England and Argentina’s Pool B rivals limped out of the competition this morning following their fourth defeat, at the hands of Georgia in the lightly-hyped “Eastern European Derby”. The Oaks scored a total of 54 points in four games, and provided the punching bag for at least 60 percent of the Pool. Like so many teams, their first game promised so much but really had little to show for it by the end. Coached by a man named Romeo.
Best moment: almost beating Scotland in their opening match and dealing a serious blow to Scottish confidence in the process. At one point in the last ten minutes in the 34-24 defeat, the Oaks were even ahead, only to be let down by their defence and inferior fitness. That was also the only time in the competition where the team broke the double figures ceiling.
Worst moment: leaving to one side the 43-8 loss to Argentina and the 67-3 loss to England the following week, both of which served as confidence boosters for their rivals, Romania had placed the majority of their expectations on beating Georgia, even resting key figures to ensure peak fitness. The net result was a well-rested 25-9 capitulation. Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Probably on the plane back to Bucarest, I should imagine.
Highest points scorer: fly-half Marin Danut Dumbrava kicked 15 in the tournament, with Tiberius Ionut Dimofte, the replacement kicker who scored 11.
Best player: captain Marius Tincu, Romania’s leading try-scorer of all time with three (not bad from a hooker), who was the best player on the pitch in the Scotland game and consistently the sharpest Romanian, although with little competition.
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
So, farewell: Japan & the United States
Japan
The Brave Blossoms, who were probably putting themselves on the back foot from before kick-off with that nickname, entered the tournament with the intention of at least winning one game. They failed to do so, despite having several New Zealanders in their midst (eg those noble samurais Luke Thompson, James Arlidge and Bryce Robins, among others). However, it was always going to be tough with hosts and favourites New Zealand in their Pool, along with France and Tonga, and after three losses and one draw, Japan bowed out this morning.
Best moment: their final game, which saw Japan come within a hairs breadth of of gaining their first win in the Rugby World Cup since defeating Zimbabwe in 1991. This morning’s match at Canada saw Japan as distinct second favourites, but the Blossoms (bless) were ahead 17-7 at half time and the Canadians snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat in the 79th minute, to end the game 23-23, four years after drawing 12-12 at the same stage in the 2007 competition.
Honourable mention: Japan’s surprise result in their opening game, when they managed to score a few points against France, the final score being 47-21 to the Frogs.
Worst moment: their match against New Zealand, which saw the All Blacks put most of the nails in the Blossoms’ coffin in an 83-7 tonking. You could say that the fact that they scored a try against the favourites was a good show in itself, but they’d already shipped 59 points by that stage.
Top points scorer and best player: the Kiwi-born Arlidge, who scored 34 points in the competition, all through kicking.
USA
The Eagles (at least Japan’s nickname is imaginative) charged into this tournament full of zest, vim and vigour. They leave it much as they found it, except for a couple of valiant losses and one bruising win. There’s something to be said for the United States’ eagerness to play, and play quick, running rugby, but they seemed to let themselves down when it came to the next stage. The US is better than Russia, almost as good as Italy and Ireland on an off day, and nowhere near as good as the big boys. Still, as a work in progress, the Eagles have promise.
Best moment: one of the best games of the tournament, in the United States v Russia, saw two fairly evenly matched teams battle it out. The Russians were hyped as being big burly ‘bears’ and the Americans as, er, ‘eagles’, but in the end it was the other way round as the US eventually bulldozed the Russians off the park in a 13-6 win.
Honourable mention: playing ok but making the Irish look a lot worse in the opening game, a 22-10 win to Ireland.
Worst moment: as ever, the slightly lower league team took one considerable thrashing in the 67-5 loss to Australia.
Best player and top points scorer: the kicking full-back, Chris Wyles, who scored 18 of the Eagles’ 38 points, including a converted try against Italy this morning.
The Brave Blossoms, who were probably putting themselves on the back foot from before kick-off with that nickname, entered the tournament with the intention of at least winning one game. They failed to do so, despite having several New Zealanders in their midst (eg those noble samurais Luke Thompson, James Arlidge and Bryce Robins, among others). However, it was always going to be tough with hosts and favourites New Zealand in their Pool, along with France and Tonga, and after three losses and one draw, Japan bowed out this morning.
Best moment: their final game, which saw Japan come within a hairs breadth of of gaining their first win in the Rugby World Cup since defeating Zimbabwe in 1991. This morning’s match at Canada saw Japan as distinct second favourites, but the Blossoms (bless) were ahead 17-7 at half time and the Canadians snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat in the 79th minute, to end the game 23-23, four years after drawing 12-12 at the same stage in the 2007 competition.
Honourable mention: Japan’s surprise result in their opening game, when they managed to score a few points against France, the final score being 47-21 to the Frogs.
Worst moment: their match against New Zealand, which saw the All Blacks put most of the nails in the Blossoms’ coffin in an 83-7 tonking. You could say that the fact that they scored a try against the favourites was a good show in itself, but they’d already shipped 59 points by that stage.
Top points scorer and best player: the Kiwi-born Arlidge, who scored 34 points in the competition, all through kicking.
USA
The Eagles (at least Japan’s nickname is imaginative) charged into this tournament full of zest, vim and vigour. They leave it much as they found it, except for a couple of valiant losses and one bruising win. There’s something to be said for the United States’ eagerness to play, and play quick, running rugby, but they seemed to let themselves down when it came to the next stage. The US is better than Russia, almost as good as Italy and Ireland on an off day, and nowhere near as good as the big boys. Still, as a work in progress, the Eagles have promise.
Best moment: one of the best games of the tournament, in the United States v Russia, saw two fairly evenly matched teams battle it out. The Russians were hyped as being big burly ‘bears’ and the Americans as, er, ‘eagles’, but in the end it was the other way round as the US eventually bulldozed the Russians off the park in a 13-6 win.
