Oct 6th, 2007 | RWC 2007 | 3 Comments | print
“Four more years…four more years”. Those were George Greegan’s words to New Zealand upon Australia’s semi-final victory at the 2003 Rugby World Cup. I suspect many English and French fans are echoing this sentiment today as their National sides upset two championship favorites in the first day of quarter final action at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and sent Australia and New Zealand home early.
In Marseille, England starved the Wallabies of ball, stealing much possession in the rucks and disrupting their opposition set pieces. They defended with great conviction and, despite a failure to break the Aussie line, took advantage of their undisciplined opponents as Jonny Wilkinson captured the Rugby World Cup all-time scoring record with 4 penalties.
In the other test, fans in Cardiff were treated to a second-half magic show from the back line as France came from a 13-3 half-time deficit to defeat the All Blacks 20-18.
Both Australia and New Zealand will now have to wait for 2011 to get their revenge for defeats in 2003 (England over Australia in the 2003 RWC final) and in 1999 (France over New Zealand in the 1999 RWC semi-final). Todays results will make these wounds even more painful when/if these teams meet four years from now.
For Australia and New Zealand, it’s back to the drawing board. Australia have a large personell shift as their veterans retire. New Zealand on the other hand must investigate how four years of meticulous planning again failed them at the crucial moments. The Southern Hemisphere media and match commentators have been cruel and biased following weak performances by France and England, especially the latter as England have failed to impress in all of their pool matches. Now however, expect a swift and harsh introspective response as the Wallabies and All Blacks return home.
As for George Greegan, today’s loss marks the end of his International rugby career with a record 139 caps. Sorry George, but “no more years” is a lot worse than “four more years”. Welcome to the Old Boys club (well, when you hit 35 next year anyway 
).
Oct 4th, 2007 | Test Rugby, RWC 2007 | 18 Comments | print
And then there were 8. The quarter-finals of the 2007 RWC are set to kick off in a few days and to be honest, the match-ups are quite interesting. Even if you are a die-hard All Black fan, I think the fixtures are going to captivate rugby enthusiasts of all persuasions. → continue reading
Oct 4th, 2007 | Test Rugby, RWC 2007 | 1 Comment | print
“Nothing left but the crying” is probably the sentiment for many Irish, Welsh, Italians and Tongans this week as the pool stages end and the 3rd place finishers head back and start thinking about either retirement or the 2011 RWC in New Zealand. For a World Cup that was supposed to be a predictable spectacle by the ‘top-tier’ teams, the so-called ‘minnows’ flexed their might (and their hearts) and produced more flair and excitement than the championship favorites like France and the SANZAR nations. Here is how it breaks down pool-by-pool. → continue reading
Aug 18th, 2007 | RWC 2007 | 1 Comment | print
RWC 2007 Predictions 2 - Pool A
As I noted earlier, this pool has all the suspense of drying paint: South Africa and England will undoubtedly advance to the Quarter Finals. The only question remains as to which team edges out the other when the two rugby powerhouses meet on September 14th in Paris. This is a critical consideration as the loser will most certainly face Australia in the Quarter Finals with the winner taking on Wales. Both England and South Africa can handily defeat Wales, but of the two only South Africa has a real shot at defeating Australia.
After watching both England and South Africa struggle during the last few years, my money is on the Springboks to take England and the pool. Both teams have very similar, very pedestrian playing styles with very little in the way of offensive creativity. Look for the ‘Boks’ to dominate in the set pieces, especially the scrum. On defense, I think South Africa is simply more accustomed to holding the line during repeated attack sequences. While England is desperate to defend their 2003 victory, I think the mounting losses (especially to France last week) will not be enough to overcome South Africa whose players know that this may be the last chance their country has at winning the Rugby World Cup for some years to come as ‘transformation’ extends it’s reach to rugby’s highest level.
So, is there any excitement in the rest of Pool A? Let’s look at the rankings:
- South Africa, 4th place in the IRB World Rankings
- England, 7th place
- Samoa, 11th place
- Tonga, 14th place
- USA, 15th place
The bottom of the pool actually looks like a 3-team race, with a lot of exciting match-ups. The USA-Tonga match should be great with USA Rugby enjoying a good domestic re-building program at the moment and the Tongans simply using their raw speed and power to stay in the top-20. After England-South Africa, USA v. Tonga is perhaps the next best match to watch in this pool. While I think Samoa will defeat the USA handily, Tonga v. Samoa also has a lot of potential for sparks and some exciting ball.
