Odds in favour of SA but we can carry on dreaming.

Go on England!

Need to start well, aggressive and confident, make them feel the pressure of the occasion and we can win. If SA get ahead early I'd be worried though, I'm not sure we have a Plan B!

Last time when I watched the final I was incredibly nervous-seemed like as favourites it was for us to mess up and it got worse through the game as we failed to nail it for so long. Tomorrow is much easier-what have we to lose now?

Jason Robinson's last game of rugby can be on the winning side.

Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce Woodhouse:

Last time when I watched the final I was incredibly nervous-seemed like as favourites it was for us to mess up and it got worse through the game as we failed to nail it for so long. Tomorrow is much easier-what have we to lose now?

Exactly how I feel, Bruce. A bit like in 1991.

Mark

Something for the Weekend, sir.



Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'




Dean...English 'til I die

Watched Sale play Saracens last night at Edgeley Park, in a very lively and entertaining game. Sale nailed it with a 34-30 win. Superb stuff for my first game watching them. Roll on Bath in a few weeks!

Ryan

Starting to get a bit nervous now.

quote:

Originally posted by Chillkram:
Starting to get a bit nervous now.

Only a bit Mark?? If I had any fingernails left after the last two games they would be gone already!

Mark

Nerves, PAH, Six bottles of London Pride will sort that out for yah!.



Dean..

quote:

Originally posted by Whizzkid:
Nerves, PAH, Six bottles of London Pride will sort that out for yah!.



Dean..

A good point Dean. What to drink for this great occasion? ESB surely!

quote:

Originally posted by tonym:

quote:

Originally posted by Whizzkid:
Nerves, PAH, Six bottles of London Pride will sort that out for yah!.



Dean..

A good point Dean. What to drink for this great occasion? ESB surely!

Well my five pints of Magners whilst watching the Merseyside derby hasn't calmed me down! Out to a very nice Chinese restaurant at 6pm with family and then back to brother's for the big game - oh, it's a hard life!

Mark

Another defeat for Wasps and our miserable season continues. Let's hope England can cheer up my sporting day!

quote:

Originally posted by Chillkram:
Another defeat for Wasps and our miserable season continues. Let's hope England can cheer up my sporting day!

Mark,

We were always going to struggle with half the team away on World Cup duty. This season is probably just about consolidation, with maybe a good cup run?

Mark

Well done to South Africa - they have been the best team in the competition and are probably the best team in the world at the moment. But you boys were given one helluva game today. No tries scored for the first time in this competition is a credit to England's defence.

Ultimately this boiled down to South Africa's superiority in the line-out and their longer kicking game. England didn't quite have the cutting edge, but they bettered the Boks in the loose today, I thought, and dominated second half possession and territory.

The nation should be immensely proud of them. It was amazing that they even got to the final and I think they have managed to restore a lot of the pride that Robinson's teams had eroded over the last four years. The point is there are exciting times ahead for England. This was a scratch team and there are youngsters coming through like Tait and Flood, Geraghty and Strettle who was injured and left back home. The future looks bright.

Well done England.

Always suspected SA had too much firepower in key positions, but well done to England for playing their hearts out. I think that once the inevitable disappointment of losing eventually passes they can hold their heads up high today and say they gave everything. Who knows what would have happened had that try been given and we hadn't given away a couple of easy penalties early in the first half.

Congratulations to South Africa though. They were the better side and having gone through the competition as the only unbeaten side, they are worthy world champions.

I agree with all of that Jon. But anyway....................... oh bugger!

Indeed, now we'll just have to hope that Lewis Hamilton can make up for it in Brazil tomorrow afternoon........!

Wot about the appalling referreeing?! We woz robbed!

Well done, South Africa - you were clearly the best-performing team in the competition.

Well done, England - for proving miserable old English pessimists like me that there is a silver lining with every cloud.

James

quote:

Originally posted by JWM:
Wot about the appalling referreeing?! We woz robbed!

James

You're not going to start jumping up and down on some poor innocent's car now are you??!!

quote:

Originally posted by Chillkram:

quote:

Originally posted by JWM:
Wot about the appalling referreeing?! We woz robbed!

James

You're not going to start jumping up and down on some poor innocent's car now are you??!!

Unfortunately, if I did, I reckon I'd do a heck of a lot of damage.

Fortunately, I think it high unlikely that I'd be able to climb up there in the first place...

I see Tigers had a win again today, James. We're going to have to come from even further behind than usual this season if I am going to be able to sustain the banter 'til the bitter end!