The Wallabies take the Tri Nations in thriller at Suncorp Stadium

i don't no why i enjoy watching the allblacks getting beat so much

NZ cant handle big pressure games for shit. They're gonna choke so bad in the world cup.

the frame this video ends on is hilarious

Choooooooooooke!

Hahahahahahahahaha!

Australia vs New Zealand/France = WC final...

Pretty good game to watch...Australia look to be coming very good at the perfect time...

Is that the best try scored by a Number Eight, in the context of a big game or what?

"What do you call 15 guys sitting around the TV watching the Rugby World Cup final?
The All Blacks

Whats the difference between Graham Henry and Viagra?
At least Viagra gives you a semi.

Graham Henry gets handed a mobile phone and is told This is Wayne Barness phone
Henry asks How did you know?
It has 15 missed calls comes the reply

Why did Graham Henry go to a ball dressed as a pumpkin?
Because he hoped when the clock struck midnight he would turn into a coach.

Why did the man go to an Adidas store and try to buy condoms?
He was too embarrassed to ask for an All Black jersey.

The All blacks are like a well tuned engine... but with the choke is stuck on full

Some All Black supporters die, and as expected they go to hell. The devil notices that theyre quite happy, and asks them why.

They explain After the lousy weather in New Zealand, we actually enjoy the warmth.

The devil thinks Ill fix them and turns up the heat. He finds the Kiwis with their shirts off enjoying a chop on the barbie and having a frostie.

Whenever the weather gets this good in New Zealand, we cant waste it, so this is what we do

The devil decides to wipe the smile off their faces by turning the heat down to freezing. He returns to the Kiwis to find them celebrating.

What now? he asks.

One explains Well when hell freezes over, were sure to win the Rugby World Cup

Didn't realise Samo had such wheels! Mental speed for a big fella!

Any thoughts on the fastest forwards in rugby?? Obviously Samo. I heard that Pierre Spies can shift and Tom Croft would be up there, any others?

referee got in the way for Radike Samo's try and blocked our defence! AND AGAIN for the try that Genia set up!

Once again the referee's screwed us up!!! the SOUTH AFRICAN TMO did it last week and now this wanker fucks us up!

Anonymous said...

"Once again the referee's screwed us up!!!"

LMAO!!

Kiwi's are the worlds worst losers, which given their history in the wc is probably why they all have chips on their shoulders!

An awesome try for all us 8's out their!

I would have made 5m then slowed down for support, just like cueto did!

Referees are always in the way, they're not suspended in the air. They interfere with a good number of tries, and smart scrum-halves use the referee's position to their advantage (as a blocker).

Great match by NZ and AUS, clearly the world's two best sides at the moment.

Wayne Barnes is actually a very competent referee, he'll miss a few calls like most, but he always fully explains his decisions (unlike, say, Alain Rolland, who is more secretive).

Whatever moddeur!

Barnes was CLEARLY in the way!! and TWICE!

I checked the video to see if you're correct (having already watched the match live, I hadn't had a new look), and actually it's a bit true for Samo's try, but not for Genia's breaks.
Anyhow, perhaps we should look at the entire match and evaluate how often the referee blocked defenders and attackers, and see if it overall favored one team or the other. (I'm neither Australian or a Kiwi, this is just food for thought)

On Samo's try it was crap tackling by the Kiwi 8 pure and simple! Watch the video again and you can see it is a great hand off and the ref has nothing to do with it! The tackler just doesnt get hold of him! Please be objective...those All Black tinted glasses are not doing you any favours!

p.s. he really does have pace

Aww leave the kiwis alone. NZ didn't choke the Aussies just came out on fire. As an Aussie I'm very happy with the win. The aussie response to the haka was a good one too. First half was amazing big tackles by Elsom wallabies never taking a step back. Credit to NZ though they changed tactics in the 2nd half and grind their way back. Quality game very enjoyable to watch.

Wallabies first try was on the back of poor reffing as well, AAC went over, mills stripped the ball before he put it down, and grounded the ball himself, should have been a kick from the 22, ref gave the wallabies a scrum 5 out and they then scored a minute or so later.
Thats rugby for you though, Aussie just had the bounce of the ball and the calls from the ref, just the way of the game.
Its funny, kiwis are getting bombarded with the sore looser tag, most kiwis on this site and others have given nothing but praise to the aussie win, and all we get from everyone else is "choke" and "sore loser" thrown in our face.

