This way up
I’ve written this post straight after the game while the pain is still raw and untempered, and I’m trying to work out if that’s the worst I’ve seen the Wallabies play. I suspect it is. We’ll post a more balanced review later.
That we still had a chance to win with the last kick is perhaps a measure of how “outclassed” these Scots were, completely lacking the ability to break our line with their only territory coming from the plethora of Wallaby mistakes.
All Blacks 19 – Wallabies 14 
Someone needs to remind the Wallabies that there are two halves in a match of rugby. Yet again they came out playing the better attacking rugby, scoring two tries to nil in the first 40, to then look and play like walking zombies for the rest of the game.
The recipe for success in the first half was to play the game in the ABs half through kick chase defensive pressure, and then to spread it wide with quick ball. When doing this the Wallabies looked almost irresistible and there could have been another two tries. The passing, looping runs and clearance at the ruck were all first rate. Dare I say it, there was even counter-rucking.
Had the penalty count not been 7-1 to New Zealand after 30 minutes – continuously releasing pressure at just the wrong times – the ABs could have been out for the count (more on this later).
But it felt like we’d been here before though only a few weeks ago in Brisbane. Within two minutes of the restart another defensive cock up, this time by AAC marking the same inside man that Cross had, and Sivivatu was in. The wobbles had started. Suddenly the shape was gone – no kick chasers and no men running from deep.
This was the time when big runners like Elsom, Horwill and Palu should have been punching holes, but there was no-one to take their place. It was also the time when a positional kicking game was required. Instead AAC and Giteau began kicking balls long and out on the full. To summarise – the Wallabies scored zero points in the second half.
A lot has already been written about the Referee Alan Lewis’ impact on the match. At the breakdown he was consistent, in that he obviously thinks the defense has no right to contest the ball. Somehow an All Black lying on the ground holding the ball is a ruck and all we heard throughout the game was “let go gold, ruck formed” at precisely the point the Wallabies would have earned a turn over in any test of the season so far. With 3 fetchers in the squad it’s no surprise what a disadvantage this was to Australia.
What wasn’t consistent though was his view at scrum time. It’s no doubt that our scrum has rightly been a source of national embarrassment, but while that’s fair game for the Al Baxter hate club (otherwise known as those one-eyed fuckwits in the NZ Sky Sports box) it’s not OK for refs.
From the first collapse on the dodgy Honkers surface it was clear who Lewis was gonna nail this to, along with “Nisbo” and that lazy deadbeat John Drake. But the more you watched it, the more you realised that all bar a couple of instances, on their own feed the Wallaby scrum not only held its own, but was even dominant. So who was it who couldn’t handle the pressure on the NZ feed?
A perfect example came at a crucial point in the match on the 44th minute. Earning a rare penalty in the ABs 22, the Wallabies caused snorts of derision and disbelief in the Sky commentary box by opting for the scrum, which they went on to clearly dominate (momentary silence from strangled Skysports vowels).
The ensuing screwed backline move gave the ABs a scrum feed at which Tialata so obviously dropped the scrum that even ‘Drakey’ admutted it. Too late, Lewis had already decided who he was going to ping before the scrum was even set and Robinson takes the wrap. Poor, lazy refereeing.
The unfortunate reality is that this attitude will follow this Wallaby front row around Europe this year (Lewis is reffing the Welsh match for example) and ultimately it was Baxter and Dunning who earned it in the first place.
And the Wallabies definitely weren’t blameless today either. There were some dumb offsides, holding ons and early engagements that probably made up half of the penalty count. And I still can’t figure out why the notoriously fragile AB line-out went almost totally uncontested.
In the end, this Honkers dead rubber demonstrated another few important steps forward for Australia under Deans, but coming a valiant second to the All Blacks is wearing very thin.
NEW ZEALAND 19 (Richard McCaw, Sitiveni Sivivatu tries Daniel Carter 3 pens) bt AUSTRALIA 14 (Drew Mitchell 2 tries Matt Giteau 2 cons) at Hong Kong Stadium. Referee: Alan Lewis (IRE).
Princes of darkness 20 – Tahs 12
During the week Mark Hammett commented that, in terms of intensity, this was going to be a test match and he was spot on. These two teams went hammer and tongs, both refusing to be intimidated by what was on the line, and the sense of occasion. In the end it was the Crusaders ability to play rugby in the half of the field they chose to, through their vast collective experience of winning, that took their seventh super rugby title.
It was also a game of conundrums. In the first half the ‘Saders had upwards of 75% possession, and yet went in at the break 2 tries to 1 down at 11-12. They had camped in the Tahs half of the paddock, but ran into the heroic last man standing defence that the Tahs have made their calling card in 2008. In contrast, the men from New South Wales had only two attacking chances and Lachie Turner, choosing the exact right match to get back to his best, took them both beautifully.
The first try (highlight below) came after 9 phases of play. The ball started at a line-out on the other side of the field, which the Tahs took wide via Norton-Knight after a couple of phrases through the middle. From there a handful of pick and drives, inching nicely into the Cantabrians 22 and then this gem of a cross-field from Beale, that perfectly isolates Carter. Only 8 minutes down on the clock.
