Rugby World Cup 2011

[Corzza]

Wales overpower misfiring Fiji

HAMILTON, 2 Oct. - Wales coach Warren Gatland said it was mission accomplished after his team overpowered Fiji to win 66-0 and claim second place in Pool D and a quarter-finals berth.

The Welsh, who finished three points behind South Africa with 15, were too strong for a mistake-ridden Fiji at Waikato Stadium on Sunday.

Fiji failed to get going and when they looked like making inroads, they invariably coughed up the ball. This was their heaviest Rugby World Cup defeat.

Gatland said: "We knew we were in a really, really tough group. The first goal was to win a few games in this group and make the quarter-finals.

"We've achieved that so it's just one game at a time now."

Gatland's side, who will face Australia or Ireland in the last eight, gained the bonus point for four tries through skipper Sam Warburton on the stroke of half-time.

Surging forward

Fiji began the second spell 31-0 down, but looked good as they surged forward and were on attack for a number of minutes. They were eventually frustrated when they turned the ball over well inside Wales' 22m.

Then, on 51 minutes Jamie Roberts benefited from some nice backline inter-play to score his second try of the match. Priestland kept up his good kicking form to convert, and Wales were up 38-0.

Replacement hooker Lloyd Burns got the ball back from a Welsh lineout and burrowed over to make it 43-0 and fellow replacement Stephen Jones converted.

Soon after, Fiji were under the Wales crossbar, but they again lost the ball for the Dragons to clear.

The half-century was brought up in almost comical fashion. Fiji gave up the ball inside the Wales 22 and prop Gethin Jenkins kicked down the field. Fiji wing Albert James Vulivuli got a wicked bounce, which allowed Leigh Halfpenny to pick the ball up and he strolled over the line.

Another replacement, scrum half Lloyd Williams scampered over from a ruck to make it 57-0 and Stephen Jones kept up the accurate Welsh place kicking by converting.

Perfect conversations

The ninth try of the match was scored by Jonathan Davies at the death and Stephen Jones continued the 100 per cent record of conversion attempts.

The opening phases of the match were notable for some thrusting Wales' attacks and hard Fiji tackling.

But Fiji were having trouble in the set plays and it was from a botched lineout that Roberts waltzed through the defence to score in the sixth minute. Priestland converted.

Wales increased their lead in the 17th minute when Scott Williams scored his fourth try of RWC 2011 when he was on the end of the backline and made it to the line, hugging the left touchline. Priestland converted and Wales were up 14-0.

Four minutes later Fiji's defensive discipline lost its way with a penalty for offside, converted by Priestland for 17-0.

George North was next on the board in the 32nd minute after an exchange of passes through the backline - one suspicious of being forward.

North raced through the final remnants of the Fiji defence to dot down, Priestland converting.

[Corzza]

Ireland cruise into last eight

DUNEDIN, 2 Oct. - Three-try Ireland blasted out of the blocks early in the second half to ease to a 36-6 win over Italy in the final Pool C match at Otago Stadium on Sunday.

Ireland, who finished top of their pool with this victory, will now face Wales in the first quarter-final at Wellington Regional Stadium next Saturday.

Captain Brian O'Driscoll crossed the Italy line first in the 47th minute and was soon followed by wing Keith Earls as Ireland overran their opponents.

With just over a minute remaining, wing Tommy Bowe came close to scoring, but failed to ground the ball in a chase with two Italian defenders.

However, Earls scored his second and Ireland's third try when sprinting into the left corner. Replacement Jonathan Sexton kicked the conversion for 36-6.

The Irish had held a 9-6 lead following a scrappy first half after Ronan O'Gara hit three penalties to Italian Mirco Bergamasco's two.

Succession of penalties

The succession of penalties continued just two minutes into the second half as O'Gara made it 12-6 when Italy were penalised for not rolling away at a ruck.

O'Gara failed to extend Ireland's six-point lead a few minutes later when he missed a drop goal attempt from just outside the Italian 22m.

However, Bowe broke through a gap in the Italy defence on the 47th minute, offloaded to centre O'Driscoll and he sprinted over the line for the match's opening try. O'Gara kicked the conversion for a 19-6 lead.

