RWC 2015 - Two Teams Left Standing

The Rugby World Cup semi-finals have happened and I found both games to be thoroughly enjoyable. I’m planning on talking about both semi-final games and briefly about the final two games of the tournament. It is crazy to think this tournament is nearly at an end.

The first semi-final match was between New Zealand and South Africa. New Zealand were coming into this one having demolished France, whereas South Africa had won a very tight game against Wales with a little bit of magic towards the end of the game. New Zealand had won the encounter earlier in the year between the two teams during the Rugby Championship 27-20 but that game would have no bearing on this one. Before talking about the game, I want to mention something that happened before the game. For those who just know, or who found out by watching the film Invictus (great film by the way) – the South Africa team that won the World Cup in 1995 went for a jog around the streets of Johannesburg the morning of the final against New Zealand. On Saturday morning, members of that same team, led by the 95 captain Francois Pienaar, went for a jog around London. They were joined by thousands of fans and all ended up at the statue of Nelson Mandela in Westminster. When there, Francois Pienaar led the crowd in singing the South African national anthem. What a great moment.

On to the game - I’d say it was a fairly even first half, perhaps South Africa edging it as the better team of the half. They took the lead in the game with an early penalty but found themselves down on the scoreboard after 6 minutes when Jerome Caino scored a try which Dan Carter converted (at the second attempt mind, because Bryan Habana attempted to charge it down too early causing the first attempt to miss). These were the only points of the half for New Zealand. An interesting talking point occurred after 20 minutes when Richie McCaw appeared to strike Francois Louw with his elbow, causing him to need 20 stitches after the game. As of this writing, it seems as though he will not be cited for this. There is a case either way for whether or not he should be cited, but given a Samoa winger got a 5 week ban (reduced on appeal) for running and catching a low tackling player with his knee – it is easy to see why some of the Tier B nations feel aggrieved at the differences in sanctions they receive in comparison to a tier A nation. Anyway, one thing I noticed was just how many penalties they were conceding. I think in the first half, they conceded 9 – which is shockingly high for New Zealand. As a result of that though, South Africa were able to nudge ahead, scoring another two penalties to make the score 9-7. Then at the death, Caino conceded a pretty cynical penalty and was sent to the bin for 10 minutes. The last kick of the half was scored and South Africa went in at the break 12-7 up. New Zealand were down on the scoreboard, and would be without a member of their pack for the first 9 minutes of the second half – things weren’t looking good for the All Blacks.

You couldn’t help but feel that New Zealand needed something special to overcome those odds. Or at the very least, not to lose too many points when they were shorthanded. Up steps Dan Carter. His 10+ years of game management experience for the All Blacks shone through. He was sublime in this game. His first contribution of the half in terms of altering the scoreboard was a rare successful drop goal for New Zealand (only his 7^th in international games). He also had a hand in New Zealand’s second try, a try which came about following a South African knock on. He converted that try from the touch line. New Zealand had not only not conceded points in Caino’s absence, but had now taken the lead 17-12. To add insult to injury, Bryan Habana was sent to the bin for his somewhat illegal attempt to disrupt the ball to try and prevent New Zealand from scoring a try. New Zealand scored the try and he got a 10 minute sit down in the bin – not ideal for him or for South Africa. South Africa scored two more penalties in this half, but these came either side of a successful penalty kick for the All Blacks, meaning the score was 20-18 in the 60^th minute and lead to a tense conclusion. No more points were scored but both teams but South Africa came close with JP Pietersen coming close following a probing kick from Pat Lambie but Dan Carter got to the loose ball first and cleared it away into touch. New Zealand won the game, and made it to their 2^nd successive final. They have been one of the best teams at this tournament and deserved to make it there.

The second semi-final took place yesterday between Argentina and Australia. Australia made the semi-final after a late win against Scotland (enough has been written about that game in the last week without me briefly recapping it again). Argentina made the semi-finals for the first time since 2007 by taking apart Ireland. The first half could not have started worse for Argentina, as they were passing the ball around a bit loosely and one of those passes was intercepted by Australian lock Rob Simmons who ran over for the first try of the game. The second try came as a result of an Argentinian mistake as well. Argentina were awarded a penalty in their own 22, and instead of clearing their lines, scrum-half Martin Landajo tapped the ball and them knocked it on, giving Australia a scrum right under the posts. A long pass after the scrum allowed Adam Ashley-Cooper to go over in the corner. 14-3 and I was wondering if the game was done. A yellow card was given to Argentinian lock Tomas Lavanini for not using his arms in a tackle. Personally I agree with it being called back and Australia getting the penalty but I’m not sure a yellow card was fair. Australia made the extra man count and scored another try with Ashley-Cooper again going over, this time in the other corner. This try was not converted but the score was 19-6. Argentina got another 3 points before half time but what was evident is that the Australian defence we saw against Wales was not a one off. Argentina were furiously knocking on the door looking for a way through. On occasion they even found a clean break but Australia held firm and did not concede. Half time 19-9.

The second half was mostly how Argentina battled back into the game. They found themselves within a converted try away from tying the game up twice. Bernard Foley scored one penalty and Nicolas Sanchez scored two. Argentina were starting to rumble forward, winning scrum battles and gaining territory. I think a lot of people started just to believe a little bit. However, with this came wasted chances. There were at least 3 times Argentina had overlaps out wide which they didn’t convert into points. And then, a moment of sheer magic. Drew Mitchell broke the line and dodged so many Argentinian tackles before shipping the ball out for Ashley-Cooper to score his hat trick – game over. The full time score was 29-15 and that score line is probably fair. Australia were superb at the breakdown again, with David Pocock making 4 of them. I mentioned it earlier but the defence was imperious. Australia made 142 tackles – which shows just how much Argentina were trying to break through their back line. Australia have looked to be one of the world’s best in this tournament at times, and definitely have earned their place in the last two.

So, the final is Australia versus New Zealand. Remarkably, this is the first time these two nations have met in a Rugby World Cup final. Whatever happens, a record will be broken as no team has won the competition 3 times. New Zealand could set two records if they win as they will be the first team to retain the World Cup. I really have no idea which way the final will go. I think they have played each other twice this season and each won a game – so looking back on past results doesn’t really help. However, the game Australia won was a very close affair, the one New Zealand won…not so much. We are down to the last two games, and what has arguably been the best Rugby World Cup in history will be over. These last two months have been a great time to be a rugby fan for sure, and I have no doubt the last weekend will be fantastic. 

RWC 2015 - And Then There Were Four

As of Saturday morning, there were 8 teams left standing in the 2015 edition of the Rugby World Cup. Now, there are only 4. Looking at these fixtures before this weekend, there was only one game I was confident about how it would finish. I also figured that all 4 games would be relatively close. It didn’t quite play out that way mind! I’m going to talk about all 4 quarter finals and what I thought of the games.

