Rugby World Cup 2011

[Corzza]

I enjoyed it too. I felt Tonga should have won but Canada were more direct

Half Time:

Scotland 9 - 3 Georgia

[Buf-Phoon]

who ever keeps checking the reputation box on posts in this thread will be going on holidays and it wont be to the world cup, farkin

Corzza , keep up the good reporting , saves me surfing the interwebbage

[Corzza]

Parks puts boot into brave Georgia

Max Evans tries to wriggle clear of Georgia's Jaba Bregvadze

INVERCARGILL, 14 Sept. - Scotland dominated their Pool B match at Rugby Park Stadium but it was only thanks to the boot of Dan Parks they were able to defeat Georgia 15-6 and notch their second victory of RWC 2011.

The Scots failed to show any significant improvement at a rain-soaked Invercargill on their performance in their opening pool match win against Romania.

Neither side came close to crossing for a try in a game hampered by handling errors in slippery conditions.

Scotland led by 9-3 at half-time thanks to two penalties and a drop goal from Parks.

Despite heavy conditions Scotland quickly forced their way into the Georgian half after the break and the rain wasn't helping Georgia's attempts at keeping them out.

The Scots made several raids without reward and the slippery ball was often the cause of lost possession but Parks was kicking well and several times kept up the territorial pressure on Georgia with excellent kicks to the corners.

Georgia's only answers were to kick the ball back up-and-under and on 56 minutes the tactic paid off when Scotland full back Rory Lamont dropped the catch. Georgia wasn't able to capitalise from the scrum and the ball was soon back in Georgian territory with Scotland making heavy work of getting much go-forward.

The second-half scoring drought was finally broken in the 69th minute when Parks landed a penalty from 20m straight in front.

Georgia answered with a penalty of their own immediately after when Kvirikashvilli kicked truly from 25m to make it 12-6.

The restart saw another Scotland excursion into Georgia's half and another penalty, slotted by Parks to make it 15-6.

Georgia began the match running hard and direct at the Scotland line and were obviously keen to stamp a physical presence early. They gave the Scots a wake-up call on 15 minutes with a great breakout on the short side after a scrum that saw Alexander Todua make 30m before being dragged down.

Shortly after Georgia were awarded a penalty just inside their own half and a powerful long-range shot by Kvirikashvilli sailed over for first points.

From the restart Scotland gradually took control and grabbed the territorial ascendancy. The under-pressure Georgians conceded several penalties, two of which Park converted before he added a drop goal just before the break to make the half-time score 9-3.

[Corzza]

Australia name team for Ireland match

Wing James O'Connor is in the starting line-up against Ireland

AUCKLAND, 15 Sept. - Australia head coach Robbie Deans announced on Thursday his team to play their second Pool C match against Ireland at Eden Park, Auckland on Saturday, 17 September.

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. Adam Ashley-Cooper

12. Pat McCabe

13. Anthony Fainga'a

14. James O'Connor

15. Kurtley Beale

Replacements:

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau

17. James Slipper

18. Rob Simmons

19. Ben McCalman

20. Scott Higginbotham

21. Luke Burgess

22. Drew Mitchell

[Corzza]

USA too strong for Russia

NEW PLYMOUTH, 15 Sept. - USA beat Russia 13-6 in a Pool C match at Stadium Taranaki on Thursday.

The second half went scoreless for 24 minutes when USA fly half Chris Myles increased the American lead to 13-3 with a close-in penalty goal, after earlier in the half missing three other attempts and a drop goal attempt in front of the posts.

Yury Kushnarev missed a simple penalty goal in the 71st minute to reduce the USA lead, to take his kicking statistics for the game to one from four attempts.

But Konstantin Rachkov did reduce the lead to 13-6 on 77 minutes, which was followed by a great move down the left wing from the kick off.

Russia spent the final minutes hot on attack, but failed to breach the USA line.

The Russians had been on the attack straight after the kick off and took the early lead when Kushnarev slotted a handy penalty in the third minute for a 3-0 lead.

The Americans, on the back foot early on, got back into the match and on 12 minutes Wyles kicked an equalising penalty goal.

At this stage there was much enterprising play, with both teams making probes into the other's territory.

USA scored the first try in the 19th minute, when scrum half Mike Petri got on the end of a slick American backline move with the Suniula brothers Andrew and Roland prominent. Roland Suniula converted for a 10-3 lead.

