All-Star Game Predictions?

[Mookie4ever]

My God this is about the fourth thread that I have read you crowing about how good you are.

Only 4. You gotta start reading more threads son

Oh, and I predicted that the All Blacks would get their butts kicked in the 2003 World Cup.

[NZF]

My God this is about the fourth thread that I have read you crowing about how good you are.

Only 4. You gotta start reading more threads son

Oh, and I predicted that the All Blacks would get their butts kicked in the 2003 World Cup.

We've got something in common. I predicted that one right as well.
The problem I've got with your prediction is I've read it 9 months after the fact.


Alright old son, show me what you've got. Give me a prediction for this weekends repeat of that World Cup semi-final showdown.

To prove its worth, give me some reasons for your pick as well.

[Mookie4ever]

If you are talking about the opening of the Tri-nations this Saturday, I'm a little in the dark because I haven't seen any of the build up and will probably only get to see it on replay.

I do know that the All Blacks remain an overrated team and just managed to get by the Pacific Islanders in their last match. I think that the days of them dominating world rugby are over. The boks are just as good but the difference will probably be the play of Graham Henry.

Did you see their game against England last month? I only saw highlights but Rathbone scored, a lot (4?) of tries.

I say the the All Blacks barely win - it will be close and exciting and I'm now pumped about finding out whether we will get it on TV in Canada.

[NZF]

The boks are just as good but the difference will probably be the play of Graham Henry.

Did you see their game against England last month? I only saw highlights but Rathbone scored, a lot (4?) of tries.

I say the the All Blacks barely win - it will be close and exciting and I'm now pumped about finding out whether we will get it on TV in Canada.

Graham Henry is the coach. I'm sure he would love to still be playing though at his age

I've seen all the games this season and I can tell you to read nothing into either the Australians or All Blacks games against England. That England team was tired and not a shadow of the team that won the World Cup.

You may or may not know that the 1st game of the Tri-Nations is been played in Wellington (my home town). I'll be there with bells on supporting the AB's but New Zealand teams have a very poor record on this new ground and have never beaten Australia on it. The All Blacks will have to create history to win.

George Gregan and Joe Roff are both out of the Aussie lineup which will hurt them a lot. New Zealand certainly doesn't dominate world rugby. In fact they haven't won the World Cup for nearly 20 years. What they have got though is incredible depth. They could lose their No. 1 half back and Top winger and the overall performance would be only slightly affected. Aussie have not got this same depth. For a country of only 3 million people, New Zealand could put out 3 or 4 sides capable of competing against England France and Australia's top sides. Similar to Brazilian soccer.

There are many New Zealand rugby players that move off shore and end up playing for other countries. Most of these guys only ever make it to a baseball equivalent Single A or Double A standard in New Zealand but are still good enough to represent Scotland, Ireland, Wales and a few have even played for Canada

A big reason why we cannot dominate world rugby as we should is the huge mental component of the game. Our guys are just not mentally tough enough to win 3 or 4 hard games in a row, required to win Rugby World Cups. But although we haven't dominated world rugby cups over the past 20 years, we are still far and away the most successful rugby nation over this period, in terms of wins for and against.

Anyway enough of the crap, against recent trends I'm predicting a comfortable New Zealand win on Saturday. Probably by as much as 10 points or more. I just hope for a fine day and a firm track.


Good on you mate for having a crack.

You may be interested in this new Rugby site we've started. Still getting set up but you can register now. As you will see it has a familiar look to it.

http://www.onerugbyworld.com

[Mookie4ever]

Do you know whether Wilkinson played against the Wallabees?

I thought the English played a very boring game at the World Cup with all of his drop goals. I would much rather watch the ABs, boks and Wallabees play. Has Jonah Lomu retired?

[NZF]

Wilkinson is injured and never toured at all. Neither did Jason Robinson. Wilkinson is expected back shortly. Robinson was just resting.

Martin Johnson has retired, as has Neil Back and Jason Leonard.

English rugby is rebuilding and suprisingly it looks likely it will take them some time to get back up to speed.

Jonah Lomu is having a kidney transplant. He is a very sick boy. Played all these years with kidney problems without complaint which speaks volumes for the guys character, guts and determination.

He will likely never play the game again but Adidas have still renewed his commercial contract. That sums up the high esteem and public profile Lomu still has in Europe particularly. He was never given that same credit in New Zealand. In fact in recent years he was laughed at and mocked in his home country when his playing standards dropped. In hindsight he was obviously suffering badly from his kidney problems but never used it as an excuse.

New Zealand rugby now has another Lomu. He's not of Tongan descent but Fijian. Joe Rocokoko is his name. He's scored an unbelievable 23 tries in just 15 tests. In comparison Lomu played 63 tests and scored 37 tries. If you get a chance to see him play this year, it is well worth it. He's a freak.

Unfortunately all world cup finals are boring games dominated by goal kicking. No one rememebers the quality of the game down the track, just who won the game. That is another problem with New Zealand rugby. We lose sight of this and always go out to entertain. It certainly draws the fans but it doesn't always win the big one off games.

[Mookie4ever]

Good stuff.

OK smart guy, enlighten us, who is going to win the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. Tell us why and show all of your work.

[NZF]

OK smart guy, enlighten us, who is going to win the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. Tell us why and show all of your work.

No Hockey World Cup this year. Olympic year, remember. I'm picking Pakistan to win the gold.

[Mookie4ever]

OK smart guy, enlighten us, who is going to win the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. Tell us why and show all of your work.

No Hockey World Cup this year. Olympic year, remember. I'm picking Pakistan to win the gold.

starts Aug 30 - finals on sept 14 just down the road from me at the Air Canada Centre.

[NZF]

OK smart guy, enlighten us, who is going to win the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. Tell us why and show all of your work.

No Hockey World Cup this year. Olympic year, remember. I'm picking Pakistan to win the gold.

starts Aug 30 - finals on sept 14 just down the road from me at the Air Canada Centre.

Ahhh you mean Ice Hockey.

How could that be a World Cup when there are no Southern Hemisphere teams in it

That's almost as bad as a Baseball World Series played by 30 North American franchises.