Bad beat/Moaning/Venting thread - It's the end of the world as we know it

[Strewelpeter]

Loada nonsense.

That match last night was a qualifying match for a top tier tournament.

The discussion so far has been about the actual tournament itself. No one is saying that smaller nations like Romania shouldn't attempt to qualify, and take their hiding if thats what it means. What people are saying is that including those nations in the actual tournament finals ruins the credibility of the tournament as a competition. A smaller tournament with a certain level of competitiveness expected is much better than blowouts for the game and the spectacle.

No one wants to watch the smaller nations get battered, but everyone wants to watch competitive nations give it a rattle. A la Japan last world cup.

Can't really believe people are trying to justify it tbh.

The only nonsense is making comparisons between RWC and FIFA WC.

I'm not trying to justify it, the kind of format AJ proposed would be better, I'm just making the point you cannot compare them.

But now that you mention it there are at it there are plenty of mismatches at Fifa finals,
Spain 7 - 0 Costa Rica
Portugal 6 - 1 Switzerland

not nearly as many as at RWC but probably a similar amount as you will see in the next soccer WC.

[MysteryGuest]

Love that we’ve forced strew into googling big defeats at the real World Cup
the Switzerland one was in the second round so they had made it out of a group
Costa Rica beat a bit not too bad Japan side and gave Germany a fright by going 2-1 up with 20 mins left before losing 4-2 .
so a pointless comparison romnia don’t even have a chance against the other group no hoper (Tonga)

as Theresa said don’t understand the whataboutery- surely Irish fans would prefer 1 less meaningless game- 4 team groups would just about maybe be ok- and lessen the tournament turning into such a drag - surely better for all concerned
having 2 no hopers in most groups is a joke

whos going to actually watch Romania v Tonga aside from sick gamblers with a wedge on?

[Solksjaer!]

So the early rounds of most sports events have minnows in it shocker . Are Romania very shite or are we very good , who cares . The credibility of the tournament ? lol. EVERYONE knows this begins after the group stages . We are years away from a competitive group stage in RWC . It will never happen if the pearl clutchers have their way.

Ask Romania if they wanna come back next time ? Tell them NO yiz are shite . Grow the game .

Its ironic soccer ( most corrupt game after boxing) is defended v the Rugby .

Argentina beating Peru 6-0 was a crime. Matches were both sides have the same interest in a draw .

Credibility? ah here ref .

[Iago]

Not defending the rwc but in the latest football world cup Spain won a match 7-0 and in 82 Hungry beat el salvador 10-1

the dutch beat yugoslavia 6-1 in the euros in 2000 and in the ‘champions league’ there have been numerous games with a 5 or 6 goal margin.

fair to say that as every sport seeks to expand and offer more pathways we’ll see one sided results until teams/countries get up to speed.


although I am in general agreement with you that the actual ‘finals’ should be smaller events with more balanced teams although that does cause problems in bringing other sides up to the level if they can’t play against higher level opponents.

not sure there’s a simple solution though nations league does seem to offer a type of pathway as a starter.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

actual news story.

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[Theresa]

Jaysus Willy its unlike you to totally not get it.

[MysteryGuest]

So the early rounds of most sports events have minnows in it shocker . Are Romania very shite or are we very good , who cares . The credibility of the tournament ? lol. EVERYONE knows this begins after the group stages . We are years away from a competitive group stage in RWC . It will never happen if the pearl clutchers have their way.

Ask Romania if they wanna come back next time ? Tell them NO yiz are shite . Grow the game .

Its ironic soccer ( most corrupt game after boxing) is defended v the Rugby .

Argentina beating Peru 6-0 was a crime. Matches were both sides have the same interest in a draw .

Credibility? ah here ref .

Maybe we should let 18 handicappers in to the Masters? I’d come back every year after shooting 130 every time.
there should be standards if you’re going to call it a World Cup.

[Solksjaer!]

Jaysus Willy its unlike you to totally not get it.