Myles failed to increase the USA lead when he missed a kickable penalty in the 30th minute and soon after the start of the second spell missed another, more difficult attempt.

In the 58th minute Myles hit the right-hand upright with another attempt at goal and five minutes later missed an attempted drop goal from in front. USA's attempts to put the game beyond Russia were coming to nothing as they dominated possession and territory.

The Russian forwards were on a par with their USA opponents in the tight, but their lineout was a mess. They lost six lineouts from their own throw.

[Corzza]

'Springer Show' for public enemy Cooper

Quade Cooper could barely contain his amusement as he was repeatedly quizzed about being New Zealand's 'Public Enemy No 1' at a news conference he described as resembling the "Jerry Springer Show" on Thursday.

The Wallabies flyhalf, a New Zealand-born Maori who moved to Australia as a teenager, has been a fixture in the local media since he arrived in Auckland last week, cast in the role of pantomime villain at the World Cup party.

Criticism of his supposed feud with New Zealand skipper Richie McCaw culminated in Australia's 1991 World Cup winning skipper Nick Farr-Jones describing Cooper as a "boofhead" for riling up the hosts ahead of what he anticipated being an All Blacks-Wallabies final.

Clearly the biggest story in town this week after the All Blacks moved south for their second match of the tournament against Japan, Thursday's Australian news conference was a packed house and there was no doubting who was star of the show.

For his first couple of attempts to tackle questions about his unpopularity, the 23-year-old tried a little spin.

"The positive is that people are backing us to make the final against New Zealand," he said.

"But a lot of things have got to happen for us to be in the final against the All Blacks and we've got a massive game against the Irish and we have to give Ireland the respect they deserve."

For the next question on the subject, he said he had found Aucklanders to be very supportive and suggested it was all a media invention.

"You've got to write about something when we're not playing football," he said.

Finally, as coach Robbie Deans appealed for reporters to get back to discussing the team he had selected to play Ireland in Pool C on Saturday, Cooper resorted to bluntness.

"To be honest, I don't really care," he said.

STOKED FIRES

Cooper later tweeted that he had struggled to contain his amusement and compared the news conference to the American trash-talk TV show.

"... it was like a Jerry Springer show," he said on his Twitter page (twitter.com/#!/QuadeCooper).

To be fair to the local media, Cooper has sometimes playfully stoked the fires himself, suggesting, for example, that his reputation got him selected for dope testing after Australia's 32-6 opening victory over Italy last weekend.

"He's the sort of guy that enjoys that, the pressure and also a little bit of the spotlight," Will Genia, his halfback partner since their schooldays, said earlier this week.

Cooper's sometimes brilliant performances on the field are integral to Australia's hopes of winning the World Cup and that was what Deans preferred to talk about.

"I don't have thoughts on the matter to be fair," the New Zealander said. "It's great to have Quade with us and he's totally committed to the best interests of the team."

Cooper, a member of the Ngapuhi tribe, still has relatives all over New Zealand's North Island and said he had really enjoyed the way the Maori culture had been made an integral part of the tournament.

"It's good for the country, and it's great for the countries coming in to get a feel for the cultural side of New Zealand," he said. "It's a very humbling experience to be welcomed in that way."

Cooper was born in Auckland but grew up in Tokoroa, a town of 15 000 which has also produced All Blacks Keven Mealamu and Richard Kahui, Ireland scrumhalf Isaac Boss, as well as Fiji flyhalf Nicky Little.

Cooper left his best line until last, when asked whether there was something "in the water" in the Waikato town.

"That's what everyone's been saying but I remember a few years back when I was living there, there was plenty of giardia in the water, so it's definitely not that," he said, referring to a parasite that causes sickness and diarrhoea. "Could be something else."

[CLuTZ]

All Blacks, all day.

[Buf-Phoon]

which ones ? The real ones or their Nike mates.

Personally I think it a blatant snatch at publicity from Nike to have the farkin Poms wearing all black.

The English RU should be condemed for this blatant prostitution.

Hope the "All Blacks" get the opportunity to belt the farkers " black and blue"

Disgrace IMO on the hosts home turf

[Corzza]

@ Buf it is their away kit but I agree they should stick to white!

[hawlass]

Well put Buff. Another fun game from the AB's against Japan, not sure what it means though! Roll on the big games