www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sp ... /99262289/ Seems like RLWC in news.

www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sp ... /99262289/ Seems like RLWC in news.

Just watched it back including the JM strip and Bennetts thoughts after. Firstly, I think it's a loose carry from fifita. The strip on JM goes backwards towards the Tongan line so fine to play on, though Bennett alludes to this incident to back up the no try, and he's wrong. If as he says both were stripped, both went back and both were play on which would have meant play on to fifita regathering and scoring.

For all the positives this tournament, Jerry getting the ball with a minute to go when we are in front and then losing it is criminal. Hold on to it!

might just be doing their christmas shopping!


on that last play.... fifita knocked on... like mcgillvary moments before, they played on though as tonga got the ball baacl for that one... at least the ref was being consistent and correct with both decisions.

They can't [iboth[/i be stripped if the advantage is gained by Tonga in both instances.
You'd have to suggest one or the other is a loose carry, for me, they both were.
Dunno what Wilkin is talking about, would Fifita's try have been given in SL, no idea, its pretty borderline and nowhere near the shoe-in he says it is.
On the whole, the WC has been a breath of fresh air, its served to highlight everything that is 5h1te about SL reffing, the influence of manufactured penalties, grappling and general fannying about at the pob have been robbing us of our entertaining game for too long.

I agree though in bennetts interview he seems to suggest both were stripped. Either way, it would have been sent up as no try and stayed the same without sufficient evidence to overturn.

You've got to feel for that Fajita bloke. Not good enough for superleague so he has to play in some foreign league that's on TV on an obscure cable channel no one has heard of. Whilst watching his brother play in super league (I know it's only field and he probably won't come back because his wife might get sent down but still). Then isnt good enough to play for Australia so has to pretend to be a tongalese in order to play in the World Cup. To cap it off drops the ball in the last minute of the semi final when he has a chance to win it and go to the final!

As for the protests they are just showing themselves up. I wonder if they'll still be Tongans or will go back to being Kiwis when it's the next Four Nations and Pacific Cup?

agree with that ! hopefully the sl refs take note!! but they will fall back into their old ways ruining the game no doubt

Are you really saying a S.O.O. player & G.F. winner isn't good enough for S.L?



Oh, I see what you did there - genius!

Hey BOZO, the players are PRAISING the atmosphere. They were cheered by tongan fans.

It wasn't intimidating as was claimed it would be.

England prop James Graham: "I've played in some massive games, [usome hostile atmospheres[/u and some great crowds - the first game back at the new Wembley and all that - [ubut never anything like this before[/u.

The Tongans were cheering the Tongans.......I didn't see one Tongan fan cheer the English and I was there......!

It's all kicked off in Auckland now with the Tongan community taking to the streets en-masse to protest being robbed by the referee...Lead story on news bulletins here


[urlhttps://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/99262289/tongan-league-fans-march-in-auckland-angry-over-semifinal-loss-to-england[/url
[urlhttps://www.facebook.com/events/1806893626064241/?active_tab=about[/url
[urlhttp://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2017/11/rugby-league-world-cup-thousands-of-tongan-fans-sign-petition-calling-for-referee-explanation.html[/url
[urlhttp://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/11/that-s-not-on-tongan-leader-on-protests-petitions-after-world-cup-loss.html[/url

Don't selectively quote stuff. Graham listed all the different types of atmosphere he's played in, including hostile ones, and then said this wasn't like any of them. There's a video on England's Twitter feed ofsam Burgess partying with tongan fans. Keep living in your dream world.

Don't know why you are driving this point so much. If you continue you're going the same way as downo and getting ignored. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Appears the tongan fans have taken our whingeing poms mantle as the chief whingers in defeat.

Clear knock on, clueless morons.

I simply quoted Grahams thougts...nothing "selective" at all as I posted the other players thoughts earlier.


Indeed. Big Sam was partying with the ever so friendly Tongans AFTER the game....but as someone who was there, I can assure you that the atmosphere and feelings towards England during the game where not at all "friendly"....


I am just poiting out that after you claimed England players would have experienced more pressurised situations, they almost folded in that last 10 minutes......


I have no idea what you're on about here......if you think threatening me that you won't read or will ignore my posts because you disagree with them then you have a lotto learn about the purpose of a forum.


