Rugby World Cup 2011

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Good news is they normally beat the all blacks in the world cup

[Corzza]

If the AB get into the final im pretty sure France will win this world cup

[Corzza]

Half Time

New Zealand 14 - 6 Australia

[Corzza]

All Blacks power to semi-final victory

AUCKLAND, 16 Oct. - New Zealand will meet France in the RWC 2011 final after beating Australia in the second semi-final on Sunday 20-6.

The All Blacks dominated vast tracts of the semi-final and continued to chip away and increase the lead, but only scored the one first half try, and increased the lead by just six points in a second half in which they got a stern test from the Wallabies.

After Piri Weepu had put the All Blacks ahead 17-6 in the 42nd minute, Australia had a prolonged period on attack, recycling the ball and trying to find a *beep* in the New Zealand defence, before finally coughing the ball up.

The play was fast and furious again with Australia enjoying plenty of territorial advantage, but making too many mistakes.

Weepu, the hero of New Zealand's quarter-final win over Argentina, was replaced by Andy Ellis in the 57th minute and looked ill on the sideline. His time there lasted just 12 minutes because Ellis was had his face bloodied by a front on tackle and had to leave the field.

And it was Weepu who had the final say in the match, kicking a 35 metre penalty in the 72nd minute.

Meanwhile Quade Cooper, who had a wretched beginning to the game, was growing in confidence and was causing the All Blacks a few problems with some good runs and some confident kicks.

But it was in the forwards where the All Blacks were dominant, with the scrum strong and the pack quick to pounce on Wallaby errors and winning several penalties as the Australian bodies buckled.

In the 76th minute replacement wing Sonny Bill Williams was yellow carded for not using his arms in a tackle and Australia spent much of the final minutes on desperate attack on the All Blacks line.

A furious first half between Australia and New Zealand in the second semi-final of RWC 2011 at Eden Park saw the All Blacks go into the break 14-6 ahead.

All Black domination

New Zealand dominated the half and scored the only try, from Ma'a Nonu in the sixth minute.

The tone was set early. Cooper kicked out on the full with the first kick of the game and from the scrum Weepu kicked to the corner perfectly, which launched a furious few minutes of attack.

After six minutes with the All Blacks continually in the Wallabies half, Israel Dagg made his second scything run and, just before being put into touch, passed inside to Nonu, who had an unchallenged run to the line. Weepu missed the conversion.

Three minutes later a Weepu penalty, after Australia's David Pocock was penalised, hit the upright and bounced back to the All Blacks.

Aaron Cruden made a fine run and at the tackle Pocock was again penalised for not supporting his weight at the ruck. This time Weepu was successful with the kick for 8-0.

Powerful run

From the kick-off Australia went into the New Zealand half for the first time and wing Digby Ioane produced a powerful run with seemingly half the All Blacks hanging off him, before Jerome Kaino finally halted him centimetres from the line.

Richie McCaw was penalised soon after and James O'Connor reduced the deficit to 8-3.

Weepu, so accurate against Argentina a week ago, missed his third penalty after Sekope Kepu collapsed the scrum, but 22-year-old Cruden made amends after 22 minutes with a 40-metre drop goal to make the score 11-3.

The Wallabies gradually grabbed some territory and hammered away at the All Blacks line. After getting nowhere with the forwards, scrum half Will Genia passed back to the beleaguered Cooper, who slotted a drop goal to make it 11-6.

In the 36th minute Adam Ashley-Cooper was caught offside from Dagg's up-and-under and Weepu goaled to bring the score to 14-6.

Two minutes after the start of the second spell, Pat McCabe did not release the ball after being tackled and Weepu kicked the penalty for 17-6.

