Tokyo Calling - Rugby 2019

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Only thing that would have been better about that half was a few more points on the board for England.

[tee rex]

One-sided game. England should be ahead by more, playing brilliantly.

Will only lose this if tired late and making mistakes. Not happening yet.

[Ray de Galles]

England far superior in attack and even more so in defence. 10-0 flatters the All Blacks.

[Ray de Galles]

Scott Barrett at 6 is a disaster, he should get hooked at half time.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

YESS!!!

[Mr Cogito]

Now that's a more interesting lead to be defending!

[Mr Cogito]

Or not

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

NOO!!!

[Mr Cogito]

There's a hell of a lot of errors from both teams, and the inevitable turnovers, but England might need to tighten up a little as the half progresses.

[longeared]

Straight off the training ground, that one.

[Mr Cogito]

Gifted away.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

What's on the board, George Ford?

[Ray de Galles]

Fantastic performance by England, the vastly better team won.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Bloody hell. It's going to be England v Wales in the final.

[Snake Plissken]

Bloody hell, England were almost perfect today.

[Satchmo Distel]

That was the best England rugby performance I have ever seen, even better than when they won the World Cup in 2003. Relentless driving and tackling. Numerous world-class individual performances. They are an immense team.

Total dominance. And in the days before the video review system, the margin would have been much wider. Very borderline overrules.

My one worry: A huge ask to do it again in the final. Must be totally knackered.

[Ray de Galles]

South Africa made NZ look ordinary for a twenty minute section in each half of their opening game but England did it all game and capitalised by scoring points from their dominance. Jones has been planning that match and performance for four years and they're massive favourites for the final now whoever wins tomorrow.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Fuck. Ing. Hell.

[tee rex]

Not half as annoyed as I might have been, given that performance by England. Would have been complete robbery if they'd lost to a bit of broken play in the late stages.

A bunch of ABs didn't turn up.

Edit: Actually, it really is just as well NZ didn't win. The TMO conspiracy theories would have gone on forever. (The maul disallowed try might have been strictly correct, but that happens in mauls all the time, unseen).

[Ray de Galles]

A bunch of ABs didn't turn up.

England didn't allow them to turn up, they ran the game and made the fast attacking start that shatters NZ's momentum and myth before suffocating them in defence.

Hansen's daft gamble with Scott Barrett didn't help but this was England dominating not the All Blacks choking.

[Sits]

Defence becoming attack, relentlessly. How many turnovers where there?

[Ray de Galles]

Edit: Actually, it really is just as well NZ didn't win. The TMO conspiracy theories would have gone on forever. (The maul disallowed try might have been strictly correct, but that happens in mauls all the time, unseen).

Both tries were disallowed quite correctly though. The first was blatant blocking, even if Owens let the game run on knowing he could check the TMO.

While the second might have been an eagle-eyed spot of a technical infringement, it's good to see that the total mess that is the modern driving maul officiated properly in such a big game even if it isn't in lesser ones. In that regard it's like Warburton's red in 2011 again.

[Patrick Thistle]

Bloody hell. It's going to be England v Wales in the final.

May be out of line here but I can't see Wales beating England if England play like that and I'd rather they not play them at all than lose a World Cup final.

[Sporting]

I said more or less the same upthread.

[jameswba]

Is there a case for nominating Nigel Owens as the best current referee/umpire in any sport? I'm almost at the point with rugby that I'd decide to watch a game based purely on him being in charge.