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Thursday, September 29, 2011

I know the pool rounds aren't over yet, with most of them with 1 more match to go but I'll still do a summary of positions and highlights that caught my eye.

Front Row
The Good:

Casgiovanni(ITA) is still a beast. Other worthy mentions include Macdonald(USA), Figallo(ARG) and Cole(ENG).
The Bad:

TPN(AUS) lineouts are shit, and where are his badass runs and kamakazi tackles from super rugby? I have no idea why Robbie Deans has so much faith in him and does not give Moore(AUS) more game time. Andrew Sheridan(ENG) too. How someone 19 stone plus, 6 foot 4, man-mountain, able to bench press 225kg and squat lift 275 kg - be quite so fragile?

2nd Row
The Good:

Tough decision imo. Contenders were Sharpie(AUS), O'Connell(IRE), Koll(NAM), and AW Jones(WAL). But I have to give it to Rossouw(SA) who is a monster of a man.
The Bad:

Courtney Lawes(ENG) suspension against Argentina. What was he thinking kneeing the dude in the head. I personally think he is damn awesome for England and he is supposed to be a better player to be doing stuff like that.

Back Row
The Good:

Played 3 games and got MOTM for 2? Gorgodze(GEO) wins this hands down. Honestly, I have never heard of him before this RWC as I don't follow much Northern Hemisphere rugby but he reminds me of Parisse(ITA) when he was constantly the standout player for Italy when they were the shits a few years back. Notable mentions include Parisse(ITA), Leitch(JAP) and Stowers (SAM).
The Bad:

Not really his fault getting injuried but I had huge expectations of David Pocock(AUS) and the NZ loosies and they failed to impress(well except maybe Kaino(NZ)).

Scrumhalves
The Good:

Hard choice between Yachvili(FRA) and Fotuali'i(SAM). I'll go with the Samoan because with all things equal, the French have a better team. Fotuali'i played really well in the tournament so far and he reminds me of a young Agustin Pichot(ARG).
The Bad:

Sadly, high expectations of Will Genia(AUS) but he didn't deliver.

Flyhalves
The Good:

Kotze(NAM) with his mad ass kicking. Popping drop goals and penalties during the Fiji game. Sick. M Steyn(SA) and Berrick Barnes(AUS) were looking good too.
The Bad:

Quade Cooper(AUS). Not much magic seen from him so far after 3 matches.

Centers
The Good:

AAC(AUS), Manu Tuilagi(ENG), M Nonu(NZ), G Pisi(SAM) were all really outstanding but I had to give it to Tindall(ENG). Weird choice I know, with his off field scandals with women and midgets and all but watching him in the England games, I realized why the Legendary Martin Johnson, known for being a hardass of a coach, choose him to be England captain. Tindall has been playing his best rugby in a long time. Funny how England Centers get so good when they mature with age(Will Greenwood, Mike Catt). Kinda like wine.
The Bad:

Couple of injuries and some players under performed but no center played that bad to be worth mentioning imo.

Outside Backs
The Good:

Bear with me this will be long as I'm more anal with this position having played here most of the time. Firstly when NZ put utility back Richard Kahui(NZ) on the wing, I thought they wanted to field a more physical team against the Tongans(he mostly plays center). It turned out to be a standout decision and NZ have stuck with having him as their first choice winger for the pool stages. Having made the winger position his own and playing out of position deserves to be the outside back of the pool stages. I also felt fellow kiwis Dagg(NZ) and Toeava(NZ) were super underrated. They were mad skillful in their matches. Mills' days as in the squad are numbered and I fear he won't be able to get his 100th cap with those guys around. Other standout players were Chris Ashton(ENG) who topped the try tally so far with 5 tries, and the Jonah Lomu of present, Alesana Tuilagi(SAM). I thought Martin Rodriguez(ARG) was another awesome player. Having Argentina to join the Tri-Nations next year will only improve and introduce players like him to the world stage.
The Bad:

Bryan Habana(SA). Record try scorer last RWC totally has no form. Will see how he fares against Samoa tomorrow, a team which he scored 4 tries the previous world cup.

Others/Coaches

50/50 Split between:

French Coach Marc Lievremont sticking to Parra(FRA) as 10 when he has two flyhalves in the squad

and

Robbie Deans not getting getting a backup 7, putting Samo(AUS) on the wing, having 3 halfbacks and 3 hookers in a single game.

We will see how both of them fare after their respective matches.

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8:23 PM;