The All Blacks didn't choke last night, in fact they were ominous in the second half and it only took the Wallabies to take their foot off the gas a fraction for the awesome All Black machine to work their way back level.

Conrad Smith's try to get back into it followed about 26 consecutive phases of unbelievably disciplined play by the ABs.

But what was sensational by the Wallabies last night, apart from being able to hit back with the last try and to hold on for the win, was their first half.

I can't remember missing a single Wallabies match for probably 25 years and I reckon they were more pumped up in the first half than I can remember. They just smashed the ABs at the breakdown. Their cleanout and defence was ferocious.

If they keep that intensity up for the crunch games in the WC they will be hard to beat. Though, no doubt the ABs will lift another notch again.

Bring it on!

If the ref is to far from the action everybody complains he doesn't see all the errors. When he's closer he's in the way of the players.

You just can't play a game of rugby without a referee. Some times it is in your advantage sometimes not...

Bugger!

Good game Wallabies, that was a dominating first half and the Tri Nations trophy well earned

This is bullshit, this was our trophy! and we were robbed by the referee!

As someone already said the TMO last week was from South Africa, so how the hell did that work!??!?! He made a call on something he had no business getting involved in!!!!

then this game he missed so many damn infringements and then he got in the way!

The world cup will be ours anyway, and we are still number 1 so it doesn't fucking matter!

what is black and sometimes grey and goes missing every four years? - of course the very best rugby team in the world, the all blacks

^^^^ I don't get it?!?!

The all blacks are sometimes white.....

They stole our kit...

Samo didn't run thru the gap created by Barnes. He was one channel wider (llok closer at the video, the guy slightly impeded by Barnes was a front rower too, he would never have had the pace to get to Samo anyway).
So the guy 'impeded' was too far away and too slow to get to Samo. In the channel Samo ran thru, the defender on his left didn;t attempt a tackle as he was looking at the support players, and left it to the defender on Samos right (Adam Thompson).
Thompson simply missed the tackle. He got handed off. To be fair to him he had just received meical attention for a sore arm and went off after the try. But he still just flat missed the tackle.
Samo then had to run 50 metres, with two covering defenders running at him, both backs, and he outpaced them both and then held off Muliana for the try.
If anyone thinks that's the ref "screwing" NZ, they need to get their heads examined.
Australia deserved the win, they were the better team. In the first half the smashed the All Blacks in defence and were far better in attack. NZ missed about 15 tackles in the first half, Australia about 3.
Australia just out-enthused them in the first half and it was a bridge too far for NZ to come back.
Though they did well to try, that second half comeback was damn impressive from NZ to level it 20-20.
That epic 26 phase movement they put together for their first try was really impressive.
Luckily for Aus Genia stepped up again and created the third and winning try.

Great tackle by quade cooper when maa nonu scored... ohh wait

It was that refs fault we were meant to win we are STILL THE BEST IN THE WORLD AND WE WILL WIN THE WORLD CUP.

Who cares it's only the tri-nations let them have it we are focussed on the WC. The Allblacks are the best it was just the bounce of the ball that didn't go our way.

Good on the wallabies about time we won the tri nations.
But I only got to watch the first twenty minutes!
Is there anywhere I can download the entire match?
Thx in advance

never een an MC choke so much. Samos still got the gas at the age of 35, 6ft 6 in 18 odd stone!fair play

We're still number 1 in the world.

The world cup is also ours!

So have the tri-nations, its old to us!

Lol i laugh everytime i read the comments on here. You bunch of 'never will be's' need to get out in the real world and stop trolling on the internet. LOSERS!

EL TIGRE.

So i guess the all blacks choked on all 10 of their tri nations wins and their bledisloe cup games for the last 9years. Please dont come on here and act like you know anything about rugby. Moron.

Pretty confused by all the all black haters out there. If the all blacks win every match up to the world cup they 'peak early' and if they lose a few they are already labelled chokers.

might be worth making up your mind and focusing on the good work by the aussies here, not being so negative

Glad to see someone else noticed Quade shirk out of tackling Nonu... He would have just been a speed bump but an attempt would have been nice.

Why are you giving Cooper shit for being stepped by Nonu? Look at all the missed tackles by NZ on the night.

Cooper is a chicken shit.

