RayCee

I think the England RL team was a fine unit with a question mark on the quality of the centres. However, this side was unlikely to defeat the Kangaroos in the final unless England had a blinder and the Roos were below par. England played exceptionally well in their first four matches but were clunky (can I use that word?) in the semi and that's sport. This team will be judged on failing to make the final but I judge them as good side that got pipped in the semis. England nearly got pipped in the semis in the last WC against Tonga. I think Mal will be glad he's got Samoa rather than England. He knows England are the better of the two, not that they will take Samoa lightly.

That's another issue electric car owners face. I think hydrogen fuel cell is a better bet long term on so many levels. The problem there is getting service stations to invest in supplying hydrogen when no one owns the cars. You won't buy such a car unless there's a reasonable network of suppliers.

England had a poor game after a tournament where they were playing consistent, top quality RL each match. I feared the wheels would fall off in the final as England's run of form was too good to be maintained throughout. It came in the semi-final. I hope Samoa can lift again and put a new name on the trophy. Long shot I know. I can't see the Kangaroos playing like England just did.

Samoa is the sort of team always likely to conceded more penalties. Complaining about a negative penalty count is what coaches do. So much better that work on the reasons.

Do many on the forum own one and how do you rate it? In Kiwiland as in many other places, they are getting subsidised while fossil fuel cars are being penalised. That still hasn't stopped most punters going the petrol/diesel route. So what puts me off considering an electric car? Range anxiety: In a country with fairly large distances, refueling is an issue. Charging times: That's not a biggie but still inconvenient. Initial purchase price: Despite subsidies they are still expensive. Battery degradation: Links up with range anxiety, gets worse as the car ages. What's to like? Cheaper to run and maintain: That doesn't fully offset the initial purchase price but still useful. Nice to drive: I've only driven one once and for a short distance in town but I loved the quietness and perky performance. Conclusion: Hybrid is an option I'd consider but electric is a bridge too far at present.

I didn't write this to be negative but it didn't quite fit the positivity one. I compared the three RL comps through the first three rounds to see what the winning side's ratio of points was compared to the losing side. Men's : 71 / 29, Wheelchair : 80 / 20, Women's 89 / 11. I assume the lesser depth in the Wheelchair and Women's games caused them to have wider margins. As for points per game: Men's : 59, Wheelchair : 102, Women's 54. Average scores per game: Men's : 42-17, Wheelchair : 82-20, Women's 48-6. France and England are so far ahead of the rest in the Wheelchair version has created that disparity. The Women's tournament has had losing sides unable to post many points. The Men's section has appeared to be one sided but not as bad as it may have felt at times.

I have been thinking England haven't a chance of winning the WWC, but on the error strewn performance of the two top sides they're in with a shout.

I thought Pakulis was the difference there. Her tirelessly taking up the ball again and again was huge. Brazil really surprised me. They have improved so much. Both nations will now need to work on their domestic games to make the most of what they've gained in the WC.

I can't see England winning a trophy if they aren't more clinical in attack.

Mine too.

SkySport in NZ have monopolised sports events for years. This time SparkSport got the rights for the RL WC. Spark do their coverage online, you sign up for one month periods or longer.. I would have missed the WC on Sky but been watching it all on Spark. I've never watched so much RL in my life. I presume Sky's offer wasn’t good enough and lost out.

“Ignorance is bliss. 'Tis folly to be wise” One of my mum's favourite sayings, from Thomas Gray. He was apparently inspired by Biblical scripture. Eccl 1:18 “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief”. The meaning is when one pursues wisdom and knowledge, the realisation of how short our lives are to use it leads to frustration. Another angle is a woman was just telling me how her husband reads the newspaper thoroughly and gets wound up about it all. I recalled this saying and suggested that he gives up reading it. That’s what I did with the news. I just keep an eye on the headlines.

This will be the Kiwi's 75th WC match.

This will be GB/England's 80th WC match. If they win, it will be the 50th victory. If they lose it would be the 25th defeat. They have also had six draws, twice as many as any other nation. This will be Samoa's 22nd WC match, ten victories, ten losses and a draw prior to this match.

I see LFC have drawn RM in the CL. LFC doesn't have a good record against them. The good part is if they are going to meet RM sometime and lose, better to do it sooner rather than later. LFC will be struggling to make top 4 in the PL and they can then put their focus on that endeavour at what will be for the club a critical part of the domestic season.

To be fair Gomersall, they wouldn't have viewed it as a jolly if they were playing the Kiwis on the way home would they? They took their opponent lightly thinking they would win easily and got a rude awakening. Then they took it as a serious test match.

Brazil will not win but will leave the tournament with something to build on.

Impossible. I'd pick England despite zero complacency from Samoa. They have more quality across the park. That said, in a one off game....

The Kangaroos have four top games every five, the Kiwis one or two. The former are more consistent but if the Kiwis produce what they are capable of, who knows?

Yes, I recall. A case of taking your opponent lightly.

My dog thought it was a howler. But then again it could have been the police siren.

I guess it's not easy to admit your performance was clunky.

I do articles on my blog: https://rugbyl.blogspot.com/search/label/Americas

Very early on, a 5th tackle kick point blank into a French player ruled played at. I couldn't see how. A few minutes later a Jillaroo is clearly seen holding the tackler's jersey and not letting her get up and six again. Another try. It was never going to affect the outcome but wow.

It looks like 11,999.