The clip of the next try in the 26th minute is a good vignette of the game, as it shows a) the pace at which the whole Crusader team moves up in both attack and defence, their trademark, and b) the pressure the Tahs put themselves under too many times through the lack of a tactical kicking game. (Just quietly I look forward to Aussie Robbie injecting both of these into the Wallabies).
The Tuiali’i try below a minute before half time was one of a few the ‘Saders might have had if it wasn’t for otherwise strong Tah defence and the odd poor decision from the home side.
So the second half was set for a humdinger, and although there were no tries and therefore no video highlights, it didn’t disappoint. The Tahs came out with a better attitude in terms of ball security, and despite a penalty to put it 14-12, they were starting to get into their stride when a crucial 10 minute period of play came along at the 54th minute.
First off, from some turn over ball the Crusaders yet again found acres of space at the back, hoofed the pill 50 yards down and then, with Rob Horne (who didn’t seem to get into top gear) and Tuqiri scrambling back, the ensuing bobbling ball found a swarm of red jerseys with the prop Wyatt Crockett dotting down.
That could have been game over except that the decision was more than reversed when Brad Thorne was sin-binned for a punch on Vickerman in backplay that the NZ camera crews miraculously couldn’t find. So, it looks like the Tahs have the upper hand, except when Beale goes down 2 minutes later with injury and leaves the field.
Opinions on KB are like arseholes, everyone’s got one. Is he the goods or not? Tonight I believe he took another big step forward with far more confident running and defensive play. But the ultimate indication of his importance to this back-line came after he left the field, when the Tahs immediately lost their shape, and with it, ability to attack or win this game. That’s a pretty big impact for a 19 year old.
The game slugged on, replacements being made and the Tahs again stoic in defence. While Turner got the tries in this game, it’s no doubt who got the G&GR Man of the Match – the captain Phil Waugh who has played out of his skin all season and pulled the Tahs arses out of the fire numerous times in this game with steals and big tackles.
In the end though the pressure of territory that the ‘Saders put on was too much, with Carter lobbing over a drop-goal in 70th and then another penalty in the ‘73rd to make it 20-12. The Tahs played a great game out of their own half, and probably would have beaten just about any other side tonight, international or not. But over 80 minutes against this side with no territory, you ain’t gonna make it.
Bye bye Link. Hellooo Robbie.
For Crusaders:
Tries: Tuiali’i
Pens: Carter 4
Drop: Carter
For Waratahs:
Tries: Turner 2
Cons: Beale
Yellow card: Thorn, punching (Crusaders, 55 min)
Crusaders: 15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Kade Poki, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Scott Hamilton, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Andrew Ellis, 8 Mose Tuiali’i, 7 Richard McCaw (c), 6 Kieran Read, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Ti’i Paulo, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Steve Fualau, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Reuben Thorne, 19 Nasi Manu, 20 Kahn Fotuali’i, 21 Stephen Brett, 22 Sean Maitland.
Waratahs: 15 Sam Norton-Knight, 14 Lachlan Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Will Caldwell, 19 Beau Robinson, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Matt Carraro, 22 Timana Tahu.
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Bulls 16 – Waratahs 13
The summary of this game is pretty easy. It pissed down rain, the Waratahs got kicked around the park by the Bulls 10 Hougaard, and on top of that the Tahs lineout went to shit. Not a recipe for an entertaining match, and not a good sign for the Tahs ultimate ambitions.
It could have all been so different, had the Bulls “front-ranker” Werner Kruger not heroically knocked the ball out of Burgess’ hands as he dived over the line for what would have been the Tah’s second unanswered try in the first 20. Again Burgess was a dynamo through the game and rescued some very sloppy ball.
Considering the pressure it was under – repeatedly kicked into their corners and losing their own throw – the NSW defence held strong. Far more surprising was the NSW scrum, which you’d have to say pretty much dicked the big Bulls pack in that set piece. A pity about the rest.
The one piece of good news is that the bonus point for staying within 7 keeps the Tahs second by a point in front of the Hurricanes. Whichever way you look at it the final derby against the Reds is going to be one hell of a crunch game.
For the Bulls:
Tries: Kuun
Cons: Steyn
Pens: Steyn
Drops: D. Hougaard, Steyn
For the Waratahs:
Tries: Horne
Cons: Beale
Pens: Beale
Drops: Beale
The teams:
Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JP Nel, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Wikus van Heerden (c), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuun, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandisa Maku, 17 Jaco Engels, 18 Rayno Gerber, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Derick Hougaard, 22 Pedrie Wannenburg.
Waratahs: 15 Sam Norton-Knight, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 WYcliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Will Caldwell, 19 David Lyons, 20 Sekope Kepu, 21 Matt Carraro, 22 Brett Sheehan.
Referee: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Brent Murray (New Zealand), Pro Legoete (South Africa)
Television match official: Michael Cupido (South Africa)
Assessor: Banks Yantolo (South Africa)
France 26 vs Ireland 21
This one turned out to be a cracker. Continuing their form from last week, the French back 3 are looking the most dangerous in Europe and perhaps further afield. The whole team is re-discovering that French quality of backs running from deep, creating space when given half a chance and then exploiting it with pure, old fashioned gas.
