zealand/South Africa match, and man oh man, even for a newbie like me, the difference is obvious. It's like going from JV to Varsity.

That being said, I still think we have a shot of stealing a game in the RWC. This match against Samoa should tell us a little more than the Canada game did, especially on hostile turf. Losing Civetta is a blow for us, to be sure...

by stealing a game you mean once against england, argentina, or france right? cause we are beating tonga i already have it down in pen.

 

[Dai Perk]

by stealing a game you mean once against england, argentina, or france right? cause we are beating tonga i already have it down in pen.

Tonga scares me a bit, I just have a feeling we'll either beat them handily, or suddenly find ourselves 3 tries down with only 10 minutes gone by... Maybe I'm irrational.

But yeah, between Argentina potentially being exhausted or sending a 'B' side against us, perhaps the Tonga match, and perhaps France will pull a France and just mail it in for some reason... but between those three options, I feel like we can get Eagles' RWC win number four (historically).

 

[RedruthRFC]

I saw the complaints asking if Tier 1 nations would have been forced to play in those conditions, and it seems a fair question... Although I'm too new a fan to know how canceling or rescheduling works.

Maybe it's different in test rugby, but here in England, both captains have a veto on whether a game goes ahead. If the rules are the same in test rugby, nobody was forced to play in those conditions. I thought the question was rather naff - no Tier 1 nation would put themselves in a position in which this could happen.

Saying that, I do remember a night in the pub being spoiled by a lack of under pitch heating in Paris leading to a late postponement of France vs Ireland, so there is precedent for Tier 1 nations not being forced to play in dangerous conditions. The YouTube stream isn't all that sharp, but to my mind having looked like there were areas of the pitch with significant amount of standing water. Assuming that was the case, I'm very surprised that the referee allowed the game to go ahead. I have known National League matches to be postponed here in what appeared to be better conditions. In this instance, I'd imagine that the referee would have been under pressure from both unions to let the game go ahead (Tonga to avoid embarrassment, Samoa to avoid the costs associated with playing it on a different date), but his decision has made WR's policy appear inconsistent to me and called player welfare into question. Fortunately nobody suffered ill consequences, which no doubt some parties will spin as vindication of the decision, but to do so would show a lack of understanding of probability.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Maybe it's different in test rugby, but here in England, both captains have a veto on whether a game goes ahead. If the rules are the same in test rugby, nobody was forced to play in those conditions. I thought the question was rather naff - no Tier 1 nation would put themselves in a position in which this could happen.

Saying that, I do remember a night in the pub being spoiled by a lack of under pitch heating in Paris leading to a late postponement of France vs Ireland, so there is precedent for Tier 1 nations not being forced to play in dangerous conditions. The YouTube stream isn't all that sharp, but to my mind having looked like there were areas of the pitch with significant amount of standing water. Assuming that was the case, I'm very surprised that the referee allowed the game to go ahead. I have known National League matches to be postponed here in what appeared to be better conditions. In this instance, I'd imagine that the referee would have been under pressure from both unions to let the game go ahead (Tonga to avoid embarrassment, Samoa to avoid the costs associated with playing it on a different date), but his decision has made WR's policy appear inconsistent to me and called player welfare into question. Fortunately nobody suffered ill consequences, which no doubt some parties will spin as vindication of the decision, but to do so would show a lack of understanding of probability.

Interesting. I had no idea games at test level were ever postponed or cancelled. Or provincial level for that matter. We don't get very wild conditions in New Zealand though, a snowy game is a rare but savoured beauty. How often do provincial games get called off or postponed in the UK?

 

[RedruthRFC]

Interesting. I had no idea games at test level were ever postponed or cancelled.

The game I mentioned was 2012 and was rearranged for in one of the blank weekends within the tournament.

Don't forget that rugby history was very nearly derailed by a very wet afternoon in Durban in 1995. Had the game not gone ahead, the competition rules said that the winner of the semi-final would be determined by discipline, meaning that James Dalton's part in the Battle of Boet Erasmus would have ruined Morgan Freeman's chances of playing Nelson Mandela and New Zealand would currently have another star on their jerseys. Luckily, in he spirit on the Rainbow Nation that was championed throughout the tournament, some black women of a certain age with brooms were found and the game went ahead!

Or provincial level for that matter. We don't get very wild conditions in New Zealand though, a snowy game is a rare but savoured beauty. How often do provincial games get called off or postponed in the UK?

At level one (Premiership) in England, postponements are pretty rare, more often than not they come as a result of difficulties with the transport network either meaning that the opposition can't get to the match, or to discourage supporters from making what our police like to call "unnecessary journeys". Saracens postponed a European match against Clermont for that reason not that long ago.

As you go down the league pyramid in England, facilities get pretty basic pretty quickly, so postponments become increasingly commonplace as playing surfaces are more prone to freezing / getting covered in snow / getting waterlogged. By level 4, rugby is regional and England is roughly split into North and South. My home town club play in National 2 South, being in the far South-West, we benefit from warm air off the sea, so I don't remember us having to postpone a game, but we have been forced to as the opposition haven't been able to get to us. Most seasons, we have an away game or two postponed due to opposition pitches being unplayable. The North of the country tends to cop more extreme bad weather, so it is quite common for teams to find themselves playing rearranged games at the end of the league season, despite the fact that there are three spare weekends built in for rearranged games to try and ensure that the league finishes on the final weekend.

 

[Dai Perk]

Sorry for the language, but this is exactly why I ******* love the people on these forums.

Yeah, it was the standing water that made it so bad. Muddy is fine, but this was simply a flooded pitch.

 

[Dai Perk]

Feels like the Eagles are missing lots of opportunities in this match...

Can anyone tell if there are actually any fans in attendance? The high school football-style coverage only shows the mostly empty concrete risers... Suva was JUMPING for Super Rugby, are the USA that much of a turn off?