Honourable mention: playing ok but making the Irish look a lot worse in the opening game, a 22-10 win to Ireland.
Worst moment: as ever, the slightly lower league team took one considerable thrashing in the 67-5 loss to Australia.
Best player and top points scorer: the kicking full-back, Chris Wyles, who scored 18 of the Eagles’ 38 points, including a converted try against Italy this morning.
Monday, 26 September 2011
So, farewell: Namibia
The second-best African side in the tournament became the first team to leave it following their fourth defeat earlier today at the hands of Wales (81-7). The Namibians, or Welwitschias (a monotypic genus of gymnosperm plant found only in Namibia and Angola – thanks Wikipedia), struggled to make a dent on the tournament and generally lived up to their ranking, placed at 19th by the IRB.
Best moment: giving Fiji an apparent run for their money in the opening game – the final score was Fiji 49-25 Namibia and saw two tries scored, seeming to herald a new dawn for the African side, which naturally failed to materialize. Individual moments of brilliance were shown in Danie van Wyk’s try from halfway against Samoa after a neat kick-and-gather by Llewellyn Winkler, and Heinz Koll’s deft run and try against Wales.
Worst moment: undoubtedly the 87-0 thrashing at the hands of South Africa. Hyped by some sources as “the African Derby”, the Springboks trampled all over the Weltwischias. That works on multiple levels.
Most points scored by: Theun Kotze, Namibia’s fly-half, who finished the tournament with 24 points.
Best player: despite not scoring any points, the Namibia captain Jacques Burger, who plays for Saracen, was instrumental in ensuring that the team’s performances weren’t necessarily always reflected by the final results.
Best moment: giving Fiji an apparent run for their money in the opening game – the final score was Fiji 49-25 Namibia and saw two tries scored, seeming to herald a new dawn for the African side, which naturally failed to materialize. Individual moments of brilliance were shown in Danie van Wyk’s try from halfway against Samoa after a neat kick-and-gather by Llewellyn Winkler, and Heinz Koll’s deft run and try against Wales.
Worst moment: undoubtedly the 87-0 thrashing at the hands of South Africa. Hyped by some sources as “the African Derby”, the Springboks trampled all over the Weltwischias. That works on multiple levels.
Most points scored by: Theun Kotze, Namibia’s fly-half, who finished the tournament with 24 points.
Best player: despite not scoring any points, the Namibia captain Jacques Burger, who plays for Saracen, was instrumental in ensuring that the team’s performances weren’t necessarily always reflected by the final results.
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Argentina v Scotland, 4:30 am, 25th September
Present: Neto, Elisa, Kai and me.
Pre-match expectations: the Pool Stages so far have been a combination of total mis-matches and occasional gems. The gems, predictably, have been between teams playing at roughly the same level (see Ireland v Australia, South Africa v Wales and the US v Russia). Today’s match should be no exception. If Scotland win, England’s place in the quarter-finals is guaranteed and Argentina are heading home; if Argentina win, then Scotland have to beat England in next week’s match or they will be on a plane. In that respect, this is very much a decider, even though the final result won’t be known until after next weekend’s matches. As a result, I’m expecting a belter.
Predictions: Argentina to sneak it. Or Scotland. I want Argentina to win but it could easily go either way, although probably not by much.
Game: it’s 4:30 am and I haven’t slept properly. I really didn’t want to miss this match so I set several alarms, but text messages from other people during the night have woken me up so often that I’m not sure what time it is or where I am.
Half-time status: it’s tipping it down in Wellington and you can really tell from how the game is going. The two sides are very evenly matched, and there isn’t a point scored either way in the first 18 minutes, a Rugby World Cup record, I believe. Argentina take the lead through a Felipe Contepomi penalty, but Scotland grind on. Two more of Argentina’s talismans in prop Rodrigo Roncero and flanker Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe are injured in the first half, Fernández Lobbe at one point apparently refusing the advice of Argentina’s medical team to leave the field. Eventually he realises he can’t quite make it so hobbles off. The half ends with Scotland ahead by 6-3.
Full-time status: Neto turned up close to the end of the first half and stayed until long beyond the end of the second, although he passed out long before the excitement. Once again, no points were scored in the first fifteen minutes of the half, but the rain and wind was becoming increasingly prevalent, as the ball slipped out of hands and kicks went awry. With just over eight minutes left to play, Scotland had a 12-6 lead, but a great Contepomi pass led to substitute Lucas Amorosino leaving three Scottish defenders in his wake with some smart running to score a try, which Contepomi calmly converted. The final ten minutes see Scotland scrabbling for a the winning points, with Dan Parks seeing a drop goal go just wide at the death, and Argentina hang on to claim a famous 13-12 victory.
Man of the Match: either Contepomi or Amorosino; the latter was the star of last week’s match against Romani and had an instant impact here. Probably Contepomi though for keeping his team together and grounded in terrible conditions.
Food: cheese and salami with biscuits. Captain Morgan and Coke.
Conversation keywords: for a large part at the beginning and end there was none. The middle was spent cursing New Zealand for its time zones and talking about Sugar.
Comments: Kai was the only Argentine-born native in the room.
Pre-match expectations: the Pool Stages so far have been a combination of total mis-matches and occasional gems. The gems, predictably, have been between teams playing at roughly the same level (see Ireland v Australia, South Africa v Wales and the US v Russia). Today’s match should be no exception. If Scotland win, England’s place in the quarter-finals is guaranteed and Argentina are heading home; if Argentina win, then Scotland have to beat England in next week’s match or they will be on a plane. In that respect, this is very much a decider, even though the final result won’t be known until after next weekend’s matches. As a result, I’m expecting a belter.