Then it was happy 24th birthday for left wing Earls when he crossed in the corner five minutes later after Gordon D'Arcy sparked the attack. O'Gara added the extras for a 26-6 advantage.

Ireland were well on top now and came close to adding a third try through Rob Kearney, but the full back was held up by the Azzurri defence.

Sexton, who had come on for O'Gara in the 67th minute, then landed a penalty three minutes later to extend Ireland's lead to 29-6 after Italy did not release the ball in a ruck.

Nerves appeared to get the better of both sides in this crucial match as there was little flow to first-half play, but several handling errors and numerous penalties.

The closest to a try in the first half came when Ireland's Bowe crossed the Italian line, only for play to be taken back by the referee for a forward pass from man of the match Sean O'Brien.

[Corzza]

Talking Points

AUCKLAND, 3 Oct. - Does discontent in the France camp threaten to derail Les Bleus' hopes of winning Rugby World Cup 2011?

Will England be distracted by ball-swapping inquests and newspaper allegations of player misbehaviour?

And, perhaps the question preoccupying all New Zealanders right now, has the loss of injured Dan Carter dealt a fatal blow to the All Blacks' hopes of glory?

Plenty of newspaper column inches have been devoted to speculation that these three teams may have been left irreparably damaged by their own misdeeds and misfortunes.

Certainly their coaches would not have wished for such scenarios to be playing havoc with plans that have been four years in the making.

But a look at the history books suggests that a little bit of hardship is no bad thing if you want to taste RWC success.

Training injury

Since the inaugural tournament in 1987, teams have drawn strength from adversity on the road to the finals.

At RWC 1987 the All Blacks had to play every match without their captain Andy Dalton, who suffered an injury in a practice session that ruled him out of the tournament, leaving the honour of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup to David Kirk.

It was another Dalton, Springbok hooker James, who was missing when South Africa won the cup on home soil in 1995.

When the hosts had played Canada in the pool stages a mass brawl broke out and Dalton was one of three players sent off. Teammate Pieter Hendricks, the wing who had scored a momentous try against Australia in the opening match, was later cited and banned for his part in the punch-up.

The Springboks had to march to glory without the assistance of either man.

The most remarkable match of RWC 1999 was the semi-final between France and New Zealand.

Inner resolve

Only four months earlier Les Bleus had been on the wrong end of a 54-7 drubbing by the All Blacks in Wellington.

They looked to be on to another hiding until skipper Raphaël Ibañez tapped into some previously hidden inner resolve among his team, who scored 33 unanswered points in one miraculous second-half spell on their way to a famous 43-31 victory.

Argentina were the surprise package of RWC 2007 after they suffered a medical crisis in the lead-up to the tournament.

Centre Martín Gaitán had surgery after suffering a heart attack following a warm-up match against Wales. He was replaced in the squad and his teammates wore T-shirts bearing his nickname beneath their match jerseys as they beat hosts France twice to claim the bronze medal.

South Africa were proud winners of that tournament. But they had had to bounce back from a record 49-0 defeat by Australia a year earlier, which had brought loud calls for the sacking of coach Jake White.

Ignominious defeat

But the best example of a team by galvanised by misfortune were their fellow finalists England, whom the Springboks had thrashed 36-0 in the pool stages.

On the back of that ignominious defeat and some less than encouraging results against their lower-ranked pool rivals, the England team were written off by the merciless British press as well as the bookies.

But the English seem to revel in their status as underdogs and ground out wins over highly fancied Australia and France to claim their place in a second successive final.

Players from that squad still recall the moment that the odds seemed so stacked against them they chose to take control of their own destiny.

Similarly, as his team struggle to find form and fluency this time, Martin Johnson will be trying to use the brickbats to bind his players together.

The All Blacks' loss of Carter and a little French feuding may be just what their teams need to do the same.

[Corzza]

Talking points

South Africa are masters of closing their opponents out of a matchAUCKLAND, 5 Oct. - With Rugby World Cup 2011's pool phase over, the focus shifts to the knockout stages, starting with the quarter-finals that will keep four teams in the running for the Webb Ellis Cup and send four others packing.

So what will be the difference between the teams making their way to the semi-finals at Eden Park and those heading home?

History can provide us with some indicators.

