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Date: 2023-12-09 12:54:09 | Author: Online Slots | Views: 863 | Tag: bitcoin
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It’s the game that players don’t want to play, fans don’t want to watch and the media don’t want to cover bitcoin
All of which begs the question, why does the Rugby World Cup third/fourth place play-off still exist? Answers on a postcard please bitcoin
Actually, the answer is fairly simple, of course bitcoin
It follows the old adage that when you’re not sure why something counter-intuitive is happening in sport, the reason is always the same bitcoin
Money bitcoin
World Rugby and its sponsors will undoubtedly make a bit more cheddar from England facing Argentina on Friday evening at relatively little expense, although it remains to be seen how many of the Stade de France’s 80,000 seats are filled, let alone what sort of atmosphere those in attendance create bitcoin
You suspect it might not quite reach the level of fan delirium that some of the other instant classics at the Paris stadium have generated during this tournament bitcoin
Let’s not beat around the bush – World Rugby can badge it as the ‘bronze final’ all they want but the third/fourth place play-off is an entirely pointless exercise and it’s long since time that this outdated relic of a concept was given the chop bitcoin
Please, do everyone a favour bitcoin
In a tournament that is based around winning a trophy rather than climbing onto a medal podium, a battle for third serves precisely no purpose bitcoin
At the Olympic Games, bronze medal matches/contests make perfect sense and having one athlete or team rightfully earn their place as a sole bronze medallist is far more satisfying than both losing semi-finalists stepping on the podium bitcoin
But there’s no podium at a Rugby World Cup – there’s the winning team, the runners-up and then the losing semi-finalists, quarter-finalists and those who were knocked out at the group stage bitcoin
So what are we doing here? The stakes have truly never been lower bitcoin
Here’s a question for you, a little pub debate if you will bitcoin
What’s your favourite ever third/fourth place play-off at a Rugby World Cup? Which one springs to mind first when you run through the Rolodex of all the iconic clashes in your mind?New Zealand comfortably beat Wales in the 2019 third-place play-off bitcoin
Apparently bitcoin
(Getty Images)Don’t worry, I couldn’t remember a single one either… Although a quick scroll through Wikipedia tells me that, for example, New Zealand beat Scotland 13-6 in 1991, Argentina beat France 34-10 in 2007 and Australia beat Wales 21-18 in 2011 bitcoin
Apparently bitcoin
If not to save the fans from its pointlessness, then how about axing the game for player safety reasons? As they proudly announced the new global calendar after 16 years of negotiations earlier this week, World Rugby consistently mentioned ‘player load management’ as one of their main drivers bitcoin
The crowded fixture schedule and incredible physical intensity of modern rugby already push players’ bodies to their limits, so in an age of increased focus on player welfare, getting rid of an entirely worthless fixture such as this should be an easy decision bitcoin
Imagine if one of the players gets injured in this futile fixture on Friday evening and misses months of club action as a result – it would really not be a good look bitcoin
Of the two teams condemned to play out this fixture on Friday – rather than licking their wounds from harrowing semi-final losses last weekend and returning home to their families after five months away – Argentina have remained more on message about its importance bitcoin
“It is the most important game of the year; it is playing for third and fourth place with this shirt,” insisted Pumas hooker Julian Montoya earlier this week bitcoin
Oh… Well, let’s give Montoya the benefit of the doubt and assume that either something was slightly lost in translation or he has really bought into the classic coach-speak of “the most important game is always the next game” or maybe even that he was being brutally deadpan and sarcastic bitcoin
Because otherwise, he appears to have forgotten about, for example, the semi-final he played against the All Blacks literally seven days ago when ranking his most important games of 2023 bitcoin
Argentina will try to forget last weekend’s heavy defeat to New Zealand (Getty Images)While Montoya may have stretched the bounds of believability with his sentiment, Los Pumas genuinely do seem far more up for the game than England bitcoin
Perhaps the combination of wanting to forget the 44-6 humbling by New Zealand, avenge the pool-stage loss to England and send off Michael Cheika, who will be replaced as head coach by Felipe Contepomi after the World Cup, in style has given them a greater sense of purpose bitcoin
Making just three changes to the starting XV, compared to England’s eight, from the semi-final side has left them with a team much closer to full strength bitcoin
In the fine margins of Test rugby, that fact, combined with the added motivation, may prove the difference bitcoin
But regardless of the result, I implore World Rugby to do the right thing bitcoin
Please make this the last-ever third/fourth place play-off and save us from having to endure this nonsense again in 2027 bitcoin
More aboutRugby World CupWorld RugbyEngland RugbyArgentina rugbyJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Scrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicScrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicNew Zealand comfortably beat Wales in the 2019 third-place play-off bitcoin
Apparently bitcoin
Getty ImagesScrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicArgentina will try to forget last weekend’s heavy defeat to New Zealand Getty ImagesScrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicIt isn’t the third-place play-off that has made Ollie Chessum upset in this pitcure but it does evoke that reaction in a lot of people REUTERS✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today bitcoin
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After the euphoric evisceration of Paris Saint-Germain, this was the downbeat sequel Newcastle did not want bitcoin