[hypnodoc]

Great commentary, but at the end of the day we got done like a dinner. Thank god we won the Leauge. I think (hope) they will run over the snail eaters as well

[Corzza]

The score could have been a lot worse too. 12 points lost in penalties

[Corzza]

Craig Joubert to referee RWC 2011 Final

Craig Joubert will take charge of his first Rugby World Cup Final AUCKLAND, 17 Oct. - Craig Joubert will take charge of his first Rugby World Cup Final after the International Rugby Board announced that the South African has been appointed to the New Zealand versus France Rugby World Cup 2011 Final at Eden Park on Sunday, October 23.

Joubert, who took charge of the New Zealand versus Australia semi-final yesterday, becomes only the second South African to take charge of Rugby’s showcase match following two-time Final Referee Andre Watson.

The appointments were made by the IRB's Match Official Selection Committee in Auckland on Monday following a thorough review of performances during the knock out phase.

Joubert will be joined by Rugby World Cup 2007 Final referee Alain Rolland (Ireland) and Nigel Owens (Wales) as Assistant Referees and Giulio De Santis (Italy) as Television Match Official in a highly experienced match official team. Rolland is the reserve referee.

Meanwhile, Wayne Barnes will take charge of the Bronze Final between Australia and Wales at Eden Park on Friday (2030). The Englishman will be supported by Assistant Referees Romain Poite (France) and George Clancy (Ireland) with Shaun Veldsman (South Africa) as Television Match Official.

IRB Referee Manager Paddy O’Brien said: “The IRB Match Official Selection Committee was delighted with Craig and Alain’s performances in the semi-finals. Alain will perform the reserve referee role should he be required. On behalf of the Committee and all of the team I would like to congratulate Craig, Wayne and all the guys on their selection, which is entirely on merit.

“We may be nearing the conclusion of what has been a truly superb Rugby World Cup, but our focus remains firmly on consistency, penalising the clear and the obvious and tackling the ‘big five’ areas*.

“Collectively we continue to work together as a unit and maintain a zero tolerance attitude towards infringements and foul play across the key areas of the Game. In that regard, I would also like to thank the coaches for their buy-in to the process during this Tournament.”

IRB Match Official Selection Committee Chairman David Pickering said: “It was a very tough selection process. The overall standard in performance by the match official team has been superb and I would like to thank the panel for their dedication, teamwork and professionalism over the past four years, not just the six weeks of the tournament. They can be proud of playing their full part in contributing to what has been an exceptional Rugby World Cup.”

Joubert said: “It is an enormous honour to get the Final and I would like to thank Paddy and the Committee for giving me the opportunity. The whole team has performed superbly, assisted each other and bonded over the course of the last six weeks and I would like to thank them for their support and best wishes. I am now really looking forward to getting out there and enjoying the occasion.”

Listen to his interview here:

http://www.irb.com/mm/Audio/Tournament/Home/02/05/93/08/2059308_HI-AUD_English.mp3

Edited 17/10/11 08:26 PM by Corzza

[Corzza]

Wales set their sights on third place

Assistant coach Neil Jenkins says Wales have to grab the chance to become the third-best team in international rugby, even if that wasn't the aim coming into the World Cup.

Wales were beaten 9-8 by France in the first World Cup semifinal and Australia were beaten 20-6 by New Zealand in the second, leaving the No 2-ranked Wallabies and No 4-ranked Welsh to play off for the bronze medal on Friday.

Jenkins said Wales were disappointed at losing their semifinal so narrowly, missing the chance to play New Zealand in Sunday's final, but would make the best of its situation.

"Obviously the final is the one we all want to be in," Jenkins said. But "it's a test match, it's an important test match for us and we have to front up and be ready to go on Friday night.

"It's a big game for us. We want to try to become the third-best side in the world, that's what we'll try to do. We're up against a very good side - the Australians are going to be hurting as much as ourselves from losing against the All Blacks."

Jenkins drew parallels with the 2007 World Cup at which Argentina, underrated before the tournament, beat France in the bronze medal match to win widespread praise for placing third.

"I remember four years ago Argentina had a fantastic tournament," he said. "South Africa were too good for them in the semifinals but they played some outstanding rugby in that third-fourth game and comfortably beat France in Paris again.