Surely outright firepower is useful? You would think a team that can blow opponents away with lots of tries and a mountain of points would probably be a good bet to be champions. Well, you would be wrong.

Only once in six editions of the Rugby World Cup has the team with the most points at the end of the pool stage gone on to win. Interestingly, that one occasion was New Zealand at RWC 1987, and in that respect history has a chance to repeat itself as no team scored more in RWC 2011 pool play than the All Blacks' 240 points.

Defending champions South Africa, however, do not think firepower is necessarily the way forward.

Before the Springboks' RWC 2011 opener against Wales, assistant coach Dick Muir was more than happy to respond to criticism that South Africa did not play enough open rugby.

Clear insight

"You'd love to be scoring tries and playing a more flamboyant style, but it's about winning at the end of the day. Nobody remembers the tries," said Muir, giving a clear insight into the Springboks' priorities. "You're always wanting to score more tries but it's more about winning games than just scoring tries."

Muir's words rang true just days later as Wales came within a couple of more composed kicks of upsetting the 2007 champions. The Springboks eventually scraped home 17-16 and Muir's safety-first approach was vindicated.

With Muir's statement in mind, it is worth noting that all previous RWC winners have won all their pool matches, good news for RWC 2011's four pool winners: New Zealand, England, Ireland and South Africa, all of whom can still boast 100 per cent records.

Trading in tries and flamboyance for control and circumspection will never please the marketers, but it is a reasonable bet that Muir is not the only coach thinking that way ahead of this weekend's quarter-finals.

The old rugby adage of ‘attack is the best form of defence’ goes only so far, and the knockout stage of a World Cup tends not to be one of those places. Here, 'defence is the best form of defence' is more appropriate.

"If you have a look at the last six World Cup finals, only nine tries have been scored," continued Muir. "It's down to pressure and down to opportunities, the higher the level you get, the less opportunities there are available to you."

Balance is important

Opportunities are a two-sided coin, of course. On one side there is restricting your opponents' scoring chances, while on the other there is putting your own points on the board when the openings come. Finding a balance is clearly important.

That is something the Springboks have had considerable success with. Their two RWC victories to date have both come in tryless finals, 15-12 against New Zealand in 1995 and 15-6 against England in 2007 - clear cases of them restricting opponents while still managing to take their own chances.

Keeping things tight at RWC 2011 has not only given the Springboks those four pool wins out of four, but also the best defensive record from the pool phase - conceding just 24 points, 10 fewer than the next stingiest defences of England, Ireland and Wales.

Not conceding points is a good habit for teams to get into, as all previous RWC winners have been among the top five defensive sides at the end of the pool phase.

Those statistics could be a worrying sign for South Africa's Tri Nations rivals Australia (48 points conceded) and New Zealand (49), both exponents of a more expansive game, who possess the sixth and seventh best records respectively. Among the quarter-finalists, only France (96) have an inferior defensive record at this RWC.

Australia famously conceded only one try in pool play and none in the knockout stages on their way to victory at RWC 1999, and that after conceding just three tries overall, including holding an unexpectedly free-flowing England team tryless in the final, to win RWC 1991.

New Zealand's RWC 1987 defensive record was also impressive, allowing just four tries in the entire tournament, a far better record than their current one, with a total of six already conceded from their four pool matches.

Relative equality

If holding your opponents at arm's length is what is required to lift the Webb Ellis Cup, England are one of the best placed teams, conceding just one try so far, the fewest of all RWC 2011 quarter-finalists. It is a sound defensive record forged from their campaigns in the Six Nations, where they have conceded an average of just one try per match since the last RWC.

Like South Africa, England are also masters of getting the balance right between restricting opponents and taking their own chances. In the 10 RWC knock-out matches where there has been one try or less, England have been involved in six and won four of them.

The relative equality of the teams involved and what is at stake means matches get tighter in the later stages of a RWC, and the overall average margin of victory (14) is half that of the pool stages (28), and it was even lower (nine) compared to the pool (30) at RWC 2007.

This is all pointing to tight matches and, as Muir said, with opportunities at a premium accurate kicking gains far greater currency beyond the pool stage. With the exception of RWC 1987, penalties have trumped tries as the scoring method of choice in the knockout phase of every RWC, a complete reversal when compared with the pool phase of each tournament.