I'm a kiwi and you can't blame the ref for the ABs loss, it came down to the Wallabies dominating up front in the first half and putting 20 points on us. We starting to impose our will on the game in the second half but Genia again showed why he is the world's best half back and the Aussies scored the winner. Too many errors by the ABs in the first half too, Guildford showed why it should have been Gear or Sivi wearing the 11 jersey, big mistake Henry.

Quade Cooper cited for kneeing McCaw. Seriously, Cooper is a shitbird - funny the first time round to see him try cheapshots on McCaw and McCaw just pushed him off and focused back on the ruck.

And Greg Martin is a whiny bitch. I wish the commentators were all a bit more like Kafer.

The kiwis did well to control the set pieces. Maybe that bodes well for Ireland that Australia can't seem to get those kinks worked out.

Anyway, well done Australia. Always nice to see the All Blacks lose.

While I'd be happy to see Mitchell make that miraculous return before the World Cup, it's good to have Sisqo Ioane getting in the game time and experience. He looks better and better each time (minus his appearance...a bit of an Aussie version of Banahan).

On a side note that has completely nothing to do with anything:

I was super pumped that the NFL is getting started back up, just as the RWC is coming as well...

...but I just finished the 3N match and flipped on a pre-season game just as a touchdown was getting scored. Those shit awful celebrations remind me why rugby is such a relief. Nonu did just some hand gestures as he trotted back to 1/2-way and patted the AB logo, Samo just stood there and tried to breathe as his teammates congratulated him. I'll take that any day over a 10-second play that results in a half-minute celebration...

Just in: Cooper has been cleared for deliberately kneeing mccaw in the head. Didnt the irish bloke get a couple weeks last year for something similar on mccaw in the June internationals?

I'm soo glad the Wallabies took the Tri-nations! I was getting a little bit out of hand with the Allblacks winning all the time. There is now a better balance in the Tri-nations.

I'm soo glad the Wallabies took the Tri-nations! I was getting a little bit out of hand with the Allblacks winning all the time. There is now a better balance in the Tri-nations.

And once again the Sleeping Giant that is Australian Rugby has let its self been known. Looking good for the World Cup. Best decision Deans has made in 4 years is to put Samo at 8, Big Kev as Captain and allow Rocky to concentrate on his own game.

Reading comments on how the ABs were robbed is just hilarious. At the same time it's sad at how people can be so childish in their comments.

Cooper and McCaw have been at each other all Super15 and Tri nations so no surprise at a bit of niggle. I thought the most controversial part was Ali Williams deliberate trip on AAC.

dan carter didnt even bother to chase samo for tht try... not the ref's fault

The ref sided with the Wallabies? Sure, some calls went the Wallabies way, but there were so many infringes by the ABs all game that went uncalled.

The biggest example was the ABs being pretty much offside for the majority of the second half.

The aussie were such cheating shits. The amount of handling on the ground was unbelievable. They were going over the top on rucks and basically stopping us from counter rucking (ILLEGALLY!) and then Cooper knee's McCaw in the head!

Fucking bunch of pussies!

I am sick of the reffing these days, they never pick anything up and once again the whole fucking world is against us!!! Cooper is cleared, the refs don't pick up on anything the aussies do! and they break the rules to make THEIR decisions... (SA match last week!)

The tri-nations this year was just ruined for me, I don't see any point in it, if its not a fair contest! We are the better team at the end of the day, and we didn't win it, so how does that work? obviously a third party intervention, through the referee!

Just sick of it, I was even looking forward to the RWC before this match and now I feel the same thing, we are only going to get robbed out of it! France in 2007 DIDN'T score that try... but apparently they did... so we lose...

It's just pointless really. We have be number 1 for so long, and have been screwed by EVERYONE, you guys are sore losers and you pick on us at any opportunity because you are jealous of our team!

I can't really comment on the world cup too much, it is ours, and we will win it...but then, ofcourse, we will be robbed because someone will miss some incident, or there will be hands in the ruck ALL game and the referee won't penalise anyone, or again some TMO will step in when he shouldnt!

Just pisses me off how you guys are such a bunch of bitches and ACTUALLY support Aus when they "cheated a win" or at least the referee did on their behalf!

cool story Mahora

@Mahora
As a neutral, I noticed occasional cheating from both sides yesterday. As for Cooper's knee, I think it's on par with Ali William's attempted leg trip on some aussie player.

