Rugby World Cup Round One We Win :)

[Jamie - RateMyCasino]

The show was amazing, party is even better!

All Blacks 41

Tonga 10

Great game but we won first round Go New Zealand

[cass]

Great opening match by New Zealand and congratulations on a clinical performance over Tonga. As a staunch Bok supporter I hope we could do well in this year's WC, but it's going to be a tough ask since NZ are the clear favourites to win this tournament, taking into account home ground advantage.

It all depends how the Boks perform in their opening match against Wales on Sunday. I don't want to get ahead of myself at this stage but I predict that the Boks and the All Blacks will be in the final. Australia and England in my opinion are still the dark horses to win it. Even if the Boks win or loose I look forward to some fantastic rugby, which in my opinion is one of the most physical games on the planet.

Cheers to a fantastic Kiwi World Cup.

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[Betpartners]

Based on the performance I bet France are looking forward to New Zealand again

I thought New Zealand were value before the kick off to win the tournament, even at odds on, not now though, was not impressed, sorry Jamie

England for me have no chance, think the Aussies are the value now but Rugby Union is not my strongest sport from a betting point of view so the chances are I could be well wrong.

Will support England but bet on the Aussies.

[cass]

Based on the performance I bet France are looking forward to New Zealand again

I thought New Zealand were value before the kick off to win the tournament, even at odds on, not now though, was not impressed, sorry Jamie

England for me have no chance, think the Aussies are the value now but Rugby Union is not my strongest sport from a betting point of view so the chances are I could be well wrong.

Will support England but bet on the Aussies.

If I read between the lines here the old "chokers" tag that has been hounding NZ for many a WC is still giving them nightmares. France has always been the All Blacks' "Achilles Heel", I hope for NZ sake that in this year's WC it will not be the case. One must not forget that Tonga is a very physical side and gave the AB's a hard time during the earlier phases of the first half. Those guys are built like Shrek.

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[giggles7p]

Holy ****, look what the cat dragged in!....Nice to see you here Martin! You are sorely missed around here.
love
pat

Based on the performance I bet France are looking forward to New Zealand again

I thought New Zealand were value before the kick off to win the tournament, even at odds on, not now though, was not impressed, sorry Jamie

England for me have no chance, think the Aussies are the value now but Rugby Union is not my strongest sport from a betting point of view so the chances are I could be well wrong.

Will support England but bet on the Aussies.

[sureshmohan]

wow , it was much better. it was an interesting.i love it

[Conrad-Gowild Gaming]

Great opening match by New Zealand and congratulations on a clinical performance over Tonga. As a staunch Bok supporter I hope we could do well in this year's WC, but it's going to be a tough ask since NZ are the clear favourites to win this tournament, taking into account home ground advantage.

It all depends how the Boks perform in their opening match against Wales on Sunday. I don't want to get ahead of myself at this stage but I predict that the Boks and the All Blacks will be in the final. Australia and England in my opinion are still the dark horses to win it. Even if the Boks win or loose I look forward to some fantastic rugby, which in my opinion is one of the most physical games on the planet.

Cheers to a fantastic Kiwi World Cup.

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I couldn't agree more, the opening ceremony was fantastic, credit to New Zealand for going all out.

The opening game was a bit one sided but still a good one. At least it wasn't a complete walk over and Tonga steered clear
of seeing the same fate that Japan had when they faced a stronger team. Tonga had so many opportunities to capitalise on
the 12 penalties conceded by New Zealand and I counted 4 missed chances for Tonga to intercept a loose ball, should they
have made good on any of those the score would have been considerably different.

As far as France and New Zealand are concerned, yes the French have the psychological advantage over New Zealand because
of their previous encounters but don't underestimate the value of home ground advantage and what it can do for a team when
the entire stadium gets behind a team. So I'm on the fence with this one, leaning towards New Zealand for when they face France.

Myself also being a staunch Bok Supporter and a SAFFA I can only hope that we go into every game not underestimating our
opponents regardless of the team, we were almost kicked out of the RWC 2007 when we did that with Tonga.

All in all it should be a great tournament and it's great to see the entire country behind the Springboks.
Here's to the Springboks being the first team ever to successfully defend the World Cup Title.

Go Bokke bring back the trophy and give 'em a P.K!

[BishamonMedia]

Like Cass, i predict a SA Vs NZ final and with home-ground advantage NZ will finally take away the silver

[villa10]

Australia is my candidate to win the World Cup. I do not think the All Blacks will overcome their poor performance when they have to play under pressure. New Zealand is an extraordinary team attacking but they have many problems in defense. They have many imbalances.

[TheGooner]

New Zealand have the best defence of all the teams - shown time and time again in results and final standings of tournaments based on leagues like the Tri-Nations. The All Blacks win about 90% of games at home.

The popular media - and dodgy commentators - call the All Blacks "chokers" because they lack the skills to provide decent analysis. A quick look at New Zealand's record shows that it is outstanding ... but also that the have NEVER had an unbeaten season in the last 10 years! Even last season when New Zealand almost beat everyone they still only won 14 of 15 ... losing to Australia 22-23 in Hong Kong.

So New Zealand sit on top of the standings because they win most often - and are most likely to beat ANY side in a single game - no matter where it's played. But those standings are an artificial league of results.