So, keeping the tryline intact, or at least almost intact, and a reliable kicker keeping the scoreboard in order at the other end, seems to be RWC's knockout recipe for success, and those who stray too far from the path could be the ones digging out their passports - or organising their lifts home.

[Corzza]

Smit to lead against Australia

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has gone for the experience angle above other considerations in selecting his team for Sunday’s World Cup quarterfinal against Australia at the Wellington Regional Stadium.

De Villiers has often put his confidence in the experience of senior players ahead of the need to select the best possible team when making his selections, and in opting to start with John Smit at hooker against the dangerous Wallabies he has done so again.

Smit returns in place of Bismarck du Plessis in one of three changes from the side that beat Samoa at the North Shore Stadium last week.

The other changes see the experienced Jean de Villiers come back for Frans Steyn at inside centre and Gurthro Steenkamp in for Beast Mtawarira at loosehead prop.

The Beast does not even make the matchday 22 for this game, with CJ van der Linde being preferred as the back-up prop for his versatility.

Steyn of course has flown home to South Africa after sustaining a shoulder injury against Samoa that prematurely ended his World Cup.

Skipper Smit said that De Villiers couldn’t contain his excitement after finishing the game against Samoa as it was the first World Cup game he had managed to complete after a succession of freak injuries at and before previous World Cups, and he will be looking for a massive game to make up for previous disappointments.

He will need to be on song, for the Boks will have to be at their best to beat an Australian team that is sure to lift its performance levels and the intensity of the game now that the knock-outs have arrived.

NOT THE BEST POSSIBLE TEAM

That is the questionmark over this selection: against the Wallabies you cannot afford to have potential vulnerabilities, and in opting for Smit ahead of Du Plessis for the No 2 jersey, De Villiers has decided that the Boks won’t start with their best possible team.

The selection went in favour of experience in the other area where there was some debate, left wing, with Bryan Habana getting the nod ahead of the energetic Francois Hougaard.

Lock Bakkies Botha was the one member of the so-called old guard to miss out, but then De Villiers announced at the team announcement press conference that Botha had sustained another injury and was probably out of the World Cup.

“It was one of the hardest things I have had to do as a coach, to look into Bakkies’ eyes after he came off the training field yesterday,” said De Villiers.

“Unfortunately he came down after the first lineout. It is a different injury this time, but this time it does look like his World Cup is over. We will make a decision on whether to call for a replacement after the game on Sunday.”

De Villiers said that the condition of wing JP Pietersen was being monitored and although the wing was still struggling he was hoping he would get through a fitness test later on Thursday.

“At this stage of a tournament like this you will always have players who have niggles. JP is not 100 percent ready and we will have to give him some time. We will see how he goes in training,” said the coach.

“If he is not able to play we will have a little tiger in the form of Francois Hougaard ready to replace him. Obviously we will lose something as JP knows the systems so well. But Hougie is the sort of person you want around you. Everything changes completely when he runs over the white line.”

That might have been a good reason why Hougaard should have started, but clearly De Villiers has hitched his wagon to experience for this one.

Sunday will tell us whether the gamble will pay off. It’s a big one, for there won’t be a chance to rectify it if it does prove a mistake. The Boks are due to fly out of New Zealand early on Monday morning if they lose.

TEAM

15-Pat Lambie, 14-JP Pietersen, 13-Jaque Fourie, 12-Jean de Villiers, 11-Bryan Habana, 10-Morne Steyn, 9-Fourie du Preez, 8-Pierre Spies, 7-Schalk Burger, 6-Heinrich Brussow, 5-Victor Matfield, 4-Danie Rossouw, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-John Smit (captain), 1-Gurthro Steenkamp

Replacements: 16-Bismarck du Plessis, 17-CJ van der Linde, 18-Willem Alberts, 19-Francois Louw, 20-Francois Hougaard, 21-Butch James, 22-Gio Aplon.

[Corzza]

Ireland name team for Wales quarter-final

(Rugby News Service) Thursday 6 October 2011

AUCKLAND, 6 Oct. - Ireland head coach Declan Kidney on Thursday named his 48-hour team to play Wales in their quarter-final match at Wellington Regional Stadium on Saturday, 8 October.