Predictions: Argentina to sneak it. Or Scotland. I want Argentina to win but it could easily go either way, although probably not by much.
Game: it’s 4:30 am and I haven’t slept properly. I really didn’t want to miss this match so I set several alarms, but text messages from other people during the night have woken me up so often that I’m not sure what time it is or where I am.
Half-time status: it’s tipping it down in Wellington and you can really tell from how the game is going. The two sides are very evenly matched, and there isn’t a point scored either way in the first 18 minutes, a Rugby World Cup record, I believe. Argentina take the lead through a Felipe Contepomi penalty, but Scotland grind on. Two more of Argentina’s talismans in prop Rodrigo Roncero and flanker Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe are injured in the first half, Fernández Lobbe at one point apparently refusing the advice of Argentina’s medical team to leave the field. Eventually he realises he can’t quite make it so hobbles off. The half ends with Scotland ahead by 6-3.
Full-time status: Neto turned up close to the end of the first half and stayed until long beyond the end of the second, although he passed out long before the excitement. Once again, no points were scored in the first fifteen minutes of the half, but the rain and wind was becoming increasingly prevalent, as the ball slipped out of hands and kicks went awry. With just over eight minutes left to play, Scotland had a 12-6 lead, but a great Contepomi pass led to substitute Lucas Amorosino leaving three Scottish defenders in his wake with some smart running to score a try, which Contepomi calmly converted. The final ten minutes see Scotland scrabbling for a the winning points, with Dan Parks seeing a drop goal go just wide at the death, and Argentina hang on to claim a famous 13-12 victory.
Man of the Match: either Contepomi or Amorosino; the latter was the star of last week’s match against Romani and had an instant impact here. Probably Contepomi though for keeping his team together and grounded in terrible conditions.
Food: cheese and salami with biscuits. Captain Morgan and Coke.
Conversation keywords: for a large part at the beginning and end there was none. The middle was spent cursing New Zealand for its time zones and talking about Sugar.
Comments: Kai was the only Argentine-born native in the room.
Saturday, 24 September 2011
England v Romania, 3 am, 24th September
Present: once more in Sugar. The hardcore of the group is Richard, Vero, Mercedes, Elisa and myself, with a strong cameo from the two Maxes before the night caught up with them.
Pre-match expectations: I haven’t seen a live game of rugby since last week, as all other games have not been on normal tv. I’ve seen the matches, sure, because they’re all shown at 9 am before I’m out of bed/can check on the scores. But live rugby has been elusive. Last time I was in Sugar I was basically by myself. This time we have a growing contingent, which is promising in itself at 3 am.
Predictions: Argentina put 43 past these chaps last week. I’m looking for England to break the 60 points mark.
Game: the English Max (sidenote: both the Maxes are blond and good-looking, so we lost the attention of all the females ‘watching’ the game with us the minute they walked in) has decided to enforce international drinking rules on Richard and myself, which means endless pints of Quilmes being consumed in fits and starts. Two fingers for a swearword, four fingers for a try by us, etc. Dangerous precedent but makes for interesting viewing.
Half-time status: We also have no commentary, which means that we get to see Mark Cueto’s three first-half tries to the tune of “Eye of the Tiger”, “Like a Virgin” and other such wonders. The rapid embibing and cheesy pop soundtrack slightly undermines the all-powerful might of watching England totally steamroller the Romanians in the first half. England go in at the break up 34-3.
Full-time status: the tally-ho drinking habits of Max the Brit saw him drink himself into several smashed glasses, some warnings from the bouncers and an early exit as he admitted self-defeat. The other Max couldn´t speak by this stage, I have no idea what had happened to him. Sugar had almost entirely emptied by the 60th minute, but we still had the cheesy pop-rock, with longer songs being played every time the DJ needed to “take a break.” At one point this was Baba O’Reilly, a glorious tune to see England wiping the floor/field with the Romanians and run off the pitch as 67-3 winners.
Man of the match: Mark Cueto, whose first international try in fifteen months turned into a sublime hat-trick in eleven minutes.
‘Food’: a brace of Coronas, several pints, some Jager Bombs.
Conversation keywords: the build-up involved a subtitled documentary about England’s road to glory in 2003, which dominated much of conversation. I’d like to say that we talked about more, but I just can’t recall.
Comments: trying to stay awake for the New Zealand v France extrvaganza was one rugby match too far. Damned international time zones.
Pre-match expectations: I haven’t seen a live game of rugby since last week, as all other games have not been on normal tv. I’ve seen the matches, sure, because they’re all shown at 9 am before I’m out of bed/can check on the scores. But live rugby has been elusive. Last time I was in Sugar I was basically by myself. This time we have a growing contingent, which is promising in itself at 3 am.
Predictions: Argentina put 43 past these chaps last week. I’m looking for England to break the 60 points mark.
Game: the English Max (sidenote: both the Maxes are blond and good-looking, so we lost the attention of all the females ‘watching’ the game with us the minute they walked in) has decided to enforce international drinking rules on Richard and myself, which means endless pints of Quilmes being consumed in fits and starts. Two fingers for a swearword, four fingers for a try by us, etc. Dangerous precedent but makes for interesting viewing.
Half-time status: We also have no commentary, which means that we get to see Mark Cueto’s three first-half tries to the tune of “Eye of the Tiger”, “Like a Virgin” and other such wonders. The rapid embibing and cheesy pop soundtrack slightly undermines the all-powerful might of watching England totally steamroller the Romanians in the first half. England go in at the break up 34-3.
Full-time status: the tally-ho drinking habits of Max the Brit saw him drink himself into several smashed glasses, some warnings from the bouncers and an early exit as he admitted self-defeat. The other Max couldn´t speak by this stage, I have no idea what had happened to him. Sugar had almost entirely emptied by the 60th minute, but we still had the cheesy pop-rock, with longer songs being played every time the DJ needed to “take a break.” At one point this was Baba O’Reilly, a glorious tune to see England wiping the floor/field with the Romanians and run off the pitch as 67-3 winners.
