The youngest of the Home Nations sides competing in the tournament, Wales faced a tough Pool Stage including holders South Africa, Samoa and Fiji, the latter being the team that kept Wales out of the quarterfinals in 2007. However, Wales came back from losing by a point to South Africa in a game that they should’ve won to qualify in style, putting 66 past Fiji with no reply. This Wales team, written off by many before the tournament as a team lacking in experience, instead showed great maturity and took the game to all comers. They should be in the final.
Best moment: aside from the 66-0 thumping of Fiji and the almost-win in their opening match against South Africa, the quarterfinal against Ireland, in which Shane Williams scored in the first two minutes and Wales subsequently defended for the rest of the half, was a tour de force. The young team, under the excellent captaincy of (22-year-old) Sam Warburton, did not lose their heads when Ireland appeared to mount a comeback late in the day, and saw out the game 22-10.
Worst moment: aside from the 9-8 result, which saw France’s one point lead turned into victory by unfortunate kicking misses from the Wales replacement kickers, the worst moment for Wales was undoubtedly Warburton’s red card in the first half of the semi-final. Regardless of whether or not the tackle was legitimate or deserved a yellow or red, the moment that referee Alain Rolland decided that Warburton had to go was devastating for the team, who never recovered. An almost spear tackle that will live on in the memory as the moment that a referee knocked Wales out of a final that seemed destined to be theirs.
Highest points scorer: full-back Rhys Priestland, described by some as one of the finds of the tournament, who scored 29 out of Wales’ 210 total points.
Best player: up until the red card, undoubtedly Sam Warburton. Honourable mentions should go to the evergreen Shane Williams, Mike Phillips, and the young tyro George North, who at only 19 and already with 14 caps under his belt surely has a very promising future.
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Wales v France, 5 am, 15th October
Present: flying solo on this one.
Pre-match expectations: the only team to play really well last weekend from the Northern Hemisphere (and maybe in all the quarter finals) was Wales. They are young, fast, physical and really good, as a team and also to watch. The French, on the other hand, are insouciant, flippant, cheese-eating bath-dodgers. They do not play great rugby and they have, as reports would suggest, ditched their embattled coach, Marc Lievremont. Wales should find this straightforward.
Prediction: Wales to win this by more than two tries.
Game: France have lost twice in this tournament, should have been knocked out by Tonga (blame Canada), and played good enough rugby last weekend to beat England. This should really be a no-brainer for Wales. Having said that, I’m pulling up short of supporting them entirely.
Half-time status: wow. What the hell? Wales started brightly, but then had influential flanker and captain Sam Warburton sent off after 17 minutes. Thereupon the only Welsh kicker left on the pitch, the once-much-better James Hook, lost his nerve and slowly allowed France back onto the scoreboard. The half-time score was 6-3 France but it could have been worse for Wales.
Full-time status: agony for Wales. After falling to 9-3 behind, they pulled a try out of nowhere through Mike Phillips, which should have been easily converted by Stephen Jones, brought on to replace Hook after the latter’s miserable evening. However, Jones couldn’t convert, and Halfpenny’s halfway line kick missed by inches. France, on the other hand, were poor. 9 points after playing for 60 odd minutes with an extra man? That is not tournament winning form. Final score: France through to the final with a 9-8 win.
Man of the match: I’d say Mike Phillips, who has come a long way since being arrested on a night out in Cardiff a few months ago.
Food: nothing.
Conversation keywords: no conversation…
Comments: I slept through some key moments in that game. I will be supporting whichever other team gets to the final.
Pre-match expectations: the only team to play really well last weekend from the Northern Hemisphere (and maybe in all the quarter finals) was Wales. They are young, fast, physical and really good, as a team and also to watch. The French, on the other hand, are insouciant, flippant, cheese-eating bath-dodgers. They do not play great rugby and they have, as reports would suggest, ditched their embattled coach, Marc Lievremont. Wales should find this straightforward.
Prediction: Wales to win this by more than two tries.
Game: France have lost twice in this tournament, should have been knocked out by Tonga (blame Canada), and played good enough rugby last weekend to beat England. This should really be a no-brainer for Wales. Having said that, I’m pulling up short of supporting them entirely.
Half-time status: wow. What the hell? Wales started brightly, but then had influential flanker and captain Sam Warburton sent off after 17 minutes. Thereupon the only Welsh kicker left on the pitch, the once-much-better James Hook, lost his nerve and slowly allowed France back onto the scoreboard. The half-time score was 6-3 France but it could have been worse for Wales.