Regarding the reffing, and particularly that famous France 2007 game, as unfair as it sounds, there are bound to be reffing errors and you have to accept that being a referee is pretty much the hardest thing there is on a rugby field (harder even than being a player).

Referees are huge rugby fans who've gound a clever way to get front-row tickets to all the action!

Generally, reffing errors work both ways, it's only because we fans are biased that we tend to see more on one side that on the other. I think that a proper video analysis, second per second, of the entire game, will reveal exactly that.

Granted however, that some players are somewhat bigger cheats than others (the name McCaw comes to mind, but he's still a damn good player).

@Mahore
Great job at being a whiny bitch

yeah Mahora great in-depth writing. Wait I meant boring and whinny.

Sometimes the decisions go against you. Suck it up and act like a man.

I want to hear about the game, not your gripping

Mahora, learn how to lose with dignity.
The All Blacks were outplayed in the first half and never recovered. They got smashed in contact the first half.
And ref decisions go both ways. Suck it up.

Haha, yeah it's the ref's fault that Samo fended off a weak tackle from Thompson, then beat a winger and a fullback to the line with pace, before carrying both of them over the line.
It's also the refs' fault that Genia ran straight thru the NZ defence twice to score and set up a try.
And it's definatly the refs fault that NZ missed more than 15 tackles in the first half.

Holy shit this is hilarious. More bitches than a dog breeding kennel. Hahaha! Suck it up Kiwis!

"I think it's on par with Ali William's attempted leg trip on some aussie player."

Yeh except Ali's was attempted, Cooper actually got McCaw!!!!!

Doesnt get much better, my word there would have been some nervous sheep across the ditch last night. I know alot of expat Kiwis in Aus and this result shut their arrogant black out bullshit up.

Vickerman and Samo, had my doubts but they were brilliant. If these two teams meet again in the WC final ...epic.

Just a confirmation that aussies as the second favorite for the RWC. for me, AB's stay the most prepared and complete team. But australia can really disturb any team with their enjoyable style.
Let see what they can do on a big pressure match vs France or England, and on wet kiwi grounds.

ps: wasn't it a penalty against cooper on the 1st try? he interfered deliberatly with mc caw in the maul

people you do realise that the people on here moaning and whining are more than like not New Zealanders at all and are making childish comments like that to encourage further hate...

Just ignore the trolls people...

@Colombes
In my opinion that isn't a penalty.. Cooper came through the gate and joined the ruck on his feet so he's defs allowed to interfer with the oponents. However, I guess you could make an argument about it once he's offside and having a bit of a shoving match with McCaw... However, as McCaw started it, I reckon it's fine..

AERODYNAMIC HAIRSTYLE!

Who the hell is Samo?!?!?!? Never heard of the guy...

I look him up on google, it takes me to wikipedia and I read he is:

-35 years old
-Oldest player to don the Aus jersey in a trinations match
-Has won only 8 caps for Aus

.......and he does this....

Fuck me, you silly aussies, why hasn't he been playing for you all the time? he annihilated the AB defence, cut them to ribbons, his speed and strength he ran half the pitch!

I thought the way the Aussies stood there and didn't turn away after the Haka was totally disrespectful and disgusting. It was an insult to my heritage.

Standing in the way like they did is asking for a fight!

Good solid game of proper rugby allround.

Still not sure of the tactics/game plan that's going to win the WC! Running off solid hard grunt from the forwards, good out of hand kicking and massive defence with one or two rolling mauls thrown in for good measure. Sounds like the Boks?

Boks to make history, first to defend the title, first to take three titles, first to do it in NZ proper. And then Smit, du Preez, Matfield and Bakkies can retire in peace, any more motivation than that?

I suppose the motivation of being in NZ for too long and getting poked in the anus (as is customary) might make the boks decide to bow out in the quarters...

