You'll probably right, mate. Since the last world cup we have been very poor. Although we seem to be heading in the right direction as the last 6 Nations proved. Just as long as we aint humiliated... Keep an eye on the Argies...

Argentina are looking good which is a bad thing for us, for some ridiculous reason 3 of the top 6 ranked teams in the world have been put in the same group so either the Argies, France or ourselves will be knocked out in the group stages

It's good to see us so underrated.

But we can go all the way.

Just need to get Neil Best in at 6.

Either way, I'm highly looking forward to it. Rugby has been the best Sport to watch in recent years in my view. I thought the 6 Nations were great and the last World Cup was really enjoyable.

i think the wallabies will be there or abouts

Personally, I don't give a fuck, as long as England don't win it.

I'll brag if Wales win - but there's no chance of that I believe.

[beep!] - testing the word filter

And id agree on England, if they dont win it ill be happy!

Edit:filters still working, how did you manage to write it?!

wales are better then england IMO they didnt do too badly out here with a depleted squad

They might do quite well, the dont have the toughes group and will probably fight Fiji to go through. After that you never really know, I very much doubt they'll win it but they might get a decent run. Theyre missing a few players though, Rob Jones is out and so is Gavin Henson which isnt really a bad thing tbh

Dont worry mate, that ain't gonna happen!

Wilkisson was important in the English success in 2003.

We will play against England and Wales soon.

And good luck to you, mate. I like Frances style.

Is anyone else happy to see the Italian team picking up their game and giving the oppo a fight? If they can use their footie tactics for RU then they will be champs

Finally something to make me smile! England forwards show their strength against a poor Welsh side and a new record into the bargain

Dalaglio played well when he came on and Robinson showed he still has it and will be playing his swan song for the world cup. Wilkinson looks like he's back to his great self again - first time since the last world cup, I recon. With all his injuries and stuff behind him, he should be another player well up for the W/C. Am I influenced by 'media hype syndrome' where one good win means WE ARE THE BEST IN THE WORLD? Yep! But I'm used this. Looks like we are heading in the right direction fer sure. Yeah I know we picked on Wales' weak spots but at least we knew where to hit 'em and as long as we can keep this up with a nice little win against France next Saturday, we could be a force worth the 'W/C champ defenders' label!

I didnt see the game but apparently Wales played mainly their reserve players so I wouldnt get too excited

Wales will be hoping their first team stay intact, then, judging by that performance.

What team did Wales put out?
even if it was mostly 2nd string they shouldnt have lost by that much!!
Was it a first choice England XI or again bits and bobs?
62-5 is crushing who ever you are!

Not sure about Wales but I heard most of their big players were missing. England had their World Cup team out as far as I know. The game against france at the weekend will probably give a better reflection of how good the team really is

Our players have done 5 weeks of musculation.

We will see if we're good Saturday.

I heard Wales put out like a third string side.

RC Lens - Thats what the All Blacks have been doing, they sat out most of the super 12 season and went into conditioning camp. All put on an insane amount of muscle mass. Their superior fitness has already shown in the tri nations where they won games in the last 20 minutes of the match consistently.

Yep, the two games against France may show who in the northern hemisphere is the strongest contender against the southern favorites (NZ or Australia - I haven't been that impressed with SA). Englands forwards showed great strength against Wales so it will be interesting to see how they fare against the 'conditioned' French.

But why did wales play such a weak side at such a crucial period before the W/C?

I found the Wales squad list and they had a better squad than England put out IMO it should have never have lost by that much,Gareth Thomas,Charvis,Daydd Thomas etc etc and some young experienced lads in Cooper,Byrne,etc