48 thoughts on “Rate the match: Australia vs New Zealand, RWC Final 2015”

  2. Why was Kaino not binned? A rule is a rule. The size of the game is irrelevant. Nice to see Ritchie (Ian) glad handing it. Wonder what was going through his mind as he stood there? I’ll bet you a pound to a penny it wasn’t “How can we ensure England make the final in 2019?”

    Well done Kiwi’s etc……….blah blah. Sorry but I’m one very pissed off England fan.

  3. Thought England fans singing “Swing Low” during the game was tasteless & disgraceful , even accepting that they had such few opportunities to sing “it” during last few weeks !

    1. Fully agree Steven.Crowds generally were not from traditional club/player background I thought with not much knowledge of the game and its history.
      Still a wonderfully organised event that was very succesful commercially.
      The huge question is whether the rfu will really tackle the root causes of England’s pathetic petformance

      1. Arrogant, toffee nosed comment typical of the bond holders I have experienced at Twickenham, nothing has changed since my first visit when Newcastle Falcons won the Powergen Cup, polite clapping required, heaven forbid standing up and cheering your team following a fantastic try, it’s just not done old chap was my first encounter with the old fart debenture holders. It seems this attitude still prevails today. No wonder England are so despised by the Welsh and Scottish fans.
        Of course as we have the audacity to enjoy the rugby world cup we are branded as ignorant commoners who know nothing about the game – just hilarious if it was not serious.
        Resistance to change is probably the prime reason for the pathetic attitude of the RFU & our poor performance so look at your attitude it simply mirrors the RFU so why would they change when generally they serve up the attitudes and values you hold so dear.

    2. Think that’s a bit touchy. There’s fans who have paid a lot of money to watch a match and sing a song- hardly the end of the world. It’s not even an offensive song like you sometimes hear. Crowd participation is what creates an atmosphere.
      A bit of a chip there I think.

    3. Think we are in danger of “Haka paranoia” here. English fans can sing whatever they bloody well want (within reason) at HQ. Tasteless and disgraceful? Get out more mate.

      1. I did get “out” in this RWC & saw 3 games @ twick & 1 in Cardiff…And still say singing SWLSC is firstly irrelevant and secondly disrespectful to the Finalists

        1. Why? Seriously,why is it disrepectful? Were they supposed to sit In cloister like silence as the biggest game In the rugby union calendar unfolded in front of them ?

          The Haka is completely irrelevant to anyone from the northern hemisphere but we all sat through that without complaint.

          I’ll tell you what’s disrespectful and tasteless: FGM, the Syria crisis, this psychopathic govt, needlessly putting millions of perfectly decent ,hardworking families on the breadline in the name of fucking “austerity”,finally people like you steven,who are ashamed of your own traditions and heritage and so far up your own arse you can’t see daylight. Interesting that you have chosen to single out my comment yet others on here have inferred that you are a boring, uptight old fart.

          Congratulations on the number of games you watched. Why don’t you see if their is a spare place on the RFU review board panel? you sound tailor made.

          1. Yes i noted some indifference to my comments. There were others that agreed. Thats fine its just a view , an opinion , which i stand by. Its just as well that i do not wish to discuss my thoughts on “austerity” and indeed tax credits which i believe you refer to… its not becoming of a Rugby forum

            1. Aah,trying to claim the moral high ground now are we? I’m not going to continue debating with you Steven. Life is far too short.

              It’s not becoming of a rugby forum.

              1. Certainly no attempts to claim the moral high ground teecee . I agree we should end our exchange , i sense we have opposing views on “austerity” also…As for “FGM” i had to look that one up !!?! Way above my pay grade

                1. ‘Nice’ 2 see someone else drawing flak regrds the ‘chariot’ song.. or anything 4 that matter.

                  Jones of the ST, a ‘Welsh’ Pakeha, also lectured NZers on how they should react to their Haka being disrespected. Shouldn’t someone ask the Maori/PI’s as to whether they feel culturally insulted?

                  It’s not a case of being ashamed of SLSC, but surely a case of when it’s sung. I.e. NOT during another country’s ‘anthem’, or trad challenge as to whether someone’s an enemy or a foe… esp as it’s NOT just a ‘war dance’ BTW.

      2. I go to rugby matches to watch observe and enjoy especially the world class skills of both finalists.singing of a song irrelevant to the occasion has links to the moronic chanting at football grounds in my book.However it was of course only a tiny detail in the wonderful experience of the whole day.