Great game for the impartial fan! Some brilliant running and the tries scored were excellent. Several points to be made about comments above: Cooper (who is a bit of an idiot) did nothing wrong in that ruck and actually responded to McCaws swinging arms. Anybody else and the ref would probably have had a word. For once McCaw demonstrated that Cooper was getting to him (didnt see the knee incident was it before or after this?)! Samos try and the ref was only in the way of the prop, Thompson missed the tackle pure and simple; Genia, best scrum half in the world.? I still think New Zealand will win the WC but I think it will be significantly closer than they (or their fans) think it will be. I hope Im wrong and England win but hey (unlike most fans) I can be realistic and appreciate when other teams beat us fair and square

@Jimbo
The knee incident was late in the game, around about 53 min. Here's some footage of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9RYZStDdDI

View Video

Obviously the ozzies jsut wanted it more-good exciting game.

Some poor first-up tackling from NZ? Not their usual selves.

Quaaaaallllliiiiiity game!

Am I the only one to see McCaw throwing some punches at Cooper in the ruck just previous to the first Wallabies try ? Am I paranoid to think that once again McCaw's reputation saved him from troubles, espacialy 10 days from RWC?

Hah, I love it, all the kiwi's bitching about cooper... anyone else see the player having a little play with coopers face just before (or was it eyes?)... typical no pick up or comments on that!

McCaw was shown up, and Cooper got under his skin!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9RYZStDdDI

The face playing was at 0:16ish... just keep playing and pausing until it is clear to see that its not just bumholes that the kiwis are renowned for poking!

View Video

What cracks me up is Australia played really well but do not take winning gracefully - Just look at all the comments on this page well I suppose the Aussies have to make the most of it when they can only get the Tri Nations once a decade! - Can't wait to see you in the final :-D

^^^

Actually I see lots of congratulatory comments to the aussies... not an awful lot of comments BY the aussies and a LOT of comments by kiwi's moaning about the game...

I checked again, feel free to point some out, but I seriously can't see any gloating aussie fan comments, that could be considered as the aussies "do not take winning gracefully"

This result was just fantastic, i think OZ will win the world cup. i was surprised NZ collapsed like this with their first choice side!

I enjoy watching NZ lose because they r arrogant, cant take a joke, McCaw is a cheat and deserves a bit of niggle. Also NZers get up in arms about anything (black jersey, bit of niggle etc etc) yet if an Allblack does something its not a problem (BOD as a prime example). very one eyed.

I also find it funny that for most years NZ win everything and beat everyone, but obv lose WC and say its all about consistency and not the WC. Now they lose 3N and they say its not important?! get real

Also the haka is a bloody joke, it isnt traditional anymore the new one is recently made up. Its just an excuse to look threatening, I think the way OZ responded was fine, altho just giving them the middle finger would show as much respect as it deserves.

cooper got his act together in this game! he didnt try to push it all the time, played simple passes as well and went well.

him and mccaw messing around is a worry, because mccaw will get away with it ;) as we all know. now seriously, he needs to mature and be as cool as carter for example even if some no7 takes him late.

aussie forwards were great in the first half

^^^^^^^^^^ I disagree. The Haka is a wonderful part of playing NZ. However, I'm not convinced with the drawing a the thumb across the neck! If the Kiwi's are allowed to make the motion of killing someone then the oppo should be able to do whatever they want...advance closer, sing, run through some moves! If someone made that threatening motion in the street how many people can say they wouldn't react?

fair does, i think the thumb across the neck is the major issue with most ppl, it is an advantage tho i reckon

As an Englishman, I love these Aussie commentators. They're good value.

I wouldnt feel threatened of fear them if i had to stand and watch the haka... throat slitting gesture or not...

We are all men (or women) who have played rugby (probably) and most of us know what happens before a match, we go through the whole "first hits, make them hurt" routine, we are out there to play the game, and if we can hurt the opposition with a big tackle (nothing illegal, and ofcourse we aren't talking about life changing injuries! we are talking about making them wake up on sunday feeling sore as hell!)

I would however feel greatly disgusted if someone dictated to me how i was to act during the haka. I personally would stand there and watch it, and perhaps stay standing waiting for them to turn their backs first! But if i was threatened with a fine, or was told what I did was insulting then that is when I would want some REAL questions asked about the future of the Haka...

We have Anthems which luckily the majority of fans tend to honour and not interrupt when the opposition team sings! but things like the haka...English fans, you "sweet chariot" your heart out, etc etc. Advance to the line as a team, don't cross the halfway line, but by all means step up to it!

love the bitter comment from kiwis. fucking pussies

Cooper is an awesome player but the way he just gets out of the way of Nonu for his try... just embarrasing!

I thought this kind of hate and jealously only existed in soccer.