The first quarter final was South Africa versus Wales. I had predicted a South Africa win but I really had no idea how this one would end. The first half was a very even affair. Neither team was significantly better than the other I’d say. One thing which was evident however is that Wales had not learned from the mistakes they made against Australia the week before. Gethin Jenkins spurred a very early chance to give the ball to Tyler Morgan who was in a ton of space on his wing. His pass went over the Morgan’s head (Morgan is over 6ft tall by the way) and went out into touch. North had a chance pretty early on to score a try but was stopped short of the try line. I think if he had opted to go to the corner, he would have got across the line but he went into the middle of the park (I guess to try and get closer to the posts) and was unsuccessful in scoring. Wales gave away 4 first half penalties which lead to shots at goal, some of which were a bit cheap. Wales scored the only try of the half to take the lead at that point, but then coughed up one of those aforementioned cheap penalties which gave South Africa the lead back. It looked as though the score would remain 12-10 to South Africa going into the break before Dan Biggar nailed a very sweet drop goal to give Wales the one point advantage going into the break. A very level first half only really as close as it was due to Welsh sloppiness.

The second half was another close affair with each team scoring 6 points apiece with Wales initially extending their lead before South Africa scored a penalty and a drop goal to take the lead. South Africa missed penalties either side of the drop goal, which left me wondering if those misses would come back to haunt them. Wales scored another penalty to take the lead again to make it 19-18 in the 64^th minute. South Africa then attacked Wales quite ferociously, throwing everything but the kitchen sink at them. Wales were defending these waves of attack very well until a late scrum opened up an opportunity for South Africa. They gained a bit of space on the blindside of the scrum, which allowed No.8 Vermeulen the chance to pick up the ball. He was then tackled but managed to offload the ball in a magnificent way (backhanded offload? My word) to the scrum half Fourie Du Preez who dotted down for South Africa’s only try of the game. It was not converted but South Africa had the lead 23-19. This was the final score and Wales were eliminated. A very rough end to Wales’ campaign, especially given the pool they were drawn in. However, they certainly had a couple of chances they didn’t take and coughed up too many penalties. In the end I think, that was their undoing.

The late game on Saturday was New Zealand versus France in the same venue of the famous 2007 quarter final where France had won – the Millennium Stadium. I had hoped for this game as soon as I realised it was possible. In 1999, it was a semi-final that France won, in 2007 a quarter final. New Zealand won the World Cup in 2011 by beating France in the final (by a single point). These two nations had some previous at World Cups and I thought there was no way this game wouldn’t be something special. It turns out I was right, but not in the way I could have possibly imagined. I had predicted a New Zealand win but I assumed it would be a tight game. One thing that is worth remembering from this game is that France took the lead via a Spedding penalty. However from this point, it was pretty much one way traffic. France suffered a pretty significant blow in the 10^th minute when not only did New Zealand score their first try, but one of the men involved in the famous 2007 win, Freddie Michalak picked up a game ending injury. New Zealand scored another two first half tries which Dan Carter converted almost taking the game out of France’s reach before Picamoles struck back with a try of his own. If this try raised France hopes, then Savea’s second of the evening dashed them again. Half time the score was 29-13.

France scored no more points in this game. New Zealand on the other hand scored 5 tries, 4 of which Dan Carter converted. Those 4 converted tries came within 12 minutes. I’m not sure if France stopped trying at times during this or whether New Zealand were just that good. Honestly it could be both. I’m thinking back on the game now and cannot think of a single passenger in the New Zealand team – everyone put in a fantastic shift. Savea’s first try, by the way, was New Zealand’s 300^th try across all of the Rugby World Cups. They are currently on 306 as a result of this game. The next country on the list is Australia with 203. That just goes to show how good New Zealand are at World Cup time. On a personal level, that was Savea’s 4^th test hat trick for New Zealand and he has now scored 38 tries in 39 appearances. He is also the 5^th highest test try scorer for the All Blacks, now having surpassed a certain Jonah Lomu. What a game this was. I would never have predicted this game being as one sided as it was. New Zealand put on an attacking masterclass and played some real champagne rugby. France never got out of first gear. New Zealand won 62-13. The twitter account of the Eggchasers Rugby Podcast pointed out that Namibia only lost 58-14. Remarkable stuff.

The first game of Sunday was Ireland versus Argentina at the Millennium Stadium. Ireland had been knocked out of the previous 5 World Cups at the quarter final stage. Argentina had only made the semi-final once before, in 2007. The pre-game build up to this one couldn’t have been more different. Argentina last played Namibia and were able to make 10 changes from the team that started in that one. Some of the players starting had a 2 week break before lacing up their boots for this one. Ireland’s last game was almost exactly a week earlier, in which they lost 4 (I think? At least 3) players to injury and had another suspended for striking an opponent. Included in those players missing for this one was Paul O’Connell, Johnny Sexton and Sean O’Brien. Still, the patchwork Ireland team that was on the field did manage to beat France and played really very well. It wasn’t exactly a poor Ireland team that took to the field. Although it is probably fair to say they got off to a slow start, which against Argentina at the moment is the worst thing you can do. 13 minutes in, Argentina were 17-0 up thanks to tries from Moroni and Imhoff - and Ireland were looking shell-shocked. They were playing too narrow in defence and were left exposed. Ireland did manage to get back into the game before the end of the half, Fitzgerald scoring an excellent try. As the teams went off, it was 20-10 to Argentina. The momentum was definitely with Ireland though.

Ireland started the second half positively and Argentina now started to look rattled. Ireland scored a try in the 43^rd minute bringing the deficit down to just 3 points and suddenly Ireland believed (as did I) that the biggest come back in Rugby World Cup history was on the cards. The teams exchanged penalties to make the score 23-20 to Argentina when Ireland missed a long range shot at the posts. There was an argument as to whether the Argentinian prop that conceded the penalty, who had already been sent to the bin, should have been sent off for conceding this penalty for a no-arms tackle, but the ref deemed the offense not worthy of a yellow card. Huge call there. Argentina were awarded another penalty for a high tackle which they scored. The momentum, which had been with the Irish for some time, was now shifting to the Argentinians. They made this count in the 68^th minute by getting over the line again for another try. The conversion for this try was spectacular. This try came from Ireland being too narrow again in defence. The score was 33-20 to Argentina and there were just over 10 minutes on the board. Ireland had to score 2 converted tries and prevent Argentina from scoring again. This would be a mammoth task. It proved to be simply too much for them to overcome as in the 72^nd minute, Argentina punched a hole again in the Irish defence and scored another try. This again was converted but this time from in front of the posts. To add insult to injury, Argentina scored another penalty to take the score to the total of 43-20. Ireland had been well and truly beaten in this one. The better team on the day have made the semi-finals.

The final game of the quarter finals was Scotland versus Australia. I’ll be honest, pre-game I had written Scotland off. Australia had looked so good against England and Wales in this tournament and were coming off the back of a successful Rugby Championship campaign – how could they not win this? Early doors there was an Australia try which was deserved. Australia had the best of the possession in the first 10 minutes. It was at this point I wondered if this would be the start of one way traffic similar to what we had seen the night before between New Zealand and France. However, this was not to be. Scotland popped a penalty over the posts before the Australia defence fell to sleep, allowing Horne to grab the ball from the ruck and almost stroll over the line. 10-5 to Scotland and not that it wasn’t already, but game on! Nerves appeared to set in for Australia, evident by Bernard Foley dropping a fairly straightforward catch, leading to a scrum penalty for Scotland which they scored to make it 5-13. Australia knocked on the door a fair bit at this point and for the rest of the half. They scored another two tries but didn’t convert either of them. Laidlaw scored another penalty for Scotland meaning the score at half time was 16-15 to Scotland.

