https://www.rugbykickoff.com/game/italy_new_zealand_2023-09-29/
TV Guide for the New Zealand vs Italy game in the Rugby World Cup competition. See where to watch the match in the UK, Ireland and USA
Black on Blue tonight, with a fairly forgone conclusion, but will Italy put up a fight or give a HT scare? Find out later!
We noticed this and thought how clean the game was for both teams, especially the AB's. I think I saw one Italian player that looked like he was hurt but no major issues it seems!
Yeah even with all the stops for kicking conversions and restarts the game itself breezed by - and that's as much as anything due to what you note, with few players going down to pretend injuries just to get some water & air etc. I'm not a huge fan of the way Carley refs either, but I thought he was pretty decent and kept the game moving quite well too.
Foz's comments after that match have got a bunch of people worked up because they think he's saying that big collision low points rugby is bad. I expect he's misinterpreted, the people he was talking to were the WR officials trying to encourage them to keep games moving and avoiding all the clock manipulation that's going on.
I think some fans think Foz is saying Ire or SA can't play rugby; but my impression is that what he's trying to say is if the game is kept moving then they'll really be able to show what they've got. Because NZ hasn't forgotten the lesson of how well Ireland can play with the ball and players in motion.