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 73rd 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 100th 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 4th
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!
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!
No comments:
Post a Comment