Full-time status: agony for Wales. After falling to 9-3 behind, they pulled a try out of nowhere through Mike Phillips, which should have been easily converted by Stephen Jones, brought on to replace Hook after the latter’s miserable evening. However, Jones couldn’t convert, and Halfpenny’s halfway line kick missed by inches. France, on the other hand, were poor. 9 points after playing for 60 odd minutes with an extra man? That is not tournament winning form. Final score: France through to the final with a 9-8 win.
Man of the match: I’d say Mike Phillips, who has come a long way since being arrested on a night out in Cardiff a few months ago.
Food: nothing.
Conversation keywords: no conversation…
Comments: I slept through some key moments in that game. I will be supporting whichever other team gets to the final.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
So, farewell: Argentina
Like South Africa, the feats of 2007 were always going to be difficult to repeat for the Pumas, and sometimes one felt the burden of expectation weighing heavily on Argentina, especially from a distance. The ESPN coverage of “our boys” was merciless, and the Pumas had injury problems to deal with before the tournament even started – the absence of Juan Martín Hernández keenly felt throughout. Having said that, Argentina nicked a win against Scotland, almost convincingly beat England and scored a try against New Zealand, despite picking up key injuries in almost every match. They head home, defeated but with a lot of pride.
Best moment: the mazy run by Lucas González Amorocino to seal Argentina’s glorious 73rd minute try against Scotland which pretty much sent the Scots home, in a fantastic match that bubbled and bristled. The look of sheer despair on Dan Parks’ face as he realized that his last minute penalty hadn’t gone over summed up what had been achieved on that rainy night. Argentina’s 13-12 win was a joy to behold.
Worst moment: slumping to defeat against both England and New Zealand, the former probably more painful than the latter. England’s cruel snatching of the game from Argentine hearts was a bitter blow, and holding on to that win would have probably seen Argentina avoid the All Blacks and face France instead. However, the final 13-9 result flattered England and left the Pumas scrabbling for second place.
Highest points scorer: Felipe Contepomi, who kicked 26 of Argentina’s 100 points and played like a leader despite sustaining serious rib damage in the England game.
Best player: difficult. Contepomi for his leadership, Mario Ledesma for his commitment, González Amorocino for his cameo as a find for the future.
Best moment: the mazy run by Lucas González Amorocino to seal Argentina’s glorious 73rd minute try against Scotland which pretty much sent the Scots home, in a fantastic match that bubbled and bristled. The look of sheer despair on Dan Parks’ face as he realized that his last minute penalty hadn’t gone over summed up what had been achieved on that rainy night. Argentina’s 13-12 win was a joy to behold.
Worst moment: slumping to defeat against both England and New Zealand, the former probably more painful than the latter. England’s cruel snatching of the game from Argentine hearts was a bitter blow, and holding on to that win would have probably seen Argentina avoid the All Blacks and face France instead. However, the final 13-9 result flattered England and left the Pumas scrabbling for second place.
Highest points scorer: Felipe Contepomi, who kicked 26 of Argentina’s 100 points and played like a leader despite sustaining serious rib damage in the England game.
Best player: difficult. Contepomi for his leadership, Mario Ledesma for his commitment, González Amorocino for his cameo as a find for the future.
Argentina v New Zealand, 4:30 am, 9th October
Present: John, Gabriel, Chance for some of it, Elisa for the second half, Kai, myself.
Pre-match expectations: Oh Tonga. If only you’d beaten Canada. And if only France had shown the form they showed yesterday to beat New Zealand. Or some sort of permutation. Either way, Argentina could have done a lot better than playing against New Zealand. Maybe if they’d beaten England, things would have been different, for everybody. Oh well. They’re going to get thumped.
Predictions: Pumas victorious against the odds. Yeah, right.
Game: national anthems pumped up to full and big Argentine men weeping while singing it. We’re all in the zone.
Half-time status: actually, that wasn’t too bad. For about four minutes, Argentina was even in the lead, following that surprise try from Cabello. However, the NZ kicker Piri Weepu is looking the business tonight, striking with a conviction and accuracy that is keeping the Pumas at bay. Who needs Dan Carter. New Zealand go in 12-7 ahead.
Full-time status: oh dear. There ends another dream. Just when it looked like Argentina were creeping back into the game, an unfortunate sin bin for Vergallo close to the 60 minute mark sent the Kiwis storming ahead. Two tries later, they were out of sight. New Zealand win 33-10.
Man of the match: the steady and clinical Piri Weepu, who accurately kicked 8 out of 9.