The best example was from Vincent Clerc, who even at about 4 inches shorter than the most of the 6′2″ Frog backline, has the old fashioned wingers wheels that netted him three straight tries in the first half. His accomplices Rougerie (running taps from his on 10 metre line) and Haymans carved big slices through the Irish backline and put smiles on French faces.
For the first 50 minutes the Irish looked lost, and despite trying, couldn’t match the French at their own game. At which point they said ‘feck that’ and started playing at the frogs weaknesses, rather than their strengths. And that weakness, which we got a sniff of last week against the Jockos, is the pack.
Lievremont’s clear out has left this pack light, both in size and caps, and the bogtrotters took advantage of it, forcing a penalty try from a scrum in the 57th minute and then following up with a classic forwards surge over the line in the 61st. Add on a few penalties at breakdowns and all of a sudden it’s 26-21 with 5 minutes to go. And the last 5 was all Ireland, keeping it tight and running it off rucks and mauls, all the fresh but inexperienced Frogs legs on the pitch making little impact on the green momentum.
But in the end they held on in there defending well on their own line. Interestingly, throughout this nerve-wracking time Lievremont sat grinning, if not laughing in the stands. Who knows what else goes on inside a frenchman’s head, other than when he’ll next make love to his sister-in-law and whether his hair’s still coiffed. But my guess is that the French coach was reveling in the youth he’s bringing through and more so in the joie de vivre he’s brought back which the French value higher than a win itself.
Beware though les Bleus, the Pommy pack could well munch you.
Ireland (6) 21
Tries: Penalty try, Wallace
France (19) 26
Tries: Clerc 3, Heymans
Cons: Elissalde 3
Con: O’Gara
Pens: O’Gara 3
Wales 30 – Scotland 15
I only really saw the highlights of this one, but I’m reliably informed that between the nicely taken tries by the talented likes of Williams and Hook, this was a bit of a shmozzle. There was also another example of a video ref getting it totally wrong (unlike in the Cueto non-try), where Williams pretty blatantly put a toe in touch before scoring.
But hey, it leaves Wales undefeated so far and therefore theoretically still leading the race with the frogs. It’s hard to see how that’s going to last, but the showdown between the two running teams should be pretty entertaining.
Wales (10) 30
Tries: S Williams 2, Hook
Cons: Hook 2, S Jones
Pens: Hook, S Jones 2
Scotland (6) 15
Pens: Paterson 5
Classy Barbars 22
World Chump B team 5
So many times an all star Barbarian team has disappointed through poor defence and lateral attack, but not today. Almost to a man the Barbars played their hearts out and showed this Springbok team to be out of ideas. The first half was a cracker, the Corinthians scoring two great tries, and probably spilling another three, going in at the break 15-5 up.
The first try came from classic counter-attack; the Boks were in possession 10 metres out when Habana switched pass to no-one. Ma’a Nonu, a handful all day, toed the ball almost to the half way, picked it up from around his bootlaces at pace with two men on him and offloaded to Giteau who found Conrad Smith with a cut out pass. Smith couldn’t outpace Stein but held up the ball long enough for the swarming BarBar backup to arrive and Giteau, out of 3 others lobbed over the line.
The second was a Martyn Williams classic: he looks and runs like a pudding, but manages to pull freakish feats of skill from no-where. Seeing nothing on while attacking from the Bok 22, he chipped the defensive line for the Italian prop Pucciarello (who had a cracker) to regather, draw 3 defenders and then offload back to Williams who scooted to the line. By comparison, the boks could only manage a dot over try in the corner when the ball popped out of a ruck.
Early in the second half the game was meaningfully ended when Stein hoofed the ball downfield for the human steam train and Fiji winger Neivua to motor his way back to the half way line. From the recycle, Elsom put himself in through a gap in the mid-field, and then ran a Campo-esque diagonal to the try-line with 3 springboks hanging off him until it was too late. Kid Dynamite slotted the conversion from the side-line.
This signaled time for the heavens to open and the South Africans to lose direction. Stein tried and failed with long range drop goals at 22-5 down and even through they camped on the Barbars 5 metre line for 30 minutes, the world champions came away with nothing, such was the resolute defence of the scratch team they faced.
Despite the South Africans killing the second half, from a rugby lovers perspective, the first half was worth the price of admission alone. The Barbars ran with purpose and used their hard runners like Nonu, Rokocoko and Neivua to great effect to straighten play, with Jason Robinson reminding us of his unique ability to beat men in his last international game. Considering they had only a week to gel, their linking play was outstanding.
From an Aussie rugby supporters viewpoint, Giteau and Elsom were excellent, popping up at important times all over the field. 17 out of the 22 points ain’t bad! Giteau’s handling and distribution is of a different order and Elsom is starting to look like an established world 15 back-rower, outshining Jerry Collins. I also liked the look of Ma’afu at 3 who was imposing around the ruck.
Ultimately this game probably doesn’t say that much about the Springboks, they had only 5 players from the final and were missing their leader Smit. What it does say though is that there is still a place for the ideals of the Barbarians, even in this professional era where Sheridan’s club can ban him from playing for them (to then give him the weekend off) and world cups get ground out through penalties and drop goals.
Long live the Barbars.