Man of the match: Mark Cueto, whose first international try in fifteen months turned into a sublime hat-trick in eleven minutes.
‘Food’: a brace of Coronas, several pints, some Jager Bombs.
Conversation keywords: the build-up involved a subtitled documentary about England’s road to glory in 2003, which dominated much of conversation. I’d like to say that we talked about more, but I just can’t recall.
Comments: trying to stay awake for the New Zealand v France extrvaganza was one rugby match too far. Damned international time zones.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
England vs Georgia, 3 am, 18th September
Present: Keith, myself, and about 100 total strangers. Nice appearance by Dave Deadman with about twenty minutes to go.
Pre-match expectations: the game is at 3 am on Sunday morning, it’s not on normal TV and the only option is Sugar. Not a bad option, but definitely no commentary and accompanied by a whole bunch of people who really couldn’t give two hoots.
Prediction: England have to win. I can’t see past a thumping victory, whatever it is they say about the ‘big’ Georgians. So England to win, with a better performance than last week’s against Argentina.
Half-time status: it’s hard to tell what's really going on with no sound. England were fast out of the blocks with Shontayne Hape’s fourth minute try, but then things settle down or rather into the rut discovered last week against Argentina. England spend the majority of the half defending, with forwards giving away countless penalties and only the failure of Merab Kvirikashvili to score five of them (on the same ground where Jonny Wilkinson struggled last week) keeping England ahead at half time. With Dylan Hartley sin binned just before half time, the Georgians got in a try and looked really happy about it. They looked really happy about everything, actually. More so than the English. Half-time score was 17-10 to England.
Full-time status: after about 60 minutes you could really tell the difference between the two teams in terms of fitness. You could also tell the difference in Sugar: when I arrived just before 3 it was almost rammed, but by 5 people were staggering homewards, especially one poor punter who was carried out by two bouncers after losing his ability to walk. England were good in parts. Something isn’t working though, and it seems to be the forwards. Next week’s game against Romania will be the last one that comes ‘for free’, I just hope it all works then. 41-10 to England at the end.
Man of the match: probably Shontayne Hape, but also could be James Haskell, Simon Shaw, Chris Ashton, Delon Armitage or Toby Flood. Men of the match.
‘Food’: several Coronas until Dave turns up, then it’s a couple of pints of Quilmes.
Conversation keywords: I had one conversation with a girl who I thought I was friends with on Facebook, but who informed me that she’d deleted me two months earlier for “numerous reasons” and after this conversation would not like to speak to me again. A bit surprising, but also quite entertaining.
Comments: the Sugar punter who staggered out of the male toilets, only to turn around, fix his glassy stare on the prohylactics dispenser and dismiss it with a derisive snort pretty much summed up the attitude of everyone in there last night.
Pre-match expectations: the game is at 3 am on Sunday morning, it’s not on normal TV and the only option is Sugar. Not a bad option, but definitely no commentary and accompanied by a whole bunch of people who really couldn’t give two hoots.
Prediction: England have to win. I can’t see past a thumping victory, whatever it is they say about the ‘big’ Georgians. So England to win, with a better performance than last week’s against Argentina.
Half-time status: it’s hard to tell what's really going on with no sound. England were fast out of the blocks with Shontayne Hape’s fourth minute try, but then things settle down or rather into the rut discovered last week against Argentina. England spend the majority of the half defending, with forwards giving away countless penalties and only the failure of Merab Kvirikashvili to score five of them (on the same ground where Jonny Wilkinson struggled last week) keeping England ahead at half time. With Dylan Hartley sin binned just before half time, the Georgians got in a try and looked really happy about it. They looked really happy about everything, actually. More so than the English. Half-time score was 17-10 to England.
Full-time status: after about 60 minutes you could really tell the difference between the two teams in terms of fitness. You could also tell the difference in Sugar: when I arrived just before 3 it was almost rammed, but by 5 people were staggering homewards, especially one poor punter who was carried out by two bouncers after losing his ability to walk. England were good in parts. Something isn’t working though, and it seems to be the forwards. Next week’s game against Romania will be the last one that comes ‘for free’, I just hope it all works then. 41-10 to England at the end.
Man of the match: probably Shontayne Hape, but also could be James Haskell, Simon Shaw, Chris Ashton, Delon Armitage or Toby Flood. Men of the match.
‘Food’: several Coronas until Dave turns up, then it’s a couple of pints of Quilmes.
Conversation keywords: I had one conversation with a girl who I thought I was friends with on Facebook, but who informed me that she’d deleted me two months earlier for “numerous reasons” and after this conversation would not like to speak to me again. A bit surprising, but also quite entertaining.
Comments: the Sugar punter who staggered out of the male toilets, only to turn around, fix his glassy stare on the prohylactics dispenser and dismiss it with a derisive snort pretty much summed up the attitude of everyone in there last night.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Argentina vs Romania, 12:30 am, 17th September
Present: Chance, Stephanie, Mercedes, Trevor, Jon, Cameron, Juan Pablo, Marcelo, Elisa and me.
Pre-match expectations: a good game from an Argentina who were either robbed in last week’s narrow defeat to England or are flattering to deceive and actually pretty rubbish. Lucky for them that they’re in the same group as Scotland.
Predictions: convincing rout by Argentina following difficult tussle with big Eastern Europeans managed by a man named Romeo.
Game: By the time enough people arrive, the anthems have already been sung. The ‘stadium’ they’re playing in looks smaller than a lot of school pitches; there aren’t many people in the living room either. It’s not exactly 5:30 am, but people are struggling to get into gear.
