The Northern & Southern hemisphere Rugby union thread (6 Nations,Super Rugby,sevens)

[Iceman]

Fiji lose to Portugal! Still did enough to get a bonus point which sends them through above the mighty Australia. England struggled against Samoa, coming back eventually to win by 1 point and will face Fiji in the quarter finals.

Also strange to see the group winners all from the 6 Nations teams after all the Southern hemisphere dominance.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Argentina!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Iceman]

This match right now between Ireland and New Zealand is amazing. 18-10 to NZ so far but good quality by both teams.

 

[Iceman]

Argentina!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love this knockout drama. Can’t believe England managed to get a win against Argentina with a player down nearly the whole match. They’d probably beat us if we played again! Shame for Wales but will be interesting to see if Argentina can put up a fight in the semi too.

 

[Iceman]

Yellow card for NZ and now Ireland get a try. They’re right back in it now.

 

[Iceman]

NZ looked to be closing this out after getting another try and Ireland needing 2 scores but that last move led to a penalty try for Ireland and another yellow card for NZ. Plenty of time now for Ireland to take the lead.

 

[Iceman]

NZ win 28-24. Epic high quality match worthy of a final. These 2 teams are stronger than Wales, Argentina, England and Fiji, 2 of who will go through to the semis.

 

[Iceman]

All 4 quarter finals were amazing, full of drama and great adverts for the sport.

Fiji ran England very close and were threatening to win after a great comeback. Finished 30-24 to England.

South Africa beat France by a point, 29-28, in a match that lived up to the Ireland New Zealand game ( those 2 games should have been the semis).

 

[Kaleb]

My heart is still racing after the Boks won, that was far to close for my liking

 

[Iceman]

New Zealand looked awesome against Argentina. Deserving finalists. Should be joined by South Africa tomorrow for what would be a great final. If England finish within 40-50 points of SA it will be a decent result haha. I will be very happy with England’s whole tournament if they finish within 14 points of a great SA team in the semi (with a very lucky draw avoiding all the big 4 teams) given where we were going into the tournament.

 

[Kaleb]

Just embarrassing for Rugby in general for a semi final in a world cup tournament to be so one sided, this sports desperately needs to grow

 

[Iceman]

South Africa just scored after not a great first 30 mins from them to make it 9-6 England. That's the thing that even when playing badly they are only 3 points behind. Different class team to England.

 

[Iceman]

Just embarrassing for Rugby in general for a semi final in a world cup tournament to be so one sided, this sports desperately needs to grow

True. The NZ Ireland and France SA QFs were stacked. Would have been better if those were the SFs.

 

[Iceman]

Aahhh, South Africa take the lead for the first time with just a few mins left. Probably all over now. Very impressed we managed to give SA a game at all.

 

[Iceman]

16-15 final score. South Africa with another 1 point win do enough when it counts to get through to the final. Congrats! Should be a great final between NZ & SA.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

What a come back from the Springboks. Amazing. A lot of great matches in the knockout stage.

 

[Kaleb]

England were the better team overall, but they cant just expect to win on penalties they need to score tries to go ahead on scoreboard and England didn't had any clue apart from kicking.


Anyway something tells me New Zealand will be looking for revenge after that embarrassing defeat by the Springboks before the world cup

 

[Iceman]

I'll be supporting NZ in the final but will also be happy for you @Kaleb and my SA friend if the Boks win.

You already beat us in both world cup cricket and rugby in the same day lol (cricket by a huge margin!)

 

[Iceman]

What a come back from the Springboks. Amazing. A lot of great matches in the knockout stage.

I didn’t realise you had any interest in/followed rugby as well (at any level). Much respect to your varied sporting interests!

 

[Iceman]

Sounds great this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/67206691

“World Rugby has announced a new competition starting in 2026 as part of a "significant overhaul" of the men's international calendar.

The tournament will be made up of 24 teams, split into two divisions with 12 teams in each, with promotion and relegation starting from 2030.

The top division will include the 10 sides from the Six Nations and Rugby Championship, plus two unnamed others.”

 

[Kaleb]

It's incredibly risky but I love that Rassie being the absolute madman is going for a 7/1 split in the biggest game, Matt Williams is somewhere punching air right now.

 

[Iceman]

It's incredibly risky but I love that Rassie being the absolute madman is going for a 7/1 split in the biggest game, Matt Williams is somewhere punching air right now.

Very aggressive, very risky, maybe it’s what’s needed to push for the WC win against the ABs. Just hope you don’t get any injuries in the backs during the game.

 

[Iceman]

I hope we can get third place today against Argentina. If we can keep it to 15 vs 15 we'll at least be one better than last time.

 

[Iceman]

Argentina have come back well in the second half. 26-23 to England at the moment with 7 mins to go but Argentina with the ball!

 

[Iceman]

Argentina miss a late kick (not a straightforward one) which would have drawn them level. Great effort from them late on in any case but England hold on to get a narrow win for 3rd place. Very happy with that overall from this tournament.