Wales vs Australia

[RC]

I didn't get to see the game (Curse of working in a rugby shop in cardiff) but the jist of the game i got from the fans as they returned was:

2 Aussie yellow cards.
Wales shite 1st half - good 2nd half
Aussie deserved winners.
Wales did us proud.

Look forward to watching this game now.

 

[fcukernaut]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but I think he took a knock on the arm (and noggen) when he dived over the line. He looked fine though, exchanging panzy arse high fives with coaching staff [/b]

How great were those high fives? Not quite in the Tiger Woods and Caddie level of awkwardness but definitly up there. And how about that trainer to his left that left him hanging.

 

[mikey85]

Great second half from Wales, the Aussies deserved the win in the end but a lot of postives from the Welsh boys

 

[Haj]

And how about that trainer to his left that left him hanging.

[/b]

Ha ha ha!! :lol: We all lost it when mortlock was left high and dry.

It was actually cameron shepherd, not a trainer.

 

[SaintsFan_Webby]

Probably my favourite match of the tournament so far. On form, Australia are quite possibly my favourite team to watch in world rugby, and Wales at home will always keep fighting.

Chris Latham definately confirmed why he is the best fullback in the world for me. And how composed was the young guy Barnes? The Wallaby backs just have that X-factor and ability to create opportunities even in the biggest matches. I tipped them for the ***le, and I'm definately sticking with it at the moment.

As for Wales, their supporters should be very frustrated. They have stacks of talented runners, but just don't seem to want to take situations by the scruff of the neck. I spent half the match screaming at them to run straighter, and I didn't even want them to win!

Also confirmed my dislike of Gareth Thomas. Delighted when Mortlock nailed him after the cheap-shot on Barnes. Always struck me as having a nasty edge, but will get punished if he tries to test it against some of the most physical backs in the world.

 

[aussie1st]

I'm hearing AAC might be gone for the tournament so best time to bring in Turner. We need that X-factor on our wing and neither Mitchell or Tuqiri are giving that.

Barnes was awesome in the 1st half, Giteau got more involved and Mortlock was awesome in defense in the 1st half. Forward pack pathetic, Dunning should never see the Wallaby jersey again.

 

[Hamster]

That was the fantastic win against Wales. Wales are a very good team imo, better than England/Scotland/Italy and they could have pulled an upset against Australia, but we are in good form atm.

Berrick Barnes was sensational, first cap starting against Wales in the world cup and hes shown hes the future no.10 jeryseyt for the Wallabies.

Our only worry looks to be our front row, mainly our props who are shitehouse, sheperdson was average and Dunning did next to nothing, bringing on Baxter, its a bit of a worry. I think Stephen Moore is good though.

Other that that I think we are in good form at the right time.

 

[ozzy]

Very average effort from Wales, I got quite sick of seeing them run towards the touchline in every backline movement. No direction at all and some of their passing was shocking.
The Wallabies looked pretty good, but to be honest like all the other SH teams were never under any real pressure which is the real acid test to see where a team is at.
The game also showed how vital Mortlock is to Aussies hopes of getting another World Cup. I think they can almost manage without either Larkham, Gregan or Giteau, but if Mortlock goes, that's pretty much it for Aussie.
Come on Northern Hemisphere, this World Cup is turning into a warmup match for a second Tri Nations tournament, to be played out in the semis and finals.

 

[beercholic]

i'm a turkish boy but i'm also australia fan, last day i watched the match, fans are great, australia is superb, come on wallabies!

 

[mikey2k7]

Excellent Second half from Wales just a shame we couldn't get the first half right then it would be a lot closer we need two big performances against Japan and Fiji to have any chance of reaching the semi after the south africa game

 

[league]

At scrumtime, the Aussies will push from the mark, back off from the engage, scrum up, scrum down, basically do anything in their power to cheat. And due to Knob Gregan acting as unofficial referee`s assistant, they`ll get away with it, effectively neutralising Wales` advantage come scrum time.

In the second row, the Aussies will have a huge advantage. Dan Vickermann will once again try to prove his "Australianness" by acting like a knob the entire game long.

In the back row, Rocky Elsom will once again perform the odd spear tackle or 2, talk trash and suddenly claim to be a "hard man". But he`ll once again have a little hissy fit once a single Welshman contests at the breakdown. In a memorable quote, he`ll say: "Not once, did the Welsh boys arrive at the breakdown and ask politely ' Please sir, could you kindly remove your arse from our side of the ruck? Pretty pretty please?'"

In the halfbacks, Knob and Bernie will destroy the Welsh duo. They are the class halfback pairing in world rugby after all. And the same goes for the centres.

And in the outside backs, Wales will completely dominate. The Aussies will once again go looking for a saviour at outside back from the Diet Rugby ranks. He will either be useless and return to League (Rogers), useless and not get anywhere near a decent squad (Turaniu), useless and on crack (Sailor), or useless and claim to have to be more "selfish with the ball in order to make the team more successful" (Tuquiri).

In the end, the Aussies will have just too much for the Welsh, winning by 10 points. But this neutral certainly knows who he`ll be supporting....
[/b]

As Bokmagic sits back & exclaims "ve are de master race"

You seem to have a preocupation with Knobs, it makes me wonder why you watch rugby, is it the game or the big butch men in short shorts??..eh yarpie boy??

 

[gjohn85]

Australia Out played, out preformed & out classed us the first half. We came back into the game in the second half. I think Australia was just sitting on they're lead in the 2nd half, thus allowing us to get some points back.