Half-time status: can this be the same Romania that gave Scotland such a scare the week before? This team is being eviscerated by the Pumas, who are 19-0 up before twenty minutes have passed. Chance is explaining the rules to Stephanie who is doing her best to keep up. The Argentina kicker, Rodríguez, is continuing his indifferent form from the England game and misses a few less than challenging kicks. Still, following a brief flurry and a Romania try, the half-time score is 26-8 to Argentina.
Full-time status: Romania have proved through this performance that despite having a world ranking of 17, they are far from being able to compete with the big boys. Having said that, Argentina were more opportunistic than enterprising, taking advantage of slack defending and an early second half sin binning for Mihaita Lazar. The Romania breakaway run that looked like it was heaing for a try, only for the ball to be picked up by Imhoff who sprinted in the other direction for Argentina’s fifth try, was but one example of the mis-match. One can only wonder what this performance says about Scotland… The final score was 43-8.
Man of the match: Argentina’s zippy full back, Lucas Amorasino.
Repast: left-over sushi, salami and cheese, several litres of beer.
Conversation keywords: there were several Yanks and uninitiated, which led to lots of rule explanations, shudders or exclamations at tackles and yawns during pauses in play.
Comments: Argentina are not going to win the World Cup, but they might beat Scotland.
Pre-match expectations: a good game from an Argentina who were either robbed in last week’s narrow defeat to England or are flattering to deceive and actually pretty rubbish. Lucky for them that they’re in the same group as Scotland.
Predictions: convincing rout by Argentina following difficult tussle with big Eastern Europeans managed by a man named Romeo.
Game: By the time enough people arrive, the anthems have already been sung. The ‘stadium’ they’re playing in looks smaller than a lot of school pitches; there aren’t many people in the living room either. It’s not exactly 5:30 am, but people are struggling to get into gear.
Half-time status: can this be the same Romania that gave Scotland such a scare the week before? This team is being eviscerated by the Pumas, who are 19-0 up before twenty minutes have passed. Chance is explaining the rules to Stephanie who is doing her best to keep up. The Argentina kicker, Rodríguez, is continuing his indifferent form from the England game and misses a few less than challenging kicks. Still, following a brief flurry and a Romania try, the half-time score is 26-8 to Argentina.
Full-time status: Romania have proved through this performance that despite having a world ranking of 17, they are far from being able to compete with the big boys. Having said that, Argentina were more opportunistic than enterprising, taking advantage of slack defending and an early second half sin binning for Mihaita Lazar. The Romania breakaway run that looked like it was heaing for a try, only for the ball to be picked up by Imhoff who sprinted in the other direction for Argentina’s fifth try, was but one example of the mis-match. One can only wonder what this performance says about Scotland… The final score was 43-8.
Man of the match: Argentina’s zippy full back, Lucas Amorasino.
Repast: left-over sushi, salami and cheese, several litres of beer.
Conversation keywords: there were several Yanks and uninitiated, which led to lots of rule explanations, shudders or exclamations at tackles and yawns during pauses in play.
Comments: Argentina are not going to win the World Cup, but they might beat Scotland.
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Samoa v Namibia, 11:30 pm, 13th September
Present: just me and Kai (who has been surprisingly patient with rugby so far. Canine patience is new to me).
Pre-match expectations: this is the Samoa who put Australia to shame in their World Cup preparation game in July, beating the Wallabies 32-23. Nothing more than sweeping expansive rugby by huge fast men is in order.
Predictions: a rout by Samoa. How much will depend on themselves rather than the opposition, who struggled manfully against fellow islanders Fiji in Saturday’s 49-25 defeat.
Half-time status: Samoa do not disappoint, putting away a try in the first 46 seconds. Indeed, what is most impressive about the Samoan team is their ability to trip themselves up. For most, if not all of this half they dominate the game, only let down by senseless passing or their own physical limitations. At one point a Namibian player tries a mazy run only to run straight into one Samoan player and drop to the floor. The player, Paul Williams, gets sinbinned, but Samoa head in at half-time at 25-0.
Full-time status: the Samoans look nervy at the start but quickly start racking up the points, as Alesana Tuilagi bags a hat-trick. However, more dubious passing and dodgy running leads to Namibia getting a look in and scoring an improbable but marvelous try. This is followed by more handbags and a Namibia yellow card, a penalty try to Samoa and another surprise break by the Africans gets Namibia a try under the posts. An entertaining game, the Samoans have a lot in their favour but they made some really questionable decisions and were lucky not to have been caught out more. The game finished 49-12.
Man of the match: has to be Alesana Tuilagi, who is massive and fast and has a knack of being able to run in a straight unstoppable line. His hat-trick is well deserved.
Food: leftover curry from Saturday and a glass of whisky. Yum.
Conversation keywords: there was remarkably little conversation between myself and Kai.
Comments: Namibian forward Jane Du Toit is the biggest man I’ve ever seen with a girl’s name. Explaining the Samoan cross-dressing tradition of fa’afafine in 140 characters is beyond me.
Pre-match expectations: this is the Samoa who put Australia to shame in their World Cup preparation game in July, beating the Wallabies 32-23. Nothing more than sweeping expansive rugby by huge fast men is in order.
Predictions: a rout by Samoa. How much will depend on themselves rather than the opposition, who struggled manfully against fellow islanders Fiji in Saturday’s 49-25 defeat.
Half-time status: Samoa do not disappoint, putting away a try in the first 46 seconds. Indeed, what is most impressive about the Samoan team is their ability to trip themselves up. For most, if not all of this half they dominate the game, only let down by senseless passing or their own physical limitations. At one point a Namibian player tries a mazy run only to run straight into one Samoan player and drop to the floor. The player, Paul Williams, gets sinbinned, but Samoa head in at half-time at 25-0.