The scorers:
For the Barbarians:
Tries: Giteau, Williams, Elsom
Cons: Giteau 2
Pen: Giteau
For South Africa:
Try: Pieterse
Yellow card: Troy Flavell (Barbarians, 70 – foul play, dangerous tackle)
Barbarians: 15 J Robinson (England), 14 J Rokocoko (Blues & New Zealand), 13 C Smith (Hurricanes & New Zealand), 12 M Nonu (Hurricanes & New Zealand), 11 I Neivua (Warriors & Fiji); 10 M Giteau (Western Force & Australia), 9 J Marshall (Ospreys & New Zealand); 1 F Pucciarello (Munster & Italy), 2 M Regan (captain, Bristol & England), 3 S Ma’afu (Brumbies), 4 B Cockbain (Wales), 5 J Harrison (Ulster & Australia), 6 R Elsom (Waratahs & Australia), 7 M Williams (Cardiff & Wales), 8 J Collins (Hurricanes & New Zealand).
Replacements: 16 S Brits (Stormers), 17 J D Moller (Stormers), 18 T Flavell (Blues & New Zealand), 19 M Owen (Dragons & Wales), 20 T Shanklin (Cardiff & Wales), 21 P Grant (Stormers), B Cohen 22 (England).
South Africa: 15 R Pienaar, 14 A Ndungane, 13 J Fourie, 12 F Steyn, 11 B Habana, 10 A Pretorius, 9 E Januarie; 1 CJ van der Linde, 2 B du Plessis, 3 J du Plessis, 4 J Muller (captain), 5 J Ackerman, 6 S Burger, 7 J Smith, 8 R Kankowski.
Replacements: 16 T Liebenberg, 17 H van der Merwe, 18 A van den Berg, 19 B Pieterse, 20 W Olivier, 21 W Julies, 22 C Jantjes.
Wallabies 10
England 12
As you can imagine, I’m going to sleep on this one before writing a full review, but if you’re stuck in North America, here’s the short version.
a) The England scrum monstered the Australian scrum. You can’t play rugby union without a scrum, no matter how much you tell yourself you can
b) When Australia did get hold of the ball and created crucial attacking platforms, we left the ball exposed or just plain made a dumb mistake, which was a crime considering what Mortlock, Latham and Tuqiri were doing in the middle of the park. So disappointing.
Well done to England, their pack did exactly what they needed to. A deserved win.
More later.
Fiji 38
Wales 34
There’s been a lot of wanging on about this being the best game of the world cup so far. I guess for a sevens style of free-flowing fluctuating game yes. But what this game really nailed once and for all is how naive Wales has become, trying to out-fiji the Fijians, but not having the goods to back it up.
To give both teams their due, they kept going for 80 minutes and even when 25-3 down, the Welsh kept coming. Like the Tongans, Fiji also showed what a steady hand at 10 and powerful backrow can add in terms of structure and game control; both benefits of the modern professional era where week in week out these guys now play in british and french leagues.
Wales on the other hand, as they have done since the new coaching regime took over, decided they would try and go back to a ramanticised version of the great 70’s sides. It’s as if someone has stuck all their top tries from that period on a DVD and said ‘there’s the playbook’. The problem is they don’t have the players in the backs, and this nostalgia ignores the role that the Welsh pack played in this era. Apparently it’s not just me who thinks this as the WRFU have just sacked Gareth Jenkins the coach. Look out Scott Johnson, expect a call.
So, at several times in this match when the Welsh pack just needed to stuff the ball up their jumper and grind the Fijian legs down, they couldn’t or wouldn’t do it, instead deciding to fling the ball around, er, Fijian style. For fiji, there were plenty of heroes across the paddock, but two stood out to me; Nicky Little at 10 with his distribution and place kicking, and the winger Vilimoni Delasau, who almost single handedly turned the game around.
See stats here
For Wales:
Tries: Popham, Shane Williams, Gareth Thomas, Mark Jones, Martyn Williams
Cons: Hook 2, Stephen Jones
Pen: Stephen Jones
For Fiji:
Tries: Qera, Delasau, Leawere, Dewes
Cons: Little 3
Pens: Little 4
Yellow card: Qera (40, Fiji, raised knee in the tackle)
Wales: 15 Gareth Thomas, 14 Mark Jones, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 James Hook, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Alix Popham, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Colin Charvis, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Chris Horsman, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Thomas Rhys Thomas, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Ian Gough, 19 Michael Owen, 20 Michael Phillips, 21 Jamie Robinson, 22 Dafydd James.
Fiji: 15 Kameli Ratuvou, 14 Vilimoni Delasau, 13 Seru Rabeni, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Isoa Neivua, 10 Nicky Little, 9 Mosese Rauluni(c), 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Semisi Naevo, 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 4 Kele Leawere, 3 Jone Railomo, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Graham Dewes.
Replacements: 16 Vereniki Sauturaga, 17 Henry Qiodravu, 18 Wame Lewaravu, 19 Aca Ratuva, 20 Jone Daunivucu, 21 Norman Ligairi, 22 Sireli Bobo.
Referee: Chris White
Touch judges: Steve Walsh, Bryce Lawrence
Television match official: Lyndon Bray
Assessor: Michel Lamoulie
Woeful Wallabies 37
Plucky Canucks 6
Here’s the short version; a bunch of Wallabies desperate to score a try themselves, managed to turn a walk in the park into a drawn out horror show. On the upside – these guys are mostly reserves. The downside – we’ll no doubt need a few of them before this world cup is over.
