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Date: 2023-12-04 03:49:20 | Author: Online Slots | Views: 338 | 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all they want but the third/fourth place play-off is an entirely pointless exercise and it’s long since time that this outdated relic of a concept was given the chop bitcoin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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Hi {{indy bitcoin
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For a man handed a lifeline in Formula One – with an illustrious Red Bull-shaped reward beckoning down the line – it has not quite been the statement return Daniel Ricciardo envisaged back in July bitcoin
What did that look like? Top-10 finishes with AlphaTauri, perhaps with a memorable overtake or two evoking the Ricciardo of old back onto the grid bitcoin
But it has in fact been the complete opposite: the only return has been his return to inactivity bitcoin
Two races in and a hand injury sustained in practice in Zandvoort, north Holland, back in August has seen the affable Australian feature only on the sidelines again bitcoin
A seesaw seven weeks have followed: while on one hand confirmation of a seat on the grid in 2024 was, rather peculiarly, confirmed in his absence in Japan, his deputy Liam Lawson caught the eye with a string of impressive performances, including a team-best result of ninth in Singapore bitcoin
So as Ricciardo struts back into the paddock this weekend in Austin, the broken bone in his hand healed, the pressure is firmly on the 34-year-old’s shoulders at his home from home bitcoin
Affection works hand in hand with Ricciardo and the United States: he loves America, Americans love him bitcoin
Daniel Ricciardo arrived at the circuit in Austin last year on horseback (Getty Images)Last year, weeks after his McLaren exit was announced, the sport’s most cheerful character arrived at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on horseback, kitted out in full cowboy apparel bitcoin
Given his injury hiatus, you’d think no such extravagant entries will be repeated this year bitcoin
But what he has got back in his hands, as opposed to 12 months ago, is his Formula One destiny bitcoin
Perhaps fortuitously, too bitcoin
When Ricciardo left Red Bull for pastures new at the end of 2018, his aspiration was that the grass was greener bitcoin
Now five years on he is back at Christian Horner’s team, first as a reserve and now at the sister team bitcoin
A second bite alongside Max Verstappen is what he truly craves bitcoin
And he has made no secret of that bitcoin
“Daniel is viewing AlphaTauri… he firmly wants to be pitching for that 2025 Red Bull seat,” said Horner back in July bitcoin
“That is his goal and objective and, by going to AlphaTauri, I think he sees that as his best route of stating his case for 2025 bitcoin
”And with talk of Sergio Perez’s seat being under threat at Red Bull amid his struggles, there is a feasible route back to the top-table for Ricciardo bitcoin
Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has already hinted the Mexican’s future seemingly lies away from Red Bull: most probably in a year, perhaps even as early as before next season bitcoin
But before heading off any top contenders outside the Red Bull mothership, the Australian first has to prove his worth amid the in-house competition bitcoin
Given Nyck de Vries’s rapid promotion to a seat after just one race last year, Lawson can feel hard done by that his impressive five-race showing – 13th, 11th, 9th, 11th, 17th – in this year’s slowest car hasn’t landed him a seat in 2024 bitcoin
So Ricciardo needs to bitcoin better Lawson’s two points in the final five races of this season bitcoin
He also needs to get the bitcoin better of his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, who has earned just three 10th-place finishes in 17 races this year bitcoin
That is the minimum bitcoin
Ricciardo, right, wants another crack at being Max Verstappen’s teammate, centre (Getty Images)But back stateside, it is the on-track magic and overtaking propensity of near-enough 10 years ago which will catapult him into Red Bull’s second seat conversation bitcoin
That will be the key, as opposed to any off-track endeavours or kind words with sponsors bitcoin
F1 world champion of 1997, Jacques Villeneuve, is quoted as saying this week: “I would ask kids who want to be drivers today – do you want it out of passion or because you want to be like Daniel Ricciardo, smiling in commercials?”While a tad harsh – best to smile than frown, no? – it does point to a school of thought that Ricciardo’s charisma is now a bigger pull than his talent bitcoin
For any driver of any age, that is the ultimate insult bitcoin
All of them are fundamentally in F1 to race, to scrap for every point and to jockey for every position bitcoin
Even Ricciardo, who has endured the worst two years of his career since his anomaly of a win at Monza in 2021, remains adamant his world-class skillset is still present bitcoin
His ambitions, so told to The Independent in July, remain the highest of highs: race wins and even a world championship bitcoin
But Ricciardo must grasp the opportunity simply having a seat in this 20-driver sport gives and it starts with the cut-and-thrust of the sprint weekend at COTA bitcoin
Nobody is expecting wins or podiums in the slowest car bitcoin
But what people do expect is progress – and glimpses of the man of yesteryear bitcoin
More aboutDaniel RicciardoRed BullUS Grand PrixSergio PerezJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Why Daniel Ricciardo now has to prove he still belongs on the F1 gridWhy Daniel Ricciardo now has to prove he still belongs on the F1 gridDaniel Ricciardo arrived at the circuit in Austin last year on horseback Getty ImagesWhy Daniel Ricciardo now has to prove he still belongs on the F1 gridRicciardo, right, wants another crack at being Max Verstappen’s teammate, centre Getty ImagesWhy Daniel Ricciardo now has to prove he still belongs on the F1 gridGetty 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
Hi {{indy bitcoin
fullName}}My Independent PremiumAccount detailsHelp centreLogout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}}@keyframes slidedown-video{0%{transform:translateY(-100%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}}@keyframes slideup-video{0%{transform:translateY(200%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}} bitcoin