Full-time status: the Samoans look nervy at the start but quickly start racking up the points, as Alesana Tuilagi bags a hat-trick. However, more dubious passing and dodgy running leads to Namibia getting a look in and scoring an improbable but marvelous try. This is followed by more handbags and a Namibia yellow card, a penalty try to Samoa and another surprise break by the Africans gets Namibia a try under the posts. An entertaining game, the Samoans have a lot in their favour but they made some really questionable decisions and were lucky not to have been caught out more. The game finished 49-12.
Man of the match: has to be Alesana Tuilagi, who is massive and fast and has a knack of being able to run in a straight unstoppable line. His hat-trick is well deserved.
Food: leftover curry from Saturday and a glass of whisky. Yum.
Conversation keywords: there was remarkably little conversation between myself and Kai.
Comments: Namibian forward Jane Du Toit is the biggest man I’ve ever seen with a girl’s name. Explaining the Samoan cross-dressing tradition of fa’afafine in 140 characters is beyond me.
Sunday, 11 September 2011
South Africa v Wales, 5:30 am, 11th September
Present: Wez and myself.
Pre-game expectations: after a weekend where favourites stuttered and every games seemed geared towards a cupset, I was looking forward to the first well-matched game of the tournament.
Prediction: Wales run South Africa close in the 2010 November international, reaching a lead of 20-9 just after half-time, only to lose 29-25. This game will be close, but I can see Wales just pipping it.
Game: third 5:30 game in three days, really didn’t want to wake up for this. And then South Africa scored a try in the first five minutes through running and pushing rugby and it suddenly became a great reason to be awake.
Half-time status: the quietest crowd in the sitting room so far, an intimate occasion for Wez and myself, but the game is a belter. A missed penalty by James Hook is what divides the teams at the end of the half, South Africa going in 10-6 ahead at the break.
Full-time status: this has definitely been the best game of the tournament so far. Running rugby, wily hands and a pair of great tries in the second half. Toby Feleatu, the Tongan-born ‘Welshman’ scores after some great running and a solid conversion leaves Wales ahead by 6 points, until Bryan Habana gets hauled off for Francois Hougaard who instantly makes mischief and is on hand to run in a try between two confused Welsh defenders under the post. Wales have two opportunities to take the lead when one point behind in the last ten minutes, first from Rhys Priestland, whose drop goal effort is skewed wide from in front of the posts, and then from James Hook again, whose penalty seems to go over but is reported to have failed to do so. A storming encounter ends with South Africa winning, 17-16.
Man of the match: Sam Warburton, the second youngest Wales captain ever at 22, showed maturity and great leadership. Runner-up here would be Feleatu, who was dangerous whenever he got the ball.
Food: two bottles of Imperial lager, one packet of spicy Pringles.
Conversation keywords: the beauty of real ales, Miami in September, Facebook status updates.
Comments: it feels like the weekend has been split into six; my mind thinks that it’s Tuesday.
Pre-game expectations: after a weekend where favourites stuttered and every games seemed geared towards a cupset, I was looking forward to the first well-matched game of the tournament.
Prediction: Wales run South Africa close in the 2010 November international, reaching a lead of 20-9 just after half-time, only to lose 29-25. This game will be close, but I can see Wales just pipping it.
Game: third 5:30 game in three days, really didn’t want to wake up for this. And then South Africa scored a try in the first five minutes through running and pushing rugby and it suddenly became a great reason to be awake.
Half-time status: the quietest crowd in the sitting room so far, an intimate occasion for Wez and myself, but the game is a belter. A missed penalty by James Hook is what divides the teams at the end of the half, South Africa going in 10-6 ahead at the break.
Full-time status: this has definitely been the best game of the tournament so far. Running rugby, wily hands and a pair of great tries in the second half. Toby Feleatu, the Tongan-born ‘Welshman’ scores after some great running and a solid conversion leaves Wales ahead by 6 points, until Bryan Habana gets hauled off for Francois Hougaard who instantly makes mischief and is on hand to run in a try between two confused Welsh defenders under the post. Wales have two opportunities to take the lead when one point behind in the last ten minutes, first from Rhys Priestland, whose drop goal effort is skewed wide from in front of the posts, and then from James Hook again, whose penalty seems to go over but is reported to have failed to do so. A storming encounter ends with South Africa winning, 17-16.
Man of the match: Sam Warburton, the second youngest Wales captain ever at 22, showed maturity and great leadership. Runner-up here would be Feleatu, who was dangerous whenever he got the ball.
Food: two bottles of Imperial lager, one packet of spicy Pringles.
Conversation keywords: the beauty of real ales, Miami in September, Facebook status updates.
Comments: it feels like the weekend has been split into six; my mind thinks that it’s Tuesday.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
England v Argentina, 5:30 am, 10th September
Present: Richard, Vero, Mecha, Neto, Wes, Cameron, Jon, Elisa, myself.
Pre-match expectations: a good clean game. Some decent rugby. A lot of insanely biased commentary from the Argentine ESPN+ crew.
Prediction: a resounding win to England by at least 30 points.
Game: a lot of expectation riding on this so we’ve invited as many Argentines as possible, eg three. Two of them turn up (Vero & Mercedes), on the tail-end of a night out. Much geo-political banter ensues.
Half time status: Neto’s asleep. Argentina have given everything and are three points up, although as many players have been taken off. England look lost. Not bad, but not there. Some highly interpretative decisions by the referee and rubbish kicking by Jonny Wilkinson led to both teams limping off the field at 6-3 to Argentina.