Food: Heineken and Imperial, and some very spicy Pringles that briefly put the Argentine out of action.
Conversation keywords: are we winning? Again from the Argentine, who had a loose grasp of rugby/was watching his first game.
Comments: this weekend of totally ruinous sleeping patterns is over. Semi-sanity beckons.
Pre-match expectations: Oh Tonga. If only you’d beaten Canada. And if only France had shown the form they showed yesterday to beat New Zealand. Or some sort of permutation. Either way, Argentina could have done a lot better than playing against New Zealand. Maybe if they’d beaten England, things would have been different, for everybody. Oh well. They’re going to get thumped.
Predictions: Pumas victorious against the odds. Yeah, right.
Game: national anthems pumped up to full and big Argentine men weeping while singing it. We’re all in the zone.
Half-time status: actually, that wasn’t too bad. For about four minutes, Argentina was even in the lead, following that surprise try from Cabello. However, the NZ kicker Piri Weepu is looking the business tonight, striking with a conviction and accuracy that is keeping the Pumas at bay. Who needs Dan Carter. New Zealand go in 12-7 ahead.
Full-time status: oh dear. There ends another dream. Just when it looked like Argentina were creeping back into the game, an unfortunate sin bin for Vergallo close to the 60 minute mark sent the Kiwis storming ahead. Two tries later, they were out of sight. New Zealand win 33-10.
Man of the match: the steady and clinical Piri Weepu, who accurately kicked 8 out of 9.
Food: Heineken and Imperial, and some very spicy Pringles that briefly put the Argentine out of action.
Conversation keywords: are we winning? Again from the Argentine, who had a loose grasp of rugby/was watching his first game.
Comments: this weekend of totally ruinous sleeping patterns is over. Semi-sanity beckons.
So, farewell: South Africa
The reigning champions came into the tournament following a dismal Tri-Nations campaign that saw them finish bottom, and many had already written off the slightly imbalanced side: too many old boys left over from the 2007 campaign (including a captain in Juan Smit who wasn’t quite fit enough and had to come in off the bench on the second half in most games) and a bunch of relatively untested new boys. However, the Springboks played admirably: brutal, bruising, unforgiving rugby at times, but admirable none the less. Realistically, the team was never going to make the final, but getting knocked out by Australia can’t have been what they had in mind. Peter de Villiers, the controversial coach who quit after the game following four years in charge, described the dressing room atmosphere after the Australia defeat as “three notches lower than a funeral.”
Best moment: the best game of the first weekend, a rip-roarer against Wales that saw the South Africans score a try to pull ahead, only to be extremely lucky following two mis-kicks by James Hook in the last ten minutes to maintain their lead. The game finished 17-16 South Africa.
Worst moment: inability to grind out the game having taken hold of it in the match against Australia, which saw the Boks ahead at 9-8 at one point only to eventually lose 11-9.
Highest points scorer: their kicker Morné Steyn, who kicked 65 of the Springboks 175 total points.
Best player: Heinrich Brüssow, who battled through every game and kept South Africa in the tournament until the battle of the flankers between himself and David Pocock in the Australia game, which sadly saw him taken off after 20 minutes.
Best moment: the best game of the first weekend, a rip-roarer against Wales that saw the South Africans score a try to pull ahead, only to be extremely lucky following two mis-kicks by James Hook in the last ten minutes to maintain their lead. The game finished 17-16 South Africa.
Worst moment: inability to grind out the game having taken hold of it in the match against Australia, which saw the Boks ahead at 9-8 at one point only to eventually lose 11-9.
Highest points scorer: their kicker Morné Steyn, who kicked 65 of the Springboks 175 total points.
Best player: Heinrich Brüssow, who battled through every game and kept South Africa in the tournament until the battle of the flankers between himself and David Pocock in the Australia game, which sadly saw him taken off after 20 minutes.
South Africa v Australia, 2 am, 9th October
Present: myself for the duration; Chance for the first half, Elisa and Kai for the second.
Pre-match expectations: after the deflation of the day before and the limping home of England and Ireland, today’s matches offer excitement and unpredictability. Or at least the first one does. The misfiring Wallabies take on the Springboks, defending World Cup holders who came third in the Tri-Nations. It’ll be close.
Predictions: I can see South Africa winning this, but not by much. They have looked better and less error prone in the tournament so far.
Game: I really don’t like either sides and I couldn’t care less who gets knocked out/goes through. But at least I’m awake (just) and maintaining my commitment to knockout rugby. Great.