"We'll be looking to play some rugby, try to do what we've done all tournament, play with some pride in ourselves, express ourselves, enjoy ourselves."

Friday's match was a further opportunity for a young Welsh team, coached by New Zealander Warren Gatland, to prove itself a rising force in world rugby, Jenkins said.

Led by their 23-year-old captain Sam Warburton, Wales lost only one match in pool play - to 2007 World Cup champion South Africa by a single point - and upset Ireland in the quarterfinals before going down to France in the semifinals, again by a point.

Throughout the tournament Wales had played skillful and enterprising rugby, for which they had won recognition and admiration, Jenkins said.

"The two games that we lost, we lost by a point each time," Jenkins said. "So we're a very good side, we know we've made an awful lot of progress throughout the tournament and obviously prior to the tournament and we certainly want to show sides what we're about and turn up Friday night and put in a good performance.

"We haven't been in this situation before, losing a World Cup semifinal and obviously in four years' time you'd like to be in the final. But when we start training tomorrow we'll get a feeling for where the boys are at."

Jenkins praised the contribution Gatland has made to Welsh rugby in his four years in charge. Gatland recently signed a contract extension which will see him continue in the role of head coaches until 2015.

"I think other than last year the seasons we've had under Gats have been pretty impressive," he said. "First up there was a Grand Slam, second year from my point of view we were only fractions away from back to back Grand Slams: one pass in Paris and a kick at home against Ireland in Cardiff and we could have been backing that up and no Welsh side has done that for a long time, if at all.

"The third season was disappointing but this year we've had a very good year and I think Gats is one of the best if not the best coach in the world."

[Corzza]

Talking Points

Australia were defeated by an All Blacks side not much older than them AUCKLAND, 19 Oct. - As Wallabies coach Robbie Deans struggled to explain how his Tri Nations champions had been so comprehensively outplayed on Sunday night, he suggested that several All Blacks had benefited from the pain of previous Rugby World Cup defeats.

"What the All Blacks have is a group who have suffered on many occasions," he said after the match. "The core of their group, the nucleus of their group, this is their third attempt and they've got that burning desire, that fire in the belly for that reason. And they've also got that mental resilience. We don't have that as yet, to the same extent."

By this reckoning, the New Zealanders had fed off their personal memories of unexpected defeats in 2003 and 2007, and this had been a key element in their performance on Sunday.

But of the starting XV that faced Australia, only Richie McCaw and Tony Woodcock were playing when the All Blacks crashed out of RWC 2007 with a 20-18 defeat by France at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on October 6, while replacements Ali Williams and Andrew Hore had also featured.

Earlier that same day four years ago, another upset occurred when England beat the highly-fancied Australia 12-10 in Marseille.

A similarly traumatic experience for the Wallabies, one might think, especially considering the result was a repeat of the two sides' nail-biting final in Sydney four years earlier.

Marseille mauling

Were there any survivors of the Marseille mauling in the Australia team at Eden Park? Well quite a few, actually: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Rocky Elsom, Dan Vickerman, Stephen Moore and replacement Berrick Barnes.

So there were five Wallabies with the chance to bury their ghosts of RWC 2007, as opposed to four All Blacks.

Deans is correct to suggest the New Zealand side had exclusive rights to eight-year-old hurts.

As well as McCaw and Williams, Sunday night's hooker Keven Mealamu also played in the All Blacks side knocked out by Australia 22-10 in the RWC 2003 semi-final, while Brad Thorn came off the bench.

Not one of the Wallabies who lost to England in the final a week later appeared on Sunday night.

However, if Deans had wanted to harness that simmering resentment over unfulfilled promise, perhaps he should not have overlooked second row Nathan Sharpe in favour of Rob Simmons at Eden Park.

Sharpe, who will play his 100th Test for Australia against Wales in Friday's battle for third place, played in the 2003 final and the Marseille defeat four years later and is the only Wallaby who perhaps could have mimicked McCaw's "fire in the belly" of two failed RWC campaigns.