The second half started with a massive decision from the referee Craig Joubert. Bernard Foley managed to offload the ball after being tackled and Sean Maitland appeared to try and grab the ball with one hand. He was unsuccessful and knocked it on. This was ruled as a deliberate knock on and Maitland was sent to the sin bin. That is a tough call to make. I’m sure it was a knock on, I’m not sure it was deliberate. This was to prove costly to Scotland as Australia scored a try which they then duly converted making the score 22-16. Laidlaw shortened the gap with another penalty before it looked very much like Ashley-Cooper had scored another try. However, there was a knock on in the build-up and it was scratched off. Big sigh of relief for Scotland there! Australia scored a penalty of their own to re-establish the 6 point deficit before Scotland returned to full strength. Scotland still looked very much like they stood a chance of winning this one. This much was confirmed when Russell charged down a kick from Foley and got the ball to Seymour who scored a try. Laidlaw missed his first kick of the day but the deficit was back at 1 point, 25-24. Australia banged on the door again and again before they scored another try. It was converted, making the score 32-24. Scotland never gave up, and when awarded a penalty in the 68^th minute, they opted to kick for sticks (I can only assume to reduce the deficit and give themselves the chance to get back in the game). This worked, and they scored it. Scotland continued to give it everything they had. The rain started hammering down in West London, making things more difficult for both teams. Then, a wayward pass from a replacement Australian prop allowed Scotland in to score a try, which was then converted. 34-32 to Scotland with less than 6 minutes to go. Could it be? Well…

Scotland got the nod at a scrum which collapsed. I’m not sure that was the right decision but I was happy it went the way of Scotland. Then a moment which will be talked about for a fair while I think. Scotland had a line out, which they threw to the back of their line (poor call if you ask me), the ball was then knocked on by Scotland, and it hit an Australian player (Phipps I believe) before being gathered by a Scotland player, when an offside call was made. Personally, I think this is the sort of thing which should be covered in the TMO remit. The technology is there, why not use it to confirm? I think in this instance, Joubert might have got this one wrong. There is definitely a knock on by a Scotland player, which means the game should have been stopped there. The last contact of the ball is from an Australian player before being gathered up by Wells. Australia did not take advantage following the knock on which therefore means the game should be stopped. Now, the Scotland player was in an offside position from the Scotland player who last touched the ball, but the player who last touched the ball knocked it on, thus in theory ending play. Sometimes, this sport is complicated! The video is here if you can come up with something different. Anyway, Joubert gave the penalty to Australia which they scored. 35-34 to Australia with less than a minute left. That was the full time score and Scottish hearts were broken. What a game this was. Two massive decisions against Scotland proved costly and the last northern hemisphere team in the competition exited. Scotland played really well though and this was such a cruel way for their World Cup to end.

And with that, the quarter finals ended. The semi-finals, which will take place next weekend are as follows:

South Africa v New Zealand
Argentina v Australia.

For the first time in Rugby World Cup history, there is no team from the northern hemisphere in the final four. Not good news for those of us based in Europe. However, both semi-final games have the potential to be superb games. Both fixtures that occur in the Rugby Championship but with slightly more edge as there is no return fixture this time out. At this stage, both games could really go either way. I think we will see a New Zealand versus Australia final, repeating the inaugural Rugby World Cup final. However, I could well be wrong. I am sure looking forward to finding out if I will be though. 

RWC 2015 - The Final Week Of The Pools

This week has seen the last of the Rugby World Cup pool games played. This blog will be to talk briefly about those games but also to look back on the predictions I made and see how I got on. I predicted how I thought the pools would end up, and how I saw the knock out stages going. Last time I wrote up a round up blog, I finished on Ireland versus Italy, so this blog starts with the next game after that.

I missed the Canada versus Romania game due to work annoyingly. This bottom of Pool D clash was Canada’s last RWC game and having come so close against Italy, I am sure they will have wanted to sign off with a win. They did lead as well, 8-0 at half time. Romania came from behind to pinch the win after a Canadian player was given his marching orders by referee Wayne Barnes. Canada did not record a win at this World Cup but they have looked decent in some of their matches and will hope to build upon this for the next World Cup. After this game was Fiji’s last game against Uruguay. Winless and without points, both Fiji and Uruguay had something to prove in this game. The result went the way it was expected to I think, with Fiji getting the win 47-15. Fiji were deserving of their win, but the headline from this match would be that Uruguay’s 12 year wait for a RWC try ended. They actually scored two tries in this game, one in each half. Uruguay didn’t look bad, but Fiji were just too strong for them.

I again missed the 4.45pm KO on Wednesday (thankfully the last midweek afternoon kick off of the tournament). South Africa had a short turnaround following their win over Scotland before facing the USA. I would say the result was never in doubt, but from all accounts, South Africa just looked dangerous against the USA, who could do little to repel the Springbok attack. USA were unable to make any inroads of their own, failing to register a single point. The final score was 64-0, and South Africa finished top of the pool. No team has ever won the Rugby World Cup having lost a pool game, but if anyone could do it, it could be South Africa. We shall see. The evening kick off on Wednesday was Namibia versus Georgia. Georgia were playing in their final game of the tournament and looking to win a second game at a Rugby World Cup for the first time in their history. Namibia were looking for their first ever victory at a Rugby World Cup and at half time, it looked as though such a feat could occur. An even contest in the first half ended with Namibia 6-0 up. However, 15 minutes into the second half and suddenly Georgia were 14-6 up and you wondered if the floodgates were about to open. They didn’t. Instead, both teams traded penalties to make the score 17-9. Then, in the 73^rd minute, Namibia went over for a try and I think every neutral cheered. The score was converted, making it 17-16 on the scoreboard, and Namibia smelt blood. However, a late penalty gave Georgia the possession near the end and they held on to the ball until full time. Georgia recorded their second win, and Namibia got their first ever point at a Rugby World Cup. Tonga had a big ask on their hands. They could have still made the quarter finals. All they needed to do was beat New Zealand (ideally getting a try bonus point) and hoped Argentina got nothing against Namibia. Stranger things have happened I guess but not on this day. New Zealand won 47-9. Nonu scored a try on his 100^th game for New Zealand which was a nice moment for him I am sure. I’m not sure if it is a running joke in the All Blacks camp, but they tend to have a habit of having very experienced players being the water boy. In this instance, their current captain Richie McCaw (the same McCaw who is the most capped international player, and been picked as Captain over 100 times, again the most in international rugby) had the role of rehydrating the players. I did smile when I saw that. I’ve seen Dan Carter fill the shoes of water boy before as well. I didn’t get to see this game as I was talked into watching it at the pub, which then showed the England football game. That game was dull. That is all I will say about that.