Its unbelievable how excited and proud some "fans" get when the Kiwis lose. To the point they have to start AB-trolling rugby sites to get pleasure. No life!

How bout getting laid you fucken' pussies, thats the kinda shit woman do. This is Rugby!

^^^^^

LMFAO!!!! i take it you missed the "we were robbed" kiwi comments then!!!!

^^^^^

ROFLMFAO!!! I take it you failed to see they were posted by trolls pretending to be AB fans.

Meaning it worked like a charm, you were duped!!!

Kiwis are terrible losers.

So ALL those comments were from trolls....

I doubt it buddy. Some of those names I recognise from awesome NZ wins and they had nothing "big headed" to say...

Sione for one...

Not sure about others...

The trolls who pretend they are bitter NZers are very active today. Maybe they need the change from whining about their own team's losses.. get a life you sad people.

Great game of rugby between the best two sides in the world. But I believe any of the 3N teams could win the RWC and only France have a look-in from the NH.
I'd give Eng a half a chance if they played as they did against Aus last Autumn but they look plain ordinary at the moment.

Jimbo1, it wasn't the number 8. That's Kieran Read, who was off the field at the time. It was their flanker Adam Thompson, who went off the field shortly after with an arm (the one he couldn't grab Samo with) that he could barely move.

All it takes for the troll is a 'The ref cheated against the AB's, we shoud've won...' and the Kiwi-haters all come out to play. Simple really!

Use anonymous, or a typical NZ sounding name like......'mahore', and you've got them.

"a typical NZ sounding name"

wtf!?!?!

So if the boks have a good game or a bad game and someone called "Bokke_2007" makes a comment we should automatically right them off as troll because it is a typical bok nickname.....

And what if their name is Dan... is that an NZ name like "dan carter" ?

Or is it an aus/scottish name..like "dan parks"

etc etc....

My name is Will...so should I put that instead of anonymous?!? but where do i come from? is that will, like will genia, or will like will johnson, or will carling/greenwood etc....

I still am not entirely sure how you come to the conclusion that they are trolls?!?! How do you know that 1 of them isn't some AB tinted glasses wearing twat that can't accept his team was beaten?

im not complaining at all and I think aussie were the winners that night.
BUT...
the all blacks did lose read in the first 20 mintues (huge blow)
then lost thomson.
The try by samo was great but you could clearly see that thomson couldnt stretch out his arm to get a clear hold on him.
That is something henry should of gotten on to straight away.

Well done the aussies though for a great game!

The aussies are favourites for the world cup. That might be a good thing for the AB's cause the favourites have never won haha

the chill that you get when the all black chant is louder than the wallabies chant even though it is at suncorp..... great game to attend

I thought that was a bloody good game, anyone who complains about the ref is clueless. As he missed a little bit, far less than is what ususally is missed, and he allowed fo what was one of the best games of the year. The highlights of that video really didn't do the game justice, as it was such a fierce contest at the rucks from both sides. If my beloved Italy gets knocked out of the RWC before these two teams (the chances are very likely) then I would like to see a NZ vs Australia final. As it would be such a spectacle, and with Wayne Barnes reffing it as he is clearly the worlds best ref.

I haven't seen anyone talk about all the other cheap shots that happend during this game. I beleive a MUCH more dangerous one was by Sam Whitelock (the NZ second rower) on James Horwill in the 69min and 45seconds. Horrible hit from the back, he could have broken his neck/back. That should be a ban ! for those who want to see it :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVtU8BLay6w&feature=feedu

the 34th sec of the video

Great game the aussies !!!!

Obviously the 2 form teams but i think everyone picking between tyhese 2 to win the WC is a big mistake...In all honesty i think any one of the top 6 are capable, with a bit of luck. NZ,AUS,SA,FRA,ENG,IRE...

I don't know if this irritates anyone else but I hate how any time I watch highlights of a match involving NZ I have to sit through the haka at the start...It's hardly a highlight it's the exact same every match!

We are still world champions....

Lol, well said! ^^^

To all those people who havent heard of radike samo and say we are idiots for not selecting him etc etc....Its because next game he will probably single handedly lose us the game. that sort of player

@ Max

Do me a favour bro - Horswill was loitering offside at a ruck and deserved to get hit. Notice neither he or any of the Gold boys complained.