However, the Rugby World Cup is not a league it's effectively a 3-match knockout competition. Once we get over the formalities of the group play - then all the major contenders have a very simple task - win THREE knockout games against top ranked opponents - and lift the golden trophy. One "oops" and you are out - and a close rugby game has many variables from the bounce of the odd shaped ball - to the vagaries of referee decisions that no-one can understand.


If I was a betting man - then I'd make the percentages something like :
- New Zealand 50%
- Australia 25%
- South Africa 12%
- England 7%
- France 3%
- Argentina 1%
- Wales 1%
- Ireland 1%

Although New Zealand are the best side - and are at home - I still make them just a "coin flip" call as to whether they win the cup or not.
It's not a choke - it's a simple understanding of sporting facts and figures.

[villa10]

Tri nations and Six nations are college leagues in comparison with the pressure that teams have in the World Cup. These are the games to demonstrate quality and mental strength. The All Blacks are the best team in the Tri Nations because they are the best attack in the world, and capable to make a lot of tries to any team. Not because they have a good defence.

[Jamie - RateMyCasino]

Tri nations and Six nations are college leagues in comparison with the pressure that teams have in the World Cup. These are the games to demonstrate quality and mental strength. The All Blacks are the best team in the Tri Nations because they are the best attack in the world, and capable to make a lot of tries to any team. Not because they have a good defence.

lol

My prediction is we will take home the gold, mark my words....hehe

[Betpartners]

Have to disagree with my friend TheGooner, who's opinion on betting matter I do value, though not always agree with

I think that then choker tab is important, whether analysis backs it up or not.

That label is out there, the players are aware of it, the fans are aware of it, the teams management and most importantly, the opposition.

It is basically irrelevant if the label is totally accurate or not, what is relevant, is that everyone and their aunt is aware of the choker label and that does play an impact on the psychology of the players before the games and possibly in the games itself.

Add the pressure of playing at home and there is justifiable reason to believe that New Zealand may succumb to the pressure.

But, they are the best team, in my opening line I did state that I felt they were good value, even at odds on, before the tournament started.

I no longer feel that, TheGooner classes NZ at an even money shot, I believe they should be higher, more like a 5/4 shot, the 8/11 currently on offer is just awful value now.

The Aussies at just below 4/1 remain the value in my eyes.

[universal4]

Methinks Gooner secretly wants them to win.....LOL

Rick
Universal4

[Stephen F]

I agree with Gooner - NZ are the favorites by far... However, presuming all goes according to plan in the preliminaries, the NZ are due to meet the Boks in the semi-final. SA arent in great form, but they know how to play WC rugby better than anyone else, and might cause them a few heart-aches.

With the draw the way it is, I suspect Australia will be playing NZ in the final and then its anyone's game. Obviously NZ would be favorites but in a final, who knows....

[cass]

I agree with Gooner - NZ are the favorites by far... However, presuming all goes according to plan in the preliminaries, the NZ are due to meet the Boks in the semi-final. SA arent in great form, but they know how to play WC rugby better than anyone else, and might cause them a few heart-aches.

With the draw the way it is, I suspect Australia will be playing NZ in the final and then its anyone's game. Obviously NZ would be favorites but in a final, who knows....

I agree the Boks did not have a good game against Wales today and played way below their own standards. I must admit Wales played the better rugby of the two teams and should have won. I hope that today's game was a wake up call for the Boks. I have great respect for John Smit as a captain and player but I believe his way past his prime, and his level of playing is not as good as it once was. It's time Bismarck Du Plessis should be in the starting line up. The Boks only won their match against Wales cause the replacements were brought on. It's time for the Bok management to stop placing sentimental value on has been players and slot in the players that can get the job done.

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[Stephen F]

The Boks didnt play well at all, and were lucky to get away with the game. They definitely picked up the pace when some of the replacements came on - the problem is hat you cant not start your captain.

Interesting first weekend. I dont think NZ played that great; England were horrible; SA played poorly. Its definitely going to be an interesting 6 weeks, quite a few could win in the end.

[cass]

I reckon Southern Hemisphere teams are knackered, taking into account the amount of rugby that has been played this year thus far: Super Rugby, The Tri Nations and now you have the RWC. Your top players are not on form as a result of past injuries and some of them feel compelled to play having not healed 100%-shining examples are Victor Matfield and Jean De Villiers. Management are in a bit of a pickle, if they play their star players they risk injury, if they don't they might lose matches to lesser teams. It nearly happened to the Boks against Wales today.

It's certainly is going to be a very interesting RWC, we might just have a major upset or two on the cards somewhere along the way. The under dogs to watch out in this years WC is Samoa, they beat Australia earlier this year and would have taken a lot of heart out that game. What one must not forget your minos raise their level and intensity by at least 30% especially when they play against the top teams. Every game should be treated as a final.

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[Conrad-Gowild Gaming]

Didn't play well!!! I was waiting for them to actually start playing properly, it was so terrible it looked like a practice session. AWFULL!!!
We invented some new curse words during that game I tell you, I think after that game I developed a drinking problem.

Anyway let's not judge, there's 6 weeks to go and anything can happen. I'm off to buy a Samoa Jersey just in case. LOL Only kidding
I couldn't do that to the boks, so Im sending my girlfriend.

[Gabriel_LCP]

We don't get Rugby Coverage in Costa Rica! I'm going to need to check them out on the web! Are the All Blacks the favorites to win it all??