RWC Semi Final: New Zealand - Australia (16-10-2011, 21:00)

[Darwin]

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY DONALD?!?!?!?!?!

WHAT DID mCALISTER DO TO gh??? :'(

Played rubbish rugby, then threw his toys and broke his NZRFU contract and went overseas because he didn't get in the AB's. If he hadn't been such a spoilt brat and had actually honoured his contract he may well be in the squad now. I have no sympathy at all for McAlister. In contrast Donald honoured his contract and stuck around in NZ so gets his chance. I'm not a big Donald fan, but he is clearly the right choice in my opinion. I actually think McAlister has more talent in his left testicle than Donald... if he had a fraction of Donald's commitment he could well have over 50 AB's caps right now, and be on the way to becoming one of the AB's greats.

 

[TNT88]

I wouldn't usually wish for injuries for any player. But If Cruden goes down in the warm up it will make my day

 

[Icemn]

Played rubbish rugby, then threw his toys and broke his NZRFU contract and went overseas because he didn't get in the AB's. If he hadn't been such a spoilt brat and had actually honoured his contract he may well be in the squad now. I have no sympathy at all for McAlister. In contrast Donald honoured his contract and stuck around in NZ so gets his chance. I'm not a big Donald fan, but he is clearly the right choice in my opinion. I actually think McAlister has more talent in his left testicle than Donald... if he had a fraction of Donald's commitment he could well have over 50 AB's caps right now, and be on the way to becoming one of the AB's greats.

ok fair enough,... i didn't know that he broke his contract etc... OK Donald it is... much beter than tony brown... cuz i heared rumors of Tony being selected

 

[TNT88]

Joubert will be the ref. Owens and Poite as AR's.

Joubert is the best ref for this game, and both teams know him well. It should be good.

 

[Jer1cho]

Australian team announced:

TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

 

[TNT88]

Funny twitter post from Quade:

And who are you playing for now?RT @andyeban: @QuadeCooperThe all blacks are going to destroy. I played better rugby than you when i was 11

 

[Icemn]

Australian team announced:

TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

i know its off topic and the wrong forum but , you can't blame the ref... you had your chances in that game!! AUS were horrible...how can you not beat them??? oh i know... Furie Du Preez... how crap was he whole game??? my word... but you opted for experience... you can't blame the ref... the AB could have blame the ref for 2007 exit against france but at the end of the day.. they wasted their own chances... you had more than enough chances to win that game... the players you selected for that game was wrong... du preez..steyn..banana..JDV...smit... why not hougaard/sarel pretorius on 9... lambie on 10... Aplon...de jogh and bismark??

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Define this logic:

He was not one of the top halfbacks but he still probably deserved a spot over Ellis in the squad.... :S

Weepu was almost certain to go to the WC in 2007 until he hit problems with the coaching staff.

He was never going to play in the big matches - he was not one of the top halfbacks. Kelleher owned the role and Leonard was a solid impact player, the third berth was irrelevant.

 

[smartcooky]

At the moment, I literally have no clue what to make of Stephen Donald being in the squad now.

I would rather they called up Benji Marshall!

 

[ranger]

Weepu was poor in 2007 - he still probably deserved a spot over Ellis, but he was not one of the top halfbacks.

Naahh i think he definitely should have been in the squad in 2007. Another guy that could have proved a major difference in my opinion would have been Rua Tipoki. He was playing some awesome rugby and with Umaga just leaving they really needed a bit of mana in the midfield.
I think he may have got a look in if he didnt get himself suspended.

 

[Tricia McMillan]

I would rather they called up Benji Marshall!

How about Lachie Munro?

 

[donmcdazzle]

I wouldn't usually wish for injuries for any player. But If Cruden goes down in the warm up it will make my day

I don't like seeing guys get injured either, but if Pocock does himself a mischief I won't cry for him

 

[Tricia McMillan]

I don't like seeing guys getting injured either, which is why I hope Quade Cooper doesn't get injured, plays 80 minutes at 10 and plays the same way he did against the Springboks.

 

[Black Heart]

How about Lachie Munro?

Are you serious? The kid can kick a ball but his c.v. specs don't extent much beyond that.

