tokyojb says...

@Jmanngod

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Wales ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha lost 6-9 ho ho ho ho ho to Wales he he he he etc

Oh I love the smell of hubris in the morning...

Posted 03:56 09th June 2012

ruckingkiwi says...

melkdave, didn't Aussie sneak into a final a couple of years ago?

It will be tough for NZ to win this year, I believe they have no returning players and therefore missing the experience factor which is crucial at such a young age. In saying that, I will be disappointed if they don't win but not totally surprised, other teams, England, Ireland, Australia etc are very good.

Posted 01:55 05th June 2012

tha_mai says...

The pools are:

A: Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, Wales.

B: England, Ireland, Italy, South Africa

C: Argentina, Australia, France, Scotland

4 June matches: Wales-Fiji, New Zealand-Samoa, England-Italy, South Africa-Ireland, Australia-Scotland, France-Argentina

And a stat from the IRB site: 8 JWC graduates played in Wales¿ 2012 Grand Slam winning campaign (Sam Warburton, Leigh Halfpenny, Jonathan Davies, Justin Tipuric, Scott Williams, Lloyd Williams, Toby Faletau, Rhys Webb).

Posted 11:33 04th June 2012

jonesy2 says...

i have no idea who is playing in the baby blacks team i assume its not full strength for example is perenara playing? i know liam gill is captaining australia which is ridiculous for the other sides and it looks like SA have some players aswell kitsoff is quality

Posted 05:31 04th June 2012

kiwikev says...

That is definitely the way to set favourable - if not realistic - expectations Jmann...

Posted 09:59 03rd June 2012

AWEBLAX says...

Jmanngod Oh come don't put the mockers on our guys, please just let them play their games first...............

Posted 04:28 03rd June 2012

ABlack says...

I watched the NZ Under 20s in a training game against North Harbour ITM cup squad with a few young guns themselves on Wednesday.The Under 20's scored several good tries and won what was a game with 20 minute quarters and 5-6 players changing each quarter.

The NZ Under 20s look very good as you would expect. Their forwards are huge and very physical plus very fit with lots of speed and skill in handling the ball.

I dont beleive the SA and Aussie teams having some S15 players is going to be an advantage at all. Some of the NZ players have played ITM last season so they have been exposed to a high level of competition.

At the end of the day its about athletic ability in sport and the NZ team has this athleticism over every other team probably, the rest will take care of itself.

Posted 23:13 02nd June 2012