Full-time status: Twenty more minutes of attritional rugby and rubbish kicking finally see a breakthrough for England through Ben Youngs and his try. Wilkinson finally sees a conversion go through (in front of the posts) and the tension is relieved. That was unbearable for a while. The Argentines look deflated. What could have been a famous victory ends up a limping semi-embarrassment for both teams: a win’s a win for England, but that was miserable, while Argentina stuffed upwards of 7 penalties and lost three of their best players in aid of… a 13-9 defeat. On the plus side, Neto woke up.
Man of the match: probably Ben Youngs, for coming on when allegedly injured and scoring a winning try. Nobody else really deserved it.
Food: a curry, slow-cooked over almost a day, containing roast squash, onion, roast chicken, cumin, cinnamon, garam masala, tandoori spices, chili, yoghurt, cream. Well tasty. [Slaps own back]
Conversation keywords: as stated previously, a lot of geo-political banter linked with the relationship between the two countries.
Comments: for about twenty minutes in the second half before Youngs’ try, there was a really tense silence.
Pre-match expectations: a good clean game. Some decent rugby. A lot of insanely biased commentary from the Argentine ESPN+ crew.
Prediction: a resounding win to England by at least 30 points.
Game: a lot of expectation riding on this so we’ve invited as many Argentines as possible, eg three. Two of them turn up (Vero & Mercedes), on the tail-end of a night out. Much geo-political banter ensues.
Half time status: Neto’s asleep. Argentina have given everything and are three points up, although as many players have been taken off. England look lost. Not bad, but not there. Some highly interpretative decisions by the referee and rubbish kicking by Jonny Wilkinson led to both teams limping off the field at 6-3 to Argentina.
Full-time status: Twenty more minutes of attritional rugby and rubbish kicking finally see a breakthrough for England through Ben Youngs and his try. Wilkinson finally sees a conversion go through (in front of the posts) and the tension is relieved. That was unbearable for a while. The Argentines look deflated. What could have been a famous victory ends up a limping semi-embarrassment for both teams: a win’s a win for England, but that was miserable, while Argentina stuffed upwards of 7 penalties and lost three of their best players in aid of… a 13-9 defeat. On the plus side, Neto woke up.
Man of the match: probably Ben Youngs, for coming on when allegedly injured and scoring a winning try. Nobody else really deserved it.
Food: a curry, slow-cooked over almost a day, containing roast squash, onion, roast chicken, cumin, cinnamon, garam masala, tandoori spices, chili, yoghurt, cream. Well tasty. [Slaps own back]
Conversation keywords: as stated previously, a lot of geo-political banter linked with the relationship between the two countries.
Comments: for about twenty minutes in the second half before Youngs’ try, there was a really tense silence.
Scotland v Romania, 10 pm, 9th September
Present: myself. In bed. The 5:30 wakeup was starting to take its toll…
Pre-match expectations: let’s hope that the second game is better than the first?
Prediction: thumping win for Scotland as the perennial quarter-finalists get their campaign off with a bang.
Game: Unfortunately, I was really struggling by this stage and missed the first half entirely because I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Rookie mistake to be sure.
Half time status: Ready to watch a half of good rugby. The game started the second half at 18-11 to Scotland, a surprisingly close scoreline.
Full time status: A really exciting second half saw Scotland given a run for their money through some totally average rugby and some adventurous play from the Romanians, who at some points looked like they were learning the rules as they went along. However, with just under ten minutes to go, Romania was for some reason ahead, 24-21, before it all seemed to get too much for them and Scotland took advantage of some defensive errors to finish 34-24. A real sigh of relief for the home nation.
Man of the match: the official verdict was Romania captain Marius Tincu, can’t say fairer than that, although a special mention should go to Tiberius Ionout Dimofte, the Romania kicker, who managed to almost scuff two crucial penalties from just in front of the posts.
Food: none.
Conversation keywords: I wasn’t having much conversation with myself while watching the game.
Comments: I’m glad I watched this one, but I can tell the midnight, 1 am and 3 am kickoffs are going to be very difficult.
Pre-match expectations: let’s hope that the second game is better than the first?
Prediction: thumping win for Scotland as the perennial quarter-finalists get their campaign off with a bang.
Game: Unfortunately, I was really struggling by this stage and missed the first half entirely because I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Rookie mistake to be sure.
Half time status: Ready to watch a half of good rugby. The game started the second half at 18-11 to Scotland, a surprisingly close scoreline.
Full time status: A really exciting second half saw Scotland given a run for their money through some totally average rugby and some adventurous play from the Romanians, who at some points looked like they were learning the rules as they went along. However, with just under ten minutes to go, Romania was for some reason ahead, 24-21, before it all seemed to get too much for them and Scotland took advantage of some defensive errors to finish 34-24. A real sigh of relief for the home nation.
Man of the match: the official verdict was Romania captain Marius Tincu, can’t say fairer than that, although a special mention should go to Tiberius Ionout Dimofte, the Romania kicker, who managed to almost scuff two crucial penalties from just in front of the posts.
Food: none.
Conversation keywords: I wasn’t having much conversation with myself while watching the game.
Comments: I’m glad I watched this one, but I can tell the midnight, 1 am and 3 am kickoffs are going to be very difficult.
Friday, 9 September 2011
New Zealand v Tonga, 5:30 am, 9th September
Present: myself, David, John (his Aussie friend), two friends they made at a traffic lights party earlier in the evening, and Richard.
Pre-match expectations: hard to say. I scrambled out of bed to catch a glimpse of the opening ceremony, which as far as I can tell consisted of an hour of Maouri dancing and fireworks. All very pretty but totally lost on my 4 am brain.
Predictions: New Zealand in thumping win. Nobody can really see past that as an outcome.
Game: And we’re off! Two extremely choral yet entirely indistinct national anthems followed by a haka that is so bitty it looks like it’s being made up on the spot from the Tongans, and a haka that is quite impressive but so totally professional that it’s almost emotionless from New Zealand. Except for Dan Carter sticking his tongue out and widening his eyes. We get a slow motion replay of that; Carter not only has a long tongue but it looks like he’s been smoking or eating marmite as it has a yellow tinge.