 

[Tricia McMillan]

Are you serious?

No, not really.

I just have a really strange obsession with the guy...

... let's just say that he and I are within a few months of each other in age and both grew up in Auckland. I'll leave it at that.

 

[Black Heart]

He was never going to play in the big matches - he was not one of the top halfbacks. Kelleher owned the role and Leonard was a solid impact player, the third berth was irrelevant.

He was set to go which put him under Kelleher next to Leonard. Henry was still in his rotation mindset at that time so it's not for any of us to say who would have started what games.

 

[Sam Owen]

Since my team has failed to make the finals stages, the All Blacks is the team Im going for.

I think the All Blacks will win the world cup because of these reasons....

-They're already a very good side. Year in year out they're ranked either 2nd best or 1st best team in the world, Ive never heard of them being ranked 3rd but thats probably because I mainly hear of the rankings in NZ. They also have the respect of other teams, often before a team takes on the ABs you often hear their captain say this is the pinnacle of Rugby, playing the ABs and blah blah blah...

-Homeground advantage. Eden Park seems to serve the ABs well and the fans will give them all the support they need. Another thing is you dont often hear of the ABs losing at home. I feel that one of the All Blacks main strengths is playing at home and the have a record to prove this.

-Consistency. The All Blacks are always hard to beat, they are consistent in their game, they always bring it. Even when they lose, its not by much. All the games the ABs lost, where things didnt go their way, IMO was due to their opponents lifting their game and things going the way of the opposition. At anytime, you cant play against the ABs and have so many things go wrong and then win.

At the same I can write out a list of reasons why I think the Wallies would win the RWC 'cos they're just fantastic, but Ive praised them many times before and this week Im going for the All Blacks!!

 

[nickdnz]

Played rubbish rugby, then threw his toys and broke his NZRFU contract and went overseas because he didn't get in the AB's. If he hadn't been such a spoilt brat and had actually honoured his contract he may well be in the squad now. I have no sympathy at all for McAlister. In contrast Donald honoured his contract and stuck around in NZ so gets his chance. I'm not a big Donald fan, but he is clearly the right choice in my opinion. I actually think McAlister has more talent in his left testicle than Donald... if he had a fraction of Donald's commitment he could well have over 50 AB's caps right now, and be on the way to becoming one of the AB's greats.

It's terrible, but true. McAlister is a fantastic player, has every thing you want in an inside back physically. Agile, Strong, Elusive, Massive Boot and has that x-factor. It's his attitude that has let him down and probably cost him a RWC spot. Even if he was fully fit, you can't honestly say he deserves a spot, which is a shame as he could be exactly what the All Blacks need.

 

[Sam Owen]

How about Lachie Munro?

His last name rhymes with no.

 

[Larksea]

I will admit though I would rather have a fit and in form Colin Slade in the All Blacks right now seriously I don't believe Slade has been playing very well or as well as Donald has done for the All Blacks overall. Donald had a few average tests in 22 caps (most of the time Don did his job or better. Slade has had a few average tests in a row and made worse mistakes than anything Donald did in Hong Kong last year - the test that all but ended Don's test carrier. Can anyone honestly say now that Slade would have done a better job than Donald did on that day off a long injury break and 4 games of ITM cup? Slade hasn't really looked an all black since he test debut last year and he's looked just ok at best even against minor teams in pool phase. Teams that Donald would have a field day against.

One thing I've said a few times is that Donald has never had a bad on NZ soil (bar the first test vs. france in 2008 where the whole team played **** and the All Blacks forwards got the snot kicked out of them) wind the clock back 2009 and Donald had a superb game on eden park against Australia. Donald has made some important contributions off the bench against Australia both Brisbane 08 and Sydney 09.

It's not Donalds job to win the world cup but I think he will be a solid backup to cruden. He can kick goals and he's kicked in the region of 75% of his goals for the All Blacks and he can tackle as good as any 10 in world rugby. I'd love nothing more than to see Donald go out and be himself play well and be part of the team that lifts the cup and have the NZ public see him in better light, light that I think he deserves.

Would be great to see a scene like this at least one more time. lol

http://www.espnscrum.com/newzealand/rugby/story/100300.html