The level of passion shown by those fans makes their "knee-jerk" reaction understandable....and nobody whinges as well as the British!

Not really.......it's still open to debate as the similar infringement a minute earlier was let slide but this one wasn't......or more importantly when it comes to big calls, wasn't referred upstairs. The subsequent "full backing" given to the ref makes it nearly impossible for anyone else to get the final because if he doesn't, it will further fan the flames of conspiracy.

One of the reasons I like RL is the welcoming fans that helped me get to grips when I first started watching, but it seems that nowadays it is the norm to "name call" someone with whom you disagree.
These "clueless morons" packed Mt Smart for the first time in over 2 decades and have been a real positive in this otherwise entirely predictable and largely ignored World Cup. Tongan games at this comp represent 18% of the tournament yet they have delivered 27% of the gates thus far.....Australia over 5 HOME games have delivered 1,200 more fans.....but yeah, because you disagree with their sentiment, call them a name...sure fire way to win a debate

A couple of the pundits here said that Tonga 'deserved' to win. Utter cobblers. England played Bennett style for 70 minutes and were clearly the better team. Had England not decided they'd won the game and it was time to think about the final that would probably have ended up 20-0.

As it was England took their foot off the gas, Tonga got a sniff and all of a sudden England's defence looks like a bunch of Under 9s, with players bunched and chasing the ball individually. There was one point near the end when Tonga moved the ball right where they were tackled, and anybody could see that they were going to try to move it left fast in the next tackle, but England's entire team were barley spread past the centre of the field. They were so congested there they had no chance to properly slide as a unit.

If I were Bennett I'd be very disappointed in the fact that none of the senior players took charge and got the team to regroup, especially after Tonga's second try. If we had as bad a five minute spell as that at any time vs Aus we'll also let in 2-3 tries.

If it takes 70 minutes to take hold, it can hardly be called intimidating.



All those moving hymns must have been terrifying for the poor English lambs.

Indeed.....except where I was sat there wasn't much hymn singing going on during the game and regardless of when England decided to fold, they did fold for the last 10 minutes or so.....the occasion got to them and the crowd were part of the occasion!

Edited for accuracy.



Like I said, if it takes 70 minutes for [size=70*cough*[/size "intimidation" to take hold, then 1) it's not intimidating, or 2) you don't know the meaning of the word.

England folded under pressure....they had to defend gallantly for 70+ minutes because they were under pressure from the Tongans side and the partisan crowd...if you don't understand that, then you've never payed sport at a high level!

Perhaps if the Tongan's had played for the previous 70 minutes like they did for the last 10 then the result might have been different. Maybe they were intimidated by the expectations of their own fans because for 70 minutes they were pretty poor

Once again edited for accuracy.

Acknowledging the tremendous atmosphere is not the same as being intimidated.

Intimidation means being frightened. Are you trying to tell me they were frightened of the flag-waving, hymn singing crowd?

Or they thought the job was done with 8 mins left and started to mentally clock off.

I opened the Times this morning expecting a decent write up.

Just 3 short paragraphs side snippets. Loads about union and cricket.

To be fair we'd lost Hodgson and Lockers, so it's hardly a surprise the players were blowing at the end. The bias from some of the media in the Sth hemisphere is ridiculous, especially in the Australian TV coverage. Kimmorley et al are a joke.

with 7mins to go and 20-0 up there wasnt any pressure!!

maybe clocked off/got tired/great tongan last effort/miracle after that but left themselves too much to do in the end.

England are battered, bruised and exhausted now.. will give it a good go for the first 30mins next week then it will all take its toll and aussies will run loose i think

You don't know much about sport psychology do you?
Ask any sportsperson, even at the lower grades but more so at the top end of the pile and pretty much all of them will say they don't really notice the crowd when they are engaged in what they are doing.

Sure when you're standing having a breather you'll hear it and see it but it's just noise, it's not intimidating per-se but if you're not used to the noise and/or the occasion it can effect you, not in an intimidating way but it can make you realise the enormity of the occasion, that is usually down to lack of experience/simple mental discipline.
Once you're in the thick of it you're too focused on what you are doing (or should be) to acknowledge the crowd at all.