RWC: Springboks - Samoa (30-09-2011, 20:30)

[SelimNiai]

Ezequiel - I hope so, would just hate it if the ref did give 50/50 calls the wrong way just coz of peronal loyalty.

That's it squire, get yer excuses in early.

Dont be such a f***wit and even dare hint that Owens will even dream of attempting to ref the game in a way that may benefit Wales. If SA play well enough then they will win it anyway so just focus on your own team

 

[callsign.springbok]

SA by more than seven. Should open up in the last 25-30 and run in a few tries. Go on Bismarck! Will be great to see him wearing 2 instead of 16

 

[SavageLez]

http://www.rugbydump.com/2010/08/1569/referee-nigel-owens-takes-a-tumble-at-soccer-city

Bet Nigel enjoyed the collission, lol!

 

[SelimNiai]

Oh so its gay references now is it.

Grow up

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Oh so its gay references now is it.

Grow up

Well said.

 

[Thingimubob]

Can anybody explain why NIGEL OWENS (WALES) is refereeing this game. I can't understand why they don't use a totally neutral ref for a game like this. This match could ultimately mean the end of the road for Wales and here they appoint a Welsh ref who could have an interest and/or influence on how the game pans out!

...you've obviously never seen Owens referee a match with a welsh region in before then? Honestly, he does not give a sh*t where you come from or whats at stake for whoever, as long as you abide by his rules.

 

[callsign.springbok]

nigel owens is a solid ref - now that freewheeling Wayne Barnes on the other hand...

*solid enough in terms of refereeing consistency I mean, not many would be solid enough to withstand a ricocheting between Juan Smith and Schalk Burger.

 

[SavageLez]

SelimNiai - Hope I did not offend you!

Just knew you would take it, James Hook, line and sinker after your earlier comments, lol!

No, but seriously. The IRB have appointed many referees for this tourney and I feel that a conflict of interest can be avoided. In fact I feel it is not fair on the referee actually. I am also not saying that the ref will be bias towards Wales particularly. On the flip side he may not like or support Wales even though he is from there. This is just my opinion, it does not mean that I am right and it does not mean that you need to do name calling (SelimNiai).

We are all entitled to opinions and I am all for NEUTRAL refs. Even though I am of the opinion that Southern Hemisphere refs (mostly SA) are brilliant I do not feel it is right that a South African referee were to ref a RWC Final if it were the Springboks vs. Australia for example. I know this scenario is highly unlikely after the Irish won and NZ will probably be in the final but that is just my opinion. Have yours and discuss it but let's stop the name calling SelimNiai.

 

[Dizzy]

My heart is with Samoa. My head is with SA... After that performance against Fiji, I just don't think Samoa can do it. They only JUST managed to score their tries against a Fijian side they had on the ropes all match. And it looks like Tusi could be missing this match which is the worst possibility for Samoa right now as it sees Lavea back into the frey. Tuifua was outstanding against Fiji they will really need him to produce some good form against SA... All my Vcash still goes to Samoa though, just in case hahaha

 

[Boggle]

Does anybody else feel like Samoa are probably the most improved side ever ?
I've been watching most of their games so far and I have to say, they don't play like a pacific island team anymore.

They do -really- good pragmatic stuff lately, setting up phases, running the ball when it's on and keeping it tight when it's not.
They've got some excellent structure that simply wasn't there before, and I'm genuinely excited for them. If they keep on playing this way they could very well start breaking through and beat the first tier nations on a more regular basis. They already got Australia earlier this year, and pushed Wales pretty damn close.

Last world cup we gave them a good hiding, I'm not expecting it to be anywhere near as open this time. I'm confident of a win, but think it might be between the 7 - 14 points margin.

 

[SelimNiai]

I'll call you whatever the hell I like.

If you post like an arsehole I'll call you one. If you post your opinions reasonably I'll discuss it reasonably. You did the former so I replied as such

 

[SavageLez]

Totally agree with you, Samoa are pulling an Argentina (RWC 2007) on us here. They may not end up 3rd (RWC 2007) but they are certainly playing great rugby. The Fiji match was a bit of a f... but other than that they have been great!

 

[Siva Tau]

As a staunch fan of the Manu I think we have only played well in patches and nothing quite how we played when we beat the Wallabies. Our handling/execution has been poor too much and overall we can play much better. We were the better team vs Wales and beat ourselves with poor decision making and against Fiji we were a 3 try better team and didnt capitalise. Hopefully we can muster up a great performance against the Boks.