        1. I’ve also heard Le Marsellaise at several venues not hosting France or that Irish song at games not featuring Ireland.

          Only commenting about the song instead of the great rugby on display on saturday is equally disrespectful so get over it

    4. There are plenty of decent individual fans out there; I mean 1 English stranger insisted on buying ME a pint in my local after the game. Thought he must have mistaken me for Hansen, so I kept quiet!

      I’ve prev mentioned that, whilst @ the NZ v Argentina match, it too was subject to not only England fans singing Swing Low, but also to their continuously booing McCaw for his yellow & ALL through his post match speech which, I concur with you, was tasteless. Poor form. Ok, so there were Argentinians there too, but I doubt that they were singing the chariot song.

      My point is that, IMO, it doesn’t do genuine fans or England in general any favours, or glean them any respect from the SH… especially at present, when they can do some I reckon.

      Appreciate YOUR point of view on this.

      1. One could counter that at the new Zealand vs France game when the French team came on to warm up some of the NZ fans booed them and then repeated this when they were taking their first penalty kick before being swiftly shut up by the majority of the crowd. It’s all swings and roundabouts really, every nation has their share of idiots.

        As you rightly point out there are plenty of decent fans out there, the rest of us should just try and educate the idiots when and where possible, but otherwise just enjoy the game rather than slinging mud at each other which achieves nothing.

        1. Well, Kiwis sometimes boooo Quade Cooper also… and he’s a Kiwi too!

          Anyway, take yr pt, but as the NZ V Arg game I alluded to wasn’t to do with English ‘fans’ and their booing was on an industrial, wholesale scale and DURING McCaw’s speech, it was on a whole diff level. And, as I heard 1 random Kiwi opine after that game, ‘They’ve got no respect’.

          As a parallell, if NZ started running about, passing the ball during ‘G Save the Q’, do you think this would endear them any more than J. Corbyn did by not singing it?

          1. I completely understand what your saying I didn’t appreciate the constant booing either. A bit of pantomime booing when he’s first binned might have been forgiven but the constant booing any time he was on the screen was disrespectful and pathetic.

  4. Congratulations NZ and well done Australia. You have both given us a great end to a great tournament. As an Irish man I can only wonder what if , but as cup finals go, our southe n brothers have shown the way.. Well done to all involved. You gotta love the sport

  5. Immense nz performance, they’re head and shoulders above anyone else. But I didn’t rate the game that highly just because I’m old fashioned and like to see a close, tense final. To my eye, it never looked like nz would lose.
    The best performance by a team in the final? Probably
    The best final ever? Not for me.

    1. New Zealand would have won anyway with Carter. The best 10. the world has ever seen. But Barnes failure to see the forward pass made it a bit more one-sided than it otherwise might have been.

      1. Mitchell

        ‘Barnes failure to see the forward pass’.

        Now where & when have I ‘heard’ this before? Perhaps he felt guilty?… or not.

    2. May need to alter your view on this. The prev WC was a ‘close, tense final’, but would you rather England played in a similar, stagger over the line final with bugger all TRIES (they’re worth more points!), or in a game like last Saturday’s?

      Surely it’s a no brainer. The latter’s what rugby needs as it’s better to watch, attracts more punters & is more EFFECTIVE!

      1. What has tries got to do with anything?

        A “close, tense final” can have loads of bloody tries as long as the scores stay close and there is genuinely a chance of either team winning. This final wasn’t that – NZ never looked like losing.

        However; I did personally enjoy the final still based on the rugby shown. snewe has every right to maintain he did not.

        1. Sure ‘snewe has every right to maintain’ his POV, just as even you, or I, do, which I did by questioning his opinion.

          When comparing this WC final to the prev 1 (& most others),TRIES had a bit to do with it I’d have thought. Surely this 1 made for a more entertaining, as well as a close, tense final. There were only 4 in it @ 1 point… & to state that ‘NZ never looked like losing’ is inaccurate. Seemed pretty close & tense to me then.

          In the end though,TRIES tend to separate teams & can be more effective & decisive, but needn’t detract from a close game.

          Close tense games tend not to have many TRIES going on past WC history.

          England made their WC close & tense by not scoring enough tries IMO. This was, in part at least, instrumental in their going out; which I presumed he (& you), probably being English (admittedly a wild shot in the dark on my part), would NOT have preferred?