Get what ? It's petty (not a typo) clear what the agenda is . To undermine Rugby . My fav part of the Romanian game was the wee lad dancing through the line . I'm not totally focused on the result .(was a given) I found it entertaining watching the minnows in the 1st half. A big part of the difference is in conditioning. They died in the 2nd half badly . Like watching Ireland v the big guns in the 80s . We faded then, the Southern Hemisphere influenced our game over the years and now we play like them.

i'm not sure i'm the one not totally getting it. Fold preflop?

Willie (Willy sounds rude)

[Solksjaer!]

Maybe we should let 18 handicappers in to the Masters? I’d come back every year after shooting 130 every time.
there should be standards if you’re going to call it a World Cup.

I'd watch. I'd call you Mysterscu Gestscu

[dinekes]

Upgraded the car today (VW Golf) and transferred the insurance. Due a refund of €63 which was nice

[Lazare]

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

iPhone finally and reluctantly joining the USB-C hype-train. Even laptops seem to be some version of USB-C now. Such a cool EU idea to standardise. I suppose they now need to stop giving cables away with everything as everyone already has a billion of them.

[Murdrum]

iPhone finally and reluctantly joining the USB-C hype-train. Even laptops seem to be some version of USB-C now. Such a cool EU idea to standardise. I suppose they now need to stop giving cables away with everything as everyone already has a billion of them.

I have a Dell USB-C screen that plugs direct into the MacBook, charges the laptop too so all very seamless. Battery life is so hard to beat.

I use an iPad Pro as a second screen on occasion when I’m in the shared office or on site which is also USB-C.

The only thing which is annoying on the base model at least is that it only supports one external display.
That’s more the M1/M2 chip I believe than the connectivity but probably the only downside I’ve found since working with them.

[MysteryGuest]

Get what ? It's petty (not a typo) clear what the agenda is . To undermine Rugby . My fav part of the Romanian game was the wee lad dancing through the line . I'm not totally focused on the result .(was a given) I found it entertaining watching the minnows in the 1st half. A big part of the difference is in conditioning. They died in the 2nd half badly . Like watching Ireland v the big guns in the 80s . We faded then, the Southern Hemisphere influenced our game over the years and now we play like them.

i'm not sure i'm the one not totally getting it. Fold preflop?

Willie (Willy sounds rude)

Agenda - lol. I’m only trying to help- would be happy to offer my services as a consultant to world rugby (and irfu) to help grow the game and optimise the RWC experience for fans and players-plenty of growth hacks being left on the table
Ultimately my aim would be to get rugby to such a state of competitive depth that current big teams have to fight for their RWC place in qualifying

[6starpool]

Get what ? It's petty (not a typo) clear what the agenda is . To undermine Rugby . My fav part of the Romanian game was the wee lad dancing through the line . I'm not totally focused on the result .(was a given) I found it entertaining watching the minnows in the 1st half. A big part of the difference is in conditioning. They died in the 2nd half badly . Like watching Ireland v the big guns in the 80s . We faded then, the Southern Hemisphere influenced our game over the years and now we play like them.

i'm not sure i'm the one not totally getting it. Fold preflop?

Willie (Willy sounds rude)

No one is trying to undermine rugby (and I don't think opinions spouted here will be worriedly discussed at world rugby HQ), but there aren't as many somewhat competitive nations in Rugby as there are in football, that's not a shock. Part of the problem is that the top nations in rugby don't have to qualify for events, so the likes of Romania don't get to play them at all other than under the big spotlight at the world cup. I'm not sure a 2 tier 6 nations (or worldwide equivalent) would solve it really, but there should be something done that doesn't result in a farce at the highest level.

Posting results of mismatches in football don't really count. Outside of the proper minnows, who never qualify for events, big scorelines are often just freak results. Last season for example, Liverpool beat Bournemouth 9-0, but lost 1-0 to them later in the season.