Ireland:

1. Cian Healy

2. Rory Best

3. Mike Ross

4. Donncha O'Callaghan

5. Paul O'Connell

6. Stephen Ferris

7. Sean O'Brien

8. Jamie Heaslip

9. Conor Murray

10. Ronan O'Gara

11. Keith Earls

12. Gordon D'Arcy

13. Brian O'Driscoll ©

14. Tommy Bowe

15. Rob Kearney

Replacements:

16. Sean Cronin

17. Tom Court

18. Donnacha Ryan

19. Denis Leamy

20. Eoin Reddan

21. Jonathan Sexton

22. Andrew Trimble

[Corzza]

England name team for match against France

(Rugby News Service) Thursday 6 October 2011

AUCKLAND, 6 Oct. - England manager Martin Johnson on Thursday announced his team to play France in their quarter-final match at Eden Park, Auckland on Saturday, 8 October.

England:

1. Matt Stevens

2. Steve Thompson

3. Dan Cole

4. Louis Deacon

5. Tom Palmer

6. Tom Croft

7. Lewis Moody ©

8. Nick Easter

9. Ben Youngs

10. Jonny Wilkinson

11. Mark Cueto

12. Toby Flood

13. Manu Tuilagi

14. Chris Ashton

15. Ben Foden

Replacements:

16. Dylan Hartley

17. Alex Corbisiero

18. Courtney Lawes

19. Simon Shaw

20. James Haskell

21. Richard Wigglesworth

22. Matt Banahan

[Corzza]

New Zealand team for match against Argentina

(Rugby News Service) Thursday 6 October 2011

AUCKLAND, 7 Oct. - New Zealand head coach Graham Henry on Friday announced his team to play Argentina in the quarter-final match at Eden Park, Auckland on Sunday, 9 October.

New Zealand:

1. Tony Woodcock

2. Keven Mealamu

3. Owen Franks

4. Brad Thorn

5. Sam Whitelock

6. Jerome Kaino

7. Richie McCaw ©

8. Kieran Read

9. Piri Weepu

10. Colin Slade

11. Sonny Bill Williams

12. Ma'a Nonu

13. Conrad Smith

14. Cory Jane

15. Mils Muliaina

Replacements:

16. Andrew Hore

17. Ben Franks

18. Ali Williams

19. Victor Vito

20. Jimmy Cowan

21. Aaron Cruden

22. Isaia Toeava

[Corzza]

Wales name team for Ireland match

(Rugby News Service) Thursday 6 October 2011

AUCKLAND, 6 Oct. - Wales head coach Warren Gatland on Thursday announced his team to play the quarter-final match against Ireland at Wellington Regional Stadium on Saturday, 8 October.

Wales:

1. Gethin Jenkins

2. Huw Bennett

3. Adam Jones

4. Luke Charteris

5. Alun Wyn Jones

6. Danny Lydiate

7. Sam Warburton ©

8. Toby Faletau

9. Mike Phillips

10. Rhys Priestland

11. Shane Williams

12. Jamie Roberts

13. Jonathan Davies

14. George North

15. Leigh Halfpenny

Replacements:

16. Lloyd Burns

17. Paul James

18. Bradley Davies

19. Ryan Jones

20. Lloyd Williams

21. James Hook

22. Scott Williams

[Corzza]

Australia name team for South Africa match

Friday 7 October 2011

AUCKLAND, 7 Oct. - Australia head coach Robbie Deans on Friday announced his team to play South Africa in their quarter-final match at Wellington Regional Stadium on Sunday, 9 October.

Australia:

1. Sekope Kepu

2. Stephen Moore

3. Ben Alexander

4. Dan Vickerman

5. James Horwill ©

6. Rocky Elsom

7. David Pocock

8. Radike Samo

9. Will Genia

10. Quade Cooper

11. Digby Ioane

12. Pat McCabe

13. Adam Ashley-Cooper

14. James O'Connor

15. Kurtley Beale

Replacements:

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau

17. James Slipper

18. Nathan Sharpe

19. Ben McCalman

20. Luke Burgess

21. Berrick Barnes

22. Anthony Faingaa