Rugby World Cup so far & preview of final

With the rugby world cup final this weekend I thought I would have  to preview it and also write about how the tournament has been to date.  This weekend the All Blacks take on the French in the showpiece finale whilst the Aussies take on the Welsh for the bronze prize.

The semi finals were exciting but in very different ways.  France vs Wales was low scoring but no one would have predicted Wales to play the way they did with 14 men after they lost their captain, Sam Warburton, in the first half.  As for the sending off I am with the majority that this was only a yellow card offence at most and believe it spoilt the game and ruined Wales chances.  In saying that Wales were inches away  from pulling off one of the best results in World Cup history and had plenty of chances for a drop goal attempt towards the end.  If they had have taken these chances we could be looking at a very different final.

The other semi final was total domination by the All Blacks.  They were out to set a marker against their old foes and did so in the first 10 minutes.  The All Blacks may be known for choking but they were never going to choke in their old backyard against the enemy and dominated the rest of the game.  To be honest they probably should have won by more.

The tournament in general has been, in my eyes, the best world cup so far.  Smaller nations in the rugby fraternity have closed the gaps on the more dominant forces.  Romania gave Scotland a scare, USA pushed Ireland all the way and just when all the big guns thought they were safe from a potential embarrassment Tonga beat France to confirm how much the gap is closing.

Before the world cup not too many pundits gave the Northern Hemisphere teams a chance and believed the trophy would fall into the hands of one of the Tri Nations teams, probably in an All Blacks v Aussies final.  This World Cup proved that the gap between the hemispheres is also closing with Ireland beating the Aussies (putting a spanner in everyone's final prediction ha) and Wales coming so close to beating South Africa.

The 1/4 finals were all closely fought games even the Argies against the All Blacks as they pushed them further than any team to date.  Then as discussed the semi finals were brilliant in different ways.  Some teams have really helped make this tournament with Wales, Ireland and Argentina winning a lot of fans.  Wales have played some terrific rugby and may actually have blown one of their best chances of winning a tournament as despite a young team you don't know how it will perform in 4 years.  

Hopefully the final this week can cap of a brilliant tournament.  In the final are 2 teams in contrasting form.  The All Blacks are yet to lose and the French have lost twice, once to the All Blacks in the pool stage.  From this alone you would be predicting an All Blacks win which would be reinforced by how the teams have played throughout the tournament.  The All Blacks have looked slick and stylish as we have come to expect but they have added a new dimension to their game.  They now have intensity, hard work and from their semi final clear drive and focus to complete the job at home.

The French on the other hand have been stop start and really stuttered their way to the final.  The French are the most unpredictable team, one day they can blow you away and the next they are mediocre to say the least.  Funnily after the group match against the All Blacks, a friend said my bet with him that the All Blacks would win the tournament is looking good to which I replied don't be surprised if that is the final.  The reason for my prediction is I knew France were going into an all northern hemisphere side and on their day are capable of beating anyone.

This is why in the final I do not believe it will be an All Black onslaught as many predict.  I am sticking with my prediction that the All Blacks will win but I cannot see France playing that badly in a final.  I think the All Blacks will win by 5-10 points with a fitting Richie McCaw as man of the match and player of the tournament.  I think the forward battle will be immense as France have forwards who on their day can match the All Blacks intensity and drive.  However I believe the French backs will struggle to curtail the likes of Nonu, Jayne and Dagg who are in blistering form at the minute.

The Wales v Australia match may actually be the best game of the tournament as both teams play open and fast running games so I am expecting a high scoring affair.  I think Wales have done magnificently to date and this will just be one hurdle to far for them as Australia will be out to prove a point after last weeks hammering to the enemy.

All in all the tournament has been fantastic with some hard hitting, intense and skill packed rugby matched with the beautiful setting of New Zealand and its warm and friendly people.  In my eyes it would be fitting that the All Blacks win the trophy as lets face it, they are the best team in the world for the last number of years and deserve it.  However you don't always get what you deserve in sport!


 

Rugby World Cup 2011 Preview

The Rugby World Cup is only 16 days away and the anticipation grows from all involved as squads are starting to be announced with surprise inclusions and exclusions. 

On home soil Ireland have left out Tomas O'Leary, Lions winger Luke Fitzgerald, who would have been seen as an automatic selection a year ago, John Hayes and Marcus Horan.  They have included youngster Conor Murray which will be a surprise to some Irish Rugby experts and fans. 

The other home nations have notable absentees as well: England have left Flutey at home despite his ability to act as cover in various positions, Wales have left the experienced Martyn Williams out and in the Scotland squad there is no place for number 8 James Beattie. 

On the southern side of the globe there are also some selection shocks.  Matt Giteau is the most notable omission, Australia’s third-highest point’s scorer having twice been shortlisted for the IRB World Player of the Year award.  The All Blacks have decided to leave star wingers Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu out and also Wyatt Crockett, Liam Messam, Jarrad Hoeata and Hosea Gear with Mr Henry sticking with youth and form.

It will be interesting to see if these are the only shocks in the World Cup!!!  Unlike football, the Rugby World Cup normally doesn’t see many shocks, with the larger nations (in rugby terms) normally dominating the smaller ones.  The only shock really is when the All Blacks are eliminated.  This year again the All Blacks are clear favourites especially as they are at home.  However they have been tagged a sure thing at every World Cup and fail to deliver except on the single occasion.  If they do so this time, especially on home soil, it will be the biggest travesty of all.  Worse would be the fact if one of the other tri nation’s teams won it on their soil which they will love to do.  Normally the All Blacks peak too soon during the 4 year cycle and I would say some fans are maybe happy that they lost in the tri nations at the weekend as it may be a wakeup call for them in perfect time. 

As for the other nations I can only really see the tri nation’s teams challenging the All Blacks.  The defending champions South Africa have a pool of talent for every position while the Aussies have the most exciting backline in world rugby.  If these 2 teams click at the right time they could upset the odds.

The northern hemisphere teams have been beaten by the tri nation’s teams on several occasions over the last few years but we can’t read into this too much.  However I still feel they are a little behind and will struggle against the tri nation’s teams.  Ireland have had a bad warm up campaign but on their day they can beat anyone, a bit like the French.  England can never be written off as the last World Cup showed and Wales, Scotland and Italy provide entertainment but looking at the draw they will be lucky to get out of their group or get past the ¼ finals. 

With all this said I agree with the bookies and think it will be a tri nations 1, 2, 3 with the All Blacks lifting the trophy on home soil, however this has all been said in previous years and it will be interesting to see if a northern hemisphere team can upset the odds.