[ArmaniJeans]

Posting results of mismatches in football don't really count. Outside of the proper minnows, who never qualify for events, big scorelines are often just freak results. Last season for example, Liverpool beat Bournemouth 9-0, but lost 1-0 to them later in the season.

This 100%.
It's the same with the Spain 7 Costa Rica 0 result from the last World Cup that has been mentioned twice. If they'd met again the week after that 7-0 the spread line would have been something like 1.3 to 1.5 goal superiority for Spain. Portugal 6 Switzerland 1 has also been referred to, but again it proves nothing - this game would be close to a toss up (marginal superiority Portugal) every time it's played. Switzerland have won 2 of their 6 meetings in the last decade Portugal national football team: record v Switzerland (11v11.com)

Whereas we have 3 of the next 8 games in the RWC with hcaps of ~60 points and there is no case to be made for the underdog to get a win.

[6starpool]

This 100%.
It's the same with the Spain 7 Costa Rica 0 result from the last World Cup that has been mentioned twice. If they'd met again the week after that 7-0 the spread line would have been something like 1.3 to 1.5 goal superiority for Spain. Portugal 6 Switzerland 1 has also been referred to, but again it proves nothing - this game would be close to a toss up (marginal superiority Portugal) every time it's played. Switzerland have won 2 of their 6 meetings in the last decade Portugal national football team: record v Switzerland (11v11.com)

Whereas we have 3 of the next 8 games in the RWC with hcaps of ~60 points and there is no case to be made for the underdog to get a win.

There will likely be 0 games this weekend where the result isn't a comfortable win. Possibly England vs Japan, but even that England are something like 20 point favs I think.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Shameful efforts by the chavballistas to undermine the funny-shaped-ballistas. I guess rugby is trying to build itself up as a global game, so there will be some inconsistencies at this development stage. Maybe a bit like women's football which has mad variation in quality.

[Solksjaer!]

Well im a footie fan 1st .

Maybe im dreaming but MysteryGuest hasnt just started knocking Rugby since the RWC started . Its been his hobby on here

The RWC Starts at 1/4 final stage. Its been that way for years . Whats new ? And how is the credibility effected any differently this year. All my points are valid . I haven't seen anything new . My point on the biased matched in the footie as an example of corruption much worse than stacking minnows to build the game.

[Solksjaer!]

There will likely be 0 games this weekend where the result isn't a comfortable win. Possibly England vs Japan, but even that England are something like 20 point favs I think.

Will take the unders

[6starpool]

Well im a footie fan 1st .

Maybe im dreaming but MysteryGuest hasnt just started knocking Rugby since the RWC started . Its been his hobby on here

The RWC Starts at 1/4 final stage. Its been that way for years . Whats new ? And how is the credibility effected any differently this year. All my points are valid . I haven't seen anything new . My point on the biased matched in the footie as an example of corruption much worse than stacking minnows to build the game.

All you are saying is basic whataboutery. It doesn't address the point that the massive thrashings don't help the smaller countries develop. World Rugby doesn't seem to care if they develop really, there has to be a better way to make them more competitive.

[Solksjaer!]

All you are saying is basic whataboutery. It doesn't address the point that the massive thrashings don't help the smaller countries develop. World Rugby doesn't seem to care if they develop really, there has to be a better way to make them more competitive.

. You either read the whole posts or read none. Cherry picking points . The whataboutism started elsewhere. Im expanding on the credibility point.
We've had massive thrashings ourselves . We developed . Italy endured massive thrashings theyve improved , sure i myself was cynical about 6 nations . I think they've done well . Opens the way for others down the road. . There is only one way to improve ,more matches . If you want to improve at anything you need to play with better players. Ask any musician, sportsman. Or is that whataboutery ? It seems a diffult point to understand. Being precious about the semantics of the Rugby WORLD CUP seems an exercise in whataboutery in itself. How is it a proper world cup etc? Meh . Beam me up scotty .

[Solksjaer!]

Actually i shouldnt exhaust myself on how people chose to read a post/point . Shall leave it there.