So the question is, how do you have at least 70% possession and territory against a north american rugby team, and not run up more points? Yes it was pissing down which didn’t help, but unusually in such a game, I can pick out a handfull of individuals who managed to stuff it for the rest of the team.
But before the naming and shaming, the positives. The line-out and the scrum were both dominant. The Wallabies stole more than half of Canada’s throws, and only bungled two of their own due ostensibly to a slippery ball. Al “The Fuse” Baxter, on his 50th cap (!) actually managed to get the better of his opposite number, who had to be replaced, along with his replacement. The ref was so surprised, he initially pinged Big Al, who for once was in the right. The prop even popped up on the wing for his first international try.
The rolling maul also looked as good as I remember, also yielding Frier his first international try which he justly deserved for his running and throwing. If Moore wasn’t in form, Frier should have the jersey. At last McMenimen also showed a little of what he’s capable of, turning up everywhere like a bustling lunatic and showing some of that rumoured ‘athleticism’.
But now the shaming. First up, the six million dollar man. It’s one thing for all the worlds press to know you’re desperate for a try, but to then botch a series of backline moves because of it is just sad. What ever happened to making a break (which he did do well) fixing the fullback, and then passing? It wasn’t until the 60th minute that LT remembered this, and low and behold the team scored.
Another player more worried about his run than whoever those other 14 guys were wearing gold, was Sam Cordingly. For those who thought Gregan’s lack of running threat was a problem, Cordingly showed how the opposite can be worse. I lost count of the times he turned quick ball slow by having a good look around for himself, as well as the number of times the ball lay untended at a ruck because he’d got monstered going for a run. On top of this the delivery was looping, wayward and slow.
Today was third-string 10 Julian’s chance to work his way out of his new nickname, “Fuxley”. Looks like he’ll have to get used to it. Rather than ‘taking it to the line’ he more like looked up, froze, shuffled side-ways, then shovel-passed. His place kicking was even worse, by my count he got what, one from five or six? The one small glimmer which I guess is what keeps him in the squad is his kicking from hand. Just not good enough.
But probably the most howling game was had by Shepherd. He mentally didn’t seem to get out of the hotel room as he gutted out from a high kick in the 3rd minute and never got any better, coughing up balls all over the shop and missing kicks having taken over from Fuxley. A great pity because we could really do with an outside back who could kick.
Shepherd, of course, was involved in the defining moment of this sorry game when in the 70th minute when Hoiles found himself with one Canadian between him and the line 15 meters away, with 3 men outside him, unmarked. Of course, Hoiles went tits out for the line, got caught short and pushed a hopeless pass in the tackle as a last resort. The ball wobbled to Shepherd. All he had to do was just keep sliding over the line, but instead he reached out to score and knocked it on. A simple try stuffed twice through greed.
At the end of the day this was another easy enough victory with some good set piece fundamentals in place. But what was disappointing was that rather than proving they could slot into place within the much lauded Wallaby backline, the stand ins today showed the gap between the A and the B team. Noticeable was how the key try-making passes and decisions were made by established players like Smith and Latham. This is a gap that’s too big for comfort.
STOP PRESS
Shit news. According to RugbyHeaven, David Lyons busted his leg during the game and will be going home. That’s bloody rough for the big boofhead who thought he’d just twisted his ankle and had already put his life on the line for the Wallabies with DVT. The first mentioned replacement is Jone Tawake – fitting as he’d cut off a finger to be available. Could be that they go for a back though with both Larkham and Staniforth on th injury list.
For stats see here
For Australia:
Tries: Baxter, Freier, Smith, Mitchell 2, Latham
Cons: Shepherd 2
Pen: Huxley
For Canada:
Pens: Pritchard 2
Australia: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Cameron Shepherd, 13 Lote Tuqiri, 12 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Julian Huxley, 9 Sam Cordingley, 8 David Lyons, 7 George Smith (c), 6 Hugh McMeniman, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Adam Freier, 1 Greg Holmes
Replacements: 16 Sean Hardman, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Rocky Elsom, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Stephen Hoiles, 21 George Gregan, 22 Matt Giteau
Canada: 15 DTH van der Merwe, 14 Justin Mensah-Coker, 13 Mike Pyke, 12 Derek Daypuck, 11 James Pritchard, 10 Ander Monro, 9 Morgan Williams (c), 8 Sean-Michael Stephen, 7 Dave Biddle, 6 Colin Yukes, 5 Mike James, 4 Luke Tait, 3 Jon Thiel, 2 Pat Riordan, 1 Rod Snow
Replacements: 16 Aaron Carpenter, 17 Dan Pletch, 18 Mike Pletch, 19 Mike Burak, 20 Mike Webb, 21 Ed Fairhurst, 22 Dave Spicer
Referee: Chris White
Touch judges: Steve Walsh, Bryce Lawrence
Television match official: Lyndon Bray
Assessor: Michel Lamoulie
England 36
Tonga 20
For the first 30 minutes of this test it looked like Tonga’s fairy tale might go all the way, but in the end England just had too much nous. The forwards in white were able to strangle the game when needed forcing the Tongans to make mistakes that Sackey and Tait had the pace out wide to take advantage of.