Innocent fledglings

So Deans' reasoning may not bear too much scrutiny. And the common depiction of his Wallabies as mere innocent fledglings who can only improve from their experience may also be found wanting.

"I'd love to see this group one day - and there's no doubt there will be a significant number of them who will get another opportunity - win a World Cup," said the coach.

That may be so, but Australia would be unwise to write off the All Blacks as old warriors about to go on the wane.

The average age of the Wallabies starting XV on Sunday was 26.5 years. The average age of the All Blacks was 28 years. Hardly a yawning gap.

There were telling contributions from the younger All Blacks, including Aaron Cruden, 22, and 23-year-olds Israel Dagg, Owen Franks and Sam Whitelock. All Black number 8 Kieran Read, 25, is younger than Wallaby wing Digby Ioane, 26.

It seems that banking on the passage of time or an accumulation of bitter memories will not be enough if the Wallabies are to turn the tables on the All Blacks any time soon.

[Corzza]

French use '95 Bok victory as inspiration

France will use the memory of the Springboks 1995 upset win in the Rugby World Cup final as inspiration when they meet the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland on Sunday.

The Boks came up against a rampant All Black side, and upset the odds by winning the final, a day that still echoes in rugby folklore as one of the greatest days of the game.

France, now staring down the barrel against a fancied All Black side this weekend and given no chance by anyone at snatching the World Cup for the first time, have invoked the 1995 memory as one they will use as they motivate themselves for the match.

The French admitted to “cocooning” themselves against the one-sided media coverage and barrage of support for the All Blacks, and are drawing from the siege mentality to try and gain strength ahead of Sunday’s final.

"A sense of history is important and we understand all too well why the All Blacks are favoured. Someone has to be favoured and it is not a given. They are playing at home and this is the dream final for us. For them, they will have a stadium jam-packed with New Zealanders,” French winger Vincent Clerc said in reference to the memory of 1995 as opposed to this weekend.

"But we have not played the match yet. They are not world champions yet.

"I do not feel I am in the skin of a future loser, someone who can't win. That is not how I feel at all. But we are in the Final and it does not matter what happened before. It is what happens now that counts."

Clerc said while his side had been criticised across the globe for making the final, and while some thought they were not worthy of their place, the French knew that their fighting spirit will give them a chance.

"This is the World Cup Final and we are not here by coincidence. You can put some of it down to chance but I don't think it is coincidence,” he said.

"We will have to be committed and we will have to fight. We can't fall into the trap of just doing any old thing. We have to be extremely lucid and we will have to make sure we manage the match, take the opportunities that are given.

"They have weaknesses as well and we just have to make sure we just don't do any old thing. It will be a huge, huge rugby match. We will have to put the heat on them and we will have to be extremely defensive in the way we were against the Welsh.

"There is nothing better than a World Cup Final. It is the summit."

The French winger said his side had used their strength as a group to shut out the media frenzy that has shook New Zealand before this weekend’s final.

"I have not turned the TV on all week so I am not sure what is going on in the outside world. We do not need motivation and we do not have to look at what others are doing. We are in our own bubble so it does not matter what the New Zealanders are doing in terms of their preparation."

Clerc said his side didn’t fear the All Blacks and knew what they had to do to “write French history.”

“I think we are drawn to difficulty and I think it allows us to bring out the best in ourselves and it allows us to believe in the impossible.

"When you always see them as winners it is a logical thing when you lose against them. It is up to us to bring out the best in ourselves. It is a French default but I think in some ways it allows us to upset them. We have not always played perfect rugby but we have beaten them in the past.

"We will try to write French history. It is not easy but we have the tools. You can never predict what will happen.

"We know we can destabilize the All Blacks and we can do some exceptional things. I experienced that in 2007 and we experienced (it) in Dunedin a few years ago so it is a great source of inspiration for us. I think all the French team has under-performed in respect to the All Blacks and they have gone on to improbable victories.

"We have a greater desire and we need to be realistic. We can't miss any opportunities."