Much love ( as the phonjacker would say)

[6starpool]

. You either read the whole posts or read none. Cherry picking points . The whataboutism started elsewhere. Im expanding on the credibility point.
We've had massive thrashings ourselves . We developed . Italy endured massive thrashings theyve improved , sure i myself was cynical about 6 nations . I think they've done well . Opens the way for others down the road. . There is only one way to improve ,more matches . If you want to improve at anything you need to play with better players. Ask any musician, sportsman. Or is that whataboutery ? It seems a diffult point to understand. Being precious about the semantics of the Rugby WORLD CUP seems an exercise in whataboutery in itself. How is it a proper world cup etc? Meh . Beam me up scotty .

I'm saying that world rugby needs to find better ways to develop countries than once every 4 years throw a few proper minnows in with the big boys, and never meet in between. Maybe a competition featuring the likes of romania, spain, portugal, namibia, USA and so on with teams from the big countries but not their main players, a development squad or something. Have them play better players but not the best. Having their only games be against other shit teams or teams who leather the crap out of them every single time is helping no one. A secondary Euro international comp with 12 teams, including the big boys, on at the same time as the 6N would help European rugby develop better probably, but there is probably a reason it hasn't been done already such as bigger countries objecting and so on. It has to deal with domestic leagues too. Already, the comp that Irish teams plays in runs alongside the 6N but without the big players. If they were to lose the next couple of tiers as well they'd have to pause properly for 6-8 weeks, which they probably won't do. It shouldn't be about more games, but about better use of games.

Even an Ireland C team would likely beat Romania by 30 points, but it would be better and a 16 team world cup would still offer hope of qualification but with less whipping boys.

[Emmet]

It's a bit of a weird argument.

Of course there are outrageous mis-matches, it's not a big sport and there is a gulf in abilities / money / professionalism outside of the top 8/10 countries?

That being said, just like Eric the Eel at the Olympics, why would you begrudge someone representing their team at the highest tournament of the sport they play?

At the number of teams that regularly play, rugby could probably have a 16 team tournament for sure, which would keep the mis-matches down, but, eh - for what? You're not obliged to watch every second of every game, just continue on with your life and read nothing into the 60 point drubbings.

The alternative to them taking place is that the 15 Romanians that started against Ireland would not have a story to tell, a cap to have won, a 'shot' at fame and an outside scalp. Does that make a "better" tournament / sport etc? I doubt it.

[Emmet]

6starpool you're describing a tournament that exists (the second tier tournament) - you're just ignorant of it (as I imagine are every else - not an insult) - https://www.rugbyeurope.eu/rugby-eur...pionship-2023/

[6starpool]

6starpool you're describing a tournament that exists (the second tier tournament) - you're just ignorant of it (as I imagine are every else - not an insult) - https://www.rugbyeurope.eu/rugby-eur...pionship-2023/

It doesn't include teams from the big nations though, the players not good enough to be in the main squad which was part of my point. I know there is a second tier thing, but they need to play against better players, but not better to the degree that they ship 10+ tries nearly every time.

Given that the only way they will ever play against one of the big teams is at the world cup, there has to be a better way. Granted, the likes of the 30th-60th best Irish players might not want to play in that tournament, but there needs to be something different as it clearly isn't working. It's very much as uphill battle in most of these countries to improve standards which means making the game more attractive to play for kids, with better coaching and facilities in these countries where rugby is barely even an afterthought to most, but I'll say again, something else must be possible to try. The will isn't there for it though. Introducing relegation into the 6 nations probably isn't it either though as that will make Italy worse probably.

It may be the case that the sport won't really develop anywhere else, and that's fine, but a justification for having these massive mismatches (with no hope at all of an upset) as "sure, the lads get a nice story" isn't good enough imo. They have the WC at 20 because they want to be seen as global, but it's not.