The final weekend of the pool stages had 7 games over two days. The first of these was Scotland versus Samoa. Samoa could not qualify for the quarter finals following their defeats at the hands of South Africa and Japan, but they could certainly spoil the party for Scotland. They haven’t looked great in this tournament thus far but on this day, they looked a lot more like their old selves. Both teams looked very good and this was a great test match. The scoreboard stayed very close throughout the whole game. Half time was 26-23 to Samoa. Samoa had outscored Scotland 3-2 on the tries front, but it was the boot of Greg Laidlaw that was keeping Scotland within touching distance. In the second half, each team scored a try apiece. Scotland first though scored a couple of penalties to take the lead. Scotland then scored a try giving them a 10 point lead and one assumed the win. They did win, however Samoa scored (and converted) a try making the deficit a mere 3 points. Scotland held on and won, making the quarter finals. Samoa recorded two bonus points from this game (the second time this had happened in this pool) and must have been left wondering “what if” – what if they had been that good throughout every game. They might have made the last eight, instead they finished 4^th in their pool.

The next match on the Saturday was the battle for Pool A. Australia and Wales had both qualified for the quarter finals already, but this game was not just a dead rubber. The winner would get a quarter final against Scotland, and have no chance of facing New Zealand until the final. The loser? Well their quarter final would be against South Africa and would likely have to face the All Blacks in the next round. Australia had won their last 10 matches against Wales, but a number of those matches were extremely close – this was a very hard one to call. This match was for me, the second best match of the tournament so far (behind Japan/South Africa). When they talk about classic test matches between southern and northern hemisphere nations, this one will likely be thought of. No tries were scored but that doesn’t take anything away from it. I’d say Australia were deserving winners for two reasons. Firstly, they were bossing the scrum. They gave the Welsh props a bit of a headache throughout the game. Secondly, their defence was outstanding. There was 13 minutes of the second half when the Wallabies were down at least one player, and for most of that time, they were down two players. Wales attacked that line mercilessly but Australia defended heroically. That defence was just phenomenal. I couldn’t work out how Wales didn’t get anything from that 13 minutes. Wales needed points in that time, and they didn’t get them. If they do that in the knockout stages, they will be knocked out, it is as simple as that. Australia won 15-6, and won Pool A. They will now face Scotland in the last eight. Wales, well they could have to beat South Africa and New Zealand before possibly playing Australia again. If Wales win the World Cup, they really will have beaten the best.

England’s final game of the tournament was in unfamiliar surroundings – the home of Manchester City – the Etihad Stadium (City of Manchester Stadium if you like). The game was against Uruguay and England were expected to win. They picked a slightly different team to the ones that played Wales and Australia. Jamie George was in the squad and Henry Slade started at 13 for this one. A player who can comfortably play 13 playing at 13….what sorcery is this?! Oh, he was partnered in the centres by Owen Farrell because of course he was. Another new centre partnership for Stuart Lancaster. What is the record for different 12/13 pairings for international teams in under 4 years? I’d love to know if someone has picked more than Lancaster. Anyway, the first points on the board were scored by Uruguay because England showed they still have issues with giving away penalties. Uruguay went 3-0 up and scored no more points for the rest of the game. It was basically one way traffic from then on. England scored 10 tries over the course of the game but still could have played better. Nick Easter scored a hat trick which I loved. Jack Nowell also scored a hat trick. Slade dotted down one and Anthony Watson scored a brace. The final try was a penalty try. All of the tries were well taken which was comforting to see. I would love to go into more detail about the game, however I watched this one at a pub where the game was on without commentary and people kept standing in the way of the TV (and in one instance turning the TV off…) so it is difficult for me to remember everything. It has nothing to do with the amount of alcohol consumed during or after the game. Not at all. Nope.

The first game of the final pool stage day was Argentina, who had their quarter final qualification confirmed by the All Blacks beating Tonga, taking on Namibia, who had played a game midweek against Georgia in a losing effort. Despite the fact they had already qualified, Argentina picked a strong team to face Namibia. It was a fairly one sided affair but it was a really entertaining game of running rugby. At half time it was 36-7 to Argentina, who were putting in a great performance. The second half it was more of the same really, except Namibia scored 2 tries. The last one came right at the end, and the squad, led by captain Jacques Burger celebrated massively. It was a great moment to see how much it meant to the team. It became obvious as to why this was shortly, when the most capped player for Namibia, Johannes Redelinghuys (a prop) stepped up to take the conversion. The game was his 50th cap for Namibia and was his last game before retirement. The kick sadly didn't make it over the posts but it will stick in the mind as one of the best moments of the tournament, showing that rugby hasn't lost its fun side. I know I talked about this in my last blog, but I really liked this moment. Much like in a game last season where after receiving penalty advantage, Adam Jones, the legendary Wales prop, attempted a drop goal. It was a kick to nothing essentially as the penalty was coming but it was a great moment. Italy versus Romania was up next. This was an interesting match as I've seen some discussion about introducing promotion/relegation to the Six Nations, with Romania being discussed as one of the teams that could be promoted. Romania, if they won, would finish above Italy in Pool D and automatically qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup so there was a lot at stake in this one. I would say Italy were the better side for most of this match. They went in at half time 22-3 up. Romania looked better as the game wore on, and I had hopes they might get a try and losing bonus point out of this one, but not to be. The game ended 32-22.

The clash of the top of Pool D, and another battle between Six Nations rivals was up next. Ireland versus France. The winner would have a quarter final match with Argentina, the loser would face the All Blacks. The first half was a very tight affair, ending 9-6 to Ireland. The main story to come of the half though was that Johnny Sexton and Paul O'Connell both went off injured. As of this writing, there has been no update on whether Sexton will miss any matches. Paul O'Connell however tore his hamstring and is out for the rest of the tournament. What a horrible end to your international career. He joins Peter O'Mahony who will miss out on the rest of the tournament after sustaining knee ligament damage in this game. I did wonder how Ireland would do after losing two of their key players but I have to say, they did great. It was almost as if they had built a squad that can fit the way they play - rather than change their entire system if an injury occurred. Even after losing O'Mahony they still controlled the game really well. They scored two tries in the second half and kept the French out of the game. Ireland looked really good in this one. Early on in the game, Pascal Pape collapsed on the floor near the breakdown, and it was not seen at first what happened. After the game, it was noticed that Sean O'Brien punched him. He has since been cited and will very likely miss the quarter final game against Argentina. The final pool stage game was USA v Japan. Everyone at this point knew Japan were going home after the game but I think everyone who was not American wanted them to win. Japan actually lost to the USA before the Rugby World Cup as well, so it was going to be an interesting game. It was a fairly even game I would say but it was clear that Japan were the better team. USA as well were playing after a short turnaround since their thrashing at the hands of South Africa which could have contributed to the end result. Japan won the game 28-18, meaning that the USA and Uruguay were the only teams to get no points from the pool stages. It also confirmed that Japan are the first team to win 3 pool stage games and not make the quarter finals. They will be missed for sure.

And so, the pool stages are over. Some time ago, I predicted how I thought the tables would finish and what the quarter finals would look like. I will briefly go over my predictions and add some thoughts.

Pool A

My Prediction

England
Australia
Wales
Fiji
Uruguay

How It Finished

Australia
Wales
England
Fiji
Uruguay

Well, bugger. England lost both of their big matches in this pool and have been eliminated. The frustrating thing about how the table has finished is that had England opted for the kick at the end of the Wales game, they would have qualified because of the bonus points they scored. However, the Australia/Wales game would have been completely different I think if Wales had to win to stay in the competition so that is a moot point really. I've spoken at length about England in another post. To be honest, they didn't deserve to qualify. Fiji did lose their three big games but they were not pushed over in any of them, which was good to see. Uruguay...well, their points difference was less than -200! They are still at amateur level with their rugby so them losing all 4 games without really having much to show for it was not a surprise. They managed to score their first World Cup try since 2003, which is something to take away from this tournament.

