Probably because they were utterly dejected and pissed off at coming second and knowing that had pretty much to a man turned in a stinker of a performance.
Mate I was with Saturday morning, big Rugby fan and still plays (sort of) said after 8 minutes it's not our day, and spent most of the game outside drinking while we stayed in there hoping to see a different outcome.
Best side won, they were just too strong and we made too many mistakes, great to get to a final but gutted it appeared our nerves got the better of us and more importantly the Saffers just outplayed us and were deserved winners.
I don't think we bottled it, SA just executed their game plan to perfection and we had no answer. Awful to watch but effective so fair play to them.
I thought it was a brilliant tournament overall and really enjoyed that. The Japanese were brilliant hosts and I don't think anywhere else would have dealt with that typhoon as well as they did. There were some cracking games, our win against the kiwis probably the highlight.
English rugby is in a good place now. Look how far we've come compared to the shambles of 4 years ago. We had one of the youngest teams out there, there's plenty of depth and competition for places.
This weekend, 18 year old Manu Vunipola (cousin of Billy and Manu) stood in at 10 for Owen Farrell and kicked Saracens to victory. This is going to be a good period for English rugby if we pick ourselves up and learn from this weekend. Onwards and upwards.
The Old Man of Storr wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2019 12:12 pm
Yes , agreed - South Africa may have won the Rugby World Cup but Japan put on a fantastic tournament , I thought their attitude to the sport was a breath of fresh air , happy faces everywhere , brilliant to behold .
Absolutely and I will happily admit to having cheered them on in several games.
WCpete wrote: ↑Sun Nov 03, 2019 6:13 am
We’re there any Japanese players on Japan?
Yes there were.
The Old Man of Storr wrote: ↑Sun Nov 03, 2019 11:39 am
Billy Vunipola
Manu Vunipola
Joe Cokanasiga
Willi Heinz
Manu Tuilagi
Oh dear, we're not going to start this again are we?
Joe Cokanasiga moved to England before he was a year old FFS.
How about....
Hadleigh Parkes (NZ)
George North (Born in England)
Ross Moriarty (Born in England, played for England U18 & U20)
Jake Ball (born in England, moved to Australia, spotted by Wales as a 21 year old ......)
Eggchaser wrote: ↑Fri Nov 08, 2019 7:29 pm
Absolutely and I will happily admit to having cheered them on in several games.
Yes there were.
Oh dear, we're not going to start this again are we?
Joe Cokanasiga moved to England before he was a year old FFS.
How about....
Hadleigh Parkes (NZ)
George North (Born in England)
Ross Moriarty (Born in England, played for England U18 & U20)
Jake Ball (born in England, moved to Australia, spotted by Wales as a 21 year old ......)
Ha imagine being in Australia having to listen to them about where our players are from on either rugby or cricket.
Despite a few of there players having Polynesian descent
I always reply to them , when you beat us it’s England but when you lose to us it’s , New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, West Indies, Samoa etc etc
So who is it . They never can answer
Not much I can add but it was so disappointing. Great performances against Australia & New Zealand and easy to say in hindsight but I had a bad feeling. Underdogs previously suited us
Fair play to South Africa executed their game plan and rightly won