The wobble early came from the Tongan centre Huganga running through Wilkinson and then running around and through 3 more defenders to slide over the line. This wasn’t the last time that Wilkinson wobbled both in defense and with the boot from both floor and hand. He’s a long way from the 2003 version.
And it wasn’t just Wilkinson. The islanders made yards all night, even in hit outs around the rucks. One on one they simply looked stronger than the Poms, right across the park. The one exception was Nick Easter, the best English forward by far, who had a ding dong battle with his opposite number, super ‘fro Finau Maka. Easter looked great with the ball in hand and surely has made 8 his own, showing Dallaglio for the mouthy retiree he is. Maka not only managed to clear up a stack of ball going backwards, but then make yards and hits as well.
Other bright spots for England included Tait and Farrell who both got themselves on the score sheet with speed and guile respectively. Sackey is also proving to have that happy knack of scoring ties. The England openside slot is still a gaping wound though. Moody did his usual headless chicken impersonation and copped two first class twattings for his trouble. “Injecting energy” is not a good enough trait to snaffle the 7 shirt. How can this still be such a quandary on the eve of a quarter final?
So England go into the Quarters against Australia as rank underdogs, which will suit them just fine. Right now, with Mortlock penciled to spearhead the charge through the England centers this is about right. But take Mortlock away and that balance evens up a long way….
See match stats here
For England:
Tries: Sackey 2, Tait, Farrell
Pens: Wilkinson 2
Cons: Wilkinson 2
Drop goals: Wilkinson 2
For Tonga:
Tries: Hufanga, T Pole
Cons: Hola 2
Pens: Hola 2
England: 15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Martin Corry (c), 5 Ben Kay, 4 Steve Borthwick, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 George Chuter, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Lee Mears, 17 Phil Vickery, 18 Lawrence Dallaglio, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Peter Richards, 21 Andy Farrell, 22 Dan Hipkiss.
Tonga: 15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 Tevita Tu’ifua, 13 Sukanaivalu Hufanga, 12 Epeli Taione, 11 Joseph Vaka, 10 Pierre Hola, 9 Sione Tu’ipulotu, 8 Finau Maka, 7 Nili Latu (c), 6 Hale T Pole, 5 Lisiate Fa’aoso, 4 Viliami Vaki, 3 Kisi Pulu, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Soane Tonga’uiha.
Replacements: 16 Ephraim Taukafa, 17 Taufa’ao Filise, 18 Maama Molitika, 19 Inoke Afeaki, 20 Soane Havea, 21 Hudson Tonga’uiha, 22 Aisea Havili.
Referee: Alain Rolland
Touch judges: Craig Joubert, Christophe Berdos
Television match official: Mark Lawrence
Assessor: Bob Francis
SEE TONGA VS ENGLAND SCORE AND REVIEW HERE
Islanders do themselves proud
Yesterday Tonga and Samoa brought some good old fashioned passion and excitement to the Rugby World Cup, while Argentina continued to justify their new world ranking. Here are the scores and a few thoughts on the games.
South Africa 30
Tongan torpedos 25
Tonga came within a gnat’s chuff of recording probably the biggest ever world cup upset. Had their final chip and chase of the day not taken a hard right turn on the bounce, they would be topping the group.
The Boks started off believing this was going to be a training run and found themselves 7-10 down in the forty-ninth minute. This seemed to kick-start them into action and, having run in some quick full-length tries to get the score up to 27-10, they decided to try and defend out the match. But when Habana was binned for a professional foul, the Tongans scented blood and exploited their extra man by upping their attacks out wide, scoring two excellent tries in eight minutes; 27-22.
This was followed by a penalty from both sides, with the Tongans receiving the last kick off. The boys in red gave it all they had and but for an inch or two would have been deservedly home and hosed in the corner.
SOUTH AFRICA 30 (Ruan Pienaar 2, Juan Smith, Bobby Skinstad tries; Andre Pretorius con, Percy Montgomery pen con, Francois Steyn pen) bt TONGA 25 (Kisi Pulu, Sukanaivalu Hufanga, Viliami Vaki tries; Pierre Hola 2 pens, 2 cons)
England 44
Samoa 22
This is one of those score-lines that misrepresents the game, for with only 10 minutes to play, the scoreline was a much tighter 26-22, and bizarrely the last pommy try was given in the 83rd minute, following line-out in the 82nd.
Yet again the poms suffered glaringly in two key areas. The back-line penetration was missing until Sackey found space to create and score the last two tries, and the break-down was a shambles once more. Easter ran well, but Corry is a donkey and Worsley simply not an openside.
While Samoa was inventive and incisive through the backs, their forwards got monstered in the set piece. If Samoa could have just taken their fair share of line-out and scrum ball, the scoreline may well have been reversed.
ENGLAND 44 (Martin Corry 2, Paul Sackey 2 tries; Jonny Wilkinson 4 pens, 3 cons, 2 drop goals) bt SAMOA 22 (Junior Polu try; Loki Crichton 5pen, con).
Argentina 63
Namibia 3
I’ll confess that I didn’t see too much of this one, but Argentina showed that they can also run in some tries with 9 altogether.