Pool B

My Prediction

South Africa
Samoa
Scotland
Japan
USA

How It Finished

South Africa
Scotland
Japan
Samoa
USA

South Africa finishing top shouldn't come as much of a shock but I expected them to win all 4 games. I'm not sure if you have heard (!) but they lost to Japan. What a moment. They looked very good in their other 3 games though and had their top spot confirmed before the final weekend of games. Scotland, I'm glad to see them make the last eight but I so wanted to see Japan make it. That would have been one hell of a story. I think the team who will be most disappointed is Samoa. They didn't look like their usual selves in any of their matches aside from the last one against Scotland, and now will have to qualify for the next World Cup. USA are still in the development stage and hopefully will get more time as a team to grow. I think they will be more of a challenge at the next tournament.

Pool C

My Prediction

New Zealand
Argentina
Tonga
Georgia
Namibia

How It Finished

New Zealand
Argentina
Georgia
Tonga
Namibia

Well, I wasn't far off! The main stories from this pool were how good Argentina looked, how New Zealand didn't finish on maximum points for the first time in a pool stage (it was only one dropped bonus point but still) and Georgia having their best showing at a Rugby World Cup, securing qualification for the next tournament. Georgia beat Tonga in their opener, beat Namibia in a close game and put in one hell of a shift against New Zealand. I'm glad they finished 3rd. Tonga will be disappointed to miss out on guaranteed qualification and now may end up missing the next one. It would be strange if they weren't there. Namibia got a losing bonus point for the first time at a World Cup, and won my heart (if not everyone's) with their last kick of the tournament. I imagine they will be back next time out.

Pool D

My Predictions

Ireland
France
Italy
Canada
Romania

How It Finished

Ireland
France
Italy
Romania
Canada

Again, I wasn't far off. Ireland looked really good in all their games except for against Italy. They could have done better in that one. Canada had two close games and will I'm sure rue going home without a win. Italy have qualified for the next one but never really looked like threatening the last eight. Romania looked good at times, troubling France and snatching a win against Canada.

So, this weekend sees the start of the quarter finals. France versus the All Blacks again will be an interesting one and will without doubt have the best video package beforehand due to their World Cup history. I'm not going to do a whole new list of predictions. I will just give my quarter final ones and review them again next time out. The teams that I think will win are in bold.

South Africa v Wales
New Zealand v France
Ireland v Argentina
Australia v Scotland

I am really looking forward to all four games and hope for some good rugby. This last weekend of the pools offered up some great moments and some great matches. I hope that continues this weekend!

RWC 2015 - A Tribute

The pool stages of the Rugby World Cup have finished and my word, the tournament has just been brilliant so far hasn’t it? This World Cup really could go down as one of the best in the tournaments history. I was going to write a round-up blog like I normally do. Before I do that though, I want to pay tribute to some of the tier two nations have just been eliminated from the tournament. Namibia, the lowest ranked team in the competition, made history for themselves by finally registering a World Cup point, getting a losing bonus point against Georgia. In their last game against Argentina, with their elimination well confirmed by this point, they still played their skins out and managed to score 3 tries. They also created what was for me one of the moments of the tournament. They scored a try right at the end of the game (which lead to their bench celebrating as if they had won). The commentators were all talking about the try and showing replays when suddenly focus turned to the conversion, and up stepped prop Johannes Redelinghuys to take it. It turns out this game was going to be his last game before ending his career, and the team let him sign off by taking the kick. What a great moment for him, Namibia and the game as a whole. Sadly, the kick hit the bottom of the post (I think had it gone over, it would have received one of the loudest cheers of the tournament so far). What a way to go out. The quote from him after the game as well was superb (picture from @rugbyworldcup on Twitter)

What a great tournament this has been for Georgia as well. They started off their tournament with arguably the biggest win in their history, beating Tonga 17-10. This World Cup has been their best performance at a World Cup I believe, as they got two wins in the pool stage, also beating Namibia 16-17. However for me, what I will remember about them from this tournament was the game against New Zealand. It was the first team these two nations played and although the result was not a shock, Georgia did not roll over and let it happen. They put in a massive shift against the All Blacks, with their captain Mamuka Gorgodze being named Man of the Match. That and their smiles whilst New Zealand performed the Haka made this a really special game. Beka Tsiklauri will always be able to say as well that he scored Georgia’s only try against New Zealand to date. Not a bad little piece of history to have! The Pacific Island teams had a bit of a rough tournament really, with all 3 of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga finishing fourth in their group. This means none of them automatically qualify for the next Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019. It will be interesting to see what happens there actually. It would be odd to see a World Cup without all 3 of those nations there. I’m not sure how it will pan out. The team I feel most sorry for out of them though is Fiji. Drawn in a pool with Australia, England and Wales meant they had some top level games to play but almost no chance of qualifying for the quarter finals. They played three really good games against these teams as well but got no points to show for it. Sport can be a cruel beast at times. They closed out their World Cup with a win over Uruguay but the draw probably affected them just as badly as it did the other teams in the pool. I want to make quick mentions to Romania and Canada. I didn’t get to see their game against each other, but they both will go home happy from this tournament I think. Canada might go home slightly disappointed if they think back to the games against Italy and Romania. They pushed the Italians all the way and could have pulled off a famous win, but sadly they didn’t. They also got a losing bonus point against Romania as well, with Romania having to come from behind to win. Romania really caused France some problems for a long time in their game. France always looked like they would win but Romania definitely frustrated them at times, which was good to see. They also played a good second half against Italy in their final game and were close to getting a losing and try bonus point.

The final mention though has to go to Japan. I gave them no chance before this tournament, as I am sure so did many others. There have been so many words written about that game against South Africa. Just yesterday I watched that try which won Japan the game again. It was such a moment in time. The biggest Rugby World Cup upset? Undeniably. The biggest upset in the history of Rugby Union? If there is ever a top 10 list, it will be in it. One of the biggest upsets in sporting history? I would say so, yes. From that moment, almost everyone wanted to watch Japan win. I think it legitimately surprised people just how good they were. Their 4 day turnaround before the game against Scotland was just unfair really, and something which ought to be changed for the next World Cup. Teams like New Zealand can deal with such a short turn around as they can almost pick a new XV from their squad without issue. The smaller nations just can’t do that, and 4 days isn’t long enough to recover properly in time for another game. They comfortably beat Samoa in another game I expected them to lose. Samoa went in at half time having scored no points, and not looking like they would score any. They managed to get one try scored by the time the game ended but Japan were the deserved winners. They went into the last weekend knowing they could potentially qualify for the quarter finals. If Scotland lost to Samoa, they had their chance assuming they could beat the USA – a team they lost to back in July in the Pacific Nations Cup. Sadly for the, (and for rugby as a whole I think), Scotland beat Samoa and qualified for the quarter finals. This meant there was little to be played for in Japan’s game against USA. You wouldn’t know that by watching the game though! Japan played a fantastic game (and USA also played very well). Japan won, and became the only team in Rugby World Cup history to record 3 victories in the pool stage and not qualify for the last eight. It is such a shame they didn’t because they have been great to watch. For me, they have been the team of the tournament so far. Long after this tournament ends, people will still be talking about Japan and I think they will have become a lot of people’s “second” international team. Hopefully, the departure of their coach Eddie Jones does not derail their growth as a rugby nation. It would be great to see them make the last eight at their own Rugby World Cup in 2019.