Aside from the geography and costs involved, if there was a competition without most of the 6N teams, and the 4 big southern hemisphere teams then that would be better. Use that as the qualification for the main WC. Romania/Spain playing Tonga or Japan would still have them as underdogs, but if is less of a mismatch. Make it so that anyone not in the QFs in the previous WC has to use that to qualify and to reach the quarters there to do so, you'd likely end up with Italy and one of the other bigger names like Scotland, Wales or occasionally Ireland/England/Argentina. It would be better.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

The Americans maybe have the right idea with their World Series of Baseball where they only invite themselves and Canada.

[Raoul Duke III]

Wow, you lads are mad into d'rugby these days. You should try being here.

shrapnel good shout on Cap Ferret. Great spot. Have eaten many more than huit huitres.

[Solksjaer!]

Still the greatest Jools performance ever.

[dinekes]

Is the rugby talk over?..creeps back into BVB fearfully.....

[6starpool]

Is the rugby talk over?..creeps back into BVB fearfully.....

You're heading to a Dortmund match?

[Dice75]

Wow, you lads are mad into d'rugby these days. You should try being here.

shrapnel good shout on Cap Ferret. Great spot. Have eaten many more than huit huitres.

Hope you're dodging the marinated Sardines

[dinekes]

You're heading to a Dortmund match?

Not gonna lie..that went right over my head!

[shrapnel]

Not gonna lie..that went right over my head!

BBV is this thread, BVB is dortmund

T_Logo_Emblem_bvbnachricht_teaser_normal_small_retina.jpg

[Dice75]

On a very sad note Sickpuppy formally of these parts lost his wife suddenly last night. She was a lovely woman. RIP.

[Wombatman]

I bought some new blue and yellow fish for the tank especially. Over under on McGinleys use of the word momentum would be an interesting market.

Working at The Ryder Cup as a Sky Camera assistant . Should be out on the fairways with the players. Hopefully on Slow Motion camera.

Here is Rory getting in my way (bucket hat) at the Irish Open last week. What an anti-climax Sunday was. Could have been an epic shootout between Shane and Rory.

[Strewelpeter]

Jumbo Visma tactics at La Vuelta are making for a very interesting race.

Team is ridiculous strong with Roglic who won in Italy playing second fiddle to Vingegaard who crushed in France but they found themselves, almost by accident with their third string the popular American rider, all round nice guy and super domestique Sepp Kuss a few minutes clear and in a position where it would be trivial for the team to protect him all the way to a win Madrid.

But the last two days on tough climb finishes Vingegaard and Roglic have left him on the road and closed the lead to 8 and 68 seconds respectively.
It's nigh on impossible for Kuss to win unless the team let him but while the last two days don't show any signs of a team that are working for Kuss. These guys are pros who would throw their Granny under a bus for win a second tour in a year and Roglic said he wants to try and win in today's post race interview. It's hard to know what the thinking of the team management would be, there might be some PR benefit from letting Kuss win especially if it softens Vingegaard's image... but if they were giving orders surely they would have given them this morning. Even if they give orders is Vingegaard the type who will follow them?

BUT the market seems less cynical and is still making Kuss fav @1.84 with Vingegaard 2.6 and Roglic 16 All things being equal if it was everyman for themselves I'd be making Vingegaard something like 1.15 and giving Roglic a slight edge over Kuss for second.

I'm not a huge fan of trying to outsmart markets like this where some people do probably know what the outcome is 'supposed' to be but I've been laying Kuss between 1.5 and 1.8 and am struggling to restrain myself from overdoing it.

[Strewelpeter]

On a very sad note Sickpuppy formally of these parts lost his wife suddenly last night. She was a lovely woman. RIP.

That's shocking! Very sorry to hear that, they weren't married all that long were they?
My heart goes out to Mick that's just terrible.

[Dice75]

That's shocking! Very sorry to hear that, they weren't married all that long were they?
My heart goes out to Mick that's just terrible.

Would have been 5 years this November i think

[zuutroy]

Thats fairly shit

[Lao Lao]

On a very sad note Sickpuppy formally of these parts lost his wife suddenly last night. She was a lovely woman. RIP.