Queeared has no honour, he's a disgrace to those Maori tattoo's and what a disgrace when he waved Ma'a through for his try.

Genia's the real star in that team. Queeared's a showp pony and I can't wait for him to get buried next time he steps out against the AB's or any of the NZ 15 frenchises.

Great try by Samo - can't see Nick Easter scoring a try like that...

Also, what was with Cooper just standing aside and letting Nonu score? It looked like he almost waved him through

Absolute classic commentary!

"Look at that aerodynamic hairstyle, that's what got 'im there"

"Who is the comeback merchant now?"

Do those guys always commentate for the ausie games? They're awesome!

I think it's awesome that the kiwis hate Cooper. Fuck em, I hope he knocks them out of the world cup and knees Mccaw as part of his celebration.

Samo didn't play for Australia because immediatly after winning selection for the Wallabies, he left Australia to play in France. he wanted to earn the big bucks as quickly as he could, ended up playing in France and Japan for years.
Came back to Australia, and struggled to even get a roster spot in a Super 15 franchise. QLD signed him as injury cover halfway thru last season and he just played his way into the starting team for both Queensland and Australia.

"To all those people who havent heard of radike samo and say we are idiots for not selecting him etc etc....Its because next game he will probably single handedly lose us the game. that sort of player"

Is that really true?? I wrote the comment that I had never heard of him, I didn't say you guys were idiots for not picking him... (or i dont think i did...).. oh I called you "silly aussies", wasn't trying to cause offence there btw... sorry if it did...

But is he actually a hot and cold player?

(Genuine interest here...)

^^^
Im not familiar with his past, so maybe he was used to be known for that..

This season however, he played pretty solid rugby, and defenately never singlehandedly lost the reds a game.

Well the ABs have to really dig deep then. They will have to search for that extra top two inches. If they play a total 80s minutes the way they played the 2nd half first 20, then nobody will get close of stopping them, especially Oz. Oz don't like when they get battered up front.As England know too well.

Is that right?
Because Aus just battered both a full strength South Africa (in Durban) and a full strength New Zeland into submission.
Both vistories based on aggressive forward dominance.

Im an england supporter (just to start things off)

But I have to say, I am very impressed with the Australian play of late...

In fact, I have to admit, recently before the 3N (when they were playing friendly games) I was commenting on how generally the Aussie front 5 are a little...sort of no-show...

I mean, Aussie second rows are good, their lineouts etc are good... but generally, they don't seem to have the same impact in the forwards as you'd expect from a team so highly ranking...

HOWEVER, I have to say I have been shown up... The australians have some how not seemed to change their team much, but their forwards have stepped up their game and I think they will be very interesting to watch in the World cup...

In 2003, I can't say I knew much about rugby other than the 6N teams and the team I played for, therefore I was sort of unaware of the strengths of the other teams etc.. and focussed on England....

In 2007 I personally thought England were going to bow out early on in the competition. When they came up against Australia I thought England would lose (as in 2003 it was so close and england had gone so downhill since) but I thought if Aus won the game then they would not win the final....

My point is that, England always seemed to sort of bully the aussie pack, then get wilkinson in place to kick... However the number 1 pack in my humble opinion would be the South Africans... speedy, yet strong... and to see the aussies put them to the sword makes me think that the final truly could be Aus v NZ.... (unless ofcourse they end up facing each other earlier?!?!)

Sorry for the long comment...

Mate, England did bash Aus a bit in 2007, but that was one of Australia's worst ever World Cup squads. The team just wasn't in a good place at that time, not a very good coach, alot of guys at the end of their carers, not many promising players coming through.
And to be honest alot of the criticism of Australia is simply because their scrum struggles at times.
In Europe alot of people think scrum=forward pack.
But Australian forward packs are always good defensivley, always good in the line-out, always ruck well, always run the ball well. In terms of ball handling and support play they are amongst the best forwards in the world.
If the scrum could be fixed once and for all, alot of the stuff that's said about the Aus forward pack would simply go away.

To be fair to England 2007, they had some good forwards, and won that game based on set piece domination. But they only won by 2 points, so it's not like they blew Australia away.

The current Aus forward pack is led by some very physical, abbrasive young players, who weren't a part of 2007. Pocock, Elsom, Samo, Horwill, Moore, Vickerman and Kepu are all very physical players. And the other forwards, while not as physical, are very athletic. They work very hard and will keep working hard right to the end of the game.