  6. Kiwis the best team, but thought they had the rub of the refereeing. Even Owens isn’t immune to the colour black being invisible. Why did the TMO have to ask him to look at the tip tackle again. The way that this tournament has been refereed, that seemed a clear yellow. Smith knew it. Kiwis should have won but Owens made score difference bigger than it should have been. Took away some of the drama at the end for the neutral. Well done to the Aussies as well. Look at where they were 15 months ago. Fantastic improvement. Hope for England yet.

    On to the six nations now. Wales clear favourites imo.

      1. Yes – after the lord mayor’s banquet sadly. However I am sure that we will rally round at least knowing that we can’t go out before the final weekend this time!

  7. Thought Owens was poor. Seems he’s decided that forward passes, offside and going off your feet at the ruck are no longer worthy of sanction

    1. He’s becoming increasingly Judge Dredd “I am the law”

      The announcement of his name resulted in a cheer on par with Dan Carter’s announcement. He’s now a “celebrity referee”, but at risk of not remaining a good one.

    2. Fwd passes? Mmmm. Is it whingeing to mention Barnes’s 07 miss as well? Don’t these things happen? I was told it was so.

      Besides how many fwd passes did you count?

  8. Blame Owens if you want but Barnes also was stood looking @ the 3yard fwd pass in first half (carter penalty followed) and ignored it ! ??

    1. Blame Barnes! For sure. He’s not at the same level as Owens or Joubert. But New Zealand would have won anyway with Dan Carter. What a player

  10. Right,let me explain the comment posted above. I responded to Steve and his sensitivities with a comment that contained some big boys language and strong opinions about what constitutes something being “tasteless and disgraceful” THAT comment wasn’t posted but my apoplectic response was. The Rugby Blog are trying to make me look stupid and vituperative (look it up Jamie) .hence my outburst.

    Apologies to regular posters but I will not be censored.

    1. I reckon your own comments further up the page did a decent job of making you look stupid and vituperative. These ones add a nice dose of paranoia and hysteria.

  11. Battle of the breakdown was fantastic Pocock was individually outstanding but the AB’s unit seemed to be able to turnover the ball at key moments just as Australia were starting to build momentum.
    SBW’s introduction changed the game and his double offload in the build up to Nonu’s try was fantastic.

    1. Pocock just amazes me every time I see him play. How can one man be so good?

      I think the ABs showed up the limitations of the 2 opensides strategy though. Kaino’s strength in close quarters and the support from the rest of the pack at ruck time didn’t give Pocock and Hooper the chances they’ve had previously.

      I thought their selection also hurt Australia, in that they could have done with a big ball carrier to dent the AB defensive line and draw defenders in, but they didn’t have one. Perhaps if Skelton can stay injury-free and live up to his undoubted potential, he could fulfill this role and allow them to continue playing both Hooper and Pocock. Otherwise I would keep Pocock on at 7 and pick a number 8 who can carry in close quarters.

      What a game though. SBW’s introduction was inspired and was exactly what was needed, even though Conrad Smith was having a very good game

    2. Agree on Sonny Bill – now *that* is a bona fide impact replacement. I got a bit pissed off as the commentators kept describing the Nonu try as an “individual effort”. It was an awesome try, he had a lot of work to do and executed quite brilliantly, but the reason he was able to steam onto the ball at pace and on a great line is because of the dent SBW had put in the defence, twice in quick succession forcing them onto the back foot and enabling his mates to get in behind the defence. I don’t mean to take away credit from Nonu – in fact his understanding with SBW to anticipate where the space would open up was crucial – but the phrase “individual effort” is unfair here, when Williams did so much to create it.

      1. Totally the double offload over the gainline just drew so many defenders in and left the fringe defense in tatters. The Aussies who had been competing hard at the breakdown all day suddenly found that there were no breakdowns and gaps opened up all over the shop

      2. Agree. Both contributed, but maybe the Oz ‘D’ had to be ?ed as well. D decker time? 2 stood there like statues.

        Mind you, Nonu went through the gap like shite through a goose.. then he was gone.

        And the ABs had ‘9 guys over 30 in their squad’! Now where have I heard that 1 before?

  12. Aus completely and comprehensively thumped. However well they did play the AB’s played better. The man, Dan Carter, was at his brilliant best, totally irrepressible. If he has ever played as well he did on Sat it is difficult to comprehend. Thank heavens the “Boks were out of it. they would have had 90 points run past them. Worthy winners, the Kiwi’s

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