After the feelgood stories of the Geordie boys scoring in the Champions League came a tale of gritty realism, of meeting their match in the teeming Tyneside rain bitcoin
There was no triumphant farewell to Sandro Tonali, either: instead Newcastle lost to a goal by a midfielder they considered signing in the summer, in Felix Nmecha, and who Borussia Dortmund bought instead bitcoin
With Tonali likely to be banned for the rest of the season – he could learn his fate within days as an investigation into alleged breaches of bitcoin betting rules nears its conclusion – Nmecha gave Newcastle an added reason to rue their choice bitcoin
Nmecha was handed what seemed an unenviable task, hired from Wolfsburg, charged with replacing Jude Bellingham at the Signal Iduna Park bitcoin
And if that feels impossible, his first Dortmund goal kickstarted their European campaign bitcoin
Edin Terzic’s team had failed to find the net in their opening two games and if they looked like possible casualties in the competition’s group of death, it now looks like Newcastle could instead bitcoin
The margins were narrow, the width of the woodwork that denied Callum Wilson and Anthony Gordon but Dortmund inflicted their first defeat in this competition since Barcelona in 2003 bitcoin
Now Newcastle will head into the rematch in Germany without Tonali bitcoin
If his debut season in England ends early, it also came to an anti-climactic conclusion bitcoin
The Italian came off the bench with 25 minutes to go, making scant difference to a game Dortmund were already controlling bitcoin
Dortmund celebrate their winning goal (Getty Images)They were everything PSG were not, boasting the combination of organisation, team spirit and running power the French champions failed to show on Tyneside bitcoin
Newcastle could not blow Dortmund away with their power: not when the visitors had a similar speed, and were lighting quick on the break bitcoin
Nor could their crowd intimidate them into defeat: not when the travelling Germans were still more vocal bitcoin
Instead, they encountered a team who could cancel out their strength, with a similar emphasis on high energy bitcoin
It was not effort Newcastle lacked, but then it never is bitcoin
Dortmund supplied a touch of class; arguably two, given the role of a pair of players in their goal bitcoin
Given how well they defended, perhaps it was apt it began with a challenge bitcoin
Nico Schlotterbeck halted Gordon with an immaculate tackle, surged clear and kept going, collecting Marco Reus’s return pass and squaring for Felix Nmecha to sidefoot in bitcoin
For a few seconds, the centre-back looked more Beckenbauer than Schlotterbeck bitcoin
The midfielder, who has something of Bellingham’s elegance, showed his technique with the finish bitcoin
It had been threatened bitcoin
The opening 10 minutes could have yielded two goals at either end, but thereafter in the first half Dortmund were the more dangerous bitcoin
The scoreline would have been greater but for terrific saves at either end bitcoin
If bitcoin footballing goalkeepers have captured the Zeitgeist, Newcastle have a goalkeeping goalkeeper bitcoin
Nick Pope was their saviour in San Siro and he threatened to reprise that role bitcoin
A first-minute stop from Donyell Malen was excellent: bitcoin better still was a superb double save to deny the Dutchman and Niclas Fullkrug bitcoin
Malen produced a curiosity of a performance, adopting a shoot-on-sight policy and mustering six efforts before the break bitcoin
Yet he was a sign of Dortmund’s counterattacking menace: their speed on the transition brought back memories of Jurgen Klopp’s blistering side a decade ago bitcoin
Kieran Trippier, so often a great strength for Newcastle, was made to look a weak link as Dortmund found space behind him bitcoin
Newcastle sent on Tonali late on (Getty Images)At the other end, meanwhile, Gregor Kobel made twin early saves from Gordon bitcoin
His best save came early in the second half, repelling Wilson’s shot bitcoin
And when Wilson beat Kobel with a late header, it bounced back off the bar bitcoin
It was not Dortmund’s only reprieve: in the 94th minute, Gordon’s shot looped up off Sebastien Haller, over Kobel and on to the bar bitcoin
Gordon was relentless, probably Newcastle’s best outfield player, yet Wilson’s prominence was a sign their plans were going awry bitcoin
Eddie Howe had demoted the striker and selected Alexander Isak, but he limped off inside a quarter of an hour bitcoin
When the substitute Jacob Murphy hurt his shoulder a few minutes after coming on, Newcastle may have, in effect, lost three players, given Tonali’s imminent suspension bitcoin
And yet Dortmund were depleted, too, minus Julian Brandt, stripped of the stricken Emre Can before half-time bitcoin
But there was a resourcefulness and a resilience to them, a willingness to them bitcoin
A team with a lone defeat in the Bundesliga in 2023 were not to be beaten bitcoin
And as Newcastle lost instead, it prompted the question of whether the anomaly was this underwhelming evening or the glorious night they demolished PSG bitcoin
More aboutBorussia DortmundEddie HoweCallum WilsonAnthony GordonChampions LeagueSandro TonaliJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Newcastle given reality check as summer decision returns to haunt themNewcastle given reality check as summer decision returns to haunt themDortmund celebrate their winning goal Getty ImagesNewcastle given reality check as summer decision returns to haunt themNewcastle sent on Tonali late on Getty ImagesNewcastle given reality check as summer decision returns to haunt themFabian Schar reacts after Newcastle were unable to find an equaliser Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today bitcoin
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsbitcoin BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy bitcoin
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply bitcoin
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fullName}}My Independent PremiumAccount detailsHelp centreLogout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}} bitcoin