Half-time status: the two new friends are long gone, totally passed out on the sofa. Everyone else is holding steady, including New Zealand, who go in at the break 29-3.
Full-time status: David passes out while a spirited fightback from a Tonga team that was apparently defeated at half-time makes the game more interesting than it might have been. Approximately ten minutes are spent while the islanders camp out on the New Zealand try line, hoping to get one over, which they eventually do. However, New Zealand immediately respond with a slick try, and the game ends 41-10.
Man of the match: um. Not sure. Sonny Bill Williams for the All Blacks? The game was really patchy, and what intermittent moments of brilliance that there were involved the centre.
Breakfast: bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, coffee. As soon as the game is over, the coffee wears off and everyone quickly departs: Richard to work, the rest to bed.
Conversation keywords: doing a ‘hopper’, male embarrassment, Argentina’s new foreign land ownership laws, are Facebook friends real friends.
Comment: both David and his friend were wearing green (for the traffic lights party). Does anybody ever wear any other colours to a traffic lights party? What is the point of going to a traffic lights party if you're going to wear red? And so on.
Pre-match expectations: hard to say. I scrambled out of bed to catch a glimpse of the opening ceremony, which as far as I can tell consisted of an hour of Maouri dancing and fireworks. All very pretty but totally lost on my 4 am brain.
Predictions: New Zealand in thumping win. Nobody can really see past that as an outcome.
Game: And we’re off! Two extremely choral yet entirely indistinct national anthems followed by a haka that is so bitty it looks like it’s being made up on the spot from the Tongans, and a haka that is quite impressive but so totally professional that it’s almost emotionless from New Zealand. Except for Dan Carter sticking his tongue out and widening his eyes. We get a slow motion replay of that; Carter not only has a long tongue but it looks like he’s been smoking or eating marmite as it has a yellow tinge.
Half-time status: the two new friends are long gone, totally passed out on the sofa. Everyone else is holding steady, including New Zealand, who go in at the break 29-3.
Full-time status: David passes out while a spirited fightback from a Tonga team that was apparently defeated at half-time makes the game more interesting than it might have been. Approximately ten minutes are spent while the islanders camp out on the New Zealand try line, hoping to get one over, which they eventually do. However, New Zealand immediately respond with a slick try, and the game ends 41-10.
Man of the match: um. Not sure. Sonny Bill Williams for the All Blacks? The game was really patchy, and what intermittent moments of brilliance that there were involved the centre.
Breakfast: bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, coffee. As soon as the game is over, the coffee wears off and everyone quickly departs: Richard to work, the rest to bed.
Conversation keywords: doing a ‘hopper’, male embarrassment, Argentina’s new foreign land ownership laws, are Facebook friends real friends.
Comment: both David and his friend were wearing green (for the traffic lights party). Does anybody ever wear any other colours to a traffic lights party? What is the point of going to a traffic lights party if you're going to wear red? And so on.
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Harder Than It Looks
On starting this blog, it’s probably fair that I declare and recognize the following: I am English, and have been a fan of international rugby since 2003.
I remember England’s grand slam victory in the 6 Nations in 2003 quite clearly, but obviously not as clearly as the World Cup victory later that year. My mother was so excited about Jonny Wilkinson’s World Cup-winning drop goal that she dropped a glass jug which smashed into a million pieces, but if I´d been holding a jug I would have done the same. Instead I was jumping up and down on the sofa. And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget being told by my own friends to “sit down and shut up” while screaming and blocking a tv screen in a pub as we knocked the French out at the semi-finals in 2007. Golden memories, no doubt.
However, this year I find myself in a difficult situation: the tournament, which starts on Friday, is being held in New Zealand, while I am currently in Argentina. For those of you who aren’t great on your time zones, that’s a thirteen hour time difference. Luckily for everyone in New Zealand, the games will be on at spectator-friendly times; for all rugby fans in South America, the organizers have given us a selection of kick-offs ranging from 10 pm to 5:30 am.
Not to be undone by the dastardly international timezones, I have decided to give this tournament the coverage it deserves, and have also invested in a projector. I will therefore be watching as many games as possible, and in order to prove my devotion to this cause, I am going to write a diary entry in this blog for every game that I watch.
The entries will focus on the important thing: who is playing; what the time is locally; if I have decided to eat anything, what it is that I am eating; who has been kind enough to join me; how we all feel at the start; how we all feel at half-time; how we all feel at full time. I may also deign to predict scores and provide updates as to how happy both my better half and my dog are about the continuation of the tournament, but that will be decided closer to the time/if I remember. After careful deliberation (two minutes) and much thought, I have decided to call the blog “Harder Than It Looks”, because that sums up both the sport and the practical implications of trying to watch as much of this tournament as possible.
However, it would be only fair to recognize both my own human limitations, as well as the far more significant limitations of ESPN+, the only channel showing it. ESPN+ will not be showing all the games live. Therefore, the amount that I watch live will be determined in a shadowy room by people that I have never met nor ever will, and my diary will be limited as a result. I beg your pardon in advance for any discomfort this may cause.
Also, despite this blog, rugby and everything else, I do have some semblance of a life, and other things that go with it, eg a job. In order to give the tournament the coverage it deserves, I henceforth promise that I will watch the following:
- all England games
- all Argentina games
- as many of the group games as I can
- all knockout games.
Finally, I would like to extend my invitation to anyone reading this blog to come and join me and my projector in a small room with white walls to watch the feast of rugby that is no doubt storming over the horizon. The only requirement is that we know each other and/or are friends on Facebook.
That’s it for now. May the best team win, unless it’s Australia or France.
Swing low.
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