This of course gives them a bonus point while they stay at the top of the group of death . Ireland’s chances are all but gone now, and should the Argies not stumble too much, it’ll be France to face the Kiwi’s at the quarters in Wales. Who would have figured this?
ARGENTINA 63 (Juan Manuel Leguizamon 2, Rodrigo Roncero, Manuel Contepomi, Felipe Contepomi, Gonzalo Tiesi, Ignacio Corleto, Federico Todeschini tries, penalty try; Felipe Contepomi 4 cons, 2 pens, Federico Todeschini 2 cons) bt NAMIBIA 3 (Tertius Losper pen)
The end is nigh for Ireland
France 25
Ireland 3
Tonight Ireland’s chances of progressing any further in this Rugby World Cup became very slim indeed. They now need to score four tries against Argentina next week, and make sure that Los Pumas fail to secure a bonus point themselves. On the basis of this, as well as all the games so far, it’s hard to see how it can possibly happen. At the same time we also saw a glimmer of a French side that is finding its feet again.
In short this was an arm wrestle of a match that Ireland could never really control. They started by trying to out-run Les Bleus, but the stop-start nature of the game, punctuated by silly penalties and turnovers, and the inability of the Irish backs to find any rhythm or penetration rendered this strategy fruitless. The French back-row won the battle of the breakdown and milked penalties at will, creating a 9-12 point buffer that Ireland could never claw back.
Having created this cushion, the French dealt two perfect killer blows, both from delicate Michelak kicks to Clerc the winger. The first was gold, coming from a scrum where Clerc motored back around the blind side to get on the end of an inside-out chip over the packs, and cruise in unopposed.
It was also around this time, interestingly after Chabal had been replaced at second row in the 45th minute, that the French scrum started to pulverise the Paddy’s, and make easy yards in the rolling maul. O’Connel eventually gave away one too many penalties in one of these mauls, went off for 10 and the game was over. The french cruised in.
What’s most puzzling about the whole affair is what the hell has happened to Ireland? On the radio over here there’s been talk of an Ulster/Munster rift in the camp, which is holed up on an industrial estate outside of Bordeaux. Whether this is a cause or a symptom of the disappearance of this team’s ability, we can only guess, but it definitely rings true. You can see there is absolutely no cohesive team drive here at all.
Which makes it all the more puzzling why the hell the Irish RFU signed O’Sullivan the coach for another 4 years, a week or so into this world cup. Who had a gun to their heads? Probably the most disappointing part of the whole match was when O’Sullivan blamed the pommy ref’s penalty decisions for the result of the match. Wake up Eddie. This sort of delusional crap doesn’t fool anyone. Seems to be a lot of it coming out of the mouths of home nation coaches at the moment.
For France:
Tries: Clerc 2
Pens: Elissalde 5
For Ireland:
Drop goal: O’Gara
Yellow cards: O’Connell (64, Ireland, persistent infringement), Traille (75, France, persistent infringement)
For stats go here
France: 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 David Marty, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Cédric Heymans, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Julien Bonnaire, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Serge Betsen, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Sébastien Chabal, 3 Pieter de Villiers, 2 Raphaël Ibañez (c), 1 Olivier Milloud.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Lionel Nallet, 19 Yannick Nyanga, 20 Lionel Beauxis, 21 Yannick Jauzion, 22 Aurélien Rougerie.
Ireland:15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O’Driscoll (c), 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ronan O’Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 David Wallace, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O’Connell, 4 Donncha O’Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Frankie Sheahan, 17 Simon Best, 18 Malcolm O’Kelly, 19 Neil Best, 20 Isaac Boss, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Gavin Duffy.
Referee: Chris White
Touch judges: Dave Pearson, Hugh Watkins
Television match official: Jonathan Kaplan
Assessor: Michel Lamoulie
Wales 20 – Australia 32
Picture from my cameraphone today, just after Beavis Mortlock had scored his try and buggered his shoulder (as you can see)
For Wales:
Tries: J. Thomas, S. Williams
Cons: Hook 2
Pens: Jones, Hook
For Australia:
Tries: Giteau, Mortlock, Latham 2
Cons: Mortlock 2, Giteau
Pen: Mortlock
Drop goal: Barnes
Yellow card: Mitchell (Australia, 65, dangerous tackle), Sharpe (74, Australia, not rolling away)
Wales: 15 Gareth Thomas (c), 14 Mark Jones, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Sonny Parker, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Colin Charvis, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements: 16 Thomas Rhys Thomas, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Michael Owen, 19 Alix Popham, 20 Michael Phillips, 21 James Hook, 22 Kevin Morgan
Australia: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 George Gregan, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Matt Dunning
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Mark Chisholm, 19 Stephen Hoiles, 20 Phil Waugh, 21 Scott Staniforth, 22 Julian Huxley/Adam Ashley-Cooper.
Referee: “look at me, look at me” Steve Walsh
Touch judges: Mark Lawrence, Craig Joubert
Television match official: Christophe Berdos
Assessor: Steve Hilditch
Springboks – 36
Arse-clowns (England) – 0
This was a rugby version of a public butt-rape. Today, England’s status as a second tier rugby nation was well and truly cemented as they were smashed in every facet of the game and slumped to their biggest ever Rugby World Cup loss. On the basis of this performance, the upcoming Samoa match is going to be very interesting indeed.
