Let The Countdown Begin: Wales v France IRB World Cup Semi Final

[Philtaz]

Hope this prophecy comes to fruition!



The excitement is building in Wales, it's palpable!

CYMRU AM BYTH

[Philtaz]

12 hours until kick off and the streets of North Wales are very quiet for a Friday night! Everyone's keeping their beer vouchers for the morning....!

horseshoes, superb avatar of a fantastic memorial to some very brave men from my old regiment.

Cymru Am Byth!

[Noraq]

tick...tick....tick....=)

Night Night rugger buggers.

[Philtaz]

Duplicated from the Backing the Boyos thread:

Thanks to all the fellow Brits who've wished us well.

Slept better than I thought, but now getting nervous, excited, emotional and struggling to control bodily functions! No appetite yet must have something to soak up the ale!

Biggest game in WRU history, glory beckons, a proud nation awaits and expects.

CYMRU AM BYTH.

[Noraq]

Philtaz..I'm very excited about this game..looking forward to great rugby..depending on which French team turns up..the 'sublime or the ridiculous'..
either one will have to play 80 minutes full on..not 30 minutes like they did against England. =)

[Noraq]

...two great anthems...you would have to be made of stone not to get a lump in your throat.

Right Game on!!!

[Noraq]

Sam Warburton did nothing wrong...red carding him is just beyond bloody stupid!!

Wales now play with 14 men....wrong! wrong!

[kayakamina]

He did something wrong! It was a dangerous tackle BUT only a penalty or at worst a yellow card - never a red!

[Noraq]

top Ref in the World...my A***..he is just an effing eeejit...never even asked for t.v.view...what a ***&&&&&&%%%!!!!!!!

[bigbadmarty]

absolutely disgraceful decision uphill task now you never know

[boxtops]

The commentators agree with you entirely

[flip_flop]

The ref has made a terrible mistake, but unfortunately games often turn on iffy ref decisions - such as Cueto's definite try being disallowed in the 2007 final.

Wales played well, but personally I'm glad the French won.

[ichkeria]

Well, I'm an Ireland fan through and through but I'm more devastated by this result than last week's.
What an amazing bunch of players, off and on the field.

[margie04]

noraq:- tv review is only for tries and kicks, but you're right, there should be some way of justifying a red.
boxtops: think the commentators have their own fish to fry esp, Pienaar - SA lost on a ref. decision too

[kayakamina]

The French were clearly incensed by the tackle and for a few seconds it looked as though a fight would break out.
It may have been their reaction which prompted the ref to give the red card, rather than the yellow which was merited.
A very poor decision however arrived at.

[BAKERS DOZEN]

As a "mere woman" can someone please explain to my why one person being sent off, rightly or wrongly, make the outcome of the game inevitable according to the commentators on TV. Is he the only one who knows how to play the game? Are the others not capable of getting on with the match? If the others in the team were incensed at the decision surely it should make them more determined to raise their game and win. The best team on the day won. Vive la France.

[joggerjayne]

I didn't think France looked like the "better team".

I only saw the second half, but Wales were all over France, even with one player down.

[kayakamina]

Playing with only 14 men means that either your scrum is underpowered i,e 7 against 8, or if you reinforce the scrum from your backs you are understrength there and the gaps appear.
It is not a given that 15 always beats 14 but it's more probably.

[Noraq]

for the first time in my life, I do not laud a winning French team..they only just managed to beat a 14 man team by 1 point...and that. in my book..makes them..at best..average..and how they are in the WC Rugby Final is beyond me.

The sending off of the Welsh Captain, (for what was, at best, a yellow card incident), we are talking about rugby here, it's a rough game,..and clearly there was no malice intended by Warburton, and the French player was not taken off injured.

The referee ruined a potentially brilliant Semi-Final WC game..he surely should hang his head in shame.

[boxtops]

Hear hear, noraq

[Noraq]

......As to the Final...
Frankly Scarlett!!!