Comments on: The Rugby Blog’s 2015 World Cup Awards

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 18:04:21 +0000

Scotland Vs Samoa was pretty epic as well, for me it would displace Argentina Vs Ireland, but not alter the winner

By: kit

kit — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 17:56:29 +0000

Bit of a logical inconsistency to have Goromaru up for the player of the tournament award and then proceed to not give him the tier 2 player of the tournament award but other than that all worthy winners.

By: orion

orion — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 17:12:06 +0000

No argument on any of the winners, but I’d add the Argentina/Tonga game plus at least 2 of its tries (1 each in particular) to the nominees.
It may not have had the dramatic conclusion or David v Goliath script of Japan/SA but it was one of the most attacking games of international rugby I have ever seen. Great advert for the sport… plus Maradona was there!!

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 16:50:31 +0000

I fail to see Scotland as over-achievers at this World Cup. If you look at their record, they beat Japan, Samoa and USA (and you could say the scheduling robbed Japan of a fair crack) and lost to South Africa and Australia. Unless you believe they belong in that “tier 2″ bracket, they haven’t over-achieved, they’ve done the minimum expected. They may have pushed Australia close and been 30 seconds away from a semi-final, but wins are all that matter, you can’t look at valiant defeats.

Scheduling might also take a bit of criticism as villain of the piece – as noted above. World Rugby did try to even it up by giving some of the top teams short turn-arounds, but they always ended up with the top team playing the bottom seed in the second game of their turnaround. But you want your biggest matches in the weekend spots, therefore you don’t want England vs Australia or New Zealand vs Argentina on a Wednesday night, so it has to be a minnow in there somewhere.

It’s not an issue that can be easily solved, with 5 teams in a pool. 6 would be a bit excessive given the quality of teams 21-24 and the extension of the pool stage which will be necessary, while no-one will want to see the tournament cut to 16 teams. 5 pools of 4 like the Champions Cup might create controversy with debates about strength of pools and “softer” second places than others. However, despite these issues, it certainly hurt Japan in this tournament.

Final note for the fans, who have been incredible across the tournament despite the host’s awful showing. I went to 3 matches this tournament, and each had a phenomenal atmosphere. Same with the ones I saw on TV.

By: Jez

Jez — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 16:44:38 +0000

Player of tournament for me Brodie Retallick. Every team needs an engine room but NZ gets one with great hands, skill and pace. Immense in the final my man of the match.
Try of the tournament, Gonevas for Fiji vs Wales was pretty special.
Can’t disagree that England’s tournament was a disapointment and that they deserve that award, but we are kidding ourselves that Ireland and Wales shouldn’t be included in that.
Villain? I’d add the virtual lynch mobs on Craig Joubert led by Matt Dawson and Gavin Hastings. Even if he’d made a mistake their reaction was hysterical and over the top and they should be ashamed of themselves.
For tier 2 player I’d add Jacques Burger who defined an entire nations effort in making sure Namibia were not the whipping boys of previous years. Even when not playing he still cut an inspirational figure.