 

[Darwin]

Huge game for Samoa. They are capable of pulling off the upset, but South Africa will obviously start as big favourites. I was impressed with the way Samoa controlled the game versus Fiji, but at times I thought they kicked too much, especially from turnover ball. If they want to beat South Africa they are going to have to score tries, and the best way for them to do this is to play a more expansive game. I'm not suggesting that they should play all out attack, but rather they should mix the structured play they showed versus Fiji with a bit of traditional Samoan flair. I wouldn't expect many changes to the team that played Fiji, though I wouldn't mind seeing Fuimaono-Sapolu given a start in the midfield. Mapasua and Pisi have played well, but have probably lacked a bit of creativity (which I think they need with the outside backs they have). Not sure whether I would start Mapasua or Pisi at centre, but whichever isn't starting I would use off the bench. I wouldn't mind seeing Lemi given a chance on the wing in place of Tagicakibau either.

 

[aucklander]

I think for Samoa they have mixed it up a bit thus far in this tournament which is good, South Africa will not know what to expect from the samoans which is why it will be an interesting game to watch. They have showed they can play a european/samoan type game. I hope Samoa can win this game. Really nervous because South Africa on the other hand are now starting to hit top gear. They are a team to look out for this WC. Looking forward to it so much. By the way, If Wales, South Africa, Samoa end up all with the same points 14 or 15 who will go through to make the last eight?

 

[Siva Tau]

I think we need to compete well early and play field position and give away no cheap points. easier said than done. For this I think we need our biggest pack. I would sacrifice Leo for Tekori and keep Census. The changes to the back Darwin suggested I like and may be forced with George Pisi having limped off. I would go with

1. S Taulafo
2. M Schwalger
3. C Johnston
4. K Thompson
5. J Tekori
6. T Tuifua
7. M Fa'asavalu
8. G Stowers
9. K Fotualii
10. T Pisi
11. A Tuilagi
12. S Mapasua
13. E Fuimaono-Sapolu
14. D Lemi
15. P Williams

Res.
16. T Paulo - hopefully he recovers
17. A Perenise
18. D Leo
19. O Treviranus
20. J Polu
21. G Pisi
22. J So'oialo

 

[Sam Owen]

I think Tusi Pisi should be ready to do a lot of drop kicking. Against Wales, there was times where we attacked the Welsh in their own half and attacked and attacked and came away with nothing. The 'Boks will defend just as good as the Welsh did, so we cant repeat what we did against the Welsh, we need to be rewarded with points for our time spent in the opposition half. The 'Boks defence would be hard to breach, they play the blitz style defence very well, probably the best in the world at it. I know we got some real attackers in our team but were not playing too good as a team (eg. we cant even pass to each other that good, instances of bad passes in ALL the games so far) so I think we need to start looking at drop goals and a lot of them too.

We need a number of things go our way; the reffs calls, Pisi to have a perfect kicking record, the 'Boks to play their worst, for us to play our best and even that doesnt guarantee a victory for us. A 15 point lead at halftime would be great but even thats not good enough. Its gonna be the toughest, the game I labelled last year here on TRF as 'mission impossible', its gonna be a cracker.

 

[Siva Tau]

Sole Sam I think they learnt from the Wales game by taking the points against Fiji and effectively killing off the game.

Agree we need lots to go right but ya gotta be in it to win it.

 

[hitman51]

I wouldnt read to much into to yesterdays game. That was a local dearby between the 2 super powers of the pacific so form from previous games just go out the window. Its anything goes on the day similar to a manchester united vs liverpool game. South Africa will be clear favorites but there's no reason why Samoa cant beat them. They need fix up the mistakes they've made in these previous games cut the errors down and maybe loosen up a bit and show a bit more of the style of rugby that Samoa is capable of playing. Dont count out Fiji against Wales either, they have a full week to prepare for wales and they sure as hell wont want to exit the world cup on a low.

 

[Sam Owen]

Sole Sam I think they learnt from the Wales game by taking the points against Fiji and effectively killing off the game.

Agree we need lots to go right but ya gotta be in it to win it.

Yes we got to be in it to win it and what Ive said in my post is the way to be in it. Fiji and Wales are two different teams, what you do against Fiji doesnt necessarily mean you can do that against Wales. Yes we were taking the points against Fiji but against opposition like the 'Boks were going to have very few chances so we got to make our own and droppies will be a good option especially when there is no foreseeable progression in ball in hand attack.

It'll be nice to think we can attack, make the breaks, look good but if it doesnt result in a try, Springbok fetchers like Brussouw will pounce. Tuilagi can make a devastating break but when he turns to see whose in support, it'll most likely be green jerseys. We can play running Rugby and Im proud of our guys to be able to play beautiful Rugby but so can South Africa who put 87 points on against Namibia and lets not forget their defence.