Wales will find out today whether Thomas & Parker will be out of the tournament. Gavin Evans (Scarlets) & Lee Byrne (Ospreys) are likely to replace them if they are ruled out.

 

[Juggernaut]

Dont know why a lot of Aussies are complaining about Thomas's hit on Barnes..... when George Smith does it, silence is the norm. :bleh!:



What Thomas did was wrong but certainly not late....that's what a good fullback does in a 2 on 1 situation like that - take out the ball carrier in case he throws a dummy or be made a fool by the dummy.

Anyway, excellent game by both teams Australia deservedly winners.

 

[mackka]

Yeah, that's all fine except that it was a shoulder charge as well. Should have been a yellow card for mine, but he got what was coming to him in the end anyway.

 

[Fushitsusha]

Dont know why a lot of Aussies are complaining about Thomas's hit on Barnes..... when George Smith does it, silence is the norm. :bleh!:



What Thomas did was wrong but certainly not late....that's what a good fullback does in a 2 on 1 situation like that - take out the ball carrier in case he throws a dummy or be made a fool by the dummy.

Anyway, excellent game by both teams Australia deservedly winners.
[/b]

When George Smith does it? What're you rambling on about?

Anyways, excellent games by Latham, George Smith, Mortlock, Barnes and Giteau.

I've had a lot of faith in Barnes since last year and I knew he'd do us proud.

George Smith proved why he's the best backrower in Australia.

Mitchell proved why he is equally the WORST player in the Wallaby squad next to Al Baxter.

Adam Ashley-Cooper will hopefully be back next week and Mitchell will be suspended to stop Connolly from having to play him at all.

I thought Walsh was helping out Wales in the 2nd half with a few dodgy decisions.

Gareth Thomas got what he deserved when Mortlock hammered him after that cheap shot on Barnes.

After this game I believe that Mortlock IS the best outside centre in the world. That was hilarious when he tackled two Welsh players at the same time.

 

[Fushitsusha]

Oh, and did anybody else notice that Australia's scrum outdid Wales at the end of the game when they only had 7 forwards?

Does this highlight Nathan Sharpe's inability to scrum?

Hopefully Holmes will get some gametime in the next two matches because they'll definatley need to improve when they take on England and New Zealand.

 

[Juggernaut]

Oh, and did anybody else notice that Australia's scrum outdid Wales at the end of the game when they only had 7 forwards?

Does this highlight Nathan Sharpe's inability to scrum?

Hopefully Holmes will get some gametime in the next two matches because they'll definatley need to improve when they take on England and New Zealand. [/b]

Yeah, I noticed that when Sharpe was having his 10minute coffee break.



and I'm sure it wont be England you'll meet in the quarters. Be prepared for either Tonga or Samoa.

 

[aussie_pride]

Hopefully Gareth Thomas will be back soon. I think Wales really need him if they are going to stand any sort of a chance against South Africa in the next round. Im not sure what all this talk about him retiring is about...I think he is still playing well enough and his experience and defensive abilities make him a quality player. Mind you I think if Sonny Parker is injured then I really think Gavin Henson should be called up to the squad. He may not be in the best of form but he is a match winner. Wales need players like that.

 

[Emric]

Okay then, I won't defend the aussie press during the tri-nations, or in general for that matter. While I thought the decision to field a B squad was shoddy, the reaction was disrespectful not so much to Jake White but the players who were coming out to Aus, those who had absolutely no choice in the matter. [/b]

Have Australia not learned that no matter what team South Africa field, be it their under 12 Natal side or the best of the best that South Africa has to offer. The said team would rather commit collective suicide then disgrace the springbok jersey.

South Africa like New Zealand has the ability and potental to field several high quality rugby teams. They proved it when you're top team could only beat their so called "second" team by only 8points.

Never underestimate how good the local South African rugby competition is.

To put it all in perspective, alot of the knobs in the Aussie rugby press, like Greg Growden, are just d!ckheads no matter the team, and they're rather prone to changing their views over night.
[/b]

The Australian press might be a issue (What country doesn't have it's fair share of waste of space reporters?) But it was the winging of the Australian Rugby Union which annoyed me, combined with their blatant stab in the back of New Zealand over the rugby world cup vote. I used to support Australia, now I crave nothing more then the total destruction of Rugby in Australia, starting with booting them out of the Tri-nations, and reducing them to one test series every 3 years against the All Blacks, along with removing all their teams from the Super series.

It's time that Australia realized that the reason they have any good players is because they are being consistently exposed to top levels of competition against the best South Africa and New Zealand have to offer.

 

[mackka]

I think the 'whinging' of the ARU was entirely justified. In sending a second string side South Africa devalued and disrespected the entire Tri-Nations franchise. Sure, the World Cup's important. But if their top line players can't cope with one match each against Australia and New Zealand several months before the tournament then they're in a pretty sorry state. And remember, every rugby playing nation is competing in the same competition. What if the rest of them all decided no matches or tournaments were important enough to risk players in the year leading up to a WC? It was a bloody joke and SA should be ashamed. all of SANZAR have worked hard to make the Tri-Nations probably the most respected tournmament behind the WC and SA singlehandedly pulled it down.

On top of this is the fact that with so few test matches each year, the ARU relies heavily ont he Tri-Nations matches to bring in revenue from bums on seats. Sending second string sides significantly lowers crowd numbers, which the ARU really can't afford. Remember, Union has to compete with three other football codes in Australia, most of which have higher player numbers and better overall funding. Given Australia's contributions to the Tri-Nations and global rugby in general over the years, SA's actions were a real slap in the face.