To Japan, and to all of the tier two nations that have just been eliminated – thanks for the memories. You have all helped make this one of, if not the best Rugby World Cups in the history of the tournament. The next post will be my week round-up and a look back at my predictions blog – we shall see how I got on!

RWC 2015 - England: Over And Out

I wrote a predictions blog for this Rugby World Cup which contained how I thought the tournament would play out (funny that). I’m looking back at an off-the-cuff remark when summing up Pool B over and over. No, not the one about South Africa not being tested by Japan, but one just below that. I wrote the following:

I think Japan will beat USA and use that as a platform to build on for when they host the world cup in 2019 (by the way, has a host ever gone out at the group stage?)

It was just a throwaway question, not intended to annoy any Japanese rugby fans. It also wasn’t intended to cause any more thought than “No, I guess there hasn’t been a host nation eliminated at the group stage”. After England lost to Wales 28-25, they were in last chance saloon. They had to beat Australia. Anything less just wouldn’t be good enough. Anything less and England would have the unfortunate title of being the first host nation to be eliminated at the pool stage. Everyone who follows rugby knew the task England faced was a mammoth one. This Australia team was not the same one Michael Chieka had just inherited when they faced England last November. This was a new beast – one that had just won the Rugby Championship. There was a lot of chat in the week about how England would win a battle of the forwards and how their scrum would dominate the Australia scrum. Ben Youngs even came out and said in an interview that England would blow Australia away in the first 20 minutes. If nothing else, England went into this game confident they would win. The team selection was almost identical to the one that faced Fiji on opening night – the only difference being Owen Farrell in at 10 instead of George Ford (I think). The stage was set. England expects.

Australia won 33-13, their biggest ever win over England at Twickenham. England were not only beaten, they were humiliated by Australia. England are the first host nation to not make it out of the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup. Their pool was incredibly hard, and it was remarkable to consider the quarter finals of a Rugby World Cup without one of Australia, England or Wales. I’m going to steal a quote from Ric Flair here, but to be the best, you have to beat the best. England lost to Wales and they lost to Australia. It was unlikely that this England team were going to win the World Cup, but to be the best, you have to beat the best. England didn’t beat the best. Arguably, they could/should have beat Wales but their discipline was terrible and the replacements made things worse for England. The last call to go to the corner wasn’t a terrible one but what followed it was. England lost to Australia because they were second best across every part of the game. One noticeably area where Australia got the upper hand was the scrum, being awarded 3 penalties at scrum time. Another area was the break down. England had no player who is an expert at winning the ball (or slowing it down) at the break down – Australia played two expert open-side flankers in Pocock and Hooper. England didn’t have a hope of being able to compete. Chris Robshaw’s continued presence in the 7 shirt for England has long been a cause for concern for people who want expertise at the breakdown over work rate. If only there was a player who is a world class 7 who could have played for England in this World Cup. Oh.

The first half was pretty unmemorable for England. They were getting over the gain line but really their attack was nothing to write home about and they ended the half on 3 points. It was about what they deserved as they never really looked like threatening Australia’s try line. England’s game improved when George Ford came on at half time. However what this change meant was that Farrell was in at 12 (not his favoured position), Barritt at 13 (not his position) and Joseph on the wing (not his….well you get my drift). The first half was all Australia and England’s response was to move players out of their favoured positions, just so England didn’t have to sub Farrell. If this was England’s Plan B then I was not impressed. However, for a while I thought I was going to be proven wrong as England started to come back into the game. England’s only try from Watson was very well taken. England got back to within 10 points and just maybe, just maybe the comeback was on. However, it was not to be. The death knell came just after the 70 minute mark. Two tackles happened in quick succession. Owen Farrell did not wrap his arms in a tackle, and Sam Burgess hit a high tackle on another player. Both offenses were worthy of yellow cards. Only one was given though, to Owen Farrell. However, this offense took place right in front of the posts, giving Australia a 13 point lead. England, down to 14 men then conceded another penalty which gave Australia a 16 point lead. It was all over, so really the try at the end from Matt Giteau was just unnecessary, but little more than England deserved. The final whistle followed soon after confirming that England had been eliminated.

An article published in the Telegraph summed up 10 things Stuart Lancaster got wrong leading up to this World Cup. I have attached the link, but I want to talk about some of the items raised in the article

·         Sam Burgess – In selecting Sam Burgess, Lancaster dropped Luther Burrell. Burrell played in the centres in the last two Six Nations (in all the games I believe). Burrell was a part of a back line that scored 18 tries in 5 games in this year’s Six Nations. Sam Burgess has been playing Union for less than a year, and played a large part of that time as a forward. Ditching Burrell for Burgess was a mistake. Yes, Burgess played well against Wales in the centre following the injury to Joseph. But had Burrell been picked, Barritt could have stayed at 12. Or Burrell could have played 12 and Slade could have played 13. Instead, Burgess played at 12 and Barritt played out of position at 13. I am a Bath fan, and I recognise that Burgess potentially has a lot of offer Bath and England in the future if he continues to play Union. However, his club head coach, Mike Ford, recognises he would be better suited as a blindside flanker. Why Lancaster picked him as a centre, I will never know. This was a mistake. Does Burgess have an England future? Yes, but not as a centre. If he continues his development at 6 for Bath, and becomes an expert there, then he should be picked there for England. If there are better players in that position, then he shouldn’t be picked for England. Doesn’t seem too much like rocket science to me…

·         Dylan Hartley – Due to another ban, which would have meant Hartley missing the Fiji game, he was dropped from the England training squad. The first choice hooker was then Tom Youngs. Tom Youngs is a decent player in open play. When it comes to the scrum and the lineout, Dylan Hartley is significantly better and his experience was clearly missing from the England team. On reflection, he should have been picked and just not selected for the Fiji game. Of course you could ask would teams have targeted him to try and rile him up – this is of course possible. A tough call to make.

·         Ford or Farrell – Farrell was Lancaster’s first choice fly half for his first 3 years in charge. Ford took over towards the end of the Autumn internationals in 2014 and was first choice during the Six Nations this year. Ford did not deserve to be dropped for the Wales game, and I think had he started in the Wales and Australia games, we could well be talking about different results. By the way, shoe-horning Farrell in at 12 is a poor idea. The man plays fly half – if you need him on the pitch, then replace Ford. Don’t play them both.

·         Centre Partnerships – England played Fiji with a centre partnership who had played 1 previous game together. The centre partnership for the Wales game had played no games together. This goes back to picking Burgess over Burrell. Although, for the Wales game, instead of playing an untested centre partnership, why not play Burgess and Slade? At least they had played one game together, which is more than Burgess and Barritt had. Lancaster was accused of not having settled on a back line – this World Cup proved this was the case.