Half-time score: this game is brutal and physical. The Australians look rubbish, that wonderboy Qade Cooper letting them down a lot in the backs. However, the defence is strong and South Africa aren’t much better in terms of mistakes made. The half-time score, which I almost slept through, was 8-3 Australia.
Full-time score: this game got a lot better and South Africa looked like they should have won it, were it not for smart play by Australian flanker David Pocock. South Africa, the defending champions, are out. 11-9 to Australia.
Man of the match: that man Pocock.
Food: none, I think.
Conversation keywords: will anyone be bothered to turn up for the Argentina v New Zealand game? Isn’t the Australia kit disgusting?
Comments: I could probably have done with sleeping through this game.
Pre-match expectations: after the deflation of the day before and the limping home of England and Ireland, today’s matches offer excitement and unpredictability. Or at least the first one does. The misfiring Wallabies take on the Springboks, defending World Cup holders who came third in the Tri-Nations. It’ll be close.
Predictions: I can see South Africa winning this, but not by much. They have looked better and less error prone in the tournament so far.
Game: I really don’t like either sides and I couldn’t care less who gets knocked out/goes through. But at least I’m awake (just) and maintaining my commitment to knockout rugby. Great.
Half-time score: this game is brutal and physical. The Australians look rubbish, that wonderboy Qade Cooper letting them down a lot in the backs. However, the defence is strong and South Africa aren’t much better in terms of mistakes made. The half-time score, which I almost slept through, was 8-3 Australia.
Full-time score: this game got a lot better and South Africa looked like they should have won it, were it not for smart play by Australian flanker David Pocock. South Africa, the defending champions, are out. 11-9 to Australia.
Man of the match: that man Pocock.
Food: none, I think.
Conversation keywords: will anyone be bothered to turn up for the Argentina v New Zealand game? Isn’t the Australia kit disgusting?
Comments: I could probably have done with sleeping through this game.
Saturday, 8 October 2011
So, farewell: England
World champions in 2003, unlikely finalists in 2007, the 6 Nations 2011 winners looked set for great things this tournament. The combination of young stars like Chris Ashton, Ben Foden and Ben Youngs with hardened vets like Jonny Wilkinson, Lewis Moody and the evergreen Simon Shaw seemed to balance wit and wisdom. Unfortunately, England never really got going, and although the intensity of criticism for the team that won by playing ugly rugby was not surprising, the scrutiny of their off-field activities bordered on the petty and spiteful. Nobody likes England and they don’t care, so long as they’re winning. This morning against France, England failed to turn on the style and were left to look a lot like a pub team by a more experienced and versatile opponent. England did not deserve to go further, which doesn’t make their loss easier to take.
Best moment: aside from the thrashings of Georgia and Romania, the games against Argentina and Scotland were classic, vintage England: let the other team tire themselves out while in the lead and spring the trap in the last ten minutes. Of the two, the 16-12 victory against Scotland probably pips the 13-9 win against Argentina for sheer entertainment value.
Worst moment: undoubtedly this morning’s match against France, a 19-12 shuffle out of the World Cup and back home to Blighty with tails well and truly between legs. The silver lining is that there is a core of a really good side here and there is plenty of potential for the future.
Highest points scorer: the excellent Chris Ashton, when not making lewd comments to hotel workers, scored 30 of England’s 144 points and when England left the tournament he was joint top try scorer with 6, tied with France’s Vincent Clerc.
Best player: hard to pick, but probably Toby Flood, who was sharper than Jonny Wilkinson and knew how to get the best out of the backs. Without Flood, England might have lost to Scotland, at the very least.
Best moment: aside from the thrashings of Georgia and Romania, the games against Argentina and Scotland were classic, vintage England: let the other team tire themselves out while in the lead and spring the trap in the last ten minutes. Of the two, the 16-12 victory against Scotland probably pips the 13-9 win against Argentina for sheer entertainment value.
Worst moment: undoubtedly this morning’s match against France, a 19-12 shuffle out of the World Cup and back home to Blighty with tails well and truly between legs. The silver lining is that there is a core of a really good side here and there is plenty of potential for the future.
Highest points scorer: the excellent Chris Ashton, when not making lewd comments to hotel workers, scored 30 of England’s 144 points and when England left the tournament he was joint top try scorer with 6, tied with France’s Vincent Clerc.
Best player: hard to pick, but probably Toby Flood, who was sharper than Jonny Wilkinson and knew how to get the best out of the backs. Without Flood, England might have lost to Scotland, at the very least.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)