“Ireland out in the quarters” – Chris Ashton makes surprising World Cup predictions

The boys over on the BBC have made there predictions for the World Cup with one pundit backing Steve Borthwick’s England to go all the way.

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In their last episode before a summer break, the Rugby Union Weekly team of former England and Lions player Ugo Monye, the Premiership’s record try-scorer Chris Ashton, Harlequins and England scrum-half Danny Care, and BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones looked ahead to the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

TRANSCRIPT:

Care: It’s between France, South Africa and England for me. 

Ashton: South Africa are the team to beat.

Monye: I agree, South Africa. Their game has moved on significantly in the last year. However, for the first time New Zealand are going into a World Cup as slight underdogs, which never really happens, and that is dangerous.

Care: Ireland are going to have something to say about this! 

Ashton: Ireland gone in the quarters… 

Monye: That Leinster defeat has changed how people view Ireland’s chances….

Care: We can’t just write Ireland off because Leinster lost to La Rochelle by one point! How mad is that?

Jones: Saying Ireland could get knocked out in the quarter-finals is not insulting though. They have a massive World Cup hoodoo to overcome, and they will play New Zealand or France in the last eight, if they even get there, because Scotland will mean business. 

Care: England will be in the semi-finals, and then you are just two games away. 

Jones: There is a chance there will be a surprise finalist from that side of the draw, because it is very slanted.

Fans Have Shared Rugby Facts That Sound Fake But Are Actually True

Everyone loves rugby facts that not many are aware of and so back in April 2020, one chap got a serious discussion going by asking folks to share rugby facts that sound “extremely fake” but are in fact legitimate.

A whole host of mad facts about many different players and teams surfaced and so here are 20 of the very best.

RUGBY FACTS:

1. England have scored one try in FOUR World Cup finals

Unfortunately true, Jason Robinson’s try in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final is the men in whites only score. Arguably Mark Cueto should have doubled that tally in 2007, but that is a discussion for another day.

Embed from Getty Images

2. Basketball was actually created by a rugby coach who wanted some form of indoor sporting activity to keep his players conditioned when it was off-season!

Knew we liked basketball for a reason.

3. Owen Farrell has never won the Premiership Player of the Month award

Yes, despite being England’s premier fly-half for almost a decade, the Saracens man has never been crowned player of the month. Danny Cipriani (2), George Ford, Joe Simmonds and Freddie Burns have all won the award in recent seasons.

4. The All Blacks had no red cards between 1967 and 2017, when Sonny Bill Williams was sent off against the Lions.

That is just mental.

5. Wayne Shelford tore his scrotum in a match against France. He got stitched up and returned to the field.

That must have hurt.

Still not as bad as when Buck Shelford's scrotum burst open against France https://t.co/DBua7XnbCg

— Paul Williams (@thepaulwilliams) October 5, 2019

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