·         Oversea’s players – Australia changed their rules ahead of the World Cup, allowing them to pick Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell (hey, it could allow others to be picked in the future, but these are the two players who benefitted from the rule change now). I do respect the RFU’s position on players not playing their rugby in England. They don’t want the best players to go to France and elsewhere. England got dominated at the break down by Australia, whilst Steffon Armitage sat at home watching the game on TV. At times, England looked as though they needed someone to step up and really change their games, whilst Nick Abendanon sat at home. Why not set a cap? A England head coach can only pick 2/3 players who don’t play their rugby in England. Some people will of course leave England for the better money of France. However, set a small cap of players who can leave England but still be picked for the national team and you won’t see a mass exodus of talent. At the time the squad was announced, I agreed with Lancaster and the RFU not picking players who played abroad. Now? I’m not so sure. I want the best players who can play for England playing for England.

·         Robshaw – Was Chris Robshaw the best choice for captain? There were times when people were wondering if he even deserved his place in the first XV. He is not an openside flanker in the sense that Pocock and Hooper are, and this showed in the game against Australia. One major call gone wrong against Wales and questions were asked. However, one for me which didn’t make sense was when the score was 3-3 in the Australia game. England had penalty advantage but carried on playing. Eventually advantage over was called, and Australia won the ball back. Why didn’t Robshaw instruct a ball carrier to try and take the penalty England were being offered and try and take the lead? It would have only been a lead of 3 points but it could have changed the dynamic of the whole game. Continuing to back Robshaw may have been a mistake.

So, what now then? Having had over a day to think about it, I think we need to play some of the fringe players against Uruguay so at least they can say they played at this World Cup (start Jamie George, Danny Care, Jack Nowell, Alex Goode and Henry Slade). The result doesn’t matter anymore (obviously it would be awfully embarrassing if England lost again). I suggest however that if England pick Slade, then they should pick him at 13, and have Sam Burgess partner him in the centres. Another new combination there for Stuart Lancaster would just be laughable at this stage.  

After the game, the post-tournament post-mortem can begin properly. From all accounts, Stuart Lancaster has done a good job in that the environment was not a good one in the England camp in 2011 and now it is significantly better. However, you are judged on results. In 2012, England beat New Zealand. Since then? Aside from a couple of wins against Australia, there really hasn’t been much to crow about. Out of 4 Six Nations tournaments, England have finished second 4 times. Couple that with a pool stage exit in a World Cup does not look good on the coaching team’s collective CV. I think it is time to replace them. The last few coaches of the England team have been English. I’m not sure if this is a policy of the RFU but I would consider looking elsewhere for the next head coach. Warren Gatland and Joe Schmidt have done really very well in their respective roles of head coach of Wales and Ireland. This could work well for England as well. There has been some chat about whether the people currently in charge at the RFU have the ability to attract a top coach. Maybe it is time for changes at the very top as well. If ever there is a time to do it, that time is now. The RFU had discussed this World Cup potentially being an inspiration for the growth of the grassroots of rugby union in this country – England being eliminated early doors will do nothing to help with that. England’s failure will have an impact across the whole game, and that is something the RFU has to be held accountable for.

I would also suggest a change in captain, although if they change the head coach then I imagine this much is inevitable. I’m not sure who I would pick to be captain, but it needs to be someone who can lead the team for the foreseeable future. My initial thought of someone who if fit, will likely be on the team sheet is one of the locks, Lawes or Launchbury. I suspect Kruis will be challenging them for the starting position in the future, which is no bad thing. One of those two could do a good job as captain. However, there is a significant lack of experience in this England team, and that could be a problem when picking a captain. It could be worth picking a captain for the next two seasons whilst a new look team is being arranged and then from there is a change is needed, select the captain who will take England into the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

To summarise – this campaign could hardly have gone worse for England. They have the unfortunate record of being the first Rugby World Cup host nation to be eliminated in the pool stages. Yes, it should be pointed out that they had a very hard pool to contend with but they looked 3^rd best in the group, and that is where they will finish. Discussions need to be had now about the future of England. I think major changes are needed including a shakeup at the RFU and a change in coaching staff for England. Put simply, the overall performance at this World Cup has just not been good enough, and as a result – heads should roll.

I am saddened by what has happened in this tournament. But I will still support England going forward. The suggestions I have made in this blog are not a list of demands. If the RFU sticks with Lancaster, who in turn sticks with Robshaw, they will have my full support. Overall that is what England need right now, the full support of the fans. We can all hold our own opinions privately about what we’d do with the team and the RFU, but the main thing is when the Six Nations rolls around, to support England all the way. 

RWC 2015 - The Week In World Cup Rugby

The Rugby World Cup has now been going for just over 2 weeks and so far, it is shaping up to be one of the best World Cups in the history of the game. Records are being set and broken quite frequently (or at least it appears that way). As with the last post to this page, I wrote about the results and some of my thoughts on the games. This will be a two part blog though as there is a fair bit to be written about the first host nation to not make it out of the pool stages. I left off last time with Australia having just pumped Uruguay 65-3 – the biggest point difference in a game so far in this World Cup.

In what seemed like a repeat of their last game, Scotland started off slow against the USA. Now, they had played 4 days earlier against Japan but unlike Japan, Scotland have reasonable depth in their squad. It would be foolish to say this short turnaround wouldn’t impact them at all, but Scotland, like all of the bigger rugby nations, would be better equipped to deal with it than say Japan (or any other tier 2 nation for that matter). USA scored the only try of the first half and went in at half time with a 13-6 lead. While it was possible at this stage for an upset to happen, I figured it was only a matter of time before Scotland would wake up and take control of this game. The second half was pretty much all one way traffic in Scotland’s favour with USA only getting 3 more points. Scotland scored 5 tries (4 of which were converted) giving them a 39-16 win. In the 3^rd and final game of Sunday 27^th September, Ireland faced Romania and once again, the record attendance at a Rugby World Cup was broken – 89, 267 people were at this game. Ireland comfortably won this game, scoring six tries against Romania. One of the main talking points would be whether the Irish defence could hold out and prevent Romania from scoring a try. They succumbed eventually and the final score was 44-10 to Ireland.

I can’t talk much about the Tonga v Namibia game (the only game on the 29^th September) as it kicked off when I was at work and I ended up missing the rest of the game due to travelling and the need to go food shopping (a poor excuse I accept). Namibia scored 3 tries in this game, two of which came from their captain Jacques Burger. It would have been good to see them get one more and come away with a bonus point but alas, not to be. October kicked off with a game which somehow seems to be a regular at Rugby World Cups – Wales v Fiji. They have played each other now for 3 RWC’s in a row. Before this game it was one game all, with the Fiji win in 2007 being a pretty historic win for the Pacific Islanders. The 2011 game however was a tad one sided, with Wales winning 66-0. Once again, I missed this game due to having to work late. From what I heard though, it was a very close match, with Wales doing well to get the win. Wales won this one 23-13 and much like Australia, failed to get a try bonus point. I wondered at the time if this might come back to haunt them. Answer? No. Fiji have put up a good fight against 3 of the top teams in the world, and played some really good rugby. Almost seems criminal they haven’t at least got one bonus point. Such is life. I suspect they will look to batter Uruguay and have something to show for their tournament. The evening game on Thursday was France versus Canada. I expected this to be one way traffic in favour of France. However, credit where credit is due - Canada actually played quite well at times during this match. They seemed to fall away as the game went on though and France took advantage, with them getting the win 41-18.