Deans has helped too, bringing a hard nosed NZ style approach to the rucks particularly, where Australia has actually dominated both South Africa and NZ in this Tri-Nations.

The team is looking good, and when you consider most of them are in their early or mid twenties, they've got years of improvment ahead of them too.

Added to the backline, probably the most dangerous in the world with only NZ able to match them, it's a very good team.

^^^ Oh yeh dude, I wasn't saying it was a white wash by any means...

The Aussie forwards were good at ruck time due to their speed... as I was trying get across, England tended to focus on brute strength, and therefore sacrificing speed....

Aus tended to (from what I could see) focus on speed, rather than brute strength (obviously they were strong... but there seemed to be a focus on all of them being sort of "loose forwards".

Now Australia seems to have got a better balance, they almost seem to be equally as fast, but have improved at the scrum so much!

But ofcourse their back line is one of the best in the world...

England had a good(ish) backline, but it was never fully utilised. I suppose due to the dangerous boot of wilkinson...

And really, we are talking about the RWC...points matter...if its a entertaining game then thats just a bonus... the teams are all there to win...

Personally I like the more fluent running that england produced (especially against australia in the autumn tests) but really, I think they are going to go back to the same old set piece and kick routine...

Sure. It's a different Aussie team this time, completely sifferent. Much better team.
Different style, more physical and direct, better game plan, more clever.

I hope to christ that we don't get a repeat of 2007's succesful tactics. They've emphasised to refs that they need tos top players killing the ball on defence, making sure tacklers roll away. This better keep going, because the 2007 WC had something of the most boring games (especially the final) in WC history.

And so far (in test matches), running rugby has become succesful again. Aus and Nz are making ti work. and the only games England have been able to ebat one of the tri-natiosns dies, they've done it with running rugby.

If they go back to the kick chase game, they should get found out assuming refs police the breakdown.

^^ Yeh, as you say a lot of teams have stepped up the running aspect. I don't know if you are aware of this though, but we got word in England, or the sort of general feeling going round is that the English team was picked on its closed game style merits in the end... (the final 30) Personally I feel this is the best option for england, its too close to the rwc and they haven't got the running style sorted out. Well at least not in the centres department.

So I really think there will be closed rugby, occasionally for england players like ashton and foden might get involved (if they're both still fit...i haven't checked in a while now) players like manu will be used to gain a few yards just to give a bit more room, but i honestly can see the ball staying in the forwards hands and it being and inch by inch sort of style...

That being said, its NZ winter time...so it might be one of the only ways to play if the weather is grim...

I think the referees definitely need to be hotter at the breakdown... as you said, too many of the top teams are killing the ball, and its the smaller younger teams that get hurt from it, because they tend to react with a boot (which was fine until it was changed by some git about 4-5 years ago!!!!) and then THEY get a card for it...basically rewarded the defensive team for cheating...

I just hope we can see some good rugby, wouldn't mind a few minnows upsetting some big teams too in all honesty...

Good solid win for Aust. My only concern for them is that they haven't won three games on the trot against quality opposition for years (maybe even a decade). I think thats why the English will beat them in the semi's. Aust had a good build up to the RWC but whether they can sustain it with their young team and captain remains to be seen.

Great game ! Two fantastic teams playing very pretty rugby. It'd be a pretty class final. Having seen him on RD before I've wondered for ages where Samo had gone !

- Irish Fella

Check out Pocock being held down for 14 seconds when Nonu scores

How do NZ get away with this stuff

Yeah it;s ridiculous.
NZ cheat their arses off at the ruck.
They call it pillar and post.
Two guys on either side of the ruck, not in th ruck, but standing to the side of it.
They will blatanlty pull in defenders, even tackle them to the ground, or turn their backs and play as blockers, like an NFL game.
Then the runner will pick up the ball and run through the gap that's been created as a result.
It's a joke.

Fucking hell, watch Nonu's try, but keep your eyes on Pocock getting held down by two All Blacks.
It's not in the ruck, it's about 6 metres away, towards the sideline.
The two NZ players are just holding Pocock down, for about 30 seconds. No where near the ball, they are just tackling and holding down a defender.
It's exactly where Nonu, runs, he runs straight through the gap created by them holding down Pocock. That's fucking disgraceful cheating.