Jesus, that's terrible news. My heart goes out to Mick. He relocated to Galway didn't he?

[Solksjaer!]

Horrible to hear that - that poor girl . Condolences to Mick and both families .

[Solksjaer!]

Not gonna lie..that went right over my head!

Ah here Doughal . Gave me a smile.

[dinekes]

So sorry to hear that ... that's awful news. Poor Mick and family.

[Dice75]

Jesus, that's terrible news. My heart goes out to Mick. He relocated to Galway didn't he?

Navan

[6starpool]

On a very sad note Sickpuppy formally of these parts lost his wife suddenly last night. She was a lovely woman. RIP.

Oh that's awful news. Very sad to hear that.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

oh my god, thats awful.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Ugh the rip.ie messages - she sounds like an amazing person, not sure how you even get around handling something like that.

[Raoul Duke III]

On a very sad note Sickpuppy formally of these parts lost his wife suddenly last night. She was a lovely woman. RIP.

No words for that. Condolences to Mick.

[Raoul Duke III]

Hope you're dodging the marinated Sardines

Supposedly yer man had been canning his own sardines for years. According to a half-understood conversation anyway.

[Solksjaer!]

If this is real the astro physicist guy will hibernate

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Cash appears to be all-but-gone in the UK.

Payment method Proportion of payments made in 2022 Debit card 50% Cash 14% Direct Debit 10% Faster payments & other remote banking 9% Credit / charge / purchasing card 9% Bacs Direct Credit 4% Standing Order 1% Other 1% Cheque 0%

[Lazare]

Ah that's such sad news. Hope Mick is doing OK.

[zuutroy]

Was reading that government report on speed limits. Something struck me as odd that one of their figures in the report shows the fatality rate for pedestrians goes from 30% when struck at 40 kmh to 80%+ at 45kmh. Surely 5 kmh cant make such a difference.
Went and had a read of the meta analysis paper that they cite in the report and the data is completely different. The real values are just over 15% at 40kmh and just over 25% at 45 kmh.

Must be nice to just make up any oul' shite to support what you want to do and not have anyone question it.

[Tar.Aldarion]

Was reading that government report on speed limits. Something struck me as odd that one of their figures in the report shows the fatality rate for pedestrians goes from 30% when struck at 40 kmh to 80%+ at 45kmh. Surely 5 kmh cant make such a difference.
Went and had a read of the meta analysis paper that they cite in the report and the data is completely different. The real values are just over 10% at 40kmh and just over 30% at 45 kmh.

Must be nice to just make up any oul' shite to support what you want to do and not have anyone question it.

Still even worse for just 5km, 10->30 is now fully a 3x increase.

[zuutroy]

Sorry that's my mistake...the 30% number is at 50 kmh not 45.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Was reading that government report on speed limits. Something struck me as odd that one of their figures in the report shows the fatality rate for pedestrians goes from 30% when struck at 40 kmh to 80%+ at 45kmh. Surely 5 kmh cant make such a difference.
Went and had a read of the meta analysis paper that they cite in the report and the data is completely different. The real values are just over 10% at 40kmh and just over 30% at 45 kmh.

Must be nice to just make up any oul' shite to support what you want to do and not have anyone question it.

So we can reduce fatality rates in urban areas three times by going down only 10kmh? That's amazing. Hadn't realized it was that big an effect tbh as 50kmh doesn't *feel* fast in modern cars.

[6starpool]

So we can reduce fatality rates in urban areas three times by going down only 10kmh? That's amazing. Hadn't realized it was that big an effect tbh as 50kmh doesn't *feel* fast in modern cars.

If we walk instead of drive we can reduce fatalities to almost zero. Amazing!

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

I guess it's partially because the biggest category of people we've set up cities to kill are the very young or the very elderly (those aged 75 and older are by far the biggest category of pedestrian killed by car drivers). So maybe they are simply more fragile when hit by a car.