The only game of Friday night was New Zealand taking on Georgia. I don’t think anyone gave Georgia a chance in this one. It was a great sight though to see how happy the Georgians were at getting to play the All Blacks. This much was obvious just looking at their faces during the haka – there were several big grins beaming. New Zealand took just 73 seconds to score their first try. When this happened, my immediate thought was “how many will we see tonight?” However, the next score to come was a try from Georgia! They capitalised on a New Zealand error and scored a try, which they then converted as a result. I think if Georgia could declare at this point, they would have. 5 minutes in and they were level at 7 all. Sadly, that was the only try of the game for Georgia. New Zealand scored 7 in total and won 43-10. The main talking points from this game were that New Zealand were not their usual selves in that they made a large number of handling errors (19 I think it was – some of which definitely denied them more tries) and Dan Carter looked positively human from the kicking tee. However, I feel the question does need to be asked, if New Zealand can make as many errors as they did, and still score 7 tries – how many would they have scored if they didn’t make any errors? Frightening thought really.

Saturday started off with Samoa versus Japan. Samoa had to win this game if they wanted to keep their hopes of making it out of the pool alive. Japan were in much the same boat. They benefitted from having 10 days between their last game against Scotland and this one. Samoa had a week so really, it was two fresh teams facing off. Not that you would have known it looking at Samoa. I don’t know what it is about them, but they just haven’t looked very good at this World Cup. They looked poor against South Africa but I wondered if part of that was to do with the Springboks showing how good they actually are.  This performance against Japan was not good though, which made me wonder if there is something systematically wrong in the Samoa camp at the moment (well, there has been a lot of chat about issues with the rugby authorities in Samoa but that aside). However, Japan didn’t win this game purely because Samoa weren’t playing well – Japan were worthy of their second win of this Rugby World Cup. They went in at half time 20-0 up. The second half was a much tighter contest between the two, but Japan won the second half points-wise, meaning the full time score was 25-6. Cracking result for Japan this one.

The next game was the top of the pool clash between South Africa and a weakened Scotland team at St James’ Park in Newcastle. I couldn’t work out why Vern Cotter had made as many changes as he did for this game. Perhaps it was so the first choice team will face Samoa and they stand a better chance of winning that one? I’m not sure. This game was all South Africa. Scotland didn’t get much of a look in really. South Africa proved in this one they were still a force to be reckoned with. At half time, they went in 20-3 in front and it didn’t look like Scotland were going to get back in it. They didn’t. Scotland did score a second half try but they couldn’t build on that to even secure a losing bonus point. Two moments of madness from Scotland are worth mentioning. Greg Laidlaw was sent to the sin bin for deliberately taking Bryan Habana out off the ball, preventing him from potentially scoring a try. It was a very cynical move by the Scotland captain and had it been closer to the try line, I think his visit to the bin might have been accompanied by a penalty try. The other moment of madness was Stuart Hogg seemingly taking a dive to claim he was more hurt from a collision with a South Africa player in the air than he actually was. Replays showed that the collision was minimal and Hogg had in fact taken a dive. The referee for this one was Nigel Owens – who had a few choice words to say to Hogg. I do love Nigel Owens sometimes, and this is one of those times. South Africa won this one 34-16. Australia beat England 33-13. I will be doing a separate blog about this result and what England’s elimination from the tournament means for them going forward.

Today offered up two games, one each from pools C and D. Both had potential to be very interesting. Argentina were playing Tonga, who were above them in the pool (a solitary bonus point separating the two teams). Ireland were facing Italy in a reprise from the Six Nations at the Olympic Stadium. I had assumed Argentina and Ireland would win their respective games, but I was surprised at which one was closer, score line wise. The first half in the Argentina/Tonga game was really close, with Argentina getting two tries on the board and then Tonga following suit. Half time was 20-13 to Argentina and at this point, I really felt we were in for a cracking second half where it could go either way. The second half was really good but it was one sided. Argentina scored a further 3 tries, securing a try bonus point. The final score was 45-16. I will be interested to see how Argentina develop as most of the starters in this game have all signed for the new Argentina Super Rugby franchise, which means the national team will be playing with each other for most of the year against some really good opposition. That can only do good things for the game in Argentina. Ireland versus Italy was a very tight affair, a much tighter game than I would have imagined it would be. Italy haven’t looked great at this World Cup and suffered a bit of a scare at the hands of Canada last week. Ireland on the other hand have been playing quite well. I dipped in and out of this game but from what I saw, Ireland were being frustrated by Italy and struggled to get their game going. The only try of the game came in the first half. I know it is wrong to suggest that any team is a one man team, but I wonder if it is much of a coincidence that Italy made a rapid improvement in their play when Sergio Parisse recovered from injury and took his place in the Italian pack. It was not enough however to lead them to victory. Ireland won 16-9 and consigned Italy to an early exit.

So, with most teams having just the one game left, what is the state of the pools?

Pool A – Australia and Wales will face off in a pool winner shoot out next Saturday at Twickenham. England are out of the Rugby World Cup – the first host nation to fail to make it to the knock out stages.

Pool B – This is a very tight pool actually. South Africa have a 4 day turn around before facing USA at the Olympic Stadium. They are currently top by a point but one would assume they will win this game and probably pick up maximum points. If they do, they will win the pool and face the loser of Australia v Wales. USA then have a 4 day turn around before facing Japan. Scotland face Samoa on Saturday. For Samoa to qualify, they need maximum points out of their game against Scotland and for Japan to get no points against USA – unlikely I would say. Japan are currently 3^rd in the pool, two points behind Scotland. For them to qualify, they need Scotland to lose to Samoa and not get 2 bonus points. Scotland just need to beat Samoa and they will qualify for the quarter finals. Simple right? I think we are in for some drama in this pool before all is said and done.

Pool C – New Zealand have qualified from this pool. Who saw that coming? Their last game is against Tonga, who are the only team who can prevent Argentina from qualifying. In a nut shell, to qualify, Tonga need to beat New Zealand and Namibia, after a 4 day turn around, need to beat Argentina. So I guess what I am trying to say is that New Zealand and Argentina have qualified from this pool. I guess it is still technically possible for Tonga to qualify. However, their chances are remote.

Pool D – Ireland and France have qualified from this pool and will face off in a pool winner shoot out next Sunday. The winner will likely get a quarter final date with Argentina. The loser will likely get a quarter final date with New Zealand. I think I speak for everyone who wants to see history repeat itself when I say COME ON IRELAND! It would be awfully funny if France and New Zealand played each other again at a Rugby World Cup, and funnier still if France won again.

We have one more week of pool games before the business end of the tournament begins. Two things are for sure. The first is that England will not be in the knockout stages for the first time since the inception of this tournament. The second is that this tournament is just getting going in terms of excitement. I think we are in for some great rugby before the pool stages wrap up. I will post another blog as I said earlier about England, but I will be back next weekend to sum up the weeks games and to talk about the quarter finals, and if my predictions were right (I know one of them was wrong!)