It’s difficult to know where to start really. In the forwards, the tight 5 bumbled at every key point and the back row was invisible – it was a complete turnover fest – regardless of who came off the bench. As for the backs, well what can you say. Absolute jokers. Every painful trait of England back play was on show – slow, ponderous ball, an inability to fix a tackler, and not one idea in attack.
The only guy who can look himself in the mirror tomorrow is Jason Robinson who showed some vintage counter-attacking, but left the field with a buggered hammy. Even worse, Noone went down 3 minutes before time with a cactus knee.
As for the yaapies, well they never really broke stride, playing well within themselves and choosing to ‘kick for poles’ just to stick stick a needle in when they felt like it. What was remarkable about their performance though was one of the most amazing games I’ve ever seen from a number 9. Fourie Du Preez was fantastic; the vision, the pace the kicking. The try he created for Pietersen was pure class.
And don’t forget, the Poms put 60 points on Wales only a month ago. No pressure boys.
For South Africa:
Tries: Smith, Pietersen 2
Cons: Montgomery 3
Pens: Steyn, Montgomery 3
For England: Diddly squat
England: 15 Jason Robinson, 14 Josh Lewsey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Andy Farrell, 11 Paul Sackey, 10 Mike Catt, 9 Shaun Perry, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Tom Rees, 6 Martin Corry (captain), 5 Ben Kay, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Mark Regan, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Perry Freshwater, 18 Steve Borthwick, 19 Lewis Moody, 20 Andy Gomarsall, 21 Peter Richards, 22 Mathew Tait.
South Africa: 15 Percy Montgomery, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 François Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Danie Rossouw, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Wikus van Heerden, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Brendon Botha, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Os du Randt.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Johann Muller, 19 Bob Skinstad, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 André Pretorius, 22 Wynand Olivier.
Referee: Joël Jutge
Touch judges: Kelvin Deaker, Carlo Damasco
Television match official: Simon McDowell
Assessor: Ian Scotney
Wallabies 91
Cherryblossoms 3
As the scoreline suggests, this was your classic World Cup mismatch of the type that Campo has been campaigning against of late. That aside, the Wallabies produced a composed performance, for the most part devoid of the ‘rustiness’ excuse that usually dogs them in world cup pool games, and showed that they don’t intend to be a one trick pony in this tournament by relying on the backs to win games.
The first half had Knuckles written all over it; forward drives, using the big men in centre field to bulldoze over the gain line, rolling mauls and tactical kicking. This was the right thing to do though as Japan played with typical spirit in the first half, harrying in defence and always looking to counter-attack.
This patience from Australia resulted in a score line that built slowly, but inexorably before the break. First, two penalties from Mortlock, then a push over try through a rolling maul, followed by two bullocking open field tries from Rocky Elsom, who completed his hat-trick just after half time. Thanks to Eddie Jones for the blind sides extra motivation – the Waratah 6 matched Toutai Kefu’s record of tries scored by a forward in a world cup match, and was full of running all day.
The Wallabies went in at half time 23-3 up. And the briefing from Scott Johnson in the sheds was evident in the second half, as the team broke loose, scoring 7 tries in the last 40 minutes. There was a general sharpness about the team with their passing and running lines in the backs and forwards alike and there was far too much skill and pace on show for the Japanese. At no time was the Wallaby line truly threatened.
I plan to do a player rating in the next few days, but the back-row, especially Elsom and Smith (who moved past David Wilson as Australia’s most capped flanker with 80), really shone for the Wallabies today. The low note was the news that Mark Gerrard has torn the medial ligament in his knee which spells the end of his world cup after just sixty seconds on the pitch. The fear is that Ashley-Cooper may also be ruled out of next week’s game with a bruised toe (really?).
Green and Gold’s man of the match: Rocky Elsom (thanks Eddie, great sledge)
Have a good look at yourself: Matt Giteau – went looking for work but forgot how to catch.
See match stats here
For Australia:
Tries: Sharpe, Elsom 3, Ashley-Cooper, Latham 2, Barnes 2, Mitchell 2, Smith
Cons: Mortlock 7, Giteau 2
Pens: Mortlock 2
For Japan:
Pen: Ono
Australia: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Matt Giteau 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 George Gregan (vc), 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith (vc), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Matt Dunning.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 Stephen Hoiles, 20 Berrick Barnes, 21 Drew Mitchell, 22 Mark Gerrard.
Japan: 15 Tatsuya Kusumi, 14 Tomoki Kitagawa, 13 Koji Taira, 12 Nataniela Oto, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 Kosei Ono, 9 Yuki Yatomi, 8 Hajime Kiso, 7 Takamichi Sasaki (c), 6 Yasunori Watanabe, 5 Luatangi Samurai Vatuvei, 4 Takanori Kumagae, 3 Ryo Yamamura, 2 Taku Inokuchi, 1 Masahito Yamamoto
Replacements: 16 Yuji Matsubara, 17 Tomokazu Soma, 18 Hitoshi Ono, 19 Hare Makiri, 20 Tomoki Yoshida, 21 Yuta Imamura, 22 Kosuke Endo
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Touch judges: Dave Pearson (England), Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Television match official: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)
Assessor: Bob Francis (New Zealand).
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